I am staunchly anti-carb-on-carb (i.e. I don’t want garlic bread next to mashed potatoes and I don’t like rice in burritos – fries are allowed though!) but this macaroni and cheese slice from Pizzaria G is the best pizza I have ever eaten.
Black eyed pea salad. BEP with baked super-firm tofu, orange bell pepper, poblano pepper, sharp cheddar, crispy broad beans, and Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing.
Plus seaweed potato chips for crunch.
Buffalo bowls. Cabbage (roasted with salt and pepper and then tossed with mayo, skyr, evoo, rice vinegar, ranch seasoning, celery seed, smoked paprika, and sugar) topped with Blackbird buffalo wing style seitan.
It was a wonderful weekend! I say that often, but any weekend I get time with Adam is wonderful! We tried some new-to-us restaurants, had several fun coffees, admired flowers at Little Island, bought some buttons at M&J Trimmings (it is closing soon!)… Some highlights…
Creme bru-latte from Foreigner. This was as good as it looks!
Humble Cafe. Pandan iced latte and a black sesame mochi cookie.
Bubble tea from a stall at Pier 57. A yuzu lemonade Arnold Palmer with lychee popping boba, rainbow jelly, and edible glitter.
Kaya toast with Thai tea jam, pandan ice cream, red bean, and toasted marshmallows.
Guava and mascarpone pie at Peete’s. (Pie Month!)
Brunch at Lord’s. The hype is deserved! We loved almost everything we shared. Pineapple amaro sour – aged rum, pineapple amaro, lime, and egg white / Orchard Spritz – Neversink apple apertif, ginger beer, and candied ginger.
Turkish eggs with garlic yogurt, chili butter, and sourdough toast (11/10) // curried lamb scotch egg – I’m not a huge curry fan but Adam loved this.
Welsh rarebit cheeseburger on a pretzel bun with fantastic chips. This doesn’t make my top five list (we didn’t like the inclusion of raw onion slices) but it was a very solid burger.
Banoffee French toast. This was fine, not super exciting and the “French toast” was definitely just a slice of toasted bread.
Dinner at Foster. We loved this Sea Cliff spot and want to come back soon! The lighting was not photo-friendly however. I had a very solid dry-aged burger with aioli, arugula, caramelized onions, and gruyere.
Our leftovers were still delicious too. Wood-fired Margherita pizza with house-made mozzarella, tomato sauce, and seasonal pesto / okonomiyaki-style brussels sprouts. We also had a charred broccolini Caesar that was 11/10 delicious and pumpkin bread pudding with excellent pecan pie ice cream.
Dinner at Lula Mae was even better and the lighting was even more hostile. We shared and loved crispy tofu with a soy Chianking vinegar dressing, pickled veggies, scallions, and roasted walnuts / braised duck with pickled pearl onions, fried shallots, broccoli puree, and duck fat potatoes // fried chicken two ways – soy tamarind glazed wings and dry-rubbed boneless with lime pepper dressing and house-made pickles.
Horchata-ish iced latte. I blended leftover brown rice, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla bean powder in the blender. Unstrained, with ice, half and half, and espresso.
Berry smoothie. Frozen strawberries and blueberries, with chocolate protein powder, milk, and water. And a strawberry gummy.
These Kissabel apples have rose colored flesh.
I enjoyed these Quin maple almond butter filled pretzels much more than I was expecting to.
Chip City’s caramel apple cider donut cookie is hands-down the best thing they make. The cookie has the perfect amount of apple tang and the cider donut cinnamon sugar spice rub is divine.
10/10 dessert skyr bowl. Plain skyr, salty peanuts, leftover pecan pie toffee candy, and TWO KINDS of blueberries (Sweetest Batch and Super Jumbo!).
Braised tofu bowls. Brown rice with roasted cauliflower rice / sauteed bok choy with green onion / firm tofu cooked in butter and braised in chicken broth, rice vinegar, gochujang, gochugaru, Sichuan pepper, sugar, and sesame seeds / cashews.
Greek-ish salad. Romaine, Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing, baby tomatoes, roasted zucchini, and roasted chickpeas (baked until crispy with evoo, salt, pepper, sumac, onion powder, and garlic powder). Plus Trader Joe’s dolmas.
Crispy rice omelet. Eggs steamed on top of crisped-up leftover brown rice, kimchi, and extra-sharp cheddar. Plus roasted broccoli and baked chicken on the side.
I can’t skip a seasonal special; even if it’s from Arby’s. Their Gobbler sandwich was great though – deep-fried turkey, crispy onion, Swiss, stuffing, cranberry spread, and mayo on a toasted sub.
Homemade s’mores iced latte. Marshmallow creme / Trader Joe’s chocolate shell / Trader Joe’s maple pecan cold brew concentrate / milk infused with graham cracker, cinnamon, vanilla bean powder, and salt.
I had the graham crackers in the house for the fantastic pecan pie cookies I made. Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies but with chopped up homemade chocolate pecan graham cracker toffee candy in place of chips.
The best dessert of the weekend was hands-down Librae‘s halvah chocolate croissant.
I am not a big juice person but I very much enjoyed this Alldae passionfruit and guava cascara drink.
The perfect walking snack from an Asian grocery in Manhattan – spicy tuna onigiri and crab meat inari.
Mimi Cheng‘s makes my current favorite dumplings in the city and their seasonal/collaborative options are always awesome. Three cup chicken scallion pancake melt with mozzarella and fresno peppers.
Thanksgiving dinner dumplings with local turkey, cranberry herb stuffing, housemade gravy, thyme, and a side of housemade cranberry sauce.
Dinner at The Cuban. I couldn’t take pictures because the lighting was insane but we had an excellent meal. That drink was a coquito mojito!!
New new-to-me pear. This wasn’t as good as the last two but still not bad.
A dips/dippers situation. Little Sesame Herby Jalapeno hummus and Red Clay pimento cheese (hands down the best pimento spread we’ve ever tasted!) with bell peppers, baby carrots, and Crunch Master pimento cheese rice crackers.
Warm salads. Sauteed Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Crunch topped with dressing (maple syrup, Dijon mustard, vinegar, and sesame oil), lamb sausage, and roasted honeynut and delicata squash.
Tofu salads. Romaine / Trader Joe’s mano vinaigrette / cucumber / extra-sharp cheddar / crispy broad beans / and tofu (marinated, dredged in a flour, cornstarch, salt, white pepper, Sichuan peppercorn, and toasted rice powder mix, then stir-fried).
A very, very loose take on the Very Fresh Noodles Dan Dan noodles. Buckwheat soba / dinosaur kale, baby bok choy, and scallions sauteed with fish sauce and rice vinegar / ground turkey sauteed with hoisin, dark soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, and five spice powder / crunched up crispy broad beans / sauce – peanut butter, garlic, onion chili crisp, chili oil, soy sauce, sugar, five spice powder, Sichuan peppercorn, and chicken broth.
P.S. I put pecan pie chocolate chip cookies into the oven as I wrote this post!
Blank Street‘s (dirty) iced matcha with blueberry and ube.
It’s Pie Month! Four & Twenty Blackbird‘s brown sugar pie with peanuts and toasted coconut was divine.
Elleno’s pecan pie yogurt with Biscoff cookie crumble. Pie Month!
Chip City fall special – maple cookies with maple cream cheese frosting and chopped pecans.
Brunch at Agi’s Counter. I had a dirty Ovaltine with oat milk.
We shared several dishes. Everything ended up going together perfectly. Tuna melt – served on a griddled potato pullman with alpine cheddar and a side of cabbage slaw and mustard // hash brown with trout roe.
Palacsinta, Hungarian crepes with with port-stewed figs, butter, and maple.
Little Grenjai does brunch now and it’s even better than their dinner service! We shared several things and are dying to go back soon to try more dishes. Pandan iced matcha latte (not as good as I was expecting but still an ok matcha).
Thai iced coffee (delicious!) // Hat Yai fried chicken and with sticky rice waffles, fantastic chili sauce, and maple syrup.
Pad Thai with confit duck.
The lox platter was my favorite dish of the meal – cured salmon crudo with everything roti and rangoon cream cheese // fried duck egg.
Baba’s Pierogies. We shared pan-fried with feta, black garlic, and potato and boiled potato, cheddar, and jalapeno with a horseradish sauce.
Homemade taco dinners that were both wonderful. Baked chicken chopped together with canned pumpkin puree, roasted poblano pepper, and extra-sharp cheddar. Heated in a frying pan. Plus green beans that were steamed and then sauteed with onion chili crisp, honey, and rice vinegar. Plus the best ever homemade ranch (Duke’s mayo, ranch seasoning, and some liquid from Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pickled jalapenos).
Local lamb sausage, roasted onion and bell peppers, extra sharp cheddar, and labne baked in the oven. Plus sauteed asparagus.
And pumpkin beers! Southern Tier’s Maple Warlock imperial pumpkin stout and Caramel Pumpkin imperial pumpkin ale were both excellent.
Pumpkin smoothie. Canned pumpkin puree, frozen banana, brown sugar, vanilla protein powder, and water.
Boo-berry smoothie. Frozen blueberries, cherries, and strawberries with vanilla protein powder and water (with a marshmallow ghost!).
Halloween candy week seemed like a fitting time to open this Bonne Maman chocolate peanut spread. I enjoyed it in a few iced coffees and am eagerly anticipating a yogurt bowl.
Another new to me pear – Gem. It was delicious, but I prefer the Happis.
This Wella Crispy Treat did not taste like ube to me but it was yummy; good salty-sweet balance. Adam hated it, however, so your milage may vary.
Oyakadon-inspired dinner. Eggs soft-scrambled in leftover Rose Marie whipped garlic parsley butter / roasted broccoli / Bell and Evans breaded chicken patties / horseradish Sriracha aioli / leftover Rose Marie sourdough.
Pumpkin chili. Ground turkey, Whole Food’s canned bean trio, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, canned pumpkin puree, fish sauce, yellow onion, red bell pepper, poblano pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, urfa chili, and salt and pepper. Plus leftover Rose Marie cheese curds and Trader Joe’s pumpkin tortilla chips.
Two types of leftover pizza reheated in a skillet with leftover butter and an egg cooked on top.
These crispy roasted beans were the best dinner of the week. Labne / roasted shredded brussels sprouts / Great Northern beans tossed with evoo, cornstarch, panko, gochugaru, and furikake and roasted / Roland’s spicy chili onion crisp / crispy numbing broad beans I found at 99 Ranch but can’t read the label for.
It was a great weekend! We got in a final run on the Long Beach Boardwalk and spent some time in Brooklyn. Some of what we ate…
Witches Brew from Rose Wolf. Cold brew with oat milk, cinnamon, maple, and caramel. We actually didn’t love this – too milky and too sweet.
Cookies and Scream iced latte from The Barn. We didn’t like this coffee either(!!) but we loved the Shmackary’s cookie on top.
Spooky yogurt bowl. Plain skyr with golden kiwi, blueberries, and candy eyes.
Beers at Grimm. Love a spot with small pours! My stand-out favorite was the Maximum Boogie triple IPA.
More importantly, we had food from Lala’s Apizza on their upper level. A 10/10 kale salad with cheese and sweet and spicy nuts.
And a Funghi Pie – mozzarella, fontina, tarragon oyster mushrooms, and lemon zest.
We had an exceptional dinner at Rose Marie. The space was cute, the service was great, and my cocktail was perfect. Goin’ to Alcapulco – lime, guava, white rum, dark rum, and lime bitters. Adam also had stunning pickled green tomato martini.
Sourdough bread and focaccia with radishes and whipped garlic parsley butter. <– this was the best butter I’ve ever tasted
Cranberry beans with paprika vinaigrette, croutons, and baby cauliflower.
Fried cheddar cheese curds with a burnt olive ranch.
And a patty melt on a homemade Pullman with grilled onion, white cheddar, and pickled green tomatoes.
Eating Chalk 