Tag Archives: greens

Banana, Bean, Black Sesame

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Highlights from last week…

Pachanga Coffee iced latte with oatmilk and guava.

Plan skyr bowl with blueberries (Sweetest Batch and Jumbos!) and Grady’s peanut butter coconut granola.

Plain skyr dessert bowl with One Trick Pony cinnamon sugar peanut butter (divine!), banana chips, chocolate chips, and granola.

Grape cruffin from Ansa Coffee (impeccable!).

We loved the banana soft-serve from Koke. I got black sesame with banana chips and black sesame sauce.

Also a perfect black sesame mochi cookie with groats in it.

A chocolate menagerie from L.A. Burdick.

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).

Mimi Cheng‘s Thai chili lime dumpling special.

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).

Sips, Sweets, Sandwiches

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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…

Bean Monger ube biko iced latte.

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!

Red Gate Bakery Fudgenutter cookie.

Comfortland + Donut Diva never miss; this guava cheese Linzer tart was exceptional

Perfect frozen drinks at Antojitos BK. 2nd best texture in the city (only beaten by Connolly’s). We had an espresso martini and a Nutcracker.

Sandwich Board duck tsangwich was a 10/10 – bolo bao with roast duck, crispy duck skin, cucumber, scallion, hoisin sauce, and house chili oil.

We didn’t love our ribeye sandwich at Sanwits.

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.

Hudson 2026

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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.

Supernatural Coffee‘s blueberry jam oat bar tasted as good as it looks.

Huckleberry lemonade (this was the best premade lemonade I’ve ever had).

Hudson Brewing Company pink guava sour IPA.

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.

Blueberries And/Or Breakfast Foods

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On-theme things from the week, all delicious…

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.

Nightingale lemon blueberry pound cake ice cream sandwich.

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!

Best Of The Best

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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.

Superlatives

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Of the week…

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.

Salted Egg – Egg Cream

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Some things from last week…

Barebells peanut butter and jelly bar. This was better than the white chocolate flavors but not as good as the originals.

Smoothie – frozen peaches and banana, soursop nectar, vanilla protein powder, and nutmeg.

Surrup mint and rosemary syrup. I liked it in an iced coffee and loved it in an iced diet coke.

Tochi salted egg popcorn – 100/10.

Arizona chocolate egg cream soda – 10/10. I made my coworkers taste-test with me and we all agreed it was spot on.

We bought an egregious amount of baked goods from Little Cupcake Bakeshop last weekend and I heartily enjoyed the leftovers all week. Note to self – buy the caramel peanut butter shortbread bar every time!

Vegetarian “meatball” rice bowls. Brown rice mixed with Le Grand pesto / roasted zucchini / balls = navy beans, firm tofu, and an egg went into the blender; got mixed with panko, salt, grains of paradise, smoked paprika, urfa, onion powder, garlic powder, and dried basil; then baked. I would make the balls again but sized much smaller.

Magnificent salads! Romaine / homemade dressing – yuzu ponzu, rice vinegar, miso, ginger, honey, Dijon, and evoo / crispy rice – leftover brown rice baked with soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili crisp / roasted baby broccoli / canned yellowfin tuna belly / Wooly Wooly aged sheep’s milk cheese/ crispy fava beans / caramelized plums – cooked in a skillet with butter, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla bean powder.

P.S. I saved the “juice” from the cooked plums and served it over plain Greek yogurt and that was the best thing I ate all week.

Desserty Coffees And Ramen

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It was a great NYC weekend including a thousand iced coffees, a street art instillation, a day in Brooklyn, and a trip to Long Island City.

Highlights…

Hungry Ghost will always be the best quad iced latte in the city.

Casa del Cafe horchatta iced latte with cold foam. This was too milky for me but the spot was sweet and we also tried a nice chocoflan.

Bean Monger miso caramel iced latte.

Doughnut Plant is hit or miss for me but this rosewater glazed doughnut was perfection.

Brunch at Vato. We shared a cinnamon bun and a burnt end, egg, and cheese burrito. The meat wasn’t my favorite but the housemade tortilla was great and their salsas were solid. I need to go back for a concha!

We were impressed with Jax Pizza; Adam liked the Rosso with six-hour tomato sauce and my favorite was the vodka slice.

Handroll dinner at Matsunori. We shared seaweed salad.

And steamed eggs.

My handrolls – spicy salmon (shown) / miso butter cod / toro with caviar / A5 Waygu. I also had a yuzu drop!

Dinner at Chuko was the best meal of the weekend. We shared some fun beverages like this ume soda.

And a Calpico.

Split a shrimp bun.

Fantastic okonomiyaki-style tots.

And kale salad (the best in the city!) with yellow raisins, miso dressing, and crispy sweet potato. They throw some fried kale into the mix and the texture mix here is just wonderful.

They offer all of their broth bases in vegetarian and are also my favorite ramen spot. I went with Kimchi (which comes with cabbage and curly yellow noodles) with pickled mustard greens, a soy egg, and chili crisp.