Sunday Game Plan – NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2025

NYC Summer Restaurant Week is back!! This year NYC Restaurant Week will be begin on Monday 07/21/25 to 08/31/25; not all restaurants will participate over the five week period. To date, 610 restaurants from the five boroughs will be participating. The price points for this season are $30, $45 and $60 for lunch/brunch and/or dinner depending on the restaurant.  What I will be doing differently this time is recommending restaurants according to neighborhoods where realistically I’ll be dining in based on convenience unless it’s something special that I’d go that extra mile (stay tuned to the end of this post).

LOWER MANHATTAN

To date there are 14 restaurants that are participating in this upcoming restaurant week. I’ve personally dined in 10 out of the 14 participating restaurants where 7 of those 10 restaurants were for restaurant week.

Before COVID-19, my friend and I dined in Morton’s The Steakhouse on World Trade Center for Restaurant Week dinner. Entrees were generous because I actually recalled my friend ordering the pork chop and only ate a third of her dish and took the rest home. What I appreciated it about this restaurant is their transparency of their portions by posting the calories next to each dish. One day, I’ll return to check out their power hour.

I’ve been to Manhatta twice for restaurant week, the first time was five years ago for lunch and the second time was last year when my friend treated me to an early birthday lunch. Both times I have had the privilege to dine with a view. Service, and ambiance was off the charts. Unfortunately, this restaurant week, the menu offers a variation of dishes that are served on their regular menu, which is not the same. Below are the dishes we had for lunch during restaurant week last summer; everything tasted so good and we got the olive oil cake for dessert, which I took home for the hubby because I had to head back to the office.

I have dined in Le Gratin several times, one for French Restaurant Week, after work to try their monthly special and more recently their golden hour. This restaurant is owned by Daniel Boulud and they like to change things up. The menu for this season’s restaurant week is a continuation of their menu for French Restaurant week.

Meal for One

Schilling – $30 pp lunch Monday thru Friday – Wiener Schnitzel/Apple Strudel

La Marchande – $45 pp lunch Monday thru Friday – Shrimp Cocktail/La Marchande Burger

My first visit to La Marchande was back in 2023 for lunch during restaurant week. Service was very slow given there were only three diners (including myself) in the restaurant during lunch. I was excited to try their popular French onion dumplings, but I was disappointed due to the portions being cut in half and not rich as I thought it would be given that it had truffles and gruyere. The French onion dumplings are going to be offered as a supplemental appetizer for this season’s restaurant week. Given the slow service, by the time I got my main entree, which was huge, I had to take it to go so I can get back to work within the hour lunch break. This salad took two day to finish. I’d like to return for another restaurant week lunch meal, but given the slow service, I need to plan it out where my I can stretch my hour lunch break.

Crown Shy – $60 pp dinner Sunday thru Friday until August 17th – Kibbeh Nayah, Lavash/Grilled Citrus Marinated Chicken and Hot Sauce/Satsuma, Toasted Marshmallow, Honeycomb

Almost four years ago, I have had the privilege to dine in this one-star Michelin restaurant under the leadership of the late Executive chef James Kent. I was seat in front of the open ended kitchen to watch all the action. I was blown away by the service, bread, appetizers and dessert that earned this restaurant a one-star Michelin back in 2021. Unfortunately, the pictures I have taken from this dining experience are in my old phone which I no longer have access to, but I did a Yelp review of this great dining experience. I’d like to return to indulge in the dining experience under the new leadership.

Vino & … Eataly NYC Downtown – $30 pp lunch Monday thru until August 17th – Insalata Cesare/Linguine al Pesto Genovese e Stracciatella

Meal for Two

Temple Court – $45 pp lunch Monday thru Friday: (1) Wild Arugula Salad/Leg of Lamb (2) Heirloom Grains Salad/Roasted Salmon

Two years ago my friends met up with me for a group dinner inside Temple Court. During that time, only the restaurant week menu was offered so everyone that dined had to order from that menu. Everyone was satisfied. I had to order the agnolotti after learning the techniques on MasterChef, the dish hit the spot and the roasted chicken was a huge portion, which resulted in leftovers for the hubby the next day. I ended the night with the blueberry cheesecake semifreddo. This time, this restaurant will also be offering agnolotti as an appetizer and the roasted chicken as a main entree for dinner. Personally, I may dine here for lunch, thankfully I have time to plan as Temple Court will be participating thru the end of August.

Felice 15 Gold Street – $30 pp lunch for two Sunday thru Friday until August 17 – (1) Zuppa Contadina/Paillard de Pollo/Tortino al Cioccolato (2) Bruschetta/Fusilli al Ferretto e Burrata/Tiramisu

Felice 15 Gold Street – $45 pp dinner for two Sunday thru Friday until August 17 – (1) Zuppa Contadina/Pollo Milanese/Tortino al Cioccolato (2) Ricotta/Salmone/Tiramisu

Almost six years ago, I have had the privilege to have brunch at this restaurant. Portions were huge and I had to take leftovers home. Unfortunately, the pictures I have taken from this dining experience are in my old phone which I no longer have access to, but I did a brunch review on Yelp. In addition, I’ve dined in this restaurant two additional times for the holiday party also back in 2019 and 2021. After COVID-19 the quality of food and service was not the same as it was six years ago, which is why I have not yet returned.

Delmonico’s – $60 pp lunch for two Monday thru Friday – (1) Yellowtail Crudo/Faroe Island Salmon/Chocolate Symphony (2) Caramelized Bacon/Risotto/Cheesecake

Earlier this year, my friend and I met for a meal and the dining experience was great. It’s definitely worth the experience even though the clientele would be different. Personally I had the yellow crudo and chocolate symphony, both of which were very good. If I do dine, I’ll definitely try bacon, salmon and most likely I’ll take the cheesecake home.

Meal for four

Stout NYC Financial District – $30 pp lunch with pint of Stella/soda/juice Monday thru Friday – (1) Chicken Pot Stickers/Rustic Chicken Pot Pie (2) Vegetable Pot Stickers/Stout Burger (3) Sweet & Spicy Crispy Cauliflower/Double Stacked Stout Burger (4) Mac and Cheese Bites/Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich

Personally I have dined in Stout during my lunch break and there were no more than three diners there. I definitely had the Stout Burger, which was good. Service was very quick and I always came home with leftovers.

Meal for five

Brooklyn Chophouse$60 pp dinner (1) Chicken Lettuce Wraps/Filet Mignon & Broccoli/Vegetable Fried Rice/Chef Choice Dessert (2) Vegetable Lettuce Wraps/Salt & Pepper Shrimp/Bok Choy/Chef Choice Dessert (3) Bacon Cheeseburger Dumplings/Sweet Black Bean Beijing Chicken/Vegetable Fried Rice/Chef Choice Dessert (4) Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce/Ginger Beef and Scallion Noodles/Bok Choy/Chef Choice Dessert (5) Edamame Dumplings/Vegetable Flat Noodles/Bok Choy/Chef Choice Dessert

I’ve dined at this restaurant several times over the past six years. This was the last restaurant I have dined in right before COVID 19 shutdown in 2020. When the restaurants started reopening, an ex-colleague of mine and I would meet to dine outdoors. Last summer right after a successful accreditation inspection, we had a celebratory dinner for restaurant week. The chef choice dessert for the evening was a slice of red velvet cake.

THE SEAPORT

To date there are 8 restaurants that are participating in this upcoming restaurant week. I’ve personally dined in 6 out of the 8 participating restaurants where 5 of those 8 restaurants were for restaurant week.

Meal for One

Malibu Farm – $45 dinner – Homemade Ricotta/Chicken/Olive Oil Cake

I’ve dined in this restaurant for Winter Restaurant Week dinner and the options for that season is definitely better. I’ve also dined in for lunch two years ago and I got to watch the filming of a scene for Law & Order SVU.

The Fulton – $45 pp lunch Monday thru Friday – Crispy Calamari Salad/Simply Prepared Salmon

I’ve dined in this restaurant for Winter Restaurant Week lunch and they offered a 3 course meal for $60. Service was slow where I had to take my dessert home, which was ice cream and unfortunately I could not enjoy it as it melted during my long commute home. However, I did enjoy the Yellowtail Tuna Tartare and Ume Sesame Crusted Salmon that I devoured the entire dish. I also dined three more times to try their gruyere cheeseburger au jus, shrimp burger and spaghetti alla vongole. All three dishes were overall delicious and hit the spot. This season, only two courses are being offered and I have to plan according if I want to dine here for lunch.

The Fulton – $60 pp lunch Sunday thru Friday – Seafood Plateau/Branzino/Housemade Ice Cream/Sorbet

House of Red Pearl – $45 pp dinner Sunday thru Friday – Crunchy Lettuce Hearts/Glazed Shrimp/Mango Sago Pudding

Meal for Two

The Tuck Room – $45 pp dinner Monday thru Friday – (1) Short Rib Bao Bun Sliders/Lobster Mac and Cheese/Concord Chocolate Cake (2) Crispy Shrimp Spring Roll/Salmon/Fresh Fruit Tart

The Tuck Room, located inside the iPic theatres was my fun go to spot for happy hour over 6 years ago. The first time I went was at the holiday party for work in 2017, but I was not impressed with the food. My friends took me out to celebrate my engagement for happy hour/pre game after work in 2019. I may come for happy hour and a restaurant week meal.

T. Brasserie – $30 pp lunch Monday thru Friday – (1) Country Pate/Faroe Island Salmon (2) Endive Salad and Snap Pea Salad/Gruyere Cheeseburger

Two years ago I saw a photo of the gruyere cheeseburger and I just had to try it for lunch. This burger took a while to make so even though I enjoyed every bite of it, I actually only ate half of it and took the rest home for the hubby to have for dinner. He loved the burger despite the richness because it was different.

The Frenchman’s Dough – $30 pp lunch Monday thru Friday (1) Caesar Salad/Chicken Parmigiana (2)Fried Mozzarella/Bolognese

Industry Kitchen – $30 pp lunch Sunday thru Friday until August 17 (1) Atlantic Salmon Ceviche/Miso Glazed Atlantic Salmon (2) Truffle Potato Wedges/Pan Seared Chicken Francese

Whenever I dined in Industry Kitchen, I have to order the truffle potato wedges. The first time I had these wedges, there were to die for because of its curly texture with the parmesan cheese and truffle oil. Over time, the wedges changed shape which now look like steak fries but the texture and taste is still there. I’ve also had the lamb chops and I did not care for them because they were unevenly cooked.

Meal for Three

Carne Mare – $45 pp lunch Monday thru Friday (1) Crispy Calamari/Ora King Salmon (2) Brooklyn Burrata Con Panna/Sweet Corn Agnolotti (3) The House Wedgini/AC’s Famous Prime Rib Sandwich

I actually had the Brooklyn Burrata Con Panna as my appetizer for winter restaurant week lunch where they offered a 3 course meal for the same price. This appetizer was so filling that I was only able to enjoy half of my main entree (I took the other half home) and for dessert, I only had two bites because I was so full.

During my commute since 07/17/25, I’ve developed a bucket list of restaurants I want to dine and support new restaurants especially the ones with the best deals. Unfortunately, I won’t be participating as much as I would have liked due to the life and priorities. Here’s the my wish list for this season’s restaurant week outside of Lower Manhattan and Seaport neighborhoods.

  1. Tuome
  2. Ishq
  3. Naks
  4. Golden K Burger
  5. Park Ave Kitchen by David Burke
  6. Dhamaka
  7. Nuet-Et Midtown
  8. Momofuku Noodle Bar
  9. Koloman
  10. Cafe Boulud
  11. Baar Baar
  12. Central Park Boathouse

I may hit up other restaurants in Queens because it’s more convenient and definitely worth exploring. I’ll definitely be hitting up at least three of the restaurants on this list. Stay tuned.

Flashback Friday – Latin Restaurant Weeks

Happy Caribbean Heritage Month!! Another restaurant week!! With the recent successes of restaurant weeks and restaurants months over the course of 30 plus years, Latin Restaurant Weeks starts on June 6th and will end on June 20th. Based on their website, Latin Restaurant Weeks started six years ago by “Karinn Chavarria and Warren Luckett, in order to help lend a voice to the aspiring and existing Hispanic entrepreneurs and professionals of the culinary industry”.  To date, they are partnering up with Feed the Soul Foundation, which focuses on “empowering culinary entrepreneurs and students by providing the essential resources needed to flourish in the food industry”. 15 restaurants are participating throughout the five boroughs and their prix fixe and specials price vary, with lots to offer. Last year Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine participated and I ordered a take out meal which I believe was less than $20. This meal included: braised oxtails, sweet plantains and mixed vegetables with an empanada (forgot which flavor I got) and a passion fruit juice. This meal was enough to feed two people.

Realistically with my schedule, I’ll be lucky to dine one let alone two restaurants, however, below are my recommendations. To date, I’ve been able to review 12/14 restaurants.

Meal for One

La Palapa – $28 per person six course tasting menu to celebrate their 25th anniversary. For this price, count me in!!

Meal for Two

Canave Cocina y Bar – $40 per person three course prix fixe menu: (1) Nachos Con Queso/Hangar Steak/Flan (2) Mofonguito de Pollo/Camarones Enfiestados/Churros

Calle Dao (Bryant Park) – $45 per person three course prix fixe menu dinner: (1) Steamed Shrimp Wontons/Ropa Vieja Noodles/Tres Leches (2) Papas Rellenas/Chicken and Yellow Rice/Flan

Calle Dao (Bryant Park) – $30 per person three course prix fixe menu brunch: (1) Steamed Shrimp Wontons/Ropa Vieja Noodles (2) Papas Rellenas/Cuban Fried Rice

Calle Dao (Bryant Park) – $30 per person three course prix fixe menu lunch: (1) Steamed Shrimp Wontons/Ropa Vieja Noodles (2) Papas Rellenas/Chicken and Yellow Rice

Meal for Three

Cocotazo – $30 per person three course prix fixe menu: (1) Alcapurias/La Gallina/Flan (2) Relleno de Papa/Guava BBQ Ribs/Tres Leches (3) Pastelillios/Coki/Flan-Budin

Meal for Five

Palo Santo – $55 per person three course prix fixe menu – it appears that this restaurant is offering the entire menu but items are subject to change.

Personally, I’ve dined at Calle Dao in Bryant Park numerous times during the pandemic. From what I recall over five years ago was that they had a great happy hour menu and generous dinner entrees. Interestingly, I have not had the items on Calle Dao’s Latin Restaurant Week Menus so I’ll make an effort to try to dine there. I’ll be check their social media pages and hopefully I’ll be able to repost on my stories as my way of support small businesses and another restaurant week concept.

Traditional Tuesday Game Plan – Sunnyside Restaurant Week

Happy Easter!! Another restaurant week!! With the recent successes restaurant weeks and restaurants months over the course of 30 years, Sunnyside Restaurant Week is back again!! Sunnyside Restaurant Week starts on April 22 and will end on May 4th. Based on their website, 49 restaurants are participating and their prix fixe price is $35 and/or other deals/discounts. This restaurant week actually will last two weeks, below is my best bang for your buck list of places I’d like to go.

Restaurants for meal of one:

Ariyoshi NYC – $35 pescatarian meal: seafood salad/shrimp tempura/flounder ginger/ice cream

Chihuahua – $35 dinner: chicken nachos/tilapia y camarones/flan

La Pollera de Mario – $35 dinner: Guacamole and Tostones/Plato Aguacatala/Flan

Sanger Hall – $35 dinner: Cheese curds/Rasta Pasta/Funnel Fries

Takesushi – $35 dinner: Ankimo (Monkfish) Liver/6 piece sushi and one roll/Nama Choco

Restaurants for meals for two:

Bajeko Sekuwa – $35 dinner: (1) Riesling/Timmure Chicken/Bengali Fish Curry/Rasmalai (2) Merlot/Chicken Tikka/Goat Rogan Josh/Lal Mohan

Bar 43 – $35 dinner: (1) Sheet Pan Nachos/Sizzling Chicken Fajitas/Bailey’s Cheesecake (2) Pretzel Bites/Steak Baguette/Turtufo Truffle

Costa Y Mar – $35 dinner for one: Papa la Huancaina/Lomo Saltado/Tres Leches (2) $28 Seafood Duo: Fish Ceviche/Jalea

Restaurants for meals for three:

Cardamom – $35 dinner: (1) Chicken 65/Tandoori Chicken/Kheer (2) Samosa Chaat/Chicken Sheekh Kabab/Gulab Jamun (3) Lasuni Gobi/Chicken Tikka/Rasmalai

Tito Rad’s – $35 dinner: (1) Lumpia Shanghai/Beef Mechado/Leche Flan (2) Ukoy/Grilled Tuna Belly/Ube (3) Fresh Lumpia/Chicken Adobo/Cassava

Zirve Turkish Grill – $35 dinner; (1) Piyoz/Manti/Tres Leches Cake (2) Lentil Soup/Chicken Adana Kebab/Baklava (3) Chicken and Vegetable Soup/Kofte Kebab/Rice Pudding

Personally I have dined in three restuarants listed for Sunnyside Restaurant week on different occasions. I’ve had the grilled tuna belly from Tito Rad’s and it was very good. It’s actually one of my go to dishes if I dined in this restaurant. I’ve also ate at Cardamom which is listed on Michelin’s Bib Gourmand list but the dishes I had in this restaurant are not participating in this restaurant week. More recently I’ve dined in Bar 43 for brunch and their pretzel bites will be sold during this restaurant week.

Realistically I don’t know if I’ll be able to dine in one any of the restaurants listed above due to my current work schedule. In the meantime, I’ll be check their social media pages and hopefully I’ll be able to repost on my stories as my way of support small businesses and another restaurant week concept.

Traditional Tuesday – Game Plan – NYC Winter Restaurant Week 2025

NYC Winter Restaurant Week is back! Starting from 01/21/25 to 02/09/25, 597 restaurants have signed up to participate in this dining promotion that started 33 years ago. What I can’t believe was that I didn’t blog a NYC Restaurant Week game plan since becoming a mom; my last game plan post for NYC Restaurant Week was in 2022 right before I became a mom. Since I returned to work, I’ve taken advantage of dining in restaurants during lunch and early dinner to avoid eating late due to the long commute. The price points for this season are $30, $45 and $60 for lunch/brunch and/or dinner depending on the restaurant. Below is a list of restaurants I’ve dined in the last two years:

January 2023 – I dined in Malibu Farm for dinner after work where I had their Helene’s Long Island Fluke Ceviche paired with their Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Then I had their seared Faroe Island Salmon, which was generous (I recall eating half and taking the other half home for the hubby/baby to consume). Finally I ended dinner with chocolate cake and I just ate the ice cream and took the cake home. Malibu Farm is also participating in this season’s Restaurant Week but their menu has not been posted. In the meantime, the ceviche is still on their regular menu. The salmon that is currently on their menu is roasted and contains different vegetable. The chocolate cake is not on their current menu, but may appear in the restaurant week menu.

The following day I dined in The Fulton for lunch. This was a three course lunch so I had the Yellowfin Tuna Tartare and Ume Sesame Crusted Salmon with a yuzu mocktail. Service was slow and the main entree was the perfect lunch portion, which I devoured. I had to take my Whiskey Pecan Ice Cream and Coconut Sorbet to go because I had to head back to work. By the time I got home, both desserts were melting so I had to refreeze it to consume it. The Fulton will be participating for dinner only in this season’s restaurant week.

I also dined in Carne Mare for restaurant week lunch. This was another three course menu. I started my lunch with the Arnold Palmer along with the Brooklyn Burrata Con Pana. I recall loving the burrata and pesto but not the bread. Portions were generous. I was starting to get full after finishing the appetizer. Once the main entree came, I was able to only eat half of the Mezzi Rigatoni and took the rest home to be devoured by my husband who approved this dish. When the dessert came, I was way too full to even attempt eating it, but I did consume all the fruit, which was refreshing. Unfortunately, this dish is not ideal to take to go. Carne Mare is also participating for lunch and brunch for this season’s restaurant week and they are offering the same dishes I ate this time around.

February 2023 – I had a girls night dinner on the last day of restaurant week two years ago at Bar Boulud. We ordered a bottle of the 2021 L’effet papillion IGP Cotes Catalanes Pinot Noir red wine, which was the sommelier’s choice for Restaurant Week. For appetizers we ordered the Pate en Croute and Escargots Persillade, I recalled enjoying the pate and my friend enjoyed her escargots, but had better version of the French dish at other French Restaurants. For the entrees, we ordered the Coq Au Vin and Rainbow Trout, portions were perfect. The trout was the better entree of the two because the sauce had so much alcohol in it (not all of the alcohol burned off) that someone who does not drink will get drunk off this dish. We ended the dining experience with the Passionfruit Cheesecake which was beautifully presented and Gateau Basque. Both dishes were delicious, I personally liked the cheesecake slightly better than the Gateau Basque. Bar Boulud is also participating for lunch and dinner for this season’s restaurant week. Bar Boulud will be offering a variation of the trout and gateau basque along with the escargots.

Fast forward a year later or rather a year ago, January 2024 – I had a work reunion dinner at Vallata Unfortunately I don’t have the photos for this dinner, but I did write a review on Yelp about the dinner and experience. This restaurant will also be participating for restaurant week dinner. For an extra charge, Vallata will be offering the foccacia, chickpea salad, skirt steak and cannoli bombolone.

February 2024 – I did two restaurant week lunches because they were on the Michelin list. The first spot I dined in was Gramercy Tavern. I got the first reservation of that day and I took a long lunch break (2 hours) to dine in this restaurant. The dining room area is only used for dinner service. So for restaurant week, the restaurant week menu for lunch was only served. The restaurant week menu showcased dishes that are usually served on their dinner tasting menu. To start, I received a complementary bite along with a sweet potato roll, both items were amazing. The complementary bite set my palate for the three dishes that I ordered. The sweet potato roll and butter were amazing. I don’t usually eat rolls before my meal because it is filling, but I definitely devoured this roll. The restaurant week portions are smaller than what would you get if you were to dine here on a normal night. For the appetizer, I ordered the sweet potato agnolotti, which was amazing from the texture of the freshly made agnolotti to the butter sauce. I made sure that every piece of agnolotti was drowned in the sauce, so the plate would be perfectly cleaned. For the entree of the roasted duck and it was a perfect portion. The duck was cooked medium, and it was lean. I still enjoyed that agnolotti dish. For dessert, I had the Meyer lemon tart, which was a perfect ending to my amazing lunch experience. This was one of the best overall meals I’ve had for restaurant week. Everything was to die for. Gramercy Tavern will be participating for lunch only during this season’s restaurant week. The menu is completely different and it appears that there are more options offered on this menu. The marinated scallops, golden tilefish, butternut squash lumache (lasagna for dinner), roasted duck breast and bacon, apple & quince tart and dark chocolate cake will be part of this season’s restaurant week lunch.

For another restaurant week lunch, I went to Le Jardinier, which had a one-star Michelin rating during the time I was there. I was running late and the staff was very accommodating as I arrived towards the very tail end of their lunch menu. I recall their portions were huge that I ate half of both my appetizer and entree and took the rest home for dinner. I ordered the chicory salad with green apples and pine nuts as my appetizer and for the entree I had to get the infamous Carolina gold rice risotto with mushroom and cheese. The risotto was too pretty to consume and one scoop of all the components together was to die for. Unfortunately, both dishes are no longer listed on their current menu and they are not participating in this season’s restaurant week.

On the last day of last year’s winter restaurant week, I had a girls night dinner at The Consulate Midtown. The restaurant was very pretty. I started with the Ginger Optional Cocktail, which was refreshing. We ordered a variety of dishes such as the blood orange salad, octopus carpaccio, burrata, cauliflower and parsnip soup. The appetizers were good. The entrees could be better, I think the dishes that were served were rushed because there were components that were undercooked. The steak frites had more fries than the steak, rabbit tagliatelle was good, scallops and risotto (risotto was undercooked), salmon with bernaise sauce. I enjoyed the salmon dish. The desserts of bread pudding and blueberry panna cotta were good but not memorable. The Consulate will be participating in this season’s restaurant week. They will be offering the octopus carpaccio and both desserts.

During my commute since 01/07/25, I’ve developed a bucket list of restaurants I want to dine and support new restaurants especially the ones with the best deals. Unfortunately, I won’t be participating as much as I would have liked due to the upcoming Lunar New Year, Long Island Restaurant Week, life and priorities. Here’s the my wish list for this season’s restaurant week:

  1. Al Fiori
  2. Delmonico’s
  3. Jiang Nan
  4. Lincoln Ristorante
  5. House of Red Pearl
  6. Great Jones Distilling
  7. Metropolis
  8. Hav & Mar
  9. David Burke Tavern
  10. Luigi’s

I may hit up other restaurants in Queens because it’s more convenient and definitely worth exploring. I’ll definitely be hitting up at least three of the restaurants on this list. Stay tuned.

A new year and a new generation – 2025

Happy New Year! 2024 was a busy year as new challenges and adjustments were at the forefront. I’ve been active on Yelp writing restaurant reviews and hitting up hard to get into restaurants. I’m still struggling with Meta, which consists of Facebook and Instagram. This time it’s spammers who wanted to steal my content. I know it’s a very competitive market out there. So, if anyone out there can provide input to help improve this account, that would be great.

Since this is the middle of the week, I began the game plan last night on New Years Eve 2024 with my traditional lucky foods menu. Thanks to Whole Foods and Lidl, I was able to achieve that.  To start, I had my traditional 12 fruits, which I was able to obtain:


Oranges, blueberries, avocado, apple, pear, strawberries, grapes, raspberries, Kiwi, mango, lemon, and lime. That turned out I had 13, well, to be fair. I had 12 pairs of fruits and 1 banana.

For my meals, I search recipes online to find inspiration with the ingredients I had to work with.  So I made the following:

  • Cornbread with bacon and swiss cheese,
  • Biko – glutinous sweet sticky rice with brown sugar, coconut milk and vanilla
  • Sauteed collard greens in bacon fat
  • Honey Chili Crunch Salmon
  • Boiled Soba Noodles
  • Madras lentils

Today, the celebration continues with consuming leftovers and cooking the remaining soba noodles with mushroom and kale.

Check out my posts on Instagram at @tablespoonsandteaspoons. Stay tuned for an exciting 2025.

Songkran – Thai New Year

Happy New Year! Well, today is Thai New Year. Since it’s a “New Year’s Day,” it’s time to post something for 2024.

For New Year’s January 1st, I’ve cooked a lot of lucky foods.

1) Twelve fruits: pomelo, lemon, lime, apple, persimmon, kiwi, orange, grapes, pear, star apple, honey Grapefruit, tangerine.

2) Pork- pork spareribs adobo

3) Fish – Baked Maple Syrup and mustard salmon

4) Cornbread – Corn bread Muffins

5) Pork – Bacon wrapped asparagus

6) Lentils – Tasty bite madras lentils

7) Noodles – Jovial cassava spaghetti

8) Greens – Blanched Yu Choy

Six weeks later, Chinese New Year – Year of the Dragon.

I made more lucky foods.

1) Dumplings

2) Soy sauce chicken

3) Roast pig

4) Vegetarian pancit

5) Lumpia

6) Baked Maple Syrup salmon

7) Nian Gao

8) Shrimp Rice Noodles

Now it’s Songkran, which is celebrated in Buddhism throughout most of Southeast Asia. Unlike the 15-day festival celebrated in the Lunar New Year. This New Year is celebrated for three days. It is a religious festival where water is poured to wash away the old year. The day begins in the temple where monks are offered food in exchange for a blessing and words of wisdom. Then water is poured on top of the Buddha statue to purify and cleanse sins and bad luck.

I was doing some research on the foods to consume during Songkran. So far, I have found some dishes that is worth having during the water festival.

Prawn Pad Thai – Zabb Zabb
Satays – Zabb Zabb
Chicken Satay
Shrimp roll and fried tofu – Ayada
Som Tum- Ayada
Shrimp Pad Thai – Ayada

I am hoping that we get to dress up for Thai New Year. I can’t wait to share more stories and post on Instagram @tablespoonsandteaspoons.

Stay tuned and Suk San Wan Songkran! 

Sunday Plan Update and staycation plan

It’s the last official week of summer and three weeks since the last post. Well, I’m close to being caught up with my previous posts from six weeks ago and finally cooked most of the meals planned.

Roasted the rest of my string beans and cauliflower in the oven
Ground beef enchilada
Ramen with mushroom and spinach
Ravioli
Avocado toast and truffle Mac and cheese
Chicken sausages and eggs with leftover gnocchi
Gnocchi with tomato basil sauce

I finally this week off to bond with my child when I still can, so at least I have more memories to treasure because nothing lasts forever. Kids grow up sp fast, and in the blink of an eye, they are off to school, making friends, and I’m no longer needed.

While the child is sleeping or napping, I’ll be prepping or cooking to clean out the fridge.

– Spaghetti carbonara

– Sinigang with shrimp

– Crockpot lemon butter chicken thighs

– Braised Chicken in wine sauce

– Plum Oat Crisp

– Banana Pancakes

– Oat banana Muffins

– Bittermelon and eggs and tomatoes

– Scallion pancakes

I’ll be sharing and posting the ingredients along with methods for the dishes that were made on Instagram. Stay tuned.

Sunday Game Plan update

Well, it has been two weeks since my last post, and we are entering the third week of restaurant week. Guess what happened?! I sprained my wrist and hand, and I’m still recovering while making my baked hake two weeks ago.

Baked Hake and fish was still overcooked

Ultimately, as long as I’m OK, I’ll still continue posting content. As a result of not really utilizing my left hand, I couldn’t do things in a timely manner. Therefore, I had to change my game plan from two weeks ago.

I have resorted to air frying string beans and cauliflower instead of steaming the beans and roasting cauliflower.

I also only did two restaurant week meals. The first was at David Burke Tavern for early dinner.

Caesar Salad
Hanger steak with hipster fries
Key lime pie
Conundrum white wine

Second, more recently, I went to La Marchande for restaurant week lunch.

Ginger mocktail
French Onion Dumplings
Chopped Nicoise Salad – lasted two days

There’s more to write, but my wrist is now bothering me again, plus this electronic device is dying. So, please stay tuned for more updates.

Sunday Game Plan

This weekend was a big food day for eggs and cheese. Yesterday (Saturday, June 3rd) was National Egg Day, and today (Sunday, June 4th) is National Cheese Day. So, to celebrate a weekend of eggs and cheese, I prepared a bunch of dishes for the week utilizing either eggs, cheese, or both.

Breakfast Egg Muffins
Egg Tomato Stir-fry
Spinach and Cheese Frittata
Banana Bread

The first four dishes should last about 4 days. In addition, there are other dishes we will be consuming, including:

Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce
Maple Syrup Glazed Salmon
Cinnamon Apples
Avocado Toast

Eight dishes should be enough considering that I’ll be doing Dine Around Downtown on Tuesday

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Sunday Game Plan with Nurture Life

Happy Mother’s Day! I came across a post on Instagram about Nurture Life.

Nurture Life is a subscription plan of prepared meals for picky eaters. They advertised as making portion control meals for babies weaning off pureed foods. My daughter, for example, is in the phase where she wants to eat independently and pick up the food with her hands. So, I saw a post on Instagram along with a 50% off deal plus an additional discount, so I decided to give it a try.

What I’ve learned during my ordering process is that meals are delivered weekly. I have been skipping deliveries because we have food that needs to be consumed, and we have been non-stop grocery shopping because we go through a gallon of milk a week.

My first order of 12 items arrived yesterday, and they all have to be used up within a week. The other option is to freeze it within a week and it’s good for three months. Since it’s Mother’s Day weekend, I’ll definitely be freezing some of these items.

Here’s what we got, with the exception of one jar of squash, kale hash with bell peppers because it was already consumed.

Here’s the Sunday game plan for my toddler using Nurture Life.

Sunday: Lunch or dinner, depending on which meal I get treated to. We will have some Swedish meatballs, broccoli, and egg noodles.

Monday: Honoring Meatless Monday with: A jar of the Squash, Kale hash with bell peppers for breakfast and lunch. Then, for dinner, we will have the super veggie gnocchi with string beans.

Tuesday: Honoring Taco Tuesday with Beef Taco Pockets with fiesta corn.

Wednesday: Honoring Wellness Wednesday and traditional Catholicism with a jar of salmon cakes with peas and potatoes.

Thursday: A jar of roasted chicken with potato and broccoli medley. Dinner of chicken, tortellini, and broccoli

Friday: Fish Friday time with teriyaki salmon and rainbow rice.

The remaining dishes will have to be frozen: Presto pesto Ravioli with chicken and carrots; Squash, Kale hash and potatoes, Grilled Chicken with carrots, peas and potatoes and chicken and Mac.

In retrospect, twelve items are a bit much for the week, especially since I have a bunch of items in the fridge that need to be cooked. A separate game plan for these items that are both adult and toddler friendly will be posted at some point.

Stay tuned in IG tablespoonsandteaspoons on the ongoing review of Nurture Life products as they are consumed.

If you are interested in trying these products, here’s the link: https://www.nurturelife.com/?referral_id=A22ZAU&fbclid=PAAaZOkdnTjv28bvzxjD6x9fymvmEYVILnOSC_k-p3kDxF_-IYdtmKCc29cec