Chelsea is one of those neighborhoods I just don’t find myself in very often, unless I’m passing through on my way to somewhere else. Today, however, I met a friend for lunch at New Venus, a diner on 8th Ave.

For people who don’t really eat meat and prefer fish that doesn’t come in a can, diners can be kind of tricky if you’re not in the mood for grilled cheese or spanikopita or totally just had an omelet/lentil soup/waffles time you went to a diner and it’s too cold for salad, etc, etc.

I lucked out at New Venus today, though—one of their specials was baked tofu-and-spinach patties with steamed veggies and brown rice (plus soup).

True, my inner 12-year-old thought “I can’t be the only one who thinks those patties look a bit like boobs,” but at least I didn’t think to use the peas or carrots to make nipples—there was a time in my life I’d totally have done that. I wonder if, in a past life, I owned an erotic bakery in Pompeii or something. Of any ancient society, I bet the Romans would be the ones to be into that kind of thing.

Anyway, this tasted pretty damn good. Cheers to New Venus and the funny-looking tofu-spinach patties.