1. Rockaway Beach. Our recent visit to Coney Island for breakfast whet our appetite for a legit beach day, so last Saturday we drove out to the Rockaways for a lovely morning on the sand. We got breakfast at Rockaway Beach Surf Club and then grabbed a spot by the surfing area to chill and watch the surfers do their thing. It was a beautiful day, and the Rockaways are an excellent escape from the city; it’s much cleaner, prettier, and more peaceful than Coney Island. There was only one asshole playing her music without headphones instead of dozens of assholes. Plus, if you go in the morning the crowds aren’t bad at all!
2. Spritz at Hamilton’s. The Aperol Spritz is a very Italian aperitivo that we discovered when we kicked off our honeymoon in Venice, and we loved it so much that we had one (or two) before dinner every day while we were traveling around the country. The spritz is three parts sparkling wine, two parts Aperol (or other aperitivo), and a splash of seltzer or sparkling water. It’s traditionally garnished with an orange, and sometimes it also comes with a couple olives. We did a dinner date at a local restaurant last Saturday evening and were happy to discover a Spritz on their cocktail menu. Hamilton’s Spritz uses Cappelletti (from Trentino-Alto Adige in the Dolomites, where we also spent some time) instead of Aperol, but it was similar and delicious. And made us want to go back to Italy posthaste.
3. One Pan Pasta: If you’ve spent any time on Pinterest you’ve seen these one pan pasta recipes. I’ve always wanted to try one and finally did it this past week, using this recipe. I even set my pan up to look pretty just like the food bloggers do, so I could take the below photo. A lot of the stuff out there on Pinterest is bullshit, but I can attest to the fact that this method of cooking pasta is not bullshit. It turned out quite well. I will definitely try this again!
4. Brancaccio’s Food Shop. We’re making a concerted effort to try out places in our new neighborhood—which we’re loving so far. This Wednesday we had a picnic date night, and I picked up some prepared foods at Brancaccio’s before meeting up with my husband. I’ve heard great things about their food and we were not disappointed! I got pesto pasta, beet and farro salad, grilled snap peas with garlic, and grilled vegetables. Our favorites were the pesto pasta and the beet salad. SO GOOD.
5. Ciao Bella Gelato: Fig Honey Toasted Almond. With all the Italian goodness this week it only made sense to have some gelato. I saw this flavor at our new local grocery story and had to have it. The fig and honey flavors are strong, and the bits of almond are crunchy. YES.
