Let’s Taco ‘Bout The Weekend

Booze, tacos, doughnuts, and iced coffees… it was a good weekend!  Here were the highlights…

Cookie dough milk iced coffee.

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Cinnamon vanilla iced latte.

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Iced latte with toasted marshmallow syrup.

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Also I had a caramel macchiato doughnut.  Sugar Shack makes some of the best doughnuts I’ve ever tasted!

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Brunch at Marie Bette, a European-style bakery.

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I had a ho-hum grapefruit hibiscus cider.  <– I need to stop ordering ciders, I think I really am not a fan!

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And the quiche of the day – tomato and white cheddar.

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Sandwiches at Hot Cakes, another super cute bakery.  Rye, smoked turkey, muenster, and cole slaw.  I think cole slaw on sandwiches is the best.

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Take-out from Silk Thai.  Fried tofu and chicken pad see ew.

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Saturday night, we got tacos with my cousin and her boyfriend.  Brazos is dog-friendly, which is fantastic, and our tacos were delicious.  Triple pickle = refried black beans, mushroom bruja, roasted pepitas, chopped jalapeños, red onion pickles, jalapeño pickles, and pickled watermelon // tres quesos = Oaxacan cheese, manchego cheese, and queso fresco, with refried black beans, sliced avocado, roasted corn pico, and pickled watermelon // and a hibiscus margarita.

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Then we went to Three Notched and I had vodka (with mint limeade) and a dog in my lap – aka all my favorite things!

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Salads In C-Ville

We moved!  I officially live in Virginia now.

The move itself was kind of terrible but we made it here intact with the dog and most of our stuff so I really can’t complain.  And first we took a fabulous trip home to St. Thomas!  Complete with highlights of the best banana daiquiri on earth and salmon pattys eaten in the airport with a vodka soda and local beer.

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Post-move, once the apartment was sort of set up, I focused on the really important stuff like finding all of the nearby beverage and dessert options.  Like La Flor Michoacana – a Mexican dessert place with the most exciting menu I’ve seen in my entire life.  I already had a scoop of soursop ice cream (with a scoop of mamey on the bottom)!

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And an eggnog paleta.

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Sweethaus for a quad iced latte and a crazy good salted caramel cupcake.  <– maybe the best frosting of my life.

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Grit for Cuban coffee.

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Also I loved this locally made fresh mint kombucha.

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On the food-food side I don’t have much to share because I’ve done zero cooking both due to being busy and having not moved any of our pots or pans.  We’ve mostly been eating junky take-out, and salads at home, and take-out salads.  Sweet baby lettuce blend / poppy seed dressing / strawberries / shredded chicken.

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Spring mix and herbs / Trader Joe’s sesame soy ginger vinaigrette / shredded chicken / roasted peanuts.

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From Fuzzy Taco – romaine / tomato / onion / fajita veggies / grilled fish / shredded cheese / tortilla strips / vinaigrette.

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From Roots Natural Kitchen – Arcadian mix / charred corn / pickled onion / roasted broccoli / hard-boiled egg / bbq tofu / cilantro lime dressing.

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Wish me luck exploring!

More Desserts Than Days

You guys.  Oh my gosh.  This is my last week at work!!?  It’s crazy bittersweet and we have a million and one big life changes happening in the next 20 days and I owe my blog readers a mega update in July.

For now, let me update you about the highlights from this weekend.  They are mostly desserts…

My coworkers threw me the sweetest goodbye party (a week early because someone else is out on vacation now) on Friday.  Complete with cake and macarons and my coworker made Filipino ambrosia and leche flan.

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And on Saturday a coworker and I went out for all-you-can-eat sushi lunch.

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Adam and I had lunch at Russ and Daughter’s and ordered all of our favorites.

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We got brigadeiros, oreo is the best flavor ever.

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And cupcakes!  Stuffed with cookie dough and cake batter.

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I finally made it to Round K to try an egg cappuccino and it was fantastic.  Korean cappuccino with an egg yolk stirred in and whipped cream on top.

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Also we had coffees – and a cookie stuffed with caramel – from For Five.

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Friday night we had friends over for the best ever buffalo chicken pizza and subsequently I had pizza for dinner Saturday and Sunday too.

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Have a great week!

Tasty Things

Tasty things from this week…

Mango in plain Greek is my latest favorite yogurt combo.  This bowl had nectarine in it, which was fantastic as well.

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Some of my favorite coworkers and I went out for a goodbye lunch at Dekalb Market Hall and I had great tacos.  Mushroom and corn / smoked crab.

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I finally got my hands on this new Reese’s Pieces bar and it was outrageously fantastic.

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For almost a week I had been having an oddly specific craving for rotisserie chicken and butter lettuce and this strangely topped salad was everything I was hoping for – spinach and butter lettuce mix dressed with evoo, salt, and sumac / warm, shredded, rotisserie chicken / pine nuts / sriracha and kewpie mayo.

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We made chilaquiles nachos.  Tortilla chips, roasted salsa, cheese, shredded chicken and sauteed onion and bell pepper baked with an egg on top.

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Three Kinds Of Eggs

Highlights from this week included eggs served three different ways, a new take on pesto, and my current favorite snack combo…

The week started out on a high point – a breakfast date at Golda.

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Quad espresso + ice + cream.

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I had the grilled asparagus toast – strawberry-chili mostarda / alfalfa / ras al hanout / soft egg / charred lemon / local sourdough.

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Homemade coffee combo = half and half, ice, and Stumptown Founders blend.

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Snacks of note include fresh alfonso mango with cottage cheese.

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Our Deadpool movie snack was right on the nose.  DP 2 was not as good as the first movie but still laugh out loud funny.

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My current favorite snack combo is roasted chickpeas with blistered peanuts.  Eaten in bulk.

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Tuesday – my early day, when I leave the house before 6 am – I drove across town after work to attend what ended up being a very disappointing lecture on TPN.  The speaker ran a bit late and I didn’t start heading home until after 9 pm, at which point I was basically whimpering from hunger.  Suffice to say, this is the most satisfying Chipotle bowl that’s ever been eaten!

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The other three nights I cooked legitimate meals and had some major successes in the kitchen!  Like a Mediterranean frittata, complete with a new recipe page.

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Replete with feta, zucchini, and sumac.

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One night I made okonomiyaki.  We use three eggs and a heaping 1/3 cup flour for 2 servings.  With shredded garnet yam, roasted cabbage, and ginger.  Topped with Sriracha, Kewpie mayo, green onion, and seaweed.

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I also tried a new take on pesto that turned out to be delicious.  The last time we made homemade pesto we found the raw garlic and basil to be a bit too spicy, so this time I cooked them.  Sweet onion, green onion, and garlic sauteed in evoo / basil cooked with the onion for 90 seconds or so / tossed in the food processor with more evoo, parmesan, and pine nuts.  Served with whole wheat pasta with baby kale, toasted white beans, and roasted heirloom tomato.

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Weekend plans include a bridge walk, a bar date, and a bbq spot.

My New Favorite Thing

This weekend was all about fancy coffees, restaurant brunches, and yummy home-cooked dinners.

I took a vacation day on Friday – just for funsies – and had lunch with one of my favorite former co-workers and her new baby!  Plus I took myself on a long walk: Penn Station down to Chelsea Market, over to Gramercy Park, and back up to Penn Station.  Saturday I had a literal every cloud has a silver lining situation – the gloomy weather gave me an excuse to wear my snazzy new rain boots!

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Here were the highlights…

Fancy coffees –  Iced latte from Seven Point Espresso.

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Rose iced latte from Terremoto.  <– best coffee of the weekend

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Crack pie latte from Milk Bar.

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Restaurant brunches – MeMe’s Diner.

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The O.C. = cara cara and blood orange, tequila, and Tang.

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I ordered the greens with chili oil and a fried chicken biscuit sandwich with spicy maple syrup and root vegetable slaw.  The picture does not do justice to just how gigantic that sandwich is.

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Cake!  I wish I had more photos because this cake is officially my new favorite thing I’ve ever eaten.  Vietnamese iced coffee cake with condensed milk frosting and cocoa cardamom fudge.  Moist cake, fluffy icing, perfectly balanced.

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Midwinter Kitchen.  I had a salad with pistachio crusted goat cheese, frisée, watercress, a sunny side up egg, and sherry vinaigrette.  Those goat cheese balls were out of this world.

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Home-cooked dinners –  Trout salad melts.  Trader Joe’s canned smoked trout with mayo and gojuchang on toast with sharp cheddar.  Plus roasted zucchini with sumac.

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And I had this killer drink line-up while I cooked – creamy mango soda and key lime pie gose.

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Eat Live Run’s green chile crock pot chicken.  I subbed in cauliflower rice to get some more veggies in there.

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Gojuchang turkey burgers on toast, smothered in a tasty sauce – kewpie mayonnaise, honey, dijon, and miso.  With a side of pear slices and chips – gojuchang kettle chips from Whole Foods and kettle popcorn chips from Trader Joe’s.

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Have a great work-week, guys!

 

Three Day Weekend

My three day weekend is actually a ten day weekend!  I took a week+ off from work because I am going home for Carnival.  By the time you read this post I will (hopefully!) be on a plane to St. Thomas.

Here were the top three from the past three days…

{1}  Coffee (coffee, coffee).

[a]  I am still loving Trader Joe’s shade grown espresso blend.

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[b]  I found my new spot for coffee and cookies – For Five Coffee.

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They served me an perfectly roasty and creamy quad iced latte.

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And they have crispy yet cakey cookies from Duchess Bakeshop, including unicorn cookies stuffed with cheesecake.

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{2}  Fun in packaged foods.

The chile rellano from Trader Joe’s is my all-time favorite frozen meal and the mojito kombucha was even better than expected.

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{3}  Our best meal of this year.

Glasserie in Greenpoint pretty much blew our minds.  Their deal is Middle Eastern flavors mixed with contemporary techniques in a stunningly gorgeous former glass factory.  We swooned over every bite!

Sour from Grimm.

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Griddle bread that was chewy and perfect and sort of reminded me of funnel cake.

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Roasted cauliflower with cured labneh and marjoram.

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An assortment of mushrooms with celeriac puree, hazelnuts, and a soft boiled egg.

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Chicken with roasted sunchokes, fried potato, and sesame.  I almost never order chicken in restaurants but this was one of the best proteins I’ve ever tasted.

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Rose milk custard with candied pistachios for dessert.  This was just a bit tangy and just a bit floral and totally delicious.

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10/10.

Pig Squared

Highlights from the weekend…

We went in to Manhattan early Saturday morning to check out the SNL line.  <– never going to happen, people had been camped out for at least 24 hours  On the plus side, we got to check out the leftover Easter decorations in Rockefeller Plaza.

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We spent the day with a Buffalo friend who is living in the city for a year for fellowship.  We took him to two of our favorite porcine named restaurants and on a long walk from Lower East Side to Tribeca and back.

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Pig Bleeker for lunch.  Smoked fried chicken sandwich with mayo, mustard sauce, hot sauce, and pickles, plus the crispiest fries.

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Pig and Khao for dinner.  I ordered the half hainanese duck, which came with duck fat fried rice which is apparently my favorite thing.

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We had birthday cake croissants at Union Fare.  Can sprinkle dust be a part of my everyday life?

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We had a variety of cinematic favorite tributes this weekend.  90’s throwback snacks while we watched Empire Records on Rex Manning Day!

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And a Thackery Binx inspired Daiquiri Binx cocktail – apple cinnamon infused white rum, simple syrup, fresh lime, egg white.

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Eggcellent dinners using up our Easter leftovers.

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Egg salad – with mayo, dijon, smoked paprika, and red and yellow bell pepper.  Plus roasted broccoli.  We scooped the salad with Trader Joe’s honey butter potato chips which was pretty fantastic.

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Salad salad with a mango kombucha.

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Romaine / cilantro salad dressing / blue cheese / smoked almonds / fried tofu / hard-boiled eggs.

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Have a great week!

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