What’s With Today, Today

by Emily

So many things to celebrate this week, the eclipse and Rex Manning Day were both on Monday. We are on vacation starting tomorrow and I am READY – it took a lot of little treats (TM) to get through this week.

Some highlights…

This week’s yogurt combo – plain skyr, giant blackberries, and cookie dough granola.

I brought this birthday cake drink syrup back from my trip to Kingston. Not bad but too fruit-forward for my tastes. I tried it in iced coffee, iced matcha, lemon seltzer, and diet coke.

Chocolate-covered frozen cheesecake bites (9/10).

Dark chocolate peanut butter bites (10/10). <– I can’t remember where I found these but I would rebuy if I found more.

Our King’s does a fantastic chocolate cake with ganache, marshmallow, and cookie dough (11/10).

A Moon Pie to celebrate the eclipse. All I could find last-minute was a protein bar Power Pie which was actually delicious.

And I, of course, celebrated Rex Manning Day with pizza, brownies, and an Empire Records rewatch.

Roast’s special of the week – brisket, mac and cheese, crispy onions, and bbq sauce on a roll.

Homemade veggie and meatball bowls. Roasted cabbage, baby cauliflower, Japanese sweet potato, and red bell pepper / turkey meatballs with panko, fish sauce, half and half, ginger, urfa chili, gochugaru, and egg / peanut sauce with chunky peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, Sriracha, sesame oil, sugar, and warm water / green onions and sesame seeds.

18Mar2024

Green With Satisfaction

by Emily

Some weekend highlights…

St. Patrick’s Day iced latte. A Shamrock vanilla protein shake that I dyed green plus Starbucks espresso and pistachio sauce. I also topped it with gold sprinkles! This tasted fantastic.

Hometown Bakeshop‘s insane tres leches cake iced latte.

I also brought home a s’mores bar and a blondie that were some of the gooiest and most decadent desserts we’ve ever tasted.

Will I ever get tired of yogurt bowls? Unlikely! Plain Greek with blueberries, blackberries, Heritage Flakes, and chocolate chips.

We both were fans of these lemon frosted Trader Joe’s animal crackers. Crispy without being too crunchy and the lemon was well-balanced.

Loaded salad from Burrito Blvd. With chicken, zucchini, tomato, corn salsa, and cheese. I added ranch dressing and hot sauce at home. Plus chips and guacamole.

We got take-out from Brooklyn Dip & Burger and their steak sandwich blew my mind. Thin sliced black angus ribeye, cheddar, and five spice dusted fried onions on a buttery brioche hero. Plus a mountain of fries that were crispy and well-seasoned. We got a bunch of their appetizers and loved those too!

Brie-bimpap bowls, inspired by Cafe Maddy. I bought light Brie at Trader Joe’s and it tasted like nothing and thus added nothing to the bowl but my bibimpap base was a 10/10. Brown rice / terrible brie / this sauce / crispy tofu – extra-firm tofu that I shredded and marinated (gochugaru, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar) overnight before baking at 400 degrees for 40 minutes / sauteed brown beech mushrooms / roasted zucchini / frozen chopped spinach sauteed with chili oil, sesame oil, and sesame seeds / fried egg.

Sushi roll bowl. Leftover brown rice reheated with gochugaru, Sichuan pepper salt, seaweed, and butter / Sriracha salmon salad made with Kewpie, Sriracha, and hot smoked salmon / spicy cucumber salad / pickled ginger.

15Mar2024

Pie Versus Cake

by Emily

Things from this week — It was 70 degrees yesterday and the dog and I took an afternoon walk sans coats! Adam and I started watching Farzar on Netflix – it is basically just Paradise PD in space but both shows are so funny I can’t even fault them. Thursday was Pi(e) Day and Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day – so many theme food opportunities.

Food things —

Cherry pie smoothie – frozen dark cherries, salted caramel granola, water, vanilla protein powder, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Yogurt bowl win – plain Greek, yuzu marmalade, blueberries and blackberries, and granola.

Iced matcha with yuzu marmalade and yuzu mandarin seltzer. <– I am hooked on this combination

Adam got a Zero Gravity Irish cream porter for St. Patrick’s Day so I tried their Power Jones IPA – 9/10.

I was so excited to find these puddings at 99 Ranch but we ended up throwing them out; they tasted like slightly milky gelatin.

Haribo lemon ginger chews. Better than gummy bears but not as good as the grapefruit slices.

Cake! We brought this home from Butterfield over the weekend. This sprinkled/cookies and cream frosting filled slice is one of my favorite desserts in NYC.

I searched for this limited edition Tillamook ice cream since last summer and it fully lived up to my expectations.

This Sriracha shrimp bowl from Trader Joe’s has consistently been my favorite frozen meal option for years now. I always top it with Kewpie and more Sriracha and it is so satisfying.

Roast’s St. Patrick’s Day sandwich special – corned beef reuben with swiss, sauerkraut, onion rings, and thousand island dressing on marble rye. Plus fries and rainbow cauliflower (Trader Joe’s frozen bag that I sauteed with evoo, salt, pepper, and celery seed – delicious).

Our best meal of the week took less than 20 minutes to make. Buckwheat soba / sauteed celery / Korean steamed eggs (made with water, miso, and fish sauce) / sesame oil, sesame seeds, and chili crisp.

A take on okonomiyaki – roasted cabbage and green onion, shredded egg tofu, white pepper, gochugaru, minced ginger, flour, baking soda, lime seltzer, and eggs. Topped with Kewpie and Sriracha.

11Mar2024

Frame Worthy

by Emily

Some highlights from a tasty weekend…

Coffee at Frame. The Upper West Side location is currently our favorite Manhattan coffee. We got the special latte with cinnamon and caramel.

We had to make a couple of stops to find worthwhile bagels near us in Long Island but this everything egg with salmon cream cheese did the trick.

We did a very fun 1990’s theme night and watched “Hey Dude” and “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” while eating throwback snacks. The Combos were lackluster but we had forgotten just how wonderful Bugles and Gushers are.

I tried tanghulu for the first time and loved it. Fresh fruit with a delicate layer of crispy sugar.

Treats at Lady Wong. The baked ube rice cake was the very best thing we ate all weekend.

Lunch at Bahn. This was the best meal of the weekend. Egg cream cold brew!!

We shared vermicelli bowls with butter beef.

And beer-battered chicken.

Dinner at Maldon and Mignonette. The lighting was bad but the food was surprisingly good. I had a nice cocktail with tequila and passionfruit and a crunchy salt rim.

Seasoned roasted carrots.

We share two (amazing) pastas. Ravioli with duck confit, sweet potato, sage, and pecorino and pappardelle with short rib and vodka sauce.

And two desserts. Cinnamon bundt cake and cheesecake-stuffed oatmeal cookies!

26Feb2024

Lula Mae Fan (Fan)

by Emily

Some highlights from an exceptionally delicious weekend…

Homemade cookie dough cold foam iced latte with frothed milk, brown sugar, vanilla bean paste, and baking soda.

Banana sesame protein coffee. Blended – coffee, chocolate milk, frozen banana, black sesame paste, vanilla protein powder.

Cookies and creme protein bar. Yes, I paired this with the cookie latte.

Golda. Breakfast plate – two eggs [over easy], spiced home fries, sourdough toast, and housemade hot sauce.

Brooklyn Kolache. We shared pimento cheese, beef sausage, and a sweet poppy seed.

Also a wonderful ube iced latte.

Fan Fan Doughnuts. I was underwhelmed by the dough today, sadly, but the toppings were top-notch. Dark chocolate with meringue / salted brown butter / lemon / Iranian Love with labne frosting.

Petee’s Pie. I am sad that we slept on this spot for so long because we were quite impressed. I had the Maine blueberry crumble pie with maple whipped cream.

These jelly sake cans – particularly in yuzu – are one of my favorite things.

This photo isn’t that exciting but it’s mostly a reminder to myself that the chicken and poblano pepper burrito from Whole Foods is pretty darn good.

I forgot to take a photo of my turkey cheeseburger salad – red lettuce, sauteed red kale, ranch dressing, ground turkey, tomatoes, extra-sharp cheddar, and sesame seeds – but we paired it with creamy dill potato chips.

Lula Mae – Cambodian food and the best meal of 2024. They had a pre-fixe happening for Restaurant Week and we got to try a ton of (amazing!) things. Spicy mezcal mule and a Tokyo Mae – Suntori whiskey, Cynar, yuzu, anise, and sarsaparilla bitters.

Cha kway fried bread with tom yum butter and pickles. <– mindblowing

Tuna on crispy rice.

50:50 fried chicken – dry rubbed with a lemon pepper dressing and a soy tamarind sauce.

Braised short-rib and morning glory greens in a tamarind stew.

29Jan2024

Dollars To Crullers

by Emily

It was a fantastic weekend (including a 6+ mile Manhattan walk)! Highlights include…

Banana protein coffee (blender – coffee, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla protein powder, frozen banana); Adam and I both decided we adore this.

Interlude‘s Cadenza is one of the most exciting coffees we’ve had in a while. Shaken espresso served with Mexican Coke topped with cold foam and vanilla whipped cream.

Sadly, Doughnut Project is closing this month so we had to go get a final fantastic maple cruller.

Related – Daily Provisions‘ monthly cruller special is lemon poppy seed so obviously we got that too! This was even better than DP.

Rigor Hill Market‘s hot chocolate is a 10/10; thick and creamy, a good balance of bitter and sweet, and it comes with toasted marshmallows.

Joe’s Steam Rice Roll, we got beef with egg and scallions. The sauce trio makes this.

Dinner at Thai Diner. We arrived early and managed to snag a table. I got Phat See Ew with beef shortrib. Any dish with broad rice noodles and Chinese broccoli is a hit with me.

Plus pea shoots with garlic, chili, and salted soybeans.

Guava sour with vodka and mint.

Dinner at Backyard BBQ in Freeport. I didn’t have my camera but I did Instagram our giant spread because we loved it here. Brisket, chicken with an amazing bbq rub, candied yams, and pickles.

Plus smoked baked mac and cheese that we both thought was perfect. We also had an unphotographed cheese burger!

An easy homemade dinner – Trader Joe’s chicken taquitos baked topped with ground turkey, zucchini, smoky salsa, and cheddar.

26Jan2024

Root Beer Float

by Emily

Highlights from the week…

I bought this cute squeezie-tube sweetened condensed milk and enjoyed it in some fun coffees. INCLUDING root beer with cold brew and condensed milk and coconut water with instant espresso and condensed milk.

Yogurt bowl – plain skyr with blueberries, blackberries, chia seeds, almond crunch granola, and Oat Haus vanilla granola butter.

Blackberries and an Autumn Glory apple with granola butter.

The best citrus fruit (Sumo mandarins) with the best bar (Perfect cookie dough).

Trader Joe’s garlic hummus with rosemary and olive oil crackers.

Mentioning again how much I enjoy the passionfruit mochi from Bubbies.

I was a big fan of this Heartbreaker canned cocktail from Livewire; it was balanced and not too sweet.

Root beer with golden rum and sweetened condensed milk; this was even better than a float.

This is a photo of my chips and guacamole appetizer because burritos are unphotogenic, but I did have a great steak burrito from Burrito Blvd with zucchini, corn, cheese, rice, and serrano mayo.

A wonderful and wonderfully easy dinner thanks to a microwavable base.

Quinoa and Nasoya Korean bbq plant-based steak (we loved this, the taste and texture were perfect) plus peanuts and a cold cucumber salad with tahini and gojuchang.

Creamy crab and tomato pasta. Buckwheat soba noodles / crab claws / roasted zucchini / sauce – shallots, garlic, butter, fresno chili, tomato paste, smoked paprika, half and half / topped with gochugaru and lemon zest.

This dinner was unhinged but successful – turkey cheeseburger egg salad! Ground turkey and medium-boiled eggs with sauteed shallots, chopped dill pickle, cheddar cheese, sesame seeds, paprika, mayo, and yellow mustard.

Plus potato tots and roasted broccoli with a homemade Greek yogurt ranch.

31Dec2023

Goodbye, 2023

by Emily

Blogging a day early… My New Years Eve celebration of choice has always been going to bed at a reasonable hour and starting the new year refreshed. We are finishing our year with junk food and a nice bottle of champagne 🙂

Things from the last days of 2023 included…

Butterscotch iced latte from Think Coffee.

The cinnamon bun Chamberlain Coffee didn’t have enough flavor for us but the grapefruit elderflower Aura Bora is my favorite.

We met up with friends for coffee, a Bayside walk, and crepes. Mine had red bean, matcha ice cream, strawberries, and chocolate sauce. Plus I got a jasmine tea with an ice-bear.

Mexican street corn popcorn. I don’t love pre-popped popcorn but this variety was well-seasoned and a bit spicy.

Caramel on caramel. Great caramels that my parents made and even better Reese’s caramel big cups (sorry guys, yours would have won against a lesser candy!).