Lindsay's List: July 2024

Celebrate the best time of year (aka Leo season) with a bitchy hat, an Italian institution and your new favorite sweet and savory treat

Aug 01, 2024

∙ Paid

It’s Leo season, baby! If you know anything about me, you probably know that I’m a Leo. And like any Leo, I’m obsessed with being a Leo, so July tends to be one of my favorite months of the year simply because it means the start of Leo season.

This July has flown by, and it’s hard to believe just how much has happened. From an assassination attempt and unprecedented election happenings to a major hurricane and a cybersecurity update gone awry, it’s easy to get caught up in how we seem to always be living in unprecedented times.

Historically, I have been known to be a bit of a nihilist, but I’ve been trying to lean into all the great things the world has to offer. I’ve been coping with these never-ending hard times by spending lots of quality time with my cat, my amazing friends and incredibly supportive partner. And, writing these monthly recaps has been a lovely way to reflect on all the amazing things that I’m lucky enough to get to experience in Brooklyn and beyond.

This month, paid subscribers also get access to a bonus favorite: a recipe for lemon verbena and strawberry olive oil cake, which is the perfect summer snacking cake. I promise if you bring this cake to your next summer function, you’ll impress everyone.

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I hope you enjoy my July favorites as much as I did — happy reading!

The Favorites:

Large Nylon Sling in Lapis from BAGGU
Cost: $58
How I've been styling my new BAGGU
One thing thing to know about me is that I’m a BAGGU girlie through and through. But in an effort to consume and spend less, I haven’t participated in any of the recent BAGGU drops for the past few months. However once I saw this bag, I knew I needed it. Not only is it a brand new color and style from the brand, but it also fits my laptop, a hardcover book AND all the other crap I tend to keep in my everyday-use bags. I’d recommend this bag in any color, but this electric blue version is my personal favorite and it’s been a fun way to add a pop of color to my outfits this month. I even made a new friend this weekend after she complimented this bag! While I can’t promise that buying this bag will also help you make new friends, it’s definitely a possibility…
Soft Serve at Bread & Butter
Location: 53 Rockaway Ave in Ocean Hill
Transportation: Chauncey St J/Z, Rockaway Av C, B7/20/25/60 or Q24 Buses
Cost: $9
The mango royale soft serve from Bread & Butter
I’ve been eager to try the soft serve at Bread & Butter for a hot second, and I finally had the chance to this month. The flavors rotate often based on produce availability but tend to be fruit-forward, with recent flavors ranging from cherry cheesecake and strawberry shortcake to key lime pie and banana pudding. When I went, I was lucky enough to get to try the Filipino-inspired mango royale soft serve, which was topped with brown-butter graham cracker crumbs, lime zest, whipped cream and a healthy hunk of ridiculously ripe, juicy mango. As a soft serve and mango superfan, this was quite literally my dream dessert. The soft serve’s texture was incredible, and thanks to the lime, surprisingly not too sweet. Bread & Butter is admittedly a little deep into Brooklyn, but it’s well worth the trek to Ocean Hill — at least in my humble opinion! Plus, the two baked goods I got, a brown butter chocolate chip cookie and blueberry crumb bun, were also excellent. One thing to keep in mind: the soft serve has been known to sell out on weekends, so I’d suggest following Bread & Butter on Instagram to make sure they have it in stock before you go.
Bitch Hat from Awoke Vintage
Cost: $42
My new favorite hat from Awoke Vintage
There’s not much to say about this particular favorite other than that this hat is absolutely iconic, hilarious and unequivocally true. I’ve unsurprisingly gotten a boatload of compliments on this hat, have noticed at least a dozen people snapping pics of it when I wear it out and surprisingly have only had one man (read: boy) try to give me shit while wearing it. I’ll call that a win!
Samak bil Warak at Huda
Location: 312 Leonard St in Williamsburg
Transportation: Metropolitan Av G, Lorimer St or Graham Av L or B24/43/48 Buses
Cost: $38
A very bad photo of the very good samak bil warak at Huda
What started out as a dining disappointment — Huda didn’t have the chicken dish I saw on the online menu, which I had been planning to order — turned into a dining dream: ordering the samak bil warak. I’m not usually inclined to order fish out, but this dish has definitely made me rethink that. The perfectly cooked branzino comes wrapped in grape leaves over a bed of leek béarnaise and herb oil, and it’s all topped off with a lemon wedge and fresh herbs. While any béarnaise sauce is going to be decadent, the addition of the leeks in this one helped keep the richness at bay. It paired well with the light, flaky piece of branzino, and the squeeze of lemon brings it all together with a little punch. Even my meat-loving friends I was dining with were shocked at just how delicious this fish dish was.
Monopoly Nights
Cost: Free
Monopoly night featuring Monopoly: The Mega Edition
My best friend Sal has gotten me addicted to Monopoly this year, and this month I’ve had the pleasure of hosting a few Monopoly game nights at my apartment. Three of my *unofficial* goals for 2024 have been to spend less time on my phone, to spend less money and to prioritize activities that might count as healing my inner child. As it turns out, board games are a great way to meet all those goals. Having my friends over to play Monopoly — we particularly love playing The Mega Edition, which features some fun twists on the original game — has been an awesome way to spend time with my friends, participate in some healthy competition and most importantly, spend NO (real) MONEY!!! Not to mention, playing Monopoly is pretty much the only time my business degree (kind of random for me, I know) comes in handy.
Linguine in White Clam Sauce at Don Peppe
Location: 135-58 Lefferts Blvd in Ozone Park
Transportation: Aqueduct North Conduit Av A or Q10/37 Buses
Cost: $34 (cash only)
Linguine in white clam sauce at Don Peppe
If you’re still a recovering One Direction fan like me, you might know Don Peppe as the restaurant Harry Styles went to after breaking up with Taylor Swift. But if you’re normal, you probably know Don Peppe because it’s considered one of the best restaurants in NYC. I had a few days off for the Fourth of July holiday and used my Wednesday off as an excuse to make the hike to Ozone Park to try this old-school Italian institution. And shoutout to my dad for picking me up at a nearby subway station (it’s a 20-minute walk from the subway otherwise)! My dad was iffy on ordering the linguine in white clam sauce since we also planned to order some baked clams (they were also phenomenal), but after some convincing by me and a glowing endorsement from our waiter, I was able to convince him — and I’m so glad I did. This was easily the best linguine and clams I’ve ever had. It was so fresh, not overwhelmingly clam-y and had chunks of roasted garlic that really heightened the flavor of the dish. I also really appreciated that the clams were already shelled for a more straightforward eating experience. The portions are enormous (the picture above is just my individual serving of the dish) and make for really good leftovers. Just make sure you don’t forget cash!
Miso Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treats from Cooking with Cocktail Rings
Cost: Varying depending on ingredients
Brown butter miso Rice Krispies treats
I made these Rice Krispies treats for my most recent Monopoly night this week and they were SUCH a hit. The brown butter elevates the treat with nuttiness, and the subtle bit of umami from the miso really takes this classic dessert to the next level. And the cherry on top is that it took only ~15 minutes to whip up these bad boys. To lean into the sweet and savory vibe, I topped mine off with black sesame seeds and flaky sea salt. My friends and I literally couldn’t stop eating these, and even though I don’t like to repeat recipes often, I know these have earned a coveted spot on my repeat recipe rotation.
The Flops:
A bad meal at Bad Roman: First, I need to apologize to Jessie and MV for accidentally lying to them by saying I wouldn’t include our meal at Bad Roman as a July flop. Unfortunately, this meal did end up being one of my biggest flops of the month. The food wasn’t bad by any means, but almost every dish felt like it needed just a little something more, and I don’t think it’s worth all the hype. However, the drinks and dessert were both delicious and I’d highly consider going back to eat the lemon cheesecake or tiramisu ice cream cake (!!!) at the bar.
FLiRT-y, almost 25 and not thriving: Just when I least expected it, Claire and I got COVID (most likely the new FLiRT variant). It was my second time having it and luckily was a lot more mild than the first time — thank you, vaccines! This month was the first month in a while that I noticed dozens of people I know getting COVID, so it might not be the worst idea to get a booster soon. Ironically, I did try to get a rogue booster shot the day *before* we tested positive but the pharmacy we went to only had expired vaccines. Miss Rona really got me this month.
Goodbye to the G: Like any sensible Brooklynite, I live off the G, which was something I felt really good about until this month. If you’ve been keeping up with the NYC landscape, you know the G is shutdown in some capacity for the rest of the summer. Luckily, the G shuttle buses haven’t been too bad (and they’re free!), but even after just a few weeks, I’m already finding myself longing for the G train’s return.