Lattes, The Tyger, and Bambina Blue, Oh My

Highlights from an exceptionally yummy weekend…

We made dalgona iced lattes with chocolate milk. This is my favorite coffee texture.

Iced cinnamon roll from Mel The Bakery, aka the best cinnamon roll we’ve ever eaten. We regretted not buying more things and want to go back immediately.

Tres Leches x3 doughnut ice cream sandwich (tres leches ice cream sandwiched in a tres leches cake doughnut and dipped in tres leches chocolate coating!) from Doughnut Plant.

Hazelnut crunch gelato at Bambina Blue. We thought we weren’t big gelato fans but this spot has changed our tune.

Topo Chico has officially 100% sold me on alcoholic seltzers. These cans are delicious.

We had a wonderfully good lunch at The Tyger.

I had a Tyger Strype Slushee – Espolòn tequila, Shoumei white tea, peach, lemon, and smoke layered with Espolòn tequila, mango, lemon, honey, and cardamon.

Also a non-alcoholic Green Woods Laugh – mint, pandan, cucumber, and lemon – with Tito’s.

We shared hamachi crudo with Vietnamese salsa verde, coconut, microgreens, and cherry tomato.

Chicken satay with the most interesting/layered peanut sauce I’ve ever tasted.

Stir-fried water spinach with chili, garlic, and shrimp paste.

And Pad See Ew with Chinese broccoli and tofu. The tofu was a salt and pepper crusted silken tofu and it was fantastic.

Plus a Thai coffee tart with a bruleed top for dessert.

Dinner salads. Local butter lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette, mint, peas, lamb sausage, and raw milk aged cheddar. I see why the lamb + mint + pea pairing is a classic.

Pesto, Pasta, Peanut Butter

Highlights from the week…

Smoothie A – frozen cherries with plain skyr and chocolate milk.

Smoothie B – frozen mango and blueberries with plain Greek yogurt, key lime juice, and honey.

I 100% topped skyr with a chopped-up Reese’s cup. Plus nectarine, chia seeds, and honey.

The Flowers of Life Kombucha did not impress – vaguely tasted like ginger and was not at all floral – but Adam and I both enjoyed the Concord Grape.

Sparkling yuzu matcha. I still can’t beleive that I only started liking matcha in the past few years.

I made egg casserole with shredded mozarella, roasted zuccini, and chives. And I made homemade dumb bread! Served with golden nugget madarin.

Leftovers (topped with chili crisp) with yellow heirloom tomato with salt and Korean chili flake.

Whole-wheat spaghetti with a homemade spinach and pesto sauce plus shredded chicken and extra parmesan and pine nuts.

Trader Joe’s frozen Tteok Bokki (rice cakes in spicy sauce) with chicken, zuccini, and mozarella.

Coconut Caramel

Hi, there! It was a great week in snacks and eclectic dinners. We also ate an obscene amount of late-night pizza take-out but I took no pictures.

Highlights included…

Fruit salad! Fresh blackberries and Golden Nugget Mandarins dressed in maple and key lime juice.

Peanut-themed bars. Both were great.

Sparkly beverages. Both were good but not unmissable; surprisingly I prefer the original hibiscus water.

I recently bought coconut caramel from a Filipino store and, of course, it featured heavily in this week’s snacks.

Like kaya toast – whole wheat toast with coconut caramel, banana, and cinnamon.

And in yogurt bowls with blackberries and Whole Food’s Vietnamese coffee granola.

Boba milk tea mochi. These had just enough sweetness and just enough chew, I would definitely buy them again.

Adam is pretty sure he loved this Whole Food’s cinnamon bun kettle corn but he can’t be certain because I ate all of my portion and the majority of his too!

Cheeseburger inspired pasta bowls. Whole-wheat rotini / ground turkey cooked in a sauce that included tomato paste and yellow mustard / roasted baby tomatoes / baby spinach / chopped pickles / chopped white onion / smoked cheddar cubes.

Insanely good turkey meatloaf seasoned with hoisin sauce, cheddar cubes, and roasted sweet onion. Plus roasted purple and orange cauliflower.

Daring vegan chicken nuggets (10/10!) / roasted zucchini and brussel sprouts sautéed with a spicy black bean and nut butter sauce / homemade honey mustard.

Lunch

It was a wonderful weekend to kick off the arrival of warmer weather! Saturday Adam and I drove out to Montauk for some beach walking and lobster rolls. And Sunday we checked out Untermeyer Park and Gardens up in Yonkers.

Weekend highlights include…

A sparkling citrus matcha.

A boozy, frozen, coke coffee (coke ice cubes, amaretto, and espresso).

Espresso (plus chocolate milk) from King’s Coast. <– roasty, delicious, and easily the best coffee we’ve had all year

Vietnamese iced latte from Left Hand.

Jelly croissant from Montauk Bake Shoppe.

Lunch at Lunch Lobster Roll. I had a spicy bloody mary.

And a lobster salad roll.

Loads of take-out sushi.

Homemade, extra-chocolate-y brownies. A halved take on the Bakers square recipe with cocoa powder and espresso powder.

Whole Food’s pineapple pie cookie. This was as tasty as it was cute!

New best snack combo – chicken and waffle chicken chips with pimento cheese.

Trader Joe’s Frozen Aisle Wins

TGIF! Highlights from this week included…

Perfectly ripe champagne mangos. In a yogurt bowl with plain skyr, chia seeds, and granola.

Blue Point’s Gelato Drip double IPA was good but not as good as I was expecting.

Synergy’s Bloom kombucha (with elderflower, jasmine, and violet) was twice as good as anticipated. Floral and sweet, it’s my new favorite.

Whole Food’s cinnamon roll chocolates were a 7/10.

But these Trader Joe’s frozen egg tarts were a 13/10! They could hold their own with any of the ones I’ve had from Portuguese bakeries.

Roast Sandwich shop sandwich-salad combo take-out with a theme – bbq chicken crunch wrap, bbq chicken crunch salad, bbq potato chips.

Trader Joe’s turkey corndogs and veggie and sunflower seed bites plus roasted orange cauliflower, broccoli, and romanesco (plus leftover fry sauce – which I order every time I get Roast, regardless of if I get fries).

I took a naked food of the Trader Joe’s frozen scallion pancakes so I could show you guys what they look like. Then I dressed them up with Kewpie, Sriracha, and furikake.

Best meal of the week – hashbrown, roasted brussel sprouts, soft-scrambled eggs. Topped with a mix of fry sauce, chili crisp, and rice vinegar.

Chewy

Highlights from this week include…

Chew frozen things. Black sugar boba popsicle and a passionfruit ice cream mochi.

Chewy vegan candies. I loved the tropical ones (grapefruit slices!) and liked the hearts and stars.

Grapefruit beverages. Hard seltzer and kombucha.

Takeout dinner from Roast. A roast beef melt and an on-special salad with arugula, asparagus, cauliflower, parmesan, crispy breadcrumbs, chicken, and pesto vinaigrette.

Easy rice bowls. Brown rice / Trader Joe’s green vegetable foursome frozen veggies / tuna salad with mayo, soy sauce, rice vinegar, furikake, and Korean chili flake / kimchi / chili crisp.

Homemade cashew chicken. With red bell pepper, green onion, and extra cashews. Served on roasted broccoli slaw.

Yes, Yes, Yes

It was a very tasty week! Adam and I had a weekday off and a few evenings together (woo-hoo!) and we made the most of them. Some of the best highlights included…

Fun things in cans. Sparkling blackberry hibiscus tea. <– this was incredibly pleasant

Tepache.

Tiramisu latte from Kore.

Treats from 10,000 Coffee. A croissant with chocolate ganache and banana.

And an Einspänner and an espresso cream latte (we added espresso to the second and were in love with both).

The least exciting but best coffee of the week was an iced latte from Kodawari.

Fresh mango! With plain skyr with honey, chia, and granola.

We spent an afternoon walking around Chinatown and buying basically everything that sounded good! Including a black sugar tea with strawberry boba.

And a fantastic bun with pineapple jelly and salted egg yolk from Kamboat Bakery.

Lunch at Deluxe Green Bo. I got soup with seaweed and egg custard.

And rice cakes with veggies.

Great chicken salad melts with roasted baby cauliflower and Japanese potato chips.

Even better roast beef melts with roasted brussel sprouts and green beans.

Yes, yes, yes to dinner at NoNoNo.

We ordered a bunch of things and our favorites were – assorted charred mushrooms.

Chawanmusi, steamed egg custard with shrimp, snow crab, and salmon roe.

Black sesame panna cotta with salted whipped cream / raindrop pudding with soy bean powder and kuromitsu sauce.

Best meal of the week/month/year was Taiwanese from 886. These fried fish cakes were a spicy, delicious standout.

Crispy silken tofu with shredded radish.

Black pepper beef.

Pea shoots.

Sesame noodles.

Oreos And Mung Beans

I worked six of the last seven days so we’ve eaten a lot of take-out chicken nuggets but also managed to go on a few nice dates! Highlights from the past week include…

Mint pour-over with chocolate sweetened condensed milk.

This week’s probiotic beverages – tamarind citrus tepache / hibiscus rhubarb kefir.

Sparkling calamansi matchas. I’m not sure why that photo is so swampy, it was lovely in real life.

I am still very into these Kishu mandarins. I used to love Cara Cara oranges but I tried one recently and it paled in comparision.

Newly into these Crunchsters sprouted mung beans which are perfectly savory and crunchy.

And no one is surprised that I am excited about these limited edition confetti cake Oreos.

They are sprinkled!

Also impressed with this new Noosa chocolate gelato.

Drinks and snacks at The Linwood. I had a cocktail with tequila, sage, honey, lime, blood orange, and grapefruit soda.

Plus housemade chips with onion ranch dip.

Caribbean-inspired food at Coastal. My jerk chicken rice bowl was great.

But we were there for the drinks! Like a painkiller made with Soggy Dollar Bar rum (aka rum from the place that invented painkillers).

I also had a lovely drink with vodka, butterfly pea flower, chamomile, guava, pineapple, lemon, and soda.

Homemade chilaquiles with Trader Joe’s guajillo salsa, tortilla chips, shredded chicken, sweet onion, and bell peppers. Topped with sharp cheddar, sour cream, hot sauce, and a fried egg.

We made the best salads. Local lettuce with dijon balsamic dressing / stir-fried/charred snap peas / crunchy mung beans / cheddar / bbq chicken – shredded chicken breast and thighs from the crockpot tossed with homemade bbq sauce and roasted in the oven.

Vegan buffalo chick’n sliders with roasted green beans. The sandwiches were good but the green beans were great.