Hey, December

Chrissy's Pizza, Shabbat & Maple Lattes

I can’t believe it’s December (I was going to make the subject line back to December but I did that almost exactly a year ago). First off, thank you for your kind wishes about my medical situation! I’m doing a lot better and should have more info about next steps in the next few weeks.

How was your holiday weekend? I did some shopping over the week and will share if I like the things I got (mostly, I restocked my favorite skincare and got some new socks and towels, very boring). It’s fine if you shopped and also fine if you didn’t. Later this week, I’ll share some of my favorite holiday traditions and gratitudes because it’s never too late to start some and reflection is always nice during busy times.

Something to cook:

I had the energy to cook a simple dinner on Monday—roasted delicata squash, rice, and tofu with Mala spice. I topped it all with chili crisp and it was the perfect kick off to the holiday week. I crisped up the leftovers in my cast iron skillet and had it with a fried egg on top for a fancy breakfast

Dale’s mom made a lovely Thanksgiving with all the classics: rice and peas, sweet potatoes, curry, and salad. We brought vegan carrot cake and had a lovely time.

On Friday night, we went to my parents for Shabbat with Granny. My mom made a gorgeous challah and the menu was full of hits. We all loved the roasted onion soup (made with an immersion blender) and topped with potato chips and sour cream and you can’t go wrong with a halloumi roast. For dessert, my mom made cranberry crumble snack cake, which is so good to have around if you have guests over the holidays. Leave it out and watch it disappear as people slice off slivers as they pass by.

Something to order:

Leah and I got dinner at Mesa Coyoacan, which marked my first post antibiotics cocktail and a lovely sister catchup. Their guac and mushroom tacos are always so good.

We ran to catch our train on Thanksgiving and that meant a caffeine free ride to Beacon. Luckily, Bank Square Coffeehouse was open, near the train station, and oh so cozy. I got a maple latte, Dale got a hot cider and we split a cranberry orange scone.

On Friday, Dale, Brian, Laura and I decided to brave the line for Chrissy’s Pizza in Greenpoint, which started as a pop up in Bushwick. It opens at 2 and we got in line at 1:30. We had our pie by 2:42 and it was really good—a classic New York pie with very high quality ingredients (50+ hour cold fermented dough, seasoned California & New Jersey tomatoes, pecorino romano, Calabrian oregano, whole milk mozzarella, and a drizzle of olive oil on top). The issue is that I don’t typically have the time or inclination to wait so long for a pizza but perhaps the hours will expand as the team settles into the new space. We took the pies to Reclamation to eat since there’s no seating and again, it’s really good.

Tilden, Dale, and I got brunch at the new location of Smor in Clinton Hill. Make a reservation if it’s a weekend since it’s a small spot. We all got the cheesy eggs with scallions and sourdough and various adds on (I added pickled jalapeños and avocado) and split a few pastries (get the cookies, they are so good).

The bread here was so good!

One of the perks of staying in New York over holidays is getting to eat anywhere you want. That meant a Saturday night reservation at Lilia (go at 4 when they open to snag a spot at the bar for later that night). It was delicious as always—we had focaccia and little gem salad, the mafaldine with pink peppercorns and I got the spicy grilled clams. We saved room for their vanilla gelato with lots of toppings, an excellent end to the meal.

Dale has a newer phone than I do hence how crisp this photo is

Something to read:

Wanna stop eating microplastics? I need to do a black plastic sweep of my kitchen.

The air in subway stations is bad for you. Masking in the subway is good for multiple reasons but this is a huge hazard especially for MTA staff.

How Wicked build immersive real life sets, from Shiz to Emerald City

How queuing for stuff became as important as buying it.

An essay discussing Martha Stewart, Ina Garten and the Lorde and Charli XCX Girl, So Confusing remix. I’m in (via

Chic!

)

My gift guide if you’re in a shopping mood

Jeff Bezos wants AI to design your Thanksgiving turkey via

HEATED

It’s gift guide season! I liked how specific

early bird

’s are (and they have a great section about supporting local artists).

How the Bonne Maman Advent Calendar Became a Hot Commodity. I’ve never gotten an advent calendar but these do seem really fun and the jars are so cute. The concept does involve a fair amount of waste but it’s cool to see how popular flavors from the calendar have made their way to the shelf.

I started Blue Sisters and am very invested.

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This week is the start of holiday party season—Latkes and Vodkas is this weekend and I’m so excited. I hope you have a good one and embrace the chaos of this season!

xo, Abigail