Hipster Cuisine Part I

When you think of the word “hipster”, what do you think?

Lens-less glasses?

Boys in skinny jeans? (Ew.)

Music your friends “probably haven’t heard of yet”? (Thanks, Logan.)

Girls who think wearing mustaches is cute? (AWFUL.)

Jef from The Bachelorette? (Swoon.)

You don’t think of food, do you? Well apparently New York magazine does. More specifically, they think of Asian cuisine. As I flipped through this week’s issue of New York, I came across an article titled “Asian Hipster Cuisine.” Until then, I’d never even seen the word “Asian” next to the word “hipster.” But, hey, NYC is way ahead of SC – let’s be honest.

The article basically claims that Asian cuisine is trending. That 2012 “has been the year of ramen and buns, Sichuan and Shaanxi.” They interview several chefs (not all of whom are Asian) who describe this “hipster” cuisine:

“A noodle bar in a dive bar.” “Asian-American.” “Street food.” “Weird Chinese food.”

I thought back to this year’s restaurant openings in Charleston and it hit me. Holy pho, a bunch of them were Asian!

• Co – Vietnamese
• Izakaya Hiro – Sushi/Modern Japanese
• Xiao Bao Biscuit – opening Fall 2012

Why do you think Asian food is suddenly a trend? I always thought it was cool, so I’m pretty pumped that there’s a rise in Asian restaurant openings. Bring on the steamed pork buns, noodles, and kimchee. I love it all.

Have you noticed more Asian restaurants/food trucks/pop-up dinners in your area?

What other trend do you consider hipster? Any foods? Let’s not forget men in scarves, coffee shops, rolled-up jeans, PBR, suspenders, and Skrillex’s hair.

NYC Day 3

On Sunday, Lucy and I went to brunch with Courtney, my friend from Charleston who moved up to the city a couple years ago. As of couple months ago, Courtney and her husband are Vegan, as is Lucy. Courtney found us a cute little Vegan brunch spot called Blossom. For being strictly Vegan, they had a menu full of delicious sounding meals. I opted for the French Toast with fresh fruit and tempeh bacon.

The French toast was crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. I was nervous to try the tempeh bacon, but I ended up liking it.

Both Lucy and Courtney had the Tofu Scramble  with sautéed onion, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, and soy sausage.

I wish we had more Vegan restaurants in Charleston. There were a lot of menu items I’d like to try and ultimately experiment with in my kitchen. Maybe I’ll use the menu as inspiration. Thanks, Courtney, for picking out a great spot and meeting us! :)

We also took Courtney’s recommendation to walk through Chelsea Market and pick up a cherry cream scone at Amy’s Bread.

I had just eaten breakfast, but couldn’t resist digging into this soft, buttery scone. It was incredible. Scones aren’t my typical go-to baked good, but I’m so glad I listened to Courtney. The girl is smart. I want to make these at home, too!

Sunday evening, Ben and I had a really fun dinner at Mario Batali’s restaurant, Casa Mono. First, while waiting for a table, we had a glass of wine at Bar Jamon, which is adjacent to Casa Mono. We both had the Nita, a blend of Cariñena, Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. I liked it a lot.

Dinner was so exciting. We sat at the bar that overlooked the kitchen. Watching the chefs prepare everyone’s food was quite a show. They were quick, yet so particular about plating, and it showed in each dish.

Casa Mono is a Spanish tapas restaurant so we ordered several different plates.

Round 1:

Bacalao Croquetas with Orange Alioli

Razor Clams a la Plancha

Sepia with Salsa Verde

Of these three, I liked the croquetas best. They were glorified fish sticks – so light and the orange zest really added to it. The razor clams were garlicky and in a delicious olive oil. The sepia, a cuttlefish, had a chewy texture but were great.

Round 2:

Mussels with Cava and Chorizo - $15

Lobster with Spicy Sweet Potato and Agua de Coco

Seared scallops with a cherry parsnip puree

Each of these plates were amazing. I avoided the chorizo in the mussels and, even without it, the broth had so much flavor. The cherry parsnip puree with the scallops was one of the best flavors I’ve had in a while. I really enjoyed the fruit + seafood pairing. This was definitely a memorable dinner, both for the incredible food and the entertainment. I so badly wanted to jump over the counter into the kitchen with the chefs. Casa Mono is a must for your (and my!) next visit to NYC.

Dinner would not be complete without dessert. Both of us were in the mood for cookies, so we headed over to Momofuku Milk Bar. They have some crazy desserts, including cookies, pies, ice cream, truffles, milkshakes and more. We stuck with cookies and brought home 3 types:

• the famous Compost Cookie (pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch, chocolate chips)
• Peanut Butter
• Blueberry & Cream (dried blueberries, milk crumbs, white chocolate)

The PB cookie was pretty standard, and while the Compost Cookie was good, it wasn’t as earth-shaking as the reviews I’d previously read. There weren’t any pretzels in it and it mostly tasted like coffee! I really liked, no loved, the Blueberry & Cream cookie.

What’s your favorite type of baked good?

Do you like tapas style restaurants?

NYC Days 1 & 2

So, last week I told you I was going on a little vacation, but couldn’t tell you where. My reasoning for this was that I was surprising my bestie Lucy. For over 3 weeks, I managed to keep it a secret that I was coming. She had no idea…until I walked into the bar where she and Kaye were “waiting.” It was absolutely hilarious and she was in shock for a good 3 hours.

On Friday, before she knew I had arrived, I spent the day frolicking while my friends were at work.  I walked all around Soho, then travelled back up to the NYU campus for one reason in : Chick-fil-A! The last two times I’ve been in the city, it was closed, but today it was actually open. Finally!Unfortunately they didn’t have anything I could eat (limited menu), so I walked a block over to Space Market, a grocery store/deli. I picked up a wrap full of roasted veggies, hummus, and fresh mozzarella. It was so good.

My fun purchase of the day was at C. Wonder. Oh my gosh, I am in love with that store. Bright colors and monograms everywhere! A Southern girl’s dream. I picked up the Easy Tote in orange. This picture doesn’t do it justice. It’s the cutest thing! It reminds me of my Longchamp totes but is better quality with more pockets. And less expensive at only $58.

That evening was when I surprised Lucy at one of the bars we like, 10 Degrees in the East Village. Although she was the one in shock, I apparently was unable to focus on the camera.

On Saturday, my friend Ben and I went for a 5 mile run along the East River running path. The weather was really nice and who doesn’t love running along the water? On the walk back, we stopped at One Lucky Duck for a cold-pressed juice. I had the Green Apple: apple, cucumber, celery, mint, lime, spinach. It was interesting, and now I want a juicer.

To refuel, we ordered a pizza from Naked Pizza. Their pizza contains less calories than typical fast food pizza places and does not contain added sugar, hydrogenated oils, or HFCS. Our pizza was topped with black beans, pineapple, tomatoes, spinach, and roasted red peppers.

Saturday evening, Lucy, her friend Shana, and I went to dinner and drinks at Room Service, a Thai restaurant in Chelsea. I had the Room Service Pad Thai: sautéed glass vermicelli with shrimps, mixed seafood, mangoes, brown tofu, bean sprouts, scallions, crushed peanuts,  wrapped in an egg white crepe. The presentation was so neat – once you break the egg layer, out pop the noodles and seafood. Fun stuff.

Lucy had the Green Curry. Hers was also delicious.

After dinner we bar hopped in the West Village, making stops at Kingswood and Desantos.

We had too much fun, as usual. Stay tuned for more on NYC tomorrow!

Weekend Highlights

On Friday I was still in recovery mode from NYC. You think I’m joking but I’m not. The entire weekend up there I was saying “I have jet lag you guys” even though (news to me!), you can only have jet lag if you’ve changed time zones. Did you know that? I didn’t until I said it to Kaye and she looked at me like I had two heads. I flew like 600 miles! Sheer exhaustion!

Just kidding.

So anyway, after work on Friday I went to the gym to try to  muster up energy. While there, it started crazy storming and there were tornado warnings. Let me tell you, I used this as my lame excuse not to go out. God forbid I get sucked up in one of those things on a FRIDAY!! I instead got comfortable with my boyfriend, Netflix. He’s a babe you know. I watched two movies:

The Freebie: “a young couple decides to give each other a night off, no questions asked.”

Last Night: “a married couple, apart for a night while the husband takes a business trip with a colleague to whom he's attracted. While he's resisting temptation, his wife encounters her past love.”

Uhhh weirdo genres, right? Someone pop me a prozac.

Saturday: My friend (and downstairs neighbor!)Tyler invited me to a baseball game. Buff boys in tight pants? Sure! Before going to the game, he let me try some scotch. You guys, that stuff is nasty. These bodies were not:

After telling Tyler what movies I watched on Friday, he threw a DVD at me: The Godfather, parts I, II, and III. I have work to do. (No, I haven’t seen any.)

That evening, I met up with my two favorite winos, Holly and Trish. They had just come from Goat. Sheep. Cow. and brought home quite the spread of cheese, crackers, peppers, olives and pears. My contribution was pita chips & hummus (duh), two bags of popchips, and flowers for Holly’s bday.

While at Holly's, Trish pointed out her baby-sized television from um, the 1980s?  After we gorged ourselves with “dinner” it was time for dessert. We walked over to Fulton Five for Limoncello…

…and dessert. Pistachio gelato for Trish, pear Bread pudding for me, and tiramisu for Trish. Freaking delicious.

We then jetted to King St, bouncing around from O-Ku, to Hall’s, to Cocktail Club. On the walk home, I started skipping. Wine + Christina = silly. I had wayyyy too much fun with these girls and can’t wait for the next “event” where we say we’re not going out but then end up bar hopping.

Sunday: I spent the entire day glued to the television, something I rarely do. I couldn’t stop watching Parks and Recreation! Aziz, you still have my heart.

So do you guys. XO!

NYC Recap: Days 3 & 4

On Sunday morning, Lucy and I did more frolicking around the city in my two favorite parks: Union Square and Washington Square. They’re both such open, pretty areas where you can do a lot of people watching. One of the reasons I wanted to go to that area is to stop around NYU for one of these pita pockets I had seen on Gabriela’s blog. Gabriela ate these every Wednesday, and I kid you not, even before having one, I began to crave them too.

I was more than excited to find them at Space Market on University Place.

At first I felt crazy shelling out $5 for the Spicy Power-Fu Sandwich, but once I tried it, I didn’t care one bit. They are so freaking good. I immediately wanted more and was sad that I couldn’t get them in SC.

If you read Gab’s blog, you’ve seen these many times. Gab, honey, I thank you. So much. I should fly back to the city for a few more. ;)

Saturday’s shopping adventures included purchasing 3 dresses and a bracelet from Forever 21.

The second dress is more of a lime green or “citron” than yellow as it shows online. And yes, it’s the exact same dress as the blue. I really liked it!

That evening, we went to Canyon Road for dinner. I had the Southwestern salad: grilled jumbo gulf shrimp, toasted pumpkin seeds, romaine lettuce, monterey jack, onions, pepper & celery. No picture :( After dinner, we went to too many bars:

• The Stanton Social (upstairs, dark, not bad)
• Back Room (hidden(ish) bar that served drinks in tea cups. cute, but boring.)
• Sons of Essex (cool inside, but drinks sucked)
• Sing Sing Karaoke (dead, so we didn’t stay)
• East Village Tavern (who really cared at this point? ha)

On Monday, Day 4, I broke my vegetarian streak once more at Chipotle. I had salad with romaine lettuce, black beans, grilled chicken, salsa, and cheese. Their ingredients are so fresh and I’m excited a location is opening in Charleston!

Lucy and I were exhausted at this point of the weekend, so we hung out at her apartment for the majority of the day. We got coffee, picked up snacks, giggled about our evenings, and caught up on Real Housewives and watched the season premiere of Bethenny Ever After. This was Lucy’s and my favorite show when we lived together. We LOVE her.

If there’s one thing I do in life, it’s find a husband like Jason. That man is handsome, ridiculously patient, and such a good father. Where the hell do you get those? He even dressed up like a PANDA on Halloween for his family. Oh my.

Now for some funnies from NYC.

This mannequin wasn’t looking too hot. Lucy said “Um, homegirl got in a bad accident.”

Next time I make a mess, I definitely want to clean up with these.

Lucy has a store!!

I have a store!!

Needless to say, I had tons of fun in NYC and was not ready to leave on Tuesday morning. I want to go back right now! Or just move there.

As I said yesterday, if you read all this you are ridiculous. And I love you. xo!!

HAPPY WEEKEND!!