[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]

At the Tribeca location of Birdbath on Church Street, the back wall is lined with packaged lunches perfect for the grab-and-go crowd. They're portioned in a variety of sizes; one could opt for anything from a light shrimp salad to fried chicken, fresh cut fruit salads or a full meal of buttery smoked chicken ($5), sliced thin and served chilled over a bed of chopped kale salad. The salad is stellar (and also available plain for $5), packed with whole toasted hazelnuts and dotted in grated cheddar cheese. The dressing is applied sparingly; it's refreshing, with bursts of lemon and garlic. Craving lighter foods as the weather warms? Put this salad on your list.

Also worth nothing is that Birdbath now sells City Bakery's deservedly popular Mac & Cheese: $5 for a small or $6.50 for a large. Go for the large and ask for a good portion of that well-browned and crunchy crust. Even better, next to the Mac & Cheese is the French Toast—another City Bakery classic and a recent introduction to Birdbath. $3 for a triangular cut, it's beautifully caramelized, no fork and knife required. Finish on one of the many flavors of kombucha from Kombucha Brooklyn and you've packed yourself quite the lunch to-go.

Birdbath

200 Church Street, New York NY 10013 (map)
buildagreenbakery.com

About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan writes A Passion For Food, where she chronicles her eats and travels adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.