From Bagels to Boba — A Design Team Reunion

This March, the design team reunited in NYC to celebrate the BentoBox office reopening. For some of us, this was our first time meeting in real life after many months of working remotely. Those of us that live closer to New York took a bus or car, while some of us flew in or took the train. Stay tuned for some of our favorite meals, activities, and highlights of the week.

Day 1 — Meeting at last

Black Seed Bagel

Morning

• Kayla: The first thing I wanted when I got to New York, was a good New York bagel, and where else to go other than Black Seed. I indulged in a sesame bagel with cream cheese, avocado, and tomato, and boy did it live up to the expectations.
• Robine: I got into the city early enough to grab a coffee at La Colombe. Their oat latte on draft is a must — it’s delightfully frothy and easy to drink. No more than a half-hour into being at work did I acquire the Trifecta of Beverages on my desk: A drink for fun, a drink to stay hydrated, and a drink to stay awake.
• Jordyn: My true love is La Colombe Oatmilk Draft Latte, and I knew as soon as I was back in NYC I needed to get a cup. It was definitely the right call; while getting my coffee, I bumped into Robine, which was my first time meeting her in person! I grabbed a croissant (you can’t beat a good NYC croissant) and we walked to the office together!

Sunrise Mart

Afternoon

• Kayla: Something about a grocery mart / cafe immediately gets me excited. The packed aisles of Sunrise Mart are overwhelming but exciting. I chose to get my favorite spicy salmon onigiri and decided to finally try their famous chicken katsu curry.
• Karen: Can’t go wrong with a shrimp tempura roll and some fresh seaweed salad!
• James: Chicken Katsu, oh how I missed you. So grateful they didn’t run out of the fries.

Cha Cha Matcha

• Kayla: Ask me a few years ago, and I would have told you I hated matcha... Cha Cha Matcha has changed my mind on that statement. On our quick beverage break, I got an iced chai matcha latte. The spices mixed with the matcha created the perfect pick me up for the afternoon slump.
• Jordyn: Midday slump is a real thing, and no one can tell me otherwise. We took a break from our work and went out for some refreshing matcha lemonade at Cha Cha Matcha; Kayla, Robine and I sit and enjoy our drinks in the cafe for a bit, chat, and enjoy the hustle and bustle of NYC before heading back. I think I miss NYC fashion the most, and I’m not saying that because I was jealous of the guy dressed in a rockin’ button-up dress, long sweater vest, and cowboy boots (I was immensely jealous).

La Palapa

Evening

• Kayla: La palapa was a crowd favorite when we had our Friday company lunches. For many of us, this was our first time going to the restaurant in person. We enjoyed a plethora of tacos, dips, and chips.
• Karen: Can’t go wrong with some queso fundido and guac to share for the whole table. We each got a few tacos as fuel for the night.
• James: I told the team I would not be drinking night one to preserve my singing voice for the next night. A few rounds of frozen margs and we found ourselves at a karaoke bar singing our hearts out.

Day 2 — So that happened

La Colombe Draft Latte

Morning

• Kayla: La Colombe was a morning ritual while in NYC. The nostalgia of waiting in line for an iced oat milk latte brought me right back to what used to be my morning routine. The smell was exactly how I remember, and more importantly, the coffee was better than I remembered.
• Robine: I didn’t realize how much I missed Monday morning bagels at the office until I saw a tray of those beautiful baked rings out in the kitchen. There was a variety of bagels and spreads for the taking, like a tasty jalapeno cream cheese spread. Nothing soothes the pain of a late night out as carbs do.

Chow House

Afternoon

• Kayla: Chow house was a go-to lunch spot for the design team. With endless options for lunch, it was always exciting to try something new, but… since it has been so long, I went with my old faithful, mapo tofu. Chow house was one of the first spots to introduce me to mapo tofu, and to this day, it’s one of my favorite dishes.
• James: Chow house was the new kid on the block while we were in our old office space a few years back. It was good to see our old friend.

Boba Guys

• Robine: After having a big meal with a group, the next logical question you ask is “Should we get boba?” I have a second stomach for moments like this, and there was a perfectly placed Boba Guys on the way back to the office after lunch. I got their Banana Milk bubble tea which had the right amount of sweetness and, paired with boba, tasted exactly like banana bread.
• Jordyn: Post-lunch at the fantastic Chow House (a moment of silence for the soup dumplings we were unable to get), we walked along Houston and found a new Boba shop called “Boba Guys”. When in Rome, right? I tried their Coffee Boba for a little pick-me-up pre-Company Happy Hour, and it was definitely the right call; but when is boba not?

James Gate at the office reopening

Evening

• James: I had the pleasure of playing for my co-workers at our office reopening. My first show ever in the greatest city in the world and I seized the opportunity to sing Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” during my encore. If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere!
• Jordyn: There was so much excitement in the office as we got to the actual Happy Hour; the day was already pretty crazy with so many people in the office, but actually getting to talk to people you’d only been slacking or zoom-meeting with was incredible. Special shoutout to James for being a one-man live band, which was so so fun (and for playing Mr Brightside, the one song I always request and never get to hear live when I do). I have to say, meeting everyone that you’d only known via the zoom squares was pretty incredible.

We haven’t seen some of our team members for over two years. Some we hadn’t met in person outside of our zoom squares ever! It still felt like we didn’t miss a day, picking up right where we left off. We shared a whole lot of great meals, fancy drinks, and sing-screamed all our favorite songs. We left our mark on NYC and have the pictures to prove it. Can’t wait until the next design team outing.