It was a wonderful weekend to kick off the arrival of warmer weather! Saturday Adam and I drove out to Montauk for some beach walking and lobster rolls. And Sunday we checked out Untermeyer Park and Gardens up in Yonkers.
Weekend highlights include…
A sparkling citrus matcha.
A boozy, frozen, coke coffee (coke ice cubes, amaretto, and espresso).
Espresso (plus chocolate milk) from King’s Coast. <– roasty, delicious, and easily the best coffee we’ve had all year
I worked five days through the last weekend, which is just a normal workweek, but something about the Thursday-Monday schedule is exhausting! Hence the late post. Also all the take-out this week in lieu of cooking!
Adam and I both had the weekend nights off and we went on some great dinner dates! And did some wonderful exploring around Bushwick, aka the best street art neighborhood in New York.
Other highlights from the week included…
Wycoff Star quad iced latte, best coffee of the month.
About Time Coffee‘s Summer Breeze – cold brew with tangerine and cola.
Still very into these Barebell protein bars, the vegan ones in particular are delicious and filling.
New favorite, old favorite – Pazzaz apples are crunchy and juicy / the potato chip peanut butter cups are the best candy of all time and I eat at least one a week.
These new cola Sour Patch Kids are delicious too.
A Spring moment – lavender vodka in homemade rose lemonade.
Caffe Panna affogato special – Candy Chaos; candy-studded ice cream, chocolate ice cream, graham crunch, mini Reese’s cups, Rolos, panna, caramel, and espresso.
Dinner at Faro. I had vodka in a great housemade citrus soda with lime, lemon, and orgeat.
Roasted beets with almonds, ricotta, strawberry and vinaigrette / sourdough sesame focaccia.
Adam had pasta with rabbit (yuck) and we shared bucatini with confit chicken, basil, pecorino, and chili flakes and mafalde with braised short rib and chili pangrattato.
We had the “chocolate” for dessert – hazelnuts, chocolate cremeux, olive oil cake, dulce de leche, and cocoa crumble.
We had a wonderful dinner at Piggyback but it was too dark for photographs. The hands-down best dish was the deconstructed pho – fried rolled noodles, choy sum, soy marinated beef, and a concentrated pho broth sauce. We also had this tuna tartare with yuzu soy vinaigrette, Asian pear, and shisho.
A homemade meal! Hedgehog baked tofu with sauce and sautéed bok choy and celery.
It was an absolutely fantastic weekend! We ate tons of good things, had a bunch of time together, and saw some gorgeous signs of spring all around the city. Highlights included… A long, gorgeous walk from Dumbo, across the bridge, around the Seaport, and up through Midtown.
Not surprised that I am into alcoholic seltzers now. My favorite so far have been from Trip and Topo Chico.
We made extra-chocolately brownies and rewatched Empire Records to celebrate Rex Manning Day 2022!
Affogato special from Caffe Panna – caramel and pistachio.
My leftover sesame noodles were even better stir-fried with extra eggs plus green beans and chili crisp.
We had lunch at Empire Diner and it was hands-down the best meal of this year so far.
I had a spicy Bloody Mary with everything bagel seasoning.
And a great cocktail with mezcal and fresh ginger.
Tuna tartar with avocado, ginger cilantro oil, white soy, frizzled shallots, and housemade chips.
I had the pastrami sandwich with melted swiss and horseradish coleslaw on marble rye. It came with the best mustard and the best herb fries I’ve ever tasted.
It was a very tasty week! Adam and I had a weekday off and a few evenings together (woo-hoo!) and we made the most of them. Some of the best highlights included…
I worked six of the last seven days so we’ve eaten a lot of take-out chicken nuggets but also managed to go on a few nice dates! Highlights from the past week include…
Mint pour-over with chocolate sweetened condensed milk.
Drinks and snacks at The Linwood. I had a cocktail with tequila, sage, honey, lime, blood orange, and grapefruit soda.
Plus housemade chips with onion ranch dip.
Caribbean-inspired food at Coastal. My jerk chicken rice bowl was great.
But we were there for the drinks! Like a painkiller made with Soggy Dollar Bar rum (aka rum from the place that invented painkillers).
I also had a lovely drink with vodka, butterfly pea flower, chamomile, guava, pineapple, lemon, and soda.
Homemade chilaquiles with Trader Joe’s guajillo salsa, tortilla chips, shredded chicken, sweet onion, and bell peppers. Topped with sharp cheddar, sour cream, hot sauce, and a fried egg.
We made the best salads. Local lettuce with dijon balsamic dressing / stir-fried/charred snap peas / crunchy mung beans / cheddar / bbq chicken – shredded chicken breast and thighs from the crockpot tossed with homemade bbq sauce and roasted in the oven.
Adam and I had both weekend days off together (!!!) and we ate ALL the things and had a glorious time! Saturday we wandered around Williamsburg, over the bridge, and into the Lower East Side (almost 9 miles!) and Sunday we did a foodie tour loop around Woodside/Elmhurst/Jackson Heights. Some highlights included…
Coffee Booth‘s March special – birthday cake iced latte. I’d like all of my coffees to have an icing swirl!
We tried two different kinds of pandan and coconut pudding. A creamy one from Pata Market.
This strawberry guava alcoholic Topo Chico is basically all of my favorite things in one.
We went to L’Industrie for the first time and now I totally get the hype. Our cheese slice was both crispy and chewy.
Plus we had a lemon cream doughnut.
Miss Lilly‘s jerk chicken was so juicy! With rice and peas and mango chutney.
Fantastic Thai food at Ayada. Thai iced tea and Thai iced coffee.
Green papaya salad with salted egg.
Crab and chicken dumplings in tofu skin.
10/10 chicken pad see ew; wok hei galore.
We made great breakfast for dinner bowls. Hashbrowns, roasted riced cauliflower, soft-scrambled eggs, avocado, heirloom tomatoes and red onion sautéed with butter, sharp cheddar, sour cream, and sweet and spicy jalapenos.
I worked all weekend but we still managed to make/go out for some amazing food in the evenings! It was so cold Sunday night that we refused to walk more than a few blocks but Saturday we had a great time wandering around the Lower East Side and across the Williamsburg Bridge. Highlights include…
A fantastic latte with a giant iced cube from Kodawari.
I made a frozen rum and coke. This was actually the best frozen cocktail I’ve ever had, the texture was perfection. I blended golden rum, amaretto, key lime juice, and frozen coke ice cubes.
We made hedgehog tofu aka crispy pull-apart baked tofu. With this sauce and sautéed celery and bok choy.
Dinner on the Lower East Side. We did veggies/appetizers at one stop and entrees at another! First Fat Choy for baby bok choy and rice rolls with charred scallion, black vinegar, and Chinese broccoli. <– the rice rolls were the best thing we have eaten so far in 2022!
Then Bronson’s Burgers. I went with cheddar, pickles, and crispy onions.
And we got a toasted marshmallow shake.
Dinner at Chela in Park Slope. I quite liked the food and was head over heels for the cocktails. Like the Cosita – mezcal, tequila reposado, guava, grapefruit, lemon, and a spicy rim.
And the Mojito De Mata with white rum, fresh tamarind, lime, saline solution, and burlesque bitters. All mojitos should have tamarind, apparently. We also tried a Movie Night with buttered popcorn fat washed rum, homemade cola syrup, and fresh lime and a margarita with fresh passionfruit!
I got a salad for dinner — watermelon, baby arugula, onions, jicama, queso fresco, peanuts, cilantro vinaigrette, and beef barbacoa.
Eating Chalk 