It was a short workweek because I spent Monday-Wednesday in Ohio. My grandma is moving and I went help pack up/visit with her and my mom! Here were some random things I’ve enjoyed since I got back home…
Pocket latte – coffee chocolate bar with caffeine.
This real latte was better. New York Beanery‘s monthly special is a mint mocha. We also had a pretty amazing creme brulee latte.
Fruity, extra-creamy yogurts. The fig was too lemon-y for my tastes but the marionberry was perfect.
Buttered popcorn with togarashi, furikake, and brown sugar.
Yogurt soju 9/10 and yuzu jelly sake 20/10.
We tried and loved a new-to-us Vietnamese spot in Long Island – Sup. Bang bang chicken salad.
Vietnamese iced coffee (with also had a great strawberry tea) and green papaya salad.
Turkey chili with white beans, bell peppers, and poblano peppers. I cooked the ground turkey with toasted rice powder and fish sauce and this came out great. I topped my bowl with plain Greek yogurt, pickled jalopenos, and tons of hot sauce and sharp cheddar.
An array of pink and/or chocolate-covered-berry coffees. Strawberry milk with espresso and mocha / raspberry pour-over with chocolate milk / iced coffee with chocolate milk and Luxardo cherry.
Prospector Popcorn’s chocolate strawberry flavor was a 9.9/10. We also had themed marshmallows and conversation hearts.
On-theme probiotics – Pure Love kombucha.
Chocolate-covered cherry smoothies. Frozen cherries with chocolate milk and plain Greek yogurt.
Note to future Emily – I did not love the plum version of this hard seltzer.
However, this caramel peanut butter candy bar flavor from Jeni’s is possibly my favorite ice cream.
We loved this cozy dinner. Chicken salad with Candy Snap grapes and smoked almonds / roasted brussel sprouts / roasted delicata squash.
Easy lox toasts. Toasted rye with butter, cream cheese, furikake, gochugaru, and smoked sockeye salmon.
We enjoyed our veggie in green smoothie form – fresh tangerine, frozen spinach, mango, and banana, with water, honey, and key lime juice.
Highlights from a perfect weekend. Adam and I had a big chunk of time together / we walked thirteen miles from Penn Station around Central Park and through Harlem and back / we tried several spots that became new favorites / we watched the Super Bowl (aka Adam watched the Super Bowl and I cartoons while eating themed snacks).
Flourish. This space is decorated like the inside of my brain and quickly became my new favorite Long Island spot. We shared a salted caramel latte and a fantastic Shakerato.
Bagel sandwich (on a house-made sourdough everything bagel) with fried egg, hashbrown, herby cream cheese, and pickled onion.
House sourdough with miso braised short rib, gruyere, fontina, hatch chiles, and au jus.
Butterfunk Biscuit. We had a fried chicken biscuit with pimento cheese, pickles, and hot honey. And the best cinnamon roll I’ve ever eaten.
Noodle Bar. I love David Chang’s ethos and I read his memoir but somehow this was the first time I’ve visited one of his sit-down restaurants. Sweater Weather – El Buho mezcal, Kraken rum, sweet vermouth, tamarind maple cordial, and lemon.
Tuna crudo with leche de tigre, cilantro, chili, and lime.
Caulini with anchovy crumbs.
Bao with caramelized shiitakes.
Winter salad with pickled golden beets, gochugaru vinaigrette, and pepita sesame crumble.
Crispy potatoes with peppadew sauce, paprika, and salt.
Cumin lamb noodles. These were super numbing and amazing.
Whisps cheese pretzel and honey mustard bites (9/10).
We have been killing it with dinners lately, this was another exceptionally tasty week! Highlights included…
This Cuban coffee packet made pretty solid cups.
But this Blue Bottle cold brew was better.
Feast x Famine IPA. Abomination Brewing is 100% my favorite beer company at the moment.
Double meat sandwich. Local Brooklyn Cured smoked beef salami and Apple Gate Farms honey and maple sliced turkey on a pretzel bun with mayo, yellow mustard, and sourkraut. Plus roasted broccoli.
Another pretzel bun, this time with brie and shredded chicken breast tossed in a homemade honey mustard vinaigrette. Plus a big pile of roasted green beans.
Veggie tofu bowls. Roasted Japanese sweet potato and purple sweet potato, orange cauliflower, broccoli, and green onion, with five spice tofu roll, topped with chili crisp.
We made insane cheese plates for dinner. Obviously the best meal of the week! Tofu roll with chili crisp, seasoned seaweed sheets, blueberry jam, Candy Snap grapes, Hunnyz apple, salami, smoked almonds, sweet and spicy pecans, sweet red grassfed cheddar, brie, raw cow’s milk cheese with edible flowers, blue cheese, and amazing sourdough crackers.
Plus green smoothies to get our veggie in – frozen spinach, mango, and banana, with honey, key lime juice, and water.
After we received the blog samples from Prospector Popcorn we immediately bought more bags with our own money. The maple walnut ice cream flavor was as good as I expected.
I wish I had taken interior photos at Clover Club because the space was gorgeous. I had a Bloody Mary.
And a chocolate souffle sundae.
I got too excited to take more photos but this was amazing Kadai paneer from Taste of Chennai – the best Indian food we’ve ever eaten.
Our favorite meal took place at my new favorite restaurant – Ruthie’s. Grilled broccoli salad with pecorino, cashews, and a cherry vinaigrette.
Roasted beets, with dill, ranch, and trout roe.
Dry-aged burger with pickles, cheddar, and horseradish aioli and a side of (swoon) beef fat fries.
An eclectic but wonderful line up of things from the past week…
Late July street corn seasoned tortilla chips. Good but not great, I would buy them again but definitely wouldn’t eat them with salsa.
I am glad I bought these mini bottles of insanely flavored whiskeys from Skatter Brain because the resulting cocktails were perfect. Sidenote – I learned while writing this post that that is how you pluralize whiskey.
Birthday Cake Shake – Vanilla cake whiskey vigorously shaken with amaretto, fresh orange juice, sugar, and an egg white.
P.S. I used my egg yolk to make a fantastic mug brownie. I topped it with Ben & Jerry’s newest flavor (vanilla ice cream with salted caramel, graham cracker swirl, and cookie dough) and swooned.
Peanut Butter and Jellies – Peanut butter whiskey (plus a bit of vodka for balance) with blueberry jam, Luxardo cherry, and strawberry seltzer.
Related – I love passionfruit and this Truly hard seltzer was just great.
Roast take-out sandwich (bbq brisket with onion rings and jalopeno slaw on a pretzel roll!!) with a mountain of roasted green beans.
Spicy salmon sushi bake that we adored. With leftover brown rice and a blend of canned and hot smoked salmon. Plus a cucumber salad.
Best meal of the week – Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza (yum!) / sauteed bok choy / homemade turkey meatballs with panade, hoisin, and gojuchang / homemade Sriracha mayo and dumpling sauce (yum!).
And an egg burrito with extra veggies. This was only ok (who puts carrots on a burrito? And it needed way more hot sauce) but Adam’s egg and cheese sandwich was a work of art.
Cookie x cookie coffee wins. I 11/10 loved the Stew Leonard’s cookie dough flavored coffee and also enjoyed the Califa cookie butter almond milk creamer far more than I was expecting to.
Sliced Hunnyz apple (a new favorite) with honey, cinnamon, and chunky peanut butter.
Yogurt bowl with plain skry, vanilla bean paste, honey, persimmon, passionfruit, chia seeds, and vanilla almond granola.
See also, plain skyr with cinnamon, blueberry jam, persimmon, Mineola tangerine, and granola.
We spent an obscene amount of money on Taco Bell delivery for dinner one night so I tried to bring balance back to the Force with a green juice. Lol, unfortunately I grabbed the wrong bottle because this ended up basically being lemonade with aloe and chlorophyll.
We liked these Zapp’s honey mustard pretzels a lot. Not as much as Dot’s but more than their voodoo variety which ended up being too seasoned for us. Also, I use the adjective “jazzy” at least four times a week so clearly I had to buy these.
We loved these Trader Joe’s lentil and chickpea crisps. Great texture.
These Ben & Jerry’s s’mores cookie dough bites are my favorite thing I’ve ever eaten. I love everything about them but the truffles specifically are mind-blowing.
Leftover jalopeno cheddar hushpupies from Sweet Chick with honey and leftover crab dip.
The Burrito Blvd near our apartment has the best toppings; this rice bowl was 40% rice and 60% chopped zuchinni (my ideal burrito bowl ratio). Also chicken, corn, tomato, cheese, and mild salsa.
Homemade laab. I followed this recipe. We quite enjoyed it and were not sad to have sourced toasted rice powder. Plus sauted bok choy with ginger and sesame seeds.
Spicy, tomato-y chickpea bowls. I sauteed graffiti eggplant and sweet onion with fire-roasted diced tomatoes, harissa, and chickpeas. Topped with plain yogurt and fresh mint.
Homemade cashew chicken. I followed this recipe except that I swapped breasts for thighs and added red bell pepper. With brown basmatti rice and roasted broccoli.
P.S. We have exciting dinner reservations tonight for Omakase at Koyo. I’m not bringing my camera but from what I can tell online everything should be gorgeous (and delicious!).
Eating Chalk 