Green Fusion/Village Yogurt

I absolutely LOVE acai bowls and it’s definitely a treat that I will allow myself every once in a while since it’s basically like eating dessert (up to 50 grams of sugar per serving!) I was looking for a new acai bowl location (my usuals are from Juice Generation or homemade with bananas and homemade granola to make it a little less sweet). I looked up a place near my office in Chelsea (and didn’t want to walk crosstown to Juice Generation) and found some great reviews on Green Fusion (FKA Village Yogurt). I gathered some coworkers and ended up taking the subway there to get there faster. The restaurant is known for their healthy foods, shakes/smoothies, and fresh acai bowls:

They serve all kinds of interesting drinks, including drinks with chia seeds and kombucha:

We ordered three acai bowls with bananas and granola (the acai is mixed with either almond milk, soy milk, or apple juice):

They were REALLY good – my coworkers had never heard of them before and they both walked out huge fans! I’d never been inside before but now plan on visiting again for their savory dishes.

Kitchensurfing

A few weekends ago, Ken and I had dinner with our friends (and neighbors), Molly and John. Molly and I scheduled a dinner with a chef from Kitchensurfing, which we thought would be fun and a good way to have dinner without hiring a babysitter for their baby.

I scheduled the dinner online (easy enough) and then finalized plans with the chef via email and text. The night of our dinner, the chef was supposed to arrive at 7:30. At 7:30, I texted him to make sure he found his way to the apartment and he texted back saying he was stuck in traffic but was almost at the apartment. We were having dinner at John and Molly’s and headed over because we thought the chef would be there soon. An hour later, he still hadn’t arrived (and we still hadn’t heard from him) so I texted him back. We were getting a little hungry (and antsy!). He finally arrived 20 minutes later…WITHOUT AN APOLOGY…and started “cooking”. He had prepared everything beforehand and ended up just plating things at their house – we started with the potato salad:

And then cracked open a can of GOYA BEANS and chopped an onion to serve with the steak:

He did prepare the steak at their place (and heated up the beans), but other than that, there was NO cooking whatsoever! The dessert was a chocolate tart that was pre-made. I also thought the beef was no better than what I’d make myself in my own kitchen! I was disappointed with how late the chef was and also disappointed with the lack of actual cooking once the chef arrived. I will definitely not be using them again – I thought that it was way too pricey for the service and food.

Redd Wood

Ken and I were celebrating our one-year anniversary at Napa over the 4th of July weekend and we found out my friend from college, Tuesday, was getting married there that weekend, too. Tuesday and her fiance (at the time) were talking to us (at another friend’s wedding) and told us that they were getting married in Napa during the same time – and invited us to their wedding! We were very flattered and brushed it off to our cocktail hour drinks, but when she emailed me a few days later to follow up and invite us again, we said we’d make it to their wedding.

Tuesday got married at The North Block Hotel in Yountville and then there was a big dinner afterwards catered by Redd Wood. The weather was beautiful the day of their wedding and they hosted the dinner outdoors. Instead of doing smaller tables, they did 4 or 5 long tables that had flowers down the center:

One of Tuesday’s friends provided the wines for the wedding (which were all amazing) and few of the dishes I remembered to take photos of were the bucatini:

The meatballs:

And the calamari:

Everything was shared family style and was delicious. We were so stuffed after appetizers and salads were served and didn’t realize that we were still getting three main course options! The dessert was also really good – cannolis and other desserts in addition to wedding cake! Tuesday also looked gorgeous and was glowing all day:

The next day, we stopped by for the day after brunch (also at Redd Wood) and ate a ton of good sweets, including really good fresh nectarines and fluffy lemon ricotta pancakes. It was a great celebration and we’re so happy we had the opportunity to celebrate with Tuesday and Dan!

Addendum

The past two times I visited Napa, I didn’t have a chance to eat at Addendum. They’re only open on the weekends and the line is pretty ridiculous when the weather is nice so I’ve always opted out (and gone wine tasting instead). This time, however, I was smart enough to make a reservation for our lunch (which was a great way to break up the morning and afternoon of wine tasting). Addendum is a small restaurant behind ad hoc:

It’s more a shack than a restaurant (the shack in this photo is where they take orders and make the food…although I think they might make everything in the ad hoc kitchen, assemble the lunchboxes, and then bring them to addendum):

Addendum is the most casual Thomas Keller restaurant and is casual enough that lots of people opt to sit on the grass:

But there are also picnic benches where you can sit after you’ve ordered:

They grow herbs and lettuces in the back of Ad hoc near addendum but the majority of their produce is further down the street (by The French Laundry):

There are only two options for lunch: fried chicken or ribs (with sides):

We had their fried chicken the night before at ad hoc, but I didn’t know they were going to serve fried chicken at ad hoc when I made the order for addendum’s lunch boxes.

I am usually a sparkling or tap water drinker, but I spotted Cheerwine and have been a fan of it since trying it in North Carolina (and have never seen it outside North Carolina!). I’m a sucker for it and we ordered a Cheerwine and a Calistoga sparkling water, too:

Lunch came with a side of corn bread (for both entrees), pasta salad, and cole slaw. The pasta salad was a little overcooked but everything else was REALLY good, especially the cole slaw. It was tangy and a very nice complement to the ribs. If you’re going to be in Napa on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, I definitely recommend going to addendum for lunch!

Birthday Cake!

Ken’s birthday was on Saturday and for his birthday, I scheduled a very fun day of relaxation for him. He started the day with a massage (while I did our laundry), then came home and watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi while I baked him a funfetti cake from scratch! We loved the photo from the Baked Occasions book launch party and just had to recreate it:

It’s a pretty simple recipe with lots of sugar, butter, and more sugar. I added additional jimmies to the cake batter after everything was well mixed:

While I was baking the two layers of the round cake, I had some down time and decided to make the buttercream frosting. If you’re ever wondering what’s in buttercream frosting, it’s 4 sticks of butter, some cream, and sugar. I also added some vanilla beans that I have to give it a little more flavor.

The top layer post-icing:

The finished product:

I purchased the Happy Birthday candles because they were multi-colored and I couldn’t think of a better way to top the cake:

Lighting up my masterpiece:

Ken cutting it up:

The cake is moist, dense, and VERY sweet. It’s so heavy that I thought I was getting an arm workout while I was walking the cake to our neighbor’s house for our dinner! It was such a fun cake to bake – I want someone else to have a birthday soon so I can make it again!