Tag Archives: Eating

FOOD, TRAVEL

Eating our way through London for 192 hours!

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By Lakshmi:

Can I make a confession? I’m a baby about my birthdays!  For many years now, I’ve made a resolution to not work on my birthday and fill the day surrounded by the people,  activities and food I love.  And every year I look forward to the 24 hours dedicated to me.  But this time around, I decided to extend the celebration to 192 hours. That’s right, eight days of eating my way through London with my teenaged daughter and her dear friend for company.

Now, this was going to be no random Eatathon.  I had a wish list of five places I definitely wanted to hit up on my trip.  Places where tables tend to get booked up months ahead of time. And here I was with my air tickets to London purchased barely two weeks away from D-day! OpenTable and the phone became my best friends as I wrangled my way to reservations at all five.  With those anchors set, I scoured my way through bookmarked clippings from food and travel magazines, Time Out London, and other sources to create a list of restaurants by neighborhood that served amazing meals at not too exorbitant prices.  This list was vetted by my travel companions, and the end product was a list accented with highlights and bold colors.  We were ready to forage our way through London!

The first stop on this journey was a dream come true.  NOPI, a restaurant by one of my favorite chefs, Yottam Ottolenghi.  He is the MAN who does vegetables like no other.  The flavors, the seasoning, the fresh taste, the creativity…I could just go on and on.

My excitement entering in was like a kid who had been promised a trip to a candy store for a long time and now had permission to pick out anything she wanted.  Let me walk you through a visual journey of what we ate!  If I had to pick one word to describe the meal? Divine.  Add another word? Magic!  Tell you how I felt? Like Royalty. How was the taste? It was a like a perfectly orchestrated taste festival on my tongue.  And my admiration for the creator of this culinary nirvana? Undying!

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The menu – presenting us with the agonizing tradeoffs we would be subject to!!
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Bread with the richest olive oil you could dream of
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AAhhhhh! Nothing like marinated olives with a glass of wine
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Jicama, smokey jalapeno and tomato salsa – I’m crying with happiness
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Mixed seed lavash with burnt spring onion dip – too bad we were in a place where it would be inappropriate to lick our bowl clean
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Roasted butternet squash, red onion, tahini, zatar – nowhere have I tasted squash this good
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Spiced potato cakes with a topping of parsnip chips
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Peanut and caramel icecream with chocolate sauce and peanut brittle – should I eat them separately or mix them?
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Baked chocolate ganache, plum soil, creme fraiche, the perfect backdrop for a candle

Stay tuned for our next post on this 192 hour food fueled journey through London!

TRAVEL

An Idyllic Spring Morning in Syracuse

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It’s a gorgeous spring day in Syracuse. The campus lawns radiate a vivid shade of green, illustrating the color that the Emerald City is known for. I’m sitting in the Life Sciences building, across from the College Place bus stop staring at the picturesque sky and watching bright-eyed tour groups pass by. It is a perfect morning. The Connective Corridor bus approaches, getting ready to make its routine trip from the heart of campus to the hip neighborhood of Armory Square. I had a choice. Either stay inside working on an assignment or take a few hours out of my schedule to enjoy the warm spring day. Thankfully, I chose the latter.

The initial plan was to grab an Italian meal at Pastabilities. The festive Italian joint is well known among the Syracuse community for its hot tomato oil and delicious array of pasta dishes. As I headed to the beloved eatery, I passed a small restaurant called Lofo. Patrons were dining outside enjoying the crisp weather and the premise of farm-to-table food was too good to resist.

Inside, I was greeted by a friendly wait staff, who encouraged me to sit at the bar where the restaurant boasts its myriad of local brews. The beers are proudly displayed on the top shelf, hailing from Ithaca, Skaneatlas, and the Salt City itself. I order a beet burger, with a succulent patty dyed purple from its namesake mixed with brown rice and black beans. On top rests a few avocados, smoked gouda cheese, and a drizzle of sriracha mayonnaise. It was absolutely heavenly, served on a homemade whole wheat bun that was toasted to perfection.

From there, I decided to check out some of Armory Square’s boutiques. Although they are miniscule compared to the nearby Destiny USA mall, the charm that these small businesses offer is often overlooked and the collection, although much smaller, usually has some quality pieces. After finding a great deal on jeans, I decided it was time for coffee, and when in Syracuse, there’s no better place to get that caffeine fix than at Kubal. The regional chain’s new art-deco location is an absolute must, with stunning views of Clinton Square and the iconic Niagara Mohawk building. I’m sitting here now, drinking a cappuccino watching joggers, dog walkers, and shoppers whiz past. It’s the perfect ending to a perfect afternoon.

FOOD

Apple Som Tam Salad – A Twist On The Classic Thai Papaya Salad

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By Lakshmi:

I’ve been trying a lot of new things in the kitchen and when I looked at the recipe for this salad in BBC’s Good Food India magazine, I just wanted to eat it right away.  It looked healthy, had the perfect combination of tart, spice and sweet and most importantly seemed like an awesome salad to eat as a snack or lunch.

Here’s how to assemble this salad in 10 minutes – so easy to do, that a recipe is not even necessary 🙂

Step 1: Take two green apples, core them and slice them thinly.  Toss them with the juice of a lime.  Take a handful of frozen slender french beans or fresh ones and cook them for a few minutes in the microwave.

Step 2:  Crush a garlic clove, a tsp of dry roasted peanuts, a hot fresh chili together and mix with a tbsp each of light soy sauce, light brown sugar and lime juice.

Step 3: Toss the output of Step 1 and Step 2 well and arrange on a plate.  Garnish with a handful of dry roasted peanuts, a few tablespoons of pomegranate seeds and finely chopped coriander leaves.

We’d love your feedback if you try this out 🙂