Monthly Archives: July 2012

Best Meal So Far In Buffalo

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— post started yesterday because this week has been a little crazy —

I overslept this morning and tried to kill two birds with one stone by talking the dog out for a run.  It turned into a 1.2 mile drag.  What a waste of a sports bra!  Heading towards the house we were flying and heading away from the house I could barely get him to walk.  We did work up a sweat though.

It wasn’t the most exciting tour day, I had errands to run so I took my parents to the much-lauded visitors spots of BSC, Wegman’s, and and a long walk down Elmwood (actually those all kind of are visitor spots!).

Dopio espresso with tons of skim milk and vanilla sugar and campus.

Fruit at Wegmans.

Beyond delicious strawberry, watermelon, and mango.

In the afternoon we went to the outlet mall and I totally scored.  My parents bought me a wallet since my old one was disgusting and I purchased six fancy shirts, officially finishing my shopping prep for next semester’s internship.  Plus, I got to cash in my most exciting birthday month coupon.

Ben and Jerry’s, I love you.  Coconut Seven Layer Bar and Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz.

Dinner was fabulous.  We tried to go somewhere else on Hertel and when that was closed we were lucky enough to wander down to Mes Que.

It ended up being the best meal we’ve had in Buffalo!!

We got the cheese plate to start.

Manchego, Maytag Blue, Boucheron, Grana Padano.

My plates –

My favorite was the Grana Padano, an Italian hard cheese that had little bits of crackle.

My parents and I shared for our entrée and I got to try every single dish that sounded good to me!  First a salad course.  Mesclun, bacon, dried cranberries, goat cheese, avocado, and sherry vinaigrette.

Arugula, strawberries, feta, walnuts, blush wine vinaigrette, and a balsamic reduction.

My plate –

Fabulous.  The salads were perfectly dressed.

Then our final course, pizza.

Clockwise from the top left – (1) barbeque chicken, spinach, red onion, and cheddar jack.  (2) Goat cheese, asparagus pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, evoo, and pomegranate balsamic glaze.  (3) Chorizo, arugula pesto, roma tomatoes, and manchego cheese.

My plates –

And then I was stuffed and so happy I could die.  The end.

Today (now!) my parents and I are driving to Ohio to see my grandma.  We’ve got a long car trip ahead.  See you from another state.

New To Us

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Today was fun!  I love having visitors because it forces you to explore your own town.  We went to several new-to-us spots today and quite enjoyed them all.

Breakfast at Lake Effect Diner.

I’ve put off going for years but now we’ll be going back, soon.  I loved seeing this on the menu –

but I actually went with a vegan choice.

Vegan Burger – “house prepared veggie burger with blend of navy beans, barley, oats, vegetables, herbs, and accented with toasted sunflower seeds.”

I ate every bite, sans bun, topped with ketchup and red onion.

I also ate several bites from my dad’s turkey sausage.

I loved that menu was loaded with vegan, vegetarian, and poultry substitute options.

Lunch was consumed at the mall.  A piece of pretzel with tons of mustard.

Self-serve froyo, duh.

A little tart froyo, a lot of popping boba.

Plus an orange in the car.

Our main afternoon entertainment was wine tasting.

We went to Schulze, Niagara Landing, and A Gust of Sun and had many tasty pours.

We broke mid-tour to look at Lake Ontario.

Then finished up with a champagne toast.

Adam and I shared at several places so I think I drank a little less than last time.

We ate dinner at AcQua, which was good but not as good as it could/should have been.  Bread with butter to start.

x2.

I ordered the shrimp and scallop scampi for my meal.

I gave away 80% of my scallops and packed up 80% of my pasta for Adam’s lunch but adored the giant shrimp (dipped in cocktail sauce).

Dessert was the best thing going.

I ate half each of the last four macarons.

Pistachio, maple and apple, chocolate hazelnut caramel, and strawberry with marshmallow.  A delicious way to end the evening!

Macaron Mania

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My parents arrived safely last night and today we had a fantabulous first day of visiting.  I am crazy tired (those old folks will wear you out!) but I wanted to blog so I’d have all of my memories on record.

My mom and dad spent 5 days in Quebec before coming here and they came bearing all sorts of French Canadian goodies.  The best of which…

Macarons!  I’ve wanted try a real macaron for forever (real as in not my good but nontraditional coconut attempt) and I squealed with delight when I opened this box.

I managed not to eat any last night but I might have had two for breakfast.

Sea salt caramel and cassis violet.  Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!  They were everything I had imagined and more.  I can’t wait to try the rest of them.

I actually didn’t start my morning with cookies, but with yoga.  60 minute hot yoga class.  It was led by my favorite instructor but the series was different than usual and it was a lot of fun.  We did about a million squats.  Then I spent the rest of the day walking around and my legs are about to fall off.

Adam and my parents went to breakfast at Pano’s while I yoga’d and then we met for a walk around the farmer’s market.  From there we headed to Nickel City Cheese & Mercantile.

We got bread and cheese to share.

The man at the counter kindly sliced both for us so we could picnic on the benches out front.

Tarentaise and sourdough.

Both were amazing.  The cheese was mild with a nutty aftertaste and the bread was loaded with crunchy seeds.

I also ate my Pad See U leftovers in the car.

I didn’t manage to leave much behind last night!

We drove to East Aurora to explore.  We walked right into a street festival.

Our main destinations were Vidler’s (a giant five and dime),

and Firefly Cupcakes.

I got the Tropical Pineapple and it was even better than the key lime pie cupcake.

Pineapple cake with coconut cream cheese buttercream.

The frosting was the best part.

Then we drove back to Buffalo to walk on the waterfront.

Our visitors were very impressed with how close you could get to the water.

Cocktail hour was spent at Mixology.  I had a Shock Top,

and a cherry lemonade vodka with club soda.

It’s possible no one in our party made it to dinner entirely sober.

For dinner we introduced my parents to Adam’s favorite, India Gate.  Paneer pakora to start.

I had 1.5 pieces with lots of tamarind sauce.

For our main meal my mom, dad, and I split three dishes so we could try lots of tastes.

Plate #1 – Naan, chicken makhani, curry chicken, jasmine rice (under the chickens), chana masala, and a pickled okra dish that they gave us on the side.

Plate #2 – More okra and chick peas.

The chana masala was my favorite by far; that is going to be my standing order for now on!

My parents drank tea with dinner and it sounded so good that I ended up getting a skim chai latte when we walked the dog down Elmwood at the end of the night.

I slept terribly last night (I think I got less than 4 hours of sleep all total!) and I’m hoping to pass out the minute this post is published.  Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Have you ever tried a macaron?

Sun Shine

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My parents didn’t actually come to visit, not yet anyway.  They will be here soon (hopefully!) and it was a good day nonetheless.

Breakfast bowl.

Plain yogurt, sliced plums, fat-free sweetened condensed milk, and cinnamon.

1 – Cinnamon on yogurt is awesome.  2 – Having an open thing of SCM in the fridge has also been awesome.

When visitors come to town Adam and I like to pretend that we don’t regularly live in squalor so we cleaned the house.  Or rather, Adam cleaned the entire house and I made the bed and put away my own laundry.

Whatever, that bedspread hasn’t been on straight since the last time my parents were here.

For lunch we split a Mike’s Sandwich from The Spot.

I ordered, and when Adam asked me what we got I told him “a bagel with cholesterol, topped with cholesterol.”  Basically it’s an everything bagel with 2 eggs, melted provolone, and cream cheese.

It’s as amazing as it sounds.

Also amazing, was my workout.  60 minutes of hot yoga.  My standing series was pretty wobbly today but I made it further in a few of the seated poses than I have before.  I always leave the hot yoga classes feeling really, really happy.

Around 5, my dad called with some news.  The good news was they were still paying for dinner.  The bad news was they wouldn’t be eating with us.  I’m pissed that we lost a whole evening of visiting and fingers are crossed that they’ll be here at 10.

But we did have a fantastic dinner.  I keep a running list of ‘places to try’ on my cell phone and today we crossed off Sun Restaurant.

Sun sells Burmese and Thai cuisine and we tried a bit of both.

We started by sharing La Peth Thoat.  Burmese-style pickled tea leaf salad combined with crispy chana dal pea, fried garlic, onion, tomato, cabbage, peanuts, and lime juice.

I strongly liked it, Adam loved it.  The tea leaves and cabbage were delicious with the lime and the fried chickpeas (crispy chana dal pea) were fun to try.

I got Pad See U – ordered “Thai spicy” – as my entrée. Thai-style stir-fried wide rice noodles with thick sweet soy sauce, egg, broccoli, Napa cabbage, and bell pepper.

This was the best Thai food we’ve had in Buffalo!  My noodles were cooked perfectly and the dish was actually spicy.  I loved it.  I ate 2/3 of my plate and only managed to stop because I am so looking forward to having leftovers.

We split a Taro Custard for dessert.  Thai-style taro custard cake with coconut milk.

We’ve had this dessert at a couple of restaurants now and I think it’s just not our thing.  We both love the bites of taro but we always end up leaving food behind.

Please cross your fingers for us that my parents get in on time so we can have fun tomorrow!

Positive Turn Around

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I love it when a day I think it going to be bad ends up turning around to be good.  And thankfully most of the ones I assume will be good turn out good too!

I didn’t have high hopes for this day.  I stayed up until 3 am doing nothing and then slept through my workout.  Our evening plans got rained out.  My baking was a disaster.

But somehow things turned around.  The batter I got to lick off a spatula wasn’t half bad.

My bosses surprised me at work with a giant birthday basket.

This was so sweet and a definite factor in my mood change; I was very touched.

And my birthday gift from my in-laws arrived as well.

Among other things, they sent pictures from our visit to the Outer Banks.

Adam’s family takes a picture in front of that sign every year and I felt very special that I got join the tradition.

It’s impossible to be in a bad mood when you’ve got birthday presents to open.  And good food doesn’t hurt.  Cereal for breakfast.

1.5 servings of Special K Cinnamon Pecan and 1 serving of All Bran Bran Buds with Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.

Salad (or a salad-ish dish) for lunch.  I topped spinach with peanut sauce, leftover pesto pasta from last Saturday, a sliced Jazz apple, sharp cheddar, and buckwheat groats.

This odd combination was super delicious.

You know I broke into the popcorn in my gift basket the minute I got home.

That bowl had two servings.  I really wanted more but instead I distracted myself with a big plate of baked green beans.

And it turned out that they were even tastier than the popcorn!

My parents come to visit tomorrow, so that’ll be a good day too!

Days One And Two

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My first two days as a 27-year old have been busy/crazy/fun/carb-filled/fantastic.  And the third day brings a workout, a shift at work, and night-time plans with friends so I’ll try keep this recap short.

I started my birthday early in the morning with yoga.

60 minutes of hot yoga.

Adam’s birthday gift to me was a run (he is a million times faster than me so going at my pace is a gift), so I refueled in between workouts at home.  A Honey Stinger Waffle at home,

and a G2 consumed during our run.

We did 8 sets of 2:00 minutes running / 3:00 minutes walking; 40 minutes and 3.3 miles.

And then I opened my birthday present from my parents.

They sent a few things, the best of which was this little covered wagon.

Read this post if you don’t get it.

And then I painted birthday nails.

And Adam took me to the mall.  I bought underwear.  Apparently I’ve reached the age where I buy myself the lame gift.  But we also stopped at DQ.

Frozen peanut butter hot chocolate, you complete me.

And then I went to work.  On my birthday.  Because I’m old.  Actually it was no big deal; I was glad to have something to fill my day while all of my friends were working.  When I got done at 7:30 a friend picked me up at work at the fun began.

First we went to Starbucks where I spent the cost of a tall iced coffee with skim milk to learn that they no longer give free birthday drinks.

Then we headed to Mixology, a favorite bar.

And then I was drunk.  Really.  Drinking after a day of no solid food was a bad idea.  I had a cake vodka with club soda.

A root beer vodka with club soda.

And two mini drinks that the bartender kindly served us when he learned it was my birthday.

My friends and I had a great time and it was the perfect way to ring in a new year.

I made it to the apartment door before calling Adam to threaten bodily harm if I wasn’t fed immediately.  We got me this small bag of chips.

And I shoveled in 75% of this “garbage” calzone – macaroni, onions, mustard, hot sauce, cheddar, and chicken – in a matter of minutes.

It’s possible that I passed out – fully dressed, without retainers or brushing my teeth, snoring – minutes after that, but who can really say?

I got my Wednesday off to a much healthier start.

Green juice from Ashkers.  I customized my order and ended up with kale, spinach, cucumber and carrot.

It was delicious.

For a more conventional hangover cure, Adam and I split a bagel.

A toasted everything with lox cream cheese.

It was delicious as well.

For lunch we shared sushi.

Half each of a philly crab roll and a shrimp tempura roll.

He got an extra piece of the tempura roll and I got all of the wasabi.  He even shared his seaweed salad with me.

For our afternoon fun we took the dog to the park for a long walk and session of ball throwing.  He was ridiculously cute but I somehow deleted all of the photos I took (which might have made me cry a bit).

Dinner was a great salad.

Romaine topped with Jazz apple, sharp cheddar, buckwheat groats, and peanut sauce.

I ate extra cheese and apple in addition to what went on the salad.

Plus buttered toast.

And two biiig spoonfuls of chocolate hazelnut butter for dessert.

This post took so long to write that the 3rd day of 27 has begun.  Off to bed I go!

Window Shopping Wednesday

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I am not much of a shopper, much to my mother’s chagrin. The woman can spend days at the mall, while I start to feel itchy after just a few hours. It’s not that I’m not materialistic, I totally am, it’s just that the thought of adding more stuff to my life makes it hard to breathe. But I like the idea of things. So I’m an avid window shopper. I browse catalogs I’ll never buy from and hold my breathe when I pass the window at J.Crew. So while I’m stuck at school on Wednesdays, I thought we could have some fun via blog. Let’s window shop!

Here’s what I’m wishing for this week –

1.  Cinnamon Bun Dip from Hammond’s Candies

The website recommends serving this with pretzels or on top of ice cream, but I’m pretty sure that I would swirl this into the middle of homemade cinnamon buns.  I’ve never actually made cinnamon buns before, but if I could fill them with cinnamon bun dip I would probably make the effort.  Tasty and meta.

2.  Eat Dessert First Plates from Rosanna Inc

Also meta(ish)… I need-need-need to own these plates, bake a layered cake, serve said cake on said plates, and lick frosting off of the pictures of cakes while giggling with delight.  The polka dot background just makes me want them even more.

3.  A Bunny Egg Cozy from Branch

I mean…  I don’t think I’d ever put an egg inside one of these bunnies, but I sure need them hopping along my mantle in the Spring.

4.  Sir Kensington’s Spiced Ketchup

Infused with chipotle peppers, cilantro, lime juice, agave nectar, honey, and coriander.  You could put this on a hot dog and feel fancy as hell.  Eat like a sir.

5.  Signs of Life by Natalie Taylor

Just reading the synopsis makes me start to cry – this is Taylor’s memoir about life after her husband’s sudden, unexpected death – but I’ve seen reviews in multiple magazines and they all raved about this book.  Anyone who can be “laugh out loud funny” in a heart-wrenching memoir deserves my read.  Plus, I checked out the “about this author” on Taylor’s website and I like her already.

Be honest, would you use a felt egg cozy?

27 Things For 27 Years

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Happy birthday to me!

I am really excited about 27, I just feel like it’s going to be a good year!  I got so sick of my 26-year-old self and I’m determined to make this year count.  I want to be able to look back and say that I worked/wifed/blogged/healthy-lived to the best of my ability.  And I want to make sure I have lots of fun too.

Here are 27 things I want to do at 27 –

  1. make bubble tea at home
  2. blog every day for a 30 day stretch
  3. take the dog to a beach
  4. visit the Buffalo Museum of Science
  5. eat an egg cream
  6. cook my own gnocchi
  7. rock climb
  8. bake a cake from scratch
  9. knit a scarf
  10. build a snowman
  11. attend a street festival
  12. toast a real s’more over an open flame
  13. run 1 mile in less than 8 minutes
  14. run 5k in less than 30 minutes
  15. run 10k without walking
  16. make ice cream in a bag with rock salt
  17. reread Little Women
  18. go canoeing
  19. make fudge
  20. carve a pumpkin
  21. dye Easter eggs
  22. visit a food truck
  23. make popsicles
  24. attend a 1st Friday event
  25. make gummi bear vodka
  26. do something crazy with my hair
  27. host a party

Ready, set, go!

Do you set goals on your birthday?