Tag Archives: mushroom

Bulgogi, Burger, Babka

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We had a wonderful NY weekend, complete with trips to Red Hook, Brooklyn and Astoria, Queens!

Some highlights…

Blueberry muffin frozen coffee. Coffee blended with frozen blueberries, frozen banana, vanilla protein powder, malted milk powder, and butter extract.

Humble Cafe iced matcha latte with guava syrup. This was fantastic. Plus a matcha mochi cookie.

Homemade chocolate banana iced matcha. Water and milk blended with frozen banana, chocolate protein powder, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, and brown sugar, topped with a shot of matcha.

Chocolate sandwich cookie from Baked.

I have been coveting From Kora since 2020 and they finally have a storefront so we tried a little of everything. Ube Babka Swirl with and ube butter filling / a special – laminated pastry with short rib, mushrooms, and bearnaise / Chocolate Chunk Cookie / Leche Flan Ni Lola, a brioche doughnut topped with caramel and some of the best flan I’ve ever had / Coffee Cruller / Calamansi Rosemary Cornbread Sable. Our standout favorite was the babka followed by the sable. It all traveled/kept well.

Between the Bagel Seoul Meets Bagel – a toasted everything with American cheese, spicy mayo, bulgogi, and kimchi. This was amazing; it was Adam’s favorite thing of the weekend a close second to the babka for me. The owner also handed out delicious bulgogi arancini and Nutella banana pudding. P.S. my photo does not do justice to how huge this was!

Red Hook Tavern. We, of course, got the burger but were actually a bit disappointed; our patty was overdone and we didn’t love the volume of raw onion.

On the other hand, their cavatelli with oxtail ragu and garlic breadcrumbs is one of our favorite pastas in the city.

Pierogi, Calzone, Hot Pockets

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This week’s dinner theme has to be my most unhinged — foods in an edible package. I am mentally categorizing “edible packages” as packets, by the way (i.e. no turducken!).

Mochi-wrapped ice cream. This milk tea flavor from Bubbies was fantastic and these are possibly the best ice cream mochi I’ve ever eaten.

Gummy mangos in an edible candy peel. The peelable gummies from Walgreens are top tier. It was a yummy week!

Rice noodle rolls with shrimp. From Trader Joe’s.

Soup dumplings. We went to Nan Xiang to try their chicken soup dumplings and thought they were great.

We also had their mustard greens with tofu skin and edamame which were good.

And their stir-fried rice cakes with shredded beef which were only ok.

And ube bao stuffed with red bean paste (more packets!).

Potstickers. Trader Joe’s chicken and vegetables. Paired with roasted broccoli and a dumpling salsa inspired by Leah Cohen (crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, gochugaru, sugar, Fly by Jing Sichuan chili oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, Shaoxing wine, garlic, ginger, and green onions).

Tortellini. Whole Foods kale and cheese. We tossed them with orange baby tomatoes, roasted zucchini, baked chicken, sharp cheddar cubes, and a green sauce (fresh baby spinach food-processed with evoo, chili oil, sesame oil, salt, garlic, and walnuts).

Samosas. Trader Joe’s mini vegetable ones. Paired with curry cauliflower (roasted cauliflower sauteed with evoo, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and Jamaican curry powder) with pickled red onions and fried eggs.

P.S. We’re going to Queens for empanadas tonight. Other than the other thousand varieties of things stuffed into pastas, did I miss any??

Hoppy Easter

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Somethings from this week, mostly on-theme and/or coffee…

No one is surprised that I’ve been buying Easter candies for months.

I also have been saving up lemon and coconut bars. The Melo bars are all 10/10 but the lemon flavor is actually my favorite. I also was very pleased with how lemony the 88 Acres one was.

Buzz’d Express Coffee‘s marshmallow Peep cold foam cold brew is maybe my favorite coffee of 2025.

I also made my own version with toasted birthday cake Peeps blended into an iced coffee with cream, sugar, vanilla bean powder, and vanilla extract.

Coconut water with dalgona-style espresso (9/10).

A spring-y cottage cheese bowl with leftover fermented banana cake, kiwi, blackberries, and edible flowers.

Trader Joe’s dried baby pineapples. These are nicely sweet and chewy.

We tried the rice paper noodles hack with brown rice spring roll wrappers (loved it, the chew was perfect). Stir-fried with Pad See Ew sauce, baked chicken, green onion, broccolini, and egg.

Buffalo chicken cabbage bowls. I made a cole slaw with green cabbage, green onion, tomato, Greek yogurt, mayo, dijon mustard, vinegar, white pepper, sugar, and blue cheese. Topped with baked chicken that I tossed in a skillet with butter, dijon, and Frank’s buffalo sauce.

Sheet-pan hash. Sprouted extra-firm tofu baked with brussels sprouts, yam, green onion, blue cheese, and Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pecans. I topped my bowl with honey and chili crisp.

Pizza night! Two-ingredient crust plus two ingredients (garlic and onion powder) / Trader Joe’s pizza sauce zhuzhed up with tomato sauce, roasted garlic, and urfa pepper / pizza-blend shredded cheese / sauteed mushrooms (a frozen blend with white, crimini, portobello, and shiitake) with green onions, gochugaru, and butter. Plus roasted yellow cauliflower.

Deux Decades = Twenty Years

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It was a great weekend. We spent some time in Ridgewood and also checked out the fabulous orchid show at the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. Food highlights…

We bought this fancy grape jam in Hudson and I was excited to use to use it.

Like in a pb&j bowl with yogurt, cottage cheese, fresh blueberries, and smooth and chunky peanut butter.

And in an iced coffee (with vanilla cold foam).

The best coffee of the weekend had blueberries in it! I blended cold coffee with frozen blueberries, brown sugar, skin milk, and vanilla protein powder.

I also had a nice latte from Honeymoon Coffee (<– super cute spot). Enjoyed with some flan from a bakery in Ridgewood. We stirred some of the caramel into the latte and that was obviously great.

Evil Twin is our favorite New York brewery and this was one of our best trips to date – so many fun sours!

Cheesy tots. Baked potato tots with roasted cauliflower and tons of sharp cheddar. And Sriracha horseradish aioli, furikake, gochugaru, and sesame seeds.

Cafe Deux. I got their burger which was double Wagyu patties, house aioli, and cheddar with tons of fries. I also stole several bites of Adam’s soft-scrambled eggs and toast with local jam.

Plus we shared a great brownie sundae with their flourless chocolate cake and Cafe Panna vanilla ice cream.

Decades Pizza. The pizza was wonderful but I was drawn in by this drink – Pink Moon Sour = amaretto, contratto bitter, lemon, and marshmallow cream! The drink on the left was cold brew with honey, nutmeg, and soda.

We shared and loved a bunch of things. Our favorite dish of the night was the arancini with hazelnut pesto, Calabrian chili, and pecorino.

Roasted carrots and asparagus with whipped ricotta and pesto oil.

Mushroom pie – blue oyster mushrooms, garlic, cream, mozzarella, and parmigiano.

And a special pie with Calabrian chili and tons of green onions.

And we got fermented banana cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert.

Our leftovers were perfect for Sunday dinner. Plus sauteed asparagus with toasted almonds, garlic, lemon, yellow mustard, and dijon.

Hudson Highlights

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Adam and I spent a GREAT weekend in the Hudson Valley (primarily downtown Hudson). On Saturday we walked around admiring the town for eight straight hours! Alphabetically…

Cafe Mutton. I ordered my Bloody Mary extra spicy and with excessive garnish (it came with a giant slab of house made sausage that Adam happily inherited). We shared a buckwheat scone with butter and curd.

And a mushroom and gruyere omelet with buttered toast. [And Bucitini with lamb ragu.]

Gracie’s Luncheonette (Leeds). Housemade cherry cola float.

Adam got a fantastic tuna melt and I got the brisket melt (my favorite sandwich of the trip!) – with smoked cheddar, jalopeno peppers, and white bbq sauce on white bread.

Lemon chess pie.

Hereafter. It was our first time at this bar. My drink on the right was a Magnolia Fizz – gin, Douglas fir brandy, magnolia oolong, milk oolong, cream, citrus, egg whites, and mint.

Hudson Roastery. Their iced espresso with skim milk is my 2nd favorite coffee in all of New York.

Kitty’s. Their brunch can’t compare to their dinner (but was still solid). I had a great mocktail, Kitty Temple – ginger beer, lemon, lime, and housemade grenadine.

We shared eggs on rice with pickled veggies and chili oil and and hashbrowns.

Lil Deb’s Oasis. Their cocktails are always amazing. Golden Thaw – Japanese whiskey, lemon, and tamarind / Unknown Legend – bay leaf, pisco, burnt honey syrup, grapefruit, egg white, and pimenton. [We also loved a Colorless Dream – Haitian rum, sake, bitter melon, and toasted rice.]

We shard a bunch of dishes. Loaded fries with vegan chz wiz and pickled onions and Fresno chiles.

Tamale with mushroom, poblano and nopal filling, and a golden milk veloute. (Adam’s favorite)

Llapingacho – a potato and cheese pancake with pickled pineapple, peanut salsa, and a fried egg. (My favorite).

Braised chicken mole with confit potato and a “Carolina Mole” (with vinegar).

For dessert we got the Sexpresso Martini – coconut nutmeg tequila, Forthave Brown, cold brew, and cola syrup.

And a scoop of chocolate sorbet.

Mel the Bakery. Pistachio and almond croissant and a fantastic corn cookie with blueberry jelly.

Stewart’s. We popped into this cute gas station and came away with maple French toast cold brew!

Willa’s (Catskill). Cinnamon sugar cruller.

And a buttery egg sandwich with sharp cheddar and honey Sriracha on a brioche roll.

P.S. Our favorites were Gracie’s, Lil’ Deb’s, and Cafe Mutton!

3.1425

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Highlights from the week…

New York Beanery is doing a pistachio cold foam iced mocha special. The pistachio, while a lovely green, could have been more flavorful but I loved their mocha.

My homemade blueberry iced latte was better – coffee blended with brown sugar, vanilla protein powder, and frozen wild blueberries.

This week’s yogurt bowl – plain skyr with Kodiak cookie butter granola (fantastic) and blackberries and blueberries.

An array of watermelon things. 9/10 for all but positioned from least to most favorite.

Whole Food’s pie cookies are great. These were pineapple and guava. <– this is foreshadowing

Tuna salad sandwiches. Canned tuna with mayo, dijon, chopped pickles, scallions, and crushed bbq kettle chips on toasted Trader Joe’s whole-wheat bread with gouda spread.

Monday night Adam and I met up at Gup Shup for dinner in the city and had the best Indian food in recent memory. I had a non-alcoholic refresher with kokum and fig purée, mint leaf, and club soda. Adam had a cocktail with clarified tamarind that I will be going back for.

We shared a bunch of things and ended up with to die for leftovers. Mutton Sukka – goat meat, onion-curry leaf, black pepper, bone marrow stock, and malabar parotta (poppy seed).

Butter Paneer Masala. I was pleasantly surprised by how spicy this dish was.

Chicken Biryani with saffron basmati rice and burani raita. This was the most succulent and flavorful chicken. The dish came topped with a seeded bread dome that they excavated tableside.

Our favorite dish was Nizaam’s Haleem – lamb shank cooked overnight, haleem garnish, and butter naan.

Dessert was fantastic too; carrot halwa with gajar halwa ice cream from Caffè Panna.

Friday night we made a homemade pizza pie for Pi Day! Two ingredient crust topped with spinach pesto (spinach and basil food-processed with water, evoo, salt, pepper, and parmesan), extra-sharp cheddar, and tons of sauteed mushrooms.

I, of course, actually did a Pie Week. Turkey cottage pie. I loosely followed this recipe but used ground turkey and added baked cauliflower rice.

And chicken tot pie.

I very loosely followed this recipe but added sauteed mushrooms and substituted frozen potato tots for crust.

High Marks

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Some things from a lovely weekend…

Black sesame frozen coffee. Iced coffee blended with black sesame paste, honey, cinnamon, vanilla extract, vanilla protein powder, and skim milk.

Pistachio chocolate frozen coffee. Iced coffee blended with Javy, pistachio paste, brown sugar, vanilla extract, chocolate protein powder, cocoa powder, and skim milk.

I am obviously a sucker for seasonal releases but this grapefruit and blossom Red Bull did taste like a Squirt soda!

The maple cruller from Daily Provisions is my favorite doughnut in NYC.

We loved two new (to us) treats at Win Son Bakery – a fermented red rice donut and a vanilla cream bun.

11/10 brunch at Marks off Madison. We shared the smoked fish platter with bagels, veggie cream cheese and scallion cream cheese, tomato and red onion, whitefish salad, house-cured lox, sable, and Nova.

Dinner at Ammazzacaffe. We thought everything here was great, down to the free bread and olives.

My cocktail was so cute; Spill the Tea, green tea infused vodka, elderflower, St. Germain, yuzu, amaro, and prosecco.

We shared two pastas and two entrees. Spinach gemelli with maitake mushrooms and goat cheese and the special – beet mezzaluna with roasted beef and ricotta.

Braised lamb shoulder with beans, brodo, carrots, and pistachio gremolata.

The best dish of the meal was the pastrami short bread with roasted cabbage, rye strata, pickles, dill, and Russian dressing.

(C)how Fun

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Fun eats from the past week…

A coffee date at Quhwah House. I got an iced Yemeni latte (great in theory but I ultimately am just not a ginger in coffee fan) and we shared a yummy creamy pistachio dessert.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this Cafe Bustelo coffee. Not as good as brewing their coffee myself but the best pre-made coffee I’ve tried.

Snack plate – olive oil and za’atar labne, baby carrots, and corn fritters (we got bar food one night!).

I went to J-Mart for fresh noodles and scored in their amazing snack isle – these Sichuan pepper chips were fantastic.

Drinks and desserts at Whisk and Whiskey. We really enjoyed this spot and want to go back ASAP.

We made Hummingbird High’s best ever banana bread recipe.

I, of course, ate some cubed in a yogurt bowl with blueberries.

And, of course, I toasted thick slices to be the B in BEC (banana bread, soft-scrambled eggs, extra-sharp cheddar). Served with blueberries and roasted green beans.

Another fun dinner I made was Leah Cohen’s recipe for Chow Fun! With baked chicken subbed in for beef and roasted zucchini subbed in for bean sprouts. It was delicious.

Big salads. Romaine / cucumber / balsamic vinaigrette / roasted pumfu (pumpkin seed tofu) / crispy rice (leftover black rice roasted with soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili crisp).

Best meal of the week = Bricolage. We’ve loved this Vietnamese spot for years. Their take on coquito blew me away – Ten to One dark rum, house-made creamy coconut spice blend, and Chinese cardamom. I also had a great Vietnamese Espresso Martini – Grainger’s vodka, chicory infused coffee, condensed milk, and five spice coffee garnish.

Mushroom ginger congee with lemongrass tofu.

Five spice roasted honey nut squash with maple gastrique and a kale cauliflower cous cous salad.

Hawker broad noodles – fresh flat rice noodles, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese broccoli, cherry tomato, peanuts, crispy shallots, and spiced soy three-bean peanut sauce.

Caramelized shrimp pot – Gulf shrimp, baby bok choy, onion, cherry tomato, and scallions in a caramel-chili sauce. This is my favorite dish on the menu!