In Flux {san diego}

san diego, ca

This summer I've been in a constant state of flux.  First, I left one dream job {as recipe developer at the Food Network} for another {writing my first cookbook}, and now I'm about to learn what it means to be called Mamma, as we await the arrival of our first little babe.

These sort of transitions leave little time for sitting and reflecting, savoring a cup of hibiscus tea or a perfectly crafted chocolate croissant, which is why it seemed so monumentally important to do so with my sis Jenny on our latest visit.

She lives in San Diego, where the pace is perfect for people watching and soaking in life at her favorite cafe, Influx. There, the croissants are all flakey goodness, and as photogenic as the patient pups who wait outside, poised for their next treat.

{influx cafe ~ 1948 Broadway ~ San Diego, CA 92101} 

Date Night {Roman's}

ft. greene, brooklyn

Last night we had dinner with our friends Katie and Parker at their new neighborhood restaurant,  Roman's.  The meal was simple, satisfying, actually kind of perfect. Romans serves like kind of food that you could make at home but tastes especially good when someone else has done the work for you—things like stretched mozzarella on toasted bread, hen of the woods mushroom toasts with telleggio fonduta, and tagliatelle in a light rabbit ragu. It all adds up to a belly that’s not overly full, but incredibly satisfied.  And they have a pretty savory beer list too. Try the Aventiunus Doppelbock.

Between the four of us, we don’t each much meat, but we share a philosophy on eating humanely raised meats sold directly to the consumer.  Roman’s is the kind of place that celebrates that too, so go ahead and order the beef rib agnolotti {if it’s still there, the menu changes daily}. It helps to have your very own butcher, as Roman's does {Marlow and Daughters} but we won’t begrudge their good fortune since they’re not greedy with their resources. You can get quality meats from their butcher too, just down the road apiece.

Romans

243 Dekalb Avenue

Ft. Greene, NY

718-622-5300

Marlow & Daughters

95 Broadway

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

718-388-5700

A movable Feast {Pedaling, part iii}

For four Sundays running, András and I have been pedaling from our little nest in L.I.C. over bridges and through the woods to new adventures we go. It's a tradition that dates back to one of our very first dates, and is as much about feeding as it is about finding our way in the world together.

These last few weeks, our two wheels have taken us to Boneshakers biker cafe in Greenpoint, run by cyclists who declare "Death Over Decaf" and make killer stacks of avocado, sprouts and eggs on salted bagels, and to Bierkraft, a tiny slip of a beer library with over 1,000 pints. We've lunched at the fashionable Five Leaves {try the housemade ricotta} with our friends Josh and Doris {that's Josh on his wheels above}, then rolled over to Walters in Williamsburg, past Saltie and beyond the legendary Peter Luger, promising to return another day. We've looted the curiosities of Kill Devil Hill, where on a shelf that held a pair of vintage glass piggy banks {"Jesus Saves" and "Satan Spends,"} I found just about the prettiest pickles I've ever laid eyes on, from Brooklyn Brine, and an old enamel bread box that had to come home with us. And then, we found our way to the Radegast Biergarten, where we could have stayed all day among the steins and hand-stuffed sausages, if not for the fast fading sun and the creeping cold, and that constant cup of hot cocoa back in L.I.C that beckons us home.