Tag Archives: booze

Triple Chocolate, White Chocolate Peppermint

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Highlights from a festive week…

Holiday Jenni’s flavors are some of the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted. Boozy eggnog and white chocolate peppermint are both divine!

Ground Up salted eggnog cashew butter is delicious in yogurt or just on a spoon.

Adam’s birthday request was zucchini bread. We adored this recipe (with Ghirardelli’s unbelievably good milk chocolate chips).

Somedays Bakery new Manhattan location is knocking it out of the park. Black sesame tahini croissant and a triple chocolate pastry.

Brunch at Dante’s West Village. I had the steak and scrambled egg burrito and a boozy affogato.

Monday’s dinner was some of our (many) leftovers from wonderful dinners with my parents. We had a fantastic time while they were here! Broccoli rabe, woodfired honeynut squash, and stracciatella cheese from Rolo’s / woodfired pita bread and roast chicken from Sunday in Brooklyn / Pizza, chicken parm, broccoli rabe, and salmon from Il Gufo / also unphotographed tater tots from Sonder.

Umami baked turkey meatballs with roasted cauliflower. Ground turkey, salt, tons of pepper, urfa chili, panko bread crumbs, and mushrooms (sauteed with green onions and butter then food-processed).

Cold egg tofu and roasted broccoli with a spicy sauce (soy sauce, sesame oil, chili onion crunch, sugar, garlic, and rice vinegar).

December 1st!

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It was a wonderful long holiday weekend! We spent time with family, took a very cold long walk in Manhattan, and had a million weird drinks and delicious desserts…

Pull Tab Coffee. We quite liked our banana aerofoam.

Homemade frozen coffee. Coffee, ice, chocolate milk, vanilla protein powder, vanilla bean powder, cinnamon, and frozen banana.

Barebells wild strawberry protein soda. This was yummy, it tasted like a creamy strawberry soda.

No sugar mojito Pepsi. It had no mint flavor but was tasty.

Comfortland‘s Kerrygold butter doughnut.

Birdee‘s brigadeiro cake and excellent guava cheese tart.

Milk Bar‘s marshmallow brownie is their second all-time best item (after the anniversary cake).

Fantastic brunch at Win Son. Their Bloody Mary had so much umami. I also really enjoyed their green tea shot.

We came for the boba pancakes and were not disappointed.

Three pepper lamb with cabbage, rice, and egg.

Soft-scrambled eggs.

The pea shoots were my favorite dish of the weekend; with bean paste, sesame, and fried garlic.

Mommy Pai was a hit for us. This concord grape salty coconut frozen drink blew our minds.

We did fried fingers with Muy Thai sauce. I, of course, got extra dipping sauces. Sweet soy mustard was my favorite. The fries were great! And I loved the taro tapioca doughnuts with pandan custard.

Leftover stuffing fried rice with cranberry sauce and pimento cheese.

P.S. It’s December 1st tomorrow!

Bob Burger

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It was a wonderful weekend! I say that often, but any weekend I get time with Adam is wonderful! We tried some new-to-us restaurants, had several fun coffees, admired flowers at Little Island, bought some buttons at M&J Trimmings (it is closing soon!)… Some highlights…

Creme bru-latte from Foreigner. This was as good as it looks!

Humble Cafe. Pandan iced latte and a black sesame mochi cookie.

Bubble tea from a stall at Pier 57. A yuzu lemonade Arnold Palmer with lychee popping boba, rainbow jelly, and edible glitter.

These peanut butter bites have an amazing texture.

Nuar. Iced Kopi with a pandan cold foam.

Kaya toast with Thai tea jam, pandan ice cream, red bean, and toasted marshmallows.

Guava and mascarpone pie at Peete’s. (Pie Month!)

Brunch at Lord’s. The hype is deserved! We loved almost everything we shared. Pineapple amaro sour – aged rum, pineapple amaro, lime, and egg white / Orchard Spritz – Neversink apple apertif, ginger beer, and candied ginger.

Turkish eggs with garlic yogurt, chili butter, and sourdough toast (11/10) // curried lamb scotch egg – I’m not a huge curry fan but Adam loved this.

Welsh rarebit cheeseburger on a pretzel bun with fantastic chips. This doesn’t make my top five list (we didn’t like the inclusion of raw onion slices) but it was a very solid burger.

Banoffee French toast. This was fine, not super exciting and the “French toast” was definitely just a slice of toasted bread.

Dinner at Foster. We loved this Sea Cliff spot and want to come back soon! The lighting was not photo-friendly however. I had a very solid dry-aged burger with aioli, arugula, caramelized onions, and gruyere.

Our leftovers were still delicious too. Wood-fired Margherita pizza with house-made mozzarella, tomato sauce, and seasonal pesto / okonomiyaki-style brussels sprouts. We also had a charred broccolini Caesar that was 11/10 delicious and pumpkin bread pudding with excellent pecan pie ice cream.

Dinner at Lula Mae was even better and the lighting was even more hostile. We shared and loved crispy tofu with a soy Chianking vinegar dressing, pickled veggies, scallions, and roasted walnuts / braised duck with pickled pearl onions, fried shallots, broccoli puree, and duck fat potatoes // fried chicken two ways – soy tamarind glazed wings and dry-rubbed boneless with lime pepper dressing and house-made pickles.

For The Graham

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It was a nice fall weekend! Some highlights…

Homemade s’mores iced latte. Marshmallow creme / Trader Joe’s chocolate shell / Trader Joe’s maple pecan cold brew concentrate / milk infused with graham cracker, cinnamon, vanilla bean powder, and salt.

I had the graham crackers in the house for the fantastic pecan pie cookies I made. Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies but with chopped up homemade chocolate pecan graham cracker toffee candy in place of chips.

The best dessert of the weekend was hands-down Librae‘s halvah chocolate croissant.

I am not a big juice person but I very much enjoyed this Alldae passionfruit and guava cascara drink.

The perfect walking snack from an Asian grocery in Manhattan – spicy tuna onigiri and crab meat inari.

Mimi Cheng‘s makes my current favorite dumplings in the city and their seasonal/collaborative options are always awesome. Three cup chicken scallion pancake melt with mozzarella and fresno peppers.

Thanksgiving dinner dumplings with local turkey, cranberry herb stuffing, housemade gravy, thyme, and a side of housemade cranberry sauce.

Dinner at The Cuban. I couldn’t take pictures because the lighting was insane but we had an excellent meal. That drink was a coquito mojito!!

Kitchen sink salads. Romaine with Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing, jalapeno hummus, cucumber, raisins, walnuts, crispy broad beans, extra-sharp cheddar, and baked sprouted tofu.

Spooky Snacks

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Things from the week before Halloween…

On-theme candy, obviously.

And pumpkin beers! Southern Tier’s Maple Warlock imperial pumpkin stout and Caramel Pumpkin imperial pumpkin ale were both excellent.

Pumpkin smoothie. Canned pumpkin puree, frozen banana, brown sugar, vanilla protein powder, and water.

Boo-berry smoothie. Frozen blueberries, cherries, and strawberries with vanilla protein powder and water (with a marshmallow ghost!).

Halloween candy week seemed like a fitting time to open this Bonne Maman chocolate peanut spread. I enjoyed it in a few iced coffees and am eagerly anticipating a yogurt bowl.

Another new to me pear – Gem. It was delicious, but I prefer the Happis.

This Wella Crispy Treat did not taste like ube to me but it was yummy; good salty-sweet balance. Adam hated it, however, so your milage may vary.

Oyakadon-inspired dinner. Eggs soft-scrambled in leftover Rose Marie whipped garlic parsley butter / roasted broccoli / Bell and Evans breaded chicken patties / horseradish Sriracha aioli / leftover Rose Marie sourdough.

Pumpkin chili. Ground turkey, Whole Food’s canned bean trio, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, canned pumpkin puree, fish sauce, yellow onion, red bell pepper, poblano pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, urfa chili, and salt and pepper. Plus leftover Rose Marie cheese curds and Trader Joe’s pumpkin tortilla chips.

Two types of leftover pizza reheated in a skillet with leftover butter and an egg cooked on top.

These crispy roasted beans were the best dinner of the week. Labne / roasted shredded brussels sprouts / Great Northern beans tossed with evoo, cornstarch, panko, gochugaru, and furikake and roasted / Roland’s spicy chili onion crisp / crispy numbing broad beans I found at 99 Ranch but can’t read the label for.

A Rose By Any Other Name

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It was a great weekend! We got in a final run on the Long Beach Boardwalk and spent some time in Brooklyn. Some of what we ate…

Witches Brew from Rose Wolf. Cold brew with oat milk, cinnamon, maple, and caramel. We actually didn’t love this – too milky and too sweet.

Cookies and Scream iced latte from The Barn. We didn’t like this coffee either(!!) but we loved the Shmackary’s cookie on top.

Spooky yogurt bowl. Plain skyr with golden kiwi, blueberries, and candy eyes.

Beers at Grimm. Love a spot with small pours! My stand-out favorite was the Maximum Boogie triple IPA.

More importantly, we had food from Lala’s Apizza on their upper level. A 10/10 kale salad with cheese and sweet and spicy nuts.

And a Funghi Pie – mozzarella, fontina, tarragon oyster mushrooms, and lemon zest.

We had an exceptional dinner at Rose Marie. The space was cute, the service was great, and my cocktail was perfect. Goin’ to Alcapulco – lime, guava, white rum, dark rum, and lime bitters. Adam also had stunning pickled green tomato martini.

Sourdough bread and focaccia with radishes and whipped garlic parsley butter. <– this was the best butter I’ve ever tasted

Cranberry beans with paprika vinaigrette, croutons, and baby cauliflower.

Fried cheddar cheese curds with a burnt olive ranch.

And a patty melt on a homemade Pullman with grilled onion, white cheddar, and pickled green tomatoes.

Swooning

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We had a perfect weekend! Tons of great food, several good walks (a part of Brooklyn we don’t usually explore, Astoria, Manhattan, and our neighborhood back home), and a run on the boardwalk! Here were five food highlights…

1) Between the Bagel. Bulgolgi egg and cheese bagel heaven. And the owner is the nicest man.

2) Somedays Bakery. I fully get the hype. Pistachio lattice, chocolate chunk cookie, and a crab and cheese pastry.

3) Treats on the Lower East Side. We didn’t think that the Papa D’Amour Hokkaido milk soft serve with a French butter shell was that exciting.

But I thought the croissant bao with butter, red bean, and granulated sugar was fantastic. Plus yuzu lemonade + pear green iced tea.

And Adam adored the scallion and Thai basil pesto scallion blossom.

Noonas is my favorite ice cream in the city. We shared ube Vietnamese coffee latte and pandan ice creams with mochi and black sesame jam.

4) Brunch at Naks. Para Sa Paborito Kong Apo cocktail – dry gin, mezcal, campari, ginger, citrus sherbet, and chile; served in a toasted frozen grapefruit.

The Filipino platter was my favorite. Short rib with garlic rice, fried egg, bone broth, fried tofu, salad, and pickled veggies. Adam loved the (pork) bone broth and I thought the rice and fried tofu were perfect.

The salted egg pancake with citrus butter and salted egg cream was Adam’s favorite thing he’s ever eaten.

Plus flan for dessert.

And Taho – sea buckthorn spirit, silken tofu-soya milk, burnt sugar syrup, and tapioca pearls.

5) Dinner at Swoony’s. The vibe is great and they have cute matchbooks. My Swoon Cycle cocktail was delightful and interesting – rum and amaretto with ginger, lime, and cucumber.

Tuna crudo with avocado, capers, scallions, and citrus vinaigrette with buttery brioche. We loved the diced avocado here.

Brussels sprouts with horseradish sauce, shallots, and toasted breadcrumbs. These were the best non-fried brussels spouts I’ve eaten in a restaurant.

Crab toast with jalapenos and tomato.

Swoony’s burger – double patty with thousand island and American cheese plus fries. Meant in the most complimentary way — this tasted exactly like an upscale McDonald’s burger and fries! It made my top five New York burgers list (Nomwon, Sonder, Rolo, Swoony’s, Rippers).

Chocolate mousse for dessert with vanilla cream and strawberry topping.

Beaches

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This weekend included a run on the Long Beach Boardwalk (one of my favorite weekend activities!), a long Manhattan walk, and some exploring in Brooklyn. It was a very tasty few days, here were the highlights…

Homemade iced coffees with banana cheesecake cold foam (in the blender – frozen banana, cream cheese, butter extract, vanilla bean powder, brown sugar, skim milk).

A wonderful smoothie – frozen banana and peaches, soursop juice, vanilla protein powder, and malted milk powder.

Delicious pandan coconut sparkler from Lucky Ox.

Other Half. We split a flight of mostly double IPAs but also their Mister Softee collab strawberry yuzu sour.

Saint Street Cakes. The hype about the chocolate chip cookie is real. We also really loved the miso peanut butter cookie and blackberry cornbread cake slice.

This mochi doughnut from Win Son‘s Manhattan location was probably the best thing we’ve eaten so far in 2025.

Post-run breakfast on the boardwalk! We split a turkey, egg, and cheese taco and a fresh juice with green apple, spinach, ginger, and lime. We probably wouldn’t get food from this spot again but I would definitely get another green juice.

An easy but exciting, mostly home-cooked dinner. Leftover brown rice reheated in the microwave with rice vinegar, furikake, and white sugar / mayak eggs (I also put some mini mozzarella balls down in the marinade! / broccoli roasted with evoo, five spice, and gochugaru / fried chicken tender from Dave’s Hot Chicken. P.S. I ate all of an order of fries on the drive home; they are fantastic.

Dinner at Kabawa. We had a great meal here – some of the best goat I’ve ever eaten. It wasn’t lit for photographs but I happened to get a shot of my two favorite dishes. The bread course with house-made roti and cassava dumplings and an assortment of sauces.

Birthday cake flan. This was the best flan I’ve ever eaten.

Dinner at The Long Island Bar. We loved it here!

Cheese curds.

Roasted beets with hazelnut dukkah, brandied cherries, ricotta salata, and creamy herbed vinaigrette and shocking good deviled crab toast with, roasted corn and herbs and black garlic mayonnaise on toasted sourdough.

A single patty L.I. burger – dry-aged beef patty, pickles, cheese, and fancy sauce. Plus a yummy side salad.

P.S. It’s Apple Month today!!

Drinks!