Oahu Part III, Fun Places We Ate

by Emily

We were blown away by how good everything we ate on this trip was! Hawaiian chefs are absolutely killing it. The next time we go back to Hawaii I would strongly consider returning to Oahu just to revisit some of these spots!

I really tried to limit my picture taking and this post will be a million pages long if I list out every single thing we ate so this will just be the highlights of the highlights…

** Kona Coffee Purveyors.

Nitro Kona coffee with a black sesame kougan amann (not shown). Affogato.

** Leonard’s Bakery.

This malasada (Portuguese doughnut) stuffed with guava cream was my favorite bite of the entire trip.

** Matsumoto Shave Ice.

This was my favorite shave ice of the trip; the flavors were spot on and the ice cream was wonderfully chewy and a great foil to the ice. Guava, passion fruit, and strawberry on top of vanilla ice cream and topped with condensed milk.

** O’Kims.

Dumplings stuffed with king oyster mushroom, button ear wood, yellow squash, zucchini, and truffle paste, topped shoyu jelly and pickled dikon.

Korean fried chicken with gochujang, housemade gnocchi, brussel sprouts, purple rice, and kimchi.

** The Pig and the Lady.

Midday Run – mezcal, passion fruit, vanilla, habanero, and lemon (not shown). Le Swoon – Kohana rum agricole, Okinawan sweet potato, pandan, coconut milk, cinnamon, lime, and aphrodite bitters.

Chocolate banana tart with Valrhona dark chocolate cremeux, chocolate cookie crust, fresh banana and banana marmalade, toasted hazelnuts, and tamarind caramel.

** Piggy Smalls.

This was hands down our best meal of the trip! We ordered all the things. Brussel sprouts with makrut lime, peanut, fried shallots, cabbage slaw, and pickled red onions.

Stir-fried ramen noodles with aged garlic shoyu, Chinese chives, pickled fresno chile, and shrimp.

Lychee infused milk cake with blueberry compote, lychee chantilly cream, and lemon citrus streusel.

Hanoi egg coffee, Kona dark roast poured on whipped egg yolk and vanilla bean.

** The Surfing Pig.

Best cocktails of the trip. I drank way too much prior to our 10 hour red-eye flight. The bartender was crazy talented and also maybe my new favorite person – she hugged us on our way out. Smoked rosemary mezcal margarita. I also had a spicy paloma with mezcal (not shown).

** Waiola Shave Ice.

Guava and passion fruit with vanilla ice cream, condensed milk, and housemade mochi.

20Dec2019

Warm To Cold

by Emily

St. Thomas was amazing, vacation was amazing. My friends and I all had a really good time and want to go back immediately!

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I guess if I have to be back in the cold I’m glad it’s when New York is at its most glittery and beautiful!

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It was a short week with travel on Monday, but we have eaten some yummy stuff.

Five highlights are –

{1} Mint Vietnamese coffee. The pour over system was super easy and mint in coffee is delicious.

{2} Lunch at Gramercy Tavern. I met up with a girlfriend who suggested this spot and now I need to go back with Adam ASAP. I had a Tower Bridge cocktail with gin, earl grey, almond grappa, and egg white. And duck andouille sausage with grits and roasted pears.

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{3} After lunch I introduced her to Caffe Panna! The affogato special sundae was peppermint mocha ice cream with junior mints, oreo crumble, nocciolata drizzle, mocha dusted whipped cream, and espresso.

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{4} Sushi! I don’t crave/eat sushi all that often but we had it when we were in St. Thomas and ever since I’ve been obsessed. It helps that Kaiyo is walking distance from our apartment and amazing. I’ve gone there more than once this week! This is spicy salmon // tuna and avocado topped with salmon, seaweed salad, and tobiko // spicy crab salad and avocado topped with tempura flakes, tuna, avocado, and special sauce.

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{5} Dinner at Atoboy, a shareable plates Korean restaurant in NoMad. The style of the menu meant we got to try a ton. Top highlights were charred cabbage with yuba (tofu skin) and smoked trout roe // chrysanthemum salad with leeks, plum, and cheddar // *sunchokes with oyster mushrooms, black truffle, and orange // sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch) granita with burrata soft serve and walnut.

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23Sep2019

Quality Time

by Emily

It was the best weekend ever; my boys came to visit me!!!!!

The three of us had just the absolute best time. It helped that we ate and drank such yummy things but mostly it was great to hold Adam’s hand while Webster sat in my lap.

We really made the most of Charlottesville too, we went to our two favorite restaurants and our two favorite drink spots, walked a ton downtown, ran at Riverside Park, and even went to a polo match with a group of my coworkers.

Highlights (including some random things I ate on Friday) include…

An Apple Month breakfast, Trader Joe’s caramel apple yogurt with cinnamon cereal.

Brunch at Quality Pie. We split an egg and cheese biscuit and salmon with scrambled eggs and cream cheese on rye.

Also a chocolate chip cookie.

Hail Merry cookie dough bites.

Beers at Hardywood. Tropic like it’s Hot sour with dragon fruit, blueberry, passionfruit, and pineapple // Tropication IPA // The Great Return IPA // Raspberry Short Kate milkshake IPA brewed with milk sugar and fresh raspberries.

Cocktails at Vitae. S’mores = smoked rum, chocolate bitters, marshmallow simple syrup, orange, and a graham cracker rim.

Hawaiian take out from Mochiko. Mochiko fried chicken with cucumber kimchi, slaw, and rice. Plus a passionfruit shortbread bar.

A simple salad at home. Romaine with champagne vinaigrette, celery, cashews, and curried chicken salad.

Dinner at Little Star = the best meal of the weekend and also maybe the best thing I’ve eaten in 2019. We ordered all of the things but it was serendipitous that we overordered because now Adam has dinner for tonight after his long drive.

Heirloom tomatoes with strawberries, house-made ricotta, basil, red wine dressing and chili flakes.

French fries with tarragon aioli.

Esquites, sweet corn with spring onions, Kewpie mayo, chili corn hot sauce, cilantro, and green onion.

Braised lamb with pasilla de Oaxaca romesco, butter braised leeks, and sweet onions.

Chicken with mojo verde, brown butter, and crispy epazote.

Local coffee.

Basque cheesecake.

6Sep2019

Apple Of My Eye

by Emily

It was a good week in theme snacks, snacks in general, actually!

Today is National Coffee Ice Cream day and since I love coffee, and ice cream, and coffee ice cream (and dulce de leche!) I jumped at the chance when My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream offered to send me a box of samples to celebrate. My/Mo Dulce de Leche = coffee ice cream, wrapped in mochi dough, with a caramel core. I 10/10 loved them. Hands down the best mochi I’ve ever eaten. Now I’m dying to find their seasonal flavors!

Meanwhile, in Apple Month… I ate a bag of Trader Joe’s freeze-dried honeycrisp apples that I forgot to take a picture of but totally recommend. Also, pink lady kombucha and Siggi’s with apple.

Other snack highlights include… cold brew with salted caramel dark chocolate milk.

Black sesame cheese crisps.

Cookie dough Perfect Bar with a maple chicken jerky.

Birthday cake marshmallows (while reviewing glycolysis!).

I really loved my dinners this week, thanks in no small part to the fact that they were all smothered in Trader Joe’s zhoug sauce. Salads with romaine, baby heirloom tomatoes, TJ’s Greek feta dressing, TJ’s turkey summer sausage, tabbouleh, zhoug.

The best sheet pan hash I’ve made yet – summer sausage, potato, sweet potato, green onion, and cabbage.

23Aug2019

BLT FTW

by Emily

Life highlights from the past six days –

I survived my 2nd week without my boys. Adam has been super sweet about sending me a million photos of the most handsome dog in the world!
I’ve had a ton of TPNs at work lately and I realized the other day just how comfortable I feel managing them now – I will never stop being grateful for this job opportunity, I have grown so much as a clinician the past year.
I saw, and loved, The Farewell. Such a sweet, funny movie; I can’t recommend it enough.
I went to a free yoga class with one of my coworkers and loooooved it! I had forgotten about just how much I enjoy yoga. I haven’t been in several years and it seems my balance has gotten much worse but my flexibility has gotten much better – I got myself into camel pose easily and comfortably.

Food highlights –

All of the coffee.

Hey Day Cold Brew.

Black and white ~~milkshake~~ cold brew – Grady’s with vanilla bean powder and chocolate milk.

Still obsessed with this chocolate chip cookie dough Perfect Bar that seems to only be sold at Trader Joe’s and has no internet presence.

This mango and nut mix is perfectly spicy-sweet.

This yogurt bowl was amazing. Strawberry quark with pluots, maple cashew butter, and homemade chocolate chip cookie.

I had a great assortment of gummy candies for the movie, lots of cola options.

These s’mores mochi have graham cracker ice cream and and a marshmallow center and all three of us thought they were fantastic.

Raspberry Short Kate! Hardywood‘s newest IPA brewed with milk sugar and raspberry.

Whole Foods hot bar – kale salad, cabbage crunch salad, carrot and harissa salad, breakfast potatoes, chicken sausage – with a side of chicken and waffle chips.

A swoon-worthy sandwich – local heirloom tomato, turkey bacon, and kewpie mayo on a bun.

BLT salad. Sweet baby lettuce with champagne vinaigrette, heirloom baby tomatoes, bacon, Dubliner cheese, and hickory smoked peanuts. Plus spicy roasted okra that my cousin made.

Leftover salad with delicious crab cakes that my cousin made.

Trader Joe’s frozen scallion pancakes with mayo, sriracha, and a side of roasted green beans.

12Jul2019

Local Love

by Emily

Highlights from this week – my in-laws are in town and we had fun showing them Charlottseville one last time // we had some great dinners out, including a new spot that’s a new favorite // Wissotzky Tea Company – an international, family-owned tea company based in Israel with offices in London and the United States – sent me some of their inventive flavors to try…

Coffee for the week: Trader Joe’s espresso blend with sweetened condensed milk.

Tea samples; their four newest, spiciest flavors: Ginger and Turmeric Spiced Chai, Pumpkin Spiced Chai, Salted Caramel Chai, Spiced Nana Mint Chai. I cold-brewed my cups per the company’s instructions – a ratio of 4 cups cold water to 5 tea bags, covered in the fridge for 15-36 hours.

Salted Caramel Chai with a splash half and half (added post picture).

Spiced Nana Mint Chai with sugar and fresh lime. <– fair warning, this flavor was too peppery for Adam’s tastes

Tropical flavors from the Mexican ice cream place down the street: passionfruit, guava, and mamey!

Plus I picked up these super interesting gummy candies. They have milk in them and the texture is extra soft and very unique.

Roasted green beans and TJ’s turkey corn dogs. Apparently I love corn dogs, I couldn’t stop raving about how tasty these were!

Sheet pan hash: potatoes, onion, bell pepper, shredded brussel sprouts, and maple chicken breakfast sausage.

Smoked Kitchen and Tap: a bbq spot we love in Crozet. I had smoked turkey, cole slaw, and creamed corn with smoked jalopeno.

The Local: an amazing spot in Bellmont. I had the best, most Southern plate – buttermilk-brined fried chicken with pimento cheese mac and cheese, collard greens, and house made hot sauce and a buttermilk-chive drizzle.

Modern Nosh: a newish, super cute deli (which means I finally have a deli in Charlottesville!).

I had a half turkey reuben and soup with the best matzoh ball of my life.

Plus we split latkes that were wonderfully full of garlic. Yum!

6Jun2019

Weekend Warrior

by Emily

Last weekend we visited my family at their cabin in Solomon Island Maryland. We got to see my dad, Webster went swimming, we ate crab cakes and rum and cokes… it was a perfect visit.

This weekend I’ll be taking another trip. I’m working a half day today and then heading to Charlotte, North Carolina for a nutrition support conference.

Five highlights from this week…

{1} Coffees in cans. All three were good but the Madrinas vanilla cappuccino was my favorite.

{2} Pie mixed in yogurt is my favorite dessert iteration. And this combo was such a winner – Siggi’s guava and leftover key lime pie from the weekend.

{3} Snow Cone Pouch! In birthday cake! The texture and flavor were both great, I highly recommend snagging one of these if you spot them.

{4} Whole Foods hot bar dinner. Thai green bean salad // baked beans // macaroni and cheese // steamed broccoli // tofu // orange chicken // Asian cabbage salad.

{5} Chicken and rice soup.

31May2019

Berries In My Sandwich And My Beer

by Emily

Five fun things from this week…

{1} Blanchard’s holiday blend coffee with sweetened condensed milk. And the next day I made a shakerato!

{2} A duo of fruity ales. I did not care for the tea taste of the Suncrush but the Troegs bosenberry tart ale was super interesting and packed with flavor.