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VANILLA LATTE is a blog dedicated to food & travel with occasional random stuff thrown in. It is managed and written by me, Maggie Ha.


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NY Eats: Asiadog 27Oct09

Asiadog

I’m starting a new series of posts called “NY Eats” for all the delicious places I come across in New York. Don’t worry, I’m still cooking and posting all my culinary adventures. But since New York has so many yummy eateries, I figured I’d better start writing them down before I forget. I already have a gigantic to-eat list filled with both famous and not-so-heard-of places, I can’t wait to try them all!

So for my first post of the series, I present to you my foodie friends, Asiadog! Delicious Asian inspired toppings on a hot dog. I absolutely love hot dogs. Well to be precise, veggie dogs. It’s hard to find veggie dogs but Asiadog not only serves veggie dogs, they top it with delicious toppings! And for you carnivores, they have beef and chicken franks as well as an organic option. Now for the toppings… my favorite was Vinh, Vietnamese pickled
carrot and daikon with cilantro and jalapeño. It was so good, I went back for seconds! They have other options like kimchi, curry, bbq pork, and Asian slaw. You can find Asiadog at Fort Greene Flea Market in Brooklyn on Saturdays, among their other locations (see website). I had mine at a special edition of the Brooklyn Bridge flea market on Sundays…. special guest: Martha Stewart!!!!

MARTHA!!!!

Don’t even get me started on how excited I was, hot dogs + Martha Stewart sighting, seriously made my day! I am loving New York! :)

Asparagus & Halibut Basquaise 19Oct09

Halibut Basquaise

Asparagus Basquaise

Here it is, my first dish in my new kitchen! It wasn’t as bad as I thought, luckily I chose to make something that I had all the ingredients for. Whew! So a basquaise dish is traditionally a peppers and onions red wine reduction with lots of peppers, the key ingredient is piment d’Espelette - paprika, along with garlic and thyme. Usually the traditional French dish requires some ham or bacon for that rich salty flavor but I did a version that was vegetarian friendly and oh SO delicious. I served a vegetarian dish with roasted asparagus and a meatier fishy version with halibut.

You can make a basquaise out of other things as well… that’s just the chunky peppers and onion sauce. You can put chicken or fish on top of it and it will go perfectly. I opted for roasted asparagus for a vegetarian dish but grilled eggplant or zucchini would go nicely as well. I added grape tomatoes to my version for that added burst of flavor when you bite into one. A basquaise sounds difficult but it really is easy and it tastes amazing! Hope you enjoy it!
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I’m back! 19Oct09

Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially back! After the craziness of moving from Sydney to New York, I am finally settled in. Well as settled as I can be, I am no longer sitting on a cardboard box and my fridge has more than just a bottle of water. Although, I am still missing my cooking toys that are now somewhere in the ocean between Los Angeles and Sydney. Hopefully they’ll make it here before the holidays!

New York has been amazing so far - I eat and eat and eat. Our first week was mainly filled with pizza, bagels and occasionally a cupcake here or there. We have been ordering food or eating out every night. Needless to say, I cannot wait to cook my first meal! This past week started off with a 4 hour expedition at Bloomingdale’s kitchen department. That was followed by a couple hours at Williams-Sonoma. Then somewhere along the way I found myself downtown at Sur La Table. Even when I was book shopping, I came across a copy of the first English edition of Larousse Gastronomique, food is everywhere I turn! So what if I don’t have a bed, dresser, desk or chair…. I have a kitchen! Stay tuned for some culinary experiments from my new home in New York!

Latest Latte

Soy Latte @ Joe Art of Coffee

It’s been a little difficult finding delicious good coffee in NY after being spoiled in Sydney. None of that brewed stuff, I’m talking about espresso based coffee. I finally found a local spot on the Upper West Side that has good coffee, Joe the Art of Coffee. Although, it’s not quite like the ones I have in Sydney, it’s pretty close. I give it a 4/5, an extra point for the mere fact that it’s the only good coffee in my neighborhood.


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