Smitten Kitchen, again and again.

Food 52 gives us Flank Steak on Texas Toast with Chimichurri. Why the hell not?

Man, I sure do love a farmer’s market in midtown.

Serious Eats gives us New York’s top ten ice cream sandwiches.

Oh, hell yes.

Serious Easts offers 12 places for tourists to eat in New York City.

Diggum, smack.

What do you do with a cranky wife on a Sunday evening? A cranky wife who doesn’t like the heat. You throw her in the car, blast the a.c., and take her for ride is what you do. Last night the drive took us to McLean Avenue in Yonkers where you’ll find more Irish folks, real Irish folks, than Americans.

We went to a pub, made  sure it is air-conditioned. I ordered her something fried–and fast.

Then she was a heppy ket.

“I really don’t like it myself but I like it because other people don’t like it.” —Kool Keith.

Makes sense to me.

Dig 13 summer fruit desserts from the Goddess’ at Food 52.

Honey-roasted peaches with Marscapone and thyme.

Yeah, Nicole Franzen rules.

Keeping it light on a hot day, dig this gallery of refreshing sorbets and granitas over at Saveur.

[Photo Credit: Brooke Slezak]

Simple Pleasures are the best.

Spaghetti with spring garlic and chilies at L’Artusi.

Serious Eats learns you how to grill pizza.

A cool drink.

Smitten Kitchen gives us sweet cherry pie.

Yes, please.

Nicole Franzen wins again.

Pure Thai Shophouse: Midtown Yum.

What do you get at the ice cream truck? I like the strawberry shortcake jammy. Or a vanilla cone with sprinkles. Or, if I’m really knuts, a bomb pop like we did way back when.

The Goddess at Smitten Kitchen does skirt steak.

Ah, for a small deck with a grill…sigh.

Banana pudding is the reason to go to Magnolia Bakery. Turns me into a fat f***apotamus, man. For real.

Saveur offers a Carolina Banana Pudding recipe. Dig in.

[Photo Credit: Serious Eats]

I loved to eat breakfast at my grandparent’s home in Belgium when I was a kid. I spent a few weeks with them during the summer, alternating years with my twin sister and younger brother. Bonmamon and Bonpapa lived in a farm house in a small village between Brussels and Waterloo. Bonmamon made sure that we visited all of our relatives during my stay there so we traveled around the country, but I preferred when we stayed home. The days passed leisurely and were based around lunch and dinner, and late afternoon tea. There was always the potential for something scary to be served at those big meals–and I was expected to eat what was put in front of me–but breakfast was safe. It consisted of a cup of tea, often Earl Grey, and fresh bread from a local bakery. At the time, there weren’t many quality bakeries in New York, not as many as you find today, so good, simple bread was something to cherish.

I ate slice after slice of bread, butter and jam. Bonmamon made all sorts of jams and jellies but red currant stood out. Maybe it was because it was sweet and tart. Back home in the States, my mom also made red currant jelly and to this day, I love it. Because of how it tastes, of course, but also because it takes me back to a far away place where they spoke French and I felt welcome, like I was home.

Our man in Paris, David Lebovitz tries his hand at Red Currant Jam.

Dig it.