Foraging at Yagura in Midtown

I packed the foods that would make up my lunch carefully: bright green arugula, crispy kale, a few clementines. I knew I had bacon from The Piggery in the fridge at the office and I envisioned a delicious stir fry. But somehow I managed to leave the entire bag on the table as I rushed to work.

I work in Midtown and while some street vendors make delicious and cheap food, it usually makes me feel kind of sick later. There are a smattering of healthy eateries, such as The Pump and Free Foods, but they require you exchange your entire paycheck for a measly salad. For the price of their food I could buy a bag of groceries....and I would, but unfortunately Midtown Manhattan does not have any real grocery stores.

Fortunately they do have some smaller stores, like Yamagura on 41st. While I'm not crazy about their greasy cafe, they have a wide selection of fresh vegetables. For under $10 I bought organic beech mushrooms, wakame seaweed, pretty tiny Japanese yams, black sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, and some flavorful greens. They might not have locally grown food, but everything is nutritious.

The bacon from The Piggery is perfect: not too salty, so it can actually be paired with nearly anything. I sauteed the mushrooms with bacon and made a delicious side salad of seaweed and greens sprinkled withsome sesame and red pepper. Today I roasted the yams in a toaster oven and topped them with bacon and ate that alongside the same tasty salad. I'm glad it's possible for me to back these kind of meals even if I am absent minded. I think more people would eat like this if offices encouraged cooking. All you really need is small plug in range and a toaster oven to make tasty meals.It might take time off of work, but healthy employees do better work and it might even save some money on health insurance.