Popcorners

Update Review, 2020

I've long been a fan of popcorn-like snacks, and Popcorners have been on my radar for years, so I was excited to try yet another flavor, although, the form factor still sorta kinda lets me down, as you've seen in my previous reviews.

Jalapeno Cheddar.

"When you bring our white cheddar to the party, you’ve got the start of something good. But we did it ONE BETTER with real jalapeños from California, Mexico and Peru for a flavor fiesta like no other."

Cheddar was one of the first varieties of Popcorners I ever tried, and I liked it.  The idea of doing "ONE BETTER" and adding jalapeño sounded great to me.

The result?  I liked them.  Were they something I'd go buy again?  Probably not.  But the jalapeño flavor was there, they had a slight bit of fresh tasting kick, and were well coated in the cheddar.  I still kinda wanted popcorn, or a chip, not the hybrid, but they were good enough. 

Update Review, December 2019

It has been 7 (!) years, since I originally reviewed Popcorners, a product I found quite novel at the time, but now has become totally commonplace to me.

I've since had them *many* more times, and have discovered that I like them best, just like popcorn, when frozen.  Just try it sometime!

Cinema Style.

"We took a blockbuster favorite and made it ONE BETTER by adding just the right amount of real theater butter to every batch. Pop in a movie, open up a bag and enjoy an experience like no other."

Simple butter popcorn is usually at the bottom of my list.  I go for sweeter varieties (caramel, chocolate drizzle, maple ... bring it on), more flavorful savories (cheesy, spicy), or something mixed like kettle corn.  But simple butter?  Eh.   I almost even prefer plain.

I got this "Cinema Style" butter version on a JetBlue flight though, sad that they had ditched the kettle corn ones, but I was still willing to try them.

And ... I liked them.  They weren't sweet, but they sorta tasted more like a mild white cheddar than butter.  Really.  I thought they had a cheesy element.  I double checked the bag several times.

I encountered them again months later, and again, felt the same way.  It wasn't a fluke.  Huh.  Well, I like them?

Like all Popcorners (and popcorn!), they freeze great, and I like the more crunchy version that way as well.

Sweet Heat Chili.

"If you like sweet and heat, you’re in for a treat. Our secret to making this ONE BETTER starts with the spices themselves. Garlic, onion and paprika come together for a signature taste that rivals your best game day chili recipe."

The first time I visited Australia, I discovered the magic of sweet chili sauce.  Served there with wedges (e.g. thick cut potato wedges, spiced) and sour cream.  I don't know why we don't do this in the US.  Spiced potatoes, cooling sour cream, sweet yet spicy sweet chili ... its a fantastic combo.

So when I saw the Sweet Chili flavor of Popcorners I was thrilled.  And scared my hopes were up too high.  I was skeptical, since onion powder + garlic powder + paprika didn't really sound like sweet chili to me.

Well ... they didn't taste like it either.   Instead, they tasted mostly like a sweeter bbq chip?  Except, of course, not a chip, a Popcorner.  My brain struggled with "huh, this is a really sweet bbq chip" , sorta like Hawaiian style BBQ I've had before, and it struggled with "why is this popcorn not a chip?"  I tried to give it time, to get used to it, but, it never really worked.  They really were strangely just too sweet (and, um, no heat).

Sadly, not the chip for me.

Original Review, December 2012

Popcorners are a fun product, sorta a cross between chips and popcorn, two snack foods I've been kinda into lately.  They are basically popcorn, but in the form of a chip.  You get the crunch of a chip, but the lightness of popcorn.  They remind me a little of Halfpops in that they are trying to mix popcorn with another popular snack food, although I think Popcorners are a little more successful.

I first had them on a Jetblue flight a year or so ago, when I had the kettle flavor, and I recall liking them, but I didn't take any formal notes.  Below are my notes on the flavors I've tried since.  As always, subsequent tastings are in brackets.

Caramel, White Cheddar.

• Caramel: Tasting notes: Kinda sweet, decent.  Slight saltiness too. [ Fairly addicting.  Not awesome, but caramel is pretty decent. ] [ Caramel flavor is pretty nice.  I prefer kettle flavor since it has the sweetness and the saltiness, and this is mostly just sweet, but the caramel is fairly well developed. ] [ Slight sweetness, slight caramel flavor, almost really good, but something stops me from loving these. ]
• White Cheddar:  Tasting notes: Good cheddar flavor.  Like! [ I had some ones that were past the expiration so they were a bit stale.  I really liked the white cheddar flavor though. My favorite of the flavors.] [ The flavor of these reminds me of Pirate's Booty.  I still wish they were a bit more popcorny though. ]

Sea Salt.

 Slightly salty, more like a traditional chip though, and just not all that interesting.

Kettle.

Saved the best for last.  When I'm not in the mood for the savory white cheddar flavor, these are my other favorites.  A bit sweet, a bit salty, and incredibly addicting.  I have a VERY hard time stopping eating these once I get going!

Read More...

Downtown Bakery

Update Review, July 2020

After a 6 year hiatus (!), I finally tried things from Downtown Bakery again.  To be honest, I knew I had tried one item before (their donut muffin), and I thought that was it.  I didn't realize I had reviewed, otherwise I would have looked it up, and, taken my own advice and gone elsewhere.  Oops.

I'll be honest: I still don't understand the lines here, nor the hype.  I got three very different items, all were lackluster fresh.  One (the sticky bun) was actually *very good* once warmed up, one was mediocre, and one we didn't like at all.  I don't think I'll return, unless I'm really craving that sticky bun ...

Scones: Blueberry, Chedder + Thyme, Whole Wheat Currant + Orange Zest. $2.50.

I've been really craving scones lately, but, a particular style of scone: the hard (but not rock solid!) style, crumbly, ideally with a great buttermilk tang.  The kind you can easily turn into a shortcake, or at least enjoy with some whipped cream.  Or warmed up with clotted cream.  Mmmm.

I asked about the scones, really craving one, and was told they were the softer, cakey, almost muffin style, not crumbly, which is what I was craving.

Of the lineup, the whole wheat/currant/orange was calling out to me actually, just for a totally different thing, but, my partner wanted blueberry, so I got it for him.

 Blueberry Scone. $2.50.

I could tell immediately it wasn't what I wanted in a fruit scone.

I thought I might like it as a cake or muffin, as I do like those things too, just, not thinking of it as a scone.

Blueberry Scone: Inside.

 I of course tried a fresh bite.

It was ... well, cakey?  Yup, a cake.  As I expected, no buttermilk tang.  Not really my style at all.

It was loaded with juicy blueberries though.

I brought it home, warmed it up, added fresh blueberries, and topped it with whipped cream nonetheless.  I wanted it shortcake style!

I still found it pretty lackluster, but again, I knew this wasn't my style of scone. I wouldn't get again obviously.

Nor would my partner, he said, simply, "I would have preferred a muffin.  Or a cake.  Not that."

Baby Galettes: Peach, Apricot Cherry, Plum Raspberry. $5.50 each.

The galettes didn't look particularly good, but, I was craving a fruit pie type item.

Plum and Raspberry Baby Galette. $5.50.

I was debating between the filled puff pastry and the galettes, and the baker told me he recommended the galettes since they are fresh fruit (and the puff is a housemade jam).  I was more in the mood for pie anyway, and this is pie dough, vs croissant.  It didn't look particularly compelling, but, I trusted his judgement.

To pick from, I had the choice of plum and raspberry, apricot and cherry, or peach.  Sine I haven't been into peaches or apricot lately, that was my easy pick.

I tried a bite the moment I got it, but intended to bring it home, and have it a la mode, after dinner.

I was pretty disappointed when I tried it fresh though.  The crust wasn't as buttery or flaky as many others out there.  And it wasn't sweetened, no pearl sugar on the outside, it was just ... crust.  It was there, but it wasn't taking a strong role at all.  It was dry.  When I re-read my old review of their pecan pie, well, yeah, I wasn't into the crust there either.

Inside was plums that were mushy, and raspberries that were seedy, and it was all very sweet.  I had asked how sweet these were, and the vendor told me they didn't add much sugar and weren't to sweet, but ... yeah, the filling was sweet in a way I didn't care for.

So, fresh and room temp, I had a boring crust, mushy sweet fruit, and, I wasn't pleased.

Still, I heated it up later, and luckily it was significantly better warm. And al la mode.

The crust got crispy, the soft filling worked better with the crispier crust, and with the ice cream to balance out the sweetness, it actually was enjoyable.

I wouldn't want this again, or likely any of their galettes, but it was better warm, and with the ice cream to compliment it, and make it not as sweet, I had no problem finishing it of course.

Donut Muffins. $2.50 Sticky Buns. $3.

These are their famous, signature items.

Donut Muffin

I've had the donut muffin before, and, well, I wasn't particularly impressed.

2014 Review:

Probably their most famous item.  Donut dough baked not fried, covered in cinnamon sugar.  Looks like a muffin.  It tasted exactly as you'd expect ... there is a reason donuts are normally fried.  While famous, this was nothing special.

The price has risen from $1.75 back then to $2.50 now.

Sticky Bun

I did always want to try this back in the day, but it was literally always sold out.  For once they had it.

 Downtown Bakery Sticky Bun. $3.

Behold, the sticky bun.

This is their most famous item.  People who visit the bakery in person rave about it, the seller raved about it, and they usually sell out quite early in the day.

To be honest, it didn't look like a particularly good sticky bun to me.  It looked dried out, not soft and fluffy, not gooey ...

But I still got it.

 Sticky Bun: Bottom View.

From the bottom, it just looked crispy, but not in a kouign amann sort of way.  It certainly did not look moist.

Sticky Bun: Side View.

Here you can see the side, some sticky stuff on top, but still not very moist looking.

But my partner wanted to try it, and it *is* their famous item, so, I got one.

I tried a bite from the edge, and, yeah, it was dry and ... lackluster.  I was confused why people adored these.

I brought the rest home, to share, and of course, I planned to try stealing another chunk, to heat up, and pair with ice cream.

Once I heated it up though, all need for ice cream disappeared immediately.

This thing transformed.  Wow, it *was* magical!!  It was slightly crispy on the outside, moist enough inside, and was sticky, not overly sweet at all, just, pleasantly sticky.  The cinnamon throughout was great for flavor but wasn't intense.

I really, really liked it.  I may have taken more from him than I intended.  It was remarkable to me how much it transformed, but also, how the simple, more muted style (e.g. not smothered in caramel, sticky sauce, etc, not loaded with spicing, no nuts, etc), just ... worked.  Sure, I *could* add some ice cream or whipped cream, but it truly didn't need it.

It made a lovely mid-afternoon treat, and I can see it being great for breakfast, or for dessert, anytime.  I'd get it again, no question.

Original Review, December 2014

When I first moved to San Francisco and discovered the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings I was, like most others, drawn in by the amazing fruits and vegetables on display.  Once this abundance of produce became "normal" to me, I finally started paying attention to the other merchants.  While most of the prepared foods still never jumped out, the bakeries of course did.  This girl cannot resist her baked goods.

The one with the longest lines is always Downtown Bakery.  Their full bakery and cafe is located in Healdsburg, and has been around since 1987.  Their products always look great, but the lines deterred me for quite a while.  One day I discovered that they make "donut muffins" and I finally had to break down and try it.  I tried a few other items too, including a mini pecan pie for Thanksgiving a few years ago, but sadly, I never really liked anything I tried, and stopped after a few items.

The lines are much shorter these days, but I barely give them a second glance as I stroll past, generally making a beeline for the tastiest stone fruits, persimmons, or other seasonally appropriate item of the day.

Mini Pecan Pie.

Pecan pie is a classic for me.  My mom always makes the classic Karo syrup version, and I love it (although yes, Flour & Co makes a brown sugar nut pie that puts all other nut pies to shame, my mom's included, sorry mom!).  So when Thanksgiving rolled around, I knew I needed a pecan pie.  And a pumpkin pie (more on that later).  But I was planning to cook the entire meal myself for Ojan and I.  I decided to not take a risk with making pies (plus I thought that the two of us shouldn't really have a full pumpkin and full pecan pie to eat just ourselves ... ), so I decided to leave it up to the experts.

They held a special farmer's market on Wed before Thanksgiving, and I was happy to see Downtown Bakery present, with a bunch of pies, and even better, mini pies.  This way, I could have both my pumpkin and pecan pies, and not have a ridiculous amount of leftovers!

But it really was not good.  There was no sweetness in the filling.  No flavor in the filling.  It was just there, and there was very little of the expected gooey sweet layer.  It was however loaded with pecans, as it was 3 layers deep of pecans.  The pecans were all left whole, so it was a bit hard to eat.  They were also toasted and a little burnt even.  It was the inverse problems of the awful pecan pie we had at The Flying Goose.

The crust was also flavorless.  Disappointing, but also s actually pretty gross, and we didn't bother finish it.

[ Not Pictured ]

• English Muffins ($1.75) : Big huge fluffy muffins, but we got a pack for use with egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, and they were just too much.  Very thick and overpowering.  Not their fault exactly, and they were nice just toasted with jam.  Somewhere closer to a crumpet than what we think of as english muffin.
• Donut Muffin ($1.75): Probably their most famous item.  Donut dough baked not fried, covered in cinnamon sugar.  Looks like a muffin.  It tasted exactly as you'd expect ... there is a reason donuts are normally fried.  While famous, this was nothing special.
• Chocolate Chip and Macadamia Cookie ($1): Thin, crunchy, totally generic, no reason to ever eat.

Read More...

Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, SFO

Update Review, November 2018 Visit

Not my regular airline, but I'm always glad to visit the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in SFO when traveling, as it is leagues ahead of the other airline lounges in both food and drink quality!

The lounge was comfortable enough, quiet, peaceful.  Still a shame that it is pre-security though.  Service was not great, a bit slow, and not very informed.  Still, a very high quality lounge, food and drink wise.

Shockingly Good Food.

My meal, and drinks, were shockingly good.

Drinks

Smuggler's Cove Menu.

The last time I visited the SFO Clubhouse, the cocktail menu was designed by Bourbon & Branch.  This time around, they partnered with Smugger's Cove, another local SF well known, award winning bar.

Their curated selection was all rum based, so I skipped these, but I was amused by some of the drinks and the specialty glassware (like the mai tai, in a very ridiculous looking tiki like vessel).

Clubhouse Bar Experience.

The next page of cocktails was also highly curated, all partnerships with award winning bars, from cities where the Clubhouses are located: London, New York, LA, Washington DC, Boston.

This is where I focused my attention.

Clubhouse Signature Serves.

The final page of cocktails was the classics.

Alcohol Free Cocktails.

And lastly, an impressive lineup of alcohol free cocktails, made with Seedlip.  A very thoughtful selection.

Beer, Juice, Smoothies, Soft Drinks. 

The premium offerings extended to the juices as well, including fresh squezed orange juice, and fancy Purity organic juices.  I was impressed that the soft drink listing included root beer (<3!) and lemonade, along with standard Coke products.

Local Craft Beers.

And beer offerings were also local, from 21st Amendment, Anchor, and Blue Moon.

Wine.

The wine selection was decent but not extensive: 3 each of sparkling wine, white wine, and red wine, and a single rose.

Port, Madiera, and Dessert Wines.

Yes, the drink menu keeps going, with a decent assortment of sweet wines.

Tea & Coffee.

Tea comes from tea forte, and cofee from a local roaster I've never heard of (Alvin's?)

Suit & Tie, from Columbia Room, Washington DC.

"Dewars 12 Year Scotch, strawberry, aged vinagre de Jerez, mole bitters."

My cocktail took a long time to arrive, to the point that I actually thought she had forgotten.  But eventually it showed up, and it did look good.  Serious ice cube action.

The drink was good.  Smooth, balanced, not too fruity, decently bitter.  Gone too quickly, and I wanted to order another, but, I didn't want to drink too much before flying.

Food

Now, on to food.

Food Menu.

The menu again featured three dishes from Whitechapel, including the Farmer's Cheese I had last time, wings, and "Henge Fries".  The other starter was a corn soup.

A trio of salads came next, all available as starters or mains: a green salad, Caesar, and Cobb.

Then, a handful of mains: the signature Clubhouse burger (also available vegetarian), salmon, sweet & sour veggies, and a vegetarian gnocchi.  Fairly impressive that they had so many vegetarian options.

The dessert menu was slightly more exciting than my last visit, but only slightly.  Cheese, fruit salad, one type of ice cream (strawberry shortcake), an ice cream sandwich, and, tres leches cake.

Farmer's Cheese, Whitechapel.

"Homemade naan bread, coriander, and curried pickled carrot."

My dining companion went for the Farmer's Cheese, as he loves it at Whitechapel.  Since I didn't really care for it last time, I skipped it.

Henge Fries with Serrano Garlic Aioli, Whitechapel.

I opted for fries to get started.  Because, serrano garlic aioli!

This was totally not what I was expecting.  Last time we visited the lounge, we got fries.  Regular fries and sweet potato fries.  This ... was totally not what I think of as "fries".  But, um, it was amazing.  Amazing.

I think they were supposed to look like stone henge?  What was there?

Fried potato wedges. Confit marble potatoes. Serrano aioli. Green garlic oil. Slivered radishes.  Herbs.

First, russet potato wedges.  Skin on.  Crispy.  Soft and fluffy inside.  Really shockingly good.  There was also small halves of round marble potatoes, also skin on, super soft, almost like mashed potatoes, seriously cooked down.  Fascinating, and quite tasty.

Both types of potato were quite successful.  But obviously there was a lot more on this plate.

Like, the aioli.  Swoon, the aioli.  Creamy, rich, and a bit spicy from the serrano.  And some kind of oil, laden with herbs, I think maybe green garlic?  Lots of the oil.  I'll admit that this looked a bit ... too heavy, fried potato wedges with sooo much aioli and oil?  But, uh, delicious.  I dragged every last potato through the aioli, and I assure you, none went to waste.

Slices of radish and herb garnish lightened it up a bit, by which I mean, I just dragged radish slices through the aioli too.  Everything was a conduit for the aioli.

This dish was incredible.  Crispy, rich, creamy, flavorful ... I loved it.  I devoured it, and even though I was thinking I'd mostly have a lighter meal before flying.

Get this.

Ceasar Salad with San Francisco Croutons.

For my main, I was super excited to see "Caramelized wild mushroom, potato, and ricotta gnocchi with wilted spinach and parmesan cream" but ... I was told, "We are out of the mushroom", when I ordered it.  "Ok, how about without the mushroom?", I volunteered?  And then she told me they likely didn't have it at all.  Boo hiss.

So I went for the Caesar salad, boring, but perhaps a good compliment to the fries.

It was ... pretty standard Caesar salad.  Creamy dressing, good flavor, fresh enough chunks of romaine.  Garnished with a bit of cheese frica, a slice of crispy bread, and some herbs.

Fine, but not particularly exciting.

Tres Leches Cake.

I went for the cake for dessert, the most appealing of the bunch, but wasn't particularly excited by it.

The menu said it came with whipped cream, but, it came with just a smear of dulce de leche.  I liked the dulce de leche, but, I didn't care for the cake.  It was dense, not moist and laden with milk like I expected.  Meh.

Original Review, July 2018

I normally fly with One World airlines when I do international travel from SFO, but for a recent trip through London, I went with Virgin Atlantic, because it was much more affordable (and, honestly, I wanted to try something new).

This was my first time flying with Virgin Atlantic, and my first time visiting any of their lounges, er, Clubhouses.

I must say, I was impressed.  It wasn't anything like the ridiculous Cathay Pacific lounges in Hong Kong or the Qantas First Class lounge in Sydney, but, it blows every other lounge in SFO away, in nearly every dimension: comfort, decor, not too busy, good food (made to order), great drinks ... the only downside?  It is landside.  Ooph.

The Setting

We arrived around 6:30pm for our 9:10pm flight.  We knew this was early, but, we wanted to have a nice relaxed meal in the lounge at a more normal hour, so we could mostly skip the meal on board, knowing it would be served close to 11pm, and that there is no way it would be as good as the made-to-order cuisine served in the Clubhouse.  Yup, full service restaurant in the SFO Clubhouse, radically better than anything other SFO based lounges offer (I'm looking at you crappy One World lounges with only pre-made sandwiches!

Since the lounge is landside, we needed to allow even more time to visit the lounge, in addition to wanting time for a full meal.  So, we just went on the early side, planning to not rush, eat a full meal, get some work done, and then eventually head through security.  This turned out to be a lovely plan, as the lounge had only a handful of other guests when we arrived.

It very quickly filled up, as guests clearly like to take advantage of the Clubhouse, pre-security and all.  They did make an announcement before our boarding time to warn those who wanted to purchase anything inside security that they should leave then, which we did, so we could grab some gum and take our time.  Given that we didn't have TSA-Pre for this flight, it was a good thing, as security took a while, and we basically just walked onto the plane moments after purchasing our gum.

Anyway, the lounge had a great vibe to it, was light filled, had a plethora of seating options, and was full of color.

Assorted Seating.

Anyway, back to the lounge.  Seating was quite varied, with regular square dining tables and chairs, or more comfortable living-room style chairs arranged around round coffee tables.  The living room feel continued with the floor lambs and small side tables.

There were vases with fresh flowers on most tables.

Runway Views.

The large windows had comfy looking red wing chairs along them, which quickly became full.  By the time we finished our meal at a regular table and set out to relocate to somewhere more comfortable, they were all full.

Bar.

The bar was stunning, and featured counter stools for seating for those who wished a higher perch.

Round Table Dining Area.

The final area was more dining area, this time with round tables, comfy white leather chairs, and a wooden bench all along the wall.

You really had your choice of any style of seating you preferred.

Here you can see the colored glass windows, with panes tinted shades of blue and purple.

Business Center.

The totally unused business center had a couple computers and a printer, and was located in a little alcove on the side.

Food & Drinks

Menus.

Food and drinks are all ordered from servers, who circulate the room regularly.  There is no buffet, no snack station, not even little nibbles on the side.  You can order from any of the seating areas, and menus are located on every table.

Local Shoutouts.

The first page of the menu calls out their unique partnerships with local establishments, like Whitechapel for the food, and Bourbon & Branch for the cocktails.

Drinks

The drink menu is impressive, matching the grandeur of the bar itself.  They partner with a local bar, Bourbon & Branch, for the cocktails, and feature tons of local beers and wines.

There was a wine list  (including Mumm! and 4 different dessert wines), local beers (21st Amendment and Anchor Brewing Company), juices, smoothies, soft drinks, and ... a huge cocktail menu.  The cocktail menu had at least 20 cocktails, half of which are Bourbon & Branch classics, the others are standard cocktails (tom collins, bloody mary, dirty martini, etc), and finally a few Virgin Atlantic classics.

It was hard to pick one, and my server was full of recommendations.  Amusingly, she told me that the cucumber gimlet was very popular.  When I said, "hmm, I don't really like cucumber drinks", she got very animated, and told me she totally agreed, but had to recommend it because it is so popular.  She said she cringed whenever people order it.  Lols.  She quickly started pointing me towards the bourbon section of the menu, her favorites.

Frank Lloyd Wright.

"Buffalo Trace, Laphroaig Quarter Cask, walnut & pear liqueur bitters.  Stirred."

This drink is on the menu at Bourbon & Branch, and mentioned on "The Big Drink SF" list too.

It was lovely.  A mellow drink to sip, really well balanced, smooth, and *way* too drinkable for a drink that was entirely bourbon, whiskey, and liquor.  I finished it way too quickly, and opted not to go for another cocktail, for my own good.  But I really enjoyed it.  My notes read, "yum!"

Food

Like the drink menu, the food offerings have a local touch too, with some items from Whitechapel.

The menu is broken into starters, mains, salads, and desserts.  There were a slew of dishes that sounded good, it was hard to narrow it down to just a few selections, particularly as we knew we'd have a full meal on the flight soon.

We opted for one starter, one salad, and two entrees.  Sadly, the dessert menu only had fruit salad, a cheese platter, sorbet, and a chocolate pot de creme, none of which I wanted.  Perhaps they saved me from myself, its not like I went hungry.

Starter: Bitterballen.

"Crispy dutch bar snack, slow and low pork, pickle and spicy brown mustarD." (sic)

For a starter, we went with the Bitterballen, mostly because it sounded the most unique.  This was a Whitechapel dish.

Other options were a cream of artichoke soup (meh), sweet pea bruschetta (maybe good), and "Henge fries", another Whitechapel dish that I certainly would have ordered if  I needed something more, as it included green garlic and serrano aioli.

I was pretty blown away when it was delivered to our table.  I wasn’t expecting presentation like this in a lounge!  The wooden board, with a slot in it for the little bowl of mustard with cornichons, and a slot for the copper (?) pot with the fried balls inside.

The order came with 3 balls, all super hot, freshly fried.  Ojan took the first one as I was taking notes, bit in, and told me it was hot.  I was glad I waited a few minutes.  He also told me I wouldn’t like it.

He was right.  On the plus side, it was super crispy, and I liked how crunchy it was.  But, it was just too porky for me.

Great presentation, unique dish, but, not for me.  Interestingly, Ojan didn’t like it either, and when I asked why, he said that he just didn’t like anything about it.

Clubhouse Burger, with Cheese, Chips.

“Toasted brioche bread, marinated plum tomato, lettuce, dill pickle, and chips.”

One minute after the Bitterballen arrived came Ojan’s main dish, the burger.  It was offered with regular or sweet potato fries.  We ordered sweet potato, and received regular.  No option for level of doneness was offered.  He was asked if he wanted cheese, but, it wasn’t clear what kind.

Presentation was again quite nice, served on a wooden platter, the fries in a metal pot.  The pickle was a full spear, staked on top.

The burger wasn’t quite as described.  I lifted the bun to add ketchup and discovered that it had some kind of special sauce.  I won’t complain about mayo sauce on a burger, so that was great, but, interesting that it wasn’t listed on the menu.  But even more interesting?  Two onion rings, also right under the bun top.  I grabbed one immediately, Ojan scowled at me.  I shouldn’t have grabbed it, as it was …. cold.  And a bit soggy.  Why did this burger have cold soggy onion rings on top?

The burger was crazy well done, as in, way too cooked.  Or, as Ojan put it, “cardboard level of overcooked.”  The patty was thin, not juicy, not seasoned, and really didn’t taste like anything.  The cheese was nicely melted.  The tomato looked a bit anemic.  The special sauce was tasty enough.

Overall, not a good burger, and after a couple bites, Ojan pushed it aside.

The fries error turned out to be in Ojan’s favor, as he wanted the regular ones anyway, it was me who wanted the sweet potato fries.  A little bowl of ketchup was served on the side.

I still snagged a fry while I waited for my entree, assuming it was coming soon.  The fries were thick, crispy, and ridiculously hot.  Clearly very fresh.  They maintained their heat for an incredibly long time.  Ojan loved them, I thought they were ok, but, not really what I wanted.

Starter: Greek Salad.

"Crispy red onion and black olive tapanade."

Ojan also wanted a salad.  Salads are available as starter size, or main courses, topped with proteins like chicken.  Other choices were a green salad with truffle dressing, caesar, and "shaved summer salad".  He loves Greek salads though, so, that is what he ordered.

It arrived after his burger, a good 5 minutes later.  The timing and pacing of this meal was very strange.  The starter came quickly.  The burger not long behind.  It took at least 10 minutes however for my entree to show up, and the salad came after the burger?

As with all the dishes, presentation was quite nice.

This was most certainly not a classic Greek salad.  The description did mention that it would have “crispy red onion” and “black olive tapenade”, which should have been an indicator that it wasn’t going to be quite as expected.

Anyway, what did we have here?  An assortment of greens, including frisee and arugula.  Shaved fennel.  Shaved cucumber ribbons.  Confit tomatoes.  Yes, it did have olives and feta, which were about the only elements recognizable as a Greek salad.

Since I don’t actually care for Greek salad, this seemed like an improvement to me over the classic, so, even though I didn’t plan to have any, I tried a few bites.  Mostly out of boredom, as my food was yet to arrive, and I didn’t like the other starter.  I liked the confit tomatoes, flavorful, soft, likely slow roasted.  I may have stolen most of them.  I also immediately stole one of the two crispy red onions on top, only to realize that, like in the burger, well, stone cold onion rings aren’t tasty.  They weren’t really crispy either, they were battered, and had been fried at some point, but were really just cold old onion rings.  Not a winning element.

Ojan wasn’t very excited about this fancy Greek salad.  “I wanted a normal Greek salad!”, he pouted.

Sweet Potato Fries.

When I pointed out to the server that we had ordered sweet potato fries, we were asked if we still wanted them.  Given that I didn’t like the starter, I quickly said yes, even though Ojan didn’t want them.  They arrived 10 minutes later.

I’m very glad I asked for them.  They were awesome.  Like the regular fries, they were delivered piping hot and fresh.  Seriously, right out of the fryer!  They really did a great job delivering fried items as soon as they were ready.

Unlike the regular fries, these were a thin style.  They were super crispy, I think battered in some way?  They had a nice sweet potato flavor.  They were served with ketchup, and I would have liked something else, like a honey mustard, or even the special sauce from the burger, but, still, very good.  I devoured the entire pot.  Ojan didn’t even get one.  He was done eating at this point anyway.

These were really, truly great sweet potato fries, and the best I’ve had in years.

Farmer's Cheese and Naan.

“Turmeric chili oil, roasted carrots, coriander.”

Finally, finally, 10 minutes after Ojan’s, my dish arrived.  It was … really unique.  Presentation-wise,  on the plus side, it too was served on a wooden plater, with a special area for the hot cast iron with the cheese inside.  But, on the minus side the “naan” was strangely torn into chunks along the side.  I felt my inner Gordon Ramsey coming out, thinking it looked like something someone else discarded.  It really was not appealing.

Anyway, the “naan” also wasn’t really naan.  It was almost really good though, a bit dense and doughy, a bit crispy, nice grilled flavor, slight char on top.  But it was crazy oily.  The greasy level ruined it unfortunately.

The cheese was unique.  I expected cubes of fresh cheese, like paneer, since it was called “Farmer’s cheese” and served with naan, but instead it was a soft cheese, and served hot.  It didn’t have much flavor itself, but, it was nice to spread on the naan.  It did make me wish it was burrata though, or a nice herbed ricotta …

The chili oil was fascinating.  It was very spicy.  This dish had some serious kick.  And there was tons of the oil.  At first, I’ll admit, it looked crazy.  Cheese in a big pool of oil?  But, the oil worked as a dip for the bread, and I found myself dipping the already greasy bread into the oil and almost enjoying it.  It really would have been better if the bread wasn’t as greasy!  I also enjoyed dipping the sweet potato fries into the spicy oil.

And finally, uh, carrots.  Disks of carrot, nicely cooked, not mushy. They were charred and had a nice smokiness.  The cheese was also charred on top. 

This was a really fascinating dish.  Grilled naan, soft cheese, spicy oil, and charred carrots?  It didn’t make sense, but, it almost really worked.  Good flavors, good textures.  I liked many aspects of it, and really, had the bread just not been as greasy, I really would have loved it.  Still, very unique, and not at all what I’d expect in an airline lounge.  Not quite a main dish, but, with our food, and an upcoming meal on the flight, it was more than enough.

Read More...

Z & Y Restaurant

Z & Y is a fairly well known Sichuan restaurant in San Francisco, winner of a Michelin 2020 Bib Gourmand, etc, and they take pride in that have served Presidents, Vice Presidents and Foreign Ministers of People’s Republic of China.  They are known for being authentic, and, well, since Sichuan, spicy.

I haven't visited to dine in the restaurant, but they are open for both lunch and dinner, daily.  They have a sister restaurant, Chili House, in the Richmond.

Update Review: June 2020

Z & Y was one of the first places I got takeout during the COVID / shelter in place in San Francisco, and I couldn't stop thinking about just how good those spicy dumplings were.  And I couldn't stop wondering what the difference was from the spicy *wontons* on the menu, listed with a "spicy sesame sauce."

So, a few weeks later, I returned to find out.

Wontons with Spicy Sesame Sauce.

It turns out, they *were* different.  Obviously wontons != dumplings, but the sauce was different, as was the packaging even.

Since everything was still in takeout only mode, I got my order as a pickup order, via Caviar, and again went to sit in The park just a block away.  It really is a great spot to easily pick up food and have somewhere nice to eat!

Ordering was more frustrating this time around - I placed my order, but the restaurant didn't acknowledge it for quite some time.  After 10 minutes (usually its near instant) I called them to check that they were open, mentioned my order via Caviar not yet accepted, and they immediately did it.  I think they were really, really busy?

Wonton with Spicy Sesame Sauce. $8.95.

The portion of wontons, just like the dumplings, was 6 pieces, each super sized.  You'll see soon.  They make some very, very large dumplings here.

They came packaged much better this time, in a standard deli pint container, which was considerably more spill proof than the way the dumplings came.  I appreciated this.

The container also had the sauce, plenty of it, even if it didn't look that way.  $8.95 was the same price as the other apps, seemed reasonable.

Spicy Sesame Sauce.

From the top, you could see the clearly spicy sauce, all the sesame and chili oil, and a fresh scattering of chives and sesame seeds.

The sauce was spicy, as I expected.  I was glad it didn't remind me of the Din Tai Fung sesame sauce that I didn't care for, and this was much more like the spicy dumpling sauce, just, I think, more sesame oil heavy, and with perhaps more sesame seeds on top?  It certainly seemed more oily.

I liked the heat and spice, but I found it really one note: spicy and oil, and nothing else.  I recall saying the same thing about the spicy dumplings.  I wanted soy and black vinegar to balance it.

I had soy sauce with me, and balanced it out that way, and enjoyed it more.  I'm sorry if this is horribly not authentic!

Huge Wontons.

The wontons were each enormous.  I said this about the dumplings last time too, but, wow these things are big.  So much wrapper, so much filling.

The wrappers were ... fine?  They weren't too gummy, too soft, too firm, or anything, but really didn't seem particularly special.  Lots of wonton "tails" as I like to call them, as these were just so huge.

Pork Filling.

Here you can see just how much pork was inside - this is *half* of one of the balls of pork from within.  The pork was really nicely prepared, you can see how juicy it is, how it is cooked through perfectly, and nicely seasoned.

The wonton were extremely filling with this much pork inside, and all the wonton wrapper.

Overall, they were fine, but certainly didn't leave me craving them in the way the others had.

Original Review May 2020

Because of COVID-19, I had to order takeout, which I did in advance on Caviar.  Ordering was easy, and I appreciated the photos online so I'd know what I was getting.  My order was ready in a reasonable amount of time.  I think they do a solid takeout and delivery service even when the dining room is open.

There was a park just a block away that made for an ideal dining venue.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of pickup and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes ...

• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]

Spicy and Tasty.

My food was great.  The service?   Not so much.  When I arrived, and gave my name for pickup, I was told simply, "not ready yet", and the staff member walked away as he said it.  No indication of when it would be ready.  No one else was around, no one else waiting, no other orders queued up, so, he didn't seem busy ...  When be did bring my order, it was done without a word, and again, rushed and he was gone quickly.  Perhaps it was the virus situation that caused him to want little to do with being near humans (even though I was quite far away), maybe it was limited english skills, etc, but, it was fairly off-putting.

But luckily, the food?  Delicious.

The menu is extensive, with a bunch of hot appetizers (including dumplings, noodles, egg rolls, etc), cold appetizers (you know, pork kidneys in "spicy numbing sauce", among many many other spicy dishes - I was soo tempted by the "Tiger Skin Jalapeno with Preserved Egg"), soups, and rice and noodle dishes.  But many more pages of menu are devoted to spicy preparations of different proteins, with more than a dozen options per protein (e.g. Mongolian beef.  Cumin beef.  Spicy beef with peppercorns.  Hot spicy beef in a flaming pot.  Beef with flaming chili oil.  Etc.  Some milder options, like orange flavor or broccoli beef *do* exist, but, most are quite spicy).  Pork, poultry, seafood, even veggies follow a similar format, although with different dishes per main ingredient.  And then there is another section of the menu, actually called "Hot & Spicy", which, I guess, is even *more* spicy?  They aren't messing around.

Curb Appeal.

Z & Y is located in Chinatown, alongside a slew of other Chinese restaurants, bakeries, and shops, many of which were closed up due to COVID-19.  It had little curb appeal, and, because of the takeout only situation, was set up with furniture blocking the entrance, and a bell to ring for service.

I was hoping to use the bathroom, but alas, the signage was quite clear that no customers were allowed inside.

Packaging.

My order was handed over in a plastic bag, with chopsticks only.  I had to ask for napkin, which was done wordlessly, and the staff member was walking away before he even fully finished putting into the bag.  No other utensils, no condiments.

The takeout container was labelled with their logo, but wasn't sealed firmly, and did leak into the bag.

Spicy Dumpling. $8.95.

I went for the spicy dumplings, as I was craving, very strongly, Din Tai Fung's version (which I know aren't the same, but I loved so much!).

These were the traditional Sichuan style: boiled, served in a spicy chili oil (and black vinegar?) sauce.

The Din Tai Fung spicy wontons had some heat, but even as I mentioned in that review, not a ton.  These on the other hand?  Um, yes.  Spicy.  Fire!   I loved the spice.  Mostly just chili oil.  And extra chili flakes on top.  Spicy, oily, and left my tongue burning.  But it did feel unbalanced … it really was just spicy oil.  I wanted a touch of soy or vinegar, but I guess that isn't the Sichuan way?

The dumplings were huge.  6 to an order.  They were well formed, not too doughy, the wrappers not too thin.  I prefer wonton style (again like Din Tai Fung), as I prefer the thinner wrappers, but these were fine dumplings.

Spicy Dumplings: Inside.

They were extremely generously filled, loaded with pork filling.  I can't really say how well seasoned the filling was, as the spicy sauce took over everything, but the filling was juicy, and, as I said, tons of it.

Overall, I really did enjoy my dumplings.  I was glad I brought along some raw diakon and crunchy red cabbage to pair with it.  I loved having the freshness and crispness to pair alongside the spicy hot food.  It really was a great match, so, go me for that.  They also made me crave a hard cider or white wine, but alas, I didn't have that with me.

I am not sure I'd get them again as they aren't 100% my style, but I'm glad I tried.

Read More...