lucky bee

 

I recently teamed up with Alexandria Geisler, Editorial Director of The Citiphile, to co-host their second Supper Club. Our restaurant of choice was newcomer & hotspot The Lucky Bee, which serves delicious family-style Southeast Asian cuisine. Notable guests included Sandy Laing, Katie Ermilio, Teen Vogue's Andrew Bevan, Phil Oh, La Marque's Valerie Boster, WSJ's Laura Stoloff, and Bow&Arrow's Leslie O'Kelley. Chef Matthew "Matty" Bennett spoke about the new Lower East Side restaurant's Southeast Asian style of cooking while guests dined on papaya salad, smashed cucumbers, steamed pork and sesame dumplings, tuna tartare and several types of curry including green vegetable curry, spiced mussaman lamb curry and king prawn red curry. Drinks, including pitchers of super spicy margaritas with a chili salt rim, flowed freely, as did the laughs and conversation amongst guests. Check out the slideshow & video below for a fun recap of the event!

Flowers: Flowers by Quenna Sanchez (@quennasanchez)

Photography: Katelyn Landis (@katelynrosephoto)

Videography: Eric Isaac (@ericisaac)

Be sure to read our co-host's recap over at The Citiphile as well!

 

betony

 

We got the chance to eat at Betony with my mom when she came to town. The michelin-starred restaurant had been on our must-try list for a while, so we were excited to finally check it off the list. We chose the 4 course meal, but a chef's tasting is also available if you want to go all-out. The food was innovative and unique- even my husband was blown away, which takes a lot! For his entree, he chose the "pig's head for two", and ate it for one. You can see how excited he is about it in the photo above. I love the super high ceilings and attention to detail in the restaurant's design as well. For an unforgettable New York dining experience in midtown, you can't beat it.

 

the ultimate chocolate chip cookies

While my #1 favorite chocolate chip cookie in NYC is from Levain Bakery, another ridiculously delicious option comes from Jacques Torres, who is known as Mr. Chocolate, and for good reason! His cookies are a bit thinner & wider than those from Levain, but they have perfect caramelized, crisp edges with a melty, gooey interior.  I've been on the quest to bake the ultimate chocolate chip cookie at home, and lucky for me, The New York Times has published a recipe based on Jacques Torres' own. Just a heads up, these aren't your quick, easy to throw together cookies. They require both bread and cake flour, and need to be refrigerated for at least 24-36 hours before baking (kudos if you can wait that long without eating all the dough or baking a few cookies early, which may or may not have happened here). But trust me, plan ahead a bit and have the dough ready to go in your refrigerator. The added wait time improves both the flavor & texture of these cookies, so it's definitely worth it. Make sure you find chocolate discs instead of your typical chocolate chips. They are bigger & flatter, and melt in the perfect way in these cookies by creating a whole sheet or layer of chocolate instead of just blobs. A higher quality chocolate, like Guittard, will take these cookies to the next level! You will not be disappointed-I promise- but if you are, I will gladly take them off your hands!

Chocolate Chip Cookies:

  • 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

  • 1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

  • 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

  • 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves

  • sea salt, for sprinkling over cookie dough prior to baking

 

Sift flours, baking powder, baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt into a large bowl; set aside. Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them.

 

Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside. Scoop six 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie.

Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 16-20 minutes. Transfer baking mat or parchment paper to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin. Makes about 18 5" cookies.

*Recipe from The New York Times, adapted from Jacques Torres.

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roberta's

 

Roberta's is always at the top of my list when the craving for a delicious wood-fired pizza hits. The crust is the perfect mix of doughy, chewy & crisp with a slight char. The restaurant be a bit of a trek for some all the way to Bushwick, but I promise that is all part of its charm. While it's easy to focus and fill up solely on their delicious pizzas, definitely do not miss their unique take on vegetables, which vary based on what's fresh and in-season. The dish below, featuring sunchokes, was particularly memorable. If you end up having to wait for a table, which you more than likely will, go sit out back and have a drink at the outdoor bar. 

robertas2.jpg
 

battersby

 

As a wedding present from a good friend of ours, we were treated to dinner for two at the highly acclaimed Battersby. I love that more upscale restaurants featuring innovative menus are popping up in Brooklyn. You have the option of ordering a la carte, or allowing the chef to serve you a spontaneous tasting menu of his choosing, which we were more than happy to indulge in. For this reason, I unfortunately do not have the exact menu, so the photos will have to suffice. One of my favorite little touches, however, was the mini roll of freshly made cookie dough sent home with each guest to bake (or eat raw, oops) later!  The impressive, seasonal & American menu is served in a quaint, rustic space that feels like home. We definitely ate well that night, and I am already looking forward to a return trip soon.

 

16 handles

 
 
 

16 Handles is a bit of a guilty pleasure for my husband and I. It's a little too conveniently located, so if we ever get the craving for frozen yogurt, we immediately walk over. Unfortunately, you pay by weight, and as you can see, our cups are rarely light & dainty. We pile on the various flavors & toppings, filling them to the brim, then head home & dig in on the couch. Some of my go-to flavor picks are graham cracker, peanut butter, coconut, dark chocolate & salted caramel (I'm obviously not good at narrowing it down or making decisions), but I also love their seasonal/artisan flavors like pumpkin, cinnamon doughnut & toasted marshmallow! The macaroon-topped fudge brownies (!), graham cracker crumbs, & chocolate-covered pretzels are my toppings of choice! On our most recent trip- last night!- we discovered what we think is a game-changer: toppings under the fro-yo, so you have a delicious, creamy treat of mix-ins waiting for you at the bottom of the cup! Clearly, we take this very seriously ;)