Tag Archives: nyc food blogger

Green eggs on toast, featuring Giovanni Rana pesto

The people at Giovanni Rana were kind enough to send me some pastas and sauces to try out and I really wanted to think of fun ways to experiment with them. You’ll see a recipe with their amazingly fresh ravioli next week, but this week, I was really excited to share this easy breakfast idea that takes ordinary scrambled eggs to the next level.

Giovanni Rana Pesto

Giovanni Rana hails from a small Italian village and has been making pasta for over 50 years. He started out making fresh pasta by hand and delivering it to customers on a motor scooter, and is now the man and name behind Italy’s number one fresh pasta purveyor. You’ll be happy to know his one-of-a-kind operation has expanded stateside and his products are now readily available in many stores. New Yorkers are particularly lucky, as there is now a Rana restaurant as well, aptly located in Chelsea Market.

Giovanni Rana’s pesto is as good as homemade and is made with 100% real Genovese basil. Besides this breakfast, you can mix it into fresh al dente pasta or use it as a condiment for sandwiches.

Giovanni Rana Pesto

(Yield: 1 serving)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter
2 eggs
1 tsp Giovanni Rana pesto
2 thin slices crusty bread (like ciabatta), toasted
4 slices brie cheese

Procedure: In a small bowl, beat eggs with pesto. Place a small skillet over medium heat; when it’s hot, melt butter in the skillet. Pour eggs into the skillet. Using a wooden spatula, gently stir the eggs, moving from the outside in. Continue gently stirring until the eggs are solid, and remove from heat. Do not overcook. Place eggs atop toast and cheese; serve immediately.

Giovanni Rana Pesto

If you had to eat the same one breakfast forever, what would you choose?

Disclaimer: I received complementary Giovanni Rana products for review on this blog. I was not otherwise compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.

Quinoa stir-fry

As previously mentioned in my farro salad post, I prefer to bring lunch to work from home instead of getting takeout. There are endless lunch options around my office (well my former office to be exact. I switched jobs this week - more on that later!), but cooking my own helps with portion control as well as with nutrition. The problem with bringing lunches is that they take time to plan and cook – time that I don’t have much of these days – so the recipes have to be quick, and have the ability to be scaled to numerous servings as needed.

Quinoa Stir-fry

The inspiration for this dish came from Fresh & Co., a small chain of all-natural eateries here in New York. Fresh & Co. has a salad bar, soups, sandwiches and quinoa stir-fry’s made-to-order. I ordered the quinoa once and it was amazing, but cost a whopping $10 with tax, so I decided to make my own.

This quinoa stir fry is the perfect lunch. Not only is it delicious and satisfying, but it doesn’t put you to sleep. Without wasting energy on digesting gluten or meat, your brain can use it for typing up all those fabulous emails and spreadsheets! Yay!

(Yield: 4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 c dry quinoa

2 tbsp vegetable oil

4 c chopped vegetables of your choice (I like cabbage, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers and leafy greens)

1/3 c low sodium soy sauce

3 tsp honey

1 tbsp sesame oil

1-2 tsp sriracha (to taste)

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1” fresh ginger, grated

1 garlic clove, grated

Cilantro to garnish

Procedure: To cook quinoa, combine quinoa with 1 ½ c water and ½ tsp salt in a small pot, cover tightly with a lid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to low, crack lid and cook until all the water has absorbed, about 15 min. Set aside.

Stir together sauce ingredients (soy sauce through garlic) in a bowl and set aside.

Heat vegetable oil in a wok over high heat. Add vegetables and cook until lightly browned, about 4 min. Then add cooked quinoa and sauce and stir to combine. Turn heat off; taste and re-season if necessary.

Quinoa Stir-fry

What about you: brown bag or take-out?

WilliamsBurger in Sunnyside, Queens

Queens, to me, is uncharted territory; I know which trains go there and that it’s huge, but I don’t really know what it’s like. I briefly worked in Astoria once and that’s right about where my experience with it ends.

Rene currently works in Queens and I went there a few weeks ago to meet him after work. I’ve never been to his work neighborhood before, but also wanted to scope the place out since we may or may not be moving there in the future (more details on this soon, hopefully). He took me to WilliamsBurger for dinner. The day was Wednesday and we were in luck: every Wednesday from 6pm to 9pm is Date Night, which means two shakes and two burgers for $20!

Williamsburger Queens

With a name like that, you’d think WilliamsBurger was located in Williamsburg and according to their old website they are, so either they recently moved to Queens or just opened an additional location.

The restaurant is located in a mostly residential neighborhood. Inside, the walls are lined with wooden panels, which gives the place a warm, campy feeling. I ordered a medium burger with blue cheese and sauteed onions, and what arrived was probably the juiciest burger I’ve ever had (and I’ve had many) - I scarfed it down in record speed! The fries were on point as well, and I love that two types of house-made pickles are served with every order. Who knew all this goodness was hiding in mysterious Queens?

Williamsburger Queens

In my current nabe, I’m used to Brennan and Carr as the spot where I get my beef fix, but if I actually do move out there and this becomes the new spot, I wouldn’t mind one bit.

Williamsburger Queens

Tell me about your favorite neighborhood restaurant.

B Bar and Grill, NYC

Ever since I started working 40 hours a week, I’ve been having difficulty managing my leisure time. Every hour that I’m not at work is cherished intensely and I try to cram as many activities into it as possible. Lots of sleep has been sacrificed so I could see my friends, write a blog post or go for a jog. I try to plan out every weekend, too. And what do New Yorkers do on summer weekends? Why go to the Hamptons, of course! But, those of us who cant afford it (me), indulge in the less expensive but almost equally pleasurable luxury of having brunch - one on an outdoor patio, and with alcohol, please.

B Bar and Grill NYC

I have walked by B Bar and Grill probably upwards of 50 times to date, each time thinking how freaking cute it was. Alas, several weekends ago, I made brunch plans with my friends Paige and Michelle, and finally got to experience it from the inside out and not the other way around.

B Bar and Grill NYC

The B(owery) Bar and Grill is located inside a converted gas station. The half indoor-half outdoor space is unlike any other. Outside, round marble tables are dispersed among full-grown trees, with vines and various lamps hanging overhead; inside, a plethora of chic leather booths and several bars. Although located on as busy an intersection as any other, the setting gives it an illusion of privacy in the middle of the city. Passersby slow down to glance inside at all its glory, creating a feeling of exclusivity.

B Bar and Grill NYC

But don’t let me mislead you - the menu is not impressive. There is nothing surprising or tantalizing about it. It is exactly what you’d expect from a standard brunch, including french toast, eggs Benedict and huevos rancheros (pictured above) - but they’re good and at least not overpriced, which they totally could be considering the ‘hood. One nice touch is that they offer freshly baked banana bread and honey butter in the bread basket.

The cocktail list is short but very well curated, featuring ingredients like peach, cucumber, and berry purees, jalapeno tequila and fresh herbs. We opted for a pitcher of sangria and it had that awesome standing-out-in-the-sun-all-day, wooden-barrel-aroma flavor. Two thumbs up!

B Bar and Grill NYC

The food at this place may not blow you away, but with a drink in your hand and your friends at the table, you may not even care.

My phone, the gastronome 5: via Instagram

I cannot wait to edit my second video, review the awesome cookbooks and kick-ass food memoir that I finally finished, and post more recipes, but my schoolwork and real-life responsibilities have been taking center stage as of late. You’re gonna have to settle for my Instagrams as today’s post, ye loyal readers.

ENORMOUS Parmesan baked meatballs and penne @ V & T Pizza on the Upper West Side: a well-deserved gluttonous treat after roaming around Riverside Park all day (a place that’s arguably more beautiful than Central Park, and definitely less crowded).

Banana muffins for the soul

My go-to après gym snack: peanut butter on banana, washed down with low-fat milk. Basically, a deconstructed smoothie.

Yellowtail roll w/ brown rice

Red velvet cupcakes w/ cream cheese frosting for my friend Irina’s birthday

Rene and I recently spent a weekend visiting friends in Williamsport, PA; Acme BBQ is always a highlight of our trips there. Their pulled pork is still the best I’ve ever had, and the brisket is incredible as well.

Divine eggs benedict brunch at The Bullfrog Brewery in Williamsport, PA

Banana, fat free strawberry chobani and granola

Fred, he’s not edible.

Follow me! username: chezsasha

Home/Made in Red Hook, Brooklyn

I first heard about this place from fellow blogger Vlad aka The Hungry Russian. As soon as I saw his beautiful photos, I knew I wouldn’t rest until I made it there.

Red Hook is home to a shipping terminal which makes it a historically industrial neighborhood. As Vlad has already pointed out, Red Hook used to be a bad neighborhood. And by bad I mean practically fatal. Recently, however, the area began to undergo the process of gentrification, so now a considerable amount of hipsters are starting to settle down there, what with their rooftop gardens and vintage wardrobes. Although hipsters are a questionable specimen to society, a concentrated population of them usually means there’s good food to be found.

Rene and I ventured out into this foreign land last week for Sunday brunch at Homemade. The restaurant turned out to be small and intimate, with only a few tables inside and a few in the garden area. It was past two o’clock when we walked in so the place was almost empty; I guess everyone was all brunched out already. We sat in the garden and practically had the place to ourselves. It was lovely.

I started with a latte. I was glad to learn that was a whole lot of it for the $3.50 I was paying for it. And it was good, too.

Then I had the smoked salmon, goat cheese and dill scramble ($9.50) since I can rarely resist anything with smoked salmon in it. The goat cheese was beaten into the eggs as opposed to being folded into them, which gave the eggs a gummy texture and disappointed me. The provençal style potatoes were unbelievable though - quartered young potatoes roasted with lots of herbs and olive oil and whole garlic cloves. I can’t wait to attempt cooking them at home.

Rene ordered these potatoes too ($4). They were served with a spicy chipotle mayo.

He also got this grilled chicken and apple sausage ($4). From what I gather, it’s not made in-house but it was great nonetheless.

Lastly, we split this delightful little pastry, a sticky pecan bun ($4). I was expecting a chewy, yeasty, dense bun when we ordered it but what we got instead was a light, airy, crispy dessert. The texture of this bun is not unlike a croissant’s and it is slathered in a sticky, syrupy concoction and topped with pecans and a few stray raisins. I must say, I’ve never eaten anything like it and I was pleasantly surprised.

If you can believe it, our check came out to be under $30. That, combined with a homey atmosphere, an attentive waitress, and of course the hearty food, made for a really wonderful experience. The only downside to this place is that trains don’t go there so you have to have your own wheels or enough patience to take the bus to get there.

Chip Shop in Downtown Brooklyn

The life of a food blogger is that of constantly trying to convince one’s friends to try new and sometimes ridiculous foods. Thus, I have been trying to convince my girlfriends to go to Chip Shop with me for years. I kid you not. Years! They are willing to testify if necessary. Here’s how it went down:

Me: Hey, ladies! Wanna go to Chip Shop this week?

Ladies: What do they have there?

Me: Deep-fried everything! (wipes drool off face)

Ladies: Noo! (they run off into the distance, ripping hair out of their heads, trying to undo the horror of my proposal)

But alas! I was finally successful at gathering some friends at Chip Shop last week for dinner and beers.

From what I gather, a chip shop is a British store, kiosk or bar wherein fish-n-chips (chips are french fries, of course) are sold. (Whoever has more information is greatly encouraged to share!) Unfortunately, this institution never quite made it across the pond but there is a restaurant by the same name here in Brooklyn and they have two locations, one in downtown and one in Park Slope. They also specialize in fish-n-chips, as well as numerous other deep-fried goodies, like balls of mac & cheese, slices of pizza and pie, and candy bars.

At a time when almost all Brooklyn restaurants are mainly concerned with how many acres of land their local chickens had at their frolicking disposal, I was so happy not to see the words organic or sustainable on this menu.

I am not big on fried fish so I asked our waiter bring me his favorite dish from the menu and I ended up with this chicken pot pie with mushroom gravy and chips. It’s not a very good looking dish - and lord knows this terrible photo does it no justice - but it was actually amazing. Beneath the gravy was an individual sized pie of substantial density. As I ate on, the fries absorbed the gravy downpour, and all the elements became as one. I highly recommend this dish. Thank you, kind waiter!

Although I had absolutely no room for anything else after the pot pie, I knew I’d have to have dessert so I ordered a deep-fried Twix. The candy was battered and fried until crispy. I can’t say that it was a life-changing dessert but it is certainly something to be tried if one considers oneself an adventurous eater. It was a lot crunchier than I’d previously imagined - I expected something more along the lines of a doughnut coating.

I also had some of my friend’s fried pizza (shout-out to my friend and fellow foodie, Chris), which was awesome and I recommend it.

So have your friends ever forced you to eat anything ridiculous? Please share in the comments section!

Berry cobbler

My cousin Donna recently paid me a visit and we planned to spend the day roaming around the city. We woke up in the morning to the sound of rain and thunder outside, and the weather forecast predicted rain for the rest of the day. We were pretty bummed but decided not to despair and spend the day baking something yummy instead.

I went through my manila folder of torn out food magazine pages (Why yes, I do have one of those. I’m old-fashioned, OK?) and picked this recipe from the June 2012 issue of Martha Stewart Living out of the stack.

The recipe calls for raspberries but I used half raspberries and half strawberries.

The fruit is topped with squares of shortcut pastry, which calls for butter AND heavy cream.

My squares kind of melted into each other but that was because I didn’t account for the size of the pan when preparing it.

The cobbler turned out quite magnificent - the berries got all mushy and sort of gelatinous, while the topping was crunchy and flaky on top and chewy on the bottom.

Click here for the full recipe!