Restaurant Review: Bluestone Lane's Avocado Toast is SMASHING

Oh avocado toast, how I adore you.

Let me count the ways.

Well actually, there’s too many to count.

I love you all the ways.

I love you with feta.

I love you with chili flakes.

I love you with a splash of lemon or lime.

I love you on whole wheat toast.

I love you on white bread.

I really, really love you on Balthazar Bakery bread.

This is what I discovered last week when I took a trip to Bluestone Lane for my lunch break.

What is better than an avocado toast enjoyed outside in the sunshine on a beautiful fall afternoon with friends? Not much.

Bluestone Lane is one of those Australian café’s that keep poppingup around the city and thanks in part to the popularity of their avo toast, they just opened their 6^th Manhattan location (bets as to when the first Brooklyn outpost opens its doors?)

Each location’s offerings vary – and each location is also unique in its architecture and design. Apparently, the new Upper East Sidelocation is quite the site to see! 

However, we Midtown-lunchers headed to the Bryant Parklocation, which is situated in the glass Grace Plaza Pavilion on West 43^rd St. and 6^th Ave.

This place gets busy, and it seems as if almost everyone is there to order avocado toast. I can’t comment on their coffee, because $5 is a little steep for this McCafe drinking gal, but word on the street is that Aussies know their caffeine. Plus, they add scoops of vanilla ice cream to some of their drinks – something that I fully support.

Though busy, the staff at Bluestone Lane put love & care into their avocado toast – nestling it in a little brown box before sprinkling it sweetly with whatever toppings you choose.

At Bryant Park, the “standard” avocado toast comes in at $7 and includes avo, lemo, salt, pepper, chili flakes and olive oil. Feta, cherry tomatoes and prosciutto can all be added for an extra price – and $10.50 will get you the whole shebang.

Strangely for me – usually a lover of toppings – I decided to opt for the plain Jane. I was not disappointed!

This Balthazar toast is seriously incredible. Soo full of seedy-goodness.

The savory avocado mashed with olive oil benefits from the burst of citrus, pop of chili and bam! of salt.

I’ve finally put it together that I, personally, am a fan of the Avocado SMASH as opposed to avocado toast.

(The whole she-bang - beautifully photographed by Kaitlin over at California Endless Summer!)

What’s the difference you ask? Avocado toast usually implies sliced avocado, while avocado smash is more of a mash.

This isn’t surprising coming from a girl who loves her guacamole and used to cut her corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes into little pieces before mashing it together with mustard. True story.

One of these days, I hope to make it to another one of Bluestone Lane’s locations – preferably their sit-down outpost, the Café Collective, so I can order this delicious avocado smash with a POACHED EGG.

Because if you like it then you shoulda put an egg on it. 

Read More

Iron Chef Forgione Welds Familiarity and Originality

To step into Iron Chef Marc Forgione’s namesake restaurant is to be immediately transported out of Tribeca and into a space reminiscent of a twenty-something’s Pinterest page, where rustic barn weddings are all the rage. A dining room as open as Marc Forgione’s is rare in a town where diners are forced to convince themselves that crammed is “quaint.” The spaciousness suggests that your bill will be helping pay the rent, but it’s worth it for the rustic-chic accents and possibility of brushing shoulders with a Tribeca denizen like Beyoncé or Taylor Swift. What also makes a trip to Marc Forgione’s worth the extra dough? Refined dishes with complex flavors and service that make you feel like a somebody, even if you’re not quite sure what to do when they present you with a finger bowl.

First to be brought to the table were a pair of perfectly puffed potato rolls, butter-glazed and gleaming with a sprinkle of black sea salt on top. They’re best when cut open and smeared generously with the whipped chive butter.

Complimentary bite-sized samples were small in size but big on flavor. Smoked halibut’s bold taste was toned-down nicely when sandwiched between two crisp slices of cucumber and warm everything bagel balls filled with vegetable cream cheese were topped with the perfect pop of salt and onion.

Despite possessing what I consider a sufficiently sophisticated palette, I have yet to reconcile my taste buds with truffles. It was refreshing to see an upscale restaurant with a menu almost entirely void of these trendy fungi. Forgione doesn’t lean on this over-used ingredient to create enticing dishes full of flavor. Instead, he relies on his training in American, French, and Asian cuisines to craft an inspired menu made up of basic but expertly employed ingredients.

The Chili Lobster starter is fashioned after an Asian crab dish which Forgione takes to the next level. Sweet lobster knuckles and a rich creamy claw sit atop a spicy chili broth with hints of both Sriracha and soy.

You’re left wishing there was more lobster to bathe in the broth, but luckily the thick slabs of Texas Toast are a perfect vehicle for sopping up the remaining soup.

A cornerstone entrée at Marc Forgione is the made-for-two Chicken Under a Brick. The whole Bell and Evan’s chicken is served deboned in a skillet sizzling with pan drippings and demanding to be Instagrammed.

The chicken is moist with sufficiently crunchy skin and accompanied by Yukon potatoes cooked to crispy perfection. The spuds soak in savory pan drippings that are flavored with capers, butter, thyme and rosemary. The greasy goodness is healthified with some greens –broccoli rabe with a bitterness that’s nicely undercut by the surrounding flavors. Last but not least are the fried onions which add the extra oomph.

There’s something on the menu to appeal to every person in your party but limited enough to ensure it’s perfected. Starters range from Kampachi Tartare to Parmigiano Reggiano Agnolotti while entrees run the gamut from scallops with bone marrow croutons to a well-touted T-bone.

Surrounded by exposed brick and well-worn décor, a meal at Marc Forgione feels special yet comfortable and encourages one to stay for a few extra minutes, finishing a cocktail and being treated to next-level services like a coat check for your leftovers. That’s right, when you’re here, you’re too special to have your table cluttered by a take away bag.

Marc Forgione is located at 134 Duane Street and serves dinner from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday– Saturday with brunch on Sundays from 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. followed by supper from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 212-941-9401.

Read More

Restaurant Review: Libertador

For months, Peter and I have passed Libertador in Yorkville and thought that it looked super cute. It's always full of people, and has a really nice outdoor seating area with a spacious dining room and bar. 

On Sunday, when my parents came in for a quick day visit, we stopped by for brunch. Despite an iffy forecast, it had turned out to be a wonderful morning to spectate at the Fifth Avenue Mile and remained nice for brunch al fresco. 

Libertador is an Argentinian restaurant - but don't let the ~ethnic~ name scare you off! There's something for everyone on this menu. 

We started by sampling four different empanadas, one of my mom's favorite things! None of us were very impressed with the beef saltena empanada, but the ham and cheese, chicken and potatoes and black bean and mozzarella ones were delicious! I liked that they weren't just giant fried blobs. The casing was doughy with a crunch - and they didn't skimp on the fillings. 

I went the brunch route, ordering poached eggs over asparagus with hollandaise sauce and a side salad (instead of the fingerling potatoes that it usually comes served with). Not anything life changing, but solidly tasty. 

(Simple yet satisfying) 

My mom ordered a salad - which they offer many varieties of. You can add steak, chicken or tuna to any of the salads, which is definitely what I would do if we go back for lunch or dinner one day. 

Mom's salad was the Mozzarella and Avocado Salad with tomatoes, black olives, and grain mustard in white vinegar olive oil as the dressing.  

My Dad ordered meatballs (see, I told you they have everything) and Peter got a prosciutto and mozzarella omelet that was BURSTING with meat and cheese. 

I'd also like to give a shout out to Libertador's cocktail menu - I ordered a drink that was St. Germaine, White Wine, fresh mint, and a bunch of fruit. It was super refreshing! 

If you're a Brooklynite, Libertador has another location in your borough! 

Though not particularly inspiring, Libertador was a solid choice for brunch, and may be worth a return visit to check out their lunch and dinner entrees - if only for the nice atmosphere!

After our meal we walked off the full-ness through a street fair on 3rd Avenue! I'm going to miss these summer weekends with good weather and fresh air :( 

(Thanks for checking out the hood with me Mom and Dad! And I promise you'll get to go to Heidelberg some day dad - in the winter!)

Read More

Restaurant Review: Two Hands

Last weekend, I convinced Peter to journey to Little Italy to get breakfast (ok, it ended up being lunch) at one of the places on my bucket list. 

Sure, I could have gotten an acai bowl at Juice Generation on the Upper East Side - but traveling to different neighborhoods in search of new food is fun to me. Plus, we ended up finding ourselves in the middle of the San Gennaro festival, which was fun to wander through for a little while. 

(Obviously needed a picture with this awesome street art that we passed!)

Our destination was an Australian Cafe called Two Hands, located on Mott Street. Two Hands is my favorite type of place. Small, healthy, with a great atmosphere and attention to presentation. These people know how to plate a meal to make it Instagram worthy! And like many places on my bucket list, I discovered it through Instagram. Mouthwatering pictures of fresh fruit, perfectly captured yolk porn and carefully crafted cappuccinos are what convinced me that I needed to make a visit. 

(So damn trendy. Look at all the basic b's brunchin')

Unfortunately, though expected, there was a solid 40 minute wait for a table. We opted to place our order at the To Go window. 

The salads on the menu made a really strong case for straying from my original craving for an acai bowl, but in the end, I stuck with my gut. Their acai mix includes blueberries and bananas with cocoa and acai powder and almond milk. It was topped with all the yummy goodness you could ask for - granola, hemp seeds, chia seeds, coconut, cacao nibs, blueberries and raspberries. I also tasted some dates in there! 

The wait wasn't long at all, and soon enough my to-go cup was placed on the counter. Everything was super flavorful, and I was able to taste each other the ingredients. 

Peter ordered a slice of the banana bread topped with fresh ricotta (so creamy) and honey. 

(I didn't get a picture of Peter's banana bread - so here's another picture of my acai bowl!) 

The menu is jam packed with options - and I'm pretty sure I would like every single one of them! From Avocado Toast to smoothies and corn fritters. Depending on the season, the salads and soups change to include the freshest ingredients. 

"Good Food by Good Dudes" is the restaurant's motto. I love looking at the menu and seeing so many nutritious, fresh meal options! 

Where did the name come from? They explained in an interview with Eat Boutique that: 

The name was originally inspired by Heath Ledger’s first film by the same name. The initial appeal came from both the film and Heath being Australian, without it being too obvious. Heath was inspirational to both of us, in his acting career and in his vision to open Five Leaves in Brooklyn, which we both love so much. But even beyond that, we felt that it had so many meanings; you use your two hands to create things, and that’s what we did with the cafe. It also represents the handshake that started this business and the many high fives we’ve given each other during this crazy process.

More and more Australian Cafes are popping up around NYC, and if you don't believe me you can read this New York Times article about it! Bluestone Lane, Little Collins (highly recommend!), Brunswick and Toby's Estate just to name a few! 

(My sister and I ate at Little Collins last year and absolutely loved it. In this pictures is the Avocado Smash (avocado and FETA smash on toast with chili flakes and pepitas!) and the Big Dill (cured salmon, scrambled eggs, dill, mascrpone and chives)

Two Hands features a tribute to it's owners' homeland with the Outback Cap - a cappuccino with cocoa powder dusted espresso served with chocolate-covered Tim Tam Cookies!

So basically, I would recommend Two Hands for breakfast, brunch, lunch OR dinner if you're looking for a ton of healthy options and you're okay with getting it to go (though later in the day the wait may not be as long!) It's not necessarily worth the 40 minute trip from the Upper East Side, but if I ever find myself in the area again, I would certainly stop by to try something else from the extensive menu. 

Read More

Review: Blue Apron!

For WEEKS I have been trying to successfully receive my free trial box of Blue Apron Delivery (thanks, Tina!) 

The first two times my delivery was supposed to come, it never showed up! I was convinced it was stolen from the lobby of my building. 

Luckily, both times, Blue Apron Customer Service was phenomenal - putting a new credit on my account so I could try again. 

Well it turns out I had the wrong address inputted into my account settings, and someone at that address received two complimentary Blue Apron deliveries. Oops! 

But before I figured that out, I had changed my address to have the third box delivered to me at my office. It arrived, and it was embarrassing. A giant box with giant ice packs filled with food that I had to take out and refrigerate in the tiny little pantry refrigerator. I then transported all the ingredients back home over the course of two days. 

So - the moral of the story is this:
1) Make sure you have the right address in your account. Duh, Lauren.
2) Blue Apron Customer Service is wonderful
3) Probably best to have the delivery sent straight to your apartment 

I was amazed at how well organized and labeled the shipment was. There's really no way to mess this up. 

(Everything in its own little package with labels!)

The first night I got home and realized I had failed to bring ANY of the tomatoes home with me (the featured ingredient in all three recipes). 

Luckily, they weren't really necessary for two of the recipes, so I powered through without them. 

First up were the Thai Chicken Burgers with Hoisin Mayo & Roasted Potato Wedges. 

Each meal comes with a recipe card with a lovely description of the meal, a list of the ingredients (and calories per serving), and step by step directions (with pictures!) 

Of the three meals, Peter and I liked this one the best. The hoisin mayo was tasty and there was a lot of flavor to the burger. Looking back, I probably would have made three patties with the meat instead of 2 - the burgers were huge! 

(Thickest burgers ever!)

That night, I also whipped up the Crispy Catfish & Freekah with Corn-Cherry Tomato Saute and Marjoram so that Peter and I would have meals ready to go on Wednesday night - he was heading home to Long Island to feed his kitty and I had work at the running store. 

(Just an excuse for Leo to make an appearance on the blog)

While making crispy catfish sounded intimidating, it was surprisingly easy! They forgot to send me the recipe card for this - but all of Blue Apron's recipes are online as well so I just looked it up there. 

My Corn-Cherry Tomato Saute was just corn saute, and I discovered that I DETEST the taste of marjoram. You know how some people CAN'T eat cilantro? I was immediately repulsed by the taste of marjoram and had to pick every piece out of my Tupperware. 

Other than that, it wasn't the best meal ever, but it was definitely better than a pita, hummus and an egg which is probably what I would have thrown together otherwise. 

The last meal included in this delivery was Seared Steaks with Romesco Sauce and Roasted Potatoes. Peter helped me with this one - we discovered that finely chopping roasted veggies into a sauce consistency is very time consuming and that leaving it chunky tastes just the same ;) 

Another cool feature is that people comment on all the recipes with tips - and after perusing them, I noticed a lot of people saying to go light on the sherry vinegar, which I did. 

This was my first time cooking steak - it was definitely a little tough but I'm not sure if that was just the pieces of meat they gave us, or my lack of skill. 

Again - my mind wasn't blown away by the taste, but I definitely enjoyed it! 

(My favorite part were the crushed pistachios on top! My not favorite part was attempting to chop the pistachios without them shooting off the cutting board and all over the kitchen. Proper nut crushing technique - help?)

Final thoughts: 

-I'm not going to tell you to milk the system, but...when I signed up, I was given three codes to give friends free meals - you can definitely use another email address to make a new account and I plan on sending one to Peter so we can use them. 

HOWEVER - you need to stay on top of this. Once you make an account, Blue Apron automatically schedules deliveries. You  need to actively go on and skip deliveries in order to avoid charges. 

Each delivery of 3 meals (with 2 servings per meal) is $60. When you think about it, that's $10 per meal, which really isn't awful! 

-I originally thought I would use Blue Apron during busy weeks when I didn't feel like thinking of dinners. But after trying it - I would definitely not suggest Blue Apron on a busy week. It's time consuming to cook all of the meals! Not overwhelming, but definitely more enjoyable if you don't have to rush around. That's how I did it, and I made a complete mess of my kitchen (not to mention a LOT of dirty dishes to clean). 

-I love knowing exactly what I'm putting into my dinner. And not going to lie, knowing the calories is a good thing too. It helped me decide if I really needed to eat alllll the potato wedges. All the fresh, real ingredients are the way I like to eat. 

Plus, there's no doubt it makes you feel like you have your shit together when you sit down to eat a meal that you cooked that has fancy names like "Steak Romesco." 

"NBD, whipped up some Crispy Catfish and Freekah for dinner." "My laundry is overflowing and I desperately need to clean my room, but my Thai Chicken Burgers were really bangin'."

-Make sure you have olive oil! It's the one thing included in the recipes that Blue Apron doesn't provide you with. 

-I've heard that if you select the vegetarian option, you end up getting a lot of pasta based dishes. 

-I love that you can look at the weeks ahead and see what the three meals are before deciding if you want them delivered or not!

I know there are a ton of other services like this out there - I'm curious, has anyone tried some of them other than Blue Apron? What did you think? 

Happy cooking!

Read More

Sushi For Days

One of my favorite things, besides peanut butter and besides froyo, is sushi. 

So naturally, when there was a Groupon for ALL YOU CAN EAT sushi on the Upper East Side - I told Peter he better buy one and come eat endless raw fish with me. Luckily, he agreed. 

Typically, the deal at Chinatown is $33 for all you can eat sushi and a little more expensive for the all you can eat and drink option. Our Groupon was AYCE + 3 drinks (wine, beer or sake). 

From what I gather, the place is pretty raucous on the weekends. But Peter and I went on a Tuesday night and it was pretty empty. 

I was kind of overwhelmed by the fact that the AYCE options don't only include sushi, but include Chinese dishes like General Tso's Chicken, egg rolls, dumplings, fried rice, etc. 

But you are quickly given the "rules" of this AYCE experience - and those rules include being charged for any food leftover on your plate at the end of the night. Including rice. 

While Peter and I joked around about just taking whatever we didn't eat into the bathroom to flush it away - I do see where the restaurant is coming from. With big groups of people, the waste could get a little out of hand. 

We started with an order of pork dumplings and there were SO many. Already we weren't loving this "no leftovers" rule - we wanted to save room for the main event - sushi! But the peanut sauce with these dumplings was STELLAR. We actually used it later on for dipping our sushi into - since the one dumpling we knew we would have to finish eventually sat there. And sat there. They definitely weren't going to clear it, and they were definitely going to charge us for it unless we ate it. Ugh. 

After the dumplings we moved onto sushi - ordering one at a time from the specialty roll menu to pace ourselves. I loved that some of their rolls were out of the ordinary - not just "spicy salmon" and "California roll."

First I tried the Spicy Yellowtail roll because it came with cilantro and jalapeno! 

Peter's first choice was the Sexy Roll - shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, topped with white tuna and avocado! The shrimp made it soo sweet and delicious. 

Next I got t he Spicy Salmon Roll - standard crunchy salmon with avocado on top - because when  you're eating all you can eat sushi - why not splurge and go for alllll the tempura. 

Peter got the Amaebi Roll - Spicy crab and crunch inside with sweet shrimp and avocado on top. The name kept reminding me of the little girl in the movie Signs who says, "Morgan took a sip and it's got his amoebas on it!" Anyone, anyone? 

Usually, I claim that sushi never fills me up, I can eat it all night. And typically, I can eat 3 or 4 rolls no problem. Seriously, ask my parents, they're always in awe of how much sushi I can eat. 

But Peter and I were both slowing down so we decided to split one more roll and order an eggroll because I reallllly wanted one. 

The eggroll was an eggroll. You basically like it for the fried outer part dunked in duck sauce. They may as well leave out the cabbage filling. 

The last roll we split was the Dancing Mango - lightly fried white fish, mango inside and topped with kani and tobiko. Kani = crab meat and tobiko = the little crunchy fish eggs! 

We left the restaurant stuffed to discomfort - as is typical for "All You Can Eat" affairs (see, Fogo de Chao). 

I would definitely recommend this place, if only for the hugeee variety of things you can order! 

Read More

Summer Weekends Wind Down

On Friday, after losing my cell phone, I treated myself to a later lunch/early dinner at a place that has long held a top spot on my bucket list - Jack's Wife Freda. 

I knew the chances of having the patience to wait in line for a table on a hungry Saturday or Sunday morning were slim to none - so I figured going at 3:00 p.m. on a random Friday would be a better bet. 

I left the office and made my way to their new location on Carmine Street (just around the corner from my old apartment!) To my surprise, they place was FILLED with people eating linner (lunch + dinner, duh). Every table was filled, but as it was just me myself and I, I was was able to grab a table at the bar. 

The restaurant was very chi and trendy looking - light colors made it seem open and airy despite being jam packed. 

What Jack's Wife Freda is known for are their brunch and breakfast dishes, although they do have some tempting sounding lunch and dinner entrees like the mustard seed crusted tofu served with spaghetti squash. 

My runner up dish was the Green Shakshuka (2 baked eggs in a green shakshuka served with challah toast), but I had just made it for myself the week before. Mashed pea and ricotta toast was tempting too. But ultimately, I decided to go with the Mediterranean Breakfast - a wonderful mix of 2 eggs (over medium), chopped salad (cucumber, tomato, onions), labne (Greek yogurt that is incredibly thick, rich and creamy), avocado and pita bread. 

I was incredibly saddened by the fact that I could only photograph this beautiful meal with an iPhone 4 camera - doesn't do it justice! I'm also kicking myself for not poking that yolk for a pop of yellow in the composition. No seriously, what was I thinking?

The chopped salad and labne were both excellent, and I loved loading everything up on the pita bread to make little sandwiches.  But at the end of the day, this meal wasn't anything incredible, and I'm not sure I understand the hype surrounded Jack's Wife Freda - aside from the fact that it's trendy and on Instagram a lot. 

After my meal, I walked around SoHo, taking in all of the stores where I will likely never afford to shop. 

I stopped at REI to check out bikes and cycling shoes, where I asked a bajillion questions and made it incredibly obvious that I was not a cyclist. Hopefully one of these days though! I didn't end up buying anything - but I did feel a lot more educated on the shoe-front. 

That Friday night I did a whole lot of nothin' - which was fine by me! I've started watching, and loving, Orange is the New Black, so it was me, my couch and Crazy Eyes for the night. 

Has anyone seen these advertisements around the city? I think they are hilarious and really clever. 

Saturday morning Peter was up and out early to run a 5K in Harlem. I was a bad girlfriend and didn't go to cheer - instead, I went to the gym for 2 hours. Might sound weird, but I love spending my mornings playing in the gym. 

And by playing I mean doing a shoulder/back workout, a couple minutes of spinning and a swim. 

Afterwards, I did some grocery shopping and went home to make myself a big delicious smoothie.  Well, it was big, and it was filling - but maybe I wouldn't use the term delicious. I thought skipping the step of brewing the coffee first and just throwing in the ground coffee beans would be an OK decision. It really wasn't. 

But anyway - besides for the bitter and crunchy factors - the flavor was pretty good! I'll definitely have to work on perfecting this as a post-exercise smoothie. 

1 Banana
1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tablespoon of coffee (mistake)
1 tablespoon of cacao powder
1 teaspoon of almond extract (MMM - new purchase)
1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed
Ice 

I drank my smoothie on my way to Peter's apartment and decided he deserved a present for running the race that morning. So I stopped at the super German bakery on his corner, which I've heard has the best black and white cookies. Glaser's is a family-run business that's been closed a lot this summer as the owners traveled. 

Glaser's has been around since 1902. Crazy! 

Immediately upon entering, the two women working introduced themselves, gave each customer a GIANT smile, and were super helpful. 

I brought the giant, soft black and white cookie over to Peter's and it was most certainly enjoyed. The frosting was soo good and the cookie was crumbly but in a really moist, soft way. 

We headed down to 59th Street to pick up our vehicles for the day - CITI BIKES! Initially, we wanted to rent nice bikes from a store or Bike & Roll, but I guess a ton of people had the same idea as us because the store we called was completely out of bikes. Then we decided Citi bikes could be a good idea since we could check them into places as we went - stopping for food and drinks and ice cream along the way. 

For just $11ish dollars for each bike, it was a great deal! We spent the whole day with them - about 4 hours total. Checking them into Citi bike stations every 30 minutes was a little stressful, and we cut it super close sometimes - but we never got charged any late fees (and they're only $4 each time, anyway). 

We started off on actual streets which freaked me out, but soon enough we were on the East River path cruising along. The bikes were a lot nicer than I thought they would be, and I could adjust the seat nice and low since I'm a midget. 

Our first stop was Southstreet Seaport, where Peter tried a delicious Blue Cheese and Bacon sandwich from Melt Shop and a beer. And coffee (he assures me he can quit any time...) 

It was such a beautifulllll day - we went all along the island, down near the ferry to Governor's Island, past the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. I tried soaking it all in through my eyeballs instead of through my cell phone camera. 

We peeled off just before Chelsea Piers and headed to the Meatpacking district to enjoy a margarita at Dos Caminos outside in the sunshine. 

Their menu had so many tempting margarita options, but after much back and forth, I settled for a classic. 

Of course we couldn't sit there with no guacamole in front of us. We ordered the Orange Chipotle Guacamole. I wish that the orange had come mixed throughout the guac, instead of a few pieces on top - because when you took a bite with that fresh pop of citrus, it was wonderful. Sadly, we asked for medium and there's wasn't much (ok, any) kick to it. But I did love that it came served with chips and as a healthy option, cucumber slices! 

I guess the margaritas had their share of alcohol in them, because while my intention for the day was to start a streak of no alcohol, healthy eating, and being active, I found myself suggesting a second margarita at Bamboleo's - my favorite place in the West Village. 

So we hopped on our bikes and went over to Bleecker Street. We enjoyed a strong $5 margarita, made some friends at the bar, and decided we needed ice cream. 

So the next stop was Big Gay Ice Cream Shop (you can see how my resolution to not drink and to eat healthy ended up going...) Peter got a Monday Sundae which I took my fair share of while sitting on a stoop. Some guy  passed us and told us what a cute couple we are. D'awww. 

If you're wondering - the Monday Sundae is a Nutella lined cone filled with twist soft-serve ice cream, dulce de leche, sea salt and whipped cream. 

What did I suggest then? Beer pong. I wanted to play beer pong.

Luckily, my partner in crime agreed that beer pong should totally happen. 

We tried Down the Hatch but it was still dead. Same for 3 Sheets. Luckily, Off The Wagon had a little more going on. We sat at the bar to order a beer and were handed Fireball Shots. 

Ok. This day just kept veering wildly off course. But we went with it. 

Eventually we played some beer pong but I was just doing horribly. 

Time for more ice cream? Sure. 

Have you heard of 10 Below ice cream in China Town? It's all the rage on Instagram these days. There's usually an hour long line! The draw? They make ice cream "Thai Style" by using an extremely cold stone to scrape ice cream off into little rolls. 

Well, we just happened to notice a new shop on Macdougal Street called I CE NY that makes these same Thai ice cream rolls with NO line. And I've since heard some people saying it's even better than 10 Below! I wasn't expecting to be impressed with this kind of ice cream, but Peter and I found ourselves loving it! It was much creamier than we thought it would be which was a pleasant surprise. The fact that you get to watch them make it is a nice touch too! 

We got the vanilla ice cream with oreo mixed in and whipped cream and caramel on top. Definitely worth a try to see how you feel about this new craze! But I would check out I CE NY and skip the hour line! 

You would think I had strayed from my healthy active biking day enough to call it quits and head home. Nope. 

Next up was live music at the Red Lion and one final indulgence - a $1 slice from my all-time favorite pizza place -  Percy's! 

THEN we called it a night. 

Sunday I woke up and went to yoga at Lulu Lemon and then did a whole lot of lounging around, watching Orange is the New Black and cooking! I made myself a frittata for the week - 4 eggs, spinach, mushrooms, sweet potato, onions and a little cheese. It was good, except that I sauteed the veggies in coconut oil and I'm not too sure I loved that taste mixed with my eggs. 

I also realized that I had a pie crust in the fridge that needed to be used up - so I looked around and pondered what the heck I could throw together using ingredients I already had in my apartment. I came up with - SWEET POTATO PIE. 

Of course, I wanted to make this healthier than the butter, flour, oil - packed recipes I was finding. 

I made mine loosely based off of this receipt - but I only had 1.5 sweet potatoes so I guestimated the amounts...

3 Tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 sweet potatoes, cooked
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
The best part was using the Kitchenaid for the first time! It's so nice!

I added some walnuts to the top of this, and voila! It was actually super tasty. Even Peter and my mom agreed! 

This was one of the few weekends I spent entirely in NYC with no big plans and it ending up being perfect and lots of fun. 

Read More

Rolling for Roots Hummus

Luckily, the week following "One of Those Weeks," was a lot better. 

I got in all my workouts (I'll fill you in on what's been going on in that world coming up soon!) before work, which is always a victory! 

I've returned to working two nights a week at the running store for their busy pre-Marathon days, which is where I spent Monday and Wednesday evenings after real work. 

Tuesday night, I got together with Melissa and Laura to catch up and make a delicious meal! 

Melissa ordered a lemon herb whole roasted chicken from Munchery -which was delivered right on time! So convenient - I definitely plan on using them with the coupon Melissa sent me! We slathered on the glaze and popped that baby in the oven! 

Meanwhile, we prepared some string beans which we later let soak up some of the chicken juice/glaze that was left in the pan. 

We also put together a delicious quinoa salad with some kale/spinach, blueberries, nectarine and peppers and onions - again, topped with garlic aioli mustard sauce/olive oil dressing (I'm kind of obsessed). 

We finished up with some homemade cookies courtesy of Laura! All in all a very successful night.

Thursday morning, I lost my cell phone. 

It was a morning spent cursing my stupidity, calling Verizon, panicking, and ultimately reactivating an old iPhone 4 which is killing me softly with it's inability to use most apps since it doesn't support their updated versions. I could file an insurance claim and get a new phone for $180 OR I could wait it out with an iPhone 4 until NEXT MAY! Currently, I'm trying to grin and bear it - but I know that won't last forever and eventually I'll end up filing a claim. 

Luckily, that night I got to relax and try a free class at Pure Yoga called Yamuna Rolling. It wasn't so much a yoga class as it was a 75 minute rolling session - using these little plastic balls of varying size and density. They were a lot more forgiving than the grid foam rollers I'm used to - but it was very helpful to have an instructor go through each body part, giving it the proper time and movements necessary to loosen things up. And heck, rolling takes a LOT of core work. I felt like I was in a plank for half the class. 

While everyone around me was shocked at how effectively the rolling was loosening them up - I, as usual, felt that no amount of rolling could crack the conundrum that is my knotted, cranky calves, hamstrings, hips, glutes and shins. Wah. 

At least I could end the day knowing that I gave my body a little TLC. 

And, as always, Pure Yoga wins at being a gorgeous studio. 

As I was walking into my class, I noticed a table set up with my all-time favorite hummus! Free samples of Roots hummus made my night. 

Usually, when I read about "all-natural" "all-organic" blah blah products - I don't care as much as I probably should. Sure, I like healthy things. Sure, I love me a good vegan and vegetarian restaurant. But in my day to day life, I have had to admit that I am not perfect, and I am not rich - and I eat things with ingredients that I cannot pronounce. 

But with Roots hummus, you can TELL that this stuff is the real deal, made with real ingredients, and real good for you! 

They have some incredibly unique flavors, all of which were there to sample at Pure Yoga. I was super excited to try some that I hadn't been able to find in stores before. 

I let the sales rep know I was a fan, and let her know the nearest store to the studio so she could let people know when they stopped by the table. ( I immediately used my coupon to pick up a container on my way home from class!) 

I am a big fan of the Thai Coconut Curry and the Roasted Red Bell Pepper (SO fresh tasting). There's also Lima Bean and Mango Sriracha along with some other flavors. 

The company is based out of Asheville, North Carolina - and they've dubbed themselves the "microbrew" of hummus. Love it. Though on the pricey side at $3.99 for a container, I definitely recommend you check them out! 

Read More