Spinach Tofu

I have found the best cream cheese flavour of life and his name is SPINACH TOFU. Does that sound gross? It sounded gross to me, too. But I swear to you, this stuff tastes better than any cream cheese I've ever had. The consistency is the exact same as regular cream cheese and you cannot taste one iota of tofu. And also? Have you ever felt grossly full after a regular sized bagel and cream cheese? Well, if you choose this flavour over regular cream cheese, YOU WILL NEVER FEEL GROSS AGAIN. Maybe 'cause there's just so much less fat in it? I don't know, I'm not a scientist. 

If you need to try it, they've got it at Brooklyn Bagel in Queens and I feel like this flavour is slowly picking up steam and showing up at other breakfast places. Keep an eye out. 

Bananas Foster

“Bananas Foster is a dessert made from bananas and vanilla ice cream, with a sauce made from butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, dark rum, and banana liqueur. The butter, sugar and bananas are cooked, and then alcohol is added and ignited. The bananas and sauce are then served over the ice cream. Preparation of the dish is often made into a tableside performance as a flambé.”

— Wikipedia

This is my favourite dessert. Okay, my favourite dessert so far. If I ever come into a lot of money and chefs are lavishing my ignorant little eyes with baked Alaskas and souffles, then maybe we'll have a different story. But for now? Bananas Foster me away, baby. 

I think I might love the dish especially because they're so hard to find. But I recently found one at Freeman's (a restaurant at the end of an alleyway in the Lower East Side) and it was heavenly. It was way too sweet to eat alone, so it's definitely perfect for sharing with a person. And that's coming from someone who rarely shares dessert (I mean, c'mon - it's 2015. A grown woman can handle a $10 dessert by herself). So if you've ever wanted to sample one of the greatest desserts out there, you now know where to find it. I do not apologize for not posting a photo of it because, well, it looks pretty unattractive. But that's not its fault. Most old-fashioned desserts have a tendency to look unappealing, I find.

(Speaking of food, I recently decided that my meal-before-execution dinner would totally consist of a steakhouse-quality Caesar salad, a steak Diane, and bananas foster -- all of which would be prepared tableside. Or cellside, whatever. How money would that be?)

The Poetry Brothel

“The Poetry Brothel is a unique and immersive poetry event that takes poetry outside classrooms and lecture halls and places it in the lush interiors of a bordello. Based in concept on the fin-de-siecle bordellos in New Orleans and Paris, many of which functioned as safe havens for fledgling, avant-garde artists, The Poetry Brothel’s “Madame” presents a rotating cast of poets as “whores,” each operating within a carefully constructed character, who impart their work in public readings, spontaneous eruptions of poetry, and most distinctly, as purveyors of private, one-on-one poetry readings in back rooms. For a small fee, all of the “poetry whores” are available for these sequestered readings at any time during the event. Of course, any true brothel needs a good cover; The Poetry Brothel’s is an immersive cabaret, offering a full bar, live jazz, burlesque dancers, painters, and fortune-tellers, with newly integrated themes, performances and installations at each event.

Poets performing at the Brothel are male and female, emerging and established, local and international, and they engage audiences in an immersive experience that flows seamlessly through the Brothel’s public spaces into its private poetry readings. Central to this experience is the creation of character, which for poet and audience function as disguise and as freeing device, enabling The Poetry Brothel to be a place of uninhibited creative expression in which the poets and audience can be themselves in private. Through the vehicle of the private reading, The Poetry Brothel offers access to a part of the artistic process that was previously restricted to individuals in already intimate relationships.”

— The Poetry Brothel

I started attending Poetry Brothel events early this year and it's really one of the most unique experiences that a person can have in New York City. I've photographed a few of their events, so I'll attach some of those photos below. They typically have an event once every month or two months (taking the summers off), so if you're interested in attending, you can find more details over here. 

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Burger Joint

I've been getting burgers at Burger Joint (inside the Le Parker Meridien hotel) on and off for years and I just realized - I've never told you about it. Yikes. 

It's usually mentioned alongside other burger favourites in the city, so if you haven't been here before, you kind of need to get on that. Once you walk into the hotel, you have to search (depending on what entrance you come in from) for a huge red curtain. It's behind this curtain that you'll follow a hallway that leads you to this burger haven. 

It's cash only and definitely worth the trip.

The Frozen Pina Colada at Connolly's

This baby is the most popular drink on Rockaway Beach - and rightfully so. I won't tell you how many of these I had in one sitting, but use your imagination. I will forever and always get one of these every single time I'm remotely near Rockaway Beach. It’s not too sweet, but it is crazy addictive. Watch yourself.

They open for the season on Memorial Day.

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Made Me Laugh

http://thisislizheather.tumblr.com/post/133886746304/troyesivan-lucas-is-giving-me-anxiety

Goat Cheese Medallions

Clearly, I have many positive things to say about Trader Joe's. The newest addition to Products I Love At Trader Joe's are these goat cheese medallions (seen above).

Why They're Great

1. They're perfectly packaged, so you only need to open one for a whole salad.
2. Since you open each package as you need it, you never have to deal with stale, yellowy goat cheese (ie. IT'S ALWAYS FRESH).
3. The real problem with buying cheese and storing it at home is that you need to eat it rather quickly, since it goes bad so quickly. BUT NO LONGER! You can now eat your cheese at a leisurely pace and bask in a life well lived.

Are all of those points kind of the same? Possibly. But it still get my point across. These medallions are magic. 

(And calling them "medallions" instead of "logs" or "cheese chunks" or something was a stroke of genius. Who doesn't want medallions in his/her fridge?)

Long Island Day Trip

Once in awhile (or extremely often, depending on your preference), you need to get out of the city. So when I was recently asked by my friend Jenn to accompany her and some friends on a day trip to venture across Long Island, I was eager to come along. What did we do? What DIDN'T we do is the more apt question.

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We found a farm where we could pick raspberries & blueberries in Mattituck, which happened to have the largest and loveliest sunflowers I've seen in years.

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And, I mean, look at these tomatoes. Are you kidding me with that ripe-ass red? So gorgeous.

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We then headed onward to Macari Vineyards to sample some wines, which happened to be accompanied by the finest of truffle cheeses.

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To finish the day, we stopped off for food in Oyster Bay. I've only ever heard of Oyster Bay because of that Cole Porter song, but I figured that hearing a place mentioned in a lyric is almost too great a reason to solely visit a town. And the oysters at Canterbury's were fantastic.

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The above photo is of the Oyster Bay LIRR station - and it may not look like much, but I can't accurately describe how much I love seeing these older types of train stations. I love the fact that it never got torn down and completely redone. Doesn't it make so much more sense to restore buildings like these? Ugh. Love this old station so much. 

Anyway, it was a great day. There are so many different paths you can take once you get off the highway heading to Long Island. I hope to make it to Montauk someday.

Eddie's Sweet Shop in Forest Hills, Queens

This is definitely one of my favourite ice cream shops in New York City. It really feels like it fell out of the 1950s and somehow managed to stay afloat all these years. You can even sit at the counter! Like at Pop Tate's!

Jenn and I went here recently so that I could finally try an egg cream. Despite its name, it contains neither eggs nor cream - it's a beverage consisting of milk, carbonated water and chocolate syrup. What does it taste like? I would classify it as a lighter milkshake (ie. delightful). 

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I've wanted to try one of these for years and it didn't disappoint. I'm not sure if it's mainly something you can order in New York or if they're as popular in other states, but if you find yourself in this part of Queens, you should really try one. 

Greenwich Letterpress in NYC

The other day (on my to Dominique Ansel Kitchen), I stumbled upon this card shop in the West Village that I'd never even heard of (and, if you know me, you should be well aware that I'm a dominant figure in the greeting-card-store scene*). They've had a storefront since 2005 and surprise, surprise - it's great!

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They sell a lot of independently published greeting cards (ie. the best ones), some stationary, wall decor, etc. If you find yourself on Christopher Street, you should definitely stop inside. 

*Yes, there is a greeting-card-store scene and no I'm not embarrassed to be in it.