Passionfruit Coffee. This was a quad skim iced latte with caramelized milk chocolate sauce.
We are head over heels for these Nightingale ice cream sandwiches. Adam is a traditionalist but this cinnamon roll variety is my favorite.
We went to Food Bazaar recently (home of Rokstar Chicken) and brought home some great snacks. This weekend I enjoyed key lime grapefruit Polar seltzer,
honey butter chips,
Jom gummy candy,
and spicy beef ramen.
We waited in line two and a half hours for Cuts and Slices pizza — worth it! We got chopped cheese, chicken and wafles, jerk chicken, and stewed oxtail.
Leftovers from a wonderful lunch at Mao Mao (I didn’t have my camera). Fried fish cakes with sweet chili sauce / steamed dumplings with chicken, shrimp, and mushroom / vegetarian rice rolls. We also had great poached chicken with chicken fat rice.
Roasted sheetpan hash. Fennel, bok choy, purple sweet potato, chicken pesto sausage, soy puffs, mint, and pesto.
Highlights from a perfect weekend. Adam and I had a big chunk of time together / we walked thirteen miles from Penn Station around Central Park and through Harlem and back / we tried several spots that became new favorites / we watched the Super Bowl (aka Adam watched the Super Bowl and I cartoons while eating themed snacks).
Flourish. This space is decorated like the inside of my brain and quickly became my new favorite Long Island spot. We shared a salted caramel latte and a fantastic Shakerato.
Bagel sandwich (on a house-made sourdough everything bagel) with fried egg, hashbrown, herby cream cheese, and pickled onion.
House sourdough with miso braised short rib, gruyere, fontina, hatch chiles, and au jus.
Butterfunk Biscuit. We had a fried chicken biscuit with pimento cheese, pickles, and hot honey. And the best cinnamon roll I’ve ever eaten.
Noodle Bar. I love David Chang’s ethos and I read his memoir but somehow this was the first time I’ve visited one of his sit-down restaurants. Sweater Weather – El Buho mezcal, Kraken rum, sweet vermouth, tamarind maple cordial, and lemon.
Tuna crudo with leche de tigre, cilantro, chili, and lime.
Caulini with anchovy crumbs.
Bao with caramelized shiitakes.
Winter salad with pickled golden beets, gochugaru vinaigrette, and pepita sesame crumble.
Crispy potatoes with peppadew sauce, paprika, and salt.
Cumin lamb noodles. These were super numbing and amazing.
Whisps cheese pretzel and honey mustard bites (9/10).
Typing that year still throws me! I’m sure I’ll adjust by next November!
Some highlights from the weekend…
Starbuck’s iced espresso with their new pistachio cream cold foam. I’m a fan.
I liked not loved this new (to me?) cherry cola Olipop flavor.
Also new to me – Fonio chips. With caramelized onion dip.
Delicious tiramisu affagato from White Noise. We had forgotten how cute/wonderful it is there.
Adam and I had a great dinner at When in Bangkok. This was tequila, triple sec, and guava juice with a Thai-style chili salt rim.
We shared Giaw Tod – fried wontons stuffed with fish balls and served with a spicy tamarind sauce.
And Chinese broccoli with garlic, chili, and a fermented soy bean sauce.
I ordered the Pad Thai special that came topped with jumbo prawns and wrapped in an egg net. I also stole some wonderful bites of Adam’s Tom Kha and chicken Pad See Ew.
Our leftovers made the perfect easy Sunday dinner!
The year’s been good so far! I started my 1/1/23 with a quick run before work to get things started on the right foot and had cold brew with sweetened condensed milk next for a sweet year. <– I made those traditions up but I love them. I also worked several lucky-for-the-new-year foods into our meals this week – cabbage, greens, noodles, and black eyed peas.
Highlights from the 1st week of the year included…
Coffee from Hawaii.
Surprisingly wonderful mochi doughnuts from Paris Baguette. The cinnamon one was stuffed with red bean.
Homemade popcorn with butter, furikake, togarashi, white sesame seeds, and salt/sugar.
Another hit from my favorite beer company (Abomination Brewing). This marshmallow IPA was great, though not as good as Fog Nog. I drank it on a date walk with Adam to get froyo topped with marshmallows, so that was perfect.
We also enjoyed this Mai Tai inspired sour from Mast Landing.
We celebrated New Year’s Eve by eating tons of Chinese take-out and falling asleep before 10pm (my very favorite way to spend NYE!). Zouji Dumpling House is my new favorite Chinese spot – we ordered a million things and loved it all. This leftovers dinner plate was scallion pancake / house chili oil / pan-fried lamb dumplings / veggie dumplings with cabbage, radish, and rice noodles / dry stir-fried cauliflower with onion, pepper, and garlic / Kung Pow chicken / and a scoop of sourkraut for luck.
Our favorite black-eyed-pea salad. With Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, Crystal hot sauce, and diced green bell pepper. Plus some roasted baby cauliflower.
Whole-wheat vermicelli noodles with zoodles, shredded chicken, and nước chấm. Topped with Sriracha.
Congee (brown rice cooked for an hour and a half in turkey stock) / layered with collard greens sauteed with green onion and ginger / and ground turkey sauteed with white onion, garlic, and Korean pepper / topped with chili crisp and green onions.
Popeye’s take-out with roasted broccoli from home. Biscuit, fries, nuggets with great sauces, and some of the best mac and cheese I’ve eaten in the States! Is Popeye’s my favorite restaurant? I want to be embarassed to be considering that but I probably should be more embarassed by the fact that this wasn’t the only time I ordered this this week!! The nuggets are shockingly good leftover.
Adam and I ended the year on a celebratory note with our fifteen year wedding anniversary! I thank my lucky stars everyday – realistically about 20 times a day! – that he’s my person! We had two fun nights that unfortunately I didn’t take a single photo of – at trip to Sundays in Brooklyn for their Snow Days pop-up (including themed cocktails, upscale popcorn, a giant burger, and fantastic roasted honeynut squash) and an evening of pizza take-out and tv in bed (an activity so wonderful I mentioned it in my wedding vows!).
Other highlights from last week included…
Jelly doughnut iced coffee for the last day of Hanukkah. Iced coffee with blueberry preserves and skim milk frothed with cinnamon, cocoa powder, and brown sugar.
Yogurt bowl – plain Greek with kiwi, persimmon, and vanilla almond granola.
Even more exciting than fresh persimmons is the start of citrus season; this Cara Cara was delicious and I also just bought a bunch of Sumos.
Snacks we brought home from Hawaii. Honolulu Cookie Company makes the best shortbread I’ve ever eaten.
Mochi and furikake seasoned popcorn.
Also these vegan gummies my mom put in my stocking were 10/10.
I’ve been seeing this ramen all over Instagram and I had to try it. Even with the addition of Kewpie and an egg it was almost too spicy for me!
A homecooked dinner. Roasted cauliflower and chopped onion / roasted chickpeas / fresh mint / tossed in honey, rice vinegar, and smoked paprika.
Peppermint pour-over coffee with egg nog cold foam.
Dalgona iced coffee with eggnog.
Red and green yogurt bowl. Trader Joe’s eggnog Greek yogurt with kiwi, raspberries, and vanilla granola.
Holiday special scoops from Odd Fellows Ice Cream. Buddi’s Spaghetti Sundae – maple ice cream, chocoalte cookie crumbs, mini marshmallows, m&m’s, sno caps, and corn nuts / Moose Nog – egg nog ice cream with fudge swirls and peanut butter cups.
Seasonal brews from Ardent Brewing. The gingerbread was perfect, not too spicy at all, and the Fog Nog is truly my all-time favorite beer/alcoholic beverage/beverage in general. 15/10.
A very close 2nd all-time-favorite is Leyenda’s Candy Striper – a frozen delight with cachaca, coconut, vanilla, lemon, peppermint, maple, and cardamom.
We went to their Sleyenda holiday pop-up for seasonal drinks and a wonderful dinner (it was too dark for photos but my shrimp arepas were amazing). I also had a Reindeer Games with tequilla, cachaca, banana, honey, maple, lemon, pine, and bitters.
Chinese take-out from Blue Wave. I got fantastic veggie stir-fried udon. Also the best scallion pancakes I’ve ever eaten.
Red and green salads. Red leaf lettuce with homemade ranch, red bell pepper, fresh mint, a soft-boiled egg, and a garlic and herb lobster cake (frozen, from Luke’s via Whole Foods).
Red and green rice bowls. Brown rice / sauted bok choy / sourkraut sauted with gojuchang and sugar / soy marinated eggs.
P.S. I am off of work most of this week, which is just lovely! I sipped a fancy coffee while I wrote this post!
Eating Chalk 