Kale

Last week I went vegan… for lunch. I was skeptical at first since I do love steak, chicken, pork, duck, fish, etc… but I saw this restaurant nearby called Soy & Sake has a great lunch special. $6 gets you a choice of a cup of the soup of the day, salad, collard green roll or soy chicken teriyaki skewers and an entrée (either Chicken Pad Thai, Black Bean Ginger Stir Fry or Chicken Sandwich. There are other choices for a dollar or two extra). I went with Chicken Pad Thai. I’ve had mock chicken (or unchicken in some circles) and I’ve always been pleasantly surprised by it. This was no exception. I got the collard green roll which was actually really tasty (probably because it was a deep fried spring roll), and the chicken pad thai portion was huge. I could only eat half of it.

This got me (and my coworker) thinking… we should try to eat healthier as we are both trying to lose weight. I told her about Souen, a restaurant with only macrobiotic dishes. I went there once with L___ and this guy; and it was an interesting experience to say the least but that was more due to the company. The food was good, bland but good. I had a broiled salmon filet with burdock, hijiki, brown rice, squash, and who knows what else (the guy ordered). Anyway, I was really hankering for the chicken pad thai from the other place so my coworker got Souen and said it was really good.
She then looked up diets that included raw foods, macrobiotic, etc. and mentioned Kale. I always figured Kale was a seaweed and maybe had it once or twice but I wondered if Fairway had it. In actuality, it’s closer to the cabbage family and according to Wikipedia:
“Kale is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties; kale is considered to be anti-inflammatory.
Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium“
Sure enough, I went last night and a bunch was only $1.99. It was so big it could hardly fit in the plastic veggie bag. With my head sticking up, feeling pretty proud I had a head of lettuce and a huge thing of kale in my basket, I walked around, got milk, yogurt, iced tea, and some chicken apple sausage from the very nice butcher .

When I got home, I looked up kale recipes thinking I would probably just steam it and eat it with rice and some sausage but I saw a link that made them out to be like potato chips. Hmmm. Seemed simple enough. I tried it and 10 minutes later I was eating Kale and kind of loving it. Here’s the recipe:

Preheat oven to 350F Cut leaves off of center stem. Wash & dry. Tear up into bite sized pieces. Spread leaves over a baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper). Drizzle a bit of olive oil over them. Season with kosher salt. Bake in oven for about 10-12 minutes or until the edges are crisp. I sprinkled a bit more table salt while it was still hot. Let cool and enjoy.

SO EASY. I had a batch for breakfast this morning. I lightly fried up tofu for lunch. I also ran a 1.23 miles this morning at 7am. What have I become??

Saratoga Springs

Easily one of my favorite bridges! From Albany to Saratoga

One of the most charming additions to my trip to Saratoga was trying the natural springs that pop up around town. I probably would've taken them as park decorations instead of fountains had Tom not pointed them out to me. Apparently there are about 20 different mineral springs that were thought to have healing powers back in the 1800s (which was then supplied to bath houses) We sampled 7- the first one being in the racetrack called Big Red Spring.


I grabbed a paper cup and went to the faucet. I took a sip and immediately spit it back out. It had a burning sensation to it that was not pleasant. A couple of kids came by and also spit it out. Not a good start. The next few were also rather unpleasant. One spelled like rotten eggs. Some like feet. Another was naturally carbonated and felt like your tongue was being attacked.



It was only til the last drive around town that I got to try a decent tasting water, which is actually the spring water they use to bottle and sell. However you can bring jugs and bottles to the site that is located in one of the very beautiful parks and fill up. I saw one guy with about 10 Poland Spring (for shame!) gallon jugs filled with the free water.

Anyway, on Saturday night we headed to town to have dinner at One Caroline which is also the address. They use locally grown produce and meat that is probably organic too. They have live music from 7:30pm onward. We arrived at 6pm and were determined to stay at least til they started. After getting through the specials recited by our very nervous waiter (perhaps it was his first day?), we decided to share an antipasti plate which was amazingly satisfying.



This was a huge plate of cheeses (provolone cubes and bleu cheese), prosciutto, salami, olives, figs, crostini topped with pate, caramelized onions and capers; bruschetta with fresh mozzarella drizzled with a reduced balsamic vinegar, roasted red peppers, artichokes and some fresh greens. We also shared a farmer's salad that had beets, feta and onions. For an entree, he got the sticky chicken & rice, I got jambalaya. Unfortunately I was so full from the appetizers (again!) and couldn't enjoy the jambalaya but it was still good despite it missing the advertised crawfish.

For dessert, we headed over to the Ben & Jerry's.

I got Chocolate Therapy (chocolate ice cream with chocolate cookies and swirls of chocolate pudding) which is an in-store only special.

We raced back to the hotel to try to go for a late-night swim but found out the pool closed at 9pm. It was 10:06. So I passed out. Still a great day/night.

Horsies & Hattie's

On Friday, I had accrued enough hours from earlier in the week to leave work at 2. It was a glorious feeling. At 4, Tom and I drove up to Saratoga Springs and got there around 8.

great sunset we saw

We booked a hotel in Albany since the rates in Saratoga were steep in the $400+/night range. Our room at the Holiday Inn was standard with 2 double beds, but we didn’t stay there long since we wanted to get into Saratoga Springs that night for dinner. We found a spot in one of the many public lots which happened to be down the street from Hattie's.



Hattie's, an institution in Saratoga since 1938, was featured on Food Network’s Throwdown with Bobby Flay for their fried chicken, and won. We put our name on the evergrowing list of names with the Hostess and was told we’d have to wait about 40 minutes. Yikes. We ended up walking around a bit and checked out some of the places a coworker recommended to me. Tom and I grabbed a drink in one of the bars that have an outdoor seating area but soon realized it was already 9pm. We went back to Hattie's and only had to wait about 5-10 minutes longer to be seated.
As we were starving, everything look amazing and we ended up getting 2 appetizers and 2 orders of the famed Fried Chicken. They brought out a basket of mini buttery and flaky biscuits that came right out of the oven and corn bread. We inhaled those in 5 minutes.


So mad there was not enough lighting to show off the deliciousness of their fried chicken!

We started off with a some Southern Style shrimp, which in my opinion was nothing too spectacular. 5 medium-sized pieces of shrimp over a bed of greens for $12 was not exactly worth it. We also got an order of $9 chicken wings (which in retrospect was silly of us because it came with 8 generous pieces and we only had more chicken to go) that was smothered in a sweet and spicy sauce (that I enhanced by dousing it with Hattie’s hot sauce- also known as Red Devils) and was so full I could barely enjoy the fried chicken. I could definitely appreciate it though; the skin was light and super crispy. Plus, at $16 a plate, you get 4 pieces (half a chicken) and 2 sides. I ordered the sweet corn on the cob and mashed potatoes with a side of gravy and Tom got collard greens (which were sweet and fresh) and mash. I couldn’t finish all the chicken nor the mash, which is unheard of and it wasn’t like we could take it home with us :(.

We literally waddled out of there, so sick but satiated. You know, the same feeling you have when you say, "I'm never eating again!"

The next day we got to the racetrack pretty early. I was decked out in my new dress and funeral hat ready to go. It was my first time at one where I was old enough to be cognizant of what to look for in betting. The last time I remember being at the horserace was when I was around 3 or 4 years old, with my dad and grandparents and possibly cousin Richie at Belmont. They sat me down with a box of Bugles (the corn chip that looked like a bugle) and I happily stared at the back of the box that had pictures of what you can do with Bugles such as put them on your fingertips and pretend they’re nails which was always my favorite. I don’t remember seeing horses at all actually. Anyway, Tom showed me how to read the programs with all the races and horses and jockeys. It was a lot of little numbers and letters to decipher but I got the hang of it after awhile. The first race was posted at 1pm. We had gotten a large freshly squeezed lemonade and placed a joint trifecta bet. It was actually pretty exciting seeing the horses race by towards the finish line. Everyone was shouting but we didn’t win. The next race we decided to place separate bets. I feel like betting is a pretty serious thing there and you don’t want to look like an amateur or ask the attendants what to do so I was freaking out asking Tom what to say as I completely forgot everything he told me. “Just choose Exacta, Trifecta, or Super… or box them.” ” UM THANKS, TOM, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS!”. So I stumbled and said “$1 Exactabox bet on horses __, __ and __ ” Then I thought I had done something wrong and was pretty upset over it but Tom looked at it and said it was fine. (for those of you who don’t know, exacta means naming 2 of the horses in the top 3 places, and boxing them means it could be in either order. Betting on more than 2 horses ups your chances but also increases the bet total) Well turns out I had a winning ticket and got $25. Of course Tom had to remind me that if I had made a $2 bet, I would’ve gotten $50.


my winning ticket!

Ah well. I attribute it to beginners luck because I think I only won once more after that. We did horribly the next day and could’ve won $200, but we won’t talk about it. I didn’t get to eat there since I bought a ginormous soda at Nathan’s which I won’t be doing again.

In the next post, I will talk about the various natural spring waters we tried, and OneCaroline.



me and tom

Spunto Pizza

shroomtown

The company I work for moved offices from midtown to SoHo. My commute stayed the same but the selection of eateries multiplied by 3. Sure there are a ton of places to grab a bite near Times Square, but most of it is for tourists which means 1) it's overpriced and 2) it's not nearly great quality.

On the first day we moved in, our boss treated us to some pies from Spunto. Super thin crust pizza. Wow was it good!

Besides the fact we were starving and it was a rare free lunch, the pizza was legitimately tasty.

We got the Classica which is Marinara Sauce, Fresh Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella, Fresh Basil; Salsiccia Dolce which has Marinara sauce and cheese, sweet Italian sausage, caramelized onions, fresh basil; Shroomtown that has Marinara Sauce & Cheese, Portobello, Shitake, Button Mushrooms, White Truffle Oil; and The Big Pineapple- Marinara Sauce & Cheese, Fresh Pineapple, Smoked Bacon, Fresh Tomatoes, Fresh Basil


Salsiccia Dolge

Seriously amazing. I got to try every single slice. The plain was nothing to write home about (though I probably shouldn't have had that one last). Shroomtown has the truffle oil which makes it a step above the others. The Big Pineapple was a great twist on the Hawaiian- and really, how can one go wrong with bacon? And the sausage was unusual because it wasn't large chunks of sausage like I usually see on pizza. It was more of a chili-consistency.

This is not for Chicago-style lovers!! The crust is super thin, crispy but still soft. If you're around for lunch, there is an outdoor patio and a special... 2 plain slices and a beverage for $5, or $6 if you want a topping such as mushrooms. Not bad, not bad.

May 15, 2010

I love duck. If duck is offered on a prix-fixe, it will most likely be what I choose to order. Something about the flavor of the meat, the crispy fatty skin and sweet glaze that makes it melt in your mouth.

So when I went to my 2nd cousin's wedding back in May, I of course had to order the duck.



Everything except the frutti di mare was delectable. I actually didn't even have a bite of the seafood salad because the waiters were really rude and took away our plates really fast without asking us.

Luckily I had tons to eat at the marvelous cocktail hour beforehand. Seriously, what a display! I think the only thing missing was a caviar bar (which I will undoubtedly have at my own wedding someday). There was a whole roast pig, an extravagant antipasta display, pasta station, beef, chicken, seafood, salads, the works.

All in all a great day spent with family I hadn't seen in 6-10 years, and yummy food.

Grandaisy Bakery

Firstly, if you've never heard of Groupon, go sign up for their daily emails for awesome deals that are offered by your location. They have deals like 50% off restaurants ($25 for $50 worth of food), spas, dance classes, sailing classes, etc. Please sign up using my link so I can get credits if you purchase something (Remember, Karma is the best!).

Now that you're acquainted, I will tell you how my first Groupon purchase went. A few months ago a deal for Grandaisy Bakery was offering $15 worth of food for $7. I had gotten menus from here before and always wanted to try it, so this was the perfect opportunity. I got 2.

After work today, I headed to the movie theater to get Tom and myself tickets to see Iron Man 2 this weekend at the Lincoln Center IMAX. Aghast from spending $19 PER ticket, I headed into Bacchus Wines after seeing signs advertising "Wines under $10". I bought 2 bottles totaling $18.95 (STILL Less than a movie ticket!). Then I passed by Gray's Papaya, and after resisting the smell of the hotdogs, I thought I'd stop by Grandaisy and pick up dinner. I heard they had flat pizzas. They only had 3 kinds left: Pomodoro, Funghi and 1 Potato left (with gruyere and onions). I got one of each, plus a Chocolate torte, and Lumaca. It came out to $15.50. Ah, so close. I gave the cashier my groupon and 2 quarters and headed home.

I put the pizzas into the toaster oven to reheat. Sadly, that didn't do anything for the pieces of cardboard. The Pomodoro was so bland and the sauce was barely existent. I added basil and crushed red pepper flakes to try to revive it but even that couldn't fix the dry tasteless crust. I had higher hopes for the mushroom but again, bland. What the heck Grandaisy? You sell these pieces of paper for $3-$3.50 each?? I drizzled a little bit of olive oil and it helped a tad, as did the basil I dusted on. Surprisingly, the potato slice had the best flavor. It was very reminiscent of the potatoes au gratin my mom makes. Again, I had to drizzle a little bit of Olive oil since it was very dry, but I enjoyed it.

Grandaisy: -10 points



Then again, it's a bakery, not a pizzeria. I tried the Lumaca.
WOW. Packs a lot of flavor, is dense but still light and flakey, not too sweet; reminded me of baklava. Ok, Grandaisy, you get +8 points.

Chocolate torte. WOW. Such wonderful chocolate flavor and it was so amazingly light! It tasted like the best brownie you ever got with the consistency of a moist chocolate cake. The outside has a bit of a crunch but inside... angel food. +10 points.

Ok, so you redeemed yourself with your pastries. I would like to try the pear tart next and the various cookies stacked on your wall. Good thing I have another Groupon!

Cel-Ray

After 25 years and a handful of weeks of living, I was offered my first can of Dr Brown's Cel-Ray soda.

Actually, I had never even heard of celery-flavored soda up until this past Easter. Tom and I had gone to his dad's girlfriend, Louise's lovely brownstone in Park Slope for dinner. Apparently this pop is big in the Jewish delicatessens in New York City (been around for a long long time) and parts of Florida (??). And whattayaknow, it tasted like carbonated celery.


Photo by flickr user yvespaul

Luckily I like celery, but would I drink a whole can again? Maybe if you gave me a Katz's Pastrami sandwich too. Just sayin'.

Oh and Easter dinner was pretty delicious. 2 different kinds of salads; Manicotti, ravioli and meatballs from Lenny's, a yummy spiral ham which I had the honor of doling out to everyone, and lots of desserts. I rolled out of there feeling just right.

PB Shake & Bacon Burger

SHAKE. AND. BACON.



A couple of days ago, my friend had sent me this link.
tl;dr: Shake Shack on the UWS had introduced a bacon peanut butter hamburger last week and they were going to offer it again, for $5.50. FOR ONE DAY ONLY.

Naturally, loving exclusivity and food, I decided to make a pilgrimage to the popular burger spot that was, for you non-New Yorkers, originally opened in Madison Sq Park, and up until recently in business only during spring/summer months. Now it's yearlong. They have a webcam on their site to let you know how long the lines are (they get pretty long).

It's pretty much the In-n-Out to California as it is to New York City. However, there are only 3 locations (in NY): Madison Square Park, W 77th and Columbus; and Citi Field (aka new Shea Stadium). Another is in Miami Beach. Each one has its' own menu. I happen to live a few blocks from the one that offered the special burger and I tried to recruit brave souls to join me.

Luckily I have a fellow Foodie friend, J.P. (the one who introduced me to Phở), and a friend who lives 2 stops away from me on the UWS, another J.P.

So today, I had gotten there a quarter to 2, and there was the unsurprisingly long line around the corner. J.P. Squared met me at around 2:15pm. I ordered for them so we could just sit down to eat once they got there.


The burger:


That is not cheese oozing out; that is peanut butter.

I think we had all agreed that it wasn't as bad as we imagined it to be. The peanut butter wasn't overpowering in any way, and it wasn't as messy as the article claimed. Plus, there wasn't lettuce or tomato (though I think lettuce would've helped cut the saltiness). Everything melded together in-between the soft bun so well it really just felt like eating your average burger. I had an Arnold Palmer (1/2 lemonade 1/2 Iced Tea) to go with it. JP1 got another cheeseburger in addition to his PB&Bacon Burger and a Mr Pibb with a splash of Root beer (due to a misunderstanding of his text message), and JP2 got the PB&B with a side of fries & a coke.

But oh no; we were not done yet. I really wanted to try their custard because the special flavor of the day was Pancake and Bacon. Gluttonous? Of course. Delicious? Naturally.


It really did taste like pancakes with bacon. JP1 got a Natural History "Crunch-stellation" (Custard, malt, Valrhona chocolate crunchies, and chocolate toffee). JP2 got a black & white shake.

The we went to Central Park and made fun of the rowers. Great Saturday, guys.