Simply7 Snacks

Update Review 2020-2021

Since my original review back in 2016, Simply7, a healthy snack food company, has been quite successful it seems.  I understand why - as I reviewed back then, their products really are tasty.  Tasty, and actually healthy?  Who knew.

I previously on tried the quinoa chips (still good), but branched out to the others (even lentil chips, and I *hate* lentils!), given the success of the quinoa chips.  I'm glad I did.

Next I need to get my hands on some of their more interesting flavors (like the spicy ones! Or, um, definitely the popcorn ...).

Sea Salt Quinoa Chips.

"You might expect Sea Salt to be similar to the flavors of other basic salted snacks but it is so much more. The unique flavor of quinoa and the light dusting of sea salt makes for a snacking experience that will keep you reaching for more."

These were the only variety of Simply7 chips that I had previously tried, but I liked them before, and was pleased to have another bag.

I again liked them.  They are really simple, kinda light and airy, wonderfully crispy, and oh-so-salty.  I enjoy them plain, but even better dunked in liquid cheese sauce ...

***+.

Sea Salt Lentil Chips.

"Thrive on our Sea Salt Lentil Chips. A crunchy, tasty snack of wholesome lentils turned chips, topped with the perfect touch of sea salt."

Lentil chips.  Yeah right.

But ... these really aren't bad!  I know they don't sound like something I'd like (lentils, boo! chips, eh), but, they are good.  They remind me of a prawn cracker, just minus the fishiness.  And, at least in this flavor, with a *lot* of saltiness.  They are, um, salt forward to say the least.

Crispy, light, and *very* salty, but, enjoyable.

I used them dunked in Indonesian peanut sauce (part of a pecel salad, in lieu of prawn crackers), and they worked great that way.

***+.

Sea Salt Hummus Chips.

"Thrive on our Hummus Chickpea Chips. A crunchy, tasty snack of wholesome chickpeas turned chips, loaded with the savory flavor of bold, classic hummus with a hint of garlic. We make it simple so that you – and your whole body – feel good."

I also don't like hummus, heh.  But ...

I liked these too!  Really great crisp form factor.  I didn't taste any hummus, but that certainly wasn't a problem for me.

Maybe my least favorite of the 3 kinds, but I didn't dislike them.  Again light and airy.  Side note: these have been re-branded as chickpea chips, hummus flavor.

***.

Original Review 2016

I swear, I don't seek out snacks.  Snacks seek me out.  I really don't remember how I wound up with a bag of Simply7 snacks ... a flight perhaps?

Anyway, Simply7 is yet another company trying to make healthy snack foods.  They use only "clean' ingredients, no trans fat, gluten-free, no artificial colors or preservatives, yadda, yadda.  You know the drill.  Their products are all one of my favorite munchies though: chips!

Except, the chips are made with kale, quinoa, hummus, or lentils as the base, all available in a variety of flavors.  Since I love munching away on things, of course I tried them.

(And, in fact, I tried the hummus chips on a Virgin America flight a while ago, they were served as a starter in First Class instead of nuts ...)

Quinoa Chips

"Simply delicious, light, crunchy snacks with quinoa as the main ingredient."

Quinoa chips are available in simple sea salt, salt & vinegar, barbeque, cheddar, and sour cream and onion.  I tried the sea salt.

Sea Salt Quinoa Chips.

"You might expect Sea Salt to be similar to the flavors of other basic salted snacks but it is so much more. The unique flavor of quinoa and the light dusting of sea salt makes for a snacking experience that will keep you reaching for more."

Quinoa chips?  Yeah right, I don't really do healthy like this.  And, just a plain salted flavor?  Bo-ring.  Or, so I thought.

These were actually really good.  I loved how they were light and airy.  They were indeed salty, super salty, but in a great way.

And ... healthy?  The entire bag was only 140 calories and had some protein to boot.

I'd gladly much on these instead of regular potato chips any day, something I never expected to say!  Now, to find them somewhere, and try more flavors.

Danbury Country Store, New Hampshire

Update Review, Summer 2020

Danbury Country Store.  A legit, old school, New England country store.  That I still have never visited, as, well, I live in San Francisco, and even when I visit my family in New Hampshire, they live 45 minutes away.  So I can't tell you about the actual store.

But I request their treats every time I visit now.  I first discovered them when they catered the breakfast spread for the bridesmaids in my little sister's wedding (which you can read about below), and since then, I constantly mention it to my mother, who, being a lovely mother, makes an epic trip to pick some up for me, and this year, she even had the freezer stocked full of their muffins before I arrived.

Why? Because Danbury Country Store makes some very, very good scones and muffins.  They aren't the absolute best I've ever had, but both fall solidly in my top 10.

Scones

Last time I wasn't particularly into the scone I tried (as a scone, I thought it would likely be good as shortcake biscuit), but my mom picked some up as they didn't have apple cinnamon muffins (the ones I told her were fantastic), and they had a cinnamon scone, so, she wanted to get *something* cinnamon.

I'm glad she did, as I ended up liking it quite a bit.  And it was entirely different.  I'd love to try more varieties of scones.

Cinnamon Chip Scone.

The style of this one was a triangle, rather the round one as before.  It was also more firm, less crumbly.  Really, an entirely different style.

I had the first one as dessert, warmed up, a la mode, and it worked very well that way.  Great texture, good cinnamon flavor, and nice tang.

I had another a few days later (after stashing in the freezer), and again warmed it up (wrap in foil, add a splash of water, throw in toaster oven, uncover at very end - it comes out perfectly moist and soft inside and crisp outside!), and this time paired it with whipped cream and fresh berries.  Sort of like a shortcake.  I again just adored it - lovely texture, nice cinnamon flavor, a lovely product.

I was very pleased, and glad my mom got it!  And I quickly requested more.  Sadly, they never had scones again when my mother visited.

Muffins

Danbury Country Store makes some of my favorite muffins on the planet.  I loved them before, they are definitely the reason I sent my mom to pick up goodies, and I was thrilled to see that they had not changed: muffins really just do not get better than this.  Perfect execution, on all of them.  Moist, well loaded with their mix-ins, and crispy tops that I adore.  So good.

French Toast.

A random pick from my mom, the French Toast.

This one reminded me of the apple cinnamon that I had loved so very much before.  Perfectly crispy top (studded with large pearl sugar!), yet amazingly moist inside.

French Toast: Cross Section.

And what was it like?  It tasted exactly like french toast!

Amazingly like french toast.  As in, yes, you feel like you are eating french toast, particularly if you slice off a piece as I did.  But it is a muffin.  It is uncanny.  Great cinnamon flavor, amazing moisture, even ... eggy batter taste.  Remarkable.

I was heating one up to have after lunch, as a dessert (since I assumed it would be very sweet), and it was not quite what I wanted for dessert, but I can't wait to have one in the morning, or with brunch, as it is just perfect for that.

French toast.  As a muffin.  Who knew.  I think I loved it.

Update Review: Of course I had the next one with my brunch the very next weekend (I popped extras in the freezer).  I decided to slice it up like french toast, and it was *perfect*.  The absolute perfect brunch item, no question.  Better when topped with a touch of syrup, or whipped cream, or butter, but none of that was actually necessary.  This quickly became my favorite of the selection of muffins this round, always as an ideal brunch.

Cranberry Orange.

The cranberry (orange? was it orange last time too? I'm not sure) had been a favorite (ok, second favorite) before, so I was eager to have it again.

This time however it was the middle of the summer, and I felt less inspired by it.  A lovely muffin, don't get me wrong, studded with large pearl sugar on the perfectly crispy top (my favorite!), moist inside, but, the tart juicy cranberries just weren't quite appropriate for the weather.  And cranberry orange is a very, well, "thanksgiving" flavor to me.  My least favorite of the lineup, but only due to seasonality.

Blueberry.

The last time I had the muffins, the blueberry was actually my least favorite.

Again, still, a great muffin, just, when you have all hits, one very good muffin still needs to come in last place.

I felt similarly this time, although it placed above the cranberry orange, due to seasonality.  My third pick of the bunch we tried this time.

It was still a very, very good blueberry muffin.  Again perfectly crispy top, I love the pearl sugar on it, and the muffin was extremely moist inside.  Loaded with blueberries, but not too many to take away structure of the muffin.  Best warmed, with butter, and fresh blueberries.

But still, compared to the french toast (!), not one I'd go running back for, unless I *wanted* a blueberry muffin.

Lemon Poppyseed.

And finally, another very well executed classic muffin.

I feel like a broken record, but, another perfectly crisp top, I adore the sweet pearl sugar on top, and beautifully moist inside.

Slight lemon flavor, not overwhelming, plenty of poppy seeds very well distributed.

Absolutely nothing to fault in execution here, great warmed up with butter (and a touch of jam!), but also good just as is.  When craving a lemon poppy muffin (which, to be honest, is rare for me, definitely not my go-to) this is just about as good as it gets.

My second pick this time around, after the amazing french toast, just ahead of the blueberry.

This place really knows how to make a muffin!

Chocolate Chip.

I love chocolate.  I love chocolate in the morning.  I always, literally always, have a piece of chocolate alongside my morning coffee.  So chocolate chips in muffins?  Entirely appropriate in my world.

But this wasn't a favorite.  I still loved the crisp top, the generous pearl sugar, and the fact that the chocolate chips were very well distributed throughout.  But the chips were small, not particularly interesting chocolate, and the base muffin flavor was kinda plain.

Nothing wrong with this muffin, but I didn't care for it very much, particularly compared to others.

Pastries / Donuts

Danbury Country Store also makes a few other pastries from time to time, but as I've never visited in person, I've never gotten to browse them.  If I had browsed perhaps I could have picked better, but I was not particularly thrilled with the one I did try.

Raspberry Braid.

I wanted something a bit more like dessert, and wasn't there to see them in person, but the idea of the raspberry braid appealed, so I had my mom grab me one.

I ... did not care for it really.  I mean, it was fine, but, the puff pastry was not particularly buttery nor layered and didn't seem house made (e.g. used store bought frozen pastry?) and it just had some raspberry goo inside.

Again, fine, nothing wrong, but, it tasted like something from any generic grocery store.

[ No Photo ]

Glazed raised donut

This was ... a fine donut.  A very classic donut, raised, glazed.  It was fluffy, it was decently glazed.  But just a classic donut.  The base had nothing particularly interesting about it, and I've grown more fond of having a buttermilk tang, or sweet potato base (like Johnny Doughnuts - oh soo good!).  But not too greasy, and really not too bad, just, a classic, well executed glazed raised donut.

Original Review, June 2016

Last summer, I visited New Hampshire to attend my little sister's wedding (Congrats, Elisabeth!), held on her own property.  As part of the festivities, my mother had breakfast platters arranged for us at the assorted sites the day of the wedding (where the bridesmaids and groomsmen were getting ready) and the day after (for the tear down and clean up crew).  The breakfast spreads were incredible, catered by the local Danbury Country Store.

I haven't ever visited the store myself, but, apparently it has been around since the 1800s, in some form or another (a general store, gas station, even a lodging house).  Now it has a general store with curated local goods and a deli.  I'm only familiar with the baked goods, always a favorite item for me.

Muffin and Donut Platter.

Both days the breakfast spread included platters of baked goods, fresh from the oven that morning.  The first morning, I was with all the bridesmaids.  Since all the ladies were trying to fit into their wedding dresses, most ignored the muffins.  And the amazing iced cinnamon buns.  Instead, they nibbled on some fresh fruit.  I couldn't believe it, particularly once I tasted a few items.  Let's just say, I didn't have their restraint.

The next day brought scones and donuts into the mix.  But now everyone was uh, a bit hungover, and they just wanted eggs for breakfast.  Let's just say there were plenty of baked goods around, and, you know me, I'm shameless, love baked goods, and am certainly not on a diet.

I was in my element, happy to pick up the slack and make sure all those amazing baked goods got eaten.  And, they did.  Many, many platters worth.  I regret nothing.

Muffins

I started with the fresh muffins, delivered both mornings.  None were labelled, which made this even more fun for me, since it was a guessing game.  I'm uh, extremely opinionated about my muffins, and I adored these.  Some of the best I've had, anywhere.

For me, a great muffin is one with a crispy top.  I don't know why I like them this way, but it is how I like them.  A muffin with consistent texture throughout is not the style I like.  Crispy top all the way.  But I want it moist and fluffy inside.  What can I say, I like what I like?  And Danbury Country Store muffins are MY style of muffin.

Cranberry Muffin.

I had no idea what flavor this was until I cut into it.  From the top, it looked similar to all the others.

The top was crispy, exactly how I love my muffins.  The inside was fluffy and moist, perfect.  The base flavor had a lovely tang to it.  Even as a plain muffin, I would have liked it.

But, it got better.  Studded throughout were cranberries.  Now, cranberry is not a flavor I ever gravitate towards.  I have nothing against cranberries, but, they are just never at the top of my list.  I would have never taken this muffin if I knew what flavor it was.  And, I would have missed out.  The cranberries provided lovely little bursts of flavor.

My second favorite muffin of the bunch, and I'd gladly have another.

[ In fact ... I did have another, the next day when a new batch was delivered.  I loved it just as much, and on that day, it was my favorite.  Again, I'd gladly have another! ]

Apple Cinnamon Muffin.

Another one I couldn't quite guess the flavor of.

It looked like it might be banana.  But it didn't taste that way.  I detected cinnamon.

A few bites in, I realized what it was: apple cinnamon.  Another one I wouldn't normally pick, but ended up adoring.

The top, perfectly crispy.  The inside, perfectly fluffy and moist.  Nailed it.

And the flavor was incredible.  Spiced perfectly, plenty of cinnamon, but not too much.  Bursts of apple.  Totally delicious.

It reminded me of coffee cake, perfect alongside a cup of coffee.  I loved this, and took an extra for breakfast the next day, which I enjoyed just as much.  My mother also had one of these, and adored the crispy top, and kept exclaiming how flavorful it was.  She was crazed with 1000 things on her mind for the wedding, and she took time to give me a review, unsolicited, which means that she too was really impressed!

My hands down favorite, and I stocked the freezer full with the leftovers.

Chocolate Chip Muffin.

I took this muffin, expecting a blueberry muffin, as I saw little dark spots.  Instead, it was ... chocolate chip!

It was absolutely loaded up with mini chocolate chips.  I appreciated the smaller chip size, as they didn't overwhelm the muffin.  The amount of chips was perfect too, I certainly never felt like I'd been shortchanged, but also it didn't feel too too chocolately for breakfast.  All in a nice balance.

The base flavor was also good, although it wasn't quite as moist as some of the others.  I shared this one with my chocolate loving little cousin, who eagerly devoured the whole thing before her mom saw.  Don't tell.

Blueberry Muffin.

I did also get to try a blueberry muffin the next day.  It had juicy blueberries throughout, but it ended up being my least favorite.  I'm not entirely sure why, as Ojan loved it, and commented himself, "wow, these really are good muffins".  For Ojan to offer up an opinion means it really must be good!

Carrot Raisin Muffin.

I also tried what turned out to be a carrot muffin.

It was a moist muffin, nicely spiced, with raisins.  Definitely good, but I'm never a carrot muffin sort of girl.  When I have moist, flavorful carrot in a baked good, I just want it to be carrot cake, topped with the requisite cream cheese frosting of course.

Buns

Iced Cinnamon Bun.

I thought the muffins were great, but then I tried a cinnamon bun.  OMG.

These were amazing, particularly when heated up in the toaster oven.

The dough was a sweet dough.  It was swirled with cinnamon.  Topped with creamy icing.

Simple, yes.  But amazing.  I wish I had a better way to describe these, as my basic description doesn't do them justice.  The sweetness of the dough was spot on.  The cinnamon was present but not dominating.  I adored the icing.  I just loved these.

I saved one of these for the next day as well, not really expecting it to hold up well, but, once I popped it in the toaster oven, it reheated like a champ.  Seriously as good as the first day.

I want more.  Now!

Scones

Blueberry Scone.

And finally, fresh blueberry scones, delivered on the second day.

The scones were a moist, cakey style, more like a biscuit.  I generally prefer a harder style, and want to have some cream alongside.    They were generously loaded with blueberries.

I think these would be great with some fresh fruit on top, with whipped cream, more like a fruit shortcake.  But as a standalone scone, they just weren't my style.

Cheesecake Factory At Home

Perhaps you've been lamenting that can't go out to The Cheesecake Factory to enjoy their epic menu of #allTheThings.  Such is the COVID world.  But did you know that you can just go to your local grocery store and, most likely, get a bunch of their branded items?

"We are excited to be introducing The Cheesecake Factory At Home™ - a line of delicious products that can be enjoyed at home. Look for these exciting new products in select retailers near you!"

Is it the same as going to the restaurant with its 250 item long menu?  (Yes, really.). Clearly, no.  Most of these products aren't even replicas of actual things served at the restaurant, but, of course there are cheesecake options (whole cheesecakes, slices, or bites), and, probably the part of a Cheesecake Factory meal more people look forward to than the cheesecake even: the brown bread, along with other breads, ice cream, and, um, puddings.  A very random assortment of items, no actual entrees, nor even appetizers (I would have expected frozen appetizer line!), and, really, I love pudding, but ... that seemed so very random.

Note that this is entirely different from their cheesecake, cakes, and cupcakes available to foodservice distributors, which I've reviewed previously (along with a slew of desserts).

During the summer of 2020, while staying in rural New Hampshire with my family, I got a chance to try out some of these products.  I was pleasantly surprised by a few.

Bread

"The Cheesecake Factory® is the fantastical food experience that is absolutely certain to satisfy. Now you can enjoy our famous “brown bread” and new brioche hamburger buns– at home. Loved around the world, our brown bread baguette is a Cheesecake Factory signature taste – now available to enjoy at home in Mini Baguettes, Dinner Rolls and Sandwich Bread. Our deliciously buttery and sweet gourmet Brioche and Wheat Brioche Hamburger Buns were made exclusively for you to enjoy at home."

Yup, breads.  The famous brown bread is available in 3 forms (dinner rolls, mini baguettes, and sandwich loaf), and they also offer up two styles of burger buns.   I found these in the bakery section of my grocery store, not frozen.

Brown Bread Mini Baguettes.

"The Cheesecake Factory® is the fantastical food experience that is absolutely certain to satisfy. Now you can enjoy our famous “brown bread” – at home. Loved around the world, our brown bread baguette is a Cheesecake Factory signature taste – now available to enjoy at home in Mini Baguettes, Dinner Rolls and Sandwich Bread."

I opted for the mini baguettes as my form factor of choice.

I tried it many different ways, and always liked it, but never loved it, not quite as much as I wanted.

I found that I certainly preferred it slightly warm, not crispy, so I didn't just heat it at 350* for 5 minutes as instructed, but rather, wrapped it in foil so it would warm but not crisp.

It was ok with butter, the slight sweetness of the bread made it a touch interesting, but it didn't wow me.  I used honey butter the next day, and again, it was good, but not great.

It was better dunked in heavier sauces, it went great with Trader Joe's excellent tomato sauce found in the frozen stuffed shells, but in that case, it was just a vessel for the delicious sauce.  I think it could go well with pesto or chimichurri too.

The winner though?  No question, dunking it in anchovy oil, e.g. the oil left behind in a tin of anchovies packed in oil.  I loved that pairing!

This was a good packaged bread product, but, I wouldn't get it again.

Ice Cream

"Cheesecake lovers no longer need to choose between a slice and a scoop; now you can have both in one delicious dessert! Our new Ice Cream line features seven celebratory flavors with real cheesecake ingredients incorporated right into the mix."

While *most* desserts I do believe get tremendously better a la mode, cheesecake is one I've never considered that way really (adding whipped cream, of course).  I did recently discover that I do love carrot cake warmed up and paired with ice cream (even when it has tons of cream cheese frosting, yes!), so maybe ...

Nor have I ever really felt the question of "cheesecake or ice cream", or "slice or scoop" as they put it.  Both are great desserts, but rarely ones that come up as a question like that.  Anyway.  Cheesecake Factory has branched into ice cream, as a retail product, readily found around grocery stores nationwide.

As an ice cream girl, who consumes ice cream at least once per day, of course I needed to check it out.  They currently offer 7 flavors: original, chocolate, strawberry, salted caramel, cookies & cream, birthday cake, and key lime.  Basically, your basic ice cream flavors (vanilla, choc, strawberry, cookies & cream), the top selling trends (salted caramel, birthday cake), and, one wildcard (key lime).  I was a little disappointed that they didn't have any that were actually inspired by their actual cheesecakes offered at the restaurant ... at least a red velvet?  All feature the same base ice cream featuring cream cheese and sour cream, and mostly vary just by what is swirled in.

Original.

"Premium Cheesecake Ice Cream with a Signature Cream Cheese Blend, Sour Cream and Graham Swirls."

"This one’s a classic! Our Premium Cheesecake Ice Cream with a Signature Cream Cheese Blend, Sour Cream and Graham Swirls is the perfect scoop of creamy cheesecake goodness in a frozen treat you’ve been waiting for!"

I started with the basic "Original" flavor, their signature cheesecake, as an ice cream, with graham swirls.

My first impression was quite positive: it was indeed true to name - it tasted like cheesecake, a very classic, sour cream forward, tangy cheesecake.  It does have both sour cream and cream cheese in it  Would you put it on top of a slice of pecan pie?  Nah, I think it would clash.  But I immediately wanted to throw some on top of a berry crisp.  It was very very rich however.

The texture/consistency was fine, not super creamy, but not bad.  The style that freezes quite hard, and definitely needs to soften before serving.

The graham swirl worried me - I don't really care for graham, but also, so often this kind of element is gritty or mushy and somewhat "ruins" a product for me.  I didn't see much on top, but once I dug in ...

Original: The Swirl.

It was far more than a "swirl".  Huge, huge chunks of the graham cracker substance.

It was rock solid, so nearly impossible to just get a little, once you had a big chunk, you were getting a HUGE chunk.  On the plus side, it was not mushy nor gritty, and did add a nice crunchy texture sorta.  But I don't really like graham that much, so, the flavor wasn't one I really wanted.

Overall, I found myself wanting to like this more than I did.  It was so intense in its cheesecake nature, which would be great, but ... I never seemed to actually *want* cheesecake ice cream.  I need to be in the mood for cheesecake, and use ice cream as a pairing usually, and I just never felt the urge to pull this pint out.  That said, if you really like cheesecake, and like the sound of a cheesecake ice cream, I think it really was quite true to name.

Decadent Desserts (aka Pudding)

Oh, pudding.  Another of my favorite desserts.  And one so very underrated.  I was pleased to see Cheesecake Factory, fairly randomly, launched a premium pudding line, dubbed "Decadent Desserts" (which, is fairly amusing, because pudding is just not nearly as decadent as their namesake item ...).

I had pretty low expectations thought - why pudding? They don't have pudding on the menu at restaurants, it has nothing to do with cheesecake, it just seemed ... random.  And honestly, most store brand pudding, shelf-stable or refrigerated, ready-to-eat or make at home, etc is just, well, not very good. But the Cheesecake Factory at Home Pudding?  Well, it is remarkably good.  

The puddings are considerably more "real" than those on the shelves next to it, like Snack Pack, Jello, etc, and as such, carry a much higher calorie/fat/sugar content (e.g. 290 calories per cup instead of 100 or less in Snack Pack or only 60 in Jello, with 12 grams of fat instead of 3 g or 1 g, respectively, and a whopping 39 grams of sugar instead of ~10 in Snack Pack or ~15 in Jello.  Or really,  0 as most of theirs are sugar free).  Even the Jello brand "Decadent" line is <100 calories each.  Of course, this is just due to what is in it - whole milk and cream are the first two ingredients in Cheesecake Factory line, instead of water (!) and nonfat milk in a Snack Pack, or skim milk and water in Jello brand.  It really is pudding.  And you can tell.

The puddings come in 4 flavors: Vanilla Fudge Duet (vanilla bean pudding with dark chocolate sauce), Chocolate Black-Out (Belgian chocolate pudding over dark chocolate fudge sauce), Cake Batter Strawberry Royale (cake batter "inspired" pudding with sweet strawberry puree), and Salted Caramel Delight (salted caramel pudding with rich caramel sauce).

They all sounded pretty good to me, besides perhaps the cake batter strawberry (although honestly, I'd try any!), which was fine, as my local Hannaford (the only place that had them) didn't stock that variety anyway.

Salted Caramel Delight Packaging.

The puddings come as 2-packs (rather than 4-6 like other brands), and are found in the refrigerated section.  They must stay refrigerated.  Mine had about a month until the expiration date.

Salted Caramel Delight.

"Creamy salted caramel pudding over rich caramel sauce."

"Delightfully decadent! Our creamy salted caramel pudding with rich caramel sauce is inspired by The Cheesecake Factory’s deliciously decadent desserts."

I started with the salted caramel.  One bite in and I was amazed.  It was *good*.  Very good.

The pudding was very creamy, and, unlike all other brands ... didn't taste anything like chemicals.  It had no fake flavor to it at all.  It didn't taste like salted caramel, but rather, butterscotch, and that did not bother me one bit (I adore butterscotch pudding, probably my favorite flavor).  It tasted homemade, really.  It had a depth to it "like grandmas", honestly.  The pudding layer was fairly wholesome, or at least, not loaded with crazy, just whole milk, cream, sugar, corn starch, salt, "natural and artificial color", and fruit juice (for color?).

It was fabulous as butterscotch pudding, although I wanted some whipped cream to put on top.  I also thought immediately that it would go great perhaps with some caramelized bananas and a shortbread crumble.  But, the pudding alone, or pudding and whip, was plenty satisfying.

I dug down to reach the sauce in the bottom, which was also supposed to be salted caramel.  It indeed tasted more like caramel, although I still tasted no salt, and it was a nice sauce.  The consistency was great - not thin, not too thick, easy to swirl in.  There was plenty of it.  And it was *very* sweet.  Yes, of course I tried just a spoonful of it alone, and that was way too much.  But some swirled in?  Great.  The salted caramel is made from corn syrup, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, nonfat milk, buttermilk, etc, basically, what you'd expect to find in caramel sauce.

I was really quite pleased with my cup, although I found it far better to put into a bigger bowl, so I could add whipped cream (and crumble or shortbread biscuits!), and so I could mix in the caramel sauce.  It was a bit hard to get balanced bites eating out of the cup.  I was curious what it would be like to actually just mix it all up, mixing in all the sauce, sorta like fruit on the bottom yogurt, but, I didn't want to ruin it.  That pudding layer was just too good.

I would get this again in a heartbeat, and I think it truly was as good as homemade.  Shocked, really.

I immediately updated my grocery shopping list to include trying a new flavor.

Chocolate Black-Out.

"Rich Belgian chocolate pudding over dark chocolate fudge sauce."

"A chocolate lover’s dream! Our rich Belgian chocolate pudding with dark chocolate fudge sauce is inspired by The Cheesecake Factory’s deliciously decadent desserts."

Next up, the chocolate chocolate one.  Chocolate pudding, chocolate fudge sauce.

This one was less successful for me.

The pudding was a very dark, very rich looking color, but the flavor wasn't particularly strong.  It was sorta creamy, but a bit grainy.  Now, granted, I had this just a few days after having a fairly mind blowing chocolate mousse, so I had that in mind, but this just wasn't anything special.  It seemed no better, no worse, than any packaged pudding on the market (although, like the salted caramel version, was made with real ingredients - whole milk, sugar, cream, whole eggs, etc).  I didn't really want it.

But the dark chocolate fudge sauce?  That was delicious.  And although technically a "sauce", it was more of a super chocolate pudding-sauce, really creamy, excellent flavor.  I tried mixing some in to the pudding to make the pudding shine more, but really, I just wanted the sauce.

I "salvaged" the second cup by just giving my dad the pudding layer, and keeping the sauce layer, adding whipped cream and brownie bits, and truly loved it.

I wouldn't get this again obviously, as the chocolate pudding was just meh, but it made me excited to try the Vanilla Fudge Duet, featuring the same fudge sauce layer.

JetBlue Main Cabin Cuisine

Many years ago at this point, I flew on JetBlue a time that a Mint seat was shockingly cheap (randomly, it was just one day, one flight, and I #scored).  I was spoiled, ruined, and haven't really looked back.  I adore the Mint hard product (the single suite!), the soft product (generally, really legit friendly and helpful FAs!), and, well, the food and drink (quality wine! Milk (Bar) cookies!  Ice cream!).  You can read all about my experiences there (e.g. SFO - BOS, BOS - SFO (2), SFO - JFK (2), JFK - SFO (2, 3), SEA - JFK.)

I did fly in Main Cabin once or twice after that first Mint experience, and discovered some of the food actually isn't that bad.  You'll find a few of those reviews below too.

But my more recent trip on JetBlue gave me a chance to, uh, more extensively explore the Main Cabin food and drink offerings, as it was July 2020, and that meant ... COVID.  At the time, JetBlue was serving regular main cabin cuisine in Mint.  I also returned on JetBlue in January 2021, and snagged my newfound "favorite" sandwich from Main Cabin again, as, well, yes, I love it.  If you want a sandwich on a flight, I really do recommend JetBlue's selection ...

Wine

JetBlue offers a single red, white, and sparkling ($8, $8, $9, respectively).

I tried the non-sparkling options.  I'm clearly spoiled normally in Mint, and these wines didn't exactly excite.

Wines: $8-9. (July 2020).
The French Cellar Colombard-Chardonnay White Blend
Villa Chavin Expression Du Terroir Merlot.

Since I usually fly Mint, and thus get the wonderful premium wines, this was my first time trying the main cabin selections.  I tried both the red and white available.

The French Cellar Colombard-Chardonnay White Blend

I know I tried this, but, I lost my notes, and have zero memory of it.  I think that means, um, highly unmemorable?

Villa Chavin Expression Du Terroir Merlot

The red was ... um ... "inoffensive" but boring?  It didn't get better with air either.

It was not too acidic, not too tanic, but also, it was just boring.  No complexity to it.  But perfectly drinkable if you wanted some simple grape juice to drink ...

EatUp Boxes

JetBlue offers 4 different "EatUp" boxes, their version of curated snack boxes.  Each has a theme: #1: FuelUp (Protein Packed), #2 SavorUp (Mediterranean), #3 PickMeUp (cheese platter), #4 PartyUp (snacks!).  Each are $9.

I've only ordered the PartyUp previously, as it has a few fun items (it *is* a party box after all, heh), but generally, these don't appeal to me.

I finally opted to try one on a recent flight ...

SavorUp: $9.

"Mediterranean Inspired Snack Box."

The SavorUp box includes:

• TRU Flavors Traditional Hummus Dip Ⓤ
• Dipitas Pita Chips (Pareve)
• GoGo Diperz Chipotle Black Bean Dip Ⓤ
• Rustic Bakery Sourdough Flatbread.
• DiBella Blueberry-Lemon Biscotti Ⓤ

None of this is stuff I would order, but, on my recent Mint flight in the COVID world, this was the only snack available. So, alas, I dug in.

Everything was room temperature.

Savor Up Box Contents. (July 2020).

The hummus dip was ... well, hummus.  Actually not bad, for hummus.  Good flavor.  But I'm not a hummus fan in general, so this was obviously lost on me.

The pita chips I *really* did not like.  

The chipotle black bean dip I was pretty curious about, but also apprehensive, since I don't tend to like chipotle, and prefer other types of beans to black beans.  I didn't like it, but almost did.  The bean puree was actually pretty good, nice texture, but, the chipotle was there, and that I just didn't care for.

The sourdough flatbreads (e.g. crackers) I loved actually.  The olive oil and sea salt provided plenty of flavor, they were perfectly crispy, and, well, didn't taste like sourdough.  Lovely crackers, really, and they paired great with smoked salmon (which of course I had with me!).

And finally, the biscotti.  Not a real "dessert" to me, but it was a good biscotti, nice snap to it.  Sweet but not too sweet, lemon not overboard, loved the blueberry.

So overall, some nice finds, but most of the box wasn't particularly my thing, as I expected.

EatUp Café ($10 - $12)

The "EatUp Cafe" is a larger menu, "fresh food" options, which always includes a single sandwich, a salad shaker, a fancier cheese platter than the EatUp one, and, in earlier flights, some kind of breakfast offering.

I've ordered the salad shakers many times over the years, usually to supplement what I'm having in Mint, and sometimes quite enjoyed them. I never would order the sandwiches, as they are usually chicken or turkey, but in the COVID world ... the hot meal in Mint was replaced with the sandwich from here. And, yes, no options. Just the one. The flight attendant said it was good though, so, I tried it. Spoiler: I didn't hate it!

I also had the salad shaker again, and the cheese plate.

Cheese & Crackers. $12.  (July 2020).

I'm not really excited about mediocre cheeses (I love a great triple cream, a crazy ripe burrata, or a really really well aged cheese, but ... table cheeses? Not normally my thing). I never order cheese platters on flights.

Still, I tried the fancier cheese platter (I mean, I had to complete the wine pairing right?).

Wondering the difference? The EatUp cafe version had only 3 cheeses (Pepper Jack, Smoked Gouda, and Sharp Cheddar), and this had 4, including a brie, the EatUp one had dried cherries rather than apricots, and more generic crackers. Worth $4? If you want brie ...

Cheese & Crackers: Contents.

"Selection of four cheeses, dried apricots, raspberry jam and sea salt olive oil crackers."

The four cheeses seemed to be: brie, cheddar, dill havarti, and swiss? If I was guessing. The raspberry jam was bonne maman and crackers were Rustic Bakery Sourdough Flatbread Olive Oil & Sea Salt, decent brands.

The herbed cheese (havarti?) was my least favorite, a softer cheese, slightly herby, but not very exciting for me.

The cheddar (other rectangle) was actually decent, a slightly dry, flaky, aged style. Same with the swiss (triangle), better than I expected, not an aged dry cheese, but the flavor was more intense than expected.

The brie was ... fine. Not offensive, but not complex, no funk to it.

Mediterranean Salad Shaker. $12. (2019).

"Kale, red quinoa, cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, chickpeas and feta cheese (packaged separately and can be omitted), shaken with our homemade tahini dressing."

The packaging for the salad was interesting ... in a jar. It was attractive packaging, particularly as you could see the salad layers.

The base was red quinoa, which is where the tahini dressing seemed to be. Above that, shredded kale, free from dressing, so it stayed crisp. The use of a curly kale like this also was a nice choice as it holds up much better than other greens. Then a bunch of cooked chickpeas, halves of cherry tomatoes, and diced up cucumber. There was a small separate container with feta cheese, kept on the side so it could be vegan.

However, it was called a shaker, but, it was full, so there isn't really any room to shake it. You could eat the top, and nothing else. Just the cucumbers, tomatoes, and chickpeas were accessible, no kale, and certainly no quinoa, and thus, no dressing. Unless you did like I did, which is take it with you to the hotel, to have as a light meal before trying to go to bed in a strange time zone.

Anyway, the salad.

The quinoa actually was good, a bit of crunch, lots of flavorful dressing. Are quinoa and tahini my favorite things? Nah, but it tasted pretty healthy, and not bad. The kale, as I said, was really crisp, and I liked that layer quite a bit. I added other dressing to it and enjoyed it.

I skipped the chickpeas because I hate them. I tried the feta, even though I don't generally like it, and again didn't really like it. I was glad it was separate, but really, I wished it had another type of cheese. The cherry tomatoes and cucumbers weren't great, clearly cut long in advance and in a fridge a while.

But the quinoa and kale were satisfying, particularly when paired with some other dressing and crispy snack things I threw on (wasabi peas, mustard pretzels, corn nuts, pumpkin seeds, dried pineapple, dried cranberries).

Jicama and Grape Salad Shaker. $12. (2019).

"Kale, spring mix lettuce, cubed jicama, halved grapes and wild rice, shaken with our homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Served with goat cheese and dry-roasted slivered almonds (packaged separately in container and can be omitted). Gluten-free, vegan (cheese can be omitted)."

This is the second type of salad shaker I've tried from JetBlue, and I was happy to see a salad added back on - for a while there was no salad option, only sandwiches.

Like the previous one though, it was very difficult to deal with logistically - a layered item, which sorta makes sense so they can package it all together, but ... it comes just like this, no bowl or anything, so its impossible to mix it up, or sample the layers. It looks cool this way, but ... sorta fails as a salad delivery device.

It did come with the nuts and cheese separate (but inside), thus making it vegan if necessary, and I guess, nut-free too. I'm not vegan, but I loathe goat cheese, so that aspect made me happy.

Jicama and Grape Shaker: Contents.

The contents were ... ok.

I didn't have the goat cheese, but it looked like a reasonable portion. The sliced almonds were dry roasted, good for crunch, and fairly flavorful, but a bit hard to mix-in and distribute into the salad.

The top layer was red grapes, split in half, juicy, fine, standard. Below that was spring mix, fresh enough, and a good mix of types of lettuces. Under that was cubes of juicy jicama, refreshing, and something I often add to salads, so it was most welcome. I even almost liked the wild rice, slightly al dente, for the chew and texture.

What I didn't really like was the balsamic vinaigrette though, which was concentrated at the bottom. This was a good thing for me in that it didn't really get on anything but the wild rice, but if I had wanted it on the greens, I have no idea how I would have pulled that off.

I luckily had another takeout container with me, and some extra greens, so I extracted the top layers of this into that container, added the nuts, added other dressing, and enjoyed, but it is a bit hard to endorse this as is, given the impractical serving container and dressing I didn't care for.

Another Mediterranean Salad Shaker. $12. (July 2020).

"Kale, red quinoa, cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, chickpeas and feta cheese (packaged separately and can be omitted), shaken with our homemade tahini dressing."

The is the same kind I have had a few years before, again, Mediterranean style (seemed to be the theme. The construction was the same: tahini dressing and red quinoa in the base, shredded kale in the middle, and chickpeas/cucumbers/cherry tomatoes on top. Feta on the side.

When I had it previously, I lamented the packaging, very difficult to mix and eat, and this time they one-upped it: no forks included. Heh. Ooops. Luckily, I had my own silverware (er, plasticware?) and a box of salad, so I just mixed it there.

This is a decent portion, even though packed in so tightly, 410 cal / 20g fat/ 14g protein. It really could use more greens though to make it more enjoyable, and feel like a real salad. Luckily, I had those with me (yes, I brought my own kale and baby spinach base!). #alwaysPrepared

Mediterranean Salad Shaker: Top View.

Here you can see the top view, and the little container of feta.

These ... are all very Mediterranean, and ... yeah, I don't like. I removed the feta/cucumbers/tomatoes/chickpeas, and made a little tiny Mediterranean salad for my mom.

I did try a cherry tomato, but yes, meh. It was fine, but, clearly had been refrigerated. I had my own fresh heirlooms with me anyway.

Mediterranean Salad Shaker: Bottom.

The bottom is where the goodness lie, hence, my annoyance at the packaging. So hard to get to this!

Like before, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the quinoa and the tahini dressing, as neither are things I tend to love. But they work well together, the dressing really was kinda tasty. I do wish it was packaged separately though, as this was just a ton of dressing quinoa, since I was removing the top layer. Still, when mixed with the kale (shockingly crisp, nice small pieces, curly kale), it was good, particularly once I added more greens, my own heirloom tomatoes, and some crunchy corn nuts!

Turkey Caprese Sandwich. $12. (2020)

"French baguette, turkey breast, mozzarella "log", arugula, sundreid tomato aioli, basil pesto."

And finally, the sandwich offering, which I'd *never* order, since I don't like turkey, I don't even really care for sandwiches in general, don't love sundried tomato ... and I certainly had no hope for the "fresh" french baguette here ... but my FA said it was delicious, and I saw nearly every FA come get one of the extras after service, so, I took the chance.

It came wrapped in cellophane, and looked ... well, like a premade sando. I questioned why I bothered trying it, feeling bad about wasting. And then I tried it. Spoiler: did not hate.

In case you are curious, it is made for JetBlue by Artisan by Bimmy's, a Long island based small company that makes Grab-N-Go items for foodservice, including grocery stores, hotels, airport concessions, drug stores (Duane Reade carries this sandwich!), and, obviously, airlines.

Turkey Caprese Sandwich: Unwrapped.

Yeah. I don't understand. It really wasn't bad.

The bread, a french baguette, wasn't the freshest, obviously, but it was decently crusty on the outside (but yes, a touch ... stale), and very moist inside, since slathered with sooo many sauces (more on that soon).

It was however a large sandwich, maybe I'm just not used to having just a sandwich for a meal as I usually do a smaller sando and pair it with something, but it felt ... very, very large. So. Much. Bread. I was overwhelmed by bread by the end, and just scraped out the fillings (which, again, so good, more on this soon).

Anyway, yes, a full meal, 510 cal / 25g fat / 26g protein. The protein amount surprised me, but I guess the turkey and mozzarella really do add up (and the bread has some?).

Turkey Caprese Sandwich: Construction.

It didn't exactly look assembled with, uh, love. No "sandwich artist" took pride in this one.

But, um, what was inside really was good.

First, the best part? The basil pesto! Super, super flavorful, oily in all the right ways, and pine nut free! It was slathered generously over the bottom piece of bread, although it did *not* extend to the right hand side - boo. I loved how it soaked into the bread.

The pesto went well with the mozzarella, a fresh style "log" (literally what it was listed as on packaging), just a single slice in here, but thick, and generous. Unfortunately only on one half of the sandwich, unless you cut it and moved it around, which, I did. Again, no points for assembly, but points for taste.

The turkey was the majority of the filling, turkey breast, thin sliced, slightly smoky even? It has been *years* since I had turkey sandwich meat, but way, way back (like, literally 20+ years), I did like shaved turkey breast (only shaved, very very thinly shaved, in only the way my hometown deli did it). Of course, back then, and yes, now, it was all about the TONS of mayo I had with it. I think the very shaved style helped hide the turkey texture and flavor, as did the mayo. So here, I just tried a little, didn't hate it, and extracted just a little, so I could be responsible and have protein. I didn't hate it, but I certainly didn't want all the turkey. Like the turkey of my childhood, it went great with the aioli.

The aioli, much like the pesto, was slathered on the bread, this time on top. Sundried tomato, which wasn't too strong, actually just seemed very tomato-y, which was great. Pesto, mozzarella, and tomato is a classic pairing for a reason. And yes, very generously applied (health conscious folks would certainly be scraping this off!), and yes, soaked into the bread, making it all moist and soggy, in a way that worked.

I was honestly very surprised by how flavorful this was, how well the ingredients worked together, and how, well, not super old and stale it seemed. It really would be even better with a fresh tomato component, but I understand why they'd leave that off for freshness reasons. Of course I had my own farmer's market heirloom tomato with me, presliced right before I left for the airport, and I was thrilled I had it with me to really make this shine.

Once I grew sick of the bread, I loved scooping out the soggy bread soaked in pesto, the soggy bread soaked in sundried tomato aioli, and adding arugula, my own heirloom tomato, a touch of mozzarella, and even some turkey, for the "perfect" bite. The flavors were great, and yes, I do like soggy, flavorful bread sometimes ...

Roast Turkey & Caprese Sandwich. $12. (January 2021).

"French baguette, turkey breast, mozzarella "log", arugula, sundreid tomato aioli, basil pesto."

Another JetBlue flight, another chance to get one of these sandwiches. Yes, I laugh so hard at myself for how much I love these sandwiches, not even *on* the flight, but the next day for an easy lunch.

This one was assembled much better than my first, but was otherwise exactly the same.

It was absolutely loaded with turkey, considerably more than last time. 2-3x the cheese too. A day old, the bread was a touch stale ... but not really, still very crusty on the outside, a proper baguette.

When you heat or toast it up (recommended if you bring it home!), it gets perfectly crunchy, and comes out excellent. You'd never know it was pre-made, or a day old.

But of course, I don't care about the turkey and bread ...

Roast Turkey & Caprese Sandwich: inside.

As I mentioned, this one was much, much better made. You can't see it here but the mozzarella slices, 3 of them, were nicely distributed above the turkey. The bottom piece of bread was slathered, generously, edge to edge, with the pesto, the top piece equally well covered in sundried tomato aioli. Far better than last time with the spreads not going to the edges, and cheese all piled up.

And yes, inside is what is insanely delicious! I don't understand how I love it so much.

The soggy interior bread, slathered with both the tomato aioli (sundried tomatoes, mayo) and the basil pesto (parmesan, basil, garlic, etc), and the soggy arugula that also soaked up all the pesto + aioli ... just, <3. Delicious. Delicious cold, just scooped out of the sandwich with some of the soggy bread. The mozzarella cheese is fine quality, and I like it too. The turkey is ... well, very turkey tasting, and not my thing after a few bites.

It is also fabulous toasted, toasting the whole thing, the cheese in particular is able to shine, melty gooey mozzarella, and when I toast it, I do eat the whole, warm, crusty, kinda great bagguette.

But my fav way is just scooping out cold fillings.

Note to self: yeah, keep getting these ...