Royal Weekend; Highlights

by Emily

Normally I am a Brooklyn girl, but over the three-day weekend I spent some time loving Queens. One day for Flushing and one for Astoria. Also Adam and I both had Monday off and we spent the day eating our way from Chelsea to SoHo!

Here are the highlights, minus several ice cream stops and several more coffees…

Doughnut date!

Chocolate salted caramel from Dough and a latte from Blue Sky.

Fancy yogurt bowls.

Plain Siggis + 2 types of plucot + chia seeds + crumbled graham cracker pie crust.

The crust was leftover from a failed s’mores cookie batch I attempted last week.

Brunch with a girlfriend at Burnside Biscuits. We both got Salty Dogs.

And I got a classic (duck fat!) biscuit with a sunny side up egg and sharp cheddar.

Related:: Adam and I went to Sweet Chick for a dimly lit dinner and had duck sloppy joes. Also two different cocktails with sherry!

Sandwiches at BEC = bacon, egg, and cheese.

I got a Junior with turkey bacon.

Sandwiches at Blue Ribbon. I got the pulled bbq chicken with cole slaw on top.

BRFC feels pretty chain restaurant/fast food but the sandwich was delicious. The bun was meh (I rarely eat the bun on a sandwich like this anyway) but the chicken was juicy with some perfectly charred crispy bites.

Presso Coffee is the cutest and their maple lattes are on point.

Related:: another day I got a quad nonfat latte from Kinship Coffee Cooperative that was super good.

Oreo milk tea with boba and pudding from Kung Fu Tea.

We explored the New World Mall food court and want to go back asap.

We didn’t stop to eat that day though, our hearts were already set on Xi’an Famous Foods.

Their spicy hand-torn noodles make the most satisfying dish you’ve ever tasted.

Trader Joe’s chile relleno is the best frozen meal ever.

I would give this dish two thumbs up if I thought a restaurant had made it fresh.

Important note – you can buy cups of edible cookie dough.

Just fyi.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

4Sep2015

This Week I Loved…

by Emily

the start of apple month

September 1st means I go crazy eating all things {caramel} apple!

And breaking into this stash makes me feel less awkward about my growing pile of pumpkin items.

everything by George Ezra

But especially “Blame It On Me.”

my breakfast combo

Fiber One reached out to me about sending samples of their newest product – Cheesecake Bars! I am not one to turn down something that has 5 grams of fiber and tastes like cheesecake.

They come in strawberry and salted caramel and they are freaking delicious. Each moderately sized bar has 150 calories. They certainly aren’t as healthy as a bowl of oatmeal, but I can handle the 3.5 grams of saturated fat occasionally for something quick that keeps me full through the morning and really does taste like dessert.

I paired a caramel bar with a caramel macchiato one morning and it was a bit too much but also amazing.

But most mornings I kept my coffee pairing low-key, Community Coffee with cream and milk.

Yum, I love it when we have (fat-free) half and half in the fridge.

yogurt bowls

2% Fage with strawberries and Heritage Flakes.

Plain Skyr with cotton candy grapes(!!!) and sea salt caramel apple granola.

Omg, kids, the granola was insanely good. It took a lot of self-control not to go through and pick out all of the caramel bits.

salads

Loaded from the cafeteria.

Greens with ranch, peppers, tomato, cucumber, black bean and corn salsa, green olives, cheddar, and Sea Salt SuperSeedz from home. The pumpkin seeds gave this just the right amount of crunch.

At home.

The little strawberry glass is holding strawberry beer – Abita’s* deliciously juicy Strawgator.

And my “salad” – which had no greens because we ran out of spinach – was tons of chopped cucumber and sweet red pepper topped with TJ’s insanely spicy Sriracha ranch, shredded cheddar, roasted pecans, and a huge pile of pulled chicken with roasted garlic and honey bbq sauce.

Also I ate Chipotle salad two days in a row. No shame.

* apparently Abita makes a milk stout?! I want it so badly I can practically taste it.

31Aug2015

Weekend Highlights; I ♥ New York

by Emily

Taking Friday off meant I had a three-day weekend to spend exploring the city. I’m a Brooklyn girl at heart but this weekend I was all about Manhattan. We spent three full days walking or eating or eating while walking and you know those are all my favorite activities! Long story with lots of gushing short: I love it here! I think NYC is one of the most beautiful places on the planet and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Since we ate pretty much nonstop, this is going to be a lengthy post. I cut what I could and am only including the exciting stuff. Working alphabetically always seems to make the most sense to me…

Chelsea Market {Chelsea}.

Friday afternoon, after my girlfriend left and before Adam got off of work, I took myself on a ramen date at Mokbar.

I got the brothy chicken ramen – roasted ginger chicken broth, pulled chicken, and cucumber and garlic chive kimchi, topped with a soft-boiled egg.

Very nice, especially the egg, but not quite as good as Chuko Ramen.

Gansevoort Market {Meatpacking District}.

I actually didn’t love any of the items I ate there, but it was too pretty not to show. A burnt, gross, maple cortado from Champion Coffee.

And a shimmery birthday cake macaron from Dana’s Bakery.

It wasn’t the best macaron ever (found at Bakeshop by Woops!), but I still want to go back for the s’mores and cookie dough.

The High Line {Chelsea}.

I had a crab cake empanada from La Sonrisa.

Lump blue crab, cream cheese, lemon juice, breadcrumbs, and spices. Good, but nothing can hold a candle to the guava-cheese at the truck near my train. <– The food was good this weekend but I guess a lot of it did come up short compared with past experiences. Good thing the walking was so darn fun!

Magnolia Bakery {Greenwich Village}.

Adam swooned over his s’mores cupcake and I got the legendary banana pudding.

Totally worth the accolades and Magnolia’s tourist destination status.

Nutella Bar at Eataly.

My Nutella iced latte was on point.

Peanut butter jelly smoothie. The only homemade item yummy enough to make it into this post.

We blended up frozen grapes and dark cherries with plain Siggi’s yogurt, peanut butter, and honey.

Brunch at Penelope {Kips Bay}. A girlfriend from my University of Buffalo days came into the city for a visit. We split a pitcher of rosé sangria with mango and watermelon.

And I ordered a BBELT – double (fakin) bacon, over-medium egg, lettuce, and tomato, with black pepper balsamic mayo on toasted sourdough. With hand-cut fries.

Much better than a boring old BLT.

Pier A Harbor House {Battery Park} for Brooklyn Brewery‘s Long Hall Lager.

Sooooo creamy, it was fantastic. And especially enjoyable after a 2 miles walk on the water down Battery Place.

We stopped at Brookfield Place to admire the view and now need to go back immediately for lunch.

Red Farm {Greenwich Village} for playful dim sum.

The space was beautiful, nothing was there by accident, and pro tip – the toilet seats are heated! We shared drinks, small plates, and an entrée. A nice rosé from Washington.

The Bee’s Teas – Chamomile tea-infused Bird Dog Bourbon, figs, lemon, basil, Runny Honey, and chamomile tincture. Not bad, but not as good as the honey drink we had last week.

We got the Pac Man shrimp dumplings and the crispy duck and crab dumplings.

Super fun, but we felt like the dim sum menu was more about the “wow factor” than great flavor. Our entrée, on the other hand, was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.

The wide rice noodles with shredded duck were freaking packed with duck. There was honestly more meat than noodles! And the meat was perfectly cooked, crispy and succulent. We were in heaven.

Smorgasburg Queens {Long Island City}.

It was the perfect time to try Wooly’s shaved ice.

Party rocks = crushed Fruity Pebbles and Pop Rocks.

Sokerbit {Greenwich Village} for gummy candy goodness.

This Swedish candy shop is amazing, giant bulk bins of candy, mostly licorice and cola flavored (my two favorites!). I came away with a giant bag.

Everything we’ve tasted so far has been wonderful.

Victory Garden {Greenwich Village} for locally made goat’s milk yogurt.

I got the tangy original flavor, topped with goat’s milk caramel, sprinkles, and halvah. OMG.

What’s your favorite city?

24Aug2015

Weekend Highlights – Rockaway Beach And Roberta’s

by Emily

We have got to squeeze every last drop of fun out of this summer before fall hits. We made the most of our weekend with a beach trip and ice cream all day every day.

I’ve been crazy hungry lately so these pictures are just a drop in the bucket, but here are the highlights…

Coffee! While I made my grocery list.

The Vietnam blend from Starbucks is great with cocoa, cinnamon, and sugar.

And the maple latte at Caffé Bene is on point.

Toasted turkey cheese sandwich.

Multi-grain bread with smoked turkey, colby jack, mayo, and lots of pickles.

Plus roasted broccoli on the side.

More roasted broccoli (and more of that plate).

This time with truffle salt.

And Applegate chicken nuggets with a Sriracha honey mustard dipping sauce.

Frozen yogurt. Birthday cake topped with chocolate stuff and Nutella.

Pizza from Roberta’s. We will definitely be back! Cheesus Christ = mozzarella, taleggio, parmigiano, black pepper, and cream.

Sunday afternoon we went down to Tacoway Beach. They put rum in our watermelon juice and guacamole on our fish tacos.

Plus we got Tostilocos, a big back of chips, black beans, seasoned cabbage, cojita, and Japanese peanuts.

Then we spent some time on the beach.

And stopped by Connolly’s for the all-time best frozen piña coladas.

Have a great week!

21Aug2015

Left My Heart In Montana

by Emily

I’m missing a lot of photos this week but the meals I do have to share were off the charts good.

lunch

Mostly I did lunches from the cafeteria this week, like a tasty broccoli and cheese baked potato whose cell-phone photo was an absolute horror. Packed lunches featured a great fruit salad – Cara Cara Orange, strawberries, and 3 varieties of pluot.

With plain yogurt and Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.

notable snacks

Fresh mint in sparkling water is my jam. This “mojito” rocked our socks off.

We’ve kept the dessert every day thing going. One morning Adam took me to work and we tried the doughnuts at Elsie’s Parlor. I got the Confettura Di Fichi – filled with fig jam and topped with mascarpone and toasted almonds.

I loved the idea of this, especially because the fig jam and mascarpone were delicious, but the texture was terrible, way too dense. If I thought of it was a muffin it was great, but as a doughnut I ate half and we moved on to a tried and true.

Now that’s a doughnut! My peaches and crème doughseed had just the right balance of fluff and chew. Plus it was perfectly tangy and sweet.

Vegan ice cream from Sky Ice.

Thai iced coffee and Thai young coconut went great together.

Ice cream from Oddfellows.

S’mores with amazing caramelized white chocolate with toasted almond.

Guava-cheese empanadas.

Enjoyed with Ruth Reichl’s novel, which I read in a day and a half and enjoyed even more than her memoir. She is such a good story-teller and her food writing makes your mouth water.

dinner

Leftover Korilla knock-off bowls were still yummy.

I stir-fried mine with eggs to make up for the missing one on top.

Also I kind of burnt the life out of it, but this was still good.

It was fitting that I put this dinner on my heart plate because I loved-loved-loved it.

A tiny roasted pile of every single okra I could find at the stores this weekend.

Plus I snacked on this for extra veggies.

Toasted ciabatta sandwich with turkey, turkey bacon, Colby jack, and Smart Balance.

The cheese was extra-thin sliced and it melted to perfection.

We checked out Bushwick’s Montana’s Trail House and our best meal of the week ended up being the best meal of the year!

Adorable décor, amazing service, and freshly made food – most of it local – with well-balanced flavors.

Captain Stormalong – Standard Heartcut White Whiskey, Campari, Demerara & Topped with Downeast Cider.

Riff Randell – Vodka, Krupnikas Honey Liqueur, Contratto Aperitif, Luxardo Maraschino, Acid Phosphate, Sparkling Wine. This was the best drink we’ve ever had. It was like drinking pure honey but in an amazing way. Similar to a great honey meade I had in SF.

We started with the charred green beans – which were topped with browned garlic and soft-cooked eggs and served on top of housemade ricotta. This was the best dish of the year, the lemony ricotta was fantastic with the drippy eggs and charred greens.

Then we shared the dinosaur kale salad – with feta, roasted carrots, and kale that was grown in the restaurant’s rooftop garden!

And the fried chicken with honey butter and housemade hot sauce. Best fried chicken ever; super juicy and every bite had a whiff of honey.

Dessert – aka the course I saw on Instagram that made me move this restaurant to my “must-eat” list – was banana bread s’mores. <– squee!

Also they brought us complimentary shots with our bill because we’d been raving about every bite we took. Love. NYC people – get yourself to Bushwick, you won’t regret it!

17Aug2015

Weekend Highlights… A Bevy of Beverages

by Emily

notable snacks – –

Froyo again. Can’t stop, won’t stop.

Plain tart and Nutella yogurts with Nutella, mini peanut butter cups, chocolate-covered pretzels, and rainbow sprinkles.

Pizza-pizza.

Buffalo chicken.

We bought the new brownie batter Oreos.

Pretty good, especially when you smush two together for a double-stuffed.

Fresh mint in bubbly seltzer is delicious.

Best of all the many, many beverages we enjoyed this weekend. There were also several iced coffees that didn’t make the photos cut.

Long Island City – –

Saturday morning I picked up a very tired husband from a long shift at work,

and we finally hit up LIC Flea and Food.

We got mac and cheese and chicken empanadas.

And a Nutella gelato and macaroon ice cream sandwich from Bakeshop by Woops.

We explored LIC a bit with a walk on the waterfront.

A stop at the gorgeous newest Sweet Leaf location for an intensely creamy Vietnamese iced coffee.

And finally a flight of beers from Rockaway Brewing Co.

#2, 4, 7, & 8. We were very impressed. The cream ale was the best.

Williamsburg – –

Matchabar.

Iced matcha on fresh watermelon juice. It was good, but not something I’m dying to go back for again.

On the other hand, lunch at Meatball Shop will be repeated very soon. I need to make an ice cream sandwich.

I got the jello shot special – Jack and Rosé.

And chicken meatballs with pesto.

They were served on an assortment of veggies – fennel, salad with apple, roasted squash, cucumber, and fresh green beans – that were tasty but literally dripping with oil.

a doggy date – –

On Sunday Webster took his first ride on the subway.

We went on a family trip to Central Park!

He was a total trooper for 3 hours of walking around the park. We cooled down with a honey iced tea,

and a double caramel Magnum bar.

And some of us had bowls of water that we stomped in and spilled all over the place.

Webster was beyond tuckered out when we got home and spent most of the rest of the day curled up in my lap!

homemade Korilla knock-off bowls – –

I made knock-off chicken and rice bowls and the husband said I did as good of a job as Korilla!

brown rice with chopped kimchi and turkey bacon
roasted broccoli
quick pickled carrots and cucumber
chicken that was marinated in Gochujang paste, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, and rice vinegar
shredded cheese and a fried egg on top

So good. I am excited for the leftovers.

31Jul2015

My Year Is Off To A Good Start

by Emily

enjoyed all week

Coffees. Also naps.

Apparently my parents wore us out; I had a to take a nap before I could make dinner the first three nights of the week.

Diet chocolate soda from Polar.

I know it sounds a little strange but we were fans.

Our leftovers from The Smith. Eaten cold while standing in front of the open fridge.

My mac and cheese was fantastic leftover and so was my mom’s Mexican corn.

A big box of free samples {free as in provided free of charge / no other compensation for this post / yada, yada } from Super Seedz.

I wouldn’t have thought of pumpkin seeds as a favorite of mine but I’ve loved all of the flavors we’ve tried so far. Flavor options include: Really Naked, Sea Salt, Cinnamon & Sugar, Coco Joe, Tomato Italiano, Curious Curry, Somewhat Spicy and Super Spicy. They pack a nutritional punch – see the infographic (provided by the company) below – and Super Seedz are allergen friendly – peanut-free, tree nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, fish-free, shellfish-free, soy-free and made with gluten-free ingredients.

breakfast

After we dropped my parents at the airport on Monday, Adam and I went on a doughnut(plant) and coffee date before work. Because apparently we hadn’t eaten enough crap over my birthday weekend.

My strawberry-filled vanilla got two thumbs up.

As did my maple latte from Gorilla.

Coco pumpkin seeds and cold-pressed watermelon juice.

TJ’s came through on this juice, it was wonderfully refreshing.

Chocolate-cherry smoothie.

Vanilla almond milk with coco powder, frozen cherries, and dates. I enjoyed this combo and want to make it again soon.

Snack plate.

A cheese stick, cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds, and a medley of grapes.

lunch

Chocolate chip cookie oats.

With an apple and coco pumpkin seeds.

Sweet and spicy tuna salad.

With grapes and cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds.

I didn’t have to provide my own lunch the rest of the week! I attended a lunch-and-learn on malnutrition in surgical patients on Tuesday.

They gave us education, salad, and yummy sandwiches with hummus and roasted eggplant. And I mainlined coffee (with tons of milk and cream) when I got back to my desk.

On Thursday the hospital threw an employee appreciation bbq.

Very sweet!

dinner

Pizza, pizza.

We used TJ’s frozen crusts and were so impressed with how they turned out. Topped with marinara, mozzarella, and tons of garlic and onion sautéed mushrooms.

Plus super simple salads on the side.

Just arugula blend with ranch dressing. They were a bit depressing. But we also had beer.

I carried this Southern Tier Compass all the way back home from Buffalo but unfortunately it was a bit hoppy for our tastes.

Burger night.

I made my Buffalo Blue Bean Burgers. They don’t look like much but this is one of my best recipes!

With a trio of roasted veggies: Brussels sprouts, green beans, and broccoli.

Served with maple bacon kettle chips, aka my favorite chips because they are the best chips of all time.

They were doing a promotion and handing out mini bags at my railroad station and it was very exciting.

Last night I met up with a girlfriend for dinner in Brooklyn. We checked out Elbow Room, the mac and cheese window at Morgan’s BBQ.

Milk stout.

Old School Mac – NY state sharp cheddar, béchamel, and garlic breadcrumbs.

With collard greens that were spicy and vegetarian. Dinner was good but dessert was better.

Salted crack caramel and honey peanut butter ice creams from Ample Hills. But they were supposed to have key lime pie ice cream available and they didn’t so now I need to go back immediately and it’s a problem.

29Jul2015

Birthday Weekend Wrap-Up {I’m 30!}

by Emily

My parents came to visit last weekend and Adam had two full days off so we were able to have lots of family fun. My mom and dad technically didn’t come for my birthday, the dates just worked out, but we spent the weekend doing all of my favorite city things – walking, and eating, and eating while walking! – and hanging out with good childhood friends so it was pretty perfect. And I’m 30 now, whomp, whomp.

Here are some highlights of the best places we walked and things we ate from the weekend…

Thursday night we walked around Williamsburg and had dinner at Pies ‘n Thighs. I had hibiscus iced tea.

And a chicken biscuit with hot sauce and honey butter.

Instead of pie we did dessert at Milk Bar.

Cereal milk soft-serve with cornflakes and hot fudge.

Friday we drove up to Montauk to explore. We checked out the beachfront towns and hiked along this very cool stone pathway near the lighthouse.

We stopped at the Long Island Levain and fell in love with the giant walnut chocolate chip cookies.

And had lunch at Lunch.

The seafood bisque was good.

But lobster rolls were better. They give you a big pile of buttered hot lobster meat and let you assemble your sandwich yourself.

We stopped at a random restaurant late that night on our drive back and ended up having an amazing meal but I have no pictures because I wrongly assumed it would be terrible. Adam and I plan on going back very soon for the flourless chocolate cake (though next time it won’t come with a birthday candle!).

Saturday was spent in Park Slope and Midtown. We started with Doughnut Plant.

Everyone loved their doughnuts (minus the beignets which just aren’t up to Plant standards) but tres leches are clearly the best.

Then trained to Grand Central Station.

Cold brew from Café Grumpy.

We shopped a bit, then explored Chelsea Market and The Highline.

Watermelon juice from Num Pang was refreshing.

And so was the mint seltzer from Brooklyn Soda Works.

We headed back to Brooklyn for dinner. Drinks at Pork Slope, aka my favorite bar. And hibiscus vodka is definitely a favorite drink option.

We got tater tots and spicy chicken nuggets – meh and yum! respectively – for appetizers which was good because I actually hadn’t tried any of the food at PS prior to that.

Dinner was Luke’s for round 2 of lobster rolls.

Best in the city, I think. And they had cans of Downeats, the tasty cider I tried last weekend in Buffalo.

I didn’t take a photo of the maple soft-serve at Corner of Vermont but it was worth a mention.

Sunday was our SoHo/Lower East Side Day.

We started in DUMBO to park near the F train.

And had to get coffees at Brooklyn Roasting Co.

Then we had amazing brunch at Russ & Daughter’s.

My “Lower Sunny Side” came with sunny side up eggs, Nova lox, and latkes.

Ice cream at Morganstern’s.

Omg. Vietnamese coffee and raw milk ice creams topped with fudge sauce and double Luxardo cherries. I assumed everyone would share with me and they did not but I still managed to take this down.

We ended our weekend with dinner at The Smith. The drink menu was on point; my “East Village Passion” had rum, lime, passionfruit, and fresh mint.

We had ridiculously good fried green beans to start.

I saw photos of the mac and cheese on instagram and had no choice to order that for my meal.

With a watermelon and feta salad.

So good. We ordered the s’mores jar for dessert, obviously.

Sadly I didn’t love it, but Adam was more than happy to eat my share. Since he did not eat a giant ice cream after lunch that’s probably fair! We will definitely go back again.

I left some things out because this post is already a bit lengthy, but I seriously did almost everything I love. With the people I love. <– aww!

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: booze

Royal Weekend; Highlights

This Week I Loved…

Weekend Highlights; I ♥ New York

Weekend Highlights – Rockaway Beach And Roberta’s

Left My Heart In Montana

lunch

notable snacks

dinner

Weekend Highlights… A Bevy of Beverages

My Year Is Off To A Good Start

enjoyed all week

breakfast

lunch

dinner

Birthday Weekend Wrap-Up {I’m 30!}