The five best things I ate this weekend…
Strawberry bites cereal with chocolate peanut butter banana granola and fresh aprium.
Paris Baguette jalopeno cheddar crossaint and a chocolate foam cold brew. 10/10s.
Vanilla ice cream with homemade tahini caramel. Plus pecans and mini peanut butter cups.
Chicky’s fried chicken and fries with garlic sauce and Tennessee hot sauce.
Saucy chickpeas. Sauteed with tomato paste, harissa, spices, onion, bell peppers, and eggplant.
Adam and I had the whole weekend together, which was just lovely! Despite the heat we managed to take the dog to a farmer’s market and take a humans-only walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. And we ate so many good things! Highlights included…
A dalgona iced latte (always a winner!) with chocolate milk.
Blue Bottle‘s shaken New Orleans cold brew is a 10/10 summer special.
Lemon chess pie at the farmer’s market.
Brigaderio cake at Cafe Patoro. I also had a brigaderio iced latte that was hands-down the best thing I’ve consumed so far in 2023.
Dessert flavored booze! Decadent Ale guava cream pop IPA / Ellicottville strawberry crunch bar cream ale / Skatterbrain vanilla cake whiskey (I mixed this one with amaretto, diet coke, and fancy cherries and it was fantastic).
Brunch at Nuaa Table. Thai iced tea.
We shared the veggie dumplings and roasted duck buns.
Banana blossom salad with coconut poached chicken and quail eggs. The acidity here was perfection.
Spicy shrimp basil noodles.
Son-in-Law duck egg – fried boiled duck egg, homemade black pepper brioche, and tamarind-fish sauce caramel. This was my favorite dish.
Lobster roll from Luke’s.
Dinner at Patti Ann’s. This was really good but not mind-blowing like I was expecting.
We shared charred asparagus with hummus, walnuts, golden raisins, and za’atar.
The smashed patty burger – on milk bread with sharp cheddar, special sauce, tomato, and crispy shallots.
And duck lasagna.
Chili garlic noodles from Omsom. I added leftover veggies, chili crisp, and a six-minute egg.
Highlights from an extra-yummy week…
Monday was my birthday! Obviously I had a stash of on-theme treats. Milk Bar ice cream (10/10; it has a frosting ribbon!) / BelliWelli bar (8/10) / Made Good granola bar (9.5/10) / Premier Protein protein shake (4/10).
See also – my birthday gift to myself was ordering some of these delicious cocktail cherries I had in Traverse City, MI.
Other fun treats included huckleberry gummy bears from CO.
Mango-passionfruit fruit leather.
Homemade (mini) blueberry cobbler! I used a New York Times Recipe. Topped with ice cream.
You know my birthday dinner choice was Roast take-out (enjoyed in front of “I Think You Should Leave,” of course!). I got a bbq chicken crunch wrap (sharp cheddar, pepper jack, avocado, crispy tortillas, chicken, and chipotle ranch) and fries with house sauce. Plus homemade spicy sesame green beans (steamed/blistered and sauteed with gojuchang, tahini, and sesame seeds).
This week’s dinners were all wins. Korean steamed eggs with brown rice, sauteed bok choy, roasted zucchini, and chili crisp.
A summer veggie plate. Leftover zucchini / sauteed garlic baby broccoli / Trader Joe’s Sriracha baked tofu / cheesy corn salad – sauteed fresh corn, green onion, poblano pepper, mozarella, gochugaru, Kewpie, and lime juice.
Jumeokbap. I used brown rice and added Sriracha. And made mine giant! With leftover green beans (so good cold!) and cucumber tossed with gojuchang, sugar, and rice vinegar.
Highlights from the weekend include…
A plain Greek yogurt bowl with blueberries, plum, and cookie dough granola.
My favorite Perfect Bar, chocolate chip cookie dough.
Paired with a cookie dough latte! Starbucks blonde espresso with cold foam with brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla bean paste.
Jeni’s Gooey Butter Cake is my new favorite ice cream (second only to the Ben & Jerry’s s’mores bites); cream cheese ice cream with vanilla cake and butterscotch sauce.
Whole Foods’ pimento mac and cheese bites. <– swoon
Microwave Korean rose tteokbokki .
An assortment of dippable things for dinner (I had three dipping sauces so clearly this meal was a winner) – Popeye’s chicken nuggets and mac and cheese, roasted broccoli, leftover cauliflower wings.
Deconstructed hash. Roasted Russet potato and purple Japanese sweet potato / Trader Joe’s breaded cheese curds / chicken breakfast sausages / sauted red onion, green bell pepper, and poblano pepper / plus chipotle aioli.
I worked this weekend but Adam and I had some really nice date nights! We tried two new top-five-favorite spots in Brooklyn! Highlights included…
My ongoing love affair with summer berries. This bowl was blueberries and blackberries with a few Luxardo cherries.
Ciao Gloria‘s coffee and oat milk granita.
Maman‘s banana split iced latte(!) – strawberry milk, banana puree, Parlor espresso, topped with whipped cream, fudge, sprinkles, and a cherry.
Dinner at Three Maples. I had a 50/50 – Tito’s with tamarind hibiscus lemonade and black tea.
And a burger – short rib blend, house sauce, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion. With fries.
We also got the elote dip.
And the charred baby broccoli with confit garlic and red pepper flakes. <– swoon
Wild Maine blueberry crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert. <– double swoon
Dinner at Little Rascal. We shared some amazing drinks. Cosmic Debris – basil bourbon, fresh lemon, egg white, frooty pebbles infused sugar cane extract, and pistachio cream.
The Dough of Existance – avocado spiced rum, soursop nectar, avocado pit orgeat, and wormwood. And an unphotographed Kurosawa’s Dream – Japanese whiskey, aloe, shiso honey, fresh lemon, and mint — the best drink of the night/weekend/summer.
Caviar(!!) with creme fraiche and blinis.
Halloumi croquettes with eggplant jam and parsley oil.
Roasted cauliflower with hawaji sauce and tahini dressing.
Chicken skewers with meyer lemon yogurt and mini pepper pickles.
And lamb tacos with pickled onion, feta, and paprika yogurt.
By the time this post goes live I’ll be on my way to visit friends in Traverse City, Michigan! I can’t wait!!
I’ve actually been on vacation since Saturday, which is great. Adam’s siblings came into town and we took them to Eataly, Roast (off course!), an escape room, and more. Then they took a family trip and Webster and I had a little staycation. Basically I spent three straight days with the dog on my lap — it was perfect.
Some highlights from the past few days include…
Southdown Coffee‘s espresso tonic. I don’t even like tonic water but I love this.
The Layers Perfect Bars are an 11/10.
I had not expected to love these BelliWelli bars but I do, the chocolate chip cookie flavor is easily a 9/10.
Yogurt bowls. Plain Greek with chocolate chip cookie dough granola, blackberries, and blueberries.
See also – watermelon with fresh berries. I love summer!
His and hers Ben & Jerry’s for the dog and me. We loved it.
Roast breakfast burrito with eggs, avocado, hashbrowns, and aioli.
Giant salad from Burrito Blvd. With chicken, zucchini, corn, tomato, and cheese. See also, but without a photo – we took Adam’s family to Rosa Mexicano and I had the best cheeseburger I’ve eaten in 2023.
Things from the weekend…
There is a new coffee spot near us with Jamaican Blue Mountain.
The homemade Snickers are definitely one of the best things I’ve ever made. And so quick and easy too.
I mostly drink IPAs but I do really love this key lime pie sour.
Multiple theme snacks! We ate these orange slices with orange slices.
And drank a variety of Mountain Dew and then rewatched the Slurm episode of Futurama.
Egg salad dinner plate. Six minute eggs with Greek yogurt, mayo, mustard, pickle juice, dill, pickles, and red bell pepper. Plus pickled red onion, crackers, and roasted purple cauliflower.
Cheeseburger-inspired salads. Romaine / special sauce dressing – 1 Tbsp each mayo, yellow mustard, olive oil, and vinegar, plus 1/2 Tbsp ketchup and a pinch of salt and white pepper / pickles / tomato / quick pickled chopped white onion / mini turkey patties topped with sharp cheddar / dill / sesame seeds.
Plus special sauce kettle chips!
This past weekend Adam and I… lost our minds over the beautiful flowers all over Park Slope / went to a Filipino/JapanFest street fair / checked off two restauarants on my “lauded cheeseburgers” list. Highlights included…
Birthday cake smoothie bowl from Juice Press. I kept seeing the advertisement for this and I couldn’t help myself! The smoothie was meh but the Out Haus birthday cake granola butter was perfection.
Marvelous by Fred – mini meringue with coffee and hazelnuts.
Ice cream from Teo’s – coffee crunch and sprinkles. Great texture, I love an egg-heavy ice cream base.
Street fair finds. Ube and calmansi juice was a surprisingly sucessful combo.
Okonomiyaki.
Mini twinkie with jackfruit and Frooty Pebbles.
Drinks at The Warren. I loved my Madame Brown with bourbon, passionfruit, sour, and egg whites. We also had the best (unphotographed) deviled eggs I’ve ever eaten; I want to come back here for dinner immediately.
Dinner at Red Paper Clip. My drink was the best of the weekend, College Drop Out – a whiskey sour with passionfruit.
Roasted cauliflower with yuzu agro dulce, shiso, and sunflower seeds.
The everything brioche with cured trout, miso egg yolk, and trout roe was a showstopper; this was stunningly good.
We got the cavetalli with nori, parmesan, and bonito.
Lobster three ways, fried salt and pepper claws / fried rice / and in a miso beurre blanc.
The burger – double patties, lettuce, special sauce, and yellow cheese.
Dinner at Emmy Squared. Palomo.
The burger – double patties, american cheese, spicy sammy sauce, greens, and pickles; served with waffle fries.
We also got a pizza with red sauce, meatballs, and banana peppers.
Niether burger makes my top three list (Elder Greene, Nowon, Ruthies) but they were quite good and it was a great weekend!
