my stupid mouth

Lately I have been a bit obsessed with the bakeries in and around Chinatown. With a large variety of pastries so close to work (and so deliciously cheap!), I have been seeking out all of the different options... for science, of course. My latest obsession is the sweetheart cake, but I will have to go into that later. Tonight I want to post about takoyaki.

My sister just texted, asking if I had heard of them. One google search later, I really want to try these and there is a restaurant in the East Village which is supposedly well known for serving them. And, according to Menupages, this is yet another cheap food. I have passed this place countless times. I like octopus. It's time to try some takoyaki.

some kind of mixture, some kind of gold

Bonnie and I went on a pork bun crawl a couple of weeks ago. This was a large, organized event (somehow full of other NYC residents who had not wandered around Chinatown before... baffling) but we broke into smaller groups for the actual crawling. Small groups aside, we overran the small Chinese bakeries identified on the route. Many places ran out of supplies and some scrambled to make more to meed the demand.

I voted for my favorite along with the rest of the group but I was skeptical. Given that some locations had scrambled to make more pork buns for the group quickly, I gave them the benefit of the doubt: perhaps they would have better quality pork buns when not rushed.

Luckily for me, I work so close to Chinatown that I can test this hypothesis at my leisure. So for the past two weeks I have been taking advantage of our recent warmer weather by walking across the bridge to work, stopping along the way for a pork bun and coffee breakfast at the different locations.

• Lung Moon Bakery - The first stop my group made, decent but hard to judge since it set the bar. On revisiting, the pork buns are good and cheap ($0.70) and I love the tininess of the location but it's not my favorite.
• Taipan Bakery - This was my favorite for the group food crawl vote but revisiting was a very different experience. One of the more expensive buns ($1) and not as good as others.
• Fay Da Bakery - I didn't like it the day of and I don't feel drawn to go back. Not sure why...
• Mei Li Wah Bakery - This was the first and only place I had eaten a pork bun before the food crawl. Sadly, it didn't live up to its competitors during or after the food crawl.
• Golden Fung Wong Bakery - This location ran out of pork buns and didn't make any more. And yet I do want to go back to this place soon.
• Vegetarian Dim Sum House - Vegetarian pork buns? Um no. Not going back.

And my reigning favorite? Nice One Bakery. It wasn't on the crawl map but we stopped in while waiting for Mei Li Wah to make more. On the day of the crawl it was my favorite and on revisiting it is still my absolute favorite pork bun.

If I want to continue my pork bun explorations, I have my work cut out for me. I notice new bakeries every day. Needless to say, I am looking forward to more spring walks across the bridge.

iron and wine

Last week, I was given a cheap bottle of port. It was given as a joke and, as was the point, it's terrible. Normally I would use a bottle of cheap wine for cooking but I'm  not sure if this works for port as well. I've been searching through recipes online but have found nothing mentioning cheap port (or suggesting a use for cheap port). So, it's experiment time. And, yes, the giver is going to be my guinea pig.

The easy
Blue cheese, port and walnut spread
Port wine glaze

The realistic
Chicken with figs in a port wine sauce

The slightly ambitious
Pepper-crusted beef tenderloin with chocolate-port sauce
Vanilla cheesecake with cherry topping

I will take the sun in my mouth

In October, Bonnie and I made plans to visit a new bar/restaurant, Henry Public, with the specific goal of trying the Wilkinsons. The date came (Halloween) and it was pouring rain. The month, for me, had been horribly busy and stressful, and the week leading up to Halloween was no exception. Bonnie, who met me in SoHo looking soggy and not too happy, had also had a bad week. But we're stubborn in general, and when it comes to food perhaps more stubborn than usual, so we made our way to the train and headed for Brooklyn.

Thankfully, after countless eye rolls at drunk people in costume, Henry Public proved to be well worth the trip. Bonnie and I were able to dry out at our little table, tucked in the back of the not too crowded seating area, and vent about work stresses. The staff put up with our many random requests and shared our Wilkinson-love... because the Wilkinsons were AMAZING. It's fried dough, yes. But it is fried dough covered with powdered sugar and served with a brown sugar dipping sauce. And on a rainy day at the end of a bad week with a friend who relates and listens... well, we decided that the next time either of us is having a bad day/week/whatever, this is the solution.


Thinking of things Dutch, I recently received a Tasting Table email about Dutch pancakes. I've never had one but they sound amazing. (Again, it's dough. It can't be that difficult.) Can we make winter plans for pancake brunches?

You take the things you like and try to love the things you took

Ugh. It has been entirely too long since I have posted anything. October and November have been, to say the least, busy. There has been some time to cook but not as much as I would like. Ramen and sriracha reign supreme when I am too tired to make anything else, perhaps because fall calls for soup and ramen is fast and filling.

And soup has definitely been an obsession for me this season, despite the warm weather. Last Sunday I made my first soup: butternut squash soup with pear, cider and vanilla bean. I invited a friend over to be my guinea pig and, despite his lingering illness and usual ambivalence towards squash soups, it was voted a success.

Tonight I made a tomato soup, based on this recipe but with my own additions of onion and garlic. I also put it all through the blender twice so that it would be extra creamy... I've been the only one to taste test this recipe but I love this soup. Love. This is going to be a regular staple in my kitchen.

The only downside to all of this soup making is that I actually lack a large stock pot. I have been working with my one large pot, but I fill it to the brim. One more piece to find for my kitchen collection.

Hog heaven

After ten days split (almost) equally between Seattle and Portland, I am home and finally posting again. I have to admit that during my vacation, I ate like a pig and drank an excess of coffee every day while also walking ridiculous distances across, over and through each city. I was left to my own devices on a solo vacation. What can you expect?

I don't want to chronicle every last detail here but I will share the general over view and a few highlights. This is going to be messy. I am tired. You will get better posts another day.

September 17 - Seattle
13 Coins - late dinner and coffee

September 18
Cafe Tiesto - mediocre americano
Cow Chip Cookie - sugar overdose while eating a cookie bigger than my face, will never do this again (though it was a damn good cookie)
Cafe Umbria - burnt coffee and snobbery, no thank you
Uptown Coffee - looks like a chain but is heaven in the form of espresso and orange zest

September 19
Cafe Ladro - local chain but reliably good coffee
Cafe Vivace - good coffee served by snobs, ugh
Top Pot - slightly industrial-looking donut shop tucked between houses, perfect place to have a yummy donut on a rainy day after being pissed off by coffee snobs
Boulangerie - I now know what pain au chocolate is supposed to taste like, I have to sit down and savor every bite, I almost propose to the baker
Cafe Vita - cozy, with good coffee, open late
El Diablo Cafe - most unique coffee shop in Seattle, Lucy and Desi themed bathrooms, book store next door

September 20
Bedlam Cafe - the interior design made me think it would be better than it was, but I've certainly had worse
Macrina Bakery - after almost killing people who don't understand how lines work and a long wait I was seated at the best table in the entire place and fed a delicious meal of brioche french toast with honey crisp apple slices, hazelnuts, lemon whipped cream and chicken sausage
Cafe Besalou - their pastry smelled delicious but I got only an espresso as I was saving myself for the next meal (which I had been looking forward to the entire trip)
Delancey - opened by a husband and wife (I follow her blog, I have her book), at the outskirts of a neighborhood that gives you no inclination of what is actually tucked away on a side street, I had an amazing pizza with padron peppers, mozzarella and Grana with a glass of amazing wine (I made the waitress write the name down) followed by a dark chocolate chip cookie with grey salt, I licked the chocolate off of my fingers (blame the wine)
Bauhaus Coffee and Books - among the worst coffee of the trip but open very late and provided some amazing people watching

September 21
Zeitgeist Cafe - large space with good coffee
Stumptown - went for a free cupping and fell a little bit in love with one of their employees, want to make a life like the couple who did the cupping with me (in town for the day just to try out new food stuff in the cityw they roast their own coffee beans and make their own pizza dough and are just generally really nice and warm)
Remedy Tea - puh-erh tea and chocolate pepper tea cookie, I finished my book and enjoyed the sunset
Molly Moon's - in my defense I was expecting to buy two tiny NYC scoops of ice cream with my five dollars, I got a massive bowl, one scoop of balsamic strawberry, one scoop of Theo's chocolate, I think I licked my fingers again... don't ask

September 22
Odd Fellows Cafe - I was not expecting to like this place as much as I did but how can you go wrong when the space is huge and sunny and they serve you warm peach coffee cake?
Beecher's Cheese - handmade cheeses, grilled cheese with two different cheeses, tomato and basil = gooey yumminess
Stella's Cafe and Wine Bar - bad cappuccino and the girl at the counter is entirely too perky, no I do not want chocolate sprinkles
Bookstore Bar - the length of the bar was full of single malt whiskeys... danger

September 23
Three Girls' Bakery - blackberry scone
Cherry Street Coffee House - my last coffee in Seattle, not the best by any means

September 23 (Portland)
Stumptown - you just can't go wrong here
VooDoo Donut - oh god the unhealthiness, I had an oreo, chocolate and peanut butter donut, odd as it sounds it was amazing
Pizzicatta - pizza with feta, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic and peppers, entire pieces of roasted garlic
Rogue Brewery - honey orange wheat beer, wet hop ale (which I actually enjoyed despite not being the biggest fan of hops)

September 24
Stumptown - the other location in Portland
Tin Shed - hashbrowns with eggs and bacon gravy, so messy but so good
Last Drop Coffee - good coffee, they serve Stumptown like everyone else
Barista - the most amazing coffee of the entire trip, that's all I can say
Jake's Grill - penne with shrimp and scallops in a white sauce can never be bad, I was forced to eat part of the chocolate bag that Jennifer got for dessert (dark chocolate in the shape of a bag, filled with white chocolate mousse, whipped cream, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberry coulis), another sugar overdose

September 25
Half and Half - wins for cutest tiny cafe, breakfast sandwich and coffee
Sydney's - tucked away where you wouldn't expect anything much less a coffee shop, acoustic guitar on a Friday morning goes perfectly with chai lattes
Koi Fusion Truck - I tracked it down and had decent but overly messy tacos
Crema - cappuccino and a ginger molasses cookie are the perfect reward for walking five miles in the sun

September 26
Kenny and Zuke's - latkes with homemade applesauce and sour cream, only justified by the fact that I have not actually had latkes since I moved to NYC
Albina Press - distantly related to Barista, just as good
Stumptown Annex - another cupping, this time with a friend, I love their Ethiopian coffees
Doug Fir - I officially solved Christina's craving for a burger and milkshake and it was a damned good meal, bison burger with onions and Tillamook cheddar

September 27
Byways Cafe - I would be a regular among the regulars here if I lived in Portland, I had a basic breakfast but fell in love with the pumpkin coffee cake that Jennifer had

If I had my little way, I'd eat peaches every day

Given the season, the local farmers’ markets have been overrun with peaches. And, of course, there is always a plate of small slices to taste, each type delicious and amazing. Tastiness aside, a girl likes some variety in her life. I recently stumbled across a couple of different recipes for grilled peaches, one over arugula and one with ricotta. With peaches waiting to be eaten and having never had a grilled peach, I was very excited to try one or both of these recipes.

But I don’t have a grill. I don’t even have a grill pan. I am completely grill-less. Back to square one, with three yummy peaches sulking uneaten on the counter.

The absence of grilling materials has been a problem in the past, usually with vegetables, and one popular solution in my kitchen is roasting. I do have an oven at least. After a brief internet search to confirm that roasting peaches is not a completely stupid idea, my decision was made. I just had to find the right time.

Well, tonight was that time. Dessert sounded good for a change. I am leaving town in a few days so am in the process of emptying my side of the refrigerator. Thus, there was no arugula or ricotta on hand. Solution: ice cream. The bodega down the street sells single mini Haagen Dazs ice cream containers, which is just about the perfect amount for me when I want it.

After a quick trip to the corner, I had everything I needed: vanilla ice cream, a peach and cinnamon. And only twenty minutes after that, I had pretty deliciousness on a plate. I tried to take a photo for proof, but my hands are shaky and I couldn't get the angle right. Plus, my model was melting. I was forced to eat my dessert, every last wonderful bite of it.