We spent the weekend doing all of my favorite things in celebration of my birthday! That included long Brooklyn walks, a trip to Caffe Panna, a trip to Evil Twin, and a run on the boardwalk!
Elder Greene‘s Cherry Bomb – tequila, muddled luxardo cherries, amaretto, agave, and lime juice. Sadly we do not love their burger anymore.
Chuko Ramen‘s kale salad. With raisins, miso, and fried kale! And their ramen is this the best in the city.
Rolo’s cheeseburger. The best in the city! But honestly the wood-fired polenta bread and stracciatella cheese gave it a run for its money. This whole meal was fantastic; my favorite of the year!
These Smash Bites are hard to find but they are a great snack. This flavor – peanut butter and concord grape jam) is my favorite.
Plain skyr with blueberries, blackberries, and homemade meyer lemon curd.
Homemade amaretto sours! I used meyer lemons, rose syrup, and added vodka.
Homemade cinnamon brownies with crumb cake topping. I left the eggs out of the batter like an idiot but they were still quite good.
We got For Five vodka pasta over the weekend and it was both surprisingly good and surprisingly good reheated.
Congee (brown rice cooked slowly with chicken broth, ginger, and white pepper) topped with a take on Thai basil turkey (ground turkey sauteed with dark soy sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, onion, and basil) with a fried egg and some crunchy chili flakes. Plus roasted purple cauliflower.
Sesame herb salads. Raw cabbage, boy choy, green onions, red bell pepper, poblano pepper, Fresno chili, and cilantro / dressed with sesame oil, lime juice, yuzu ponzu, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and Sriracha / with baked chicken, Whole Food’s sesame seaweed cashews, and sesame seeds.
Peanut butter red curry noodles. Brown rice Pad Thai noodles / baked extra-firm tofu / sauteed cabbage, bok choy, spinach, green onion, and cilantro with white pepper and rice vinegar / sauce – peanut butter, red curry paste, lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, and water.
It is my birthday month so I, of course, opened my stash of birthday cake coffee concentrates.
Trader Joe’s sparkling matcha lemonade. Not too sweet but the flavor was weak.
Fruity candies. The freeze-dried orange slices were okay (good texture but the flavor was off) but we loved the strawberry gummy assortment from Trader Joe’s.
We are head over heels for protein peanut butter cups this week. 2 tablespoons of peanut butter mixed with 1 Tbsp malted milk powder, 1 Tbsp vanilla protein powder (for texture), 1 Tbsp total maple and/or honey, and a pinch of salt; topped with chocolate shell.
Summer salad! Heirloom tomatoes with plum, peach, nectarine, pan-fried paneer, and crispy roasted chickpeas, topped with salt, chili oil, honey, and balsamic vinegar.
We paired our mostly fruit salad with a side of roasted romanesco, which was delicious.
This meal was a watery fail and I am blogging it to remind myself not to put cold silken tofu on top of dumplings again. Silken tofu / pan-fried Trader Joe’s Thai shrimp gyoza / celery and green onion sauteed with garlic, Sichuan pepper, and white pepper / homemade dumpling sauce – rice vinegar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, chili oil, sugar, sesame seeds, green onion, and chopped smoked almonds.
BBQ plates. Mashed potato salad (we overcooked our potatoes so we leaned into the mashed vibe and made them extra creamy) with celery and cornichon pickles, dressed with plain Skyr, Duke’s mayo, Dijon mustard, pickle brine, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Turkey meatballs with panade, egg, ranch seasoning, bbq sauce, and shredded sharp cheddar. And roasted green beans.
I don’t know what to call this bowl but the combination worked! Roasted zucchini and orange sweet potato topped with pan-fried paneer and tempeh sauced with Dijon, rice vinegar, and apricot jam.
Completely unintentionally, the bulk of what I have to share from this weekend is coconut iced coffees. I’m not mad about it. The highlights…
New York Beanery‘s seasonal special – Moonbeam Iced Latte – coconut-infused espresso with coconut sweet cream and marshmallows.
See also – Cholita‘s Cocada – espresso with oat milk, sweetened condensed milk, and coconut.
Finally, we had brunch at Hellbender and I had a coconut shakerato. And a spicy Bloody Maria!
Hellbender is one of our favorite restaurants in the city and this was our first time trying their new brunch menu so we shared a bunch of things. Crispy lamb taco with avocado salsa, onion, and cilantro. 10/10.
Soft scrambled egg tostada with black beans, cheddar cheese, salsa macha, and sesame. This was my favorite dish of the meal. Plus chorizo-spiced crispy potatoes.
We didn’t love our heirloom masa pancakes because they tasted a bit burnt but if the edges weren’t overdone I could see this being fantastic.
Jell-o flavor of the day for dessert – coconut lime. Definitely the best jell-o I’ve ever eaten.
I find Chip City hit or miss but I was a fan of the oatmeal cream thinwich.
Chicken and waffle fries! Waffle fries with sharp cheddar, maple syrup, crispy chicken, and a crispy Whole Food’s Belgium waffle.
Plus a jumbo salad for balance – romaine with Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing, baby tomatoes, cucumber salad (thinly sliced cucumbers with sugar, salt, and togarashi), raisins, and smoked almonds.
No post from me last week because we were on vacation! On a cruise!! In Alaska!!! It was a great trip and we had a fabulous time. We saw two glaciers and tons of animals (including but not limited to whales, dolphins, sealions, and orcas!).
Here were the highlights this week back at home, mostly things that scream *SUMMER!*…
Watermelon cotton candy. The texture of this Charms brand was perfection.
S’mores-y things. I also opened my very last bag of Ben & Jerry’s s’mores cookie dough bites!
Summer-flavored energy drinks and seltzers.
We tried the Shake Shake Dubai chocolate shake. Our location’s chocolate shell was not successful/crackable. I thought it was good but needed way more chocolate.
Before we got groceries we got giant take-out salads from Guac Shop. Mine had romaine (with honey mustard dressing added at home), fajita veggies, corn, cabbage, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, pico de gallo, mango salsa, roasted tofu, shredded cheese, and crispy tortilla strips.
Esquites-style pasta. Brown rice udon / roasted super-firm tofu / garlic sauteed spinach / and a loose take on esquites – fresh corn sauteed with poblano pepper, green onion, cotija cheese, Duke’s mayo, lime, gochugaru, and salt and pepper.
BBQ chicken salad. Baked chicken, corn, poblano pepper, green onion, sweet gherkin pickles, smoked almonds, and bbq kettle chips dressed with a mix of plain skyr, Dukes, Dijon, and Whole Food’s Memphis-style bbq sauce. Plus green beans (steamed then sauteed with mustard, honey, and chili crisp).
This pistachio butter was perfect in an iced latte.
Also in an ice cream sundae! Jeni’s darkest chocolate with pistachio butter, Heritage Flakes, and Trader Joe’s chocolate shell.
Yogurt bowl – plain Greek with blueberries and tons of fresh passionfruit.
We did not care for this Trader Joes tarragon chicken salad wrap. The flavor was hollow; we split it and neither of us wanted to finish our half.
But I did quite enjoy their packaged southwest salad.
We got take-out from the Burger Spot for the 1st time so we ordered a bunch of things to try — Country Veggie salad – chopped kale, cabbage, avocado, cucumbers, cranberries, red onion, and a homemade veggie patty with cilantro ranch dressing / fries and onion rings (their sauces were all a 10/10!) / chicken parm sandwich – chicken fillet with marinara and mozzarella on ciabatta / and the special chicken burger with pickled jalapenos, pickles, coleslaw, cheddar, and bourbon sauce. We will be back!
We also had a shockingly good meal at Little Beet – herby rice with charred broccoli, smoky maple carrots (some of the best vegetables I’ve ever eaten!), baked tofu, and chimichurri.
Savory oatmeal bowl. Trader Joe’s rolled oats with ancient grains and seeds / frozen broccoli sauteed with gochujang, ginger, fish sauce, and gouda / fried egg / chili crisp.
Dessert-y yogurt bowl – plain skyr with Trader Joe’s chocolate shell, crunchy peanut butter, cookie dough granola, and tons of blueberries.
We both love those these Whole Food’s sour citrus slice candies.
Dinner at Blackbird. The food was great, the lighting was not. Among other things we had a wonderful salad with medjool dates, almonds, pecarino, and a mustard vinaigrette. And homemade pasta with short-rib ragu!
Sourdough pasta with food-processed roasted bell pepper, green onion, jarred piquante peppers, evoo, and walnuts. Plus cheese. And roasted cauliflower on the side.
Potato hash with poblano peppers, bell peppers, green onion, urfa, and gochugaru. Plus roasted Chinese eggplants with a spicy peanut sauce (peanut butter, gochujang, rice vinegar, dark soy sauce, white sugar, and water) and sesame seeds.
We did breakfasts for dinners this week. Here was everything I ate on theme…
Coffee, obviously. Sweetie Pies on Main makes some of our favorite lattes in Long Island. These specials were crazy – tres leches and tiramisu!
Cereal [milk latte]. Espresso plus skim milk I infused overnight with Cocoa Pebbles.
Orange juice. I wanted to be on-theme but I hate juice so we made cocktails. OJ with vodka and amaretto plus a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some Target rainbow sherbet seltzer.
Smoothie. Blueberry pancake smoothie. Frozen blueberries blended with cottage cheese, butter extract, maple syrup, vanilla protein powder, malted milk powder, and water.
Blueberry muffins. I think these protein mini muffins are disgusting in a delightful way.
Yogurt bowl, obviously. This was plain Greek with blueberries, blackberries, and cookie dough granola.
Egg and cheese biscuit. Hometown Bakeshop‘s build-your-own breakfast sandwich. We got a cheddar biscuit with two over-medium eggs, cheddar-jack cheese, caramelized onions, and smoked aioli.
Avocado toast. Whole-wheat bread toasted with butter topped with smashed avocado (with lemon, salt, and gochugaru) and cold-smoked sockeye salmon. Plus sauteed purple asparagus.
Cottage cheese bowls. Topped with cucumber salad (sesame seeds, gochugaru, rice vinegar, and sugar) and baked chicken meatballs (panade, hoisin, gochujang, oyster sauce, and white pepper). I ate several meatballs before they could make it to my bowl!
Oatmeal. Trader Joe’s rolled oats with ancient grains and seeds – 10/10, it is perfect out of the microwave – topped with a fried egg, chopped baby broccoli sauteed with lemon and garlic, spicy caramelized peanuts (sugar, salt, white pepper, evoo, gochugaru, and togarashi), and chili crisp.
Bacon, egg, and cheese bagel salad. This was my best idea of the week. Arugula dressed with garlic Dijon dressing and horseradish Sriracha aioli / sharp cheddar / beef bacon / homemade bagel croutons (Bagel Joint sesame gochujang bagel tossed with evoo, salt, white pepper, and gochugaru and baked) / six-minute eggs.
Eating Chalk 