Vegetarian
Tiffin Wallah in Curry Hill
Tiffin Wallah
A couple weeks ago was one of the first times in a while that I went to an Indian restaurant. It’s not that I don’t like the food of my peoples (au contraire, I love), it’s just that I don’t really think about going to a restaurant to getting my hands on some chicken tikka masala. But you know, I live away from home, and (clearly) I don’t make enough time to cook at home. When my friends suggested we get dosas for dinner, I was game for once so we headed over to Tiffin Wallah in “Curry Hill” (that’s a totally non-official name for you non-NY’ers, but it refers to the desi-restaurant laden area of Murray Hill).
Papri chaat
We broke fast with papri chaat (crisp fried dough, chick peas, tamarind sweet yogurt and date chutney) kinda like how I would at home (did I mention I miss home?). My friend Miral ordered some Indian naan-pizza thing which we can’t remember the name for the life of us…I think it was the Chili+Cheese Dosa they have (they say it’s their version of a quesadilla and that sounds about right).
It's like an Indian pizza...
Bar Suzette: World Crepe Bar – Chelsea Market
I feel like I’m just re-discovering Chelsea Market because I found myself in the area more often than I ever had been during Fashion Week. On one of the first days when I was attending a conference next door, I was famished by 1pm. The number of food options you have at CM is almost dizzying. When I walked in, the first thing that caught my eye was Bar Suzette. In the interest of surviving, I went straight to their counter. They had this hummus/veggie/truffle oil crepe that sounded promising…well, actually I never really had a hummus crepe so I figured it could go either way, but since it was my first real meal of the day, I forcefully numbed my normal Nutella craving and ordered it.
Hummus and veggie crepe stage 1
Hummus and veggie crepe stage 2
Hummus and veggie crepe DONE and ready to eat!
And Wow. I don’t know if I had low expectations, but I felt like I was eating a gourmet crepe. The crepe itself was not as thin and flimsy as I’m normally used to and the veggies were fresh and crunchy. I’m also pretty sure you can put truffle oil on anything and it makes it that much better — I devoured it. Bar Suzette doesn’t have a website but I read on their FB page that their menu is seasonal and constantly switching things up. And the prices aren’t bad either…the crepe was $9 and filling. I have yet to try their dessert crepes but at least in its savory category, I think it can give Creperie a run for its money.
Restaurant Info:
Bar Suzette: World Crepe Bar
75 9th Avenue
btw 15th and 16th St.
New York, NY 10011
917-207-7552
Chelsea Market
x
Shy
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- Hummus and veggie crepe stage 1
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- Hummus and veggie crepe stage 2
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- Hummus and veggie crepe DONE and ready to eat!
Dinner for two? Goat cheese crostinis with grape salsa
Goat cheese crostinis with grape salsa
Recently, two of my lovely friends got engaged, so my roomie and I decided we wanted to treat them to a nice home-cooked meal. Naturally, I got really excited when we began planning the menu! I initially thought we could just make a simple tomato/basil bruschetta for the appetizer, but my mind raced back to these mini goat cheese crostinis I ate at the last Bobby Flay event I went to. I remember mistaking the grapes for chopped red onions and being totally surprised after my first bite (in a good way). Flay is all about texture in his recipes, and he really only uses ingredients you can taste. He always says, if it’s in the recipe, it’s there for a reason. This particular recipe is interesting because it plays on spicy ingredients (like chopped jalapenos and onions) that’s balanced out with the cooling taste of juicy grapes, and of course, all topped on a dense but flavorful herbed goat cheese.
Since it was a Hellmann’s event, I was able to easily find the recipe on their website:
The Falafel Fail
- Falafel attempt 1
I’ve been cooking a lot these days (pat on the back)…but every once in a while, things can go horribly wrong. My first stab at making falafel — or Failafel, as coined by Christina from the writing class I spoke at last night — was one of those times. As I began to realize that it wasn’t going so well, I almost stopped taking pictures, deeming it now useless for my blog. But I think it’s part of learning…and also a chance to pay further homage to the pure awesomeness of our mothers who could work that kitchen as if they never burnt toast in their life…and probably haven’t.
Israeli Couscous with Veggies
Thursdays are starting to become my cooking night with Archana 
. We try to keep it healthy and easy and here’s another recipe we stumbled upon using Israeli couscous. I don’t think I ever had this type of couscous before — I’ve only tried the tiny, grainy type. It’s a bit carb-ey but is a good source of protein and fiber, and paired with the right seasoning and veggies as you’ll see here, is absolutely delicious.
We got the recipe from Epicurious but had to make some alterations to the proportions. I’ll give you the recipe we used, which feeds 4.
Quick dinner idea: Spinach, basil, tomato quiche
My fellow foodie, Archana of LettuceVeg.com, and I have been talking about making dinner together for a while now. We finally had a chance to get together and get our cooking on a couple nights ago for a light and easy three-course meal. We both knew we just didn’t want anything fried and also wanted to steer clear of pasta for once. So we figured what better way to kick things off than making a summer quiche? She pulled up a recipe from Gourmet but customized it to our own tastes: a spinach, basil and tomato quiche with a whole wheat crust.
First things first: As an appetizer, Arch brilliantly suggested we go light with fresh, homemade salad. We picked up some greens, red bell peppers, and mandarin oranges (we both are obsessive about them), and topped it off with chopped almonds and a smidgen of tomato basil feta cheese. We mixed it with balsamic vinagerette and voila:
