Important things first – Adam and I are both off from work next week! We have a little (lobster roll-centric) road trip planned but mostly we are excited to be together multiple days in a row!
Some highlights from this week…
Coffee combo. Loved the coffee, do not recommend the milk.
Adam was away a few days doing something for his parents and I mostly adulted and cooked dinners. Mostly.
California roll bowls. Imitation crab stick, avocado, cucumber, and green onion tossed with Kewpie, Sriracha, rice vinegar, and furikake. Plus a side of seaweed.
Hot and cold tofu – silken tofu topped with a mix of green onion, chili crisp, urfa chili paste, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar. Plus roasted cauliflower.
I made my first ever loaf of banana bread! I added tons of coconut caramel jam to a traditional recipe and we loved it.
See also – banana bread cubes on a Greek yogurt bowl with nectarine, cinnamon, and honey.
This bar + coffee combo was a 10/10. I also ate a mini York with it – perfection.
See also – I made a mint syrup for my iced coffees this week and it was great in this iced matcha latte.
Sooo many snacks! The highlight of which was these crab roe flavored broad beans. They were the perfect amount of crunchy and the perfect balance of sweet and savory.
See also – aloe drink and my two favorite seltzers.
Tyger leftovers (sauteed water spinach and pad see ew) stir-fried with eggs and peanuts. The leftovers were mind-blowing so we clearly need to go back ASAP.
I made fantastic brown rice chicken congee. Filled with chopped chicken thighs and spicy chopped kale and red chard. We topped our bowls with peanuts, green onions, and chili crisp.
We made dalgona iced lattes with chocolate milk. This is my favorite coffee texture.
Iced cinnamon roll from Mel The Bakery, aka the best cinnamon roll we’ve ever eaten. We regretted not buying more things and want to go back immediately.
Tres Leches x3 doughnut ice cream sandwich (tres leches ice cream sandwiched in a tres leches cake doughnut and dipped in tres leches chocolate coating!) from Doughnut Plant.
Hazelnut crunch gelato at Bambina Blue. We thought we weren’t big gelato fans but this spot has changed our tune.
Topo Chico has officially 100% sold me on alcoholic seltzers. These cans are delicious.
I had a Tyger Strype Slushee – Espolòn tequila, Shoumei white tea, peach, lemon, and smoke layered with Espolòn tequila, mango, lemon, honey, and cardamon.
Also a non-alcoholic Green Woods Laugh – mint, pandan, cucumber, and lemon – with Tito’s.
We shared hamachi crudo with Vietnamese salsa verde, coconut, microgreens, and cherry tomato.
Chicken satay with the most interesting/layered peanut sauce I’ve ever tasted.
Stir-fried water spinach with chili, garlic, and shrimp paste.
And Pad See Ew with Chinese broccoli and tofu. The tofu was a salt and pepper crusted silken tofu and it was fantastic.
Plus a Thai coffee tart with a bruleed top for dessert.
Dinner salads. Local butter lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette, mint, peas, lamb sausage, and raw milk aged cheddar. I see why the lamb + mint + pea pairing is a classic.
Hi, there! It was a great week in snacks and eclectic dinners. We also ate an obscene amount of late-night pizza take-out but I took no pictures.
Highlights included…
Fruit salad! Fresh blackberries and Golden Nugget Mandarins dressed in maple and key lime juice.
Peanut-themed bars. Both were great.
Sparkly beverages. Both were good but not unmissable; surprisingly I prefer the original hibiscus water.
I recently bought coconut caramel from a Filipino store and, of course, it featured heavily in this week’s snacks.
Like kaya toast – whole wheat toast with coconut caramel, banana, and cinnamon.
And in yogurt bowls with blackberries and Whole Food’s Vietnamese coffee granola.
Boba milk tea mochi. These had just enough sweetness and just enough chew, I would definitely buy them again.
Adam is pretty sure he loved this Whole Food’s cinnamon bun kettle corn but he can’t be certain because I ate all of my portion and the majority of his too!
Cheeseburger inspired pasta bowls. Whole-wheat rotini / ground turkey cooked in a sauce that included tomato paste and yellow mustard / roasted baby tomatoes / baby spinach / chopped pickles / chopped white onion / smoked cheddar cubes.
Insanely good turkey meatloaf seasoned with hoisin sauce, cheddar cubes, and roasted sweet onion. Plus roasted purple and orange cauliflower.
Daring vegan chicken nuggets (10/10!) / roasted zucchini and brussel sprouts sautéed with a spicy black bean and nut butter sauce / homemade honey mustard.
I worked five days through the last weekend, which is just a normal workweek, but something about the Thursday-Monday schedule is exhausting! Hence the late post. Also all the take-out this week in lieu of cooking!
Adam and I both had the weekend nights off and we went on some great dinner dates! And did some wonderful exploring around Bushwick, aka the best street art neighborhood in New York.
Other highlights from the week included…
Wycoff Star quad iced latte, best coffee of the month.
About Time Coffee‘s Summer Breeze – cold brew with tangerine and cola.
Still very into these Barebell protein bars, the vegan ones in particular are delicious and filling.
New favorite, old favorite – Pazzaz apples are crunchy and juicy / the potato chip peanut butter cups are the best candy of all time and I eat at least one a week.
These new cola Sour Patch Kids are delicious too.
A Spring moment – lavender vodka in homemade rose lemonade.
Caffe Panna affogato special – Candy Chaos; candy-studded ice cream, chocolate ice cream, graham crunch, mini Reese’s cups, Rolos, panna, caramel, and espresso.
Dinner at Faro. I had vodka in a great housemade citrus soda with lime, lemon, and orgeat.
Roasted beets with almonds, ricotta, strawberry and vinaigrette / sourdough sesame focaccia.
Adam had pasta with rabbit (yuck) and we shared bucatini with confit chicken, basil, pecorino, and chili flakes and mafalde with braised short rib and chili pangrattato.
We had the “chocolate” for dessert – hazelnuts, chocolate cremeux, olive oil cake, dulce de leche, and cocoa crumble.
We had a wonderful dinner at Piggyback but it was too dark for photographs. The hands-down best dish was the deconstructed pho – fried rolled noodles, choy sum, soy marinated beef, and a concentrated pho broth sauce. We also had this tuna tartare with yuzu soy vinaigrette, Asian pear, and shisho.
A homemade meal! Hedgehog baked tofu with sauce and sautéed bok choy and celery.
Spring is officially in NYC and the flowers could not be more gorgeous. Adam and I spent as much time as possible outside this weekend with a long walk through Greenpoint/Williamsburg on Saturday and a long walk across the Queensborough Bridge and around Midtown/Central Park on Sunday.
Some highlights from a beautiful, amazing, delicious weekend…
Drinks at Roberta’s. It was so lovely to sit at their bar and we want to go back immediately. I had a fantastic Dead Head — Miele amaretto with house grapefruit cordial, bitters, and egg white. Plus a Guava Jam to go! – house coconut rum, Giffard’s banana, guava, and bitters.
Dinner at Glasserie was the best meal of the weekend. Carrots cooked and shaved raw // three types of mushrooms (each marinated differently) in broth.
Lamb with mustard and grilled eggplant. After this we had duck prepared two ways that was so stunning and scrumptious I completely forgot to take photos. <– we have leftover coming for dinner this week and I could not be more excited
Trader Joe’s turkey corndogs and veggie and sunflower seed bites plus roasted orange cauliflower, broccoli, and romanesco (plus leftover fry sauce – which I order every time I get Roast, regardless of if I get fries).
I took a naked food of the Trader Joe’s frozen scallion pancakes so I could show you guys what they look like. Then I dressed them up with Kewpie, Sriracha, and furikake.
Best meal of the week – hashbrown, roasted brussel sprouts, soft-scrambled eggs. Topped with a mix of fry sauce, chili crisp, and rice vinegar.
Chew frozen things. Black sugar boba popsicle and a passionfruit ice cream mochi.
Chewy vegan candies. I loved the tropical ones (grapefruit slices!) and liked the hearts and stars.
Grapefruit beverages. Hard seltzer and kombucha.
Takeout dinner from Roast. A roast beef melt and an on-special salad with arugula, asparagus, cauliflower, parmesan, crispy breadcrumbs, chicken, and pesto vinaigrette.
Easy rice bowls. Brown rice / Trader Joe’s green vegetable foursome frozen veggies / tuna salad with mayo, soy sauce, rice vinegar, furikake, and Korean chili flake / kimchi / chili crisp.
Homemade cashew chicken. With red bell pepper, green onion, and extra cashews. Served on roasted broccoli slaw.
It was an absolutely fantastic weekend! We ate tons of good things, had a bunch of time together, and saw some gorgeous signs of spring all around the city. Highlights included… A long, gorgeous walk from Dumbo, across the bridge, around the Seaport, and up through Midtown.
Not surprised that I am into alcoholic seltzers now. My favorite so far have been from Trip and Topo Chico.
We made extra-chocolately brownies and rewatched Empire Records to celebrate Rex Manning Day 2022!
Affogato special from Caffe Panna – caramel and pistachio.
My leftover sesame noodles were even better stir-fried with extra eggs plus green beans and chili crisp.
We had lunch at Empire Diner and it was hands-down the best meal of this year so far.
I had a spicy Bloody Mary with everything bagel seasoning.
And a great cocktail with mezcal and fresh ginger.
Tuna tartar with avocado, ginger cilantro oil, white soy, frizzled shallots, and housemade chips.
I had the pastrami sandwich with melted swiss and horseradish coleslaw on marble rye. It came with the best mustard and the best herb fries I’ve ever tasted.
Eating Chalk 