This is an early post because it’s a short week – I am heading to Ohio today to visit my grandma! And my mom will be there too!
Pre-vacation highlights included…
This week’s coffee combo.
We brought home brigadero balls from Cafe Patoro and they were great. The caramel was my favorite.
I made a batch of milk crumbs and obviously put them on everything. Like an ice cream sundae with the last brownie.
And an insane yogurt bowl sundae with vanilla bean Greek yogurt, nut butter, and chocolate peanut butter granola.
Simple but great dinners this week. From the Trader Joe’s freezer section – veggie and sunflower seed bites and turkey corn dogs. Plus roasted baby cauliflower.
It was an absolutely fantastic weekend! We ate tons of good things, had a bunch of time together, and saw some gorgeous signs of spring all around the city. Highlights included… A long, gorgeous walk from Dumbo, across the bridge, around the Seaport, and up through Midtown.
Not surprised that I am into alcoholic seltzers now. My favorite so far have been from Trip and Topo Chico.
We made extra-chocolately brownies and rewatched Empire Records to celebrate Rex Manning Day 2022!
Affogato special from Caffe Panna – caramel and pistachio.
My leftover sesame noodles were even better stir-fried with extra eggs plus green beans and chili crisp.
We had lunch at Empire Diner and it was hands-down the best meal of this year so far.
I had a spicy Bloody Mary with everything bagel seasoning.
And a great cocktail with mezcal and fresh ginger.
Tuna tartar with avocado, ginger cilantro oil, white soy, frizzled shallots, and housemade chips.
I had the pastrami sandwich with melted swiss and horseradish coleslaw on marble rye. It came with the best mustard and the best herb fries I’ve ever tasted.
It was a very tasty week! Adam and I had a weekday off and a few evenings together (woo-hoo!) and we made the most of them. Some of the best highlights included…
I worked six of the last seven days so we’ve eaten a lot of take-out chicken nuggets but also managed to go on a few nice dates! Highlights from the past week include…
Mint pour-over with chocolate sweetened condensed milk.
Drinks and snacks at The Linwood. I had a cocktail with tequila, sage, honey, lime, blood orange, and grapefruit soda.
Plus housemade chips with onion ranch dip.
Caribbean-inspired food at Coastal. My jerk chicken rice bowl was great.
But we were there for the drinks! Like a painkiller made with Soggy Dollar Bar rum (aka rum from the place that invented painkillers).
I also had a lovely drink with vodka, butterfly pea flower, chamomile, guava, pineapple, lemon, and soda.
Homemade chilaquiles with Trader Joe’s guajillo salsa, tortilla chips, shredded chicken, sweet onion, and bell peppers. Topped with sharp cheddar, sour cream, hot sauce, and a fried egg.
We made the best salads. Local lettuce with dijon balsamic dressing / stir-fried/charred snap peas / crunchy mung beans / cheddar / bbq chicken – shredded chicken breast and thighs from the crockpot tossed with homemade bbq sauce and roasted in the oven.
Adam and I had both weekend days off together (!!!) and we ate ALL the things and had a glorious time! Saturday we wandered around Williamsburg, over the bridge, and into the Lower East Side (almost 9 miles!) and Sunday we did a foodie tour loop around Woodside/Elmhurst/Jackson Heights. Some highlights included…
Coffee Booth‘s March special – birthday cake iced latte. I’d like all of my coffees to have an icing swirl!
We tried two different kinds of pandan and coconut pudding. A creamy one from Pata Market.
This strawberry guava alcoholic Topo Chico is basically all of my favorite things in one.
We went to L’Industrie for the first time and now I totally get the hype. Our cheese slice was both crispy and chewy.
Plus we had a lemon cream doughnut.
Miss Lilly‘s jerk chicken was so juicy! With rice and peas and mango chutney.
Fantastic Thai food at Ayada. Thai iced tea and Thai iced coffee.
Green papaya salad with salted egg.
Crab and chicken dumplings in tofu skin.
10/10 chicken pad see ew; wok hei galore.
We made great breakfast for dinner bowls. Hashbrowns, roasted riced cauliflower, soft-scrambled eggs, avocado, heirloom tomatoes and red onion sautéed with butter, sharp cheddar, sour cream, and sweet and spicy jalapenos.
A yogurt bowl with tons of fresh mango. Plain skyr with honey, granola, and chia seeds.
This week’s fizzy, fermented drink line up. Pineapple mint kombucha (too sweet – I prefer other flavors from this brand) / strawberry ginger prebiotic soda (too ginger spicy) / grapefruit lime tepache (just right!).
I made a mule at home and it was delicious. I tossed in a splash of pickled jalapeno juice too.
This Trader Joe’s cinnamon dragons are good but not quite strong enough for me.
We made a batch of simple but tasty chili with black beans and shredded chicken. Topped with sour cream, TJ’s sweet and spicy jalapenos, and sharp cheddar.
The chili was even better leftover (duh!) on loaded baked potatoes. With tons of cheddar, sour cream, and hot sauce. Plus roasted baby cauliflower on the side.
In my ongoing quest to turn every dish into fries and/or nachos – bagels with lox. This was fries and roasted cauliflower topped with TJ’s smoked salmon dip, hot smoked salmon, capers, quick pickled red onion, and chopped cucumber and tomato.
I spent 99.9% of the weekend cuddled up with the dog eating take-out sandwiches. Aka the last few days have been perfect aka I have very little to share in this post. Some non-sandwich highlights included…
And I did cook one dinner! Sautéed Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Crunch mix and green onions / nuac cham sauce / smoked turkey breast / dried cherries / toasted almond slivers.
We made a batch of beer bread and now I can’t believe it’s been so long since our last loaf.
A Pi Day celebration from Four & Twenty Blackbirds. We had salty honey, black bottom oat, and hojicha custard.
I was off Wednesday from working the weekend and got take-out from Roast for lunch! A corned beef reuben with swiss, cole slaw, and thousand island on a marble rye roll.
It was a week of very good dinners. Like menemen with beer bread.
Vegan nuggets with roasted broccoli and orange cauliflower and honey mustard.
Turkey reuben inspired sandwiches. Sourdough (I went to the store mid-week and there was no rye to be found), smoked turkey, sharp cheddar, kimchi, and homemade 1001 island dressing (Kewpie, Sriracha, ketchup, fish sauce, smoked paprika, and gochugaru). Plus leftover veggies.
More of the same, in cheese fry form! Plus roasted shishitos.
Eating Chalk 