Snickers Or Salad

Highlights from this week…

I took myself on a sunny coffee date to Wired on my day off. Espresso with marshmallow and Oreo cold foam.

Blackberries and a blood orange. So pretty!

Snack plate – corn nuts, smoked almonds, cacao almonds, blackberries, vegan jerky, and salmon jerky.

Loved both of these summer-y seltzers; the Polar was so pineapple-forward!

These marshmallows were so asthetically pleasing and so terrible (crumbly and very odd tasting).

But I used the vanilla ones to make homemade Snickers! This nougat recipe with salted peanuts and caramels folded in, topped with milk chocolate.

I was actively grocery shopping when I saw this week’s Roast specials and I changed my list to accomodate a night of take-out. Crunchwrap with honey Sriracha fried chicken, cheddar, coleslaw, french fries, and sweet chili aioli / buffalo chicken mac and cheese balls / roasted zucchini from home.

Filipino-ish dinner bowls. Ground turkey sauteed with tons of sisig seasoning, red and sweet onion, eggplant, and crispy baked shredded tofu. On a base of rice noodles tossed in chili crisp.

Bagel and lox inspired salad – romaine (with ranch, I was too lazy to figure out a cream cheese dressing), tons of fresh dill, quick-pickled red onion, hot smoked sockeye salmon, and everything seasoning roasted chickpeas.

In Paradise

This past weekend Adam and I… lost our minds over the beautiful flowers all over Park Slope / went to a Filipino/JapanFest street fair / checked off two restauarants on my “lauded cheeseburgers” list. Highlights included…

Birthday cake smoothie bowl from Juice Press. I kept seeing the advertisement for this and I couldn’t help myself! The smoothie was meh but the Out Haus birthday cake granola butter was perfection.

Marvelous by Fred – mini meringue with coffee and hazelnuts.

Ice cream from Teo’s – coffee crunch and sprinkles. Great texture, I love an egg-heavy ice cream base.

Street fair finds. Ube and calmansi juice was a surprisingly sucessful combo.

Okonomiyaki.

Mini twinkie with jackfruit and Frooty Pebbles.

Drinks at The Warren. I loved my Madame Brown with bourbon, passionfruit, sour, and egg whites. We also had the best (unphotographed) deviled eggs I’ve ever eaten; I want to come back here for dinner immediately.

Dinner at Red Paper Clip. My drink was the best of the weekend, College Drop Out – a whiskey sour with passionfruit.

Roasted cauliflower with yuzu agro dulce, shiso, and sunflower seeds.

The everything brioche with cured trout, miso egg yolk, and trout roe was a showstopper; this was stunningly good.

We got the cavetalli with nori, parmesan, and bonito.

Lobster three ways, fried salt and pepper claws / fried rice / and in a miso beurre blanc.

The burger – double patties, lettuce, special sauce, and yellow cheese.

Dinner at Emmy Squared. Palomo.

The burger – double patties, american cheese, spicy sammy sauce, greens, and pickles; served with waffle fries.

We also got a pizza with red sauce, meatballs, and banana peppers.

Niether burger makes my top three list (Elder Greene, Nowon, Ruthies) but they were quite good and it was a great weekend!

Cinnamon Rose Ginger Sesame

Highlights from quite a nice weekend! We had good weather, tons of coffees, great food, and a walk across the Williamsburg Bridge…

Rose water iced Americano from Land to Sea.

The cinnamon bun from Duck Island Bread Company is my all-time favorite.

I love this sort of spicy ginger and meyer lemon seltzer from Aura Bora.

Red bean stuffed, sesame coated mochi from Lucky King Bakery are a can’t miss.

Cola-flavored Chupa Chups!!

Lunch at Tanoreen. Za’atar mezcal margarita (mezcal, house made za’atar shrub, and fresh lime) — the best cocktail of the weekend.

Falafel. Plus we had the complimentary bread basket with great za’atar crusted crisps.

I got the baked eggplant with tomato, almonds, and ground lamb.

Knafeh – crispy filo dough with sweet cheese and orange blossom syrup.

Dinner at Virginia’s. Spicy Marg 2.0 – tequilla, passion fruit, lime, Thai chili oil, and spicy salt.

A mojito that reminded me of a julep.

Fantastic hamachi crudo.

French onion and crème fraîche dip with potato chips and trout roe.

Roasted carrots with almond romanesco and goat cheese.

THE burger with cheddar and onion marmalade. This was so good that I loved it even though it was vastly overcooked.

Plus the best shoestring fries.

We got the “banana pudding” for dessert; bananas with cookie crunch and whipped cream. Adam liked it because it tasted good and I hated it because there was not even a hint of pudding.

Sandwich Inspired

I worked this weekend and things were pretty hectic but thankfully I finally made it to the grocery from vacation and we were able to enjoy some great dinners. Highlights from the past three days include…

I tried and loved the new layers Perfect Bars. The oat crisps on top were perfect.

Chewy doughnuts from Paris Baguette – mochi, lemon cronut, and cream cheese filled mochi. We have been very impressed by every item we have tried from PB.

A former intern brought us in goodies including baklava and halvah.

Onda‘s canned tequilla seltzers are solid, this strawberry flavor is quite drinkable.

I 12/10 loved this Social Hour Sunkissed Fizz canned cocktail with vodka, yuzu, peach, key lime, and jasmine. I carted this home from a liquor store in Midtown and it exceeded my expectations. Very smooth, very boozy, not too sweet.

I turned my leftover Pecking House chicken-seasoned fries into something amazing. Leftover fries crisped under the broiler / Kewpie mayo / baby broccoli sauted with tons of garlic / Trader Joe’s teriyaki baked tofu / chili crisp.

Cuban sandwich inspired salads. Romaine / leftover garlic broccoli / homemade yellow mustard vinaigrette (equal parts mustard, mayo, vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juice, plus a pinch of salt) / homemade croutons / Jarlsberg cheese and sliced pork for Adam and smoked turkey for me. I forgot the chopped pickles, which is devestating, but this was still a fantastic salad.

Reuben sandwich inspired okonomiyaki. Shredded yellow potato (squeezed as dry as possible and microwaved for three minutes) / shredded cabbage and chopped green onion (baked for 20 minutes) / in a batter with minced ginger, white pepper, salt, gochugaru, eggs, flour, and ginger seltzer / stuffed with sliced roast beef and Jarlsberg / then cooked in a wide pan in canola oil / topped with homemade Russian dressing.

Pecking Order

Adam and I were both on vacation last week and we went home to St. Thomas for Carnival! It was a perfect week – we had time with family, went on my favorite runs, ate my favorite foods (highlights included soursop shaved ice and a dark rum and coke), and went to the beach every day. It’s hard to beat a morning walk in the sand with an iced coffee!

We went right back to work when we got home (seriously, I was at my desk less than 10 hours after we left the airport!) and I didn’t get to go grocery shopping until yesterday but thankfully I had left myself a well-stocked freezer and pantry. Highlights from the week included…

This week’s coffee combo.

Beautiful smoothies. Frozen spinach, banana, and blueberries with honey, water, and key lime juice.

Frozen soursop, banana, and strawberries with vanilla almond milk, cinnamon, and plain Greek yogurt.

Trader Joe’s crispy apple chips.

These s’mores Ben and Jerry’s bites are hands-down my favorite thing.

Leftover chicken soup I made and froze a few weeks before vacation; this reheated really well.

“Freshly made” soup with this trio. Trader Joe’s ginger miso broth and garlicky cabbage plus ginger chicken dumplings.

Farro / furikake, kelp granules, black garlic, gochugaru / canned salmon and smoked trout with mayo, rice vinegar, and Sriracha / zoodles and celery / fried egg. I actually decided I didn’t like this and abandoned it halfway through for ramen but Adam liked it and I still think it was a good idea.

I work this weekend so I was off on Thursday and I went into the city for a haircut and a fun Brooklyn date. I have wanted to go to Pecking House for more than a year and it more than exceeded my high expectations! We shared fries with chicken seasoning.

Cornbread. Charred turnips with miso and almonds.

Fried chicken with salted egg sauce.

And the fantastic spicy chicken sandwich with Fuqi chili sauce, Oaxaca cheese, and pickled jalapenos on a brioche bun.

Plus gelato for dessert. A butter and salt scoop and a scoop of a cannolo flavor with candied fruits that blew my mind.

Duck, Duck, Soup

Highlights from a tasty weekend…

Giant green smoothie. This had frozen spinach, strawberry, soursop, honey, and vanilla almond milk.

Siggi’s vanilla honey skyr. I only liked – not loved – this and found it to be a little sour (and am mostly posting to remind myself).

Kimchi butter ramen. This was spicier than I was expecting.

Gelato from a new spot in LI. I got Kinder and s’mores in a vanilla cone. We weren’t head over heels for this spot but my s’mores scoop did have a giant toasted marshmallow in it and that was delightful.

Beers from Destination Unknown. This was our 2nd trip there and we have loved almost everything we’ve tried. Great IPAs.

Brunch at Maya Congee Cafe. We loved it here. We shared passionfruit tea with mango stars.

Chicken breakfast congee with smoked cheese and a soft egg.

And a braised chicken bahn mi.

Dinner at Long Island Pekin. This is officially our favorite Long Island spot. This dinner was an 11/10 and the leftovers were sooo exciting. We shared the Peking duck scallion pancakes with cheddar and sweet plum sauce.

Flat rice noodles with veggies and duck.

And the half Hong Kong roast duck.

Leftover soup. I topped my bowl with chili crisp. Served with homemade garlic bread.

No photo but worth a mention – we tried the honey butter chicken sandwich from PDQ and were both impressed!

Bean, Banana, Bap

Highlights from the week…

Dessert-y yogurt bowl. Vanilla skyr with condensed milk, strawberries, banana, cornflakes, and sprinkles.

These jelly beans really do taste like Froot Loops!

We got chips and quesadillas from Chipotle with their new chicken al pastor and it was actually pretty great.

We went to Long Island Pekin this week for duck (sans camera) and it blew our minds! I ate leftovers with other leftovers and it was a great meal.

Bibimbap-inspired veggie bowls. Riced broccoli sauteed with white pepper and sesame seeds / crispy tofu shreds – extra-firm tofu that I shredded, tossed with evoo and gojuchang, then baked / bean sprouts / gojuchang / cucumber / sauteed baby shitake mushrooms and green onion / fried egg.

Roasted cauliflower with crispy white beans – tossed in evoo, cornstarch, furikake, gochugaru, and ranch seasoning then baked.

Potatoes, Eggs, And Coffees

It was a wonderful weekend! Adam and I had a ton of time together, the weather was gorgeous, and we took some great walks around the Lower East Side and Williamsburg and admired the spring flowers. Also we went on a million and one dates; our fridge is stuffed to the brim with leftovers – a very good problem to have!

Some highlights include…

Iced coffee with ube cold foam.

Dalgona iced latte with strawberry milk and and a dreamy packet of peaflower and edible glitter!

Iced matcha with ginger sparkling water and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Pazazz apple – a good spring choice, sweet and crispy.

Butterdose. Cream puffs – yuzu, ube coconut, and an Easter special with Cadbury eggs, Oreo, whipped cream frosting, and cream cheese filling.

Levain. This dark chocolate chocolate chip cookie tastes exactly like brownie batter and was the #1 best thing I ate all weekend.

Lindens. This meal was pretty unforgettable; the space was gorgeous and it was hands-down the best service I have ever experienced at a restaurant. We will be going back!

Lavender Daisy – pisco, gin, lavender, concord grape jam, lemon, club soda, and egg white.

Rosemary spiced margarita with mezcal, habanero, grapefruit, and agave.

Parker house rolls with grilled ramp butter. Tempura artichoke, maitake, and broccolini with chili oil and a cilantro yogurt sauce.

Herbed shoestring fries with a truffle aioli. 3rd best thing I ate this weekend and easily the best fries I’ve eaten the past 5 years.

Cheeseburger with grilled onion and cherry pepper relish.

Ocean Code. We had a highball with kyoho grape syrup.

Oden – beef, black fungus, daikon, tofu, and an inari-wrapped mochi ball in a super flavorful broth.

I had the spicy tuna rice bowl.

Okka. Very good cortado and Turkish coffee, plus baklava.

OTB. My favorite bar food in Brooklyn. The fantastic cup on the left was a frozen mojito.

Nuggets and chili cheese fries.

Rule of Thirds. Chiba Surf Club – yuzu sake, lillet, strawberry, sparkling wine, and fresh chives.

Douglas Fir-Banks – sesame shochu, gin, peach, vetiver, lime, umeboshi, and douglas fir. Plus a hojicha iced latte that was the 2nd best thing I ate this weekend.

Souffle pancake.

Japanese omelette sandwich on milk bread with miso mayo and yuzu cucumbers.

Smashed potatoes with mushrooms, hatcho miso, and a poached egg.