Van Horn Sandwich Shop - Brooklyn

Love is Four Letter Word: P-O-R-K
I've been away from Brooklyn for three long months. Enough time for someone talented to plop down an excellent southern-style sandwich shop near my apartment.  They call themselves Van Horn and they must have sold their souls to the devil.  They made me a pulled pork sandwich for lunch that singlehandedly removed both my jetlag and the bonechill I'd acquired on the walk over.

Karloff - Brooklyn

Swiss-Knife Cafe
Everyone who walked in did what I did - looked around, a bit confused, trying to figure out the newly opened cafe that took over the old Tea Lounge space.  They want to cover all the bases, serving a strange mix of Eastern European comfort food, ice cream, baked goods, coffee and even smoothies.  I didn't stay befuddled too long, I was coming off an eight-hour conference call and was starving.  I glanced at the menu and chose the first thing I saw - chicken meatloaf with mashed potatoes.

Sweet Melissa - Brooklyn

An Old Sweet-Tooth Favorite
I'm headed back to Paris today and saved Sweet Melissa for last. This is one of the four places in NY I would confidently take a Parisian for baked goods (the others are Baked, Trois Pommes and Amy's). It's a patisserie/cremerie/sit-down brunch/lunch spot. It's one of those rare places where I like everything they make and is named after a real person, Melissa, who can often be seen hunched over a bowl of dough, covered in flour, a big smile on her face. She loves baking and you can taste it, especially in the almond brioche bread pudding. Unlike other versions, hers is light, moist and brimming with flavor.

Hibino - Brooklyn

Japanese Lunch to Drown the Sorrows
I'm headed back to Paris on Saturday for a long spell. As spoiled as it sounds, I'm sad about it. I hate being away from NYC in the summer. As my time winds down here each meal takes on a special feeling. "This is the last time I will eat this food at this spot, blah-blah-blah" and other overblown sad-boy talk. I'm revisiting favorites, of which Hibino is one. We went for some Japanese home-cooking and I was sure to get some pork Gyoza, which were part of a lunch set.