Pinkerton’s. This was the best breakfast sandwich we’ve ever eaten. Scrambled eggs, sharp white Cabot cheddar, and herb and garlic mayo dressing on their exceptional housemade English muffin.
Plus a slice of passionfruit meringue pie.
Kingston Bread + Bar. Vanilla cake with blackberry buttercream, peach compote, and strusel.
Kingston Standard Brewing. They make good beers and very good wood-oven sourdough pizza. We got a Compost – crushed tomato, pesto, mozarella, parmesan, red onion, and arugula.
Sonder. This is my 2nd favorite restaurant in all of New York! Housemade za’atar bread with tomato butter and browned honey butter. Plus sweet potato bisque.
Golden beets with jalopeno cream cheese and pretzel bites.
Dry aged strip steak with sweet potatoes.
Sonder burger with cornichons, special sauce, and American cheese. Plus fries. This is my 2nd favorite burger in all of New York.
We finished the meal/day with the best dessert I’ve eaten this decade – flourless chocolate cake with toasted marshmallow.
It was a great weekend. We spent some time in Ridgewood and also checked out the fabulous orchid show at the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. Food highlights…
We bought this fancy grape jam in Hudson and I was excited to use to use it.
Like in a pb&j bowl with yogurt, cottage cheese, fresh blueberries, and smooth and chunky peanut butter.
And in an iced coffee (with vanilla cold foam).
The best coffee of the weekend had blueberries in it! I blended cold coffee with frozen blueberries, brown sugar, skin milk, and vanilla protein powder.
I also had a nice latte from Honeymoon Coffee (<– super cute spot). Enjoyed with some flan from a bakery in Ridgewood. We stirred some of the caramel into the latte and that was obviously great.
Evil Twin is our favorite New York brewery and this was one of our best trips to date – so many fun sours!
Cheesy tots. Baked potato tots with roasted cauliflower and tons of sharp cheddar. And Sriracha horseradish aioli, furikake, gochugaru, and sesame seeds.
Cafe Deux. I got their burger which was double Wagyu patties, house aioli, and cheddar with tons of fries. I also stole several bites of Adam’s soft-scrambled eggs and toast with local jam.
Plus we shared a great brownie sundae with their flourless chocolate cake and Cafe Panna vanilla ice cream.
Decades Pizza. The pizza was wonderful but I was drawn in by this drink – Pink Moon Sour = amaretto, contratto bitter, lemon, and marshmallow cream! The drink on the left was cold brew with honey, nutmeg, and soda.
We shared and loved a bunch of things. Our favorite dish of the night was the arancini with hazelnut pesto, Calabrian chili, and pecorino.
Roasted carrots and asparagus with whipped ricotta and pesto oil.
Mushroom pie – blue oyster mushrooms, garlic, cream, mozzarella, and parmigiano.
And a special pie with Calabrian chili and tons of green onions.
And we got fermented banana cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert.
Our leftovers were perfect for Sunday dinner. Plus sauteed asparagus with toasted almonds, garlic, lemon, yellow mustard, and dijon.
Thoughts for the weekend… It is going to be unpleasantly cold all next week so I am hoping to take a long walk around the neighborhood today while it’s still enjoyable to be outside // I recently rediscovered/got ear-wormed by “No Games” by Serani and I play it twice daily at minimum // We bought Webster a blueberry muffin toy and it is delightfully cute.
Best bites from the week…
Peanut butter and jelly yogurt bowl. Plain skyr with blueberries, jam grapes, and the best peanut butter.
A spaghetti and meatballs-ish take on the lasagna soup trend. Sauteed garlic, tomato sauce, and Trader Joe’s tomato and roasted red pepper soup / roasted zucchini / whole-wheat elbow pasta / turkey meatballs (stuffed with panade, garlic, and parmesan) / topped with parmesan.
Chicken salad. Chopped chicken breast with grapes, slivered almonds, scallions, skyr, mayo, dijon, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper. Plus leftover PopUp bagels toasted with butter and roasted purple cauliflower.
It was a fun week! Monday my parents were still in town and we took the day off to do Manhattan things with them. P.S. NY readers – we went to Lido Kosher Deli for their last dinner and the food was so good I got too excited to take a photo; you should go immediately.
Wednesday was my birthday and Adam and I took a long walk and got a giant ice cream (with BYOB sprinkles!). Plus I started my day with my free birthday Starbucks (with BYOB sprinkles).
Thursday we went to a bachelorette party and I had a margarita and discovered that the Trader Joe’s watermelon cucumber juice is the best mixer on the planet.
Friday we had reservations at Silver Apricot and did more fun Manhattan stuff. P.S. NY readers – they make some of the best Chinese food in the city and unfortunately are closing on August 11th so get a reservation ASAP.
Some highlights from the week included…
Joe Coffee yuzu elderflower coffee spritzer. The whole family thought this was delicious.
Donut Pub marble cruller. Stopping here after Strand book store is a great date.
Glace by Noglu‘s Rockefeller Center truck has the same menu as their storefront with half of the line. Classic s’mores – frozen hot chocolate, marshmallow hallo, whipped cream, and chocolate drizzle.
Indoor s’mores bowl. I broiled marshmallows and chocolate chips on top of Heritage Flakes. Served with plain skry.
You know I had a cache of birthday cake snacks. Premier Protein protein shake (7/10), Made Good granola bar (9/10), Pop Art kettle corn (9/10), Sprinkles cupcake cups (11/10).
Chimango chili pineapple wedges have a wonderfully satisfying balance of savory-sweet and a great chewy texture.
This Wild Twist apple was Adam’s and my new favorite variety; crisp, juicy, and sweet.
All the leftovers. This bowl was pasta and harissa chicken from Sonder, pasta and garlicy greens from Rolos, and evoo and cheese from home.
My favorite sheet-pan hash. Roasted purple sweet potatoes and baby bok choy with smoked sockeye salmon and smoked salmon candy. Plus a sauce – plain Greek yogurt, mayo, Sriracha, honey, and rice vinegar – and furikake.
Spinach and artichoke gnocchi bake. This dip-lasagna-gnocchi abomination made a great casserole. Baked Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi; shredded chicken breast; spinach and artichoke sauteed with evoo, garlic, gochugaru, and salt and pepper; ricotta cheese, plain skyr, lemon juice, nutmeg, eggs, and extra-sharp cheddar; baked with mozzarella on top.
Silver Apricot. We shared and loved a ton of dishes. Adam had a great orange wine and I got an apricot spritzer.
Deviled tea eggs with pickled mustard seeds, chili-garlic aioli.
Crispy turnip cakes with scallion chili crisp, pickled radish, and garlic crunch.
Grilled summer squash with cashew chili crisp, cultured cashew cream, and coriander / rice rolls with celtuce, kohlrabi, and hoisin sauce / grilled hen of the woods mushrooms, pickled wood ear mushrooms, and salted egg yolk.
Mille-feuille with caramel / ridiculously good sesame panna cotta with grape granita.
Yogurt bowl. Plain skyr with butterscotch syrup, blueberries and blackberries, Heritage Flakes, and peanut butter.
I tried my first yellow dragon fruit and it was delicious; way more flavorful than the pink ones.
99 Ranch snacks. The seaweed crisps were actually too spicy for me but Calbee honey butter chips are always a hit.
They clearly have a lot going on but these grape green tea and cheese ice cream bars are possibly the most satisfying frozen dessert I’ve ever eaten. The mix of creamy and chewy is perfection.
Leftover turkey lasagna with roasted broccoli.
I used leftover lasagna noodles to make (otherwise authentic) chicken pad see ew. This recipe (sidenote, I adore Recipe Tin Eats, everything we’ve tried from her site has been perfect) but I used chicken breasts instead of thighs and six-times more Chinese broccoli.
Mandu bulgogi chicken frozen dumplings – delicious – pan-fried with tons of sharp cheddar plus chili crisp and leftover sauteed Chinese broccoli.
Roast‘s weekly special was lobster rolls so we obviously had to get them. We shared a Maine and a Connecticut-style.
Plus fries and an Abomination Brewing double IPA brewed with lobster! We did not taste any crustaceans but it was a great IPA.
I had a free drink at Starbucks so I took a chance on a Neapolitan-style cold brew and it ended up working out. Vanilla cold foam, mocha sauce, and raspberry popping boba. It was a bit too sweet but I thought the fruity boba paired nicely with coffee (the baristas were horrified).
Buzz’d Coffee‘s monthly special was a cake batter iced latte so of course I drove over.
I made brownies for a work party so of course I put one on a yogurt bowl. With plain skyr, plucot, and blueberries. P.S. My brownies always get rave reviews and they are just the Baker’s recipe using salted butter and adding a Tbsp of espresso powder and a cup of chocolate chips.
A more traditional yogurt bowl – pb&j. Plain skyr, fruit, peanut butter, and Chia Smash concord grape jam.
Lavash wrap with yellow mustard, bread and butter pickles, cheese, and leftover turkey meatballs.
Lunch at Honey’s Bistro, a cute spot in Glen Head. I had the “Eat a Jerk Don’t Be One” bowl and it was super satisfying and delicious. Jerk chicken, sweet plantains, mac salad, grilled zucchini, spicy corn, coleslaw, cilantro aioli, and white rice. P.S. The menu is rife with puns (Harissa Explains it All bowl!!).
Also a guava bomboloni.
And a coconut brown sugar cold foam cold brew.
This peanutty noodle bowl frozen meal from Trader Joe’s was edible but not enjoyable and I wouldn’t recommend it nor buy it again.
This dinner was simple but a total hit. Homemade coleslaw (shredded cabbage, Greek yogurt, mayo, Dijon mustard, rice vinegar, sugar, and celery seed) topped with buffalo chicken (baked chicken tossed in a skillet with butter, Franks, and ranch seasoning).
Waffle bacon egg and cheese, aka WBEC, aka the best meal of the weekend. Whole Foods buttermilk protein waffles as bread with sliced Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, soft-scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and maple Sriracha sauce (with mayo and Dijon mustard). Plus roasted broccoli.
Hello, 2024! I am not superstitious, but I do like to start every new year with a run and some traditionally lucky foods. This year we got in black eyed peas, collard greens, and grapes. Plus something sweet for a sweet year!
Highlights from a tasty week…
1/1/24 brunch date at For Five while I set up my planner.
I got a roasted turkey sandwich with cheese, sprouts, and avocado.
Plain skyr with strawberries, persimmon, and sugar cookie granola.
These jelly sakes are my favorite drink. Related – we played trivia at a bar midweek and got to try Abomination Brewing’s Christmas cookie Fog Nog (fantastic).
Hawaiian fruit jellies; the starfruit and passionfruit ones were obviously the best.
The best snack plate of the year – Trader Joe’s Chicken Tikka samosas (with spicy truffle mayo and plum sauce) / Lolliberry strawberries / jam grapes.
Not a bad runner up – soy marinated eggs / cucumber / cheddar.
Dinner on the 1st – sauteed collard greens with green onion and garlic and black eyed pea salad with garlic and black pepper almonds, green bell pepper, Kerrygold Dubliner cheddar, and mayo and chipotle Cholula.
We tried the Bombay Sando from Oak and Orange – toasted ciabatta with grilled chicken, amul cheese, seasoned potatoes, pickled red onions, and a housemade chutney. Plus the best green smoothie I’ve ever made – frozen spinach, banana, and cherries, fresh tangerine, and water.
Sheetpan hash. Roasted brussels sprouts, grapes, poblano peppers, sweet potato, and chili verde chicken sausage with green onion and dried cranberries. I went back and topped this with a maple-Cholula aioli.
Perkatory Coffee [CT]. I loved this spot, especially their monthly special – cold brew with vanilla and strawberry, topped with condensed milk cold foam and Fruity Pebbles.
Yellow King Brews [CT]. Cold brew flight??!! My favorite was the fantastically blue one – cold brew shaken with cookie butter sauce and topped with cookie cold foam.
12% Beer Project [CT]. They had taps from Evil Twin, Abomination Brewing, and Fat Orange Cat. Also really good housemade thin crust pizza.
Alligator Pear for a New Orlean’s lunch. We had (a lot) drinks and started with the wonderful cornbread with sweet brown butter and the blue crab beignets.
We shared the summer salad – baby kale with strawberries, goat cheese, candied pecans, and a honey mustard vinaigrette – and a po’boy with grilled shrimp.
Kappo Counter at Okonomi Market for a lovingly currated multi-course tasting menu. Some of my favorites included the tilefish and cucumber with yuzu and coconut.
Roasted Japanese sweet potato with salmon roe and toasted tahini.
And the frangipane with toasted rice ice cream and pickled strawberries.
Rolo’s for the best lunch of the vacation/the best meal of 2023! Spicy mezcal bloody mary.
Beet salad with concord grape vinaigrette and castelrosso cheese // grilled oyster mushrooms with pine nut miso.
Double cheeseburger with grilled onions and dijonnaise // malted waffles with plum compote and ricotta. We also had the super crispy potatoes topped with Kewpie and a spicy peanut sauce.
Eating Chalk 