The five best things I ate this weekend…
Strawberry bites cereal with chocolate peanut butter banana granola and fresh aprium.
Paris Baguette jalopeno cheddar crossaint and a chocolate foam cold brew. 10/10s.
Vanilla ice cream with homemade tahini caramel. Plus pecans and mini peanut butter cups.
Chicky’s fried chicken and fries with garlic sauce and Tennessee hot sauce.
Saucy chickpeas. Sauteed with tomato paste, harissa, spices, onion, bell peppers, and eggplant.
Adam and I had the whole weekend together, which was just lovely! Despite the heat we managed to take the dog to a farmer’s market and take a humans-only walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. And we ate so many good things! Highlights included…
A dalgona iced latte (always a winner!) with chocolate milk.
Blue Bottle‘s shaken New Orleans cold brew is a 10/10 summer special.
Lemon chess pie at the farmer’s market.
Brigaderio cake at Cafe Patoro. I also had a brigaderio iced latte that was hands-down the best thing I’ve consumed so far in 2023.
Dessert flavored booze! Decadent Ale guava cream pop IPA / Ellicottville strawberry crunch bar cream ale / Skatterbrain vanilla cake whiskey (I mixed this one with amaretto, diet coke, and fancy cherries and it was fantastic).
Brunch at Nuaa Table. Thai iced tea.
We shared the veggie dumplings and roasted duck buns.
Banana blossom salad with coconut poached chicken and quail eggs. The acidity here was perfection.
Spicy shrimp basil noodles.
Son-in-Law duck egg – fried boiled duck egg, homemade black pepper brioche, and tamarind-fish sauce caramel. This was my favorite dish.
Lobster roll from Luke’s.
Dinner at Patti Ann’s. This was really good but not mind-blowing like I was expecting.
We shared charred asparagus with hummus, walnuts, golden raisins, and za’atar.
The smashed patty burger – on milk bread with sharp cheddar, special sauce, tomato, and crispy shallots.
And duck lasagna.
Chili garlic noodles from Omsom. I added leftover veggies, chili crisp, and a six-minute egg.
Highlights from an extra-yummy week…
Monday was my birthday! Obviously I had a stash of on-theme treats. Milk Bar ice cream (10/10; it has a frosting ribbon!) / BelliWelli bar (8/10) / Made Good granola bar (9.5/10) / Premier Protein protein shake (4/10).
See also – my birthday gift to myself was ordering some of these delicious cocktail cherries I had in Traverse City, MI.
Other fun treats included huckleberry gummy bears from CO.
Mango-passionfruit fruit leather.
Homemade (mini) blueberry cobbler! I used a New York Times Recipe. Topped with ice cream.
You know my birthday dinner choice was Roast take-out (enjoyed in front of “I Think You Should Leave,” of course!). I got a bbq chicken crunch wrap (sharp cheddar, pepper jack, avocado, crispy tortillas, chicken, and chipotle ranch) and fries with house sauce. Plus homemade spicy sesame green beans (steamed/blistered and sauteed with gojuchang, tahini, and sesame seeds).
This week’s dinners were all wins. Korean steamed eggs with brown rice, sauteed bok choy, roasted zucchini, and chili crisp.
A summer veggie plate. Leftover zucchini / sauteed garlic baby broccoli / Trader Joe’s Sriracha baked tofu / cheesy corn salad – sauteed fresh corn, green onion, poblano pepper, mozarella, gochugaru, Kewpie, and lime juice.
Jumeokbap. I used brown rice and added Sriracha. And made mine giant! With leftover green beans (so good cold!) and cucumber tossed with gojuchang, sugar, and rice vinegar.
This was a “short” week because I was in Denver until 2 am Tuesday East Coast time. My mom and I had such a fun vacation! Other than family stuff our favorite activities were the Rocky Mountain National Park (and just generally being constantly awed by how fantastically beautiful the wild flowers were!) and an afternoon at Meow Wolf.
I don’t have a ton to share from my return home because this was the longest short week ever. I landed in JFK at 6 am and was at my desk at work by 7:30! Also I worked through the weekend and had some of the busiest and stressful shifts of all time. Suffice to say we’ve mostly eaten take-out the past week! Here were some highlights…
Frozen tahini iced coffee. I made coffee ice cubes and blended them with more coffee, tahini, sugar, and a splash of half and half.
Very impressed with the Sang black coffee can (roasty, good body, and outdone only by Grady’s and Stumptown).
Extra-crispy Cosmic Crisp apple.
A winner Whole Foods’ hot bar day – Roasted veggies and roasted green beans / celery, date, and peanut salad / Caesar chicken salad / hard-boiled egg / mac and cheese.
Loved this alcoholic beverage from Empirical; it really did taste like pine in a lovely way.
Cinnamon bears are my new favorite kind of chocolate-covered gummy.
Dinner at a restaurant – Youta, a new ramen spot we loved. Spicy serano cucumber salad.
Fried chicken with garlic mayo.
I got the veggie ramen – truffle veggie broth, maitake, shitake, kikurage tempura, topped with menma and scallion.
And a mango parfait for dessert.
Dinner via takeout – Dario’s Pizza. New to us and a 9.5/10. We got two kinds of cheese slices, shredded beef, and spicy chicken.
Dinner “made” at home thanks to these kimchi vegetable dumplings and frozen cauliflower.
Plus homemade dumpling sauce.
Highlights from the weekend include…
A plain Greek yogurt bowl with blueberries, plum, and cookie dough granola.
My favorite Perfect Bar, chocolate chip cookie dough.
Paired with a cookie dough latte! Starbucks blonde espresso with cold foam with brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla bean paste.
Jeni’s Gooey Butter Cake is my new favorite ice cream (second only to the Ben & Jerry’s s’mores bites); cream cheese ice cream with vanilla cake and butterscotch sauce.
Whole Foods’ pimento mac and cheese bites. <– swoon
Microwave Korean rose tteokbokki .
An assortment of dippable things for dinner (I had three dipping sauces so clearly this meal was a winner) – Popeye’s chicken nuggets and mac and cheese, roasted broccoli, leftover cauliflower wings.
Deconstructed hash. Roasted Russet potato and purple Japanese sweet potato / Trader Joe’s breaded cheese curds / chicken breakfast sausages / sauted red onion, green bell pepper, and poblano pepper / plus chipotle aioli.
Highlights from the 1st week of July…
Lunch at I am Nacho Mama. I had a wonderful iced latte with almond milk and honey.
Mexi-cola cauliflower wings.
Chicken tacos with griddled cheese and special sauce.
Best snack of the week – guava corn crackers with Trader Joe’s Everything and the Elote dip. <– we were big fans; it was best with baby carrots
Themed snacks for the 4th – watermelon seltzer, Italian ice beer, and s’mores ice creams.
Definitely my most obscure week of themed dinners yet – handheld seafood! Tuna melts. A mix of tuna and smoked trout with tons of relish and mayo, on sourdough, with banana peppers and sharp cheddar. Plus roasted brussel sprouts and carrots tossed in a honey mustard sauce.
(Salmon) hot dogs for July 4th. On a whole-wheat bun with Sriracha and tarter sauce. Plus roasted yellow squash.
Crab handrolls. Shredded imitation crab with Kewpie and Sriracha / satuted cauliflower rice with salt, white pepper, and rice vinegar / avocado / poorly wrapped in nori.
Shrimp tacos. Corn tortillas with Whole Foods grilled shrimp and chipotle aioli and homemade mango salsa (with green bell pepper, poblano pepper, lime, salt, and gochugaru). Plus roasted broccoli and Trader Joe’s breaded cheese curds. Best meal of the week.
I worked this weekend but Adam and I had some really nice date nights! We tried two new top-five-favorite spots in Brooklyn! Highlights included…
My ongoing love affair with summer berries. This bowl was blueberries and blackberries with a few Luxardo cherries.
Ciao Gloria‘s coffee and oat milk granita.
Maman‘s banana split iced latte(!) – strawberry milk, banana puree, Parlor espresso, topped with whipped cream, fudge, sprinkles, and a cherry.
Dinner at Three Maples. I had a 50/50 – Tito’s with tamarind hibiscus lemonade and black tea.
And a burger – short rib blend, house sauce, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion. With fries.
We also got the elote dip.
And the charred baby broccoli with confit garlic and red pepper flakes. <– swoon
Wild Maine blueberry crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert. <– double swoon
Dinner at Little Rascal. We shared some amazing drinks. Cosmic Debris – basil bourbon, fresh lemon, egg white, frooty pebbles infused sugar cane extract, and pistachio cream.
The Dough of Existance – avocado spiced rum, soursop nectar, avocado pit orgeat, and wormwood. And an unphotographed Kurosawa’s Dream – Japanese whiskey, aloe, shiso honey, fresh lemon, and mint — the best drink of the night/weekend/summer.
Caviar(!!) with creme fraiche and blinis.
Halloumi croquettes with eggplant jam and parsley oil.
Roasted cauliflower with hawaji sauce and tahini dressing.
Chicken skewers with meyer lemon yogurt and mini pepper pickles.
And lamb tacos with pickled onion, feta, and paprika yogurt.
Five favorites from the weekend…
New York Beanery s’mores iced latte.
Nectarines. Summer fruit is so good!
Giant double chocolate chip – white and milk! – cookies (this recipe).
Thai take-out! I got chicken Pad See Ew and Ma Khue Puang (stir-fried eggplant with chili sauce and lime leaves).
Mish-mash but it works salad. Baby kale with honey chipotle vinaigrette / leftover eggplant / baby bell pepper / cashews / crispy tofu – marinated in pickle juice, breaded in Cheez-Its, and baked.
Eating Chalk 