Weekend Highlights; I ♥ New York

by Emily

Taking Friday off meant I had a three-day weekend to spend exploring the city. I’m a Brooklyn girl at heart but this weekend I was all about Manhattan. We spent three full days walking or eating or eating while walking and you know those are all my favorite activities! Long story with lots of gushing short: I love it here! I think NYC is one of the most beautiful places on the planet and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Since we ate pretty much nonstop, this is going to be a lengthy post. I cut what I could and am only including the exciting stuff. Working alphabetically always seems to make the most sense to me…

Chelsea Market {Chelsea}.

Friday afternoon, after my girlfriend left and before Adam got off of work, I took myself on a ramen date at Mokbar.

I got the brothy chicken ramen – roasted ginger chicken broth, pulled chicken, and cucumber and garlic chive kimchi, topped with a soft-boiled egg.

Very nice, especially the egg, but not quite as good as Chuko Ramen.

Gansevoort Market {Meatpacking District}.

I actually didn’t love any of the items I ate there, but it was too pretty not to show. A burnt, gross, maple cortado from Champion Coffee.

And a shimmery birthday cake macaron from Dana’s Bakery.

It wasn’t the best macaron ever (found at Bakeshop by Woops!), but I still want to go back for the s’mores and cookie dough.

The High Line {Chelsea}.

I had a crab cake empanada from La Sonrisa.

Lump blue crab, cream cheese, lemon juice, breadcrumbs, and spices. Good, but nothing can hold a candle to the guava-cheese at the truck near my train. <– The food was good this weekend but I guess a lot of it did come up short compared with past experiences. Good thing the walking was so darn fun!

Magnolia Bakery {Greenwich Village}.

Adam swooned over his s’mores cupcake and I got the legendary banana pudding.

Totally worth the accolades and Magnolia’s tourist destination status.

Nutella Bar at Eataly.

My Nutella iced latte was on point.

Peanut butter jelly smoothie. The only homemade item yummy enough to make it into this post.

We blended up frozen grapes and dark cherries with plain Siggi’s yogurt, peanut butter, and honey.

Brunch at Penelope {Kips Bay}. A girlfriend from my University of Buffalo days came into the city for a visit. We split a pitcher of rosé sangria with mango and watermelon.

And I ordered a BBELT – double (fakin) bacon, over-medium egg, lettuce, and tomato, with black pepper balsamic mayo on toasted sourdough. With hand-cut fries.

Much better than a boring old BLT.

Pier A Harbor House {Battery Park} for Brooklyn Brewery‘s Long Hall Lager.

Sooooo creamy, it was fantastic. And especially enjoyable after a 2 miles walk on the water down Battery Place.

We stopped at Brookfield Place to admire the view and now need to go back immediately for lunch.

Red Farm {Greenwich Village} for playful dim sum.

The space was beautiful, nothing was there by accident, and pro tip – the toilet seats are heated! We shared drinks, small plates, and an entrée. A nice rosé from Washington.

The Bee’s Teas – Chamomile tea-infused Bird Dog Bourbon, figs, lemon, basil, Runny Honey, and chamomile tincture. Not bad, but not as good as the honey drink we had last week.

We got the Pac Man shrimp dumplings and the crispy duck and crab dumplings.

Super fun, but we felt like the dim sum menu was more about the “wow factor” than great flavor. Our entrée, on the other hand, was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.

The wide rice noodles with shredded duck were freaking packed with duck. There was honestly more meat than noodles! And the meat was perfectly cooked, crispy and succulent. We were in heaven.

Smorgasburg Queens {Long Island City}.

It was the perfect time to try Wooly’s shaved ice.

Party rocks = crushed Fruity Pebbles and Pop Rocks.

Sokerbit {Greenwich Village} for gummy candy goodness.

This Swedish candy shop is amazing, giant bulk bins of candy, mostly licorice and cola flavored (my two favorites!). I came away with a giant bag.

Everything we’ve tasted so far has been wonderful.

Victory Garden {Greenwich Village} for locally made goat’s milk yogurt.

I got the tangy original flavor, topped with goat’s milk caramel, sprinkles, and halvah. OMG.

What’s your favorite city?

3Aug2015

Weekend Highlights

by Emily

This “peanut butter and jelly” yogurt bowl I brought to work was legit.

Plain Greek yogurt with KIND peanut butter granola, grapes, chia seeds, peanut butter, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Peanut butter in yogurt is so good!

We made deviled eggs that were only ok.

And cookies that were fantastic.

Number 2 pencil’s recipe with chocolate-covered pretzels crumbled in.

Plus watermelon cocktails.

Woo-hoo! We’ve got to squeeze the last out of summer.

I made big bowls of pasta with red sauce.

Whole-wheat rotini topped with ground turkey cooked with tons of sautéed mushrooms and onion and TJ’s marinara.

This was the best meal of the weekend though.

Scrambled eggs with corn and leftover bbq collards.

Plus buttered ~~burnt~~ toasted baguette.

Yum!

31Jul2015

My Year Is Off To A Good Start

by Emily

enjoyed all week

Coffees. Also naps.

Apparently my parents wore us out; I had a to take a nap before I could make dinner the first three nights of the week.

Diet chocolate soda from Polar.

I know it sounds a little strange but we were fans.

Our leftovers from The Smith. Eaten cold while standing in front of the open fridge.

My mac and cheese was fantastic leftover and so was my mom’s Mexican corn.

A big box of free samples {free as in provided free of charge / no other compensation for this post / yada, yada } from Super Seedz.

I wouldn’t have thought of pumpkin seeds as a favorite of mine but I’ve loved all of the flavors we’ve tried so far. Flavor options include: Really Naked, Sea Salt, Cinnamon & Sugar, Coco Joe, Tomato Italiano, Curious Curry, Somewhat Spicy and Super Spicy. They pack a nutritional punch – see the infographic (provided by the company) below – and Super Seedz are allergen friendly – peanut-free, tree nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, fish-free, shellfish-free, soy-free and made with gluten-free ingredients.

breakfast

After we dropped my parents at the airport on Monday, Adam and I went on a doughnut(plant) and coffee date before work. Because apparently we hadn’t eaten enough crap over my birthday weekend.

My strawberry-filled vanilla got two thumbs up.

As did my maple latte from Gorilla.

Coco pumpkin seeds and cold-pressed watermelon juice.

TJ’s came through on this juice, it was wonderfully refreshing.

Chocolate-cherry smoothie.

Vanilla almond milk with coco powder, frozen cherries, and dates. I enjoyed this combo and want to make it again soon.

Snack plate.

A cheese stick, cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds, and a medley of grapes.

lunch

Chocolate chip cookie oats.

With an apple and coco pumpkin seeds.

Sweet and spicy tuna salad.

With grapes and cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds.

I didn’t have to provide my own lunch the rest of the week! I attended a lunch-and-learn on malnutrition in surgical patients on Tuesday.

They gave us education, salad, and yummy sandwiches with hummus and roasted eggplant. And I mainlined coffee (with tons of milk and cream) when I got back to my desk.

On Thursday the hospital threw an employee appreciation bbq.

Very sweet!

dinner

Pizza, pizza.

We used TJ’s frozen crusts and were so impressed with how they turned out. Topped with marinara, mozzarella, and tons of garlic and onion sautéed mushrooms.

Plus super simple salads on the side.

Just arugula blend with ranch dressing. They were a bit depressing. But we also had beer.

I carried this Southern Tier Compass all the way back home from Buffalo but unfortunately it was a bit hoppy for our tastes.

Burger night.

I made my Buffalo Blue Bean Burgers. They don’t look like much but this is one of my best recipes!

With a trio of roasted veggies: Brussels sprouts, green beans, and broccoli.

Served with maple bacon kettle chips, aka my favorite chips because they are the best chips of all time.

They were doing a promotion and handing out mini bags at my railroad station and it was very exciting.

Last night I met up with a girlfriend for dinner in Brooklyn. We checked out Elbow Room, the mac and cheese window at Morgan’s BBQ.

Milk stout.

Old School Mac – NY state sharp cheddar, béchamel, and garlic breadcrumbs.

With collard greens that were spicy and vegetarian. Dinner was good but dessert was better.

Salted crack caramel and honey peanut butter ice creams from Ample Hills. But they were supposed to have key lime pie ice cream available and they didn’t so now I need to go back immediately and it’s a problem.

23May2015

Weekly Wrap-Up; Back At It

by Emily

I know this post is behind schedule (and I swear, I really am going to share all of the tasty things we ate at the end of our trip!) but the first week back at work after a vacation always feels so looooong. It doesn’t help that the poor puppy is sick – and it really doesn’t help that he is on 2 weeks of a twice-daily medication, in addition to his twice daily seizure medication! No matter, he has the fuzziest face on Earth and I wouldn’t trade him for the world.

Here are some of the eats from the week that I wouldn’t trade either…

Coffee, always

A double-strength batch of Community Coffee French Roast served over ice with Hint of Honey Almond Milk.

Halvah yogurt bowls

Plain Greek yogurt with crumbled marble halvah mixed in and juicy summer fruit on the side.

Spinach pesto on everything

Mixed with shredded chicken and bow tie pasta (my mom and aunt always serve pesto with bow ties so that’s how I do it too!).

Next to really amazing salads topped with turkey bacon dressing and balsamic roasted grapes.

And mixed with shredded chicken atop a truly epic toasted cheese sandwich.

Chipotle, again, always

For dinner I improved the rice-veggie ratio by serving my bowl on a big bed of arugula dressed with bbq sauce.

And the leftovers made for the most exciting lunch I’ve ever packed.

I am so ready for the weekend!

8Aug2014

Five Favorites For Friday

by Emily

A new “favorites” series might be the answer for weeks where I don’t have it together to photograph most things. Weeks like this week, where terrible bedtime choices rendered me unable to do anything productive outside of 9-5.

I had a ton of fun and I ate a lot of things (all of the things!), and now I’ll share my five favorites with you guys…

1: Pineapple Noosa with multi-colored grapes.

This new flavor was lovely. P.S. I also snagged a Target-exclusive, pumpkin Noosa that I am quite excited about.

2: Salads from Chipotle.

Actually, I made Adam get Chipotle with me two nights in a row, so this actually may be more of an addiction than a favorite.

Lettuce / pinto beans / grilled veggies / chicken / cheese / sour cream / corn salsa / mild salsa. Plus the ridiculously delicious, lime-y, salty chips.

3: Shredded chicken Bahn Mi and Thai tea with boba from Bahnmigos.

I went to a stand-up show with a friend on Wednesday so I *had* to get dinner in Brooklyn. These guys make the best Bahn Mi; they have the perfect balance of flavors and ingredients (spicy Sriracha and tangy pickled veggies, crunchy baguette and silky mayo). That’s Mindy Kaling’s memoir in the background. It was also fabulous.

4: Brown sugar seaweed snack with TJ’s turkey jerky.

Another good balance of salty to sweet. This was a nice mid-afternoon snack.

5: Amazing flavors from Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.

Adam and I split Thai tea and black sesame. This was the husband’s first visit but now he is as obsessed as I am. The flavors are so true to life!

Bonus: These hard candies are still rocking my world.

If I had known how good they were going to be I would have bought multiple bags. I still can’t decide what flavor they are though, because there is a lot of coffee roast for creme brulee.

Note: my favorite meal of the week was technically a romantic (poorly lit) dinner at Freeman’s. We shared Coho salmon with mustard sauce and five cheese mac and cheese. Plus chamomile infused scotch with grapefruit and honey. swoon

18Apr2014

Weekly Wrap-Up; Have A Hoppy Easter

by Emily

Who else has been hitting the chocolate eggs this week? Easter candy abounds! We are spending the holiday with my in-laws – all three of our nieces! – so I’m going radio-silent on the blog front this weekend to focus on family time. I’m planning on skipping my weekend post, I’m not even packing a camera, and I’ll be back with a weekly wrap-up next Friday.