The five best things I ate this weekend…
Strawberry bites cereal with chocolate peanut butter banana granola and fresh aprium.
Paris Baguette jalopeno cheddar crossaint and a chocolate foam cold brew. 10/10s.
Vanilla ice cream with homemade tahini caramel. Plus pecans and mini peanut butter cups.
Chicky’s fried chicken and fries with garlic sauce and Tennessee hot sauce.
Saucy chickpeas. Sauteed with tomato paste, harissa, spices, onion, bell peppers, and eggplant.
Highlights from a yummy week…
Plain skyr with blueberries and Blue Stripes Cacao peanut butter banana granola.
Such good snacks this week! Apriums.
Strawberry bites cereal. I loved this and Adam hated it.
Whole Foods’ pimento mac and cheese bites. I think they are best with honey and hot sauce.
Caramel core ice cream.
Soursop chocolate bar. I carried this home from Denver and it was worth it.
Rum and coke slushie.
BLT pasta salad. Whole wheat cavatappi / heirloom baby tomatoes / turkey bacon / romaine lettuce / and a sauce with mayo, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
I bought these Goodles noodles 90% because the box was so pink and 10% because they were whole-wheat, and they ended up being delicious.
Loaded salad. Romaine, tomato, turkey bacon, mozarella, cashews, and Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing.
Beans and rice (kidney beans and brown rice cooked with onion, hot pepper, ginger, and coconut milk) / tuna cakes with Jamaican curry powder and red curry paste / roasted zucchini / hot pepper jelly.
Adam and I had the whole weekend together, which was just lovely! Despite the heat we managed to take the dog to a farmer’s market and take a humans-only walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. And we ate so many good things! Highlights included…
A dalgona iced latte (always a winner!) with chocolate milk.
Blue Bottle‘s shaken New Orleans cold brew is a 10/10 summer special.
Lemon chess pie at the farmer’s market.
Brigaderio cake at Cafe Patoro. I also had a brigaderio iced latte that was hands-down the best thing I’ve consumed so far in 2023.
Dessert flavored booze! Decadent Ale guava cream pop IPA / Ellicottville strawberry crunch bar cream ale / Skatterbrain vanilla cake whiskey (I mixed this one with amaretto, diet coke, and fancy cherries and it was fantastic).
Brunch at Nuaa Table. Thai iced tea.
We shared the veggie dumplings and roasted duck buns.
Banana blossom salad with coconut poached chicken and quail eggs. The acidity here was perfection.
Spicy shrimp basil noodles.
Son-in-Law duck egg – fried boiled duck egg, homemade black pepper brioche, and tamarind-fish sauce caramel. This was my favorite dish.
Lobster roll from Luke’s.
Dinner at Patti Ann’s. This was really good but not mind-blowing like I was expecting.
We shared charred asparagus with hummus, walnuts, golden raisins, and za’atar.
The smashed patty burger – on milk bread with sharp cheddar, special sauce, tomato, and crispy shallots.
And duck lasagna.
Chili garlic noodles from Omsom. I added leftover veggies, chili crisp, and a six-minute egg.
I hope all of my local readers are breathing a little bit better! Highlights from the past week…
A sucessful fridge dregs yogurt bowl – Trader Joe’s guava passionfruit Greek yogurt with a bit of cottage cheese, mandarin orange, and chia seeds.
The cookie dough flavor is the best Perfect Bar flavor (though I am hoping to get my hands on the crispy layered ones again asap).
Plant-based gummies. The ones on my left are one of my favorites but I was not a fan of the ones on the right as they were basically fruit leather (note – Adam loved them).
An assortment of citrus sparkling beverages. The Social Hour was the stand-out. I was suprisingly not that impressed by the Topo Chico.
I enjoyed these Trader Joe’s Mee Krob seasoned noodle crisps and would buy them again.
Trader Joe’s chicken and veggie gyoza potstickers (9.5/10) with edamame and dumpling sauce on the side.
Trader Joe’s Thai wheat noodles sauteed with spinach, edamame, green onion, and a spicy sauce (including gojuchang, Sriracha, and chili crisp!) and topped with sesame seeds and a fried egg.
Highlights from this week…
I took myself on a sunny coffee date to Wired on my day off. Espresso with marshmallow and Oreo cold foam.
Blackberries and a blood orange. So pretty!
Snack plate – corn nuts, smoked almonds, cacao almonds, blackberries, vegan jerky, and salmon jerky.
Loved both of these summer-y seltzers; the Polar was so pineapple-forward!
These marshmallows were so asthetically pleasing and so terrible (crumbly and very odd tasting).
But I used the vanilla ones to make homemade Snickers! This nougat recipe with salted peanuts and caramels folded in, topped with milk chocolate.
I was actively grocery shopping when I saw this week’s Roast specials and I changed my list to accomodate a night of take-out. Crunchwrap with honey Sriracha fried chicken, cheddar, coleslaw, french fries, and sweet chili aioli / buffalo chicken mac and cheese balls / roasted zucchini from home.
Filipino-ish dinner bowls. Ground turkey sauteed with tons of sisig seasoning, red and sweet onion, eggplant, and crispy baked shredded tofu. On a base of rice noodles tossed in chili crisp.
Bagel and lox inspired salad – romaine (with ranch, I was too lazy to figure out a cream cheese dressing), tons of fresh dill, quick-pickled red onion, hot smoked sockeye salmon, and everything seasoning roasted chickpeas.
I love a good set of theme dinners! Some highlights from this week include…
I am definitely a fan of the BelliWelli bars, cinnamon swirl was soft and not too spiced.
Summer fruits are bringing me a lot of joy. It was a great week of yogurt bowls. Plain 2% Greek with cinnamon, blueberries, blackberries, and chocolate chip cookie dough granola.
Plain Greek with maple syrup, mandarin, blackberries, granola, and chia seeds.
Adam and I really enjoyed this Mabi tea with mauby and strawberry.
Instant topokki.
Two non-traditional jerkies, both a 10/10 – Louisville Vegan Jerky Co maple bacon and Trader Joe’s salmon – both had wonderful textures and great balance of flavors.
McConnell’s double peanut butter chip ice cream is a new favorite. This was the year I discovered that chocolate flakes are a top tier ice cream mix-in.
This packaged Alfajor was surprisingly moist; we would buy it again.
Two of my current favorite canned tequilla cocktails – Superbird paloma and Onda passionfruit seltzer.
Taco salad. Arugula with Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing / black beans / cheese flavored corn nuts / homemade tortilla chips – baked with lime and togarashi / poached chicken / roasted veggies – bell peppers, poblano pepper, and sweet onion / roasted zucchini / salsa – Frontera chipotle.
Chilaquiles. Shredded chicken – breasts and thighs cooked in the crockpot / all the leftover veggies / homemade tortilla chips / salsa / sharp cheddar and mozarella / topped with a fried egg / and plain Greek yogurt and hot sauce.
Crispy quesadillas. Shredded chicken reheated with green onions and taco seasoning / seasoned and mashed black beans / mozarella and sharp cheddar. Plus a trio of dipping sauces (guacamole, salsa mixed with yogurt, serrano mayo) and roasted broccoli.
Homemade burrito. Shredded chicken, black beans, salsa, avocado, and sharp cheddar. The surgeon did an excellent job rolling.
New Wave burrito. Sirloin Steak, chimichurri, rice, french fries, lime crema, chihuahua cheese, ranchero beans, and pico de gallo.
Highlights from quite a nice weekend! We had good weather, tons of coffees, great food, and a walk across the Williamsburg Bridge…
Rose water iced Americano from Land to Sea.
The cinnamon bun from Duck Island Bread Company is my all-time favorite.
I love this sort of spicy ginger and meyer lemon seltzer from Aura Bora.
Red bean stuffed, sesame coated mochi from Lucky King Bakery are a can’t miss.
Cola-flavored Chupa Chups!!
Lunch at Tanoreen. Za’atar mezcal margarita (mezcal, house made za’atar shrub, and fresh lime) — the best cocktail of the weekend.
Falafel. Plus we had the complimentary bread basket with great za’atar crusted crisps.
I got the baked eggplant with tomato, almonds, and ground lamb.
Knafeh – crispy filo dough with sweet cheese and orange blossom syrup.
Dinner at Virginia’s. Spicy Marg 2.0 – tequilla, passion fruit, lime, Thai chili oil, and spicy salt.
A mojito that reminded me of a julep.
Fantastic hamachi crudo.
French onion and crème fraîche dip with potato chips and trout roe.
Roasted carrots with almond romanesco and goat cheese.
THE burger with cheddar and onion marmalade. This was so good that I loved it even though it was vastly overcooked.
Plus the best shoestring fries.
We got the “banana pudding” for dessert; bananas with cookie crunch and whipped cream. Adam liked it because it tasted good and I hated it because there was not even a hint of pudding.
Highlights from this week…
Whole Foods’ Spring latte special is brown butter cookie – good but not excellent.
Meanwhile, Partners‘ Spring latte special is mojito and it is a 10/10.
I added butterfly peaflower tea to this smoothie (with frozen peaches, banana, soursop, and vanilla almond milk) to make it pretty and ended up with greige.
I was much more successful with frozen blueberries, banana, almond milk, and butterfly peaflower tea.
BelliWelli birthday cake flavored probiotic bar.
I feel like I should give another shout-out to this rapidly dwindling bag of Zapp’s Voodoo seasoned pretzels.
Passion fruit sips; hard seltzer and kombucha.
I had a day off this week and I walked 7 miles roundtrip from Penn Station to the Seaport for this burger and fries. The signature smashburger with gojuchang aioli, American, miso-caramelized onions, and garlic parmesan butter and waffle fries with red miso cheese sauce.
Monday I hadn’t gone to the grocery store for the week yet but we cobbled together a pretty good dinner. Chips and guacamole from our local burrito place.
Bitchin dip with mini sweet peppers (and cucumber slices).
And these Fillo’s walking tamales – Adam liked them, I thought they were underseasoned.
Tuesday I went to the fish counter and whipped up this Southern feast. Fried catfish (breaded in a mix of flour and cornmeal with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika); collard greens sauteed with green onion, lemon, and garlic; and hushpuppies. Then I doused my plate in honey, lemon, and Crystal hot sauce.
And Wednesday I made a giant batch of soup. With evoo, salt and pepper, garlic, yellow onion, celery, zucchini, carrot, potato, diced tomato, harissa, chicken broth, and chicken breast.
Eating Chalk 