Shakedown Ice Cream

Back in the day, I was a very spoiled girl.  As were all my co-workers.  You see, we worked for a tech company, that fed us lunch daily, and this included desserts.  Not just any desserts though, all were made in-house by an extremely talented pastry team, lead by Chef Amy.  Our daily offerings included some cult favorite chocolate chip cookies, multiple plated treats (cakes, puddings, etc, etc), and, house made ice cream and sorbet, multiple flavors, each made daily.  Like I said, spoiled.  Of course we didn't realize it at the time, and the same goes for the daily sushi, regular Dungeness crab fests, and the like.

Approaching the dessert stand daily was always an exciting moment, and trying to pick just ... two items (please, who can pick just one?) was always agonizing, particularly when the ice cream flavors were always so fun. I knew Chef Amy had a magic touch, and when she left after some number of years, the impact she had made was even more obvious.  So I was thrilled when I found out that she left to follow a passion that centered around ... ice cream.  She went to open her own ice cream shop.  I couldn't wait to check it out.

Unfortunately, Shakedown didn't last that long, but I did manage to visit once for ice cream, and once to have Chef Amy craft an incredible ice cream cake for a team party.  I can't wait to see where she pops up next ...

The Space

Shakedown was located in the Tenderloin, not a neighborhood I sought out, and not the sort of area you necessarily wanted to hang around, but in some ways, this was part of the appeal.  I had to make a mission out of going to Shakedown.

Register and  Pints.

Shakedown did not have a large space.

Inside was the counter with a single bay of ice cream, a little area behind for prep, minimal seating on the side, and the end counter where you pay.  This area did double-duty with a couple seats too and houses a small freezer with pre-packaged pints (in glass mason jars!).

What it lacks in space though it does make up for in being nicely designed: check out the purple walls, the artwork, and the live plants.  Plus, that counter is stunning!  It seemed almost out of place given the nearby surroundings.

Seating.

And here you can see the entirely of the seating section.  As I said, small, and minimal seating.  The only available seats are counter seats along the window, I think 5 total, plus the two at the register.  I was able to easily get a seat, but I'm curious what this is like when they get busy, as the street outside isn't exactly nice for loitering around and enjoying ice cream ...

Ice Cream Counter.

The counter displays all 10 flavors of ice cream available in a given day.  Yup, only 10.  I believe they always have a few staples (vanilla, coffee, and Pennsyl-tucky), since those are required for the signature shakes, and always have one non-dairy, but besides that, the flavors rotated all the time.

Prep Station.

On the side is the assembly area for shakes and sundaes.  This area houses blenders, toppings, and a station for bruleeing bananas (!).  While I was there, another customer ordered a shake that had bruleed bananas (uh, yeah, these aren't normal shakes), and I watched the staff member grab a banana, slice it, top it with sugar, and pull out the blow torch.  So much work goes into the shakes in particular, but wow, they looked amazing.

Special Ice Cream Cake

Every year, we have a tradition of sending our summer interns off with an ice cream cake.  The year before, one of my co-workers arranged for a pretty amazing cake from Mitchell's (review soon!).  But in 2017, it was my turn to get the ice cream cake.

My first thought was Carvel, which I realize sounds ridiculous, but, is totally the cake I grew up with, and always had for my birthday.  Is the ice cream good quality?  Of course not.  But I adore the crunchies inside.  I pondered going a few steps up and getting Baskin-Robbins, Ben & Jerry's , or even another Mitchell's cake.  But I knew I could do better.  Good ice cream cake starts with good ice cream, right?

I approached Chef Amy to ask if she made ice cream cakes, even though I didn't see them listed on the Shakedown website.  She said that they don't generally make cakes, but, she does for special orders on occasion.  I quickly asked for more details.  She said to pick a cake (vanilla or chocolate) and a flavor of ice cream, and then to decide if I wanted it coated in buttercream or meringue.  This sounded great, except I had a few issues.

The first?  Well, I couldn't pick one flavor of ice cream.  I narrowed it down to about 10, and even that was hard.  The second?  I didn't really want a cake layer.  I wanted it to be Carvel-style, with two types of ice cream, separated by something crunchy.

So, I asked for exactly that.  I also asked Amy to pick my flavors, to choose two that would be complimentary from my giant list, since I couldn't possibly decide myself.  The only thing I did pick was the meringue on the outside, since that sounded like more fun than buttercream.

So my first encounter with Shakedown was not with just getting a scoop at the shop, but rather, with getting a custom, off-menu, ice cream cake.

Custom Ice Cream Cake. $100.

My other request was to have a goodbye message for the interns on top, which she was happy to do in chocolate.

I brought a co-worker with me to pick up the cake.  He, uh, certainly questioned where I was leading him at one point.

I expected the cake to look stunning, but, even so, I was just as blown away as he was.  It was gorgeous.  This photo was taken after I transported it back to the office, so it was slightly worse for the wear, but I assure you, it was awesome.  Toasted fluffy meringue on the outside, crispy Cocoa Nib Florentines sticking out, and a double decker.  It was *very* hard waiting until the next day to break into it.

Toasted Meringue Coating, Butter Brickle Ice Cream, Cinnamon Toast Brunch Ice Cream, Cocoa Nib Florentine.

It was also very hard to slice such a massive cake!  I'm not sure the others really appreciated what a fine job I did.  The cake was two tiers of two layers each, separated by the cocoa nib florentine crunch between the layers (but not between the tiers).  I didn't quite realize the makeup of the cake when I started slicing.  If I had, I probably would have opted to slice just the top tier, aka, a layer of each ice cream and crunchies, rather than trying to slice through the entire thing and manage to slip these ridiculously tall slices onto plates.  I did a noble job.

So, how was it?  The meringue on the outside was fluffy and sweet, quite tasty, although it did deflate a little in the day I had it in the freezer before serving.  Certainly not the chef's fault though, and the toasted merinque was beautiful.

I loved the cocoa nib florentine in the middle, super crunchy, but, I actually wanted a thicker layer, as you can see here, the cake is mostly just ice cream (which is of course basically what I asked for, since I didn't want any cake cake).  Plus, I still had Carvel in mind, and, Carvel nicely loads up the crunchies in the middle.  The use of nibs was a good choice not only for the crunch, but for the bitterness, given that the rest of the cake was just sweet ice cream.

And then of course, there was the ice cream.  Chef Amy picked two flavors for us, Butter Brickle, described as "Toffee Ice Cream with Crushed Butter Toffee", which was the top layer of both tiers, and Cinnamon Toast Brunch, described as "Cinnamon Toast Infused Ice Cream".

Cinnamon Toast Brunch is one of Shakedown's signature flavors, offered normally on Sundays only at the shop.  Why so exclusive?  Well, taking the practice of making everything in house, they actually make the bread, to make into cinnamon toast, to soak into the ice cream base, to make into the ice cream.  It sounds like quite the process, and they only do it as a special to honor the biggest brunch day of the week, Sunday.

To be honest, I think the Cinnamon Toast Brunch was a bit lost on me.  I appreciated the creativity behind it, and the crazy work that goes into making something starting with baking the bread, but, I didn't really taste the cinnamon, or anything toasty about it.  It really tasted like plain, albeit sweet, ice cream, particularly when combined with the other elements of the cake.

The Butter Brickle was my favorite, an even sweeter choice due to the toffee base, and I liked the little bits of toffee studded throughout.  Just like the florentine though, I found myself wanting more of the crunchy element, bigger chunks.

Both of the ice creams were clearly high quality, super rich, super creamy.

My co-workers loved this cake.  I was having a hard time cutting reasonable sized slices from the cake, and was a bit worried I was giving people way too much.  I had nothing to fear.  They cleaned their plates.  And then, slowly, one by one, started sheepishly asking for a second slice.  Some asked for a third.  There was a small amount of the cake left, that I promised to save for a few people who weren't able to attend the party, so I put the slices into containers and put them in the freezer.  The slices didn't last a day, as my co-workers somehow found where I stashed them, and took more, without asking!  Doh.  It suffices to say this was a pretty big hit.

Ice Cream

After that ice cream cake extravaganza, I obviously had to return to try the regular ice cream.  The menu is what you'd expect: ice cream, sundaes, and shakes.  Not much more.

Ice cream is available in 3 sizes to eat there (a cute, actually reasonably sized junior scoop, a single scoop, that is actually quite large and can be made up of two flavors, and the "biggie"), plus 1/2 pints and pints to take home.  Scoops are available in a cup, or for $1 more, you can add a housemade buckwheat waffle cone or bowl.

If you want to spice it up, go for a sundae, available in 3 sizes (1 scoop + 2 toppings, 2 scoops + 3 toppings, or 3 scoops + 4 toppings, all served in their buckwheat cone bowls, and all include whipped cream (aka, it doesn't count against your toppings).  Toppings are numerous, and, you guessed it, all housemade.  For sauces, you can opt for hot fudge or hot butterscotch, regular chocolate sauce, marshmallow topping, or two types of caramel (salted caramel or whiskey caramel).  For crunch, go for candied pecans, peanuts, coconut flakes, or crumbled "Oreo-style" cookies.  Go crazy and add brulee bananas.  And don't forget the housemade sprinkles, available in rainbow or chocolate.  The whipped cream most certainly does not come from a can.

And finally, the shakes.  The shakes are a labor of love, and, priced accordingly ($10-12).  While you could just get a chocolate shake, the shakes I saw being made all were far more elaborate.  For a single shake, I watched multiple types of ice cream (5 scoops total?), plus a slice of cake, go into the blender.  And the results were stunning, the clear cups had drizzles of syrup around the edges, the shakes were thick and loaded with stuffs, and the toppings were even more spectacular, with whipped cream, more sauces, and, uh, chunks of pie on top.  I watched two different shakes being made during my first visit, and each took nearly 5 minutes.  But wow they looked incredible.  And, um, awful for you.

As I mentioned, they only serve 10 flavors a day, which actually, for me, is a good thing.  I struggle with narrowing down my ice cream choices, and I always want to try all of them, so, this at least limited me.  And yes, they do let you sample, and have bins for sample spoons right on the counter.

On my first visit, I was able to easily rule out two flavors because they had coffee in them, one because it was sorbet, one because I had it previously in my ice cream cake, and the simple vanilla.  Which left me with 5.  I sampled 4 of them (technically, I got Ojan to sample two, and I sampled two, but, uh, I tried all 4).  Sampling didn't really help, in that I liked all of them.  So I made Ojan pick.  I was grateful that I was allowed to pick two flavors to make up a "single" scoop. 

Single Scoop Sundae: Purple Reign and PB&J, Hot Fudge, Candied Pecans, Whipped Cream, Rainbow Sprinkles. $7.

I decided to go big, and get a sundae.  This way I could try the ice cream AND a bunch of toppings.  I went for the smallest sundae, which comes with 2 toppings (not including whipped cream), and is served in a buckwheat waffle cone bowl.  Or, at least, it usually is.  When I arrived, they had no waffle cones, nor bowls, which was heartbreaking, since I had read so many positive reviews of the cones.  To make up for it, I was offered an additional topping for free.

For toppings, I went for one sauce (hot fudge), one crunchy element (candied pecans), and sprinkles, because I adore sprinkles, and I couldn't wait to see what their homemade sprinkles were like.  The sundae was just as beautiful as the shakes I saw, and again, made with such care.  The nuts were evenly distributed, the hot fudge and whipped cream applied generously, and just look at those sprinkles!

The hot fudge was thick, good hot fudge, but honestly, it wasn't anything particularly special.  If you like hot fudge, by all means, get it, and I appreciated that it was actually hot and thick, but, uh, I am in love with the hot fudge from JP Licks in Boston, and this wasn't nearly as magical.  I'd skip it next time.

The candied pecans were super candied, really crunchy, absolutely coated in sugar.  I liked having some crunch, but, like the fudge, I found them actually unnecessary.

The whipped cream was standard homemade whipped cream, aka, not just from a can.  Light, fluffy, sweet.  And plenty of it.  Too much perhaps?

The sprinkles I loved.  Loved, loved, loved.  I had the choice of chocolate or rainbow, and went for rainbow.  They were obviously larger than commercial sprinkles, which made them actually noticeable when you ate them, a bit of crunch, and bit sweet.  I'd certainly get these again.

As for the ice cream, while I got a "single", I was able to get two flavors, and went for PB & J and Purple Reign.

PB & J:

"Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Concord Grape Jellies."

I wish I had a photo where you could see this flavor.  I assure you, it was unlike any other PB & J ice cream ever.  It didn't just have a jam swirl, instead, it had actual jellies, like, cubes similar to a pate de fruit, studded throughout.  It was incredible.  The peanut butter was rich, the ice cream was creamy, and the concentrated cubes of jelly were incredibly flavorful.  This is one of the best peanut butter ice creams I have ever had, and I love peanut butter.

Purple Reign:

This was a special not on the regular menu, in honor of Prince, served on the anniversary of his death.  It was made with ube (purple potato) and marshmallow fluff.  I adore ube and I adore fluff, and this was a good combination, the sweet fluff a nice compliment to the less sweet ube.  I appreciated that you could actually taste ube in it too, and they didn't shy away from letting the potato shine.  It was also a stunning purple flavor.

That said, I didn't love it nearly as much as the PB & J.

Overall, this was a good sundae, and I was very happy.  However, I made a note to myself that, as awesome as the toppings were, they just weren't necessary here.  The ice cream is just good enough on its own.  I recommend the sprinkles though, because those are just too amazing, and I still want to try the waffle bowl.

[ No Photo ]

Other flavors

Jacker Crack:

"Popcorn Infused Ice Cream with Swirls of Dulce De Leche and Crushed Peanut Brittle."

This flavor had my name all over it.  I love popcorn and I love caramel corn even more.  Add in some peanut brittle too?  Um, yes!  Sweet and salt, yes please!  I tried a sample on my first visit.  It was delicious, very sweet though, the dulce de leche was very, very sweet.  I didn't quite taste popcorn though.  I really did like it, and loved the crunch from the brittle, but ultimately picked another flavor.  I'd still be happy to try a real scoop sometime.

Pennsyl-tucky:

"Pieces of Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie Swirled into Bourbon Ice Cream."

This might be their most famous flavor.  Through in some bourbon, and the masses go crazy, right?  For good reason.  I tried a sample of this one too, and I loved the boozy bourbon element.  I may have picked it, but since I was sharing with Ojan, and he couldn't have alcohol, I ruled it out.

Read More...

Brickhouse Cafe

Brickhouse Cafe is a restaurant in South Beach open all day, that morphs throughout the day and throughout the week.  Although "cafe" is in the name, it most certainly isn't a traditional "cafe" at all.

For weekday breakfast, it is a very casual establishment.  You order at the register near the bar, and most people get their food to go, although there is seating.  They offer many different egg dishes, including a slew of variations on egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, along with pastries and coffee drinks.  Plenty of folks just stop in for a coffee, which I guess does make it rather cafe like?

Lunch is a sit-down affair with full table service, mostly featuring their extensive burger lineup.  Throughout the afternoon they stay open with a fairly expansive bar menu, including Happy Hour specials, and a slew of signature drinks.

Finally, there is dinner, which adds in more classic hearty entrees such as steak, salmon, and pork chops.  On the weekends, the first meal of the day is brunch, a hybrid of the breakfast and lunch menus, again with regular table service.  

The cafe has been in operation for as long as I've lived in the area, although never a place that gets a lot of fanfare, it clearly has staying power.

Update Review, 2021 Visits

My last visit to Brickhouse Cafe was in 2015 (see my original review!)  But 2021 was the year of COVID, and in my case, far more time spent in SF than I have in years, and, considerably more takeout.  And thus, one day, my desire to get out of the house a little lead me back.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of pickup and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes ...

Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]

Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]

Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]

Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]

Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]

Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]

Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]

Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]

Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

I placed my order on delivery.com, and it was ready when I arrived, no issues encountered.

Nice Packaging.

To start, I just want to give a shout out to Brickhouse for nicely packaging with their logo stickers on the box sealing it.

Mixed Green Salad. $5.
Add Grilled Gulf Prawns.

"Simple mixed greens with radish, parmesan & extra virgin olive oil."

Not the most exciting order, but all I needed was a salad to go with some other leftovers I had at home.

To a salad, you can add grilled or fried chicken, ahi tuna, grilled prawns, bacon, or avocado for a fee.  I opted for the grilled gulf prawns, which turned out to be a serving of 4, freshly grilled (still warm when I picked up).

This was, as described, a simple salad, but nicely done.

Fresh mixed greens, juicy slices of radish.  I asked for parmesan and dressing on the side, both of which were easily honored.  I was happy to see the cheese was large shreds of parmesan.

The dressing was simple balsamic and oil oil, no option to change it, so I actually just used my own dressing at home as I wanted something more flavorful.

The grilled gulf prawns were certainly the star of the salad, and I'm glad I added them.  You never know what you'll get when you add on prawns, will they be tiny?  Tail on? Chewy? Properly cleaned? Seasoned in any way? Rubbery?

The answers for the grilled gulf prawns at Brickhouse are luckily all positive: larger size, nicely cleaned, tailed on, and well seasoned.  They were juicy, succulent, not chewy, although perhaps a tad underdone.

Overall, yes, just a simple salad, but ingredients were all quality.

***+.

Original Review, September 2015

Brickhouse Cafe has been around for a while, and I live nearby, but I hadn't ever visited until recently, when I saw that they accept payment via the Paypal app, and I was enjoying seeking out places with Paypal offers.

I only ever visited during the mornings, but I loved the biscuits enough to want to return for another meal service sometime.  In particular, I'm interested in their burgers, as the beef is sourced from the owner's own cattle ranch in Washington.  He also goes on annual salmon fishing expeditions and personally catches some of the seafood they serve.

The Space

Bar Area.

As I mentioned, they are open for continuous service all day long, so the bar I'm sure is a feature later in the day.  It was well stocked, and probably a great place for a happy hour drink and bite, but I've only visited in the morning when it was desserted

Seating.

Seating is varied and casual.  The entire space is bright, open, and airy, with a rustic feel due to all the wood.  Very comfortable and inviting.

The center of the room contains a huge communal table with high stools.  Booths and small tables make up the sides.  I didn't venture upstairs, but there is an open loft area with additional seating.

Beverages

Coffee Condiment Station.

The self-serve condiment station has all the classic sweeteners, including many types of non-sugar and sugar cubes, plus milk, but lacked any cinnamon or cocoa, which I always like to add in.

Decaf Coffee.  $3.

Coffee when you dine in is served in a huge metal mug.  It looked strange to me at first, but I quickly grew to love it.  I appreciated the heft of it, and the way it felt in my hand.

The coffee was fine, although it bad a bit of a strange sweetness to it, that I attribute to being rather stale decaf.  I'm guessing this is not a high volume item for them.

$3 for a cup of pre-brewed drip coffee was a bit high, even though the cup was large.  Interestingly, if you get it to go, it is only $2.50.  I would only get this again to compliment a meal, I certainly wouldn't seek it out.

Peppermint Mocha. $4.

Espresso beverages are also offered, but not in decaf.  So I "splurged", and went for the caffeine.  Since I was going all out, I made it a mocha.  And not just any mocha, a peppermint mocha.  Oh, and one topped with a fancy peppermint marshmallow.  Decadence.

Now, to step back, you probably know that I generally just drink black coffee or Americanos.  Milk and sugar are things I only add when the coffee tastes bad.  This style of milky drink, with extra flavors and sugars isn't really my style.  But it was cold out, and I wanted comfort, and decadence, in a cup.

It totally hit the spot.  I appreciated the generous amount of foam, although the bubbles were rather large, not exactly velvety smooth microfoam.  The drink was crazy sweet, and it would have been better with half as much peppermint and chocolate.  So the mocha itself ... not amazing, but I grew to appreciate it.

What was amazing however was the marshmallow.  I saw the barista pull it out, so I knew it was a Whole Foods brand peppermint marshmallow.  I've seen these by the registers at Whole Foods all winter, and I'm glad I got to try one.  Sweet, fluffy, and crazy minty.  I loved the marshmallow plain, but I really loved how it softened into the drink.

That said, I probably wouldn't get another of these, or if I did, I'd ask for it half sweet.  But really, I'd just ask for the Peppermint Mocha special, hold the mocha, just give me a cup of peppermint marshmallows.  Or I guess I could go buy them at Whole Foods myself.

$4 was a fine price for such a fancy drink.

Pastries

Breakfast pastries (croissants, scones, morning buns) are displayed near the register.  They are not house-made, but I wasn't able to determine where they came from.

Morning Bun.  $2.50.

I wanted a breakfast pastry to go with my coffee.  My choices were  sad looking croissants, a single scone, or a morning bun.  The morning bun immediately caught my eye.

Sadly, it was awful.  The exterior was crunchy, but not a pleasant crispy, it was just dry.  As was the inside, not moist, even in the very center, where a great morning bun is often soft and doughy.  There was some cinnamon between the folds, but not nearly enough.  The dusting of sugar on the outside also did not save it.

It was not offered to have it warmed up, the only other way I could imagine salvaging it.  Sadly, I didn't bother finishing this.

All pastries are $2.50, which is a fine price, and they also sell day olds for only $1.  But, I wouldn't even pay $0.50 for this!

Breakfast

Granola & Greek Yogurt with Fresh Fruit. $7.

Ojan stopped by Brickhouse one day to grab a snack, and of course, I demanded a bite, even though yogurt, fruit, and granola parfait was perhaps the most boring thing he possibly could have picked.

The granola on top was just toasted oats, no clumps, no nuts, no seeds, no dried fruit.  Pretty boring.  The yogurt was standard greek yogurt.  The "fresh fruit" was cantaloupe and honeydew cubes, plus chunks of pineapple, and raspberries, all fresh enough.

Quite boring and uninspired, but, I would have never ordered this.  $7 price was fine for a large parfait.

Side Dish: Buttermillk Biscuits $2.

The breakfast and brunch menus feature biscuits with sausage gravy and eggs.  I've been addicted to biscuits and gravy lately, and if I was getting a full breakfast, I certainly would have gone for that.

But I stopped by for another reason.  I had some leftover really delicious cheese sauce at home that I wanted to smother something with (it originally was used with gnocchi, and reminded me a bit of cheesy gravy, if that makes any sense).  Somehow, smothering a biscuit in this cheese sauce, along with some sauteed spinach, seemed like a great idea.  So I ordered a side of biscuit to bring home and use later.

I was a little surprised that it took a while for my biscuit to be ready.  It turned out, they serve the biscuits warm (unlike the morning bun, grrr).  Whoops.  Since I wasn't intending to eat it right away, I didn't need it warm.  But when I opened my box I was even more surprised.  Two whole biscuits!  Score!

Since I had two biscuits, I decided to try one right away.  After all, it was warm!  It was warm and fresh, sliced in half, and a bit toasty on the outside.  I liked the bit of crispness to the toasted exterior, but it was still perfectly moist inside and not at all dried out.  The winning element however was the buttermilk tang.  Such a great tang.  It crumbled nicely too.

The woman who gave me the biscuits told me she doesn't even think they need gravy or anything, she loves them just with butter, and I can totally see why.  These are just great biscuits!  I choose to use some jam on the one I ate on the spot, like with an English scone, but, they only have Smucker's basic strawberry jam and grape jelly at Brickhouse, neither of which did the biscuits any justice.

I think these biscuits would be great warm with some of my mom's strawberry jam and a little clotted cream.  And I think they'd be great with butter.  Or smothered in the sausage gravy as Brickhouse serves them.  They were also delicious with my cheesey-gravy sauce too, and I'll definitely consider getting this again.

$2 for a side of two biscuits was crazy reasonable.  $1 each?  Unreal.

Read More...

Uniholic, Roppongi

There are so many things to love about Tokyo, but no doubt that the incredible cuisine is one of them.  I've enjoyed the high end (consuming 8 Michelin stars in 3 days!) and the convenience (yes, I ate entire meals at 7-Eleven!), and just about everything in between (see my master post for full list of reviews).  Another thing I love about Japan is the complete obsession with singular items, and the theme experiences that surround them.  In this case, one of my favorite foods: uni.  Uni is the entire basis of a restaurant, aptly named Uniholic, located near my office.  I adored the name even.

#allTheUni.

Yup, I went to a restaurant that served any entire menu based around uni.  Literally.  They have exactly 1 non-uni dish.  Do not go here if you are not an uniholic (like my manager, who was traveling with me, and very clearly stated his preference NOT to attend.

Luckily, one of my other fellow travelers was excited by this idea, and agreed to join me for lunch. Together, the two of us sampled nearly every item on the smaller lunch menu.  Some of it was actually *really* good, other dishes were fine, others were MEH.  I did almost go back a few nights later, so, that is a testament to how fabulous the good ones were.

Signage.

The sign out front honestly made me excited.  The restaurant name leaves no doubt in what you are about to experience.  Uni.  All the uni.

Entrance.

I think there is likely a story behind the panels featured on the doorway, but I wasn't really able to figure out what it was.  Enough English was spoken for us to order and communicate the basics, but asking about the panels seemed outside the realm of what I should try to ask, given my entire lack of Japanese language skills.

Bar Seating.

The bar had counter seating for pairs or singles, and really did look like a comfortable space to dine alone in peace.

I seriously considered coming back several other nights, for a cocktail, the uni pasta dish that isn't available at lunch that I really wanted to try, or even just the ridiculously good uni ice cream.  But more on that soon.

Tables.

We were seated at a regular table, wooden, a bit rustic.

Place Setting.

It came pre-set with chopsticks, and Uniholic branded coasters and hand wipes.

Somehow the branding didn't feel tacky, and I think it is because the decor really was otherwise quite nice.

Condiments.

Our table also had its own condiments, including salt, pepper, and soy sauce.

A Menu of UNI!

The lunch menu isn't as extensive as dinner, but still has plenty of uni for everyone.   The menu is a bit confusing, but I believe the first 4 items above are all entrees, and the rest are a collection of smaller plates to compose a meal as you see fit.  We opted for one larger set menu, and a slew of other items a la carte.

There is only one non uni item, the fried chicken (which we skipped), and only one dessert.

Drinks.

The drink menu was a novel in comparison.  Pages and pages of cocktails, plus the expected sake, beer, and shochu.

Wasabi. 950 JPY.

I'm not normally a day drinker, but, I couldn't really resist trying something, given the extensive line up.

I went for the most fascinating sounding one, just titled, "Wasabi".

It did, indeed, come with a wasabi rim.  I loved the zing it provided, a very unique cocktail.

Sea urchin shot -roppongi style-. 600 JPY.

We started off with ... an uni shot of course.  A *jelly* uni shot.  Like you do.

I had notes on this dish, but alas, I lost them.  I do remember being quite pleased at the start of the meal ... and I mean, how would you not be, given that beautiful uni presented front and center ...

Fresh vegetables bagna cauda with UNI sauce. 700 jpy.

From there we moved on to vegetables.  Who orders crudite at an uni restaurant?  Yeah, me.  For good reason!

The vegetables were all just simple raw veggies, served in finger food, stick style, in a cup with ice.  A full rainbow of colors, which was certainly more visually interesting than most crudite.  Carrots, two colors of bell peppers, broccoli, celery, jicama, radish.  All were extremely fresh and crisp, and I liked them more than most vegetables I've encountered.

The real reason I adored this dish though was the mayo uni dip.  OMG.  I was absolutely in love with the mayo uni dip for the veggies.  Seriously.

My companion had one veggie and a tiny bit of dip, and I literally ate the rest of it.  The entire shot glass.  Of mayo.  I ran out of veggies, and just used a spoon to finish every last drop.  I would have had another shot of it, no question.  Yes, straight.  It was crazy good.

This was, hands down, the dish of the day.  I'd get it again, anytime.

Uni Butter Baguette. 600 JPY.

Then it was time to start getting into the heavier offerings.   Nearly every review I read in advance of my visit mentioned this dish as a "must get".

And yes, it was excellent.  Just a toasted baguette with uni butter slathered on, but, the bread was nicely toasted (just the right amount of crunch, no cutting your mouth, and still soft inside), and, um, yeah, uni butter is as fantastic as you would guess it is, and it was perfectly soaked in.

We both enjoyed this, and gladly finished our two pieces.

2 Kinds of Uni Sashimi of the Day. 1500 JPY.

"Compare 2 kinds of sea urchin today."

After those more innovative dishes, it was time to focus on just uni.

The different kinds were actually quite distinct, and I found myself liking one far more than the others.  Sadly, I lost my notes on this dish too.

Set Menu: 2800 JPY.

"3 kinds of UNI sashami, appetizer, miso soup, and rice. "

And finally, the uni set lunch.  It contained a slew of different dishes.

I'm not one for rice, so my companion got that to himself.  Same with the miso soup, although I did try a bite of it.  It was, um, miso soup?  Not something I cared about, given all the uni surrounding me.

The sashimi in the middle was a nice non-uni touch, quite fresh, light.  I really liked the shiso leaf and shaved diakon (?) that came with it, super fresh, crisp, and flavorful.  Although we were sharing, let's just say, my companion didn't get any of that.

The pickles were also fabulous, and, uh, I may have taken more than my share while he was busy with the rice.

And finally, a selection of 3 different kinds of raw uni.  It was really interesting to compare them, an experience I've never had before.  I've always known there is variance due to different regions and species, but this made it very obvious, much like the previous dish.

The top was one was fine but boring - not any funk, but it was kinda just there.  Non-offensive, but not something to rave about. The middle one was quite good, much smaller lobes than I've had before, and slightly sweet too.   But the bottom one however just took the prize.  It was amazing, super creamy.  No question the best uni of the day.  It was nice to see such difference in the regional variation!

I'm glad we ordered this for the opportunity to do the trio tasting, and for the fresh and crunchy veggie/pickle components, and of course, to get a better understanding of uni.

Sea Salt Vanilla UNI Ice Cream. 400 JPY.

And finally ... dessert.  Yup, uni dessert.  FABULOUS uni dessert.

I obviously love ice cream, and I'm not one to shy away from uni based desserts (like uni creme brûlée from Quince or the signature version from Lot 7, or the uni flan from Fifth Floor or Skool, or he uni chawanmushi at Alexander's and Commonwealth, etc.), but I'll admit I wasn't really expecting this to be as amazing as it was.

It looks simple, but, wow.  It was both sweet and salty, and at first, it really just tasted like (very good) salted caramel ice cream.  But then the uni came through on the finish, and it was just incredibly delightful.  So very, very, very good.

And I of course was quite happy with the crispy bits of feuilletine for a bit of texture and additional caramelized crunchy goodness.

My companion and I both really adored it, and found the flavor shockingly complex.  Ok, I might have claimed that uni dip was the best dish of the meal, but really, *this* was the dish of the meal, and I'd go back for it in a heartbeat.

*****.  Perfection.

Read More...

Boston Market

I'm fairly certain that I've never been to Boston Market before.  There was one in my home town for a while, and one in the town where I went to grad school, but, given that I truly loathe chicken, it just never, ever was somewhere I sought out, and KFC seemed more popular with the chicken-eating friends I had.

So, I was nearly 40 years old the first time I visited Boston Market.

And ... I wish I had discovered it sooner!  I really, truly enjoyed my meal, and I'd gladly return.

Setup

Now, don't be fooled by my glowing intro.  Boston Market is, still, fast food after all.  You order at a cashier in front, and are handed your meal ~immediately.

Serving Area.

Everything at Boston Market is prepared way in advance, and just scooped out by the staff from a steam table.  

I at least appreciated being able to see the items before selecting?

Individual Meals

Most folks choose an individual meal, which comes with two sides and cornbread, along with your choice of entree.  Family style options, or sandwiches and salads, also exist.

1/4 White Hickory-Smoked BBQ Chicken Meal. $11.59.

"Small, but mighty tasty. All-natural, never frozen white chicken marinated with the perfect blend of garlic, herbs and spices. Served with 2 homestyle sides and fresh-baked cornbread."

I got an individual meal with the 1/4 chicken (long story).  For my sides, it was no question what I was picking: mashed potatoes and mac and cheese!  

Note: the potatoes have gravy on them even in the serving area, so mashed potatoes without gravy is *not* an option, which I thought was a bit odd. 

My meal included a small individual cornbread as well.

Entree

For chicken, the signature rotisserie item at Boston Market, you can select a half chicken (all white or dark), a quarter white, or 3-piece dark.  Other entree choices are ribs or meatloaf if you don't do poultry, or roast turkey or pot pie.

Quarter White Chicken.  $11.59.

"All white rotisserie chicken, slow roasted and hand carved to order."

I opted for the quarter white, which was available in 3 styles: plain, garlic & herb, or Hickory-Smoked BBQ.  I went for the later, but asked for the bbq sauce on the side.

The chicken was ... um ... chicken.  I don't actually really eat chicken, but I had to get this (long story!), so I did try it.  I appreciated the crispy skin, and it did seem decently seasoned.  But it tasted like chicken!

Hickory Smoked BBQ & Gravy.

The hickory smoked bbq sauce was fine, a bold bbq, but not smoky in any way.  Tasted generic, but, not bad.  It had some zing.

The gravy was also fine, not remarkable in any way, but no lumps.

Sides

For me, the appeal of Boston Market was entirely in the sides.  They offer up a decent selection of items, ranging from fairly healthy to decadent.  All are available in "regular" size for $3.99, or large for $6.29, although some are considered premium (e.g. sweet potato casserole) and carry an up-charge.

For carbs, you can pick from Cilantro Lime Rice, Garlic Dill New Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Casserole, or Mac & Cheese.  If you are in the mood for cooked veggies, there is Sweet Corn, Creamed Spinach, and Fresh Steamed Vegetables (carrot-zucchini-broccoli).  To be really healthier, there are two side salad options as well.

Oh, and cornbread, always included with meals, it doesn't count as a side.

Mac & Cheese.  $3.99.

"All other mac & cheese recipes bow down. This creamy mixture of cheddar cheeses generously coating rotini pasta noodles is king. (Plus, we all know that spirals hold more cheese. And more cheese is always a good idea.)"

The mac and cheese I was pretty excited for.  I kinda adore fast food mac and cheese (from Krispy Krunchy Chicken - stay tuned for that review!) and this looked pretty great.  Plus, bonus points for using the twirly pasta!

It was basically everything I expected.  It is fast food mac and cheese.  It is not homestyle.  There is no artisan mix of cheeses, no bread crumb topping, no herbs.  But it was creamy, cheesy, and really quite satisfying.

And that pasta shape?  Awesome.  Fun to eat, and it held on to so much sauce.

A very different mac from Krispy Krunchy Chicken, but, still tasty, and I'd get it again.

***+.

Mashed Potatoes.  $3.99.

"Only the good stuff goes in here: real potatoes, milk, butter, and cracked black pepper. It’s whipped until soft, creamy, and silky smooth."

The mashed potatoes were glorious.  

While the mac and cheese tasted like fast food mac and cheese, the same can not be said for the mashed potatoes.  These tasted like *real* mashed potatoes.  Not instant.  Not gloopy.  

The consistency was basically perfect, thick, not watery, no lumps but some "bits" if that makes sense.  The mash was quite rich.  They clearly really do use real potatoes, and plenty of milk and butter.

No question the best fast food mashed potatoes I've ever had, and on par with any from a nice restaurant.  Really.

The gravy, again, already added, so my extra on the side wasn't necessary, was good - it added flavor, salty factor, etc, and was quite smooth.  

Overall, just, well, a surprise, and a pleasant one.  I'd get these again.

****.

Cornbread.  $1.79.

"The greatest thing since sliced bread is getting your own freshly-baked cornbread. The irresistible toasty, golden crust paired with the unbelievably sweet, tender center makes it absolutely to-die-for."

The cornbread I had the least hope for.  I mean, really, fast food cornbread?

But ... it too was really quite good!

It had a slight tang to it.  A nice grit.  Good crumble.  Moist.  Not dried out.  Slightly sweetened.

The mini loaf form was cute, but I think a regular slice, or muffin, would be equally nice.  

The cornbread easily rounded out my meal, and I think one would make a great breakfast muffin too.  I expected to need/want honey butter or something, but it definitely wasn't necessary.  This thing stood on its own quite fine.

****.

Read More...