Nazaré | Portugal

Nazaré is magic. Look how much fun we all had! 

Lunch on Praia do Nazaré at A Deriva Beach Bar then Gelatomania for espresso and gelato.

Beach walk on Praia do Norte (the famous surf, but we're in the off season.)

9.10.23

Russ & Daughters Cafe | Lower East Side, NYC

From the legendary, century-old Lower East Side Jewish food shop on East Houston Street comes a shiny, fresh faced with retro vibes café serving Jewish comfort food. The bathed in white space gets pops of color from the food products in the light box wall shelving. Carrara marble table tops, comfy vinyl booths, a baked-enamel counter, herringbone floors, and vintage photographs set the scene with which I was completely enamored. 

This weekend in its entirety I was in a constant state of: New York City's Lower East Side - where have you been all my life?

Bob, Leah, Alex and I stayed in the neighborhood at my friends one bedroom + lofted office + roof accessible 6th floor walk up. We scored a free parking spot (thank you Passover), had a beer on the roof deck with sweeping city views, spent the night with friends at various speakeasys and hidden-past-the-kitchen back bars, all while ensuring the night didn't get the best of us (in bed before 2 am). The next morning we were hangover free. Strolling around in the sun soaked streets as the neighborhood awoke, (with a Jewish Deli in mind) we wandered upon Russ & Daughters Café. After a 45 minute wait, we thoroughly enjoyed a feast of everything quintessentially Jewish. Fluffy potato and caramelized onion with pungent mustard Knishes ($8). Blintzes ($8) with sweet fruit compote and tangy sour cream. Perfectly sliced, luxuriously oily Gaspe Nova smoked salmon on The Classic Board ($16) (bagel, cream cheese, tomato, red onion, capers) and the Scottish smoked version among poached eggs, hollandaise and spinach over Challah on the Eggs Benny ($18).

Russ & Daughters Café
127 Orchard Street (nr Delancey)
 New York, NY 10002

Poogan's Porch | Charleston

The ladies and I had a fabulous lowcountry lunch at Poogan's Porch; located on charming Queen Street in an elegantly restored Victorian mansion. We started with a basket of warm, fluffy buttermilk biscuits and classic Aviation martinis (gin, maraschino liquor, creme de violette, lemon). We also shared an order of their lust-worthy pimento cheese fritters ($7) with green tomato chutney.

The Fried Green Tomato BLT ($12) comes overflowing with gorgeously fried - super crispy green tomatoes, a crab meat remoulade, apple wood smoked bacon and arugula. Easily, this one takes the spot for best BLT I've ever had. No one does Buttermilk Fried Chicken ($14) like they do in the south, and Poogan's rendition is splendid with sage herbed pan gravy and simple, well executed sides of whipped potatoes and collard greens. 

This was a meal I won't soon forget. Embodying all the classic Southern charm there is, definitely have a meal here (they do brunch, lunch and dinner) when visiting Charleston! 

Poogan's Porch

72 Queen Street

Charleston, SC 29401

whole garden dinner | Alden & Harlow

The ladies and I planned our August get together at Alden & Harlow for a Whole Garden Dinner; a summer dinner series which featured a produce-centric menu from a different local farm each Tuesday. The chef's preparations on this evening beautifully showcased the bounty of fruits and vegetables from The Food Project farms. 

Seated comfortably in a gray booth and thick leather chairs set against the restaurants leafy green live wall, we opted in for the wine pairings starting with pink bubbly from France: NV Cote Mas Cremant de Limoux a Brut Rose chardonnay/pinot noir blend. (See the rest of the wines, below)

 To begin the feast: Pickles! Then, plates of Fried Shishitos with anchovy and grated egg yolk and a gorgeous Vegetable Crudite with Bagna Cauda (a garlic and anchovy infused olive oil for dipping.) The Bagna Cauda was a sensational compliment to the french radishes, snap peas, heirloom tomatoes and slivers of summer squash and zucchini. We had so many vegetables between the ten of us, I got to take a large portion of that plate home and I made an incredible salad with it the next evening. Vegetables that beautiful could not be wasted.

Next arrives heaping vegetarian plates of Stewed Pole Beans and Seared Japanese Eggplant which is insanely good with crumbles of sheeps milk cheese, basil, fregola and garlic. The pole beans proved flavorful and hearty with cherry tomatoes and torn crouton hunks. 

After we polished off the second course a platter of Grilled Potatoes smothered in Za'atar aioli with a pickled pepper and corn relish and a Kale Creste de Gallo with egg and fresh milled tomato grace us. The grilled potatoes were tasty but the Kale pasta overcooked and soggy. The latter plates outshined these. 

For the finale a dreamy Apricot Parfait with cardamom cream. It was perfect!  

Alden & Harlow brilliantly showcased the freshness of the farms produce, inventively dressing them up and incorporating flavors that shined. They expertly paired them with delicious wines. Bravo! 

See my first Alden & Harlow post here.