Gimme Your Summer Food

On a recent sweltering night I joined someone who is actually qualified to give feedback on a new menu and did my part by documenting it.  Not everyone likes to take pictures of their food.
Read Daniel B.'s post here.  I am grateful to be invited--THANK YOU!

Remember that Creo isn't tucked away on an adorable side street of rowhouses or shops - it's in Stuyvesant Plaza but it's unconnected, so it's floating in between the road and the massive parking lot.  I don't think they have outdoor seating...but who would want to be hanging in the parking lot anyway?  What it lacks in the outside it makes up for inside.  It's super funky with tons of pendant lights, mirrors, crazy high ceiling, and copper colored tabletops. 

Cheese plate.  Loved them all. Led to a short discussion about how most strawberries are covered in poison. Fresh figs are delicious and make me think of The Land.

Watermelon, watercress, feta, jicama, pepita, citrus.  This was my FAVORITE DISH!  What could possibly go wrong?   The watercress was kind of wild and and curlier than usual and I loved it. The chef said it wasn't a big seller.  Things That Make Me Sad.

 Halibut over sweet corn puree.  Inexplicable tartar sauce and lobster hat.  Loved the fish and the corn was yummmmmmm.  I like green beans but it was funny to have them hanging out in the puree. Like green kayaks.

Diver scallop and cauliflower puree.  Loved the puree.  Hmm piece of thing from the ocean sitting on puree of a vegetable.  Where have I seen this?  I liked it though.  My scallop was seared a little more perfectly crust-wise than the Profussor's.

Berry explosion with cake.  The homemade ice cream was my favorite part.  I thought the cake was kind of a snooze.  What if it were a waffle?  That would be fun.

I really enjoyed my first meal at Creo over a year ago, and I'd definitely go back and get some of the summer dishes I've now had the pleasure of trying.  Like the watermelon/watercress salad, but in extra-large size. 

It is disheartening to hear directly from chef Brian Bowden about the politics of changing a menu.  I think that's why I like small places with ever-changing menus on a chalkboard.  I want what's fresh and best NOW, and if my favorite thing isn't on the menu that week, that's probably a good thing, because it's not what it could be.

All Over The Internet

I haven't been posting much.  It's a pet peeve of mine when people apologize for that because it makes it seem like someone cares, and really the writer should just move on to their post. So I'm not apologetic, but I will tell you what you've missed since I haven't been posting it here.  However, I want to note that if you follow me on Twitter and Instagram, you probably haven't missed much, but my characters have been limited (which is probably a good thing. Too bad in real life I have more than 140 each time I open my mouth).

So, time passes.  We celebrated a birthday, an anniversary, anticipated a friend's baby, went to a wedding, and had a bunch of visitors.  Mostly, I cooked or assembled.  Sometimes we went out.

I was still all over the internet.  I'm in love with these Shiba Inu puppies. And a few of these Call Me Maybes.  This makes me laugh.  And of course, I was posting on Instagram and Twitter all this time.

ICYMI:

 This photo is from Memorial Day weekend, when we had two friends stay over on Friday, a sister and grandparents on Saturday and Sunday, and parents on Tuesday (on their way up north).

We went to an awesome wedding, and a friend we've known since we were 5 and 6 years old literally rode in on a white horse and married his beautiful bride.

 For two weeks straight I was addicted to knitting this blanket in all of my free time.  One of those weeks I was home alone with pup and knitting time was fairly short, but I fit it in whenever I could.

3/4 of us had chicken and waffle (singular) at Hattie's, plus one crabcake eggs benedict.  The poached eggs were hard inside but they were happy to make them pretty quickly.  Sitting on the covered patio is really relaxing and there was no wait for brunch.  

 We took Henry hiking for the first time, a short one in Thacher Park.  Not one, but two people told us he looked "just like" another dog they knew.  He was bringing back memories left and right.

The rest of the summer is going to be great. Another boating day on Lake George, two more weddings, a bachelorette party (whooooa watch out), and many more meals.

I hope you're enjoying this unbelievable weather week and that you had a great weekend!