Late July Snacks

Another day, another random snack food to try?  That is what my current working from home life feels like - try all the things!  Which brings us to Late July, a snack maker of slightly higher end, organic, non-GMO, etc, etc snacks.

"Our snacks stand out in a crowded snack aisle, not just because of their delicious taste, but also because of our commitment to sourcing the highest quality organic and non-GMO ingredients. 

We offer a snack for everyone at the table with a variety of gluten-free, vegan, and kosher offerings."

Late July mostly produces chips, a wide range of tortilla chips (all different bases like chia/quinoa, styles like restaurant style or dippers, flavors, whole grains, different shapes, etc) and a few basic flavors of potato chips (bbq, salt & vinegar, sour cream & onion), but they also carry a few kinds of popcorn and crackers.  I've somehow never tried their popcorn, which is kinda shocking given how much I adore popcorn.  I've only tried ... the crackers.  Yup, the crackers.

Crackers

"Our classic crackers were first born in 2003, and while the original recipe stays the same, we now have five delicious flavors. "

Crackers are Late July's first products, and I think I actually had them way back then.  They make 5 kinds of crackers: their version of "Classic Crackers", aka, Ritz style buttery round ones, "Cheddar Cheese Crackers", aka, Cheez-Its, and Saltines (strangely round, that isn't right!), plus two kinds of mini stuffed ones, clearly the most interesting varieties.

Cheddar Cheese Sandwich Crackers (Mini).

"Cheddar cheese sandwich crackers made with real organic cheddar cheese."

These were actually pretty tasty.  The crackers were buttery and reminded me of (tiny) Ritz, and the filling was pleasantly cheesy.  Yes, it was weird cheese "paste", but it had had a nice flavor, and, it was nicely salty.  There was far more cracker than cheese however, so the cheese flavor wasn't quite strong enough for me.  I really wanted "double stuffs", like double stuff Oreos!  I resorted to removing one cracker from each and making my own doubles, or at least eating them open faced, which I really preferred, as I liked to taste the cheese!

They also make these in a peanut butter filled version, which I certainly have tried, and I think liked, but alas, I lost my notes on those.

Cheddar Cheese Crackers (Bite Size).

"Cheddar cheese crackers made with real organic cheddar cheese."

Next up was their version of Cheez-It.  I don't care for Cheez-It but I thought I might like this cheddar flavor since they use legit cheese.

They were ... yeah, Cheez-Its.   Or my memory of them.  I had no interest.

They also make these in a full size.

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St. John, London

St. John.  An institution in London.  It isn't a new trendy place.  It isn't a scene.  But it is iconic, for good reason.

St. John is the restaurant(s) by Chef Fergus Henderson, arguably one of the most influential British chefs, although, if you aren't into culinary things, you likely haven't heard of him.  Gordon Ramsey? Jamie Oliver? Sure, you know them.  But Fergus?  He might be off your radar.

Fergus is said to have really pioneered nose to tail eating in England, that is, using whole animals, lots of offal, and cuts generally ignored.  He isn't a trained chef, and never even worked as one before opening his first restaurant with his wife.  And yet, has earned great acclaim, oh yeah, and some Michelin stars.  For British food.  Very simple British food.

St. John opened in 1994, and was awarded its first Michelin star in 2009.  A second location, St. John Bread & Wine, opened in 2003, and a third, now closed, location in a hotel also earned a star.  The current lineup also includes a bakery and 3rd restaurant.

A lovely meal for one.

I went for a simple meal, in the bar area, at the main St. John outpost in Smithfield, to try two iconic dishes: Welsh rarebit and Eccles cake.  I was blown away.

I really wished I hadn't discovered it on my final night in London, as I am certain I would have returned many more times.  The experience, the food, was just incredible.  But not in the way you would expect from "michelin dining".

St. John is a Michelin star like no other.

Setting

My visit was to the original St. John, on St. John street, although, that is not what I intended.

St. John Bread & Wine, Spitalfields.

I need to start with a sad story.  You can skip this if you don't care about my woe.

I had wanted to visit St. John on the trip, but kept not finding the right time to do so.  I almost went so many nights, but, on my final night, I was determined to make it happen.

I eagerly checked the menus when they were posted online at 5pm to find that the closer location to my hotel, St. John Restaurant, was closed for a private event.  Undeterred, I made the longer trek, via the tube, to the Spitalfields location, which was listed as open, with the nightly menu posted, complete with the dishes I sought out.

It took a while to get there, but I rounded the corner, and went bounding up.  But there was a paper sign on the door.  It said they closed at 3pm for a private event.  What?!

I double checked online.  It definitely said that St. John Bread & Wine was open, and the other location was closed.  But there were no diners inside.  Tables were set identically, clearly laid out for a multiple course meal.  The staff were all having a pre-service meeting in the bar area, where I planed to dine.  It was not open.

Still ... someone saw me out front, and so I asked if they really were closed.  I was told, as expected, that yes, they were closed.

I was devastated.  It was my final night, I really wanted this, and, it was starting to get late, and I still needed to get back to the hotel and pack.  Devastated.  I explained what I had seen online, and they were confused, but welcomed me inside while they investigated.  Yup, the site was backwards.  The host quickly called a manager somewhere to fix it.  And then he called over to the open location, and confirmed that they were open.  And that they were fully booked, but, had plenty of space in the bar.  I didn't ask him to do any of this!

So, he gave me directions to the other restaurant, told me who to ask for when I got there if there was any problem getting me a seat, and assured me that even if the items I wanted weren't on the bar menu, that they'd be able to get them for me.  It was really quite generous of him to go out of his way to do all this, and he clearly realized that I had trekked all the way there for these two dishes.

St. John Bar & Restaurant.

So I made the trek. 

Back to the tube where I had come from.  Back several stops.  Back out on the street.  And finally, arriving at a location that looked pretty similar to the previous one, same St. John sign out front.

Entry Bar.

The entry was really strange though, a long wide hallway, with bar seating.  It was vacant, but later did fill up with a few people.  It was not heated, and not where I'd want to spend any time.  I wonder if smoking was allowed out there?

Bar.

I made my way inside to the bar area.

It was a small bar, with a couple seats possible, and handful of small wooden tables around the room.  Very, very simple decor.  Whitewashed walls.  No artwork.  The white walls matched the white aprons of the servers, in a fairly stark way.

All food and drinks for this area are ordered from the bartender.  Food comes from the main kitchen,  brought out by kitchen staff when ready.  Beyond that though, you are on your own.  No actual table service.

And I loved it.  Everyone was just minding their own business.  One neighboring tables was a couple who had just stopped by for a drink and snack on their way home, clearly regulars.  Another table was a big group of friends, catching up over wine and eating basically everything on the menu.  Everyone was relaxed, happy, and really just there to enjoy the food.  My kind of place.

People were dressed casually, they had bags with them, and no one cared.  It is the kind of place I want in my neighborhood.  Like the regulars I saw, I'd gladly stop by often.

The main restaurant is an entirely separate room, noise isolated from the bar entirely.  I didn't get a glimpse into that room, but I can't imagine it was that fancy, although, it does have regular table service.

Bakery.

On the side inside the bar area is also a small bakery window, where you can purchase bread loaves to go, and also retail wine.  I only saw one customer get bread while I was there, but I imagine that is more of a daytime draw.

The food menu is written on a chalkboard here, and you order from the bartender directly.

Food & Drink

"At St. John our menu changes daily except for two items which always remain – the Bone Marrow & Parsley Salad and of course our Welsh Rarebit. 2014 marked not only our 20th birthday, but also the point at which we reached a quarter of a million rarebits sold."

The menu at each location is different, and changes daily, and often between meals.

The St. John Smithfield Bar & Restaurant is open daily, serving lunch every day but Saturday, and dinner nightly.  The bar area is in continuous operation throughout the day.  Other locations are also open for breakfast.

The menu is, well, offal based.  And yet, what I sought out was vegetarian.  The St. John menu is always changing, yet there are two savory dishes that always remain: welsh rarebit and bone marrow.  It is the former that I was on a mission to have.  Why?  Well, partially because I don't think I've ever really had it before.  Also, um, they've sold a quarter million of these things?!  They must be doing *something* right with the dish.

That all said, I wished I was able to dine with a group, and share more items.  The entire menu is designed to be casual style, sharing.  The table next to me was a group of 4, who ordered many, many dishes, so I at least got to peek at theirs, and see what I was missing.  I really want to go back.

The restaurant has a slightly different menu from the bar, but there is lots of overlap. 

Wine.

I started by ordering a glass of wine, asking for a recommendation for something that would pair well with the Welsh rarebit.  I assume this is a common question, but the bartender acted thoughtful, suggested one (I missed the name), and poured me a taste before I had a second to even ask for further info.

It was light yet bold enough to stand up to what I expected to be strong flavors in the cheese topping, and slightly jammy, which I thought would pair well with the dessert I planned to order as well.  I quickly agreed to a glass of it.

I was given a very generous pour, and enjoyed it, as expected, with both dishes.

Welsh Rarebit. £6.

I had to get the welsh rarebit.  There really was no choice, right?  I'm not sure I've ever actually *had* welsh rarebit before, and by all counts this is supposed to be the best in the world.

Welsh rarebit is a simple dish: a slice of bread toasted, topped with rarebit mix, then placed under a grill for just a minute, until golden brown.  How good could that be?  I was about to find out.  This rarebit is such a thing in the UK, that you can even buy the St. John rarebit mixture at the supermarket.

It arrived quickly, and was placed down ceremoniously in front of me.  It was huge!  I was expecting a standard size slice of bread, but this was a lofty monster.  I'm curious what the loaf they cut it from looks like?

The top looked beautiful: shiny, perfectly toasted, glistening.  The cheese mixture oozed down the sides slightly.

Oh, man.

I was nervous to dig in.  This was a first for me, and I had no one around to teach me!

Welsh Rarebit: Scored and Sauced!

"At St. JOHN we always suggest that our diners eat the Rarebit with Worcestershire Sauce. Score the surface of the toasted rarebit to make criss-cross irrigation channels, then liberally drip with sauce".

As soon as I ordered it, I was brought a bottle of Worcestershire sauce.  I would not have known what to do with this, if I hadn't done way too much research.  I knew what to do: score it, and sauce it.

I tried one bite plain first to taste the mix, and then, did as instructed.

So, what is in the mix?  Its aged cheddar, beer (in this case, I think Guinness), mustard (they use English mustard powder), a bit of flour, and uh, butter.  Oh and a "very long splash" of Worcestershire sauce.

The topping wasn't quite what I expected.  I think I thought it would be more like grilled cheese, or a croque monsieur, ooey-ooey cheese.  But instead, it was a thick paste, with deep cheese flavor from the cheddar, but, not gooey cheese at all.  So cheese, but not cheesy.  If that makes any sense.

The cheese topping had a bit of spice from the mustard, and depth from the beer.  That said, it was a bit bland.  Until ... you add Worcestershire sauce.  I thought I put on a reasonable amount, kinda splashing it all over (and yup, it does pool up nicely in the cracks as suggested!), but I found it even better once I added more and more.  It really boosted up the other flavors.

Very savory, intense in its own way, very comforting.  Warm comfort food for sure.  I particularly liked the bits where it dripped down the side.

Now, for the other component, as it wasn't *just* rarebit mix all alone after all: the toast!

The toast was good, perfectly toasted, thick sliced, white bread of some sort.  I really liked the crusty edges.  They make the bread in-house, along with actually a full bakery, where you can purchase all sorts of breads, so I expected no less.  Very good quality bread, but, the slice was really large for me to want *that* much bread myself.  That much cheese?  Hah, no problem, so I just scraped off the remainder of the rarebit mix when I grew sick of the bread.

I enjoyed the experience of eating it.  I'm really glad I got to try it.  And it did go nicely with the wine the bartender selected.  That said, I'm not sure I'd really seek out rarebit again though ... I'm just not a bread/toast eater, but, I claim this is really the origin of "artisan toast"!

I'd love to have the rarebit mixture incorporated into other dishes though ... like as a spread on a burger, or perhaps served like a fondue with some fruit?  I'm sure the masses are already doing these things anyway.

Eccles Cake and Lancashire Cheese. £8.50.

"Our eccles cakes do use butter!  Three little slits on top, traditionally, representing The Holy Trinity. there are two sizes, regular and mini. Full of lovely spices and fruit mix, nothing from a jar here, a great restorative and lovely with Lancashire cheese which is how we serve it at St JOHN. "

And then it was time for dessert.  The other iconic dish I was there for. 

Another new item for me: Eccles cake.  While I had heard of Welsh Rarebit before, I don't think I had even heard of this one.  And I don't know why.  The rest of the world is missing out on Eccles cake.

What is Eccles cake?  Well, to start, not a cake.  Just like, uh, "pudding" isn't what I think of as pudding in England.  Not a cake.  At all.  Which is good, because, I don't like cake very much.

Eccles cake is more like a pie than a cake, as it is a pastry, stuffed with seasoned currents, named after the town of Eccles.  It was not invented by St. John, but their version is pretty famous.  It is nearly always on the menu, available at most locations after 11am.  You can find the recipe in Nose to Tail Eating, by Fergus Henderson.

I had read up on it, so I knew basically what to expect, but still wasn't quite sure about it.  It sounded like mincemeat basically, just, inside a pastry rather than on a pie crust.  That didn't seem particularly good, and perhaps there is a reason we don't have it in the US?  I almost went for the bread pudding with butterscotch sauce and ice cream instead.  But I stuck with my plan, and ordered it.

Like many dishes at St. John, this is pretty rustic.  Served cold, just on a plate, no garnish.  The top had the three slashes, with a bit of filling spilling out.  It looked hard and crispy. 

I took a bite, and my fear that I made the wrong dessert choice subsided.  

I was blown away by the pastry.  It was incredibly buttery, incredibly flaky, incredibly crispy.  It was fantastic.  I loved how crisp it was, but also, how layered it was.  This was killer pastry, such rich flavor.  The top was brushed with egg wash and sugar, which added a bit of a caramelized top too.  Incredible.

At St. John, the Eccles cake comes served with a wedge of Lancashire cheese, which seemed totally reasonable to me, as I grew up eating apple pie with a slice of cheese on the side.  Fruity spiced pie and cheese, not strange.

The cheese was fine, a decently matured cheese, flaky, and it did go with the sweet pie nicely, it helped cut the sweetness.  That said, I didn't love it, and really might have just been a bit sick of cheese from the rarebit.

But back to the main attraction, the "cake".  Much like the Welsh rarebit, I had a moment of not quite knowing what to do with it.

Eccles Cake: Inside.

I cut it in half.  I was surprised by what I found, again, even though I had read all about it before.  So much filling!  Much more filling than pastry.

The filling is spiced, sweetened currants, blended with brown sugar and butter, and seasoned with allspice and nutmeg.  It sounds pretty simple, really.  But it wasn't really what I expected ...

It sounds kinda like non-boozy mincemeat right?  But it wasn't anything like mincemeat, partially because it was *just* currant, no other dried fruit, no nuts, just currants, and because it had only minimal spicing.

The filling was sweet and jammy, yet a hint savory.   But very sweet.  I know that doesn't make sense.  I loved the slightly chewy nature to it.  But wow, it was sweet.  I love my sweets, but this was a lot.  And there was a lot of it.

I found myself loving this, but also being overwhelmed by sweetness.  I understand that the cheese should help with that, but, I really wasn't wanting more cheese.  My wine was a good pairing, and it did help too, but still, I found myself wanting something like a scoop of ice cream (oooh, and it served warm?) or some whipped cream.

This might sound funny, as this was crazy sweet, but I actually think it wasn't an ideal dessert.  It was far too sweet to be a breakfast pastry though, so, I think the ideal would be afternoon tea?  I saved a chunk and enjoyed it alongside a cup of tea the next afternoon on my flight home, and, even a day old, it was fantastic.

I'd certainly get one again, although I would prefer to just get one at the bakery to go, for only £3, without the cheese.  And I'd try warming it, and serving with ice cream ...

This made me question why mincemeat pies exist though, as Eccles Cake is clearly so superior.

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United Club, London Heathrow Airport

Normally when i travel, I fly with OneWorld airlines, as long ago, my friend Emil gifted me Gold Status.  I got to enjoy the finer things in life, like the British Airways lounges when traveling through Heathrow - including both the First Class lounge (see prior reviews) and even Concorde Room (which I've reviewed for both breakfast and lunch).  But I lost that status, as I don’t fly nearly enough to maintain it. I still generally fly with One World, although now, I’ve been relegated to the Business class lounge (reviews).

But on my recent business trip through London, flying One World was far too pricey, so I flew with Virgin Atlantic from SFO to LHR (where I got to enjoy the pretty excellent Clubhouse at SFO and a decent flight).  My final destination however was Lisbon, and to get there, I flew with TAP, a Portuguese airline that I didn’t know existed until booking this trip.

I was flying economy on TAP, and had no status, so, I knew I’d have no lounge access for my 4 hour layover, a prospect I wasn’t exactly looking forward to.  Somewhere along the way, I remembered that I had 2 United Club lounge passes as part of my hotel status, so, I brought them along and cashed them in for my traveling companion and I.

And thus, we found ourselves in the United Club for a few hours.  My research showed that most folks feel it is one of the best United Club lounges out there.  Given its level of mediocracy, perhaps I’m glad that I don’t normally fly with United.  It was certainly better than being in the main terminal, and you could tell that they tried to do a few nice things, but, overall, not anything rave worthy.

The Setting

Assorted Seating.

The lounge is medium-sized, certainly nowhere near as large as the British Airways business lounge, but also, not nearly as busy.  Assorted types of seating were available, including round dining tables, smaller square dining tables, 1 token couch, and a few arm chairs.

High Tables.

There were also high tables.

Power outlets were plentiful, and we really appreciated that they had US power jacks, as my companion and I both forgot adaptors.

Bar Area.

The final area housed the bar, with more seating along the bar.

The bathrooms were kinda ridiculously nice, individual little rooms, very large, with an attendant standing by to fold the toilet paper back into a triangle after every use.  This seemed like a waste of both space and staffing.  Interestingly, they had only hand soap, no lotion, which my very dry airplane hands really wanted.

They did have showers, but I didn’t check them out.

The Drinks

Juices.

One side of the space was a drink station, with fairly standard self-serve soft drinks.  More interesting was the juices in dispensers, and a station with cordials you could add to make flavored water.

Sparkling water was available in large bottles.  I took a whole bottle back to my seat and my companion looked surprised, but, uh, I easily drank the whole thing.  I appreciated not needing to get up to get more.

Still water was available on tap.

Tea / Hot Water.

There was also a Twining tea selection with hot water, standard black tea, green tea, mint tea, and a fruity one. No rooibos.

Coffee Station.

A automatic coffee machine made decent enough decaf.

Coffee Condiments.

This station confused me.  

It contained syrups to add to coffee (vanilla, hazelnut, cinnamon, and chocolate cookie), but also little jars of cookie crumbs (ginger nut biscuits, amaretti, and double chocolate cookies).  I was excited to make some sort of decadent dessert-y coffee, and added  the chocolate cookie syrup and some cookie crumbs. 

And then I realized how little sense this made.  Soggy cookie crumbs in coffee?  I really don’t get it.  What were they for?  I could see adding cookie crumbs on top if there was whipped cream or something, but there wasn't.

Negroni.

Alcoholic selections came from the bar, where they were made/poured to order.  A few wines, beer, and basic spirits.  I asked if they had a cocktail menu, as some lounges do have fun cocktail menus, and the bartender kinda looked at me like I was asking a crazy question, and said he could make a classic cocktail.

So I asked for a negroni, and his attitude all changed.  I think he thought I was asking for something fruity and ridiculous?

Anyway, the negroni was fine, and nice to sip on slowly alongside my food.

The Food

Food all comes from a poorly stocked, not labelled, and totally non-hygienic buffet on the other side of the room.

Cold Cuts, Cheese, Sandwiches.

First up was a cold well with sandwiches, cold cuts, and cheeses.  They very helpfully labelled only the meat platter: “Continental sliced meat platter”.  I had no idea what any of the sandwiches were.

Salads.

Next was another cold well, with salads.  Again, only one item was labelled, the coleslaw.

The back row had fruit salad (I avoided due to melon), potato salad (cubes of potato, way over dressed), and the slaw (also ridiculously overdressed).  I love mayo based things, but both the slow and potato salad were just so over the top that I couldn’t enjoy them.  They also had no seasoning.

In front was a mixed bean salad, cous cous, and a cold pasta salad with corkscrew pasta and tomato sauce.  I tried the pasta, it was too tangy.

Random Stuffs.

Next was a very interesting section.  Keeping in theme, only one item was labelled … the butter. Thanks, United.

The back row had chips, dressings and other condiments, and sunflower seeds.  There was no serving tongs for the chips, or even a spoon for the seeds.  Gross. (There are tongs in this photo, they were not there when I actually went to get them).

Once I didn’t find anything else in the lounge I wanted to eat, I went back to try the chips, and hoped that somehow others hadn’t touched them all.  The chips were really strange, not chips exactly, more like fried tortillas, but not like tortilla chips as we know them.  They were crispy yet soggy if that makes any sense.  Chewy.  Oily.  They weren’t good, but, honestly, everything else was so bad that I asked my companion to get me more, and he brought me a big platter, which I somehow finished, dunking in all sorts of things.

The dressings and condiments were in bottles, and, you guessed it, not labelled.  I was thrilled to find sweet chili sauce though, which I used for my chips (and wedges), and my companion used for his chicken.  There was also an herby oil that wasn’t bad.

The front row was breadsticks, butter, and crackers.

Taco Toppings, Condiments.

Next was another condiment station.  It had tomato sauce and brown sauce, tabasco, salt and pepper, salsa, shredded cheese, pickled jalapeños, diced red onion, brown wilted lettuce, and what I think was sour cream.  The sour cream like substance was chunky and super strange, but we still tried it with the sweet chili sauce and wedges, pretending to be in Australia.

There were also … croutons?  Note that there was not any salad ingredients, besides the wilted lettuce which was intended for tacos, and the croutons and dressing. It made no sense.

Hot Foods: Taco Bar.

Finally, the hot foods.  Yes, as you may have guessed, it was … a taco bar.  Taco shells and tortillas, and two types of chili to fill them with, along with the condiments from the toppings bar.  At least those items made sense once I saw this section.

The other hot foods bar, which I somehow didn’t get a photo of, had rice, steamed veggies, potato wedges, and crispy chicken.  While I was there, another guest wanted some wedges, and noted that there was nothing to serve them with.  The staff member just grabbed tongs from the chicken, and said to use those instead.  Awesome cross contamination!  But, that certainly explains how the tongs wound up in the chips later on too.

Bread.

There was a very picked over selection of rolls, I guess to go along with the meat and cheese?

Desserts.

The dessert selection made me quite sad: cookies, brownies, some kind of bar, and muffins that were likely left over from breakfast.  As you know, I don’t really like cookies and brownies, and barely consider them desserts.  Couldn’t they have thrown in a least a token cake or pie?

Anyway, of course I had to try things.

I skipped the cookies and brownies entirely, as they just didn’t look good at all.  Ok, not that the other things looked good, but, my sweet tooth needed *something*.

I started with a muffin.  The muffins were all what looked like banana nut (boo), except for one hiding in the back that looked like a crumb topped blueberry muffin.  I quickly snagged that.

It was awful.  Yes, a little crumb on top, and yes some tiny little blueberry bits inside, but it was dry and the flavor was horrible.  The berries didn’t even add moisture, they were dry and hard too.  I gave it to my companion, Mr. Blueberry Muffin, and he took a single bite and threw it out.  Not a winner.

The random bar thing however wasn’t bad.  I have no idea what it was though.  It was … sweet.  It looked like a plain granola bar or something, but it certainly wasn’t.  It was soft, it was sweet, it was buttery, but it wasn’t a blondie.  I think likely a flapjack, now that I am familiar with those.  Anyway, it wasn’t earth shattering or anything, but, it was tasty enough.

Bar Snack: Wasabi Peas.

At some point, I saw others at the bar with little bowls of wasabi peas and pretzels.  Yes!  Snack foods!  Finally!

So I marched up to the bar to ask for some wasabi peas.  I have no idea how you were supposed to know they existed, I'm guessing they normally just give them as bar snacks for those who choose to dine at the bar.  Given the lack of any self-serve snack mixes, or bags of chips, or anything, this was most welcome, although the wasabi peas weren't actually very good.

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