Doughnuts, Go Nuts

Tasty weekend!  Friday was National Doughnut Day, so I took myself on a pre-work date to Doughnut Plant.  They were giving away a super cool Grand Central ceiling inspired mini doughnut away with all purchases.  I got a tres leches cake doughnut.  <– all-time best

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And Saturday we went on a six mile // six doughnut epic walking and eating tour.  South from Hells Kitchen, across the bridge to Williamsburg.  We walked part of the way on the High Line which was just lovely.

Stop 1 – Underwest Donuts.

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Carwash – lavender vanilla.

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Halvah with chocolate.

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Stop 2 – Doughnut Project.

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Coffee and salted toffee.

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Black Gold, Texas Tea – extra dark chocolate with cookie crumbs and sea salt.  This one had a great texture, so chewy!

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Stop 3 – Du’s Donuts.

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Strawberry.

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Chocolate caramel brownie.

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My non-doughnut eats worth mentioning all included beans!  Coffee beans in quad shot non-fat iced lattes from Terremoto and Black Brick.

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And a maple iced latte from Bittersweet.

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Black beans on nachos with sour cream and jalopenos.  Plus we ate unphotographed roasted cauliflower with sumac that was somehow just as delicious as the cheesy goodness.

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Pink beans on yummy Chipotle bowls.  Toasted broccoli rice / sauteed onion and green and orange bell pepper / shredded cheese / chicken marinated in chipotles in adobo, brown sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, and rice vinegar / pink beans sauteed with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne, and smoked paprika / sour cream.

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Did you eat a doughnut this weekend??

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Brigadero, Beer, BBQ

I had a good New York weekend, one of a dwindling few remaining before the move!  Saturday, a girlfriend and I met near South Street Seaport for croissants, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, then spent the afternoon in Brooklyn for drinks and dinner.

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Here were my top nine, three per day for a three day weekend…

{1}  Iced latte from Everyman Espresso.  I walked down from Penn Station to the Seaport and the iced beverage was sooo necessary.

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{2}  It kind of makes me feel like an asshole, but the frozen coffee from Stew Leonard’s is one of my very favorite things.

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{3}  Croissants from Cafe Patoro.  Mine was stuffed with brigadero, aka condensed milk chocolate.

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{4}  Dessert bars from Hometown Bake Shop.  Key lime pie and s’mores.

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{5}  Cocktails at Grand Army.  The specialty drink menu is currently My Little Pony themed!!

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We decided I ordered the best two things on the menu.  Scootaloo – amburana cachaca, passionfruit, cardamom, lime, and orange.

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Pinky Pie – blanco tequila, escubac, aperol, lime, and salt.

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{6}  Pasta at Colonie.  Fazzoletti with blue crab, burrata, sorrel, and serrano chile.

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{7}  BBQ at Old Fields.  I had smoked chicken with smokey bbq sauce, pulled chicken, cole slaw, and a lot of Adam’s corn bread.

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{8}  I made a take on the creamy rice casserole from Eat, Live, Run.  Double the bell pepper, fire roasted ro-tel, and I swapped out shrimp for turkey sausage and red kidney beans.  It was delicious.  Topped with Sriracha and sour cream.

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{9}  Trader Joe’s sour grapefruit ale.

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Have a great week!

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Three Kinds Of Eggs

Highlights from this week included eggs served three different ways, a new take on pesto, and my current favorite snack combo…

The week started out on a high point – a breakfast date at Golda.

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Quad espresso + ice + cream.

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I had the grilled asparagus toast – strawberry-chili mostarda / alfalfa / ras al hanout / soft egg / charred lemon / local sourdough.

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Homemade coffee combo = half and half, ice, and Stumptown Founders blend.

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Snacks of note include fresh alfonso mango with cottage cheese.

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Our Deadpool movie snack was right on the nose.  DP 2 was not as good as the first movie but still laugh out loud funny.

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My current favorite snack combo is roasted chickpeas with blistered peanuts.  Eaten in bulk.

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Tuesday – my early day, when I leave the house before 6 am – I drove across town after work to attend what ended up being a very disappointing lecture on TPN.  The speaker ran a bit late and I didn’t start heading home until after 9 pm, at which point I was basically whimpering from hunger.  Suffice to say, this is the most satisfying Chipotle bowl that’s ever been eaten!

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The other three nights I cooked legitimate meals and had some major successes in the kitchen!  Like a Mediterranean frittata, complete with a new recipe page.

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Replete with feta, zucchini, and sumac.

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One night I made okonomiyaki.  We use three eggs and a heaping 1/3 cup flour for 2 servings.  With shredded garnet yam, roasted cabbage, and ginger.  Topped with Sriracha, Kewpie mayo, green onion, and seaweed.

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I also tried a new take on pesto that turned out to be delicious.  The last time we made homemade pesto we found the raw garlic and basil to be a bit too spicy, so this time I cooked them.  Sweet onion, green onion, and garlic sauteed in evoo / basil cooked with the onion for 90 seconds or so / tossed in the food processor with more evoo, parmesan, and pine nuts.  Served with whole wheat pasta with baby kale, toasted white beans, and roasted heirloom tomato.

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Weekend plans include a bridge walk, a bar date, and a bbq spot.

Broccoli And Cake

Highlights from the week…

Coffee coffee!  Irving Farms Blackstrap Espresso with half and half.

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Things that taste like cake!  Hot chocolate that was pretty good and a candy bar that was pretty meh.

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Blackberry yogurt bowl with chopped plums and Flax Plus Multibran Flakes.

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Plain Greek yogurt with black sesame halvah from Seed + Mill and an envy apple on the side.

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Dinners this week were easy (and very chip forward) but good.  The best night I ate a crappy sandwich on the train because… I went to the ballet!  My aunt brought me along with her to see Misty Copeland in Giselle.  It was beautiful and fantastic!

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Chips and dip.  I made homemade onion dip – sauteed sweet onion and green onions, turkey bacon, fresh chives, sour cream, and kewpie mayo.  Dipped with gojuchang kettle chips, baby carrots, and bell pepper.  It turned out very well and I definitely went back for more chips to keep scooping.

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Nachos!  Toasted tortilla chips / homemade nacho cheese sauce (you literally just melt together mild cheddar and sour cream, it was crazy easy) / ground turkey sauteed with taco seasoning and onion and bell pepper / green onion on top.

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Warm broccoli salad.  Roasted broccoli / turkey bacon / chives / raisins / blistered peanuts / sour cream, sugar, smoked paprika, and rice vinegar.

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I work the next five days but I hope everyone else has a fun weekend!

My New Favorite Thing

This weekend was all about fancy coffees, restaurant brunches, and yummy home-cooked dinners.

I took a vacation day on Friday – just for funsies – and had lunch with one of my favorite former co-workers and her new baby!  Plus I took myself on a long walk: Penn Station down to Chelsea Market, over to Gramercy Park, and back up to Penn Station.  Saturday I had a literal every cloud has a silver lining situation – the gloomy weather gave me an excuse to wear my snazzy new rain boots!

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Here were the highlights…

Fancy coffees –  Iced latte from Seven Point Espresso.

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Rose iced latte from Terremoto.  <– best coffee of the weekend

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Crack pie latte from Milk Bar.

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Restaurant brunches – MeMe’s Diner.

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The O.C. = cara cara and blood orange, tequila, and Tang.

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I ordered the greens with chili oil and a fried chicken biscuit sandwich with spicy maple syrup and root vegetable slaw.  The picture does not do justice to just how gigantic that sandwich is.

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Cake!  I wish I had more photos because this cake is officially my new favorite thing I’ve ever eaten.  Vietnamese iced coffee cake with condensed milk frosting and cocoa cardamom fudge.  Moist cake, fluffy icing, perfectly balanced.

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Midwinter Kitchen.  I had a salad with pistachio crusted goat cheese, frisée, watercress, a sunny side up egg, and sherry vinaigrette.  Those goat cheese balls were out of this world.

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Home-cooked dinners –  Trout salad melts.  Trader Joe’s canned smoked trout with mayo and gojuchang on toast with sharp cheddar.  Plus roasted zucchini with sumac.

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And I had this killer drink line-up while I cooked – creamy mango soda and key lime pie gose.

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Eat Live Run’s green chile crock pot chicken.  I subbed in cauliflower rice to get some more veggies in there.

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Gojuchang turkey burgers on toast, smothered in a tasty sauce – kewpie mayonnaise, honey, dijon, and miso.  With a side of pear slices and chips – gojuchang kettle chips from Whole Foods and kettle popcorn chips from Trader Joe’s.

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Have a great work-week, guys!

 

Coffees And Cocktails

Important things first – the pink and purple trees in our complex are amazingly gorgeous.

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This is the immediate view out of our front door and it makes me smile every day.

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My purple hair finally got too patchy to be cute, while remaining highly pigmented in a few spots, and my hairdresser had to make me super blonde to get rid of it all.

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I had a fantastic weekend – including a Lower East Side day, a Williamsburg/Bushwick day, and a Long Island day – and we ate all the things!  I love New York, I love New York, I love New York.

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We checked out OddFellows‘ new coffee and ice cream spot and I had an iced latte with toasted marshmallow milk.

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I also had a toasted marshmallow iced latte (good, but not as good, obviously) from Sweetie Pies on Main while we walked around Cold Springs Harbor.

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Japanese shaved ice from The Little One.  Strawberry sauce / sweetened condensed milk / roasted strawberries / coconut whipped cream.

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Arcade games and drinks at Barcade.  <– one of my favorite spots in the city even if I’m not very good at Pac Man or Tapper

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Craft cocktails on tap at Yours Sincerely.  Adam got a tasting flight and I had a Folsom Fizz with bourbon, cola syrup, and almond.

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Snacks at Smorgasburg.  Belgian fries with malt vinegar aioli and chipotle ranch.

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Noodle bowls at Just for Fen.  Can JfF be my new living room?  The space was so cute!

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And the food was wonderful.  I had smashed cucumber salad and spicy chicken rice noodles with housemade chili oil, pickled radish and cabbage, baby bok choy, scallion, cilantro, and peanuts.

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Dinner at Forrest Point.  On the patio!

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I had a fried chicken sandwich with jicima and blue cheese slaw.

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The few things we ate at home were pretty great too.  Trader Joe’s scallion pancakes are the best frozen meal of all time.  Served with baby carrots and bell peppers.

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I made us delicious rice bowls.  Brown rice / red, yellow, and orange bell pepper sauteed with onion and garlic / chicken breast slow-cooked in the crockpot with salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, garlic, lime, and orange juice and then shredded and broiled until crispy / sharp cheddar / TJ’s tomatillo roasted yellow chili salsa.

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Plus mojito milkshakes!  Cruzan rum / homemade mint simple syrup / lime juice / vanilla ice cream / ice.

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Three Day Weekend

My three day weekend is actually a ten day weekend!  I took a week+ off from work because I am going home for Carnival.  By the time you read this post I will (hopefully!) be on a plane to St. Thomas.

Here were the top three from the past three days…

{1}  Coffee (coffee, coffee).

[a]  I am still loving Trader Joe’s shade grown espresso blend.

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[b]  I found my new spot for coffee and cookies – For Five Coffee.

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They served me an perfectly roasty and creamy quad iced latte.

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And they have crispy yet cakey cookies from Duchess Bakeshop, including unicorn cookies stuffed with cheesecake.

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{2}  Fun in packaged foods.

The chile rellano from Trader Joe’s is my all-time favorite frozen meal and the mojito kombucha was even better than expected.

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{3}  Our best meal of this year.

Glasserie in Greenpoint pretty much blew our minds.  Their deal is Middle Eastern flavors mixed with contemporary techniques in a stunningly gorgeous former glass factory.  We swooned over every bite!

Sour from Grimm.

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Griddle bread that was chewy and perfect and sort of reminded me of funnel cake.

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Roasted cauliflower with cured labneh and marjoram.

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An assortment of mushrooms with celeriac puree, hazelnuts, and a soft boiled egg.

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Chicken with roasted sunchokes, fried potato, and sesame.  I almost never order chicken in restaurants but this was one of the best proteins I’ve ever tasted.

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Rose milk custard with candied pistachios for dessert.  This was just a bit tangy and just a bit floral and totally delicious.

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10/10.

I (Strawberry) Heart…

The five most exciting edible things from this weekend  —

{1}  There’s a new cookie dough place in our mall.  The serving size was stupid big and they wouldn’t let us split the scoop into two flavors but it was delicious.  We went with  Oreo.

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{2}  I discovered a Sonic that’s not super far from our house.  How excited am I about strawberry diet cokes??

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{3}  I’m back on the coffee obsession train.  I was feeling a little under the weather last week and it was hard for me to drink anything roasty but thank goodness that’s over.

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{4}  The worker at Chipotle was extra generous with the fajita veggies and cheese and I ended up with a wonderful salad – romaine / chicken / pinto beans / peppers and onions / corn salsa / hot salsa / cheese.

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{5}  We went to Hanco’s and I had Vietnamese iced coffee with strawberry jelly hearts in it!  Plus a really fantastic bahn mi with vegan pork (tofu).

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P.S. Today’s my day off!  And it’s also Adam’s day off!!  And we are going into Brooklyn for lunch!!!