My Computer is Broken ....

... but a dear soul has lent me his spare computer till I get my external hard drive secured and a new computer to reboot. In the meantime, I'll be posting without pics, but stay with me and they'll re-appear shortly!

Girl Meets Grocery Store

Living in New York City, I've gotten used to seeing the same bags all the time. Macy's, Strawberry, Forever 21, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, M&M's World, and Zabars are the main ones. Some of them are places I shop at, too, but some of them I lump together as a spot on the tourist map (namely, M&M's World- since when did M&Ms become a hobby anyway?).

When I saw Zabars bags, I thought the same thing. A New York kosher grocery store, but not much more than that.

Boy, was I wrong. So wrong.

I went there for the first time on Tuesday and my mouth dropped open. My pulse raced and I felt giddy. I suddenly had the urge to call every girlfriend in my address book and make them guess where I was. It was the food version of meeting that special someone. I am still smiling, just thinking about it.

To give you an illustration, here is a shot of their cheese department, or a sliver of it:

That's probably only about 15% of just the cheese department. My heart.

Upstairs are kitchen tools and gizmos in a space the size of a city block. Thank goodness I am moving and left my credit card at home.

If my pride didn't get the best of me while I was trying to maintain decorum, I would have taken more photos. Instead, I ran around drooling over everything and trying not to touch anything I wasn't serious about buying. (My fave thing is poking soft cheese through the saran wrap, trying to imagine how much oozier it will get at room temp.)

And look! A little bit of heaven from home- Point Reyes' Cowgirl Creamery.

I'm glad I've learned to never again judge a bag by its cover. But visitors, please skip M&M's World and just go here instead!

A Tribute to June Brides

It kills me when Sammy plays with my curtains. Kills me.

Want to know why?

Because of this:

And this:

That is all.

Chicken, Waffles, and Heaven on Earth

Friends who truly know and love you will often know and love your favorite food. Last week, two of Brooklyn's newest tenants took me out in their new neighborhood of Carroll Gardens.

Two words: Buttermilk Channel.

I'm a beer girl, but the guys had a Westlake and a Fair Harbor. And then the food started coming.

Melt in your mouth popovers:

Grilled flatbread:

Green tomato soup with grilled cheese:

And my entree, fried chicken with cheddar waffles. Oh my goodness.

Dandelion salad:

Abe got the veggie waffle plate:

May I please have an extra tub of syrup?

No, really.

When I'm with these boys, there's always room for dessert. Even when there isn't.

I'm not really sure what was in front of me, I just ate it. Caramelized banana bread pudding.

I will house-sit for these boys any day or night to be this close to perfect chicken.

A Brooklyn Surprise 30th

My friend needed a hand throwing a surprise party for her boyfriend's 30th.

He's a metal dude, so crepe paper just wouldn't do.

A lot can be done with a ball of twine and a few bags of empty beer cans.

Brandy did everything else, including food fixin's for 35.

30 seconds in ... watch it vanish.

Surprise!

Cheeseballs, a staple at our venue, the Levee.

Drinking the Levee's signature "Henley"- a spinoff of the Tequila Sunrise. Handle with care.

Hostess with the mostess. Gorgeous AND generous. Basically, girlfriend of the year.

And your can gets served in a beer cozy. Brooklyn thinks of everything.