The Fit Post

A gray and hazy morning, filled with an incessant drizzle of rain…made even worse by a bluster of wind every now and then – all in all the City doing its best to ruin my mom’s fresh new cut from Bumble and Bumble.  In town visiting for the weekend, I needed a warm place close by to take her for brunch.  Thank god for Le Pain Quotidien (pronounced luh paN koh-ti-dyaN) and its 19 locations in Manhattan – another in Westchester but that’s too far of a trek for a bread basket.

French for ‘daily bread,’ Le Pain Quotidien first cropped up in Brussels and then made its way (thankfully) to the States.  With a low-key West Coast vibe, each ‘seat yourself’ location includes a long communal table as well as individual areas for anti-social seating (i.e. for my mom and I).  The flooring and furniture include reclaimed wood and recycled Gypsum, lit with energy-efficient lamps.  Even the corn-based disposable cups and spoons are made from potato starch to degrade completely within a week or two.   As much as I try to channel my inner Captain Planet to enjoy the restaurant’s ‘Green’ features… I really just come for the food.

The menu promotes simple, nourishing food.  I got the Organic Red Quinoa Basil Pesto Salad with an order of Farro Cranberry Porridge and Walnuts.  My mom filled up on her nutrients with a double order of the Seaweed Miso Dressing Salad and Avocado and Tomato Organic Egg Omelette.  We each received a side basket of bread made with only organic stone ground flour, salt and water – kneaded by hand (total order: $40).  If I were to come back later in the day, the Asparagus and Parm Bruschetta sounds amazing not to mention it would be hard to pass by their Organic wine list and patisserie of desserts.

First chocolate…now healthy eats – who’s ready to move to Brussels?!

~ by Maggie on November 15, 2009.

Posted in Organic, Sit Down Restaurants