Weekly Wrap Up

2 product samples* + 1 cookie obsession + 1 deconstructed sandwich + 1 dinner out = this week’s top five.

*please note – the FiberOne bars and Divella pasta were sent to me free of charge to review on the blog.  I was not provided further compensation for this post and all opinions are my own.

{1} I’ve enjoyed FiberOne’s cheesecake bar line in the past and they reached out and offered to send me their two newest flavors, yes please.

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Chocolate Cheesecake felt appropriate with this coffee combo –

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Key Lime Cheesecake went perfectly crumbled into a yogurt bowl with some fresh blueberries.

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I enjoyed both of the new flavors a lot, but I will say that neither of them reaches the yumminess of the salted caramel bar.

{2}  Loving the David Lebowitz chocolate chip cookies.

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I made this batch a week ago and we are still obsessed with them.

{3} Divella’s Fusilloni is made using a bronze press which creates a porous exterior so the small grooves in each piece hold onto sauce extra well.  The company sent me some pasta and sauce so I could try a simple recipe for myself.

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Tomato Basil Fusilloni

1 package Divella Fusilloni pasta

1 can Divella tomato basil sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, chopped

6 basil leaves, chopped

¼ cup Pecorino Romano cheese (optional)

Bring two quarts of water to a rolling boil, adding a handful of salt just before the water begins to boil. In a separate sauce pan heat olive oil. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, then add tomato sauce and lower to a simmer for 3 minutes. Empty pasta into water and boil for 10 minutes until al dente, drain. Mix sauce with Fusilloni. After plating, top with Pecorino Romano cheese and chopped basil as desired.

The simple recipe was a little plain for us, but the Fusilloni was the best freaking pasta we’ve ever tasted.  Adam and I were both eating it plain out of the strainer by the handful!  The texture was wonderful, with the perfect amount of bite.

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Served with simple side salads.

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Ranch, carrots, pistachio.

{4} Deconstructed turkey reuben bowls, because if I like a food I have to eat it in every possible iteration (see also – macaroni and cheese, burgers, and casserole).

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This version was quick and easy.  Shredded turkey breast from the crock pot – cooked with evoo, s&p, and some potatoes and carrots, shredded cabbage sautéed in the turkey drippings, chopped dill pickle, cubes of swiss cheese, and caraway seeds.

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I tossed everything together in a skillet and we were eating 15 minutes later, crock pot meals are great.

{5} Dinner at Baoburg knocked our socks off.

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My Ping Pong Show had mixed juice, whiskey, lillet, grapefruit bitters, and nutmeg.

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We started with fantastic crispy duck salad.  Shredded duck confit, green apple, red onion, mint, scallion, and cashews, in a spicy lime dressing.

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And I did more duck for dinner, in ramen with bok choy and black truffle broth.

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Duck, duck, good!

Birthday Staycation

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I’m running late posting but my birthday weekend was absolutely worth sharing.  My parents were visiting,  we spent time with one of my oldest childhood friends which feels very appropriate for a birthday, I had four days off of work (and Adam was free a bit too!), and we spent our days walking and eating.

I love when people visit because showing them around lets you take a vacation in your own town.  Alphabetically, some of our stops included – Brookfield Place, Bushwick, Chelsea, Chelsea Piers, Greenwich Village, the Highline, the Mayorville petting zoo, Montauk, the Narrows botanical garden, Park Slope, Smorgasburg, and Williamsburg.

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Here were the food highlights…

Terremoto Coffee.

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Winter rose latte in a complimentary cup.

Bluestone Lane.

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My Australian iced latte – with cocoa powder and ice cream – was deeply enjoyed as the days were hot, hot hot.

Corner of Vermont sells the best maple candies I’ve ever had.

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And their maple soft serve is delightful.

Lunch in Montauk.

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They are famous for lobster rolls but I went with the seafood chili this visit.

Chickpea & Olive at Smorgasburg.

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Pulled BBQ jackfruit with Carolina slaw, bread & butter pickles, fried shallots, and horseradish aioli, on a potato bun.  This was my first time trying jackfruit and I’m definitely a fan.

Chuko Ramen.

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My parents both loved their chicken miso ramen.  I topped mine with drippy egg and tons of chili garlic oil.

Montana Trail House.

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I had a drink with hibiscus-infused rum!  And another with Aperol and grapefruit.

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We shared fried green tomato sliders and switchel glazed carrots.

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And I stuck with veggies for my entrée and ordered the broccoli gratin.

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Mostly because it came covered in pimento cheese.

Mile End Deli.

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We started with the peppers and baba ghanoush.  When you’re at ME you have to order poutine.

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And I always order a turkey reuben.

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I love New York.

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A Bunch Of Brunch

Chameleon’s Mexican coffee was delightful with a bit of milk.  Related – I am in physical pain that I can’t find the Texas pecan near me.

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Iced coffee is always good though.

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This cup from Colonie was knock-your-socks-off good.  There must have been a nitro tap somewhere because it was crazy velvety.

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I went for brunch with a girlfriend and we were both blown away by my duck hash.  With poached egg, red potatoes, roasted onion puree, and aioli.  I’m usually not that excited by potatoes but these were crispy perfection.

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Afterwards we went to Grand Army and had {too many!} drinks.  We practically tried the whole cocktail menu and everything was fantastic!

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Brunch numero dos at Tocolo Cantina.  I had the mushroom taquitos – crispy tacos filled with roasted mushroom, corn, and Chihuahua cheese.

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This cafeteria lunch wasn’t too bad either.  My wrap sandwich had grilled chicken, cheddar, veggies, and cilantro.

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Date shake smoothie.  Plain Greek yogurt, vanilla almond milk, ice, dulce de leche, and fresh dates.

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Lavender caramel.  I brought these back from my Philly trip and I wish I’d bought more!

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These leftovers eggs were better than they look.  With chicken hot dog, baby spinach, yellow bell pepper, and gouda cheese.

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A 2nd home-cooked dinner in one weekend?

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These – only ok – salmon patties came from the freezer, but I did make the tartar sauce.  Mayo, mustard, pickle relish, and dill.

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And I assembled the salads myself.  Romaine, ranch, heirloom baby tomatoes, pistachios, and an amazing blue cheese from Trader Joe’s.

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Duck, Duck… Bacon!

This week Adam and I tried duck bacon and fell head over heels in love.

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It’s probably a good thing that that package cost $14 or we’d be eating duck bacon for every meal!

Our other flavor theme was lavender caramelized almonds.

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Love Our Nuts sent me a giant bin (<– free sample) and I put them to good use.

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In a pan over medium-high heat dry toast 2 cups of raw almonds for 2-3 minutes until starting to brown.  Add 1 Tbsp evoo, 2 pinches of salt, and 1/4 cup lavender sugar and cook 1-2 more minutes, stirring regularly, until the sugar is fully melted and the almonds are coated.  Spread almonds on a greased cookie pan or sheet of tin foil until fully cooled before storing.  If you want to try this recipe at home Love Our Nuts is actually hosting a giveaway right now, all you have to do is visit their social media pages.

I also had a lavender doughnut from Doughnut Plant.

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For this week’s coffee I cold brewed my Birch cold brew blend.

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The tasting notes say caramel and chocolate finish so I stirred a dollop of caramel into this cup because why not?

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I also had a really fantastic latte from Gorilla.

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And a Starbucks latte that didn’t actually pair that well with savory trail mix.

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Yogurt bowls for lunch.  Plain Siggi’s with chopped plum and lavender almonds.

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And fig with chopped plucot and KIND maple chia granola.  Plus a so-so kombucha from Trader Joe’s.

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Chocolate x2.

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A coworker and I got tasty drinks at Grand Army after a particularly long day.  This Trans-Siberian tasted like an adult Capri Sun!  I also had a fantasmic peach sour beer.

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The night Adam was at work I ate Mexican leftovers in bed.

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But the other nights were duck bacon extravaganzas!

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Like this duck bacon, double cream gouda, and egg toasted croissantwich.

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Served with a spinach salad with lavender almonds (dressed in evoo and lavender honey and lavender salt!).

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Killer cheese plate.

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Envy apple, baby carrots, orange and yellow bell pepper, lavender almonds, duck devils on horseback, gouda, and sharp cheddar.

Have you tried duck bacon yet?

Independence Day Eats

I hope all of my American readers enjoyed their 4th of July.  I had a three day weekend with Adam and a holiday with theme colors so you know I was happy!

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Here were the on theme (summer!) eats…

Is iced coffee a summer food?  I guess not really for me because I drink it 365 days of the year sun or snow.

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Red, white, and blue smoothie.  Strawberry / banana yogurt / blueberry.

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Watermelon lunch.  Chobani, fresh melon, and seltzer.

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Boozy root beer float.  Root beer beer, dark rum, dulce de leche, and vanilla bean gelato.

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Cook out dinner that we totally made in-doors.  Turkey hot dogs, oven-roasted corn on the cob, and Eat Live Run’s bbq kale and beans.

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I added ketchup for dipping, seltzer for sipping, and a strawberry beer to the meal after we sat down.

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See also – Genesee Cream Ale and a giant platter of nachos at a dive bar in Brooklyn.

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Trader Joe’s shooting star cookies.

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Pop rocks have kind of been our favorite this year.

I’m off to enjoy a four-day work week!

Wrap Up, Guava Cheese Week

Important things first, check out this fantastic photo I snapped of the dog:

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He is my favorite!

This week’s meals were themed around one of my culinary favorites – guava and cheese.  We put this carton of guava paste to very good use.

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There’s some leftover and we have big plans for tropical smoothies.

I didn’t do the best job of taking photos this week – there’s at least one day missing from each meal category – but I did capture the really yummy stuff…

I didn’t make coffee at home so I had to get my fix from Starbucks and the coffee shop at work.  We had a freebie ready on our registered Starbucks card so I got to go a little crazy.

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Have you registered your Starbucks card yet?  Do it!  Even if you only stop in occasionally the rewards and perks add up quickly.

With an eggtastic sandwich.

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With cheddar and turkey bacon on toasted whole-wheat.

And a really fantastic Larabar.

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Hazelnut, hemp, and crunchy bits of cacao

This kombucha and seltzer were both on top of their game.

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Sadly the mango coconut chia pudding from Trader Joe’s was not to my taste at all.  I threw it out two bites in and headed to the cafeteria instead.

Oatmeal day.  Chia, cashews, freeze-dried berries, and cookie butter on top.

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Plus a sweet and juicy Smitten apple.

I even brought guava for lunch one day.

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With white nectarine, granola, and the last of some plain Greek yogurt.

It was a very snacky week but the only thing I managed a picture of were these mini pb cups.

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I recommend them highly.

Guava cheese week win – quesadillas!

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We spread flour tortillas with guava pasta, smothered them in low-fat shredded mozzarella, and pan cooked them with a bit of evoo.

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Plus roasted green beans.

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These were basically the un-fried version of the empanada I’m obsessed with from the truck in downtown Brooklyn.

We also made pizza.

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On TJ’s frozen thin crust (our favorite) with turkey summer sausage on top.  Amazing.

Yesterday we happily skipped guava and cheese in favor of a date night dinner at Pig & Khao.  This Burmese eggplant salad was one of the best dishes we’ve ever put in our faces.

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Grilled eggplant, peanuts, dried shrimp, and mint, scooped with shrimp chips.  Umami.  Neither of us could stop raving about it.

My Khao Soi wasn’t bad either.  Red curry, coconut milk, chicken, egg noodles, pickled mustard greens, and red onions.

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Slurping long noodles meant I ended up head to toe covered in red curry but it was worth it.

I cooled down my mouth with the Ginpo.

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Gin, grapefruit, cinnamon, and prosecco.

While we were in the neighborhood, we finally checked out the Magnum store.  It’s the famous ice cream bars hand-dipped in chocolate and sprinkled and drizzled with your 3 choices from the toppings bar.

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We got vanilla / dipped in milk chocolate / topped with gold flake, rose petals, and espresso sugar / drizzled with dark chocolate.  It was good, the shell was wonderfully thick, but I was definitely glad Adam was there to share with me.

Destination City

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this week I loved…

Neutrogena Revitalizing Lip Balm.  It took me forever to find a balm with both tint and spf but this one fits the bill perfectly!

A blog book review.  Dawn Lerman’s My Fat Dad was sent to me free of charge to try/read for the blog.  Her chapter on moving to New York City walked the reader through the different cultural food neighborhoods in a way that made my mouth water.

Living in a destination city.  I had two different sets of friends visiting NYC for work trips this week.  It was fantastic to get to catch up with them!  However, I went out after work for dinner and/or drinks multiple times and I am flipping exhausted.

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P.S.  My favorite bar (Pork Slope in Park Slope) now has $1 jello shots, clearly I backed the right horse!

this week I ate…

Vietnamese-ish iced coffee.

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A killer smoothie – with banana, blueberry, and avocado.  So creamy.

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Poppy seed bagel with olive cream cheese.

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Oatmeal bowl.  With cookie butter and a pixie tangerine.

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Greek yogurt bowl with Cheerios and plums.  I also crumbled a brownie in there (see below) and it was pretty fantastic.

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Taboule salad from the cafeteria.

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Whole Foods hot bar.  Lots of veggies, rice with black beans and cheddar, and broccoli mac and cheese.

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I needed a 2nd coffee snack more than once.

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Turkey jerky.

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Best ever brownies.  Just this recipe without the fluff.

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Baby carrots with great feta dip.

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I had Thai food in Williamsburg with Adam and a girlfriend.  Drunken noodles with mock duck that were as spicy as they were delicious.

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We cooled our mouths down with soft-serve from Milk Bar.  Fruity pebble soft-serve(!!) with fudge sauce and sprinkles.

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Indian at the Grand Central food court.  And yes, I realize that is a lame spot to take an out-of-towner.

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Starbucks sandwich for a quick dinner on the train and then I went straight to bed!

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I did make dinner at home one night!  Whole-wheat vermicelli noodles with ginger and garlic chicken, shredded cabbage, bell pepper, and a tahini lime sauce.  With cashews on top plus tons of Sriracha after the picture.

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We snacked on a servings’ worth of cashews and sliced bell pepper while we cooked.

Good friends, good eats, it was a good week!

Lilia, Looking Glass, Loves

In spite of the rain, Adam and I had an absolutely lovely weekend.  Let’s be real though, we think going to the grocery store is a hot date, so pretty much anytime we’re together is considered lovely!

We tried a new restaurant, explored Prospect Heights a bit, spent a rainy morning running errands, saw “Alice Through the Looking Glass” (<– only ok), got in a long walk with the dog before the rain, and caught up on TV.  I even managed to get in a short run before the skies opened.  I was up and out of bed before 7:30 on Sunday which gave us a much earlier start than usual.

Here are the highbites…  <— ahahahaha

Did everyone celebrate National Donut Day on Friday?  Doughnut Plant gave out free mini sprinkle doughnuts with all purchases.

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I got a tres leches cake doughnut and a super strong Vietnamese iced coffee.  The freebie was actually my favorite part.

Soursop (my favorite fruit!) juice from Gloria’s.

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It smelled amazing in there and we want to go back and get a meal soon.

The movie may not have been great but our cola-themed snacks were on point.

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We weren’t expecting much from 7-11 brand pop rocks but they were the fizziest I’ve ever had.

Saturday night we tried out a new restaurant in Williamsburg – Lilia.

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Our meal ended up being fabulous!  We started with housemade mozzarella on toasted garlic bread with lemon and bottarga (salted, cured fish roe).

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Plus roasted trumpet mushrooms with arugula, balsamic, and toasted almonds.  The ‘shrooms were too chewy for my taste, but Adam adored them.

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And I had an Aperol Spritz that was fantastic with our appetizers.

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My dinner was the best plate of the night, sheep’s milk cheese filled agnolotti pasta with saffron, honey, and dried tomatoes.  The creamy filling and (wonderfully) chewy pasta were wonderful with the slightly sweet and spicy (thanks to a bit of pepper) sauce.  We were both swooning.

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We had to go to dinner quite early to ensure we could score a table as a walk-in so we had time afterwards for more date night fun.  Brooklyn Cupcake – oreo cheesecake and flan filled.

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And beers at Barcade.

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Adam and I had an absolute blast playing a two-player game where you hunted ghosts.  I never played arcade games with guns growing up but I think I got the hang of it pretty quickly.

Sunday’s dinner made use of a former freebie – Popkoff’s Chicken Pelmeni.  The dumplings were delicious, the chicken was perfectly seasoned.

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We tossed them with sautéed onion, shredded brussels sprouts, and chicken hot dog, and Neufchatel cheese and smoked paprika.

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I have one more Popkoff’s coupon and then I will definitely be buying the products with my own money.