Bushwick And Beyond

Weekend theme flavors: rose, tahini, coffee, and duck.

DSC04140

DSC04144

I am super lucky that my husband feels the same way that I do about trying new foods and sharing foods; splitting things means we get to have tons of tastes!  I feel lucky to have him in general too! (<– see also: the gorgeous flowers below that he surprised me with after work on Friday)

For Saturday breakfast we shared a soursop smoothie. It couldn’t compare to the fresh stuff I had at home but was still yummy.  Frozen soursop puree, caramel almond milk, and cinnamon and nutmeg.

DSC04052

I also had an iced Americano while we did a big grocery restock trip.  Pro tip – ask for “light water” so you can add some milk without losing espresso.

DSC04054

Lunch was a smorgasbord at Smorgasburg.  Duck bun, smothered in sweet chili sauce.  The crunch from the fried shallots makes this our favorite bao in the city.  {A+}

DSC04066

I cooled my mouth down with an earl grey egg cream. {A}

DSC04069

We tried a savory crepe with egg, chili sauce, and a crunchy cracker.  {B}  The texture ended up not really being our speed, we both wished we had gone for the extra egg in it.

DSC04071

DSC04077

Palm sugar with tamarind caramel ice cream for dessert. {A+}  This had such a unique flavor.

DSC04079

I tasted a bite of cinnamon rose and it was pretty amazing as well.  We grabbed an unphotographed coffee at some point in there too.

Our evening plans included a tasting/tour of Owney’s Rum at The Noble Experiment so we wandered around Bushwick a bit.  We were parked about a mile from the distillery so we got to see a few cool spots.  And the tour was great; we really love factory/brewery/etc visits.

DSC04082

13108812_1051102458301269_2100428323_n

DSC04085

I also had a vodka soda with cherries.  <– desperately needed lime

DSC04063

For dinner we fell head over heals in love with Faro.  Gorgeous tableware, locally and humanely sourced foods, and delicious dishes.

DSC04091

DSC04095

We started with ricotta gnocchi with ramps, morel mushrooms, fava beans, and cured egg.

DSC04104

Plus a little gem lettuce salad with miso anchovy vinaigrette, pistachio, soft-boiled egg, and mint.  It was amazing, truly the very best salad we’ve ever had!  Adam and I both thought it was the best dish of the day.  The mint made it absolutely perfect.

DSC04097

Drinks were a meh rosé and a sour porter which we loved.

DSC04093

We shared our entrées (more tastes!).  Squid ink corzetti with peekytoe crab, uni, shiro dashi, and sorrel.  I really dislike long pasta – I should have looked up corzetti before I ordered – but Adam was swooning.

DSC04105

And I lost my mind over our dry aged duck breast.  It was served on a fantastic turnip puree.

DSC04111

Key lime tart with fresh strawberry sorbet for dessert.

DSC04114

We will be back!

Sunday baking project – tahini granola.  Best granola I’ve ever made; I ended up eating a big bowl with milk for dessert at the end of the day.

DSC04128

For breakfast I ate it on top of plain Greek yogurt, with fresh berries, and a single Luxardo cherry.

DSC04135

Plus a rose latte in an amazing cup.

DSC04146

We spent our afternoon wandering around Chelsea Market to get out of the unseasonable cold.

DSC04149

DSC04163

DSC04166

Lunch was a sharp cheddar grilled cheese with a chocolate milk stout.

DSC04162

DSC04157

Seed + Mill served the highlight of the day – goats milk yogurt with the best tahini I’ve ever had.  We couldn’t believe how delicious this was!  I can’t wait to take my parents there this summer.

DSC04152

DSC04155

My home-cooked dinner was delicious as well, thanks, crockpot!

DSC04177

Chicken, potatoes, and baby carrots were cooking away with 40 cloves of garlic while we spent the day out of the house.

DSC04187

Served with roasted green beans with a sprinkle of almonds and cheese.

DSC04182

Yum.  And I am basically stuffed again reading through this post!

DSC04169

Last Week’s Top Ten

{1} Swapping out my wardrobe to welcome in the spring-ish weather.

So today and tomorrow are supposed to be pretty darn cold, but the rest of the month is looking so nice that I went ahead and traded my summer and winter gear.  Scarves and boots are still available but if we get a freak snowstorm I’m out of luck because all my coats are at the cleaners.  It felt good to get that big project done.

{2} Enjoying coffee again.

Extra espresso in my giant iced latte?  My health is officially back to 100%.

DSC03219

DSC03277

This upcoming week I did brew a batch so I won’t have an excuse to buy coffee out every day.

{3} Berry smoothie.

Maple kefir, dates, and frozen mixed berries.

DSC03248

Kefir was the perfect smoothie liquid.

{4} Dessert-y oatmeal bowls for lunch.

Oats with chia, freeze-dried raspberries, pecans, and strawberry shortcake M&Ms.

DSC03215

Oats with chia, freeze-dried raspberries, and a big scoop of Biscoff.

DSC03237

I bought a jar of Biscoff last Saturday and it is practically empty now – – I am the only member of the household who eats Biscoff.

{5} National Pecan Day is April 14th and Nonni’s sent* me some Turtle Pecan Biscotti to celebrate.

*Free sample alert – no additional compensation was provided for this post, all opinions are my own.

DSC03226

The biscotti was quite good next to my coffee – crunchy but not toothbreakingly so and a good balance of salty and sweet.

DSC03232

But even better crushed into my all-time best yogurt combo.  Turtle pecan yogurt bowl: maple yogurt, toasted pecans, chocolate-covered cocoa nibs, biscotti, and chopped plucot.

DSC03257

Or check out Nonni’s Pinterest page for some other pairing ideas.

{6} Binge-watching “Hart of Dixie” on instantwatch.

Yes, the show where Rachel Bilson plays a doctor in the deep south.  And yes, it is totally a soap opera.  But it is completely addictive!  I am a woman obsessed, or I should say I was a women obsessed – I may have already finished watching all four seasons!

{7} Kombucha.

The Master Brew line from Kevita has been knocking my socks off.

DSC03284

Grapefruit was perfectly sweet and tart.

{8} Healthy sticks to scoop up less-healthy dips.

Baby carrots and green pepper in spinach and artichoke dip.

DSC03264

Apple slices in melted Biscoff and dark chocolate peanut butter.

DSC03239

Apple dippers in cookie butter are even more satisfying than licking it off of a spoon like I usually do.

{9} Taco brinner.

We loved our fish tacos so much the week before that I knew we needed a repeat.

DSC03270

This time our hard shells were stuffed with sautéed onions and peppers, shredded cheese, roasted tomatillo salsa, and scrambled eggs.  This was practically the only meal I cooked all week, the other nights I mostly ate chips with cheese and salsa so I’d have time to watch my stories!

{10} Chuko Ramen.

I introduced a girlfriend to the joy that is their veggie miso with a soft egg and chili garlic oil on top.

ramen

It is the perfect dinner spot because Ample Hill’s ice cream is just a short walk down the block!

What are you looking forward to this week?

A Week Of Super Bowls

 

I was a bit under the weather last week, nothing too bad, mostly a lot of coughing and headaches, but I just didn’t have it in me on Thursday to blog a recap.  I was not too sick, however, to eat a bunch of yummy stuff that’s worth sharing.  Last Monday through Sunday, here are the highlights*…

*highlights within the highlights, I obviously drank more coffee than this

coffee

DSC02430

Caramel-flavored Chameleon Cold Brew!  With half & half.  I adore CCB, it’s so smooth.

DSC02373

Served one day with citrus seltzer and a sumo mandarin.

DSC02390

This wins for my all-time preferred citrus, it is sweet and firm, and there are seeds but they are big enough to pop out easily.

oatmeal

In homemade instant bowls for work (just add hot water!).

DSC02413

Rolled oats, chia seeds, dry milk powder, freeze-dried raspberries, and toasted walnuts.

DSC02408

And smoothies.

DSC02501

Vanilla almond milk + chia seeds + oats + frozen banana + brown sugar + cocoa powder.

old-school-style cafeteria lunches

Sliced turkey and cheese with a less than healthy “veggie” side.

DSC02478

DSC02484

My school didn’t actually have a cafeteria (I graduated in a class of <40 and we had iguanas running the halls) but this is how I imagined the lunches would have been.

pepperoni-ish pizza

DSC02448

Oh. My. God.  We sliced up a TJ’s turkey summer sausage and put it on the best homemade pizza we’ve ever had.

DSC02455

Usually I try to overdo it with pizza – lots of veggies, too much cheese – and the crust ends up soggy, but this was a crispy masterpiece.  With a simple side salad.

sugar

Haribo salty licorice.

DSC02400

Cake pop flavored gum.  There are sprinkles in it!

DSC02389

We finished this month’s Skoshbox the day it came.

DSC02437

Tj’s dark chocolate mini cookies.

DSC02441

DSC02444

These hearts were way better than I was expecting; usually I don’t buy boxed cookies because I’m a pretty great cookie baker myself but there is no way I could make chocolate shortbread this crunchy.

fancy booze in Brooklyn

DSC02500

DSC02497

Adam met me after work for a fantastic Friday night date in Boerum Hill.  We started at Grand Army for cocktail hour.

12547171_1667929576780092_1171337432_n

My Alabaster Cavern – blended scotch, Lustau East India Solera, cinnamon, lime, coconut, pineapple, and bitters – tasted like a fancy painkiller.  We liked the space and the vibe (they have a penciled drawing of ET as Mr. T on the wall) and will definitely be back.

The drink menu at Colonie was no slouch either.  My Empire State Sour was American whiskey, NY apples, lemon, egg white, baked apple bitters, and cinnamon.

DSC02489

Best drink of 2016.  That line of cinnamon stayed in place on top of the egg foam and made every sip smell delectable.

We shared two wonderful, duck-based dishes. Cavatelli with duck ham, béchamel, and soldier beans.

DSC02494

And wheatberries, mushrooms, and arugula with a duck egg on top.

DSC02492

I know the pictures are hard to see, but those black bits?  Were crispy mushrooms.  I don’t know how to describe the flavor (truffle? earthy?) but they were the single best thing I’ve ever tasted.

dinner bowls

I did not watch the game yesterday, but I have been eating some delicious bowls of dinner.  All but one include broccoli because apparently it’s our favorite.

We made a variation of our black-eyed pea mix.  Roasted broccoli, edamame, gochujang, smoked almonds, and cheddar.

DSC02384

A super bowl on Sunday.  Orecchiette with roasted mushroom and baby zucchini, tossed with browned butter and Italian four cheese blend, topped with a sprinkle of smoked paprika.  Served on a bed of roasted green beans.

DSC02511

Best bowl of the week – farro with ginger, garlic, lemon, gochujang, evoo, and salt and pepper / mackerel with stone ground mustard and a bit of mayo / roasted broccoli / toasted walnuts.

DSC02426

This was technically a lunch bowl.  The cafeteria had a baked potato bar.

DSC02396

I swear there was a potato underneath all of that cheese and broccoli.

dog love

I feel like Webster’s adorable mug hasn’t been on the blog much lately, but I have been snapping pictures of him for Instagram.  These are some of the best ones:

12407440_622351194585468_2120800441_n.jpg

916509_1727920987429217_1770642146_n

12552347_1671665326405652_1378783210_n

Related – a girlfriend surprised me with this darling dachshund scarf.

12407142_1029434870453252_1548241853_n

Here’s to a great week!

Merry Munching – Christmas Week Top Ten

I hope all of my readers who celebrate had a very merry Christmas yesterday!  Adam, Webster, and I had a great day full of cuddles, present opening, cheese eating, and “Frosty” watching!

The best present of all?  Yesterday was start of a four-day weekend for me, I’ve got Friday though Monday off.  The weekend’s fun includes our 8-year wedding anniversary, so I doubt I’ll make time for any blogging.  See you next weekend!

Here are the top ten from last week…

{1} Brunch with friends

They introduced me to j’eatjet in Park Slope.  I had an Aperol Sidecar and a yummy breakfast veggie burger with swiss and a fried egg.

DSC01823

Then I spent time slowly perusing the giant Whole Foods.

DSC01827

With a Vietnamese iced latte at my side.

{2} Holiday themed breakfasts

These made for very pleasant mornings.  All with ice coffee with full-octane eggnog!

DSC01876

DSC01892

DSC01872

DSC01879

DSC01896

That Nutrament was seriously the best eggnog item of the season.

{3} Strawberry chocolate mint smoothies

We love this combo every winter.

DSC01851

Chocolate peppermint soy milk + plain Greek yogurt + frozen strawberries.

{4} Roasted veggie sandwiches for lunch

One of my nutrition co-workers is retiring next week so we took her out to lunch at an Italian place near the hospital.  I got a roasted veggie and mozzarella panini.

12362599_1392661381033155_1972774758_n

And another day there were roasted veggies at the sandwich bar.

DSC01881

I got them on a (giant!) wrap with tuna and cheese.

{5} Christmas morning sugar rush

I don’t have any pictures because we tore into the bags too quickly but my mom bought me two different cola-flavored gummies from German Haribo.

{6} Thai food in the city

I wish I’d paid more attention to the name of this spot (near Union Square Park) because the food was great.  I had a Malaysian iced coffee.

DSC01862

And the Night Market Noodles – a combo of egg noodles and broad rice noodles with chili paste, bean sprouts, and a boiled egg.

DSC01863

These were super spicy, aka perfect, I was crying with each bite.

{7} Halo Halo at Bago

I’m obsessed with Halo Halo so as soon as my cousin sent me this NYTimes link I added Bago to my to-do list.

DSC01856

Their version is a tapioca shake with taro ice cream on top and red bean, palm seeds, and young coconut on the bottom.  It was fantastic!

{8} Kale, and eggs

We made wonderful sautéed kale with garlic, golden raisins, and blue cheese.

DSC01888

Alongside eggs that were just horrible.  It turns out that ground turkey and pizza sauce do not belong in scrambled eggs.

{9} Christmas nachos

Apparently I’ve decided that nachos are holiday food.  This version was red and green at least.

DSC01914

Chips with mozzarella, ground turkey, broccoli, and red bell pepper.

{10} Eggnog treats  <– I saved the best for last

Like the coquita cupcake from Brooklyn Cupcake.

DSC01853

Coconut cake soaked in a creamy coconut milk egg nog with a hint of rum flavor and topped with a mascarpone whipped cream.

And the eggnog ice cream from Ample Hills is their best flavor yet.

DSC01833

Creamy, eggnog, rummy goodness.

S’Mores And S’more

Since I worked the weekend, I had Tuesday off this week, woo-hoo!  I used the time to get my holiday gift shopping 100% purchased, wrapped, and packed for shipping, woo-hoo x2!

daytime eats

This week’s tea – Chestnut.  This was my favorite flavor yet; not as good as coffee, of course, but still pretty sweet and roasty.  And the smell is unbelievable, I got a yummy whiff every time I opened my desk.

DSC01685

DSC01675

With an almond cookie from my co-worker.

DSC01711

Or s’mores trail mix.

DSC01680

Wheat squares cereal, salted brown butter dark chocolate, sweet and spicy pecans, and these fancy marshmallows my aunt and uncle sent me for Hanukkah.

DSC01645DSC01648

That s’mores box was gone within 24 hours.

This week’s coffee:

DSC01703

Also I enjoyed a Winter Cheer (Stumptown cold brew with mulling spices!) with a cocktail grapefruit (a mandarin and pomelo hybrid that has the tang of a grapefruit without the bitterness).

DSC01639

And one morning I made us pink smoothies – plain Greek yogurt and orange juice with frozen grapes, blackberries, and pomegranate.

DSC01707

I only have one work lunch photo this week, we have been slammed and I ate hurriedly at my desk while I worked so I mostly stuck to pizza.

DSC01723

But Tuesday at home I did eat a tasty yogurt bowl.

DSC01693

Plain Greek yogurt with the last of the cranberry sauce, fresh pomegranate, chia seeds, and Maple-icious Pecan Granola.  I’m going to miss that sauce.

nighttime eats

First things first – I started almost every dinner this week with an appetizer of a big hunk of ciabatta schmeared with Smart Balance.

DSC01673

Also cocktail hour with this dream team:

DSC01650DSC01661

Adam bought me those ridiculously exciting Luxardo cherries for my birthday and I’ve been hoarding them for winter cocktail hours ever since.

Monday night we harnessed the power of the soft-cooked egg yolk and made easy but amazing bowls.

DSC01667

DSC01669

Mine was roasted green beans, maple chicken breakfast sausage, and a sunny side up egg on top.  Best meal of the week!

The leftovers weren’t half bad though, scrambled eggs with chopped sausage, frozen spinach, and TJ’s sticky toffee cheddar cheese.

DSC01697

Speaking of, I know it sounds a little a lot weird, but if you see that cheese a Trader Joe’s, buy it, the sweet and savory combo just works.  Full disclosure though, it does have dates and raisins in it.

Wednesday and Thursday we ate giant Chipotle-style salad bowls.

DSC01717

Baby romaine base // sautéed onions and peppers // sautéed chicken that was marinated in ginger, garlic, chipotle, lime, honey, and canola oil // avocado // shredded cheese and sour cream.

DSC01720

If I could figure out how to make those fabulous lime-y chips at home we’d be able to stop going to Chipotle!

P.S.  Happy birthday to my (funny, handsome, smart, kind) husband!!!

This Week’s Top Five; Product Reviews Galore

I didn’t plan on doing a bulk review, I just happened to use a lot of new product samples this week.  It works out well for those of you who hate product reviews because you can just skip this post and miss a whole set at once.

Disclosure – all of the starred (**) items in this post were provided to me gratis to review.  I was not given further compensation for this post.  As always, all opinions are my own.

Reminder – I only tasted one flavor each of the sauces and teas; I will continue to blog about the other varieties as I try them.

{1} Starbuck’s Chicken Santa Fe Sandwich

DSC01191

Not a freebie, just a product I’m obsessed with.  I don’t even have them heat it up!  The combo of crispy bell peppers, chewy flatbread, and creamy green-chile spread is so darn tasty.

{2} Pumpkin coconut chia yogurt bowl

DSC01214

This was the week’s best lunch, though that’s not much of a victory considering the fact that I ate cold pizza at my desk for lunch on two separate occasions.  TJ’s coconut yogurt with pumpkin puree, roasted coconut chips, and chia seeds.

{3} Arbonne Essentials Protein Shake Mixes**

DSC01122

While I don’t think that protein powders are necessary for most people – you can meet your needs with whole foods! – I acknowledge that they can be a good option when you are in a rush or eating on the go.  I am never going to bring eggs on the train but I can certainly pack a smoothie for my commute.  Each packet provides 20 grams of vegan protein and 2 grams of fiber for 160 calories and 3.5 grams of unsaturated fat.  <– mixed in a glass of cow’s milk that would provide more than 50% of my protein needs for the day.

Making protein smoothies is exactly what I did this week.  Vanilla protein powder with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and ice.

DSC01174

The next day was the same, but with chocolate.  And with a chocolate cranberry biscotti on the side.

DSC01205

These certainly did fill me up, I didn’t even have room for coffee one day.  I thought the flavor was passable but not fantastic, but it is worth noting that these powders are sweetened with cane sugar and stevia and I generally can’t stand the taste of stevia.  I haven’t tried the daily fiber mix yet but I will report back when I do.

{4} Adagio Teas**

Adagio is a company that sells loose-leaf teas sourced directly from Artisan farmers.  Their product selection is divided up very helpfully, the website lists teas by type (white, black, oolong, etc, including a variety of tea blends) and they have several sampler variety packages as well as the option to purchase a small sample of each type of tea (and they list the cost per cup for each option).  Also cool?  There is a section of the site where consumers can design and list their own blends and there is an immense selection of fandom blends.  I basically had a heart attack over all the Supernatural and Buffy options but I decided to stick with the simpler stuff for now.

Adagio offered me a gift certificate and I was able picked a variety of teas.  I also ordered some paper filters to brew them in.  <– I’m sold, the filters were easy to pack and worked perfectly.

DSC01149

DSC01159

I don’t usually drink a ton of tea (duh, I’m a coffee fanatic!) but I’m hoping including a cup or two in the afternoon at work will help me to get closer to actually drinking enough water each day.  This week I packed my paper filters with Earl Grey Moonlight.

DSC01162

DSC01188

Since the tea is loose you can see the citrus rind and blue cornflowers in with the black tea leaves which I thought was fun.  It was no coffee, but this was the best Earl Grey I’ve ever had.  My sample pouch will make 10 very reasonably priced 20 cent cups.  I’m looking forward to teatime next week.

{5} Bertolli Riserva pasta sauces**

DSC01135

The newest line from Bertolli is made with artisanal ingredients and no artificial colors.  The 24 oz bottles retail for ~$5.99 which is comparable to other similar (but less delicious) options.  Flavors include Marinara with Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese, Balsamic Vinegar with Caramelized Onions, Asiago Cheese with Artichokes,  and Porcini Mushroom with White Truffle Oil.

DSC01140

They all sound pretty wonderful to me but I decided to go simple and try Marinara first.  Each half cup serving has 110 calories.  Unfortunately each serving also has 450 mg of sodium (more than 20% of the no more than 2 grams of sodium most people should limit themselves to each day), but the sauce is so rich and yummy that a little goes a long way – we used the marinara in 5 dinner servings this week and still have a good third of the bottle left.

We let the sauce shine on a plain – but fantastic! – pizza first.  TJ’s frozen crust topped with sauce, fresh mozzarella, and torn fresh basil.

DSC01172

Then we gussied it up with veggies and meat for pasta bowls.

DSC01194

Roasted zucchini and tomato + sautéed ground turkey with basil and yellow onion + tossed with marinara / served on whole-wheat rotini / with sharp cheddar on top.

DSC01202

The final product was full of umami.  These bowls were the best meal of the month!

What was your best meal so far this month?

This Week’s Top Five…

DSC00617

Eats

{1} My coffee combo.

DSC00599

DSC00611

Grady’s is the best.

{2} This yogurt bowl.

DSC00606

Siggi’s pumpkin / giant red grapes / TJ’s pumpkin o’s, chia seeds, and maple sea salt pumpkin seeds.  With a persimmon on the side.

{3} An old-school turkey sandwich.  Applegate Farms smoked turkey with mayo, sharp cheddar, and caramelized onions on a brioche bun.

DSC00624

Plus chips and grapes.

{4} Pumpkin pie smoothie.

DSC00618

Pumpkin puree, plain Fage, almond milk, pumpkin pie spice, and maple syrup.  We both loved these!

{5} Nacho night.

DSC00635

DSC00629

Chips with low-fat Mexican cheese blend, roasted broccoli, and ground turkey sautéed with onions and red pepper.

Obsessions

{1} Movie I’m oddly excited for: The Krampus.

I am really not a horror movie girl but something about a Christmas horror movie appeals to me, probably the fact that Adam Scott is in it!

{2} TV show I can’t wait to start: Supernatural.

Season 11 started the same day that season 10 finally released on Netflix so our entire plan for this weekend is season 10.  If we catch up we can watch the latest season as it airs.

{3} TV shows that continue to rock our world: our line up from last year is still solid.

Chicago PD, Rick and Morty, Fresh off the Boat, and The Middle all started off their seasons quite strongly.  We’re also loving Longmire’s Netflix debut.  Rosewood, on the other hand, was un-freaking-watchable.

{4} Book I need to buy: Mindy Kaling’s Why Not Me?

I read Is Everyone Hanging out without Me? in about a day and reread it a day later so I know I’m going to love her newest book.

{5} Song I’m playing on repeat:” Jump Into the Fog” – The Wombats.

Bonus:  I’ve had ODB’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” stuck in my head all week.  <– don’t play it if you’re at work!

Weekend Highlights; I ♥ New York

Taking Friday off meant I had a three-day weekend to spend exploring the city.  I’m a Brooklyn girl at heart but this weekend I was all about Manhattan.  We spent three full days walking or eating or eating while walking and you know those are all my favorite activities!  Long story with lots of gushing short: I love it here!  I think NYC is one of the most beautiful places on the planet and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Since we ate pretty much nonstop, this is going to be a lengthy post.  I cut what I could and am only including the exciting stuff.  Working alphabetically always seems to make the most sense to me…

Chelsea Market {Chelsea}.

DSC09706

DSC09713

DSC09715

Friday afternoon, after my girlfriend left and before Adam got off of work, I took myself on a ramen date at Mokbar.

DSC09708

I got the brothy chicken ramen – roasted ginger chicken broth, pulled chicken, and cucumber and garlic chive kimchi, topped with a soft-boiled egg.

DSC09710

Very nice, especially the egg, but not quite as good as Chuko Ramen.

Gansevoort Market {Meatpacking District}.

DSC09675

DSC09683

I actually didn’t love any of the items I ate there, but it was too pretty not to show.  A burnt, gross, maple cortado from Champion Coffee.

DSC09681

And a shimmery birthday cake macaron from Dana’s Bakery.

DSC09689

It wasn’t the best macaron ever (found at Bakeshop by Woops!), but I still want to go back for the s’mores and cookie dough.

The High Line {Chelsea}.

DSC09690

DSC09694

DSC09702

I had a crab cake empanada from La Sonrisa.

DSC09700

Lump blue crab, cream cheese, lemon juice, breadcrumbs, and spices.  Good, but nothing can hold a candle to the guava-cheese at the truck near my train.  <– The food was good this weekend but I guess a lot of it did come up short compared with past experiences.  Good thing the walking was so darn fun!

Magnolia Bakery {Greenwich Village}.

DSC09733

Adam swooned over his s’mores cupcake and I got the legendary banana pudding.

DSC09734

Totally worth the accolades and Magnolia’s tourist destination status.

Nutella Bar at Eataly.

DSC09720

DSC09725

My Nutella iced latte was on point.

Peanut butter jelly smoothie.  The only homemade item yummy enough to make it into this post.

DSC09728

We blended up frozen grapes and dark cherries with plain Siggi’s yogurt, peanut butter, and honey.

Brunch at Penelope {Kips Bay}.  A girlfriend from my University of Buffalo days came into the city for a visit.  We split a pitcher of rosé sangria with mango and watermelon.

DSC09799

And I ordered a BBELT – double (fakin) bacon, over-medium egg, lettuce, and tomato, with black pepper balsamic mayo on toasted sourdough. With hand-cut fries.

DSC09796

Much better than a boring old BLT.

Pier A Harbor House {Battery Park} for Brooklyn Brewery‘s Long Hall Lager.

DSC09782

Sooooo creamy, it was fantastic.  And especially enjoyable after a 2 miles walk on the water down Battery Place.

DSC09767

DSC09770

DSC09771

DSC09776

We stopped at Brookfield Place to admire the view and now need to go back immediately for lunch.

Red Farm {Greenwich Village} for playful dim sum.

DSC09737

The space was beautiful, nothing was there by accident, and pro tip – the toilet seats are heated!  We shared drinks, small plates, and an entrée.  A nice rosé from Washington.

DSC09742

The Bee’s Teas – Chamomile tea-infused Bird Dog Bourbon, figs, lemon, basil, Runny Honey, and chamomile tincture.  Not bad, but not as good as the honey drink we had last week.

DSC09740

We got the Pac Man shrimp dumplings and the crispy duck and crab dumplings.

DSC09744

DSC09746

Super fun, but we felt like the dim sum menu was more about the “wow factor” than great flavor.  Our entrée, on the other hand, was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.

DSC09749

The wide rice noodles with shredded duck were freaking packed with duck.  There was honestly more meat than noodles!  And the meat was perfectly cooked, crispy and succulent.  We were in heaven.

Smorgasburg Queens {Long Island City}.

DSC09785

It was the perfect time to try Wooly’s shaved ice.

DSC09791

DSC09789

Party rocks = crushed Fruity Pebbles and Pop Rocks.

Sokerbit {Greenwich Village} for gummy candy goodness.

DSC09754

This Swedish candy shop is amazing, giant bulk bins of candy, mostly licorice and cola flavored (my two favorites!).  I came away with a giant bag.

DSC09757

DSC09761

Everything we’ve tasted so far has been wonderful.

Victory Garden {Greenwich Village} for locally made goat’s milk yogurt.

DSC09764

I got the tangy original flavor, topped with goat’s milk caramel, sprinkles, and halvah.  OMG.

What’s your favorite city?

DSC09674

DSC09753

DSC09717