Sometimes, I just can’t stand the thought of doing what I should be doing. In those instances, food and friends come in very handy!

A couple of weeks ago, Vani, Diana, and I finally managed to coordinate a meal at Rawstar, Brooklyn’s newish raw restaurant. The restaurant is kind of in the middle of nowhere, and it had a very islandy, tropical feel.



We started with an eggplant rollatini appetizer:



Mmmm, these were good! As soon as these snacks arrived, I knew we were in for a treat of a meal. I don’t mind spending money on food when I know I’m getting something special that would be tough to recreate on my own. These rollatini fit the bill.

After giving the menu a serious study, we made our dinner selections. Here’s what the girls got:



You can see their respective reviews here and here. Obviously, they enjoyed it and ate every last bite (except for the bites they gave me!).



I ordered the veggie pizza really had no idea what to expect from raw and vegan pizza.



The crust was nutty and grainy, and it was topped with some sort of raw cashew “cheese” and a brilliant selection of veggies, including pineapples and olives. Once again, I really felt like I was eating a serious treat. Plus, it was only one slice of pizza, but it was definitely satisfying and filling. I want a dehydrator!

For dessert, we ordered the coconut banana cream pie to share:



This pie was delicious, but I also think it would not be challenging to recreate at home. Next time I go, I want to try the cheesecake or see if there’s a different dessert that would be harder to raw-ify.



Then last weekend, my friend Vinny made an impromptu trip down from MA to help me out with a certain project I was working on. Friday night, we checked out this new bar/cafe called Provini right around the corner from my apartment. I had actually just gotten out of an NYU reunion-related event that involved platter after platter of fancy appetizers (no pictures, sorry!) and an open wine bar. I generally don’t like wine, but I may have had four glasses of chardonnay. Sometimes, you’re just in the mood! Since I’m not used to drinking wine, I didn’t want to do anything crazy at Provini that would taunt one of those rhymes to come true. I asked for a dessert wine, but then the bartender got all excited and asked if we’d rather try something we’d never tried before. Enter this:



The bartender invited us to take a sip and asked if it reminded us of anything familiar.



Vinny and I both agreed that the drink had a definite caramel essence. That was when the bartender confessed it was actually dessert beer. And it was delicious! We each ordered a glass.

I had already eaten at the NYU event, but Vinny ordered the homemade linguini with fresh basil and tomato sauce:



Yeah, there was no way I could resist that. I had many many bites:



We followed the pasta with a chocolate souffle:



Ohhhhh my goodness, it was warm, gooey, molten, and everything I ever wanted in a chocolate souffle.



I had to pop out of bed early the next morning for some errands involving the subway:



(I think that the Carroll Gardens subway station might be my favorite underground stop because of that view alone. This picture doesn’t do it justice.)

When I got back home, I processed my CSA produce and then divided everything in half so Kate could come and collect her portion later in the day. The full share included butternut squash (!!!), pears, apples, green beans, cabbage, baby bok choy, rainbow chard, romaine, and arugula:



Once the produce had been successfully processed, Vinny and I headed out for brunch in the Slope at Scottadito, a lovely little organic Italian restaurant:



I love the attention to detail in this restaurant and their ability to carry a theme/motif throughout the whole place, even down to the cement tables outside:



It was a nice day, so we sat outside. Inside looked so cozy, though! I’ll have to remember this for winter:



Our spot:



First things first. This amazing rosemary focaccia bread arrived for us with a red pepper dipping sauce:



We dipped and dipped and dipped and dipped. We dipped so much that Vinny mastered the art of dipping without looking:



Vinny also mastered the art of sipping orange juice like a lady:



We decided to split two brunches. Yay, I love when fellow eaters will go halvsies with me! The more I can taste, the better.

We ordered the Florentine poached eggs (well done, of course) with the Hollandaise (which I don’t like) and the pesto (which Vinny doesn’t like) both on the side:



And we ordered the French toast with mixed berries:



Here’s my slice, mmmmmm:



This was like the thickest, moistest, densest French toast ever.

And here’s my plate of poached egg with all the pesto and all the salad and a teeeeeeny bit of potato (I’m working on the potato aversion, slowly but surely!):



We hung out a bit more after brunch, and then Vinny took off to return to MA, and I returned to the papers. I am so lucky to have friends who can just swoop in and distract me from stress at the perfect moments!

Who distracts YOU?