Five Leaves’ Moroccan Scramble, Brooklyn

Posted on May 22, 2013 by eyechow

Last week my friend Danielle and had a spontaneous lunch / brunch in Brooklyn. Since I have a car, we drove down from Queens and found parking right near our restaurant of choice: Five Leaves. I’d read a lot about the place and had tried to eat there before, but the wait was always too long for my level of hunger. On this sunny weekday, the wait was only about 15 minutes for an outdoor table for two.

Well worth the wait, Five Leaves serves a mix of Mediterranean and American dishes. They offer many homemade aspects – such as the homemade ricotta, which I still need to try – as well as a unique cocktail menu. After seeing someone else receive the Moroccan Scramble, I knew I had to have it. It includes scrambled eggs with spiced chickpeas and merguez (sausage), on top of grilled sourdough and crushed avocado. This was all topped with slivered peppers and a handful of fresh herbs; I was in heaven and can’t wait to go back.

Five Leaves

Open: 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m.

Location: 18 Bedford Ave. Brooklyn NY 11222 Phone: (718) 383-5345

Quote

Posted on May 20, 2013 by eyechow

“Food is the unifying fabric of humanity, connecting us to the earth and each other.”

-Ed Kenney, award-winning restaurateur and TV host

See my post about one of Ed’s Hawaii restaurants, TOWN

Brunch at Cafe Julia, Honolulu

Posted on May 19, 2013 by eyechow

An oddly located yet adorable café that’s worth seeking out is Cafe Julia, in the downtown Honolulu YWCA. My dad brought my sister and me for brunch one day when I was home this winter.

We parked right in front of the gorgeous Iolani Palace and got to admire the holiday lanterns as we crossed the street to the Y.

Named after its architect, Julia Morgan (the first woman to design a public building in Honolulu), the café is housed in the YWCA Laniakea Center, an official historic building as decreed by the state. The building is a charming maze of beautiful courtyards, open-aired interiors and incongruous spaces, like the pool and the chapel. Although it’s in the middle of downtown Honolulu, this building almost feels like a secret garden of sorts, and is totally serene and removed from the hustle and bustle of the city.

My dad convinced me that I had to try their homemade macadamia nut “Nutella,” and he was right. If you go for breakfast, do NOT miss this whatever else you order. Making Nutella with super creamy macadamia nuts is genius, and the super soft, freshly baked white bread is perfect to scoop it up with. Even this soft, rich butter was somehow notable, I think due to the fact that the bread was also stellar and they complemented each other in the most simple but excellent way.

As if the bread, butter and nutty chocolate spread hadn’t already sufficiently satisfied my morning appetite, an amazing breakfast sandwich was next set down in front of me. Luckily I have a huge appetite in the morning, because this sandwich was super rich (verging on heavy, but in the best possible way) and flavorful and I wanted to down every last bite. Wedged precariously between two halves of a super buttery, homemade biscuit, was a giant breakfast sausage patty, cheese and eggs. The sausage was actually on the lighter side somehow, maybe because it had herbs mixed in and wasn’t crushed when it was cooked. The sandwich seemed very gourmet but the tater tots it came with were the complete opposite. It worked for me to have this outstanding sandwich and then some tried-and-true, if unimpressive, tater tots on the side. Continue reading →

Graduation Dinner at Prime, Saratoga Springs

Posted on May 18, 2013 by eyechow

We now interrupt your regular Strange Food Saturdays programming to bring you a special announcement: one year ago today, along with 626 other Class of 2012 students, I graduated from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. It’s amazing how slowly the days pass yet how quickly an entire year flies by. I’m lucky to have a boyfriend, an apartment, a blog and a job and I wish the best of luck to all my friends in the Class of 2013 who are graduating today!

After a fantastic dinner there when my dad visited earlier in the year, we agreed there was no better place for dinner the night of my graduation, than Prime. For some reason we only took two pictures at dinner, so I posted both of them even though my sister and I look pretty strange above. The shot perfectly illustrates our depleted energy levels by the end of that day. After barely sleeping Friday night, my friends and I had to get up around 8 a.m. Saturday morning. We frantically donned our graduation gowns and drove through Dunkin Donuts for the mandatory iced coffee (which I of course spilled on my nice white dress) before arriving a bit late to the ceremony. The ceremony was long (speech after speech after speech, and then all 627 names were read aloud as we each received our diplomas) and hot, since it was at the outdoor amphitheater SPAC. Then we had to fight through the crowds to find our families and after that, my friends and I picked up some food for a laid-back, multi-family gathering at their house. By the time dinner rolled around, I was thoroughly exhausted. Dinner at Prime is always delicious, so I managed to stay awake and enjoy it.

Arepas Cafe, Astoria

Posted on May 17, 2013 by eyechow

A very unfortunate nuisance has occurred: our refrigerator is broken. On Sunday when I was on my way back to the city from a weekend in Saratoga, Kiyo texted me that our fridge didn’t feel very cold. He adjusted the temperature dial a few times but by Monday night it was obviously just not cool at all. So, this week I have eaten all sorts of strange combinations of food to try to get rid of the last perishable items (like quinoa with celery and queso fresco) and I also brought a bunch of odd items to stash in the refrigerator at work (so yes, I’m the weirdo with the heavy whipping cream and frozen peas in the company kitchen). Luckily, Kiyo and I had been lazy about grocery shopping lately, so there really wasn’t that much food in the fridge. On Wednesday night we went to the Yankees vs. Mariner’s game so we ate there, but on Tuesday night we realized we needed to eat someplace convenient after work; so we met right near our Astoria subway stop, at Arepas Cafe.

Kiyo asked me what an arepa is, and to steal from the cafe’s website: arepas are a Venezuelan specialty; corn-based dish (wheat free), highly nutritional meal, split in half and filled with cheese, delicious meats, dressed with toppings. Arepas can be grilled, baked, boiled, fried or steamed, so I tend to think of them as a cross between an empanada (due to the typical fillings and that they can be fried) and a sandwich.

I ordered the Reina: shredded chicken mixed with avocado and mayonnaise. I briefly considered ordering the Bomba, which is the Reina with sliced avocado and cheese, but I’m glad I didn’t since the Reina had plenty of avocado and creamy mayonnaise already. This arepa was a lot mushier than I expected, but the flavor was great. With some of their homemade hot sauce added on, it was perfect.

Kiyo ordered a pork, avocado and cheese arepa, which I stole a bite of; it was also very good. Evidenced in the first picture, we were feeling quite famished and also ordered their fried yuca (my favorite!) and french fries. The creamy green cilantro dressing was addictive! The odd-colored beverage is a homemade lemonade with brown sugar. It was lukewarm even with the ice, I think because it was quite thick. The lemon and brown sugar combination was straightforward and dense. The whole meal, but the lemonade in particular, reminded me of being back home in the Caribbean. Kiyo and I will definitely be back; maybe next for their happy hour, which features $3 wine and beer.

Arepas Cafe

Location: 3307 36th Ave. Astoria, NY 11106 Phone: (718) 937-3835

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