Despite the weather this weekend we enjoyed a walking day in Manhattan! Highlights…
We didn’t enjoy this marzipan cap iced latte from Smiley Coffee (they don’t have skim so I used macadamia milk and it felt greasy) but we LOVED the experience of getting it.
On the other hand this coquito iced latte from Cafe Colmado was delicious.
I get the hype around the newly opened Homie’s doughnuts, our maple glazed was solid.
They can’t compete with the crueler though. The monthly special is lemon poppy.
Deux Luxe does make a delicious burger. We got ours with pickle and a side of fries.
Mimi Cheng‘s current dumpling collaboration is with Katz’s Deli and it’s fantastic. Dumplings filled with hand-carved pastrami, Swiss cheese, house-cured sauerkraut, and Reuben dressing.
Our favorite meal of the weekend was this dinner at home. My personal best egg sandwich – Stone and Skillet roasted herb and garlic English muffin toasted with butter / tangy dijonayo / sharp cheddar omelet. Plus steamed green beans sauteed with Milu Everything Spice, chili crisp, honey, and rice vinegar.
I bought the sando sauce almost entirely because of how it looks but it turned out to be delicious!
Skyr bowl. With blueberries, and Cascadian Farm oats and honey granola.
These Haribo Soda Sours are my new favorite gummy. They remind me a lot of the Sodalicious fruit snacks from back in the 90’s (which were my very favorite — when our island got a K-Mart when I was a kid it was a big deal and I was allowed to choose one snack for fun, these were it).
Another throwback – these fruit and cream Quaker oatmeal packets are pretty darn good.
The prettiest sundae of all time. Frutero soursop ice cream topped with dulce de leche, sweetened condensed milk, sprinkles, and edible flowers.
Chips lentil puffs and salsa.
Dipping dinner – taquitos and roasted baby broccoli with salsa and homemade guacamole.
I made Korean marinated eggs and tossed super-firm tofu in the marinade and it turned out great. Served on savory oatmeal with kale (sauteed with gochujang, maple, rice vinegar, and lemon) and chili crisp.
Baked turkey meatballs, roasted cauliflower, and honey butter baby carrots (baked with evoo, salt, pepper, and gochugaru) topped with Trader Joe’s Zhoug and cilantro salad dressing.
This dinner was loosely inspired by shakshuka and eggs in purgatory. Eggs, extra-sharp cheddar, and parmesan cheese cooked on a tomato-y sauce (roasted Bahama Bomb tomatoes sauteed with fire-roasted diced canned tomatoes, garlic, shallot, yellow bell pepper, urfa, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper). I topped mine with Zhoug and cilantro dressing and scooped it with sweet and spicy jalapeno kettle chips.
My New Years Eve plan was fancy cheese plates and an early bedtime. We ended up eating deranged snack boards but I was in bed by 9:30! Pimento cheese, baby carrots, deviled eggs, and extra-crunchy Southwest chicken taquitos.
The best part was the homemade deviled eggs because we topped them with this delicious everything spice from Milu.
We started our new year with the Buzz’d monthly special, obviously; salted brown butter iced latte with brown butter cold foam.
P.S. The alternative title for this post was “Drinks on Drinks” because in addition to drinking my weight in hot chocolate I also tried several canned beverages. Huxley tangerine energy drink – good not great; I would not buy again but I would try in other flavors.
Liquid Death sparking strawberry energy drink – good not great; I would not buy again but I would try in other flavors.
Protein Pop watermelon clear protein drink – good not great; I would not buy again but I would try in a sour flavor.
NYC has a thousand hot chocolate options right now but I only have my eye on four. We hit three this weekend (our final/upcoming stop is the one I’m most excited for). Good – Lost Borough. Topped with torched marshmallow fluff, whipped cream, and a cinnamon Graham cracker.
Better – Frenchette Bakery. French-style hot chocolate topped with a toasted green chartreuse marshmallow. This was solid hot chocolate but it wasn’t a drinking chocolate.
Best – Rigor Hill Market. Rich and thick chocolate topped the best burnt marshmallow I’ve ever eaten.
I’ll never get tired of my usual plain skyr and blueberries bowl but I did particularly enjoy this one I smashed a hunk of cheesecake into.
The best thing we’ve eaten in 2026 came from Apollo Bagels – lightly toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese and jelly.
Brunch at Holy Water. This was a weird meal – we probably wouldn’t go back but we adored several items. We despised both of our drinks but the vodka lime Jell-o shot was the best I’ve ever had. We also had solid hushpuppies with honey butter and Tabasco.
Adam’s lobster roll was ho-hum but my (very solid) pancakes came topped with praline and bourbon maple syrup and with a side of their Nola fried chicken — some of the best fried chicken we’ve ever eaten.
We ordered take-out from Primehouse – (too much) sushi and these sort of insane Waygu meatballs. I didn’t take a photo until I realized how fantastic the leftovers were, they started out with three huge balls and a bunch of melty burrata.
A much-needed veggie(tarian) meal from Little Beet – charred broccoli, hot honey roasted carrots, green beans, and miso tofu with Chimichurri and cranberry harissa sauce.
Trader Joe’s frozen veggie pancake topped Sriracha and pimento cheese.
My favorite meal of the week was homemade! Collard greens sauteed with mined garlic, salt, pepper, gochugaru, rice vinegar, maple syrup, and smoked poblano bbq sauce. Agi’s Counter-inspired potato salad – with hard boiled egg, smoked canned trout, chopped pickles, celery, green onion, celery seed, salt, white pepper, smoked paprika, horseradish, rice vinegar, Dijon mustard, Duke’s mayo, and plain skry.
Holiday Jenni’s flavors are some of the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted. Boozy eggnog and white chocolate peppermint are both divine!
Ground Up salted eggnog cashew butter is delicious in yogurt or just on a spoon.
Adam’s birthday request was zucchini bread. We adored this recipe (with Ghirardelli’s unbelievably good milk chocolate chips).
Somedays Bakery new Manhattan location is knocking it out of the park. Black sesame tahini croissant and a triple chocolate pastry.
Brunch at Dante’s West Village. I had the steak and scrambled egg burrito and a boozy affogato.
Monday’s dinner was some of our (many) leftovers from wonderful dinners with my parents. We had a fantastic time while they were here! Broccoli rabe, woodfired honeynut squash, and stracciatella cheese from Rolo’s / woodfired pita bread and roast chicken from Sunday in Brooklyn / Pizza, chicken parm, broccoli rabe, and salmon from Il Gufo / also unphotographed tater tots from Sonder.
Umami baked turkey meatballs with roasted cauliflower. Ground turkey, salt, tons of pepper, urfa chili, panko bread crumbs, and mushrooms (sauteed with green onions and butter then food-processed).
Cold egg tofu and roasted broccoli with a spicy sauce (soy sauce, sesame oil, chili onion crunch, sugar, garlic, and rice vinegar).
It was a wonderful long holiday weekend! We spent time with family, took a very cold long walk in Manhattan, and had a million weird drinks and delicious desserts…
Birdee‘s brigadeiro cake and excellent guava cheese tart.
Milk Bar‘s marshmallow brownie is their second all-time best item (after the anniversary cake).
Fantastic brunch at Win Son. Their Bloody Mary had so much umami. I also really enjoyed their green tea shot.
We came for the boba pancakes and were not disappointed.
Three pepper lamb with cabbage, rice, and egg.
Soft-scrambled eggs.
The pea shoots were my favorite dish of the weekend; with bean paste, sesame, and fried garlic.
Mommy Pai was a hit for us. This concord grape salty coconut frozen drink blew our minds.
We did fried fingers with Muy Thai sauce. I, of course, got extra dipping sauces. Sweet soy mustard was my favorite. The fries were great! And I loved the taro tapioca doughnuts with pandan custard.
Leftover stuffing fried rice with cranberry sauce and pimento cheese.
I have so much to be thankful for, the least of which is a very exciting cache of Thanksgiving-themed foods! All were great but the stand-out was the sweet potato peeling candy; it was delightfully strange!
See also – cranberry hot sauce my parents sent me from home. I added this to every plate this week.
And hot honey flavored Uglies sweet potato chips. These were surprisingly great, definitely the best sweet potato chips I’ve ever tried.
One of the best yogurt bowls of the year – plain skyr with cranberry sauce and Tom’s Perfect 10 creme brulee granola. Plus a very exciting bowl of berries – Super Jumbo and Sweetest Batch blueberries and Lolliberry strawberries.
Chicken salad with miso honey sweet potatoes. Shredded baked chicken tossed with celery, green onions, diced cucumber, Sichuan pepper salt, white sugar, minced garlic, onion chili crunch, peanuts, and sesame seeds. The potatoes were roasted then sauteed with honey, white miso, gochugang, and rice vinegar.
Stuffing-style fried rice. Brown rice seasoned with rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil / roasted riced cauliflower / sauteed mushrooms with butter and smoked paprika / sauteed yellow onion and celery with salt, pepper, and celery seed / sage / Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pecans / dried cranberries / maple pecan smoked turkey / stir-fried with egg.
Roast‘s Thanksgiving crunchwrap is one of their best specials – with roasted turkey, white cheddar, cranberry jam, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and crispy onions. Plus a French onion grilled cheese for good measure – sourdough with short rib, gruyere, caramelized onions, mustard aioli, and garlic butter. And fries and wonderful homemade green beans – steamed then sauteed with toasted pecans, rice vinegar, brown sugar, horseradish, onion chili crunch, and cranberry sauce.
Thanksgiving nachos are our favorite holiday tradition! This year we did Trader Joe’s stuffing seasoned kettle chips / extra-sharp white cheddar / smoked turkey / green onion / sweet and spicy pecans / topped with cranberry sauce (and cranberry hot sauce!) / and fried sage. Plus sauteed brussels sprouts with a spicy fish sauce caramel (brown sugar, Sriracha, soy sauce, fish sauce, water, and cornstarch).
This week was very long. Also the 2nd to last week in the 2nd to last month of 2025??! Some things…
Yogurt bowls. Plain skyr with cinnamon granola and blueberries. We buy Sweetest Batch and Super Jumbos every week now and I am hooked.
French onion dip. Speaking of things we buy every week, we have both been having a dip obsession lately!
Juicy chewy candies. The Nerds are a 100/10, even better than the original gummy clusters.
Also in chewy things – these grape, green tea, and cheese ice cream bars.
Cheesecake Factory’s pecan pie pumpkin cheesecake is obviously going to be my Pie Month peak.
Take out dinner from Shanghai You Garden in 99 Ranch. Red bean sesame ball (and a pork floss mochi for Adam) / rice cakes with shredded chicken / fantastic scallion pancake / edamame with pickled cabbage and tofu // beef and rice from the Vietnamese spot next door
Fast-food style chicken sandwich. Brioche buns / house sauce – mayo, skyr, honey, yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, dill pickle mustard, roasted poblano bbq sauce, and lemon juice / baked chicken marinated in skyr, hot sauce, and dill pickle mustard / tons of pickles. Plus roasted yellow cauliflower and broccoli.
Double egg sandwich. More brioche and house sauce with a fried egg and a cheesy soft-scrambled egg.
Tuna salad with an Eastern European vibe. Canned tuna and smoked trout / mayo, skyr, Dijon, and tons of horseradish / green onion / pickled beets / hard-boiled eggs. Plus sauteed asparagus and Trader Joe’s cornbread crackers.
It was a wonderful weekend! I say that often, but any weekend I get time with Adam is wonderful! We tried some new-to-us restaurants, had several fun coffees, admired flowers at Little Island, bought some buttons at M&J Trimmings (it is closing soon!)… Some highlights…
Creme bru-latte from Foreigner. This was as good as it looks!
Humble Cafe. Pandan iced latte and a black sesame mochi cookie.
Bubble tea from a stall at Pier 57. A yuzu lemonade Arnold Palmer with lychee popping boba, rainbow jelly, and edible glitter.
Kaya toast with Thai tea jam, pandan ice cream, red bean, and toasted marshmallows.
Guava and mascarpone pie at Peete’s. (Pie Month!)
Brunch at Lord’s. The hype is deserved! We loved almost everything we shared. Pineapple amaro sour – aged rum, pineapple amaro, lime, and egg white / Orchard Spritz – Neversink apple apertif, ginger beer, and candied ginger.
Turkish eggs with garlic yogurt, chili butter, and sourdough toast (11/10) // curried lamb scotch egg – I’m not a huge curry fan but Adam loved this.
Welsh rarebit cheeseburger on a pretzel bun with fantastic chips. This doesn’t make my top five list (we didn’t like the inclusion of raw onion slices) but it was a very solid burger.
Banoffee French toast. This was fine, not super exciting and the “French toast” was definitely just a slice of toasted bread.
Dinner at Foster. We loved this Sea Cliff spot and want to come back soon! The lighting was not photo-friendly however. I had a very solid dry-aged burger with aioli, arugula, caramelized onions, and gruyere.
Our leftovers were still delicious too. Wood-fired Margherita pizza with house-made mozzarella, tomato sauce, and seasonal pesto / okonomiyaki-style brussels sprouts. We also had a charred broccolini Caesar that was 11/10 delicious and pumpkin bread pudding with excellent pecan pie ice cream.
Dinner at Lula Mae was even better and the lighting was even more hostile. We shared and loved crispy tofu with a soy Chianking vinegar dressing, pickled veggies, scallions, and roasted walnuts / braised duck with pickled pearl onions, fried shallots, broccoli puree, and duck fat potatoes // fried chicken two ways – soy tamarind glazed wings and dry-rubbed boneless with lime pepper dressing and house-made pickles.
Eating Chalk 