Tacombi at Fonda Nolita
January 10, 2012
My friend and I recently checked out the Carsten Holler exhibit at the New Museum (which I recommend), and finished off our afternoon with tacos from the nearby Tacombi at Fonda Nolita. This city loves its food trucks, but even more when it’s a vintage Volkswagon parked inside an industrial garage, with decor to make you feel as though your someplace much more tropical than Manhattan. Still in the brunch hour, I opted for the chorizo and egg breakfast taco, and my friend went with Mexico City’s favorite– the Al Pastor, marinated pork with roasted pineapple.
Al Pastor- Mexico City's favorite taco with marinated pork and roast pineapple
Huevos Con Chorizo Breakfast taco with homemade chorizo, potatoes, eggs and avocado
Homestyle beans flavored with epazote
A side of chips
Land & Flowers
January 8, 2012
My friends and I took advantage of the unseasonably 60 degree sunny January day, and threw a little afternoon roof gathering with some of my favorite Thai food from Land and beautiful floral arrangements done by my friend, Jess. Using an old Pantone book and library books as inspiration, we shot Atlantic baked salmon with bean paste, napa cabbage, snow pea, carrot and caramel soy sauce, caramelized chicken curry puffs, root vegetable egg rolls and satay beef and chicken skewers before chowing down and catching those summer-like sun rays.
Chicken Satay Skewer and Baked Salmon
Baked Salmon
Vegetable Egg roll
Vegetable Egg Rolls
Floral Arrangements
Salmon & Chicken Curry Puffs
Chicken Curry Puffs
Beef & Chicken satay skewers and Vegetable egg roll
‘Tis the Season
December 24, 2011
I’ve been meaning to share these delicious looking brunch shots from a Sunday afternoon spent at Tipsy Parson recently. Tucked in a bay window seat on a cold but sunny Sunday afternoon, a friend and I enjoyed their comfort American menu with a southern flair. If you happen to be around New York for the holidays, I highly recommend stopping in. Closed for the weekend, they re-open on Monday.
Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday, and I look forward to bringing you some festive feasts I’ll be partaking in throughout the week in Syracuse!
Flaxseed & nut granola, berry compote, berries
Pigs in a Poke-- stone ground grits, andouille sausage, poached eggs, toast soldiers
Side of eggs
Gifts for the Foodie
December 20, 2011
This time of year is always a whirlwind for me. Between holiday prep, recent traveling for work, gift buying and festive gatherings, I haven’t had any time to spare, and am just getting around to sharing some of my favorite gift ideas this season– brought to you by my amazing friend, Leslie. She recently launched Gifts Curated, a collection of carefully handpicked items from independent artists and vendors, ranging from food to body products, candles, bags and more. Last weekend she hosted a brunch and trunk show at her apartment. Not only selling her items, but giving customers a taste of her products and leaving them with inspiring ideas of recipes they could try at home. On the menu was grilled chicken and tofu sandwiches using the spicy pumpkin ginger and tomato apple chutney sauces, popcorn with sea salt, cookies with raw organic cacao chips and her grandmother’s homemade pound cake recipe with caramelized bacon using barrel-aged maple syrup. I also included shots we did for her website of my other favorite products that I couldn’t resist sharing with you. Happy Holiday Shopping! x
Gold rimmed spoon and bowl perfect for olives
Alta Cucina's Basil Olive Oil is perfect dipped in a fresh loaf of Eli's bread
Oil & Bread
Spicy Ginger Sauce and Sandwiches
Saucy By Nature Spicy Pumpkin Ginger & Tomato Apple Chutney
Sandwiches, Pretzels and Saucy By Nature
Popcorn with Salt Farm's gourmet sea salt
Vandalia Street Press Card & Salad
Pancakes with Langdon Wood's Barrel-Aged Maple Syrup
Pound Cake, Bacon and Maple Syrup
Homemade cacao chip cookies
Graham Crackers and cacao chips
JC Hot Sauce
Sydney Hale Company Candle & TM1985 Hand bag
TM1985 Handbag
Aromatherapy bath salts
Annie of Gift Shop Brooklyn makeup bags
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
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 Cupcake Celebration
November 21, 2011
Any excuse for cupcakes, and I’ll take it. Saturday afternoon, my friends and I, (and dogs) had a cupcake party to celebrate the year anniversary of the site. Because it’s far too difficult to pick just one bake shop, we decided to have a taste of them all. I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face after finishing the Upper West Side cupcake crawl, with stops at Baked by Melissa, Alice’s Tea Cup, Magnolia’s, Crumbs and Peacefoods, all with their own fabulous style and ambiance. It was a tough call between Melissa’s bite size flavors to Crumb’s Apple Crumbler, but our top vote goes out to Peacefood’s vegan carrot cupcake.
Baked By Melissa's Graham Cracker, Peacefood's Vegan Carrot, Magnolia's Caramel, Alice's Chocolate and Crumbs' Apple Crumbler
Carrot & Melissa's minis
Sophie's Debut
With love from Crumbs
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
Island Burgers & Shakes
November 7, 2011
This weekend my friend Kelly was here, and we ran around town (literally) for 2 days doing all sorts of fun activities like wedding dress shopping and cheering on our friends running the NYC Marathon. With little time to spare, Island Burgers and Shakes was the perfect quick stop for a delicious and filling meal on Saturday afternoon. Difficult to choose from the never-ending menu, we went with the Mona Lisa Churasco, a grilled chicken sandwich with mozzarella, pesto, sauteed onions, mushrooms, roasted peppers and Parmagiana reggiano on ciabatta. And I had the Roma Churasco, grilled chicken with thyme, rosemary, garlic, oregano and red pepper.
Roma Churasco
Fries & Ketchup
Roma Churasco
Mona Lisa Churasco
Oktoberfeast
November 2, 2011
My friend Donna and I cooked up a seasonal menu the other day featuring some of our favorite ingredients like pumpkin, sage and cranberries. It was one of those quintessential autumn days with crisp blue skies and cool temperatures, so I enjoyed my afternoon outside making my way to the farmers market and then taking the ferry over to Long Island City to relish in the beautiful day.
Cranberries and Maple Sugar Candies
Butter & Sage Pumpkin Ravioli
Farmers Market Ingredients: Ardith Mae Fresh Chevre and Bread from Hot Bread Kitchen
Pumpkin Nut Bread
Butter & Sage Pumpkin Ravioli
Cranberries, Apples & Pears with Bread & Fresh Chevre
Pumpkin Nut Bread
Bread & Fresh Chevre dipped in Pumpkin Bisque
Cranberry Chutney on Bread
a camera in the kitchen 
