Posts tagged Hot Sauce
The Key Ingredient (Recipe)

We were sitting adjacent in a booth, with a view of the entire restaurant, lights dim as is the trend in most Brooklyn restaurants so we couldn’t really see anything but each other. We could barely even read the menu. He was holding the small tea light up against the menu. I was doing the same. We were on the same page, no pun intended. 

This was our second date. Our first one had gone so well that naturally, our second spontaneous daytime hang out spilled over into the evening. Our nonstop conversation did as well. 

He was the first guy I met who seemed normal and kind of interesting. We both swiped right on Tinder, engaged in some witty banter, crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. Here we were, at my favorite restaurant in Greenpoint, knowing full well that dinner was just a precursor to “dessert” at his apartment later. 

“We should share plates,” he suggested. At this point, I was swooning - hard. 

“And why don’t you pick for us?” he continued. 

It was like he entered my brain, looked around, and exited through my heart. And my heart was bursting with a million butterflies. 

“How about the broccoli and fava bean salad?” I asked.

“Sounds good.” 

“The radish appetizer sounds amazing too, doesn’t it”

“Let’s get that too.” 

Two for two so far. I was on a roll. 

“Let’s try the rabbit,” I said confidently.

There was long pause. 

He finally spoke. “Hmm. It has cilantro. I don’t eat cilantro.” 

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Po-Po’s debuts at the Tradesman

few weeks in planning and finally it happened: Po-Po's debuted at the Tradesman, a bar in East Williamsburg. I’m happy to report that what was dreamed up over brunch ended up being more successful than I could have imagined. We had no intentions of selling more than 30 beef rolls, but ended up cranking out 90+ orders. "Sold out" never sounded so good. 

How it began 

About a month ago, while at dinner with my pals Amy and Amanda, I suggested that the three of us host a pop-up restaurant. Amy and Amanda – both of whom are professional cooks –  very candidly expressed their concerns with the complexity of a sit-down course by course event.  They encouraged me instead, to focus on one dish. That one dish turned out to be my “Chinese burrito," which frequently makes an appearance at my dinner parties. 

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