Day 14
Cafe Hanover
5 Hanover Sq.
Nov. 10, 2006

326 steps later I found myself once again at Cafe Hanover, where I had pretty much gone every day for lunch prior to the tour. How I had have missed it; life on the road can be thrilling, but there's no place like home.

I was immediately greeted with the steamy smell of everything mixed together, which is actually quite pleasant in the case of Cafe Hanover, since everything they serve is fantastic. The scene was exotic in it's exquisite familiarity; the giant hot food/salad bar, the sushi station, the sandwich city, and my old friends behind the register efficiently sending people on their way with the best lunches in all of manhattan. Cafe Hanover also has quite a bit of seating. It is huge.

I decided, in the spirit of Lunch Tour, to order the one thing I almost never ordered - the Korean Soft Tofu soup. Its preparation involves bravery and extreme coordination - clay pots bubble and froth over large gas fires, manged by fearless and fireproof culinauts wielding tongs. They will generally crack an egg into it unless you tell them not to. The tofu soup comes with yellow korean pickle shavings and a seaweed salad both of which are exotic and wonderful. Preparation is startlingly efficient - never is a second wasted.

"Hey, where have you been?" "ummmm....here and there..." I didn't have the energy or the presence of mind to try to explain Southern NYC Lunch tour, but left happy to give Cafe Hanover the highest possible recommendation, since they blow away anything I've run into so far in my wanderings. And only 329 steps back, including leap thursdays.