BBRRRING! BUTTERFIELD-ATE

Sitting on the median strip of Park Avenue, I felt slightly odd and derelict. There are artfully coiffed Begonia beds, but no benches as there are across town on the Upper West Side. There I sat and emptied my bag of provisions from Butterfield Market, the immaculate upscale grocery that's been in business since 1915 (and takes its name from the old Butterfield-8 phone exchange): a "tuna scoop" resting on a romaine leaf ($3.50) and a mini challah loaf ($1.25), which I deftly sliced in half with a plastic knife. Voila, I had a filling, fresh tuna sandwich, brightened by the taste of capers, and the best vista in the neighborhood. Later a friend told me that Butterfield actually has three outside tables where you can stand and perch with your prepared food. On a day when the Dow dropped another 400 points, it seemed somehow appropriate, though, to park my butt in the middle of Park Avenue and imagine laid-off investment bankers flocking here for lunch to join me. Weaned off their expensive restaurant meals, they would come with their "tuna scoops" and plastic knives, or bearing hot spinach ravioli in a foil tin, thankful that simple cravings can still be so easily and economically satisfied. -- Butterfield Market 1114 Lexington Ave. (Betw. 77th and 78th Sts.) 212-288-7800 -- Got a snack attack to share? Contact [NBrand@aol.com](mailto:NBrand@aol.com)