Everything I ate in New York

seared meatloaf patties and a full run down of a dreamy little weekend in the city

I did a quick little trip to New York the other week and let me tell you, I needed that in a way I didn’t even realize. I think I’ve been feeling a bit stuck lately; a bit impatient to get through whatever phase I’m in currently and skip ahead to whatever comes next. Whenever I feel like that I know I need to switch it up. So I booked a train ticket and went to New York City for a couple of days (the perfect amount of time, in my opinion. I’d rather leave a trip wishing I had more time than the opposite).

I visited my friend, Robert, who I used to work with in California. For a chunk of time there, we had matching schedules, and we’d spend one of our days off blowing most of our pay checks on what I thought of as “vacation days”. A vacation day is where you approach a day off as if you were on vacation. This means checking out a coffee shop you’ve wanted to try, a glass of wine with lunch, moseying around a museum, and generally going about things at a leisurely pace. We spent many of them going into San Francisco, walking around Japan town, getting sandwiches from Bi-Rite to eat in Dolores Park, and seeing a movie at The Alamo before checking out a new restaurant or pop up. Over dinner, we’d eat discuss the service, each dish, and why something did or didn’t work. Honestly, we were likely insufferable but it’s so fun to be really into something! And, at the time, we were really into restaurants.

The other weekend felt like traveling back in time to our days off together. We bopped around from Brooklyn to Manhattan and ate so many amazing things. When I’m at home, I prefer cooking to dining out and I don’t tend to keep up with new restaurants. That doesn’t interest me in the same way anymore. But, even though I’ve sort of pointedly let myself fall out of the loop with that stuff, I still love a good restaurant. Now, I don’t care for a high end, coursed-out experience, but a really good neighborhood spot?…that’s my jam. And obviously when in Rome. We had to go out to eat and I left feeling re-inspired about creating my own menus. Below is a run down of what felt like a perfect two days in New York.

Drinks at Hellbender before dinner

68-22 Forest Ave Ridgewood Queens

This bar is owned by the same people that own Rollo’s and Radio Bakery. It’s a funky Tex-Mex inspired restaurant with a great vibe and super crave-able menu. I’d love to go back for dinner but it’s the perfect spot to grab a drink. At the very least i’d like to go back for their happy hour where you get 2 tacos and a damn good margarita for $14. That’s reason enough to go.

What we ordered:

fried Oaxaca cheese with salsa verde

chips and guac

margarita

Dinner at Rolo’s

853 Onderdonk Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385

The perfect neighborhood restaurant. If I lived in New York, I’d be here all the time because the vibe is perfect and there isn’t a bad thing on the menu.

What we ordered:

spicy carrot cocktail (to die for)

hamachi crudo, ginger-lime dressing, radish, apple

wood-fired polenta bread with Calabrian chili butter (get the oregano one instead)

“war style” crispy potatoes (order the sauces on the side!)

leafy greens and herb salad

brown butter apple tart

salted caramel chocolate mousse

passionfruit creme caramel

burnt cinnamon ice cream (you must!!!)

Breakfast at Apollo Bagels

133 N 7th St, Brooklyn, NY 11249

Apparently this place has been popping off on Instagram (as someone who is out of the loop, I’d never heard of it) but some things are popular for a reason. If you live in the city this might just feel like another bagel place but I live in Baltimore where there is exactly one place to get a bagel and it’s…fine, so this was a treat. We went to the Williamsburg location on a Friday around 10 am and there was no line (this makes up for about 50% of what I’m looking for in a dining experience). They make perfectly chewy sourdough bagels. It’s not life changing but it’s pretty damn good and their staff was nice and the space is nice and big with lots of seating. Would absolutely go again.

What we ordered:

sesame bagel with lox

tomato bagel with scallion cream cheese

An afternoon sweet treat at Hani’s Bakery

67 COOPER SQUARE NEW YORK, NY 10003

I loved this place. The space is so cute and everything looked incredible.

What we ordered:

grapefruit tea cake (perfectly bitter, not to sweet)

chocolate chip cookie

banana Bannoffee pudding

peppermint tea

*Brief intermission to see Hard Truths at Lincoln Center*

There are few things I love more than going to a movie and then chatting about it over drinks or dinner. I had never seen one at Lincoln Center before and while it’s not your typical movie theatre experience (the snacks are lacking), the theatre is beautiful and there’s just something special about it. There’s also a cafe attached wherein we got more mint tea for the movie. At this theatre only, skip the popcorn. The movie was incredible. We couldn’t stop talking about it.

Dinner at Cervo’s

43 CANAL STREET New York, NY 10002

Perfect spot for a date…or a loud dinner between 3 friends who haven’t seen each other in awhile and thus spend the whole time sort of furiously speaking over each other. I did the latter and highly recommend. The space is small and so well done with a long bar flanked by high tops and a few cozy booths in the back. It’s a mostly pescatarian menu inspired by Portuguese and Spanish-style tapas. I feel like there was a time when every restaurant adopted a shared small plates format and frankly I’m sort of over it. But, this place reminded me of why everyone started doing that in the first place. They had an extensive sherry list (which I love) and everything we had was delicious. We stayed for a long dinner and it’s definitely pricey but this would be a great stop to grab a drink and a couple bites before a show instead of a full on dinner.

What we ordered:

sherry and soda with olives

crispy shrimp heads (I love a clever menu item and this one doesn’t disappoint)

spanish mackerel with pickled carrots (bomb!)

bombs rice with spinach and razor clams

Louisiana white prawns a la plancha

half chicken with piri piri and french fries

flan de queso

chocolate mousse cake

Breakfast at Agi’s Corner

818 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11225

Another perfect neighborhood restaurant. I’ve been before for dinner but never for breakfast and I had one of my favorite meals I’ve had in awhile. The menu is small and Eastern European inspired. Most notably, I had a tuna melt for the first time (it wasn’t scary at all and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since) and Abbi Jacobson and her wife were eating a couple seats over, which made me feel that all is right in the world.

What we ordered:

Americano with cream

Palacsinta (Hungarian crepes)—Ours were served with whipped farmers cheese and topped with chestnuts and lemon but in the summer they’re apparently even better with fresh fruit.

Confit tuna melt (you must!)

Nokedli soup (chicken broth with Hungarian tear drop pasta and lots of dill)

Quick little snack on the way to the train at King’s Dumpling

74 Hester St, New York, NY 10002

What we ordered:

Fried pork dumplings

Meatloaf Patties with Radicchio Caesar Salad

While my trip left me inspired, it also left me craving some simple home cooked food. For Scratch Made last week we made our classic meatloaf with baked sweet potatoes. I made over 100 portions and to accommodate that, I mix the meatloaf and then portion it into large logs on sheet trays to roast. I love meatloaf and it’s a popular menu item for us at Scratch Made, but it’s something I rarely make at home because I seldom find myself wanting an entire loaf of it lying around. The loaf is great for large format but when scaled down for an at home portion, it poses a problem for getting a nice even crust without overcooking. To combat this, I’m opting instead for a burger format so that I can get a solid sear on them before glazing and finishing in the oven. To cut through the fat, I’m pairing it with another twist on a classic—a radicchio caesar salad.

Meatloaf Patties

Serves about 4

Ingredients:

For the meatloaf:

1 lb ground beef

2 tsp olive oil, plus more for searing the patties

1 onion, roughly chopped if using food processor or grated if not

1 carrot, roughly chopped if using a food processor or grated if not

1 stock celery, roughly chopped if using a food processor or grated if not

1-2 garlic gloves, minced

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 large egg

3 Tbsp Panko bread crumbs

2 Tbsp buttermilk or milk

1 Tbsp fresh parsley (optional)