I apologize to the lactose intolerant, this may seem a bit insensitive. But I love me a grilled cheese.

Something about grilled cheese is so fantastically comforting. It’s crunchy, yet gooey. It’s not too hot, it provides the perfect amount of warmth. It can be dunked in tomato soup, or can stand alone. And anyone from the age of 8 onward can make it! Just be careful not to burn it.

A recipe for grilled cheese may seem foolish, but it can be an art form. And yummy as the diner-style ones are, you can make a healthy one in two seconds. And it’s still delicious.

Sammich for one:

2 slices of 2% milk American cheese
2 slices whole wheat or multigrain bread
non-stick cooking spray
frying pan

Assemble your sandwich (I have faith you know how to do this). Spray the exposed bread on each side with non-stick cooking spray and put them in the frying pan, letting the bottom piece of bread toast and allowing the cheese to start getting melty. Flip as you deem appropriate to toast the other side and melt the rest of the cheese. I prefer my bread to be a golden brown but some people are pickier about the crunch factor. Read More »

Mmmm, brunch. Hands-down, this is the best part of my weekend. I love a diner as much as the next New Yorker, but I was raised in the Midwest on the kind of French toast that will have you longing for lazy Sunday afternoons in your kitchen. This is what I usually make for one person… but feel free to double if you’ve got company…

You’ll need:

3 slices of bread (switch up as you prefer, but it can be done with wheat, white, multigrain… up to you. Rye may not be the best choice here)

1 egg

milk (I prefer skim, but use whatever floats your boat)

ground cinnamon Read More »

I spend a lot of time telling myself to relax.

Relax, I tell myself. It’s okay that you didn’t have time to straighten your bangs this morning–no one is looking at you. It’s okay that you just said something really stupid to a tourist on the subway–no one is noticing you. No one else really knows you exist. RELAX.

Unfortunately, my seemingly-insane paranoia was validated yesterday.

My boyfriend and I went into a diner that I haven’t been to for about three years. And this is Manhattan, right, so there have been millions of patrons since the last time I’ve been there. And I was never a regular customer or anything like that.

So yesterday I’m in this diner and the waiter brings me my cup of tea and he says, didn’t you used to wear glasses? i remember you–you came in here a few years ago.

And I almost peed myself. Read More »

If there’s one thing in this world I know, it’s this: You gotta know your limit.

I don’t mean like how smart you are or how hard to push yourself when you’re working out or anything trivial like that. I’m talking about knowing how much you can drink.

One day a few months ago, a friend invited me out for a night of dancing and fun. I thought, hey, yes, I like dancing and fun. This will be excellent.

Cut to me four hours later in a blackout state, still dancing but question mark else? I don’t know because I was f*&cking wasted.

All I know is, I threw up in the bathroom of that club. And then I threw up in a diner afterwards. Twice. And then I think I took a cab home and went to sleep, but I know for sure that four hours later, I woke up and puked on and off for five hours, into my toilet, into plastic grocery bags, and all over myself. In fact, I vommed so much I burst a blood vessel, giving myself what I have affectionately termed zombeye. Zombeye, a bright red bloody eye, lasted two entire weeks. Read More »

Yes, I’m a workaholic.

“Do you ever just chill out?” A friend recently asked me, as I checked my email on my phone during a lunch date. “I mean, we’re at a diner.”

“I need to make sure the email I sent in to my professor made it. And if my internship got back to me about possibly skipping Monday…” I could have kept talking about what I needed to do, but the waiter was setting down a delicious plate of hummus and stuffed grape leaves. I cannot deny a good stuffed grape leaf.

My diner friend isn’t the first person to point out how much I work, how busy I keep my schedule. Moving forward in my career has always been a giant part of my life.

But these days, it’s an even bigger part. Why? Because the moment I calm down is the moment I realize work is just about the only thing I’ve got. Read More »