*Cafe Zest w/ C

C came all the way from the Financial District to have lunch with me! I met her and her partner at an NYU LGBT graduate students event and it's been amazing to see these women kick butt. I'm happy to say that C is part of the JP family and will be starting a new fantastic assignment on 9/8. She's so excited about this job that she is foregoing a week off to attend meetings! She is such a superstar. B is starting a new fantastic business. And they are tying the knot in a couple of months and are in the midst of planning and getting paperwork done in Massachusetts. It was so great to catch up.

I picked Cafe Zest for out little lunch date. At my previous firm, I used to go to its parent Cafe Zaiya for terrific packaged Japanese yummies and...Beard Papa! My co-worker E told me that they were opening a place right on our office block and I've been dying to go. It is bright, clean and airy (if not a bit narrow). There is a terrific choice of salads (soba salad, udon salad), sandwiches (I had a nice fried fish sandwich), bento boxes, sushi, onigiri and yummy pastries (I can't eat them but you should)! D must be sooooo jealous because I know she'd be eating here every day (there's Calpico!). There's a great little dining area in the back with sky lights. I get to have actual rays of the sun helping me make vitamins! A fabulous addition to the multitude of Japanese food in the area: SEO, Menchanko Tei, Sushi Express, Haru, Katsu-Hama, Sakagura...