Birthday Donut Comparison

 This batch is from the Donut Plant. Starting from the upper left and going clockwise - Chocolate Blackout, Valhrona Chocolate, Spiced Pear, Marzipan, Peanut Butter and Blackberry Jam, Blueberry, and Carrot Cake. Holy cow, they were good.

This batch is from Dough. Left to right, Blood Orange, Lemon Poppy Seed, Nutella filled. Oh. My. They were amazing.

Cheap Donut from the Local Grocery

I have a weakness for low-quality donuts, I guess. Don't get me wrong, I also love the gourmet ones from the Donut Plant. But this had probably been sitting in the case all day, so it was getting a bit dry, which meant that it was kind of crunchy on the outside. Which is AWESOME.

Two Visits to Spot Cafe on Elmwood in Buffalo

 This is one of our favorite things to eat in Buffalo. It's called The Mike Sandwich. It has two fried eggs, provolone, and cream cheese, and boy, is it good. We discovered it when we went to Buffalo for Thanksgiving in 2009 and fell in love. This one was served on whole wheat focaccia, and there's a delicious vanilla latte in the background.

This was at Spot a couple days later. I had spotted these cinnamon rolls on the day we got the Mike sandwiches, but knew I couldn't have both in one sitting. So two days later we were there, and I got this bad boy. They really got this right for a couple reasons - it's big in diameter, but it's not too tall, which helps it not feel so ginormous. Also, the dough is on the light side, which also keeps it from being so immensely filling and heavy and doughy. We love Spot, patronize them often if you live in the Buffalo area!

Cranberry Chutney by Nava

This was a DEElicious cranberry chutney made by O's sister, Nava, for Thanksgiving dinner. There was so much great food, some of which I may post here, but this was so good. Cranberries, apples, onions, raisins, and cinnamon. And, as she told me, tons of sugar. It was great, and the cinnamon was a really nice touch. It was even better the next day. I guess it's one of those things that is better when it sits for a while. Total score for the host of 2011 Thanksgiving.

Cold Noodles from Mee Noodle SHop

10/16/11 - Yep. I said there would be lots of cold noodles on this blog.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Sauce

At the Denville Dairy in Denville, NJ on 10/22/11. Oh my heck, it was good. Like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup turned into a sundae

Cheeseburger with Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions

At a Publick House in Chester, NJ on 10/22/11. After a day of apple picking, we needed a substantial lunch and this is what Tom had. I had a burger, but without any cheese or anything, so Tom's made for a better photo.

Apricots stuffed with Marscapone and Walnuts

These were from the restaurant Turkish Cuisine, where O and Kevin had dinner on Tuesday 10/18/11 and brought me dessert! How nice. They don't look like much, but they are delicious. Marscapone makes everything better!

Pasta with Pesto, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Mozzarella

This is one of our favorite things to make. I made this 10/9/11. When you add the pasta to the cheese, tomatoes, and sauce right when it's really hot, it melts the cheese just a little bit, so you're still eating chunks of it, yum.

A few glimpses from the Breaking of the Fast

 Preparing the food, buffet-style. Gene is labeling the Herring in Cream Sauce, so that no one takes some by accident.

 Two kinds of lox. I cannot taste the difference, but apparently the more discriminating palates can. *shrug*

 Spinach Pie, which Gene makes special for Oren, who is vegetarian

 This was my first plate - deviled egg, lox, blintz, orzo salad, cucumber salad, and egg salad.

Mmmmm, dessert. Cinnamon Rugalach from Zabar's. Most of the meal was from Zabar's.

Cinnamon Raisin Challah French Toast

As a follow-up to yesterday. This french toast was amaaaaaazing. Didn't need syrup or butter or anything.

Cinnamon Raisin Challah Bread

We got this at Amy's Bread in Hell's Kitchen today (10/6/11) and oh boy, is it amazing. I got it with the intention of making some mind-blowing french toast tomorrow morning. But it's so delicious just by itself, I will be lucky if there's enough to make french toast tomorrow. The cinnamon swirl is subtle to the eye, but you can most def taste it.

Bananas with Peanut Butter and Honey

This was a snack that I discovered at Ohio Light Opera in the summer of 1998. So yummy and mostly good for you. I had this particular plate 9/29/11. Sooooo good.

Sicilian Slices from Two Boots Pizza on Bleecker

This pizza blew my mind. The sauce, oh lordy, the sauce. It was garlicky and tangy and NOT sweet at all. I am not a fan of sweet marinara. This was savory enough to border on spicy, but NOT hot-spicy. I don't usually get Sicilian slices, but I did that day. Now I'm wondering if they use the same sauce on the regular slices. I have been daydreaming about this pizza ever since that day, and I've been scheming a scheme to go back there. I had this between work shifts on 9/21/11.

Split Pea Soup with Croutons

Talk about your amazing comfort food. Diners just do that kind of thing right. This was at Westway Diner on 9/22/11. Those croutons were so buttery and crispy, and the soup was like velvet. That's good shit, man.

Soy Hot Dogs with Fixin's

I believe this was 9/10/11. Now, I am not a vegetarian, but I got these so O could have hot dogs with me. When you put mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and dill pickle slices, you would never know that these were soy. And I can ALWAYS tell when they are soy. I like my salty pork hot dogs, darn it! I think the fluffy white buns helped, too, though they probably had more calories than that dogs themselves. And let me mention that a slice of dill pickle is FAR superior to relish. Texture!

Fuji Apple

Ate this on a break from work, hanging out in front of the Helmsley Building

Fettucine with Mozzarella, Cherry Tomatoes, and Arugula

This was at Lisca on the Upper West Side, a regular favorite when we go to dinner with O's parents. Delicious and simple as always, but also beautiful. Fresh red and green against the color of the pasta. Good stuff.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Warning: You may gain weight just looking at this picture. This may be the best dessert I have ever eaten. This photo probably doesn't truly capture it, and my description might not either, but believe me, it was amazing. I tend to like my desserts over-the-top sweet and rich. Then I usually only eat a couple of bites and that is just about right. This time, we ate the whole thing. Sticky toffee pudding is sponge cake, smothered in toffee sauce, which is basically melted butter and brown sugar, or caramelized sugar. This cake was swimming in it. Topped with a lovely dollop of real whipped cream. The sauce, the sauce, oh sweet baby Jesus, the sauce. For serious, y'all, the cake soaks up a ton of it, and there was STILL a bath for it to sit in. I wanted to drink it with a straw after we ate all the cake.

Seitan Buffalo Wings

This was at a restaurant called Merge in Buffalo, NY, August 24, 2011. Pretty good, clumps of wheat gluten smothered in barbecue sauce. The dipping sauce was meh, some sort of vegan ranch dressing. But at a vegetarian restaurant, that's what you get. The salad on the side was just carrots and celery, but in a totally delicious vinaigrette type thing, almost like it was pickled. Really good.

Strawberries and Blueberries

I just adore taking photos of fresh fruit. They always look naturally beautiful and amazing. I mean, look at that contrast of color! And you don't have to do anything more than chop them up and throw them in a bowl together. Perfetto!

Burger by Andre

Monday August 22, 2011. This burger was basted with some awesome sauce, I don't know what, but it was so delicious, even without any condiments added. So great. We were in Buffalo and Andre and Marilyn had the whole family over for dinner.

Red Pepper Gouda Bisque

This was from Coffee Culture in Buffalo, NY on Sunday August 21, 2011. I had just flown there from NYC to meet O and family, and we had to kill time while the rest of the family was still asleep. This soup was yummy and filling.

More Nachos from La Paloma

This time I told them to hold the jalapenos and chowed down with relish on the entire plate.

Cold Noodles

From Empire Szechuan, August 17, 2011. Like I said, these will be on here a lot.

Eggo Waffles with Peanut Butter and Real Maple Syrup

August 17, 2011. Not the greatest thing to eat after jogging...but also not the worst...

Entenmann's Donuts

Plain and Rich Frosted, my two least favorites.

 Crumb and Glazed, my faaaaaaves.

 Rich Frosted has grown on me, though. I used to think the coating just tasted like wax and made a mess in your hands.

 Oh, lordy, the Crumb donut by Entenmann's is my undoing on the days when I'm craving donuts. Which is not often. But when I do, I have to work really hard NOT to eat the whole box. Luckily I don't like plain, so in a combination box, that would leave only 6 donuts. Which is totally less bad than 8!!

Sticky Bun from Amy's Bread

Yum yum yum, what is not to love about this. It's from Amy's Bread in Hell's Kitchen on April 21, 2011. Of course the sticky part is great, all caramel and gritty and nutty, but the roll part is also amazing. It's yeasty and chewy and I would totally eat it plain.