the things I keep sending people

and what wasn't, plus what to make in Q3, and how to live the dream

Over the last two weeks, instead of writing, I was drinking wine at my best friend's wedding in Croatia, unpacking 142 moving bins, and discovering one of the purest new-homeowner experiences: the AC failing in the middle of a heatwave.

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At the end of every quarter, I review my (mostly) gastronomic highs and lows. Last quarter, instead of striving to hit new restaurant and new recipe OKRs, I made some recipe-less dinners, stretched out the last martinis at my favorite neighborhood haunts, and found inspiration in new sources.

This week: everything that was especially good (and bad) in Q2.

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Best Bites (at Home)

1. black beans, marinated tofu, and sesame noodles from Pasta & Co. by Request: this dish doesn’t make any sense but it is delicious. Yes, it’s high protein.

2. spring risotto: I used my entire Farm to People order for the week making risotto with leeks, mushrooms, asparagus, peas, and green garlic. It was a good reminder that there is nothing better than a bowl of well-cooked rice and vegetables. Smothered in cheese.

3. an asparagus sandwich: stuffed with herbed goat cheese, pickled radish, and entirely too much dill. Inspired by Frank & Laurie’s (Providence).

4. honorable mention(s)

   1. a deconstructed “Caesar bite”: faithful readers know about my obsession with Caesar salad. I’m not sure a jammy egg, anchovy, and crouton wrapped in lettuce and smothered in dressing counts as a “salad” but it was tasty.

   2. tomato-poached fish and chili oil: filed under “recipes my husband can make when I’m running late.”

Over-hyped: confit leeks with lentils (totally fine), lemon bars (curd wouldn’t set)

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A Special Moment

This black sesame birthday cake with cream cheese frosting — and a decorating style that proved that I cannot be let loose in the flower district with a credit card.

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Best Bites (away from Home)

1. the mussels with garlic herb butter at Lilia: forgot to order bread and instead drank the melted butter with mussel-spoons.

2. Union Square Cafe remains the perfect New York restaurant: you can get a midday martini (or two) with your boss, fight over your favorite pasta at date night, or, on my latest visit, show up a half hour early after dragging your parents uptown from the Tenement Museum through the rain and beg for a table.

3. Jambon Comte from La Bicyclette: while walking across the Williamsburg Bridge to a foot massage at Zu Yi.

Over-hyped: The Residence of Mr. Moto (go to Mido instead), the Delta Lounge at JFK

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MVPurchases

1. this vintage fruit bowl: (similar)

2. toe exerciser: don’t think, just buy. Your bunions will thank you.

3. I recently described my approach to buying books akin to taking vitamins — it feels self-righteous even if it isn’t really good for you (or the structural integrity of your shelves). A few new favorites:

   1. Ralph Lauren: the Complete Collections (Catwalk): a coffee table book you’ll actually use for inspiration.

   2. Glorious Exploits: after Maggie O’Farrell recommended this on the Culture Study Podcast, I had to get it. Two potters put on a production of Medea during the Peloponnesian War? In contemporary Irish voice? With lot of wine? This is right in the overlapping Venn Diagram of my interests. (and maybe yours, after you see The Odyssey)

   3. The Expanse: every few months, I like to dip my toe into deep genre fiction — just to see what people are into. I’m hooked. See you in 9 books.

4. honorable mention:

   1. a full pack and move: the real winner

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LVPurchases

Last quarter, I continued to light money on fire:

1. Better Than Nonna: Modernized Italian Recipes: dishes were not worth the effort.

2. Planner5D: ChatGPT convinced me that I needed this interior design software. I didn’t. It cost me $39.98 as I was trying to cancel.

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What I’m Making on Repeat in Q3

• succotash: the original dense bean salad.

• Vietnamese watermelon salad: inspired by the refreshing-and-spicy salads from Untable and Ha’s.

• grated squash and corn tacos: add some pickled onions and sour cream

• crispy flounder with ginger-scallion sauce: a weeknight fried fish that feels celebratory — even on leftover rice from Thai takeout.

• sungold sauce: I get the alliums really caramelized and add 4-5 anchovy fillets for an umami boost.

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Chart of the Week

Dan Frommer’s regular report on consumer behavior is always worth a read — and the latest edition about optimization is particularly relevant. I’ve been thinking about how we can make better choices about what we eat — how can we get rid of AI slop about slop?

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Other Stuff to Chew On

Serious

• As the cost of groceries continues to rise (predicted 3.2 across all categories this year), efforts to reduce food waste are more important than ever. A decade after the Department of Agriculture recommended removing confusing “sell by” dates from packaging, California will be the first state to implement it. Sell-by dates are meant for the stores — not to communicate to consumers that the food has gone bad.

• In a world where gyms are trying to become community hubs, doctors’ offices, and your home away from home — where should the casual gym-goer go? Planet Fitness went all-in on the optimization message, but “pivoted too far” and is in the process of returning to its friendly, judgment-free messaging.

Fun

• DJT is trying to make National Scallops Day a thing. I’m pro-mollusk. But food holidays don’t really drive sales.

• Why is the garlic in your pickle jar blue?

• The founder of Liquid Salad is living the dream:

  “I wake up so excited,” he told me. “I take a huge dump every morning, and then I crush the MacBook for thirteen hours every day. This is, like, the most exciting thing in the world to me.”

• Infatuation made a chart about why I left Williamsburg so I didn’t have to:

I’ll be spending the weekend at the movies, in the air conditioning, and will be back next week with my thoughts on The Odyssey. Coming soon: how to host group (therapy) and how to optimize your fitness slice.

Stay cool out there,

Sophia