Passionfruit Coffee. This was a quad skim iced latte with caramelized milk chocolate sauce.
We are head over heels for these Nightingale ice cream sandwiches. Adam is a traditionalist but this cinnamon roll variety is my favorite.
We went to Food Bazaar recently (home of Rokstar Chicken) and brought home some great snacks. This weekend I enjoyed key lime grapefruit Polar seltzer,
honey butter chips,
Jom gummy candy,
and spicy beef ramen.
We waited in line two and a half hours for Cuts and Slices pizza — worth it! We got chopped cheese, chicken and wafles, jerk chicken, and stewed oxtail.
Leftovers from a wonderful lunch at Mao Mao (I didn’t have my camera). Fried fish cakes with sweet chili sauce / steamed dumplings with chicken, shrimp, and mushroom / vegetarian rice rolls. We also had great poached chicken with chicken fat rice.
Roasted sheetpan hash. Fennel, bok choy, purple sweet potato, chicken pesto sausage, soy puffs, mint, and pesto.
Adam is busy tonight so we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day a day early with ridiculous/amazing corned beef reuben grilled cheeses from Roast. Plus short rib shepherd’s pie and (homemade) roasted green beans.
I also made us green iced lattes!
See also – this week’s coffee combo was a winner.
Still really enjoying these guava crisps.
Pineberries! We liked them more than the Oshinko berries but less than regular strawberries.
This bin of strawberry popping bobas felt like it had endless potential.
I made great iced matchas with lemon seltzer and boba. Also – amaretto and diet coke with popping boba; 9.5/10
We weren’t that impressed with these fancy truffles.
But were shocked by how much we liked these limited-release cookie dough candies.
Best meal of the week – chicken kale pesto sausage on a pretzel bun with honey mustard / roasted yellow and purple cauliflower / Japanese sweet potato salad that is one of the best things I’ve ever made; roasted Japanese sweet potato with mayo, Kewpie, Sriracha, rice vinegar, paprika, white pepper, gochugaru, green onion, and pickled radish.
Leftover veggies and potato salad plus salmon salad – canned sockeye, smoked sockeye salmon candy, mayo, Sriracha, rice vinegar, and green onion.
Giant, smokey, protein-packed salads. Romaine and carrot greens with black garlic balsamic vinaigrette / roasted brussel sprouts with evoo and urfa pepper / roasted carrots with maple, evoo, butter, paprika, and gochugaru / smoked turkey breast / bacon-flavored crunchy mung beans / fried egg.
Adam and I had a really lovely weekend. There were storms Friday night into Saturday morning but afterwards the weather cleared up nicely so we could enjoy some walking dates. We covered a lot of ground, including walks across the Williamsburg Bridge and Queensboro Bridge. Also a trip to the Guggenheim for the Nick Cave exhibit.
Doughnut Project‘s maple cruller is our favorite doughnut in the city.
Lucky Kings Bakery‘s fried mochi stuffed with red bean paste and rolled in sesame seeds. This was amazing.
Banana pudding at Baonanas. Cookies and cream and ube.
Drinks at Dante. Our favorite was this Amalfi Limonata – malfy lemon gin. limoncello, lemon curd, lemon juice, and limonata soda.
I 100% planned last week’s meals so we would have leftover ingredients for homemade painkillers. Pineapple juice, fresh orange juice, and light coconut milk with sweetened condensed milk with dark rum.
Brunch at Loulou. I had a Remy – tequilla, Lillet Rose, and homemade grenadine with lime and sparkling grapefruit.
Also a gruyere omelette.
Lunch at Tacombi. Horchata / hibiscus agua fresca with mezcal and chile.
Corn esquites.
Breakfast taco with eggs, pico, and Oaxaca cheese. <– best dish of the meal
Birria tacos.
Dinner at Super Burrito. We ordered all of this week’s specials with ground beef – burrito, crunchwrap, and nachos. We loved it here!
Epic homemade burrito bowls. Roasted cauliflower rice with roasted onion/bell peppers/poblano pepper, sharp cheddar, double roasted salsa, chicken and chile verde sausage, crispy tortilla strips, and pickled jalopenos.
We have been killing it with dinners lately, this was another exceptionally tasty week! Highlights included…
This Cuban coffee packet made pretty solid cups.
But this Blue Bottle cold brew was better.
Feast x Famine IPA. Abomination Brewing is 100% my favorite beer company at the moment.
Double meat sandwich. Local Brooklyn Cured smoked beef salami and Apple Gate Farms honey and maple sliced turkey on a pretzel bun with mayo, yellow mustard, and sourkraut. Plus roasted broccoli.
Another pretzel bun, this time with brie and shredded chicken breast tossed in a homemade honey mustard vinaigrette. Plus a big pile of roasted green beans.
Veggie tofu bowls. Roasted Japanese sweet potato and purple sweet potato, orange cauliflower, broccoli, and green onion, with five spice tofu roll, topped with chili crisp.
We made insane cheese plates for dinner. Obviously the best meal of the week! Tofu roll with chili crisp, seasoned seaweed sheets, blueberry jam, Candy Snap grapes, Hunnyz apple, salami, smoked almonds, sweet and spicy pecans, sweet red grassfed cheddar, brie, raw cow’s milk cheese with edible flowers, blue cheese, and amazing sourdough crackers.
Plus green smoothies to get our veggie in – frozen spinach, mango, and banana, with honey, key lime juice, and water.
The best vanilla iced latte we’ve ever had from Cafe d’Avignon. It was sweet and roasty and perfect and full of vanilla bean flecks.
Take-out dinner. Fries and a spicy chicken biscuit from Sweet Chick plus roasted cauliflower and garlic green beans from Whole Foods’ hot bar.
Dinner out at Kyu. Hamachi with ponzu, basil, and mint.
Tuna crispy rice.
Japanese sweet potato with butter and black sugar. <– best thing we ate all weekend
Beef tenderloin with garlic soy butter and housemade kimchi.
Burnt end style duck.
And a Lowrider cocktail with mango infused tequila, amaretto, almond, mango agave syrup, and orange bitters. The amaretto seemed like it was clarfied; this drink was so unique.
P.S. No photos but we also went on an epic bar crawl! Highlights were – Doctor Daniel the Milky Cola from Bandit’s, gin, rum, mezcal, scotch, coffee liqueur, chocolate, vanilla, walnut, angostura, lemon, and a coke on the side AND the hibiscus limeade with vodka and grapefruit soda from Pokito.
Adam and I just returned from six fantastically glorious days in Oahu! Best vacation we have taken yet.
Everything was beautiful (of course!), we got incredibly lucky with the weather, we loved our hotel (Hotel La Croix – amazing staff, beautiful views, and perfectly walkable to the beach and downtown), and we swooned over every activity and meal! And we saw a seal!! I did not pack a camera but couldn’t stop myself from Instagramming incessantly.
Some of our favorite activities – – –
Hiking. We went on four hikes this visit. Makapu’u Light House Trail / Kuliouou Ridge Trail / Diamond Head / Ka’ena Point State Park.
We went to Green World Coffee Farm and walked through the coffee plants. We also got a fantastic tour (with tastes) of the Old Sugar Mill Brand Waialua Coffee where they grow coffee and cacao.
Some of our favorite bites – – –
Flavor themes of the week – ahi, malasada, mochi, musubi, passionfruit, poke, taro, and yuzu. I lost my photo but we had a wonderful traditional meal at Helena’s – my first time trying poi!
We walked over to Kona Coffee Purveyors several times. Also to the Starbucks Reserve for this delicious americano con crema with demura sugar and cinnamon.
Guava malasada from Leonards. Also my favorite thing I ate all trip was a taro mochi malasada from a convenience store.
There was a great Japanese store near our hotel and between that and the well-stocked 7-11 I tried some very exciting things.
Passionfruit mochi bar.
Salted cod roe and cheese musubi.
Halo halo.
Local fruits from a roadside stand. Starfruit, passionfruit, and coconut.
Shave Ice! We went to Waiola Shave Ice and Matsumoto Shave Ice. The boring looking one was actually white cake and yuzu (!!!) with vanilla ice cream and sweetened condensed milk.
Poke! So much fresh tuna. We went to Maguro Brothers and Ono Seafood.
Dinner at O’Kims. Fried chicken and purple rice with the best kimchi I’ve ever eaten.
Lunch at Piggy Smalls was our favorite meal of the trip! And dinner at Pig and the Lady was a close second. Twice fried brussel sprouts, tea leaf salad, brisket with pancakes and eggs, great cocktails (Adam had a POG slushie!), and an egg coffee.
I’m not ready for eggnog yet (make that – I am always ready for nog but I am not releasing the eggnog floodgate yet) but I have fully embraced peppermint! Like the limited release Wendy’s peppermint frosty.
Or Minter Wonderland ice cream.
Brooklyn Cupcake! Cojito, tiramisu, and guava cheese.
Best iteration yet of the butternut squash we make every year. This year we served it as a warm salad. Roasted butternut squash and shredded brussel sprouts, Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pecans, dried cherries, and homemade dressing (3 T lemon juice, 3 T maple syrup, 2 T stone ground mustard, 1 T Kewpie, 1 T crystal hot sauce.
A meta dinner win – cobb salad egg salad in endive lettuce cups. Eggs with mayo and mustard, chives, avocado, turkey bacon, and blue cheese.
Buffalo chicken salad (shredded chicken with mayo, Franks, vinegar, blue cheese, and chives) with roasted broccoli and Japanese sweet potato.
I work all this weekend but we do have some fun Long Island dinners planned. Highlights from this past week included – lots of take-out and homecooked meals better suited for fall!
Smoothie time – plain Greek yogurt, frozen strawberries, chocolate almond milk, and taro powder.
I made beer bread, which meant I spent the week very happily snacking on beer bread with cheese.
Adam and I were both fans of this kettle corn.
Chinese take-out leftovers – sesame noodles and fried tofu.
Wednesday Adam and I both worked exceptionally long days and we salvaged the evening with a cocktail walk and an agressive amount of Mighty Quinn take-out. The leftovers made a great lunch. Burnt end fries, corn fritters, and mac and cheese fritters.
Homemade soup. Chicken, broth, tomato paste, urfa chili paste, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, and zucchini.
Sheet pan hash. Japanese sweet potato, zucchini, fennel bulb, sweet onion, chicken kale pesto sausage, sharp cheddar, and pesto.
We did not enjoy this key lime sour, but I am posting a photo as a reminder to Adam and myself because it so seems like something we would like.
On the other hand, we loved the flavor profile and political stance of this Greenpoint IPA.
Typically I don’t buy vegan ice creams but these bites are pretty satisfying.
Our favorite sheetpan hash – roasted Japanese sweet potato, bok choy, and green onion; topped with smoked salmon candy and roasted Norwegian salmon. I also added tons of Kewpie, Sriracha, and furikake.
Big summer salads. Local lettuce, honey mustard dressing, baby tomatoes, roasted corn, baked tofu, and homemade croutons.
Best bowl of the week – sauteed cabbage, snap peas, baby tomato, and green onions, with chicken maple breakfast sausage, peanuts, Korean chili flake, Sichuan pepper salt, and a nuoc cham inspired sauce.
Tons of Roast take-out – chicken taco sandwich, fries, buffalo-style roasted potatoes – plus roasted purple cauliflower.
My birthday was yesterday and Adam and I were both off Saturday and Sunday which meant I got to celebrate a birthday weekend! We tried to do/eat all of my favorite things which meant we spent a ton of time walking around the city and ate a metric-ton of sugar and caffeine. It was perfect!
We did almost all of my favorite things, including – a birthday morning run, time with Adam and Webster, a long city walk, a bridge walk, drinks at Evil Twin, and watching The Office (I only missed walking on a beach and having a drink in the ocean).
And we ate almost all of my favorie things, including – coffee, vodka, Diet Coke, Roast sandwiches, cheeseburgers, ice cream, sprinkles, halo halo, and brigadero (I only missed nachos and roasted green beans)!
Highlights included…
In addition to my free birthday Starbucks I had my two current favorite city coffees – a quad iced latte from Kodawari.
Eating Chalk 