Snacks from Little Debbie

Ah, Little Debbie treats.  Always the best part of my lunch box.  

Well, actually, I had an amazing mother who made fresh baked goods all of the time, so I didn't have them that often in my OWN lunch box, but I could barter for them :)  I thought these would fall in the category of snacks that I should let just remain as memories, and that trying them again as an adult would ruin them forever.  But ... in this case, I'm glad I tried them again.  It turns out, *some* Little Debbie is still delicious!

Oatmeal Creme Pie. (2017)

"This is the Little Debbie® snack that started it all! Oatmeal Creme Pies have been satisfying families since 1960 as the very first snack baked under the Little Debbie brand name. Whole grain oats, molasses, and irresistible creme filling combine to create this classic treat."

One of my strongest Little Debbie memories, and apparently their first item, around since 1960.

The cookies are super-soft, just like I like them.  They don't have a very strong oatmeal flavor however, and have a slight plastic flavor to them.  They are so soft though!

The filling is just crazy sweet, exactly as I remember.  The ratio of cookie to filling is perfect.

These really haven't changed.  I don't love them, and won't get them again, but they sure are a classic.

Mini Frosted Donuts. (2017)

"Don’t let those busy mornings get in the way of breakfast! Start your day off right with some delicious Mini Frosted Donuts from Little Debbie. The perfect bite-sized food for a quick breakfast, this bag of donuts will take care of those early morning sweet cravings with their yummy chocolate icing covering a cakey vanilla donut. Pick up a bag for a group breakfast or keep them all to yourself. Be sure to re-close the bag so they stay fresh until they are all gone!"

I don't think I ever actually had these growing up, even though I clearly love donuts, as we always got the Entenmann's ones.  But these just sound so good.  Who doesn't love chocolate frosted donuts?

But ...

Mini Frosted Donut, Cross-Section

The cake was, like Entenmann's, a strange, unnatural, yellow color.  It was fairly unremarkable, not really moist nor dry, not really having any particular flavor.

The chocolate shell was similarly flavorless.  I wanted it to be chocolatey, I wanted it to be a bit crunchy, but it wasn't really anything.  The Entenmann's version had a much richer chocolate flavor.

Meh.  Would not get again.

Pecan Spinwheel. (2017).

"A pastry of cinnamon and spice rolled with pecans."

"Reach for a package of comforting nostalgia with the perfect blend of sweet dough, cinnamon spice and pieces of pecans. Flavorful Little Debbie® Pecan Spinwheels are the perfect way to start any morning! Whether you like to unroll them and eat them piece by piece or just take one big bite, these fun treats pair perfectly with a tall glass of milk or a warm mug of coffee. A perfect quick snack to pack in your lunch or when you need a pick me up, take one along as you start your day!"

I thought I remembered these as being one of my favorite items, although I was confused when I opened the box.  What I remembered came in totally different packaging ... I remember individual little plastic boxes.  And I thought they were more caramelized and more loaded with pecans.  Am I remembering something else? Did these change?  Am I totally making this all up?

Anyway, these weren't good.  Moist dough that was kinda gummy and strange.  I didn't find any pecans in it, although there was some gritty substance in with the cinnamon that must have been the pecans.  There was some cinnamon flavor at least.

My co-taster says, "It tastes gluten-free, like made with cashews.  Or maybe vegan.  That was gross.  Why did you make me eat that?"

Least favorite of the items I tried.

Nutty Bars. (2017).

"Classic crunchy wafer bars, full of the great taste of peanut butter enrobed in fudge".

"How do you describe the sensation of a Nutty Buddy wafer? Is it the classic crunch as you snap into your first bar? Is it the layers of delicious peanut butter creme in every bite? Maybe it’s the fudge coating lightly covering each bar so the iconic crisscross pattern of the wafers shows through? Or is it because there’s always one to share with a friend? Whatever the reason, Nutty Buddy wafer bars are fun for everyone!"

Nutty Bars were probably my second favorite as a child.   

Like most of the treats we'd been trying, I expected to take a bit of one of them, and then hand the rest over to my partner, who was busy exclaiming how great they were.  "Yeah right," I thought, "low quality waxy milk chocolate, peanut flavored paste, and some stale wafers.  I'm sure they are great!"  

How wrong I was!  Sure, those things may have been true, but they were still really tasty.  Classic chocolate and peanut butter, always a great combination.  And a nice crispy wafer.  Yum!

I ate them just as I did as a kid - layer by layer, rather than biting right into them.  I love separating them like that.  I haven't seen anyone else eat them this way, but it feels so natural to me :)

We both really liked them, and if I was really going to purchase more Little Debbie snacks, these would surely be the ones. (My partner did of course did purchase them a few more times after this first encounter, but I think he is sick of them finally).

Boston Creme Rolls. (2020).

"Boston cream pie isn’t the official dessert of the state of Massachusetts for nothing! Even though our cakes travel well, you don’t have to book a flight to Boston to enjoy Boston Creme Rolls. Savor the thick, custardy creme filling, encircled in a traditional yellow cake and lightly splashed with fudge topping. Perfectly paired with a delicate light roast coffee or a nice cold glass of milk, Little Debbie Boston Creme Rolls are the perfect snack to reach for on a rainy afternoon, a busy morning or as a midnight snack."

I picked these up as a special treat to my father, who *loves* Boston Creme things.  Or at least, he always requested "Boston Cream Pie" for dessert after dinner when we were growing up, which he rarely, rarely ever got.  I think it was almost more of a joke than anything (don't get me wrong, my mom made fresh desserts *all* the time, and he never had a cookie jar not full of homemade cookies), but "Boston Cream Pie" was the constant request.

So I grabbed a box of these when I saw them, as a special treat for him.

Of course I took one.

Um, wow.  I guess it has been a long time since I've had a packaged snack cake, but, uh, there was nothing redeeming about it.  Stale, dry, highly processed tasting "cake".  The cream filling was just sweet, not a custard cream as the description said, and as should be present in Boston Cream.  It was just ... sweet.  Like Twinkie filling or any other generic "creme" filling.  The chocolate drizzle was pretty lost on it, but the best part?

I was shocked by how not tasty this was.  Corn syrup, sugar, and a whole lot of processed chemicals.  And that is what it tasted like.  And how was this tiny little cake nearly 300 calories and 12g of fat?

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Simply Sinbad / Sinbad's Sweets

Update Review, 2020 Tastings

Sometimes, you really just want a sweet, crispy treat.  And when that craving hits, baklava is certainly a good pick.  I've been impressed with Sinbad's baklava before, just packaged mass produced "bites" even, so I was excited to try more of their products.

Spoiler: they really do make good items, and best of all, shelf life is great!

Classic Baklava.

"Luscious bites of flaky buttery pastry filled with walnuts bathed in a golden syrup."

This is good baklava.  Really quite good baklava, particularly for a not fresh product with a long shelf life (12 months in the fridge! 6 months at room temp! 18 months frozen!)

There is nothing earth shattering about it, just layers of fillo dough, some cinnamon and walnuts, and tons of sticky sweetness (a combination of honey, corn syrup, sugar), but the fillo is crispy and flaky, the layers all seem to have just the right balance of fillo and fillings, and it is definitely sweet, but somehow in a decently balanced way - not too much honey, not too much cloying corn syrup, etc.

I really enjoy this, when in the mood for a sweet flaky treat like this.

Mini Assortment: Assorted Mini Nut Tarts (Pecan, Almond, Cashew).

I was fairly excited for these, given that I have liked other Sinbad's products, and they looked like something I'd like - gooey sweet filling (like pecan pie?), assorted nut toppings, and crispy fillo shell?  Totally something I'd like, particularly with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

But ... I didn't care for these.  

The shell was fine, flaky, fairly standard fillo shell.  The nuts also were fine, but didn't taste particularly fresh, nor did they seem roasted to bring out better flavor.  It was interesting to me that the almond ones all had 3 full size almonds, the pecan ones had two full size pecan halves, but the cashew were chopped.

It was the filling I didn't like.  It tasted like ... just corn syrup, sweet but with no depth, and it had a strange chew to it, like caramel, just without any of the buttery flavor of caramel.  I wanted something more gooey like pecan pie filling, or something richer like caramel, this just offered nothing, and made up the majority of the treat.

Caramel Pecan Turtle Shell.

"Filled with creamy salted caramel sauce and toasted pecans, bathed in a rich chocolate coating and topped with a pecan half."

This is a very, very, very unique item.  It was not at all what I expected, given the look, and given the description.  I thought it was going to be a chocolate, with filling. Which, I guess it was, but, when I bit in, and the crunch turned flaky, I was quite surprised.

Let me explain.

The outside was chocolate, rich, creamy, smooth, thick layer.  It was good.  And on top, yes, a pecan half, also good.

Inside though ... not just the creamy salted caramel and nuts I was expecting.  There was ... fillo dough inside!  How did they not mention this element?  It does fit in with the rest of the product line more sensibly this way, but, I found it very surprising to bite into.

Once I got over the surprise though, I loved this item.  It was almost like bakalva inside, flaky fillo and sweetness, but the sweetness came from salted caramel rather than traditional honey, which I greatly preferred, and the crunchy bitss were chopped pecan rather than traditional walnuts, which I also preferred.

In the end, I loved this item, my favorite product from Sinbad's Sweets.  Thick chocolate coated better-than-baklava inside.

Original Review, September 2017

Sometimes, learning about products to write these little intros is harder than others.  Like, when a company doesn't seem to exist, but is a near match to one that does.  Which is the case with "Simply Sinbad".

I had a package of little baklava bites, with the "Simply Sinbad" brand on them.  I went to look them up, and couldn't find ... anything really.  Just the Instacart page for Costco.  But I found plenty of information on "Sinbad Sweets", a company that makes, among other things, classic triangle baklava. And a huge baklava assortment, with all sorts of options like chocolate drizzled orange syrup flavored baklava, rolled baklava covered with sliced almonds and chocolate, "basket" shapes with pecans or almonds instead ... but no bites.

I dug and dug, and finally found that Sinbad Sweets introduced the baklava bites for grocery and convenience stores in 2013.  Why they changed the brand name I do not know.  I got my package a party where the hosts shopped at Costco, so, clearly they distribute there.

Anyway, they turned out to be great.  Hence why it worth the research to me!

Baklava Bites : Top View.

"Hand-crafted mini baklavas are perfect for both long time baklava lovers and first time tasters. The combination of decadent flavors and handmade preparation truly make our baklava premium. Our fresh almonds and walnuts are rolled in between layers of delicate, buttery fillo pastry leaves. Next, they are baked slowly to perfection for a great artisan taste and crisp texture. The final touch is the drizzling of our honey syrup to provide just that extra bit of decadence."

The bites come individually wrapped in packages with two pieces each.  Note: each piece is actually more than one bite, unless you have a really big mouth ...

I didn't really detect the drizzle of honey the description says they have, but, I also think that would have made them soggy?

They weren't soggy at all, instead were perfectly crispy.  Very impressive how crisp they were for a packaged product.

Baklava Bites: End View.

As you can see from the end view, they are hollow, a rolled item, rather than tranditional layered form.  This meant there was only one layer of chopped nuts (a mix of almonds and walnuts), but they were sweet and crunchy, and I prefer to pistachio versions.

The fillo was certainly the star though, buttery, flaky, crispy.  Again, impressive for a packaged product, and I'd gladly consume these again.

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110 Grill

 "Modern American Cuisine in a Trendy Casual Atmosphere"

Such is the tagline for 110 Grill, a chain of restaurants on the east coast (with locations in MA, CT, RI, NY, and NH).

110 Grill did not exist when I was growing up in NH, but during the second half of 2020 I spent 6 months living with family to "escape" the COVID conditions in San Francisco, and the restaurant caught my interest.  Not because I was craving "modern" American food, and certainly not the "trendy casual atmosphere", since we were only doing takeout (they were open for dine-in, but my parents were not comfortable dining in), but because it seemed to actually get decent reviews.  And had a very, very appealing menu, not only for me, but for *all* my family members, which is no small feat.

"Whether you are looking to enjoy a nice glass of Cabernet and a ribeye with business colleagues dressed in suits, grab a burger and a beer at the bar in shorts and a T-shirt, or sip sangria with friends by a roaring fire pit on a summer evening, you will fit right in."

It really does sound like a great place to hang out during "normal" times.

Mediocre Takeout Feast.

After some initial research, I started proposing going there (originally during the summer to dine outside on their big patio!), and later to just get takeout, but neither of my parents had ever been, hadn't heard anyone talk about it, and had their set of goto places to get takeout from (e.g. Ziggy's Pizza - ok, they have great dipping sauce and bread rolls, but otherwise, meh!,  Mickey's - horrible, review coming soon, or, you know, Subway).  Eventually I succeeded in getting takeout for us all, but ... it didn't get rave reviews, from any of us.  Pretty mediocre, really.

I'll also note that our order was not ready at the specified time, and I had to wait an additional ... 20? 30? minutes past the pickup time they had set.  I was annoyed. And most of the food was not actually warm, even when I tried it in the parking lot immediately.

Setting

Every 110 Grill has some key features: a distinctive bar, an open kitchen, outside firepits, and more.

Horseshoe Bar.

Each 110 Grill features a large, open, horseshoe bar area.  During non-COVID times, I can imagine this being a big draw, a vibrant place, and major feature of the restaurant.  Alas, when I was there, only a few people were seated at the bar area, mostly just watching the TVs and, yup, eating burgers.

Every 110 Grill also features a large outdoor area, with firepits and all.  I wished we had been able to dine in the summer out on the patio!

Dining Room.

There is of course a traditional dining room as well, overlooking an open kitchen, yes, another feature of all 110 Grills.

Food

The menu is divided into many sections, none of which are clearly appetizers nor mains, but you can generally figure it out.  Appetizer/sharing options are "At the Start" (traditional appetizers, all very share-worthy, not individual things), "On the Dough" (flatbreads, very unclear if these are personal pizzas, or sharing plates, or what ...) , and "From the Garden" (salads), although you really could make anything from the later two categories entrees too.  More classic entrees are broken down into categories like “By the Chef” (I call these "opinionated" composed dishes, designed entrees with specific sides and sauces), "Between the Bread" (sandwiches/tacos), "Off the Hook" (seafood), and "In the Cut".  There is an additional lineup of sides, a separate vegetarian section (pastas, etc), and an entirely separate gluten-free menu and kids menus.  Oh, and dessert of course ("At the Finish").

In addition to the regular menu, they offer seasonal specials that change every few months, spanning all areas of the menu (including desserts!).

Let's just say, the menu is sizable, and has options for ... everyone.  If you can't find something here, then ... I really don't understand.

At the Start / On the Dough / From the Garden

To get your meal started, there are a slew of tempting "At the Start" items, mostly ridiculously crowd pleasing, Instagram worthy, sharing plates, all quite decadent, like chorizo totchos (yes, nachos but with tator tots instead of chips, and chorizo, although a more classic chicken nachos options is there too), fried pickle chips and dipping sauce, a bunch of dips (cheesy spinach dip, creamy crab rangoon), fried asian calamari or firecracker shrimp, wings, and, randomly, uh, tomato soup.  If I was dining in, the Firecracker Shrimp, or perhaps fried pickles, had my name all over them.

The menu next lists "On the Dough", a couple flatbreads, that aren't quite clear if these are intended to be a pizza-like entree, a share dish, or what.  Next comes the salads, "From the Garden", and some of these sounded pretty great, and can be made into entrees by adding protein.

Bread & Butter. Complimentary.

When you dine in, you are provided bread and butter, which I knew, and had read good things about.  I appreciated that the menu actually had the bread and butter as an option item during the checkout flow (along with utensils, mayo, mustard, ketchup, etc), and they also offered a gluten-free version.  No charge to add this on, I just had to say how many people it was for.

The bread rolls were pretty lackluster to be honest, even if they looked ok.  Not warm, fairly hard, just, yeah.  Not great.

But that butter?  ZOMG.  That was good butter.  Garlic herb butter (I think?), very very flavorful.  And this was not nearly enough for the 7 rolls (for 6 people?) they provided.  This amount of butter was good for ... 1-2 rolls.  Honestly.  Soooo good.

I'd skip the rolls in the future, except, well, I really wanted that butter!

Rolls: *

Butter: *****

Kale Brussels Salad. $11.50.

"Shredded Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Cabbage, Radicchio, Carrots And Golden Beets With Arugula, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds And Diced Gala Apples, Tossed In A Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette, Topped With Goat Cheese."

I got this as an extra dish to have for lunch the next day, so I asked to have the pumpkin seeds separate so they wouldn't get soggy, and the goat cheese separate as I do not care for goat cheese and planned to just give that to my mom.

This was actually really quite good.  One of the best salads I have had in a long time.

The crunchy pumpkin seeds to top it were just plain pumpkin seeds, but I liked the crunch they added.  I can imagine if I liked goat cheese that it really would go fabulously, but alas, I do not.  I added Sweet & Spicy Pecans (from Trader Joe's) on top of mine at home and really enjoyed it that way.

And the dressing?  Actually good, and I'm not a vinaigrette girl.  A thicker style, which definitely helped, maple mustard vinaigrette, tangy and a touch sweet, and really did compliment all the other ingredients.  I liked it more than the honey mustard dipping sauce.

Kale Brussels Salad: Close Up.

Here you can see the makeup of the salad itself, really, quite beautiful looking.  There were so many textures, and I loved all the crunchy veggies, even the hunks of apple.  The shredded style for carrots, cabbage, broccoli stems, radicchio, kale, etc works really well.  There were a few chunks of slightly larger brussels sprouts, but only ... 2?   I did want more of a brussels sprouts component, as it is a "kale brussels salad" after all.  Oh, and kale was definitely lost in it too, just shredded.  More arugula than kale, but not all that much arugula either, but it provided a spicy, peppery base.  But this base was fabulous, I don't care what it was called.

The menu said it would have golden beets, which I didn't find, but also didn't mind, as I don't particularly care for beets anyway.

Overall, this was actually a really nice salad, very well thought out, composed, colorful and great to "eat with my eyes", and, really quite nice to eat in general, just so many textures at play.

I really do recommend.  I think if you like grilled salmon, it would be great topped with that too, the salmon and maple mustard vinaigrette I could see going together really nicely.

****

Shrimp, Cajun. $9.

To turn a salad into an entree, 110 Grill offers a number of add-ons, and I was glad to see *not* just chicken! (of course, grilled chicken is an option).  I could also add seared yellowfin tuna, grilled salmon, and grilled shrimp.

I went for the shrimp, as I had really been craving it.  The shrimp came on the side, and were warm, wrapped in foil, a large portion of 9 fairly large shrimp.  Shrimp is usually served just grilled with garlic butter on top of a salad, but I knew I could ask for cajun style instead (offered for all the "Off the Hook" selections, next).  I, uh, didn't quite think through what I was doing though, as cajun spice, while it sounded awesome, totally clashed with my base salad.  Ooops.  I quickly realized this, and didn't use the shrimp for my salad, opting to add my aforementioned Trader Joe's Sweet & Spicy Pecans for some protein instead.

But back to the shrimp, and I did try one while it was hot and fresh.  The cajun rub was very generously applied, good enough cajun flavor.  The shrimp were probably the one item that stayed nicely hot, the foil really helped (side note: why was just this in foil? It really would have been great to have the other seafood done this way too!).  It was ... fine?  Not remarkably succulent, kinda a bit chewy but not that bad.  Just, fairly average.

I ate it the next day with some cheesy grits and roast brussels sprouts, with a bit of horseradish aioli, and it worked quite well that way, but the shrimp themselves really weren't anything special.

Anyway, fine, nothing special, but fine. ***.

By The Chef / Between the Bread / Off the Hook / In the Cut / For the Vegetarian

As I mentioned, "By the Chef" features all the "chef" composed dishes.  This includes everything from chicken pesto pasta, fish and chips, meatloaf, thai pork chops, and really, everything in-between (the pulled pork mac and cheese gets a lot of raves!).  This is the largest menu section, with more than a dozen options.  Each comes with sides that are appropriate, many of which are not listed as a la carte side options.  

"Between the Bread" offers up burgers (beef or turkey or chicken, with toppings, etc), pulled pork, steak & cheese, a cubano, and, uh, fish tacos (I guess that is "bread").  These come with one side of your choice.

“Off the Hook” and "In the Cut" are for the more simple seafood or beef options, three options for seafood (salmon, swordfish, or shrimp), and meat eaters can enjoy “In the Cut” offering up steak tips, NY strip, and ribeye steaks.  The seafood is available in two styles, either simply grilled with garlic butter, or rubbed with cajun spices.  Beef items allow you to add mushrooms, onions, demi-glace, or shrimp. Both categories allow the diner to pick 2 sides of their choice, from an extensive lineup.

Vegetarians have a decent selection as well, spanning everything from stir fry to pasta to veggie burgers.

Off the Hook: Salmon, Grilled with Garlic Butter. $24.

"North Atlantic, Oceanic Raised. Prepared Cajun Style Or Grilled With Garlic Butter."

My mother went for a simple selection from Off the Hook, the salmon, and opted for the grilled with garlic butter.  We requested mid-rare.

It was decently cooked, but medium, even maybe medium-well.  Definitely not rare in any way. It had nice grill marks, I liked the crispy bits.   It didn't actually come with garlic butter, nor could we see or taste any, but, it was cooked with something I guess. The fresh lemon to drizzle was needed.

Overall, very boring for me, she rated it fine, and stole some of my lemon butter sauce to make it more interesting.

She had her choice of two sides, and went for mashed potatoes and fries (for my dad), reviewed below.

**+.

By the Chef: Prosciutto Wrapped Cod / Lemon Butter Sauce
Parmesan Risotto.  $20.

"Baked Seasoned Cod Wrapped With Prosciutto, Served Over Parmesan Risotto And Broccoli, Finished With A Lemon Butter Sauce. "

I also opted for seafood, but I had my eyes set firmly on the cod, a standard fish in the Northeast, but a treat for me, as Atlantic cod is quite different from the Pacific cod I am more exposed to (and do not care for really).  I could have my cod as fish and chips, or fish tacos, but I didn't want it fried, and it is not available in the Off the Hook section, only in this composed chef's creation, wrapped in prosciutto, and served with parmesan risotto and broccoli, with a lemon butter sauce.

I don't generally go for rice, or risotto, but it looked good in many photos, and people say it really makes the dish.  Plus, my mom was eager to try it, not available as an a la carte side, so I kept it as is, but did ask to sub out the broccoli, as I really didn't want that, and got slaw for myself instead.  I also asked for the sauce on the side, in case I didn't like it, but also for ease of reheating.  All my modifications were handled appropriately.

The cod really was lovely.  A large piece, delicate, flaky, mild fish, exactly what I wanted it to be.  Decently moist, as the prosciutto surrounding it helped keep it moist, but a touch dry too.  It also wasn't really warm, even though I gobbled up a portion immediately in the marking lot.

The prosciutto was a nice touch, and it was crispy, but for me, it was too much.  It entirely surrounded the large piece of fish, and I found myself tiring of it quickly.  A little was nice, but this was overkill.  It did help keep it moist I'm sure though, and likely added a good salty component, but, yeah, too much.

The lemon butter sauce I was similarly mixed on.  It was creamy, rich, and I do love a good butter sauce.  However the lemon was really, really strong, and it got to be just too much for me.  It did go well with both the cod and the risotto though.

And then, the risotto.  This really was good risotto, for risotto.  Very creamy, very rich, nice parmesan flavor.  The rice was well cooked, not too mushy nor al dente.  Odd that it isn't offered as a regular side, I think it would go great with any Off the Hook selection.  And again, went great with the sauce.

Overall, this was good, but not amazing.  I'd consider it in the future, but sub out the risotto and broccoli, again, just personal preference, and get a different starch and the brussels sprouts that I really did want to try ... 

***.

On The Side

The lineup of sides is largely what drew me in to 110 Grill.  Honestly. They have an amazing selection of sides, and nearly every entree (besides the more curated, opinionated By The Chef items that have sides picked with them), allows you to pick 1-2 sides of your choice.

There is something for everyone: healthy options like steamed broccoli or roasted brussels sprouts, basic carbs like jasmine rice, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, fries, sweet potato fries, and more fun things like onion strings and a chilled asian noodle salad.  All are also available a la carte, for $5-6.  You can also go for a half salad instead (Cyprus or Caesar), for $4 more if included normally.

We tried several, all were fine, nothing was "ZOMG worthy".

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

The roasted garlic mashed potatoes let me down a bit, as, well, I tasted no garlic at all.  I expected an amazing roasted garlic flavor!

But they were very rich, very creamy, very decadent potatoes.  A touch gloopy, but, definitely decent enough.  My mother liked them.

The portion seemed rather small for these.  I wouldn't get again.

***.

Cole Slaw.

The slaw I was very excited for, really in the mood for slaw, but alas, I didn't like this at all.

I really did like large chunks of cabbage, and it was fresh and crisp, but I didn't care for the dressing, kinda tart-sour, and the red onion was harsh.

**.

Regular Fries.

My father wanted regular fries, I tried one.

Standard thin fries, skin on the tips.  I didn't care for them, not particularly crisp, not particularly ... anything really, and not all that well salted.  He seemed happy enough.  Not my thing anyway.

**.

Sweet Potato Fries.

The sweet potato fries were the one I picked, I had been *seriously* craving sweet potato fries, and when I looked through social media, the sweet potato fries at 110 Grill looked fantastic - a large thick style like I like, crispy, slightly blistered ... I was really excited for these.

They were above average, decent sweet potato flavor, well salted.  I did really like the form, the large size, but they were softer than I hoped.  Of course, this was takeout, they were in a box, and I know that affected them, even if I ripped the box open as soon as I got to the car and devoured on the spot.

My mother really liked them.  They made me just crave Kitchen 56 sweet potato fries, some of the best I've ever had {LINK}.

***+.

Sauces

Sauces are not a separate menu area, or called out as something you can order, but, I'm a sauce girl, and of course I added on sauces to our order, drawing from all different areas of the menu.

These were mostly average.

Tartar Sauce / Honey Mustard / Sriracha Aioli.

Ours meals did not come with any of these sauce, but, I ordered them to compliment our items, knowing they were all on the menu (tartar with fish and chips, honey mustard with fried pickles, sriracha aioli with numerous dishes).  All were pretty generic, standard quality, not sure they are really house made or fresh.

Tartar Sauce: Standard tartar sauce, bits of pickle in it, but had a tanginess I didn't quite care for.

Honey Mustard: Pretty generic, average honey mustard.  Thick style, sweet and very mustard forward too, not really my thing.

Sriracha Aioli: Good enough, but more of a spiced mayo than an aioli really.  Seemed like it would work better in a sandwich than as a dip.

At the Finish

I say the sides drew me in, but, the desserts did too, although not really what you'd expect from me.  But you know me and dessert!

The lineup really does have some ridiculous creations, what you'd expect from a chain restaurant, a warm oreo brownie sundae with ice cream, hot fudge, yadda yadda, a totally reasonable ~1500 calorie portion ... or the ridiculous Peanut Butter Cascade, also featuring a warmed brownie, but this time peanut butter fudge sauce and reese's chunks, clocking in a more respectable 1200 calories ...  Of course they had crowd pleasing flourless chocolate cake (gluten-free), with toppings, a classic apple crisp (yup, a la mode), and simple sorbet as well, plus the only non-traditional item, their spin on a key lime pie.  They always have a seasonal dessert as well.  These are all colossal chain restaurant sized, $9-10.

But again, none of these are really things I care all that much about.  But I read soooo many great reviews of one that I knew would be good for takeout, and, I can't resist a seasonal special ...

Coconut Key Lime Pie: $9.

"Toasted Coconut And Graham Cracker Crumble, Topped With A Key Lime Custard And Fresh Whipped

Cream, Served In A Mason Jar, Finished With Toasted Coconut, A Lime Wheel And Zest."

Here you have it.  The one unique item on the regular dessert menu: the Coconut Key Lime Pie.  This is the dessert every raves about.  And I knew what to expect, in particular, *not* a pie.  In the restaurant, it comes served in a mason jar with a handle, a large mason jar, full to the brim, a layered creation.  For takeout, it came in a standard takeout container, layers of the key lime custard and crumble, whipped cream and a slice of lime on the side, slightly less stunning.

So, to back up.  Things I like?  Pie.  Pudding.  Mixed textures.  Crumble.  Things I don't like?  Citrus desserts, particularly key lime.  Pretty sure I've never liked a key lime dessert in my life.  Graham crackers.  I don't ever want to eat a graham cracker, and I generally dislike graham cracker crusts.  I often dislike toasted coconut.  Yet, I ordered this, knowing it would not have any pie crust, and feature ingredients I do not like.  

Why do I get it?  Well, soooo many people rave about it, I do love pudding and knew it was predominantly a pudding, and, of all the desserts this seemed most takeout worthy. 

The pudding really was good, very thick, rich custard, and yes it had tang from key lime, but I did not dislike it, except that it was really, really sweet.  The consistency was really fantastic.  But as I said,it was very, very, very sweet, far sweeter than even I wanted, and I needed to mix it with copious amounts of whipped cream, and the small little container they provided on the side was not nearly enough (luckily I have plenty at home).  The provided whipped cream was also sweetened, considerably, so that did not help.

Coconut Key Lime Pie. $9.

The crumble too was good, there was a layer within, and this layer on top, that stayed more crisp.  I appreciated the texture it added, there was crumble bits and coconut shreds, and yes, it was graham and coconut, but, they both worked with the key lime, and again, this was all about texture for me.  I loved being able to mix in little bits of the crunchy top, and the interior layer was more soft, almost breaking down like a cake.

Overall, it really was good, but, too sweet.  I broke this into many servings, sharing with my mom, and having several myself, and we both needed to basically cut it half and half with plain whipped cream just to mellow the overwhelming sweetness.  I also added plain crumbled Bugels (easiest thing I had on hand), for a bit more savory element and crunch.

I see why people rave about this, and I do recommend, but beware of sweet.  I would not get again, but I am glad I tried.

***+.

Seasonal Special: Cinnamon Poached Pears. $9.

"Served with a warm cinnamon donut and hazelnut mascarpone, finished with whipped cream and sea salt caramel sauce."

Of course I do not ever get just one dessert!  The seasonal special also isn't quite something you'd normally expect from me, as I don't generally go for pears, but, I also knew it featured two things I adore: a donut base, and flavored mascarpone!

Since this was a special, and it had *just* be rotated onto the menu, I hadn't seen any glamour shots, and didn't quite know what to expect, but when I asked the person taking my order she said it was much like the cinnamon apple donut special they had right before.  That I had seen, and it did look good, but I was a bit confused as that one was an a la mode style item, and didn't have any mascarpone.  Anyway.  I couldn't resist this one.

I did expect a few things though, in particular, that the donut would be warm, as their other items, like the brownie based sundaes, and the previous donut special, were all warm.  This ... was not.  I also expected traditional poached pears, large chunks or even a whole pear, soft, stewed in something.  These ... were small chunks, and were crisp, not soft.  They did have a flavor to them, so clearly stewed in some way, but certainly not what I expected, and I wasn't really into the flavor.

The "donut" was ... interesting.  It was very, very hard, almost too hard to cut into with my plastic knife, and definitely a dry, cake style.  Really, this was more of a donut shaped cake than a donut, and a very dry one.  It did have a nice flavor to it though, tons of cinnamon, and once I brought it home and warmed it up, it did work, with (also warm) pears, that got softer when warm.  It wasn't awful that way, but as served, it was certainly not a winner.

The hazelnut mascarpone on the other hand was pretty awesome (top right).  I didn't taste hazelnut exactly, but it was flavored, and soooo very rich.  Not diluted with whipped cream, this was just rich, thick, hazelnut mascarpone.  I was very excited to have this to play with for my own dessert creations at home.

The whipped cream was the same as with the Coconut Key Lime Pie, just, no lime piece stuck into the container.  The sea salt caramel sauce was missing, which certainly would have helped with the dry cake.

So overall, um, "interesting"?  I certainly was happy to have the mascarpone, and once I warmed it and made a "perfect bite" with donut, fruit, whip, it was tasty enough, but I can't really recommend this in general.  The "donut" did have good flavor though ...

**+.

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Dunkin' Donuts: Food Items

 Dunkin' Donuts.

What "America Runs On".  A staple of my growing up.  Yadda yadda.

I've reviewed plenty of the donuts (and other "bakery") items before, I've reviewed the drinks (e.g. coffee, and crazy iced blended "desserts" that call themselves drinks), but I have never covered the *food* items at Dunkin' Donuts before.

Why?  Well, I didn't actually try any of these until the fall of 2021, when I was on the East Coast for 6 months, avoiding the COVID lockdown world of San Francisco.  

Also, um, who goes to Dunkin' Donuts for the *food*?  Donuts, coffee, muffins, sure, but the food items?  I honestly had never heard of anyone even trying something.

But given my extended time on the east coast, I eventually got curious.  I'm glad I did.

Sandwiches and Snacks

So, what food does Dunkin' offer?

A decent lineup of breakfast sandwiches, with all the standard bacon/sausage/ham options (and now, trendy Beyond Sausage!), several types of (microwaved) egg, and cheese in any of their bagels/english muffins/croissants ... or multigrain thins for the healthy types, simple sides - hash browns and "snackin' bacon" (yes, literally, you get a bag of bacon!), and "Wake-Up Wraps".  That is it.

No lunch items.  This is an area that Dunkin' has struggled, many other items have been part of the lineup at times, but nothing seems to have stuck.

I was drawn in though, by the promise of ... bacon.

Maple Sugar Bacon Wake-Up Wrap®.  $2.09.

"Our delicious Wake-Up Wrap® Sandwiches are made-to-order with your choice of protein, egg and cheese. The perfect portion to help start your day or fuel your afternoon."

Wake-Up Wraps come in whatever form you want - very customizable.  Simple egg and cheese or just a veggie egg white are kinda boring, but, you can pick any of the breakfast meats they offer: bacon, sausage, turkey sausage, Beyond Sausage, ham, or, the new Maple Sugar Bacon too.  My choice was clear - maple. sugar. bacon.

Also your choice of egg, although "fried egg" (ha!) comes standard, you can opt for the veggie egg patty, which I did, although I asked for it on the side (more on that later).

And finally, cheese, for this one, white cheddar is standard, but all others use American, and you can always swap the cheese.

My order was ready fairly quickly, and I was pleased with the warm, "fresh" result.

I can't say it looked particularly glorious, just like a breakfast soft taco, slightly crispy on the outside.  It was nicely warm though.

Maple Sugar Bacon Wake-Up Wrap®: Peeking Inside.

"Extra bacon caramelized with maple sugar seasoning, egg and white cheddar cheese, all wrapped in a tortilla."

I peeked inside my creation - the maple sugar bacon wrap, with white cheddar, no egg (inside).

The cheese was perfectly melty.  I spied nice looking bacon.

I got excited.

I tried a bite of the tortilla.  It was ... um, a tortilla?  Not what I ever really want.  It was slightly crisp, and warm, and not stale?

Maple Sugar Bacon Wake-Up Wrap®: BACON!

The cheese was ... fine I guess.  It was nicely melted, but it didn't really have much flavor.  And it, or maybe the bacon, or likely the combo of both, were really really oily.  Cheese, eh.

But the bacon?  The maple sugar bacon?  Now *that* was good.  Very, very, very good.  

Classic pork bacon, actually really nicely cooked - not flabby, not too crispy, I quite liked it.  It had a slight smokiness to it (from flavoring, not legit smoking, but whatever), and then of course the amazing maple sugar seasoning mix ... sugar, maple sugar, black pepper ... oh yes.  The portion of bacon was decent.

It made me immediately wish I had just purchased the Snakin' Bacon (literally, just a bag of the bacon!).  #nextTime

Overall: Tortilla ** (fine but not my thing), cheese ** (again, fine but not my thing), bacon ****

Veggie Egg White "Omelette" (on the side).

The Wake-Up Wrap normally comes with the "fried egg patty", which I knew I didn't want.  I also didn't really want the other option, the veggie egg white "omelette", but I knew my mom might, so I asked for it on the side.  

This was no problem, and just heated and placed in its own bag.  

Veggie Egg White (on the side).

It was half a round patty I believe, likely a full one is provided in the breakfast sandwiches, and the half size is used in the Wake-Up Wraps to mirror the half moon shape?

It is just egg white with some bits of green peppers, red peppers, and spinach.  It was exactly what you'd expect - a fast food steamed egg white patty with no flavor or texture worth nothing.

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