Le Pain Molskine

It's not just my Moleskine who likes to hang out at Le Pain Quotidien. I'm a fan of the 1131 Madison ave. branch near 84th street. The light is particularly good there for doodling, reading and taking table shots. Hey there's a café au lait bol hanging out!I love the long spacious common table. The condiment bottles sail across that broad expanse like ships - think of the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria..it's like a landscape to my eyes.You can pretty much pick out what you want to eat by looking at your neighbor's plate. Guess I'm "outer-directed" but it works for me. "Ah..I'll have what he's having please?" This is the Paris Jambon with 3 mustards plate. The food is delicious and plentyful. Though an overseas Le Pain fan said we're getting bigger portions in the US.Hmmm..that's not going to help the national waistline problem Le Pain :( Please give us those tiny postage stamp portions the French are famous for... OH heck nevermind. Just look at this lush plate - the Mediterranean Tartine - Ricotta, Prosciutto, Pesto, Olives + Tartines. What's a tartine you ask? It's a hunk of bread on which you can slather anything you like - an of open face sandwich that works for breakfast or lunch. Le Pain usually gives you 3 different types of bread, all very homey, all made from organic stone ground flour. Le Pain Quotidien is a Belgian company BTW started in 1990. Quotidien means everyday things and Le Pain's common table is full of them. I fell so hard for this little milk jug that I went on a quest to the Bowery's restaurant supply stores and bought 4 of them. I love the reflections and metal is always a challange to paint. The common table allows you to overhear conversations too. Often strangers start conversing across their tartines and by the end of they meal their exchanging email adresses. Where else can that happen in New York?I used to focus only on Le Pain's delightful desserts (the Belgian Brownie was a repeat performer.) I'd walk in, get my brownie and walk out. But then I discovered the the joys of sitting down at the big table and combining eating, sketching and shooting.There's always a delicious trio of Le Pain's homey brand of apricot preserve, REAL hazelnut nutella, and 4 red fruits preserve just waiting for you to help yourself on the table. And if you've got a bit of leftover crust from your tartine, and who hasn't left their crusts, since we're all watching our carbs like hawks... Well then you can end your meal with a sweet by dabbing on spoonful of jam or a glop of their outrageous hazelnut nutella. YUM!