London: High Tea at the Kensington (part 1)

I've been lucky enough to set foot in London four times now, and until this most recent trip, I'd never had high tea!

Thankfully, my friend LaShauna set me straight and made a reservation for us at the Kensington Hotel in London's South Kensington neighborhood.

The Kensington has a lush, gorgeous, warmly welcoming room or two when you first walk in--blazing fireplace, plush seating, and peaceful quiet.

When we arrived for our 3p reservation, we had the entire room to ourselves. We were delighted to find our table was the posh place right by the bay window.

Tea comes in 3 courses at the Kensington--finger sandwiches, sweets, and scones. Yes please! And of course, tea. All the tea you could drink, FYI. And I can drink A LOT of tea. ;)

I started with one of my favorites: Earl Grey. It came out in my own pot, with a handled tea strainer that rested on the table. This is the first time I used a fancy-schmancy one like this! The infuser rests right over the cup as you pour, straining out any stray bits of the loose tea leaves.

The sandwiches were 5 types: pastrami & watercress, ham & mustard, smoked salmon & cream cheese, egg mayonnaise and the classic cucumber. Pastrami was a surprising choice to both of us, but a lovely nod to New York :) This was also my favorite!

The ham had a sweet sort of pickle relish with it--not my thing but still tasty. I think this was LaShauna's favorite.

The smoked salmon was very, very....smoky. Super smoky. Wow. I couldn't finish it.

The egg salad (egg mayonnaise, as they called it) was very good--I think we both put this at the top of our list--even though I'm apparently missing a photo.

The cucumber was good, but very basic. My mother Mum usually sprinkles some herbs on hers and it really gives it an edge.

We each had four finger sandwiches--delicious but still in no way filling. Time for the second course, which, despite the menu, was scones, not sweets! Fine with me! That post is coming up tomorrow--moderation in all things and all that!

The Kensington Hotel
109-113 Queen's Gate
South Kensington, London SW7 5LR
Tel: +44 (0) 207 589 6300
US Toll Free: +1 877 849 6258

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Leaving (again) for London!!

I am squeezing in one more trip to London before ABF's time there (FINALLY) ends... (that's a shot of me standing on a wall to peek in on the crowds gathered for The Royal Wedding back in April!!)

If you missed any of my delicious posts from that trip, stiff upper lip, chum--there's still time! Real English muffins, Swedish sundaes, pub food, and a glimpse of the gorgeous Borough Market--it's all right here!!

<----more awesome fashions from Royal Wedding Day! ZOMG so excited to go back there!! Follow @Lkpnyc

Long Island Vodka

I took a tour with a friend through the North Fork area recently, and the final stop was LIV (rhymes with five), or Long Island Vodka. It's right next door to Baiting Hollow Farms Vineyard, and while ABF and I have driven by it a number of times, we never stopped in to visit.

As soon as ABF is back from London, I'll be bringing him by, believe that!

LIV is Long Island's first craft distillery. They make their own vodka from locally-grown potatoes (the fields are right behind the building). There is the plain version, but there are also fruit-infused versions, which is what we tried that day.

We tried the strawberry first--I like strawberry okay. I'd rather have fresh strawberries than strawberry-flavored anything. Except, perhaps, for THIS. Holy mouth explosion of fruit flavor! This tasted like ice cold liquid strawberries..and nothing else. No burn, no sting, just fresh fruit flavor. WOW.

Seriously. The strawberry. Wow.

That was an excellent start-- we moved on to the lemon. This was like limoncello without the bite. Smooth, mellow, citrus sunshine.

Up next, my friend and I diverged--she tried the lime and I opted for raspberry, one of my favorite, favorite, favorite flavors.

This was equally awesome--imagine the freshest, fullest raspberry flavor and then put that flavor on some serious ice. YUM.

I immediately decided I'd bring home the raspberry AND the lemon, while my friend took a strawberry and a lemon.

With a bulk discount, we got them for $20 a bottle. It's definitely worth it--a little goes a long way, and my goodness is it fabulously flavorful. I can't wait to go back out and get some more!

Long Island Spirits
2180 Sound Ave
Calverton, NY 11933
631-727-2570

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The Dumpling Truck!!!

Whenever I've spotted the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck (an offshoot of Rickshaw Dumpling Bar), it's always been right after I've already eaten--blast! But not today, my friends. Not today. They were parked 1 block up from my office, on 50th street, and I was IN!

I first heard about Rickshaw Dumpling Bar because of its ties to the awesome chef that is Anita Lo. While she is no longer with Rickshaw, she helped create and develop their delicious recipes! She is a rock star, and I enjoy her work. Kenny Lao & David Weber are the heart & soul behind this operation, and they are still doing a delicious job. Their Rickshaw Dumplings truck parks all over the city and hands out tasty, steamed dumplings made with all natural ingredients (antibiotic-free pork, free-range, organic chicken, etc) and a very reasonable price.

Don't let the lack of a line fool you--it's not because the food isn't good--it's because the service is that fast!!

I couldn't decide between the Chicken & Thai Basil or the Pork & Chive, so I mentally flipped a coin and got the pork. I'm a sucker for anything with fresh chives in it!

6 dumplings for 6 bucks--not bad, right? I ordered the pork & chive dumplings, which came with a toasted sesame seed & soy dipping sauce.

The dumplings were soft, not too chewy, the filling was tasty, and the sauce was salty without tasting like seawater--all very balanced!

Their Twitter page touts a 6-dumpling order as being under 300 calories--nice!

This was win-win-win: great location, almost instant delivery of my hot dumplings, and delicious flavor! The only change I'd make would be to add a side--I'm still a little hungry. I'll be back soon, this time to try the Chicken & Thai Basil. Mmmm..peanut sate sauce....and maybe their cold noodle salad!

Track the truck yourself for a bite--you can follow them on Facebook or on Twitter @RickshawTruck to find out where they'll be next!

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Palmer Vineyards

A day-trip out to Long Island took my friend Jen A and myself to 3 stops: Palmer Vineyards, Baiting Hollow Farms Vineyard, and Long Island Spirits. Palmer was the first stop, and though it felt a bit early to have some wine, somehow we all managed.

Palmer is one of the smallest tasting rooms I've seen--our 2 buses immediately filled the room to overflowing. My friend Jen and I took a seat in a charming little booth and let most of the chaos die down before approaching for our picks.

Palmer is one of the oldest and most-awarded vineyards on Long Island's North Fork. Founded in 1983 by Robert Palmer, Palmer Vineyards sells their wine all across the country--several plaques and ribbons hang over the bar, attesting to the praise and warm reception for their product.

I selected the 2010 Gewurztraminer, the 2008 Cabernet Franc, and the 2010 Rose Merlot. (Left row of drinks, from top down)


Jen chose the 2010 Gewurztraminer and 2008 Cabernet Franc as well, along with the Sunrise/Sunset.

Neither one of us was a fan of the Cabernet Franc, but that's a tough one for us both. If you like your wines smoky, though, this is the pick for you!

We really liked the Gewurztraminer---bright and light and just a touch of sweetness. It was lovely in the beginning, though the finish was different from what I expected. If I were more of an oenophile I could explain this better, I'm sure. ;)

I enjoyed the Rose Merlot--it had a strong aroma and flavor of strawberries, not too sweet, one of my favorite drinks in the hot summer days--this was a winner, too. Light, refreshing, and dry.

Jen let me try a sip of her Sunrise/Sunset wine, and I thought this was a bit sweet, but we both think it would make a nice dessert wine, perhaps a perfect pairing with some chocolate-covered strawberries. Palmer says it's one of their most popular wines and is back by popular demand. It was okay, but I would still take the Gewurz or Rose Merlot first.

To me, the best part to Palmer is its adorable backyard space. There are seats on a covered patio and chairs and picnic tables on the grass, all in the shadow of the rolling vineyards. This would be an excellent spot for a small party, reception, you name it. What a darling setup!

Check them out and let me know what you think! I will be bringing ABF here soon!

Palmer Vineyards
5120 Sound Avenue
Riverhead, NY 11901
(631) 722-9463

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Pig Island!!

Hello, New Readers! Welcome to Stuff I Ate and thanks for visiting!! If you pass on my posts to others, I only ask that you credit the source with a link back to the original post--and come share the love on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/StuffIAte!!

New York City is a wonderful place--every possibly language, culture and cuisine has a home here. And pork gets its very own island! I took the ferry out with That Sara (of NYCNomNom--her review is here) and her BF, Mike. It was a beautiful, albeit humid, day, in September.

Make no mistake--this is no place for vegetarians or vegans (although they offered a vegetarian ticket, what we saw was definitely not worth it!)

We got there bright and early---I'd read many a time that food events on Governor's Island quickly went south, running out of food and causing outrageous lines. We weren't taking any chances! Since we'd bought the Thrillist discount, we also got to go through a little faster: advantage: US!

We planned to make a quick loop around the area and see what we wanted to come back and try, but it didn't really work out that way. Too many tempting stalls stopped us in our tracks. There's so much to show you, but I'm going to narrow it down to my 3 favorite bites:

Ici (remember how awesome they were at Brooklyn Uncorked??? Still awesome) had a stand where they had a shredded pork over spicy greens. This contained peppers, so Sara ordinarily wouldn't be able to try it, but they offered to make a non-pepper version just for her--so we came back about 30 minutes later and they had it waiting. I thought that went above and beyond! It was delicious--the greens were fresh, the dressing had lots of black pepper, and it was just bright and scarfable. I must get to this restaurant in 2012!!

The Smorrebrod stand had 3 bites: 2 bits on bread and a meatball. The pork terrine on the most amazing rye bread--holy crap. I could have stopped here and been so, so happy. The pickled veggies on top gave it a nice crunch, too. I have to track down this bread--it was so delicious that I found out which person at the stall was responsible for it told her repeatedly how amazing it was. A-may-ZING.

The meatball was just okay..but look! Another butter-slathered slice of that to-die-for bread!

Rounding out the top 3 is Austrian restaurant Edi & The Wolf. I had just seen the owners on The Today Show a week or two ago, and everything they made looked amazing. I can't even remember what this bite is--I just know that normally I would have passed it by, but after seeing the spot on the Today Show and talking to the enthusiastic workers at the stand, I had to give it a shot. What a delicious, transformative mix of flavors. Get ready, ABF--we are GOING HERE!

And there was a sweet bite I loved too--bacon-maple-cinnamon rolls. Yeah, you heard me. I went back for a second one. I could have gone back for three, four, five and six, but I didn't.

The beer flowed a-plenty, too, courtesy of Six Point Beer. I'm not much of a beer person, but the Belgian White ws light, refreshing, and not too malty.

Overall, the event was excellently organized--there were only long lines at a few spots, and plenty of food to go around. Even the bites that were just 'ok' were still fun to try. Things started disappearing around 1:30, but by then we'd eaten our fill and then some!

I can't believe this was my first trip to Governor's Island-- I will be back to rent a bike, ride around, and take in the gorgeous scenery, including jaw-dropping views of the NYC skyline that I love so much.

Will I be back for Pig Island 2012? Hmmm...maybe. But if you've never been, I definitely suggest going at least once! And do yourself a favor: go hungry.

Also..wanna see more yummy pix? Check out my Stuff I Ate FB page and/or click here!

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