State Fairs and Beach Ferries

Hi friends, I'm back after a beautiful journey through the Midwest and one last Rockaway day, though I could totally see myself going back another time if weather permits. I celebrated my birthday surrounded by friends and family and am writing this is inthe new robeJared got me for my birthday (it has pockets), with Este on my lap. Our fridge/freezer completely died over the long weekend so hopefully by next week, I'll have a brand new one. I miss making iced americocos. Leah and Erika's wedding is a month away and I'll be in New York till then, which is very excited after a summer of going places. September might have the best weather of the year and I'm glad I'll be around to take advantage of it. Now, let's dive in. We have a lot to catch up on. On Friday, I'll share the best of August with paid subscribers. This Needs Hot Sauce is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. We had some couch cacio e pepe with tomato salad for late dinner one night. Tomatoes are so good right now and we're eating as many as possible. I even brought a tomato and a piece of bread to work one day as a very makeshift lunch. One perk of staying with people who have kids is eating cereal! While staying with Jared's fam and nephews, I had daily bowls of frosted mini wheats with kashi cocoa cereal. Did you grow up in a household that mixed different kinds of cereal? I did but Jared is more of a purist. Please weigh in. We ended our Midwest trip staying with Jeremy and his family and they made a delicious dinner of caesar salad (with homemade croutons from GF hamburger buns, very good idea), and pasta with zucchini and ricotta. We also had ice cream fromPurple Door.Dairy is a lifestyle in Wisconsin. We had our requisite broccoli tofu rice bowl situation, drizzled with Heydoh soy sauce and sriracha. Once the fridge/freezer was officially kaput, Jared put in the work and cooked through most of our perishables, which Leah and Erika kindly stored. He made a fritatta with tomatoes, parmesan, and kale, pasta with sauce, sauteed peppers, and a succotash with fresh corn. I hate wasting food so this made me feel so much better. It's definitely inconvenient but our fridge and freezer were fairly empty since we had been traveling. I am annoyed that I'll have to replace so many condiments but that's how it goes. I'm breaking this down by location since I was out and about NYC: I rarely buy lunch at work but I'm always looking for new options and I got an unexpectedly delicious peanut avocado onigiri atHarumi Japanese market. I love the combo in a roll but have never seen it in onigiri. I'll be back. I snuck in a solo dinner at the bar atCozy Royale—kale caesar and fries to work on a creative project I'll be able to share in a few weeks. We had our family Virgo Birthday (my dad, Erika, and I all have birthdays the same week) atRolo's, which was delicious as always. We got to try more of the menu with a big group and I loved the tomato salad with a smoked lentil puree and the sungold pasta. Get the pickled carrots too, a sleeper hit. A fire recently destroyed a lot of their wine inventory so they havesome more rare bottles available at really good prices.Highly recommend a visit—you can def get a res a few weeks out. After we got back, Jared and I saw Lily Allen at MSG. It was powerful to see her perform West End Girl start to finish. A good break up album is cathartic. Afterwards, we got softserve atMixue, the largest fast food chain in the world. It's $1 soft serve and the flavor isn't super complex but it's creamy and cold and the price is right. I had my birthday party in the outdoor area ofFourFiveSixand it was wonderful. Having a late summer birthday, I'm used to people being away during it and I was touched by the turnout. The weather was perfect and we sipped drinks and hung out until it was somehow 1 am. I love nights where you don't realize how late it's getting. Plus, someone in the bathroom line asked if I was turning 25. I got to see's very cute daughter destory a smash cake, which was extremely adorable. The adults hadSant Ambroeuscake. Isa and I got dinner atPangatin Park Slope which was very tasty Indian. Highlights were the vada pav and the szechuan noodles. For our Rockaway day, we took the ferry from Greenpoint and went straight toCaracasfor arepas and tequeños, Venezuelan cheese sticks. The passionfruit juice was popular but I did get a diet coke. After a few hours on the beach, Julia and I walked to the subway with a stop for ice cream atMara's. They have a great selection of flavors including creative sundaes—she got cappuccino brownie and I got vanilla chip with rainbow sprinkles. Minnesota: Carrie and Ezra picked us up after a delayed flight (I watched Before Sunrise and The Hills, a perfect high low culture mix) and we went straight toCulver's,which has a housemade veggie burger as all fast food places should. They also have great cheese curds and crinkle cut fries. The culinary highlight of the trip was the Minnesota State Fair, which lived up to the hype and more. It's such a celebration of the state's culture, from farming to unions to crafting and baking. We had Sweet Martha's cookies (shoutout), the fresh corn, that's grilled and dipped in butter (my favorite bite), new varieties of apple from the University of Minnesota and apple cider pops, honey samples, grilled cheese, local beers, milk and chocolate milk (the all you can drink milk is $3, I only had a few sips), and Jared got a turkey leg. There are SO many food options but we only had one day there and didn't want to spend too much time in line. I was curious about the elote tots but I'm sure I will be back. Outside of eating, the fair is huge. We found a paper map really helpful to navigate everything and covered a lot of ground (wear comfortable shoes,my Salomonswere key). Must sees are theCreative Activitiesbuilding where you can see all the ribbon winning quilts and crafts arranged like a mini folk art museum. You can also see all the entries in the baked goods competition which was mesmerizing. There are so many categories and I got to chat with the woman who won for best pie, a cranberry apple recipe inspired by her grandmother. I also loved the agriculture building which has the state's largest pumpkin, over 1600 pounds, the apples, a honey area, and crop art. There were union booths and anti-ICE art everywhere and it was such a great tradition to be part of. We ended the day watching a lumberjack competition and drinking a beer. If you go, take the buses instead of driving (it's only $5 for a round trip), bring a water bottle to refill, and stick with your group as service can be spotty with such large crowds. It was so much fun to go with Julia and James, who has been going to the fair his whole life. There's so much to do, it's really a choose your own adventure situation, and I can't wait to go back. Lizzie had a game night and we did a Snickers taste test—she cut up seven kinds of S'mores and we gave each one a score and ranked them.The largest candy store in Minnesotahas some interesting international versions. Wisconsin: I was so excited to see Beaver Dam, Jared's hometown. It's on a lake and has gotten a little chicer since he last lived there. There's an independent coffee shop,Nunatak, which was very good. We brought home some beans.Oogais a new microbrewery that was closed when we were there but came highly recommended by his parents. We got dinner at Sake House where I got to trySpotted Cow, a beer you can only get in Wisconsin. We enjoyed all the free samples and got souvenirs atShultz's Cheese Haus. The best part was hearing so many stories about Jared's childhood and seeing the settings for myself. Women are leaving their husbands after watching Heated Rivalry.I support them! Summer is changing thanks to climate change.Wildfire smoke and flash floods are summer features that I did not grow up with, but they're the new reality. Learning about wine can help you schmooze better. I love the french concept of 'la rentrée' and'stips for getting back into things. This Bagguremained a packing MVP (also brought it to Italy) since Jared cleaned out a storage unit and had lots of extra stuff to bring home. It folds up in a small pouch for the way there. The founder stepping back from the social media spotlightfrom Rosh Hashana is so soon and I'm ready for my10Q.It's an annual reflection exercise that I've been doing for a long time. The questions aren't specific to Judaism so I recommend it to anyone looking to do some digging into what's happened in the past year and what you want for the future. I did not make it to the US Open this year but I lived vicariously throughthis book, which I hope will have a sequel. I gota chili pepper phone casefor my birthday and I think it will help me convince more people I meet IRL to sign up for this newsletter. I also got a Beyond Yoga giftcard for my birthday andmore of theseare coming home to me. I also officially boughtthese shortsfrom my Nuuly. The true end of summer: I finishedmy tomato candlewhile we cleaned the apartment on Saturday. How Dolly and Gloria shifted culture I was so inspired by the Daisy Chain Festival andthis recapfromis wonderful. Wishing you luck with la rentrée! We've got this! xo, Abigail