Trader Joe's top 10 finds

Easily my favorite grocery store; land of $0.99 birthday cards, superior almond milk, prettiest AND cheapest orchids (that make for a perfect hostess gift) and much cheaper but equally delicious to (snap, crackle + pop) crisped rice cereal.

While I love so many foods from there, here is my completely biased, top ten, go-to favorites...

this is an INSANELY delicious 

dairy meets puff pastry gem. I would not recommend looking at the nutritional facts. we are big fans of most of their puff pasty greek-influenced frozen items, but this one steals the show

these are so tasty! they are a little thicker than your average pita chip, so they don't flake apart, but still light and airy. we have these with sweet goat cheese + fig jam or savory guacamole. 

no brainer. already made. enjoy!

these just might be my all-time favorite cookie. I'm maple-obsessed and everything  about this cookie is maple; cookies, frosting center and obvi the cute little maple leaf shape. they are big, hearty cookies. two, with a cup of tea in autumn is such a dreamy pairing. 

super decadent + rich. all 5 of us are fans of this one. super rich, very chocolatey, and never lasts long. 

while i try to make my own, this is cheap and obviously cant be easier. i fry it up with eggs for breakfast, make a crust for pizza, or my favorite thing to do is whip up a healthy fried rice. soooooo good!

ok, to be honest, these aren't my favorite. but my kids and husband love them so much, i thought they deserved a spot on here. having a true british husband who grew up on proper crumpets, he makes a good judge. in fact, he declared these to be better than ones from the mother country. 

have you ever tried mochi? sooooo good. it's like a little edible mystery parcel with ice cream hidden inside. they carry so many flavors. kids love them. just a really cool dessert experience. 

this is pretty on trader joe's shelves, but becoming a quick cult favorite. i put it in fried rice, on eggs, on avocado toast pr toss with sautéed greens. experiment away!

creamy, sweet (but not too sweet) and vegan! i was vegan for about a hot 5 minutes and this, along with copious amounts of guacamole, was what i lived on. pro-tip: use it as a creamer for iced coffee. aaaahhhhmazing!

* image is of NYC Trader Joe's. I can hardly believe my now suburbia self used to wait in those lines every week just to get in there! 

film project

how amazing does this film look? i can't wait to see it (especially since my dear friend camila is producing it)

check it out here at kickstarter

mad men finale fever

totally obsessed with this season of mad men. i'm currently drinking my second glass of malbec and reading up on genius questions to be answered and this comparison by emily viviani. (reminiscent watching 'wizard of oz' while listening to pink floyd, no?)

and curious to know if we'll ever see peggy again. luckily, i'm feeling rest assured

 and found this hilarious video montage

(*images by amanda, starpulse, amtv, fanpop & wsj)

roman holiday

in the midst of watching one of my all time favorite movies: 'roman holiday'. falling in love with audrey...and her uber chic sandals, all over again.

perfect end to a happy weekend.

gentleman farmer

mr. s and i recently trekked out to the lower east side on the look out for a delicious dinner and someplace to give us that warm + cozy feeling to embrace the perfectly cool autumn evening. luckily, rivington is jam-packed with options. the gentleman farmer beckoned us in.

the menu was small and simple yet so enticing. reflective of the name, everything on the menu was locally grown, organic and absolutely mouth-watering.

we started with the venison sausage in a blueberry reduction. amazing. and shared the braised rabbit dish made with carrots, asparagus, small + sweet onions, served in a big stew bowl. we needed 2 baskets of bread to be sure to get every last drop of the white wine reduction remains in the bottom of our bowl. it was beyond delicious.

berry bliss

loving the colors on lips lately. berry shades are everywhere. i just treated myself to laura mercier 'truly red'. here are a few favorites...

i'm in love with the hester street fair

  


i recently ventured down + out to essex street to check out the oh-so-new hester street fair; a smaller, delightful, manhattan version of the beloved brooklyn flea. it was well worth the long trek from queens and was the perfect adventure to brighten up the otherwise gloomy weathered weekend.

i adore local street fairs and markets - a great way to be inspired to buy local & eat seasonal (cute lil catch phrase i borrowed from top hester vendor claudia pearson)

it got me right from the start with the grub. there was enough to please a true foodie with some of my favorites; lobster roll master luke's lobster (october 28 '09), meatball shop treats (may 22 '10), as well as brooklyns own mcclure's pickles, a selection of tasty bakeries and the much anticipated sigmund pretzel...which was everything i hoped it would be and more. i savored each bite of my classic salted, although it was a tough choice between classic and gruyere paprika, but for a first try i thought it best to try the building block for all the rest of the flavors.

food aside (not so much aside as nestling in my stomach as useful caloric energy bits i would need for the treasure hunting ahead of me) the vendors were stellar. i left with only 3 purchases, but was easily charmed by others and took extensive notes on multiple business cards.

aforementioned claudia pearson has bright and beautiful assortment of tea towels made from old flour sacks, totes, prints and more. she's a "must add" to your etsy favorite buyer list. i treated my kitchen to the spring tea towel. love it! and i have been hinting endlessly to mr.s that the other 3 seasons would be a perfect gift.

  

i have been sporting the cutest little earrings you ever did see from erica weiner and would be sure to go back to her for girlfriends birthday gifts. even the card that the earrings rest on have such detail and can perk up your day.

i couldn't pass up vintage t-shirts that were only $5 each and got one for mr.s and one for myself. we've both been out & about in them a few times since. what a bargain!

and i plan on going back soon for must-have baby attire from juli raja who had a gorgeous collection of block print men dress shirts, baby tops, dresses and scarves.

i plan on going again. perhaps today. i'm craving pickles and am still curious about the gruyere + paprika pretzel.

big apple bbq in mad.sq.park

nothin' says summer quite like bbq food. mmm! greasy meat, loads of bbq sauce and sweet, vinegary coleslaw.

queens cohort N came along with me for the lunch time feast at the annual big apple bbq festival at madison square park.

i must say the actual festival was very mild, strange sponsors, odd crowd of fellow bbq'ers, everything was very spread out and the food was on the outskirts of the park.

the food was tasty, although every stand was dishing out small portions for $8 plates and we somehow managed to miss out on a staple pulled pork sandwich smothered in bbq sauce. we tried 3 different plates...

ny's very own wildwood barbeque pork strip steak sandwich w. bourbon onions and housemade pickles (v. tangy) and hill country beef brisket with yummy, not quite pickled cucumbers

Raleigh's the pit whole hog sandwich w. classic coleslaw. *sweet vinegar sauce was crucial to this sandwich

and chowed down in the park waiting for the sun to make a debut. 

  

goodness, gracious, great meatballs of fire

a few girlfriends and i recently scored some pretty sweet and hard-to-come-by seats at the new and raved about meatball shop on stanton street (we would like to thank Lauren T for seriously playing the martha card) for a night of wine, amazing side dishes and a plethora of delicious meatballs. 

a great and impressive thing about the meatball shop is how they've managed to create such a wide clientele (there were babies, middle aged couples, brooklyn hipsters, west side poshies and everyone in between present...and may i add, anxiously waiting for a table, while we slid in) and surprisingly diverse menu while still keeping the focus solely on balls of meat. the possibilities and combinations of meal options seemed endless. 

we each got a different variety of meatball and sauce combo - we voted the best to be between the classic beef and the spicy pork in the classic tomato sauce. mmm!  - and a side dish to share. of sides, the simple salad of arugula & apples was perfection as was the market salad of the day, which was also an arugula based salad, but a good polenta always gets my vote for best. 

and although there wasn't much room left, we glutenously decided to get 3 ice cream sandwich creations of our own design. these went pretty fast so no telling which was a favorite combo. 

for our next visit we plan on expanding our horizons and trying the sliders, more meatball and sauce combos and remembering to savor dessert a bit more. 

* photo is straight from the meatball shops website. we were too busy eating to take our own photos of the deliciousness

how to eat your way through bleecker street

for my birthday this year i wanted to be surrounded by my favorite things; close friends, vintage clothes, my sweetheart, sushi combined with byob, and delicious food.

for the latter of the bunch, true foodies go to bleecker street. a few close girlfriends and my favorite sexy british import (as i'm sure people magazine would dub) did a best of food tour along the cute little street that cuts through the village.

w. aforementioned close girlfriends

first stop was rocco's for killer pastries, 3 layer chocolate cake and cafe lattes. clearly delicious. we ate too much here to buy anything to take home.

next up was amy's bread. we needed yummy, fresh baked bread for our upcoming cheese stop. we ended up gathering all sorts of bread sticks; rosemary, olive, prosciutto, walnut, and 5 grain. most of these got devoured later in the afternoon on the highline. sans cheese. rosemary won first place for best infused "stick".

@ amy's

we had 'fish' on our list to stop for some fresh fish but ended up stopping in 'the lobster place seafood market' and fancied fresh, succulent, sea scallops. 1lb please. coat in flour and pan fry with lemon juice. perfection.

last and favorite stop was murray's. the varieties of artisan cheeses can be overwhelming. thank goodness they let you try samples of any cheese you fancy. after tastes of a few triple creme's (why not, it's my birthday) rose petal preserve and roasted red pepper spread, we left with fromage d'affinois (trumps previously mentioned st.andre in 'love triangle'), cachel blue (most delicate species of blue cheeses, sweet, mild and ultra creamy) and selection of olives.

ordering d'affinois

all has since been consumed with love, passion and appreciation. cheers to my 27th year.

from ME to NY - the best of maine on the LES

a good lobster roll is not too hard to come across in nyc. however, a good lobster roll for under $35 is. but, alas, it has been found. for only $14. and consumed. and consumed 3 more times.

where: luke's lobster 93 E. 7th street

when: best to go before 8pm to avoid the line out the door. which soon will be wrapped around the block.

why: perfect lobster roll, delicious root beer and all for under $16

i met my girlfriends, heather & nora at luke's to test out the lobster roll. the menu is small and simple. the staff are all original mainers. the tiny, quaint shop plucks you out of nyc and drops you in a little maine go-to that only locals know about. fortunately, only a few new yorkers know about luke's too as it just opened october 1st.

i started out with the staple lobster roll. amazing. super fresh lobster and lots of it stuffed into a mini bun that has been lightly buttered and toasted golden brown. a touch of mayo and a sprinkling of some secret seasoning (luke swears its only celery salt). this roll is best combined with salt & vinegar chips and a cold, sweet root beer.

H & N devouring lobster rolls

we were so impressed with luke's lobster roll classic, we decided to step it up a notch and get a taste of maine; lobster roll, shrimp roll and crab roll all in the mini form, pickles, 2 empress claws, chips (i nixed mine for an extra pickle) and yet another root beer.

in line for round 2

'a taste of maine'

needless to say we left full. and happy. and enough money left in my wallet to get a cab home.

p.s. luke is pretty cute.

cherish my cherin. sushi.

mmm! sushi.

i recently discovered a fabulous sushi restaurant in the east village. cherin sushi. reasons it is so fabulous: aaahmazing & creative sushi rolls and BYOB.

*

among the traditional rolls and sashimi, cherin gets creative with fish combo's. options with mangos and red caviar are all over the menu selections. the marriage of fish & fruit is done so well here, you leave craving their house specialty rolls; the john roll (sliced mango atop spicy, crunchy salmon) and trisha roll (tune & yellowtail on top of avocado & crunch) are my favorites.

everything is super fresh. the rice is not too overbearing and cooked to perfection. and cherin scores extra points for simple, appreciated presentation.

decor is simple, clean, understated, but classier than your typical sushi joint. slightly dim inside and always packed with east village locals who are in the know. the little twinkly lights outside on the door & railing make it easy to spot.

best of all...cherin is totally affordable. and with the BYOB, you can bring along your fav sauvingnon blanc. perfection.

*image courtesy of nymag.com