fftf: hot tip friday #18, travel edition🗽🇲🇽
perfect spontaneous meal in NYC, Mexican electrolyte drink, good instant coffee
Hello and happy Friday,
We had two big trips recently as a family of four: NYC in November for a long weekend, and then Los Cabos, MX, in early Feb, both for my brother’s wedding events (Congrats I&G!). I love collecting foodie travel notes from new places, and figured this would be a good time to share my latest. I hope you enjoy!
#1 - A perfect, spontaneous meal in NYC
While staying in Manhattan, I had one free day in which my parents had volunteered to watch our girls to let my husband and I enjoy a day in the city. I had intended to plan this date-day to a T, full of well-researched food stops and lots of walking, but alas, this task was last on on my pre-travel to do list and did not end up happening 😢. We ended up meeting some cousins for delicious Pakistani chai in Harlem at Kaafi by Chaiguy, which was great. Then we walked back to Midtown through Central Park, on the hunt for dinner. One of my pet-peeves is spending excessive time researching on my phone WHILE in a new place (ugh, I hate it!). I was feeling the self-imposed pressure to pick a good dinner, especially since I had failed miserably on my last-minute choice for breakfast (ended up paying like $40!!! for two BAD1 lox bagels. Maybe I’ve gotten too used to Pittsburgh prices, but some of the prices in NYC felt truly wild this trip)!
By some miracle we had the perfect, spontaneous, NYC dinner. In our joint google searching, my husband found KJUN in Murray Hill; one quick look at the menu and I was like YES, this place! But would there be a seat?
We power-walked to the restaurant, arriving around 6pm and there was one open table… the spunky host/waitress said we could have it - but only for 30 mins as they had a reservation coming - were we ok with that? SURE! It felt like the opposite of a stuffy, fancy place, or a trendy hotspot where the tables are hard to get... they had a table and we could have it if we were willing to eat fast - this “more the merrier” first impression stood out!
The place was tiny and all the tables had a full view of the small, open kitchen. These cooks were CRANKING, and the aromas, action, and proximity fed the whole experience with buzzy energy. The chef - Jae Jung - is a Korean woman who spent extensive time in New Orleans, and now makes Korean + Cajun food - super unique flavors and SO tasty.
We proceeded to scarf down most of the menu as fast as we could, and it fit the bill for our perfect NYC dinner: the food was super delicious & high quality, but not pretentious. The flavors were fresh and unexpected, and nothing like anything we usually make or eat in Pittsburgh. The vibe was intimate AND fun - just good energy all around, and we especially loved that the chef herself was walking around, serving food and checking in on us!
At the end of dinner we added a fried chicken dish plus dessert to go, because we wanted more flavors! We emerged very full - of food and good vibes - and happily walked off a small portion of our feast while discussing it on the 20 minute stroll back to our airbnb2 😁.
Read more about KJUN here. Highly recommend if you’re in NYC - but try for a reservation if you can!
#2 - order a “suero” at any Mexican bar, or make at home!
At my brother’s wedding in Mexico, I learned about a hydrating non-alcoholic drink that any Mexican bartender will happily make for you - the “suero” - composed of salt & lime juice, topped with sparkling water/Topo Chico!
OMG it’s SO GOOD! Electrolytes that will help you out whether you’re soaking up the sun, re-hydrating on the dance floor, or just looking for a non-alcoholic, delicious (!) alternative at the party! I couldn’t stop drinking them.
I think this could become a new go-to drink for me at home… it’s so simple! I’ve been getting bored of plain water, and electrolytes always sound good.
Haven’t made it yet at home, but when I do, I’ll report back. In the meantime, I found these two recipes, which I’ll use as a starting point to making it. The first one mentions that the order of adding the ingredients is important, which I can see being true… when I watched the Mexican bartenders make it, they definitely mixed/pounded the salt and lime juice together, then added the Topo Chico and ice (though I can’t remember the order of the last two). I will experiment and keep you posted, so stay tuned!
#3 - Instant Coffee for the win on the road!
I have always loved my morning coffee. I’m not super sensitive to caffeine, so for me, coffee is all about the flavor/ritual. Since having kids, I love my coffee even more as a grounding, cozy (and predictable) part of the morning. I’ve gotten increasingly particular about my coffee over the years, and have also come to enjoy other warm, non-coffee drinks almost as much, to the point that I’d actually rather abstain a day or two, versus drink a cup I don’t like, just because it’s coffee3.
In order to have a predictable coffee option on hand while traveling, I decided to order some modern/single-origin instant coffee packets to take on my trip (I have tried some before on backpacking trips and such, so know they’re out there but hadn’t bought any in a while). I ordered this one from Canyon Coffee in LA, per this Wirecutter rec. (And had one of these left from a while ago, which was also good.) While not as tasty as my usual pour over or cappuccino at home, I have to admit that by the end of our trip, I was really enjoying my one cup of instant coffee in the morning, and came to prefer it to the other less-predictable coffee options at my disposal!
Now that I know I like it, I’ve realized these little packets also might come in handy for days at home when I need a super fast coffee option (just mix with hot water and DONE!). My one tip for making it is to make sure you measure the water, because the difference in flavor between 8oz and 10oz of water was noticeable! (8oz cup tastes nice; 10oz cup WAY less flavorful)
PS. If you’re someone who needs milk in your travel coffee, I am fascinated by this powdered oat milk product that I discovered recently, which would work perfectly on the go! I’m not an oat milk person so haven’t tried it myself, but it looks really cool and good ingredient list.
That’s all for now, see you on March 14 for my next issue :). (Currently publishing every 3 weeks.)
Love,
Jess
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
from Jan 31 - hot tips #17 - kitchen organization insp, baked eggs & pozole, etc
from Jan 11 - my most-cooked recipes of 2024
from Nov 8 - Pittsburgh Food Recs, the Breakfast/Bakery/Cafe edition
my most popular recipe ever: Magic Cold Elixir (this time of year, I get a constant stream of texts/emails of people still making it and thanking me! so fun!)
Please do NOT waste your time or money at Mark’s Off Madison! Granted we got lox bagels to go and did not sit down or try anything else, but I was SO disappointed in this place that is listed on the NYTimes 100 best restaurants in NYC! I really wanted to but did not make it to Apollo bagels… next time (if anyone has been there, please tell me if worth the hype!).
This airbnb was great for our little fam, so linking it!
In case you’re wondering, my preferred coffee drink is either a pour over, black, or a cappuccino - both/either made with coffee beans from a third-wave style coffee roaster and a light-medium roast.