Something happened to me. A couple of years ago I hated eating alone at a restaurant. Now it feels like the new norm and I learned how to enjoy it. I’m not saying it was easy (God knows it wasn’t haha) but I’m finally ok with sharing a meal with no one myself. danny, my favorite partner in crime has been pretty busy with a new job he recently took and has no time to just go out for a meal. So the only way for me to keep writing about food on the blog is to cook more at home, which I do and of course going out by myself. At the beginning it felt weird and I ate as fast as I could. I hated it. Now I’m taking my time and it creates opportunities to talk to strangers. I know what you’re thinking… Talking to strangers is weird. I agree. But there are a few exceptions. Like yesterday I had lunch at El Presidente, a new taco place on 24th St. At the end of my lunch a guy (who will tell me later that he is the owner of the place, Dario Wolos) sat next to me and engaged me to know what I ordered and what I thought about the food. Sure he probably saw me taking pictures of my lunch and was curious to get some feed back but it wasn’t just that. When I go out by myself, I see that the staff is nicer, I very often get a table or seat that has direct light and I get to see how everything goes at the restaurant because I have nothing else to do but look at what is going on around me. What I’m trying to say to you is that eating alone is not always depressing, it can be quite nice actually.
Today I’m sharing a lunch I had (by myself) at Bakeri in Williamsburg. They recently opened a second location in Greenpoint and I discovered that tiny bakery/cafe for the first time this week, after Chloe left a comment on the Best baguette in NY post. (Thanks Chloe!)
I had a cortado (so hipster of me), a lavender shortbread (these days I’m into flowery fragrance, lavender in particular, no kidding?) and a salad.
It’s a nice tiny place with very tasty baked goods. The shortbread had a subtle lavender note and was covered with powdered sugar. The salad was good and nicely balanced even though the kale had a couple of big stems left.
Definitely a place you should visit if you’re in the neighborhood. It must be packed on the weekends, but you can still order to go!