The Best Bar Seats for a Solo Lunch
Take yourself out at 1pm... you'll love it
It’s 1PM on a Tuesday, and I am sitting at a Danny Meyer bar stool. Small trays full of snacks and bread service are taking up all of my allocated real estate on the bar. I’ve snuck a cup of tea in there, careful not to knock it onto the pass while my arms jet around my many plates with a sort of glee.
Lunch is a generally foreign concept to me—I was always bummed out by cafeterias or running to dining halls between classes. Even in an office job, I find it so hard to stop my day and take an hour to eat and relax. Lunch has always felt inherently transitory, a transition from one thing to the next, a meal to be squeezed in at just the right moment, rather than taken with intention and time on your side.
Sitting at Union Square Cafe in between well-spaced meetings around 14th street, I finally understood what lunch could be, and subsequently vowed to take it more seriously. I’ve had three solo lunches in the last six months that were so luxurious it almost felt silly, but were so memorable and relaxing in a way I didn’t necessarily think was possible.
Polling for next week’s letter…
Union Square Cafe
Say what you want about Danny Meyer, but the man honestly does not miss. I have walked by Union Square Cafe 101 times, and never once considered going in at an off hour by myself. A couple of weeks ago, I finally pulled the trigger and hoisted myself onto a leather bar stool and let myself sit for a leisurely lunch right-smack in the middle of several mid-town meetings.
It turns out, everyone likes to go to here for lunch—the restaurant was packed. Tables of six were filled with moms and highchairs, the bars and banquettes filled with men in suits. Many glasses of white wine were being poured.
My bartender was dialed in, I felt like royalty. With my steaming cup of chamomile tea and a never-empty glass of water, I was asked if I would like to start with complimentary bread service, a question to which the answer is always yes. Moments later, the bartender received a fresh gallon of bar nuts from the kitchen. He glanced at me as I eyed the enormous container of nuts, and asked if I would like some. Of course I want the homemade bar nuts. Before my tea had finished steeping, 6 separate dishes had been placed in front of me, none of which I was being charged for. A ceramic dish with marinated olives accompanied by a hearty scoop of salted butter, and an amber bowl of calabrian chili garlic confit. Fresh bread arrived wrapped in a napkin, and sweet and salty cashews and almonds were handed to me with a smile.
I felt completely ridiculous with so many plates in front of me. I rotated, dizzy from the opulence, between the salty olives, the sweet rosemary-scented nuts, and the bread dipped in garlic softened to butter. I made my way from snack to snack for what felt like ages. I had forgotten I had actually ordered food—I could have been satiated from my little snacks alone. Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly have one more porcelain dish in front of me, my salad arrived. Leaves of bibb lettuce tossed in a light and tangy mustard vinaigrette, with garlic croutons crunchy enough to scrape the roof of your mouth (perfect), and long ribbons of gruyere on top. I gladly accepted a crack of fresh black pepper over the lettuce, and continued on my decadent meal.
I left this meal feeling like I had truly taken a break, escaping to the land of magical lunches for just an hour, ready to return to my day of meetings. The whole thing was somehow under $30, tax and tip included. This was a lesson for me, in the value of mid-day breaks, but also how good lunch, of all things, could be.
OKONOMI
In a league of its own, the gem of East Williamsburg that is OKONOMI is reserved for those who are able to catch it in daylight and escape for a long and slightly expensive lunch. By sundown, OKONOMI changes its name and becomes Yuji ramen. OKONOMI requires planning ahead, both by needing a reservation to claim one of few seats at the counter, and to budget for both the price and length of time the meal requires. You’ll be welcomed into a near-silent space, with one server and two cooks preparing food behind the counter. The space relieves you of any unnecessary stress—the restaurant is quiet, you have plenty of room at your little bar stool, and there are only two things on the menu: Ichiju Sansai (standard set), and Ichiku Gosai (large set). You can had egg or ikura on the side, and then decide your choice of protein from their daily offerings. I had just finished a ten mile run, so I opted for the Ichiku Gosai to be able to try all of the vegetable, and added a side of ikura because I love them. I chose grilled trout as my central item.
I stared wide-eyed as my meal hit the table—a large flat dish with an assortment of colors and textures, accompanied by bowls of rice, miso soup, and roe. Steamed tamago, pickle radish, fried and sweet sunchoke topped with bonito, steamed beets, and broccoli rabe with miso surrounded a delicately grilled piece of fish with incredibly crispy skin. I sat in silence, my legs still humming from my run, and navigated my chopsticks through a maze of perfect bites. The meal was so fresh and balanced—an unsurprising reminder that Japan has a lot of things worked out, especially breakfast.
All in, this was probably a $60 lunch, which feels exorbitant for a random afternoon meal. However, the care and attention captured in that tiny wood-paneled space is memorable. From the moment you walk in, you know exactly what you are paying for and why. I think about this lunch all the time, and never once because it felt overpriced or like a waste of money.
S&P Lunch
The ultimate New York City counter, S&P has appeared in this newsletter already a handful of times. If you have ever come across Court Street Grocers’ immaculate sesame hero roll, a Vegitalian or an Italian combo, you know why their takeover of the classic diner experience was a gift to us all. Walking into S&P may be overstimulating, someone paying their bill to your right, a line against the wall in front of you waiting to be seated. The bar stools are full, the tables in the back are occupied. As a solo diner, you can usually give the host a little wave and get that odd seat between parties of 2.
Things move so fast in S&P, busy hands collecting and distributing menus, one person on water, another on beverages, someone on cold food, and a few in the back working the grill. There is no shortage of things to watch, and you can kill some serious time ogling over the menu. This is a solo lunch that requires a few key decisions, the first being: breakfast or lunch? If you are opting for breakfast, I would suggest the matzo brei or a little LEO (lox, eggs, onion) action. If you’ve chosen lunch, you reach your next fork in the road: Hot or Cold? If you’ve chosen cold, I would order the Lox sandwich with capers, potato chips, and pickled onions snuggled between two slices of rye bread. I could never be mad about a BLT or chicken salad club order, though. If you are looking for something hot—the patty melt is a worthy order. I get mine with the veggie burger which is one of my favorites in the city. It is homemade, and actually made of vegetables, not some soy and oil mush with red dye that is meant to replicate meat.
Sit and drink your black coffee out of a diner mug, maybe open up your book, and relish in the fact that, even if just for a second, you have nowhere to be. You can just enjoy your lunch.
Honorable mention: Superiority Burger
Sitting at this bar and eating a TFT (a tofu fried tofu sandwich that might just change your life) is one of my favorite things to do in New York. A grilled cheese on ezekiel bread with tomato soup is never a bad idea, and if you want a little greenery the enormous market salad with carrot-ginger dressing is a fan favorite.
Don’t leave without a scoop of the gelato, or whatever special treat they have constructed… more on that here:
If the dessert isn't life changing, I don't want it
As promised, another whole newsletter devoted to just desserts, but this time, only those you can find in Manhattan.
See you next week friends! Drop your requests here…
in new york everyone seems so much nicer at lunch <3
I concur on the Danny Meyer front. I typically like to support independent restaurants/chefs and seek out uniqueness...but... have never been disappointed at Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Bar Room at Modern, Manhatta (even loved Marta, RIP). I have also eaten at the bar solo at every one of them and generally had very gracious bartenders who seem very accustomed to people dining at the bar.