Week 1’s Top Five

by Emily

{1} Citrus

Winter citrus and berry Polar / Pineapple upsidedown cake Larabar (which was amazing but seems to be a no longer available limited release / Cara Cara orange.

{2} TJ’s crispy broccoli

It is way too easy to eat a whole bag at once.

{3} Cola + cherry gummies

From my Skoshbox.

{4} S’mores dip at Blank Slate

Plus a really fantastically creamy iced latte.

{5} Dinner at Penelope.

I surprised the husband after work on Tuesday and we grabbed a quick dinner in the city. They had vegetarian French onion soup.

{Bonus} I’m home in St. Thomas for the weekend!!!

19Dec2015

Last Week’s Top Five

by Emily

There has been a lot of excitement since last Saturday. We had three days of weather so warm I could hold my iced coffee in bare hands while I walked in my sandals.

Last Sunday I comfortably walked the dog in shorts and a t-shirt!

And Adam celebrated a birthday.

His parents came for a birthday visit and we had a great time showing them the tree at Rockefeller Center and the fantastic holiday lights all around Manhattan.

Here are some of the food highlights…

{1} Pineapple Turkey Chili

By Tuesday the weather was back to normal* again and it was cold enough for Chili. *global warming winter normal, it’s still 50 in December

I made my pineapple turkey recipe.

We gobbled it up topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, and pickled jalapeño.

{2} Holiday Fails

It was bound to happen sooner or later, I had not one, but two, holiday themed food flops.

This years soy nog has way too much soy milk aftertaste for me and the candy cane flavor (in spite of the adorable chips of candy cane) was the first Adagio tea I thought tasted like dirty water. You win a lot, you lose some.

{3} Restaurant Burgers

Any time we have Long Island visitors we take them to Bare Burger. Adam’s parents loved it.

I got a Wiki Wiki on a turkey patty – gouda, duck bacon, fried onions, and pineapple relish.

The burger was great, and they had a very exciting local brew – chocolate egg cream stout!

We also took them to Thistle Hill. I got a falafel burger.

With tzatziki and hot sauce and salt and pepper fries.

{4} Dinner at The Gander

We are both obsessed with duck, so The Gander quickly made it to the top of our dinner date list.

The space was gorgeously done up for Christmas – with lights and a giant gingerbread house – but too dark for me to take a passable picture. Ignore my bad photography though, the food was on point.

We started with local burrata with butternut squash and toast.

And I ordered the Glasgow Punch, which came from a tap; scotch with citrus and clarified milk. This was one of the best drinks I’ve ever had, it smelled smoky in an amazing way.

We split two pastas for dinner. Gnocchi with shishito peppers and cheddar.

And tubetti with duck confit and a duck egg yolk. <– best dish of the night

Plus cauliflower with capers and anchovies.

Dessert was salted cajeta cake with maple lace tuiles and pistachio gelato.

Everything was delicious and you could taste the care that went into each dish.

{5} Birthday Ice Cream Cake

This was my first attempt at an ice cream cake and I was a little nervous but it came out great. Whenever Adam and I go to a Cold Stone-style ice cream place we always get coffee with Oreos and peanut butter, so that’s what I put together for his birthday.

An Oreo crust / with a peanut butter layer (I basically make flattened buckeye candy) / a coffee ice cream layer / and a bunch of Oreos, mini Reese’s cups, and sprinkles for topping.

Yum! It was gone by the end of the weekend!

5Dec2015

It’s Beginning To Taste A Lot Like Christmas!

by Emily

December 1st hits and right on schedule my head fills with thoughts of sugar plums! Or rather thoughts of eggnog and hot chocolate, I’ve never actually tasted a sugar plum.

It’s not as big as my pumpkin bounty, but I was still pretty excited to pull out my holiday goods stash.

I’ve marked all of the eats in this post that qualify as holiday foods with a ** for classification purposes, also because it feels me with glee. I’m missing a lot of photos (I ate a ton this week) but here are the highlights…

breakfast

This week’s coffee – Breakfast Blend with TJ’s low-fat eggnog**.

Plus I had an “original” eggnog iced latte**.

This week’s tea – Gingerbread**.

With a caramel apple biscotti (former freebie).

Or a gingerbread biscotti** (meta!) and a juicy pear.

Or a slice of carrot cake my coworker brought in.

It was a good week for workplace treats, another coworker brought me Filipino-style ambrosia from her Thanksgiving.

It was out of control good; I made myself ill scarfing down that container. Less sugar than the American version and loaded with palm seeds and fresh coconut.

snacks

Maple leaf iced latte from Sweet Leaf.

Yummy, but nothing can top the Voodoo Child (their take on Vietnamese iced coffee). We also had a really yummy Spanish iced latte at a café in Park Slope later in the week.

Holiday doughnuts** from Doughnut Plant.

Chestnut and a marzipan star.

Holiday milkshakes** from Shake Shack.

We tried gingerbread and chocolate peppermint. They weren’t all that good but the penguins on the cup make my day.

Mini cupcakes from Sweet Haus Cupcake Café.

We shared red velvet, salted caramel, and cookie dough. Cookie dough = a literal scoop of cookie dough!

Hot cocoa Hubba Bubba** as an after lunches palate cleanser.

I don’t know how they managed to make the gum so chocolatey!

Mug cookies for the win.

Number 2 Pencil’s winner recipe with salted brown butter dark chocolate.

lunch

Brunch with Adam on Sunday. We went to Greenpoint for Five Leaves. I got a so-so Bloody Mary.

And we shared an amazing braised duck pot pie.

And an egg sandwich.

The pot pie was succulent duck, root vegetables, and parsnip veloute, in an herbed crust with wilted brussels sprouts leaves.

Cafeteria food is listed from least to most enjoyable –

One day there was nothing that looked appetizing so I ate a spicy tuna salad package from the snack stash in my desk. Plus cafeteria baked fries.

Another day I ate Asian tofu and steamed squash and wished I’d stuck with my desk snacks.

This tossed salad – with lettuce, ranch, pickles, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, and pinto beans – was pretty good.

And this taco salad was a winner.

From the salad bar and the taco bar I assembled lettuce, veggies, cheddar, sour cream, salsa, and black bean and corn salsa.

dinner

Pizza-pizza.

Turkey pepperoni and mozzarella balls on top of marinara sauce and a TJ’s frozen crust.

With salads on the side.

Arugula / roasted broccoli / balsamic, honey, evoo, and lavender salt / sweet and spicy pecans.

Pasta with veggies and sauce. We topped whole-wheat penne with Bertolli mushroom and truffle sauce mixed with browned mushrooms, chopped spinach, and TJ’s vegan chorizo.

With huge hunks of ciabatta slathered with Smart Balance.

This meal was good several nights in a row.

Veggie miso ramen from Chuko. With scallions, bamboo shoots, butternut squash, shredded chicken, soft boiled egg, and their fantastic sesame greens.

I had a sore throat all week and this – plus a big scoop of honey ice cream at Ample Hills – was just what the doctor ordered.

I hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

4Nov2015

Last Week’s Top Five

by Emily

{1} Date night in Chelsea.

Last Friday we went on a fabulous Manhattan date after work. The High Line at sunset.

Gansevoort Market for an Oreo whoopie pie(at The Bruffin).

Chelsea Market for Ramen (at Mok Bar). Vegan miso ramen – Kombu shiitake doenjang broth / tofu / triple seasonal vegetable / crispy potato. Made un-vegan with a poached egg on top.

And finally a trip through the Whitney Museum.

The 6th floor was my favorite.

{2} City desserts.

The Fat Witch is making sparkly green Emerald City Witches, aka mint chip brownies.

And Brooklyn Cupcake‘s cakes are on point.

We tried french toast, tres leches, and guava cheese!!

{3} Pota-topia potato bowls.

I got waffle fries with all of the veggies, smoked gouda, and truffle aioli.

We were very impressed. Our mall’s food court has gotten downright fancy.

{4} Pumpkin yogurt bowl lunch.

Whole Foods pumpkin spice yogurt, chia seeds, maple pumpkin seeds, and TJ’s pumpkin o’s.

Fun, but I pretty much hate the texture of regular (not Greek) yogurt.

{5} Pumpkin beer on Halloween.

We spent Halloween afternoon in Williamsburg checking out the fantastic hipster costumes. We enjoyed mead and a Chelsea Brewing Company pumpkin pie beer while playing games at Barcade.

Plus we had a very taste lunch at Sugarburg. <– we will be back!

31Aug2015

Weekend Highlights; I ♥ New York

by Emily

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}.

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

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

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

Gansevoort Market {Meatpacking District}.

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.

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

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}.

I had a crab cake empanada from La Sonrisa.

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}.

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

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

Nutella Bar at Eataly.

My Nutella iced latte was on point.

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

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.

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.

Much better than a boring old BLT.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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}.

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

Party rocks = crushed Fruity Pebbles and Pop Rocks.

Sokerbit {Greenwich Village} for gummy candy goodness.

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.

Everything we’ve tasted so far has been wonderful.

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

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

What’s your favorite city?

29Jul2015

Birthday Weekend Wrap-Up {I’m 30!}

by Emily

My parents came to visit last weekend and Adam had two full days off so we were able to have lots of family fun. My mom and dad technically didn’t come for my birthday, the dates just worked out, but we spent the weekend doing all of my favorite city things – walking, and eating, and eating while walking! – and hanging out with good childhood friends so it was pretty perfect. And I’m 30 now, whomp, whomp.

Here are some highlights of the best places we walked and things we ate from the weekend…

Thursday night we walked around Williamsburg and had dinner at Pies ‘n Thighs. I had hibiscus iced tea.

And a chicken biscuit with hot sauce and honey butter.

Instead of pie we did dessert at Milk Bar.

Cereal milk soft-serve with cornflakes and hot fudge.

Friday we drove up to Montauk to explore. We checked out the beachfront towns and hiked along this very cool stone pathway near the lighthouse.

We stopped at the Long Island Levain and fell in love with the giant walnut chocolate chip cookies.

And had lunch at Lunch.

The seafood bisque was good.

But lobster rolls were better. They give you a big pile of buttered hot lobster meat and let you assemble your sandwich yourself.

We stopped at a random restaurant late that night on our drive back and ended up having an amazing meal but I have no pictures because I wrongly assumed it would be terrible. Adam and I plan on going back very soon for the flourless chocolate cake (though next time it won’t come with a birthday candle!).

Saturday was spent in Park Slope and Midtown. We started with Doughnut Plant.

Everyone loved their doughnuts (minus the beignets which just aren’t up to Plant standards) but tres leches are clearly the best.

Then trained to Grand Central Station.

Cold brew from Café Grumpy.

We shopped a bit, then explored Chelsea Market and The Highline.

Watermelon juice from Num Pang was refreshing.

And so was the mint seltzer from Brooklyn Soda Works.

We headed back to Brooklyn for dinner. Drinks at Pork Slope, aka my favorite bar. And hibiscus vodka is definitely a favorite drink option.

We got tater tots and spicy chicken nuggets – meh and yum! respectively – for appetizers which was good because I actually hadn’t tried any of the food at PS prior to that.

Dinner was Luke’s for round 2 of lobster rolls.

Best in the city, I think. And they had cans of Downeats, the tasty cider I tried last weekend in Buffalo.

I didn’t take a photo of the maple soft-serve at Corner of Vermont but it was worth a mention.

Sunday was our SoHo/Lower East Side Day.

We started in DUMBO to park near the F train.

And had to get coffees at Brooklyn Roasting Co.

Then we had amazing brunch at Russ & Daughter’s.

My “Lower Sunny Side” came with sunny side up eggs, Nova lox, and latkes.

Ice cream at Morganstern’s.

Omg. Vietnamese coffee and raw milk ice creams topped with fudge sauce and double Luxardo cherries. I assumed everyone would share with me and they did not but I still managed to take this down.

We ended our weekend with dinner at The Smith. The drink menu was on point; my “East Village Passion” had rum, lime, passionfruit, and fresh mint.

We had ridiculously good fried green beans to start.

I saw photos of the mac and cheese on instagram and had no choice to order that for my meal.

With a watermelon and feta salad.

So good. We ordered the s’mores jar for dessert, obviously.

Sadly I didn’t love it, but Adam was more than happy to eat my share. Since he did not eat a giant ice cream after lunch that’s probably fair! We will definitely go back again.

I left some things out because this post is already a bit lengthy, but I seriously did almost everything I love. With the people I love. <– aww!

8Jun2015

National Doughnut Day

by Emily

Here’s a random and horrifying fact – I turn 30 next month. What?! How is that even possible when it feels like 1990 was only 10 years ago. (<– it wasn’t. it was 25 years ago. like I said, horrifying.)

As I move my way up the hill at what feels like breakneck speed – next stop: over it – our summer is off to a pretty great start. It’s hard to do things like maintain a weekly brunch and farmer’s market tradition with someone who works 25+ hour shifts on the weekends, but Adam is a total trooper and we still manage to have a good time. Plus, the day I was alone I did errands at three different grocery stores so, you know, I lead an exciting life.

breakfast

Did you all celebrate National Doughnut Day? I woke up an hour early so I could hit up Doughnut Plant on my way to work.

They were giving away a mini cake doughnut (with sprinkles!) with all purchases. It was delicious.

I also got a skim iced matcha and a strawberry and cream doughseed.

The strawberry glaze was tart and juicy and the filling was vanilla bean pastry cream, all together it was the best doughnut I’ve ever eaten.

During my never-ending errands I ate a protein bar,

and a clover-brewed West Java roast with ice and skim milk.

Plus, you know, you another coffee at my next stop.

lunch

I spent my workday on Friday in a breastfeeding education conference. There wasn’t as much information about maternal intake and milk composition/supply as I had hoped, but the information about the benefits of breastfeeding, particularly in premature and small for gestational age infants, was quite interesting. Plus, they provided lunch.

Marinated veggie sandwich. And I brought my own Mentos for dessert.

The candy, plus lots of coffee, were essential; even if the material is of interest to me I have a very hard time sitting still to listen for hours in a row.

On Sunday, we brought the puppy into DUMBO.

We got coffees at Brooklyn Roasting Company – skim Maple Shay for me.

And then walked over to Smorgasburg for lunch. The three of us shared duck buns.

And an arepa.

Aka acorn cake topped with Oaxaca cheese, chipotle mayo, and cilantro salsa. Good, but I think I like pupusas better.

snack

Do you remember Slush Puppies? So much better than Slurpees.

This was horrible, but it was fun to try the throwback snack, even if I did have to carry around that burning cold packet for the rest of our walk.

We are both impressed with Angry Orchard’s seasonal summer honey cider.

Impulse buy much?

Lindt’s Hello line is on point. Both bars were amazing; the pink one really did pop!

Coffee and a cookie.

Molly’s Milk Truck coffee with almond milk and cinnamon plus a sticky strawberry jam sandwich cookie from Whole Foods.

dinner

Chicken and veggie soup.

Every piece of this minus the broth came from our freezer but it was still flavorful and yummy.

Chicken broth // TJ’s chicken and vegetable goyza // rotisserie chicken // bok choy, shitake mushroom, red pepper, and green onions.

Spicy eggs for my single lady dinner.

Scrambled with collard greens and sweet corn plus shredded cheese, smoked paprika, and tons of sweet chili sauce.

And crispy peas on the side.

Who’s surprised that we ate Chipotle for dinner last night? No one? Good. 🙂

25May2015

Staycation 2015: NYC

by Emily

Once we got home from St. Thomas (a week ago now,) our vacation turned into a staycation and the fun continued. We got in a bunch of cuddle time with Webster, caught up on tv, and spent three straight days walking and eating. On Friday we walked 6+ miles around the Upper West Side in one afternoon. I know this post is running late, but that is because it is GIANT. By sharing everything, leaving lots of leftovers, and through sheer force of will, Adam and I managed to try a ton of the restaurants on our “to-eat” list during our last days spring vacation. I know I say that 8 different things in this post are “the best,” but I’m not exaggerating, these spots were all really outstanding.

BAOHAUS

Baohaus serves some of the most inventive buns in the city. We’ve gotten the Coffin Bao with fried chicken and chili sweetened condensed milk in the past and it was on point. This trip we stuck with the Birdhaus – All natural fried chicken brined 24 hours, served with Haus Seasoning Salt, lemon-garlic aioli, crushed peanuts, Taiwanese red sugar, and cilantro.

Plus tea from the shop next door.

My milk tea had boba, grass jelly, and pudding.

Bibble & Sip

B&S is an adorable little llama-adorned coffee shop on 8th ave just south of the park. The baked goods looked great but we honed in on the lavender latte. The floral flavor was perfectly balanced by the (skim)milk, though I wish we had gotten iced.

Chuko Ramen

Chuko is a modern-looking ramen spot in Prospect Heights. This was actually our first official ramen experience, but I’m still feeling pretty confident in saying that this is the best in Brooklyn.

Every dish had such umami. We started with a shrimp bun with garlic tartar sauce.

And crispy Brussels sprouts with fish sauce, peanuts, and pickled jalopeños. The crunchy leaves were to die for.

I got the veggie miso ramen with chicken, though they had the option to go full vegetarian.

It was ridiculous. The noodles were chewy, the broth was robust (and vegetarian!), and the poached chicken was unbelievable soft. It came topped with sweet corn, greens in truffle oil, mushrooms, a soft-boiled egg, and chili oil. This bowl was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted so it tells you a lot about the generous portion size that I couldn’t finish it.

Corner of Vermont

Corner of Vermont is a little shop on 5th in Park Slope that is Buddy the Elf’s dream – everything they sell is laced with maple syrup. Black Bear Sugarworks‘ divinely smoky and complex maple syrup. We were swooning over everything we tried, even the little cups of straight syrup they hand you at the door. Adam got an amazing maple soft-serve and I got a maple soda.

Plus we had a maple bear, the single best piece of maple sugar candy I’ve ever tasted. The fantastic syrup gave it a great start, but also because the candy was so fresh the mouthfeel was perfect – the candy held up to the bite and then melted in your mouth.

Dough

These doughnuts are ubiquitous at this point – they sell them at Whole Foods and my hospital’s tiny coffee counter – but they are worth the treck to Fort Greene because they are a trillion times tastier straight from the source. The dough is slightly sweet and not too dense and the glaze on my salted caramel chocolate was ridiculously chewy and deeply dark chocolate-y.

Grand Central Station

Café Grumpy makes us anything but grumpy, they have one of our all-time favorite expressos. My skim macchiato was great.

And the giant salted caramel macaron I paired with it also put a smile on my face.

Hibino

Hibino is a gorgeous sushi spot in Cobble Hill with a great selection of (many local varieties of) seafood and tofu that they make in-house. I got an iced roasted barley tea which was unsweetened and very refreshing.

We got seaweed salad which came with wakame and red and green seaweed. Adam loved it but I could not do the unseasoned seaweed; there are very few vegetables I don’t like but red seaweed now tops the list.

Of course we tried the the cold house-made tofu, which came with scallions, ginger, and dashi (a kombu, or kelp, broth). The tofu was strangely flavorless and very creamy.

And I went with the vegetable roll for dinner.

The orange piece on the left was me being brave and trying uni – raw sea urchin! It was good, very velvety.

Nunu Chocolates Café & Tap Room

Nunu is a Brooklyn-based chocolate company that makes a caramel bar I’ve been obsessed with for years. Their newest location is Park Slope serves homemade chocolates, Blue Bottle coffee, and a pretty decent selection of draft beers.

They also offer a chocolate and beer pairing, which is what we came in for.

I am sad that I didn’t take notes because we loved every bite and sip but at this point I can’t remember what anything was. Surprisingly, our favorite thing was a spicy beer that Nunu collaborated on with a local brewery.

Pure Thai Cookhouse

PTC is a Hell’s Kitchen spot with delicious, authentic Thai food. Serious Eats raved about it and it’s been my Thai go-to since trip one. The space is tiny but the vibe is casual and the service is crazy quick. Their noodles are great, but I went with a rice-based special, Kao Ob Talay.

Steamed jasmine rice with crabmeat, jumbo shrimp, taro root, shitake mushroom, onion, scallion, cilantro, ginger, and garlic soy sauce.

The bites with sweet crabmeat and chewy shitake were take-your-breath-away good.

Schmackary’s

Schmackary’s is a cookie bakery and coffee shop in the Theatre District. Their menu changes daily/seasonally and includes spectacular things like s’mores, sweet corn and bacon, and blueberry cobbler. We got a butter pecan that was legit the best purchased cookie I’ve ever tasted – browned butter / toasted pecans / butterscotch.

I ♥ NY!

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: soup

Week 1’s Top Five

Last Week’s Top Five

It’s Beginning To Taste A Lot Like Christmas!

breakfast

snacks

lunch

dinner

Last Week’s Top Five

Weekend Highlights; I ♥ New York

Birthday Weekend Wrap-Up {I’m 30!}

National Doughnut Day

breakfast

lunch

snack

dinner

Staycation 2015: NYC

BAOHAUS

Bibble & Sip

Chuko Ramen

Corner of Vermont

Dough

Grand Central Station

Hibino

Nunu Chocolates Café & Tap Room

Pure Thai Cookhouse

Schmackary’s