Fig & Olive --Back again!

My friend Jenezuela was back in town mid-April for her final wedding dress fitting. I managed to carve out some time to meet her at the store, which just happened to be 2 doors down from Fig & Olive. I'd been wanting to go back there ever since ABF & I went there during Restaurant Week, so when Jen complained of being famished after her fitting, I was only too happy to suggest this spot.

It was closer to dinnertime than lunchtime, so there were plenty of seats available. We sat down in the front of the restaurant and started poring over the menu. I knew I was going to have those chicken samosas again, but I let Jen peruse at her own pace to see what she felt like eating. She was game for the samosas, and also suggested a cheese plate (yay!) and some jamon. Now we were cooking!

While we waited for our food, Jen & I ordered the "Skinny Mojito," which was a mojito made with simple syrup made from Splenda sweetener, and the addition of the 'fruit of the day,' which was muddled fresh blackberries. I wish I'd realized the blackberry part before the server left, because I don't normally like to mess with the regular mojito, but oh well. This drink was good but not great. I liked how tart it was, but the mint was nowhere near powerful or present enough. I would try it again, though, minus the berries.

Our samosas came out first, and I was hoping they'd be just as delicious as when ABF & I tried them. They were! Jenezuela was quite happy with these as well. The flavors work SO well together. Nothing gets lost--even the saffron threads are a lovely touch. YUUUUUM. Oh my goodness. The last bite is almost sad, because you don't want it to be over yet! Never mind that we had 2 other plates o' food ahead of us--these samosas definitely steal the spotlight at first.

But there's no time to mope when a cheese plate awaits...our server seemed a little flustered that day and we never found out which cheeses we had on our plates. I only know they were yummy and tangy and oh so good with the different spreads, from their tongue-tingling olive tapenade (and black olives are usually just so-so to me!) to their cravetastic fig jam. Holy tastebud explosion. The fresh figs were equally scrumptious!

I mean seriously. This tapenade. Dang.

I wasn't particularly excited about the plate of serrano ham, but when it arrived, I definitely changed my mind. It was surrounded by sultry swirls of olive oil, dotted with bright green chives, and accented by soft slices of a mild, creamy goat cheese. Yes, please, thanks. I wrapped a slice of the chewy, satsifying ham around a wedge of cheese and I swear my tastebuds damn near wept.

So we ate and ate and caught up on a lot and then ate a little bit more, but we had juuuuust enough room for dessert. Jenezuela put her trust in me when I ordered the unassuming dessert crostini. Sure, it sounds mild: mascarpone cheese, amarena cherries, shortbread. I stared at her while she took her first bite, and then reveled in the spark I saw as soon as the delicious combo of flavors (sweetly) smacked her in the mouth!

I can't stress their awesomeness enough. If you have time to order only ONE thing at Fig & Olive, it should be these dessert crostini. A-may-ZING. I ate one and let Jen finish the other two because I'd already experienced the awesomeness before. I'm a sharer, I am. And she was definitely glad of that. ORDER THESE!

Fig & Olive
10 East 52nd Street
New York, NY 10022
(212) 319-2002

El Pequeño

Carlota & I ventured out into Queens a month or so ago for some Ecuadorian food at a spot in Jackson Heights. We walked a short distance from the 7 train to El Pequeño. As soon as we sat down at our table, we received a colorful batch of salsas. They were fresh, the chips were still warm, and holy COW was the salsa spicy. It was a good kind of hurt, though.

This place is known for their delicious and cheap rotisserie chicken, but they were sold out (que?? que??) when we arrived. Never you fear--we got over our initial disappointment and jumped on to the next offering--fried fish!

They had a special on whole fried red snapper (which was SO GOOD at Victor's), but when I asked about it, the server actually recommended a similar dish that was already deboned. Eh, what the heck? I ordered that instead. It was actually quite light and delicious--the breading wasn't too heavy, and it was perfectly seasoned. I splashed a bit of fresh orange on it and went to town. Yummy. I ignored the heavy tostones (just not my thing).

Carlota got the goat stew, which smelled AMAZING. Here's the thing--I get very clear pictures in my head sometimes. I had an EXTREMELY sharp picture of a big old goat chewing on a tin can (Saturday morning cartoons much?) when she ordered this, so although she shared a bite with me immediately, I let it sit on the side of my plate for a bit while I did battle in my mind with the visual. I did eventually try it, and it was delicious, tender, well-seasoned, and not scary at all. Am I ready to order it on my own? Not yet. But did I enjoy it? Absolutely. (please do not send me any cute pictures of little baby goats kthxbye)

I also even ate almost all of my rice. Me! With Rice! That stuff I normally ignore! This rice was delicious--perfectly cooked, not clumpy, and with a serious lemon kick to it. Holy yum. The fresh avocado and tomato all mixed together perfectly.

All in all, a good meal, even though we had our hearts (and stomachs) set on rotisserie pollo. We'll have to venture out again for that next time!

El Pequeño Coffee Shop
86-10 Roosevelt Ave
Jackson Heights, NY
718-205-7128)

The Chocolate Room

How good is this place? Soooo good that ABF (who is not really a 'chocolate' person), routinely asks "When can we go back to the Chocolate Room?" It's THAT good.

ABF & I walked from Brooklyn Heights to Cobble Hill one Sunday, which was a pretty good haul. I was expecting it to be a little stuffy and unwelcoming, but everyone behind the counter was absolutely pleasant, welcoming us in and inviting us to take a seat. It smells HEAVENLY inside. Chocolate and goodness and such.

As soon as we took our seats, the sincerely friendly server brought us each a tasting of their homemade, dairy-free, chocolate sorbet. It was a mouthful of dark and tasty yum.

The menu is scrumptious-sounding, start to finish, and each item comes with a suggested drink pairing, from wine to cordials. We were there that day just for the dessert, but someday I'll go back and try a pairing. Someday soon, I hope. :) For that night, ABF & I quickly agreed to split the brownie sundae. Chocolate Room makes their own ice cream AND their own freshly-whipped cream. Drool. I had a coffee (strong and delicious), and ABF had an amazingly creamy cappuccino.

The answer to "When can we go back there?" is: "Not soon enough."

The Chocolate Room
86 5th Avenue
New York, NY 11217
(718) 783-2900

Flax Seeds!

With a friend's wedding around the corner and summer not far behind, I've been ramping up my focus on healthy eating. My friend Hoosh & I are keeping food journals to keep ourselves honest, I'm trying to get extra veggies in every meal, and I've been adding extra fiber as well. I've had these flax seeds in my fridge for ages, courtesy of my Mutha :), but I never opened them until now.

I ground them with a few spins in my coffee grinder, then mixed the entire teaspoon (the yogurt was only a 4-ounce serving) into my Trader Joe's vanilla cream yogurt. This stuff is so decadent it's like a dessert, and that's how I'm treating it...but even dessert should have some extra fiber, right?

These gave the yogurt a different texture, of course, but I didn't mind it, and I feel better knowing I'm 'sneaking' some extra healthy stuff into my diet. Also? Could I love Trader Joe's any more than I already do? Probably not.

Is anyone else out there a flax fan? How do you get it into your diet?

Guest Post: Sonic Burger Tasting!!

Today's post is brought to you by my lovely friend Hoosh, a cherished confidante since our days of young, awkward nerdiness in college. We're still nerdy, just a little more seasoned at it these days. Thanks, Hoosh, for blogging with us today!--LKP

You’ve seen it… We’ve all seen it… The video of a person sitting patiently in a white cubicle. A piece of food or drink is slid through a tiny door. The door shuts and she delicately tastes the item. Then she picks up her pencil and answers questions on a piece of paper.

That’s what I pictured when I signed up to be a taste tester for Sonic Drive-In, a fast food burger chain that started in Oklahoma and has quickly spread across the country.

Imagine my surprise when I was brought to a bright classroom with seven other people and we were instructed to sit at a desk with a laptop. There were no two-way mirrors or stern-looking people in lab coats. And there wasn't a clipboard in sight. The only giveaway that we were dealing with food and not an English exam was that there was a bottle of water and napkins at each seat.

A young, casually-dressed man greeted us and explained that we were participating in the "Burger Session" of the taste test. He told us they were going to bring us burgers (yes, full-size burgers!) and we were to answer a survey the computer. He said we could talk freely and share our opinions out loud. This really surprised me. I thought we'd have to be quiet so we didn't sway anyone else's vote. He did make a point to warn us about a video camera in the corner of the room. No biggie. We all soon forgot about the camera.

Here is how the testing was done… There were three burgers. The leader read a description, and then servers in Sonic aprons brought us the burgers. We'd eat several bites and then answer questions on the survey. The questions were typical: "What do you like?" "What do you dislike?" "What would you add/take off?" My favorite question was “What would you name this item?”


Here's what we had...

Burger #1 -- Two meat patties, topped with parmesan cheese slices (Yes, slices. Not sprinkles), pepperoni, marinara, fried mozzarella cheese sticks and banana pepper rings.


Okay, I know it sounds huge and ridiculous, but OH MAH GAH! It was so, so good. There was something magical about the banana pepper rings. You could smell them as you were biting into the burger. Your taste buds hit on the savory part first but your nose was still processing the sharp, sweet and vinegary scent of the peppers. Then the spices from the marinara and smooth/nutty/fatty flavors from the cheeses starting competing for attention. You’d think it would be chaos in the close confines of your mouth, but it turns out that all of the flavors waited their turns and played nicely with one another.

I called this one “My Big Fat Italian Burger.” I really hope they move forward with putting it on the menu because I don't think I can live the rest of my life without having another one.



Burger #2 -- Two meat patties, topped with Pickle-O's, ranch sauce, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato.


For those of you unfamiliar with the legendary Pickle-O, it used to be a Sonic staple. Fried pickle slices that could be eaten sans sauce or dipped into ranch dressing. Suddenly, they disappeared from almost all Sonic menus. Imagine the outrage! Everyone in the taste testing group was quick to tell our leader that Pickle-O's needed to be brought back! However, none of us were too impressed with the idea of putting them on a burger.

Our opinions didn’t change after taking a bite. The Pickle-O’s were almost immediately soggy and slid out of their protective fried shells. The burgers were decent but they were essentially a regular ol’ burger whose pickles just happened to be fried. We all said we’d rather just pop some Pickle-O's as a side dish. (In fact, I ate all of the Pickle-O's off this burger before I managed to take a picture of it.)


Burger #3 -- Two meat patties, lettuce, tomato, mustard, and topped with... get this... Frito Chili Pie.


I don't think anyone in the room was overly excited about this one. When our leader explained what was coming, we all sat there in silence. Someone (maybe it was me) eventually broke the silence with, “Really?”

The sight of the burger was comical. It was too big to eat. We all tried smooshing it down to a bite-able thickness, but that just squished the ingredients out of the sides. After tasting it, we all agreed that teenage boys with big appetites might appreciate having two comfort foods in one dish, but none of us would order one of these if it was on the menu.

The Fritos became soggy rather quickly. The salt from the chips plus the inherent saltiness of all of the meat made my tongue tired. The small bits of lettuce and tomato that I was able to taste among the rest of the big, manly flavors provided some relief but it just wasn’t enough. Plus, it was just too messy. Not something you'd want to balance on your lap in the car.



After we'd received all of the food and filled out our surveys, an official-type person who is involved in developing new products for Sonic came in and asked more questions. By this time, we were all giddy from the high-fat foods that we were overly chatty and laughing about everything. It was like a party and we didn’t want it to end. But we were informed that the next panel was waiting to come into the room for their session and we needed to clear out.

We all packaged up our leftovers and headed out the door, which made the people in the lobby chuckle. (Apparently no one from earlier panels had done this?) Before we left, the leader gave us all $20 gift cards and $10 in cash. He said Sonic might be contacting us again to participate in future taste tests. I hope they do! Don’t tell them, but they didn’t have to pay me. Knowing what I know now, I probably would have paid them to be a part of it.

So, if you see a big, fat, Italian burger on the menu at Sonic Drive-In anytime soon, I hope you’ll order one. I’m pretty sure you’ll thank me. And I’ll enjoy knowing that I can take some credit for it.

Bridgeview Diner

Bridgeview Diner is within walking distance of my apartment in Bay Ridge. It's a little worn, the decor is from the 60s, and it's not the freshest, brightest spot on the block, but oh, they'll feed you well.

They have your standard diner fare, and almost everything I've had there was delicious. My favorite thing to get there is their burger. I consistently forget, however, that with every savory dish you order, they bring you a big serving of cole slaw (do not want) and pickles. The pickles are usually more cucumber-y than pickled just yet, but this one was green and fresh and good. The cole slaw is just not my thing. NO cole slaw is my thing. I tried a few bites, and it was okay, and I had no trouble eating it, but there is something about the texture, the consistency, and just the essence of cole slaw that I do not like. I try it once or twice a year just to see if my tastes have changed. Guess what? They haven't.

Their burgers are AWESOME. They always manage to have that charcoal-y, briquet-y, cooked-in-your-own-backyard kind of flavor that makes it feel like summer.

Mmmm....charcoalyyyyyyyy

My diner companion, the lovely Miss Kelli, was in the mood for breakfast (ooh! Breakfast for Dinner post coming soon!), so she got her usual eggs & bacon with French Toast. She always offers to share, but I was strictly in a burger mood this night. I can vouch, however, for their breakfasts being good and affordable!

The only thing I'd say to avoid at Bridgeview is anything alcoholic. I once ordered a Sidecar or Manhattan or some other such drink (often featured in the old-style paper placemats) and one sip almost scorched my throat. It was alllll booze. Yowsa. You can't go wrong with the food, though!

Bridgeview Diner
9011 3rd Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11209
(718) 680-9819

Bridgeview Diner

Bridgeview Diner is within walking distance of my apartment in Bay Ridge. It's a little worn, the decor is from the 60s, and it's not the freshest, brightest spot on the block, but oh, they'll feed you well.

They have your standard diner fare, and almost everything I've had there was delicious. My favorite thing to get there is their burger. I consistently forget, however, that with every savory dish you order, they bring you a big serving of cole slaw (do not want) and pickles. The pickles are usually more cucumber-y than pickled just yet, but this one was green and fresh and good. The cole slaw is just not my thing. NO cole slaw is my thing. I tried a few bites, and it was okay, and I had no trouble eating it, but there is something about the texture, the consistency, and just the essence of cole slaw that I do not like. I try it once or twice a year just to see if my tastes have changed. Guess what? They haven't.

Their burgers are AWESOME. They always manage to have that charcoal-y, briquet-y, cooked-in-your-own-backyard kind of flavor that makes it feel like summer.

Mmmm....charcoalyyyyyyyy

My diner companion, the lovely Miss Kelli, was in the mood for breakfast (ooh! Breakfast for Dinner post coming soon!), so she got her usual eggs & bacon with French Toast. She always offers to share, but I was strictly in a burger mood this night. I can vouch, however, for their breakfasts being good and affordable!

The only thing I'd say to avoid at Bridgeview is anything alcoholic. I once ordered a Sidecar or Manhattan or some other such drink (often featured in the old-style paper placemats) and one sip almost scorched my throat. It was alllll booze. Yowsa. You can't go wrong with the food, though! And it's open 24/7--what are you doing just standing there--go save me a seat!!!

Bridgeview Diner
9011 3rd Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11209
(718) 680-9819