Homemade turkey meatloaf. I did a mix of ground turkey, panko bread crumbs, grated sweet onion, shredded sharp cheddar, oyster sauce, hoisin, and gochujang. Plus dinosaur kale sauteed with salt, pepper, gochugaru, onion powder, garlic powder, lemon juice, and butter.
A surprisingly good dinner at the Comet Club. We enjoyed the crab toast and also had the hamachi tostada which came with great house-made guacamole.
We tried several drinks. We both enjoyed this layered negroni but my favorite was actually the French Onion Gibson (vodka with onion consommé, sherry, dry vermouth, and onion brine!).
I had a Waygu French Dip off of the specials menu and it was perfect. My leftovers were still great too.
Plus we got the cheesecake which was solid but probably not something I’d order again.
P.S. Of course my pre-dinner snacks were on theme!
You know it’s a good week when you have two kinds of blueberries! Super Jumbo and wild.
On the Emily calendar, September is Apple Month! (October – Pumpkin, November – Pumpkin again and Cranberry, December – Eggnog, Gingerbread, and Mint). I have, of course, amassed a fun stash of apple-themed snacks.
Here was (some of!) the on-theme stuff I ate this week. The apple Altoids are weak but otherwise all winners. Also – the ruby apple Alani is a 10/10 (not a flavor I’d reach for every day but I had no notes).
Later in the week I also scored a Hal’s apple seltzer.
And some Trader Joe’s juicy apple gummies. <– hands down the best apple treat!
I made an apple syrup by boiling down apple cider with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Apple brown betty matcha – vanilla yuzu seltzer, apple syrup, butter extract, and matcha.
Apple smile iced latte – skim milk, espresso, apple syrup, marshmallow fluff, and One Trick Pony cinnamon sugar peanut butter. This was amazing, in no small part thanks to the peanut butter which is wondrously good.
An apple-themed dinner – apple pie chicken salad. Shredded chicken breast with Duke’s, plain skyr, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, cinnamon, smoked paprika, gochugaru, sharp cheddar, green onions, and toasted walnuts. Plus green beans (steamed then sauteed with honey, yellow mustard, rice vinegar, and chili crisp), apple chips, and toasted sourdough with butter.
Spaghetti with sauce and balls. Whole-wheat spaghetti / gussied up pasta sauce – Trader Joe’s pizza sauce sauteed with roasted garlic, tomato paste, gochugaru, urfa pepper, and dried basil / baked turkey meatballs – ground turkey with panade, egg, hoisin, and urfa pepper / mozzarella pearls.
We also made spaghetti casserole – all of the ingredients above baked in a casserole with sharp cheddar on top. Plus sauteed greens – fennel and broccoli rabe with roasted garlic, smoked paprika, and gochugaru.
I don’t have a name for what this dinner bowl was but its adjective was “yummy!” Waffle fries baked with sharp cheddar, Milu everything seasoning, and za’atar / roasted baby zucchinis / soft-scrambled eggs / homemade artichoke tapenade – marinated artichokes food processed with Castelvetrano olives, capers, evoo, and lemon juice. I went back and topped my whole bowl with smoky chili crisp.
Middle Eastern-inspired rice bowls. Brown rice / roasted cauliflower rice / crispy-baked navy beans / shredded super-firm tofu baked with evoo, za’atar, and urfa pepper / roasted garlic, toasted almond silvers, chopped dried apricots, and chopped olives. This was delicious but when I make it again I would add sauteed onion.
P.S. I’m going to go make a caramel apple cocktail when I hit publish!
Little Cupcake Bakeshop. Princess cake and a caramel peanut butter bar. They are probably my 3rd favorite cake shop in all of NY.
Gertie’s new bagel shop concept knocked our socks off. We shared a bagel with scallion cream cheese, whitefish salad, and pickled peppers and latkes with apple butter and sour cream.
Tuck Shop‘s tuna melt is my new favorite. I was also head over heels for their honey mustard mayo (2nd sauce of all time; nearly tied with the salsa I had in Taos, NM).
Authentic Thai takeout. Pad see ew with mock duck and tom kha gai fried rice.
Curry beans. Great Northerm beans and roasted garlic sauteed with green onion, ginger, coconut milk, lime juice, red curry, soy sauce, and Sriracha. Served on a mix of brown rice and roasted riced cauliflower.
A very loose take on joomukbap. Leftover rice made into balls with sauteed kimchi, sesame seeds, shredded cheddar, canned tuna, roasted garlic, skyr, and Kewpie and coated in roasted seaweed and furikake. Plus roasted eggplant (a local baby eggplant variety!) sauteed with tahini, gochujang, sesame oil, and honey.
A loose take on callaloo. Frozen spinach cooked with yellow hot pepper, white onion, garlic, urfa chili, curry powder, coconut milk, and crab meat. I ate my bowl with a side of Vigil’s butter and mesquite beef jerky.
Brothy beans. Sauteed leak, green onion, and baby bok choy with ginger, gochugaru, butter, rice vinegar, chicken broth, and pinto beans. Served with buttered toasted sourdough bread (from Cafe d’Avignon, delicious).
It was another great weekend! We stayed local this time, but enjoyed longish walks in Manhattan and Brooklyn. And shared so many sweet treats and sweet treat drinks! I considered including slushes in the title! Like I said, a great weekend! Highlights…
Moon Coffee Lab salted caramel iced latte with banana milk. Banana is the best coffee milk.
Levain cookie milk iced latte. The cold foam was delicious but my favorite part was the espresso; I had never tried coffee from here before but I definitely will get it again!
The very best coffee of the weekend came from Smiley Coffee – espresso with coconut slushie.
We happened across a street fair that had red sorrel. The spot was serving it with mint which was lovely.
Speaking of things that tasted like home, this soursop infused coconut water was nice and not too sweet.
Tender Crush frozen Diet Coke with vanilla soft serve!
But my Halo Halo was excellent. Not exactly what I am usually used to but so creamy and I loved the caramelized plantain.
We were blown away by our meal at La Fleur Rouge. Really thoughtful, beautiful dishes in a great environment. Guava Plum – tequilla Empirical Ayuuk, pink guava, plum, and salt.
Peking duck bao.
Morel duck soup.
Crispy Chinese eggplant with pineapple, bell pepper, and sweet and sour. These were a can’t miss.
The cheeseburger, which came with pickled cucumbers and seasoned fries. This sounds mean but it is in fact the highest compliment — this tasted exactly like the breakfast sausages you used to get on planes! Doesn’t break my top five but I did love it.
Tai Chi Fried Rice with confit duck, shrimp, and squid ink. This tasted even better than it looked and kept wonderfully leftover.
Finally molten chocolate cake with rum raisin ice cream and Golden Graham crumble.
And egg yolk beignets with apricot marmalade.
The best thing we ate all weekend was the fried rice I made with our James‘ leftovers. White rice and eggs from home plus short rib ragu and charred broccolini with Waygu beef bacon.
This was one of my best birthdays in recent memory! We spent a long weekend in Hudson, filled with an excessive amount of handholding, pastries, and cocktails! Some highlights of our favorites …
Hudson Roastery butter pean iced cortado (with an extra shot, this is the best ratio for us here).
Treats at Kitty’s. This cruller was actually only ok, but I had a puffed rice krispy treat with tons of marshmallows.
Treats from Mel the Bakery, all 10/10. Jalapeno cheddar pretzel croissant / blueberry jam and corn cookie sandwich / almond chocolate croissant.
Pez Husker Du – white and Oaxacan rums, Flor de Azul, blue corn, and lime. The incredibly nice bartender gave us a taste of the house-made blue corn syrup and it was amazing.
Hereafter Marigold Weather including gin, lemon verbena tea, meyer lemon, orgeat, and honey.
Breakfast at Cafe Mutton. This restaurant is so special. We shared a perfect meal. Delicious house-made celery soda.
Zucchini, corn, and onion omelet with goat gouda. With toast buttered to near insanity. I asked for hot sauce and they brought out a house-made sungold tomato situation that was one of the best sauces we’ve ever tasted.
Lettuces salad with sungolds, cucumber, corn, scallions, herb dressing, pecorino, and breadcrumbs.
Milk-soaked almond cake with honey and blueberries.
Breakfast at Gracie’s Luncheonette. Chicken biscuit with honey butter and hot sauce and a great hashbrown. This was some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever eaten.
Dinner at Gracie’s Luncheonette (yes, we went twice, it’s that good!). I got the white bbq half chicken – broiled half chicken with Alabama white BBQ (also some of the best chicken I’ve ever eaten; we loved the sauce and rub too), slaw, a biscuit (excellent), and mac and cheese (weak; meanwhile Adam’s fries were swoonworthy). Sadly, we enjoyed neither our iced coffee nor our iced coffee cocktail.
Dinner at Lil Deb’s Oasis. Their upcoming closure is giant loss. I’m showing my three favorite things but we ordered a lot and it was all great. Charred snap peas with tahini sauce / tomatoes and cucumbers with fennel, perilla, roasted peach jam, and sesame chili crisp. <– these were both stunningly good
Burmese crispy tofu lettuce wraps with spicy ginger mustard.
Dessert was my favorite course. We had flan, a surprisingly good dessert cocktail (with vodka, brown butter, dates, orgeat, and nutmeg), and the best – boozy – affogato I’ve ever had (with sweet cream ice cream, grilled pineapple, and coffee caramel tequila). I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the pineapple but it actually made the dish.
Smoothies! Strawberry malted – frozen strawberries blended with water, malted milk powder, and chocolate protein powder.
Blueberry cheesecake – frozen blueberries blended with water, vanilla bean powder, vanilla protein powder, and cottage cheese.
A breakfast-y, dessert-y, waffle yogurt bowl situation. Fage with blueberry topped with blueberries, Evergreen peanut butter banana bread waffles, and maple syrup.
Bagels with cream cheese and lox, chopped. We did a mix of cream cheese, Kewpie, smoked salmon, Trader Joe’s pickled onions, chili crisp, and honey. Plus roasted broccoli.
Egg tacos, chopped. Our filling was a mix of chopped together scrambled egg with extra-sharp cheddar, fried plantains, sauteed poblano pepper and green onion, avocado, and Cholula chipotle cremosa sauce. Plus roasted zucchini.
Savory oatmeal bowls. Our favorite oatmeal (Trader Joe’s rolled oats with ancient grains and seeds) topped with sauteed kale, crispy baked shredded tofu, a fried egg, and chili crisp.
Blueberry cottage cheese pancakes. I used this recipe but added vanilla bean powder, lemon zest, lemon juice, and some blueberries. Plus sauteed kale and homemade turkey sausage (ground turkey with sharp cheddar, maple syrup, fish sauce, smoked paprika, urfa, gochugaru, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper). I coved the whole plate in maple syrup and Cholula chili garlic hot sauce!
It was a perfect New York summer weekend! Including great food (several of my top favorites and lots of sweet treats!), a couple of long walks, brunch on the water in Roslyn, a trip to Rockaway Beach, and a visit to the mall! The best things I ate were…
Rockaway Beach Bakery. Guava cheese danish. We also had a yummy slice of croissant bread. Their new location is great.
From Lucie. They make my favorite cake in the city. This was a (super duper moist) vanilla cake with Earl Gray frosting and blackberry jam.
Culture Espresso makes our 2nd favorite chocolate chip cookie in the city. This was the corn cookie and we also enjoyed a frozen maple coffee.
Pavlo Mochi. My favorite was the banana milk jam with a dulce de leche center.
Connolly’s Bar pina colada is my current favorite frozen cocktail.
I didn’t actually love my brunch burger at Naks but their wonderful vinegar fries were fantastic dipped in egg and gravy.
My cocktail was also a win; I got the Zesto – a milk punch with coconut, soursop, and rum (and that’s a pandan coconut rum jello shot!).
Roberta’s house-made bread + stracciatella + sugar snap peas with pea shoots and green garlic.
Best meal of the weekend = lunch at Rippers. Cheeseburgers and seasoned fries. This is Adam’s favorite burger.
Their cocktails were magical too! Lychee soju martini and a frozen sangria (we ate spoons of sangria with soft-serve and swooned).
P.S. No photos but I had a kale salad with salmon at Daily Provisions that knocked my socks off.
The best new find – Woodstock blueberry banana water. This was yummy! And no added sugar.
The best snack – Brownie batter Barebell’s protien bar. One of their best flavors; it was almost oddly filling.
The best dinner – crab rangoon baked quesadillas. The filling was crab meat, green onion, cream cheese, melted butter, sweet chili sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, and sharp cheddar. Plus bok choy sauteed with green onion and mushroom. Plus a homemade Sriracha mayo dip.
The best dinner leftovers – Buffalo chicken baked pasta. With whole-wheat bowtie pasta, baked chicken, green onion, garlic powder, onion powder, buffalo sauce, cream cheese, and sharp cheddar. Plus baby carrots.
