Tag Archives: sandwich

Sips, Sweets, Sandwiches

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It was another great weekend! We stayed local this time, but enjoyed longish walks in Manhattan and Brooklyn. And shared so many sweet treats and sweet treat drinks! I considered including slushes in the title! Like I said, a great weekend! Highlights…

Bean Monger ube biko iced latte.

Moon Coffee Lab salted caramel iced latte with banana milk. Banana is the best coffee milk.

Levain cookie milk iced latte. The cold foam was delicious but my favorite part was the espresso; I had never tried coffee from here before but I definitely will get it again!

The very best coffee of the weekend came from Smiley Coffee – espresso with coconut slushie.

We happened across a street fair that had red sorrel. The spot was serving it with mint which was lovely.

Speaking of things that tasted like home, this soursop infused coconut water was nice and not too sweet.

Tender Crush frozen Diet Coke with vanilla soft serve!

Red Gate Bakery Fudgenutter cookie.

Comfortland + Donut Diva never miss; this guava cheese Linzer tart was exceptional

Perfect frozen drinks at Antojitos BK. 2nd best texture in the city (only beaten by Connolly’s). We had an espresso martini and a Nutcracker.

Sandwich Board duck tsangwich was a 10/10 – bolo bao with roast duck, crispy duck skin, cucumber, scallion, hoisin sauce, and house chili oil.

We didn’t love our ribeye sandwich at Sanwits.

But my Halo Halo was excellent. Not exactly what I am usually used to but so creamy and I loved the caramelized plantain.

We were blown away by our meal at La Fleur Rouge. Really thoughtful, beautiful dishes in a great environment. Guava Plum – tequilla Empirical Ayuuk, pink guava, plum, and salt.

Peking duck bao.

Morel duck soup.

Crispy Chinese eggplant with pineapple, bell pepper, and sweet and sour. These were a can’t miss.

The cheeseburger, which came with pickled cucumbers and seasoned fries. This sounds mean but it is in fact the highest compliment — this tasted exactly like the breakfast sausages you used to get on planes! Doesn’t break my top five but I did love it.

Tai Chi Fried Rice with confit duck, shrimp, and squid ink. This tasted even better than it looked and kept wonderfully leftover.

Finally molten chocolate cake with rum raisin ice cream and Golden Graham crumble.

And egg yolk beignets with apricot marmalade.

The best thing we ate all weekend was the fried rice I made with our James‘ leftovers. White rice and eggs from home plus short rib ragu and charred broccolini with Waygu beef bacon.

Crunch Wrap (Reigns) Supreme

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Posting a day early because it’s my birthday tomorrow and we have fun dinner reservations tonight (Rolos – I am hoping to snag a burger!). Things from this week included…

A bunch of weird birthday cake flavored things. My mom also gave me cake-scented hand soap, body wash, hand sanitizer, and a candle!

Creamy mango smoothie. Frozen mango and banana with water, milk, vanilla protein powder, and malted milk powder.

Two new favors of Wilde chicken chips. Both were good but maple waffle remains my favorite.

More Roast; I obviously had to try their crab rangoon crunchwrap (with crab rangoon spread, jasmine rice, sweet chili cucumber slaw, crispy wontons, and pepper jack cheese — my version was better!). We also shared a buffalo chicken sub and had baby carrots from home.

The best meal of the week was this chicken jalapeño popper dip – cream cheese, skyr, Duke’s, Kewpie, Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pickled jalapeños (plus brine!), baked chicken breast, and sharp cheddar. Scooped with roasted broccoli and Trader Joe’s new sweet chili black eyed pea tempeh crisps (which are fantastic).

Bean salad. I sauteed onion, orange bell pepper, poblano pepper, baby tomatoes, and black beans with lime juice and more brine; added diced avocado and sharp cheddar once it cooled; and added Love Corn corn nuts just before serving. We made this in advance and ate it cold and it was delightful.

Chicken Salad JCT

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Highlights from an extra-yummy week…

Brunch date at Twisted Fork. We had a surprisingly good blueberry pancake iced latte (with maple syrup and blueberry cold foam).

A breakfast martini with gin, triple sec, lemon juice, and orange marmalade.

A bloody mary.

And I had a chicken sandwich on ciabatta with avocado, housemade pickles, and sweet chili aioli.

Dessert yogurt bowls. Plain skyr with granola, honey sunflower butter, and red plum and banana cooked down with butter, brown sugar, and vanilla sugar.

Plain skyr with (microwaved frozen) blueberries, peanut butter, and brownies (THE brownie recipe with the addition of espresso powder, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips).

I also blended brownies into a shake with vanilla ice cream and coconut syrup.

See also – this iced matcha latte with coconut syrup was lovely.

It’s my birthday this week and my parents sent me a plethora of on-theme snacks that my coworkers and I have been taste-testing.

Speaking of themes, we did another Sandwich Week for dinners! Chicken salad JCT, ie a BLT but with jerky, chips, and tomato. My chicken salad was shredded baked chicken breast with Duke’s, plain skyr, pickled jalapeño brine, and chopped pickles. We mixed in butter mesquite beef jerky (we brought home several bags of jerky from New Mexico and we are obsessed with it) and bbq potato chips and topped with fresh tomato; on sliced whole-wheat. Plus sauteed baby bok choy with green onion, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.

Takeout from the OG – Roast. Half a fried chicken sandwich – with pickles, Mike’s hot honey, and cheddar / half a filet mignon special – with chimichurri, onion jam, potato straws, mozzarella, and roasted garlic butter / unphotographed fries / and homecooked veggies – sauteed zucchini with tomato, dried basil, sumac, salt and pepper.

Meatball wrap. Mission tortilla / baked turkey meatballs – ground turkey, panade, egg, hoisin, pepper, urfa, and shredded cheese / cream cheese mixed with confit garlic / crispy fried garlic and onions. Plus roasted green beans.

Tofu wrap. Roasted Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Crunch mixed with plain skyr, Kewpie, white miso, lime juice, and cotija / crunchy cheese bites / roasted super-firm tofu tossed in a skillet with honey, lime juice, soy sauce, chili crisp, gochujang, and ginger. Plus sauteed asparagus.

Hot pepper peach chicken bagelwich. One of my most important childhood taste memories is eating hot pepper peach jelly on cream cheese with my Ohio family and that informs this bagel. A leftover Apollo bagel, toasted and topped with a mix of cream cheese, baked chicken, Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pickled jalapeños, and sauteed peaches. Plus baby broccoli sauteed with baby tomatoes, confit garlic, salt, pepper, and gochugaru.

A very important postscript – the 7-11 egg salad sandwich is a 10/10.

BBQ, Burgers, And Beans

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Obviously, we ate summer bbq themed nachos for the 4th of July. Red, white, and blue tortilla chips baked with sharp cheddar, vegetarian baked beans, and leftover esquites. Plus homemade cole slaw (roasted sugarcone cabbage with salt, sugar, Trader Joe’s ranch seasoning, lemon juice, and sour cream).

We had one of our best weekends in recent memory, including tons of dog cuddles, a picnic on the boardwalk in Long Beach, a few stops in Ridgewood, and a day at Industry City. Also some truly excellent food! My absolute favorites were…

Uluhuluh‘s sunny side up iced latte.

A lightly toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese and jelly at Apollo Bagels.

Hellbender‘s soft scrambled egg tostada with black beans, cheddar, salsa macha, and sesame.

Also from that same (fabulous) brunch – peanut butter jello with chocolate whipped cream!

Dolly’s black cherry pie. Excluding the key lime category, this was the best pie I’ve ever eaten.

Lil Al’s Burgers. It didn’t break my top five but this was a very solid cheeseburger. Plus very good fries.

I didn’t take a photo of Hometown BBQ‘s brisket sandwich with pickles, white onion, and sticky sauce on a crispy sesame bun that was possibly the best sandwich I’ve ever eaten. But Apollo sent us home with extra bagels and I did take leftover brisket meat and reheat it with scrambled eggs and sharp cheddar and eat it on an everything bagel with Kewpie and yellow mustard.

Blueberries And/Or Breakfast Foods

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On-theme things from the week, all delicious…

Smoothies! Strawberry malted – frozen strawberries blended with water, malted milk powder, and chocolate protein powder.

Blueberry cheesecake – frozen blueberries blended with water, vanilla bean powder, vanilla protein powder, and cottage cheese.

A breakfast-y, dessert-y, waffle yogurt bowl situation. Fage with blueberry topped with blueberries, Evergreen peanut butter banana bread waffles, and maple syrup.

Nightingale lemon blueberry pound cake ice cream sandwich.

Bagels with cream cheese and lox, chopped. We did a mix of cream cheese, Kewpie, smoked salmon, Trader Joe’s pickled onions, chili crisp, and honey. Plus roasted broccoli.

Egg tacos, chopped. Our filling was a mix of chopped together scrambled egg with extra-sharp cheddar, fried plantains, sauteed poblano pepper and green onion, avocado, and Cholula chipotle cremosa sauce. Plus roasted zucchini.

Savory oatmeal bowls. Our favorite oatmeal (Trader Joe’s rolled oats with ancient grains and seeds) topped with sauteed kale, crispy baked shredded tofu, a fried egg, and chili crisp.

Blueberry cottage cheese pancakes. I used this recipe but added vanilla bean powder, lemon zest, lemon juice, and some blueberries. Plus sauteed kale and homemade turkey sausage (ground turkey with sharp cheddar, maple syrup, fish sauce, smoked paprika, urfa, gochugaru, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper). I coved the whole plate in maple syrup and Cholula chili garlic hot sauce!

Malted Milk, Toasted Rice

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Highlights from the week…

Yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with malted milk powder, brown sugar, and vanilla bean powder topped with Uncle Crumbles sugar cookie granola and all of the berries (blackberries, blueberries, and jumbo blueberries!).

Malted. Vanilla ice cream blended with milk, malted milk powder, and toasted rice powder.

A patty melt that was probably the best thing I’ve made all year. Turkey patties (ground turkey, lime juice, fish sauce, panko, and egg) cooked in a skillet with smoky pimento cheese melted on top on Trader Joe’s sourdough with mayo, lime juice, and red curry.

Paired with great seasoned fries. Baked green beans and frozen french fries tossed in a homemade spice mix – salt, white sugar, white pepper, Sichuan pepper, gochugaru, onion powder, garlic powder, toasted rice powder, dried fish roe, and green mango powder.

BBQ chicken bowls. Baked chicken breast tossed in a skillet with homemade bbq sauce (ketchup, gochujang, maple syrup, rice wine, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds) on a bed of sauteed bok choy, green onion, tomatoes, and ginger.

Tofu And Fries

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We had a wonderful NYC weekend; including walks around Manhattan (Fidi and East Village) and Brooklyn (Fort Greene and Prospect Heights)! And so much good food! Highlights…

I am a sucker for limited edition fun drinks (see below!). I thought the coffee was too milky but I would buy the creamy coconut Dr. Pepper again!

Cafe Patoro brigiadeiro iced latte. Always delicious, their latte is nice and roasty.

Fasan Coffee red bean iced latte. We had also had a fantastic yuzu cold brew.

Honey’s Bistro coconut cold brew.

Chim Chim matcha banoffee pie.

Treats at Saint Street. This spot is exceptional. We had a cup of chocolate cake.

And a meringue.

DSK chicken brat on a pretzel roll with crispy onions, pickle relish, German mustard, and ketchup. Plus great fries.

Lunch at 886. This was some of the very best food we’ve eaten in 2026. My drink (sour plum highball). was only ok though.

Shaky fries with Taiwan Dust.

Crispy silken tofu with chili oil vinaigrette (1000/10).

Dry beef noodles with spicy beef fat butter, shredded beef shank, and a sunny side up egg.

Wildly good tomato with egg.

Dinner at Authentic Thai. We decided this is the best Thai we’ve had in Long Island. I had roti with peanut sauce.

And drunken noodles. I asked for them to be made spicy and they delivered – I drank all of Adam’s Thai iced tea and was in heaven.

P.S. I’ve since eaten both restaurant meals as leftovers and they remained excellent!

Magical Fruit

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Things from the week…

A very floral yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with rose simple syrup, blueberries, edible flowers, and flower-shaped Swedish candies.

I love a good dinner theme and this week was beans! Bean burgers (food-processed black beans, dark red kidney beans, and garbanzo beans with egg, panko, salt, urfa chile, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder; cooked in a skillet) with extra-sharp cheddar on top, on a bun with mayo and yellow mustard. Plus green beans (steamed then sauteed with dill pickle mustard and rice vinegar) and sweet potatoes (roasted then sauteed with maple syrup, chili crisp, and soy sauce). We loved how smoky the burgers were.

Bean dip (kidney beans and garbanzos food-processed with evoo, water, lemon juice, cilantro, salt, ranch seasoning, and minced garlic), scooped with two types of crackers (Mary’s Gone Crackers original and Everybody Eat chive and garlic thins) plus eggplant on the side (roasted then sauteed with peanut butter, miso paste, Sriracha, honey, and water).

Cuban-ish veggie bowls. Cauliflower rice (sauteed with salt, lime juice, and cilantro) topped with black beans (sauteed with white onion, green bell pepper, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder), Cholula’s chipotle creamosa sauce, and Trader Joe’s frozen maduros.