Upper Eats Side: Blake Lane

After years of construction and waiting with trepid anticipation – the 2nd Avenue Subway Line has finally opened its doors at 3 new stops along the Q line. Things are looking up for the many millennials living in Yorkville.

But the 2nd Avenue Subway isn’t the only new thing bringing a smile to the faces of twenty-somethings on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Trendy new restaurants and bars seem to be springing up left and right.

Blake Lane is one such restaurant – opening in November and quickly becoming a popular spot for both brunch and dinner. I first heard about Blake Lane when a friend tagged me in a picture of their perfectly Instagrammable brunch dishes.

Served in a cute, airy space on 3rd Avenue, Blake Lane is the type of place you’d expect to find in the East Village or Brooklyn – full of Lululemon clad weekend warriors gossiping over coffee as they Snapchat their avocado toast (I hope no one finds offense to this – as I am 100% one of these people...I just might be wearing Old Navy workout gear).

In fact, I came here after a particularly amazing 9 mile run one weekend, with a friend who was visiting from LA. I resembled the heart-eyed emoji as I sat down and looked over the menu – full of dishes I wanted to sample.

Luckily, my friend and I agreed to split a few different things.  I appreciated the mix of hearty options along with light, refreshing choices that made me feel like I was back in California ordering acai bowls and poke on the boardwalk.

(Speaking of California...here's a picture from my recent trip to La Jolla - more to come!

Brunch At Blake Lane

Poke 

Wild Tuna, black rice, avocado puree, mango, cucumber, sesame seeds, nori

This was our favorite part of our meal and it might have had something to do with the artful smear of avocado puree that was so visually appealing. Or the fact that everything tasted so fresh!

Acai Bowl

Banana, cashew butter, marinated berries, granola

A so so acai bowl – I wouldn’t necessarily order this again when there are better bowls in the city and a ton of other options on this menu.

Squash Toast

 Kabocha, onion, Aleppo pepper

Branching out from avocado toast, Blake Lane also offers squash toast and a nut toast with cashew butter. We opted for the squash toast which had a really great flavor, but threw me off a little because it was served somewhat cold. I think I would have preferred this warm and on freshly toasted bread!

Beverages

They have a pretty extensive morning beverage menu. I ordered an Americano but there were no sugar substitutes – organic sugar cubes only (a rolled my eyes a bit at this one, I will admit).

Emily ordered a acai limeade that was on the sweet side and I was really intrigued by their Hot Cocoa served with cayenne, cinnamon, date and sea salt or their Golden Mylk made with almond milk, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, date and sea salt!

Dinner at Blake Lane

When I visited for dinner after my kickboxing class a few weeks ago, Blake Lane was bustling. Where I had felt totally normal in athleisure on a Saturday morning, I felt a little out of place waltzing in on a Thursday night in my sweaty clothes – oops!

Again, we tried a bunch of different dishes and I might have liked them even more than brunch! That being said, the cost was a lot more of a hit to my wallet ordering off the dinner menu!

Roasted Beets

Grapefruit, shaved onion citrus vinaigrette, mint

While I like all of these things on their own, I wasn’t completely thrilled with the combination. It felt like they just threw a bunch of on-trend ingredients together for the hell of it.

Broccoli

Cashew butter, chili oil

Loved this dish – the broccoli could have been charred a bit more, but the cashew butter was absolutely delicious! I could have drank a cup of it.

Tuna Tartine

Yellowfin tuna, broccoli salsa verde, Aleppo pepper

The waiter recommended this, and it ended up being one of our favorite items! Definitely recommend! It was so fresh and filling!

Chicken Lettuce Cups

Warmed spiced yogurt, herbs

Lettuce cups can be a bit bland, but these were full of flavor!

Courgetti

Spirazlized squash, basil pistachio pesto, roasted tomato, avocado, poached gulf shrimp

Personally, this was my favorite! I’m a sucker for pesto using alternative nuts (did I really just say that?) because pine nuts are so expensive – and I will definitely be taking a stab at my own pistachio pesto one of these days! The dish came with 4 good sized shrimp and the roasted tomatoes were a great finishing touch. 

Galeria Brazilian Brunch Is Bangin' and Beautiful

Leaving Ice & Vice the other day, my friends and I noticed a cute little restaurant on Clinton Street in the East Village and stopped to stare in awe at the menu – we would gladly have ordered anything on it.

We were especially intrigued by the acai bowls since it was a Brazilian restaurant and seemed to be authentic. So like the good little Bucket List builders that we are, we snapped a picture in the hopes of one day returning.

I fully expected it to disappear into the depths of my phone, but when we went to the Lowline Lab (a cool concept, but you might want to just wait until the real park opens) a few weekends later, we were throwing out lunch options in the area and realized we were really close! Instead of waiting an hour for a seat in El Rey, we headed over to Galeria and were instantly seated at one of the coolest tables ever.

Yes, the table was cool. And it was for sale, since Galeria is part restaurant/part art gallery! 

Here’s the run down on our brunch!

1.       Pao De Queijo

If you have never had these little Brazilian cheese balls you are MISSING OUT. Get to the nearest Brazilian restaurant ASAP and have your mind blown by these traditional cheesy popovers.

The first time I tried one was at my birthday brunch at Calle Ocho two years ago and that day I ended up smuggling out a half dozen in my purse.

If you’re picturing liquidy cheese inside of bread – it’s not like that at all. The cheese is much more incorporated into the dough. You can’t tell where the bread stops and the cheese starts and it’s like a big interconnected ball of love. The circle is round, it has no end, that’s how long I want to eat pao de queijo.

2.       Acai Bowl

We knew we had to try an authentic acai bowl, and we had ours additionally topped with almonds and honey. All of their acai bowls come with banana, granola and coconut! There were a ton of other options, but at $1 each, it could get really pricey!

This was great – but the smoothie was a little less solid than I would have liked. That’s completely a personal preference though, and flavor wise this was one of the best acai bowls I’ve had. We all agreed it was definitely top notch.

3.       Rainbow Cauliflower Bowl

This was hands down our favorite part about lunch at Galeria and a dish I would go out of my way to eat again.

This “unusual bowl” came with a poached egg, pine nuts, coconut, bulgar, herbs, cauliflower, tahini and a pomegranate dressing.

The combination of pomegranate, pine nuts and coconut was what really kicked this bowl up a notch. We all couldn’t stop raving about it.

And did I mention that it was SO BEAUTIFUL and Instagrammable?

4.       Pesto Tofu and Spinach Tapioca Sandwich

I still don’t really know how to explain this tapioca sandwich – the bread was brittle and crackery but also spongey? It was a very interesting consistency and though it took some getting used to, by the end I was enjoying it.

I think I liked this the most out of the three of us, but that’s because I’m absolutely in love with pesto and you could put pesto on anything and I would be a fan!

I would be really interested in trying their sweet version of the tapioca sandwich which comes with chocolate and berries.

I would HIGHLY recommend this spot if you’re looking for a delicious, healthy, trendy brunch with your girlfriends but don’t feel like waiting an hour on the sidewalk for a seat. It doesn’t have a ton of seating, but it wasn’t crowded when we went at around 1 on a Sunday which is prime brunching hours. 

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ICE & VICE Sure Is Nice

If you had to eat only one dessert only for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

Donuts? Cupcakes? Cookies? Brownies?

The correct answer is ICE CREAM. Ok, you’re entitled to your own opinion…but in my far superior opinion, ice cream is the king of the dessert jungle.

Here in New York City – there are a multitude of ice cream options. There are places that specialize in small-batches of unique flavors, Thai-Style ice cream rolls, soft-serve ice cream a la Big Gay Ice Cream Shop, vegan ice cream like Van Leeuwen's, goat milk ice cream from Victory Garden– you name it, New York City has got it. It’s a wonderful thing.

This summer wouldn’t have been complete without a trip to one of the much-talked about ice cream shops of the summer – Ice & Vice.

Not only do they have unique ice cream flavors, but their cones get in on the action too!

Paul Kim and Ken Lo opened Ice and Vice’s brick and mortar location on the Lower East Side after winning a Vendy Award for the Best Dessert in 2015. The space isn’t just an ice cream parlor though – they can also pasteurize the product on-site, making up to 15 gallons at a time.

And the counter has the ability to set a different temperature for each flavor!

When we went, there was a line but it was moving fairly quickly. It’s a small space with just a few tables – which I wouldn’t recommend for the claustrophobic.

Lately Ice & Vice has been partnering with other dessert destinations in the city for some crazy creations like an Underwest Donut ice cream sandwich and ice cream between two Bruffin rainbow cake cookies. Or how about the ice cream sandwich made between two of Kossar’s black & white cookies?

Part of me was tempted to go for the ‘gram with my order, but I decided that if this ice cream was really as good as they said it was, a single scoop in a cone should do the trick.

I actually like that despite not being the most photogenic thing in the world - it's just white ice cream - this ice cream shop has received so much love. Isn't it crazy to think that restaurants now have to think about how their product will look on Instagram - the crazier and most absurd the better, despite the taste or necessity? (I'm lookin' at you Black Tap and Loopy Doopy).

The flavors were all extremely unique, which made picking just one pretty overwhelming. Luckily, they allow you to sample a few flavors before you choose.

I thought for sure I would end up ordering the Food Baby – concord grape. Donut soil, raspberry coulis and rainbow sprinkles – but I didn’t love it. I tried one other that was delicious before settling on the seasonal “Nuts of Wrath.”

When I tell you what the description was, you might think it’s a little strange. But I’m here to tell you it was phenomenal! And that it tasted like each thing listed in the description.

Ready?

Marcona almond and Grape Kool-Aid jam. Mmmmm.

I asked the person behind the counter which cone they suggested and went with the Salted Blue Corn Honey. It was the right move.

Ice & Vice cone are made by The Konery and they are awesome artisanal waffle cones. My friend Abby who works for Tasting Table told us that during the non-summer months, when The Konery has left over batter, they make fortune cookies! How cool.

I don’t typically order my ice cream in a cone, but I am happy to report that Ice & Vice may have changed that going forward.

Ice & Vice really was one of the most unique ice cream shops I’ve visited and the taste was WONDERFUL. It was such a multifaceted experience for my taste buds (yeah, I really just wrote that). And the texture/consistency is just how I like my ice cream – a little on the harder side!

The price may come as a bit of a shock (the specialty cones are $1.75 in addition to the cost of a single scoop being $4+) but it’s worth it if you’re going to go out for ice cream.

 I look forward to stalking their Instagram feed until the next flavor that “I NEED” comes around!

Ice & Vice

221 East Broadway

Monday - Thursday 2 PM - 10 PM
Friday 2 PM - 12 AM
Saturday 12 PM - 12 AM
Sunday 12 PM - 10 PM

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Moonlight Brunch Potluck

Sometimes, my event planning college memories come rushing back, and I do things like plan Moonlight Brunch Potlucks with coworkers for a Monday night. The idea came from an event that Quinnipiac University After Dark would put on during finals week every semester- we would serve a HUGE free breakfast buffet at midnight, and people went nuts. Free hashbrowns when you’re up studying at midnight for a final? Pretty great.

(Here's a picture from this year's QUAD Moonlight Breakfast. Good job keeping the tradition going, guys!)

Much to my delight, when I suggested the real-life grown-up version of the event, instead of looking at me like a weirdo, there were about 15 girls who were totally on board with me. Maybe it had to do with the promise of alcohol on a Monday night.

I found a great website, Sign Up Genius, where I could have everyone decide what they wanted to bring. The categories were Sweet (think donuts, pancakes, French toast, etc.) Savory (think eggs, bacon hashbrowns), Bubbly (dranks) and Yogurt Bar! The yogurt bar was my way of making froyo a breakfast thing- Greek yogurt with all different toppings including granola, fruits and different chocolate candies.  

When we showed up at my coworker’s apartment, after she graciously offered to host, she had bought us each the CUTEST little Mason jar with a crazy straw for us to drink our mimosas, screwdrivers, champagne and Bloody Marys out of.

(Most important station, obviously)

Soon, the food spread starting growing, and I started drooling. Everything looked soo damn tasty. First of all, my friend had brought Dougnut Plant donuts. One bite of the tres leche- and I was launched into a love affair with donuts that is still going strong (more on that to come).

(And with that, the donut addiction began!)

There was also a French toast casserole with blueberry preserve sauce/topping that was homemade and out of this world. Someone else made a cheesy potato and bacon casserole, there were pop-tarts, quiche, cannoli, cookies, and my contribution: peanut butter banana oatmeal casserole with blueberries and strawberries.

I slaved away on this masterpiece, and I think it came out pretty good! I unfortunately did it so long ago, that I can’t remember which recipe I used. It was something verysimilar to this though, if you want to give it a try! I also baked in some blueberries and strawberries, and then decorate the top with fruit since it’s all about presentation!

It was such a fun night with fun people and a gorgeous view of this beautiful city! I’m so happy everyone liked the idea, and thinking back on it now, it’s making me want to plan another potluck soon! Any good potluck theme ideas?