Your Summer Ice Cream Bucket List
Hi friends,
Welcome to This Needs Hot Sauce (And Other Food Thoughts), a newsletter sharing something to cook, somewhere to eat out, and something to read. I'm a native New Yorker who spends far too much time thinking and reading about food. I love helping people find better things to eat and solving problems, so let me know how I can help.
My schedule has totally changed in the last month and I'm still working on finding a balance: keeping a routine and giving myself time (and permission) to pursue pleasure and have fun. Planning to work on that this week, with the help of ice cream and I hope you'll join me.
Let's dive in.
Something to cook:
One reality of cooking is that you can combine a lot of flavorful ingredients and still make something that tastes bland. Dressings (and seasonings) are lifesavers on this and one I lean heavily on is a sesame peanut dressing from Cookie and Kate.
Here's what you'll need to make it:
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3 tablespoons soy sauce (I buy the low sodium)
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 lime, juiced
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Mix this in a bowl (a large cereal bowl fits it all) with a fork until smooth. Go slowly at first to incorporate the peanut butter and avoid making a mess. Now add this to a (non lettuce based) salad of your choice and eat well for days. It's a pretty thick dressing and will absorb nicely and shouldn't get soggy.
I poured it over a mixture of quinoa, red cabbage, sugar snap peas (steamed really quickly), and carrot (I used a peeler to make little cute ribbons). Right before you eat, add your toppings: cilantro, scallions, peanuts, chili garlic sauce, sesame seeds, avocado, etc. If you're bringing this to the office, use a mini container or ziploc to store these, the crunch is worth it. The sky is the limit. Happy lunching.
Really inspired to make chilaquiles for brunch a la Deb.
I'm testing some recipes for Serena, a blogger writing her second cookbook and made a lovely green farro salad for this week. I can't share the recipe yet but this one is pretty similar and you should definitely buy some farro (and make this salad and this one pot wonder)
Something to order:
First for our weekly coffee dispatch:
Burly Coffee is still spacious and lovely - it's a short bus ride from my place which is a good reminder to use buses, especially in the middle of the day.
I also make coffee at home, in a french press, and recently bought a bag of Whole Foods' Volcan blend, purely because the name reminded me of Guatemala. It's really good and also one of the cheapest they sell.
News you can use: There's a space in the basement of the Lululemon on 17th and 5th with free wifi and space for working and meetings. It's called the Hub and they also host events. On the day I visited, there was even leftover breakfast from said event. Just walk into the store and head down the staircase by the men's clothes on the left.
Finally used a punchcard at Toby's and had the most delicious iced latte.
Now, on to the foods,
I would never categorize Midtown East as European feeling, which is why Le Bateau Ivre feels so special. It's a gorgeous french wine bar with all the cheese you could hope for. Shireen and I spent a fabulous evening catching up over wine, a cheese plate, endive salads, and profiteroles. It really felt like a vacation. The windows were open, the little cafe tables barely fit three plates, and you're encouraged to linger. I walked in at six and the man next to me had just ordered a creme brulee, on a Tuesday. I'll say no more.
Taboonette continues to be my favorite quick and casual meal around Union Square. There's always room to sit and it's not a chain (though it could be and I would welcome one in Brooklyn). I always get the kruveet and also love their shakshuka. My cousin Hannah came to hang for her senior skip day and loved the falafel and tangerine lemonade.
Enjoyed a lovely spring happy hour with Delia at Flex Mussels. They have a great deal until 7 on a pot of mussels served with fries and bread plus a beer. We got the spicy tomato fra diavola version and it's a ton of food, perfect for sharing. The spicy tequila drink (actual name) is also a winner.
I feel very lucky that two of my favorite places to order takeout from are also extremely pleasant to dine in. Sage Thai has great curry (get the green one) and a beautiful backyard. The cashew stirfry is another crowd favorite. Bring a crowd or eat on your couch.
Los Tacos McOndo is damn near perfect. The restaurant itself has drinks, free chips and salsa and cool decor and they deliver extremely quickly as well. I usually get the veggie tacos and also love the cemitas. On Saturday, they were inexplicably playing Saturday Night Fever, which provided an interesting backdrop to dinner.
In an example of everything I love coming together, I got to drink spicy tequila in the backyard of a hot sauce shop. Tyler's friends own the Heatonist, a specialty hot sauce store, and they occasionally throw parties. I also tried their Queens hot sauce (gotta rep) and will be back for more. Stay spicy, my friends.
Dispatch from Baltimore: Julia spent the weekend there and recommends a steamed bun fried chicken sandwich from local fave Ekiben. Full of lots of pickled things and spicy mayo, it's hangover food heaven.
Something to read:
A funny thread of salad ideas
How Ferrero Rocher chocolates became a status symbol in immigrant communities (I used to buy these for friends in Guatemala)
Relatable: A lactose intolerant writer's love for dairy.
This story: She was a Soul Food Sensation—Then 19 years ago, she disappearedjust won a James Beard Award. Definitely worth a read.
Really good advice, to write a cookbook or do almost anything else
MSG prejudice is real
Antoni from Queer Eye is writing a cookbook and I'm thrilled for him. In other Queer Eye news, Jonathan's podcast is very good.
This spring 2018 home shopping guide is fun and beautiful and just look at the kitchen
MeMe's, a queer diner in Prospect Heights, looks so good
Trader Joe's launched a podcast!
So many fun facts in this piece about Dominos' relationship with its biggest fans. Did you know you can register at Domino's?
Roman pizza is everywhere, but is it actually easier to digest? Do we care?
How cashews cured my anxiety, well not really, but they can help
On food issues and food writing, and answering the question "where does it all go?"
A hot take: The Bay Area's best dining scene isn't San Francisco
The best part of a trip is doing nothing
Yellow Fever: not a good name for a restaurant at Whole Foods
This podcast interview, of Deb from Smitten Kitchen by Serious Eats' Ed Levine, is a treat. Save for a particularly trying subway ride and look out for part two next week
This is a lot – The founder of Moon Juice in LA had a wedding cake laced with sex dust
sweetgreen's grand plan to get people to eat healthy / make all the $ involves lots of data tracking
I had no idea that lasagna was a staple on the Ethiopian table.
Why it's okay to bake with skim milk
So 2018: What it's like to work at the Museum of Ice Cream
Shake Shack is not going cashless after all
I saw this cheese cake on Eva Chen's instagram story and it's epic. Looking to make a cheese plate? Your guide is here.
Now for the moment you've all been waiting for: Your Summer 2018 Ice Cream Bucket List
I created a Foursquare list based on all of your suggestions. Is your favorite spot missing? Reply to this email and I'll add it.
In New York:
My favorite flavor is pistachio!! Has to be green I love all ice cream places, bring me Baskin Robbins, I'll eat it. My favorite, though, is Morgenstern's in New York City or Fudge n Stuff in Montauk, NY. They have banging fudge and the N stuff is ice cream.- Amanda
Ample hills Ooey Gooey Butter Cake ice cream is the best - Zoe
Banana ice cream with hot fudge from Eddie's! Also going to the Baskin Robbins and Leah using hand sanitizer even though we were eating out of a cup - Anjali
Coffee ice cream at Eddie's - Karen (I prefer coffee chip but they're both incredible).
My fave place is Sundaes and Cones. Can't go wrong with any of the flavors - Lina
Egg tart at Chinatown Ice Cream Factory and lavender at Sundaes and Cones. Also honeycomb, Earl grey, and black sesame ash at Van Leeuwan and ice cream sandwiches from Maman (they use McConnell's ) - Sophia
Corn ice cream from Sundaes and Cones. Been eating that shit religiously since 07 - Rosanna
So excited to go back to Uncle Louie G's off the Graham stop for some cannoli Italian ices again. It's so fun to walk there after sunset when it's warm out. My go-to order at Mister Softee after a long hot day in the park is a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate. -Julianne
Living walking distance from Emack & Bolio's is extremely dangerous for me. Their Stoney's Dream flavor is perfect! I also love Davey's because they have the optimal chocolate chip ratio, in that there are lots of little bits of chips in every bite. -Hillary
Ample Hills above all - Ben
California:
Balboa bar with chocolate ice cream, perfect for true chocoholics - David
Talking California, earl grey from Ici's in Berkeley - Sophia
If it's nice out and I'm near Dolores Park, I go to the Bi-Rite Soft Serve window which always has a shorter line. If you're in luck, they have a caramelized banana and peanut butter swirl cone - Isa
At your house:
Coffee!!! and pistachio gelato! stracciatella gelato - Nicole (YES)
Talenti raspberry sorbet is my queen - Alicia
My favorite ice cream is a paleta preparada which in the states I make with a Whole Foods brand mango popsicle covered in chamoy and tajin (Noah prepared it amazingly). - Isa
Elsewhere:
Philly: Vanilla from Bassetts in the Reading Terminal!! my favorite since birth - Molly
Joey's custard on Sanibel Island has a flavor called The Everything and I had it on Friday and I'm getting it again tonight. Heath bar + brownie + cookies + cream = Sandra Jackpot. - Sandra
Hoffman's in Point Pleasant: Nothing screams the perfect end to an ideal day down the shore like a scoop of Hoffman's homemade cookie dough ice cream. I'm drooling just thinking about it. It's open year-round so there are definitely days I'll stop by on a cold January afternoon. - Allison
In Nashville, Jeni's is a great chain and the Pied Piper is a local spot with lactaids for sale in case you forget. - Leah
Any flavor from Royal Treat in Rehobeth - Karen
Thanks so much to everyone who shared their ice cream favorites. We're in for a sweet summer.
The full list (plus a few bonus favorites) is on Foursquare to use all summer long.
Next week, we're talking about cooking in hot apartments. Reply to this email with your favorite oven-free ideas while I wait for my AC to be reinstalled.
Happy eating and thanks for reading.
xo,
Abigail