Two key housekeeping things –

1) I recently kind of randomly started eating sashimi and burgers and I am now obsessed with both.  Also, apparently I’m into cake at the moment.

2) I had an absolutely fantastic time in St. Thomas!  I spent two weeks hanging out with my grandma and swimming in the ocean!

Thankfully the weather in NYC has been nice enough for us to do a ton of walking (and a ton of cake, coffee, and fancy cocktail consuming!) so the transition has been pretty easy.

Recent highlights include…

Rum raisin iced latte at the Ace Hotel.  Related – I had a rose cold brew at Brooklyn Roasting Co that was mindblowing.

I am definitely a fan of these new KIND nut butter bars whose product info is weirdly not on their website.

Brunch at the Fulton in the Seaport District.  I had a smoked bloody mary margarita!

We shared sashimi with spicy white ponzu.

And brussel sprouts with mint and pecorino cheese.

And I had the gruyere cheeseburger with au jus.

Now that I’m into sushi, a girlfriend suggested we get lunch at Sugarfish.  I got the “Trust Me Lite” which included edamame and tuna sashimi.

Albacore, salmon, and shrimp sushi.

And a toro hand roll.

Adam and I had a giant, epic lunch at Fan Fried Rice Bar in Bed Stuy.  Golden kimchi / cucumber salad / mush-mame fried rice with shiitake mushrooms, edamame, mixed vegetables, and fried shallots.

Big Gay Ice Cream is my current favorite.  This was yellow cake soft-serve with dulce de leche and rainbow sprinkles in a biscoff lined cone.

Dreamy cake slices – strawberry Good Humor bar and Oreo – at Little Cupcake Bakeshop.

Brigadero cake and a cappuccino at Padoca Bakery.

Leyenda‘s Candy Striper is a frozen blend of Leblon cachaça, coconut, vanilla, maple, lime, peppermint, and cardamom and it is the single best beverage I have ever put in my mouth.  Every sip was so interesting!

Dinner at the Hi Hi Room.  We started with smashed potatoes with an herb aioli.

Other Half Cream Get the Honey IPA.  <– IPAs brewed with lactose are my favorite

Our reason for being there = hand-cut spaghetti with duck chili, cheddar, and white onion.  I couldn’t get a good photo but it was truly fantastic.

Our apartment complex lost power for several hours on Friday night and we were forced to go out to a super fun dinner on the Upper East Side.  A friend sent me a list of “the best cocktail spots in NYC” and NR definitely earned its spot!

Our favorites were the Japanese whiskey sour (above) with brown sugar, yuzu, and egg white and the Pistachio – dry gin, house-made pistachio cream, campari, and clementine!

We also shared a truffle oil egg salad sandwich.

And I had the hokkaido ramen with chicken, corn, butter, bean sprouts, and extra seaweed.

A home-cooked meal!  Trader Joe’s frozen mahi mahi burgers, steak fries, and roasted baby cauliflower with sumac and smoked paprika.  All dipped in a sauce of honey habanero hot sauce, honey, and mayo.