Tag Archives: citrus

Hoppy Easter

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Somethings from this week, mostly on-theme and/or coffee…

No one is surprised that I’ve been buying Easter candies for months.

I also have been saving up lemon and coconut bars. The Melo bars are all 10/10 but the lemon flavor is actually my favorite. I also was very pleased with how lemony the 88 Acres one was.

Buzz’d Express Coffee‘s marshmallow Peep cold foam cold brew is maybe my favorite coffee of 2025.

I also made my own version with toasted birthday cake Peeps blended into an iced coffee with cream, sugar, vanilla bean powder, and vanilla extract.

Coconut water with dalgona-style espresso (9/10).

A spring-y cottage cheese bowl with leftover fermented banana cake, kiwi, blackberries, and edible flowers.

Trader Joe’s dried baby pineapples. These are nicely sweet and chewy.

We tried the rice paper noodles hack with brown rice spring roll wrappers (loved it, the chew was perfect). Stir-fried with Pad See Ew sauce, baked chicken, green onion, broccolini, and egg.

Buffalo chicken cabbage bowls. I made a cole slaw with green cabbage, green onion, tomato, Greek yogurt, mayo, dijon mustard, vinegar, white pepper, sugar, and blue cheese. Topped with baked chicken that I tossed in a skillet with butter, dijon, and Frank’s buffalo sauce.

Sheet-pan hash. Sprouted extra-firm tofu baked with brussels sprouts, yam, green onion, blue cheese, and Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pecans. I topped my bowl with honey and chili crisp.

Pizza night! Two-ingredient crust plus two ingredients (garlic and onion powder) / Trader Joe’s pizza sauce zhuzhed up with tomato sauce, roasted garlic, and urfa pepper / pizza-blend shredded cheese / sauteed mushrooms (a frozen blend with white, crimini, portobello, and shiitake) with green onions, gochugaru, and butter. Plus roasted yellow cauliflower.

Hudson Highlights

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Adam and I spent a GREAT weekend in the Hudson Valley (primarily downtown Hudson). On Saturday we walked around admiring the town for eight straight hours! Alphabetically…

Cafe Mutton. I ordered my Bloody Mary extra spicy and with excessive garnish (it came with a giant slab of house made sausage that Adam happily inherited). We shared a buckwheat scone with butter and curd.

And a mushroom and gruyere omelet with buttered toast. [And Bucitini with lamb ragu.]

Gracie’s Luncheonette (Leeds). Housemade cherry cola float.

Adam got a fantastic tuna melt and I got the brisket melt (my favorite sandwich of the trip!) – with smoked cheddar, jalopeno peppers, and white bbq sauce on white bread.

Lemon chess pie.

Hereafter. It was our first time at this bar. My drink on the right was a Magnolia Fizz – gin, Douglas fir brandy, magnolia oolong, milk oolong, cream, citrus, egg whites, and mint.

Hudson Roastery. Their iced espresso with skim milk is my 2nd favorite coffee in all of New York.

Kitty’s. Their brunch can’t compare to their dinner (but was still solid). I had a great mocktail, Kitty Temple – ginger beer, lemon, lime, and housemade grenadine.

We shared eggs on rice with pickled veggies and chili oil and and hashbrowns.

Lil Deb’s Oasis. Their cocktails are always amazing. Golden Thaw – Japanese whiskey, lemon, and tamarind / Unknown Legend – bay leaf, pisco, burnt honey syrup, grapefruit, egg white, and pimenton. [We also loved a Colorless Dream – Haitian rum, sake, bitter melon, and toasted rice.]

We shard a bunch of dishes. Loaded fries with vegan chz wiz and pickled onions and Fresno chiles.

Tamale with mushroom, poblano and nopal filling, and a golden milk veloute. (Adam’s favorite)

Llapingacho – a potato and cheese pancake with pickled pineapple, peanut salsa, and a fried egg. (My favorite).

Braised chicken mole with confit potato and a “Carolina Mole” (with vinegar).

For dessert we got the Sexpresso Martini – coconut nutmeg tequila, Forthave Brown, cold brew, and cola syrup.

And a scoop of chocolate sorbet.

Mel the Bakery. Pistachio and almond croissant and a fantastic corn cookie with blueberry jelly.

Stewart’s. We popped into this cute gas station and came away with maple French toast cold brew!

Willa’s (Catskill). Cinnamon sugar cruller.

And a buttery egg sandwich with sharp cheddar and honey Sriracha on a brioche roll.

P.S. Our favorites were Gracie’s, Lil’ Deb’s, and Cafe Mutton!

High Marks

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Some things from a lovely weekend…

Black sesame frozen coffee. Iced coffee blended with black sesame paste, honey, cinnamon, vanilla extract, vanilla protein powder, and skim milk.

Pistachio chocolate frozen coffee. Iced coffee blended with Javy, pistachio paste, brown sugar, vanilla extract, chocolate protein powder, cocoa powder, and skim milk.

I am obviously a sucker for seasonal releases but this grapefruit and blossom Red Bull did taste like a Squirt soda!

The maple cruller from Daily Provisions is my favorite doughnut in NYC.

We loved two new (to us) treats at Win Son Bakery – a fermented red rice donut and a vanilla cream bun.

11/10 brunch at Marks off Madison. We shared the smoked fish platter with bagels, veggie cream cheese and scallion cream cheese, tomato and red onion, whitefish salad, house-cured lox, sable, and Nova.

Dinner at Ammazzacaffe. We thought everything here was great, down to the free bread and olives.

My cocktail was so cute; Spill the Tea, green tea infused vodka, elderflower, St. Germain, yuzu, amaro, and prosecco.

We shared two pastas and two entrees. Spinach gemelli with maitake mushrooms and goat cheese and the special – beet mezzaluna with roasted beef and ricotta.

Braised lamb shoulder with beans, brodo, carrots, and pistachio gremolata.

The best dish of the meal was the pastrami short bread with roasted cabbage, rye strata, pickles, dill, and Russian dressing.

Ube-tter Believe It

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The weather warmed up enough this weekend that a long Manhattan walk was actually enjoyable! We traveled Grand Central to Essex Market and back with some great stops along the way. Also some fun in the other boroughs on Sunday. Weekend highlights…

Fern and Aurora. Filipino bakery in Queens. We got a fun assortment – ube butter mochi, a strawberry cream doughnut, and a calamansi meringue tart. Plus a great iced coffee with ube cold foam.

La La Bakeshop. We were super impressed this new East Village Vietnamese dessert spot. Taro lava bun.

And a wonderful pandan foam Vietnamese iced latte.

Noona’s. Asian-inspired ice cream in the East Village and now our favorite ice cream in NYC. If anyone remembers Ice and Vice the vibes were similar. We got banana bread mochi ice cream topped with mochi and black sesame and swooned. I also housed a slice of yuzu poppy cake with strawberry jam.

Super Bueno. I don’t know how we keep getting lucky with walk-in seats here but they make our favorite drinks in the city. Salted plum and tamarind milk punch. (My unphotographed vodka y soda with guava and pasilla is the best thing on the menu.

Milu. This is hands-down our favorite fast casual spot. We shared a great lunch. Soy-roasted chicken bowl with rice, ginger scallion sauce, and charred broccoli.

Egg yolk fries. They came with a creamy scallion sauce that was the best bite on the table.

Plus a Yuzu Palmer with jasmine flower and lime.

Dhamaka. Indian in Essex Market. The service was great but the lighting was not photo-friendly. My Bombay Blues cocktail on fire when it arrived at the table! Indian rum, basil eau de vie, cultured coconut, pineapple, genepy, celery, lime, blue spirulina, and ajwain.

Kashmiri Gosht Chaamp – lamb loin with garam masala and ghee. This was my favorite dish of the night.

The paratha was Adam’s favorite. So buttery!

House-made paneer with ajwain and yogurt.

We shared two entrees. Malai Murgh – young chicken with cream and Amul butter.

Rara Gosht – goat meat and mince with yogurt, onions, and garam masala. It is rare to find goat in the states so this was a treat.

P.S. Tonight we have fun dinner reservations at Residence of Mr. Moto. I’m carrying a small/camera-free purse but I will definitely be ordering the Aka bowl!

With Crab On Top

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We had a wonderful weekend. NYC weather warmed up enough for some city walks and we were able to enjoy (many!) iced coffees. Highlights…

Blue Bottle‘s current Nola special is cinnamon, honey, and vanilla.

Meanwhile Elk Coffee‘s special had condensed milk, butterscotch, and cinnamon!

Enly Coffee‘s viral tiramisu latte.

Iced lattes from Humble Cafe. Pandan and guava with brown sugar. We love this spot.

This blueberry coconut water tasted exactly the way I hoped it would.

I 100% get the hype around the new Hani’s Bakery. We tried a cinnamon roll and a rice krispie treat with pistachio and halvah and both were perfectly executed.

Finally tried PopUp Bagels now that we have a location out in Roslyn Long Island. We got poppy, everything, and sesame with scallion cream cheese and white fish salad. These were quite good – and we loved the toppings – but I wouldn’t call them the best bagels in NYC (I am La Bagel Delight loyal).

Finally tried Fini Pizza. Again, very good – nice chew and the white slice was rich and decadent – but not the best pizza in NYC (L’Industrie).

Italian Food at Ci Siamo. We started and peaked with the focaccia – the center was chewy yet fluffy and the crust was shatteringly crisp. We also thought the tomato conserve was just lovely.

The caramelized onion torta was also great.

Mandilli with guinea hen sausage, pecorino, and dandelion greens and cavatelli with crab, chili, and vermouth.

Lemon torta with olive oil and fantastic meringue was a perfect ending. Adam loved the chocolate budino.

Chinese Food at Antidote. I loved the Fei-Hong Fries with peanuts and lots of Sichuan chili pepper; they were so crispy! Suntory Story in the background – jasmine green tea infused Roku Gin, Haku Vodka, kumquat lemon, honey, and garnished with salted plum.

Garlic boy choy.

Tea-smoked duck fried rice.

Soft tofu with salted egg yolk and crab. This was our favorite dish; it was divine on the fried rice.

All Hallows’ Eats

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It was a yummy Halloween week!

Highlights…

You already know I had a cache of on-theme snacks.

Dunkin Donuts’ potion macchiato is marshmallow and ube flavored; obviously a great idea but unfortunately it was fairly underwhelming.

Skyr bowl with Cara Cara orange and double chocolate granola.

Pumpkin smoothie. Pumpkin puree, cottage cheese, frozen banana, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla bean powder, and water and ice.

I saved my best pumpkin beers for last. Blue Point Big Mother Pumpkin (10/10) / Fat Orange Cat Pumpkin Patch Kittens (9.5/10) / Abomination Forbidden Pumpkin (10/10).

Served with a brown sugar cinnamon rim!

Veggie rice bowls. Jasberry rice and riced cauliflower / Whole Food’s sesame seaweed cashews / avocado / chopped kimchi crisped up with a bit of butter and sugar.

Mac and three cheese muffins with baked chicken and roasted brussels sprouts.

Pumpkin pasta. Whole-wheat rotini topped with ground turkey sauteed with pumpkin puree, chili crisp, and cream cheese. Plus roasted orange cauliflower.

Black and orange big salads! Local lettuce / cucumber / homemade dressing – pumpkin butter, brown sugar, evoo, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and fish sauce / roasted kabocha squash / crispy rice – leftover rice tossed with chili crisp and black sesame paste and baked. We loved this.

Gochujang, Kimchi, Sichuan

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This week was yummy! Some highlights include…

Delicious birthday cake iced latte special from New York Beanery.

Trader Joe’s green tea and yuzu spread is pretty good. I shook some into an iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk (8/10).

Used it in a citrus matcha spritzer (9/10).

And stirred it into plain skyr (6/10 – too sweet) with Heritage Flakes, blueberries, and blackberries.

We are still loving/working our way through this giant bin of snack mix. If you spot it at Whole Foods buy it, it contains the best crunchy chickpeas I’ve ever had.

Sushi dinner that we plucked from a conveyer belt ourselves at Kura Revolving Sushi.

It was was a fun meal and the crunchy spicy handrolls were quite good.

Pre-gamed with a green (turquoise!) smoothie from home for some veggies – frozen spinach, banana, and blueberries with water and vanilla protein powder.

Leftover spinach and artichoke gnocchi casserole. We decided we need to make this again asap.

Homemade Dan Dan Noodles. I used ground turkey instead of pork, brown rice udon noodles, and skipped the peanuts but otherwise followed the recipe.

The best nachos I’ve ever made. Kettle sweet and spicy gochujang chips / extra-sharp cheddar cheese / baked chicken breast that was marinated in yogurt, gochujang, gochugaru, and lime juice / chopped radish kimchi and preserved mustard greens caramelized in a skillet with a bit of sugar. Plus steamed/sauteed asparagus with gochujang and sesame seeds on the side.

Nom Win

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This weekend included some fun Long Island stops as well as a trip to Bushwick for dinner and my favorite street art in the city.

Some highlights…

Brunch at Orwasher’s. We shared an Edith’s tahini frozen iced coffee.

And lox toast with goat cheese and capers.

Instant coffee I carried home from Denver.

Summer fruit.

Gong Cha‘s cream brulee series has my heart. With strawberry milk and pudding.

S’mores! My sister-in-law got us a mini fire pit kit so we took Webster on a mini picnic.

I used peanut butter sandwich crackers, milk chocolate, and vegan marshmallows.

Whole Foods’ pineapple pie cookie with sprinkles!

Reminder to myself that the Whole Foods hot bar has great options when you go at lunch time. Spicy cucumber sesame salad, hard-boiled egg, sauteed veggies.

Salmon salad rolls. Canned sockeye salmon with mayo, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, celery seed, smoked paprika, and scallions on brioche hot dog rolls. Plus sauteed asparagus with lemon, pepper, and garlic.

Nowon – best dinner of the summer so far. We tried and loved their wood-fired margherita pizza with gojuchang marinara, mozzarella, basil, and chili oil.

Horchata with hibiscus, pineapple citrus, almond, and cinnamon / Smoke & Mirrors – spicy mezcal, amaretto, and pineapple / seasonal cocktail with cherry, sour plum, yuzu, and soju.

The best drink of the night was the Dew Drop with added Tito’s; lavender, yuzu, and juniper.

We shared the seven-course “Mix Tape” pre-fixe and every dish was a showstopper. Whipped ricotta toast with homemade focaccia, citrus jam, and chili oil. I was expecting not to care for this but it ended up being my second favorite dish of the night!

Broccolini a la Caesar with black sesame, parmesan, and candied anchovies.

Spicy gojuchang fried chicken.

Chopped cheese rice cakes.

Honey garlic butter tater tots. <– my favorite dish. These guys are so perfectly crunchy!

Legendary cheeseburger = double smashed patties, kimchi special sauce, roasted kimchi, pickles, onion, and American cheese. After Elder Greene, I think this is the 3rd best cheeseburger in NYC.

Plus dessert I didn’t capture – honeydew panna cotta with mint and lime.