The one where some dreams come true, plus duck duck Swan
What a week!
Hi friends,
Welcome to This Needs Hot Sauce, a weekly newsletter about cooking, dining out, and making the most of it.
First off, I want to announce May’s event, in collaboration with Julianne from How to Be Broke in New York. We’re hosting duck duck Swan on May 19th. It’s a $10 vinyasa class at 3:30pm at Swan’s Nest Yoga followed by special happy hour prices and free pizza at duck duck! Space is limited for the class so go sign up now and then finish reading this! All are welcome at happy hour, which will start at 5. Register here and find some balance with your yoga practice and a drink or two!
Now let’s dive in.
Something to cook:
Did I cook last week? Um, barely. It was passover so I ate lots of yogurt for breakfast and leftovers for lunch. I did recap your cooking adventures on Instagram which is my favorite way to start the week (check the cooking recap highlight for ideas).
I made a classic low effort lunch situation where I bought a sweet potato, a bunch of broccoli and an avocado. I roasted the sweet potato (cut in quarters), the broccoli and a can of chickpeas and ate that in various combinations for a few days.
Julia and I made our go-to fried rice. I swear by the life hack of buying takeout rice. It’s a $1.50 near me and saves so much time.
Hillary, Julianne, Julia and I made these lettuce wraps for dinner and they’re delicious as always. It’s a great dish to make with friends cause there are lots of little jobs. Someone can handle tofu, someone can do the mango salsa, and someone can make the peanut sauce and prep the cabbage/lettuce. That way it comes together quickly.
Nicole came into town for a few days (such a treat two weeks in a row!) and we made a real “passover is over” dish: this baked pasta. It turned out really well and is quick to assemble. We skipped the blue cheese cause that flavor is aggressive and added some peas plus a zippy kale salad. I had the leftovers for lunch and feel so lucky.
One more recipe to suggest: this popcorn which Carla Lalli Music herself made last week at the Bon Appetit offices (pinch me!). Nutritional yeast is so nice and savory on popcorn. I have a bag from Trader Joe’s that has lasted forever. I was invited to the premiere of the Making Perfect video series which was so much fun. I'm excited to watch the rest of it, especially the one where Carla and Molly go to Italy to make cheese.
Something to order:
I finally took Dale to Calabrije’s, one of my favorite spots for margaritas and tacos. I wrote about them last summer and have since become a semi-regular. I love the gorditas and any of the spicy margaritas on the rocks.
After dinner, we stopped at the social justice themed Starr Bar, which is very Bushwick (the cocktail menu includes The Green New Deal) but also supports great causes. Plus, it’s very spacious and becomes a dance party after 11.
Nicole, Julia, Alexis and I wrapped up the weekend at M Shanghai. I live for their spicy vegetable wontons with peanut sauce and it’s an extremely chill restaurant for a group. I’d call ahead on a Saturday but you can usually get a table.
Lillie was in town and we got a delicious Passover brunch at Miriam in Park Slope. All their egg dishes are the same price and they let us sub matzo for pita (sad). I loved the Israeli breakfast with Israeli salad, potatoes, labneh and eggs and you must request some of their housemade hot sauce.
Julia and I are going on two years in our neighborhood and are fully obsessed with so many of the local spots. Case in point: We went to Swan’s Nest for yoga, made a friend after complimenting her leggings (hi, Addie!), and then all got dinner at Win Son. Passover made it a little tricky but there’s lots to love, like the summer street salad and the smashed cucumbers. I’ll be back soon for the clams with basil. Also Win Son bakery is opening in May and I can’t wait.
Finally, we had an absolutely delightful happy hour at the Pinkerton! It was my 12th event and one of my favorites. Thank you to everyone who showed up, stayed late, brought friends, made friends, and tried an oyster for the first time. You can see what went down in Oyster highlight on Instagram. I do these events to bring people together and celebrate my favorite places in the city and it makes my week to see people I’ve known for anywhere from 10 years to 2 days all chatting together like old friends. Hope to see you all at duck duck Swan!
Something to read:
Usual links forthcoming, but I attended the James Beard Media Awards and need to tell you all about it. I was invited to attend by Visit Philly, the tourism board for my fave city and found out a week before. This event is the Oscars of the food world, giving awards for both media and restaurants (those are in Chicago). Like all prestigious institutions, it has a big diversity issue and nominees tend to come from the same few outlets. The awards were a huge dinner at Chelsea Piers and Tyra Banks was the MC. Hello, dreams come true after a childhood watching ANTM reruns. I’m struggling to describe the night because I was on a total adrenaline high, but here’s what was most impactful: seeing all the people I’ve read, watched, and looked up to for so long as real, nervous humans working to tell stories. It’s thrilling to see Samin and Ruth Reichl and Jessica B. Harris, who has been in the industry since 1983 and won her first award this year, Alton Brown and JJ Johnson and all the big editors in a room together. The absences of Anthony Bourdain, Jonathan Gold, and Fatima Ali were also keenly felt.
Since I’m freelance, I usually see no analytics and it’s hard to see who your stories reach. But Robert Siestema from Eater NY recognized my name from my byline and that made my day. There was so much energy (and anxiety) in that room as winners were announced. It was incredible fuel for my second year of working in this field, which for all of its issues and challenges (I literally got a pitch rejection email while writing this), still feels like a dream. Also this happened.
I’m so grateful to Visit Philly for inviting me. Philly chefs handled the delicious food. Two highlights were the black and white cookies from Essen and the pretzel bagel from Melissa Funke Weller and Ellen Yin at High Street on Hudson.
On Sunday, I attended a very different food event: The Food Writers Workshop by Food Write Work. It was great to see Noor and Angely there. The panels were so honest and inclusive and it was a dynamic room to be in. This happened largely because the organizers made the conference very accessible (tickets were $16 and sold out quickly). The entire conference was recorded if you’re curious and there are some great snippets on their twitter feed. Also putting this out there because you never know.
Now for your regularly scheduled reads…
The Philly love is always growing and I’m so excited to try Michael Solomonov’s three new upcoming restaurants.
I love this #longread on Georgian food, which I have been into since the third issue of this newsletter. Related: the issue with calling a cuisine the next big thing.
Would you put broccoli in a breakfast sandwich?
Easy family dinners (roommates and friends count as family)
9 things that have made me a calmer, better cook.
I’ve definitely noticed this trend of making diners uses scissors, especially at Barano where the scissors are not very lefty friendly.
Meet the blogger who tests hundreds of internet recipes to find the best ones.
Dorie Greenspan’s home office looks lovely.
What would the dragons on Game of Thrones actually eat? (Whatever they want…)
How climate change is affecting coffee farmers in El Salvador.
I have zero interest in visiting Hudson Yards and the prices at these restaurants are one of the reasons why.
As someone who has done goat yoga, this totally checks out: America’s new pastime is milking goats.
How things besides wine became rosé flavored. Pink is pretty.
Going to look for this margarita mix next time I fly.
Subway’s new tuna sandwich is made out of facebook.
Calling all Wegmans fans. What does it mean to stan a grocery store?
Eater’s package on Mexican food in the US is worth exploring fully, but this article on New York’s actually good tacos is a great place to start.
Inside the unexpected humanity of a Taco Bell hiring party.
The Fly looks like a cool restaurant where a vegetarian could eat an entirely liquid dinner.
I wrote about Ovenly’s new production space in Bushwick and their upcoming expansion.
My friend Erica got a kitchen makeover from Tarn and the team at BuzzFeed Nifty. The results are very cute.
Now, let’s talk about pizza! I asked you for your favorite pizzas and have a long list of spots to try in New York and beyond.
Zoe is one of my trusted pizza sources: By the pie is OBVIOUSLY Rubirosa's tie dye pizza. But NY Pizza Suprema on 31st and 8th is the best by the slice. No bite is without a topping and shout-out to their meatball slice and upside down Sicilian. I have no other opinions on other pizza joints bc I only frequent these 2 establishments unless desperate times call for desperate measures at 2am...
Hilary with the Boston rec: My favorite pizza is the mushroom fontina pizza on sourdough crust fired in the wood fire ovens of Area Four in Cambridge (an Obama lunch spot several years ago). It is finished with parsley and lemon zest (!!), which is the perfect little kiss.
Jessica knows Queens pizza rules: I grew up in Howard Beach, so New Park has ruined me for all other regular slices/pies. The sauce has just the right amount of sweetness.
Alicia is a lucky daughter: My mom (who subscribes, hi Carolyn) makes BOMB pizza. What we call grandma style in nyc, but at home it was just homemade pizza on Friday nights. I don't know the recipe off the top of my head, but truly it was a special part of my childhood.
Hillary makes me want to take the Q all the way to the end: Totonno's in Coney Island is the best pizza and is 100% worth the schlep.
My dad got a little philosophical: As for my favorite pizza…I learned long ago that there definitely is such a thing as bad pizza. Having learned that and with Original Pizza closed (RIP), my favorite pizza is usually my next one!
Kendra loves Upside Pizza which I really need to try. She works with them, “but as a genuine food lover before I was a publicist, it really is so good :)”
Addies loves Archies (YES!)
Brielle loves Posto in Somerville, MA. Every time I visit my aunt & uncle take me there b/c I love it so much.
Manola makes me want to go back to Mama’s Too for the Cacio e Pep slice
This week, I want to talk about airport eating and drinking. Summer travel is coming fast and I want to hear about your memorable delays, favorite airplane snacks, how lounges work (have never experienced the magic), and go to drink order (I swear seltzer tastes better in the sky). You can read about my Nashville airport bar crawl for ideas and reply to this email with stories!
Hope to see you at duck duck Swan (sign up here)!
Happy eating and thanks for reading.
xo, Abigail
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