Black bean hummus tartine at Le Pain Quotidien

Today I was supposed to meet Sean in midtown near Grand Central Station, but after waiting 20 minutes on the humid subway platfom, they announced there were no downtown trains running. Once on the street, I waited for the bus in the rain, with my umbrella blowing, getting really hungry — I realized I hadn’t had lunch. Finally the bus came — not a limited bus, which operates more like an express, but rather, one that makes regular stops along 5th Avenue. If you’re not in a rush, it’s a stylish, glamorous ride down the Upper East Side along Central Park. You glide by where First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis used to live, the Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Plaza Hotel. But, if you’re in a rush, it takes FOREVER. And it feels more annoying each time the bus lurches and grinds to an abrupt halt at every stop. Isn’t it funny how it makes such a difference whether you’re in a rush or not? I was clearly going to be very late, so when Sean called and said not to worry about meeting up because he was also delayed, I hopped off the bus around 86th St. Needed to eat. So hungry.

I remembered Le Pain Quotidien is at 86th and Madison Avenue, which is a Belgian cafe chain that serves up croissants, pastries, tartines (open-faced sandwiches), and coffee. It was, I believe, the first one in Manhattan in the late ’90s. Now there are like 14 or something. I first discovered Le Pain Quotidien during my graduate school days at Columbia University when I lived with my roommates Yasmina and Betsy. To take a break from studying, we would trek from Columbia to the Upper East Side every few weeks, and treat ourselves to breakfast or lunch at Le Pain Quotidien. And because Yasmina is Belgian, we came to know about it in the first place. I’ve since been to Le Pain Quotidien in Belgium and Luxembourg. Even now, more than ten years later, I still think of Yasmina and Betsy whenever I walk into Le Pain Quotidien. Today was no exception.

As I found a spot at the cozy communal table and stuck my umbrella in a corner, I settled in for my lunner (yes, something between lunch and dinner, I call ‘lunner’ — when I was 10 years old I saw it in a ‘Family Circus’ cartoon (do you remember that cartoon?) and thought it was just fantastic, never forgot it). I ordered the “Organic Black Bean Hummus with avocado and spicy tahini” tartine along with a glass of iced chamomile mint tea — the tartine was suggested by my waiter, a warm, friendly guy, who excitedly told me that in terms of flavors, the  black bean hummus tartine was the clear choice over the “chick peas and cucumber” tartine.

When it arrived, I was immediately struck by the creamy, satiny slices of fresh avocado. The glossy sheen of them looked like something out of one of my mom’s oil paintings. I buy avocados all the time, but these were so shiny and ripe, with shades of soft green that seemed to disappear into each other. It seemed to be smiling at me. I like the crisp, cold crunch of the thinly sliced cucumber and red radish that always come with their tartines. The creamy black bean hummus was definitely in the background but a nice foil for the roasted peppers, avocado, tomatoes, scallions, and field greens piled on whole grain bread topped with paprika-tinged tahini sauce, sharpened by the raw radish and cucumber. It was a very summery tartine. And, it made a rainy day a little sunny.

Just so you don’t think that I think most of my encounters are wonderful, I do have pet peeves about Le Pain Quotidien. First, I find their croissants and pain au chocolats are dry compared to croissants and pain au chocolats in Europe. I never order them. Sorry, I’m being honest. I’m really picky about the authenticity of croissants. I like a few selected items on the menu and stick to those. Second, and most of all, the 86th St location has only one unisex restroom. Really? Seriously? Every time I go there, I always have to wait, because it’s always occupied. Waiting for the subway, waiting for the bus, waiting for the restroom. That’s Big Apple life, I suppose. On the upside, the restroom is quite large, and I really, really, really appreciate that it has a large wooden table, where one can put a purse/briefcase/small child, with ease. It’s the little things that matter, really.

As I was leaving, I thanked my waiter for his suggestion, to which he exclaimed, “I’m Palestinian! I need my flavors! I knew you would like that black bean hummus tartine!” His energy also made my rainy day a little sunnier. I walked up Madison Avenue to wait for the bus uptown to Harlem. It had stopped raining and was comfortably much cooler. The bus came in 5 minutes. Yay.