Are You Ready to Darty?

Our September event, plus apple cake and a cinnamon roll you need to try

Hi friends,

Welcome to This Needs Hot Sauce! It’s the last week of summer and we’re getting down to business (and having a party…keep reading for more details). Let’s dive in!

Can we talk about this view from the Kosciuszko Bridge yesterday?

Something to cook:

When I lived abroad, I used to attempt recipes as long as I had at least half of the ingredients. I applied a similar principle to this marinated summer squash recipe last week. I’ve made the full version before, but last week, I just made the marinated zucchini component, which was so flavorful. I ate some of it in a bowl with lentils and a jammy egg and threw the rest into a salad with roasted veggies.

For Yom Kippur break fast this week, I’m making this applesauce cake with cream cheese frosting from Julia Turshen’s beautiful new book. It doesn’t require a mixer or anything fancy, hurrah!

We’re also doing a second round of fig challah! Get the recipe here, and a step by step guide on Instagram.

For lunch this week, I’m craving peanut sauce and will make some version of this soba noodle slaw. The dressing is so good.

For the end of summer, Leslie recommended this nectarine tomato fattoush with feta. Yes, please!

Something to order:

Brooklyn Cider House just launched a Pinxtos menu on Wednesdays. Pinxtos are the basque version of tapas and I got to try them at a launch event last week. Highly recommend the tortilla espanola and the mussels. Start with a cider flight and make sure you try the half sour.

Isa was in town last minute and four of us were free to catch up (and eat). We started at bibi, an Alphabet city wine bar with $24 bottles of wine during happy hour (!) and pigs in a blanket. You should go tonight. From there, we went to Miss Lily’s 7A, a Caribbean spot that felt festive even on a rainy Monday night. I had two sides: the curry vegetable stew and a spicy slaw and everyone tried different stuff, from goat stew to the classic jerk chicken. Their drink menu merits a repeat visit.

Speaking of repeat visits, Dale and I went back to the St. Mazie supper club and it’s a delight. Call ahead to get a table during primetime and you’ll feel very confident entering a packed bar and heading downstairs to a candlelit basement. We had manchego cheese with honey and grilled bread and I got the mushroom risotto, which even came with a lemon wedge to brighten it up. Their wine and cocktail selection is great and the pours are generous. There’s live music every night which you can hear downstairs, but it’s still quiet enough for conversation.

Ball parks have come a long way food wise, but there are still limited vegetarian options. I went to the new Yankee stadium for the first time on Friday and managed to eat a (more than) full meal: a veggie burger from Bareburger, with pickled onions and guac, a free beer, which comes with the $20 General Admission Ticket (make sure you get the Pinstripe Pass and then go to the ATT lounge to redeem it for a 12 oz beer).

Here I am, paying 0% attention to the game (I missed a home run taking this picture) but having a grand old time people watching and eating.

Because sports are about excess, Dale and I even got one of those crazy milkshakes (Grand Slam Shakes) before we left. It was more like soft serve than a milkshake and I took three lactaid pills. The toppings we next level: toasted marshmallows, chocolate covered pretzels (my favorite part to dip in the shake), and a cookie. We finished maybe 1/3 of it (and did not keep the souvenir cup) so proceed with caution!

Julia’s been on vacation (more on that next week) so we needed a night to really catch up and soak in the neighborhood. We did a progressive dinner, starting with a dozen oysters at Pinkerton, a casual spot with $1 oysters and outdoor seating. Torrontes, a delicious white wine from Argentina is their house white, so I liked them instantly.

Then we walked to Have & Meyer, a very charming and honestly overpriced Italian wine bar for their cheapest white wine and caprese salad and pasta. The grand finale: Van Leeuwen ice cream. They were out of some of the new fall flavors but the vegan cookies and cream with a caramel swirl was so good. I always ask for a kids size which is a dollar cheaper and barely smaller than a small.

A pastry PSA: Nick and Sons Bakery opened four months ago in Williamsburg and they are making good stuff. The cinnamon roll is impossible to stop eating and the croissant is begging for a swipe of jam. They also make seasonal apple tarts, za’atar croissants after 11:30, and sourdough breads. Nick, the owner, is super nice so go say hi and bring someone you love a sweet treat.

It’s a miracle these goodies survived the ride to Queens.

Coffeeshop of the week:

How often do you need a place to kill time and get some work done near Union Square? The Red Fleece Cafe is that place. It’s on 20th and Broadway in the basement of the Brooks Brother’s Red Fleece store and it has a) wifi b) good air conditioning c) coffee and wine and beer. What more could you need? The space is huge and there are couches for groups as well as smaller tables well suited for laptops. It’s a little corporate when you really think about the concept but also very useful and pleasant. Swing by next time you’re around and let me know what you think.

Something to read:

The Infatuation wrote a guide to Forest Hills Restaurants and I mostly agree with it. Pahal Zan and Nick’s Pizza are my favorites and they left out La Boulangerie.

Has anyone tried the Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop yet? These pictures are promising.

Speaking of pizza, when did healthyish pizza become a thing?

An alternative to endless searching for a good restaurant (it involves talking to people)

Drinking in a park in the summer : drinking at a brewery in the fall. This city has a host of craft breweries to choose from.

This stuff is not easy: A day in the life of a first time Smorgasburg Vendor (h/t Deez Links)

My date with Noah Centieneo. This story brought me great joy and includes his oatmeal method, you’re welcome.

A classic New York tale of Forlinis, an old school Italian joint that’s now cool on instagram.

If you need to find me, ask my ham man. An essay about the relationships we have with the people we see every day.

Last week, I loved hearing about your coffee orders! There’s so many options and ordering coffee is a small way to inject some pleasure into the routine.

-Frida’s coffee order changed after Trump got elected: My coffee order used to be black but sometime after the election (thanks Trump), I started taking it with a splash of milk and I haven't looked back. My favorite alternative milk is oat, but if they don't have it, like in my office, I'll alternate between full fat or reduced 2% milk depending on my mood. This goes for iced as well as hot coffee. Sometimes, if it's early and maybe I haven't had breakfast yet, I get an INTENSE craving for a hot coffee from a coffee cart with a little milk and sugar. Idk why! I think it's delicious. Also lately I've been on a cortado kick in the afternoons, but I still go with drip coffee over espresso drinks 8 out of 10 times.

-Anjali shared some Blue Bottle intel: I love the unhealthy sweet delicious iced vanilla lattes! At blue bottle, the iced new orleans is amazing (it has chickory so it's sort of spiced), with oat milk (at no extra charge!) 

-Anna shared the (new to me) tradition of Lutheran church coffee with an egg in it: I still like pour overs, when I have the time, and from the espresso machine I'm a real sucker for cortados. I live in Pittsburgh, home of Commonplace Coffee, and actually live up the street from my favorite Commonplace branch, and they have a lovely lavender syrup that they'll put in any espresso + milk drink. At home, I either do pour-overs, a tiny, 1-cup flip-top Neapolitan moka pot inherited from my grandparents, or Lutheran church basement coffee -- that wacky brew made in a pot in huge quantities, with any old grounds and an egg. I love coffee.

-Alicia balances a need for caffeine with witchy teas: My orders change based on the season. Right now I drink a large black iced coffee from the bodega and it's probably my greatest joy in the morning. I drink it hot in the winter. I love getting beans from Porto Rico brewing company - they have a mint coffee that is to die for. I also drink tea nearly every day, I take it "black" but I just drink green tea. I have some decent teas for my menstrual cycle too because I'm a hippie witch on the inside. 

-Lily is living her best latte life: For a while I was only drinking matcha lattes with oat milk in the same mug every single day from my house, but recently I have gone back to a tall iced almond milk latte to-go from Starbucks.

This week, I want to know your favorite lunch spot. Where’s the spot near your office or school that’s there for that midday slump? Are you a salad eater or a ramen slurper? Do you like food halls or delivery? Reply to this email and tell me all about it. Tips from all cities are welcome :)

Finally, it’s time for a darty (a day party, of course, did anyone else say this in college?) We’re having a Darty on September 30th from 2 - 5 pm at the Well.

It’s off the Montrose L stop and there will be snacks and drinks and music and new friends. Come hang with the This Needs Hot Sauce Community. RSVP here and please consider making a donation to Immigrant Families United, to help immigrant families reunite after being forcibly separated. See you soon!

Happy eating and thanks for reading.

xo, Abigail