Summer Tastes and Travel

Wow, what a busy summer it has been so far! Shortly after my last post, I went home to NC for about a week to see my parents and my new baby sister, Miia. I had a great time being able to really take it easy and spend quality time with my family, but I wish it would have lasted longer. 

A few weeks after going home, I went to Chicago for work and had a great time exploring the city, eating obscene amounts of delicious food and enjoying some great local beer. I highly recommend checking out Goose Island Brewery and trying a flight of your favorite beers. They have over 40 beers you can choose from and really helpful bartenders to help you decide, which is how I found my perfect flight to enjoy. 

My awesome beer flight at Goose Island

One of the best restaurants I went to was The Purple Pig, a Mediterranean tapas restaurant with simple but delicious dishes. I had charred cauliflower with toasted breadcrumbs, cornichons and parsley and a pea salad with bacon and mint. Both dishes tasted so fresh and were a perfect blend of flavors. I highly recommend going there if you're in Chicago - just be aware of the long wait!

Finally, Matt and I went to Dallas to visit my college friend Laura for a long weekend. Despite the triple digit weather, we had a great time, eating more great food and even more local beer! My favorite bar was definitely Truck Yard, an outdoor beer garden that has an eclectic feel with food trucks that change every day. The food was delicious, getting to try dishes from each of the options, and enjoying some local beer.

We spent a day in Fort Worth and of course, we found beer! I tried a Texas flight at The Flying Saucer, which of course reminded me of being back in NC. We went to the Stockyards and saw the cattle drive, checked out some western stores, and had another beer.

Our last meal in Dallas was at Smoke for brunch. We had so much food, more than we could possibly eat, but it was all very delicious. We had ribs and brisket, which both melted in our mouth, cheese grits and fries. I would have eaten everything if I could, but unfortunately my stomach ran out of room. And of course, one final Dallas beer before we had to leave!

Whew, now I'm getting back on track with cooking - there will be some new recipes I've tried out coming soon! I hope you're all having a great summer full of food and great travel!

Day Trip: Cold Spring and Beacon, NY

Over the long Memorial Day weekend, Matt and I decided to get out of the city for a day for some fresh air and a change of pace. We decided to head north about an hour to Cold Spring and Beacon, two towns adjacent to one another on Metro North.

An awesome yellow building right by the Cold Spring train station

One of two inns in Cold Spring

We started in Cold Spring, walking along Main Street, where there is a plethora of antique shops, coffee shops and restaurants. After walking the length of the street, we decided to have lunch at Hudson Hils, which seemed to be the popular choice based on the crowd of people waiting for a table. Our lunch didn't disappoint - I had a delicious grilled cheese with Gouda cheese, thinly sliced apples, fig paste and of course, bacon. It was crispy and full of flavor.

After we were full of food and coffee, we stopped in at some antique shops to see what they had to offer. We found some interesting items, like moustache tea cups that appear to protect men's moustaches while sipping such a delicate beverage - who knew? Every shop had tons of books, and it was nice seeing a mix of both old and new cookbooks. 

Cookbooks, galore!

We got some ice cream - I really have to put this on my resume as a skill I have in always locating my favorite sweet treat - and took in the views of the Hudson River. It was a beautiful day and the views were gorgeous. 

Look at all the greenery and puffy clouds

After getting of fill of vitamin D, we took the train one stop north to Beacon. Our main purpose for checking out this town was to go to the modern art museum, Dia: Beacon. Typically I can get a little restless at museums when I don't feel engaged, but these exhibits were so unique that it was exciting to continue from room to room. Sadly, no pictures were allowed inside so you'll just have to visit the museum for yourself! The outdoor areas were really beautiful too.

We were ready to eat after enjoying some art, so we asked a woman at the museum for a recommendation. Since we love good food and good beer, we headed to The Hop, which just happened to be at the very far end of their Main Street. We made the trek and were rewarded with some good eats and drinks. I went for the beer flight while Matt tried a few individual beers. Our meals were especially great - I had the steak sandwich with one of their local cheeses and pesto, while Matt had their fennel sausage and mashed potatoes, topped with an egg.

The long walk back to the train station was much needed after filling up with a full day of yummy food. I would highly recommend checking out both towns, although I believe Beacon has more to offer with the museum and stores, restaurants and bars. Here's to more exploring outside the city throughout the summer!

A Lovely Day in Brooklyn

Saturday was such a sunny and (fairly) warm day so we decided to spend it in Brooklyn! We started our afternoon at Smorgasburg, a weekend outdoor food flea market in Williamsburg with almost 100 different vendors selling all sorts of delectable food and beverages. Since we hadn't eaten anything beforehand, we were super hungry and ready to eat! We started with fries at Home Frite that had been mixed with truffle oil, parmesan and parsley, with a lemon aioli for dipping. The fries were thick cut, perfectly seasoned with a fresh citrus flavor from the aioli. Next up was a small slider size brisket sandwich and pulled pork sandwich from Mighty Quinn's, a BBQ restaurant in the East Village. The pulled pork was really good, but the brisket was awesome. The meat just melted in your mouth, with the right amount of fat and flavor. We can't wait to actually go the restaurant now! Last stop was at Oaxaca, where I picked up two tacos, one with pork carnitas and the other with ceviche. Both were really fresh, with a nice kick of spice and acid from the lime. We made some good choices, ending with a refreshing beer in the beer garden at the center of the space.

As we were heading to our next destination, we had a lucky discovery that OddFellows Ice Cream was on our way! I have been wanting to try their ice cream as they are known for having for creative and wacky flavor combinations. We had a double scoop of burnt marshmallow and the big winner, miso cherry. The miso was very prominent, but not too overpowering, and the macerated cherries added the right amount of sweet and tart. I could eat that flavor of ice cream every day - trust me, I'm not joking.

Our next destination was Radegast Beer Hall, where we had several German beers - hey, we're just doing research for our trip to Europe in the fall! Some friends met us there and we hung around for awhile longer and enjoyed a pretzel because it was National Pretzel Day after all!

Our last stop, and the one I had been waiting for all day, was at a fairly new restaurant called Emily in Clinton Hill. I was drawn to it, of course, by the name, and was even more excited when I heard really great reviews! They are predominantly a pizza place, but also have some pasta dishes and sides/appetizers as well. We ordered the Emily and the Matt pizzas, of which we both agreed the Emily was the clear favorite. Loaded with mozzarella, truffles, pistachios and honey, it was the perfect balance of sweet, savory, salty and earthy. I would go back solely for that pizza. We also had the opportunity to meet one of the owners, Emily, which was a really nice treat!

I can't wait for another fun Brooklyn day, especially as the weather continues to warm up. Where are your favorite places in Brooklyn? Let me know so I can check them out this summer!

Charleston!

Last weekend, I went to visit my sister, Lisa, and her fiancé, Jarod, in Charleston to accomplish one of the most important wedding planning tasks - choosing a wedding dress! As the wedding madness is starting to ramp up for their April 2014 wedding, I was so happy to be there when she found the one. After going to several wedding dress boutiques with a group of her girlfriends, there were a few top contenders at the last boutique. Luckily, she was able to think about the dresses all day Sunday before we returned first thing Monday morning to try them on once more. Seeing Lisa in her future wedding dress was so special and made me even more excited about being her maid of honor!

Can I live here, please?

In addition to wedding dress shopping, we were all able to relax and enjoy the charm of Charleston for the weekend. The stars must have been aligned because restaurant week started a few days before I arrived! We went to dinner at Muse the night I got there, which is a really cozy two story house that has been converted into a restaurant. Unfortunately, the restaurant didn't seem prepared for the influx of customers since it took us almost three hours to eat three courses, but at least it gave us plenty of time to catch up! The best course of the night was by far the entree, marinated butcher steak topped with bacon jam and served with sage polenta and broccolini. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and the polenta was creamy and earthy from the sage. Jarod and I both got this entree and agreed that it made the long wait more tolerable in the end.

We all had brunch at Hominy Grill, which was fantastic. Jarod and I both ordered the Big Nasty Biscuit (clearly, we both make really good food choices), which has a fried chicken breast and cheddar cheese inside a fluffy biscuit, smothered with sausage gravy. You really can't go wrong with a breakfast like this. Fluffy biscuit, crunchy fried chicken, flavorful creamy gravy that soaks into the bread...I wish I was eating this right now. I also had a side of cornbread, which was very moist and just the right amount of subtle sweetness.

Before I had to go back to New York, I was able to see their wedding reception location! The Wickliffe House epitomizes the Southern charm associated with Charleston, making it a perfect location for a spring wedding.

I'm beyond excited for my sister's wedding and the festivities to come before the big day! Lisa is going to be such a beautiful bride and I feel so special to be her maid of honor. Can't wait for the big day!

Philly Love

My husband and I went to Philly together for the first time in mid June, turning a work trip of mine into a long weekend exploring a new city. And we kind of fell in love. The history, the restaurants, the walkability (that's a word, right?) of the city, the charm of the old buildings - we loved it all. We made sure to make the most of our time and hit the ground running!

My favorite place was definitely Reading Terminal Market. The sheer selection of local food, fresh produce, and scrumptious desserts - it would take forever to sample everything! I somehow managed not to take any pictures within the market (except a few on my phone of food, of course), but we definitely did our best to eat our way through. From breakfast at Dutch Eating Place and Down Home Diner, ice cream at Bassett's and beef brisket sandwiches at DiNic's, we only just got started. When we go back, I will have a lengthy list of food to gorge myself on.

Our first Philly restaurant was Chifa, a Peruvian Cantonese fusion restaurant from Jose Garces (I couldn't miss my opportunity to eat at an Iron Chef's restaurant!). All dishes were tapas style and we chose a variety based on our server's recommendations. The pork belly bao buns were moist and tender, with a nice crunch from the julienned carrots. The star dish was definitely the duck tacos. They were incredibly flavorful and had a nice kick of heat from the kimchi. We also had ceviche prepared with Hawaiian butterfish. It was absolutely delicious and melted in your mouth. Our last savory dish was chaufa, fried rice with chorizo, mango and edamame. The flavors were more mild after having several dishes with very assertive flavors, which was a good way to end before we had dessert. We chose pastel with sesame chocolate sauce topped with chocolate ice cream. I never say no to chocolate and this was a chocolate lover's dessert. I can't wait to try more of his restaurants, seeing as he has seven in Philly!

The following night, we went for Mexican at El Vez and ate a ridiculous amount of food. After the macho nachos, stacked high with shredded steak, black beans, smoked chile salsa, sour cream, white cheddar and monterey jack cheese, we barely had room for the Mexican chopped salad and pibil pork tacos we had ordered. To wash it all down, we each had a margarita, Matt always going for the classic on the rocks. I like more sweetness so I went with the frozen blood orange margarita, which was delicious.

Our last night in Philly, we went to Barbuzzo, a Mediterranean tapas style restaurant. We had the roasted beet salad, stuffed meatballs, and pan seared gnocchi. The three dishes really balanced each other. The salad was very earthy from the beets and kale with some tang from the goat cheese. The meatballs were so moist and flavorful, covered in tomato sauce and cheese with a garlic-y, buttery piece of Italian bread. The gnocchi was perfectly cooked with a mix of very fresh veggies and truffle butter (yum!).

Other than eating the entire time, we hit up some of the major sites - the Liberty Bell, Philadelphia Museum of Art to see the Rocky statue and run up the steps, and rode bikes along the Schuylkill River. I can't wait to go back and see other areas we didn't have time to fit in - South Street, the Italian Market, maybe check out the Yards Brewery (we did a beer tasting at City Tavern!). Until next time Philly!

Land of Plenty

A few weeks ago, one of our really good friends from college and best man at our wedding, Chris, happened to be in New York for work and had a night off, so we made dinner plans. Back in college, Matt and Chris delivered Chinese food for a take-out place, which resulted in a lot of free meals and a love for the food. This made the decision easy when we were trying to decide what type of food we should eat. 

Usually when we're craving Chinese, we'll head down to Chinatown to one of our favorite restaurants, but Chris was coming in from Queens so we wanted to find something more convenient. During my restaurant search, I came across Land of Plenty, which offers authentic Szechuan Chinese food. The menu was extensive and the reviews were good so it sounded like a winner to me!

It's always a good sign when the majority of customers in a restaurant are from the same country/region as the food. I was happy to see that all of the tables around us were predominantly Chinese. The menu was enormous, which made it really difficult to choose only a few options (we were only three people after all!). I had read reviews online beforehand to see what others recommended, so I had a list of a few options, just in case.

We started with pan seared pork dumplings, which we inhaled before I remembered to take a picture. They were crispy with a flavorful pork filling and soy dipping sauce, a solid start to the meal.

A feast for your eyes

We chose three entrees to share, and boy were we in for a treat. The entrees were huge, way more food than three people could possibly eat without feeling like your pants were going to burst. I loved the braised fish filets with silky tofu. The fish was delicate and mild in flavor and the silky tofu just melted in your mouth. Both of these were a great complement to the spicy broth and crunch from the chopped peanuts.

Chris recommended ma po tofu with chili minced pork since it's one of his favorite Chinese dishes. The dish was definitely the spiciest of the three, but equally delicious. The tofu was a bit chewy while the sauce and pork gave a nice kick and substance to the entire dish.

The third choice was double cooked pork belly with chilies and leeks. The pork belly was very rich and velvety, which was a nice balance to the other tofu-driven dishes. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but one of the chili pieces looked like a green pepper to me so I stuck the whole thing in my mouth and started chewing. My mouth was on fire! I was stuffing rice in my mouth to try and dull the pain. Lesson learned - remember what your dish is called before making poor decisions.

After we stuffed ourselves silly, I wanted something sweet but light to finish off the meal. I asked our server what she would recommend so we ordered the stuffed sticky rice balls with sweet black sesame based on her suggestion. The broth was very subtly sweet and the rice balls were filled with a black sesame paste that was a great palate cleanser after a very rich and spicy meal.

I know I'll be back since I'm pretty sure we only ate about 1% of the dishes on their huge menu. Land of Plenty - such an appropriate name. An enormous selection of dishes, all of which are huge portions in and of themselves. I can't wait to stuff myself again next time! Frog legs, I'm looking at you.

Date Night: Mexican Food and Pottery

My husband and I try to have date night at least once a month, which is sometimes easier said than done. But we did it this month! Last Thursday, we made the trek out to Williamsburg after work for dinner and painting pottery (and some ice cream, of course). I'm not too familiar with restaurants in Williamsburg since we don't venture out of the city too often, but good reviews and the convenient location to the pottery place made a winning combination. 

Dinner at Cantina Royal was a quirky Mexican dining experience and we both agreed that we want to go back as there were dishes we were very intrigued by, but couldn't eat them all! When we first walked in, the server was really friendly and let us choose where we wanted to sit (there was only one other couple in the small restaurant). Once we were seated, I started to look around at the decor. This is one of those places were all of the pieces individually clash with one another, but together they just happen to work. From the giant crystal chandelier to the giant pictures of galaxies to the showcasing of liquor bottles and electrical equipment on the walls, it was a fun atmosphere.

We started with guacamole and chips. The guacamole was really well seasoned, but had a bit too much red onion so it left that raw onion taste in your mouth. The tortilla chips were crispy and salty, just the way I like them.

We decided to have drinks (hey, it's date night after all!), sticking with the Mexican theme and ordering margaritas. Matt had the margarita tradicional and I had the cucumber margarita (based on our server's recommendation). It was delicious! I've only had a handful of cucumber based cocktails, but this one was so refreshing. I drank it slowly just so I could savor every sip.

For our main dishes, Matt ordered La Mission, which is a fish filet with jalapeño cilantro mayo dressing, pico de gallo and a flour tortilla. Despite being a small portion, the dish was excellent. The pico de gallo was incredibly flavorful and a great compliment to the fish (which was fishy, but not too much to overpower the other flavors). 

I ordered Enchiladas De Mole Chocolate, three chicken enchiladas covered in mole sauce made using Mast Brothers Chocolate with a side of rice and refried beans. This was my first time having mole so I don't have anything to compare it to, but the mole sauce left something to be desired. When I first took a bite, I tasted a subtle chocolate flavor combined with a variety of spices, but it quickly faded as I began to taste the flour tortilla and chicken within the enchilada. A bolder sauce with more depth of flavor would make this dish great. The rice was so fluffy and I loved the pieces of corn and carrot incorporated throughout. I honestly felt like the rice was my favorite part of the meal, with just the right texture and flavor. The refried beans were so creamy (and I'm not a bean fan in the least) and well seasoned, topped with some crumbled Mexican cheese. 

As we were leaving, the other server (who we actually think is the owner as he was watching over the restaurant throughout the night) came over and gave us each a shot of tequila complements of the chef. It was a really nice touch to end the meal and gave us a little buzz to head over to the pottery place! I can't wait to try the octopus BLT, Mexican pork ribs, and salsa sampler next time.

The second half of date night was painting pottery at Baked in Brooklyn. You choose a piece of pre-made pottery and they provide all of the paint and supplies to create whatever design you choose. Since I'm avid tea drinker, I went for the teacup and saucer. Matt wasn't sure what he wanted to paint so he let me choose. I went with a serving bowl since we can actually use it at home, as opposed to the Angry Birds bank that will just sit there collecting dust (although it was quite cute!). The studio is also BYOB so we enjoyed a few beers while painting. Although our pieces haven't been fired in the kiln yet to get the full effect, here they are!

Matt's masterpiece - serving bowl

My masterpiece - teacup and saucer

On our walk back to the subway, I hinted at getting some ice cream from a shop I saw on our way to the restaurant (I'm always keeping my eye out for dessert!). We stopped at Williamsburg Creamery and shared a cone of the chocolate cabernet wine ice cream. It was creamy, rich in chocolate with a subtle wine flavor that gave a bit of a kick at the end of each lick. Another frozen treat to check of my list - boozy ice cream!

Overall, date night was a great success! We don't try a lot of new restaurants, primarily because we tend to get stuck in a rut with the places we know we like, but it was really nice trying something different and delicious. We both have a bit of a creative streak, so it was nice to get some arts and craft time in (especially when you pair it with beer!). Here's to our next date night!