Saturday, September 3, 2011

back to foodie town & a run in with a foodie celeb !

its no secret that nyc is huge on food. and within 24 hours of being back, i've gotten a lot. of good. food. 

between my trader joes / whole foods runs last night and this morning, i racked up $151 in groceries, but am happy to say i have a bad-ass pantry ready to kick off the semester with. 

another highlight of being back was that this morning i saw this guy:

 i'm such a dog-lover ! i was petting the pants off of him when i looked up to ask his name and realized he belonged to this guy:


yup, that's iron chef micheal symons.


i then realized i had walked into this going on...



...something being filmed for food network. oops ! so cool. 
i didn't ask for his autograph or a picture with him or anything because honestly i've run into a lot of celebs while living here and always feel too awkward to do anything. it just feels weird when you see them up close and realize they're like, normal people.

i then hauled my booty over to brooklyn to go to what is sadly the nearest target and spent too much money and looked way to rediculous carrying $158 worth of dorm stuff back from brooklyn to my apartment. rough.

luckily, lunch was the opposite of rough. because my mom and i went here:


le pain quotidien. think panera. only way, way, way better.
soups. tartines. quiches. mind-blowing crusty bread. salads. pastries. desserts.
all fresh, all organic, and tons of vegan/vegetarian options too. love.


looks good, right?


i didn't ususally get a salad with red quinoa, arugala, sundried tomatoes, and basil pesto. or the black bean hummus tahini & avocado tartine. but today, a seasonal special caught my eye...


heriloom tomato & watermelon salad. 
with feta, fresh mint, cucumber and Majoolah olive oil.



oh.my.god. best flavor combination. EVER.


just look at that beauty...the sweetness of the watermelon with the fresh mint and salty feta was so surprising, and so, so delicious. the greens were also unbeatably fresh. and that bread...that crusty crusty bread... 


mama got a ham, swiss and leek quiche with a side salad and melon. she said it was the best quiche shes ever had. and seriously, it may have been the best salad i've ever had. or one of the best. honestly, i'm sad this is a summer seasonal item. i very well might get it again tomorrow...


oh, and another great thing about le pain is what they give you to top your bread...hazelnut spreads, praline spreads, white chocolate spreads, a million jams & jellies, and italian honey and agave. bomb digity.



and amuse-bouche i set up for my mom. she was blown away, too.


...that meal didn't stand a chance. i could have eaten it ten times over.

the rest of the afternoon was spent meeting up with lovely friends i've missed all summer long! now its off for a dinner i've been craving for forever...and yes, i'll post on it later.

toodles!


4 comments:

  1. I love tomato cucumber salad, but I've never tried it with watermelon! You've intrigued me, it looks good! :)

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  2. this post made me laugh! petting the pants and toodles! excellent. toodles!

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  3. Ok i'm caught up on your blogging. 1. don't stop these blogs, they are awesome. 2. you'll be fine in NYC. 3. I'm a scientist (pharmacology). if you need any biology help, just mail me!

    rach

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  4. wow thank you so much for all your nice comments on all my posts ! seriously. you da bomb.

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