Num Pang Sandwich Shop, 140 East 41st St., Manhattan

I have started taking yoga classes for the first time ever. I got a Groupon for $39 for unlimited classes 7 days a week, and for an unemployed person, this is a hell of a bargain. In the first five days I have been to four classes! I like it. I have always liked stretching and it is very stretching-focused. Probably if I was doing it right, it would be more strength-focused, too. And it is more spiritual than anything I have attempted since religion. There are several minutes at the end of every class where you're just supposed to lie there in the dark (they dim the lights) and think about your connectedness to the earth and the energy in your body and whatnot. Even better, the instructor goes around with lavender-scented oil on her hands and gives your temples and forehead a micro-massage during this quiet time...that is ecstasy. Anyway I am sure the rest of the 60 minutes I look like an idiot because I am swiveling my head around to see how everyone else does the poses, and then I am probably doing the poses wrong. But who cares?

The yoga studio is in east midtown, close to the East River. I get off the subway at Grand Central and between there and the studio I spotted Num Pang Sandwich Shop, with a promising line of customers. It is a to-go place. I went after class last night, and ordered the coconut shrimp sandwich. It was wonderful! It was similar to what I got from Bao Noodles a while back, albeit more expensive ($7.75). I think this is Vietnamese food, yes? I want more of these sandwiches.