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I recently stopped by Tacombi, a super-casual and cute Mexican restaurant in the West Village  (there are locations throughout NYC, actually – with each one decorated slightly differently!).  The indoor/outdoor setup of this place makes it perfect for summer dining and happy hour.  My eating buddy and were seated and perused the menu, where you selected your choices with a golf pencil (is it just me or does holding one of those pencils make you feel like a giant?). smorgasburg_wholefoods-14-4902520

This past summer, an eating buddy and I had the chance to check out Smorgasburg.  For the uninitiated,  is a seasonal food festival that takes place in Williamsburg (usually; it just moved to DUMBO for the cooler season) that features anywhere from AMAZING food vendors!  Eating buddy and I had grand plans to try a dozen stalls – I believe we tapped out at 6.  Soooo delicious. I highly recommend you check it out if you have the chance!

Unfortunately, Smorgasburg isn’t very convenient for me to get to – AND it’s almost the end of the season!  So I was super excited when I was approached about a partnership between Whole Foods‘ Bowery location and Smorgasburg. Smorgasburg at Whole Foods Market Bowery was launched in late October, and the space offers one vendor from Smorgasburg each month space to introduce their offerings in an intimate cafe setting!  I found this really cool, as many of the vendors don’t have storefronts – this is a great “incubator” opportunity for them to flourish and still grow while it’s not prime Smorgasburg season!

I was offered a complimentary meal from the first Smorgasburg at Whole Foods Market Bower vendor – Danny Lyu’s Cemita’s.  When I heard about this 10 layer sandwich (they also serve tacos!), I knew I had to give it a try:

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Last week, I checked out Pulqueria, an extremely well-hidden Mexican restaurant deep in Chinatown.  I’m not talking Canal Street, people – Pulqueria is on windy, narrow Doyers.  My sister had purchased a groupon for a 4-course meal for two and wasn’t going to use it before it expired – so that meant that an eating buddy and I had to take her place! Thanks, sis!

We settled into this underground hideaway and perused our options:

Ahh, summer.  Along with perfect sunny weekends, outdoor dining and fabulous evening stroll weather, summer produce is one of my favorite things about this season!  And topping my list of faves is super sweet summer corn.  When picked at its peak, summer corn is amazingly flavorful and tender.  I usually just steam corn in an inch of water for 3-4 minutes.  The results are delectable!

This past weekend, I decided to spice up my corn on the cob, literally.  As a big fan of elote, or Mexican corn on the cob, I tried to recreate this cheesy, buttery concoction in my tiny apartment kitchen.  I used:

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I know, I’ve been a little MIA lately.  Do you miss me? 😉

Last week I was invited to sample the new and improved menu at Rosa Mexicano.   I’d been to Rosa Mexicano a few times before – they have awesome guacamole that they make tableside!  I could eat a whole bowl of that stuff. Their entrees were quite hearty – while delicious, you definitely were committing to the entree you chose.  I was happy to see that their new menu focuses more on tapas-style small plates – my favorite way to eat!

This particular event took place at Rosa Mexicano‘s Union Square location