Luxirare

My guess is that most of you have been to an italian restaurant before. And you may have seen a variety of Fra Diavolo dishes. Those ones with shrimp and mussels or what not with spicy tomato sauce. But in my book there is really only one Fra Diavolo worth eating, and that’s one with thinly sliced Scungilli.

In case you are wondering what Scungilli is…. it’s just a really large marine snail, Conch meat. Chewy seafood, the simple way to describe it, Scungilli has a weird smell to it but it’s all good, I will probably like you more if you order this as opposed to Shrimp with Angel Hair or something boring like that. In the photo above I’m using precooked conch meat that has been taken out of it’s shell. Very easy to deal with, in fact I hope you try this for dinner this week.

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Recently I or (we) stopped by JG Melons’ to get a burger (not something I do on routine, but geographically it was the best place to get a burger). I thought their burgers were perfection but also I’ve never met a burger I didn’t like, so it’s not like JG Melon’s can become a superlative in my book. What I did notice were their cottage cut fries, a bit different, but I like the classic vertically cut strips. Once the cottage fries reached our table they were cold. For nearly $11 a burger I expect a little more than that. Even McDonald’s guarantees super fresh hot fries, or you get your money back.

After dinner I guess a girl gets lucky– Payard had closed for a long long time, and if you can remember they had the best pastries in the tri-state area. To my absolute surprise, there was a FP Patisserie right next to JG’s. RIGHT NEXT DOOR!! God tested me during mid-cleanse and I failed miserably. Oh well. Those tear drop shaped mini cakes colored in pastel rainbow..do you remember those before the original location closed?? If you are watching your weight try to avoid 3rd ave between 74th and 75th. And also if you are visiting from outside the US, do not bother with the Payard Bakeries (different selection entirely)…just look for the Francois Payard Patisseries, which is where you will find the second best cakes outside of Paris. Now FP Patisserie is definitely superlative material.

Now quick note about JG Melons’…When it came to the actual burger (Mine was swiss cheese melted with Bacon, pickles, onion and ketchup you can expect only the best. Their meat is packed very lightly, and you can barely notice the ground beef’s crumbly texture due to the moisture content. My pal thinks there is a huge slab of butter placed at the center of their patties, a reasonable assumption I’d say, considering they melt in your mouth. (Photo below via instagram). Do not be swayed by the novelty of these cottage fries, they were not great. Apologies, I have no more photos of this Melons’, the restaurant was dim and I didn’t want to flash it because there is no space between you and another table. But there are enough photos circulating on the ‘gram and google. Get there also around 4-5 pm to beat the after work dinner crowd. The restaurant in general is quite ballsy. Number one, it’s cash only. Number two, the burgers don’t come with fries…you have to order a side of fries essentially if you want to see any, and the cold not-so-crispy cottage fries are $4 extra. Yes, sassy. But hey they are getting with it, why not let ‘em.

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I too would have been confused by the title of this post. Yep, it’s a flask and a bangle designed by Cynthia Rowley. On the e-commerce site, there is one simple sentence to describe the product. Necessity is the mother of invention….Via.

Juicy buns have become quite the ubiquitous metropolitan appetizer. I mentioned before that I can be quite lazy, which is why even though I love love love Juicy Buns, I usually refrain from ordering them… Because I cannot seem to hold a normal conversation with my friends while eating them, half the time I’m just worried my tongue will burn or I’ll have this embarrassing moment where all the juices will splash out at the wrong time and place (I told you I have really strange paranoid fears). Twice last year I went with my buddies, they say..what’s wrong you only had one Ji??? Yes because it’s just like too much pressure, god I barely made it out alive the first time around. Let’s not talk about the dexterity required when you have to carefully hold a piping hot juicy bun in one hand, and then you have to reach for those ginger shreds to place on top of those buns………

My favorite thing to order though, that doesn’t require any kind of balancing act are lotus wrapped sticky rice. This is definitely the kind of food that I love, because you just dig in and it’s like Christmas time all over again. Lots of goodies hidden inside this sticky rice, sausage and bacon..EGG…if you’re lucky..CRAB MEAT! What I noticed about Americans eating this is that..well lots of them don’t. I mean it’s the rice’s texture that does it, very sticky and I don’t think they get it. It’s got the same texture of those Mochi Ice Cream nuggets, that chewiness that kind of sticks to your teeth. If you’re not used to something like this it can definitely be frightening so I understand that….but it’s so delicious that I couldn’t help but share. And to add a lil’ disclaimer here I’m not Chinese so please don’t get offended by my recipe. You know I just make do and get by.

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I know that everyone loves tacos, and they especially make for great shots on instagram. Comparing it with another food, it’s like a hamburger..who doesn’t want to eat one? I love all kinds, even Taco Bell serves a mean one, it is hard to go wrong, I mean I’ve had ‘bad’ tacos but at the same time, tacos can never be ‘bad’ right? Even bad tacos are good in the end, at least for me. Recently I came across this taco bar from Food and Wine Magazine, and it’s something I wanted to share right away just because it’s a clever party idea. You’ll never guess that this bar isn’t bought from some fancy store, they are actually those crown moldings used for home interiors you get at Home depot, they just sliced them into small slabs and placed them on top of this wooden box. I thought it was a chic way to present tacos. And it makes for easy taco building too considering those little ditches…

(Image via FOOD AND WINE MAGAZINE)

It’s Friday, and I can’t make any crazy promises. That I won’t pick up some Moet tonight would be a lie. Or that I won’t start my morning off with a bang. And this morning I need this, a waffle sliced in half with bacon (almost burnt, crisp of course), lettuce, and sliced tomatoes. But I do promise that I won’t consume a BLT without KEWPIE Mayo.

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If you can remember a while ago I designed those iPhone wallet necklaces…and now it was time for a purse that could fit the iPhone 5, plus a little wiggle room. Meaning you can fit more stuff in there, and wear it as a purse.

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New in, snakeskin calf-hide purses. Slightly updated versions of the original envelope designs.

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This was a weird year for me, fun, but weird. And I always prefer the New Years time over Christmas, only because New Years gives you another clean slate. And Christmas is a great break time for me, I like to relax and take some time off from work..it’s been kind of nice to stay away from the ‘internet’ and even instagram…Recharging my batteries, that’s what I like to celebrate during the holiday season. Catching up, eating good food, family, friends, etc. And in this post a timeline of some of my favorite posts this past year. I did this last year too but it’s nice to have a yearly roundup. (more…)