In an effort to detox, save $$ and “lay low” this month after an indulgent summer, I don’t have much to report on the dining out front!  Highlights below include some of the best recipes I tested at home!

As a last hurrah before my month of “less” I attended the BA Hot 10 event which was so much fun.  The top 10 restaurants of the year were all there doling out samples of deliciousness along with wines from A to Z Wineworks.  I was a really bad blogger and was having so much fun I didn’t take a single photo!  The best bites of the night for me were a spicy corn salad with shrimp from Giant and a riff on a Chicago style hot dog from 2013 winner Fat Rice.

This recipe for chicken legs with sweet tomatoes and basil was a home run and a quick and easy Sunday night dinner with leftovers for Monday lunch, win win!

These harissa portobello mushroom tacos were a great “meatless Monday” option!

These spinach and artichoke meatballs and cauliflower tabbouleh made the perfect base for a mezze spread (enhanced with Dizengoff hummus and homemade tzatziki!)

We spent last Saturday hiking upstate and stopped for lunch at Hudson Hil’s in Cold Spring, NY.  A perfect little day trip and they serve breakfast all day!  I was too hungry to snap a pic unfortunately.

An oldie but goodie, brunch at Jeffrey’s Grocery is as good as it ever was!  The Bloody Caesar is non-negotiable and I enjoyed something new on the menu, the chickpea crepe with soft scrambled eggs.

And lastly, dinner at the James Beard House with guest chef Jared Sippel from NYC restaurant Italienne.  Dinner and company were fun, but not the best meal I’ve enjoyed at the Beard House.  The best bite was dessert, a delicious concord grape sorbet with a salt and black pepper brioche and crumbled pistachios!