Goodie Girl

When she was a few years old, we found out my niece has a gluten allergy.  This was a first for the family, particularly one with a diet soooo based in gluten-full carbs and grandma (my mom) an avid baker.  My mother has embraced the challenge of finding her every available safe snack, breakfast item, baked good, brand of mac and cheese, etc, which is no simple feat in a small town in NH, and is slowy learning to bake with gluten-free flours too.

Her journeys into the gluten-free world have meant that I've of course gotten to try lots of snack foods that I'd never normally seek out, such as products from Goodie Girl, and entirely gluten-free and kosher brand.

Goodie Girl has a number of product lines, all packaged items, such as many styles of cookies and some breakfast bars.

Breakfast biscuits are available in just two flavors: blueberry or cinnamon brown sugar.  These are essentially the same as BelVita breakfast biscuits, which I've reviewed before, but, the gluten-free version obviously.  I found it amusing that they even take the same large oval shape.  Their other breakfast bar product line, softer breakfast bars, come in 4 varieties (blueberry and cinnamon brown sugar again, or strawberry or chocolate/banana/almond), again much like BelVita's soft baked line.  I tried only the biscuits.

Blueberry Breakfast Biscuits.

"Start your day with some blues! Goodie Girl Blueberry Breakfast Biscuits are sweet, crunchy morning snacks made with blueberries and whole grain gluten-free oats to help provide nutritious energy for your morning routine."

My package contained 3 of the biscuits.

Again, just like BelVita, they are crispy biscuits, akin to graham crackers almost but thicker, loaded with a bit more grains/oats to deem them breakfast worthy, and flavored. I found them very sweet after a few bites.  They are also pretty dry to just eat straight from the package, but they do soften nicely when you dunk them in coffee like biscotti, and I also like dunking them in yogurt.  The blueberry was minimal, but I did taste the little dried blueberries if I really tried.

So on their own, too sweet, too dry, but, dunked in coffee or tangy yogurt and they aren't bad if in the mood for a biscuit for breakfast (or perhaps a mid-morning coffee snack).  3/5.

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Black Jet Bakery

Update Review, 2026

I can't say I've ever been all that impressed with Blackjet Bakery items in the past, but when someone had a bunch of extra at my office, of course I still gave them a try.

Homemade Oreo. $3.75.

"Indulge in the perfect marriage of rich dark chocolate and smooth salted vanilla cream with our take on the timeless cookie."

I don't like Oreos.  I don't really think Blackjet is a good bakery.  So I certainly didn't take one of these.  But when I leaving, hours later, and there was still a tray of them ... I grabbed one, for "research".  And I hoped it would be a worthy experiment.

The cookie had a deep, not very sweet, cocoa flavor.  It was a soft but crisp cookie, not really the texture you think of for an Oreo. The cream filling was sweet, cloying style, as I guess it should be for an Oreo, but definitely far more creamy than a regular Oreo.  I didn't really taste the salt.

I didn't really care for this, and I'm not sure an Oreo lover would either, as the flavors and textures were pretty different. 2/5.

Sprinkledoodle. $4.

"Delightfully buttery sugar cookie rolled in rainbow sprinkles! So happy, fun and festive for any occasion."

I love sprinkles.  So even though this is a very simple sounding cookie, there is something about a sprinkle cookie that still excites me.

It was ... a very basic cookie.  Yes, it was soft, and it was large, and it was absolutely covered in sprinkles, but the actual flavor was no different from generic slice and bake sugar cookies.  Like you'd get at any bake sale.  Nothing really bakery quality quality about it, besides perhaps that it was evenly baked?  Eh.  2.5/5.

Update Review, 2024

I didn't seek out Black Jet Bakery, but, when someone in my office had extra cake to share, of course I went to try it, as its 10 years (!) since I last had their goods.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake.

"Moist devil's food cake layered with our old fashioned chocolate cream cheese frosting and topped with sprinkles."

I'll admit the variety of cake the person who ordered this picked wasn't really one I'd generally go for - devil's food.  Chocolate frosting in particular is rarely what I'm interested in, and I mostly only like chocolate cake when it is warm, and served with ice cream.

But still, cake.  And I wanted to try it.

It was about as I expected.  Deep, dark devil's food cake, which is fine, but not exciting to me.  It was reasonably moist and not dry.  Reasonable chocolate flavor.

And then the frosting. I like chocolate.  I like cream cheese frosting.  I like cheesecake.  I don't like chocolate cheesecake.  Turns out, the same is true for chocolate cream cheese frosting.  Something about the chocolate and cream cheese combo just doesn't do it for me.  There was plenty of this frosting, and it was true to both the cream cheese and chocolate flavors, both fairly pronounced, but, alas, not my favorite.

Overall, I think a fine cake, good ratios of frosting to cake, fresh enough, but, not one I really enjoyed. **.

Available as 8 inch for $50, 10 inch or 1/4 sheet for $100, or 1/2 sheet for $200.

Original Review, January 2015

I remember when Black Jet Bakery opened in the Ferry Building.  I was so excited to have another bakery close by. You know me and my love of baked goods!  Plus, they had all sorts of interesting sounding items, like "German Shepherds", aka, homemade Devil Dogs with german choc cake filling!  And homemade "Nuttah Buttahs"!  And of course, homemade pop tarts with a variety of fillings, and absolutely adorable mini pies.

I tried many items over the years, but didn't take notes, as it was before my food blogging days.  A few years ago, as I mentioned last week, I wanted both pumpkin and pecan pies for Thanksgiving, so I decided to purchase mini versions of each, and Black Jet was where I immediately went for one of them, since I'd been eyeing their mini pies for years, even though I was never all that impressed with anything else I'd tried there.

They have since closed their Ferry Building location, but have a shop in the Mission, and are available around town through Good Eggs.  But I don't see any reason to seek them out.

Lil Pumpkin Pie. $5.

"This little 3.5 inch beauty is quite the treat for 1 or 2.  Excellent crust to filling ratio, to boot."

The pumpkin filling was not particularly interesting, not very spiced, just kinda there.  The crust on the bottom and where the pumpkin filling touched it was ok, but otherwise it was pretty dry.  It was also buttery, but not in a good way. There was no real flavor to the crust.  Meh, meh, meh

If you want a tasty pie, get it from Flour & Co.

[ Not Pictured ]

• Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Cookie with Sea Salt: "Classic chocolate chip cookies filled with milk and dark chocolate and topped with Maldon Sea Salt Flakes."  Tasting notes: Meh. (wow, that memorable huh?  Sorry, this is literally all my notes say!)
• Sugar Cookie: Soft, but no flavor complexity, just buttery, meh [ Slight lemon flavor, moist, bad mouthfeel, too much butter]
• Boozy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie: Tum!  Nice and moist, good flavor in cookie itself.
• Cakes
• Sour Cream Coffee Cake: "Classic Sour Cream Coffee cake. Delicious for breakfast or as an afternoon snack with coffee!"  Tasting notes: Nothing special, not bad but not good.
• Bars
• Salty Nutty Brownie: Nice rich chocolate flavor, moist, pretty good.
• Lemon Square: Way too sweet.  Very lemony.  Not my thing at all.
• Brown Butter Blondie: Not good.  Really plain, very little chocolate, no nuts.

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Tommy Popcorn

Regular readers of my blog know that I have a thing for popcorn.  An obsession, an addiction, pick your word for it, but, yes, I have a label on my blog devoted to it, and yes, I eat it, in some form, sweet or savory, every day of my life.  I'm an avid snacker, and my vice of choice is nearly always popcorn.  I frequently do crazy things like freeze it, because I like it extra crispy that way.

Given this, it is safe to say that I'm basically always excited to get to try new popcorn, so when I heard from Tommy Popcorn about a new line of popcorn being produced in Los Angeles, of course I was eager to try a soon as it was available.

"Discover our bold, unconventional, and unapologetically flavorful handcrafted gourmet popcorn, born from a Brooklyn legend’s passion for storytelling and unforgettable taste."

The namesake of this popcorn is slightly confusing, as 1) a person named Tommy is not involved with the brand, and 2) the company is based in California, despite the Brooklyn branding.  But it is named after a real-ish person,  Tommaso “Tommy” Marino, a fictional 1950s Brooklyn filmmaker obsessed with popcorn, cinema and doing things his own way.  The branding is intended to capture the spirit of the 1950s, of doing things the handcrafted way, and telling a tale through creative media, in this case popcorn rather than film.

The popcorn is marketed as gourmet, and never uses HFCS, is popped in small batches, and comes in slightly unique flavors.  Their flavors all focus around caramel corn, taken in a variety of directions, from the simple "Iconic" base flavor to the fascinatinating sounding "Empire State" pizza flavored version.  I tried only one, but can't wait to get my hands on more (which you can do too, currently sold only directly from their website).

Golden Irish.

"Caramel Popcorn with the taste of genuine Irish Whiskey"

"Tommy makes popcorn the way New York City makes nights – bold, memorable, full of adventure. And Golden Irish is the kind of popcorn that tastes like sophistication the second it hits your lips. This whiskey flavored popcorn blends warm vanilla, a whisper of oak, and a buttery glaze that lingers like jazz on a record player. 

Think: velvet booths, old-school charm, tailored suits and a pour of something top-shelf. It’s smooth. It’s slow. It’s got depth. And just like Tommy? Refined, but never boring.

“A popcorn that tastes like old money.” – Tommy"

I took my first nibble and was very quickly impressed.  I eat a lot of popcorn, clearly, but this was noteworthy from the first bite.

The caramel flavor was extremely well balanced - it was buttery, it was sweet, but it never veered into cloying territory, even though the pieces were all well coated in topping.  Think of what you wish most ballpark or carnival caramel corn was, but never is.  Caramel corn for those with real palettes.  Or yes, exactly as they say, it tastes like sophistication.  In a world of flowery marketing prose, in this case, it measures up.

And then there is the Irish whiskey of it all.  It was subtle, easy to miss at first, but there was this little extra touch of complexity on the finish, that took my brain a moment to register as whiskey.  But the moment it did, I immediately knew exactly what drink I wanted to pair with it.

Unfortunately my little bag didn’t last long enough to pour said drink.  The 1 ounce bag size feels slightly like a tease, but is likely good for portion control, as I assure you, I’d stand no chance against a larger bag.  But I think it would pair oh-so-well.

Oh, and the popcorn itself?  Nice size kernels, fresh tasting, well coated.  I have no edit on this, besides that maaaaybe I’d prefer it a bit more boozy, but really, this was just shockingly good caramel corn, for adults.  4.5/5.

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Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream

As you probably realize by now, I eat a lot of ice cream.  At least once a day, as part of a dessert pairing after lunch or dinner.  I'm partial to local brands, but from time to time, I try nationwide grocery store brands that are more readily available, such as Jeni's.

"Our ice creams have a uniquely smooth texture and buttercream body, with bright flavor and clean finish. We’re here to set new standards for ice cream classics and to create our own. At Jeni’s, you’ll find flavors inspired by our curiosities—art, history, pop culture, and beyond—that simply don’t exist anywhere else."

Jeni's is a mass produced but premium brand, distributed nationwide through grocery stores, direct shipments, and their own scoop shops.  It seems to be generally well loved, particularly for some of their more unique flavors. They have a very extensive product line up, and introduce new flavors constantly, including many seasonal specials.  Yes, you can get vanilla, chocolate, cookies in cream, cookie dough, or other common flavors if you like, but, why would you pick those when their regular lineup includes options like Gooey Butter Cake, Sweet Cream Biscuits & Peach Jam, Boston Cream Pie, Powdered Jelly Donut, Maple Soaked Pancakes, etc, etc. They have some that sound amazing, some that sound ... curious, and many that are just slight upgrades on classic flavors (e.g. even the cookie dough flavor, "Double Dough" has a brown sugar custard base).

I've tried a few pints over the years, and generally found the flavors to sound better on paper than they were in practice.

Brown Butter Almond Brittle.

"Brown-butter-almond candy crushed into buttercream ice cream."

"Made with rich buttercream ice cream and golden pockets of handmade almond brittle, this sweet, salty, crunchy ice cream quickly became a menu mainstay."

This was the first Jeni's flavor I tried.  I was so excited, having heard so many accolades of Jeni's, and, um, I love almond brittle (if you've been the Ferry Building Farmer's Market in San Francisco, you likely know the "almond brittle people", and, seriously, it doesn't matter how often I have that stuff, I adore it).  I imagined something like that, paired with good quality ice cream.  It sounded glorious.

The brittle was well distributed throughout.  It was extremely sweet, had a bit of crunch.  But I didn't taste the "salty" element as described.  Bites that got a lot of brittle really were too sweet for me.

The base ice cream was ... kinda boring?  I didn't taste something that called out as "buttercream", just kinda plain, not even vanilla.  Vanilla at least, um, has vanilla flavor?  Looking at the ingredients, the base is just milk, cream, and sugar, so, yeah, plain.  It was nicely creamy, clearly a decent product, but, just boring.

This flavor really trended too sweet for me most of the time.  I love everything in it, but, I found myself never really wanting it, and it certainly didn't wow me.  Plain ice cream, decent brittle, but, nothing particularly special about it, and, just too sweet overall.

3/5.

Brambleberry Crisp.

"Oven-toasted oat streusel and a sweet-tart brambleberry jam layered throughout vanilla ice cream."

"Brambleberry Crisp is like a slice of fresh berry pie mixed with a scoop vanilla ice cream in every bite. Sweet vanilla ice cream made with high-quality vanilla from Madagascar. A regal purple jam swirl inspired by the blackberries and blackcurrants that grow wild all over the hillsides of the Appalachian foothills — the kinds of brambly berries Jeni would pick. And a brown sugar oat streusel crumble with just a kiss of cinnamon inspired by Jeni’s family recipe. It softens a little in the ice cream, just like on a real crisp."

Next up was Brambleberry Crisp.  I always add a scoop of ice cream to any fruit crisp/cobbler/crumble/pie, so this sounded like a great flavor to me, all integrated into one.  A complete dessert.  It looked great when I opened it, the visible mix-ins drawing me in.

And ... I thought it was ok, but I certainly wanted to like it more than I did in practice.  The base ice cream I again found fairly boring (although here it was at least vanilla).  It was reasonably creamy, but not really notable in any way.  Ho-hum.  

But of course, this flavor was about the jam and the streusel after all.  The jam was sweet, and fruity, and there was a nice swirl of it throughout.  But it didn't really draw me in for more.  It almost seemed too sweet.  The streusel was well distributed throughout, but I didn't taste the brown sugar, nor could I tell it was oat really, it mostly was just slightly soggy grit.

It was all "fine", but not a pint I found myself reaching for, given my fleet of other brands and flavors in my freezer.  Low 3/5.

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Ziggy's Pizza, Lebanon NH

Ziggy's Pizza is a small chain in New Hampshire, with a location in the town my parent's live in.  I had heard about it when it first opened, lauded for introducing a new style of pizza to the area (*not* the super cheesy, greasy, fairly awful "Village Pizza" ... yup, really).  But I certainly never sought it out, I'm not really a pizza girl (and, I'm not in town that often).

But summer of 2020, I went to stay with them for a couple months to enjoy fresh air, warm weather, and, "escape" from the COVID lockdown in San Francisco.  My family has a ritual: pizza night.  Every week.  Basically without fail.  Usually when I'm visiting, I can convince them to skip that week, or sometimes mom will make pizza, or more often, I choose to go visit a friend on pizza night.  It just isn't my thing, and they generally order from the closest place (yup, Village Pizza, or the even worse Mickey's - review coming soon!), and they complain about the quality every time.  After a few weeks of such orders, I proposed trying somewhere new, even if it was a bit further away.

I picked Ziggy's, since I remembered people praising it, and it seemed to have some staying power, in business for a few years, and with a location in Sunapee too.  (I couldn't convince them to get Ramunto's, which at least has decent garlic knots - and cinnamon sugar dessert knots! - as it is even further, sadly).  So Ziggy's it was.

This review is for takeout only, so I cannot comment on the dine-in experience.  

Ziggy's has a larger than average menu for a pizza joint, in addition to the pizzas (both hand tossed or chicago style, including tons of ridiculous custom creations), they have calzones, wings, burgers (with *many* custom creations), hot dogs, a decent sandwich lineup (ranging from BLTs to warm cheese steaks to meatball/chicken parm), classic pastas (meatball parm, chicken broccoli alfredo, a very well known mac and cheese made with local dairy cream), salads, and a very unique menu of starters.  Oh, and desserts.  There really were many things I'd like to try.

Update Review, June 2025

I don't intentionally seek out Ziggy's, but my parents order from there/dine in usually once a week, so, of course I encountered it when visiting.

Sweet Potato Fries.

My parents love Ziggy's sweet potato fries, so when they went out to get pizza one night, I asked them to bring me a few home to try.  I ... don't understand the hype, although yes, I realize I had them reheated later (in air fryer), but I regularly reheat fries and enjoy them more than this.

They were just pretty generic fries, fairly soft (even when air fried) and ... I know this sounds strange, but, they were too sweet potato tasting for me.   Like, really sweet.  And kinda mashed inside.  Some skin on.  Just not my style at all.  For me, 1.5/5, but my parents do love them, so clearly, I'm just one data point.

These are available as a side order for $4.99 / basket for $8.99.  My parents got the basket and I tried the leftovers, so the portion here is not representative of either of the sizes.  They come with honey mustard to dip as well.

Honey Mustard.

I was excited to try the honey mustard too.  This is described on the menu as "our honey mustard", which I think means it is housemade.

It was ... fine?  Definitely pretty sweet, and very creamy (likely mayo? based).  3/5.

Update review: I had it again a few months later.  Yes, it is a very sweet honey mustard, but I love how creamy it is.  I wouldn't want it as a salad dressing as it is just far too sweet, but it was good with sweet potato fries. 4/5.

Original Review, September 2020

First Time Ordering. Wonderful!

The first time we had Ziggy's, it was really quite good.  I am not a pizza person, and lamented that my family does pizza night so regularly, but this I was impressed by (granted, mostly by the non-pizza items), and I admit the Margarita pizza was good.  It inspired me to suggest ordering from there again, a few weeks later.

Second Time Ordering: MEH!

The next time though ... wow, quality difference.

Same pizza, this time over cooked and lacking flavor.  Missing a dressing I ordered.  Salad much smaller.  

Eh.  Some things were fine, don't get me wrong, but, the quality difference was striking.

Starters

The starters is where Ziggy's menu really called out to me.  If I was dining in, I'd be in a world of indecision, with fried pickles, sweet potato fries, rings, etc, etc, all with house made dipping sauces.  I still was able to find starters that would work for takeout, and gladly tried several.

Buns & Oil. $3.99.

"Basket of freshly baked buns served with a side of homemade garlic oil for dipping."

Perhaps the most boring appetizer available, but, sometimes, I like a good roll, and I love a good dipping sauce.

I'm so glad I ordered these.  I really liked these rolls, my favorite dish that we got.

The bread was soft, fluffy, slightly crisp, not too much flour on the outside.  And the garlic oil?  DELICIOUS.  A bit of herb, plenty of garlic, and seemed high quality.  Seriously, that oil.  I still think about it.

I kinda could not stop eating these, particularly with that oil.  Would get again in a heartbeat! 4/5.

Ziggy's Sticks. $4.99.

"12 inch freshly made dough brushed with garlic oil and Romano cheese. Baked up golden with a side of marinara."

The next time we ordered it took all my willpower not to just order the buns & oil again, as I had loved them so much last time.  But I was eyeing the "Ziggy's Sticks", their version of garlic bread sticks, also made with that signature garlic oil.  Available with or without mozzarella cheese on them as well, and served with a side of their (pesto) marinara.

We got without the mozzarella.  I ... was not pleased.

They make the sticks by taking a medium 16" pizza crust, but only stretching it to 12", so its thicker and puffier than the regular pizza.  But otherwise, it's the same pizza dough.  It was ... um ... just pizza crust, kinda overcooked.  Too crispy.  I missed the soft, puffy buns.

But the real reason it failed is the utter lack of garlic flavor.  We were excited for the garlic oil, and it was ... not detectable in any way.  Yes, it was slightly cheesy, at least most pieces, from the romano, but otherwise, this was just oily (it clearly had oil soaking into the top, it just sure didn't taste of garlic), and crispy, boring pizza crust.  And the dipping sauce had spilled in, because the lid melted. 1/5.

I liked the dipping sauce at least, but would never get the sticks again.

Pesto Marinara.

The pesto marinara though was quite good actually.  I'll give them that.

Nice tomato sauce, not too tangy, not too sweet, just, pretty good marinara.  It is what they use on the pizzas.  I really liked the cheesy, herby touch the pesto added as well.

Another good sauce at least. 3/5.

Soup & Salad

My parents always order a basic dinner salad when they get pizza, but Ziggy's does have a decent lineup of salads, some entree style.  All are available with your choice of ranch, blue cheese, house vinaigrette, thousand island, or maple mustard vinaigrette.  The dressings are all made in-house.

The soup lineup is even more interesting, they feature one kind of base soup, a chowder.  A cheesy chowder.  Available in two forms: the basic cheeseburger, or, the "Cowgirl", which is the same base cheeseburger based chowder, but with differing toppings (onion rings and bbq sauce for the Cowgirl, lettuce, tomato, ketchup for the regular).  I couldn't resist going for this ridiculousness (which you can also get over fries).

Basic Salad, Large. $6.99. House Vinaigrette and Mustard Vinaigrettes.

"Mixed greens, grape tomatoes, cucumber and red onion."

This was for my parents, as I had no interest in a generic salad from the pizza place, and had my own fresh greens from my sister's garden, along with her heirloom tomatoes, but I did try a few bites, and it was a decent salad, I was impressed, above average for a pizza place.  Everything seemed quite fresh.

I did try the mustard vinaigrette, and it was, well, mustard vinaigrette.  Very tangy.  I'm not one for vinaigrettes.  They do make all of their dressings (except the ceasar), in house.

Basic Salad. Large.  $6.99. Thousand Island.

The next time we ordered, same salad, the onions were white rather than red.  I really liked them, sweet white onions, for some reason, I just loved the flavor.  And stole them all to eat dunked in dressing.  #sorrynotdorry.

The salad was much smaller the second time it seemed, fewer cucumbers and tomatoes, and much less lettuce.

Marinated Mushrooms / House Made Thousand Island.

The salad lineup also has a salad, the "Merry Mushroom", that includes marinated mushrooms.  These sounded good to me, so I asked for a side of them, knowing my dad hates mushrooms, and I shouldn't put on the salad directly.

I liked them, just chunks of mushroom, in some kind of herbs and oil, but, they were tasty enough.  Nice to add in to my salad. 3/5.

I also opted to try the thousand island once I learned they make most dressings in-house.  I also ordered the ranch, but alas, we paid for it, but our order did not include it.  Wah.

It was fine thousand island, creamy, balanced well enough, although a touch on the sweet side. Not to much mayo or anything.  Decent.  It went great with my sister's heirloom tomatoes I had on hand. 3/5.

Cheeseburger Soup (toppings on the side). $4.99.

"A creamy chowder with chunks of beef and onion, topped with crisp lettuce, chopped tomato and a drizzle of ketchup."

I was craving red meat.  Ground beef.  Very clearly.  But I didn't quite want a burger.  But cheeseburger soup?  Chowder with cheeseburger?  Now that sounded fascinating!  I tried to order the Cowgirl version, but alas, they were out of it (which I guess means they just didn't have onion rings?).  Regular version it was.  It came with two more rolls (no dipping sauce).

When you dine in, this comes with "Ziggy's" written across it in ketchup, and garnished with the lettuce and tomato, but I asked for the toppings on the side.  And since I couldn't have the Cowgirl with the bbq sauce and onion rings, I also got a side of the bbq to try mixing in.

The toppings were fine: diced tomato, really, they were classic burger tomatoes, in that they were pretty generic, not quite ripe, etc.  The "crisp lettuce" though was just fine shreds, and not much.  Ketchup was, well, ketchup, and the bbq was fairly decent, tangy and sweet.

But this really was all about the cheeseburger soup, right?

Cheeseburger Chowder: Inside.

So, what was it.  Well, a cheese chowder base.  Very cheesy, basically like, uh, mac and cheese sauce?  It really reminded me of mac and cheese sauce.  But, with chunks of ground beef crumbled up inside.  It was pretty rich, and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, and it lacked seasoning.

I heated some up, and then got to garnishing.  I added the lettuce provided, plus some from the salad that I chopped up.  My chopped tomatoes.  My crispy fried onions and bacon bits.  Lots of pepper.  The toppings definitely enhanced it, but it was still fairly bland, besides the cheese nature.  I mixed in spoonfuls of ketchup and bbq, and those added more to it, but, yeah, its, uh, cheeseburger chowder.  

Dunking bread into it was good, I could imagine a bread bowl working well.  But I loved the oil too much to "waste" it dunking in here.

I think it would be good to use as a mac and cheese base though - if no one else in my family wanted it, I would have turned it into mac and cheese.  3/5.

Pizza

So, the main attraction, the pizza.  Most of their pizzas as standard hand-tossed style, but they do a legit sounding Chicago deep dish too - "A deep-dish pie stuffed with 6 cups of cheese sealed with a top crust and then covered with sweet and spicy Chicago sauce."  Yup.

My mom almost was going to order the Chicago style, at my urging as it was the one I'd really like to try, but, when she read the bit about it being stuffed with a full 6 cups of cheese, she got scared away.

Ziggy's also has an, um, impressive line up of curated pizzas.  While you can build your own, their speciality line up is ... well, fun to say the least.  Bbq cuicken, philly cheesesteak, greek, thai chicken, those are on there, but child's play compared to the Mandarin Beef and Broccoli pizza, the Mac and Cheese Pizza, the Lasagna Pie, um, the Crab Rangoon Pizza (yes, it has cream cheese, imitation crab, wonton crisps, sweet chili sauce ...).  Most of the crazy pizzas are available as calzones too.

My family though?  Not exactly adventurous.  

Margherita. Medium. (16"). $19.99.

"Garlic oil, tomato, fresh basil oil, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese."

This was my parent's order, as my mom really wanted something different (not regular saucy pizza, as they get pizza basically weekly).  She loves Ziggy's Margherita apparently.

I tried a small piece, and I see why.  It's all about the garlic oil and basil oil!  Really, excellent flavorful oils.  This was much like the rolls and dipping sauce, and, if I wanted cheesy pizza, well, I would actually have more. 3/5.

Margherita. Large. (24"). $25.99.

The next time they got it though ... it wasn't the same. They were not pleased.

The pizza was overdone, too crispy, and dry.  It ... didn't taste like garlic.  This pizza is all about that garlic!  My main said it had way too much cheese. 1/5.

Cheese Pizza. Small 12". (Normally $8.49, free with deal).

We also got a small cheese pizza, because they have an online deal for a free small cheese pizza if you order a medium or large specialty pizza.

I'm glad we did, as it was dramatically better than the margarita.

A classic cheese pizza, marinara sauce, cheese, but, it was good, the style I like. Thin crispy crust, good sauce level with sauce that was not too tangy nor too sweet, and plenty of greasy greasy cheese.

The kind of pizza I'm not normally in the mood for, but when I want a cheesy bomb, this is exactly the style I like. Low 3/5.

Dessert

The desserts are not made in-house, but are locally made.  Or so they said.  As a dessert-lover, I had to add on a dessert to each ord, particularly when I saw the lineup.  A slew of cakes (triple layer chocolate, chocolate mousse, carrot cake), cheesecakes (raspberry or cotton candy (!!!) the day I ordered), cookies, crispy treats, and, whoppie pies.  I kinda wanted them all.

I asked for recommendation and the guy taking our order said the triple chocolate layer cake was his favorite, followed by the chocolate mousse, and said the carrot cake was really good.  Really, he said, they were all good.  And were fresh.  Well, that did it.  I had to order something.  I almost got the cotton candy cheesecake out of curiosity, but really had just had cheesecake for two days in a row, so that didn't seem right.  If it wasn't night time, I would certainly have gotten chocolate mousse, or, a whoopee pie as they had a peanut butter filled one (but with chocolate cookies).  So many great options, and I almost ordered the chocolate based ones for the next day ...

I ordered the carrot cake.  However ... it did not come with our order, and my mom did not notice until she was home, and I asked about it.  Sadness.

The next time we ordered, I was certain to order it again.  I've since tried several others, but have become convinced of something.

These desserts are *not* all made locally.  The cotton candy cheesecake, and the "Grand Slam" pie most certainly come from Sysco.  Their names and uniqueness tipped me off.  Pretty sure most of the chocolate cakes do as well (e.g. the "Ultimate Chocolate Cake").  And yes, the carrot cake.  I do believe the whoopee pies might be made locally.

Gourmet Carrot Cake. $5.49.

"Three layers of moist carrot cake loaded with shredded carrots, pecan pieces, and crushed pineapple, filled and iced with real cream cheese frosting and topped with chopped pecans."

So, about that carrot cake.  Finally.  They told me that people love it, and come there for it explicitly.

It is a 3 layer cake, with nuts.  

It was highly, highly mediocre.  It was moist enough, and the shredded carrot and pineapple were pleasant.  Yay for crunch from pecans (also on the back frosted layer).  It did not have too much spicing.  But ... it really did not shine in any way.

And the frosting?  Didn't taste like cream cheese at all.

Overall, very, very, very generic, and not something I'd get again. Low 3/5, maybe 2.5/5.

The online menu listed a lower price, but I saw we were charged $5.49 per slice, which ... is kinda just crazy for a thin slice of the Sysco product.

Grand Slam Pie (Top). $5.49.

"A Chocolate cookie filled with custard, brownie pieces, peanuts, and chopped Snickers bars. More brownies, caramel, and both white and dark chocolate cover the top."

"Chocolate cookie crust filled with custard & brownies, topped with Snickers bars, more brownies, caramel & peanuts, and then drizzled with dark and white chocolate."

Um, yeah.  This is what tipped me off to the desserts being from Sysco.  A pie called "Grand Slam" and Snickers as an ingredient.  The "Grand Slam" it turns out all revolves around the Snicker's concepts: peanuts, chocolate, caramel.  The two descriptions I pulled from the Sysco site differ slightly, is the custard filled with peanuts and chopped Snickers or not?  Is it topped with Snickers and peanuts or not? Maybe the product changed at some point?

Also, um, how crazy did this sound?!  A chocolate cookie (crust).  Brownies (inside and on top).  Snickers (inside ... and on top?).  Caramel.  Chocolate sauce. Dark chocolate.  White chocolate.  Peanuts.  Custard.  It also had whipped cream.  WAT.

I approached this with slight fear, to be honest.  I assumed that at least some component would be tasty, but kinda doubted that they'd come together all that well.

It actually turned out to be pretty tasty, although, yes, there was a lot going on.

Starting at the top.

The whipped cream on top was fluffy, sweet, and tasty enough.  The chunks of brownie, perched on top and falling off the side were rich, thick, chocolately, smoist chunk of brownie, but ... I'm not really a brownie girl.  They were a bit lost in all the very sweet, very gooey caramel sauce drowning the whole thing. The caramel sauce poured over it was perhaps a bit too generous (ok, pretty sure Ziggy's added to that part). The chocolate elements on top were also fairly lost, just, sweet caramel it was.

Grand Slam Pie: Base.

Ok, moving to the base, the chocolate cookie crust. It was fine.  Not to hard, which I appreciated.  Intensely chocolately.

Above that was a layer I couldn't quite understand.  It looked like cookie dough ... but studded with. peanuts.  It almost even tasted like cookie dough.  The description really didn't help here, but it actually was pretty good.  Maybe it was supposed to be like the nougat in a Snickers? And the peanuts?  There were TONS of peanuts.  Very, very, very peanut forward.

Above that is the ... custard, not as thick as a cheesecake.  I liked the custard, it was smooth and creamy, and the peanuts in particular were really nice integrated into it.  I didn't find actual Snicker's bars inside my piece, but that was fine with me.

So add up a chocolate cookie crust, tons of peanuts, a creamy custard, way too much caramel, brownie bits, chocolate sauce, and some kind of cookie dough like layer ... and you get a complete overload.  Overload of sweet, overload of textures, overload of SNICKERS, ZOMG SNICKERS.  Why is this not called Snicker's Pie?

So overall, this really wasn't bad.  I quite enjoyed bites of creamy sweet custard, with crunchy nuts, and a *little* sweet caramel.  But it was an overload, and you definitely need to like Snicker's flavors.  And, well, not have a peanut allergy.  Higher 3/5.

Read More...

Magnolia Bakery, Boston & New York

Update Review, New York, late 2025 Visits

Grocery / United

United Airlines Banana Pudding
Wafer Cookie Bits.

"Indulge in our new frozen-to-thaw Banana Pudding, a delightful, naturally flavored treat whipped to perfection and made with real bananas."

"Indulge in a wafer cookie wonderland. This frozen-to-thaw, naturally flavored treat is made with real bananas and whipped to perfection with wafer cookie bits. Experience the perfect blend of creamy banana pudding and crunchy wafer cookie bits in every bite."

In 2024, some exciting news came out.  Well, two bits of related exciting news.  First, Magnolia Bakery announced that after years of R&D, they had produced a version of their famous (and truly exceptional) banana pudding that would be sold in grocery stores (frozen).  I love that pudding when purchased fresh from the bakery, and I love pudding in general (hence the label on my blog), but I'll admit I was a bit skeptical about the thaw-to-serve concept, particularly when a key element of the banana pudding is, well, fresh bananas.  So that is piece of news #1.  And then, in December, United announced that they were replacing the onboard dessert (previously sliced pies or their precursors, the pie-in-the-sky from Eli's Cheesecake) with a special version of the Magnolia banana pudding, made just for them.

It is this version that I got to try, in the original banana pudding flavor.  Magnolia also makes a chocolate peanut butter or chocolate hazelnut version for grocery stores, and United also has a red velvet version.

United / Magnolia Banana Pudding.

I'm not sure what exactly is different about the pudding served on board United flights compared to the grocery store version, other than that it comes in a branded cup, and is smaller (the grocery one is 14 ounces, and listed as 2.5 servings).  I did find the size a bit comical, it was more the size of a kid's pudding cup than a proper adult portion.  

So how was it?

Um.  Well, to start, it was basically nothing like the bakery version.  I knew it would be different, but this had zero resemblance other than that it seemed to involve bananas and cream.  Even looking at the ingredients, yeah, just, totally different (Magnolia published the recipe in their cookbook for the bakery version).

This one had a base pudding of heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and banana puree.  The real version in stores uses instant vanilla pudding mix in the base (along with heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk).  The lack of vanilla flavor and lack of pudding mix made this significantly different, but even moreso, the banana puree being part of the pudding base and no actual slices of bananas is radically different.  This one is banana flavored pudding (really, banana flavored very sweet thick whipped cream) rather than vanilla pudding with layers of bananas.  This is radically different.

And then there are the wafers.  Again, radically different.  This one says it had bits in it, which I guess were some of the mush, but certainly nothing I'd identify as wafers.  The bakery one has large hunks of wafers, as they are layered with the pudding and bananas (yes, the wafers are quite soft, but, still recognizable).

So as something anything like the bakery version, wow, no.  If I had this for the first time rather than the bakery version, I'd be so confused why anyone raved about it.  But as a completely different product, a mushy banana pudding from a freezer, sure, it was fine.  As a dessert on board an airplane?  Sure, it was fine.  Nothing I'd go out to buy, but, I finished.  I find it does best with some garnish - fresh berries, mini dark chocolate chips, whipped cream, etc, as it really is quite sweet and lacking dimension on its own.  

I'll give them credit though for the fact that it was smooth, creamy, not watery, etc.  It certainly didn't give off freezer vibes.

3/5 in a generous way, but if you really want to measure it against expectations given the branding, MUCH lower.

December 2025

For the first time, Magnolia's in-store puddings have let me down.  While I've been lukewarm on their other products, the puddings I've never found fault with, until this year.

Red Velvet.
(Dec 2025 Monthly Flavor)

"Layers of vanilla pudding, red velvet cake, fresh bananas and mini chocolate chips."

The monthly flavor for December was red velvet, not one I'd had before.  It really let me down.

It didn't taste like much of anything, besides an occasional bite of banana.

I expected stronger chocolate element, and to really taste the red velvet.  As you can see, there were big hunks of red velvet cake, but it somehow didn't have much flavor.  The chocolate bits were minimal, and even the base seemed more like just whipped cream than their standard pudding.  The banana I did taste when I got those bites.

But really, this was a somehow red but not flavorful bowl of mostly whipped cream with some bananas and bits of cake I didn't taste.  Sadness.  2/5.

The seasonal flavor costs slightly more than the original, at $6.75 for a small, $8.95 medium, and $10.45 large.

Red Velvet: Again.

So I tried again.  I didn't believe Magnolia could really let me down like this.

My second attempt was even worse - barely any cake in this one, and still barely any chocolate, and barely any red velvet or even vanilla pudding flavor.  I added a bunch of my own chocolate bits, but, yeah, eh.  Low 2/5.

Banana Pudding.

"This world-famous, 12 ounce cup of Banana Pudding is layered with vanilla wafers, fresh bananas and creamy vanilla pudding."

So I went back to the classic.  It really is just great banana pudding.  Strong banana flavor.  Nicely soft wafers.  Thick rich pudding.  I did actually find it a bit too sweet this time, and wanted some regular whipped cream and more tart fruit (like blackberries) to balance it out, but still quite enjoyed.  3.5/5.

This costs $5.95/8.25/9.75 depending on size where I believe the large is actually 3x the small (and medium is 2x).

Classic Cupcakes: Vanilla, Chocolate, Red Velvet.

I also ordered cupcake for my group, since we had several people who had never been to NY before, and I wanted to give them a NY classic item.

The classic six-pack has two each of their base three flavors: vanilla/vanilla, chocolate/chocolate, and red velvet/cream cheese.  Cupcakes are ~$30/6 or $10.xx for a pair.

Chocolate w/ Chocolate Buttercream.

"Chocolate cupcakes are swirled with indulgent chocolate buttercream."

I remember not really thinking Magnolia cupcakes were great years ago when I had them, but we had some for the event, so I tried the chocolate one.

It was ... fine.  The cake wasn't a style I care much for, just kinda boring, chocolate cake.  No real interesting flavor, no moisture (it wasn't dry, but it wasn't super moist), just, boring.  

The frosting though I really did like.  It was smooth, creamy, fluffy, and really tasted to me like cream cheese (but, chocolate).  I know they say it is just buttercream, but it really seemed like cream cheese frosting to me.

Higher 3/5 frosting, 2/5 cake.  I wouldn't really want another though, and at >$5 each definitely not worth it.

Update Review, New York, 2024 & summer 2025 Visits

Magnolia Bakery.  Over-hyped?  Perhaps.  And I haven't ever loved most items at Magnolia (and in particular, find the cupcakes that made them famous on Sex in the City to be fairly meh), but that banana pudding?  It's pretty flawless.

Classic Banana Pudding. 
Small. $5.98.

"This world-famous, 4 ounce cup of Banana Pudding is layered with vanilla wafers, fresh bananas and creamy vanilla pudding."

I've had this pudding before, several times, so you'd think I'd know just how good it is, but it still caught me off guard when I took the first bite.  After all, it didn't *look* all that special.  And how good can banana pudding really be?  Answer: yeah, it can be mind boggling good.

I'm not sure what it is about it, but, the banana flavor is strong, the vanilla pudding is really quite rich and thick, the wafers are pleasantly soft, and yay for fresh banana slices.  It is simple, but it is just done so very right.  Banana pudding doesn't get better than this.

4.5/5.

Blueberry Crisp (July Special). 
Sample.

"Our classic vanilla pudding with a lemon-y twist, layered with blueberry filling, vanilla wafers and baked crumb topping."

Every month the bakeries in NY have a seasonal flavor.  In July 2024, it was blueberry crisp.

I asked to sample this first as I was a bit wary of the lemon base given my general slight aversion to lemon or lime desserts (really, I asked how lemon-y it was, and was immediately offered a sample, plucked from a fresh container that was in the fridge for purchase.  Gotta love their sample eagerness!).

It was fine, but reminded me of just a decent trifle.  The pudding was only slightly lemon, otherwise just good thick rich vanilla pudding.  Swirls of fruity sweet blueberry, some texture from soft wafers and crumb topping.  It was good, but the banana pudding is better, so I got that instead.  3.5/5.

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Pumpkin Spice (September Special).

When I visited a few months later, the special had turned to pumpkin spice (already!).  I tried a sample of the pumpkin spice, and liked it considerably more than the previous year.  I think I was more in the pumpkin spice mood.  Basically, think pumpkin pie filling, but both richer and fluffier, and with soft wafers instead of crust.  4/5.

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Chocolate Banana Pudding (August Special).

"Layers of creamy chocolate pudding, OREO wafers, fresh bananas, and mini chocolate chips."

A year later, I was in New York for July and August, and opted to try the August special, chocolate banana pudding.

This was pretty good.  It wasn't a super intense, rich, chocolate mousse style of chocolate pudding, rather, it is vanilla pudding with chocolate fudge swirls, and then all the other mix-ins: bananas just like the signature pudding, Oreos that were basically just soft chocolate cake since they had been mixed in and sat like that in the pudding mixture like the Nilla wafers do in the classic pudding, plus lots of mini chocolate chips that added great crunch and chocolateliness.  Although I don't like Oreos much, they were barely recognizable as such in this, and it really was just a pretty good banana pudding with chocolate flair.  4/5.

Update Review, New York, 2023 Visits

I know I visited one of the original Magnolia locations when I visited New York ages ago, but, I don't remember being particularly impressed, and think we just got cupcakes.  But once I had that banana pudding from their short lived Boston location ... I knew I had to get it again when I was in New York this summer.

Spoiler: that banana pudding remains completely worth the visit.

Pumpkin Spice (Fall, Seasonal):
"Creamy pumpkin pudding layered with vanilla wafers and decadent cookie butter."

On September 1, like clockwork, Magnolia Bakery launched their pumpkin spice version of pudding.  This is NOT a banana pudding, which seems like a wise choice, as I don't think pumpkin spices and banana would combine all that well.

Since pumpkin spice can be fairly polarizing, sometimes way too heavy in, say, the nutmeg, I asked the staff member at the shop how aggressively spiced it was.  She said it wasn't too spiced at all, and that it just tasted like pumpkin pie.  As she was saying this, she was immediately fetching a container of it, and asked if I wanted to sample it.  Who am I to say no to a sample?

Her description was very accurate.  It tasted, indeed, like pumpkin pie.  Creamy, lightly spiced, pumpkin pie, that just happened to have some soft wafers in it too.  It was quite enjoyable, but, you had to be in the mood for pumpkin pie, which, it turned out, I really wasn't at the time. 3.5/5.

Banana Pudding (Medium). $7.95.

"This world-famous, 12 ounce cup of Banana Pudding is layered with vanilla wafers, fresh bananas and creamy vanilla pudding."

The last time I had Magnolia Bakery pudding, it was in their Boston location, in 2018, before it closed.  I really enjoyed it then.  But I wasn't sure if my tastes had evolved in the past 5 years.

Turns out, this pudding really is still quite good. The vanilla wafers are soft in a good way, almost cake-like.  The pudding is thick and rich, very creamy, and lightly banana flavored.  The ratio of pudding to wafers was spot on too - easy to get a bite of just pudding, but most contained a bit of both.  I was surprised though that there didn't seem to be much in the way of the fresh banana slices.  I didn't mind, as it was so rich, creamy, and delicious as it was, but if you are looking for a banana forward pudding, this isn't it.  I added fresh strawberries and blueberries to mine, and that was perfect.

4/5 though, really, excellent pudding.

Original Review, Boston, 2018 Visits

Magnolia Bakery.  The bakery credited with (or blamed for, depending on your take), the cupcake craze of the 1990s.  Thrust into the spotlight after appearing on Sex and the City.

Originally just a single little bakery in New York, but now a global empire, with locations in most of the big US cities, and internationally in places as far ranging as Dubai, Kuwait City, Bangalore, and Seoul.  Known for the cupcakes, obviously, but also for good classic American desserts.  Clearly, I needed to check the place out.

I never visited the New York locations, but when they opened in Boston, I was thrilled, as I always fly into Boston when I go to visit my family.  And as a lover of all baked goods, how could I pass this up?

But spoiler: it wasn't really the baked goods I was after.  Sure, I wanted to try those, but, itt was something else that led me to go out of my way to check out Magnolia Bakery.  Their other signature item.  The banana pudding.  Yes, just banana pudding, but, uh, it has a serious following.

I quickly found out why.

Visit #1: Icebox Bars & Puddings. July 2018.

My first visit was aimed at trying the signature banana pudding, obviously, in as many flavors as I possibly could.  I also selected a couple icebox bars, as I was unfamiliar with the concept, and wanted to try them out.

The puddings were the runaway hits, no question.

Visit #2: Ice Box Bars, Cupcakes, Cake. December 2018.

On my second visit, I tried more icebox cakes, and this time, added on some cupcakes and a slice of cake.  Of course I got more banana pudding too.

I've still yet to try the cheesecake, classic icebox cake, cookies, brownies, or bars.

Setting

The Boston location of Magnolia is located in tourist central: Faneuil Hall.  Right at the entrance.  It isn't exactly the most peaceful of locations, but it is very accessible and easy to find.

Pudding / Cupcake Finishing Station.

The space begins with a glimpse inside the bakery, which does help the feel of the place be not quite so cookie-cutter, there was prep going on there, unlike many other stalls.

Since this is an active bakery, you can actually see staff finishing cupcakes and scooping out containers of pudding right there.

That is, when they have a moment between the steady stream of guests ...

So. Many. Treats.

The remainder of the shop front is display cases filled with all the treats.  

Magnolia is a full bakery, with an extensive product line, ranging from cookies, to brownies and bars, to cheesecakes, to cakes, and of course, the cupcakes and pudding.

It is from the cases that you order with someone on the other side, then stand in line to check out.

Counter of Treats.

This section was mostly cheesecakes, all mini sized, $7.95,  offered in traditional flavors, or fun ones like German Chocolate or Red Velvet.  I didn't even know Magnolia made cheesecake until I saw these, and I'd love to try them sometime.

The layout suffers quite a bit, as it was hard to browse the items, since people needed to stand in front of the cases to place orders, and the line to check out extended back in front of the cases at most times.  People also seemed generally confused, where to order, how to pay, etc.  But staff did their best at keeping things moving.

Drink Menu.

To go with your treats, you can also order coffee and espresso drinks (hot or iced), cold summer beverages like lemonade and ice tea, or, during the winter, nice warm hot cocoa.

I hear the caramel latte is quite good, made with their house made caramel.

Party Supplies.

The one non-food section had a funny assortment of items, some party supplies like candles and balloons, but also ... tattoos?  And the Magnolia cookbook for sale.

Register.

Eventually you make your way to the register to pay and retrieve your goodies.

Here you see the place in a moment of calm, which I waited around for so I could actually get some photos.

Seating.

Magnolia does actually have a few seats, unlike almost everywhere else in Faneuil Hall.  Just a few stools and counters in a narrow hallway that leads to an exterior door, but, still very welcome.

I managed to luck out and a big gaggle of teenage girls vacated the entire area as I walked up.  I thank them for this, as it was nice to get out of the center flow of tourists so I could enjoy my treats. 

Packaging

Items are all very clearly marked with the magnolia brand.

Magnolia Bags / Bowls / Boxes.

If you are getting your treats for later, items come packaged in Magnolia boxes, taped shut so they don't fly open, and placed into handled Magnolia bags.  This packaging is less elaborate than what you'd find in a fancy bakery in Paris, but, still takes time (for them to do, and you to un-do!).  

The counters are filled with signs encouraging you to just get a plate, not a box, if you are going to eat your treats right away.  I'm sure it is frustrating to slowly pack up a cupcake, just to watch someone pull it out and eat it 2 feet away, throwing out the box immediately!

Cupcake Boxes.

If you do get those cupcakes to go though, they come in a custom box that holds them in place perfectly.  No ruined cupcakes here!

Banana Pudding

Magnolia may be most well known for the cupcakes due to the show, but, if you ask people what to get at Magnolia Bakery, there is something else entirely that *everyone* will tell you to get.  The banana pudding.  Any variety.

 

As a pudding lover, this makes me a very happy girl, because I always feel it is such an under-loved dessert, when it can be so very good if given proper attention.

And, spoiler, Magnolia does this justice.  The rave reviews are well deserved.  They have discovered two not-so-secrets: use sweetened condensed milk instead of milk in your pudding, and fold in plentiful whipped cream to make it lofty.  That is the magic.  Nothing fancy.  Just delicious.

Voting for the next banana pudding flavor!

The counter had ballots to vote for the next banana pudding flavor.  Some sound amazing (cookie dough! Butterscotch!) and really there is something for everyone in the list.

Banana Pudding Cones.

For National Banana Pudding Day (yes, it is a thing), Magnolia offered up a limited time creation: banana pudding cones.

Yes, "scoops" of banana pudding, in a cone, with sprinkles.  For 4 days only, $5.25 each.  Kinda cute, really.

I almost got one, but since I wasn't planning to consume it right then, this didn't seem very practical.

Small Puddings. $4.25 each.

Magnolia always carries the signature classic banana pudding, a monthly special that generally sounds amazing (I just missed salted caramel!), and, exclusive to Boston only, one additional flavor: Boston Cream Pie.  They also normally carry a chocolate pudding with chocolate pudding and Oreo wafers instead of vanilla wafers, but they didn't have it at the Boston location, perhaps it was just sold out, perhaps they just don't offer it since they have the Boston special. 

Pudding is available in this small size for $4.25, medium for $6, large for $7.50, or many other larger party sizes for groups.  I ordered a small of each of the puddings.  You know, for "research".  I needed to compare them all!

Boston Cream Pie Banana Pudding (Boston only special),
Banana Pudding, S'mores Banana Pudding (August Special). 

The small size seems reasonable for having a dessert that leaves you fairly satisfied, but not feeling awful, but I don't think the medium is really too much for a pudding lover to easily polish off in one sitting.  I'd recommend getting bigger and taking some home for later, or just getting several.  They won't keep for long due to the fresh bananas, and obviously require refrigeration, but, believe me, you'll want as much of this as you can get.

It is seriously good banana pudding.

Classic Banana Pudding.

"Layers of vanilla wafers, fresh bananas and creamy vanilla pudding."

I started with the classic, since it is the most simple.

You will laugh if you look at the ingredient list for this classic banana pudding.  It is, literally, just instant pudding mix made with sweetened condensed milk (!), whipped cream (e.g. heavy cream), Nilla wafers (yes, the regular brand name), and sliced fresh bananas.  They aren't trying to be fancy.  No house made wafers, but also not even "real" pudding.  But clearly, Magnolia discovered the secret (hello, sweetened condensed milk!)  I can't wait to try making pudding myself this way ...

Anyway, this is, well, really ridiculously good banana pudding.  Creamy.  Sweet.  Rich.  The Nilla wafers soft, almost like cake inside a parfait, from soaking in the pudding.  The fresh banana soft and just plentiful enough to give banana in nearly every bite, but not overwhelming.

It is a classic thing for sure, but, um, wow.  Certainly the best banana pudding I've ever had.  And yet, of the trio, this was my second favorite.  Because they got better than this.

4.5/5.

Boston Cream Pie. Small. $4.25.

"Layers of vanilla pudding, vanilla wafers, bananas and a decadent chocolate fudge. Available exclusively at our Boston location daily while supplies last."

Next, I tried the exclusive Boston version: Boston Cream Pie.  It is just the classic pudding, but with chocolate fudge added.  Chocolate and bananas are a classic combo after all.

I did like this, but, honestly, I think it was more "banana split" than "Boston cream pie".  For me at least, Boston cream pie/cake/donuts are all about the custard layer, and this had the same pudding layer as the regular banana pudding.

Once I started thinking of it as "banana split", all I could think about was how much more fun it would be with some maraschino cherries (and sprinkles?) added in too.  How good does that sound?  Who knows, maybe they have done that for the flavor of the month before?

Still, it was my favorite, the chocolate fudge just amped the basic banana pudding up a notch I wasn't expecting.

4.5/5.

S'mores Banana Pudding (August). Small. $4.25.

"Layers of chocolate pudding, graham crackers, marshmallow fluff, marshmallows, bananas and chocolate shavings - the taste of summer in every bite."

And finally, the August special: S'mores.  I'm not usually excited about s'mores, but this was fairly good.

S'mores Banana Pudding: Close Up.

It had graham crackers instead of vanilla wafers, and chocolate pudding instead of vanilla, so even just the base was quite different.  And then, mini marshmallows, marshmallow fluff, and chocolate chips added in.

The chocolate pudding was just as good as the vanilla, but I do like vanilla pudding more in general, so it got the edge.  The graham cracker soaked up even more moisture than the wafers, resulting in a softer cake-like texture, but one that tasted like graham, which I preferred less.  And then, um, yes to marshmallow fluff, sweet and sticky, and always something I adore.  Chocolate chips were awesome for texture and crunch.  Eh to the mini marshmallows, but, a yes to everything else about this one.

My least favorite, but still good, particularly if you like chocolate desserts. 3.5/5.

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Chocolate Pudding. (December 2018)

"Layers of OREO® wafers*, fresh bananas, creamy chocolate pudding, and chocolate shavings."

The chocolate version is offered daily in New York, but since Boston has the Boston Cream version, this showed up only as a monthly special, in December when I visited.

It was my least favorite, just chocolate pudding, some Oreo, bananas. Eh.  Just get the Boston Cream.

Icebox Desserts

Magnolia makes a large variety of icebox pies and bars, sold as individual bars for $6, mini pies for $10, or full size 9" pies for $28.

All are variations with kind of crust (vanilla or chocolate wafers, graham crackers, Oreo cookies), with some kind of whipped cream filling (classic, peanut butter, ricotta, lime custard), and a topping (Snicker's, blueberries, etc).  They also make their chocolate and banana puddings as pies as well, same ingredients, just, different assembly.

On my first visit, I was there on a mission to try the latest Boston exclusive item, a Cannoli Ice Box dessert, but I knew I wanted to try one other too.

I was about to order the peanut butter or Snicker's versions, because both sounded pretty amazing, the former made with a vanilla wafer crust, caramel, peanut butter whipped cream/cream cheese filling, and Reese's PB Cups, the later with a chocolate wafer crust, peanut butter, cream cheese/whipped cream filling, and Snickers, but then I saw the August special peach "jamboree" bar, and got quite excited.  And then it sold out in front of me.  Doh.  I fell back on the blueberry jamboree bar, as I loved the sound of the crust (pecan shortbread!).

I'll admit that I was hit with buyer's remorse on this one.  I really did want either of the peanut butter based desserts, and it was only my disappointment in the peach disappearing in front of my eyes that lead me to the blueberry.  I considered turning back when I was about 10 minutes away, not because I didn't like what I had, but because I still really wanted peanut butter!

So when I returned in December, it was clear I had to order both of them.

Blueberry Jamboree Bar. $6.

"Pecan shortbread crust layered with whipped cream and cream cheese filling with a fresh blueberry topping."

My consolation prize, when they didn't have the one I wanted the first time: the blueberry jamboree bar.  I think the "jamboree" is a Magnolia creation, as it is not a term I was familiar with before, and a quick Google search doesn't reveal much (besides recipes for the Magnolia one).

This was the best of the two icebox bars I tried.

I really liked the crust, made from compressed pecan shortbread, full of texture from chopped pecans, and very pleasantly sweet.  It went great with the cream filling, which was rich and creamy.  The cream cheese mixed with the whipped cream gave it more body and flavor than a simple whipped cream filling.

I wasn't crazy about the blueberry topping though, little wild blueberries, in a compote of sorts.  I prefer bigger, juicier berries, and maybe even more of a classic "goo" around the fruit.  You can also get this topping on the cheesecake.  My companion who I split it with however loved the blueberry layer, so this was clearly just preference.  He couldn't decide if he liked this, or the banana pudding, more.

I was happy enough with just the crust and cream layers to be honest, but I can't help but wonder how amazing the peach version is!

3.5/5.

Cannoli Icebox Bar. $6.

"Inspired by the traditional Cannoli, this exclusive Icebox Dessert has a Nilla Wafer Crust, Sweet Whipped Ricotta filling with a hint of Lemon and a layer of Mini Chocolate Chips." 

The last item we tried on our first visit was the new Boston exclusive Cannoli Icebox Bar.  It was our least favorite, no question.  Neither of us cared for it much at all.

The crust was compressed (and sweetened?) Nilla wafers, thick, and kinda boring.  Why didn't they use crushed cannoli shells instead?  Using Nilla wafers here in a cannoli inspired dessert seemed a bit wrong.

The filling layer was sweetened ricotta, per a traditional cannoli, with much more than a "hint of lemon" to it.  We both felt it was far too strong on the lemon, much more of a lemon bar dessert than we were expecting, and, as neither of us care for lemon desserts, far too much lemon.

The mini chocolate chips were fine, I liked the texture, and they obviously added to the "cannoli" aspect of it.

So, overall, this just wasn't a success for me.  Boring crust, filling I didn't like due to aggressive lemon, meh.  2/5.

Peanut Butter Icebox Bar. $6.

"Vanilla wafer crust layered with caramel and a peanut butter whipped cream and cream cheese filling, topped with Reese’s® Peanut Butter Cups."

My second visit yielded success at getting a slice of the incredible sounding peanut butter icebox bar.

I love peanut butter cups, so this sounded pretty awesome.  I did think it was strange that the peanut butter icebox bar had caramel and the Snickers one did not however, as I expected it to match the Peanut Butter Cups on top a bit better.  Same with the vanilla rather than chocolate crust.  Maybe they found that chocolate crust and just peanut butter whipped cream and cream cheese filling was too much sameness?

Anyway.

I liked this more than the previous bars, but I think that icebox style bars just aren't really my thing.  The crusts are kinda odd to me, crumbly and they break apart, and I always want the fillings to be either richer and thicker like cheesecake, or more like a pudding.  Nothing wrong with the execution of this bar, I really think it just isn't the form for me.

The peanut butter flavor in the filling is strong, and you can tell this is a peanut butter dessert.  I didn't really taste much, if any, caramel though.  Nor cream cheese really.  Just sweetened peanut butter cream really.  Which is tasty, but not really a complete dessert to me.  Having layers of distinct peanut butter whipped cream and peanut butter cream cheese might work better?

Of course I liked the chunks of pb cup on top, along with a few bits of crushed peanut.

I think I'd like this more with a thicker, firmer crust (with some pb cups in it perhaps?), a layer of just whipped cream, and a rich thick chocolate ganache in there somewhere ... yeah, I think I don't like icebox bars!  3/5.

Snickers. $6.

"Chocolate wafer crust layered with peanut butter, cream cheese, and whipped cream filling, topped with Snickers® Bar pieces."

I also managed to get a slice of the equally decadent sounding Snickers icebox pie.

The Snickers version was very similar, although this cream was only peanut butter, not caramel I guess, a lighter color, and slightly more mild flavor.  It actually did taste a bit like caramel, but, it says just peanut butter ...

The texture of the crust was similar, just chocolate this time.  Chunks of Snickers were less exciting to me than peanut butter cups.

I liked the peanut butter version more since it featured the cups, but I still can't help but think it would make more sense to have the caramel filling here, and the vanilla crust ... 2.5/5.

Cakes & Cupcakes

And finally, yes, the cupcakes.  Or full size cakes if you prefer.

Whole Cakes.

Magnolia offers classic cakes daily, usually vanilla or chocolate bases with vanilla or chocolate buttercream in a variety of flavors, available by the slice or full cake in assorted sizes.  They also make a number of specialty cakes, ranging from German Chocolate with coconut caramel pecan filling to Hummingbird with banana, pineapple, and pecans in the cake.

The cakes are all available to pre-order and can be decorated as well.

Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Slice. $5.

"Rich, buttery, old-fashioned cake with a light crumb. Our most popular cake!" 

I decided to get a slice of cake because I knew it was layer cake, and I often find that layer cake has better frosting to cake ratio (as in, more frosting!) than a cupcake, and the cake is generally more moist.  (Sorry cupcakes, but full cakes often have the leg up!)

The cake was decent.  Moist, buttery vanilla cake.  Not particularly notable, but a nice cake.  Fairly textbook.

The buttercream, light blue but just vanilla buttercream, was quite sweet, but, that is what I was after.  Good texture.  Nice amount on top and in-between the layers.

Overall, a very solid, very basic, classic vanilla cake.  Well made, but it mostly made me wish it was a cake from Empire Cakes in New York ... I was obsessed with their cake when I was there recently (review soon)!

3.5/5.

Cupcakes.

But the main attraction at Magnolia is still the cupcakes.  Multiple display cases are filled with cupcakes, all versions of chocolate and vanilla (e.g. chocolate cake and chocolate buttercream, chocolate cake and vanilla buttercream, etc), plus a daily cupcake flavor, plus a weekly special.

On my visit in December, there were also holiday decorated cupcakes.  The seasonal cupcake was chocolate with peppermint buttercream, the daily was red velvet.  Specialty cupcakes are also available to pre-order, including a fun confetti cake and a pb & j version with jelly inside a peanut butter cake, with peanut butter buttercream.

Vanilla (Holiday) Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream. $3.95.

"Rich, buttery, old-fashioned cake with a light crumb. Our most popular cake!" 

I'll admit, I got this one for my mother because she loves snowmen, and because it was so darn cute, not because I wanted a plain vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream, when I had also gotten the slice.  But seriously, how do you pass him up?

It was ... a decent cupcake.  Vanilla base, moist but not as moist as the regular cake, decently buttery, good texture, good sweetness level.  The buttercream was exactly the same as the cake, just, white.  I did like the extra large sugar crystals on top, which truly did give it a snowy shimmer.

This was a fine cupcake, but again, not as good as Empire Cakes, although it wins a lot for style points.  3/5.

Red Velvet Cupcake with Whipped Vanilla Icing. $3.95.

"Light chocolate cake with whipped vanilla icing."

I also got a red velvet cupcake, because the lofty icing was just too much to pass up.  Seriously, look at that mound of frosting!!!

The cake was the best of the three I tried, a lot more flavor in the classic red velvet base, a touch of cocoa in it, and I believe buttermilk.  Good moisture level, good crumb.  A nice cake, but again, just good, textbook, but not exemplary.

The frosting was actually much lighter than it looked.  Truly it was whipped.  It was sweet and fluffy, kinda fun.  I think I liked it more than the classic thicker buttercream. 

They also make the red velvet cupcake (or cake) with a more traditional cream cheese icing.

3.5/5.

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