belVita Breakfast Biscuits

I'm always on the lookout for tasty, easy, grab and go breakfasts.  Most days I get fabulous breakfasts at work, but when I'm travelling, or sometimes on weekends before heading to brunch, I just want something easy.

When I was in college I lived on Kellogg's Nutri-Grain bars, strawberry or apple cinnamon.  I think they are totally nasty now, I'm not sure why I was so into them then.  But I loved them.  I've also tried all sorts of other breakfast bars, many better than the Nutri-Grains, but none that I really want more of.  The "easy to grab breakfast bar that I like" slot has remained unfilled for a while.

I stumbled upon belVita while reading some reviews for something else.  Their products sounded intriguing: breakfast ... biscuits?  They proclaim to be "found in the cookie-cracker aisle".  Cookies, for breakfast?  Reviewers love them.  They are marketed as being a decent choice nutritionally, with a good amount of protein, whole grains, and not too much sugar.  Formulated to slowly release energy all morning long.  But, they are cookies (uh, biscuits), not bars made up of weird chemicals and soy protein isolate.  And they come in a variety of flavors: blueberry, apple cinnamon, cinnamon brown sugar, golden oat, and chocolate.

I had to seek these out, and I am quite glad I did.  They quickly turned into my favorite on-the-go breakfast item, and it seems I am not alone, as their product offerings expanded considerably since I first encountered them (and wrote this original post).

In the US, they now have four product lines, all featuring the breakfast biscuits, but in different styles: crunchy, soft, bite size, or even as sandwiches, with peanut butter or chocolate cream filling.  Yes, still considered healthy breakfast.

Internationally, they have also taken off, and I've found their products while traveling in the UK and in Australia.  Just like in the US, you can find them in nearly every convenience store, making for a very easy-to-grab breakfast on the go, precisely as marketed.

US Edition

Breakfast Biscuits / Crunch -> Crunchy

When belVita was introduced to the US, they had only one product line: breakfast biscuits. Now they have several, so the basic biscuits are now branded "belVita Crunch", and later "Crunchy" and they come in six flavors: golden oat, blueberry, apple cinnamon, cinnamon brown sugar, chocolate, and toasted coconut (er, in 2015 the apple cinnamon was replaced by cranberry orange). I never found the chocolate ones, but I tried the other varieties. All come 4 to a package.

I've tried many of these over the years, as they were the first product I was introduced to.

Blueberry Breakfast Biscuits.

"Our Blueberry crunchy Breakfast Biscuits are lightly sweet, crunchy biscuits made with high-quality and wholesome ingredients, like rolled oats and real blueberries."

For my first venture into belVita, I picked the blueberry flavor.  This somehow seemed the most breakfast-like.  I opened my package, not quite sure what to expect.  What was a breakfast biscuit, anyway?  The answer ... basically, a cookie.  But, in muffin flavors.  Thin, crispy-style.  Sorta a cross between a cookie and biscotti.  Normally, I really dislike crisp cookies and prefer soft ones, but in this case, it worked.

I've never had a blueberry cookie before though.  The blueberries made it "breakfast", but seemed strange in concept to have in a cookie.  The blueberries, while small dried bits, were incredibly flavorful.  I was shocked by the flavor.  They did indeed remind me a blueberry muffin!

Overall the  biscuits were sweet, but not too sweet.  And they went really well dunked in my cappuccino, just like a biscotti, since they were so thin and crispy.

Definitely an interesting product, and I'd have them again.

I gave Ojan a packet of these to try, since I know he likes blueberry muffins.  I had talked them up at this point, so I was worried I was over-selling.  He took a bite, and exclaimed, "That does taste like a blueberry muffin!"  He joyfully ate the whole package.  And then ordered another box.

Update: I've since had these plenty more times. I continue to love them. Seriously, cookie-biscotti-muffins!  The blueberry flavor is really incredible, and I stress, they go sooo perfectly dunked into a cappuccino   Love, love love these things.  And not just because I get to eat cookies for breakfast, although that is obviously a selling point!

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Biscuits.

"Apple Cinnamon crunchy Breakfast Biscuits are baked with real cinnamon and the delicious taste of apples, making them the perfect way to start the morning right."

Given the success of the blueberry flavor, I finally decided to branch out and try another.  I wanted to try the cinnamon brown sugar, but I couldn't find them at any of my local stores.  So, I settled for my third choice, apple cinnamon.

Unlike the blueberry, there were not large chunks of fruit visible in the cookie. The aroma however, was clearly apple and cinnamon.  They smelt amazing!

The style was quite similar to the blueberry, a crispy cookie.  The flavor wasn't quite as intense as the blueberry, but there were little chunks of dried apple that added fun chew to a few bites, and the cinnamon was quite strong.  As a plain biscuit, I felt these were a bit lacking, but once I dunked them into my coffee, I again loved them.  Just like a biscotti, they soften up when dunked, and create such a great pairing.

I think they probably would be quite good covered in peanut butter as well, in the same way that I love apple slices covered in peanut butter.  I'll try that with my next package.

Overall, still a success, although I liked the blueberry more.

Update: I've continued to really enjoy these, dunked into coffee.  Or tea.  The apple cinnamon goes slightly better with a cup of tea than coffee.  The dunking is key, as it softens up the cookie a bit.  They are great for breakfast, but also perfect for afternoon snack.

Golden Oat.

"Golden Oat crunchy Breakfast Biscuits are simple, crunchy biscuits made from wholesome, fine ingredients like rolled oats."

I wanted to try even more flavors, but alas, the cinnamon brown sugar that I really want to try has remained elusive, and chocolate, while obviously something I like, just didn't sound that interesting.  So, I went for the very basic: golden oat.  It sounded the simplest, and least likely to succeed, but I wanted to give it a try anyway.

And, I'm glad I did.  Yes, they were simple, more like a plain graham cracker.  Well, a sweetened graham cracker.  Same crispy texture as the others.  Still not great if you just eat them plain, but magically transformed when dunked into coffee.

Since they were so plain, I also tried topping them with peanut butter and jelly, but that just masked their yummy flavor, and they weren't exactly dunkable like that.

Golden Oat was my least favorite flavor, but I still enjoyed them, and would gladly dunk some more.

Cranberry Orange.

"A little sweet, a little tangy, belVita Cranberry Orange Breakfast Biscuits are a delicious blend of cranberry and orange flavors that are sure to complement any balanced breakfast."

This is not a flavor I would have ever selected since I don't really like cranberry nor orange, but, a friend brought it to me so I could try more flavors (thanks!).

I was really shocked when I bit into the first one.  Yes, it was a regular crunchy, hearty, oaty belVita biscuit.  But it tasted exactly like Apple Jacks.  Or Fruit Loops?  One of those breakfast cereals I haven't had in years.  The flavor was uncanny.  The first bite in, I immediately was struck by, "uh, I know this!  It is sweet and fruity and tastes like it is covered in sugar".  It took a few more minutes, and bites, to narrow in on the taste, but, wow.  And no, it wasn't covered in sugar coating, so I have no idea where that was coming from.

If I tried hard I could distinguish cranberry and orange flavors, but really, this was just sweet fruity breakfast nostalgia.  Woah.

Cinnamon Brown Sugar.

"Lightly sweet, and with a taste of cinnamon, belVita Cinnamon Brown Sugar Breakfast Biscuits are made with quality grains that help fuel your morning."

These sounded fairly boring, such a simple flavor, so I was rather shocked when I rather adored them.

Standard BelVita crispy, cookie-like texture, perfect to dunk into my cup of coffee.  Lightly sweet, enough to please me, but not make me feel too guilty eating cookies for breakfast.  Cinnamon, just enough to give it some interest, but not too spiced.

Really, simple, yes, but, perfect breakfast cookie-biscuits.  Really.  I loved them, and I think they'd be good used in a dessert too, layered with custard or whipped cream, or even stuffed with ice cream.  I just never got that far ...

Cinnamon Brown Sugar.

Even though I've had these several times before, and truly enjoyed them each time, it still shocks me somewhat when I have them.  The flavor looks, and sounds, so boring!

And it isn't anything crazy complex, yet, I really enjoy these.  I think the part of me that feels like I'm somewhat "breaking the rules" by eating "cookies" for breakfast just takes glee in them.  Lovely sweet flavor, but not too sweet to feel totally indulgent, great texture, perfect to hold up just slightly when dunking into coffee.  

I always plan to try using them as a dessert component, in particular, with cheesecake or mousse, but, I can't ever get past dunking them into my morning coffee.

I'll continue to get these.

****.

Soft Baked

Just when I thought I couldn't love belVita more, they introduced a new product line, in addition to the already existing biscuits: soft baked breakfast cookies!  The moment I heard about them, I eagerly sought them out.  Available in 4 regular flavors: cinnamon (discontinued), banana bread, oats & chocolate, banana peanut butter (discontinued, replaced with oats & peanut butter), and mixed berry with blueberries and raspberries and 2 higher protein flavors (blueberry almond and oats, honey & chocolate).

Soft Baked Oats & Chocolate.

"Our belVita Soft Baked Oats & Chocolate Breakfast Biscuits are not only a tasty morning treat, they’re also a nutritious way to start your day. Made with ingredients like rolled oats, rye and barley, we think we finally found a way to sneak chocolate into a wholesome breakfast!"

I brewed up a cup of coffee to pair with my treat, and excitedly opened my package.  I was expecting something sorta like a flat muffin perhaps, just based on the hard breakfast cookies, and the title soft baked.  I was a little disappointed when I opened the package.  It was soft compared to the regular breakfast biscuits yes, but it wasn't anything like a muffin.  And, as you can see, it had exactly three little bits of chocolate.  Upon closer examination, I saw that each of the three spots had 2-3 tiny chocolate chips.  But there weren't chips anywhere else in the bar.  Hmm.

Still, I knew the hard biscuits weren't much to look at either, so I still dug in.  I was pleasantly surprised.  It was basically a strangely shaped oatmeal cookie.  belVita did it again, serving me yet another cookie, and calling it breakfast.  If you like oatmeal cookies, you'll like this.  It also did taste sorta healthy.  Very hearty from all the oats and rye flakes.  They were sweetened, but in a way that didn't taste fake or too much, just a deep flavor from the molasses.  The bits of chocolate were a nice addition, and they were a quality semi-sweet chocolate, but honestly, just the oatmeal base would have been fine.

I'd really like to try these in just about any other flavor.  I think all of the flavors that they make the original breakfast biscuits in would work.  And that elusive mixed berry ... I must find it!

Highly recommend, for breakfast, or, even for a snack.  Pairs great with coffee.

Mixed Berry.

"Our belVita Soft Baked Mixed Berry Breakfast Biscuits are chewy and oh so delicious. Each wholesome biscuit is made with nutritious whole grains and tasty fruits like blueberries and raspberries."

When I first tried belVita Soft Bakes, I wasn't ever able to find the mixed berry flavor, and lamented about this on my blog.  A friend came to the rescue, showing up at my desk recently with several of the varieties I hadn't yet tried.

I'm glad he did.  I did make the mistake of throwing it my bag so it got a bit mushed, but it didn't matter.  It was really good.

It was soft, like the perfect soft baked oatmeal cookie.  It was sweet, such that I questioned if it was ok to have this for breakfast, when it seemed indulgent (in reality, 10 grams of sugar).  I loved the flavor bursts from the bits of dried berries (cranberries and blueberries).  It had a slightly gritty texture from the oats that I enjoyed.

I really enjoyed this, as a breakfast alongside my coffee, but it really reminded me of a fruit crisp, and I think I could be totally satisfied dunking it in whipped cream and pretending it was dessert.

Bites

Well, belVita has introduced another form factor for their breakfast biscuits: Bites!  Mini sized, crunchy like the originals.  Bites are available in only three varieties, mixed berry, chocolate, and cinnamon brown sugar.  These come packaged in individual bags.

These were the only product I wasn't quite able to figure out.

Chocolate.

"belVita Bites Chocolate Breakfast Biscuits offer a convenient way for you to get your four hours of nutritious, steady energy on the go."

I expected my bites to be mini compared to the full size regular biscuits, but, I wasn't expecting them to be this tiny!  They are about cereal sized, which is smaller than I expected, not really a "bite".  A handful created a "bite".  When I flipped the package over to see the serving size was 44 bites, well, that suddenly made sense.  

Once I got over my surprise at the size, it was time to dig in.  Crispy, crunchy, chocolate biscuits.  Slightly hearty healthy taste from the whole grains, nice tang, decent chocolate on the finish.  They almost reminded me of the cookie part of an Oreo.

They were good, but, I found myself wanting to do ... something with them.  So, thinking Oreo, I made tiny little cookie sandwiches with whipped cream in between two.  They were really too tiny for this, so then I just switched to dunking them in whipped cream, but I really wished I had frosting or icing (do you remember Dunkaroos?  Just like that!).

Then, thinking cereal, I put a few into a bowl of milk, let them soften a tiny bit, and ate them that way.  These methods were all fine, but still, it didn't feel right.  I could also imagine making a great crust out of them (a la graham crackers) or even something like rice crispy treats or ice cream toppings.  But just nibbling on them for breakfast wasn't quite right for me, even though I liked the flavor.

Nutritionally, these are exactly the same as a package of full size crunchy biscuits (230 calories, 8 grams fat, 4 grams protein, 19 grams whole grains, 4 grams fiber), so really, it just is a question of how you like to eat your biscuits.  Or maybe these are better for littler kids?  I might not be the target audience.

Sandwiches

In the US, belvita makes biscuit sandwiches in four tempting flavors: peanut butter, dark chocolate creme, strawberry yogurt cream, and vanilla yogurt cream.

Yes, they sound, and look, like cookies you should have for dessert, but are again, really are breakfast appropriate, in such a decadent, satisfying way.

Peanut Butter (Oops, I broke them).

"With a smooth creamy layer of peanut butter sandwiched between two wholesome breakfast biscuits, belVita Sandwich Peanut Butter Breakfast Biscuits offer a seriously delicious way to start your morning."

As a peanut butter lover, this was an easy pick.  What was not easy however, was protecting my biscuits in my bag.  Ooops.  Yes, this package was supposed to contain two sandwiches, aka, 4 biscuits stuffed with peanut butter, and instead contained a pile of rubble.  This is entirely my fault.  Don't just them.

Not that it mattered.  They were still delicious.  Same slightly sweet, slightly wholesome, crunchy biscuit-cookie on the outside, and a moderately thin layer of peanut butter inside.  The peanut butter wasn't as generous as I'd like, nor as creamy, but, for a healthy breakfast item, I can't really be upset that they didn't make them more indulgent.  These really can do double duty as a dessert, even like this.

The serving of 2 biscuit sandwiches is 230 calories and 4 grams of protein, just like a package of the original 4 biscuits, which seems a bit suspect to me.  4 biscuits plus some peanut butter should have different stats, shouldn't it?

UK & Australia Edition

Breakfast Biscuits

The UK and Australian product line also includes the hard style biscuits, but the flavors offered are different: chocolate, fruit & fibre (with figs), cranberry, honey & oat, crunchy oats, and milk & cereals.

Milk & Cereals.

"Biscuits made with wholegrain cereals, milk and added vitamins minerals."

It had been a while since I had belVita in the US when I had a package in London.  They also came 4 to a package, but I swear these were a different size, they seemed longer, and perhaps thinner?

I was intrigued by this flavor description.  How do you represent milk and cereal in a biscuit?  I figured they would be similar to the Golden Oat US variety, fairly plain.  The "cereals" used are wheat, oat, buckwheat, barley, rye, and spelt based, and there is both whole and skim milk powder as well.  And yes, indeed they add extra minerals, like magnesium and iron.

It is hard to describe what these tasted like.  They were slightly sweet.  Slightly buttery, although they don't include butter.  Again like a cookie, and crispy.  But there was a subtle nuttiness to them, which must have come from some combination of the grains in the cereal.

I anticipated that I'd want to slather them in peanut butter, but I found it unnecessary; the flavor was good enough on its own.  Like the american versions, they were also delicious when dunked into a foamy cappuccino.

I'm still a bit stumped by the entire concept of breakfast biscuits, but I love them every time!

Duo Crunch / Yogurt Crunch

The Duo Crunch / Yogurt Crunch line has not yet made it to the US, but in the UK and Australia, they make breakfast biscuits with a yogurt and fruit filling, almost like the sandwich cookies available in the US, but with healthier sounding fillings (the US breakfast sandwich cookies come with chocolate cream or peanut butter, not yogurt).

BelVita has long suggested pairing your breakfast cookies with yogurt and fruit, so, it only seems natural that they'd try to bake it all in to one easy to grab package.

 Strawberry & Live Yogurt.

"Biscuits Made with Wholegrain Cereals with a Live Yogurt Filling (13.5%) and a Strawberry Filling (13.5%) and Added Vitamins and Minerals."

Each package came with two sandwiches, so, 4 biscuits total.

The biscuits were the same standard BelVita biscuits, crunchy, slightly sweet, slightly healthy tasting, sorta like a graham cracker that doesn't crumble as easily.  A good base, but fairly plain.

Strawberry & Live Yogurt: Inside.

Inside was two lines of "live yogurt filling" and a line of strawberry filling.  Both were ... fine.  The yogurt was certainly sweetened and tasted a bit like the standard creme filling you'd find inside a sandwich cookie.  The strawberry was sweet goo, sorta identifiable as strawberry I guess.

Overall, these were perfectly fine, and went great dunked into a coffee, but they weren't nearly as exciting as I somehow thought they would be.  The fillings just didn't add much to the base product.

Martha Stewart Kitchens

Do you like Martha Stewart, but not have time to make her recipes?  Do not fear, you can now find her in the ... frozen food section of your local grocery store!

Yes, Martha Steward Kitchens, a frozen goods line, launched during "The Pandemic", and I, a captive audience, drawn in by the branding, decided to give it a try.

"Martha's personal mission has been to teach and inspire people of all ages to make their homes and live more beautiful, more functional, and more meaningful. The Martha Stewart Kitchen mission is to bring delicious, yet convenient, gourmet foods items from your local grocery store to your table for entertaining or everyday use."

For retail distrbution, Martha has made 7 different product lines, although only 3 are currently available in stores.  I was able to find the Desserts and Appetizers, all of which looked fairly amazing, but none of the Side Dishes.  Still to come are Sauces & Marinades, Quiches & Tarts, Cookie Dough, and Spice Blends.

Each category is filled with heavy hitters.  Martha clearly knows what people like, what will be crowd pleasers, and yet still be unique.  All are, at least in theory, based on her well known recipes.  Most are fairly simple to prepare, just heat and serve (or even easier, thaw and serve), although a few have slight assembly required.  All include bonus tips from Martha on how to amp up the presentation a touch more.

Unfortunately, right now, they are only sold through 4 supermarket chains: Hannaford, Meijer, Jewel Osco, and HyVee, none of which are located where I live.  However ... I took advantage of a visit to my parent's house, where they do have a Hannaford, to try an item.  I was impressed, and would gladly try more.

Appetizers

"Let Martha Stewart Kitchen take the guess work out of your next hors d’oeuvres selection. Prepared favorites such as our Leek & Cheese Bread Pudding Bites,  Goat Cheese Hors D’oeuvres or Mini Spinach Quiche, are sure to impress. These delicious, yet easy appetizers are perfect served up for a mid-day snack or pair them together for your next event."

Martha's appetizers are incredibly appealing, with a baked brie en croute with brown sugar, apples, & pecans that would be perfect for a holiday spread, mini, grab-able bites like goat cheese and herb phyllo dough pastrys, leek and cheese bread pudding bites, tomato tartlets with roasted tomatoes and fontina, mini quiches, and of course, pigs in a blanket and mac and cheese bites, just to really round it all out.

Most are ready-to-bake, although some, like pigs in a blanket, are DIY kits, with slight assembly required.

Side Dishes

"Martha Stewart Kitchen has brought you a selection of elevated, yet simple to prepare, side dishes. Our offerings include an indulgent Four Cheese Macaroni & Cheese, fluffy Mashed Potatoes with Cream Cheese, and delectable Brown Sugar Brussels with Uncured Bacon. Ready in under 30 minutes, Martha takes the prep work out of your next meal."

I was sooo sad my store did not carry any side dishes, as these sound amazing too.  Some are slightly more boring (green beans, although even those come tossed with pecans and with a maple glaze or mixed grain pilaf), others are pretty standard (mashed potatoes - but with cream cheese for extra indulgence, mac and cheese - four cheese, yes breadcrumbs, scalloped potatoes), and others really called out to me (brown sugar brussels sprouts with bacon, "duo potatoes" featuring both mashed potatoes and sweet potato puree and fried onion topping, and creamed spinach with a legit sounding béchamel.

Given the quality of other items I tried, I'm fairly confident that these could pass off as really well homemade, or restaurant quality, and easily round out your dinner party/holiday party feast.

Desserts

"Martha Stewart Kitchen brings dessert to your table in a fraction of the time. Our offerings include a warm Apple Crisp, fudgy Double Chocolate Brownies, and a classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Whether enjoying yourself or sharing with a friend these prepared desserts are sure to keep you coming back for seconds."

I'm a dessert girl to the core, and I was *thrilled* by the dessert line up.  All were designed to be crowd pleasers, obviously, but also all are things I really do like: fruit crisps (apple, mixed fruit - with apples/rhubarb/blackberries/raspberries), fruit hand pies (apple, mixed fruit - this time with apples/strawberry/rhubarb/cherries, or peach & apple), carrot cake (of course with cream cheese frosting), and, the only one I could care less about, double chocolate brownies.  The carrot cake I really wanted to try, as it is the kind that has everything I love - nuts for crunch (pecans!), and pineapple for a bonus moisture, sweetness, and flavor.

Some are just thaw and serve, others require baking.

Apple Hand Pie Packaging.

I selected the apple hand pies as my first item to try.  The packaging did have a slightly upscale look about it.  Each box contains 2 individually wrapped hand pies.

Each is a single serving, they weren't really large enough to share a single one, even if you were serving a la mode. 

They were 370 calories, 20g fat, 15g sugar each, not too bad.  But again, they were fairly small.

The box was quite attractive, and honestly, the product really did live up to the packaging photos.

Apple Hand Pie: Frozen.

The pie honestly looked pretty good even frozen.  I was eager to get it heated up to eat it.

Cooking instructions are simple.  Do not thaw.  Do not microwave or toaster oven.  Use real oven. Bake at 350* for 20-23 minutes.  "Cool completely before serving".

I ... mostly followed the instructions, but did use a toaster oven (I have a very, very legit Breville "countertop oven", definitely not really a "toaster oven").

I also failed to comply with the "cool completely before serving", because, um, I wanted hot apple pie?

For bonus points, for each product, Martha includes a "tip" on how to amp up the product even further.  For this, the tip was: 

"Wrap in parchment and tie with baker's twine for an extra special presentation."

Yes, I skipped that too.

Apple Hand Pie: Baked.

"A classic combination of apples and sweet brown sugar, tucked in an all-butter crust and topped with sparkling sugar."

It baked up beautifully.

First impression?  It looked like it came from a local bakery.  Or perhaps homemade, if I was far more talented than I really am.  Really lovely looking product, with fluted edges that looked handmade, a sheen/glaze to it, and chunks of pearl sugar.

It tasted like it came from a local bakery too.  It did not, in any way, seem like a frozen, packaged, mass produced product.

The crust baked up *really* nicely.  It wasn't necessarily the butteriest, the flakiest, etc that I ever had, but definitely far, far above average, better than anything from a grocery store bakery department or frozen section, better than most bakeries around town really.  It wasn't soggy on the bottom, it didn't get burnt along the edges, it wasn't too dry ... it just baked up, well, perfectly.

Apple Hand Pie: Inside.

The inside was also good.

Thin sliced apples, not too soft, not too firm, just right.  No extra goo, not to apple-sauce like, just, real apples.  Again, way better quality than other packaged products.  Lightly spiced but nothing too strong, sweet but not too sweet.  Just, good.

I served it warm, a la mode, but I'm sure it would be fine cooled, with whipped cream, or just on its own.  

Overall, a very solid hand pie, I was pleased with it, but apple pie isn't really my favorite thing, so I wouldn't get it again unless really craving apple pie.

20th Century Cafe: Honey Cake

20th Century Cafe, in San Francisco, is fairly "famous", particularly among those who like desserts.  So, obviously, it has been on my radar for years, but it wasn't until its closing was announced that I finally got to try it. 

I can't actually tell you much about the cafe (and bakery), besides that it features mostly Russian items, and is very well known for one item: their signature honey cake.  They are also known for being a "grand" cafe, serving dishes on lovely china at all times. 

But I never visited myself to see the decor and take it all in.  Instead, I was able to experience the signature item when one of my *amazing* co-workers brought me a slice, after I revealed that I'd never had it before.

I clearly missed out over the years.

Russian Honey Cake.

"Classic layered cake with honey frosting."

I'd never had *any* honey cake before, although I know it is a Russian dessert, and I was familiar with the concept - layers of cake and  honey cream.  20th Century Cafe's version features10 layers in total.  

I took my first bite, a bit tentatively, as, well, I really had no idea if this would be for me or not.  I like honey, but do often find honey based desserts to be "too much", just over the top sweet, or way too honey forward.  The honey was certainly present, but it was just a very pleasant sweetness, it reminded me of caramel almost.  It wasn't a cloying taste at all.  The cream seemed to be where the honey was concentrated. 

The cake layers were moist enough cake, and I loved how the layering meant that every bite had plenty of cream to go with the cake.  More labor intensive for the baker, for sure, but, what a better way to construct a cake!  Why limit the frosting to the top?

I found myself wishing I had fresh figs, or perhaps some berries, to serve alongside, but it was a pretty complete item, just on its own, and didn't really need embellishment.

I was so glad I got to try this, alas, it was my first, and last, time to do so.

***+.

Gazette Restaurant, The Westin, Montreal

Setting

Gazette Entrance.

As a hotel restaurant, the entrance was located down at lobby level, set back slightly be a long coridor.

Tables.

It was fairly large and well lit, but the decor rather generic.  Tables of varying sizes were available, all with standard hard chairs.

Bar.

There is also a long bar, ideal for solo diners (or drinkers) in the evening.

Breakfast

The breakfast a la carte menu is quite extensive, however, I did not order from it.

Canadian Breakfast Table, $24.

I went for the "Canadian Breakfast Table", or, what I'd call ... "the buffet".

"A full selection of natural ingredients including breads and an assortment of Viennese pastries, smoked salmon, Quebec cheeses and cured cold cuts, fresh fruit, berries and low fat yogourts, cereal, oatmeal and a selection of hot meals including made to order omelets, fresh fruit juices, Starbucks® coffee and an assortment of Tazo® herbal teas"

It did indeed offer all of these things and I really enjoyed my meals.

Setting

Breakfast Buffet.

The breakfast buffet space was pleasant enough, plenty of open space, and not a cookie-cutter "butter" assembly line style.

Drinks

Drinks were available at the buffet, but are also available a la cart.

Fresh Juice.  $4.

The juice lineup was orange, grapefruit, apple, cranberry or pineapple for fruity option, or tomato or v8 for vegetable juices.  All available by the cup for $4

Smoothies.

In addition to the juices were smoothies, a choice of orange-banana or blueberry-pineapple-strawberry.  These also were offered a la carte, at a whopping $9 each (presumably larger portions!)

Regular Coffee. $4.75.

Coffee was Starbucks, regular or decaf, and needed to be ordered from the staff.  If not part of the buffet, a single cup of coffee was $4.75!  Clearly, if you were planning to get numerous drinks, the buffet was the way to go.

The coffee really wasn't very good. Starbucks brand, yes, but harsh and acidic.  The first day I thought it may have been old, but it was no better the next day.  I struggled to drink it, and required sweetener.

Interestingly, got a decaf to go both days, and it was far better.

Food

Food is mostly self-serve, so I was able to put together lovely sampler platters each day.  And yes, platters, the plates were quite large!

Breakfast, Round One, Day One.

The first day I went for a little of everything, sweet and savory, plus of course, all the baked goods.  I was blown away by numerous dishes, particularly the muffins.

Breakfast, Round One, Day Two.

The next day I had a slightly different first round, but still a bit of sweet and savory, and another omelet, as I really kinda liked this rolled, crepe-like, style. 

Breakfast, Round one, Day Three.

The third day was no different, and as you can see, every day featured the rolled omelets, not normally something I go for, but quite well done and unique here.

Cereal.

Cereal was all Kellogg's.

The boxed selection was Raisin Bran, Special K, Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops, Corn Flakes and Rice Crispies.  There were two types of granola in twirl dispensers.

Ugh, the twirly dispensers for granola.  My least favorite things ever.  And these were no different.

I tried to get granola the first day, no luck.  I banged on it, tilted it, etc, no luck.

I tried to get granola the second day, same result.  I wonder if anyone noticed that they NEVER FILL IT because no one can get any??!!  I ended up taking the top off and scooping it out.  I didn't touch it in any way, and used a clean bowl as a scoop, but I'm sure I was breaking every rule.

And, not sure why.  It was just generic, stale (likely cuz it was there FOREVER cuz no one could get to it), Kellog's granola.

A basic bowl of cereal will set you back a whopping $10 a la carte, just the cereal with your choice of milk.  Oooph.

Yogurt.

I didn't try them, but there were individual low-fat yogurt, plain or flavoured, $4.00 if a la carte.

Whole Fruit.

Standard whole fruit offerings of apples, oranges, and bananas were available.

Cut Fruit & Berries.

I went for some of the berries instead.

The strawberries and blueberries were both fine, toppings to jazz up my french toast, but not particularly flavorful on their own.

Cured Cold Cuts.

The cold cuts platter basically always looked like this.  Not just what the offerings were, but how much  was there.  The pate always plentiful, proschuitto non-existant or a single piece left.  I think they took their time refilling the premium products ...

I tried the pate.  It was fine, good flavors, textures, all sorts of bits.

I also tried the proschuitto, which was fine, but not better than average.

Quebec cheeses / Smoked Salmon with capers, lemon, red onion, cottage cheese.

I tried all 3 cheeses.

The round edge one was extremely bland.  It tasted like ... the most generic cheese imaginable.  Not good.

The square shaped one was cheddar though, and it was quite good.  Nicely aged, sharp cheddar.

Last was a triple cream, ripe, but the rind didn't have much flavor, no nuttiness nor funk, and the cheese itself was a bit boring.

The smoked salmon was consistently good.  Oily in the right way, not fishy, nicely smoked.  Great drizzled with some lemon and paired with capers.

Toast, Bagels.

Basic bread and bagels for toasting were provided, along with butter and jam, and a conveyor style toaster.

Homemade Pastries: Day One.

Finally, the part of a buffet I can never resist, a favorite section of mine: the baked goods.

The first day, the top row contained only cinnamon rolls, the middle row had assorted muffins and chocolate croissants, and the third, butter croissants.   The next day, pecan braids were added to the top row, and the muffin varieties changed (the berry one now raspberry/blueberry, the carrot one topped with pumpkin seeds, and the bran no where to be seen).  My final morning cranberry custard twirls were introduced, and the muffins changed again (blueberry, raisin bran, banana).

The muffins were shockingly good.  The other pastries? Standard buffet meh.  But those muffins were excellent.

A pastry "basket", e.g. your choice of any three, is available a la carte for $10.

Day 1 Muffins: Strawberry/Blueberry, Bran, Carrot Walnut.

The first day, in "ZOMG, breakfast buffet" mode, I selected all 3 muffins.  Did I have a dining companion?  No.  Did I need 3 muffins, alongside my french toast, omelet, and sausage?  Absolutely not.  Did I expect to try them, nibble a bit, and feel bad discarding them, but, dislike them all?  Absolutely.  Did that happen?  Nope.

The muffins were good.  Clearly freshly baked from frozen at least.

The berry muffin was my favorite.  Crazy moist, loaded with not only blueberries, but also large juicy chunks of strawberry.  An extremely flavorful and satisfying muffin.

Next favorite?  The one I thought the muffin was a banana nut muffin, with a walnut chunk on top.  It wasn't banana, it was ... carrot!  Much, much better!  Another moist muffin, loaded with shredded carrot, nicely spiced, chunks of walnut on top for crunch.  Good moisture, good spicing, good texture ... check!  You easily could have added some mixed whipped cream and cream cheese and turned it into a cupcake.

Last was the bran muffin.  It was a fine bran muffin.  Denser, heartier, a nice healthy choice.  If I had not just devoured a giant plate of food, and 2 other muffins, I would certainly love it, particularly with a little of the jam and butter.

All were good, all worth getting again.  I immediately knew I had to get the croissants and other pastries the next day!

Day Two Muffins: Raspberry Blueberry, Carrot Pumpkin Seed.

The next day, I very gleefully snatched up one of each muffin.  Maybe it is good there were only two kinds this time.  They both were different from the previous day, slight tweaks on the berry and carrot offerings.

The berry one this time was raspberry and blueberry, and again was excellent.  Really moist, loaded with juicy fruit, quite flavorful.  A sweet muffin though, almost boring on a pound cake style.  Which ... is probably why I liked it?  I probably preferred the strawberry, but only because I like strawberries more than raspberries, and the bigger chunks of fruit provided even more pockets of sweet fruit.

The carrot one this time was topped with pumpkin seeds, which was a bit odd.  I again looked at it and thought that it might be banana or morning glory or something, but, it was the same excellent carrot base, moist, spiced, quite good carrot cake, just, with pumpkin seeds on top for some crunch.  I preferred the walnuts as they were a better match for carrot cake, but the pumpkin seeds were fine.  And this time ... I did whip up some sweetened cream cheese and just turned it into icing for a carrot cake.  Yes!

Overall, berry slightly better than carrot, both wonderful.

Day Three Muffins: Raisin Bran, Banana, Blueberry.

The final morning there were only a few muffins in the basket, a single blueberry, two of one kind (banana) and two of another (bran with nuts and raisins).  I snatched one of each, but was sad to see no carrot muffins this time.

The banana was the least interesting, just a simple banana bread muffin, but moist and fine if you like banana bread.

The bran was loaded up with juicy raisins and nuts, far more interesting than the bran from several days earlier.  A nice hearty muffin, and I enjoyed it warmed up with butter and jam for leftover breakfast the next day.

And finally, the blueberry.  I was sad it was just blueberry and didn't have strawberries, raspberries, or some other fruit, as this was just most of a simple blueberry muffin / pound cake, but, it was fine.

Pecan Braid / Chocolate Croissant / Cinnamon Roll.

After the success of the muffins, I went for ... all the other pastries.

None were good.  Classic buffet danishes, really.  The pastry wasn't very flaky nor buttery, but at least they weren't soggy, or stale, or dried out?

The little chocolate croissant was the worst, barely any chocolate inside, and what was there wasn't of high quality.  The pecan braid was the second worst, basically just disappointing, since I've had similar ones that were good so it had some promise, but alas, not much pecan filling at all, just a boring danish.  Which means the cinnamon roll was the best, but, it too was low end mediocre.  Eh to the pastry, and the cinnamon goo filling wasn't particularly generous or interesting.  Even the very center wasn't gooey or special.

Don't bother with these.

Cranberry Custard Twirl.

One day I'll take my own advice.  I grabbed one of these the final morning, when the entire middle basket was filled with them.  If they were going to take over, they must be good right?

It was actually the best of the non-muffins.  The top was crispy in a good way, the custard added some moisture, and overall, it was fine, except for the fact that I don't like dried cranberries.  Still dramatically better than the others.

Oatmeal & Toppings.

I did try a bite of the oatmeal, literally just a couple spoonfuls, just for completeness.

It was ... buffet oatmeal.  Gloopy, thick, strange film on top, not good in any way.  At least they had lots of toppings, including another container of real maple syrup, nuts (walnuts, pecans), fruits (dried cranberries, raisins, blueberries), seeds (pumpkin, flax), and brown sugar.

Oatmeal is available a la carte with sliced bananas and pecans on top, drizzled with honey, for $8.  I can't imagine that is much different, and, it isn't as customization.

Eggs: Scrambled, Daily Omelet.

Every day featured two egg dishes.  One always scrambled eggs, one always an omelet.  No poached, fried, or other styles, no whites only.  Certainly no fun things like benedict, although these are all available on the a la carte menu, and the "breakfast table" did say it included made to order omelets, I just never saw them, nor a sign or anything indicating that these truly exist.

The scrambled eggs seemed to be a crowd favorite, which confused me greatly, but it was nearly always empty, and was constantly being refilled.  Maybe people just take big scoops of that compared to other items?

From the a la carte menu, you can construct your own three egg omelet, with a variety of fillings, for $16.

Scrambled Eggs.

Yeah, I don't like eggs, but I tried the scrambled eggs when it was a fresh batch, taking just a tiny tiny scoop.  If everyone else was gobbling these up, I didn't want to miss out!

They were just generic scrambled eggs (from a powder? a liquid?), nothing interesting at all.  Not creamy nor rich.  No idea why everyone wanted these.

Omelet Day One: Spinach, Mushroom, Cheese.

The rolled omelet however was actually quite nice, for an omelet.

One amusing quality that I liked was the fact that the top and bottom were slightly crispy, from being in a hot box.  I liked the texture it added, almost like a crepe!

I'm not really an omelet girl, but the rolled style is certainly something I prefer to American style, as I like the thin layers and texture changes.

Inside was a generous stuffing of spinach, mushrooms, and cheese.  The spinach was nicely wilted and not soggy, the mushrooms soft but not mushy, and the cheese stringy, gooey, and nicely melted.

A very decently executed omelet, not what you expect from a buffet at all.

Omelet Day Two: Asparagus and Cheese.

After the near success of the omelet the first day, I was happy to take one the next day as well.

But it was far less interesting.  No crispy top, thicker layers of egg, just, a standard rolled egg omelet.  Which was fine, if you like eggs, I'm sure.  It was nicely made.  But not crepe-like as the day before, the part of it that I liked.

The filling too wasn't as fun, just asparagus, and a tiny bit of cheese.  Barely any cheese, not nearly as gooey as the previous day.

Meh to this, but, again, I don't like eggs, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with this, I was mostly just surprised the previous day.

Omelette Day Three: Denver.

Don't ask why I kept trying these.  Particularly this one, that was sitting in a visible pool of water.

But it turned out to be my favorite, and I devoured it.  I selected the most dried out looking piece, intentionally.

It was back to the thin, almost crepe-like style that I liked.  Inside was again tons of perfectly melty cheese, cubes of ham, onions, and colorful bell peppers.  It was the filling that made this.  While I didn't really care about the ham, the veggies were remarkably well seasoned, and whatever cheese it was, clearly the same one as the first day, was delicious.  I loved the filling, and the thin layers of the crepe, er, omelette, really were tasty.

I may have drizzled (ok, dunked) this in maple syrup, and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Poached Egg (with Hollandaise).

The last day, I also asked for a poached egg, once I found out I could order eggs any way (including a different variety of omelette if I wanted).  I hesitantly asked if I could have a little hollandaise added, as I know they have it for the a la carte benedict.  I was told it would be extra, but my server brought it with my egg, saying he asked for it anyway, but not to count on it in the future.

This was fine, a standard poached egg, kinda runny whites still inside.  The hollandaise was decent, not broken, but more lemony than I like.

Fine, but eh, go for the omelettes!

Breakfast Meats: Bacon, Ham, Sausage.

Every day had the same trio of basic breakfast meats.  All are also available a la carte for $4.50.

The sausage type never changed, and it was never revealed what the actual protein is.

Sausages.

Well huh.  I'm not sure what inspired me to take a sausage the first day, I guess a "hey, you should have a meat protein", was a fleeting thought as I walked by?  And sometimes I do adore sausage.

And ... I really liked this sausage.  I'm not sure what kind it was, I think perhaps pork, perhaps chicken, perhaps turkey.  I really have no idea.

The skin was snappy, it was really well seasoned, the interior texture was just right, not grisly nor strange.  Perfect with some drizzled maple syrup!

Grilled Cured Ham.

After the success with the sausage, the next day I went for the ham.  Do I like ham?  No.  Did it look like just sliced deli ham?  Basically.  But ... I was drawn in by the grill marks!

I should have listened to myself.  It was ... grilled sliced deli ham.  Lol.  Yes, it was grilled, it had grill marks, but it wasn't magically smoky or interesting in any way.  Fine if you want ham, probably nice inside a breakfast sandwich you construct, but, uh, not for me.

Canadian Bacon.

On the third day, for completeness, and, a real desire for something salty and crunchy, I took a little piece of bacon.

It was ... bacon.  Super crispy, not flabby, not oily, fine bacon.

French Toast (pain doré): Day One.

Much like the muffins, the french toast was a huge surprise.

I love my breakfast carbs, but french toast is at the bottom of my list.  Soggy eggy bread? Eh.  And from a hot tray in a buffet?  Ha.  It didn't even look fresh.

But I was in "Buffet day #1 mode", e.g. "TRY ALL THE THINGS!", and took a piece, slathering it with maple syrup.  Points for having real syrup, from Quebec.

Soggy eggy bread this was not.  It was nicely moist, slightly crisp, and definitely not eggy.  It was sadly also not very warm.  If I hadn't slathered it in syrup already, I would have gone back to the toaster and given it a ride there to warm it.  The cold quality did lower this a notch.

I know this still doesn't sound great though.  Sure, not *bad* french toast, but it was still cold, what was good about it?  The bread they used!  This was clearly a rich broiche, perhaps even pound cake.  Great flavor, very rich, sweet even.

I wanted whipped cream so badly though.  And I wanted it hot, or at least warm.  There was so much potential here though.  If you get the french toast from the a la carte menu, it comes with syrup, or whipped cream, or berry compote.  I was tempted to do that the next day.  You also have the choice of regular or cinnamon glazed french toast!

French Toast: Day Two.

The next day ... the french toast, labelled the same, was totally different looking.

The slices were now larger regular sandwich bread slices.  It looked lightly battered in traditional egg dunk.  Classic french toast, which is something I never really like that much.

I still tried it, as it was a fresh batch, and I almost adored it the previous day, but ... yes, just traditional french toast, made with regular bread, no real cinnamon spicing, slightly eggy, decently moist, but entirely boring for me.

No additional toppings showed up either, just the maple syrup from the previous day.

French Toast: Day Three.

The third day, the french toast changed yet again.  Croissant french toast?  It was promising, but looked soggy.

And it was soggy.  Nothing really good to say about this.   Good re-purposing of leftover croissants?

Tomatoes / Potatoes.

The veggie sides were always seasoned colorful mixed little tomatoes, and some kind of fried potato.  Both available a la carte for $4.

I tried both the first day.

The seasoned tomatoes looked amazing, and were fine, but not particularly flavorful nor blistered.  Not super awesome summer tomatoes as I was hoping.

The potatoes were just tiny chunks of crispy potatoes.  Again, fine, crispy, not too oily, but not really my thing.

Potatoes: Day Two.

The next day, the potatoes were larger wedges, clearly with some kind of seasoning on them.  The label was again the same, simply, "potatoes", and I didn't try them.

Potatoes: Day Three.

The final day they were again wedges, this time, no seasoning.

Tapas

In the evening, the space is a full restaurant, featuring a regular menu, but also extensive tapas lineup.  Tapas are also available at the bar area, where I dined for a bite and a drink one night.  I sat at the large beautiful bar that first night, but just grabbed a glass of wine to take back to my room the next.

Bar Pretzels.

The restaurant was essentially empty, save for one large (very loud) party, but the bar had a number of folks having drinks and snacks.  The bartender was fully bilingual, and service was good.  I was provided with pretzels the moment I sat.

Tapas Menu.

The tapas menu is quite varied, with nibbles like cheese platters and charcuterie, standard bar favorites like chicken wings and ribs, but also far more exciting options like lobster rolls, salmon poke, and a smoked sausage dog!

Salmon Poke & Sauvignon Blanc.

I was drawn in by many choices, I almost went for the lobster roll, but, it had sriracha tartar sauce, and, often I'm just not so into sriracha.  I almost went for the crispy calamari, wanting something salty and fried.  Even the fried pork dumplings sounded appealing.  And that smoked sausage dog ... topped with cheese, slaw, and crispy lardons!

But the poke got my vote.  I know, an odd choice on the surface, but I had seen photos of it, and I knew it had some serious crispy tempura goodness.  Since I was getting seafood, I opted for white wine.

It was all good, the poke very unique, but I wouldn't call this a destination restaurant.

Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand.

My bartender recommended three different whites to pair with the poke, a riesling, chardonnay, or sauvignon blanc.  I went for the later, described to me as "aromatic" and from New Zealand.  It was fine, not to dry nor harsh nor acidic, but a sweeter style than I prefer, and not particularly great.

Pinot Noir.

The next night, I just took a glass of red wine back to my room, as I wasn't really up for dealing with the people, and needed to pack up anyway.  The options were Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and an Italian varietal I forget the name of.  I went with the pinot.

It was fine.  Not too tanic, not acidic, but also, really just a table wine.  Nothing complex going on here at all.  A fine wine, but, not remarkable.

Poke: Marinated Salmon. $15. (No avocado).

"Sesame - fried rice - tempura - green scallions - tobiko - homemade wafu sauce." 

Now do you see why I ordered this?  Yeah, not your standard poke!

On top was chunks of salmon, normally mixed with avocado, and topped with a big mound of fresh slaw.  On the sides were tempura bits, and the whole thing was drizzled with their own wafu sauce.

The drizzle of sauce was awesome.  Creamy, sesame flavored, delicious.  I believe it was also the base of the slaw, which was fresh, crisp, a mix of cabbage and carrot, with tobiko in there for some pops.  The tempura bits on the side added some crunch.  An amazing combination, really.

I really enjoyed the slaw and sauce and tempura bits.

The base of the poke was of course the most fascinating part, and I knew exactly what to expect.  A huge crispy tempura fried, nori wrapped, sushi rice patty.

Crispy Tempura Nori Wrapped Sushi Rice.

The base was as fun as I hoped it would be.

Crazy crispy.  So so crispy, so well coated.  Held together perfectly by the nori, which also gave a slight fishy taste (in a good way).  Inside was standard sushi rice, a thin layer, sticky, warm.  So fun, and a really unique presentation.  I did find that the large size was a bit much, while I liked it, it grew to be too much.

I really enjoyed the crispy component, plus some slaw, plus some dressing.

Plating Fail.

The slate, while nice looking at some level, was totally impractical.  The moment I cut into the crispy tempura rice on the bottom, the top piece of salmon fell off onto the shiny bar.  I really was careful, but it was unavoidable, without just dissembling the dish.

Also not practical?  The size of the chunks of salmon.  They were huge, far bigger than bite size.  My creation contained 4, but of course, I lost one, a 25% loss!  Which I didn't mind in any way, as the salmon wasn't great.  It wasn't bad, not fishy, but also just nothing special.

So overall, a good dish, unique, but the plating, cut on the fish, and the size of that fried rice patty all made it a bit impractical.