Restaurant: The City Bakery

City Bakery
Flatiron
3 West 18th Street, near 5th Avenue
Mon-Fri, 7:30am-7pm; Sat, 7:30am-6:30pm; Sun, 9am-6pm; closes half an hour early daily in summer
Subway: 4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R, W at 14th St.-Union Sq.; F, V at 14th St.; 1 at 18th St.


My old boss used to refer to the stream of morning fashion-industry traffic that streamed through here as "the bitches' parade." The people-watching is good, all right. City Bakery is a bakery, yes, and many come for their hot chocolate, their famous cookies, or the pretzel croissant. But the lunch "salad bar" - a selection of inventively-prepared green-market veggies, plus sandwiches, a beloved mac and cheese and a thick tomato-vegetable soup, make it a lunch destination both for eating in and taking out.

Restaurants: Lady M. Cake Boutique

Lady M
UPPER EAST SIDE
41 41 East 78th Street (Between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue)
Subway: 6 to 78th Street
If you can't get into Sabarsky - or maybe even if you can - this elegant, sleek, ritzy little pastry shop is an amazing between-museums cake-and-coffee spot. Expensive, but the cakes are terrific.
SNACKS/REST STOPS; SWEETS

Restaurants: Cafe Sabarsky

Cafe Sabarsky
UPPER EAST SIDE
1048 Fifth Ave. nr. 86th St.
Subway: 4/5/6 to 86th Street

The Neue Gallery is a great museum, but Sabarsky is worth a visit no matter what. It's not just the best place for a bite around here, but one of the best in the city. The cafe is a replica of an elegant Viennese pastry shop, and the sweets are amazing. It gets crowded in the afternoons, but it's worth holding out for a table in the upstairs cafe for a coffee and a piece of strudel. It's also wonderful for breakfast, and never crowded. Plus, you can get a jump on the museum lines!

Restaurants: LEXINGTON CANDY

Lexington Candy
UPPER EAST SIDE
1226 Lexington at 83rd Street
Subway: 4/5/6 to 86th Street
An oasis of semi-normalcy on the UES, the LCS is a 20's-vintage luncheonette, a perfect spot for cinnamon toast and cocoa, or a cup of coffee or a soda between museums.
SNACKS/REST STOPS; OLD NEW YORK; BREAKFAST