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.
This week was very long. Also the 2nd to last week in the 2nd to last month of 2025??! Some things…
Yogurt bowls. Plain skyr with cinnamon granola and blueberries. We buy Sweetest Batch and Super Jumbos every week now and I am hooked.
French onion dip. Speaking of things we buy every week, we have both been having a dip obsession lately!
Juicy chewy candies. The Nerds are a 100/10, even better than the original gummy clusters.
Also in chewy things – these grape, green tea, and cheese ice cream bars.
Cheesecake Factory’s pecan pie pumpkin cheesecake is obviously going to be my Pie Month peak.
Take out dinner from Shanghai You Garden in 99 Ranch. Red bean sesame ball (and a pork floss mochi for Adam) / rice cakes with shredded chicken / fantastic scallion pancake / edamame with pickled cabbage and tofu // beef and rice from the Vietnamese spot next door
Fast-food style chicken sandwich. Brioche buns / house sauce – mayo, skyr, honey, yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, dill pickle mustard, roasted poblano bbq sauce, and lemon juice / baked chicken marinated in skyr, hot sauce, and dill pickle mustard / tons of pickles. Plus roasted yellow cauliflower and broccoli.
Double egg sandwich. More brioche and house sauce with a fried egg and a cheesy soft-scrambled egg.
Tuna salad with an Eastern European vibe. Canned tuna and smoked trout / mayo, skyr, Dijon, and tons of horseradish / green onion / pickled beets / hard-boiled eggs. Plus sauteed asparagus and Trader Joe’s cornbread crackers.
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!
I’m not usually a big pear person but these Happi one’s are divine.
My best souvenirs from Scotland were Haribo gummies.
Crusted tofu – super-firm tofu baked coated in egg wash and food-processed kettle chips, seaweed, and gochugaru / broccoli salad – roasted and tossed in a sauce of food-processed roasted garlic and green onion, parsley, evoo, gochugaru, walnuts, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, and maple syrup.
Tuna cakes – canned tuna, panade, Kewpie, egg, and crunchy chili flakes; baked. With leftover broccoli salad.
Gooey grilled cheese – stuffed with a mix of cream cheese, blueberry preserves, gochujang, and smoked cheddar / with green beans that were steamed and then sauteed with soy sauce, maple syrup, and gochugaru.
Crab rangoon casserole (how have I never seen someone else make this yet?!) – Sauteed green onion with ginger, sugar, white pepper, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, and a mix of real crab meat and imitation crab; mixed with Goodle’s Loopdy-Loos; topped with panko bread crumbs toasted with crunchy chili flakes, and butter; and baked / roasted brussels sprouts sauteed with peanut butter, gochujang, sugar, and lime juice.
It was a low-key weekend – Adam worked and I spent some quality time with Webster.
Some food highlights…
Banana Dalgona iced latte. Dalgona coffee with banana milk (in the blender – skim milk, half and half, frozen banana, cinnamon, and brown sugar).
See also – Starbucks iced espresso with caramel, cinnamon, and banana protein cold foam.
Skyr bowl with dulce de delche, cinnamon granola, and blueberries.
I tried a Shirley Temple Slice while I was out running errands – not bad.
Ben & Jerry’s Pumpkin Cheesecake ice cream is an 11/10; surprisingly it is one of their very best flavors. P.S. We also tried a Chip City Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pie Thinwich that knocked our socks off.
Creamy pumpkin pasta. In the blender – canned pumpkin, gochujang, silken tofu, cream cheese, salt, white pepper, and evoo / with veggie rainbow rotini pasta. With sauteed asparagus.
Guac Shop salad take-out dinner. Romaine with tofu, roasted sweet potatoes, cabbage, corn, pico, and cheese. With chips and guacamole.
Eating Chalk 