Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! On this week’s episode, our protagonist makes a critical mistake and ruins dinner. For her previous adventures, read here, and follow on Instagram @fivethingsiate.
Soda with bitters at Momofuku Ko
8 Extra Pl, New York, NY 10003
There’s a half-second before I swallow the antibiotic pill on an empty stomach where it flashes through my mind that this all might be a grave mistake. But there’s no time to think of consequences. I’m running late (as usual), and because New York has a flair for the dramatic, it’s pouring buckets and pitch dark as I splash through the Lower East Side in my heels and cocktail dress to meet my friend from the other side of the world for one last dinner before his flight. I can’t tell you what the two-star Michelin dinner I’d looked forward to and planned for all week tasted like, or what we talked about because I was in so much pain. But I can tell you that the service was excellent, especially the FOH manager Gabrielle who kindly gave me a glass of seltzer with bitters to help ride out the wave. And that sometimes, the most memorable meal you can have with someone isn’t about the food at all, but that time they held an umbrella for you in the pouring rain, and touched your forehead to see if you had a fever, in a little back alley in the Lower East Side, as you cried a $250 tasting menu away.
Coffee at Girasol Baker
690 5th Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11215
I love Brooklyn. I don’t mean Smorgasburg and the Brooklyn Bridge and all that bougie touristy stuff (which I also enjoy). I mean waking up hungover and walking past bahn mi takeout storefronts and mexican delis, strolling through the neighborhood where South Slope meets Sunset Park on a sunny autumn day, trying to piece your life back together where you left it last night. Along the way, stroll into Girasol Baker — one of the countless Mexican bakeries on 5th Ave (not to be confused with the Fifth Avenue in Manhattan) — and pick up a cup of hot mexican coffee for $1.25. It’s milky and sweet and somehow super strong, and goes perfectly with an oversized concha.
The Jessica Rabbit at Bonnie Vee’s
17 Stanton St, New York, NY 10002
A plain neon sign that spells out the word “Cocktails” lets you know that you’re at Bonnie Vee’s, which is tucked away on a (thankfully!) quiet street in the otherwise very packed Lower East Side. Inside, there’s plentiful seating, at least by downtown standards, and a garden out back. The air smells like grilled cheese, and hip hop music is blasting on the speakers just a little too loud, so that the waitress has difficulty hearing your order. That’s okay, just ask for the Jessica Rabbit over and over again. It’s a strawberry slushie with thai chili infused tequila, and although it’s the polar opposite of my usual orders (something dark and on the rocks), it’s absolutely delicious and dangerously drinkable. Oh, and there’s a photobooth in the basement — overpriced, but worth it for the memories.
Pulut Panggang at Kopitiam
151 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002
I will keep writing about Kopitiam until each and every one of you make it out there — seriously. Plus, there’s so much to try on the menu, I could keep writing about it every week regardless. This week, my favorite dish at the Malaysian cafe was Pulut Panggang. Two small cylinders of glutinous rice stuffed with dried shrimp and wrapped in banana leaves, it reminded me of zongzi, but less sticky and with the additional fragrance of charred rice. It made me wonder why no one’s tried grilling zongzi, too...
Secret menu sandwich at my desk via Momofuku Ko
8 Extra Pl, New York, NY 10003
When I bolted out of Momofuku Ko* the kitchen staff was super cool about it and even made me a little sandwich out of my steak au poivre, wrapped in this cute little peach-print Momofuku wrapping paper. In my panic I consequently forgot about it entirely in the fridge, until now. So now, at 7PM on a Friday I sit at my desk writing this newsletter eating what must be the fanciest sad desk dinner I’ve ever consumed, with a healthy squirt of sriracha and a tall glass of Emergen-C, and you know what? It’s really damn good, even three days out and just a lil’ soggy, just like my heart.
*See first entry, above.
Until next time,
Soph
P.S.: Shout out to the lovely journalists of Twitter who made last week’s apple cake!
Seriously, look at this beautiful cake from Kendra:
And this beauty from Rahima, who glazed it with a cardamom glaze:
And shout out to Lisa, who gave me a slice in the newsroom so now the circle is complete:
Thank you 😭
Keep those cake remixes comin’!
Cardamom stans: Rahima added a teaspoon of ground cardamom to the honey glaze from the original recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Kendra used a lighter hand and added ⅓ teaspoon, but wishes she had added more. YMMV!!