Homemade in Red Hook
December 10, 2011
My roommate and I took the ferry over to Red Hook last weekend, an eclectic little community in Brooklyn, and one of my favorites. Stumbling upon Homemade, we couldn’t help but go in for a quick bite to eat. It’s warm, welcoming and has great food. I love their attention detail, like the leather and wooden tie around the coffee carafe. Sitting on the comfy white couch, we split the delicious special, charred filone with a ricotta spread.
Bread and Cheese
Bread, cheese and unlimited coffee
How could you not want to visit this place?
Our mess of food
Cold Weather Favorites
December 7, 2011
With the cold weather approaching, I shot some of my favorite meals to warm up to. Anyone who’s spent time in Syracuse can tell you how Pastabilities’ Hot Tomato Oil could quite possibly be the best dipping sauce that exists. I always try and bring some extra back with me whenever I visit the area. Other favorites for those cold days include my father’s homemade chicken noodle soup and Wegman’s chicken potpie for a quick pre-prepared meal that tastes just as delicious as if you made it yourself.
Pastabilities' Hot Tomato Oil and Sun-Dried Tomato bread
Chicken Noodle Soup
Wegman's Chicken Pot Pie
A Taste of Syracuse University
December 5, 2011
There’s nothing like revisiting your college days. When I was back in Syracuse, my friend and I did a tour of my favorite hang outs around the University’s infamous Marshall Street. Although new additions include chains like Chipotle, the good old classics are still holding strong, so I opted for pizza at Varsity. I haven’t been back since 4 years ago when my professors took us after class. How quickly time flies. I continued my flashback food tour at El Saha, one of my favorite late-night spots, and I’m not the only one that thinks that. A sign in the window said it was rated 29th best late night college eat in the Nation according to complex.com. Already full from pizza, my friend and I split a beef gyro with feta, sprouts, and tzatziki sauce that was just as good as I remembered 4 years back.
Rootbeer float
Pepperoni Pizza
Beef gyro
Circa in Caz
November 30, 2011
While I was home for the holidays my mom and I had lunch at Circa, a small restaurant in the heart of Cazenovia. Using produce from local farmers and regional artisans, and their very own herb garden grown in the window sills, the dishes are prepared fresh and with thought. How can you complain about a sandwich served in the shape of a heart? Alicyn Hart, the chef behind Circa, has an impressive resumé as she’s traveled and cooked her way around the world, including a sous chef at a fly fishing lodge in Alaska, in guest houses in the Austrian alps, on private yachts around Mexico… you get the idea. She’s an inspiration for following your dreams and living life to the fullest.
Special of the day: tofu wrap
Main Street, Caz
Roasted free range chicken salad sandwich
Circa
Recipe
November 23, 2011
I’ve been meaning to feature Recipe, a favorite restaurant of mine, that brings some of the best rustic, local farm cuisine to the city. Barely large enough to seat more than 20 or so guests, it lends to an intimate dining experience. Although I tend to grab it to go, I highly recommend waiting for a seat. You can tell they paid extra attention to styling details to give it that rustic farm meets city chic vibe. I was recently tempted to try their special of the day, the bleu cheese quiche, with a side of sautéed swiss chard and kale.
Bleu Cheese Quiche
Sautéed Swiss Chard & Kale
Recipe's Interior
A Year in Review
November 18, 2011
A Camera in the Kitchen turns 1 tomorrow! I cannot thank you all enough for your support and enthusiasm you’ve expressed to me. It’s been such an amazing year capturing and sharing the art of dining. I’ve dug through my archives to compile some of my favorites that I think best reflects this. From tasting California’s fresh fruit while dancing at the Coachella Music Festival, to chowing down on a burger in Montana after a day of snowshoeing in the Beartooth Mountains, or grilling Wahoo from Aruba’s local fish market in celebration of a friend’s birthday. It has been such a learning experience for me, and I only hope to bring more exciting things to the site in the year to come.
Above all, I’ve learned a meal is more than just satisfying your hunger, it’s about the experience, the culture, and most importantly the people you are surrounded by. Whether grabbing take out for an evening home with the roommates, or sitting at a cafe in Reykjavik with new friends, I always make the most of the moment, and the meal, and that’s what I aim to capture here. I hope my photos inspire you to take time in your own life to appreciate the moments shared over that dish. You may get too full for that last bite of pasta, but you can never be too full of great memories.
Some of the dinner parties we've hosted-- big and small
Travels to Iceland, Montana, California, Miami, Beacon and Newport
Travels continued through New Jersey, Montana, Iceland and Brooklyn
Summer Flashback from Donna D
November 9, 2011
I’ve decided to do a guest feature post once a month from my photo partner-in-crime, Donna. While she accompanied me in Iceland, and several other adventures around New York, here’s a flashback to summer time and what she has to say about City Island:
“Ever since I saw the movie, City Island, I was dying to make a trip over to this quaint little destination which is often described as a place where Cape Cod meets the Bronx. Being a Masshole expat living in NYC, I was surprised I hadn’t discovered this place sooner. So you can imagine how stoaked I was when my friend, Andrew offered to take me out on the Limerick (R.I.P his trusty Irish sailboat) for a day trip around the Long Island Sound. We enjoyed lobster brioche rolls, fries, salad and mac ‘n cheese from Aggie’s Roll, a trailer serving the best food on the Island, and finished up with chocolate ice cream for dessert from Lickety Split.”
Although the winter months are upon us, we can at least keep it on our list of things to do come Spring 2012!
Lobster brioche rolls and a side of fries from Aggie's Roll
Spinach & mushroom salad with a shallot vinaigrette
Fresh squeezed lemonade with a hint of mint
Lickety Split's chocolate icecream
Uptown’s Nostylgia
October 13, 2011
My friend and I couldn’t resist a bike ride along the river on Sunday, and decided to quench our thirst at Nostylgia, just north of the Cloisters. This Uptown neighborhood, Inwood, was my weekend hotspot, and there’s still so much to explore, so I’ll likely be going back for another visit soon. Nostylgia, known as the “New American Classic” is part tea lounge, part men’s apparel, and has some of the best tea selections I’ve seen. I thought for a good 5 minutes before I could decide what to try. Going with an Iced Elderberry, I was more than satisfied with my choice, and with a less sweet option, my friend got the Iced Black African Kenyan. Lucky for us, they had a yard sale going on with all sorts of amazing vintage finds. For $1, I purchased two art deco tea plates I can’t wait to use for my next food shoot.
Gourmet tea menu
Elderberry Iced Tea
Preparing our drinks
Café at the Cloisters
October 8, 2011
I couldn’t think of a better way to spend this gorgeous October afternoon than at the Trie Café overlooking the gardens and fascinating Medieval artifacts the Cloisters has to offer. Quite possibly my favorite museum in New York, this Uptown branch of the Met in Fort Tyron Park was a perfect place to bring my parents who are visiting for the weekend. Soaking up the sun, we snacked on Mozzarella/pesto, tuna and turkey sandwiches.
Pesto, Mozzarella and Pepper sandwich
Turkey and tomato sandwich with chips
The gardens
Tuna and onion sandwich
Pesto sandwich
Peacefood Cafe: Eat Differently
October 6, 2011
This adorable cafe planted itself conveniently just on the corner of my apartment a little over a year ago, yet it wasn’t until my vegan roommate introduced me to their delicious food that I became a regular. One of my favorite snacks happen to be their chickpea fries with home cream dressing, and I hate to admit, but their homemade vegan brownie bites are usually consumed at least 3 times a week for dessert.
Chickpea fries
Vegan brownie bites
Chickpea fries
a camera in the kitchen 
