Three (out of the house!) highlights from the past week —
Fancy caffeine at New York Beanery. We had a lavender matcha and a peanut butter cup iced latte.
Mixed fruit mangonada! Somehow this was Adam’s first time trying chamoy but now he’s hooked.
Dinner at Llama Inn. A former coworker got us a gift certificate as a thank you (I helped train her when she moved from acute care to critical care) because it’s her favorite restaurant.
Everything was amazing. Atlas Shrubbed = Pisco, Shochu, aloe vera liquor, kiwi, lemon, and lime.
Asparagus with salsa, pickled green almonds, and huacatay // bok choy with huacatay, sunflower seeds, and grapes.
Scallop tiradito with kiwi leche de tigre and tapioca. <– best dish of the night!
Beef with scallion pancake, avocado, pickled chilis, and fries.
Also very pleasantly surprised by the Trader Joe’s chocolate peanut butter mochi.
I made brownies for Rex Manning Day! This is my favorite, most obscure tradition. These guys had tons of chocolate chips and espresso powder in them and were fantastically fudgy.
Thai take-out night – spicy chicken and long beans with veggie dumplings.
Roasted green beans with eggs, vegan pork floss, and chili crisp.
Leftover bok choy with the best pizza we’ve ever made. Just a frozen crust topped with tomato sauce gussied up with tons of garlic, chili crisp, and olive oil plus baby mozzarella and bresaola.
Turkey and cheddar sandwich (with black garlic mayo!) on toasted rye with roased brussel sprouts.
We popped into Daily Provisions for a cappuccino and finally got our hands on one of their famous coffee crullers. <– worth the hype!
I took my cola + coffee obsession a step further with a boozy coke coffee float.
We had our best meal of the year at Bahn. Including Vietnamese iced coffee and a housemade strawberry lime soda.
Noodle salad bowl with lemongrass butter beef. That meat was so good it literally took our breath away!
We also had it on a bahn mi on perfect bread.
We got Win Son take-out after I had a little too much to drink at Evil Twin and ordered all of the things. Fried chicken sandwich with mayo and herbs / roasted spiced peanuts / marinated cucumber salad / braised beef in a scallion pancake / fried eggplant with black vinegar, labne, and spiced cashews / sesame noodles with black sesame and trumpet purée, oyster mushrooms, snow pea leaves, and peanuts.
We had a great time this weekend visiting some of our favorite spots and discovering some new favorites! Highlights include…
High Low Beverage Company. Vietnamese-influenced with a gorgeous backyard. Cherry and lime leaf jelly doughnut.
Tiki New Fashioned – banana-infused Four Roses bourbon, Plantation pineapple dark rum, pandan syrup, tiki bitters / HiLo Hello – Thai chili-infused mezcal with lime, passionfruit, and cane syrup.
Papaya salad with sambal beef jerky, cabbage, herbs, peanuts, fried shallots, fresno chili, and plum vinaigrette.
Double Chicken, Please. Draft cocktails, massive sandwiches, and clever desserts! #2 – Teeling small batch whiskey, brown butter, black raisin, honey, verjus (warm) / #9 Barcardi Cuatro rum, St. Germain, verjus, amontilado sherry, banana, walnut.
Five spice and plum salt sweet potato chips.
Hen of the woods mushroom sandwich with seaweed and bamboo / fried chicken sandwich with shrimp, brioche, and salted duck yolk sauce.
Shot – mezcal with plum and shiso / ice ice weenie – chocolate ice cream on a potato bun with salted duck egg sauce, hot honey, and whiskey cream.
We found fresh soursop juice at the Dominican place in Essex Market.
All the beers (truly, almost all of the beers) at Evil Twin. My three favorites were the ET Stay Home 6 Royal Treatment – sour ale with peaches, papaya, pineapple, passion fruit, coconut, marshmallow, vanilla, and cacao / This Deli Needs a Bigger Double Kiwi Lime Coconut Muffin Lassi Gose / Luxurious Luxury – imperial Berliner gose with grapefruit, tart raspberry candy, coconut, and marshmallow.
We also finally checked out (and loved!) Bridge and Tunnel Brewery just down the street. Everything we tried was great but the standout was the F**k the Virus coconut New England IPA.
Super Moon Bakehouse. Epic baked goods. I loved this cookie butter, dulce de leche crunch cookie with my whole heart.
I also brought home a square of sourdough focaccia and made an insane turkey and cheddar sandwich.
I couldn’t contain myself but this terrible picture is to serve as a placeholder to remind Adam and I that we want takeout from The Meat Hook again immediately. We had several sandwiches and the best french onion dip I’ve ever tasted.
We retried the cola coffee with great success – espresso, Coke, and scm. Yes, I am furiously looking to get my hands on the newly released cans of Coke with coffee.
One of Adam’s friends delivered us amazing nutella, sea salt caramel brownies.
I obviously crumbled one into plain skyr with some berries and cinnamon.
Chicken nuggets with frozen broccoli wok-sauteed with honey mustard and pickled onions.
Plus a sour IPA with milk sugar, peach, hibiscus, and lemon peel.
Tuna pita melts. Tuna salad with pickled red onions and sharp cheddar in the whole-wheat pita that I practically deep-fried in butter. Plus roasted zucchini with sumac.
It’s always odd as a blogger when the newest horrifying thing happens in America – it feels strange not to talk about it but at the same time there are so many (smarter, more informed) people already talking that it also feels strange to add my voice to the mix. I’ve been reminding myself that Wednesday was the darkest day of 2021 but it was also the brightest — two extraordinary men made history claiming Senate seats in Georgia and the majority for Senate Democrats! Also, this story about Senate aides saving the Electoral College votes as they evacuated makes me cry every time I think about it.
Some highlights from my personal life included…
The best drink: Quad shot, skim milk, add ice, Australian iced coffee from Bluestone Lane. Not going to lie, I had some form of ice cream every day this week.
The best lunch: Brazilian food from Berimbau. We started with a passion fruit caipirinha and Brazilian cheese bread.
Skirt steak with tomatoes, red onion, and yucca fries. My dish was the best thing we had, the stewed tomatoes were amazing.
Brigadeiro for dessert.
The best dinner: Vegan hot dogs with ketchup/yellow mustard/relish on a brioche bun + potato chips + wok stir-fried green beans with chili crisp. This whole meal was wonderful but the green beans were definitely the best vegetable I’ve ever made at home.
Eating Chalk 