photo op: RECENT eats

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You know that whole “New Year, New Me” shtick? It’s totally not me. Sure I would love to join the clean eating movement and participate in the paleo livestyle and pretend to be gluten-free, but I can’t. So I’m just going to keep being the old me (maybe with the addition of a few more veggies and sit-ups). And new old me still likes to eat and bake and indulge.

So I had a duck fat grilled cheese and salty fries late night at the Pig & Prince.

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RER 12.26.14

And I tried to balance out the “bad” with some “good” wholesome and healthful breakfasts on ig.

And I baked kamish bread and experimented with apricot preserves and stiff raisins while the boy was working hard on a Saturday afternoon.

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And I went on an greasy early dinner date at Umami Burger that got cut short but was too long on truffle.

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And I forced my Food Fun kiddies to make ice cream sundaes for their last day of the activity, with too many oreos, sprinkles gummy bears and most definitely far too much whipped cream and chocolate syrup.

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And I watched my mom make vegetable lasagna and ate a ton with no shame whatsoever.

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Any changes for you all in the New Year? How are you thinking of mixing up your food encounters in 2015? Follow on facebook, instagram, twitter, and yelp to keep up with all the pretty eats, big bites, and upcoming restaurant weeks.

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1.15.15

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BEST of both worlds: Sugar Couture Opens in East Williamsburg

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It’s perhaps the most pleasant sugar high ever, devoid of the jagged ups and downs, shaking hands and elevated heart rate. A visit to East Williamsburg’s new boutique café, Sugar Couture, brings just the right amount of sweet and savory to the daily grind, from breakfast options to afternoon snacks.  

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Café founder and owner, Penny Stankiewicz, is no stranger to the sweeter side of food. Formerly a documentary director, Stankiewicz went to school to explore the creative outlet of food, pastry and cake decorating. Since then she has established a reputation as cake decorator to the stars with her Sugar Couture special occasion cakes.

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Creating a delicious concept where the sweet is mixed with the savory was a natural next step for Stankiewicz. "I was feeling strongly like it was time for a new challenge, “ says the café owner. “And it had always been a dream of mine to have a retail shop, so when all of the pieces began to fall together, I took the leap!”

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 Dessert favorites come alive in an elevated way in the expert hands of Stankiewicz. Sizeable flakes of sea salt make sweet things sweeter and more dynamic, from studded pecan raisin brownies to seductive caramel candies. Meaty pistachios, crunchy and sticky, are savory jewels paired with delicate pear in tasty tarts and earthy pumpkin and the hum of dulcet mature fig combine to create perfect cheesecake. And luxurious chocolate roasted sandwich cookies blend the unexpected.

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Select savories like seasonal soups, salads, warm pressed sandwiches, and hearty vegetable dishes, add yet another layer to Sugar Couture. These rich melodies with eggy accents, flaky pastry, and doughy breads do not forget the sweet roots of the owner. Sultry bacon jam croissants and decadent creamy baked eggs in puff pastry, both crusty, salty, and textured—perfect breakfasts. Even bready focaccia selections have inherent sweetness from the pretty base to caramelized onion, tangy tomato, tender short rib or butternut squash.

Mustn’t forget about the cakes, the sweet treat Stankiewicz is known for. Daily specials like spicy lemon ginger cake layered thick with smooth tropical passion fruit butter cream, or fall flavored slices laced with caramel, browned butter and apple are a staple at the new café.

Along with the handcrafted bites, Sugar Couture offers Toby’s Estate Coffee, specialty drinks and drink infusions to round out the delectable experience. The intimate space complete with fresh details allows for delightful indulgence and a harmony of flavors.

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WHERE:

Sugar Couture

386 Graham Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11211

Ph. 718.349.1440

www.sugar-couture.com

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12.22.14  

brunch for ROYALTY: Bottega Louie

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Big open spaces made brunch diners feel like royalty. The pure white walls, intricate molding on the ceiling, and simplistic luxury of the café décor, allowed the impenetrable morning bright light to reflect and amplify the space to gargantuan proportions.

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Pretty sweets, delicate and colorful as pictures lined the limitless display cases in the front of Bottega Louie in Los Angeles. Reds, pinks, peaches, soft greens and decadent chocolates danced through extravagant and detailed pastries reflecting the hyper vivid rainbow of macrons for purchase.

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Passed a little café area and an open kitchen framed with glass, a tall wall divided the enormous space, slightly separating the dining room, vast and refined.

The quick weekday breakfast menu was short and sweet. Along with breakfast staples like omelets, breakfast sandwiches, parfaits and French toast Bottega Louie added a little breakfast luxury to its menu, introducing the day with decadent prosciutto and burrata, lemon ricotta pancakes, and a smoked salmon Benedict.

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The beautiful presentation of the prosciutto and burrata mimicked an opening flower, fresh and blooming. The salty meat woke the taste buds, while the creamy burrata melded with the warm and spicy potato pancake.

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For a twist on a Benedict, the smoked salmon variety came with a base of tiny flavorful potato pancakes at its base. The salty salmon was brought together with moments of spicy red onion and earthy sautéed spinach, a vivacious crème fraiche and just enough hollandaise and smooth runny yolk. The combination was a riot of flavors, mixing breakfast and lunch elements to make for a lovely Benedict.

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A pretty slide of four large pancakes dusted with powdered sugar was served on a bed of fresh blueberries. The blueberries matched the syrup with a tart sweetness and violet hue. These pancakes were airy and light, moist, just sweet enough and hinted at lemon and summertime.

Vaulting ceilings and saturating sunlight made flavors fly and colors blush, fostering moments of happy breakfasts and delicious bites. A splendid start to another day.

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8.27.14

not so SOLD: The Merchant

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The space was stunning at The Merchant, particularly at that time of day, just passed 11 am. A mesmerizing light flooded in from one of the giant side windows not blocked by its encroaching neighboring building. The pure late morning sun aged everything it touched adding beguiling history and mystery. The rich colors of the dark wood and red fabric on booths and chairs, deepened the space, creating an air of another place in time.

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RER 7.21.13

But the food was far more straightforward— lacking the delicate beauty and effortless layers of the décor bathed in sunlight and dancing shadows. Unfortunately, I was disappointed; the menu looked promising with brunchy categories like "Hungry," "Hung-Over," "Sweet Tooth" and "Healthy," featuring a brunch burger, a full Irish breakfast and a yogurt parfait.

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RER 7.21.13

None of the menu items stirred up a real curiosity; just flat brunch favorites that arrived almost as flat on the plates as the pages. The food was fine, quality was just enough but there was no whimsy and innovation as a few of the restaurants in the area are exploring. It was a pretty boring meal, nothing tickled or left me excited, except maybe the mimosas and conversation.

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7.21.13 

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