Lunch with Joyce Carol Oates

Bryant Park's summer series of outdoor readings and discussions by celebrated authors continued this week with an idol of ours, an icon at Cafe Drake . . . Ms. Joyce Carol Oates. Again she regaled the audience with witty banter and serious explorations of her often unsettling literary themes, and again, we're glad we braved the lunchtime heat and humidity for this best of NYC's free outdoor activities.

Lunch was take-out from nearby Sukhadia's (17 West 45th St, NYC, 10018, 212/395-7300) buffet table ($5/lb) and Cafe Drake snacked on South Indian goodness while enjoying Ms. Oates "performance". Among Sukhadia's (ever-changing) offering of delicacies this day were patra (steamed taro leaves filled with chickpea flour and spices), batata vada (deep fried potato croquettes drizzled with sweet and sour chutneys and yogurt) and a spellbinding puree of mustard and turnip greens, thickened with cornmeal and dotted with fiery slices of green and red chiles.