I spent most of Sunday at the beach, which is the best way to spend a Sunday. Making it was a little rough at first as we were out late on Saturday, but nothing is more restorative than Rippers, sunshine, and the ocean. Turns out, sharks also love a Sunday beach day, so we were not able to swim much. But it was still so worth it. One of my favorite parts of a Rockaway day is the elevated subway ride and all the views you catch, from the planes at JFK to the houses on stilts with little docks. New York is a beach town.
It’s a big beach week as we are going to Coney Island on Friday for the Cyclones game. There are still tickets available if you’d like to join and I will be wearing my hot dog shirt. Everyone who comes gets a free hat!
Now, let’s dive in.
Cooking and dining out are a little scary this week as more and more cases of parasite cyclosphora are reported. The effects sound extremely unpleasant and our very underfunded FDA is making little progress on finding the source of the outbreak. From what I’ve read, berries, bagged salads, lettuces, and herbs are potential culprits and best to avoid. I’m planning to use my CSA veggies since they don’t seem very high risk. Cooking does kill the parasite, so maybe we’ll be making some berry compotes. Things with a peel are good too.
It’s extremely alarming and entirely predictable that so many people are getting sick because keeping our food supply safe is a job that requires scientists, political will, and investment and the current administration provides none of the above. I def ate salads this week so hopefully I’ll be okay. Places like Costco and Taco Bell are testing items and removing certain ingredients from shelves and menus but the government needs to do more. If your fridge is giving you anxiety. Chef Paola Velez is sharing lots of ideas for cooking ingredients you might normally eat raw.
Emily hosted book club on Monday and made sourdough pizza and salad. We read Make Me Better, a cult novel that dragged a bit at times, but made for a great discussion. Next month, we’re reading The Reservation, set in a single day at a fine dining restaurant. Emily knocked it out of the park with dinner. She and Finn made pizzas with homemade pesto and sungold tomatoes, as well as a classic margarita. The salad had pistachios, feta and roasted beets and her cookbook shelf was enviable. We want to do more book club dinner parties so stay tuned!
For dessert, I brought brownies with flakey salt (salt is a big plot point in the book we read) and sue made homemade vanilla ice cream with homemade rainbow cookie swirl in a Ninja Creami. My brownies were Ghirardelli box mix, but I added espresso powder, chocolate chips and of course, flakey salt.
I made a snack plate dinner one night with boiled baby potatoes, broccoli, a soft boiled egg, cucumbers and hummus. I also added some gruyère that Jared got from some cheesemongers visiting from Switzerland and it was so good.
We had a staple meal: crispy tofu with rice and a veggie, this time spinach and scallions. It never lets us down.
Leah, Erika and I made dinner on Saturday with Trader Joe’s fried rice and more crispy tofu. They have an air fryer which made it very crispy. We also made a cucumber salad with CSA cucumbers, Heydoh soy sauce (ABIGAIL saves you money), rice vinegar, crispy garlic, and sesame seeds.
Julia and I got dinner at Westville, which makes very good veggies and fries. I love their kale salad with walnuts, blue cheese, and pickled onions. Afterwards, we wanted ice cream and tried Common Meadows Creamery, a new gelato place. The owner makes everything in small batches with ever changing and thoughtful sourced flavors. They are generous with samples so I tried pecan, and blueberry before getting coffee with sour cherries and chocolate. Julia got the peach sorbet which was very, very good.
Sometimes life is about remembering you have free will. Amy and I were planning a catch up dinner and wanted Italian. I suggested we commit to the bit and go to Il Cantinori, the restaurant where Carrie Bradshaw had her disastrous 35th birthday dinner. Every time I watch it, it’s worse than I remember. We both dressed for the moment, me in a leopard skirt, her in a sheer top. The restaurant, which opened in 1983, was a delight. The servers called us princesses and there is ample free bread, free meat and cheese, and free cookies after dinner. We split Caesar salad and I got cacio e Pepe while Amy got fish. We had a bottle of falanghina and espresso with our cookies. The place was packed and everyone seemed to be having a better time than Carrie on that rough night.
Thanks for reading This Needs Hot Sauce! This post is public so feel free to share it with someone who would not skip your birthday dinner
On Saturday, we celebrated Alicia’s birthday in the backyard of Left Hand Path and Sydney’s at Carmelo’s. It was the rare type of weather where your body moves through the air without you having to think too much about it and we had a fun night.
Jared had his first Rippers burger, a big milestone, and I had my first veggie burger of the season. Their fries are great and so is their limeade, it’s not too sweet. Julia and James are maximizing beach trips this summer and it’s been very fun to join them.
For our anniversary dinner, we went to Rolo’s. Our first date was at Stowaway and I remember being so nervous walking up to the restaurant. He got there early to sit on the left since he’s a lefty and didn’t want to elbow. I got to tell him I’m also a lefty and we sit very well together. It’s been a really great year and I appreciate all the messages from you about how happy I seem. I’ve written this newsletter in good times and bad and it feels really good to be where I am right now.
Anyway, Rolo’s was incredible and I can’t wait to go back. It was both of our first time there and the food was everything you’d want to eat—a bright, herby salad, grilled bread with calabrian chili butter, sungold tomato pasta, pickled carrots, scallop carpaccio (a bivalve I’m trying out), and salted caramel chocolate mousse. We got a free round of bubbly for our anniversary. The service was excellent and the girls at the table next to us stopped their meal multiple times to exclaim “Thank god I’m alive” and “I love life.” I agree that a meal with someone you love is truly life affirming and Rolo’s absolutely passed the test.
Since I’m primarily a library book reader, I usually read the buzzy books many months behind schedule. I finished Lost Lambs this week took me a bit to get into this book and there were a few subplots I really did not expect but it was interesting and I would read more from her.
Elin’s Hilderbrand is a great writer and this profile is fascinating. The way she’s become a brand and also branded Nantucket is fascinating and such a tightrope to navigate. I started Five Star Weekend and am enjoying it so far, the book is very good if you’re looking to dabble in Elin.
The fact that Pop Up Bagels does not spread cream cheese on a bagel is wild to me.
Streaming content is so much lower quality than it was even a few years ago. Everything is made assuming no one is paying attention.
The gorgeous Paris apartment of an opera singer
The pressure on women to look good is always high but weddings reach an all time high. Love Jessica DeFino’s take.
Hydration report: I have been into electrolytes and my current lineup is Proper’s Watermelon sticks, which are pretty low in sodium and taste good, and the Plant People lychee electrolyte gummies (client). I brought them to Italy and they were super helpful.
In the spirit of our Il Cantinori dinner, loved Tyler McCall’s newsletter about Carrie’s fashion. She’s an icon.
My dear friend Oset Babür-Winter launched her Substack, Service Continu. It’s full of her obsessions and makes me miss when I got to write for her while she was an editor at Food & Wine.
The linen shirt I wear to the beach is almost sold out but if you’re tall, there are some sizes left! And it’s on sale.
I shared my June highlights, including a trick for making pasta faster using an appliance I’ve had for years.
Loved this diary from book tour by Claire Daverley. Being an author is a dream of mine and the process seems both very hard and vert magical
CSA haul for good measure. Telly is one of Leah and Erika’s cats and he’s so long!
Have a great week and I’ll see you in Coney Island for our outing!
xo, Abigail
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