Second Staycation

by Emily

By the time you read this I’ll be on a plane heading west, woo-hoo!

We are on our final week of summer vacation. We are excited for today’s travels, but when we made our plans we made sure to include time for some New York City love. Adam and I spent the past three days having a blast in our hometown. We ate all the things, got in some good dog cuddles, and spent some time showing off the Lower East Side to a friend (one of our favorite humans recent moved to the city for fellowship and we are excited to share the love).

Here were the top six edible highlights from the past three days…

{1} Antica Pesa = our new favorite Italian spot

Every piece of this meal was perfection. From the “Stranger Danger” – Ilegal Mezcal, guava, mint, hot honey, lime, and a Campari float.

To the cheese plate with the best blue cheese we’ve ever had.

I had housemade fettuccine with fresh mozzarella and eggplant puree and Adam had outstanding lasagna.

Plus for dessert we had coffee granite with chocolate cornflake crunch on top and a Gianduia hazelnut cream on the bottom that was my all-time favorite bite of dessert.

{2} Chef’s Club Counter

The boys liked their smoked salmon toasts and I loved my duck rice bowl with olives, citrus puree, and duck cracklins.

{3} Mother’s Ruin

My chicken and waffles were my favorite plate of food of the summer! The wings were coated in ridiculously fantastic Cholula-honey glaze. I also had a great drink with light rum, cava, honey, and mint.

{4} Booze in Brooklyn

We played our favorite game at Barcade (and were infinitely frustrated by Tapper) and I fell in love with Dogfish Head’s SeaQuench gose.

Plus we had ~~way too many~~ drinks and fell in love with the vibe at Rocka Rolla.

{5} Treats at Bibble and Sip

Iced lavender latte and a coconut Thai iced tea panna cotta. And now we want to go back and try every other flavor of panna cotta.

{6} Turkey cheese burgers

We made yummy turkey burgers – simply seasoned and kept moist with a brioche panade – on brioche buns with sharp cheddar cheese and bread and butters from Pickle Guys.

With roasted zucchini.

And a duo of fruit beers – New Belgium Juicy Watermelon Ale / Flying Dog Tamarind Ale.

See you this weekend!

18Jul2017

Tastes Like Summer

by Emily

This post is a day late and a dozen pictures short, but I worked the weekend shift so it is what it is. The good news – now this is a four day work-week with Wednesday off. The better news – starting this Saturday I’m on vacation! <– I’m taking a looong, overdue break, practically three weeks off (I’m off two full weeks with a three-day week in between).

Here were the bite highlights from last week…

Soursop smoothie. <– creamy, but not flavorful and not as exciting as I was hoping for

Coffee, coffee, coffee.

Nectarine Siggi’s with chopped angelcot (aka white apricot) and Heritage Flakes.

Vanilla Greek yogurt with dulce de leche and blackberries and apricot.

Pesto pasta from the cafeteria. With peas, cheddar, and tomato.

Drinkable vanilla Siggi’s / rice crackers / yummy Ruby cherries.

I’m not even close to sick of watermelon yet this summer.

If I had to pick a favorite flavor of Ben & Jerry’s this would be it.

Crunchy cola marshmallows; I’m not sure how many other people would like these, but they are pretty much my new favorite thing.

Curried cauliflower salad.

I very loosely followed this recipe. With uncured chicken hot dogs.

I made the fanciest salmon dinner. And it didn’t even take that long!

Salmon roasted in thyme honey balsamic vinaigrette with roasted kumato tomatoes with balsamic.

Miso-glzed radishes. <– apparently we love radishes, who knew!

Maple baked beans (pinto beans, maple turkey sausage, maple syrup, cayenne, red pepper, and more) and homemade cole slaw with golden raisins.

With a s’mores beer to round out the campfire vibe.

P.S. I’m turning 32 in less than a week, my birthday is next Monday!

5Jul2017

Beans, Beans, Every Flavor Beans

by Emily

I worked straight through Saturday to Thursday last week and it tired me out (hence the late post!).

The good news is that my work schedule meant I had a three day weekend. And the better news is that I used my extra day to go on a quick trip to CT with Adam. In other weekend excitement – we took the dog into the city to visit a dog park (he was not a fan).

Food themes for the week were beans and more beans, candy and more candy, and coffee (always coffee). Here were the highlights…

Breakfast at Blue State Coffee in New Haven. I had an egg and cheese sandwich on sourdough and an iced latte.

Stumptown coffee.

Pitaya smoothie with frozen cherries and cookies and cream pudding. (<– bought the pudding on a whim, hated it, and was too cheap to toss it, but it was actually wonderful in the smoothie).

Brunch at Fat Goose.

I had a sparkling Paloma.

And the foie gras panna cotta(!!!). With strawberries, rhubarb, jam, and buttered challah.

It was amazing. And even better, there was a dog in my lap while I ate it!

He got a bite of my ice cream for being a well-behaved brunch companion.

Lemon yogurt with blueberries and maple granola.

Plain yogurt with chocolate tahini, blueberries, and cotton candy grapes.

Adam and I tried Costa Nova Waffle on an errands day. They have tasty Portuguese coffee. We had a crispy waffle with s’mores and a soft waffle with twix and both were delicious.

Road trip snacks.

Milk candy! Japanese Hokkaido and Polish sesame milk caramels.

These Haribo grapefruit candies are insanely good.

Froyo on a hot day – birthday cake with mochi, nonpareils, and cereal marshmallows.

Turkey BLT pasta (inspired by this Cooking Light recipe). Whole wheat shells / turkey bacon / wilted arugula / roasted heirloom tomatoes / tossed with mayonnaise and salt and pepper.

Salmon bacon sandwiches!

Brioche buns with mayonnaise and gojuchang / sharp cheddar / a fried egg / and TJ’s salmon bacon.

With roasted green beans.

Red beans and rice (loosely inspired by this Serious Eats recipe). Celery, green pepper, and onion cooked in evoo / salt, pepper, cayenne, and smoked paprika / with TJ’s turkey summer sausage / and red kidney beans / served on brown jasmine rice.

White beans with turkey bacon, celery, and gojuchang. Plus sweet potato cheese fries.

Dinner in New Haven. We got Thai takeout – chicken pad see ew and pad thai – to eat in our hotel room in front of the cable tv.

Plus ice cream that was fantastically creamy and good, cookie dough and coffee oreo for me.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

20Jun2017

It’s Hot Outside And I Want Ice Cream And Iced Coffee

by Emily

Here’s a looong post because it’s been a looong time since I last posted! 20 things from the past 10 days…

{1-4} Cool Coffees. New Orleans iced coffees from Homecoming and Otha’s.

Toasted marshmallow iced latte from Sweetie Pies on Main.

Homemade frappe with dark roast, milk, ice, and birthday cake ice cream (<– I enjoyed the Halo Top a surprising amount, and would definitely buy it again).

{5-6} Decadent Doughnuts. Nutella beignet from Maman.

Rose and marmalade doughnut from Polka Dot. <– one of the best doughnuts either of us had ever eaten

{7-10} Work Bites. Piñata apple, salted caramel Doubleshot, and an ancho pepper turkey stick.

Almond water (<– yuck!), chocolate hazelnut croissant, and a smitten apple.

Vanilla bean yogurt with white peach and crumbled cookies (<– the recipe I always make with butterscotch and dark chocolate chips and walnuts).

TJ’s avocado citrus yogurt with fresh mango and a peanut butter Larabar on the side.

{11-12} Lunch in Greenpoint. Greenpoint Fish and Lobster.

Watermelon lemonade with cava.

Grilled bluefish tacos with citrus cabbage, chipotle-lime mayo, radishes, and cilantro on grilled corn tortillas.

Greenpoint Beer and Ale. I got the honey saison.

{13} Quality Eats at Quality Eats. French toast cocktail (<– extra points for the punny name!) = bourbon, maple syrup, cinnamon, egg white, and prosecco.

I had fried eggs with avocado and salsa rosa, and a perfectly dressed salad.

And we had the s’mores ice cream sundae for dessert, with burnt marshmallow ice cream.

{14-17} Winner Dinners. Kimichi quesadillas. I stuffed wonderfully soft tortillas with a mix of sharp cheddar, chopped kimchi, and mayo.

Served with sour cream, roasted zucchini, and a weisse beer with lychee and pink guava.

Bean and cheese tacos. With watermelon beer and seltzer. I cooked pinto beans in a skillet with evoo, salt, pepper, curry powder, and cayenne, then mashed them up with a spoon.

With sour cream, salsa, Mexican cheese blend, and sautéed onions and green pepper.

Chicken wing pasta. Whole wheat shells / shredded chicken / peas / habanero wing sauce / cream cheese / blue cheese.

Our first trip to Win Son = the best meal of this post.

I got the Breakfast of Champions drink with peanut milk, toasted sesame, rum, rum cream, and toasted coconut.

Fried eggplant with black vinegar, kefir cheese, and spiced cashews. <– maybe my favorite thing I’ve eaten this year

Sesame noodles with scallions and oyster mushrooms. Plus a metric ton of chili oil.

{18-20} Delicious Desserts. Molly’s Cupcake for raw cake batter stuffed yellow cake.

Bubble tea at Yaya Tea. Guava black tea with yogurt popping boba and mango stars. <– new favorite boba spot

Ice and Vice seasonal flavor, No Whey – labne ice cream with burnt honey and preserved lemon. This was so refreshing!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

30May2017

Llamas, And Pigs, and Humans, Oh My!

by Emily

Three-day weekend highlights, including lots of new “bests”…

Unicorn smoothie! The layers were acai and pitaya with coconut water and plain Greek yogurt.

Bananarama smoothie. Frozen banana, plain Greek yogurt, a hot chocolate packet, and Banana Wave Banana Milk. <– free product review alert: the banana milk is a vegan milk made of banana puree, soy, oats, and other ingredients. One serving contains as much potassium as a small banana as well as 29 vitamins and minerals and 1200 mg of omega-3 fatty acids. One cup has 150 calories, 4 grams of protein, and 5 grams of added sugar.

Black bear, aka Otha‘s coffee concentrate with housemade chocolate milk. This shop was adorable and we want to go back immediately.

Du’s Donuts. Adam’s all time favorites.

Lunch at Llama Inn.

I had soft-boiled eggs with delicata squash, charred scallions, pumpkin seeds, and chimichurri sauce.

We got our own desserts, flan for Adam and key lime pie for me. Best key lime pie of the decade, it was enrobed in toasted meringue!

Lunch at Pig Bleeker. We had a Salty Spritz – vodka, St. Germain, and apricot, with a salty white wine rinse, and a Champagne Sherry Cobbler that was the all-time best drink we’ve ever had – Fino sherry, fresh citrus, and champagne.

I got a fried chicken thigh sandwich with Pig Beach mustard sauce, house pickles, mayo, and hot sauce. The meat was smoked before it was fried and it was by far the best fried chicken I’ve ever tasted.

Durian mochi.

Malter Chronkite from Mister Dips, a malty chocolate-dipped cone.

Spicy crunchy tuna sushi bowl. Brown rice with ginger, rice vinegar, seaweed, and black sesame seeds / canned tuna fish and smoked trout with Sriracha and mayo / quick pickled cucumbers / fresh avocado / panko and fried garlic toasted in butter / Sriracha on top.

Chopped romaine salad with honey mustard dressing, dill, sautéed mushrooms with garlic, shredded chicken, crumbled blue cheese, and homemade raisins.

I am on Saturday/Sunday so I’ve only got two days of work before a day off, woo-hoo!

30Apr2017

Smorgasburg, Greenport, And The Weekend’s Top Five

by Emily

{1} A day trip to Greenport.

Greenport is one of Adam’s favorite Long Island areas and we finally had a Sunday together to go explore.

We walked on the pier, walked on the beach, ate a kind of meh breakfast in town, plus got a great iced latte and an almond croissant.

Aaaand a toasted marshmallow iced latte that knocked our socks off.

{2} Our 1st kolache experience.

So exciting!

I’ve been dying to try one ever since I started following Kylie and Brooklyn Kolache did not disappoint.

We did one sweet and one savory – poppy seed and turkey, egg, and cheese – plus a delicious brown sugar iced latte.

{3} Our 1st Smorgasburg visit of the season.

It was a good one! We hit up Duck Season for duck fat fries with confit and a sandwich with confit, pickled cabbage, gojuchang, and craklins.

Ube Kitchen for Halo Halo. It was a nice dessert, but not Halo Halo – there was no nata de coco, no palm seeds, plus it had granola in it, and almond milk instead of condensed milk.

Plus we got impossibly smooth coffee from Ministry of Kaapi.

{4} BBQ chicken salad.

Baby romaine dressed in yogurt ranch, shredded chicken in Korean bbq sauce, cucumber, sharp cheddar, and smoked paprika.

This was actually the appetizer course for a meal that included cheese fries and buffalo chicken wings!

{5} A toasted marshmallow smoothie/shake.

Toasted marshmallows, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and vanilla hemp milk.

It was wonderful.

P.S. This is currently the view when I step out my front door!!

10Apr2017

Pastrami Smoked Salmon On Sourdough

by Emily

Once again, this title reflects the most exciting thing I ate in this post. Honestly though, everything I ate this weekend was pretty darn tasty!

Iced coffee with cake popsicle used for ice. <– gaaaaah! so swoontastic!

Perfectly sweet just enough sour smoothie – passionfruit sorbet / plain Greek yogurt / frozen blueberries / princess flavoring / water.

Snacky lunch at work. Mandarin, uncured turkey pepperoni, yummy cinnamon roll Chobani.

Cafeteria sandwich. Spicy chicken, pesto, red pepper, and tomato, on an insanely cheesy roll.

Mr. Flip sandwich from Flip Bird – pulled rotisserie chicken, harissa honey, pickled coleslaw, sambal mayo, and a piece of crispy skin. It was a 10/10.

Dinner from the freezer – ice cream and a naan pizza.

The cilantro pesto pizza – which I got with a free coupon given to me for review – was delicious, the flavor was a bit spicy, which was a nice surprise.

Lox and cream cheese on ~~a bagel~~ sourdough toast.

This pastrami-style smoked salmon from Trader Joe’s is my all-time favorite smoked salmon.

Served with a quick salad of tomato, cucumber, cilantro, green onion, olive oil, and Himalayan salt.

I made a recipe! Cheddar bbq turkey meatloaf.

I ate all of the crispy cheese bits that started to burn to the pan and was sooooo happy. Plus roasted broccoli.

Do you have a favorite type of smoked fish to recommend?

3Apr2017

Vacation // Staycation

by Emily

Whew, what a week! Adam and I have been on vacation since last Saturday and it has been absolutely freaking fantastic!

St. Thomas Vacation

We spent the first half of our week going home to visit my parents. It was a great trip; we made multiple beach visits, ate the sandwich we both ate the morning we got married, and had lunch on the beach with an old friend.

top three vacation moments –

{1} Eating an egg and cheese sandwich on a johnny cake.

{2} Hiking in St. John. We hiked across the Caneel Bay trail and then walked back to town from Honeymoon Beach.

{3} Getting the world’s best fraco (aka shaved ice) downtown – soursop and guava with condensed milk. It was swoon-worthy!

Related: I also had a pretty fantastic fresh soursop juice at Mafolie. It is my favorite fruit.

NYC Staycation

We stayed in the city for the 2nd half of our vacation. NYC is my favorite place on Earth so I’m always happy to have additional free time here. Though we did spend a lot of time home in our apartment — watching tv, in bed, with the dog curled up on our laps!

Quick eats at home included –

All the nachos. Salad with pulled rotisserie chicken, pinto beans, cole slaw, and pineapple salsa.

Eggs with the same ingredients, minus cole slaw, plus German butter cheese.

Cake popsicles!

Champagne with sorbet while we watched the final finale of Bones. <– one of our all time favorite shows. I thought they did a really nice job wrapping things up.

We also had some really exciting eats in Manhattan –

Brunch at Cosme. I had the duck enmoladas or mole enchiladas.

Plus the best Paloma ever. Made with house grapefruit syrup and amazing grapefruit salt on the rim.

Churro s’more at Boqueria.

Best thing I’ve had in 2017 and possibly ever: Unicorn latte!!! A (purple!) caramel latte topped with glittered marshmallows and loads of whipped cream and sprinkles. It was magical!

Think stress-free thoughts for me on my return back to reality please.

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: fruit

Second Staycation

Tastes Like Summer

Beans, Beans, Every Flavor Beans

It’s Hot Outside And I Want Ice Cream And Iced Coffee

Llamas, And Pigs, and Humans, Oh My!

Smorgasburg, Greenport, And The Weekend’s Top Five

Pastrami Smoked Salmon On Sourdough

Vacation // Staycation

St. Thomas Vacation

NYC Staycation