All in a New York minute
All calm weeks are alike, but every hectic week is hectic in its own special way.
Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, it’s all about quick meals on the go. Check out past posts here, and please follow my Instagram @fivethingsiate.
Spicy Thai eggplant with Thai basil from Trader Joe’s
The freezer section of your local Trader Joe’s
I swear that the laws of gravity apply to the calendar year, that all my social obligations and work deadlines (and unprocessed emotions) tumble from March to April to September until they finally all collect in November, before the barricade of the holiday season. All of a sudden, I’m somehow double booked on every weekday, despite feeling guilty about canceling on two people at the last minute. And I’ve also eaten frozen food from Trader Joe’s at my desk for four meals in a row. So now, reporting to you from the Frozen Foods under Five Dollars Department, I present to you my current favorite sad desk dinner: Spicy Thai eggplant from Trader Joe’s. As someone who is constantly craving Asian food, this is a good cheap fix for takeout, it is (thank god) properly and truly spicy, and I like to combine it with frozen brown rice (which you can also get in a box of three packets at Trader Joe’s) and some hard boiled eggs I cook in bulk at home for a quick, healthy-ish meal. Serve with a tall glass of Emergen-C for that quintessential Person On a Deadline feast.
Veggie arepas from the Arepitas truck
434 Lafayette St, at Astor Place across from the Walgreen’s
“How’s your night going, miss?” the nice guy from the Arepitas truck asks me as I wait for my veggie arepa, no cheese please. I pause. I am sweaty and half-changed, running late as usual, and coming from a yoga class that can only be described as “New York’s brand of zen,” aka full of talkative NYU students and was punctuated by the shouts of a middle-aged man shouting “I’m not afraid of the police or the FBI!” from the hallway. “Good,” I decide to say. “But busy.” As I eat the arepa on the subway*, I decide that it’s a better and more effective form of relaxation for me tonight. At $8, it’s hefty and doesn’t skimp on the avocado (or black beans) in the filling. Best of all, they included both white (garlicky) sauce and green (hot) sauce in the bag.
*Yes, I know that eating a full meal on the subway Is A Crime, but in my defense, far worse crimes will be committed if Sophie is allowed to become Hangry.
Roast duck jian bing at Gem Bing Shop
9 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003
Despite loving Asian street foods and drinks of all kinds, I almost never go to St. Mark’s place, the holy grail of Asian snacks (of the food kind). I prefer to let it live, unblemished in my memories, as a place for all my late-night college adventures, which always included ending up at that One Bar with a big wooden table underground where you could potentially order grilled cow penis off the menu, but no one actually ever did. But the lure of free ice cream brought me back (Ben and Jerry’s was giving away free scoops, and the closest one was on St. Mark’s), and I’m glad it did. The snack shops have really changed since those bull penis days, with a lot of northern Chinese food and bubble tea places popping up. I stopped in for a jian bing from the simply named Gem Bing Shop, filled with peking duck. The bigger size jian bing was enormous, although I did wish it had a bit more sauce and duck inside. Still, it was a filling and cheap and comforting carby meal, one that my college self would have loved.
Note: They accept cash and Venmo but not credit cards.
Negroni at the Gray Mare
61 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
I’m pretty sure the Gray Mare is the only place in New York you can get a $6 Negroni (if it’s not, please share!). But even if it wasn’t, it’s still worth visiting, and not just for the $7 old fashioneds. The Gray Mare is a solid, dependable and non-gimmicky bar that straddles the line between dive-y and date-y. There’s a decent, “elevated” bar food menu. I got the cauliflower which I thought was going to be roasted cauliflower, but was actually a cauliflower gratin floating with cream and served with two pieces of toast? Anyways, the Gray Mare is a great place to catch up with a friend on a dark and stormy night, which seems to be a recurring backdrop for me.
Homestyle tomatoes and eggs at my kitchen
Wherever your home is 🏡💓
At the end of a long day and a long week, when it feels unfathomable to even take the subway all the way home, make this meal. A classic Chinese comfort food, my version is not like my mother’s (it’s lighter, and uses cherry tomatoes), but I like that it is mine. You can’t go wrong with fluffy white rice and a fatty scrambled eggs in a sweet and tangy tomato sauce. Here’s how: First, get a cup of good rice going in the rice cooker. Meanwhile, beat 4 large eggs with a dash of Shaoxing wine and soy sauce in a bowl. Pour an ample glug of oil over a big nonstick pan or wok over high heat. When the oil is shimmering, pour in the eggs and stir gently with chopsticks until large curds form. Shut off heat, set eggs aside in a bowl, and wipe pan clean. Wash two pints of cherry tomatoes (or four big tomatoes) and slice in half (quarters). Clean and slice two stalks of scallion. Pour another big glug of oil in the pan and turn heat to high. Throw in a smashed clove of garlic and the scallions. Stir fry till fragrant and add tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes are soft and form a bit of sauce. Meanwhile, beat a big spoonful of Shaoxing wine, a teaspoon of cornstarch, a teaspoon of white sugar, and two big spoons of ketchup together. Turn heat to low and beat in the ketchup slurry. Add sesame oil and black vinegar to taste. Serve hot, over fluffy rice, and with a glass of red wine — my addition.
Hastily yours,
Soph