Everything But

by Emily

Adam and I had a ton of time together this week, which is just the best. We both had time off in the day on Monday and Wednesday and we liked our date so much on Monday – breakfast at Winner, a walk through Prospect Park, and lunch at Ix Restaurant – that we did the exact same things in reverse on Wednesday!

Prospect Park was an iced-over death trap but it was my absolute favorite activity of the week because we got to see swans.

Highlights from the week include…

Lots of fun in coffee. I enjoyed these new Cokes with coffee exactly as much as I thought I would.

This Trader Joe’s instant cold brew is weak on it’s own but it can total save a not-great cup of coffee.

Coffee-flavored Nutrament with a canned Stumptown.

Fancy lattes from Brooklyn Perk, mine was made with rose.

Winner’s sourdough croissant was a total win.

Meal 1 at Ix. Corn thickened Champurrado hot chocolate.

I had the kimchi soup with chicken, noodles, and poached eggs.

Meal 2 at Ix. Hot chocolate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Chips with bean dip and crazy-good housemade hot sauce.

Corn with cotija cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and chile.

Caldo Tlalpeno Rojo – soup with chicken, tomato, garlic, onion, peas, chickpeas, corn, achiote, chipotle, Oaxaca cheese, and tortilla strips.

Ciao, Gloria blew our minds with their lemoncello pistachio bars. Also we had an unphotographed housemade Oreo that was the best cookie I’ve ever eaten.

Trader Joe’s smoked salmon dip is a household favorite.

Leftover Thai green beans with soft-scrambled eggs, vegetarian pork floss, and chili oil.

Homemade taco bowls. Brown basmati rice / ground turkey / sharp cheddar / sautéed orange and yellow bell pepper and onion.

Sheet-pan shrimp fried rice.

Loxchos(!!) with roasted brussel sprouts. Trader Joe’s everything bagel seasoning chips with swiss and Gruyere, hot-smoked salmon, and green onion.

Take-out dinner from Winner, plus roasted zucchini. We split a smoked chicken salad sandwich and a grilled cheese with cheddar, provolone, and romesco sauce on sourdough.

Plus a malted flour chocolate chip cookie.

15Feb2021

Imperial Marshmallow

by Emily

Valentine’s Day weekend highlights…

Adam surprised me with a tres leches old fashioned doughnut from Comfortland, i.e., the perfect gift!

We had some crazy good beers. Prairie Artisan Ales Millennial Mansion – imperial sour ale with orange peel, lemon peel, lime, blueberry, cherry, and marshmallow (11/10). Interboro Swoon Units – imperial gose with blackberry, blueberry, lemon, marshmallow, and vanilla salt (9/10).

We got a ton of Chinese take-out. Chicken fried rice, crispy noodles with shredded chicken, garlic baby bok choy, stir-fried string beans, and taro puffs. Plus we had housemade soy milk!

I made a ridiculous take on okonomiyaki with turkey pepperoni and sharp cheddar. The million toppings make it – Kewpie, Sriracha, furikake, and Nowon’s chili oil.

5Feb2021

Take Me Out

by Emily

It was a take-out heavy week and subsequently we ate some really amazing things! Highlights from the week included…

787 Coffee with sweetened condensed milk.

We retried the cola coffee with great success – espresso, Coke, and scm. Yes, I am furiously looking to get my hands on the newly released cans of Coke with coffee.

One of Adam’s friends delivered us amazing nutella, sea salt caramel brownies.

I obviously crumbled one into plain skyr with some berries and cinnamon.

Chicken nuggets with frozen broccoli wok-sauteed with honey mustard and pickled onions.

Plus a broccoli beer! Other Half double dry hopped IPA.

We ordered a ton of Thai take-out. This was basil fried rice, cashew chicken, and string beans.

Plus the hazy milkshake IPA that Sixpoint clearly brewed just for me!

We checked out Roberta’s new classic burger joint. <– Best! Fries!! Ever!!!

And obviously brought home pizza too. Romaine salad with garlic bread crumbs, dill, mint, and pecorino // Lil’ Stinker – tomato, mozzarella, parmigiano, pecorino, double garlic, onion, pepperoncini // Cheesus Christ – mozzarella, taleggio, parmigiano, black pepper, and cream.

Plus a cup of roasted banana pudding with dulce de leche and espresso wafers.

1Feb2021

Winner Winner

by Emily

The highlights from this last weekend were all chicken dinners.

Homemade curried chicken salad with smoked almonds, yellow raisins, and celery with baby yellow tomatoes. This meal was as tasty as it was orange.

Venezuelan take-out from White Maize. I got a sweet corn pancake stuffed with cheese and shredded chicken.

And we got a Papelon (raw sugar limeade) to make amaretto sours out of.

Plus we picked up ice cream from Malia while we waited for our food – spiced peanut crunch and rose with roasted cinnamon almonds.

The Whole Food’s buffalo chicken pizza is the best pizza (meal??) in New York City.

29Jan2021

Crisp

by Emily

I bookended this week with two weekends in a row at work which meant I had Tuesday-Wednesday off and it was just lovely. New York has been too cold for venturing into the city to sound appealing but I did read two books and finish watching Schitt’s Creek!

Food highlights included…

We tried two new apple varieties. Evercrisp > Cosmic Crisp.

We also tried two great, new-to-us gummy candies. The Sour Patch Kids are officially my all-time-favorite cola candy.

An Irish-cream cold brew (enjoyed this far more I was expecting too!) plus espresso-spiked s’mores.

A sweet and spicy mango cocktail.

We found our new favorite Chinese take-out spot and tried a bunch of dishes. Garlic baby bok choy / spicy crispy chicken / rice cakes with cabbage and shredded chicken / scallion pancakes.

One set of ingredients cooked two different ways. First eggs soft-scrambled with maple-smoked cheddar with chicken breakfast sausages and kale sautéed with tons of garlic and gojuchang.

Then all of the above baked into an egg casserole. Plus leftover scallion pancakes. This was the best meal of the week!

8Jan2021

Hot Dog

by Emily

It’s always odd as a blogger when the newest horrifying thing happens in America – it feels strange not to talk about it but at the same time there are so many (smarter, more informed) people already talking that it also feels strange to add my voice to the mix. I’ve been reminding myself that Wednesday was the darkest day of 2021 but it was also the brightest — two extraordinary men made history claiming Senate seats in Georgia and the majority for Senate Democrats! Also, this story about Senate aides saving the Electoral College votes as they evacuated makes me cry every time I think about it.

Some highlights from my personal life included…

The best drink: Quad shot, skim milk, add ice, Australian iced coffee from Bluestone Lane. Not going to lie, I had some form of ice cream every day this week.

The best lunch: Brazilian food from Berimbau. We started with a passion fruit caipirinha and Brazilian cheese bread.

Skirt steak with tomatoes, red onion, and yucca fries. My dish was the best thing we had, the stewed tomatoes were amazing.

Brigadeiro for dessert.

The best dinner: Vegan hot dogs with ketchup/yellow mustard/relish on a brioche bun + potato chips + wok stir-fried green beans with chili crisp. This whole meal was wonderful but the green beans were definitely the best vegetable I’ve ever made at home.

The best dessert: The maple cruller from Doughnut Project. Easily the best dessert we’ve ever eaten in NYC. We racked our brains and decided the only thing we’ve ever enjoyed more was the Italian meringue from The Girl and the Fig.

29Dec2020

Merry And Bright

by Emily

Last week was great, and filled with great eats. It worked out that I was off from work most of the week, which was just lovely! And Adam and I were both home together for Christmas, which has rarely happened in our marriage. The absolute best part of the week was walking around Manhattan (8 miles!) admiring holiday decorations and checking out the Rockefeller tree – – it was impossible to capture in a photo but even in the daytime the lights were stunning.

Other highlights included…

We obviously had to buy both of these eggnogs to do a comparison taste-test (premium was a bit better!).

Christmas morning dalgona coffee with eggnog.

Max Brenner‘s peanut butter hot chocolate blew our minds.

Trader Joe’s peppermint mini marshmallows are great.

And we loved this peppermint seltzer.

Birthday cake scone from Sweetie Pies on Main. We went out to Cold Spring Harbor to admire their decorations. And yes, we do have a car tree.

This snowball doughnut from Comfortland was insane. It was coated in coconut and stuffed with marshmallow cream.

Plain Greek yogurt bowl with banana, chocolate cashew butter, and cinnamon.

Very impressed with this vegan jerky.

I’ve had my eye on this salmon candy spread for months and it did not disappoint. Paired wonderfully with everything-style crackers.

Still very into this frozen meal. Also fresh mandarin oranges.

Best meal I’ve ever made – crockpot five spice chicken thighs / celery, bok choy, and scallions / rice cakes / gojuchang brown sugar sauce. Topped with chili crisp.

We broiled the leftovers with mozzarella cheese and it somehow got even better.

The best meal we’ve ever eaten came from Milu. Mandarin duck with duck fat rice and marinated cucumbers / brisket with chili garlic mint sauce and tofu seaweed salad / chili crisp fried chicken with scallion mayo. Plus egg tart soft-serve. Every single bite was swoonworthy.

A roasted sheet-pan meal with brussel sprouts, cave aged blue cheese, turkey sausage, dried sweet cherries, yellow raisins, and sweet and spicy pecans.

Soft-scrambled eggs with roasted broccoli rabe and purple cauliflower, cucumber salad, and hot-smoked salmon.

21Dec2020

Can’t (Co)Quit(o)

by Emily

The last week has been pretty wonderful; we made it through the first winter storm unscathed and I’ve officially eaten all of the on-theme holiday things I was excited about for this year!

Highlights included…

787‘s iced coquito latte won our hearts as our favorite coffee of the year! So thick and wonderfully spiced and just sweet enough! We also had a fantastic marzipan latte.

We tried, and loved, the new-ish Fan Fan Doughnuts.

Strawberry jam filled / salted brown butter caramel glazed / pecan hawaij sticky bun.

Lunch at Nowon. I thought I didn’t like soju but this Tiger Bomb cocktail with jasmine, yuja citron, and mint syrup changed my mind.

I kept warm with Fire Chicken – spicy chicken with cabbage, rice cakes, and mozarella.

And lost my mind for the honey butter tater tots with labneh and seaweed.

Checking out Leyenda‘s Sleyenda decorations is our favorite holiday tradition and this year’s outdoor set up did not disappoint.

I had a Coquito Ho Ho – tequilla, sherry, coconut liquor, and coconut with cinnamon and egg.

And a Candy Striper which was hands-down our favorite cocktail/beverage of the year. I said at least ten times “this drink is making me so happy!” It’s a frozen blend of cachaça, coconut, vanilla, maple, lime, peppermint, and cardamom.