Snackish

One chilly morning last week, at a Pret a Manger on the edge of Union Square, the Roca brothers came in from the cold. They were visiting New York on a twenty-four-hour furlough from El Celler de Can Roca, their dining establishment in northeast Spain, which, according to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, a list issued annually by Restaurant magazine, is currently the best on the planet. Joan (head chef), Josep (sommelier), and Jordi (desserts) were dressed in dark parkas that did not look quite up to the weather. The plan had been to visit the Greenmarket across the street, but they were hesitating. “It’s cold in Spain this time of year,” Jordi said, nibbling nonjudgmentally on a Pret croissant. “But not like this.”