A Dinner to Remember

Thursday dawned bright and early, and again I was far from rested. I finally decided it wasn't the time zone or a lack of tiredness keeping me awake, but a lack of Mr. Y. Who would have thought a few nights without snoring would be a bad thing for getting some sleep!?

Anyway, Thursday was the day I had both lunch and dinner plans with some of my favorite coworkers. Our lunch location was still undecided, but dinner was planned for the best restaurant I would try in NY, Bar Boulud, another of famed chef Daniel Boulud's creations.

The morning passed quickly in our small conference room full of papers and boxes.
I met my coworkers, J and V in the building lobby and was excited when they indicated they would like to eat at 'Wichcraft! I had been torn between two sandwich selections on Wednesday, so ordering on Thursday would not be a problem.
Bryant Park was beautiful--I wish we had a place like that to eat somewhere near my usual office.
V ordered the meatloaf sandwich:
J had the roasted turkey:
And I had the best tuna sandwich ever created: pole-caught tuna with fennel, black olives, aioli & lemon on a baguette: The birds were not shy about loitering nearby and waiting for the crumbs (New York birds eat well, too):
We spent the afternoon sorting the remaining documents and preparing them for shipment. Everyone in the group had separate dinner plans: Southern Chick was meeting up with a coworker friend to get some NY Chinese food; Dude had a work dinner; and the Boss was going to try the Prime Grill, a kosher steakhouse, with one of coworkers (I was a little jealous missing out on that one, but I've heard they have an LA location so there is a good chance I'll be trying it in the near future).

I met J in the lobby again (unfortunately V had to work late and couldn't make it), and we headed for the subway. I generally take BART when I go to SF, and I've taken the Metro in DC, the Metrolink in St. Louis and the L in Chicago, but there was something extra cool about riding the NY subway (people were kind enough to not obviously look at me like I was an idiot for takng a few pics). When we emerged into daylight again, we were in a completely different world. Sure, every buiding was still extremely tall, but this part of town (near Lincoln Center) was much more full of shops and housing than mere offices and lunchtime eateries.
Bar Boulud, as expected, was extremely cool.
Before we were even settled in our seats, they greeted us with complementary cheesy puffed rolls (not sure what they were called, as I was too busy admiring and photographing them to listen to the waiter).
For an appetizer, we shared the mesclun provencal and the salade de tomates de varietes a l'anciennes. I normally salt the heck out of salad without even tasting it, but this time I was glad there was no salt on the table because the flavors were incredible. I especially enjoyed the crispy fried artichoke leaves on the mesclun provencal.
They also brought some fabulous bread and some salted butter (my favorite!).
For the main course, I ordered the boeuf aux carottes, a braised flatiron steak that was incredibly tender and well-seasoned.
J ordered the steak frites, which was seasoned and cooked perfectly and served with french fries and a small salad.
For dessert, we shared the gateau basque, a custard cake that tasted like a very moist lemon poundcake.
After dinner, we walked around the neighborhood for a bit and J showed me some of his favorite places. We passed by the famous Magnolia Bakery--it had just closed, and thus saved my waistline from further expansion.
I loved all the little grocery stores with their displays of fresh flowers.
This business was especially fond of its own logo: