Wednesday, July 16, 2014

What happened to me guys? All the fun has been sucked out of writing about food and eating .I blame Yelp. JK! It's still fun! But I just feel way less inclined to be doing it, which would seem sad but it's ok because I am doing other things like making a lot more art and also it leaves me more time to just eat and eat. It is summer, after all. And it has been the most mellow summer ever, meaning a lot of snacks and keeping my fingers crossed that I can convince my metabolism that my sporadic trips to the gym are actually enough to keep me from turning into a pile of jelly. Yup, here's some things I ate:

Hmmm, what is this? Kinda hard to say, but I am 99.9% sure it's a plate of food from one of Molly and Jeremy's BBQ. There is most likely a hot dog hiding under some of those vegetables. I still think it looks nice. 

I ate a strawberry mochi! Mochi is so crazy dense, like way denser than bagels! "Dense" is also not a new cool word that I am trying out, like it is actually deceptive heavy and I always think that taking one down in just two bites will be fine but then it feels like eating squishy rocks that taste good.

It's hard to find really good fish tacos. I did not find them here (Cafe Habana, I think) but they were still pretty alright. If you put crunchy vegetables on top of most fried stuff it generally turns out ok. This is why I think most hot dog places do pretty well, even though hot dogs are not fried...but now I am thinking that's a good idea. 

So this restaurant called "The Runner" opened up on my block, literally 30 seconds of walking from my house. I laughed at it because it sounds kinda dumb and also because I was sort of pretending to be like "WELL THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD" even though I have only lived in this neighborhood for a year and also am totally part of the reason that people say things like "there goes the neighborhood." But like many people who live in New York, I like to act like I have lived here forever and am totally shocked by all the changes this city's neighborhoods constantly go through. 

So anyway, after I decided not to be an ass, Melissa and I tried this place out and it's really good. The food is great, it's nice and airy in there, it's REALLY close to our place...and now I have been there a bajillion times. Above is the short ribs which are braised with coca cola, not sure what else goes in there but that's all I heard and I was sold. Melissa had the steak frites, which is usually my first choice but not this day.

I like putting smiles on my food, partially because I am still 6 years old on the inside and also because I eat alone a lot and it's nice to have some company. That's not supposed to sound sad because I think it's kinda cute...

This is an open faced grilled cheese DUH! But guess what the secret is? I put grated Parmesan cheese on the other side and it gets nice and crispy. It's how I accidentally learned how to make cheese chips. I will tell you about that some day. Like maybe when I am on my death bed, and my children are clutching my hands and my last words will be telling them how to make cheese chips.  That kind of sounds like a nice way to go.

YAY HAMBURGER!!!! I always pick the hamburger. 

I came into Dudley's, I said I was hungry, and this is what they made me-- bacon wrapped shrimps with mango salsa and an avocado toast. I forget the drink, but it was probably great as always.

This was at Dudley's too, called the Moon Door or something...I actually didn't like it very much because it was kind of too floral-y for me, if I remember correctly. But it's sooooo pretty. And if I had objective tastebuds, I know I could say that this was still really good for someone out there.

Jeremy had another pig roast, which was, once again, the highlight of my summer so far. You can read about the last one here.

HELLO PIG (thank you and sorry pig)

There have been some short-lived moments of me feeling "healthy!" so I eat things like this for lunch and imagine that I am satisfied. But then after a while, I remember that I hate radishes unless they are covered in butter and salt and that plums actually make my tongue very itchy and the skin is sour...and I return back to my trashy summer eating (see below).

I forget what Kat and I did this day. Pretty sure we just drove around eating 7-11 food, which was pretty cool. The Doritos Loaded were horrible because the cheese was not melted at all and it was just kinda a lukewarm chunk of soggy, breaded Doritos cheese, but I would try it again and heat them up in my oven at home. For research purposes. Those hot dog flavored chips, on the other hand, were AMAZING. They tasted exactly like hot dogs and I loved them.

This tomato looked like a butt. Then I cut it up and put it in a salad so nobody would have to look at something so vulgar. ;-) 

A cauliflower sandwich with mushroom spread and kale from Court Street Grocers. It was such a great sandwich but I must always remember that at heart, I am 101% a carnivore and I will always regret not getting the meatier option. 

More amazing chips-- crab chips (awesome), honey bbq flavored cheese doodles (weird), and nori/seaweed flavored lays (also awesome! like hot dog potato chip levels of good)

Some sausages in the grass from Jeremy's BBQ! I was just lying around in the grass, loving the fact that I was somewhere where lying in the grass did not involve picking up small bits of trash and accepting that there is no patch of grass that is not interspersed several dry patches of plain dirt...and then Anne Marie gave us these sausages. It was like Christmas. 

There is a shaved ice place on East Broadway

Snow pea leaf dumplings at Nom Wah--this was the first time I've had them and now I have to get them always. 

Pizza from Franny's. Now I can cross that place of my list of pizza places I haven't tried. It was great but the decor was so strange (like a fancy bathroom interior) and also everyone had to wear ugly t-shirts. Normally I don't care about that stuff at all but this time I was weirded out by it. I don't know why. Oops

My studio is right by Lorimer Market, which is a great butcher shop with great sandwiches. 

This is a fried chicken sandwich from this restaurant in Williamsburg that I always think is called "Diner" but the sign actually just says "Dinner" and I have no idea what the name of the restaurant is. It has cute wall paper and a ~rustic~ interior--do you know where this place is? Anyway, the chicken was nice and crunchy, plus super juicy as well, but it was too big for that sandwich. Not everything has to become a sandwich.

Sometimes I think that Koreans must be geniuses. Sure they (we? I am only half) study really hard, work really hard, etc etc...but none of that makes me think that. But then I have naeg myun on a hot ass day and I'm like "OMG HALF OF MY ANCESTORS MUST HAVE BEEN GENIUSES." Because it's cold noodles in an iced beef broth! And even as it melts, it stays so nice and cold, plus the crunchy cucumbers and pear and radishes--it is the perfect summer dish. In Korea (and super legit Korean restaurants) they serve this with yook soo, which is a hot beef broth, in little cups or in a tea pot. You follow up all the icy coldness running down your throat with some hot broth, it really works out.

This looks like it was a "dark food" moment but while I was in my fake "healthy" stage. You can tell because there's all this fruit and popchips (which I buy instead of regular potato chips when I am feeling guilty) but then you see the cold french fries and steak poking out. Life is all about balance.

Oh eventually I did get the steak frites at the Runner.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

lazy update

This is an update while I wait for my Seamless delivery order in bed, like a disgusting blob whose sinuses has been ravaged by spring allergies. I hate pollen. Everything got uploaded randomly, some things are older, some things are newer. I forget to take pictures of my food a lot of the time these days. It's okay though, I don't have anything interesting to say about it.

 I think these are tacos made with left over Mexican delivery food. Sad or resourceful? I think resourceful because I'm pretty sure I had my own tortillas and vegetables and cotija cheese.

Kat took me to the best falafel ever, really, truly. Azuri Cafe, somewhere on 52nd street and some high numbered avenues, I don't remember which ones. 

In a pita, it looks like its getting barfed up

 But in a plate, it looks less like that. So many pickled vegetables = happy :-). Sorry that what little writing abilities I had have been reduced to single words and emoticons.

Seder dinner at the Richards' house. Last year was with the Finkelsteins, next year maybe I will celebrate with the Goodkinds (Nikki...were you serious?).

Mae fed me some stew.

 And some wontons. Omg did you know that you can just fry wontons directly in the oil without having to boil them first? I did not.

One of those rare brunches to remind me that I am indeed an adult and not an 17 year old who only eats toast and delivery food because I don't know how to do anything.

Favorite thing to get when I have dim sum. 

The Commodore has the cutest burgers. 

Blueberry pancakes...pancakes were good, you know, standard Bisquicky fluffy and buttery. But that blueberry filling tasted like some nasty sugar crack from the 99 cent knockoff product aisle. That's diner food, I guess.

 A half-hearted effort at taking a picture of all the food we ordered at John's Coffee and Donut. We sat at the counter so it was kind of tricky or else I would have tried a little harder. 

Tacos at Barrio Chino

Fish tacos and really good tater tots from lunch with my mom when I was home

Dick's Deluxe

Half jjajjang myun and half sweet and sour battered and fried chicken. Or pork, honestly don't remember, they probably both would have tasted the same. So good though.

My best friend got married! The food at the reception was awesome but I was too devastatingly hung over to enjoy any of it. I think my speech came out alright though. Congratulations Taylor! 

Another from lunch with my mom. I miss my mom. 

She made me rice cake soup when I came home from the airport.

I went to Veselka's and got a salad??  It was nice though, I like fennel and cranberries together.

I also got a lonely potato pancake, which I regretted as soon as a little middle school boy sat next to me at the counter and order a whole plate of them. I wish I had done the same.

This time I made tacos, but then accidentally dumped half a little jar of whole peppercorns into the beans. It was pretty bad. I also have this habit of making tater tots with basically anything, I'm trying to quit. 

Secret staff meal options

Basically this is acorn jelly, which sounds so gross but I have no other way of describing it. Mixed with a watercress salad and this spicy dressing my mom makes. 

I made kimchi fried rice for my mom :-3 I don't know how to cook any other Korean food.

My mom makes this really good spicy stir fry with octopus and zucchini and carrots and then you eat it with noodles. Yup

 I remember the day I made this double decker quesadilla and thought that I must be the genius the world has been waiting for. I think as a rule, none of the things you think after 1 am are reasonable.

Pizza

Delivery is here. Bye.