See you at Times Square, 9 a.m. sharp

This was the view outside my first meeting yesterday at 4 Times Square. Can't beat that view in a big city. (BTW, getting past security at the Conde Nast building is like trying to get in Fort Knox. I always end up calling the reporter I'm supposed to be meeting with to ask them to come get me since they take forever to let me up.)

The editor I met with and I discussed what chefs in Cleveland are reinventing examples of our city's "working man" dishes, which was a fun conversation. I think Michael Symon and Matt Fish (Melt) are doing it well with Lola's beef cheek pierogi and Melt's Parmageddon grilled cheese. Anyone else have other examples?

The pork buns at Momofuku Ssam Bar during lunch were to die for. I went with the prix fixe option, which is reasonable, offers choices and is oh-so-delicious. My dining mate ordered the opposite selections of what I ordered, so I was able to try a lot of different dishes. We also ordered paper-thin slices of Broadbent's country ham, which was amazing. And, I tried unfiltered (cloudy) sake for the first time.

The rest of my meetings went well. I met up with a friend/former client for dinner in the East Village, where she lives. We ate sushi at a dive in Little Japan and tried sake sangria, which was surprisingly good. Then she took me to McSorely's, NYC's oldest saloon for mini pints. It was jam-packed, so we didn't last long. We made our way to the swanky bar at Cooper Square Hotel (the Ginger Diablo was yummy) and then called it a night.

Tomorrow, I have a meeting over coffee in the morning and then I head back home.