New & Fresh

I picked up some delicious goodies while in NY and cracked into them recently.  The first was Trader Joe's Cookie Butter.  

This stuff tastes exactly like a gingerbread cookie, and it is spectacular stirred into oatmeal.

 

I also fell in love with "The Filling Station", which is a store in Chelsea Market where you can buy multiple flavours of balsamic vinegar, olive oil and sea salt, and re-fill bottles as well.  I tried a bunch but the coconut balsamic was definitely the best.  

I wanted to buy 43 bottles, but I was already too far over my limit to spend anymore.  I bought one and it will be savoured. 

The rest of my eats have revolved around veggies and seafood.  The weather is warming up and I am craving all things fresh!

 

 

Have you tried any new (or new to you) delicious products lately?

What do you have planned for the weekend? 

Flying Home

The worst part of a vacation is flying home at the end of it.  Flying is great when you are starting a vacation, but a chore when you are ending one.  

We tried to keep our eats interesting on the way home.  We grabbed a snack from Auntie Anne's in LGA.  

I loved the bags and napkins from this place.

 

I saw the snack in the "eat this" section of my magazine on flight :-)  

I am easily amused.

At some point on the flight home we dug into this Russian Coffee Cake from Zabars.  

 

In the Chicago airport we had to have some deep dish pizza.  

All we could find was crappy deep dish pizza, but we were "in" Chicago for the first time and felt the need to buy it anyway.

We made it home in the early evening and only had to pay $150 tax after going waaaaaaay over our exemption limit.  Luckily we were charged no duty.  I hate going through customs.  So much.  I get incredibly nervous, and even when I am being 100% honest, I shake, and stutter, and become a blubbering idiot. 

I think flying home from vacation is bad, and customs is awful ... but then I remember I have to unpack.  Ughhh #firstworldproblems.

How do you feel at the end of a vacation?  Ready to come home, or depressed that the vacation is over?

Lucali, Brooklyn

We were in Brooklyn on Saturday and asked a local where the best pizza in NY was.  He answered immediately with Lucali.  He said it was a hole in the wall that only locals know about, with no sign out front.  He also said that it was really difficult to get in and that they sometimes run out of dough!?

We hopped in a cab and headed straight there.  As luck would have it, it was closed.  

We decided to give it another shot on Thursday, so we took the subway into Brooklyn, then grabbed a cab to get us to Lucali.  It is difficult to find, as there really is no sign except for a little paper in the window.

They were not open when we arrived around 4:45, but we went inside the unlocked door anyway and asked them to put us on the list.  They took our name and told us to come back at 6:00 SHARP!

We went to a nearby bakery for coffees, and then sent the boys on a beer run.  

Lucali is a BYOB restaurant!  

We wandered back down to Lucali around 5:55 and there was already a crowd outside waiting to get in.  We were seated first in the quaint, rustic, candle lit eating area.

 

 

There are no menus, just a chalk board on the wall with 2 simple options, pizza or calzone.  There is only 1 size of pizza, and it is $24 (8 large pieces).  The only meat topping is pepperoni, and then there is a list of about 8 veggie toppings which vary daily.  All toppings are an additional charge.  There are two sizes of calzones (sm & lg), and the same toppings can be used as fillings for an additional charge.

 

 

The four of us shared 2 small calzones to start.  They brought them out with a plate of tomato sauce on the side.

 

 

Yummmmmmmmmmmy!

We also shared one pizza, and it definitely hit the spot.

 

 

No wonder Jay Z and Beyonce skipped the Grammys to come to this place.  It is pretty special.

After dinner we weren't quite ready to leave Brooklyn, especially the beautiful Carroll Gardens area ... so we walked down the street to Farmacy for dessert. 

 

We shared a classic chocolate Egg Cream (syrup, milk and soda ... sounds nasty, tastes awesome!):

Then we ate most of the Sundae of Broken Dream.

And our dreams really were broken, as this was our last night in NY :-(  

Until next time ...

China Town & Korea Way

The winners of my stevia giveaway are:

- Joc

- Lauren Theis

- Jessica from Dairy Free Betty

- Jennipal (Why am I Here??) 

Please send me your complete mailing address to: everydayfoodie@hotmail.com

I can't believe that it was a week ago today that I spent waaaaaay too much money at Louis Vuitton in NY and then we roamed around China Town for the morning.  I was on the lookout for a skull bracelet, and only had to stop at about 3 shops before I found exactly what I was looking for.  We walked into a random Thai place for lunch where I had the Pad Thai:

 

In Union Square we found some apple cider donuts for a snack later on in the day.  

Eventually we made it back to our hotel room to get ready for dinner and the off-Broadway show Avenue Q.  We headed straight to Korea Way to find some delicious eats.

We chose a restaurant that we hadn't been to before, although I can't remember the name of it.  

As typical in a Korean restaurant the server brought out a bunch of little dishes for us to share at the table.

 I gobbled down a mouthful of the middle dish before taking a closer look at it ...

 Anchovies!  Blech!  I don't like eating things with eyes.  They tasted salty.

We also ordered a couple appetizers to share, including some dumplings and a kimchi pancake.

 

I had the bee bim bop, because I am not as adventurous as Emma who ordered the ox blood soup.

 

What is the most adventurous thing you have ever eaten?

Nobu, NYC

For dinner on Tuesday evening in NYC we hit up Nobu, the celeb hotspot partly owned by Robert De Niro.

 

The menu was quite extensive, but reasonably priced.  The drinks were pricey ($17 for a martini), but beer was under $10.  I had a grapefruit martini, which was perfection in a glass.  It was clearly made with the top shelf liquor.

Emma and I snapped a few shots while waiting for our appetizers ...

 

Then I pretended we got married while we admired our new rings.  

 

Love is in the air!  (It really is ... hers is an engagement ring! Tiffany & Co.).  Mine is a cluster of diamonds set in yellow gold that I stumbled upon and couldn't leave NY without.  NY made me do it.

I ordered the enoki mushroom tempura, which came with 2 pieces.  It was the best tempura I have ever had.  And because I love tempura (ummmm batter - hello!), I also ordered a shrimp tempura hand roll.

 

I tried a piece of this roll and sipped miso soup until my meal came.

I ordered the steak, which was good ... but not as good as the crispy rice with salmon which easily makes the top 5 list of best morsels of food I have ever consumed.  

 

 

I shared many bites of my steak for "just one more" taste of this interesting crispy rice dish.  

I would go back for this dish a million times over.  You must try it if you are ever in Manhattan and can get reservations at Nobu.  To. Die. For.

Do you have any standout dishes from your travels that occupy a special place in your food memory?  What and where?