Birthday Weekend Wrap-Up {I’m 30!}

by Emily

My parents came to visit last weekend and Adam had two full days off so we were able to have lots of family fun. My mom and dad technically didn’t come for my birthday, the dates just worked out, but we spent the weekend doing all of my favorite city things – walking, and eating, and eating while walking! – and hanging out with good childhood friends so it was pretty perfect. And I’m 30 now, whomp, whomp.

Here are some highlights of the best places we walked and things we ate from the weekend…

Thursday night we walked around Williamsburg and had dinner at Pies ‘n Thighs. I had hibiscus iced tea.

And a chicken biscuit with hot sauce and honey butter.

Instead of pie we did dessert at Milk Bar.

Cereal milk soft-serve with cornflakes and hot fudge.

Friday we drove up to Montauk to explore. We checked out the beachfront towns and hiked along this very cool stone pathway near the lighthouse.

We stopped at the Long Island Levain and fell in love with the giant walnut chocolate chip cookies.

And had lunch at Lunch.

The seafood bisque was good.

But lobster rolls were better. They give you a big pile of buttered hot lobster meat and let you assemble your sandwich yourself.

We stopped at a random restaurant late that night on our drive back and ended up having an amazing meal but I have no pictures because I wrongly assumed it would be terrible. Adam and I plan on going back very soon for the flourless chocolate cake (though next time it won’t come with a birthday candle!).

Saturday was spent in Park Slope and Midtown. We started with Doughnut Plant.

Everyone loved their doughnuts (minus the beignets which just aren’t up to Plant standards) but tres leches are clearly the best.

Then trained to Grand Central Station.

Cold brew from Café Grumpy.

We shopped a bit, then explored Chelsea Market and The Highline.

Watermelon juice from Num Pang was refreshing.

And so was the mint seltzer from Brooklyn Soda Works.

We headed back to Brooklyn for dinner. Drinks at Pork Slope, aka my favorite bar. And hibiscus vodka is definitely a favorite drink option.

We got tater tots and spicy chicken nuggets – meh and yum! respectively – for appetizers which was good because I actually hadn’t tried any of the food at PS prior to that.

Dinner was Luke’s for round 2 of lobster rolls.

Best in the city, I think. And they had cans of Downeats, the tasty cider I tried last weekend in Buffalo.

I didn’t take a photo of the maple soft-serve at Corner of Vermont but it was worth a mention.

Sunday was our SoHo/Lower East Side Day.

We started in DUMBO to park near the F train.

And had to get coffees at Brooklyn Roasting Co.

Then we had amazing brunch at Russ & Daughter’s.

My “Lower Sunny Side” came with sunny side up eggs, Nova lox, and latkes.

Ice cream at Morganstern’s.

Omg. Vietnamese coffee and raw milk ice creams topped with fudge sauce and double Luxardo cherries. I assumed everyone would share with me and they did not but I still managed to take this down.

We ended our weekend with dinner at The Smith. The drink menu was on point; my “East Village Passion” had rum, lime, passionfruit, and fresh mint.

We had ridiculously good fried green beans to start.

I saw photos of the mac and cheese on instagram and had no choice to order that for my meal.

With a watermelon and feta salad.

So good. We ordered the s’mores jar for dessert, obviously.

Sadly I didn’t love it, but Adam was more than happy to eat my share. Since he did not eat a giant ice cream after lunch that’s probably fair! We will definitely go back again.

I left some things out because this post is already a bit lengthy, but I seriously did almost everything I love. With the people I love. <– aww!

23Jul2015

Reunited And It Feels So Good

by Emily

I had an absolute blast in Buffalo but this past week I have been so freaking excited to be home with my boys. I usually miss them by the end of my workday so a long weekend away feels like an eternity. I am lucky to have a husband and dachshund who are both so great! {/sap}

breakfast

Black and white coffee.

Or Vanilla Chameleon Cold Brew with chocolate milk and an apple on the side.

Cereal with milk. And blueberries.

Plus Guava Mandarin Polar seltzer.

I lugged that back from Wegman’s in Buffalo and it was so worth it.

Coffee-eee-eee.

Always worth it. I’d be lying if I said my birthday drink freebie wasn’t bringing me a lot of anticipatory joy.

lunch

Asian-ish.

Microwave noodles and roasted seaweed.

Oatmeal bowl.

Chai-spiced oats from Target with maple almond butter on top and 2 black pluots on the side.

Yogurt bowl.

Vanilla Skyr Icelandic yogurt with blueberries, KIND peanut butter granola, and chia seeds. This was so tasty; I need more of that yogurt immediately.

dinner

Adam was at the hospital when I got home on Sunday so we had to turn Monday into date night. He picked me up at work and came bearing red velvet cupcakes.

We went to dinner at East Wind Snack Shop by Prospect Park.

We came in for the foie gras bao, which ended up being only ok. For the cheap price the amount of foie gras was very fair, but I would have rather paid a bit more and gotten a better meat-to-bun ratio.

But my Happy Buddha Vegetables were yummy.

They describe this dish as “jasmine rice, fermented tofu, seasoning, and all sorts of vegetables.” I’m not sure what the green sauce was but it was worth going back for. Then we walked to the theatre (our movie theatre) to see “Ant-Man.” The character development was weak but the movie was still hilarious so we’re glad we went.

I didn’t have time to do a real grocery trip this week so the following two nights were admittedly a little weak. This meal was fine but it’s not winning any prizes.

Cheez-its, leftover roasted veggies that Adam made last week, and a turkey and Havarti cheese sandwich.

This meal was a bit better. It definitely tasted good.

We needed a carbohydrate side so we had beer! Tusker is one of my all-time favorite beers, and pretty much the only lager I enjoy.

With roasted veggies – asparagus, okra, and zucchini – with Applegate chicken nuggets.

A copious amount of ketchup was added after I took that picture.

My parents come to visit tomorrow. And Friday is my birthday. I’m old, but excited!

20Jul2015

Buffalove

by Emily

This weekend some friends and I traveled (many hours!) back to Buffalo for a quick visit. It was fantabulous! We got lucky with good weather, caught up with great friends, and hit up almost every place that we’d been missing. We didn’t take even a single group photo because apparently we’re old, but a good time was had by all.

I didn’t get any people pictures and I didn’t take many food shots either. Here are a few things I did capture…

Mike’s sandwich – a toasted bagel with cheese, cream cheese, and a fried egg – at SPoT Coffee.

Plus we got coffee there every morning because it was roasty and delicious. Clearly I can get amazing coffee in NYC but SPoT is still one of the main places I miss.

Green juice at Ashker’s.

Spinach, kale, cucumber, pineapple, and mint.

Drinks at Blue Monk which now offers 5 oz pours.

Shown is a very tasty Downeast Cider.

Crepes at Sweetness 7.

Mine was topped with syrup and a fried egg.

Hot bar at Wegman’s, of course.

We actually went to Wegman’s twice!

We also went to the Co-op, walked up and down Elmwood Ave, and did a round of lemon drop shots for my upcoming birthday ♥

30Jun2015

Random Ruminations

by Emily

giveaway winner {congrats!}

And the cookbook giveaway winner is… Brittney. Brittney, e-mail me with your mailing info so you can enjoy making your ice creams!

{yummy} weekend eats

Friday breakfast: Americano with milk, string cheese, and an Enzo Bar from Lola Granola.

The bar was amazing; honey, vanilla, and cinnamon oats.

Saturday was a similar deal: Clif dark chocolate peanut butter bar with a clover brew of Starbuck’s Italian roast.

Friday’s dinner – the only dinner I managed to photograph – was boring but good.

Spinach salad with pepitas and roasted green beans dressed with evoo, honey, and lavender salt.

Toasted sourdough turkey sandwich with pepperjack and strawberry jam.

Spicy and sweet always makes the best sandwich.

Stumptown cold brew and fresh cherries for an afternoon snack.

We spotted this Sour Patch slurpee and bought one immediately. It was sour! Neither of us wanted more than a few sips but it was fun to try.

We did a similar maneuver the next day with frozen yogurt.

The salted chocolate chip cookie dough was fantastic! I topped mine with cookie dough (duh!), blondie, mochi, and Nutella.

We ventured into Astoria on Sunday; Sugar Freak for a Louisiana brunch.

That’s a “swamp juice” and it was exactly as disgusting as you’d expect. Maybe even more so actually, you guys know how much I love things that are over the top sweet and even I couldn’t bring myself to take a third sip.

I got a grilled chicken Po’Boy to eat. That, I could finish!

The side salad came with pecan vinaigrette that was the best part of the meal.

Afterwards we stopped by Kinship for coffees like we were just the coolest.

Two thumbs up for the cold brew, Stumptown again.

random facts {about me}

We were glad to have a low-key, boring weekend because 3 out of 4 in July include major plans (including my 30th birthday).

I am so excited about the SCOTUS marriage equality ruling. I got all teary-eyed on the train reading the news. This is definitely the proudest moment America has had so far this decade.

We only have a few old Criminal Minds left and we are pretty devastated about it. But…

Rookie Blues is back!!! My Canadian cop show is the best thing on summer television. I haven’t watched the first episode yet because I’m hoping if I save it for an elliptical session it will lure me back to the gym after a lazy week off.

I finally started reading Tina Fey’s Bossypants and it is just as hilarious and wonderful as I had expected.

I am obsessed with advice columns (Dear Prudence is my favorite!) so I read Dear Abby every morning but I think I need to stop because most of her advice is so terrible that it makes me huffy with anger on my way to work.

Sunday afternoon we went on a date to the Queens County Farm Museum and it was pretty much the best thing ever.

I got to pet the pigs!!! Animals – mostly French Bulldogs and Dachshunds but sometimes pigs – seem to sense my intense, unhealthy love for them and give me lots of petting time. The piggies laid up against the fence so I could really go to town patting their flanks and scratching behind their ears.

Yay! So much fun.

Which farm animal do you most want to cuddle?

22Jun2015

Williamsburg To Washington Square Park

by Emily

Oh my goodness, what a great weekend! Adam and I have been making the most of the summer days, and then some. This weekend we walked around Williamsburg, across the bridge, up to and around Washington Square Park, and back, to the tune of 10+ miles in one afternoon!

When we weren’t moving this weekend, we were eating. Here are some of the highlights…

A fancy-schmancy yogurt bowl. 2% Plum Chobani with two varieties of pluot and a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

The cream was part of a homemade ice cream undertaking (look for more details – and a giveaway! – on Wednesday).

Coffee at Sweetleaf, a Rocket Fuel.

Aka cold brew with milk, maple, and chicory. Chicory blended iced coffees are definitely going to play a big role in my summer.

Espresso and macarons at Bakeshop by Woops.

Kids, this place was so freaking cute. And our cookies were amazing, chocolate and lavender chocolate.

Honey sesame soy milk box.

Adam and I tried to split this but the minute I handed it over to him he guzzled the rest of it down!

Cherry Cola Tic-Tacs.

I am incapable of turning down a cherry cola flavored item. Fun fact – the last two photos were not actually taken in front of the same wall, I just seek out brick whenever I have the option for a photo.

Rice bowls at Korilla. Korilla is basically an Asian Chipotle, but it is at least fifteen times more fantastic.

My bowl had sticky rice, the most amazing gochujang marinated chicken, sweet corn and snap peas, cheese, tons of red kimchi, and spicy but sweet Korean BBQ sauce. Adam’s rice had bacon and kimchi in it and we were both swooning.

We tried the new limited-time offerings at Ample Hills.

The pride month flavor was yummy but we had to throw out the sandwich. I think that Ample Hills generally makes the best ice cream on Earth but those soggy cookies were truly inedible.

A cone from Sundaes and Cones.

Lavender and black sesame were both great; those are flavors that could be kind of overwhelming but they were sweet and light yet still identifiable.

A quick red curry at home.

Rice noodles on the bottom // sautéed bok choy, white mushrooms and straw mushrooms, sweet onion and green onion, and sweet red pepper // sprouted tofu cubes roasted with lime, sugar, Sriracha, and liquid smoke // and red curry sauce with lime, light coconut milk, fish sauce, and minced garlic and ginger.

We both typically say that we don’t like red curries but we loved this so we should give the real version another chance.

Sandwich night on my lonesome while Adam was at work.

I toasted sourdough slices in the oven with Smart Balance Light and pepperjack and sharp cheddar cheese then sandwiched them around canola oil mayo and Applegate Smoked Sliced Turkey.

With roasted green beans on the side.

How are green beans – roasted with cooking spray and salt – so flipping buttery?!

Dinner at The Smoke Joint, our new favorite bbq spot.

They have Mother’s Milk at the bar, which wins them points. Adam’s strawberry vanilla bourbon limeade wasn’t bad either.

Their juicy, tender, chopped bbq chicken comes with a side of pickles and spicy cole slaw.

And their smoky collard greens are meatless, so I got to try real bbq collards for the first time in my life.

I loved them!

If this upcoming week is half as good as my weekend I’ll be all set 🙂

15Jun2015

Mary Moon

by Emily

Another great week came to an end. We are looooving summer around these parts. Amazingly, I got myself up and out of bed by 7 am both Saturday and Sunday and you wouldn’t believe how much time I felt like I had free to play. It was great to get everything I wanted to do done – errands and fun stuff – and still make it to bed at a mature adult hour!