September 2026

Food:

After seeing this spot pop up on my Instagram—and realizing it was within walking distance of my office—I knew I had to give it a try. I ordered the chirashi bowl from Jiro’s Restaurant in Boston’s Chinatown, and it was perfect. The fish was incredibly fresh, the price was great, and it was just the right amount of food. Definitely a new go-to for a quick sushi lunch in Chinatown.

We love love Mexico Lindo in Melrose, MA, and especially their carne asada plate. Whenever we’re craving a casual, walk-in meal, this is our spot. It’s consistently delicious and one of those places we find ourselves going back to again and again!

Our favorite dim sum nearby has to be Ming’s Seafood Restaurant in Malden, MA. They have all of our favorites, and everything is always fresh and delicious. If you’re looking for a classic dim sum experience without making the trip into Boston’s Chinatown or down to Quincy, this is your spot!

I had a work trip to Virginia in September, so I stopped in DC to see some friends, and we did a double hitter for dinner. First up was Baan Mae, where we stuck with apps and ordered the Goong Nam Paa (shrimp crudo), sakoo (tapioca dumplings), pun yaw (spring rolls), Mae’s meatballs, and pork skewers. Everything was amazing, but I especially loved the tapioca dumplings and the spring roll platter, which comes with rice noodles, lettuce, and herbs.
Then we headed over to Alfie’s in Georgetown to check out Chef Justin Ahn and Alex McCoy’s new Northern Thai spot. Truly, everything was incredible, but the sai ua herbal pork sausage and charcoal-smoked chicken were the standouts for me. Their menu changes often, but you seriously can’t go wrong!

Also while in DC, we made dinner at home and decided on tuna belly chirashi bowls using fresh, sushi-grade tuna from Sashimi DC, located inside Rice Market. My friends taught me how to remove the tendons from the tuna with a spoon, and we put together some delicious bowls with all the toppings—including fresh quail eggs from their neighbors!

No trip to Charlottesville is complete without a stop at CouCou Rachou, the most wonderful French bakery. I had a flat white and a pain suisse, and then took some of their amazing miso chocolate chip cookie dough to go. Truly the bakery dreams are made of.

I had another night in DC following my Charlottesville trip, so we went to Chai Pani in Union Market for some incredible Indian food. The restaurant was fun and energetic, and the food and drinks matched the vibe! The standouts for me were the KFC (Kashmiri fried chicken) sliders and the butter chicken, but honestly, I could have eaten anything on the menu.

September also brought the Jewish High Holidays, including Rosh Hashanah, which we spent with my in-laws. I brought green beans with a shallot dressing, stuffed cabbage, challah, honey cake, baklava, and an almond cake. We had such a great meal together celebrating and welcoming in the Jewish New Year!

I also had a cookbook club meeting this month, and the theme was anything Ina Garten. Everyone really showed out for this one, and everything was delicious. I made her mac and cheese and brownie pudding, both of which were a hit!

The second of the Jewish High Holidays, Yom Kippur, also fell in September, and my husband and I broke our fast with a bagel spread complete with smoked fish and toppings galore, plus a charcuterie board. Everything was delicious, super casual, and exactly what we wanted after a day of fasting!

Another one of my work trips took me to New Haven, where we had to try Frank Pepe’s pizza. It was definitely good! But was it life-changing? Not quite. I’m still not fully sure I get the New Haven pizza hype, but I’m always willing to keep trying!

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Other:

Three shows deserve an honorable mention this month: Season 2 of The Agency on Paramount+, Season 5 of Fauda on Netflix, and Season 2 of The Gentlemen on Netflix. There is so much good TV out right now, and these were three shows we had really been looking forward to.
I especially want to call out the latest season of Fauda. If you haven’t watched it, Fauda is an Israeli action-thriller series that follows an elite undercover counter-terrorism unit. The writers had already begun working on Season 5 when October 7 happened, and afterward, they knew they couldn’t continue with the season as originally envisioned. Instead, they reworked it to grapple with October 7 and its aftermath.
The 5th season follows the unit in the years after the attack while also revisiting that day through the show’s characters. It is deeply rooted in the trauma, grief, and pain of October 7, and watching it was both horrible and incredibly moving. It was difficult to watch at times, but it also felt important. This season has stayed with me long after we finished it.
I’ve always been a hard-book kind of girl, but with all of my work travel, I decided to give an audiobook a try and picked Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson. It was such a fun listen and kept me entertained throughout all the traveling I did in September. I may officially be an audiobook convert!

I found this Lenox vase at Live More Hunt Less Consignment, a secondhand home goods store in Stoneham, MA, for under $15! My parents have the exact same vase at home, so of course I had to pick it up. My husband always jokes that, with everything I buy for our house, I’m slowly recreating my childhood home—and honestly, he might be right.

Like I alluded to earlier, I had quite a bit of work travel in September. I got to go back to Charlottesville, VA, and also visited two places I’d never been before: Ann Arbor, MI, and New Haven, CT. Both were such charming college towns, and I totally get the hype!

Lenny:

August 2026