microwave

On New Year’s Eve, Amanda and I celebrated with nobody else, but watched the live feed from Times Square, while eating microwaved burritos in bed.

“These rocks are like microwaves,” she said, quickly dipping them in buckets of water to remove the ash.

For people who really need a hot meal, the office microwave just doesn’t cut it — no one wants their pho coming out smelling like popcorn and old pasta sauce.

From the outside, the building is modest, but inside, the recently renovated lobby is bright and welcoming, with plenty of seating and a communal microwave that’s surprisingly handy.

Like the bodegas of New York, they have become part of the fabric of contemporary urban life, multifunctional spaces that can be restaurants or coffee shops or bars with microwaves and outdoor seating.