Tag Archives: restaurant food

High Marks

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Some things from a lovely weekend…

Black sesame frozen coffee. Iced coffee blended with black sesame paste, honey, cinnamon, vanilla extract, vanilla protein powder, and skim milk.

Pistachio chocolate frozen coffee. Iced coffee blended with Javy, pistachio paste, brown sugar, vanilla extract, chocolate protein powder, cocoa powder, and skim milk.

I am obviously a sucker for seasonal releases but this grapefruit and blossom Red Bull did taste like a Squirt soda!

The maple cruller from Daily Provisions is my favorite doughnut in NYC.

We loved two new (to us) treats at Win Son Bakery – a fermented red rice donut and a vanilla cream bun.

11/10 brunch at Marks off Madison. We shared the smoked fish platter with bagels, veggie cream cheese and scallion cream cheese, tomato and red onion, whitefish salad, house-cured lox, sable, and Nova.

Dinner at Ammazzacaffe. We thought everything here was great, down to the free bread and olives.

My cocktail was so cute; Spill the Tea, green tea infused vodka, elderflower, St. Germain, yuzu, amaro, and prosecco.

We shared two pastas and two entrees. Spinach gemelli with maitake mushrooms and goat cheese and the special – beet mezzaluna with roasted beef and ricotta.

Braised lamb shoulder with beans, brodo, carrots, and pistachio gremolata.

The best dish of the meal was the pastrami short bread with roasted cabbage, rye strata, pickles, dill, and Russian dressing.

Not So Little

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The bitter cold this weekend couldn’t stop us from having absolutely fantastic New York days! We ran a bunch of errands, spent an evening in Brooklyn (complete with unphotographed frozen pina coladas!), and spent Sunday walking around the East Village/Lower East Side. Things…

I’ve been eyeing the black and white cookie latte from Zaro’s for months and finally caved — too sweet but still tasty.

Humble Cafe is our favorite Long Island coffee. This was a wonderful latte with ube and white chocolate.

Even better – the cà phê sữa đá with salted cold foam from Le Gaz.

Cinnamon rolls from the new Sunday Morning. We tried guava cheese and pistachio. The toppings were tasty but the buns were weak – we were underwhelmed for the price/wait time.

Dinner at Little Grenjai was our best meal of the year so far! I don’t remember what was in this mimosa but it was nice and refreshing.

Crab rangoons.

Pad Thai with shrimp. This was tamarind-forward in a lovely way.

Drunken Noodles with confit duck. These were some of the best (read: marshmallowy) broad rice noodles I’ve eaten. And there were fresh green Sichuan peppercorns!

Braised short ribs in a Massaman curry sauce. Super tender and wonderful.

Pandan cream pie.

Lunch at Little Kirin was also a 10/10. We shared the Pho Sandwich – slow-braised beef, onions, scallions, cilantro, Thai basil, jalapeno, crispy shallots, and hoisin on ciabatta with pho broth on the side for dipping. Plus the crispiest tater tots.

Long/Mom Weekend

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My mom was in New York this weekend! She came up to see our condo and celebrate her birthday next weekend. We had a fabulous time and did all sorts of NYC things like – admiring the ceiling at Grand Central Station / admiring the ceiling at Albertine Bookstore / admiring the ceiling at Chelsea Market / admiring the snow in Central Park / shopping in Greenpoint / getting a flight of fruity milkshake beers at Evil Twin.

Here were some food highlights…

Morning coffees at home with this power duo (brown butter cookie cold foam!!?).

Egg foam Vietnamese coffee from Larry’s Ca Phe.


Brunch at Empire Dinner. The roasted broccolini was a standout. And I had the perfect bite of mac and cheese, egg yolk, and Calabrian chili.

Luke’s Lobster roll flight with original, honey butter, and truffle.

Tofu sandwich with cabbage, scallion tahini sauce, and chili crisp from Radio Bakery.

Tuna melt slider at Twenty Grams Cafe.

The best dinner at Hellbender. We ended with every dessert on the menu (chocolate mousse, churros, coffee tres leches, strawberry chamoy jello).

(C)how Fun

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Fun eats from the past week…

A coffee date at Quhwah House. I got an iced Yemeni latte (great in theory but I ultimately am just not a ginger in coffee fan) and we shared a yummy creamy pistachio dessert.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this Cafe Bustelo coffee. Not as good as brewing their coffee myself but the best pre-made coffee I’ve tried.

Snack plate – olive oil and za’atar labne, baby carrots, and corn fritters (we got bar food one night!).

I went to J-Mart for fresh noodles and scored in their amazing snack isle – these Sichuan pepper chips were fantastic.

Drinks and desserts at Whisk and Whiskey. We really enjoyed this spot and want to go back ASAP.

We made Hummingbird High’s best ever banana bread recipe.

I, of course, ate some cubed in a yogurt bowl with blueberries.

And, of course, I toasted thick slices to be the B in BEC (banana bread, soft-scrambled eggs, extra-sharp cheddar). Served with blueberries and roasted green beans.

Another fun dinner I made was Leah Cohen’s recipe for Chow Fun! With baked chicken subbed in for beef and roasted zucchini subbed in for bean sprouts. It was delicious.

Big salads. Romaine / cucumber / balsamic vinaigrette / roasted pumfu (pumpkin seed tofu) / crispy rice (leftover black rice roasted with soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili crisp).

Best meal of the week = Bricolage. We’ve loved this Vietnamese spot for years. Their take on coquito blew me away – Ten to One dark rum, house-made creamy coconut spice blend, and Chinese cardamom. I also had a great Vietnamese Espresso Martini – Grainger’s vodka, chicory infused coffee, condensed milk, and five spice coffee garnish.

Mushroom ginger congee with lemongrass tofu.

Five spice roasted honey nut squash with maple gastrique and a kale cauliflower cous cous salad.

Hawker broad noodles – fresh flat rice noodles, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese broccoli, cherry tomato, peanuts, crispy shallots, and spiced soy three-bean peanut sauce.

Caramelized shrimp pot – Gulf shrimp, baby bok choy, onion, cherry tomato, and scallions in a caramel-chili sauce. This is my favorite dish on the menu!

Ube-tter Believe It

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The weather warmed up enough this weekend that a long Manhattan walk was actually enjoyable! We traveled Grand Central to Essex Market and back with some great stops along the way. Also some fun in the other boroughs on Sunday. Weekend highlights…

Fern and Aurora. Filipino bakery in Queens. We got a fun assortment – ube butter mochi, a strawberry cream doughnut, and a calamansi meringue tart. Plus a great iced coffee with ube cold foam.

La La Bakeshop. We were super impressed this new East Village Vietnamese dessert spot. Taro lava bun.

And a wonderful pandan foam Vietnamese iced latte.

Noona’s. Asian-inspired ice cream in the East Village and now our favorite ice cream in NYC. If anyone remembers Ice and Vice the vibes were similar. We got banana bread mochi ice cream topped with mochi and black sesame and swooned. I also housed a slice of yuzu poppy cake with strawberry jam.

Super Bueno. I don’t know how we keep getting lucky with walk-in seats here but they make our favorite drinks in the city. Salted plum and tamarind milk punch. (My unphotographed vodka y soda with guava and pasilla is the best thing on the menu.

Milu. This is hands-down our favorite fast casual spot. We shared a great lunch. Soy-roasted chicken bowl with rice, ginger scallion sauce, and charred broccoli.

Egg yolk fries. They came with a creamy scallion sauce that was the best bite on the table.

Plus a Yuzu Palmer with jasmine flower and lime.

Dhamaka. Indian in Essex Market. The service was great but the lighting was not photo-friendly. My Bombay Blues cocktail on fire when it arrived at the table! Indian rum, basil eau de vie, cultured coconut, pineapple, genepy, celery, lime, blue spirulina, and ajwain.

Kashmiri Gosht Chaamp – lamb loin with garam masala and ghee. This was my favorite dish of the night.

The paratha was Adam’s favorite. So buttery!

House-made paneer with ajwain and yogurt.

We shared two entrees. Malai Murgh – young chicken with cream and Amul butter.

Rara Gosht – goat meat and mince with yogurt, onions, and garam masala. It is rare to find goat in the states so this was a treat.

P.S. Tonight we have fun dinner reservations at Residence of Mr. Moto. I’m carrying a small/camera-free purse but I will definitely be ordering the Aka bowl!

With Crab On Top

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We had a wonderful weekend. NYC weather warmed up enough for some city walks and we were able to enjoy (many!) iced coffees. Highlights…

Blue Bottle‘s current Nola special is cinnamon, honey, and vanilla.

Meanwhile Elk Coffee‘s special had condensed milk, butterscotch, and cinnamon!

Enly Coffee‘s viral tiramisu latte.

Iced lattes from Humble Cafe. Pandan and guava with brown sugar. We love this spot.

This blueberry coconut water tasted exactly the way I hoped it would.

I 100% get the hype around the new Hani’s Bakery. We tried a cinnamon roll and a rice krispie treat with pistachio and halvah and both were perfectly executed.

Finally tried PopUp Bagels now that we have a location out in Roslyn Long Island. We got poppy, everything, and sesame with scallion cream cheese and white fish salad. These were quite good – and we loved the toppings – but I wouldn’t call them the best bagels in NYC (I am La Bagel Delight loyal).

Finally tried Fini Pizza. Again, very good – nice chew and the white slice was rich and decadent – but not the best pizza in NYC (L’Industrie).

Italian Food at Ci Siamo. We started and peaked with the focaccia – the center was chewy yet fluffy and the crust was shatteringly crisp. We also thought the tomato conserve was just lovely.

The caramelized onion torta was also great.

Mandilli with guinea hen sausage, pecorino, and dandelion greens and cavatelli with crab, chili, and vermouth.

Lemon torta with olive oil and fantastic meringue was a perfect ending. Adam loved the chocolate budino.

Chinese Food at Antidote. I loved the Fei-Hong Fries with peanuts and lots of Sichuan chili pepper; they were so crispy! Suntory Story in the background – jasmine green tea infused Roku Gin, Haku Vodka, kumquat lemon, honey, and garnished with salted plum.

Garlic boy choy.

Tea-smoked duck fried rice.

Soft tofu with salted egg yolk and crab. This was our favorite dish; it was divine on the fried rice.

Oodles

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Two down! Some highlights from a tasty week…

This week’s coffee was Madrinas’ cheesecake instant cold brew. The flavor was nice (not artificial tasting) and it mixed easily but this was a bit sweet for me; I liked it best mixed with half water and half black coffee.

Peanut butter cup protein cookie yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with chocolate protein powder, chunky peanut butter, brown sugar, and chocolate chips.

One of my best yogurt bowls in recent memory – plain Greek with granola, blueberries, and a perfect persimmon.

Lobster sandwich sushi from Iavarone Brothers. I was underwhelmed by their pizza but the sushi counter was a nice find.

Trader Joe’s spinach and artichoke dip / a take on baba ganoush (roasted eggplant with Greek yogurt, evoo, black sesame paste, lemon, garlic, salt, and sumac) / Simple Mills garlic and herb seed flour crackers.

Chinese take-out in bulk. Beef and broccoli / General Tso’s chicken / veggie lo mein / crab rangoon / and veggie dumplings.

Zoodle/noodle bowls. Ramen noodles, spiralized zucchini, roasted sprouted tofu, scallions, and garlic sauteed with this sauce.

Kale Caesar salad for the win. Kale massaged with evoo, lemon, and salt / roasted cruciferous crunch veggie mix / parmesan cheese / Trader Joe’s frozen chicken nuggets / homemade pretzel bread croutons / homemade dressing (in the food processor – Greek yogurt, mayo, dijon, evoo, lemon juice, garlic, capers, black pepper, anchovies, and parmesan).

Goodbye, 2024

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How is it 2025 TOMORROW??! This year was a great one for us but it flew by. We ended our 2024 with a visit from Adam’s family – it was our nieces’ 1st time in Manhattan to see the tree and the 5th Avenue displays. My big plans for tonight are to hopefully be asleep before the ball drops!

Some final highlights…

Peanut butter cup frozen coffee. Iced coffee blended with skim milk, peanut butter, and chocolate protein powder.

Tropical smoothie – frozen mango, pineapple, and cherries with vanilla protein powder, hibiscus powder, and water.

Snickerdoodle protein yogurt bowl – plain Greek with vanilla protein powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cinnamon extract. And blueberries.

We went to the M&M’s store with our family (never ever again) and snagged some of the new peanut butter and jelly ones. We liked them but would like them better if the jelly was a separate layer (this is a fruity-flavored peanut butter).

A lovely dinner with the family at Roberta’s. Highlights were the housemade bread with stracciatella, oxtail lasagna, and pizza with mushrooms and pickled onions.

An even better dinner at Il Gufo. I only took one photo but we will definitely be back to take more! The tiramisu was wonderful, we loved the wood-fired pizza, and this was gnocchi with creamy pesto.

We went fancy and decadent for our 2nd to last dinner – homemade crab rangoon twice baked potatoes! Baked Russet potatoes that I re-stuffed with fresh crab meat, cream cheese, Kewpie mayo, butter, Sriracha, sweet chili sauce, green onion, salt, white pepper, and shredded cheese. Baked with tons more cheese on top. Plus we had roasted cauliflower.