Summer Saturdays Vol. 3

EATING

The patatas bravas at Huertas were the best I’ve ever had.

DRINKING

An unholy amount of iced coffees with vanilla sweet cream.

COOKING

I had a piece of leftover steak, so I made Philly cheesesteak potatoes that were unexpectedly great. It was literally just sliced steak, sautéed onions and provolone atop some cubed, roasted potatoes with a basil dip. Am I entering my era of creating my own (albeit basic) recipes? I MIGHT BE.

BAKING

Absolutely nothing, it’s hot as hell.

CRAVING

Making a mental note to get the incredible Emmy burger cheeseburger dumplings (only available in July) at Mimi Cheng’s.

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The cheeseburger dumplings at Mimi Cheng’s, NYC

LISTENING

How have I never heard of the song deja vu before? In love.

WATCHING

I watched the newest season of Black Mirror and my favourite was definitely Beyond the Sea. That scene after Josh Hartnett puts his kids to bed and goes downstairs with his wife? May have watched that scene more than once. I also started the newest season of The Summer I Turned Pretty, which can be pretty corny but can also make you teary? Can’t explain it. Love it.

WEARING

Living in these all-red running shoes.

EXPERIENCING

I took a brutal fall on a sidewalk in the East Village and the wound is… wild. I really didn’t want to pay for a doctor visit, so I just went to a CVS pharmacy and begged a pharmacist to take a look and tell me what to do (is that as sad/cheap as it sounds? yup!) and thank christ for pharmacists.

LOVING

I don’t tend to idolize anyone physically, it’s not really my style. (I mean, except for early-aughts Joshua Jackson, Pennywise-era Bill Skarsgård, Riverdale-era Skeet Ulrich and any-time-he-appears-in-water Jason Mamoa…) Okay, forget what I said, I pine like no other. And I can’t get these outfits on these men (below) out of my mind. Just flawless. And they’re all Gucci?? I’ve gotta start paying attention to the Gucci men’s collection runway shows.

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Ryan Gosling in Gucci

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Josh Harnett in Gucci

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Ryan Gosling in Gucci

Oh my jesus, I’m relooking at those photos and maybe I just like a half-open dress shirt?? Yep, cracked the code. Someone convince Nathan to stop buttoning up to his chin, please?

SHOPPING

Secured my Barbie ticket. Now we wait.

You can read Summer Saturdays Vol. 2 over here, and you can see my summer highlights on Instagram over here.

July Jiffs 2022

The beginning of August is basically the best time of year because it ushers in the anticipation for autumn and the holidays. Am I reaching? The anticipation of something is almost as sweet as the actual arrival of whatever it is you’re waiting for.

In any case, here’s what went down last month!

• You can find my favourite tweets of the month over here and here.

• I wrote about the first leg of my summer trip to London, England.

• I went to the American Dream mall in New Jersey with my friend Diana, so thankfully I never have to go again! It’s really just a spectacle, and not in a good way. Why would you ever need a mall to have indoor skiing available? Isn’t the best part of skiing the scenery that surrounds the hills? Am I crazy? Regardless, the mall is terrible. It’s way too big, there are countless empty storefronts (because of the ludicrous rent, I’m assuming) and the furniture is gaudy as hell. Absolutely no reason to go again.

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Even she is thinking, “Why are we here and what is this.”

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Beautiful Diana sitting amongst the idea that money does not equal taste.

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“Take me home.”

• I went to Brighton Beach for the first time with my great friend Paul (who just moved back to NY) and what a fine beach it was. Not as filthy as Coney Island, but almost as nice as Rockaway. I can’t really put into words how incredible it is that he moved back here, so just know that this fact is the highlight of my summer.

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Paul! In New York!

• Speaking of Paul, his perfect husband Richard made us a meal one night using ground beef from Stoudemire Farms (which I’ve always wanted to try) and it was spectacular. Must remember to buy it the next time I’m at the Union Square market on a Friday.

• I also went to Bar Marseille with Diana and the food was great! It’s right near Rockaway, so I wasn’t expecting a lot from a beachside place but I’d definitely go back. The steak sandwich was perfect.

• It only took 18 months, but the dog volunteering that Baby Dog and I used to do is finally back! It was cancelled in February 2020 for obvious reasons and just started up again this month. It’s organized through New York Cares and it happens once a month on the Upper West Side. Essentially, you bring your dog to the auditorium of an elderly care center and any residents who love dogs come down to play with them for an hour. We do it each month and the more dogs that come the better, so I should really post about it more on Instagram. Yeah, I’ll get on that. (The next one is scheduled for August 10th, email me for more information if you’re interested.)

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Can you tell how excited she is?

• Since it’s Restaurant Week, Irene and I went to The Grid restaurant at the Great Jones Distillery mainly because I was intensely craving good halibut. And yes, the food was good but it’s extremely overrated. I’m sorry but no restaurant ever should charge for basic bread and butter. It’s offensive. The service was good, but you can just tell people weren’t trained very well. And for a place so new and beautiful, you’d expect a lot more.

• I saw Mr. Saturday Night on Broadway and all that I can say is wow. A perfect show and a beautiful theatre. Can every single comedian in this town go see it immediately before it closes next month? It’s wildly good. I’ve never felt more seen than I did in this song sung by a comedian’s wife.

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Mr. Saturday Night on Broadway, July 2022

• The only time I like to drink rose is in the summer (I’m pretty original, I know) and I think I found the best tasting one of life.

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Ruby Red Rose with Grapefruit

• I’ve started making garlic butter almost once a week now and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop? It’s so superior to every other thing inside my fridge. Sure you could buy garlic butter, but it tastes infinitely better if you make it yourself, I promise.

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Homemade garlic butter

• I made this lamb bolognese from Antoni Porowski and I think it’s even better than the Alison Roman one that I love so much (it might be because I bought the coriander seeds whole and then ground them up in my spice grinder? The flavour of that individual spice is so crazy good, I had no idea). Obviously one is a fast lamb recipe and one is a leisurely one, so I’ll continue to keep both in my rotation. But you absolutely have to make the three hour one at least once to see what I’m talking about. Especially since Costco sells ground lamb now.

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Antoni Porowski’s heavenly lamb bolognese

• I went to the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn for the first time and what a perfect theatre. Love that they have a beautiful bar attached (House of Wax).

• Some Things I Watched:

  • I really had low expectations, but I went to see Marcel The Shell With Shoes On and it was beyond sweet.

  • Indecent Proposal is on HBO right now so I watched it for the first time and loved it.

  • I saw The Thomas Crown Affair and it’s such a party. I love this kind of 90s movie. Perfect in every way.

  • I watched the first episode of Loot and it really just wasn’t for me.

  • Of course I saw the whole first season of The Bear and it’s as good as everyone says it is. With the exception of the sister, I don’t know if she’s just written badly as a character or the actress is just wretched. Either way, it’s the worst part of a great show. Episode seven is clearly the best one. (Also, I badly want to make this recipe now.)

  • I also saw the whole first season of The Summer I Turned Pretty and this really scratched my summer/teen itch. Perfect summer show.

  • I saw the Victoria’s Secret documentary and oh my god, I might have to stop shopping at Bath & Body Works now.

  • I started the new season of Only Murders In The Building and other than the inclusion of Amy Schumer, it’s been good so far.

  • I also watched Porky’s and Screwballs for some reason?? Obviously I hated both? I think I was just so desperate for an old teen movie that I haven’t seen.

  • After those two disasters I have no other choice but to cleanse my palette and rewatch Clueless.

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My absolute favourite Cher outfit

• I’ve been there a few times, but I think it’s time to declare how much I officially hate Astoria Park. The RFK bridge above makes it way too loud, the jet skis in the water blast the worst music, the grass has more brown patches than any other park in the city, the train is at least a 15 minute walk away, there are zero food or water vendors anywhere. WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE THIS PARK? God, it’s awful.

• I made these cheesy poblano corn enchiladas and they were really good. In hindsight I should’ve added some shredded chicken or something to them to make them slightly heartier.

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Cheesy poblano corn enchiladas

• I finally went to see the Amityville house and even though they changed the eerie window frames, it’s definitely still creepy. One thing I wasn’t expecting? How nice that town is! It’s like some big secret, I think. Would totally live there.

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The house from The Amityville Horror, July 2022

• I made my favourite strawberry crumble coffee cake and it’s always a winner. Pro tip: use cake flour for the cake part and use regular flour for the crumble topping to really make it perfect.

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Strawberry crumble coffee cake

• I ate the July-only-special Emmy cheeseburger dumplings from Mimi Cheng’s and they were good but not as good as the first time I had the last year. Am I evolving past cheeseburger dumplings…? God I hope not.

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Emmy Burger Dumplings (Emmy cheeseburger dumplings in collaboration with Pizza Loves Emily/Emmy Squared, dry-aged beef, aged white cheddar, crushed pretzels, caramelized onions, and Emmy Sauce) Pan-fried only. (8 pieces) $17.25

• Incase you care, August is the only month you can apply for SNL tickets so get on that, if you so desire.

• Also, if you’re going to the CNE in Toronto next month, you can get free tickets for kids under 13 if you fill out this form.

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: I’ll continue to mark things off of my summer list, I can’t wait to see my friend Dusty’s movie that’s being screened at the MoMA next week, and I can’t wait to take a few more little summer trips (stay tuned).

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Summer bitches

If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in June over here.

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