Bahn by Lauren – Sesame ball with mung bean filling (9.5/10, almost as good as the one from Lucky King) and pandan coffee cake.
Glace – S’mores sundae. Brown butter vanilla soft-serve with hot fudge, marshmallow fluff, and whipped cream. We added peanut butter drizzle and did not regret it.
Brunch at The Dutch. My (non-epynonymous) Oaxacan Sunset had tequila, mezcal, cassis, lime, and hibiscus grenadine.
Deviled eggs with crab.
We shared the burger which was dry-aged with grilled onions, cheddar, and secret sauce on a sesame bun.
And cornmeal flapjacks with blueberry syrup and salted butter. These had the best crispy edges.
For being the 1st week back from a vacation this week felt painless! Here were some food highlights…
Even our leftovers from dinner at Theodora were fantastic. This was laffa with lamb, tahini, amba, and shifka.
A grown up takes on a cafeteria favorite – two bougie Gushers-inspired candies. Both were great.
I loved these sweet cinnamon bun flavored protein pretzels.
It was Rex Manning Day this week so I baked cupcakes for work (because there are 24 usable hours in every day!). Peanut butter cupcakes (boxed yellow cake mix baked with milk substituted for water, butter substituted for oil, an extra egg, and 1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter) with chocolate frosting. They were fantastic, amazingly the texture was perfect.
And we, of course, ate a bunch of pizza and watched Empire Records! This plate was chicken and waffle (possibly my all-time favorite slice of pizza, the chunks of waffle felt artisanal and there was maple syrup!) and buffalo chicken. Plus spicy green beans (steamed and then sauteed with Sichuan peppercorn, gochugaru, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, yellow mustard, dijon, and Sriracha.
The rest of our dinners were on the theme of school cafeteria lunches! Like a take on Salisbury Steak. Turkey patties (with ground turkey, panade, grated white onion, dijon, ketchup, and garlic) with a tomato gray (roux, water, tomato sauce, dijon, dark soy sauce, and low-sodium oyster sauce). Served with roasted broccoli and potato tots.
Macaroni and cheese. My mac and three cheese muffins. I substituted extra-sharp cheddar for parmesan because it was all we had. We used Goodles Loopdy Loos.
Fish sticks. Cornmeal crusted served with cocktail sauce and a side of roasted cauliflower.
Fun syrups from El Guapo, pecan and almond. They were good in iced coffees, okay in an iced matcha, and fantastic in an iced diet coke!
Obviously the best coffee of the week was the Dubai bar monthly special latte from Buzz’d.
My favorite skyr bowl this week had honey, salted peanuts, blackberries, and blueberries. I have been head over heels for the Driscoll’s “sweetest batch” blueberries.
I think I have tried and loved every flavor of these peelable gummies from Duane Reade. Peach was lovely and floral.
I’ll buy pretty much any new product Ben & Jerry’s puts out and this sundae style pint did not disappoint. It had butter toffee pecans!
I love a good egg salad. This one had chopped cornichons, poblano pepper, tons of mayo, and dijon mustard. Plus roasted broccoli on the side.
This dinner looks horrible but it really was good; brown rice and roasted riced cauliflower / baked eggplant sauteed with gochujang, black sesame paste, and sesame oil / a take on Korean steamed eggs / topped with chili crisp and peanuts.
I used leftover cauliflower/rice in kimchi fried rice. With poblano peppers, peas, green onions, eggs, soy sauce, fish sauce, and rice vinegar. Topped with surprisingly great grilled shrimp from Whole Foods.
Creamy gochujang pasta. Brown rice noodles tossed with cream cheese, gochujang, and sauteed dinosaur kale and green onions. Topped with sesame seeds and gochugaru and served next to some baked turkey meatballs.
Our favorite dinner of the week (month!) was savory oatmeal bowls. Trader Joe’s rolled oats with ancient grains and seeds / bok choy sauteed with ginger / TJ’s frozen tofu sheets / chili crisp / six-minute egg / candied peanuts with gochugaru.
Black sesame frozen coffee. Iced coffee blended with black sesame paste, honey, cinnamon, vanilla extract, vanilla protein powder, and skim milk.
Pistachio chocolate frozen coffee. Iced coffee blended with Javy, pistachio paste, brown sugar, vanilla extract, chocolate protein powder, cocoa powder, and skim milk.
I am obviously a sucker for seasonal releases but this grapefruit and blossom Red Bull did taste like a Squirt soda!
The maple cruller from Daily Provisions is my favorite doughnut in NYC.
We loved two new (to us) treats at Win Son Bakery – a fermented red rice donut and a vanilla cream bun.
11/10 brunch at Marks off Madison. We shared the smoked fish platter with bagels, veggie cream cheese and scallion cream cheese, tomato and red onion, whitefish salad, house-cured lox, sable, and Nova.
Dinner at Ammazzacaffe. We thought everything here was great, down to the free bread and olives.
My cocktail was so cute; Spill the Tea, green tea infused vodka, elderflower, St. Germain, yuzu, amaro, and prosecco.
We shared two pastas and two entrees. Spinach gemelli with maitake mushrooms and goat cheese and the special – beet mezzaluna with roasted beef and ricotta.
Braised lamb shoulder with beans, brodo, carrots, and pistachio gremolata.
The best dish of the meal was the pastrami short bread with roasted cabbage, rye strata, pickles, dill, and Russian dressing.
The bitter cold this weekend couldn’t stop us from having absolutely fantastic New York days! We ran a bunch of errands, spent an evening in Brooklyn (complete with unphotographed frozen pina coladas!), and spent Sunday walking around the East Village/Lower East Side. Things…
I’ve been eyeing the black and white cookie latte from Zaro’s for months and finally caved — too sweet but still tasty.
Humble Cafe is our favorite Long Island coffee. This was a wonderful latte with ube and white chocolate.
Even better – the cà phê sữa đá with salted cold foam from Le Gaz.
Cinnamon rolls from the new Sunday Morning. We tried guava cheese and pistachio. The toppings were tasty but the buns were weak – we were underwhelmed for the price/wait time.
Dinner at Little Grenjai was our best meal of the year so far! I don’t remember what was in this mimosa but it was nice and refreshing.
Crab rangoons.
Pad Thai with shrimp. This was tamarind-forward in a lovely way.
Drunken Noodles with confit duck. These were some of the best (read: marshmallowy) broad rice noodles I’ve eaten. And there were fresh green Sichuan peppercorns!
Braised short ribs in a Massaman curry sauce. Super tender and wonderful.
Pandan cream pie.
Lunch at Little Kirin was also a 10/10. We shared the Pho Sandwich – slow-braised beef, onions, scallions, cilantro, Thai basil, jalapeno, crispy shallots, and hoisin on ciabatta with pho broth on the side for dipping. Plus the crispiest tater tots.
I knew we’d been homesick after my mom left so I filled the week with Caribbean flavors to remind us of home! Highlights…
This week’s coffee combo.
Smoothie – pineapple with frozen peaches, water, and vanilla protein powder.
The last of the hibiscus iced brownies.
Tropical candies. Passionfruit marshmallows and pineapple and passionfruit gummies. Both were delicious.
Painkillers!
I also made rum and coke slushies.
We love our loose take on callaloo – chopped spinach sauteed with yellow onion, habanero pepper, and garlic, with crab meat and coconut milk. Plus I made dumb bread – with butter and cheese – that we adored.
Rice and beans (brown rice with yellow onion, ginger, habanero pepper, dark kidney beans, and coconut milk) with baked salmon cakes (canned salmon with green onion, egg, panade, mayo, smoked paprika, and Jamaican curry powder) and roasted peppers (bell, poblano, and onions).
My mom was in New York this weekend! She came up to see our condo and celebrate her birthday next weekend. We had a fabulous time and did all sorts of NYC things like – admiring the ceiling at Grand Central Station / admiring the ceiling at Albertine Bookstore / admiring the ceiling at Chelsea Market / admiring the snow in Central Park / shopping in Greenpoint / getting a flight of fruity milkshake beers at Evil Twin.
Here were some food highlights…
Morning coffees at home with this power duo (brown butter cookie cold foam!!?).
A coffee date at Quhwah House. I got an iced Yemeni latte (great in theory but I ultimately am just not a ginger in coffee fan) and we shared a yummy creamy pistachio dessert.
I was very pleasantly surprised by this Cafe Bustelo coffee. Not as good as brewing their coffee myself but the best pre-made coffee I’ve tried.
Snack plate – olive oil and za’atar labne, baby carrots, and corn fritters (we got bar food one night!).
I went to J-Mart for fresh noodles and scored in their amazing snack isle – these Sichuan pepper chips were fantastic.
Drinks and desserts at Whisk and Whiskey. We really enjoyed this spot and want to go back ASAP.
I, of course, ate some cubed in a yogurt bowl with blueberries.
And, of course, I toasted thick slices to be the B in BEC (banana bread, soft-scrambled eggs, extra-sharp cheddar). Served with blueberries and roasted green beans.
Another fun dinner I made was Leah Cohen’s recipe for Chow Fun! With baked chicken subbed in for beef and roasted zucchini subbed in for bean sprouts. It was delicious.
Big salads. Romaine / cucumber / balsamic vinaigrette / roasted pumfu (pumpkin seed tofu) / crispy rice (leftover black rice roasted with soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili crisp).
Best meal of the week = Bricolage. We’ve loved this Vietnamese spot for years. Their take on coquito blew me away – Ten to One dark rum, house-made creamy coconut spice blend, and Chinese cardamom. I also had a great Vietnamese Espresso Martini – Grainger’s vodka, chicory infused coffee, condensed milk, and five spice coffee garnish.
Mushroom ginger congee with lemongrass tofu.
Five spice roasted honey nut squash with maple gastrique and a kale cauliflower cous cous salad.
Caramelized shrimp pot – Gulf shrimp, baby bok choy, onion, cherry tomato, and scallions in a caramel-chili sauce. This is my favorite dish on the menu!
Eating Chalk 