GO Burger NYC

Everytime I get back from NYC I say that I don’t go nearly enough. It is true, it is actually pretty close & easy to get to. Mr. J and I hopped a bus after work and were there in just a few hours. Enough time for a brief snooze and a movie on the laptop.

We got in and hung with S & E and their cute puppy Stella. Before we knew it, it was morning and the rest of the gang was arriving. When in NYC, we got bagels and devised our plan for the day. We picnicked and played in Central Park for a bit, did a beer tasting/sampling, got cupcakes and regrouped for dinner plans.

There was pretty much food & beverages all day. We took the dog for a walk along the East River to build up some space for dinner.
The Three Bite Rule - NYC Eats

I love that NYC has everything you’d ever want, and many many many locations of just what you want. We went to Go Burger and loved it.

I got the Mac & Cheeseburger. I mean, how could I not? When I saw that it had fried mac & cheese on top I really couldn’t look elsewhere. I thought about the salmon burger with pickled red onions & avocado but I just couldn’t.
The Three Bite Rule - NYC Eats

My Mac & Cheeseburger was a turkey burger topped with fried mac & cheese, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, and homemade ketchup. It was so good.
The Three Bite Rule - NYC Eats

Mr. J got the same, but on a beef burger. There were some BLT burgers, a smashed burger, and a turkey burger amongst our group too.

Sunday morning we squeezed in a jaunt through Central Park and may have had Pick a Bagel…again. I was thinking about why bagels aren’t as good other places and maybe that’s how it should be. Maybe I don’t need a whole-wheat-everything-bagel that good to be around the corner from me.

It was definitely a weekend of eating, drinking, and catching up with longtime friends. Exactly as life should be.

Cape House and Beachy Eats

The perfect way to round out the summer meant family getaways to the Cape and Maine. This is the start of being gone for 7 consecutive weekends but was totally worth it.

Growing up my parents had a house on Cape Cod and began renting it more and more as we grew older. The house was super charming and HUGE! We made lots of great memories there and I get nostalgic wishing they still owned that house. Now that I’m older I definitely understand what goes into owning property, paying taxes, planning for time there, and can only imagine the stress of finding normal renters, especially for the off-season months.

I usually go to that beach at least once a year for a beach day trip, but the ‘rents rented a cottage for a week this year! I hadn’t stayed there in years, decades really. Mr. J and I boarded the pups and spent a few days at the beach. Sis was able to squeeze in a brief stay while we were there too. I’m protecting this special spot’s anonymity since the beach is spacious, adorable, and I don’t want it overrun with tourists (ask me outside of the blogosphere and I’ll profess my devotion, proclaim my love, and give great recommendations).

We got pizza the first night, for old time’s sake. There’s one pizza joint in the town and everybody loves it. Literally, the 3 phones ring off the hook while a steady stream of walk-ins place orders to go or to eat there. We walked over to pick it up and then ate on a picnic table in the backyard of the rental. The pizza was delightful and it was so great to eat a bunch of pizzas while enjoying the gentle August breeze.
The Three Bite Rule - Cape Food

We got a supreme pizza. It is a pizza turned over onto the underneath pizza. I know, I know. I get it. It sounds like a calzone. It is not. This is a pizza, with a cheese pizza overturned on top, with sauce and cheese on the very top. It was “filled” with sausage, garlic, onions, green peppers, and eggplant. I loved every bite. It was hard to stray to taste another amazing pizza.
The Three Bite Rule - Cape Food

We got some small ones too. One was bacon and onion. The other was a white one with feta and garlic. Ohh goodness. I had to cut myself off.

When on the Cape, we went on bike rides (not me), went to the beach, played card games, ate ice cream every night, and of course ate seafood while overlooking the beach.

I got lobster mac & cheese that was ahhhmazing. And huge. With tons of lobster chunks. And I had to cut myself off once again…well, I had to make room for ice cream, ya know.
The Three Bite Rule - Cape Food
I nabbed one of Mr. J’s fried scallops and would have loved them too.
The Three Bite Rule - Cape Food
Dad got clams and the other menu items were Mediterranean inspired dishes. Mum got scallop & shrimp kebobs and sis got chicken kebabs.
The Three Bite Rule - Cape Food
Nightly ice cream was an indulgence that was totally necessary. I didn’t snap any photos because it was too good to let melt. Have you heard of Phantom Berry? It was black raspberry ice cream with oreos & chocolate chips. I wish we had discovered this gem sooner!

Back To School Potluck

The office hasn’t had a potluck for awhile. The last one was kind of sad. It wasn’t our best. I think the timing was off and our theme was possibly a bit too vague. It was for St. Patrick’s Day at a super busy time in the office and after a crazy weekend for the city. This one got us back on track! We did a back to school, but grown up, as our theme.

We had some paleo chicken nuggets.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

We had some school-lunch-pizza. They were on sandwich thins with veggie pepperoni.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

We had some pb & j on banana bread. This one was mine. I tried the whipped peanut butter and used strawberry jam. I made my own banana bread.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

We had come cafeteria-style ‘mush’. It was cauliflower, broccoli, and sweet potato.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

School lunch isn’t complete without snacks and dessert.

We had trailmix.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

We had ants on a log with almond butter and craisins.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

We had ice cream cups with little wooden spoons.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

We had oreos, made with protein powdered cream.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck
I don’t think we’ve settled on our next one. We thought about ‘on a stick’ or mini vs. giant foods. Any potluck theme recommendations for us? Some of our best include: nail polish colored, or Olympics theme, or made-in-a-muffin-tin.

Breakfast Burgers

Happy Labor Day! I figured what was more Labor Day than a burger? This one has a twist!

I had some English muffins from the farmers market and thought they’d be great for a burger since they’re a bit more substantial than Thomas’. I went bfast inspired topping the burgers with cheese, a fried egg, and bacon jam. So good!

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Ingredients:

2 english muffins or bagels
2 tbs bacon jam or bacon slices
2 slices of cheese
2 fried eggs, over easy
tomato slices
2 burgers

Directions:

Timing is key for these burgers, so prep the toppings (bacon jam/bacon slices & tomato slices) and sides in advance.
While the burgers are cooking, heat a frying pan to medium.
Toast the English muffins.
Once the burgers come off the grill, in the pan, fry 2 eggs to your liking (I did sunny side up).

I liked the egg yolk becoming an instant condiment on here. The tomato slices also replaced ketchup. I served these burgers with tots for a grilled dinner giving breakfast a nod. This was oozy and delicious. I had tomato, bacon jam, and egg yolk dripping out and it was glorious.
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The timing is everything here. Eggs take only a minute to fry so I didn’t want them ready before the burgers came off the grill. I think this would take 2 people, or an octopus. I don’t think I could “man the grill” and have the English muffins toasted, the bacon/eggs/sides ready.

In the breakfast for dinner cookbook there’s a burger topped with an egg and a super-thin crispy shredded hash brown layer. Yum. These burgers could be even more breakfasty by grilling a sausage patty.
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August Recap

The summer is zooming by! I have so much to look forward to in September (mainly Paris & Prague!) but it is also my favorite time of year. I have a few west coast trips scheduled to Cali, a weekend in Maine, and a few other things happening so if you ever wanted to be a guest blogger for me, September is the time!

August was delightfully cooler. Thank you Mother Nature! I got to play in NYC with my favorite college gals and spouses and had a few lovely days on the the Cape. I hosted bookclub with a sort of tasting menu or small plates theme but was a bad blogger and didn’t take any complete sets of photos for you. I had some in-progress shots but not a single final photo! Oops.

I made one of my best pizzas to date: Pork, Caramelized Onions, and Fontina with Mustard Beer Sauce. It was everything the ingredients suggest it would be.
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I also enjoyed farmer’s market finds like burrata cheese in a Zucchini Pasta with Burrata
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and for Grilled Bruschetta Pizza and Thai Chicken Wraps.
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I made a spur of the moment cocktail with an Orange soda and whipped cream vodka. It was ahhhhmazing. I loved this light creamcicle drink. I’m on the hunt for ways to make a fudgecicle cocktail! Any tips for me?
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I promised a sangria for August so I messed around with basil which was really fun. I did a Strawberry Basil Sangia that was a hit. I need to make no-occasion sangria more often!
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Let’s see what’s up for September. Hmmm. I imagine a lot of quickie meals and some travel posts. I have a lot on my to-do list including: non-traditional pizza, a sandwich featuring a peach!, a burger, and maybe some more cocktails.

September feels like a lovely in-between of summer and fall. I feel like I need to do some last summer things and eat some more lighter/veggie focused/salad-y meals before true fall happens.