TICM in Greenwich is dangerously close to our summer camp house and we stop by every chance we get. A favorite of mine is the Almond Joy Ice Cream (coconut ice cream with chocolate chips and almonds) but since we had a Living Social coupon, J & I decided to indulge a bit and went for a couple pints. Bordeaux Cherry (cherry amaretto ice cream with almonds and fresh cherries) and Mochacinno coffee ice cream for J. Not only is it locally made, but TICM also uses local, seasonal ingredients when it can like the hand melons, blueberries, and strawberries from the Hand Melon Stand right down the street. Rich and creamy, this ice cream hits the spot every time.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Scooped
TICM in Greenwich is dangerously close to our summer camp house and we stop by every chance we get. A favorite of mine is the Almond Joy Ice Cream (coconut ice cream with chocolate chips and almonds) but since we had a Living Social coupon, J & I decided to indulge a bit and went for a couple pints. Bordeaux Cherry (cherry amaretto ice cream with almonds and fresh cherries) and Mochacinno coffee ice cream for J. Not only is it locally made, but TICM also uses local, seasonal ingredients when it can like the hand melons, blueberries, and strawberries from the Hand Melon Stand right down the street. Rich and creamy, this ice cream hits the spot every time.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
NY Farm 2 Door Food Truck
I'm looking forward to expanding my lunch choices but my eye, and stomach, was on the NY Farm 2 Door Food Truck. Not that that a burger was a healthy choice, but the fact that it was made with locally sourced and farm-raised beef made me feel better about my
food choices. I'm loving seeing more restaurants and now food trucks in Albany committed to using sustainable and seasonal ingredients from our local NYS farms. It just makes me feel better knowing where my food comes from. Back to the burger; NYF2D uses 100% grassfed beef that is dry aged for 40 days. At $6.50, it was very reasonably priced for the quality of the product. While on the smaller side, compared to the ginormous ones at CityBeer Hall, this burger was just the right portion for lunch and satisfying. It had a nice charred crust and was well-seasoned. I opted for maple-pickled jalapenos which gave the burger just the right kick. My only gripe is that I like my burger towards the medium-rare side.
food choices. I'm loving seeing more restaurants and now food trucks in Albany committed to using sustainable and seasonal ingredients from our local NYS farms. It just makes me feel better knowing where my food comes from. Back to the burger; NYF2D uses 100% grassfed beef that is dry aged for 40 days. At $6.50, it was very reasonably priced for the quality of the product. While on the smaller side, compared to the ginormous ones at CityBeer Hall, this burger was just the right portion for lunch and satisfying. It had a nice charred crust and was well-seasoned. I opted for maple-pickled jalapenos which gave the burger just the right kick. My only gripe is that I like my burger towards the medium-rare side.
I can't wait to try the maple dusted doughnut holes, they're fried in pork fat! I'm sure a nice healthy salad with organic greens will balance those calories out. The lunch chronicles to be continued as I hit up the rest of food trucks and vendors at the Empire State Plaza this summer.
Friday, June 14, 2013
The New World Bistro Bar
NWBB prides itself in utilizing local, seasonal foods but also incorporates global flavors that give that unique twist that we love, especially Asian flavors. We love New World so much we're considering using their catering for our wedding. Perfect for blending my Asian family's palette with J's Irish American family's taste.
With each season comes a different menu and sometimes that means favorites like the Korean BBQ pork belly burrito doesn't stick around for long. However, it gives way to reincarnated dishes like the Korean Steak and Eggs. This delicious bowl of Creekstone all natural prime beef skewers, kim chee stew, Korean BBQ and local pea shoots with poached eggs captured those flavors that we were craving.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Trader Joe's Treasures
Trader Joe's is one those places where it's dangerous to shop when hungry. But it's also the best place for snack attacks! I love it when TJ's features new products, and usually they are unique enough for me to want to try at least once. I'm a sucker for pretty packaging and different flavors. Case in point: Beurre Meuniere Popcorn and Cheddar & Horseradish Potato Chips. If you love wasabi peas, the cheddar & horseradish is a pretty good alternative. That horseradish is sinus clearingly good and who doesn't love ruffled chips?
The Beurre Meuniere Popcorn on the other hand, more of a one time snack for me. What is beurre meuniere? It's a brown butter sauce with lemon and thyme and parsley. On popcorn, it tasted too much like boxed stuffing. As much as I love the Thanksgiving staple, it didn't quite work out here. I'd say stick to the cheddar and caramel popcorn.
While I haven't had much luck with any of the Trader Joe's ice creams (too average and odd textures), I'm absolutely obsessed with Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream. Although not a TJ brand product, it needs to be shared. Haven't heard of mochi? It's an Asian dessert made with rice flour that's like a marshmallow. You might have seen it in the toppings bar of most fro yo places. It's not too sweet and has a fun chewy but soft texture. Most times you'll see mochi stuffed with red bean paste, but with ice cream it's the perfect summer treat! Some green tea ice creams have a bitter taste but this one is perfect and creamy. These mochi ice cream bites are addicting. It also comes in mango, strawberry, and chocolate flavors. Pick up a box, or two, this summer. -R
The Beurre Meuniere Popcorn on the other hand, more of a one time snack for me. What is beurre meuniere? It's a brown butter sauce with lemon and thyme and parsley. On popcorn, it tasted too much like boxed stuffing. As much as I love the Thanksgiving staple, it didn't quite work out here. I'd say stick to the cheddar and caramel popcorn.
While I haven't had much luck with any of the Trader Joe's ice creams (too average and odd textures), I'm absolutely obsessed with Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream. Although not a TJ brand product, it needs to be shared. Haven't heard of mochi? It's an Asian dessert made with rice flour that's like a marshmallow. You might have seen it in the toppings bar of most fro yo places. It's not too sweet and has a fun chewy but soft texture. Most times you'll see mochi stuffed with red bean paste, but with ice cream it's the perfect summer treat! Some green tea ice creams have a bitter taste but this one is perfect and creamy. These mochi ice cream bites are addicting. It also comes in mango, strawberry, and chocolate flavors. Pick up a box, or two, this summer. -R
Monday, June 10, 2013
Montreal Poutine Truck
Not too long ago I had written about authentic French Canadian poutine here in Albany (link to post here). Come to find out, Shirley's Cafe in Jonesville shortly and unexpectedly closed as soon as I wrote that post. Noooo. It was already sad enough that Montreal Poutine had a short run in Crossgates Mall. While we frequented the Mall stop on a semi-regular basis, I can see why they closed. The poutine was never consistent; fries were soggy, not enough salt in the gravy, lacked flavor but the squeaky cheese curd flavor was always spot on. Disappointed that two of our closest Canadian poutine had closed, we almost came to terms that the only way we would ever get great poutine would be to visit my family in Montreal. Then, we saw the light at the end of the poutine tunnel in the form of a shiny yellow truck...
Labels:
cheese curd,
food truck,
fries,
gravy,
montreal,
poutine,
smoked meat
Location:
Albany, NY, USA
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Cats, Breakfast and Popovers
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
What's For Lunch?
Working in Downtown Albany is dangerous--dangerously delicious! I'm surrounded by too many options for lunch, not that it's a problem. I'm terrible at eating the leftovers that I bring for lunch and more than often opt to eat out, especially when it's beautiful outside so I can walk to lunch and walk off those calories from lunch. I'm mostly broke because I don't like to sit at my desk and I'd rather spend my precious lunch hour with a slider than staring at my computer screen. Plus office gossip time and wedding planning with my friend and colleague is worth that $10 expense.
My lunch criteria are quick, tasty bites in the $10 range. Here are a few (ok, more than a few) of my favorite Downtown Albany lunch spots:
Labels:
albany,
downtown,
food trucks,
greek,
healthy cafe,
kinnaree,
lunch,
salad,
sandwiches,
sliders,
slidin dirty,
thai,
wraps
Location:
24 Eagle Street, Albany, NY 12207, USA
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