Some highlights from an exceptionally delicious weekend…
Homemade cookie dough cold foam iced latte with frothed milk, brown sugar, vanilla bean paste, and baking soda.
Banana sesame protein coffee. Blended – coffee, chocolate milk, frozen banana, black sesame paste, vanilla protein powder.
Cookies and creme protein bar. Yes, I paired this with the cookie latte.
Golda. Breakfast plate – two eggs [over easy], spiced home fries, sourdough toast, and housemade hot sauce.
Brooklyn Kolache. We shared pimento cheese, beef sausage, and a sweet poppy seed.
Also a wonderful ube iced latte.
Fan Fan Doughnuts. I was underwhelmed by the dough today, sadly, but the toppings were top-notch. Dark chocolate with meringue / salted brown butter / lemon / Iranian Love with labne frosting.
Petee’s Pie. I am sad that we slept on this spot for so long because we were quite impressed. I had the Maine blueberry crumble pie with maple whipped cream.
These jelly sake cans – particularly in yuzu – are one of my favorite things.
This photo isn’t that exciting but it’s mostly a reminder to myself that the chicken and poblano pepper burrito from Whole Foods is pretty darn good.
I forgot to take a photo of my turkey cheeseburger salad – red lettuce, sauteed red kale, ranch dressing, ground turkey, tomatoes, extra-sharp cheddar, and sesame seeds – but we paired it with creamy dill potato chips.
Lula Mae – Cambodian food and the best meal of 2024. They had a pre-fixe happening for Restaurant Week and we got to try a ton of (amazing!) things. Spicy mezcal mule and a Tokyo Mae – Suntori whiskey, Cynar, yuzu, anise, and sarsaparilla bitters.
Cha kway fried bread with tom yum butter and pickles. <– mindblowing
Tuna on crispy rice.
50:50 fried chicken – dry rubbed with a lemon pepper dressing and a soy tamarind sauce.
Braised short-rib and morning glory greens in a tamarind stew.
Banana protein coffee shake – coffee blended with frozen banana, chocolate milk, cinnamon, and vanilla protein powder.
Elleno’s lemon curd Greek yogurt in a giant yogurt bowl with strawberries, jumbo blueberries, and granola.
Rhythm Tajin-seasoned dried jicama. 10/10. These had a lovely airy crunch.
Local pizza – vodka and buffalo chicken.
Trader Joe’s chicken, cheese, and green chili papusas (very meh, I would not buy again) with perfectly roasted broccoli with togarashi and ranch dipping sauce. Our optimized veggie method is roasting on a foil-lined tray and folding the foil over halfway through the cooking time to create a steam-packet. The dipping sauce was Greek yogurt, mayo, rice vinegar, and ranch seasoning.
Wonton soup. Trader Joe’s frozen mini chicken cilantro wontons (fantastic), green onion, baby bok choy, gochugaru, white pepper, and salt in chicken broth plus water and white miso paste. I topped my bowl with chili oil and this was surprisingly satisfying for how quick and easy it was.
I feel like I say this every time, but what a yummy week! Highlights…
Starbucks’ chicken, maple butter, and egg sandwich is a limited/occasional release that’s worth trying if you ever see it. I’m not sure why they don’t think maple butter needs a permanent menu spot.
Nut Pods’ toasted marshmallow creamer goes wonderfully in an iced matcha latte.
Especially when paired with these dried baby pineapples.
I love these Craize guava corn crackers. I scooped the last of the garlic hummus with them and the salty-sweet situation was great.
Peanut butter cup banana bread! This perfect recipe plus peanut butter, chocolate chips, and mini peanut butter cups.
Juicy Crunch Tangerines are definitely my new favorite citrus/fruit. They are so sweet and juicy, and mostly seedless.
Yogurt bowl with plain skyr, tangerine, blueberries, passionfruit, and granola.
Yogurt bowl with plain skyr, blueberries, and banana bread.
We thought our Backyard BBQ leftovers were still a 10/10. Brisket, chicken, smoked macaroni and cheese, and candied yams. Plus homemade honey bbq sauce and roasted broccoli.
Plus a boozy peach tea from Voodoo Ranger to go with the theme.
Hedgehog tofu. Scored/baked super-firm tofu with this sauce and roasted brussel sprouts. Topped with chili crisp and furikake.
Chicken salad. Shredded chicken (breasts and thighs cooked in the crockpot) with plain skyr, mayo, lemon juice, ranch seasoning, and chopped dill pickles. Plus green beans sauteed with honey and honey dijon.
Chilaquiles. Orange bell pepper, poblano pepper, yellow onion, and tortilla chips sauteed with chicken broth and smoky salsa, with chicken and cheddar. An egg on top and chipotle Cholula and fresno chili.
It was a fantastic weekend (including a 6+ mile Manhattan walk)! Highlights include…
Banana protein coffee (blender – coffee, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla protein powder, frozen banana); Adam and I both decided we adore this.
Interlude‘s Cadenza is one of the most exciting coffees we’ve had in a while. Shaken espresso served with Mexican Coke topped with cold foam and vanilla whipped cream.
Sadly, Doughnut Project is closing this month so we had to go get a final fantastic maple cruller.
Related – Daily Provisions‘ monthly cruller special is lemon poppy seed so obviously we got that too! This was even better than DP.
Rigor Hill Market‘s hot chocolate is a 10/10; thick and creamy, a good balance of bitter and sweet, and it comes with toasted marshmallows.
Joe’s Steam Rice Roll, we got beef with egg and scallions. The sauce trio makes this.
Dinner at Thai Diner. We arrived early and managed to snag a table. I got Phat See Ew with beef shortrib. Any dish with broad rice noodles and Chinese broccoli is a hit with me.
Plus pea shoots with garlic, chili, and salted soybeans.
Guava sour with vodka and mint.
Dinner at Backyard BBQ in Freeport. I didn’t have my camera but I did Instagram our giant spread because we loved it here. Brisket, chicken with an amazing bbq rub, candied yams, and pickles.
Plus smoked baked mac and cheese that we both thought was perfect. We also had an unphotographed cheese burger!
An easy homemade dinner – Trader Joe’s chicken taquitos baked topped with ground turkey, zucchini, smoky salsa, and cheddar.
It genuinely took until Sunday morning but I finally feel completely back to normal! I even enjoyed a run. It was a very low-key weekend with some yummy bites. Highlights include…
I really enjoyed this instant espresso sachet from Blue Bottle.
Banana protein coffee (in the blender – brewed coffee, half and half, frozen banana, vanilla protein powder, cinnamon, and brown sugar).
I knew I was well because both coffee and booze appealed to me. Two new-to-me tries – Lagunita’s classic IPA and a Flying Embers hard kombucha.
Yogurt bowl perfection – plain skyr, Bear Naked vanilla almond crisp granola, blackberries, and a Juicy Crunch tangerine (aka my new favorite fruit; this was seedless and so sweet and wonderful).
The perfect chips and dip combo – 12 Tides everything-seasoned puffed kelp chips with smoked salmon salad.
Chia “pudding.” I didn’t give this enough time to gel but it made a delicious drink (chia seeds, skim milk, salt, cinnamon, and brown sugar).
It is super nice to have leftovers and easy items for quick dinners. Leftover chicken chili with green onion, plain skyr, sharp cheddar, and Trader Joe’s sweet and hot pickled jalapenos.
Plus roasted baby cauliflower and toasted beer bread with honey and butter.
Leftover sheet-pan breakfast tots topped with Kewpie, Sriracha, and furikake.
Trader Joe’s frozen chicken taquitos with roasted rainbow cauliflower. I ordered chicken fingers for lunch after that Kombucha (lol) and I had a plethora of leftover dipping sauces so this was a great dinner.
Posting a day early because it’s our wedding anniversary (!!) and we are going out to a camera-free dinner!
Yummy things from this week…
I made cinnamon chestnut scones.
Gnubees lemon coconut fruit shake. Not super exciting but a pleasant flavor and a good pre-gym snack for us.
I really liked the new bananas foster Chobani Greek yogurt. It was a tiny bit too sweet for toppings but a really nice flavor. With persimmon, tangerine, and sugar cookie granola.
No one is surprised that I’ve expanded fancy holiday nachos to include red and green nachos for Christmas! These were loaded – and giant – and delicious. Potato chips / sharp cheddar / sauteed dinosaur kale / chopped broccoli rabe sauteed with tons of garlic / red baby bell peppers sauteed with Trader Joe’s sweet and hot pickled jalapeños / fennel duck sausage.
Sushi roll (ish) bowls. Brown rice mixed with roasted cauliflower rice and rice vinegar — we loved this and want to do it again / furikake / canned tuna and salmon with Kewpie and Sriracha / chopped baby cucumbers with sauteed orange bell pepper, rice vinegar, sugar, and Sriracha / avocado / sesame seeds / pickled ginger.
We turned our leftovers (cauliflower/rice, kale, garlic broccoli rabe, and duck sausage plus eggs, soy sauce, and Sriracha) into the best fried rice!
Highlights from the weekend (including some highlights of the whole damn year!)…
Eggnog dalgona iced coffee – after driving around with cocoa and the dog to look at lights this is our favorite holiday tradition.
Peppermint white mocha iced latte from Buzzed. We also shared an eggnog cold foam cold brew and were pleased with both. I wouldn’t go back all the time but I will definitely check out their next seasonal specials.
I’Milky oat milk iced matcha with chestnut creme. I was mostly getting this to be seasonal but we ended up both loving it – super balanced and satisfying.
Petit Chou tropical tres leches cake with a layer of jammy pineapple. I need to try more things from this spot.
Spudsy sweet potato snacks. I thought these would be like Chex Mix but they were actually the size of a small clementine.
Comfortland frozen eggnog (15/10) and a chocolate, coconut, marshmallow doughnut. This was the best doughnut I’ve ever eaten; the outside was sugary and crispy.
We also got the Everything Everywhere Tots at Once special – with cheddar, hot honey, marinated ribeye, gochujang aioli, ranch, chives, and everything bagel seasoning.
Brunch at Madre. This spot deserves the hype – the space was beautiful, the service was great, the food was all wonderful. We shared a Granddaddy Purp – sake, lavender, plum, cereal milk, and egg white. Gorgeous and delicious.
El Sancho – mezcal, apricot, campari, habenero, and cinnamon.
Jalapeño cornbread madelines with whipped honey butter.
The burger with gruyere and fennel slaw (didn’t make my top five but definitely in the top ten and Adam loved it).
And the brown butter french toast with caramel and roasted banana.
Scooping/dipping dinner. Baked wontons with togarashi / roasted broccoli / blended tuna salad – with smoked trout, mayo, and capers / pimento cheese dip – warm with honey and spiced pecans on top.
P.S. We checked out the Rockefellers tree and it was totally stunning and worth the crowd!
