Thanksgiving Dinner

"It's not what's on the

table, it's what's in the chairs."

Happy Thanksgiving!

A perfectly lovely Thanksgiving with my @Poopsy and our families :]

The Astoria Food Walking Tour: Get your Greek On!

Getting our GREEK on

with our Greek momma, Pattie.

Spanikopita.

Apples of my eye

Empires are red. And

Mutsus are green. Plump and crisp.

Let's make apple pie!

I went to visit my best friend, @Stephie, in Ithaca, NY for her 21st birthday this weekend...and, we went to an apple orchard! It was positively lovely...and there were certainly more than enough apples to put doctors out of business.

Littletree Orchards

345 Shaffer Road

Newfield, NY 14867

www.littletree-orchards.com

--Later, back in New York City...

Cinnamon-ed & Sliced

Wrapped in phyllo dough from Astoria...

And baked to perfection!

Voilá! Props to @Yvette for baking this delightful apple creation :]

What do frogs have to do with burgers?

As if grilled cheeses

weren't unhealthy enough. They

slapped on a patty!

Frog Burger

222 N 20th St

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

http://www.frogcommissary.com/info/restaurants/frog-burger

"The LOVE Burger": I most certainly have no business eating grilled cheeses or burgers, not to mention a burger patty sandwiched between two grilled cheeses! What can I say? I do it for love...

Not pictured here: This burger was pleasantly accompanied by a carrot cake milkshake!

Truth? I'd tap that again.

Sabrina's Cafe: The brunch you've been dreaming about

Cute pink and blue house.

French toast, fluffy as a cloud!

Pass the sugar, please.

17 syllables will never be sufficient to describe the happiness that is Sabrina's Cafe...

Sabrina's Cafe

910 Christian Street

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

sabrinascafe.com

Good food, good value, good ambiance, good company, and good times...

"Sheriff Seagal's Snapped Out Stuffed French Toast"

Filled with a sweet Ricotta and cream cheese blend of Orange, sweet potato, and Ginger snaps. Topped with peach-berry compote.

"Carradine's Kung Fu Cakes"

Pumpkin Pancakes topped with apple-caramel pound cake crumbles, butterscotch chips and roasted walnuts, Berry-orange syrup and apple cinnamon butter.

(honestly, they had me at "pumpkin"....)

"Chuck Norris Drowned a Fish Sandwich"

Grilled salmon burger on a Brioche with mixed greens and tomato. Topped with avocado, grilled red onions, cucumber-cilantro slaw and alfalfa sprouts.

End dream sequence. Commence reality.

Reading Terminal Market! If by "terminal," you mean terminally food-comatose...

A haven of food!

I ate for 2 hours straight...

and I can't move now.

Reading Terminal Market

51 North 12th Street

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

ReadingTerminalMarket.org

Once upon a time, there was a hungry band of gastronomic gladiators. After paying homage to this world of food, they found themselves relatively dazed and immobile for the remainder of the day...this place is a sure-fire food coma, especially if you're visiting on a tight schedule! Read up:

Chapter 1: Philly me up with Cheesesteak LOVE

Philadephia.

City of brotherly love

Where the cheesesteaks live.

Chapter 2: Roast Pork Sandwich

Oils glistening

all over your tender bod.

Just melt in my mouth.

Chapter 3: Famous 4th Street Cookies

Warm, fresh cookies like

Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin.

Dipped in chocolate, pleeease.

Chapter 4: Too butterlicious for ya, babe.

Butter get jammin'

'cause I don't think you're ready

for this jelly...jar.

So many to choose from, I wish I could just take them all home...(that's what she said)

Chapter 5: Flying Monkey Pumpple. You heard me.

Is it cake? or pie?

What is this mystic creature?

No one really knows...

Vanilla cake with apple pie baked inside...layered on chocolate cake with pumpkin pie baked inside. What a fudging genius idea.

And they lived happily ever after...

Red Velvet Cuppycake

Chocolate seductress

masquerading in deep red.

Soft, gentle lover

Thank you to @FattyKat for this lovely pile of sugar that made my day much sweeter :)

Brgr

Avocado. Swiss.

Grass-fed beef is good for you.

Sweet potato fries.

brgr

287 7th Ave (between 26th & 27th)

www.brgr.com

This place is a great place for a burger fix. And it's grass-fed beef! Yay for honest food. Also, can I just say that the guy at the register tonight was super sweet? Can't remember the last time someone smiled at me when I ordered a burger...

The patty is somewhat slim and kind of salty. I had mine with avocados and swiss cheese and lettuce.

The Trio: Sweet potato fries, Russet potato fries, Onion hay. You could call it a threesome.

The moon's really big this week...let's eat!

Celebrated Lunar Moon Festival with dinner by @foodinfatuation!

and of course moon cakes after dinner :)

Nespresso SoHo Boutique Grand Opening! Coffee just got so sexy...

Nespresso machine,

how sleek and shiny you are.

Oh, sexy, can I?

Nespresso SoHo

92 Prince Street (at Mercer)

www.nespresso.com

Nespresso's branding strategy is really quite impressive. The product itself is very chic, with the different colors and sleek exteriors (reflected in the store design as well).

The grand opening event was all-about-Nespresso.

Caramel-filled zeppoles with Nespresso sauce, A layered banana bread/espresso pastry creation by Rouge Tomate. Van Leewen serving espresso ice cream.

Nespresso martinis and mojitos.

The pillows on the sofas were like coffee bean sacks.

There were little Nespresso's protruding from the sides of a cocktail table.

2 years ago, I didn't even call myself a coffee-drinker. Today, I've never wanted an instant coffee machine so much in my life. Event marketing works! When I get a full-time job, Nespresso will be enjoying a good dent out of my paycheck...

A late, but very important date with two bulls...

2 guys from SF

Opened a taquería.

Quesadillas rock.

Dos Toros Taquería

137 4th Ave

New York, NY 10003

dostorosnyc.com

The story as I roughly know it: 2 guys from SF came to New York and decided there was no good, authentic Mexican food around...so now they're serving up delicious burritos/quesadillas/tacos a block away from Union Square in a tiny little shop (that used to be a Tasti-d-Lite) and it seems to always be packed with a munching crowd. I've read reviews claiming this is the best burrito in Manhattan...

Not to hate on Chipotle (because you know that I LOVE Chipotle):

• The tortillas they use at DT are WAY better. I never really think about it, but the tortillas at Chipotle/Qdoba are kinda...weird.
• I think I trust the quality of the meat at DT much more, since it's a smaller, more controlled operation. The carnitas are pretty yummm
• I didn't pay $1.50 to add guacamole, please and thanks!

Quesadilla lovin'

Coney Island Baby

Nathan's Famous

1310 Surf Avenue
Brooklyn, New York

nathansfamous.com

Home of the Original Frankfurter! So excited to have eated a hot dog at the exact place where it all began...

Hot dog with sauteéd onions? Check. Best crinkle fries I've ever eaten in my life? Check.

The phrase, "stuff your face" comes to mind...

Don't cry over diced onions

If you're like me and don't know how to do anything food preparation-related, then you'll understand that today is a momentous occasion for me. Because today (sadly, at age 20) I diced my first onion! Thanks, chowhound, for teaching me this valuable life lesson: How to Dice an Onion.

And I didn't even cry! (out of psychological or chemical reaction) Here are some tips I found:

1. Refrigerate beforehand. Apparently, the onion holds its tear-inducing juices better when it's cold.

2. Breathe through your mouth, not your nose.

3. I've always been told to cut the onion underwater, but I think that's somewhat impractical/unnecessary measures

And then those beautifully diced onions went into the homemade guacamole in my 4-layer dip!

Shredded Cheese (colby jack, mozzarella, cheddar)

Salsa

Amy's Organic Refried Bean Dip

Guac w/ onions & tomatoes

Yay!

nomnomfuku

Nomnomnomnomnom.

Nomnomnomnomnomnomnom.

Momofuku. Nom.

Momofuku Milk Bar

207 2nd Ave /or/ 15 W. 56th Street

www.momofuku.com/milk-bar

As I type, without the help of my greasy left index finger and thumb, there is a momofuku compost cookie in my mouth. oh. my. gumdrops. so yum! I wish I had eaten it sooner, though, it's been sitting on my desk for a few days, so its a bit dry.

I'll post a picture later when I'm done licking the crumbs off my plate :)

//Later: A momofuku compost cookie is chocolate chips, coffee grounds, pretzels, butterscotch chips, graham cracker crumbs, potato chips, oats, etc.

Mario Batali's Eataly comes to NYC!

Eataly is here!

Fresh cheeses, homemade pastas!

Italian food!

Eataly

200 5th Ave

New York, NY 10010

eataly.com

Today was the grand opening of Mario Batali's Italian Market concept. Great produce selection. Fresh mozzarella made on site! Lots of cheeses. Homemade pastas. The dine-in menu is quite phenomenal. Some furniture and kitchenware. Artesanal gelato. And the staff is incredibly friendly as well! Enough talking, see for yourself:

Love their grocery carts. Very space efficient and fun.

Produce aisle:

Patisseria

I ate at the bar. Bruschetta of the Day (Bruscetta de Giorno): Corn, Tarragona, Chives, & Black Garlic. A delectable balance of sweet and savory, the bread was toasted to a satisfying crunch, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I forgot the name of this dish, maybe Trufeleta?-something or other. Basically, cooked/seasoned truffles served with polenta chips. It was quite yummy.

I enjoyed a glass of Zano Bianco. Don't know anything about wine pairing, but I enjoyed it very much. Felt like I was in Spain again, having a glass of wine with dinner...except I paid $11.80 for this glass, rather than 2 euros...