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There's Nothing Like Homemade Baked Pasta

Making this baked pasta healthier by adding in veggies made me not only feel better but it was tastier too! I replaced my usual meatballs or meat based sauce with spinach and fontina chicken sausage (which I cooked with onions before adding them to the pot.) I also included leftover roasted veggies from the night before (sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts) with a whole bushel of kale. It was delicious!

A Snack at The Park

THE PARK . 118 10th Ave, New York, NY 10011

It's been ages since my last visit to The Park restaurant. I sat in their garden room which is filled with trees and vines of Wisteria- it's really quite beautiful. Recently we decided to get a late night snack and found ourselves at The Park's bar.  The Crispy Calamari with Chipotle Aioli & Marinara ($10) hit the spot for our hunger. It was crispy but not overly greasy. Perfect bar food. 

 

De Robertis - An East Village Bakery With History

DE ROBERTIS CAFFE . 176 First Avenue (between 10th and 11th Streets) New York, NY 10009

I love when businesses have a history. De Robertis was established in 1904 and has been passed down through four generations of family. This Italian bakery has a huge menu of cookies, pastries and cakes-there's pretty much something for everyone. We tried the Lobster Tail (my favorite of them al- clam shaped pastry filled with vanilla bavarian cream), Tiramisu, Napoleon and Strawberry Cheesecake. Decadent!

Little Poland, East Village

LITTLE POLAND . 200 2nd Ave (between 12th and 13th St.) New York, NY 10003

I've passed by Little Poland a hundred times and have always been intrigued. I recently gave the restaurant a chance and was pleseantly surprised. The interior has an outdated diner feel but it doesn't reflect their homestyle, comfort food.

The tripe soup ($4.25 cup/$5.25 bowl) was really good. The meat was super soft and had great flavor. We regretted not ordering the bowl for only a dollar more, the cup was really tiny!

We shared the Combination Platter ($13.50) so we could get a little taste of everything. The portion was huge and included four pierogis, one stuffed cabbage, saurkraut, kielbasa and bigos. I like that each of the pirogis had different fillings. Everything was tasty and I will eat here again in the future. 

Homemade Dinner with Chicken, Lemon & Artichoke

Whenever I cook at home, I try to make healthy meals. Here's a snapshot of a recent dinner- chicken and artichokes with lemon. With a side of green beans and rosemary roasted roasted potatoes it was a perfect meal. 

Fruit Tart from Zaros

Fruit tarts are one of my favorite desserts ever and I was happily surprised when my dad showed up with one. The fruit was sweet and fresh but the best part was the thick custard like cream filling. 

Comfort Food at Gorilla Cheese Food Truck

GORILLA CHEESE NYC 

I love the whole food truck concept because when you're on the run and hungry they can be a lifesaver. At the Gorilla Cheese truck parked in Union Square I ordered the #3 Special with Imported Gruyere ($6.25) with an addition of Caramelized Onions (75 cents) on multi-grain. Pure comfort food, my meal was everything grilled cheese should be-crunchy and cheesy. They offer ten different sandwiches, add-ons and dipping sauces-everything on the menu looked tasty. 

Check here for their mobile food locations.

Dinner At This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef

THIS LITTLE PIGGY HAD ROAST BEEF . 149 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10003

There is something so satisfying about a tasty roast beef sandwich and the ones at This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef does the trick. I usually order the This Way Sandwich (roll/$5.50 & Hero $9.50) with roast beef, au jus and cheese whiz-it melts in your mouth. This time I tried the That Way Sandwich with roast beef, gravy and fresh mozzarella which was also darn good. You can't go here without ordering a side of their thick and crispy Hand Cut Fries ($4.)

I also recommend their happy hour special, if you order a beer (for example a $3 Porkslap) then you get a free This Way Slider. Great deal!

Lunch From We Rub You

WE RUB YOU . Brooklyng Flea's Smorgasburg 

I strolled by the Hester Street Fair over the weekend and snagged lunch from We Rub You. I loved their Beef Bulgogi Sandwich, the meat was marinated in their We Rub You Sweet Sauce and topped with sesame apple slaw (a fun twist) and cilantro (which I'm not a fan of so I requested it to be left off.) The toppings were overflowing and it was messy but delicious. Their success with the meat (besides an outstanding marinate) was that all the pieces were cut small and grilled to perfection.

You can also view their all natural sauces here. 

A Simple Meal At Home

I love simple meals at home, tonight we're eating eel, cabbage and edamame! 

 

We Love Lahori Kabab

LAHORI KABAB . 124 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10016

We love Indian food and was thrilled to stumble upon Lahori Kabab! When you walk into this Indian and Pakistani basement restaurant, you're immediately struck with options. You order your food at the counter then can sit down and serve yourself at the salad bar while you wait for you meal. The atmosphere was bustling with talk and laughter while people enjoyed their dinner. 

The Tandoori Platter ($10.99) was a huge plate of a tandoori chicken leg, two pieces of chicken tikka, rice, raita and freshly baked naan.

I picked out this dish because it looked good but I don't know what it's called! It was made up of minced chicken and peas and was delectable and spicy.

 

Smorgasburg Is Back!

SMORGASBURG . Every Saturday on the Williamsburg waterfront between North 6th and North 7th St. at the East River from 10am - 5pm.

Going to Smorgasburg on a Saturday morning with friends is one of my favorite weekend activites. These photos are from two visits!

I loved the dog from The Meat Hook ($5) topped with coleslaw and hot sauce. 

The Fried Fish & Shrimp with Fries ($16) from Handsome Han's Fish Hut was worth the wait. We stood in line for 10 minutes and waited for our food for over 20! Everything was perfectly fried and seasoned.

We absolutely loved the jam sandwich cookies from Butter + Love! Out of this sampler, my favorite is the Strawberry Balsamic Marjoram, a layer of all natural strawberry preserves with a hint of balsamic reduction in between two fresh marjoram cookies, amazing! Not to mention, their packaging adorable! You can also purchase her treats on etsy. 

Yeti and I waiting in line for Dough. They ran out but restocked their supplies.

Our experience at Asia Dog was a real disappointment. We ordered the Sidney dog topped dog with the mango relish, cucumber, red onion, cilantro, crushed peanuts and fish sauce. The toppings lacked flavor, all we could taste was the beef hotdog. We hate wasting food but didn't want to eat more than a bite. 

 

 

Dinner Inspiration, Homemade Salmon & Roasted Veggies

A friend recently made me a beautiful homemade dinner with roasted veggies and it inspired me to do the same! I mixed together carrots, broccoli and cauliflower and sweet potato. I love how the veggies caramalized and I couldn't help but wonder why I don't make this at least once a week!

Can't Get Enough of Minamoto Kitchoan

MINAMOTO KITCHOAN . 608 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10020

This Maccha Manjyu (green tea mochi) was light and sweet. Such a delicate dessert! 

Breakfast Pancakes from Stonewall Kitchen

I love the products from Stonewall Kitchen. My family has been purchasing their specialty goods for years and we've even visited their store and cafe in Maine (if you're ever in the area I highly recommend going!) Here's a shot of pancakes I made from their Farmhouse Pancake And Waffle Mix, they are fluffy and irresistible. I made a side of fresh blackberry butter to top it off.