A ridiculous coffee daily. This was phin-brew with espresso powder, caramel, and half and half. I also made an iced coffee with fluff(!) and had a great Oreo cold foam cold brew from Wired.
Strawberry cheesecake smoothie bowl! Plain Greek yogurt, almond milk, cream cheese, brown sugar, chia seeds, and frozen strawberries; topped with maple pecan granola.
So excited about summer fruits. Green plucot + a blood orange.
We ordered crystal candies from Silky Gem and were big fans. We actually tried to make these ourselves a few weeks ago and they did not work out. The crunchy outside and chewy/soft interior make a great contrast.
Hash leftovers with roast sauce.
I made jalopeno popper turkey meatloaf! It was amazing and Adam and I both went back for seconds. Ground turkey, panko bread crumbs, ketchup, diced pickled jalopenos, jalopeno juice, chopped white onion, egg, and diced sharp cheddar. With roasted orange and purple cauliflower on the side.
Adam and I randomly had one of the Best! Weekends! Ever! (TM) this past weekend. We lucked out with a good chunk of time to spend together and nice weather. Friday night we took a long walk in our neighborhood and went to a fancy yet lackluster dinner near our apartment. Saturday we drove into Brooklyn for a bridge walk and took long walks around Williamsburg + SoHo + Thompkin’s Square Park. Sunday we took the LIRR into the city and took long walks around Koreatown + Midtown + Central Park. You’ll notice a theme there! Food highlights included…
Fantastic mochi doughnuts and black sesame iced coffee at Bear Donut.
We went to a different Felix Roasting Co location each day! For an espresso tonic and a smoked s’mores latte.
We scored new flavors in two of our favorite drinks.
Best beverages of the weekend were this combo from Blue Bottle – Nola Cola (New Orleans-style coffee with vanilla and sparkling water) and a yuzu lemon fizz.
Hanoi House has a dessert window pop-up this summer and it is my new favorite place. I got a Bright Eyes Sundae – vanilla soft-serve, hot fudge, egg custard, chocolate sesame crunch, and Vietnamese coffee over crushed ice.
Egyptian food at Zooba. We loved the tamarind chicken rice bowl.
Plus hawawshi and falafel with hibiscus tahini.
Lebanese food at Au Za’atar. We knuafe plus some of the best lamb we’ve ever tasted (no photo due to lighting but it was a truly gigantic serving and we’ll be happily eating leftovers all week!).
Sushi at Maki Kosaka. We ordered practically the whole menu; both of our favorites were the bluefin toro preparations.
Still in love with these pie cookies from Whole Foods – they are shortbread with jam (raspberry, pineapple, or guava!) and streusel; I’m obsessed.
Nacho night! Tortilla chips with cheese (sharp cheddar, swiss, and gruyere) and black beans topped with salsa, sour cream, radish, tomato, and spring onion.
Plus a green juice for health.
And a sparkling tequilla canned cocktail for fun.
Chicken and veggie bowls. Shredded chicken (a mix of white and dark meat, cooked in the crockpot), roasted zucchini, black beans, roasted bell peppers and yellow onion, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, cheese, radish.
Chilaquiles. Tortilla chips, chicken, peppers and onions, salsa, and cheese; topped with roasted zucchini, a fried egg, radish, sour cream, and Crystal hot sauce.
This is a delayed post because we got back from vacation and both immediately had crazy work schedules including weekend coverage. But I declared last week “Sandwich Week,” which meant that all of our take-out was actually on-theme!
First – vacation was amazing. Truly one of the best weeks of our lives. We road-tripped to Provincetown Cape Cod –> Boston –> Portland, Maine –> Hudson, NY –> home. We got lucky with beautiful weather, admired astonishingly pretty flowers/landscaping, and ate some of the best meals of our marriage. I don’t have a single photo to share but I will link to some of our favorites.
Cape Cod: Bookstore (great lobster rolls and view) / Scott’s Cakes (yellow cake with pink buttercream only, best I’ve ever tasted)
Portland: Bao Bao (our favorites – bang bang chicken salad, crab rangoon spring rolls) / Crispy Gai (wonderful Thai, plus cocktails) / Duck Fat (duck on duck on duck poutine) / HiFi (all-time best doughnuts) / Izakaya Minato (amazing crudo and okonomiyaki) / Time and Tide (inventive lattes)
Hudson: Breadfolks (all-time best pastries) / Gracie’s Lunchonette (our favorites – pink horchatta iced latte, tuna melt with freshly baked tuna) / Kitty’s (Adam’s favorite meal of the week; our favorites – potato chips with dip and salmon roe, crispy broccoli) / Lil’ Deb’s Oasis (caribbean/eclectic, one of my favorite restaurants on earth)
Second – Some non-sandwich highlights from the past week…
This week’s coffee combo.
It’s stone fruit season! I will be snacking on nectarines, peaches, plums, and plucots for the foreseeable future.
Malted blueberry smoothie. Frozen blueberries with chocolate milk, plain Greek yogurt, and malted milk powder.
I scored cake-flavored beer that wasn’t a stout and loved it.
Turkey cheeseburger-inspired salad. Local lettuce with honey mustard dressing, baby tomatoes, dill pickle almonds, dill pickle slices, turkey meatballs (seasoned with dill pickle juice and yellow mustard), sharp cheddar, and homemade croutons with furikake.
Important things first – Adam and I are both off from work next week! We have a little (lobster roll-centric) road trip planned but mostly we are excited to be together multiple days in a row!
Some highlights from this week…
Coffee combo. Loved the coffee, do not recommend the milk.
Adam was away a few days doing something for his parents and I mostly adulted and cooked dinners. Mostly.
California roll bowls. Imitation crab stick, avocado, cucumber, and green onion tossed with Kewpie, Sriracha, rice vinegar, and furikake. Plus a side of seaweed.
Hot and cold tofu – silken tofu topped with a mix of green onion, chili crisp, urfa chili paste, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar. Plus roasted cauliflower.
I made my first ever loaf of banana bread! I added tons of coconut caramel jam to a traditional recipe and we loved it.
See also – banana bread cubes on a Greek yogurt bowl with nectarine, cinnamon, and honey.
This bar + coffee combo was a 10/10. I also ate a mini York with it – perfection.
See also – I made a mint syrup for my iced coffees this week and it was great in this iced matcha latte.
Sooo many snacks! The highlight of which was these crab roe flavored broad beans. They were the perfect amount of crunchy and the perfect balance of sweet and savory.
See also – aloe drink and my two favorite seltzers.
Tyger leftovers (sauteed water spinach and pad see ew) stir-fried with eggs and peanuts. The leftovers were mind-blowing so we clearly need to go back ASAP.
I made fantastic brown rice chicken congee. Filled with chopped chicken thighs and spicy chopped kale and red chard. We topped our bowls with peanuts, green onions, and chili crisp.
We made dalgona iced lattes with chocolate milk. This is my favorite coffee texture.
Iced cinnamon roll from Mel The Bakery, aka the best cinnamon roll we’ve ever eaten. We regretted not buying more things and want to go back immediately.
Tres Leches x3 doughnut ice cream sandwich (tres leches ice cream sandwiched in a tres leches cake doughnut and dipped in tres leches chocolate coating!) from Doughnut Plant.
Hazelnut crunch gelato at Bambina Blue. We thought we weren’t big gelato fans but this spot has changed our tune.
Topo Chico has officially 100% sold me on alcoholic seltzers. These cans are delicious.
I had a Tyger Strype Slushee – Espolòn tequila, Shoumei white tea, peach, lemon, and smoke layered with Espolòn tequila, mango, lemon, honey, and cardamon.
Also a non-alcoholic Green Woods Laugh – mint, pandan, cucumber, and lemon – with Tito’s.
We shared hamachi crudo with Vietnamese salsa verde, coconut, microgreens, and cherry tomato.
Chicken satay with the most interesting/layered peanut sauce I’ve ever tasted.
Stir-fried water spinach with chili, garlic, and shrimp paste.
And Pad See Ew with Chinese broccoli and tofu. The tofu was a salt and pepper crusted silken tofu and it was fantastic.
Plus a Thai coffee tart with a bruleed top for dessert.
Dinner salads. Local butter lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette, mint, peas, lamb sausage, and raw milk aged cheddar. I see why the lamb + mint + pea pairing is a classic.
Eating Chalk 