Jake's Coffee Company, Lebanon, NH

Jake's is a well known brand around my hometown these days.  It didn't exist when I was younger, started only in 1997, but at some point, it really took over, with a chain of convenience stores, gas stations, and delis throughout New England, most branded as Jake's Market & Deli.  I've watched them expand dramatically over the years, now with more than 10 locations, some with huge deli and food offerings, others that really are mini grocery stores.  It is an impressive brand, really.  They also have one coffee shop, Jake's Coffee Company, located in my hometown.

The Jake's Market & Deli locations and Jake's Coffee Company seem ... loosely associated.  The Coffee Company and one location of the Market & Deli are located on the same street, not far apart, yet carry different brand coffee, for example.  They carry a different brand of donuts.  Same with most of the baked goods.  I'm not sure what they share really, besides the name.

Years ago, my mom picked up a scone for me from the Coffee Company.  I loved it.  I did my due diligence, and found out that it came from Klinger's Bakery.  Since then, I've asked for more when she was out running errands, and she'd stop by the Market & Deli, NOT the Coffee Company, and come home with a scone.  Except ... they weren't the same, and I tried to tell her this, but she did it time and again.  Like I said, loosely related brands, in a way that doesn't make sense.  Anyway, finally, one time she did go to the Coffee Company, and got me another amazing scone from Klinger's.  Faith restored.  Glorious scones.  I remember how great these were, so, on a recent trip home, I finally took matters into my own hands, and sought one out myself.

Setting

Jake's Coffee Company is located along a busy road, and smartly features a drive through.  The drive through was extremely busy, and clearly occupied much of the staff's attention.  I went inside.

Service was slow.  It took forever to order, and even longer to receive my drink.  It was busy, and there were only two staff members, but they didn't seem particularly efficient, or like they cared.

Counter.

Jake's has a pretty standard coffee shop setup, a counter to order at, menu board on the wall, baristas behind the counter, orders brought up at the end of the counter when ready.

Seating.

The seating area isn't very large, most patrons inside were either in line waiting to order, or just standing to the side waiting for their orders.

There was a high bar area with stools, and small tables for 2, but the surfaces were all hard, and, the space just didn't feel welcoming in a way that I can't quite pinpoint.  No one seemed to stick around.

Food

The food lineup at Jake's is breakfast served all day, along with salads, sandwiches, and paninis for lunch, plus house made baked goods.  Everything is made to order, besides the pastries. The breakfast fare isn't too exciting, just bagels, oatmeal, and a few breakfast sandwiches.  Salads are standard house or caesar or chef salad, sandwiches are basic deli meats served as wraps or on white or wheat bread only, and paninis come on ciabatta.  Nothing very inspired, no signs proclaiming any local fresh produce, no seasonal specials.  The food lineup has never interested me, besides those baked goods of course.

Baked Goods.

Back in the day, Jake's carried baked goods from Klinger's Bread, in South Burlington, VT.  I really loved their scones, and I was excited to have another.  However, when I visited it was clear at first glance that these weren't the scones I remembered.

Now they make their own.  Doh.  I know I should be happy that they are house made, but, I loved the Klinger's ones!  I believe the scones, danishes, coffee cake, muffins, and cookies are all house made.  Only the donuts are produced elsewhere (Lou's).  I know normally making things in house is a good thing, but, I wanted Klingers!

I was pretty sad, as nothing looked particularly good.  The croissants had no loft, the scones all looked overcooked, and the coffee cake looked dry.  The baked goods were not labelled, not with prices nor flavor.

Still, I got one.  You know I can't resist baked goods.

Blueberry Scone.

Since nothing was labelled, I had to ask what kind of scones they had.  I thought there was just one kind, as all looked the same, but it turned out that there were three, they all just looked very similar.  I think they were blueberry, raspberry, and apple cinnamon, all drizzled with white chocolate.

I opted for blueberry.

The blueberry content was minimal.  As you can see, just one berry visible here, and there were very few actually inside the scone.  They provided an occasional burst of flavor, but, very little.

The scone itself was not a crumbly style, instead, more cakey (although not soft and moist), much like the Panera scones that I do actually like.  The base didn't have much flavor to it, no buttermilk, no tang, but it was sweet.  It was over baked, but not burnt, and not too dry.

The drizzle of white chocolate on top was a nice sweet touch.

Overall, this was just ... ok.  It wasn't bad, and it wasn't as dry as it looked, but, it certainly wasn't worth returning for.  I wish they still had Klinger's!

***.

Blueberry, Raspberry, Apple Cinnamon.

I know I told my mother that the scones from Jake's Coffee Company were no longer from Klingers, I know I shared my disappointment, but, uh, as you can imagine, I tell her a LOT about food all the time, and I think she didn't really retain the info.  She just remembered how much I always wanted the scones from Jake's, so one time when I was in town, she "went rogue" (her term) and came home with a pile of scones as a surprise.  She got every kind, not knowing which I'd prefer.

They were indeed the same in-house made ones I had when I visited before.  Again pretty dry, over baked, burnt along the edges, hard.

The blueberry at least had berries inside, the others use flavor chips rather than real fruit.

Meh.  **+.

Drinks

Jake's Coffee Company is after all a "Coffee Company", so, the drinks are where they should shine.  I decided to try the coffee as well.

Hot drinks come in 3 sizes (12, 16, 20 ounces), and iced drinks in only 2 (16 or 24 ounces).  No surprises on this menu either, lattes, cappuccinos, mocha, chai, hot cocoa, tea from Two Leaves and A Bud.  The only notable element to me was the extensive list of Torani syrups, which you could add for $0.75, and included far more than your standard vanilla, hazelnut, and caramel.  They had fruity (raspberry, blackberry, strawberry) options, seasonal varieties (pumpkin, amaretto, peppermint), tropical (coconut, ginger), and more.  I question how fast they cycle through these and how fresh they are though, particularly, uh, things like seasonal pumpkin spice?

Anyway.

[ No Photo ]

Decaf Iced Americano.

It was a hot day, but mid-day, so I wanted an iced, decaf beverage.  I asked if they had decaf iced coffee, and was offered a hot coffee poured over ice.  I replied and said that would be rather watered down, and the guy just shrugged.  So I asked, "could you do an iced decaf americano instead?", and he agreed.  Well, ok then, shouldn't that have been what he suggested?  This did not instill me with much confidence.

My iced americano, once it arrived nearly 15 minutes later, was actually fine.  Strong enough, no funk to it, plentiful ice.  

***.

Cold Brew.

On another visit, I opted for the regular cold brew.

It was quite good, dark, deep flavor.  Not acidic.  I'd get this again gladly.

****.

Decaf Americano.

Another visit, back to decaf, a warm americano this time.

It actually was VERY good, and left me with a bit of a zing, which makes me question if it really was decaf.  But I quite enjoyed it.

****.

The Gallery Restaurant, W Hotel Boston - Dinner

Whenever I go to visit my family in New Hampshire, I try to spend a few days in Boston first to acclimate.  And whenever I do that, I stay at the W hotel, a perfect location for me to walk to the office (a rather long walk, but a beautiful one through Boston Common, the cobblestone streets of Beacon Hill, and across the Charles), and also a great location to the Back Bay in my leisure time.

The W Hotel has a single restaurant, The Gallery, along with a bar/lounge area (that is *quite* the scene, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights.  They have a DJ on weekends, live music other nights, they really have made it a destination, not just for hotel guests).  Anyway, back to the restaurant. I've visited the Gallery before for breakfast, which is really quite good, the bread pudding french toast in particular I HIGHLY recommend.  I've also visited to check out one of their seasonal themed concepts - the Veuve Clicquot Ski Chalet, which was shockingly fun, silly as it was, and we enjoyed, in addition to the Veuve obviously, a lovely cast iron skillet baked bread pudding.

This year, I decided to finally check out The Gallery for dinner options, as I wasn't doing work related dinners out, and I just wanted something simple to enjoy in my room (I opted for takeout, but dine-in, or room service, were both also options).  I was tempted by several offerings on this year's seasonal themed concept (a beer garden, complete with all the appropriate fried goodies like beer battered cheese curd, fried calamari, duck fat fries, etc), along with jumbo pretzels with beer cheese, brats, and the like), but I decided to stick with the regular menu, and opted for starters (or, "Bites" from the Lounge menu), along with something sweet to finish the meal.

Maple Bourbon Brussels Sprouts. $12.

"Black pepper, bourbon."

I love brussels sprouts.  Yup, I do.  I like them raw and shaved in salads.  I like them roasted.  I like them roasted and then grilled (my fav way these days, I roast up a big batch, then throw them into my panini press with onions and roast butternut squash while I prep a salad and dump the grilled veggies on top - perfect fall salad!).  Of course I like them super crispy and basically fried.  Ok, I don't love them mushy and boiled, but, brussels sprouts and I are regular friends.

And yup, I certainly like bourbon.  So when I saw maple bourbon brussels sprouts on the menu, I had to order.  

As I expected, the sprouts were halved and basically fried, with some crispy leaves broken off.  They had great color on them.  I didn't taste bourbon, but I certainly tasted maple - the trended a touch too sweet for me, but I suspect that for those who are slightly averse to bitter veggies, this would make them more appealing.

Overall, this dish let me down a bit because it was rather greasy (ok, really greasy) and sweeter than I wanted, but the sprouts were cooked well, not too mushy, not underdone.  It also just didn't feel complete, like a complimentary dipping sauce was needed, perhaps just because I found them so sweet, but I wanted a creamy or cooling sauce alongside.  I've had much better similar dishes elsewhere.

This dish is featured on the Lounge and in-room dining menus only, not the main restaurant.  The portion was large, definitely not something I wanted to finish alone in one sitting, but I polished it off over a few days, throwing leftovers into salads.

***.

Fried Buffalo Cauliflower. $14.

"Housemade ranch aioli."

Next up: fried buffalo cauliflower.  NOW we were really talking my language.  I love buffalo anything, and buffalo cauliflower is often a favorite of mine.  Also something you never quite know what to expect - will it be battered?  Will it be panko or tempura coated?  Will it be tossed in sauce, or have it to dunk?  Will there be blue cheese involved?

This was a slightly different twist from other versions I've had, very large pieces of cauliflower, actually tempura battered (I suspect the same beer battering they use for the fried cheese curds on the Beer Garden menu?).  and not tossed in buffalo sauce.  That said, I did ask to have the ranch on the side, so maybe they put the buffalo sauce on the side too?  Does it normally come just drizzled with both sauces?  Or are they normally dipping sauces?  Or is it normally tossed in buffalo?  Who knows.

Anyway.  This was a mixed bag for me.  The tempura batter was decent, it didn't break off, and coated the pieces well, but it was very oily, the pieces didn't really seem like they had been drained.  The batter didn't have a remarkable flavor, but it was fine.  Inside was the cauliflower, which, even though huge hunks, somehow did actually come out perfectly cooked, hot and soft and steamy inside.  The ratio of coating to insides was pretty different from other versions I've had, which I think I liked, as I knew I was eating a vegetable under it all.

The buffalo sauce literally seemed to be just Frank's.  I actually appreciated it on the side, even though I didn't intend that, as it meant it didn't make the fried bits soggy.  And the "housemade ranch aioli"?  Uh ... indistinguishable from generic ranch.  And since I don't generally care for ranch ... I was *very* glad to have it on the side, and very glad I had alternate ranch (from Sweetgreen, who makes a version I do like!), on standby.

Strangely, this item is not on the Lounge menu, not on the Beer Garden menu, and not on the Gallery Restaurant menu ... only found on the in-room dining menu.  I suspect that is a mistake somewhere, but I was able to order it for takeout with no problem.  They do have beer battered fried cheese curds on the Beer Garden menu.

I was glad to try this spin on buffalo cauliflower, but I wouldn't get it again.  ***.

Side of shrimp $9. Sriracha Aioli.

The Lounge, Gallery Restaurant, and in-room dining menus all have salads available, to which you can add chicken, shrimp, steak, or salmon.  I didn't want a salad, but I did want some protein, so I asked for just a side of shrimp.  And some aioli to dunk it in.  I was offered the sriracha aioli that normally comes with the beer battered cheese curds, which I said yes to, although the lemon aioli that goes with the fried calamari was likely a better match.  I didn't want to be even more complicated than I already was, ordering quasi-off menu. 

I had no idea what the portion size would be, nor the prep style, but the 5 shrimp seemed quite reasonable.  They seemed to be ... seared?  Grilled?  I'm not sure exactly.  They were well seasoned, but, like everything, actually fairly oily.  I know the brussels sprouts and obviously fried cauliflower make sense to be oily, but I didn't anticipate the oil here.  But the seasoning was on point, they were properly cleaned, and well cooked, not hammered, nice snap to them.  Better execution that often happens with shrimp, really.
 
The aioli is normally served with the beer battered cheese curds and was ... fine.  Not particularly spicy, but, I still appreciated having a creamy component.  I laughed a bit at the portion of 2 containers for the 5 shrimp though, but it wasn't a problem, I used it as a dip for crudite later.

***, good seasoning and execution, but eh to the oily factor.

Children's Berries & Whipped Cream. $9.

Jet lag, overindulgence, and strange cravings lead me to this.  From the kid's dinner dessert menu, only on the room service menu: berries & whipped cream.  The breakfast menu has several fruit dishes (yogurt and berries, granola with fruit, fruit plate), but the dinner menu is void of all fruit for adults. But kids?  Kids can order 3 desserts: chocolate chip cookies (also not available for adults!), ice cream with chocolate sauce (again, not for adults!), or, berries & whipped cream.  I was seriously craving fruit, and you know I adore whipped cream and add it to everything, so, I was thrilled to see this option.  You know, for the "kids".

So, I, the adult, ordered from in-room dining, but asked to just get it as takeout from the restaurant (sooo much faster, no 22.5% service fee, etc).

I was pleased with the offering - a full takeout bowl with strawberries sliced in half, blackberries, and blueberries.  None was particularly awesome, it was December after all, but were quite fresh, it was totally what I wanted, and I finished it with breakfast the next day and was quite pleased with myself for having such foresight.

And the whipped cream?  Not from a can, and I was beyond thrilled that it came in a large portion, a deli style plastic container, absolutely full of whipped cream.  It was actually a ridiculous amount if you were really feeding these berries and whipped cream to kid, but for me?  Perfect.  I used it with my little fruit snack, I dunked a cookie in it later, and yes, I had some with my breakfast.  It was thick, creamy, and made me very happy.

Overall, nothing particularly remarkable about this dessert exactly, but I was really glad to have it at the time, and for $9, it actually seemed quite reasonable, particularly compared to all other hotel dining options, given that berries are pricey in winter, and, it really was a lot of fresh whipped cream.

*** really, but **** given the time and place.

Alexander's Patisserie

Update Review, April 2018 Visit

Setting

I finally got to visit Alexander's Patisserie in Mountain View while open!

I had been in the space for their pre-opening party, but I haven't returned since (not because I didn't want to, just because I'm never in Mountain View).  I was finally able to return in April 2018 (yes, this review is dated, and somehow I never published it before).

Exterior.

The shop bears the familiar Alexander's ALL CAPS print, with big windows to easily spy in to see all the goodies.

Interior.

The furnishings are grand, as you would expect from the Alexander's restaurant group.  This is not a simple little corner bakery.

Dark wooden floors, mirrors, chandeliers  ... yup.  Very clean, very classy.

The majority of the seats are tables for two, one diner in a chair, the other on the white leather upholstered bench running along the wall.

Tables.

The biggest tables are round white marble beauties, with white leather chairs, wooden legs.  Real plants, in very fascinating holders, were placed on each table.

Our group of 5 was lucky to get one of these, and as the evening drew on, the place quickly filled up, with no seating even for singles.  I imagine earlier in the day has times just as busy too.  So, be warned.

Counter Seating.

Smaller parties can opt instead to pull up an equally nice high chair to the bar, overlooking Castro Street, where they can enjoy some people watching ... or just make passers-by enviouss of their goodies.

Box.

Items packaged to go come in black boxes emblazoned with a gold logo, put into beautiful bags with fabric handles.  My bag was pastel, I think from Easter, which was just the week before.

The Goodies

Our Loot!

During this single visit, I managed to try ...

• 2 pastries
• 2 tarts
• 2 mousse cakes
• 1 pudding
• 1 cake
• 3 take home confections

Everything was gorgeous.  Most of it was tasty, some of it fantastic.  And none of it simple, of course.

Dessert for Four People.  Oops.

We ... wanted to try everything.  This was only *some* of the bounty we tried.  Yes, there were only 5 of us, and actually, only 4 who were eating dessert.  So, yes we ordered 7 full sized desserts.

To be fair, I didn't realize only 4 of us would be eating desserts (even though the 5th told me, I didn't really think she'd opt out entirely!), and, another diner went rouge and added on two extra desserts after I placed the group order.  So, my plan was a more reasonable 5 items for 5 people, which is still a bit extravagant at a place like this, but, not quite as insane.

We also threw on some drinks (espresso drinks, tea, hot chocolate) as well, and settled in to enjoy.

I cut everything into 6 pieces, thinking all 5 of us would have a piece, and whoever liked an item the best could have the extra piece.  Since we had only 4 people eating though, and some people didn't try everything (!!??  who are these people!!), that didn't quite work out.

We did a decent job though, and finished all but three of the pictured items, two which we just didn't really like, and one which I took home and ate the next day.

Breakfast Pastries / Baked Goods

Our visit was in the evening, post 7pm, so breakfast pastries weren't really what we should have been picking for freshness, but, I wanted to sample everything Alexander's Pastisserie had to offer.  Plus, one diner, who had been in the morning many times, said the pastries and baked goods were amazing.

Danishes, Muffins.

Since it was long past morning hours, the selection was a bit limited.  This case had two types of danish, 2 types of muffin, and a single flavor of kouign amann.  Normally it is filled with more varieties of all of the above.

However, I wanted to try a pastry item, so selected one from here.  And ... so did my fellow rouge diner.

Croissants.

The second morning pastries case was just as empty, only containing plain croissants, pan au chocolate, and a single matcha croissant, and a sole monkey bread.

Normally this area houses the chocolate almond banana croissants folks rave about, and almond croissants.

I was tempted by the monkey bread, but wanted to pick between monkey bread and bread pudding, and, bread pudding won out.

Chocolate Dulce de Leche Kouign Amann. $5.50.

My first pick: the mighty kouign amann.  The best of all the morning pastries.  I had to get this, even though it wasn't really kouign amann appropriate time, and even though the one flavor they had left was pretty much the last I'd pick, particularly in the evening, since I don't eat chocolate (or caffeine) in the evening.  But I'd make an exception.

I was a bit concerned by how dark it looked (burnt?!), but then I realized that was just the chocolate nature, it actually used a chocolate dough, and chocolate bits between the folds, for the chocolate component.  And in the middle, the dulce de leche, just on top.

Chocolate Dulce de Leche Kouign Amann: Inside.

This one I only cut into 4 pieces, once I realized the 5th person really wasn't interested in anything, and once one other person said he wasn't having any chocolate.  Plus, it was certainly the hardest of the items to cut without destroying it!

At a glance, it looked like a pretty great kouign amann.  Soooo many layers.  Flaky.  But ... I didn't like it.

It was lacking the signature caramelization on the exterior I expected from a kouign amann.  It was crispy, yes, but not necessarily in a good way.  And while it was dark, and clearly had chocolate in the batter, you couldn't really taste that.  The little bits between the layers was more prevalent, but still, this was far less chocolate forward than I expected (which was fine, actually, since I didn't want chocolate at night, but still ...).

The dulce de leche was fine, but just sweet thick caramel-like fairly standard dulce de leche in the middle, not integrated in.  Which is also fine, and how flavored kouign amann are usually done, but, just not very interesting.

Overall, it just missed the mark for me.  Kinda boring.  Not caramelized.  Maybe better earlier in the day?

Luckily, it was one of only two misses, my second to last favorite.  No one else cared for this either, one chunk went unfinished.

**+.

Red Berry Danish. $5.

As much as I like danishes, I wasn't at all tempted by the danish selection, two flavors, red berry or cherry, both in totally different forms.  They just aren't at all what I wanted in the evening, and I knew they'd be far past their prime.  A good danish is good, but not worth trying by the evening (and to be fair, I had an excellent danish that morning from another patisserie, so, danish cravings I had not).

No one else voiced wanting any morning treats, so I picked the kouign amann only.  But then ... someone threw this onto our order.  He said the danishes are really good, and he hadn't tried this one yet.   Uh ok?  

This one I also cut into only 4 chunks, as I wasn't planning to have one.  I'd save my stomach space for the slew of other treats.

But ... some bits of the flaky pastry remained on the plate afterward, and I tried a bit.  Just to try.

Ok, wow, that was good!  Really flaky, buttery, crispy ... excellent.  Even hours after it was baked.

So I tried some filling too.  Cream cheese and red berry jam.  Creamy, fruity, nice compliments to each other, and to the pastry.

I admit this was pretty good, and I'd gladly come back in the morning to have one at a more appropriate hour!  My third favorite item, actually, and the others all gladly consumed it all, the first treat to disappear completely.

***+.

Bread Pudding. $5.

As a bread pudding affectionado, I had to try the bread pudding, right?  Even though I could see that it wasn't the style I like (e.g. it was a dense mass without distinct chunks, no custard visible, certainly no moist interior and crispy top), and even though it was served cold, unadorned (bread pudding should be hot! With ice cream or at least whipped cream!).

So, I did what any reasonable person would do.  I got it to go, so I could have it *my* way, the next day.

But of course I tried it cold, the next morning, for breakfast first.  It *was* made from breakfast pastries, after all.  And if I wasn't adding the ice cream, that basically made it breakfast, right?

It was ... ok.  As I could tell from looking at it, very dense, not the style I like.  It seemed to be majority made from the chocolate kouign amann dough that I didn't care for, with just a bit of plain in the mix.  It wasn't dry, but it certainly wasn't a moist custard.  The top was not distinct, besides a bit of powdered sugar on it.

Next, I heated it up in the toaster oven.  This was clearly much better, but, still, just a dense item.  Adding plentiful whipped cream, or ice cream to melt in, helped transform it a bit, and I did enjoy it, just more once I thought of it like croissant-bread, or perhaps cake, rather than bread pudding.

Overall, fine I guess, and just a different style than I prefer.  I wouldn't get again, and wished I had picked the monkey bread instead.  Overall, my fifth pick.  **.

(To understand what I prefer, specifically for croissant bread pudding, see my review of the one from Chaya ... that truly was the best ... ever.  Or the very very good warm custardy danish bread pudding served the breakfast buffet at Le First, at the Westin in Paris.  Or the inconsistently good one from the breakfast buffet at the Prince Gallery in Tokyo.  I really do eat a lot of bread pudding, even for breakfast it seems ...).

Desserts

The majority of the display cases are filled with more evening, or afternoon, appropriate items, real desserts.  Little tarts.  Mousse cakes.  Each stunning and elaborate.

Cases of beautiful treats!

Picking just a few items was hard, as the selection was beautiful, and extensive.

Individual Tarts

First, we went for two tarts, both vanilla based.  I'm not normally a tart girl, for sure, but, I had had the tart trio before at an event , and was impressed then.  We went for all vanilla mostly because I don't like lemon desserts, and the others have caffeine, that I was trying to avoid.  Plus, I knew their vanilla could be great!  Spoiler: it was.

This was not "vanilla" vanilla!

Tahitian Vanilla Bean Tart.$9.50.

"Vanilla mascarpone cream, soft caramel, vanilla bean ganache."

First up, the vanilla bean tart, the larger format of the mini vanilla bean tart I tried, and loved, previously at an event.  Oh, with caramel added.

I was very excited to dive into this one.

Tahitian Vanilla Bean Tart: Inside.

The base was a shortbread cookie-like, decent enough base (but when do you ever get a tart for the shell?)

On top of that was a thin layer of caramel, an element that wasn't present in the mini form, and did serve to make it a bit more interesting than just vanilla (although really, it wasn't necessary!).  The tart shell and caramel together reminded me a bit of banoffee pie (made with crumbled digestive biscuits and toffee).

The layer above that was thick and rich, intensely vanilla flavored, and reminded me of crème brûlée.  And then a lighter, also vanilla'ed layer on top.

Just like last time, I felt the components all worked together really well, rich, creamy, and somehow just sooo delightful, even though simple vanilla.  Two of us rated this our #2 pick, because, the next one was even better.

****.

Little Tahiti. $11.

"Vanilla mascarpone mousse, Vanilla cremeux, Vanilla sable."

The other "simple vanilla" item was called Little Tahiti, and I wasn't really sure how they'd be different, besides looks obviously, but still ordered both.

This one looked a bit more involved, with a glossy exterior and different piping on top.  The extra piped on stuff on top didn't really add much to the overall item, if anything, it detracted, as it wasn't as vanilla forward.  It added to visual appeal though I guess.

Little Tahiti: Inside.

The base of this was a vanilla sable, which tasted about the same as the tart shells used in the tarts, just, without rounded edges holding in the contents.  Again, fine, but the version with the caramel above it was slightly better.

Above that, more beautiful vanilla mascarpone mousse, fantastic vanilla flavor.  Surrounding that was the vanilla cremeux, which I kinda thought of like ... Fluff.  Just, well, 10000x more amazing.  It was super sweet and fluffy, and again, intensely vanilla flavored.  I loved it.

So while this sounds fairly similar to the vanilla tart, e.g. layers of vanilla mousse/cremeux/ganache/cream/etc on a cookie-like base, they really were quite different.  This one was far more intense in its vanilla flavoring, and, the fluffy layer really won it for me.  I loved that.

My top pick, third place for one other. ****+.

"Individual Pastries"

I'm not quite sure why these are known as "pastries".  I think I must not quite understand the term.  Anyway, this selection included many phenomenal looking chocolate based items, of which we picked one.

Chocolate Pillow. $10.

"Caramelized rice crispy / dark chocolate mousse / praline crunch / chocolate cremeux."

Our chocolate pick was the "chocolate pillow".  I personally would have picked the Bailey's Bar (!!!), but, the others thought this one was too cute to resist, and since they'd be eating most of it (chocolate! caffeine! night!), I didn't really voice my preference much.

It was quite the sight, the most stunning of an array of stunning desserts, a base of chocolate coated rice crispies, a glossy chocolate covered log, with a thin chocolate wafer on top.

We didn't quite know what to expect inside.

Chocolate Pillow: Inside.

I cut into it, to find basically a chocolate mousse.  But, a log shape.  With praline crunch layers.

The chocolate rice crispy base I really didn't care for, as I just don't like that texture.  I don't like rice crispies in .... anything really.

The chocolate mousse was fine, but I found myself thinking that it was just that.  Fine.  Chocolate mousse shouldn't be just fine.  It should be rich, creamy, amazing.  This wasn't.

I did kinda like the crunch the praline added, but at the same time, it also seemed a bit soggy inside.

The chocolate cremeux coating *looked* amazing, so dark, so glossy, but, much like the chocolate mousse, it just didn't taste extraordinary.  I kept wanting it to be richer, deeper.

The thin milk chocolate slice on top was great though, very smooth creamy quality chocolate.

So overall, this entire thing looked much better than it tasted.  It didn't taste bad, and it was clearly elaborate and showcased a lot of technique, but, if you are looking for a real chocolately dessert, this wasn't it.  My forth pick, and the dividing line that started the list of items I wouldn't bother try again.

***.

Mandarin Pannacotta. $9.

"Gelee of kumquat confit / vanilla mascarpone mousse / shortbread."

This was another item that I wouldn't have ordered, but, our rogue diner added onto the mix.  Much like lemon and lime desserts, I had no interest in mandarin (sorry citrus!).  My interest in this one lay only in the fact that it was called a "pannacotta", which struck me for two reasons: why was it one word, and also, um, it didn't look like a pudding ...

It was a shiny orange dome, with a dot of something on top, wrapped with a thin milk chocolate, much like the one from on top of the pillow (again, really quite excellent!).  It made me really wish I had purchased some chocolates to take home (they have a HUGE selection of chocolates, and we entirely skipped that section).  It too was just stunning to admire.

Mandarin Pannacotta: Inside.

We really had no idea what to expect with this one.

I cut into it to find basically a mousse, an orange center, and a crust much like the tarts.  But this was a "pastry" not a "tart" ...

Anyway, it is a bit hard for me to evaluate this since I don't care for citrus desserts.  The crust was fine, a shortbread.  The mousse was fine.  The center and top were ... citrus-y.

It reminded me of a Creamsicle actually, orange and cream.  Which I never really liked, and always considered the worst of the assorted ice cream novelties.  But if creamsicles were your thing, perhaps this would appeal.

My sixth pick, but two others rated it their favorite. **+.

Other

And last, a singleton of an item: a pudding.

Coconut Tapioca.

"Lemongrass & Mango."

I couldn't resist ordering this one.  I knew it wasn't very sharable.  I knew Alexander's is known for pastries, tarts, mousses, chocolates, macaroons, etc, and not ... pudding.

But, I adore pudding.  I like tapioca.  How could I not order it it?

Except ... I didn't like it.  At all.  No layer of it was great.

The bottom was lemongrass flavored gel (I think), only a little bit, and very difficult to get in the same scoop as anything else, since at the very base and in a small cup.

The coconut tapioca layer was, much like my critique of the chocolate pillow, just "fine".  Nothing special.  The tapioca weren't too hard, or too mushy, or anything, but, it was kinda plain, and not as creamy as I'd like.

On top was a fruit compote that none of us could identify.  I originally thought mango, but, it just didn't taste like mango at all.  It was heavily spiced with flavors we also couldn't identify.  One person was convinced it was pear somehow, just, orange colored.  Another said peach.  Another was "100% certain" it was apricot.  The guesses were all over the place.  None of us liked the flavor, but we kept tasting and tasting, trying to figure it out.  It was mango, I guess, or so said the sign (which one person smartly went up to look at).

On top was a dollop of what seemed like simple cream, no real flavor.  And a cute edible flower, that had a bit of I think lemongrass as the stem.

This made me sad in so many ways, my least favorite item. **.

Drinks

A few in the group also ordered beverages, mostly espresso drinks, which were clearly out for me given the caffiene.

Small Hot Chocolate. $4.

One diner enjoyed the hot chocolate, served much like a cappuchino.

Peppermint Tea. $5.

I opted for peppermint tea, boring, but I wanted a warm beverage, and didn't even want the caffeine in decaf coffee.

Take Home Goodies

Retail Shop.

In case all the cases of pastries, desserts, macaroons, and chocolates aren't enough for you, the patisserie also has a retail area with packaged confections.  I of course couldn't resist grabbing a few things to take home.

Marshmallows: Blueberry, Raspberry, Vanilla, Lemon. $8.

Ah, yes.  Fancy marshmallows.  The trend I've been talking about for years.  I rolled my eyes, but also quickly grabbed a tube to take home.  Not only were they fancy marshmallows, they were flavored!

They were not as exciting as I was hoping.  

The texture of the marshmallows was fine.  The size was fine.  They were ... fine.

Some of the flavors were more pronounced than others.  The vanilla was quite plain, which you might expect from vanilla, but, Alexander's vanilla pastries were so great that I expected more.  The pink one honestly had no flavor, I couldn't detect even a trace of raspberry.

Blue was a bit better, some flavor to it, although I wouldn't have known it was blueberry.  

The best was yellow, actually quite distinctly lemon.  I'm not generally a lemon sweets fan, but I appreciated the flavor.

Overall, just, well, marshmallows, and certainly not $1.14 each marshmallows!

**+.

Chocolate Covered Caramelized Popcorn.

Another impulse grab on my part as I headed to checkout.  You know how much I love popcorn, particularly coated popcorn!

The little plastic container was really quite small though for the price, I kinda gulped at the price tag and fact that I could see ... 10 kernels?

Chocolate Covered Caramelized Popcorn: Close Up.

I plucked a few out and examined them.

Hmm.  Yellow coating, hard, shiny.  I assumed it was white chocolate?

Chocolate Covered Caramelized Popcorn: Cross Section.

I broke into one.

Double hmm.  There was a thin chocolate shell, the pale yellow shell, and the actual piece of popcorn.

The chocolate was milk chocolate, not remarkable.  I'm still not sure what the yellow layer was, I guess just white chocolate, it was slightly sweet.

I'm also not really sure where the "caramelized" element was supposed to be.  I didn't really detect anything caramelized.  I thought the popcorn itself would be caramel corn then wrapped in chocolate, but, it certainly didn't seem to be.

The popcorn kernel itself was ... fine?  Well popped?

There wasn't anything wrong with this item, but it certainly didn't turn into anything even equal to the sum of its parts.  Just, some chocolate and a piece of popcorn.  Too much coating to appreciate the crunch of the popcorn.  Not craveworthy.

***.

Chocolate Pop.

And last, we call this an impulse buy, no question.  Above the cases of beautiful house made chocolates were a couple pre-packaged chocolate based items.  I grabbed one, the only one I saw using dark chocolate, "for later".  I couldn't resist.  I didn't know what was in it, I hadn't read reviews on it, but, I suddenly needed it.

It was a very random choice on my part.

Chocolate Pop: Inside.

It seemed to be filled with hazelnut based cream. It was covered in Valrhona Dark Chocolate Crunchy Pearls.

I don't particularly love hazelnut (sorry Nutella fans!).  But ... I wanted to try Alexander's chocolate, and didn't want to place an order or agonizingly select one from the large assortment of options on display in the chocolate case.  I also kinda thought it was a cake pop, to be honest.

It was fine.  Good quality Valrhona dark chocolate, crunch (that I didn't like, but that is just me) from the pearls, hazelnut filling.  Not the item for me, and not what I ever should have picked, really.  Oops.

***.

Original Review, April 2017

It has been a long time since I've written about the Alexander's family of restaurants.

Going to the Alexander's Steakhouses, in Cupertino and Mountain View really is what turned me into a bit of a foodie (and, ok, a bit of a monster for a while during the foie gras ban days).  "Alexander's" was one of the first labels I added to my blog, which I added explicitly because I was writing about the same place so often.   

I still visit the San Francisco Alexander's Steakhouse a couple times of year, although now I reserve it for special occasions.  Since I last wrote though, the restaurant group has radically expanded.  The original location in Cupertino moved.  They opened more steakhouses; in Pasadena, Tokyo, and Taipei (!).  They introduced a seafood focused restaurant, The Sea, in Palo Alto (which makes so much since given how often I rave about the seafood dishes at the steakhouse!).

And ... they opened a patisserie (ok, two now, one in Mountain View and one in Cupertino).  Oh, be still my heart!  Yes, my favorite restaurant group opened a pastry focused establishment.  They brought in a very accomplished pastry chef from Belgium, who worked at the famed Pierre Herme in Paris (which of course I've reviewed), and Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas.  Let's just say I was excited to try it, particularly after the accolades started rolling in.

In October 2014, I was invited to the pre-opening event for Alexander's Patisserie in Mountain View.  To say I was excited was beyond an understatement.  At the time, Alexander's was my absolute favorite restaurant, which I clearly visited way too frequently, and you know me, baked goods are always my favorite, so, this was a dream come true for me.  However, they weren't able to be fully operational at the time (read on for more!)

I still haven't actually been to the store while in operation, but I've tried their treats on several occasions.  I now know, definitively, that I need to go to the store.  I *need* to try their kouign amann, and I need to try their banana chocolate croissant. This place, as expected, has quality products.

Pre-Opening Event, October 2014

I gleefully accepted an invite to the pre-opening, even though it was in Mountain View.

But ... quasi-disaster stuck.  I went all the way down to Mountain View to find that ... their final permit did not come in in time.  They couldn't use the kitchens yet.  Doh.

They served coffee and macarons, and showed off the space, but, they weren't able to offer anything else.  The coffee was fine, and the macarons were all decent (good cookies with slight give to them and proper chew), but, macarons are really not my thing, and I'll admit, I was pretty sad.

Decaf Coffee. $2.75.

They served Equator Coffee at the time, but have since moved to Stumptown.  I had decaf.  It was strong, dark, and particularly good for decaf.

Coffee Macaron. $2.25.

I started with the coffee macaron, filled with coffee ganache.

This macaron somehow made coffee taste delicate.  It was clearly coffee flavored, but in a really light way.  My third favorite variety.

Pistachio Macaron. $2.25.

Next I had a pistachio macaron, filled with toasted pistachio ganache.

It was a beautiful green color, with decent pistachio flavor throughout.  My forth favorite.

Chocolate Macaron. $2.25.

Next came a chocolate ganache filled macaron, with in it nibs too.

I loved the rich, dark chocolate ganache filling.  The cookie was slightly chocolate flavored.  My second favorite, and I really just wanted to eat a big bowl of the filling.

Vanilla Macaron. $2.25.

And finally, simple vanilla, with Tahitian vanilla bean ganache inside.

It was my absolute favorite.  Super sweet filling, it reminded me of frosting, but I really did like the sweetness.  The thick filling was balanced by delicate cookies.

[ No Photos ]

Lavender:
Lavender is a flavor I don't generally like, so I didn't take one myself, nor take a photo.  But I couldn't help myself from stealing a bite of Ojan's when he had one in his hand, it was such a beautiful light purple color.  I don't generally like lavender flavors, and this was no exception, but, if you like floral desserts, the flavor was nice, and fairly subtle.  Second to last favorite though.

Passionfruit:
Another flavor I don't tend to like is passionfruit (although I love the real fruit!) so I only took a bite of Ojan's, hence no photo.  Very strong quasi fake passionfruit flavor, which, predictably, I didn't like.  Least favorite.

Tarts, April 2017

In April, I was invited to a pre-opening event for Total Wines & More, in Mountain View.

I was there to admire the store and sip on wine, and, let's be honest, I was excited to check out the food.  Savory bites were provided catered by places ranging from Michelin starred Chez TJ to casual Pokéworks, but my eyes were on the Alexander's Patisserie table from the moment I walked in.  It took a lot of restraint to wait to go for the sweets until after I had some savories first.

Easter Themed Display.

They easily had the best looking display, decorated for Easter, with tactful, not plastic, "grass", chocolate eggs, and bunnies (and yes they made all the larger chocolate creations too!)

Tarts!

Their offering was mini tarts, beautifully presented perched on top of a "soil" of cocoa nibs, in clear glass "planters".  It might sound tacky, but really, it wasn't.

The crew did an impressive job of keeping the display perfectly stocked throughout the event.   While other tables ran low, they never did.

I guess I expect no less from an Alexander's establishment, but they were true professionals, and, I believe the head pastry chef himself was there at the event.

I have a confession though - just like I don't really like macarons, tarts aren't really my favorite either.  I like pie crust, I like puff pastry, I like many other vessels for fillings, but, tart shells?  Meh!  So, I wasn't thrilled to see tarts as their item offered.

The tart shells were about as good as a tart shell is going to be.  Buttery, nice texture, a bit crumbly, not too hard.  And at least they tasted like something.  As Ojan put it, "you don't need to just eat the insides out of them".  But let's talk about those insides.  Spoiler: swoon!

Chocolate, Vanilla, Lemon Tarts.

On my first round, I tried all three.  Yes, all three.  And yes, I said my first round.  I'm sorry, I like my sweets!  In my defense, I *did* ask if it was ok when I went back for seconds.  The tarts were too good to listen to social norms about acceptable levels of consumption.

Chocolate Tart: cocoa nib praline / 66% dark chocolate ganache.

Those who have been reading my blog for a while might notice something here.  Chocolate.  I don't eat chocolate at night (caffeine).  I rarely make exceptions.  I don't even really care for chocolate desserts that much (but, I *always* have dark chocolate in the morning alongside my coffee).  So, I wasn't excited for the chocolate one, really.  Still, I knew my opportunities to try Alexander's Patisserie were limited, and I wanted to make the most of it.

It was glorious, just like the chocolate filling in the macaron.  The base layer had cocoa nibs in it, a surprise to me, wonderful bits of crunch.  On top of that was dark, thick, decadent chocolate ganache.  I'd say that I'd love to eat a whole bowl as pudding, but actually, it was too rich to want to do that.  Maybe a *small* bowl, with some whipped cream on top?

Anyway, the amount here was just right, and it was a fantastic bite.  It had a cap of more dark chocolate and a touch of edible gold leaf for some bling.  My second favorite.

Vanilla Tart: Tahitian vanilla ganache / vanilla mascarpone cream.

This. Was. Amazing.

I had zero expectation for this.  "Vanilla", aka, bo-ring, right?  No way.  (Side note: I wished I had re-read my notes from the macarons to remember that they made an amazing vanilla ganache, and perhaps I would have been more excited!)

Anyway, the vanilla ganache was a thing of wonder.  It was thick, sweet, and intensely vanilla flavored.  I'll be honest ... I didn't think vanilla *could* taste this good.  It was incredibly rich, even more than the chocolate.  There is no way you could have a bigger bite of this.

On top was vanilla mascarpone cream, also glorious.  Also wonderfully vanilla flavored, also sweet and rich, and somehow complimentary to the ganache.  How does one rich sweet vanilla element compliment another rich sweet vanilla component?  I don't know, but, it did.

One could take three bites to eat each of these, if he or she had restraint.  And I did, the first time, as I didn't know it would be so wonderful.  But when I went back for another, it was all I could do not to eat it in a single bite.  I settled for two wondrous bites, knowing I'd actually appreciate it more that way.

Seriously, fantastic.

Lemon: lemon cream / lemon zest / lemon segments.

And finally, lemon.  I almost didn't take this one, and really, I shouldn't have.  I do not like lemon desserts.

And this ... well, it was a lemon dessert.  The lemon cream tasted like lemons.  I did not like that.

However, the meringue on top was excellent, sweet, fluffy, light, airy.  And I give them kudos for the perfect execution of the toasting of each and every one, and the fact that these delicate treats were not damaged at all in their display!  Still, I wouldn't want another of these.