Hi, guys!
I just got back from having lunch with Ellie Krieger. No big deal.
Lunch
This afternoon, Kris, Karen, and I met Ellie at Cookshop for lunch. (Kris and Karen are the PR folks from the California Grapes Commission.)
Cookshop was a great spot for lunch. The restaurant itself was open and bright with clean lines and simple, colorful décor. The menu was creative, interesting, and featured many seasonal and sustainable ingredients.
When Ellie arrived, the four of us chatted for awhile before we placed our orders for lunch. Ellie was so friendly, well-spoken, and down-to-earth. She seemed like a regular person—not a famous television host and cookbook author. As cheesy as this may sound, chatting with her was like talking to a friend. She’s also really pretty in person!
Fun facts about Ellie:
- She’s an optimist.
- She once witnessed a wildebeest birth in the wild.
- There’s a photo of her NYC kitchen in this month’s issue of Better Homes & Gardens.
- Her newest cookbook was published in October.
- She read my blog this morning and said she liked it!
For lunch, I ordered the Chicken Breast Salad, which was served with green and red cabbage, carrots, celery root, toasted walnuts, and dried cranberries with a sherry vinaigrette. I didn’t totally love the salad part of my meal (it was a little bland), but the chicken was absolutely amazing. So yum! I’m actually really picky about chicken, so I was happy that this piece was cooked so well. It was incredibly tender and flavorful. It was actually the best chicken breast I can remember eating in a long time.
After lunch, I enjoyed a salted caramel (from Kris).
And a soy cappuccino. (Two espresso drinks in four hours = I’m buzzing!)
Breakfast
For breakfast, Kris, Karen, and I headed down to Chelsea Market. It’s been years since I’ve been there, so I was excited to visit this morning. A lot has changed!
First stop: Ninth Street Espresso!
I ordered a soy latte, which was outstanding! It was so creamy, so bold, and, oh, so delicious. I was actually sort of sad when I took my final sip. I didn’t want it to end!
With lattes in hand, we headed to Amy’s Bread to find some eats.
We ended up sharing a smorgasborg of pastries among the three of us. We had a croissant, Applesauce Doughnut, Almond Brioche Toast, and an Oat Scone with raisins and walnuts. I liked all of them, but my favorite by far was the Almond Brioche Toast. Holy yum! It was thick and sweet with crunchy slivered almonds on top. I actually wish I had another piece to eat right now. I wonder if I could make it at home? I need to Google it!
I have a little downtime before dinner, so I’m going to get ready and pack up my things to head back to Boston in the morning. I can’t believe how quickly this trip flew by! You know what they say!
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Your trip sounds great! You are eating a lot of great food and meeting a ton of amazing people. How do you not overeat when you are eating out so much?
@Mattie @ Comfy and Confident: I know you asked us this morning, but you never really answered it yourself!
I am interested because it is something I struggle with!
@Mattie @ Comfy and Confident: There’s a great chapter in my book about my strategies!
@Tina: Seriously? You can’t just answer the question? You have to pimp your book? How disappointing.
Well, it’s not really a short answer. It’s more like a whole post, so I figured since my ideas are already in one place in my book, people could look there. Also, I RARELY ever pimp my book on my blog, and I honestly don’t think it’s a bad thing to want to sell copies.
@Megan: Hi Megan and Mattie,
I have neither a blog nor a book, but here are some ideas:
-Review portion size guidelines before you go out so you can recognize visually what is and is not a portion. (You know, like a serving of meat=deck of cards. Here’s a good guide: http://education.wichita.edu/caduceus/examples/servings/household_items.htm)
-Also learn how popular items are prepared so you’ll know to steer away from, say, fried food preparations and toward steamed preparations. You can look at menus in advance to do this.
-It’s totally fine to ask how big the portion is and have half of the item packaged to go before they bring you your plate, or to separate stuff on your plate and plan to take it home before you eat anything at all.
-Make the main part of your meal a salad with lots of protein and healthy fat. Healthy fats: avocado, a little cheese, olives, olive oil, nuts. Get fatty add-ons and dressings on the side. A great Weight Watchers tip I actually use is to dip the fork in the dressing before stabbing a bite of salad. I’d also pick a simple dressing like a vinaigrette.
-Start with something filling but not nutrient-dense, like a brothy soup, not a cream-based soup (like a bisque or a creamed vegetable soup).
-Don’t bother with bread, or at least don’t eat any BEFORE the meal.
-Don’t drink before the main meal arrives–it just loosens your inhibitions (so you eat more appetizers!) and adds calories. Avoid mixed drinks with lots of ingredients. A glass of wine or a bottle of beer (portion-controlled, unlike a draft, which can come in a much bigger portion) is probably best, but a vodka soda with lemon or lime is portion-controlled, too.
-Eat slowly! Give your body and mind time to catch up to each other!
-Remember that it is okay to ask for what you want and that you don’t have to eat everything in front of you.
Hope this helps!
@Megan: Here are mine: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20527747,00.html
@Mattie @ Comfy and Confident: Here are the ones from my book: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20527747,00.html
OMG I LOVE HER, SHE IS AWESOME! i HAVE ONE OF HER COOKBOOKS
I was fortunate enough to meet Ellie last year at the Food Network NYC Food and Wine Festival and she was just so nice and positive. Not to mention has some great tips for the kitchen! I am glad you are having a wonderful time…enjoy your dinner
So exciting! I love Ellie
And you CANNOT beat Ninth Street Espresso or Amy’s Bread! Good picks by you guys!
what a fun day of eating + drinking. both espresso drinks look divine.
ellie is glowing in the pic — that’s what a healthy diet will do to ya i guess.
enjoy the rest of your nyc adventures
FYI – the cookbook The Sweeter Side of Amy’s Bread is an amazing cookbook… AND… the almond brioche toast recipe is in there! Enjoy
@Carly: I NEED IT!
Ellie is also a RD, can’t forget that!
um, awesome! I have a couple of Ellie’s cookbooks, every recipe I’ve tried is absolutely amazing! What a fun day for you.
I’m super curious what Ellie had for lunch!! Can you share? Glad you’re having fun
Ellie always seems so sweet and nice on TV! It’s cool to know that she is really that way in real life too! Enjoy the rest of your trip!
LOVE Cookshop. They have an insane brunch.
oh my gosh! How exciting! Both lunch and breakfast looks amazing!
Amazing!! What a wonderful opportunity to meet her!!
SOO FREAKIN COOL that you had lunch with Ellie, she seems super nice and down to earth on her show so it’s nice to hear she is like that in real life!
WHat a fun trip!! I love a good piece of moist chicken in my salads too–or else it makes the salad taste off, ya know?!
What a cool meeting you had!
You and all your celebrity sightings!!! So fun
What a great day! I’m drooling over those pastries because it’s been so long since I’ve had one.
Such an awesome opportunity, I bet it was tons of fun!
AHHH, no other words than AHHH! SO COOL! I began watching Ellie Krieger on the Food Network a few years ago and think she has a fabulous approach to food and a healthy lifestyle
That is freakin awesome!! I have Ellie’s first two cookbooks, and I really love them. Got to bust them out soon now that you reminded me
How awesome! I’ve always loved Ellie’s work, I’m so jealous you got to meet her
Oh I love seeing those caramels:-) My mom makes them! Such a great company. Love your blog, by the way! We have a Boston terrier and she is such a nut. Murphy reminds me of her!
I’m sure you could make it at home! It might take a few attempts though to get it just the same
I love Chelsea Market! I used to go there for lunch at the Lobster Place all the time. The only downside is that there is never any seating (makes for some funny sights of people walking around with a huge lobster on their plate searching for a seat though…). Next time I’ll try that almond Brioche…
If you are still in the area you should check out some gallery openings tonight! The best ones are right around the corner of the Cookshop between 10th and 11th Ave between 22nd and 27th street.
It looks like you are having a fabulous time! That is so cool you got to lunch with Ellie and the meal looked great! What looked even better was that soy latte, I may need to head to Ninth Street Espresso when I get back to NYC sunday. Enjoy the rest of your time
That’s so great that you had lunch with Ellie! It must have been so much fun. What did Ellie order for lunch?
What a fun day! Great picture of you too!
BTW – Your latte looks amazing.
How fun! You guys look strangely alike. Kind of!
Ahhh I wish I could have met you here in NYC! Im not sure if ive ever commented on your blog but I LOVE it and would so love to meet you sometime when you are here! Chelsea market is so gorgeous during/after holidays with those lights
The espresso bar is amazing, best Americano ever!
Wow! I am incredibly jealous! I just cooked my way through Ellie’s The Food You Crave–all 200+ recipes in one year. Very cool that you got to meet her.
I love the buzz I get from expresso!! Sounds like you have a great time!
You look a lot like Ellie!
I love the look of Cookshop — looks like it had a great vibe! Sounds like you had a great trip!
hahaha “no big deal”. What a fun day and I’m sure you weren’t awkward, as you had worried about earlier. Chelsea Market looks great! I’ve never been there… It’ll have to go on my NYC list for our next trip.
My patients always want to watch the Food Network but I only allow them to watch Ellie. They are in Cardiac Rehab after all!
What an amazing day! I would love love to meet Elllie and just chitchat over lunch, great coffee and caramel, and whoop it up in NYC. Wow, Tina…I am happy for you! HOW FUN!
Very cool! Did she have any fun healthy living insights? I’m also curious what she ordered for lunch!
My work has blocked blogs so I can’t read your blog as much so I just checked out your blog to see what’s been going on. Imagine my surprise to find that you are in NY. Have fun, and don’t forget to take a run in Central Park.
LOVE Chelsea Market and NYC.. I feel like you should move there, ps – you’re always traveling there, right?
So jealous you got to eat lunch with Ellie..she seems so amazing! She does look a lot prettier in your picture then I had previously thought (not that she wasn’t pretty at all!).
I keep getting more and more inspired by the people you meet, interview, talk to…and the things you do. You’re still managing to find such balance…INSPIRATIONAL!
I started re-reading your book today and I realized that somebody has a big anniversary coming up!
You’ve made yourself such a great blogger in a really short time…it’s cheesy but I really look up to you. Keep up the awesome ness!
@Cheryl at eatplayluvblog: Awww, thanks for the sweet comment!
adore Ellie!
Seriously so cool! Looks like a fun afternoon.
What an AMAZING opportunity! So happy for you!
Keep doing what you’re doing and who know’s maybe one day you might have your own show on the Food Network! lol 
Sounds like a fun day! I love Chelsea market, there’s an amazing tiny restaurant in there called The Green Table which I’ve been to at least 5 times. Such delicious food made with a lot of local ingredients, many of which come from the farms near where I live (an hr or so north of NYC) so it’s kind of fun
How cool that you got to meet Ellie Krieger!! She always seems very nice. Out of curiosity, what did she order?
Very cool. But…..”She is also really pretty in person.” Ouch!! I hope when she reads your blog about your lunch with her, that statement doesn’t leave her wondering what you think she looks like on her TV show! :\
@Allison: What an obnoxious comment!
What say you, Tina? Was the clarifier necessary? (The “in person” after “She’s also really pretty”?) I read that to my friend and her eyes got back and she mouthed “Wow!”
I always condone and support your blog’s subject matter and appreciate everything you have to say ….. but if someone was to make that comment about me I might be pretty offended. And J? Right back at ya. Go throw your stones elsewhere.
*eyes got big*
@Allison: Ok, apparently, I’m missing why my comment is so offensive to Ellie. Before yesterday, I only ever saw her on TV and in magazines, books, etc., and she’s obviously an attractive woman, so I don’t get why saying so after meeting her in person is so terrible? If anything, I made that comment to emphasize how pretty she is!
Okay, Tina. I’ll be sure to tell you how pretty you are in person if I ever run into you. (;
What an awesome day Tina! I am so glad you liked Ellie so much! She always seems like the nicest woman on tv, so it’s nice to know she’s the same way in person. All of the pastries that were shared looking delicious! It’s so much fun to get a bunch of items to taste test. Much more exciting than eating one whole treat!
What a cool opportunity! Love following all of your travels and city adventures!
What a fun lunch! I would have been in awe of her! I agree, she is very pretty. Pastries=yummy goodness!
It’s 8:30 at night and now I want a latte…:)
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