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Mittens and Jackson in a rare moment where they're not chasing each other. Actor Tom Hardy and his dog on Instagram

yesterday the day jack fought tom hardy’s dog at the dog park

Jackson got in a fight with another dog at the McCarren Park dog run yesterday. This happens sometimes, and I can reasonably blame everyone else’s dog except mine because all Jack wants to do is play fetch. But, sometimes, the other dogs chase him and nips him on the neck or ear or tail, and Jackson fights back by baring his teeth and growling. (Okay, and sometimes lunging at the perpetrator.)

Regardless of who started it, this happened yesterday. Usually it ends pretty quickly because all the humans descend on the dogs and pull them apart. (I do not like to get in there because I’m afraid of getting bitten, so I yell “Stop” and am generally helpless in these situations.)

Thankfully, the guys in the park pulled the dogs apart, and Jack and I went back to playing fetch.

Minutes later, the man who owned the other dog came up to me and asked if Jack was okay. While everyone who goes to the dog park seem nice, we tend to keep to ourselves even though we cross paths in the neighborhood often (c’est la vie in NYC…), so it was unusual of this man to ask. Not to mention, he had an accent which I couldn’t quite place. I live on the border of a trendy Brooklyn neighborhood and an overwhelmingly Polish neighborhood – also trendy – so I thought, “Maybe he’s Polish.” 

But though the guy sounded foreign, he looked familiar, like Tom Hardy, the actor who’s in a lot of movies, including the last Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises.

Turns out, it was.

Nice job, Jack, for getting in a fight with Bane’s dog.

epic quest the search for the best fried chicken + waffles

I forget where I had my first fried chicken & waffles, but the experience stuck with me. Few dishes take your taste buds to such opposite extremes: Salty fried skin and juicy meat paired with a buttery, sweet breakfast dish. That is, when it’s made correctly.

It’s a common misconception that chicken and waffles originated in the South, Sweet Chick co-owner John Seymour tells me. In fact, he says, the combination of fried chicken and waffles started in Harlem when jazz musicians would find themselves hungry after their gig ended in the early morning. So they ordered fried chicken on waffles as a way to sate their cravings for a post-work meal – and breakfast.

At Sweet Chick, the signature dish is offered alongside variations that change frequently. Recent specials that have made their way to the blackboard include General Tso’s Chicken & Waffles made with rice flour and broccoli, and cheddar waffles and bacon. Their rendition of mac & cheese is made with fontina, gruyere and aged white cheddar and is large enough to share between friends. For dessert, get the “Cookie Jar” and classic cheesecake.

Calorie-wise, Sweet Chick is not somewhere I can justify going to weekly. Still, I get that craving for perfectly seasoned fried chicken and breakfast waffles often enough to know I’m lucky to live within walking distance of it.

Sweet Chick 164 bedford ave, brooklyn. (347) 725-4793

Photos by Alice Gao

cloudy with a chance of meatballs Stuck inside today due to Hurricane Sandy but had the foresight to brave the crowds at Tops, my local supermarket, yesterday. Even at 1pm, the checkout line snaked around the store as customers waited 20+ minutes to pay for bottled water, eggs, bread, and, in many cases, beer and pie (on sale!). Chris got some sliced prosciutto di Parma, mozzarella cheese, and olives, while making fun of me for stocking up on water. I wonder how long 24 bottles of Dasani would last in a real emergency. When we got home, Chris spent the afternoon making meatballs and pork wontons. Turns out, as long as you have wonton skins, the pork filling is actually quite easy to make. And if you make a lot and freeze them, you’ll have yummy storm provisions to last until the hurricane passes.  That is, if you have enough water to boil them in (and a gas stove that’ll work if there’s an electricity outage). Just saying.

cloudy with a chance of meatballs

Stuck inside today due to Hurricane Sandy but had the foresight to brave the crowds at Tops, my local supermarket, yesterday. Even at 1pm, the checkout line snaked around the store as customers waited 20+ minutes to pay for bottled water, eggs, bread, and, in many cases, beer and pie (on sale!).

Chris got some sliced prosciutto di Parma, mozzarella cheese, and olives, while making fun of me for stocking up on water. I wonder how long 24 bottles of Dasani would last in a real emergency.

When we got home, Chris spent the afternoon making meatballs and pork wontons. Turns out, as long as you have wonton skins, the pork filling is actually quite easy to make. And if you make a lot and freeze them, you’ll have yummy storm provisions to last until the hurricane passes. 

That is, if you have enough water to boil them in (and a gas stove that’ll work if there’s an electricity outage). Just saying.

late lunch  Just discovered Sips & Bites, a catering company and tiny cafe on N. 10th Street in Williamsburg, my new neighborhood. This place is so cute! Pictured here is the half halloumi cheese sandwich + soup combo. Today’s soup was corn chowder, which was hearty, a little spicy, full of flavor and utterly satisfying at 5pm when I decided it was time to tear myself away from my laptop to get some grub. As usual, I feel lucky to live in such close proximity to great food and restaurant owners who care about the quality of ingredients they use. (Although, at this point, I guess one can say that about a lot of Brooklyn neighborhoods…) Sips & Bites 178 N.10th Street Brooklyn, NY 11211(347) 889 5333 follow me on instagram

late lunch 

Just discovered Sips & Bites, a catering company and tiny cafe on N. 10th Street in Williamsburg, my new neighborhood. This place is so cute!

Pictured here is the half halloumi cheese sandwich + soup combo. Today’s soup was corn chowder, which was hearty, a little spicy, full of flavor and utterly satisfying at 5pm when I decided it was time to tear myself away from my laptop to get some grub.

As usual, I feel lucky to live in such close proximity to great food and restaurant owners who care about the quality of ingredients they use. (Although, at this point, I guess one can say that about a lot of Brooklyn neighborhoods…)

Sips & Bites
178 N.10th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(347) 889 5333

follow me on instagram

allswell that ends well I remember when food trucks first took to Twitter, using the real-time social media tool to broadcast their location, specials of the day and to shoot the shit with customers. The social media trend has taken hold of restaurants too, with many boasting Facebook links on their websites. Most of these Facebook pages usually do not show high levels of customer engagement, however. What’s worse, most feel like an afterthought. Who has the time to run a restaurant and update Facebook and Twitter, anyway? I always wonder which PR agency they’ve hired to ghost tweet or which overworked employee they have tasked with logging in to tap out 140 characters with overt cheerfulness. So what is it about Allswell’s online presence that I like? They don’t even have a real website. (Gah!) But where they lack a dedicated URL, they have a Tumblr which is updated daily with what’s on offer that night. I love that the colors of their logo changes, too, but not the logo. I admit it: I even like the font they use. They have to print out new menus each night anyway, why not post it online? And Tumblr makes it easy to do so. There are at least two more reasons why Allswell does it for me. The focus is still on the food, the daily-changing menu, but they’re smart enough to let people know about it. Also, their customers are the kind to like being reminded of what’s cooking. Allswell uses Twitter and Tumblr consistently and they’ve made it easy for themselves by linking these two accounts. Every Tumblr posts automatically sends to Twitter.  Using social media to share what’s good, like the chef’s recommendations, needn’t be hard. It just needs to have consistency in the frequency and voice. And if you change up the visuals, even something as simple as the color of a logo, then even better. In the end, a Twitter account with hundreds or thousands of followers will not keep a restaurant in business, but having a grown up version of a spicy McChicken sandwich (their peppery and tender ‘Crispy Chicken Sandwich’ is available during lunch and brunch) and reminding customers what they love about your restaurant even when they’re not inside just might. Allswell, 124 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn (347) 799-2743

allswell that ends well

I remember when food trucks first took to Twitter, using the real-time social media tool to broadcast their location, specials of the day and to shoot the shit with customers. The social media trend has taken hold of restaurants too, with many boasting Facebook links on their websites. Most of these Facebook pages usually do not show high levels of customer engagement, however. What’s worse, most feel like an afterthought. Who has the time to run a restaurant and update Facebook and Twitter, anyway? I always wonder which PR agency they’ve hired to ghost tweet or which overworked employee they have tasked with logging in to tap out 140 characters with overt cheerfulness.

So what is it about Allswell’s online presence that I like? They don’t even have a real website. (Gah!) But where they lack a dedicated URL, they have a Tumblr which is updated daily with what’s on offer that night. I love that the colors of their logo changes, too, but not the logo. I admit it: I even like the font they use. They have to print out new menus each night anyway, why not post it online? And Tumblr makes it easy to do so.

There are at least two more reasons why Allswell does it for me. The focus is still on the food, the daily-changing menu, but they’re smart enough to let people know about it. Also, their customers are the kind to like being reminded of what’s cooking. Allswell uses Twitter and Tumblr consistently and they’ve made it easy for themselves by linking these two accounts. Every Tumblr posts automatically sends to Twitter. 

Using social media to share what’s good, like the chef’s recommendations, needn’t be hard. It just needs to have consistency in the frequency and voice. And if you change up the visuals, even something as simple as the color of a logo, then even better. In the end, a Twitter account with hundreds or thousands of followers will not keep a restaurant in business, but having a grown up version of a spicy McChicken sandwich (their peppery and tender ‘Crispy Chicken Sandwich’ is available during lunch and brunch) and reminding customers what they love about your restaurant even when they’re not inside just might.

Allswell, 124 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn (347) 799-2743

morning at marlow & sons I’d been meaning to visit Marlow & Sons in the morning for their breakfast sandwich but, being one of those relatively attainable, non-urgent life goals, the actual doing of it didn’t happen until today - two years and many urgings (“You have to get the breakfast sandwich…”) later. I walked in and sat in the front room-cafe-boutique shop to wait for my friend, photographer Clay Williams, to arrive, and took stock of all the linen towels, tote bags, cutting boards, notepads, leather goods, t-shirts, vintage footballs (behind the counter), rain boots and fancy hand soap on display that I wanted to own one day. Aspirational lifestyle for sale at one of Williamsburg’s most popular restaurants. Guess my next relatively attainable, non-urgent life goal: (more) meals involving butter-laden food and a home filled with handmade custom goods. Marlow & Sons, 81 Broadway, Brooklyn (718) 384-1441

morning at marlow & sons

I’d been meaning to visit Marlow & Sons in the morning for their breakfast sandwich but, being one of those relatively attainable, non-urgent life goals, the actual doing of it didn’t happen until today - two years and many urgings (“You have to get the breakfast sandwich…”) later.

I walked in and sat in the front room-cafe-boutique shop to wait for my friend, photographer Clay Williams, to arrive, and took stock of all the linen towels, tote bags, cutting boards, notepads, leather goods, t-shirts, vintage footballs (behind the counter), rain boots and fancy hand soap on display that I wanted to own one day. Aspirational lifestyle for sale at one of Williamsburg’s most popular restaurants.

Guess my next relatively attainable, non-urgent life goal: (more) meals involving butter-laden food and a home filled with handmade custom goods.

Marlow & Sons, 81 Broadway, Brooklyn (718) 384-1441

williamsburg at dusk / lamb at dressler I snapped this photo just as daytime faded while crossing the intersection of Berry and Grand on Saturday. After an afternoon of apartment hunting in Williamsburg, Chris and I made a beeline to Dressler because we love it and were in the area. On previous visits, the chicken dish blew me away but, this time, it was outshone by the lamb. We asked for medium rare; it arrived with a center that was deep red and so raw it was nearly sashimi. Intentional or not, lamb, cooked rare, is delicious. dressler, 149 broadway, brooklyn, new york (718) 384-6343

williamsburg at dusk / lamb at dressler

I snapped this photo just as daytime faded while crossing the intersection of Berry and Grand on Saturday. After an afternoon of apartment hunting in Williamsburg, Chris and I made a beeline to Dressler because we love it and were in the area. On previous visits, the chicken dish blew me away but, this time, it was outshone by the lamb. We asked for medium rare; it arrived with a center that was deep red and so raw it was nearly sashimi. Intentional or not, lamb, cooked rare, is delicious.

dressler, 149 broadway, brooklyn, new york (718) 384-6343

seemed appropriate to share this at 3:22am Moving anxiety has made me an insomniac and my only consolation is that this means there’s more time to discover and share fun upcoming events, like the Brooklyn Night Bazaar happening in Williamsburg this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I need to get my holiday shopping did (and get some sleep). brooklyn night bazaar, 149 kent ave, williamsburg / dec 15, 16 and 17 from 5pm-1am

seemed appropriate to share this at 3:22am

Moving anxiety has made me an insomniac and my only consolation is that this means there’s more time to discover and share fun upcoming events, like the Brooklyn Night Bazaar happening in Williamsburg this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I need to get my holiday shopping did (and get some sleep).

brooklyn night bazaar, 149 kent ave, williamsburg / dec 15, 16 and 17 from 5pm-1am

more than just a pretty face I shared my thoughts on the Olympus PEN E-PM1 in an unusually long post this morning. Thing is… I have been taking way more awesome photos with my new camera than I’ve been showing you! Better late than never as they say, and it’s never too late to share a dish recommendation with visuals. Behold – the highly photogenic chicken & waffles from Pies ‘n’ Thighs in Williamsburg. To be honest, I prefer the chicken biscuit, but, as I said, the chicken & waffles is easy on the eyes and I cannot resist a good food photo… Pies ‘n’ Thighs 166 S. 4th Street, Brooklyn

more than just a pretty face

I shared my thoughts on the Olympus PEN E-PM1 in an unusually long post this morning. Thing is… I have been taking way more awesome photos with my new camera than I’ve been showing you! Better late than never as they say, and it’s never too late to share a dish recommendation with visuals. Behold – the highly photogenic chicken & waffles from Pies ‘n’ Thighs in Williamsburg.

To be honest, I prefer the chicken biscuit, but, as I said, the chicken & waffles is easy on the eyes and I cannot resist a good food photo…

Pies ‘n’ Thighs 166 S. 4th Street, Brooklyn