Diner's Dispatch: January

Survive the winter blues through food.

Welcome back to Diner’s Dispatch. I tell you what I loved as I ate out (and my favorite foods I’ve prepared while staying in) this month.

The winter blues are in full swing, I do declare. While we try our best to abstain from indulgence (a silly thing to abstain from) in the form of resolutions, it can feel hard to motivate ourselves or stay connected with one another as we forsake social events for more sleep, less alcohol, or some other form of ritualistic personal development. Couple that with the natural results of less sunshine, fewer group gatherings, and a sense of winter sadness, and times get bleak, expeditiously. I find myself meandering across the line of sadness and into bitterness territory during January, specifically. The grey, cold weather keeps me inside, and my temper grows shorter when I venture outside. People get on my nerves. The weather gets on my nerves. I get on my nerves. I say the wrong thing. Someone else says the wrong thing. It’s better to stay inside reading a book or twiddling my thumbs with my mouth closed until the sun returns stronger and stays in the sky longer.

The one salve that brightens my curmudgeonly mood in January is eating alone at a restaurant. I have taken myself out to dinner three times within the past month to feel less sad, and each time those meals, where I sit and stare at a plate of food for 30 minutes, resuscitate my embittered spirit. I’ve tried to understand why, and I’ve come to the conclusion that when I’m sad, I tend towards my own lonesome, but being alone in my room or on my couch only makes me sadder. In the same way that walking through a library or a bookstore — even with no intention of picking up a new book — instills within you the motivation to read, eating a meal in a space where there is no requirement of socialization, only people around you already socializing, prepares and encourages me to socialize and return to the outside world.

If you are bitter, take yourself out to a restaurant. Ask the server what his name is. Speak to the odd customer sitting at the bar next to you, even if it’s just to recommend the Caesar salad. Leave a good tip. This is the month to do it — not only to lift your spirits, which eating alone will do, but also because fewer diners are eating out, so you could snag a shiny bar seat you won’t get in February, and so you can support your favorite joints during this notorious slow season.

This list will include food I’ve eaten at restaurants and some recipes I’ve made at home. Enjoy!

Recipes:

Claire Saffitz’s Croquembouche from Dessert Person: To ring in the new year, and to choose a notably difficult baked good I have not previously as a piece de resistance for a NYE party, I made croquembouche. Each step was simple on its own but an extensive project when prepared within a day. Did I burn my fingers on hot sugar? Yes. Was the sight of a “bun tower,” as my roommate’s mom called it, worth it? Well, yes. It was delicious and a successful first attempt.

Whipped Ricotta Toast: No recipe comes with this snack highlight, mainly because every time I prepare this at home I go off of vibes instead of measurements. I doubt the version I made is better than Misi’s famous ricotta toast, but I wouldn’t know, because I’ve never been there. What I do know is that I picked up the crustiest, tangiest, Pullman loaf from She Wolf Bakery, and some farmers market ricotta, and I blitzed the cheese until it was smooth and whipped it until it was airy. It’s luxurious and easy. You have to try hard to mess this up. Maybe I’ll make a recipe eventually, but going off of vibes has not hurt me.

Endive, everything: I love these weird little lettuce cups. Paired with some toasted hazelnuts, chunks of Manchego, and a citrus mustard dressing, you can’t go wrong.

Chocolate cake with espresso buttercream: I like to give cakes as gifts for friend’s and roommate’s birthdays. For my roommate Farrah’s birthday, she requested a chocolatey, espresso cake. I used Dorie Greenspan’s Chocolate-Chocolate Birthday Cake recipe for the layers and Samantha Seneviratne’s buttercream recipe to make a chocolate espresso buttercream.

Dining Out:

Gen: Great for lunch dates, solo dates, and dinners.

What is more cozy than a piping hot plate of chicken katsu on the first snow of the year? The chicken was as crispy as can be and the gravy bowl of curry that arrived with it piping hot.

659 Washington Ave., Brooklyn

Radio Bakery: Great for grabbing a pastry and walking around Greenpoint or pleasant weather outdoor eating. (Outdoor seats are available and a slim indoor bar looks out a window, but the bakery is constantly bustling.)

There are too many pastries I still need to try from Radio, but on my first-ever visit to the Greenpoint bakery where I arrived only a few minutes until closing, I only had two options to choose from: a ham and rosemary butter sandwich on sesame stirato and chocolate chip cookie. I bought both, of course. The cookie was a classic modern bakery chocolate chip cookie, with a crispy exterior, chewy interior, and plenty of flaky salt. Nothing crazy. The sesame bread was wonderfully tangy and spongy with a substantial crust factor, and I enjoyed the simplicity of ham and cold rosemary butter. Get this sandwich before checking out the funky bookshops, perusing vinyls at the record stores, or vintage hunting in the area.

135 India St., Brooklyn

House of Joy: Great for birthday brunches, inexpensive lunch dates, and large group hangs.

If I could recommend one dim sum place in the city, House of Joy would take the cake. And the three local women who sat at our table and ate alongside my friend and I agree — they told me that I picked the right place and that this is the dim sum spot for neighborhood folks. You’re getting the real deal dim sum experience, as employees roll around carts piled with bamboo steamers with dumplings inside, plates of fish and vegetables, and, my favorite, egg custard tarts. Order the pan fried chive dumplings, the pan fried stuffed eggplant with shrimp, sesame balls, and the cucumbers with black fungus, a necessary companion to the greasiness of the dumplings. Next time I go I have my intentions set on the peking duck with the steamed buns. The dim sum joint accommodates groups large and small with a minimal wait — my group of two on a busy MLK Day had a wait time of only 15 minutes.

28 Pell St., New York

Librae Bakery: Great for coffee dates, grabbing a pastry and walking, and reading on your lonesome (if one of the few tables are available).

Librae got some hype on TikTok and Instagram for its beautiful pistachio croissant, but what if I said that the bakery is only capital G Good? I wasn’t blown away by my Loomi babka with lemon curd, and my salted mocha, which I’ve ordered before, was weak. If you do go, order the plain croissant, one of the butteriest croissants in the city.

35 Cooper Sq., New York

Agi’s Counter: Great for brunch dates for two, solo dates, and dinner dates for two. (Not large group-friendly.)

This has to be the third time I’ve written about Agi’s in this newsletter. It is hands down my favorite restaurant in the city, and one of the many reasons I love living in the neighborhood. I’ll take friends to the cozy Hungarian restaurant for brunch and take myself there on a solo date for dinner. Weekend brunch time can be a doozy, so get there early if you don’t want to feel rushed. Order anything, really. My favorites I’ve tried this month are the confit tuna melt, the hashbrowns, the marinated mackerel on Agi’s pullman loaf strips, the caraway Caesar, and the chips and beet dip that’s topped with a bushel of dill and roe.

818 Franklin Ave., Brooklyn

Sao Mai: Great for large portions, getting sat and served immediately, take out, being left alone, and just-ok service.

Rainy, grey weather demands a big pot of soup. This week that soup came in the form of pho sao mai from the East Village Vietnamese restaurant. This wasn’t the best bowl of pho I’ve ever had, but it was worth the money and the comfort. Bonus points if you order a banh mi dac biet for later.

203 1st Ave., New York

Pearl’s Social and Billy Club: Great for late night dates and a decent drink out of a mason jar.

Yes, I attempted dry January, which ultimately evolved into damp January. I’ll save my revelations for later, but while I was dabbling in the NA drink menus, I tried the dark and stormless from this Bushwick bar, and I’m still thinking about it. The bar had a few NA options available, and if they are anything like this gingery drink, I recommend.

40 St Nicholas Ave., Brooklyn

Coqodaq: Great for large groups, a night-clubby restaurant, and spending a lot of money on some high-end fried chicken.

My lovely friend invited me to the opening of Coqodaq, the newest high-end fried chicken and champagne night club of a restaurant from the Cote team. The chicken, triple-fried in sugar cane oil and battered with a lightweight rice flour, was shatteringly crisp and as tender as can be. You can visit this restaurant and order the $38 bucket list feast, which includes chicken consomme, ban chan, fried chicken with your choice of sauces, cold perilla seed noodles, and vanilla soft serve to finish. Pair that with the cheapest Champagne on Coqodaq’s menu and you’ll pay $50 per head. Not terrible for the high quality chicken you’re eating. But if I’m being honest, I don’t know if I would visit here if I hadn’t been invited to eat for free. Maybe clubby restaurants aren’t my style, who knows. Take that as you will.

12 E. 22nd St., New York

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Thank you for reading! Where and what have you been eating this month? Let’s chat!