Hola. I am en route to Peru, gearing up to hike Machu Picchu by way of Cusco, where I will be spending the next 11 days. I am currently feeling excited and underprepared.

I am sending out this month’s ~*beautiful things I ate~* early, as I’ll be writing up a full newsletter dedicated to my travels throughout Peru. Forgive me in advance for the potential typos and grammatical errors, and send me good vibes—I’m currently freaking out thinking about altitude sickness.

Matcha & coffee

At my new job, I was introduced to the concept of a BDOML (read: Best Day Of My Life), easily had on those days in New York when the weather is perfect and the days are long, setting the stage for 12+ hours of bliss. I had a perfect day late in April, biking through Brooklyn Bridge Park, playing on my favorite swing set in the city, and popping into different local spots to grab matcha, burgers, and ice cream (in that order, FYI).

During that day, I discovered Nako, a sweet little coffee shop on a quiet street in Brooklyn Heights. I sat outside with friends, sipping on a matcha latte—probably the best one you can find in that neighborhood, tbh! I have since been back thrice, and my favorite order is the Nako Matcha Latte made with earl grey syrup and sprinkled with sea salt. I prefer it hot, but iced is nice, too.

I finally made it over to Buddies, a Puerto Rican owned coffee shop in Williamsburg. I originally heard of them via owner Rachel Nieves’ TikTok back in February, when she took to the app to vent about her frustration over rent hikes. Unfortunately, it seems their last day at their Grand Street location was this past Saturday, May 17th. Even so, I need to shout out their coquito latte, which was delicious—I hope to see them open up elsewhere around the city.

Ice Cream & Pizza Party

Bailey’s brother Alex stayed with us at the start of May, which always leads to a self-guided food tour. He had mentioned wanting to attempt grabbing a table at Lucali, the Carroll Gardens restaurant known for their thin crust pizza, and in person only reservations.

After a morning walking around the city, I took the F down to Carroll St station and popped by the restaurant. At 4:15pm, there was no line—only the host, Alex, stood outside with a pen and paper pad. We chatted quickly; there were indoor tables for 5pm and 9:15pm, but outdoor dining was fully open. We snagged a 7:30pm reservation outside.

Although we arrived 10 minutes early, we weren’t seated until after 8pm. Alex and I grabbed sparkling water from the corner deli, then ordered from the brief menu: one pie, half plain, half mushroom & pepperoni; a large calzone with hot peppers & artichokes; and the pasta, which is only available sometimes, and not written on the board.

The pizza here truly is great. The crust is thin, crispy, but not at all cracker-like. The sauce is not too sweet, and the cheese is wonderfully salty. Plus, the entire thing is covered in a perfect amount of fresh basil just before serving. The calzone is great, served with a pool of marinara and cheese, but massive—we ordered the large, and barely ate half of it—and if I had to choose between the two, I’d always go for the pizza. If the pasta is on the menu, order it: fusilli in a creamy, cheesy tomato sauce, cooked perfectly al dente.

Fun fact: I used to be vegan, and the first time I ate cheese after four years of deprivation was at Lucali. I remember thinking, damn, this is amazing—but wasn’t sure if it was just the delicious, sodium packed mozzarella entering my body for the first time in years. Happy to report: still just as good.

Second stop on the pizza tour: L’Industrie’s south 2nd location in Williamsburg. We went overboard and ordered almost every single slice, and my favorites were the white slice with hot honey, sausage & pesto, and the New Yorker.

Can’t leave L’Industrie without grabbing a soft serve. I got a pistachio and cantaloupe swirl, and Alex ordered just the cantaloupe, both with a drizzle of olive oil & flaky salt.

I had my first L&B of the season, seated outdoors with a large group of friends on their bright red picnic tables. We ordered a classic square pie, and their new vodka pie, which was given mixed reviews from our crowd. Personally, I liked it, but majority of the group preferred the OG pie—fair enough. We also ordered a round of spumoni in squeezy cups, though my own cup with half spumoni, half vanilla chip ice.

Speaking of firsts… they’re opening a 16 Handles in Cobble Hill, which is both exciting and dangerous for a girl like me. Typically I try to avoid chain restaurants in favor for local ventures, but this is one of my few exceptions. I had a long day filled with many annoying moments, and cooled down with a cup of froyo at their Chelsea location. I self-served graham cracker, chocolate & plain tart yogurt into a cup and covered the whole thing in graham cracker crumbles, fresh strawberries, and their mini-chocolate chips. 10/10 experience.

@jamiejarsI love 16 handles I love froyo

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The Ultimate Summer Meal: Hot Dogs & Cheese Burgers

It’s not quite summer yet, but I sure am acting like it is. While Alex was in town, we popped into Hamburger America and ordered a spread: salad plate featuring a scoop of tuna salad, egg salad & ritz crackers; fried onion burger, classic smash burger, and the loose meat sandwich (a big scoop of crumbled beef on a bun, with mustard, diced onion & pickles, from Taylor's Maid-Rite in Marshalltown, Iowa)

My favorite item was the classic smash burger, but that’s no surprise; I am a condiment queen through & through, and this burger comes with mustard, diced onion, dill pickle, and cheese, plus I added ketchup. I felt the loose meat and fried onion burger were too dry, personally. This place is fun and kitschy, and I love the concept of the monthly burger special, highlighting different burgers around the country.

In other burger news: the burger at Nathan's Famous is kinda amazing? Who knew. My dear friend Anna is officially leaving New York—headed back to her home state Florida for a job!—and rounded up a group of friends for an impromptu goodbye party at Coney Island.

We ate a ridiculous amount of fast food, rolled around in the sand building castles, and spent too much money on ride tokens. A perfect early summer day… A BDOML, if you will…

Also on this day: the banana chocolate chip cake with chocolate amaro ganache & vanilla buttercream from the ever fabulous Bodega Cakes. Lulu is an incredibly talented caker, and when I saw this reel, I knew I needed to surprise Anna with it. It looked perfect, but tasted great too.

A short & sweet month! Sorry theres no map attached to this one—I want to add those in to each beautiful things moving forward, but I need to leave for the airport in less than 15 so I’m skipping that this time. Send me Peru recs & NYC recs!