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1/9/15

Cafe Forte in Brooklyn: Have a Sweet Weekend



Have a sweet weekend!!!

What is that amazingness above? It's a doughnut with a HIBISCUS glaze from Cafe Forte in Brooklyn. My friend Jenny and I stumbled upon this café by accident after a fun day in Brooklyn, and I want to tell all of you to visit it if you live in NYC or are planning to visit.

The place is welcoming, has a great selection of sweet and savory treats and has great friendly owners. So, GO!

If you know me, you know I love anything and everything hibiscus. This doughnut was no exception. The tart flavor of the hibiscus glaze offset the sweetness of the doughnut....but equally important: THE COLOR!!!

What do you have planned for this weekend?

12/19/14

Union Square Greenmarket in New York City


This past weekend I took Amtrak to New York City to visit my good friend Jenny. We ate out, dined in, did a bit of shopping, chatted, watched HGTV and a few movies and caught up after not seeing each other for two years.

On Saturday while Jenny was getting a haircut I strolled around Union Square Greenmarket. It was a gorgeous winter day and I took a few photos to share with you!

Happy Friday! Have a wonderful weekend.



These are black soy beans!





Bundled up ;)


2/15/13

Eating out with Instagram: NYC & Brooklyn Edition


At the end of January I went to New York City (for the first time in almost two years) to visit my good friend Jenny and her boyfriend Chris.

I really had no plans (very unlike me). I was just looking forward to spending a lot of quality time together, maybe doing some shopping and relaxing.

The one place I really wanted to go to, however, was Talde. I thought Dale was awesome on Top Chef and I wanted to check out one of his restaurants for brunch. And we did!!
We took the Subway to Brooklyn and had an incredible brunch at Talde.


While waiting for our table, we hung out at the bar and ordered drinks. Jenny and Chris really liked their Bloody Marys garnished with pickled ginger. After getting over the disappointment of not being able to have a mango bellini, I was surprised at just how much I liked a mixed berry one. It was pretty, bubbly and sweet and had just enough of a kick to make me slightly woozy (it doesn't take much).


As for food, we ordered a bunch of dishes to share. My favorite ones were
KOREAN CHICKEN WINGS & WAFFLES – coconut brown butter syrup
TATER TOTS – sriracha ketchup
BREAKFAST RAMEN – buttered toast broth, honey-glazed bacon, six minute egg {not pictured}


After brunch and checking out the Brooklyn flea market, we made our way back into Manhattan and stopped at Cafe Green for a quick dessert of macarons. The cassis flavor was my favorite! {This was actually the same place Jenny took me and Anna the last time we were in NYC.}


Sunday Jenny and I took a bus to Chinatown and had dim sum at Oriental Garden. Of course it's best to have dim sum with a large group of people so you can try a bigger variety of dishes, but Jenny and I managed just fine! My favorites were the pork buns, the mini bok choy and the pork sui mai.


My last night in New York we decided to cook. I made a salad with mache, orange segments, candied pecans, figs, blue cheese and pickled red onions.


Chris made cioppino and home made bread! Jenny is a lucky (and deserving) girl.


On Monday I walked around the Union Market and Eataly and then had lunch at Republic.



I chose Curry Vegetable bowl with rice noodles, coconut milk, tofu, snow peas, carrots, fried shallots, cabbage, broccoli and cilantro. It was so perfect for a cold and snowy day!


Hope the next time I don't wait two years before visiting New York! Thanks Jenny and Chris for a fun weekend!

5/20/11

Visit to Eataly in New York City

People have Wordless Wednesdays, but I don't always follow the rules. So I'll post this today: Friday! Here are photos from Eataly: I visited it in March with Anna and Jenny during my little NYC birthday celebration. We only bought coffee, but did some browsing. Next time I'm in NYC, I will definitely come back for a meal.









Jenny and Anna: they were dressed like twins!!! I was the odd woman out.

 





4/8/11

Eating In in New York City

Last weekend I made a trip to New York City to meet up with Anna and stay with my good friend Jenny for an early birthday celebration. It's been over two years since my last trip to NYC. It's been too long.

This time around, the plan was just to hang out: nothing touristy like visiting museums or seeing the Statue of Liberty. We also did not plan on visiting any famous restaurants. I know...SHOCKER. Seriously, I was just happy to catch up with Anna and Jenny, do a bit of shopping, go salsa dancing (a must!), and meet up with Gina.

Our low key weekend started Saturday night with dinner prepared by Jenny's boyfriend. Chris decided to make dinner for all of us and did not want any of us to help. Fine, twist my arm! This was the first time we were meeting Chris, and I was looking forward to it! Jenny has had so many good things to say about him and the meals he cooks :)

We were in for a treat! I apologize for the photos: they definitely don't do justice to the food.

I can't remember the last time someone cooked for me, so to come in and have a table set up with plates, napkins, silverware and candles was a treat for sure! While we chatted, Chris was starting to cook home-made gnocchi. {If you've never made gnocchi before, it takes a bit of time, patience and care. Here is my first attempt at making gnocchi.}


We chatted and sipped wine.


For the first course we had a salad, but I forgot to take a photo of it. The second course was gnocchi with Parmesan and sage and pork loin stuffed with roasted peppers and fresh mozzarella with a side of grilled asparagus.




The food was incredibly good! The gnocchi were like little puffy clouds, the pork was juicy and still a bit pink in the middle, and asparagus made us all believe that Spring was really on its way (despite that 40F degree weather).

We were pretty full, but could not say no to dessert. Chris picked up Biscotti from a local bakery and served them with a dipping sauce made from ricotta and fig jam. Coincidentally, it was the same fig jam I used to make hamentashen. This was a fabulous way to end a meal.


Luckily, we all went salsa dancing after the meal to shake off some of the delicious calories! Thank you, Chris for an awesome meal!!

Stay tuned for a few additional posts coming up in the next week or two about other meals I've had in NYC.