Apple snacks at work. Freeze-dried Fuiji apples and an apple ginger bar. Both were wins.
Apple pie matcha! I will definitely make this combination again.
We finally made it to Zaab Zaab, a very well-loved Isaan Thai spot in Elmhurst. Everything we got was fantastic. The spice level was exactly to my liking and I was glad I ordered the creamy cold brew with condensed milk. Green papaya salad.
Prawn Pad Thai.
Rib eye Pad Krapow.
I made the world’s most decadent bowl of leftovers. Basil beef / shredded duck (leftovers from a fun meal Adam had without me) / sauteed spinach and onion / fried egg / smashed avocado.
We tried the newest Coke flavor – Dreamworld. It was a bit too fruity for me; I preferred the Starlight and would much prefer if they would just bring back Diet Cherry Coke.
Buffalo chicken salad. Shredded chicken (breasts and thighs cooked in the crockpot – this is our favorite method, especially because it creates a no-salt-added broth for Webster!), mayo, Frank’s, green onion, and celery on an everything ciabatta roll. Plus roasted baby cauliflower.
Crab rangoon grilled cheese. Sourdough bread, sharp cheddar, and a blend of blue crab claw meat, Kewpie, cream cheese, sugar, Sriracha, green onion, and Swiss and Gruyere. Plus roasted purple cauliflower.
Bagel and lox inspired. Everything ciabatta, homemixed scallion cream cheese, heirloom tomato, smoked sockeye salmon. Plus leftover cauliflower sauted with honey, horseradish, and honey dijon.
Chicken biscuit-inspired. Sourdough, breaded chicken patties, sharp cheddar, and a maple butter spread. Next to homemade biscuits which ended up being too crumbly to serve chicken on. Plus roasted brussel green beans.
Paired with a peach tea IPA to drive home the Southern theme. We liked this in theory and complexity but it was way too sour for us. The key lime blonde was much more our speed!
Sweet and spicy. Sourdough, turkey, sharp cheddar, blueberry jam, and pickled jalpenos.
See also – pb&j yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with peanut butter, fancy blueberry jam, and fresh blueberries.
This past week has been meatball week because I am all about a good dinner theme.
Homemade turkey meatballs (juicy thanks to panade, with urfa pepper) with red sauce and roasted spaghetti squash. Spaghetti squash is amazing I need to make it way more often!
Whole Foods vegan meatballs with olives, dolmas, roasted zucchini and sweet onion, and Trader Joe’s herbed tahini sauce.
Buffalo chicken meatballs (stuffed with blue cheese and cream cheese) with sauted carrots and celery.
Crab meatballs (with panade made out of Utz crab chips!) with a simple salad.
I’m late on this post but we had too many wonderful things last week not to share! Mostly lots of very (very, very, very) good restaurant meals. Three different days I got to take a super-long city walk (including a Central Park date with the husband!). Highlights include…
Breakfast at Ursula. We shared a strawberry chamoy pastry.
And a sopaipilla with grassfed beef, green chile, refried pinto beans, and cheddar.
Breakfast at the Blue Light Speaky Cheesy pop-up. The workers could not have been more wonderful here and everything was fantastic! We shared a sandwich with pesto scrambled eggs, goat cheese, blueberry jam, and arugula; a maple lavender latte (<– topped with orange zest, which apparently is my new favorite thing); and an iced Getaway Latte with sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, and vanilla.
Malted berry smoothie. Frozen cherries and strawberries with Greek yogurt, chocolate almond milk, and malted milk powder.
Yogurt bowl – vanilla skyr, pecan granola, chia seeds, blueberries, and cherry plums (<– both Adam’s and my new favorite fruit).
Cookie dough granola (<– amazing, the flavor is spot on!) with blueberries and chocolate almond milk.
Lunch at Bahn (<– best meal of the whole week!). Iced Vietnamese egg coffee.
Summer rolls with shrimp and mung bean sauce.
Rolls with crispy shrimp, beef jerky, green mango, Sriracha, and egg yolk cream.
Noodle salad with sizzling butter beef.
Dumplings from Mimi Cheng. Their monthly special is a collab with Pecking House and is stuffed with buttermilk twice-fried chicken and topped with the best chili crisp I’ve ever tasted.
Homemade(!) grain bowls. Farro with pesto, chicken pesto sausage, fennel greens, and sauteed celery and baby orange tomatoes.
Adam forgot his credit card at BKNY Thai so we went back sooner than we were expecting to. A serendipitous mistake because our take-out was 11/10. Fish cakes / dumplings with ground chicken, shallot, peanut, and preserved radish / beef Pad See Ew with extra Chinese broccoli.
Omekase at the Chemisty Room at Sushi Lab. We ate at the counter and the service was impecable. I only took a few photos but everything was delicious and gorgeous.
Dinner at Wen Wen. My daiquiri with rum, Cachaça, and birds eye chili was perfect and balanced.
We had numbing celtuce salad with garlic, red vinegar, and Sichuan pepper.
Hot honey popcorn chicken.
Cold sesame noodles with cucumbers and egg ribbons.
Beef noodle soup with pickled mustard greens and a 16-hour oxtail broth.
We did not enjoy this key lime sour, but I am posting a photo as a reminder to Adam and myself because it so seems like something we would like.
On the other hand, we loved the flavor profile and political stance of this Greenpoint IPA.
Typically I don’t buy vegan ice creams but these bites are pretty satisfying.
Our favorite sheetpan hash – roasted Japanese sweet potato, bok choy, and green onion; topped with smoked salmon candy and roasted Norwegian salmon. I also added tons of Kewpie, Sriracha, and furikake.
Big summer salads. Local lettuce, honey mustard dressing, baby tomatoes, roasted corn, baked tofu, and homemade croutons.
Best bowl of the week – sauteed cabbage, snap peas, baby tomato, and green onions, with chicken maple breakfast sausage, peanuts, Korean chili flake, Sichuan pepper salt, and a nuoc cham inspired sauce.
Tons of Roast take-out – chicken taco sandwich, fries, buffalo-style roasted potatoes – plus roasted purple cauliflower.
Coconut tres leches iced latte! Espresso with a blend of coconut milk, condensed milk, and half and half. I was making a rose coffee syup at the same time so I went ahead and dyed it pink!
Yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with chia seeds and strawberry jam, yellow peach, passionfruit, and praline granola.
My birthday is this weekend so these felt appropriate. We have loved every single thing we’ve tried from Made Good.
Boozy grape slushie – grape soda ice cubes blended with vodka. <– my best idea of the summer
A take on callaloo. Collard greens, turkey bacon, and crab meat cooked with coconut milk, onion, scotch bonnet pepper, ginger, and chili flakes.
Adam paired his with rice like an adult and I paired mine with pizza like a winner.
Creamy, spicy, peanut noodles. Ramen noodles + stir-fried cabbage and red bell pepper + a sauce with cream cheese, peanut butter, and gojuchang.
I gussied up store-bought marinara to make a delicious meat sauce – turkey bacon, ground turkey, onion, chili flake, urfa pepper, fish sauce, and tons of garlic. Served on Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocci with a side of garlic bok choy.
We also used meat sauce on homemade pizza. Plus sauteed broccoli with butter, chili flake, and garlic.
Adam and I randomly had one of the Best! Weekends! Ever! (TM) this past weekend. We lucked out with a good chunk of time to spend together and nice weather. Friday night we took a long walk in our neighborhood and went to a fancy yet lackluster dinner near our apartment. Saturday we drove into Brooklyn for a bridge walk and took long walks around Williamsburg + SoHo + Thompkin’s Square Park. Sunday we took the LIRR into the city and took long walks around Koreatown + Midtown + Central Park. You’ll notice a theme there! Food highlights included…
Fantastic mochi doughnuts and black sesame iced coffee at Bear Donut.
We went to a different Felix Roasting Co location each day! For an espresso tonic and a smoked s’mores latte.
We scored new flavors in two of our favorite drinks.
Best beverages of the weekend were this combo from Blue Bottle – Nola Cola (New Orleans-style coffee with vanilla and sparkling water) and a yuzu lemon fizz.
Hanoi House has a dessert window pop-up this summer and it is my new favorite place. I got a Bright Eyes Sundae – vanilla soft-serve, hot fudge, egg custard, chocolate sesame crunch, and Vietnamese coffee over crushed ice.
Egyptian food at Zooba. We loved the tamarind chicken rice bowl.
Plus hawawshi and falafel with hibiscus tahini.
Lebanese food at Au Za’atar. We knuafe plus some of the best lamb we’ve ever tasted (no photo due to lighting but it was a truly gigantic serving and we’ll be happily eating leftovers all week!).
Sushi at Maki Kosaka. We ordered practically the whole menu; both of our favorites were the bluefin toro preparations.
Eating Chalk 