Gluttony in NYC: Day 1

After the huge breakfast, we were ready to cross the Hudson.
Our room wasn't ready at Hotel 17 (it was 9am), so we unloaded our gear from the rental car, lobby checked it all, and ventured over to Brooklyn. Severo was on a mission to take me sock shopping and Telco is one of his haunts. Bargains were found, including houndstooth leggings marked $5.99 and only $2.99 at the register! After an unpleasant episode with a homeless woman, we went back to Manhattan to secure a good parking space near the hotel.

"OK, let's eat!"
We had lunch at Xi'an Famous Foods on St. Mark's.

Clock-wise from left: Spicy & Sour Spinach Dumplings in Broth, Spicy Hot Oil-Seared Noodles (my favorite), and a Spicy Cumin Lamb Burger. It was too much food and too hot to be eating hot noodles. Oh well.

For dessert, we tried to go to ChikaLicious Dessert Bar at 203 E. 10th St.

"Sorry, closed due to broken freezer."

Boohoo. We had such a great experience there in 2012.
Implementing Plan B, we went across the street to The ChikaLicious Dessert Club, a more informal branch of the ChikaLicious empire.

We had the Madagascar Vanilla Creme Puff and a Bun Chika Bun Bun (Pate a Choux with carmelized-gingerbread filling).

It was then finally late enough to check in and collapse into food coma naps.

6:24

7:29

That evening, we walked over to the High Line and perused the New Whitney, which is at the south end on Gansevoort Street. I wrote a post with some of the art that we saw over on my Fashion Blog SpyGirl.
Our posing antics with the Freedom Tower were not included.

All that art viewing made us hungry again.
We ended up at Dirty Bird where we got Fried Chicken (for Severo) and a few sides.

Sauteed Garlic Kale, Mac-n-Cheese, Potato Salad, Veggie Rice, Chicken topped with Corn Bread

At that point, we called it a night.

11:57

Gluttony in NJ: Tops Diner

In August, Severo very kindly flew me east for a couple of days in Manhattan and a Smithereens gig on Long Island. Per usual, we flew a red eye that landed in Newark. Red eye flights tend to make me very grumpy and we have discovered that FOOD will soothe the savage beast that I become.
Severo consulted Yelp, and found a gem of a New Jersey diner called Tops Diner, located in Harrison. 

It's a HUGE place! We were seated in a quiet, dark, area

The menu is extensive

We started with Cuban Coffee -- perfection!

Eventually, our massive breakfasts arrived:

We ate with abandon. It was outstanding!
I ordered Eggs From Heaven: Three Eggs baked with Cheesy Grits, Bacon, Tomato & Chives, served with Green Salad
Severo ordered Corned Beef Hash & Eggs: House Corned Beef, Bell Peppers, Onions & Potatoes, topped with Two Eggs, served with Buttermilk Pancakes
Truly memorable. We will return!

Hearty Olive Rosemary Bread

I've been perfecting this recipe, adapted from this recipe on About Food, for more than a year and I think I finally have the proportions right. It's for bread making machines -- consult your machine's wholewheat bread recipes' flour quantities. If you need ratio adjustments, use this handy conversion link. When I fine-tuned the yeast quantity, it made a huge difference. I use an Oster 2lb Breadmaking machine, Model #5821. 

Olive Rosemary Bread 

Ingredients: 

• 1/3 - 1/2 c brine from olives
• Warm water, enough to make 1 1/2 cups when combined with brine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  pour wet directly into machine

• 1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
• 1/4 c ground flax seed
• 1 3/4 cups unbleached flour
  (grains total 3 3/4 c)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbs sugar
• 1 tb dried rosemary
  mix dry in a bowl before adding to machine
  
  make little valley for
• 1 3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
  
  after the beep at 2:20, add
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup finely chopped olives (about 2 dozen pitted olives)
  I've used kalamatas, spanish, even minced NOLA's Central Grocery Olive Salad!
• 3 or more garlic cloves, minced

Preparation:

Put brine in a 2-cup measure; add warm water to make 1 1/2 cups. 

Put all ingredients except for the olives in the bread machine according to your manufacturer's preferred order. (My order is in italics).

Choose basic or wheat setting; add olives at the beep.