Daily bread

One last run in Central Park.  That’s how Kyle and I spent our morning before we said goodbye to the big apple. 

I actually ended up pulling a weird groin muscle on the run, but let’s just pretend it was all hunky-dory and nicely bookended our trip. 

Post-cardio, we showered, checked out of the hotel, and hit up Le Pain Quotidien for brunch. 

 

In case you were wondering, Le Pain Quotidien translates to "the daily bread."  Mastering the pronunciation, on the other hand, is not my area of expertise.  Their website offered little help with this tutorial: luh paN koh-ti-dyaN.  A nice suggestion, but I still don’t get it. 

You say pahn, I say payn…tomato, tomahhhto.

There are a ton of locations throughout Manhattan.  Our old apartment was around the corner from this one. 

The downstairs has to-go coffee, baked goods, and “their daily breads.”

And a beautiful assortment of tasty treats.  Kyle wouldn’t let me check any bags flying home, so I couldn’t get any of the fancy preserves or nut butters, but the Belgian praline spread had me drooling before we even sat down to eat. 

 

Upstairs they have rows of communal tables for seated meals.  I had a nice spot that allowed me to peek into the kitchen and watch the chefs prep the meals. 

I’m kinda bummed I wasn’t in the mood for savory, because they had so many vegan specials that sounded awesome.  So fresh!  It’s so odd how you can be smack dab in the heart of Manhattan and still feel like you’re eating farm to table. 

 

Anyway.  We started with a pot of coffee (times two) and soy milk (times two).

 

Kyle got the vegetable quiche which came with a side salad and melon.

I think he wanted the entire quiche. 

His piece was gone before I even dipped into my breakfast.

I got steel cut oats (made with water) topped in fresh berries.  Nothing fancy, just what I craved.  I used the extra soy milk from my coffee to pour on top. 

 

Steel cut oats are so chewy!  I love the texture – this meal was a good reminder for me to buy this version of the grain in the future. 

After brunch we walked down Fifth Avenue…

FNO pride.

 

US pride.

 

Tina Fey? 

We sat down to soak up the last few moments in the middle of the city’s hustle and bustle…when these bells rang in the hour, scaring the crap out of us. 

And then it was time to head back to the hotel.  :( 

Can you believe I went to New York and didn’t once go to Starbucks or Whole Foods!?!  It was one of my goals going into the trip (as well as trying as many new places as possible)…so I would say the weekend was a success all around. 

It certainly didn’t make me want to move back (I’m a CA girl and that’s never going to change), but it did refresh my perspective on where New York’s dining scene fits in with the rest of my travels.  Not that you asked, but in my opinion, there’s no city that comes close to New York.  The restaurants are just on another level. 

Lucky for me, Los Angeles isn’t too far behind.

I had more Liquiteria cookies while we commuted on the LIRR. 

Checking in at JetBlue was relatively painless.  It helps when you don’t have 10 ounces of hummus to explain…

The new terminal is so awesome.  Very Whole-Foods-esque with the salad bar and vegetarian-friendly to-go options. 

 

Kyle got vegan sesame noodles, which he said were kinda dry, but it was better than the (greasy) alternative.

I made a monstrosity of a salad. 

 

I for sure cannot even begin to remember what was in there.  It went on forever and took a delightful 30+ minutes to eat.

There was more, too (vegan dumplings, grape/raspberry water). 

Kyle and I tried to bet each other how much our airport food total would be.  He guessed $60 and (thank goodness) was way off.  I guessed $30 but I was too low.  Yikes! 

In addition to the above, we got another banana and water, but it really wasn’t that much stuff!  I’d still rather pay the ridiculous price and have decent options when flying though.  If it comes down to Sbarro slices or chalking up an extra Andrew Jackson, I will gladly go with the latter.  You?

What do you think the foodie capital of the world is?  Where’s your favorite city to dine?