Baked Goods from Dough-To-Go

Update Review, 2020 Tastings

I've reviewed Dough-2-Go before, but, I never actually reviewed their flagship product line.

The primary product that Dough-2-Go actually makes is cookies, and, cookie dough for you to bake off.  Cookies are available baked, baked and individually wrapped, as pre-portioned cookie dough or bulk cookie dough, in 1.33oz, 2oz, 3oz, and 4oz sizes, in about 30 varieties, *not* counting their seasonal or themed items, which are extensive.

Yes, this is where the company clearly pours their energy.  Want Chocolate Chip? They make classic Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip with Nuts, Milk Chocolate Chip, Milk Chocolate Chip with Nuts, Double Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate Chip w/nuts, Mint Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, and Chocolate Chunk.  Want another kind of chip? Select from Macadamia Vanilla Chip, Vanilla Chip, or Butterscotch Chip.  Want nuts? Go for Orange Almond, Apricot Nut, Butter Pecan, Peanut Butter, 

Peanut Butter with Peanuts, Almond Coconut, or Triple Chocolate Walnut.  Spice?  Cinnamon Sugar (Snickerdoodle), Old Fashion Spice or Molasses.  Or do you want basics, like lemon, oatmeal raisin, sugar cookies, macaroons, etc?  Yup, they have them all.

And then there are the themed items, usually just the sugar cookies, but cut into shapes and decorated or dipped.  Christmas Trees, Easter Bunnys, Halloween Pumpkins, Autumn Leaves, Halloween Skeletons, Valentine's Hearts, Shamrocks, Spring Butterflys, Hunukkah Stars, Hunukkah Dreidels, Easter Eggs, Thanksgiving Turkeys, Summer Flowers, Christmas Gingerbread-man, etc, etc.   And seemingly random ones, like, um lions and penguins.

We tried several of the themed items, and, well, they did kinda look like what you'd find at a bake sale, if someone had a decently talented cookie decorator in the family.  And ... they tasted that way too.  Meh.

Spring Special: Sugar Sprinkle Butterfly Cookies.

These were a spring item, colorful butterflies.  I had to laugh as they somewhat looked like what you'd find at a bake sale, made by an actual student, so sparkly.

The tasted about like that too.  They were fine, sugar cookies covered in large colorful pearl sugar.  Hard cookies, kinda dry, not very buttery or special.  Just, cookies.

I wasn't impressed.

Winter Special: Snowman.

"Hand-decorated Snowman in chocolate. All butter cookie."

Next we had a butter cookie, elaborately decorated like a snowman.  I give them kudos for the cute white chocolate decorating job.

My little niece *adored* these, as she was going through a "snow-na" obsession at the time.  I thought they were ... ok.  Better than the sugar cookie but still not a very remarkable cookie.  I did appreciate that they were slightly soft, not rock solid, and the white chocolate was tasty at least.

Lemonsnap.

Finally, a decent cookie from Dough-to-go.

Now, granted, it wasn't a flavor I actually like (lemon), but the cookie was quite soft, the texture was right, and I liked the sweetness of the sugar on top.  These almost grew on me.

Original Review March 2018

I know, it isn't quite fair for me to review products that are only available wholesale and through food service distributors, but, in many cases, you find these products all around town at cafes and coffee shops, you likely just don't know it.

"Dough-to-Go is a company that specializes in the manufacture of high quality raw dough and ready to serve bakery products.  Dough-to-Go strives to make products “like you would make yourself, if you had the time.” 

Well, I think Dough-to-Go achieved their goal.  The products did indeed seem like what I'd make.  They certainly weren't the quality of a real bakery.

I don't recommend.

Sweet Rolls

Dough-to-Go makes two types of sweet rolls: sticky buns and basic cinnamon rolls.  I was only able to try the cinnamon rolls.  They didn't inspire me to seek out the sticky buns, even though those are more up my alley. 

Cinnamon Raisin Rolls.

"Morning rolls with cinnamon, raisins and sweet sugar glaze."

These looked great!  Huge cinnamon rolls.  Tons of icing.

But ... they weren't very good.  Dried out.  Even the very very center of the roll wasn't moist.  They weren't gooey.  They weren't flavorful.  The icing was hard.

Just, not good.

Scones

Scones are available baked and frozen, or as raw dough that you bake off.  They come in 8 flavors, mostly fruity.

I was able to try all 4 flavors of their "Chunky Fruit Scones".

They also were not good.

Apple Cinnamon Raisin.

The apple cinnamon raisin were the worst of the bunch.

The scone was just so dry.  No flavor to the base.  Not good.

Cranberry.

The cranberry had good pops of flavor from the cranberries, but, the base scone was again dry and flavorless.

Mixed Berry.

The mixed berry were the best of the bunch, they at least had a lot of fruit in them, but, the base scone just isn't good.

Blueberry.

Blueberry were about the same as the mixed berry, lots of fruit, but, meh to the scone.

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Lapats Thai Noodles Bar

Update Reviews, May 2020 (Takeout)

If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you may know how often I lament the options for good Thai food in San Francisco.  I was beyond spoiled by my time living in Sydney, and, well, nothing here compares.  At some level, it just simply *can't*, as we don't have access to the same locally grown ingredients, and the competition is far greater given the Thai population there.  But it has resulted in me always being sad when I get Thai food in San Francisco, although, I do just keep trying.

But I finally found a fantastic place.  Ok, actually, I found it a few months ago, but I had only ordered an appetizer and dessert (for delivery), for a very specific purpose: fulfilling both a taro craving (the app) and durian (dessert), and, although I really was impressed with those dishes, they weren't exactly normal Thai cuisine, and I didn't realize just how good Lapats really is.

Thai cuisine has some really critical elements that you have to get right for it to be truly, truly good.  And Lapats nailed all the essential elements of *great* Thai cuisine.  I once heard someone describe it as "all bites of Thai food should be exciting!"  I didn't understand it quite at that time, but, I do now.  It is exactly that balance of spice level, sour notes, acidity, sweetness, freshness, textures, etc that make you notice the elements, appreciate them, but still feel it is all in balance.  So hard to achieve.  But they did.  For more about the restaurant, the background, etc, go start with my original review, this will focus only on my recent visit.

Fantastic, fantastic find! Catfish Larb.

The first time I visited in May, I walked away thinking, quite clearly, "Now THAT is what proper Thai food is supposed to be!"  The second time, I went for some fairly random selections (Thai dim sum?), and it was less successful, although the quality was still high.

I ordered one dish, catfish larb, and, well, it was perfect.  The balance of spice level, sour notes, acidity, freshness, and slightly sweet, was spot on.  A true delight.  I highly, highly recommend.

I did delivery via Doordash the first time I ordered, did pickup from Caviar the other times (Caviar prices were better).  Ordering was simple all times.  Lapats is on most delivery services, and if you haven't used them before, I have free credits to share for first time purchasers!

• 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 ]

Setting

My previous experience of Lapats food was delivery, so this was my first time visiting the restaurant myself.  It ... is not in a pleasant place, right in the heart of the Tenderloin, and the streets of the Tenderloin were particularly bad at this point in the COVID-19 crisis.

Takeout Only, of course.

Like all businesses that were open, signage was quite clear about being togo only, the protocols in place, and the numerous delivery options you have to order as well.

No Seating.

The seating area is smaller than I expected actually, and was obviously closed off.  A bit hard to tell what the restaurant interior normally is like ... do they always have tik tok on a big screen?

Pick Up Table.

Pickup was very easy, a table blocking the way once inside, and bags marked clearly.  Since I ordered only a few blocks away, my order wasn't ready, and I waited outside on the sunny sidewalk.

Early May 2020 Visit

I ordered from the "House Salads" section, as I was looking for a lighter meal.  This is a complete contrast to my last order, which was just appetizers and desserts, heh.  The entire menu really does sound fabulous, and I am eager to continue to work my way through it.  Some of the appetizers sound so unique, and many are pretty heavy, fried items (they have fried pig ears!).  The "Green Dumplings" look fascinating too, Thai style chive dumplings?  I can't want to try those sometime.  And the Thai fried wontons.  And, well, like I said, the entire menu.

But I ordered only a salad this visit, although  I was given a bonus side dish as well (thank you!)

 Larb Pla Yang ลาบปลาย่่าง.  $13.95.

"Minced grilled catfish mixed with rice powder, chili powder, lime juice, onion, and basil."

It was larb I sought out, craving it so badly after my last larb experience at House of Thai a few weeks prior, where it was everything I *didn't* want - no balance, cloyingly sweet, no spice (even though I ordered spicy).

Lapats offers a full larb lineup: the more mundane pork/chicken/beef options, a signature duck offal version, and, why I was there: catfish.

Catfish larb is a Thai classic, but not one that many places offer, as catfish is just less common in the US, and often has a bad reputation as a bottom dweller, having a murky taste, etc.  But it is often offered at more authentic places, either in a grilled or deep fried variety, always minced.  I was pleased to see they offered a grilled version, unlike the deep fried one I had from House of Thai a few weeks earlier.

Ordering from Lapats, in the instructions, I asked "Spicy please!", as I know they offer customization on spice level, but the ordering app did not have an area for this.  They delivered on this request, but more on that soon.

I opened my box and could tell the difference, immediately, between this and the House of Thai one.  Look at the fresh herbs!  This just screamed freshness and quality, even at a first glance.  I was excited.

The Thai basil on top was indeed likely harvested right as the dish was plated, and it was a lovely herb to mix into my bites as I pleased.  It was served with a hunk of iceberg rather than cabbage, which I do prefer slightly, but it worked better for making wraps as it is more pliable.  The lettuce too was quite fresh and crisp.  I appreciated that it was served on top of green curly lettuce, how it would be plated in the restaurant, and that they used a different lettuce there.  It soaked up all the delicious sauces, and was a prize at the bottom of the container.

Although it is hard to see given the herb and greens on top, the portion was decent, slightly bigger than House of Thai, although not a huge dish by any means.  The price ($13.95 on Caviar, but $1 more on Doordash - even though other dishes weren't) is about in line with similar offerings.

Larb Pla Yang: Closeup.

Now, let's get into that larb.

It had legit spice, plenty of whole red chilis (watch out!), and lots of red chili flakes.  But it also was wonderfully balanced.  Yes, it had heat, but it never became too much.  But yes, it was spicy.

There was plenty of onion, both raw red onion slices and chopped green onion that brought in sharpness and crunch.

But it was all balanced out by plentiful lime juice for tartness, brightness, and acidity.  It made it vibrant, really.

The catfish was wonderful - it was juicy, it was crispy, and since it was grilled, it was beautifully smokey too.  Again, more flavors added to that overall balance.  I think it may have been cornmeal crusted (and fried?) originally, as it definitely had some kind of batter, but perhaps that was rice crusting?  I'm not sure.  The texture was great.

Pair all that with the fresh herbs, and, well, it was just fabulous.  All the flavors in balance, and yes, every bite *was* exciting.

Bonus Side: Sticky Rice. $2.50.

I didn't order it (although I almost did actually, because I had a mango ripe and ready to use at home, and I thought I might want something to combat heat in the larb if it was actually too spicy for me), but the person working at the restaurant who was handing over orders and prepping sticky rice asked if I'd like any.  I said yes!  It came in a standard little Asian takeout box.

Sticky Rice.

The sticky rice was wrapped in plastic, and was, well, sticky rice.  It was hot and fresh (she was portioning it right while I was waiting), sticky, and nicely prepared.

I had a little with my meal, but mostly saved it to use to make my own mango sticky rice.

Late May 2020 Visit

I returned a few weeks later, but I wasn't actually craving thai food.  I had been eating a lot of thai food, and curries, noodles, etc just weren't appealing.  The reason I visited? To check out some of their unique appetizers: dumplings and wontons!  Yes, at a Thai restaurant.

I am glad I tried them I guess, and they were well made, but, I see no reason to stray from the Thai classics that they clearly excel in.

Green Dumplings กุยช่าย. $12.95.

"Steamed sauteed chives served with sweet chili black soy sauce."

I started with the dumplings, 4 HUGE dumplings to an order.

They were ... ok.  Different.  So interesting to see at Thai restaurant.

Each dumpling really was massive, easily 2-3 regular dumplings you'd see at dim sum (in fact, they reminded me of the Yank Sing pea shoot dumplings a lot).  Seriously, soooo much chive in here.

The chive filling was soft, good, uh, strong chive flavor, but not particularly exciting.  Seasoned, but since it was just chive, nothing else, fairly one-note, and I couldn't help but wish there was some minced shrimp or something in there.

Stuck Together, Broken Apart: Chive Filling.

The wrappers were soft, and broke apart very, very easily, as they couldn't really hold the ridiculous amount of filling - you definitely could *not* pick these up with chopsticks to eat.  The wrapper was nice though.  They did sadly completely stick together in the takeout container, which caused them all to tear apart, no matter how careful I was.

I'll admit I was a bit disappointed as I saw them put them in the microwave, rather than steam fresh, but I guess I couldn't tell when eating them?  It didn't make them tough or gummy.

Overall, they were fine, but ... boring I guess?

The sauce is sweet chili black soy sauce - very thick, very sweet.  It was good, but, too sweet overall!  I wanted more balance to it, some acid or spice.  And it was thick, so you couldn't really dunk, I'd prefer thinner.  But maybe this is a style thing?  I liked the taste, but, just felt like it was missing something.

The dumplings certainly needed the sauce though, as the chive only flavor got to be a bit much.

Overall, again, they were fine, well made, but, I didn't love them.  $12.95 for 4 seems expensive though for just chives ...

Leftover Green Dumplings: Transformed!

So what did I do with the second half of the order that I didn't eat originally?  Of course I had fun with leftovers.  I knew they had great flavor, but, were already broken, so why not play?

What I made wasn't *pretty*, but it was delicious.  And so simple.

I simmered diakon, two types of kale, and green cabbage, threw in the dumplings, and added some imitation crab.  I added their sweet soy sauce, but balanced it out with seasoned oil, ume vinaigrette for acid, a touch of sambal and some thai chili powder for heat.

It turned out absolutely fantastic.  Yes, the dumpling broke apart, and I did just mix it all up into rest of my greens.  The result was super flavorful chives incorporated with a lovely mix of greens, juicy daikon, krab for protein, and really pleasant little bites of chewy glutinous chunks of the dumpling wrapper as I found bits.  With the balanced sauce I created, it was spicy as I wanted, and I threw some crispy fried shrimp rolls on top too for crunch, and, well, it was great.  I could imagine using sausage or something like that too.

I actually really enjoyed my creation, so, I guess, no harm done, Lapats?

Thai Fried Wonton เกี๊ยวหมูทอด $9.95.

"Deep fried stuffed wonton with ground pork served with sweet and sour sauce." 

Next up, a totally random selection: fried wontons.  I was craving fried food!  I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but they were basically a wonton wrapper, filled with a *tiny* dollop of pork filling, folded over and fried.

They were ... ok?  Nothing special.  Incredibly crispy, but *very* oily, which I hope means they were freshly fried?  They weren't hot though.  I did notice that the container had holes cut in the top, just like my first order of the fried taro, so it is clear they care about their packaging, so as not to get soggy.  I appreciated this.

I did like the crispy wonton wrapper of course, and used it with the chives that came pouring out of dumplings.  Topping a wonton with tons of chive mix, and a touch of the chive sauce, was a pretty nice bite, but I again wanted some soy or spice.

The sweet chili sauce on the side was *way* too sweet, and I made the mistake of dipping one in fully to start, not realizing it.  It was really not tasty that way.  It was good sauce, just, too sweet to use in quantity, and the only sauce they gave.  I later mixed in some soy and vinegar and that made it much better with the wontons - I think it would go well with other things too.

10 to an order, so $1 each, which ... yeah, a pricey given the very little filling.

Thai Fried Wontons: Inside.

Here is a glimpse of the filling.  As you can see, really not much at all.  And equally hard to taste with so much wrapper and dominant sauce.

It seemed juicy and well seasoned though.

Original Review, May 2019 (Delivery)

Lapats is a fairly new Thai restaurant in San Francisco, in the Tenderloin, open daily for lunch and dinner.

The menu is extensive, with a full range of appetizers, salads, soups, noodles, curries, entrees ... and of course, desserts.  They have all the classics, plus many more unique items.  It gets great reviews (4 stars on Yelp), which sounded promising in general for Thai cuisine in SF, which I've always found a bit disappointing after spending time in Sydney where it is amazing.  But none of that alone was enough to draw me in.  Nope, there was one thing that brought me to seek out Lapats.  Durian.

Yes, durian.  I had durian my first time in Sydney years ago, durian sticky rice, at Chat Thai.  I ... was not a fan, and said I'd never seek it out again.  I had it a year later, in martabak form, also in Sydney, at Martabak cafe, and ... disliked it then too.  But somewhere along the way something changed, and I decided I liked durian.  I just needed to acquire the taste?

Sadly, durian is still fairly rare to find in San Francisco.  I've had it when visiting the south bay (an awesome durian shake from Bambu, review coming soon!), and then recently in an epically good durian cream bun from an Austrian bakery, Guschlbauer, in Toronto, and let's just say I've been craving it ever since.

So one day, I pulled up every delivery app available, Door Dash, Caviar, Uber Eats, Postmates, GrubHub ... and I searched for durian.  I was shocked at how limited my options were, but pleased to discover Lapats offered a durian sticky rice, and people seemed to like it.

I was further pleased when I saw they had really unique appetizers, including one with taro, another love of mine.

I was sold.  Delivery order placed (via Door Dash), right around lunchtime but the delivery was fairly fast, no issues.

And the durian?  Mixed success.  The taro fries however were amazing, the quality of everything was high, and I'll certainly order from Lapats, or visit in person, again to try more menu items.

Thoughtful Packaging: Vent!

I was really pleased when I opened my delivery bag to find that the taro fries were packed in a container, with an intentional hole in the lid, for venting the steam!  I already had my toaster oven ready to warm and toast up the taro fries as necessary, but I was pleased that they had done this to try to maintain the crispy nature of the fries.

Taro Fried. $10.95.

"Deep Fried Fresh, Served With Sweet Chili Sauce And Peanut."

I was only somewhat aware of what to expect with these.  I *love* taro, and I had seen some photos that looked sorta like tempura battered taro, which seemed pretty awesome to me.  What I got wasn't exactly what I thought it would be, but, was certainly delicious.

The taro was cut into french fry like strips, battered in a sesame seed filled batter, that coated, but didn't fully cover, the taro.  The result was crunchy and crispy, but not as heavy as something fully battered, and still really allowed the flavor and texture of the taro to shine through.  The taro inside was really just that, taro, nicely cooked, not too soft, not too firm, and if you like to taste taro, this delivered.  They were clearly deep fried, but not too greasy, and I liked the pairing of sesame and taro flavors (and it made me definitely think about doing a taro-sesame bubble tea sometime ...).

The sauce however just totally completed the dish.  I wasn't expecting to be too excited by sweet chili sauce, I mean, I love sweet chili sauce, but I thought it would be generic sweet chili sauce, and I had other, creamy sauces, ready to go.  But this sauce was awesome - a thiner style than a standard sweet chili, sweet but not too sweet, with vinegar and acid to balance.  And ... bits of peanut!  If I thought the taro + sesame combo was a winner, the taro + sesame + peanut combo was even better.  I loved it.

I'd gladly get these again, and really enjoyed a new preparation of an ingredient I already always love.

Thoughtful Packaging: Sealed Up!

The careful packaging continued with the durian sticky rice.  This time, it came wrapped in plastic wrap, no spilling at all.  And ... it did help mask a little of the durian .. aroma.

I was again impressed with the thoughtful touch and care of packaging for delivery.

Sweet Sticky Rice With Durian. $6.95.

Once I unwrapped it though, the smell of the durian was unmistakable.  Yup, hello durian!

At first glance, I was surprised by how much coconut sauce there was, I could barely see any sticky rice.  I was expecting sticky rice with some fresh durian and a drizzle, maybe a small side container of coconut milk based sweet sauce.  This was ... swimming in it.

As a result, sadly, it was way, way, way too sweet.  Even when I just tried to get some sticky rice, it was impossible.  So sweet.  Cloying.

But, the durian was lovely.  Soft, fresh tasting (as much as durian ever tastes "fresh").  It had a funk, a good funk.  Good texture, good durian flavor, and I really enjoyed it.  It needed a little coconut milk but not nearly this much.

The sticky rice was very good, just the right level of sticky and glutenous.  I loved the sticky rice, but it is what made me sad, as it was totally drenched in the sauce.  So hard to enjoy it when so very sweet.

Hence, my early comment that this was not a total winner.  The sticky rice, totally a hit.  The durian, great.  But the sauce made it hard to enjoy.  I made some good bites, limiting the sauce, and adding whipped cream to cut the sweetness, and that was good, but it certainly would be far better with less sauce.

I'd still get this again, but be sure to request less.  And I do wonder if they just got the portions odd when doing delivery?

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Mach 2, Sydney International Airport

I've spent a fair amount of time in the Sydney International Airport, given my frequent visits to Sydney for work.  You can see reviews of other airport dining, and all my top recommendations of Sydney, on my master post.

Anyway, it was here at the airport that I discovered Mach 2.  I've visited many times, both coming and going from the airport.

Setting

Mach 2 is located in the Sydney International terminal, right next to Air New Zealand's check-in, air side.  

Breakfast Menu.

It is a full service restaurant, with actually fantastic reviews for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  As in, actual fantastic reviews.  Please love to sit down and have a real breakfast in particular, after they drop their bags.

Quick Options: Sandwiches, pastries, muffins, etc.

They also operate a small fast service cafe with baked goods, sandwiches, and coffee, which is the section I visited. 

Baked Goods

Most of the time, my visits were to grab baked goods to take on board my flight, because, um, baked goods and pastries *always* catch my eye, even if I'm about to head into the fabulous Air New Zealand lounge where I adore the food ... sometimes you need to grab a few things to bring on board, "just in case", you know?  I've also grabbed items when arriving, jetlagged, confused, and drawn in by the visual appeal of the goodies.

Sfogliatelle. $5.90.  (February)

Mach 2 introduced me to a new item(!) Sfogliatelle? I've never had this before.  But it looked like an amazing flaky pastry, and the cashier told me it was stuffed with ricotta.  I dug into it almost immediately, as I got it when arriving one morning, after a disappointing onboard breakfast.

When I later looked it up, I found out this is a traditional Italian pastry, and the name means "small, thin leaf/layer", as it is a layered item.  Fillings range from ricotta as I had, or almond paste, or citrus.

While it looked excellent, it wasn't.  Maybe I just don't like this item in general?

The pastry was layered, but it was really chewy, not crispy and buttery as I expected.  It seemed really dense, really heavy, and almost under-baked.  I had it literally 10 minutes after getting it, so this wasn't a freshness issue.

I did not care for the pastry itself.

The price was an amusing $5.90, particularly given that the muffins are all $6.  These look more labor intensive, by $0.10 less?

Sfogliatelle: Inside.

Inside the sfogliatelle was better than the pastry, ricotta with orange zest, slightly sweetened.

Meh to this item, but at least I liked the filling.  It wasn't available my next visit, which I certainly didn't mind.

Muffins (February 2019).

The muffin lineup is just labelled "assorted", and all look to be the same base, but with different fillings, or, what I hoped were fillings, not just the visible topping.

They are all huge, the garnish did look compelling.  I got all 3 available.

They were not quite what I expected, but not bad.  All were fresh, moist, and had crispy tops.  All had fairly plain bases, with the flavors just as toppings, not fillings.  I’d consider getting these again, just to bring on board in case my onboard food didn’t measure up.  $6 per muffin is fairy pricey though, even if large sized.

Chocolate Muffin. $6.  (February)

This was a strange muffin, not what I expected at all.  It was not a traditional chocolate muffin in that the base didn't seem to have chocolate, just a plain base, but with chocolate pudding-like ganache-like topping.  It got all over the bag it was placed in, since, clearly just coming out the top.

Chocolate Muffin: Inside.

I expected chocolate elsewhere in the muffing, but there was no chocolate in the muffin base, just the chocolate on top.  The chocolate was great, thick, rich.  The base muffin was … interesting.  I can’t really describe the flavor, but it was moist enough, crispy on top.  A bit boring of a base, but the chocolate was great.

I think my favorite of the muffins, because I was really in a mood for chocolate.

Raspberry Muffin. $6.  (February)

The raspberry muffin looked basically the same, but with stewed raspberries on top in place of the chocolate.

The berries on top of this were fabulous.  Soft, stewed, fruity.

Raspberry Muffin: inside.  (February)

The base of this was actually different from the chocolate one, although it too was a plain style, no raspberries inside, but a different flavor to the base.  Again hard to describe, but almost moist, crispy top.  Not a bad muffin, just not what I'd expect.

Blueberry Muffin. $6.  (February)

And finally, blueberry.

The topping on this was the most generous, tons of stewed berries.

Blueberry Muffin: Inside.

This one again had a plain base, again one that was slightly different (it was a blonder, sweeter style), but it had a couple token blueberries inside.

A pretty decent blueberry muffin, very moist inside.

Chocolate Chip Muffin. $6. (March)

When I visited in March, the chocolate muffin was a totally different form, a dark muffin (chocolate based?), with little chocolate chips, and no ganache.

But ... the chocolate chip muffin was pretty much the same as the others.  The base wasn’t actually chocolately, the darker color was just due to being slightly over-cooked.  It wasn’t dry exactly, but it certainly wasn’t moist.  There were not chocolate chips studded throughout, instead, just a bunch of tiny chips on top.  They were reasonable quality though. 

The base had that same interesting tang and flavor that I couldn’t really pinpoint. 

Again, a standard, decent but not amazing, kinda odd, Mach 2 muffin.

Desserts

Inside the restaurant, there is also a dessert case, and a full dessert menu.

Dessert Cake.

On one visit, I glanced over at the dessert case, and was certainly drawn in, except of course it was 9am, and I wasn't sure I was allowed to get those to go, as the case is located deep inside the restaurant, not near the front with the other pastries.

Eventually though, several visits later, I decided to ask.  It turns out, I could order from there, it just would take a while, as separate staff handle that area.

Strawberry Cheesecake. (March 2019)

The day I decided to order cake though, there was only one choice, and not one I was that excited for ... a layered strawberry cheesecake ... ish.  Still, it was my only option.

It came in a way too big togo container, so it slid all around and quickly didn't look quite as nice as when it was handed over initially.

It wasn't very good.

The base was a hard layer, almost cookie-like, but not very sweet.  It was fairly dry.  Above that was a very dry plain cake layer.  Boo to cake.

Then came the cheesecake, not very creamy, not very rich, and ... not very cream cheese-y?  It had no flavor at all, really.  And then, strawberry gel, pretty, but it didn't add much flavor either.

It came with some whipped cream on the side, and a few sliced strawberries.  The berries were decently fresh, and the whipped cream standard.  They were the best parts.

I wouldn't have called this a cheesecake at all, as it had a number of non-cheesecake items, and, it really didn't seem cheesecake-y anyway.  Clearly, would not get this again.

(March).

I have no idea what this was, but, it was the only other item in the dessert case.

It seemed to be ... a bowtie shaped, powdered sugar coated ... hard crispy pie-dough-esque item?  Very plain, very boring, but good enough dipped in the whipped cream from the cheesecake.

I'm sure this is actually some kind of traditional Italian item I just don't know.  Perhaps you dip it in coffee? I have no idea.

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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 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.

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 it 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!

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, its 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.  Its 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.

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

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

The pizza was over-done, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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