Weekend Eats

I had a busy, but fun-filled weekend.

Saturday: Breakfast at Thé Adoré then we split up and Hillsy went to go get a haircut and I headed over to Brooklyn (craft renegade).

We're addicted to pizza from Arturo's (Maplewood). It's so freakin' good, I can't stop!!! (We've had it three nights in a row.)

Sunday: Back to Brooklyn for a blogger boondoggle aka Chicknic. Lots of yummy food and good company.

I got home in the afternoon and had time to tend to the garden. Look how our fruit trees are coming along...


The arugula is going ballistic. So amazing to be able to just pick and eat! Arugula and summer berry salad. Strawberries go so well with balsamic vinegar, also added some mozzarella cheese. Mmmm.

Weekend Eats

We had dinner at Hillsy's new favorite local restaurant last night - Panificio on Avenue B and 11th Street.

Overall it was a great place. Loved the calamari (it had yummy bits of fried Parsley), my entree was ok. I've never ordered Carbonara before in a restaurant before, I've always made it myself. I think I prefer thinner sliced bacon and actually seeing the egg yolk - but that's just me. The dessert made up for it - it was the best cheesecake that I've had in a LONG time. I'm not a cheesecake person, but I'd have to say that this was pretty damn good and worth going back for! Ladies? Dinner at Panificio next week?

Calamari

Pappardelle Bolognese

Carbonara

Orange-zest Cheesecake

Weekend Eats

I finally got to go the beach!!!! I had a sore throat, but I didn't care - sand, ocean, watermelon, magazine, ice-cold water was the best form of medicine!


Chirashi - seasoned rice with various slices of raw fish

I'm addicted to tea at Podunk!

Sunday breakfast: bread + butter + jam + fresh fruit :)

It was a nice weekend.

Weekend Eats

Happy Monday.

My weekend officially started on Wednesday when I met up with Melissa and RJ. It was the first time I met RJ - I featured her on Heart Handmade and of course she was as beautiful and sweet as her work. She also brought along the famous Bailey, who Melissa fell in love with instantly.

Zandra and I moved up our usual Friday meet up to Thursday. Took care of some girlie biz, lunch...

... and Podunk - where we had roasted barley with lemon & honey plus shortbread cookies.... SOOOO GOOD! Then I met up with Hillsy and we went over to Gramercy Meat Market to check out their selection of grass fed organic meats!

We bought a roasted chicken for dinner and bought a couple of steaks for 4th of July.

Rib-eye steak with a simple salad. And yes, that's a scoop of butter :)

Our usual breakfast these days.

Weekend Eats

Eating out is a bit tougher now since we've been trying to cut down on preservatives and overly processed foods...

Tuna Salad - just wished the tuna was fresh and not canned.

Our new favorite dessert - fresh ricotta with raw honey!

It was 90 degrees (F) on Saturday and while I stayed home with a migraine, Hillsy decided to run outside (yep... you read right - run outside and yes 90 degrees). He came home 30 minutes later and immediately collapsed on the floor and I had to rush to get him a pitcher of ice water. (He's OK)










Sunday breakfast from the farmer's market. Simple bread (type that goes bad the next day) + homemade strawberry jam, butter and raw honey. We also bought a pint of beautiful strawberries.

Our new food outlook has been a lot of fun. I must admit that Hillsy has been the driving force behind this whole endeavor. I guess our trip really made an impression on him. As most of you know, he has a weekly Sunday routine with a close friend of his where they go and have a couple (an understatement) of pints at a pub. I received this really funny text message from him yesterday afternoon that pretty much sums up his enthusiasm for the new diet...

"They ordered calamari, quesadilla AND nachos and I didn't even have one bite"

Weekend Eats

I ate lots and lots of (bad for you) food this weekend...


My favorite appetizer at Seymour Burton's - Duck and Chicken Liver Toasts crispy shallots


My ultimate favorite at Seymour Burton's (Hillsy discovered this one) - Fried Oyster and Bacon Sandwich + Fries are soooo good with mayo


A light Saturday morning breakfast (brunch): fruit bowl + bread bowl with organic lemonade


A not so light lunch from Paul's Burger - BLT sandwich (I was totally craving this).


It was Zandra's wedding shower on Sunday and Karen ordered these lovely cupcakes. Not another cupcake shop? - that's what I said when I heard about Sugar Sweet Sunshine. But one bite of their pistachio cupcake and I was won over! I think it's safe to say that their cupcakes are better than Magnolia (yep I said it!)

Weekend Eats

I'm writing this as I take my final sips of Hillsy's nightly special - PG Tips tea with Cadbury chocolate biscuits (yum)... a great end to our 3-day weekend.

We were in Long Island on Sunday for a friend's graduation party (med school) - what a huge accomplishment, I can't even imagine how he must feel! It was so nice to see my friends from college. It was so interesting to see everyone all grown up - married, mortgages and everyone seemed to have at least one kid! So I guess I'm a little out of sync with everyone, but that's ok coz Lyn (kid-less as well) came up with a really good strategy. It will actually work to our advantage, because by the time we have kids all our friends who have kids now will be more than happy to take hold our babies during parties and get-togethers (you know how everyone loves babies) and then we'd be able to eat in peace... I just noticed that it was hard for parents to eat with their kids around! muwahhhrrr (evil laugh)

We ate lots of Filipino food (the party was hosted by his parents) including my favorite pork bbq Filipino style. It was a whole day of eating, not sure if you guys are familiar with how Filipino parties work, but it's basically an all-day food buffet affair. You'll usually see several courses changing throughout the day and often with a special dessert table where you can do some major damage. It was a great day... thanks again Ron, Christine and family for having us over! Oh and of course they had Rock Band which kept someone very busy!


We order from Thai Terminal ALL THE TIME, so we decided to pay them a visit and actually eat at the restaurant.


My new favorite place - Podunk, an American Tea House!


Cherin, one of the best places to have sushi in the East Village


Not sure if this was the 4 or 5th course at Ron's party


Post-run meal at Le Pain Quotidien (his)


(and hers)

Weekend Wrap-up: Dentist and Chain Restaurants

The highlight of this weekend was going to my favorite dentist and dental hygienist in the world on Saturday. I haven't been to the dentist in about a year because I didn't have health insurance and figured I would religiously floss and all would be forgiven. Well, it didn't quite work out as I planned - I may have missed a couple of days ;)

Anyway, the cleaning session was pretty bad, so bad that my gums and teeth are still sore from all the scraping and pushing. Fortunately my "no-insurance" excuse was heartfelt by Karen (the best hygienist in the universe) and I wasn't scolded for missing cleaning appointments. If you live in Queens and need a dentist, email me and I'll be happy to share. And yes, I love them so much that I travel all the way to Queens (my old haunt) just to get tortured for an hour.


That's me fascinated by the size of the "free refill" iced tea


I went for the Chipotle Chicken Sandwich. Hey, might as well go for something good (bad)!

I also picked up some bagels from my favorite bagel place (to freeze), it's hard to find good bagels! Last time we were in town, Hillsy and I ate at Cabana - a decent Cuban restaurant. This time, we decided to eat at Uno's... well, because we just don't get too many chain restaurants in the city and we kind of miss them :)

Weekend Eats

Hope everyone had a nice weekend, this one went as quickly as it came. So, let's see what I had to eat...


Sausage Omelet with Home Potato Fries from the Moonstruck Diner


Post-run meal at Grey Dog Cafe - I'm going to replicate this Sandwich this week. Brie, Apples, Turkey with Raspberry Mustard. That salad was so good, not sure why but it was one of the best ones I've tasted!!


Way too spicy Lo Mein from Yummy House - Granted I'm the one who said "spicy please".


Cherry Marinos Italian Ice - my favorite part? the bottom!


One of the best buttermilk pancakes I've made/tasted courtesy of Dawn at Vanilla Sugar!


Oatmeal with bananas and honey (my all-time favorite)


Disappointing Chicken Tikka Masala from Spice Cove

Weekend Eats

We were pretty good this weekend - didn't go out to eat as much and no burgers :)


Croque Madame from Flea Market Cafe (they have the best fries)


Special request by Hillsy - I made the Sausage Fennel and Peppers dish again on Saturday.


Curry Chicken Salad with Cranberry Chutney from Le Pain Quotidien


Pork Burrito from La Puebla, my favorite Mexican joint in the East Village

Weekend Eats

Believe it or not, I didn't have a burger this weekend! And I only had one stomach ache (after the tunal melt).


Met up with my friend Zandra on Friday and it felt like we were eating the entire time. I had a tuna melt at Grey Dog Cafe in Union Square.


Zandra is a big Pinkberry addict so I wanted her to give Red Mango a try. I personally prefer Red Mango, I think it has less of an artificial taste and it's much creamier in texture.


Love my local grocery store - it carries the full GOYA line and I'm lovin' this roasted coconut juice!


Canoli from DeRobertis Pasticceria - my favorite in the city


I knew Hillsy would love Grey Dog Cafe, so I took him there on Saturday. I had a Cuban Sandwich - roasted pork + ham + pickles + dijon mustard. Love their Raspberry Lemonade.


My favorite bagel shop Bagel Zone is now Native Bean - same croissant, different bagel :(


My new favorite bubble tea flavor - Almond (not as thick as Taro)


Siu Lung Bao - steamed pork juicy bun shanghai style from Je' Bon


Mango Pudding from Je' Bon


Smiley Bun - sliced tender pork sandwiched in steamed bun from Je' Bon . Not even close to David Chang's pork bun special!


Matcha Soy Latte from Amai Bakery & Tea House


... and finally the Parisienne from S'Mac - creamy Brie, roasted figs, roasted shiitake mushrooms & fresh rosemary.