Snap, crackle, pop: your favorite bowls of cereal

A much needed dose of nostalgia, right this way

Hi friends,

Welcome to This Needs Hot Sauce, a weekly newsletter about cooking, dining out, and making the most of it. We also host monthly events, like our June Happy hour which will be June 27th at the Tuffet. I hosted our first ever happy hour there last year and am so excited to be returning. The Tuffet specializes in wine and cheese and they have a gorgeous backyard. We’ll be there from 6:30 - 8:30 and I hope you can make it!

Now, let’s dive in.

Something to cook:

I’ve been struggling to get back into a cooking routine since returning from Paris and keep returning to a Smitten Kitchen idea. People always ask her what to cook when you don’t feel like cooking and her answer is always not to force it. Eventually, you’ll get a craving for something and get back into the kitchen. I had a really good cookie at Cafe Beit and now I’m thinking about baking this week.

Last week for lunches, I had a spring craving and made a simple asparagus salad. It was chickpeas, steamed asparagus, thinly sliced cucumber, edamame, scallion and cilantro with a lemony mustard dressing. I also love this farro asparagus salad for something warm and filling.

Tilden, Abby and I cooked dinner last week, which was such a treat (we all lived together for a year in college). We made rice with crunchy veggies and tofu, following this recipe and adding fried tofu. It was really good with fresh spring vegetables. We added a little miso to the dressing and made extra to drizzle over the tofu, which is never a bad idea.

I was at my parent’s last night for the Big Little Lies premiere (iconic as always) and they made cauliflower cake, one of my favorite dinners. You need a springform pan but otherwise it’s not too complicated and the leftovers keep really well. I took some home for lunch today.

Speaking of cooking, I wanted to talk about food waste. Before my trip to Paris, I had the chance to attend a workshop on this topic with Adobe Lightroom featuring Chef Jehangir Mehta of Graffiti Earth in Tribeca. I loved his approach to food waste, which really extends beyond the food. He changes his menu daily depending on what they have and works with other restaurants to minimize waste (for example, Dirt Candy makes a broccoli steak with the crown, so they’ll give him the stalks). He doesn’t buy napkins or fancy linens but uses discarded samples from the garment district for an eclectic look. He also uses broken scallops, which are usually discarded, in different dishes and would rather run out of a dish during service than have absurd excess. We also heard from Andrew Scrivani, a photographer who works with the the Times, on how he minimizes waste when shooting food. He has friends around the neighborhood that get leftovers and he doesn’t add inedible elements to the plate so everything can be eaten once it’s shot.

Mehta said that he tries to keep a third world ethos in his kitchens when thinking about waste. Having seemingly endless food available makes it easy to waste without thinking about it. My apartment is not equipped for composting, but I’ve definitely been trying to clean out the fridge and also want to support restaurants and publications that are conscious of their food waste. To use less plastic, I’ve also been saving glass salsa jars and storing nuts and other pantry items in them and I bring my baggu everywhere. Do you have any strategies to reduce food waste or keep a greener kitchen/pantry? I’m all ears.

Something to Order:

Maison Premiere has everything I love: oysters, a garden, and top notch cocktails. Julia and I got to attend their garden opening and it was so lovely! The garden is open till October and even has an awning in case of rain. It was my first time at Maison Premiere and I loved the oysters and crab legs. The servers are all dressed up and every detail is attended to. They make seasonal versions of Pimm’s cups and update the number every time so this current version is the 33rd since the restaurant opened. It can get packed, so try to come on the early side or when the weather is less than stellar. I bet the backyard is really cool when you’re sheltered from the rain.

I’d been wanting to try Gertie for months (I even spoke to the team for a recent story) and Saturday was the perfect time. Julia and I got sandwiches to go and ate them in Domino Park, which was truly ideal. The space itself is gorgeous and I’ll definitely come back and dine in. Julia loved her chicken salad sandwich and I probably wouldn’t order the veggie gyro again, but want to try the mushroom reuben. Vegetarian sandwiches are always tricky.

But the park was great! We even passed a lemonade stand on our way, so refreshing. We of course got Mister Softee after and I was shocked when the guy charged us $5 each. I know inflation is real, but $5 is way too high for a simple cone. Last summer I remember paying $3 or $4.

Dale and I have been big fans of Williamsburg Pizza lately. There’s one between our apartments and we get a few slices to try different toppings. The classic is my favorite and the grandma is also very good.

You guys know I love Win Son, but it always bears repeating. Julia, Lizzi, and I hung out there on Friday night and had the best time. We usually sit at the bar and chat with Jeffrey while we eat all the things: fried eggplant, scallion pancakes, pea shoots, clams with basil, sesame noodles, the street salad with mango. It’s all so good and there’s usually no wait for bar seats during the week. Win Son Bakery is opening this month and I can’t wait to try that and have a Win Son option open all day.

Duck duck is another This Needs Hot Sauce favorite and I’m so excited to announce that Julia is occasionally calling bingo there on Sundays. We played bingo at Duck Duck Swan and she got the gig after that. I helped her out yesterday and it was a lot of fun. It’s usually sundays around 5 so swing by if you’re ever looking for a fun end to the weekend.

Something to read:

An epic tale of transporting lentil soup on the G train

Some more Trader Joe’s reviews for your shopping needs

David Lebovitz came to New York and ate very well

A conversation with the queen of cake

Sad to hear the Rooster in Philly is closing. Their brunch was great and their mission was better.

Always be my maybe and the trap of authentic cooking, plus an interview with the chef who brought the movie’s food to life.

I still need to visit Contramar but I loved reading more about Gabriela Camara and am so excited for her project with Jessica Koslow.

Surprise, they make natural wines in the northeast too.

I met the writer behind this story at an event last week and had to share it. The Ophelia is an art deco bar with a feminist past.

An interview/stealth cookbook deal announcement from Molly Baz of Bon Appetit

Krista Scruggs is making the wine of the future.

How Big Little Lies made the perfect Monterey coffee shop.

For Eater, I wrote about the tools and techniques chefs use to make eggs.

Now, let’s talk about your favorite cereals. This was a fun one and with cereal it’s very clear that milk matters (how much, what kind, when it’s added, etc)! Now, can you get through reading this without craving a bowl?

Erica loves cinnamon toast crunchhh (with whole milk)

Hannah likes when the cereal is poured in before the milk. Or cap’n crunch.

Angela loves half reese’s puffs half plain cheerios with ice cold almond milk.

Kayli keeps it simple with Cheerios!

Liza loves Frosted Flakes with 2% milk.

Emily loves cocoa pebbles.

Jessica wants Frosted Flakes, with milk in a glass where it belongs. 

Natalie felt bold and threw Raisin Bran crunch and oat milk into the ring!

Nicole feels v strongly about Cinnamon Toast Crunch and also honey bunches of oats or special K (we’ve eaten so much late night cereal together).

My mom loves oatmeal for hot cereal and mixes honey bunches of oats and quaker squares together for something cold.

Hayley loves lucky charms but hasn’t had cereal in years. RIP.

Julianne also needs to get back on the horse. She hasn’t had cereal in months.

Gaby loves Cap crunch

and Delia loves lucky charms.

Thank you so much for weighing in! If you eat any cereal this week, please tag me on IG. I ate some honey bunches of oats yesterday and enjoyed every bite. This week, let’s talk about your favorite picnic food (or drink)! Sandwiches are pretty unbeatable, but there are so many foods that taste great outdoors. On Saturday, I saw people making aperol spritzes in the park, so the sky’s the limit.

Happy eating and thanks for reading! Hope to see you on the 27th!

xo, Abigail