Best Babka In Brooklyn

by Emily

Best bites from the weekend…

Best chocolate babka in Brooklyn, probably the world, at Oneg Bakery. It was so chewy! Yet crumbly and crisp too. And the chocolate was basically brownie batter! We were absolutely smitten and I ate too much and made myself sick.

Vanilla iced latte at the adorable Hearts Coffee in Bushwick.

Brunch at Meadowsweet. My iced Oslo espresso had sugar, milk, and bourbon in it.

And I had a beyond fantastic bowl of duck pastrami hash with parsley salsa verde and poached eggs.

Snack attack. La Columbe canned coffee and a cheesecake cup.

Fruity yogurt bowl, with citrus yogurt, sumo mandarin, and pomegranate.

Leftover breakfast casserole with the dregs of my veggie drawer.

Snazzy pasta bowls. Whole wheat spaghetti / brown butter and lemon / peas, green onions, and sun-dried tomatoes / crab meat.

19Feb2018

Fresh On The Blog

by Emily

Gotta love a three day weekend! I don’t work today (hence the late post) and my plans include the dog, my bed, and The Office, the end.

My Friday, Saturday, Sunday were all pretty great too. Friday, Adam drove me into work so we had before-work breakfast date and after-work dinner date (plus we basically consider the time driving in the car to be a date too!). Saturday, I met up with girlfriends for brunch and discovered that Bayside, Queens – which is about 10 minutes from my house – is actually kind of great. And Sunday, we had friends in from out of town and we got to show them the magic of Grand Central Whispering Gallery; plus the magic of coffee from Cafe Grumpy!

highlights…

Apertif. I had a croque canard sandwich with duck rillettes, apple, brie, and béchamel.

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F.O.B. A newish Filipino spot in Cobble Hill people have been (rightly) raving about.

We got so much good food! Corn bibingka – rice cake with farmers cheese, kesong puti, and coconut butter.

Overnight chicken adobo and pechay – sautéed Chinese cabbage with chili and garlic.

And Halo Halo – shaved ice with nata de coco, red beans, tapioca, mango, jackfruit, and ube ice cream!

French Workshop. We split something with white chocolate mousse, and hazelnuts, and milk chocolate ganache but there were about a million other things that looked good too.

Joyce Bakeshop. We’ve decided that we don’t love their coffee, but their kouign amann is my all-time favorite pastry. Seriously, I like it more than filled croissants from Union Fair and cronuts from Dominique Ansel, and that bar is set pretty damn high.

Kame Ramen in Nomad. I had spicy chicken miso with sesame oil and a soft boiled egg.

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I did manage to cook one meal at home – loaded baked potato casserole / shredded chicken with bbq sauce / spinach salad with pomegranate, marcona almonds, and Trader Joe’s cilantro salad dressing.

Have a great week!

19Jan2018

Cookie Monster

by Emily

Friday, Friday, Friday! How did a short week feel so long? At least I had multiple sugar highs to carry me through.

Munk Pack sent me a sweet (but actually protein-packed) box of samples. Munk Pack Protein Cookies contain a whopping 18 grams of plant-protein and 6 grams of fiber per cookie. They are gluten-free, vegan, and do not contain sugar alcohols or soy.

I let Adam review two flavors on his own because he’s the one whose lifestyle depends on quick, protein-packed snacks (and he’s already obsessed with Munk Pack’s oatmeal packets). He thought double dark chocolate was good but not great and was over the moon for oatmeal raisin spice. To quote – “5/5. A little bit savory but not too spicy. Firm on the outside but moist on the inside, with a good texture from the oats. Very filling, it kept me satisfied for hours.”

And personally I liked peanut butter chocolate chip but I loooooved the coconut white chip macadamia. All of the flavors were very substantial, I actually ended up skipping lunch yesterday because I was still so satisfied from the cookie I ate for breakfast at 9!

Peanut butter wasn’t necessarily a cookie-cookie but was a darn good protein bar but the coconut flavor was straight-up decadent. It had the slightly gritty consistency of cookie dough and was one of the more delicious packaged cookies (dessert options included) I’ve ever eaten.

Plus we threw a baby shower for a coworker this week and I made and ate a million desserts. Matzoh toffee candy.

Triple fudge brownies with maraschino cherries and cherry cream cheese frosting.

I did eat one or two things that weren’t sweet. Like super spicy Thai food. I went out for lunch with a girlfriend in Astoria and had a great bowl of extra spicy pad see ew with mock duck.

Plus Adam and I hung out for a bit at Gossip; love it there.

Still obsessed with this Trader Joe’s seed and bean snack.

It was a week of fantastic home-cooked dinners. Like Asian-style cabbage wraps. <– best dish of the week

Red cabbage cups / ground turkey sauteed with shredded carrot, spring onion, orange and bell pepper/ crushed peanuts on top.

Plus two dipping sauces – miso, lime juice, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, gojuchang / avocado, cilantro, fish sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, Greek yogurt, evoo.

Another night I used the leftover avocado cilantro sauce to make a killer salad. With red cabbage, arugula, spring onion, shredded carrot, yellow bell pepper, black beans, sharp cheddar, and salty peanuts.

With an assortment of global gummy candies for dessert.

And another night we made loaded cheeseburger cheese fries!

Waffle fries / cheese / tons of sauteed onion / mini turkey cheeseburgers / with ketchup and mayo on top.

Plus broccoli slaw on the side, sauteed with rice vinegar and cream cheese.

Have a happy weekend!

5Jan2018

Hello, 2018!

by Emily

On a personal level, 2018 is off to a great start. Adam’s and my last week of 2017 staycation was deeply wonderful, so I’m starting the year in a damn good mood.

Though perhaps I’ll be less ecstatic today, by the time this post goes live I will already be outside attempting to dig my car out from the foot plus of snow dropped by the bomb cyclone. I work this weekend so thankfully I was already off for the worst of it on Thursday.

Here were the best bites from the year so far…

This week’s coffee – Starbucks espresso roast.

Plus on my snow day I sipped on a super fancy Stumptown Nitro Cold Brew with chocolate milk. Total frothy, creamy, goodness.

Yogurt bowl work lunches are off to a good start. Coffee and Cream Chobani with maple almond butter granola and a Pacific Rose apple and MadeGood chocolate chip granola minis.

Mint Chocolate Chunk Chobani with chocolate Cheerios and chocolate-covered cocoa nibs. This new flavor was surprisingly delicious, just like mint chip ice cream.

Smoked turkey and Swiss sandwich box from Starbucks.

Popping champagne gummies for the new year. I have loved all of the bears from Project Seven that I’ve tried so far.

Yummy vanilla bean French pudding.

Exciting limited edition seltzers tasting. We didn’t like the cola as much as I had hoped – it was too weird to have the flavor without the sweetness – and the unicorn kisses wasn’t magical but was very tasty.

I totally rocked it in the kitchen this week; three meals were 10/10. Like good luck bowls to start the year – forbidden rice / collard greens – sauteed with garlic / hoppin’ john – a slightly bastardized version with orange bell pepper added in.

Hot wing pasta with carrots and celery on the side.

Whole wheat pasta shells / sauteed baby spinach and green onion with fish sauce / shredded chicken breast with cream cheese and hot sauce / sharp cheddar.

Chick pot pie hot dish (loosely inspired by this recipe from Molly Yeh).

Shredded chicken breast / tons of sauteed mushrooms, onion, celery, and peas / roux + caned low fat milk and chicken broth with sour cream, hot sauce, mustard, liquid smoke, and smoked paprika / tater tots!

Hope everyone’s 2018 is off to a good start!

25Dec2017

A Merry Little Christmas

by Emily

Merry Christmas to all my readers who celebrate! I am actually at work today, but Adam and I had a great weekend making merry.

We pretended it wasn’t raining and took a long walk around Manhattan and over the Brooklyn Bridge.

I was very excited to check out the holiday decorations at Chelsea Market and the Oculus and Brookfield Place.

Best bites highlights…

Nobletree eggnog cappuccino.

I also bought a fancy Ronnybrook eggnog and dumped it over ice with a triple shot of espresso, so good.

We had yet to stand in the Dominique Ansel line to try a cronut but when I read this month’s flavor I knew it was time – eggnog caramel!

Crispy, chewy, gooey; they were totally fantastic and worth the wait. Eggnog caramel may be my new favorite thing.

Lunch at Kobrick Coffee. I had a grilled cheese with swiss, shallots, and horseradish maple mustard.

Plus a Strong Island Iced Tea – gin, tequila, rum, triple sec, cynar, Hella cola tonic, lime juice, and soda. The little coffee cup was Adam’s cortadito – a crazy delicious cross between a cortado and a Cuban coffee.

Holiday flavors jelly beans – eggnog, pumpkin pie, cranberry, hot chocolate, and peppermint.

Harpoon Winter Warmer. The pink drinks were my attempt at making a peppermint marshmallow vodka that did NOT work.

Rice and Gold for dinner for a whole jerk roasted duck. Wrapped up with jerk-hoisin sauce, pickled cucumbers, and moo shu pancakes.

We also had cured salmon crudo with onion ash, myoga, jalapeno, and maple bourbon soy sauce.

Charred eggplant with Chinese yogurt, scallion, and crispy shallot that was one of the best dishes I ate this year.

A Bondi Kelly – white rum, luxardo maraschino, lime, and charred pineapple.

And a citrus salad dessert special with cardamom labne and yuzu nata de coco.

We brought home our leftover duck to put on nachos which was the best idea ever.

And our Christmas Eve dinner was snowflake pasta with pesto, red bell pepper, baby kale, and turkey pepperoni.

May your day be bright.

4Dec2017

Miracle On 9th Street

by Emily

New York City is the best place on Earth and that is doubly true around holidays! Adam and I had a lovely weekend with lots of walking and we explored Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan and saw and ate all sorts of fun holiday and city things.

Like lights in the Lower East Side.

And wild swans in Sheepshead Bay.

Coffees, specialty cocktails, pizza rolls, and other fantastic eats…

Mace’s Miracle Christmas Cocktail Pop-up is officially my new favorite holiday activity! I wish I had taken pictures inside because it was freaking magical.

The specialty cocktails were so fun! I had a Not Even a Mouse – pumpkin spice infused rye whiskey, Budweiser-marshmallow syrup, pumpkin puree, egg, and a marshmallow mouse.

And a Snowball Old Fashioned – gingerbread bourbon, sugar, and pecan bitters.

Iced latte love. Brooklyn Roasting Company.

Orso.

Yogurt bowl win. Plain Greek yogurt with maple jelly and vanilla bean powder with golden kiwi and granola on top.

Ice & Vice double scoop that was truly the best ice cream Adam or I have ever eaten. TBT – earl grey, dark chocolate, and speculoos chip and PSL – pecan, sorghum, and latte toffee.

The Nog at Sugar Sweet Sunshine, pumpkin cake layered with eggnog pudding and whipped cream.

Luda’s Dumplings.

We shared shrimp and loaded potato with garlic sour cream and mushrooms on top.

Brunch at Butter & Scotch, aka the restaurant that’s decorated like the inside of my heart.

I had biscuits with mushroom gravy and an egg on top.

The NameShake.

Birthday cake slice (the leftovers were still moist 24 hours+ later, fyi) and a Unicorn Treat – a brown butter cookie drenched in sprinkles!

The space was adorable, the music was wonderful, and as we were rolling ourselves to the door the waitress brought us a chocolate chip cookie to go since we had been so excited about everything.

Dinner at Thursday Kitchen.

You have to get a light-up booze-filled capri sun! I went with strawberry.

The menu is tapas style so we got to taste a lot. Everything was so interesting, and perfectly spiced. Pan-seared plantains with Korean chimichurri, honey ricotta, roasted pistachio, dried cranberry, and crispy plantain crumble.

Duck confit empanada with dill crème fraiche, cumin, and pickles.

Gnocchi with Korean chili pepper sauce, garlic aioli, parmesan, and crispy seaweed.

My homemade dinners weren’t bad either. I made vegetarian “rice” and beans casserole.

Riced cauliflower / pinquito beans / onion and bell peppers (yellow, orange, and green) baked in evoo / red enchilada sauce / sour cream / shredded cheese. I topped my bowl with more sour cream and some Cholula sauce plus beet and goat cheese cassava chips.

An epic take on cheeseburgers and fries.

Roasted green beans and butternut squash.

Cheeseburger roll ups! Crescent roll dough / ground turkey sautéed with chopped onion and pickle relish / mayo and ketchup / shredded cheese / brushed with garlic butter.

Happy 1st week of December!

27Nov2017

Thanksgiving Week

by Emily

I always have a lot to feel thankful for and last week was no exception. With working two weekends in a row and Turkey Day my schedule worked out perfectly for lots of fun free time with the husband! We had a great time in the city on his post-call day and were able to drive to Pennsylvania Thursday evening to spend the holiday with his family.

Highlights…

Fancy coffees –

Noble Tree iced latte at Nickel and Diner.

Stumptown Winter Cheer.

Vietnamese cold brew.

Fun city restaurants –

Supermoon Bakehouse!

So cool. We tried a banana split sundae twice baked croissant – caramelized sous vide whole bananas, banana caramel sauce, creme patissiere, and chocolate almond creme, topped with chocolate fudge, banana caramel, dehydrated banana, gold leaf, and torched meringue.

And a Golden Boy Doughnut – golden turmeric brioche filled with mild chocolate salted caramel, rolled in sugar and topped with a chocolate shard – aka the best doughnut I’ve ever eaten.

Crazy good ramen at Ganso. A girlfriend and I went after work one night and it was so fantastic that I went back with Adam the next day! The first time we shared blistered shishito peppers.

And I had triple shrimp ramen – with shrimp paste chicken broth, thick Sapporo noodles, chili-fried shrimp, dried shrimp, garlic chives, and moyashi sprouts.

The second time we had wings and beer.

And I had the Tori Shio – Japanese sea salt-chicken broth, toothsome Tokyo noodles, crispy chicken thigh chashu, ajitama egg, and greens.

On-theme eats –

Pumpkin yogurt with Heritage Flakes and a ~~mini pumpkin~~ persimmon.

Fruit and nut yogurt with toffee bits, pecans, and orange raisins.

A pre-holiday plate on Tuesday night.

Crock pot cooked turkey, Trader Joe’s cornbread stuffing, cranberry dressing, and roasted green beans.

Plus a cranberry beer!

Our Thanksgiving tradition…

Stuffing nachos! With turkey, cranberry, and lots of cheese.

Plus broccoli that I pretended was green beans.

My actual Thanksgiving plate.

Our contribution to the meal was peanut butter, butterscotch, toffee candy.

Have a great week!

13Nov2017

Shave Ice and Rock Candy

by Emily

Goodness, do I love New York City! We just had such a good weekend. First, how neat is this rock candy instillation at Union Square?

Second, we hung out in the epically cool Industry City,

and went to the American Fields pop up market,

where they gave us (multiple!)(free!!) delicious rosemary maple bourbon sours,

as well as a sample of Unicorn Kisses seltzer.

I haven’t actually tasted it yet, but I’ve been trying to get my hands on some for a year so this was pretty damn exciting. <– and it wasn’t even out on the samples table but I asked the Polar guy about it and he brought me one from a special hidden stash!

Five favorite foodie things this weekend…

{1} a new snack

Crispy okra from Trader Joe’s.

{2} a new favorite in bubble tea

Pa Tea might be our new favorite tea spot.

We had brown sugar milk tea with pudding aaaaand baby boba.

{3} breakfast at Brooklyn Kolache

Pimento cheese and sweet cheese and blueberry.

Plus a latte from Brooklyn Roasting Company.

{4} lunch at Pig Bleeker

Complimentary cornbread madelines.

A Yolanda Winston – vodka, curacao, vanilla, and Wolfer cider.

Duck lasagne!!

And roasted brussel sprouts with pickled mustard seeds that were the best vegetable I’ve ever been served.

S’mores in a jar.

{5} dinner at Little Tong

We loved this noodle shop. Everything felt intentional and the dishes were all gorgeous – I wish the light had been better for pictures so I could come closer to capturing the beauty.

Chinese broccoli salad with citrus soy and smoked egg yolk.

Spiced duck fat fried purple potatoes with cheese curds.

Grandma Chicken Mixian – noodles, chicken broth, chicken confit, tea egg, pickles, flowers, fermented chili, and black sesame garlic oil, and chili oil on top.

And then we walked across the street and cooled down our mouths with a guava snow cone with condensed milk. Yes, on the coldest day of the year so far.

I love NYC.

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: pasta

Best Babka In Brooklyn

Fresh On The Blog

Cookie Monster

Hello, 2018!

A Merry Little Christmas

Miracle On 9th Street

Thanksgiving Week

Shave Ice and Rock Candy