Yesterday I tried two examples of total culinary perfection for the first time:

1. The double-smoked, hand-cut bacon at Schaller & Weber on 2nd Avenue, recommended to me by reader Liz (served here with scrambled eggs). It’s deeply smoky and satisfying, with just a hint of sugar, and cooks perfectly even in my bottom-shelf frying pan. I woke up at 8AM this morning to walk Virgil and immediately had to eat some more. 

2. The lobster roll at Pearl Oyster Bar (I forgot to take a pic; image via Alwayshungryny.com). I went to Maine with my parents every summer when I was a kid, so I’m a bit of a lobster snob – I generally never order the stuff outside of state lines – but this one was better than any lobster roll found in Ogunquit. Better! Tons and tons of mayo, and a crazy-soft, buttery roll. And oh, the shoestring fries. More, please.