Best Of The Best

It was a perfect New York summer weekend! Including great food (several of my top favorites and lots of sweet treats!), a couple of long walks, brunch on the water in Roslyn, a trip to Rockaway Beach, and a visit to the mall! The best things I ate were…

Rockaway Beach Bakery. Guava cheese danish. We also had a yummy slice of croissant bread. Their new location is great.

From Lucie. They make my favorite cake in the city. This was a (super duper moist) vanilla cake with Earl Gray frosting and blackberry jam.

Culture Espresso makes our 2nd favorite chocolate chip cookie in the city. This was the corn cookie and we also enjoyed a frozen maple coffee.

Pavlo Mochi. My favorite was the banana milk jam with a dulce de leche center.

Connolly’s Bar pina colada is my current favorite frozen cocktail.

I didn’t actually love my brunch burger at Naks but their wonderful vinegar fries were fantastic dipped in egg and gravy.

My cocktail was also a win; I got the Zesto – a milk punch with coconut, soursop, and rum (and that’s a pandan coconut rum jello shot!).

Roberta’s house-made bread + stracciatella + sugar snap peas with pea shoots and green garlic.

Best meal of the weekend = lunch at Rippers. Cheeseburgers and seasoned fries. This is Adam’s favorite burger.

Their cocktails were magical too! Lychee soju martini and a frozen sangria (we ate spoons of sangria with soft-serve and swooned).

P.S. No photos but I had a kale salad with salmon at Daily Provisions that knocked my socks off.

Accidentally Vegetarian

Things from the weekend…

King’s Coast coconut iced latte with coconut cold foam. 100/10.

See also – Beanmonger‘s strawberry white chocolate iced latte. A little too sweet for me.

Paris Baguette Dubai chewy cookie. Nowhere near as good as Bear Donut but still delicious (obviously).

Veggie cheese fries. Baked fries tossed with furikake, garlic powder, and onion powder / poblano pepper, corn, green onion, and honey goat cheese / six-minute eggs tossed in a skillet with butter, evoo, gochujang, chili crisp, maple syrup, soy sauce, and lime.

Bean salad. Great Northern beans, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, peanuts, sesame seeds, and sharp cheddar tossed with evoo, sesame oil, chili crisp, honey, and rice vinegar.

Chickens Salad

No post last week because we were on vacation! Adam and I went to New Mexico (my first time there) – Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and a night in the desert in Taos. We had a wonderful time! It was beautiful, the food was outstanding, and we visited our final Meow Wolf.

Things from the week back in real life…

A sugar plum yogurt bowl! The plums were the leftover solids from a plum syrup I made (red and black plums simmered with sugar and water — ok in iced coffee, better in seltzer) plus plain skyr and granola.

Veggie snacks. Fun to try but not for me (the sweet potato was too chewy and the okra was too crunchy); I brought them to work and at least one person liked each thing.

The best vegan jerky.

Tofu veggie bowls. This was the best meal of the week. Hedgehog-cut baked super firm tofu and roasted brussels sprouts topped with chopped white mushrooms sauteed with evoo, butter, lemon juice, maple syrup, dark soy sauce, miso paste, Dijon, garlic, gochugaru, and sesame seeds.

Chickens salad. Shredded baked chicken, six-minute eggs, Wilde chicken chips, and sauteed hen of the woods mushrooms tossed with plain skyr, Duke’s mayo, pickle brine, chopped pickles, salt, Sichuan pepper, white pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Plus succotash we did not suffer for – frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, corn, green beans, and baby lima beans) sauteed with butter and lemon.

Inspired by our chicken salad we also made a chickens migas! Eggs scrambled with shredded chicken, Wilde chicken chips, kettle chips, honey goat cheese, and sauteed tomato, poblano pepper, corn, and green onions. I topped my bowl with tons of Green Cholula (the sweet goat cheese was possibly not the best cheese for this dish!).

Kimchi Migas

Things from a yummy week…

Yogurt bowl – plain Greek with honey, blueberries, and two types of kiwi. I started scooping kiwis out of their skin with a grapefruit spoon (rather than trying to clumsily peel them) and now I eat them all the time.

“Mountain city spicy flavor” rice snacks.

We had leftover pandan white chocolate blondie from Chim Chim in our freezer and I blended it into a great milkshake with vanilla ice cream, milk, pandan syrup, and malted milk powder.

Passionfruit smore’s! Effie’s pecan biscuit crackers, oven-roasted Malvi passionfruit marshmallows, and Chocxo dark chocolate passionfruit cups.

Dinners listed in order of how much we liked them. Satay-inspired tofu (just ok-good). Tofu – sauteed extra-firm tofu that was marinated in Jamaican curry powder, red curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice, and coconut milk / lackluster peanut sauce – peanut butter, Sriracha, lime juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and coconut milk / marinated cucumbers – with rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, Milu everything crisp, and sesame seeds / on a packet of Ben’s Original coconut jasmine rice.

Tuna joomukbap (very good). We’ve made this Cafe Maddy recipe before and will definitely make it again. I used leftover brown rice, two cans of tuna, and a poblano pepper instead of a bell pepper. Plus chopped baby broccoli roasted with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Red curry beans (excellent). Great Northern beans sauteed with garlic and ginger and cooked in a curry sauce (coconut milk, red curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice, dark soy sauce, and Sriracha). Served on a mix of roasted cauliflower rice and brown rice.

Kimchi migas (best meal of the week!). Sauteed kimchi, green onion, and tomatoes with gochugaru, gochujang, honey, sesame oil, and sesame seeds, plus kimchi flavored kettle chips, eggs, and sharp cheddar.

Guavamente

I stole my title from a great cocktail at Finback. Some highlights from the weekend…

Yogurt bowl with blueberries and granola (sprinkled granola!).

Quad iced latte with guava and white chocolate at Humble Cafe. They have the best syrup options.

We went to a fun little neighborhood food truck festival to try the dirty sodas at Island Fizz. We shared two custom flavors – Diet Coke with strawberry syrup, cherries, and cream and Diet Coke with guava syrup and marshmallow fluff (my favorite).

It is finally popsicle weather! I got these from 99 Ranch. The grape cheese one is one of my favorites; it is delightfully weird.

Pest chicken salad. Chopped chicken breast with pesto, plain skyr, Duke’s mayo, North River crunchy yellow peas, and Wooly soft sheep’s milk cheese with espelette pepper. This was a great mix of creamy and crunchy and creamy and spicy. Served with baby carrots and leftover fries (we got Slider Joe’s take-out last week and it was fantastic).

Cheesy kimchi chicken dip. Plain skyr and Duke’s mayo with chopped chicken breast, extra-sharp cheddar, sauteed green onions, and chopped/caramelized kimchi. Scooped with kimchi flavored Kettle Chips! Plus broccoli roasted with salt, dried green mango powder, and garlic powder.

Desserty Coffees And Ramen

It was a great NYC weekend including a thousand iced coffees, a street art instillation, a day in Brooklyn, and a trip to Long Island City.

Highlights…

Hungry Ghost will always be the best quad iced latte in the city.

Casa del Cafe horchatta iced latte with cold foam. This was too milky for me but the spot was sweet and we also tried a nice chocoflan.

Bean Monger miso caramel iced latte.

Doughnut Plant is hit or miss for me but this rosewater glazed doughnut was perfection.

Brunch at Vato. We shared a cinnamon bun and a burnt end, egg, and cheese burrito. The meat wasn’t my favorite but the housemade tortilla was great and their salsas were solid. I need to go back for a concha!

We were impressed with Jax Pizza; Adam liked the Rosso with six-hour tomato sauce and my favorite was the vodka slice.

Handroll dinner at Matsunori. We shared seaweed salad.

And steamed eggs.

My handrolls – spicy salmon (shown) / miso butter cod / toro with caviar / A5 Waygu. I also had a yuzu drop!

Dinner at Chuko was the best meal of the weekend. We shared some fun beverages like this ume soda.

And a Calpico.

Split a shrimp bun.

Fantastic okonomiyaki-style tots.

And kale salad (the best in the city!) with yellow raisins, miso dressing, and crispy sweet potato. They throw some fried kale into the mix and the texture mix here is just wonderful.

They offer all of their broth bases in vegetarian and are also my favorite ramen spot. I went with Kimchi (which comes with cabbage and curly yellow noodles) with pickled mustard greens, a soy egg, and chili crisp.

Malted Milk, Toasted Rice

Highlights from the week…

Yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with malted milk powder, brown sugar, and vanilla bean powder topped with Uncle Crumbles sugar cookie granola and all of the berries (blackberries, blueberries, and jumbo blueberries!).

Malted. Vanilla ice cream blended with milk, malted milk powder, and toasted rice powder.

A patty melt that was probably the best thing I’ve made all year. Turkey patties (ground turkey, lime juice, fish sauce, panko, and egg) cooked in a skillet with smoky pimento cheese melted on top on Trader Joe’s sourdough with mayo, lime juice, and red curry.

Paired with great seasoned fries. Baked green beans and frozen french fries tossed in a homemade spice mix – salt, white sugar, white pepper, Sichuan pepper, gochugaru, onion powder, garlic powder, toasted rice powder, dried fish roe, and green mango powder.

BBQ chicken bowls. Baked chicken breast tossed in a skillet with homemade bbq sauce (ketchup, gochujang, maple syrup, rice wine, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds) on a bed of sauteed bok choy, green onion, tomatoes, and ginger.

Tofu And Fries

We had a wonderful NYC weekend; including walks around Manhattan (Fidi and East Village) and Brooklyn (Fort Greene and Prospect Heights)! And so much good food! Highlights…

I am a sucker for limited edition fun drinks (see below!). I thought the coffee was too milky but I would buy the creamy coconut Dr. Pepper again!

Cafe Patoro brigiadeiro iced latte. Always delicious, their latte is nice and roasty.

Fasan Coffee red bean iced latte. We had also had a fantastic yuzu cold brew.

Honey’s Bistro coconut cold brew.

Chim Chim matcha banoffee pie.

Treats at Saint Street. This spot is exceptional. We had a cup of chocolate cake.

And a meringue.

DSK chicken brat on a pretzel roll with crispy onions, pickle relish, German mustard, and ketchup. Plus great fries.

Lunch at 886. This was some of the very best food we’ve eaten in 2026. My drink (sour plum highball). was only ok though.

Shaky fries with Taiwan Dust.

Crispy silken tofu with chili oil vinaigrette (1000/10).

Dry beef noodles with spicy beef fat butter, shredded beef shank, and a sunny side up egg.

Wildly good tomato with egg.

Dinner at Authentic Thai. We decided this is the best Thai we’ve had in Long Island. I had roti with peanut sauce.

And drunken noodles. I asked for them to be made spicy and they delivered – I drank all of Adam’s Thai iced tea and was in heaven.

P.S. I’ve since eaten both restaurant meals as leftovers and they remained excellent!