An epic homemade cheese plate. Smoked goat cheese / red plum / bucheron / whole-wheat matzoh / roasted purple cauliflower / 2 year aged cheddar / espresso-infused dark chocolate / mixed nuts / dried apricots.
We made the best pizza. Trader Joes crust / marinara sauce that we jazzed up with sardines, urfa pepper, gojuchang, chili oil, and tons of garlic / sautéed oyster mushrooms / chicken and wild mushroom sausage / cheese. Plus roasted green beans.
How are we in the 2nd to last week of August??! Some highlights from this week included…
A blackberry and soursop smoothie (with banana, plain Greek yogurt, and brown sugar).
A banana and coffee smoothie (with cinnamon roll oat milk creamer, cinnamon, brown sugar, and cold brew powder).
Whole Foods snacks. The baru nuts are fantastic! They taste like a cross between peanuts and almonds. I brought some to work and got all of my coworkers hooked as well.
Quinn pretzels with Bitchin’ sauce. A coworker recommended this dip and she did not steer me wrong. We are also both obsessed with these delicious pretzels.
Kombuchas and or matchas.
A loose interpretation of this chicken and corn stir-fry recipe. Instead of rice we paired ours with sautéed shishito peppers and mushroom.
So much Thai take-out! We had pad see ew, cashew chicken, and amazing spicy ginger eggplant.
Very fancy salads – local lettuce, black garlic vinaigrette, pistachios, dried apricots, and goat cheese.
Spicy peanut chicken pizza (a Trader Joe’s crust with spicy peanut sauce, shredded chicken breast, quick-pickled carrots, and cheese) with smashed cucumber salad.
We had a giant, insanely good meal at Sunday in Brooklyn. Honeybear on Holiday – rum, Montenegro, sherry, apricot, pineapple, lime, cumin, and honey.
The Tiger Prince – Indian single malt whiskey, pandan, coconut, curry leaves, and lime.
Warm crab and artichoke dip with crusty bread.
Wood roasted mushrooms with salsa verde, peanuts, coriander, and spring greens.
Herb-crusted roasted chicken with butter lettuce and fries with za’atar, chili flakes, and spicy mayo.
Our dinners at home this week were great thanks to the best flour tortillas and a big batch of homemade salsa (loosely based on this recipe). Quesadillas with Oaxaca cheese and sharp cheddar (and salsa and plain Greek yogurt) plus shishito peppers.
Turkey tacos with ground meat sautéed with poblano pepper and orange yellow bell pepper plus cheese, yogurt, and salsa.
Chilaquiles – salsa, poblano and bell pepper, homemade baked tortilla chips and pico de gallo chips, plus tons of cheese – topped with fried eggs, shredded chicken thighs, yogurt, and hot sauce.
This mochi chocolate chip cookie from Cha An Bon Bon is one of my favorite things I’ve eaten this year! The crispy, slightly savory cookie was the perfect foil for the mochi.
Crepe cake with salted milk foam, boba, and brown sugar syrup from Prince Tea House.
Oddfellows Ice Cream – saffron passionfruit ice cream with apricot and pistachio plus chocotorta (cream cheese ice cream with dulce de leche and chocolate cookie crumb (<–my new favorite flavor!))
Kitsby dessert bar blew our minds. We came for (and loved!) the salted egg yolk lava cake.
But were head over heels for The King – durian cream brulee with banana ice cream, brown butter shortbread, and herbal jelly. If you’re a durian fan in NYC I recommend getting this immediately!
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.
Meatball subs. I made baked turkey meatballs packed with garlic, parmesan, and urfa pepper. Plus Trader Joe’s crispy crunchy mushrooms which were 10/10.
Did I plan breakfast for dinner so that this iced macchiato milk stout would be on theme? Yes, 100%.
With cinnamon, pecan, banana pancakes. Plus turkey bacon, blueberries, sumo mandarin, and tons of maple syrup.
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.
No post last weekend because Adam and I were both off and we wanted to spend every second together. We did some fun exploring, including a quick trip to Montclair for sourdough doughnuts and bon bons and hot chocolate.
The best yogurt I’ve ever tasted. It was basically pudding (but better!).
We managed to snag a can of Hardywood‘s Gingerbread Stout.
I made a boozy chocolate peanut butter shake.
Giant pasta bowls – whole-wheat rotini // garlic marinara sauce zhuzhed up with more garlic, fish sauce, and spices // ground turkey // caramelized mushrooms and onion // roasted zucchini.
Sheet-pan hash – potato // onion // poblano pepper // green bell pepper // orange and purple cauliflower // duck fennel sausage.
Eating Chalk 