Christopher Elbow Chocolates

Every day of my life, I start the day with chocolate.  Ok, with a nicely balanced breakfast, a cup of coffee, and chocolate.  To me, a piece of chocolate alongside my morning coffee is just ... essential?  Often times it isn't fancy, just a decent quality piece of dark of milk chocolate, depending on my mood, but there are certainly days that a truffle or chocolate covered nut or toffee feel more appropriate (or, uh, necessary).  Anyway, I eat a lot of different chocolate, which I often don't review.

Christopher Elbow is a chocolatier that launched his own product line in 2003, after starting his career as a line cook at a country club, and eventually working at one of Emeril’s flagship restaurants.  But chocolate was his passion, and thus, a chocolate brand, in his own name, was born.  The brand is based in Kansas City, but has exactly two stores, one there, and oddly, one in San Francisco, which is where I was able to find it.  I only tried two items, but I'd gladly try more.

Confections

"From chocolate-covered nuts and our fan-favorite pecan caramels to rich buttery toffee and small-batch malt balls, these classic confections have been deliciously re-imagined with the highest quality gourmet chocolate and best ingredients from around the world."

While Christopher Elbow does make chocolate bars, it is the confections that I zeroed in on. 

Candied Hazelnuts. $15.

"Oregon hazelnuts that have been freshly roasted and coated with a buttery toffee, then covered in our gourmet milk and dark chocolate blend and dusted with powdered sugar."

The first item I tried was candied hazelnuts.

These.  Are.  Amazing.

The center is a roasted hazelnut, super crunchy, coated in amazingly sweet and crunchy toffee.  Then it is coated in a chocolate shell that is thick enough for the high quality chocolate to come through, but it doesn't overwhelm the nut.  The powdered sugar on the outside mirrors the sweet toffee inside, pulling it all together.

I loved these.  Sweet but balanced by the quality chocolate and nut, crunchy, addicting.  Clearly high quality components.

At $15 for a small bag makes them a splurge, but, a worthy one.  ****.

Peppermint Bark.

Next up, a seasonal offering, peppermint bark.

It was a bit of a boring, particularly compared to the glory of those candied hazelnuts.

It was fine, a thick layer of white chocolate, a thin layer of darker chocolate, peppermint crunch on top.  Basically, fairly standard peppermint bark.  Some slight peppermint flavor.  It seemed no different to me than the stuff from Williams-Sonoma, or anywhere else slinging it during the holidays.

The high quality of the chocolate wasn't allowed to shine here.

***+.

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Jina Bakes

It isn't all that often that San Francisco gets a new bakery, and it can be hard for a new place to hold its own in a city of so many heavy hitters.  But in late 2021, Jina Bakes burst onto the scene, and in true SF bakery style, did so with some signature items that you cannot find anywhere else.  Oh, and a collab, of course.

Sure, the menu at Jima Bakes has a couple items you'll find at other bakeries, like croissants (plain or chocolate), kouign-amann, a scone (garlic chive), a morning bun (chocolate orange), even cheesecake (but, basque style) and panna cotta, but the signature items are the creme puffs (known to be very generously stuffed wtih cream filling, and more like a pineapple bun with a cookie crust, and fun fillings like matcha, black sesame, and hojicha) and two special croissants, one sweet, one savory.

The savory croissant is where Jina Bakes really rose to fame.  The item is based on a collab with  Daeho, crazy well known for their Kalbijjim & Beef Soup.  Yes, this is short rib soup turned into a croissant.  And yes, people lined up for it.  For the first several months, they waited for an hour or more to snatch up these croissants.  They sold out regularly.

And I'll tell you why.  Because, well, they are good.  Really, really, really good.  And I know my baked goods.

The first item I tried from Jina Bakes was actually their sweet croissant, and I didn't know where it came from when I had it, and it was so unique, and so good, that I sought out the answer.  Once I learned about Jina Bakes, I vowed to score some items again sometime, so I was beyond thrilled when a group at work announced they'd be featuring pastries from there.

Injeolmi Croissant. $6.25.

"Korean rice cake (made in-house) with roasted soy bean powder on a croissant."

Several months ago, I got to try one of these, when a friend was gifted multiple items from Jina Bakes, didn't know what they were, and thought this might have caffeine in it, which, he cannot have.  And thus, I got it.

At the time, neither of knew which bakery it came from, and, after having it, I set about doing copious research to track it down.  It was so crazy unique, and eventually, I did figure it out.  

When I saw that a group at work brought these in, and had plenty, I obviously went running to grab another, remembering just how unique it was.  And this time, I knew that it would be even better heated up.  But of course, I still tried a bite at room temperature first.

The pastry really is many notches above average.  So ridiculously crisp, wafer thin layers, just, well, croissant perfection.  The center is soft squishy mochi, not what you ever expect to have in a croissant, and the combination of textures of chewy and soft mochi and crisp and flaky pastry makes it quite memorable.  The roasted soy bean powder is a bit of an acquired taste, and I never quite love it when served on injeolmi in the first place, and I felt no different here.  The flavor just doesn't quite do it for me, nor does the mouthfeel.  It adds a bit of "blah" to an otherwise remarkable item.

Of course, I did heat most of it up as they recommend, and the mochi part in particular really transforms, it gets even softer and stretchier.

I still think this is a very unique product, and the pastry is top notch, but, it isn't all that flavorful, and I like it best when I add fresh fruit or syrup, and whipped cream.

****+ for the pastry, **** overall.

Kalbijjim Croissant. $8.

"Collab w/ Daeho. Korean spicy braised short ribs and vegetables topped with mozzarella cheese on a square croissant (Spicy level 2)."

I thought the injeolmi croissant was unique, but this was another level beyond that.  The kalbijjim croissant is certainly the most famous of the Jina Bakes creations, and I know people go nuts for it, but, I did kinda think it was just hype due to the Daeho collab.    I took the time to heat this as instructed, 350* for about 7 minutes.  I'm so glad I did, although I suspect it would be great at room temp too.

Even reading reviews of people proclaiming this to be awesome did not prepare me for how good it was.  Like the injeolmi croissant, the pastry element was standout.  Again, so crispy, such amazingly thin layers, serious quality pastry.  This is what all croissants want to be when they grow up.

And then, the topping/filling.  Zomg.  Talk about flavorful.  Yes, it had a bit of spice, but really, it was just an amazing flavor sensation all around.  And then the short ribs.  Zomg.  So tender.  So remarkably tender.  Such great flavor from whatever they are braised in, and the vegetables (onions?) in the mix.  I'm not a huge meat eater in general, but, wow, that was some fantastic beef.  And then ... the cheese.  That sounded really odd to me - short ribs and cheese? - but actually, it worked quite well.  Since I took the time to heat mine up, the cheese was perfectly melty, and creamy (maybe there was a creamy component too? I'm not sure).  It almost gave this a slight pizza-vibe, but, not really, as the rest of the flavors were nothing like pizza.  

Overall, this was just fantastic.  It was unique, it was fascinating, but also, it was just damn delicious.  One of the best savory pastries I've ever had, no question.

****+.

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Perry's, SF

Perry's is one of those places that I've never really cared about, but, seems to be a bit of a SF institution, as it has been around since 1969, and has multiple locations.

"Perry’s is known for classic American comfort food, with something for everyone. Our signature dishes include the Cobb Salad, French Onion Soup, Petrale Sole, and of course the Perry's Hamburger."

The menu at Perry's, while perhaps "something for everyone" is mostly ... boring?  Fairly generic "American" food.  I've attended multiple events hosted there, and always found the food to be, well, generic, boring, and lower end of mediocre.  But I finally decided to give Perry's a real try, not as part of a catered event, to see if there was a reason it has stuck around so long.  I ordered takeout, which took a bit longer than I expected to be ready.

Setting

Perry's has two locations in San Francisco, plus several others across the bay, but the one I have always visited is on the Embarcadero, near my office.  It is located in a hotel.  The original is the other SF location, on Union Street.

The Embarcadero location is an odd mix of two crowds - random tourists, who are either staying at the hotel attached to it or who wander in given the location and Bay Bridge views, and neighborhood folks, who treat it like their corner bar.  Unlike most other places in the neighborhood, no one is dressed up, no one is on a date, no one is really ... trying?  This includes both patrons and staff.  It actually does make it feel like a kinda neighborhood place, a transplant in time.

Always Reserved Tables.

The entrance is actually through the hotel lobby, off to the side.

Right near the host stand are a pair of tables, that are literally always reserved, and never have anyone at them.  But they are always set as if they will be occupied, sometime.  In my head, there is some story here about them reserved for the ghosts of regulars past, but, really, maybe my timing is just that off?

Bar Seating.

Most guests who sit indoors do so at the bar.  The Perry's non-tourist culture is definitely after-work bar crowd, and the TVs are always on.  The tourists sit outside on the patio, taking in the bay bridge views, and pretending not to freeze.

Savory

The Perry's menu is very "American".  Burgers.  Wings.  Grilled chicken.  Potato skins.  Fried chicken.  Spaghetti & meatballs.  Soup and salads.  Like I said, generic American.

The sides menu at Perry's is actually what I was most interested in.  All comfort foods.  Mac & cheese.  Cornbread.  Creamed spinach.  Fries (regular and sweet).  Mashed potatoes.  House made chips.  Etc, etc.  I didn't want to order items that requires some kitchen skill or quality ingredients to be good, both of which I suspected would be lacking here, the sides are what I opted for.  I was happy enough with my items actually, and maybe, just maybe, would consider returing.

Side: Mashed Potatoes. $5.50.

First up, mashed potatoes.

Yup, mashed potatoes from what I already knew to be a mediocre restaurant ... not something I'd normally decide to order, particularly as that is generally a recipe for gloopy or gummy mashed potatoes, or ones that are far too runny, or clearly instant, or, mounted with way too much butter and cream (yes, that is possible), but, although Yelpers "meh" nearly everything on the dinner menu, they do frequently mention that the mashed potatoes aren't bad.  And, um, I love mashed potatoes.  I had some roast shrimp, caramelized brussels sprouts, and other odds and ends to finish up at home, and I knew mashed potatoes would go great with them.  So mashed potatoes, takeout to bring home, it was.

The potatoes really weren't bad.  No strange lumps.  No gummy nature.  Just, pretty decent, normal mashed potatoes.  Not particularly seasoned, but I could add salt and pepper myself.  I certainly wouldn't go out of my way for these, but, really, they were fine.

***+.

Side: Mac & Cheese. $8.

The child in me also wanted some mac and cheese.  Another item people didn't seem to hate, and, well, I have some pretty low brow mac and cheese tastes (I still adore the mac and cheese from Krispy Krunchy Chicken, fast food style all the way!).

I opened the box and was quite pleased.  The aroma was incredible - garlic!  It looked extremely creamy, cheesy, and loaded with breadcrumbs and herbs.  Far better than I expected.  

I took a bite.  It was hot.  It was as creamy as it looked.  It was quite cheesy, but in a balanced way.  I have no idea what blend of cheese was in here, but, it worked really well.  The pasta, once I found it, was corkscrews, which I knew to expect having seen photos/reviews in advance.  I loved the pasta shape, as it really was just more fun to eat that way.  The herby breadcrumbs added a ton of flavor and texture.

I really enjoyed this, far better than I expected.  Mac and cheese is also available with bacon added for $2 more, which I'd consider in the future.

****.

Sweet

You know me, even if I think a place is awful, I still can't resist dessert.

Dessert Menu.

The dessert menu at Perry's is much like the savory menu.  Generic American. It has a requisite chocolate item (brownie with ice cream),  basic cheesecake (likely mass produced), a lemon cake, and, the one item that people do tend to get excited about, apple brown betty, which the menu even warns takes 15 minutes.  Served hot and fresh.

Apple Brown Betty w/ Vanilla Ice Cream. $9.

First, a refresher if you need one.  What is a brown betty, exactly?  Well, it is like a crisp, except that a crisp has oats in the topping and this does not.  So more like a crumble, in that it is oatless in the topping, but the topping is also integrated throughout, not just on top (but not as much as a buckle, which is more cake like).  Got it?  Ok, back to this version.

It did indeed take 15 minutes (actually, longer).  I wish I could say it was worth the wait.  Or that it was hot and fresh when I got it.  It was barely lukewarm, really, it seemed room temp to me.

The portion was large, and, the crumble top was generous.  But it was also very oily.  You can kinda tell from the photo, the crumble top itself was quite oily, which was odd.  I liked how crisp it was, but, it wasn't actually very tasty, and bordered on burnt.  Also, um, I don't think this was really a betty, as the topping really seemed to be just that, a topping.  A thick layer, but, just a topping (which is fine, just, call it a crumble?).

And what lay beneath?  Sweet, mushy apples.  In mushy apple-sauce like goo.  I don't mind goo, some apple pie/crisp/cobbler/crumble with generic from a can goo does it for me, but, this was too far in the applesauce direction for my tastes.  And, while I don't want al dente apples, or necessarily need them to be big slices, this was certainly too far in the mush direction for me.  It was also really really sweet, and didn't seemed spiced in any way (no cinnamon, nutmeg, etc).

So ... yeah, not sure why its such a signature item, nor why people are excited by it.  It is on the lower end of mediocre, but, kudos for having a hot (or, supposed to be?) dessert?

The ice cream was a scoop of generic vanilla ice cream, with, um, what looked like a bit of powder on top.  Powdered ... sugar?  Really not sure about that.  No complains really on the ice cream, besides that it was pretty average and generic.

**+, not worth the wait, and I wouldn't get again.

Update: Since the portion was large, and, well, I don't waste dessert, I had another serving the next night.  I heated it up properly, added fresh blueberries, and basically doubled the amount of ice cream (and used higher quality vanilla ice cream).  And whipped cream.  When it was piping hot, and had the blueberries to mellow out the sweetness from the apple filling and give it more texture in the fruit portion, and paired literally 50/50 with ice cream or whipped cream, I actually quite enjoyed it.  But, it definitely needed the equal parts ice cream, and was far better when served really warm.  ***+ my way.

Decaf Coffee. $3.

To pair with my dessert I got coffee, decaf since it was afternoon.  

I was told they weren't sure if they had coffee, something about a broken machine, but, then it did turn up.  I'm hoping it was decaf.  It was nicely hot, and didn't taste stale, nor funky.  It wasn't amazing decaf, but it certainly wasn't bad, and the $3 price was quite reasonable for the large size.

***.

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Dining at the Westin San Diego Bayview

I recently stayed at the Westin in San Diego, downtown.  Note, that there are two Westins in San Diego,  just a few blocks apart from each other, the other one closer to the more vibrant Gaslamp District.  The later is much more highly regarded.  There are slew of other notable Marriott properties nearby too, basically the entire portfolio is well represented.  I had my eye on some of the Autograph or Design Collection properties, but I was traveling for business purposes, and had very strict spend limits, and given crazy high rates ~everywhere right now, the Westin San Diego Downtown was the only Marriott property I could really pick that met those guidelines.

The property is ... dated.  Clearly showing its age, clearly could use a facelift (and will be getting one, next year).   But the staff were lovely, it was clean, and, my needs were all met.  The neighborhood though ... not very nice, and I say this coming from dirty, smelly, fairly unsafe San Francisco.  I can't say I recommend this location, at all.

The location also meant I was a pretty captive audience when it came to meals, there were no places to venture right nearby, and thus, I ended up eating breakfast at the hotel.  Sadly, the breakfast buffet was pretty much the worst I've had in years, anywhere, as even Residence Inn and other lower tier hotels have been considerably better.

Restaurant Setting

The restaurant doesn't even have a name, and is open only for breakfast.  In the evening, they serve some food at the bar, or via Room Service.  I suspect at one point, the restaurant actually operated in the evenings?

Dining Area.

The dining room matches the style of the rest of the hotel.  It is older, but clean.  I think at one time it would have been considered elegant or appealing.

Breakfast Buffet.

The restaurant is open only for breakfast, buffet style.   The entire buffet is laid out along one row.  

Breakfast Buffet

It is on the lower end of average for a US based hotel, and certainly not worth the $25 price.  Unlike most European hotel buffets, there is no charcuterie and cheeses, no muesli.  Definitely no Asian specialties.  Just the basic "American" fixings: bacon, scrambled eggs, sausage.  There are only packaged, flavored yogurts.  No eggs made to order.  

There are a few things not noted anywhere that you *can* order and are included - toast and cereal for example, which is a bit odd that those basics aren't part of the actual buffet.  Coffee, tea, and juice are included, and served by the waitstaff.  Sparkling water is not included. 

I stayed for 4 days, and the buffet never changed at all.

Fruit.

The buffet started off pretty lackluster, as this was the fruit section.  Just cut melon (I'm allergic) and pineapple (I tried it, not very ripe), and whole apples and oranges.  Sigh.  No berries, no interesting fruit of any kind. 

Pastries.

My favorite part of any breakfast buffet is often the baked goods.  Now, they are never that great, but, I loved my baked goods.  I could tell just from inspection however that this lineup was not necessarily going to please me.

Croissants, chocolate croissants, danishes, loaf cake, mini muffins.   Not a bad lineup, but ... these were worse than average hotel pastries.

The first item I grabbed was a chocolate croissant.  It was spongy and the chocolate inside was strangely moist. I couldn't even steal chocolate out to enjoy that! *.

The banana bread was ... well, banana bread. There was no cream cheese available to put on it (my favorite way to eat it), and no toaster, so, yeah.  Just, very banana tasting, with I think 1-2 walnuts in my entire slice. **.

I also tried a mini bran muffin, as I'm someone who actually likes bran muffins.  It was pretty average, and I think if it was warm, with butter and jam, I'd enjoy it. ***.

Overall, much worse than average pastries.

Blueberry Cheese Danish.

I'm not sure why I kept trying baked goods.  Ok, I am sure - I love baked goods, and somehow thought I just needed to discover the hidden gem.  There was no hidden gem.

The pastry layers were soft and not flaky, the filling minimal.  Spongy.  Not good.

**.

Cinnamon Roll.

Last morning. Feeling FOMO.  Grabbed one last pastry ...

Of course it was not better than the others.  Soggy and kinda stale, at least it had decent cinnamon between the layers?

**.

Jam, Syrup, Ketchup, Butter.

There was a reasonable lineup of jam, but, no toast, so this was a bit odd to me.  What did people use the jam on?  I guess they didn't want to deal with a toaster, so no toast, but, then why jam?  And really, what, no toast?  It seems like a breakfast buffet easy staple ...

There was also individual maple syrup (and sugar free syrup), plus hot sauce tiny bottles, and ketchup that was squeezed out into little bowls.  Odd that the others were in individual things, but the ketchup was like that.  Regular butter only.

Oatmeal.

Just like no toast, there was also no regular cereal.  When I asked about cereal, I was told there was oatmeal.  I tried it, but it was not good.  Thick, gloopy, mushy.  

Oatmeal Toppings.

To top the oatmeal, there were chia seeds, coconut flakes, cranberries, brown sugar, walnuts, and granola.  I think this is part of the Westin brand, the healthy toppings.

So, yes, technically, I guess there was cereal (the granola) but there was just a little there, intended as a topping, and no milk.  It was pretty generic, likely Kellogg's, granola.  I liked the walnuts.

Special K, Apple Jacks.

After 3 days, I saw someone else with cereal.  I again asked about cereal, and was told they did have cereal.  I just needed to ask for it.  But it might not be included in the buffet, they weren't sure.  Sigh.  

So, one staff member told me they had none, another said I could have it but might need to pay more than the $25 I was already paying ... by then, I was pretty over everything else, so I said I'd like cereal anyway.  They offered the standard Kellogg's lineup: raisin bran, corn flakes, frosted mini wheats, apple jacks, and special k with red berries.  Milk came on the side and was warm.

Breakfast Potatoes.

The potatoes looked greasy and soggy, I did't try.

Scrambled Eggs (with veg).

The scrambled eggs, available with veggies/cheese or plain, were extremely dried out lumps, kinda floating in liquid.  Super scary looking, yes, worse than average hotel buffet eggs.

French Toast.

I tried the french toast one day - always french toast, I was hoping they'd rotate through several different breakfast carbs like pancakes or waffles too, but alas, the same french toast.  It didn't really seem battered or coated, wasn't spiced.  Just kinda soft soggy bread.  *.

Moving on ...

Pork Sausage Patties / Chicken Sausage Links.

I tried both sausages (with maple syrup, as I like them!).  WOW they were bad. The textures were just all weird. Both were oddly spongy.  And super oily.  NO NO NO.

No stars, really.

Yogurt.

The yogurt was Chobani, greek yogurt, fruit flavors only.  No plain.  Full fat.  I dislike Chobani, so this was a bummer.

Greek Yogurt Parfait.

Ok, there was one other yogurt option, sorta.  Pre-made mini (and I mean mini) parfaits.

Basically a thimble of yogurt, topped with few bits granola, <1 strawberry each, and 2 blueberries.  The yogurt was plain, the granola was the same as with the oatmeal, and literally this was the only berries available.  Boo his.  **.

Breakfast Special: Tostada Chorizo.

I got a bit interested when I saw that there was a special!  Except, it was the same every day.  Not so special, after all.

It was a tostada with chorizo, fried egg, cheese, and salsa.  The egg was actually decently fried (runny yolk!), but I don't really like salsa in the morning.  I ended up having one of these most mornings, just, removing the salsa, and just taking the fried egg, although some mornings it was quite cold (the heat lamp didn't really hold it to temp well).

No made to order eggs.

Breakfast Special: Chorizo Toastada, underside.

Under the egg was greasy chorizo that I didn't care for, and a greasy tortilla.  

At least the egg was good enough, really, the best part of the buffet. *** egg, ** the rest.

Other Dining

The restaurant isn't open at other times of day, but the bar area has an all day dining menu of fairly pricey uninspired cuisine.  Think burgers, basic pasta, steak, etc.  I was only interested in the dessert menu, as, after all, I'm a dessert girl, and it had exactly three items: cheesecake, chocolate cake, ice cream.  That's it.  Still, the day I arrived I really wanted something sweet, and, well, I was there.  I should have known better ...

Chocolate Cake. $12.

This ... was not good chocolate cake.  It didn't have frosting, just a chocolate glaze.  When I have cake, I'm all about the frosting, and this, literally, had none.  So, they lose a point for that.

But ok, what about the cake?  It was extremely dry.  Not very much chocolate flavor.  This is not a rich, moist cake that can stand up without ice cream.  I did like the piece of chocolate on top.

The fruit was fresh and tasty though, definitely the highlight.

**.

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San Diego Conference Center Catering

I recently attended a conference hosted at the San Diego Convention Center, a *huge* place, with a dedicated events team, including catering.  All our meals and snacks were provided by the in-house catering team, so I was able to experience a number of their offerings.  I was not ever there early enough for breakfast, so I cannot comment on those offerings, nor did our hosts select any plated meals, so this review is only for the snack, lunch, and evening reception choices, all buffet style.

I was impressed with the catering services.  They are clearly professionals, and although there were some misses, most was above average for buffet style catering, and some, particularly one dessert (!) were far above average.  I recommend, if you are ever attending or hosting an event there ...

Lunches 

For lunch, there are plated and boxed lunch options, but our hosts went for buffets for our event.  

The catering menu has a number of different buffet lunch options, ranging from the simple deli lunch with pasta salad, sandwich fixings, and cookies for a whopping $40.75 per person to many hot buffet options that are themed, starting at $46.50 per person up to $52 per person for more premium offerings like the "Little Italy" that has steak included.  All the hot buffets include two different salads (one green, one pasta), a starch (rice, roast potatoes, etc), a cooked veggie, two main dishes, two desserts, plus coffee/tea/soda.

The buffets were always ready right at the time they should be, but not too early, so items were hot.  They were well set up, with items in an order that made sense, toppings often on the side so you could garnish as you pleased, and everything reasonably well labelled.  The staff kept everything replenished (I'd almost say they kept it too replenished, removing trays that were still half full, which I hope wasn't getting tossed ...).  Clearly, this events team knows how to operate smoothly, and I was quite impressed with the quality of the cuisine.

Day One - Far East Buffet. $46.50/pp

Our first day lunch was the "Oriental" package, the cheapest hot buffet option.  Like all of the packages, it came with two salads (one green, one noodle), a starch (rice), veggies, two entrees (chicken, beef), and (kinda) two desserts.  The menu:

• Oriental Salad with Romaine Lettuce, Napa Cabbage, Snow Peas, Mandarin Oranges and Wonton Strips with Oriental Dressing
• Udon Noodle Salad with Asian Slaw
• Orange Chicken
• Broccoli Beef
• Steamed Jasmine Rice
• Stir Fry Vegetables
• Fortune Cookies
• Matcha Cheesecake with Tropical Fruit
  

I actually really enjoyed my meal, although a few parts were a letdown.  Still, the salad (and toppings!), orange chicken, and fantastic cheesecake made for a very satisfying meal, overall, ***+, above average for catering.  Vegetarians had rather limited choices however, no vegetarian protein was part of the meal.

Oriental Salad with Romaine Lettuce, Napa Cabbage, Snow Peas, Mandarin Oranges.

Our menu started with a themed salad, "oriental".

I mostly really enjoyed the salad.  The lettuce and cabbage were chopped up fairly finely, but were fresh and crisp.  Snow peas were also thinly sliced and crisp, and added a great crunch.  The mandarin oranges  I could do without, just not my thing, and they seemed like the canned kind.  Baby corn was soft and not great.

But, overall a nice base, and I appreciated something other than generic garden salad.

***+.

Oriental Salad Toppings: Wonton Strips, Chow Mein Noodles, Oriental Dressing
Udon Noodle Salad with Asian Slaw.

The salad line up was completed with the oriental dressing and wontons/chow mein noodles for the oriental salad on the side, and a chilled udon noodle salad.

I appreciated that the toppings were on the side rather than pre-mixed, so I could add as much dressing as I pleased, so the crispy toppings wouldn't get soggy, and, um, so I could take as much of those toppings as I wanted, which, for me, was more than average.  The wontons and crispy chow mein noodles were standard, but totally my thing, and I enjoyed them quite a bit.

The udon noodle salad was fine but not really my thing, I'm just not one for cold pasta salad (unless it is classic deli macaroni salad, laden in mayo ...).  The veggies in it were cooked and pretty soft, so the whole thing ate fairly mushy.

Still, for a salad lineup, this was above average, mostly due to the great toppings.

***+.

Stir Fry Veggies.

Vegetarians didn't have much to eat besides the salad.  Steamed white rice and stir fry veggies with no protein.  Lack of vegetarian protein option seems like a kinda big miss, particularly as its easy to have tofu for an Oriental menu.

Anyway, I actually wanted the veggies, but, they weren't good.  Super mushy.  The same broccoli and baby corn were in the salads too, so it was a lot of same-same in the meal.

Way too over cooked and mushy, no real flavor either.

*+.

Broccoli Beef / Orange Chicken.

Meat eaters though did have good options, probably the two most popular "oriental" mains out there.

The broccoli beef was meh (tough beef, more way too soggy broccoli, not much flavor in sauce), but the orange chicken was decent.  Battered, nicely coated pieces, reasonable sauce (not too sweet), and it seemed to be white meat chicken.  Far better than I was expecting, although, still no Panda Express!

*+ for the broccoli beef, *** for the chicken.

Dessert: Fortune Cookies, Matcha Cheesecake.

All the lunch buffet packages come with two desserts, which, dessert girl I am definitely makes me happy.  For the Oriental package, the second dessert was just fortune cookies, which I did think was a cute touch, but those don't really count as dessert for me.

The matcha cheesecake though I was thrilled to see.

Matcha Cheesecake with Tropical Fruit.

The cheesecake was attractive, with a base crust, no back crust, and little bit of whipped cream and crispearls on top.  The "Tropical Fruit" turned out to be papaya, reasonably fresh enough.

Matcha Cheesecake with Tropical Fruit.

The cheesecake was sliced into fairly small portions (in my mind), but I heard others saying they were too big.  The servers assured them it was ok not to eat it all.  But I was surprised how many attendees opted not to have cheesecake, making comments about the size of slice, or heaviness of cheesecake.  It made me sad, mostly.

I was more than happy to devour my tiny slice.  The crust was delicious.  Yes, me, the girl who regularly calls cheesecake crust "throwaway" as it is often soggy or mushy, and even if not, standard graham cracker crust just doesn't do it for me.  But this was glorious, super crispy, caramelized, more like a cookie, and I think it had coconut in it too.  Sugary deliciousness, and I was happy to see such a thick layer, once I tried it.

As for the cheesecake, the texture was good, very smooth, firm.  Light matcha flavor, sorta a mascarpone flavor as well.  Definitely above average in both texture and taste.

I would prefer it be served with a different fruit, but, overall, this was better than most frozen mass produced desserts, and I liked that it was themed with the meal.  The combo of above average cheesecake and very very good crust made this a total winner.

****+.

Day 2: Embarcadero Buffet. $52/pp.

The next day, our hosts splurged for the Embarcadero package, which also normally has two salads, a starch (mashed potatoes), a veggie, two entrees (chicken, beef), and two desserts, but, they did sub one of the main proteins for a veggie pasta, which didn't really go with the rest of the lineup, and may have been a course correction after so little vegetarian food available the previous day (both lunch and dinner).  The lineup:

• Endive Mixed Greens Pea Tendrils, Pickled Melons, and Dried Cherries, with Creamy Cucumber Dill Vinaigrette and Mint Verjus Vinaigrette
• Broccoli Salad with Cashews and Raisins
• Herb Grilled Chicken Breast with Mushroom Demi
• Smoked BBQ Beef Brisket with Tamarind BBQ Sauce --> Vegetarian Pasta
• Confit Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze and Fried Thyme
• Peach Cobbler Tart
• Amaretto Raspberry Ganache Cake

This meal was even better than the previous one.  I adored both salads, and, although I completely skipped the mains, I was happy to feast on garlic mashed potatoes and delicious brussels sprouts, and, both desserts, although neither was as good as the previous days.  Again though, above average for catering, and **** overall.

Endive Mixed Greens Pea Tendrils,
Pickled Melons, and Dried Cherries.

I was a bit worried when I saw melons, as I'm allergic, but luckily it was just honeydew/cantelope (I'm allergic, but not deathly, like watermelon), so I was able to pick around them.

I loved this salad.  The greens were all fresh and crisp, and I just adore endive and rarely have it, and the pea tendrils were a really nice change from standard salad greens.  It was rounded out by some other assorted mixed greens.  Really, this was a fantastic base.

I can't speak to the pickled melons, but the dried cherries were even tasty, not too hard, and the flavors all went really well together.

Far above average for a salad.

****.

Dressing, Broccoli Salad.

"Creamy Cucumber Dill Vinaigrette and Mint Verjus Vinaigrette."

The salad came with two dressings on the side, both of which I tried, and they both went well with the salad.  Although both vinaigrettes, they were creamy, and more to my liking.  That said, I didn't use much of the dressing because instead I mixed in the broccoli salad.

"Broccoli Salad with Cashews and Raisins."

Ok, this was awesome.  I am a HUGE fan of the broccoli crunch salad at Whole Foods, and every time I see a creamy broccoli salad, I want it to be like that.  This was different, but totally reminded me of it.

The broccoli was lightly cooked, not soft, great crunch to it.  There was tons of carrot, shredded and chunks, raw, more great crunch.  I didn't actually find any cashews (which, the Whole Foods one does have, and I always like, because they get a bit soft after being soaked in dressing forever).  It was overloaded with raisins (Whole Foods uses currants I think?), which would normally bother me, but, because I mixed this in with the salad base, worked well.  The whole foods one has harsh red onion to contrast the other elements, and, bacon, which I certainly enjoy, but didn't find this to really be lacking without either.

And then, the dressing.  Yup, it was totally drowning in mayo, sooo creamy, and since I mostly used this as salad dressing with the other salad, it didn't bother me how ridiculously dressed it was.

Anyway, this was considerably better than I even imagined it could be, and I liked it just as much as my precious Whole Foods version.  I wish I could purchase this somewhere!  And when combined with the other salad, just, a wonderful combination.  ****+.

Rolls.

I didn't try the rolls, but there was an assortment of white, wheat, and dark rolls, along with pats of butter on the side.

Confit Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

The mashed potatoes were good.  A very smooth, creamy style.  The garlic wasn't as strong as I wished, but was present.  They were a bit boring, but, well executed (no lumpy bits, not overloaded with butter and cream).  

Above average for a buffet, and perfectly tasty, just not something to rave about.

***+.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze and Fried Thyme.

I love brussels sprouts.  Yup, I'm one of "those people".  I know many people, including my mother, haven't discovered the glory of well prepared brussels, but, I certainly have.

Buffet brussels sprouts have sooo much potential to go poorly.   Like the previous days veggies, I kinda assumed they would be very mushy.  Or, as sometimes you can get, I thought they might be laden down with oil (when not cooked on high enough heat maybe? I'm not sure why, but sometimes they can be sooo greasy!).  But these were done really well.  Not mushy, but certainly not raw, just lightly al dente.  Perfect texture for me, and they even had a bit of char on them.

The balsamic glaze as minimal but added a nice flavor.  I didn' t find the fried thyme.

Overall, another well executed dish, and perfect with the mashed potatoes.

****.

Vegetarian Pasta.

The menu normally has Smoked BBQ Beef Brisket with Tamarind BBQ Sauce as the main dish, but our hosts must have gotten the memo that the vegetarians were feeling very left out, and they subbed in a pasta dish instead.

It was just penne with tomato sauce, parmesan cheese shards, and roasted tomatoes.  I stole some of the tomatoes, and they were quite flavorful.

Herb Grilled Chicken Breast with Mushroom Demi.

The other main dish was chicken, which I don't eat, but, the mushrooms and roasted onions called out, as did the demi.

More well cooked, not mushy, flavorful veggies, and they went really well with brussels and mash, and I drizzled the mash with the demi to great success.

I can't speak for the chicken, but, <3 the toppings.

****+.

 Amaretto Raspberry Ganache Cake.

After the really quite good matcha cheesecake the day before, I was actually looking forward to the desserts, not usually the area that catering shines.

First up was had a layer cake.  It said "Amaretto Raspberry Ganache Cake", but I really didn't taste any amaretto (presumably in the cake?) and I certainly didn't taste, nor see, any raspberries.  

Instead, it was basically just a basic cake, with fudge, er, ganache filling and topping.  It was nicely decorated, but otherwise was very average, not particularly dry nor moist, not particularly flavorful, just, it was what it was.

***.

Peach Cobbler Tart.

The second dessert sounded great - peach cobbler!, although, I was curious about the "tart" part.

This item was ... ok.  Definitely more standard mass produced frozen foodservice dessert quality.

The tart shell was pretty average (never the kind of thing I like very much), and the "cobbler" element seemed to be the crumb topping (not cobbles, and not biscuit-like a cobbler usually is), which was fine, but, not nearly as tasty as cobbles would be.  

The peaches were the oddest part of this.  Not that I expected fresh juicy peaches, but, these reminded me more of pears.  They weren't mushy, but instead were fairly al dente, and tasted like, well, canned pears with a slight peach flavor, if that makes any sense.

There was also perhaps a little custard in there, or perhaps that we just where the crumble topping was more moist, I couldn't quite tell.

Overall, highly average, and perhaps it would have been better warm and a la mode?

***.

Evening Receptions / Dinner

The evening packages are definitely more varied, of course there are formal plated dinners and more expensive buffets (these have a soup instead of two salads, and higher end main proteins like salmon, airline chicken, etc but otherwise follow the format of the lunch buffets), and then there are all sorts of hors d'oeuvres to pick from, both hot and cold, priced out by the 100 pieces.  From there, you can also opt for themed stations, like a nacho station, or "baja" station with shrimp cocktail, flautas, empanadas, tacos, chips & salsa, or carving stations with all different cuts of meats, all priced per person.

For our welcome reception, the hosts just opted for a few hors d'oeuvres, and definitely did not intend it to be a full dinner.  The other evening, the hosts combined a few stations and hors d'oeuvres, and basically made it a dinner, albeit one without any desserts (or really, any vegetables).  The unconventional formats I didn't think worked all that well, but, I don't blame the catering team for this, they have clear packages that make more sense as a cohesive meal.

Day 1:

The first night was a welcome reception, an optional event, before the conference got started.  The welcome reception was hosted by a different group from the main organizers, and, they intended this to be just a social few hours, not dinner, it seems (it ran from 5pm-7pm).  The offerings were just a few cold hors d'oeuvres, all finger foods, certainly not a meal.  Nothing was particularly good, this was basically the quality and style of catering that you kind of expect from a large event, and can cater equally well yourself from the grocery store deli department.

Bruschetta & Flat Bread Station: Bases. $14.50/pp.

"Served with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a Variety of Toasted Flat Breads."

First up, we had a build your own bruschetta or flat bread station.

There were two types of flat bread, I tried one with pesto and cheese.  It was ... kinda stale bread?  Not toasted.  You were supposed to make your own bruschetta with these and other toppings, but I don't think I saw anyone actually do that.

Bruschetta & Flat Bread Station: Toppings.

"Specialty Toppings".

To go on top we had the following "specialty toppings":

• Cauliflower, Artichoke and Kale Tapenade
• Kalamata Olive Tapenade
• Pesto Hummus
• Fresh Tomato, Basil and Garlic

The pesto hummus I hoped would be more pesto than hummus, but alas, it tasted like hummus to me, a miss for me, since I don't like hummus.  Meh.  I didn't try the kalamata olive tapanade, another flavor profile I don't really like.

The classic tomato/garlic/basil topping was fine, fresh enough, good garlic, but, since I didn't care for the flatbread, I didn't have much to do with it, and it was too oily to just eat on its own.  I wished there was a salad base, or mashed potatoes, or something to mix it with.

I did mix it with the cauliflower/artichoke/kale spread ... which was a mixed bag.  I'm not one for artichoke, but I didn't mind it here.  I liked the chunks of caulflower, and bits of torn kale.  But much like the tomato/garlic topping, it really was made to be a topping, very oily, and not that great to just eat on its own.

I tried to make a tomato/garlic/cauliflower/artichoke/kale dip salad like thing, and added roasted tomatoes and stuff from the other platters, but ... yeah.  not very good.

**+.

Imported and Domestic Cheese. $10/pp.

"Garnished with Seasonal Fruit, Sliced Baguettes and Assorted Crackers."

The cheeses I tried were highly average.  All hard cheeses, very run of the mill.

I did snag fresh strawberries and mediocre grapes, which was nice because the other fruit platter was full of melons and I had to avoid it entirely due to my allergy.  The fresh fruit was appreciated.

There were also dried cranberries (meh) and candied pecans, which I also liked for something sweet, but didn't go that great with anything else on the menu.

**+.

Ahi Poke. $675/100 pieces.

"Wakami Salad, Tobiko on a Wonton Chip."

Eh.  I do like poke, and I love wonton chips but ...

This was pretty mushy, the tuna didn't seem particularly fresh, and it was all mixed up with seaweed.  The wonton chips were greasy.

**+.

Mediteranean Chicken Kebab. $750/100 pieces.

"Figs and Roasted Tomatoes and Balsamic Glaze."

One of only two hot items.  Chicken kebabs.

I obviously didn't want chicken, but, the roasted figs, tomato, and balsamic sounded good, particularly when combined with the mediocre cheese from the other platter maybe?   The fig was just a dried fig I think, but, decent enough with the glaze and cheese, and chunk of a bran muffin I brought with me.  The tomato was more like a sundried tomato than roasted, very chewy, savory, and good with the bruschetta toppings.

But yeah, eh overall still.  **+.

Guava Cayenne Empanadas. $625/100 pieces.

These were almost ok.  

Flaky enough pastry.  The filling was confusing though - I didn't taste the cayenne they said it had, but it seemed to be guava and cheese?  Sorta sweet, but garnished with roast tomatoes and spring onions?  No dipping sauce, which it really needed (either sweet or savory would have worked).

Almost ok, but it wasn't quite a dessert, and was too sweet for a savory, and again, I wanted a sauce.

**+.

Day 2:

The next night was considerably better.  While still not a real dinner package, at least on the savory side, I was totally satisfied, and really enjoyed some elements.

Dinner-ish.

For our dinner reception, our hosts opted to make their own menu, rather than using any of the standard buffet or plated dinners.

They opted for one appetizer station (charcuterie and roast veggies), a carb station (pasta), and two carving stations (one meat, one seafood).

I felt a bit bad for vegetarians as the only veggies were intermingled on a platter with charcuterie, and they had no protein option, just, pasta + sauce + breadsticks, but it definitely would not have been nice to be a vegan.  The pasta didn't even have a vegan sauce they could opt for, and the breadsticks were cheesy.  They could, literally, have plain penne, no sauce, and some crackers?

Not the fault of the catering team, this was our host's choice, but, as one who used to cater a lot of group events, I noticed the oversight.

Overall though, this was reasonably tasty, in particular, the sauces were the highlights.

Grilled Marinated Vegetable and Charcuterie Board. $16.pp.

"A selection of Roasted Zucchini, Squash, Eggplant, Peppers, Salami, Prosciutto and Sopprasetta drizzled with Extra Virgin Olive Oil."

Served with Toasted Flat Breads and Gourmet Crackers.

This was a bit of an odd platter.  Normally they separate charucterie and veggies, rather than combine.  I heard several vegetarians express their displeasure, commenting that they really didn't want to pick out veggies that were touching the meat.  The vegetables were also all grilled, but cold, and not particularly tasty.  The baby eggplants were cute.

The charcuterie though was pretty good. I really enjoyed the proscuitto, particularly when I added pesto cream sauce to it.

**** for the proscuitto, ** for everything else.

Pasta Station: Pasta. $17.25/pp.

"Tri-Colored Cheese Tortellini and Penne Rigate."

Rather than one of the buffet dinners, our hosts opted to do a pasta station for dinner.  All pasta stations come with both penne and cheese tortellini.

I had the penne, it was fine, not clumped together, not too soft, pretty decent for a buffet I guess. ***.

Pasta Station: Sauces.

"Selection of two sauces: Pesto Sauce · Bolognese Sauce."

Pasta stations come with the host's selection of two sauces, ours were bolognese and pesto.  The other options are simple marinara and the one I secretly hoped they would pick, vodka cream.

The bolognese was not good at all.  Really just thin marinara with tiny ground bits of beef, no developed flavor at all.

The pesto sauce though was great.  I was expecting just a green pesto, and this was a cream sauce.  I'm a sucker for cream sauce, and I found this quite flavorful.  I made a wonderful pasta dish with penne, cream sauce, and proscuitto.  I think mixing in the salmon would have worked well too.

**** for the cream sauce though.

Pasta Station: Sides.

"Served with Soft Bread Sticks, Crushed Red Pepper and Parmesan Cheese."

The bread sticks were lofty, and lightly coated with cheese (yup, sorry vegans), and herbs.  They were decent, but not very warm.  Still, nice to dunk into the sauces.  **+.

Basic parmesan and red pepper flakes were on the side to jazz up your pasta.

Applewood Smoked Side Salmon (serves 30). $500.

"Served with Lemon Dill Crème Fraiche and Chimichurri, with a Large Ciabatta Croustade."

Our hosts selected two carving stations.  I was happy to see they opted for a seafood choice although the other seafood option, pistachio crusted sea bass, sounded a bit more fun.  

The salmon was decent.  I would prefer it more rare, and it wasn't particularly warm, but, it was decent.  I really enjoyed both the lemon dill creme fraiche and chimichurri though, the former thick and flavorful, the later quite vibrant.  

This was served with super thin crispy "ciabatta croustade", but I opted for crackers from the charcuterie/veg platter instead, and spreading the sauces on the crackers was really quite enjoyable.

***+.

Sirloin of Beef (serves 35). $650.

"Served with Chimichurri, and Horseradish Crème Fraiche and with Miniature Rolls."

Our other carving station was one of the beef station options.  I'll admit, it looked pretty good.  The catering menu has two other beef preparations available with different sauces, along with pork loin and turkey breast, none of which our hosts oped for.

The beef looked better than it tasted.  It was pretty chewy.  The crust looked flavorful, but I didn't get much flavor from it.  We all struggled to cut it with little plastic knives.

I also had roast onion and garlic garnishes, and neither were very flavorful, a big surprise, as, well, how do you make onion and garlic NOT flavorful?

The sauces however were again great.  The same chimichurri that we had with the salmon, and a different creme fraiche, this one horseradish.

So, again, great sauces, but meh to the beef.  This came with little rolls if you wanted to make sliders, which I didn't try.

*** sauces, **+ beef.

Snack Time

I wasn't there for snack breaks most days, but the catering depart has a wide range of options, ranging from boring (generic packaged granola bars, pretzels, or bags of chips, which, it sounds like my hosts had picked on day one), to freshly popped popcorn, to themed assortments, like the "Death by Chocolate" break package with chocolate s'mores bark, chocolate dipped strawberries, fudge brownies, and chocolate chip cookies.  I was definitely hoping for the "Ball Park' lineup with mini hot dogs and soft pretzels and cracker jacks, but, alas, we only got soft pretzel bites when I was around.

Sesame Seed Pretzel Bites.

For afternoon snack one day, we had the Bavarian pretzel bites package, which came with pretzels and mustard, $9.75/pp, with 3 allocated per person.

Our lineup had two kinds, including these sesame seed only versions, which I skipped.

Everything Pretzel Bites.

I went for the more interesting everything version.

They were ... fine.  Soft.  Lightly warmed.  Not stale.  Loaded with everything coating.  But I had just been in Munich two weeks prior, and consumed far too many soft pretzels, and these just didn't really stand a chance.

**.

Honey Mustard, Spicy Mustard.

The pretzels came with both spicy and honey mustard, neither of which were particularly flavorful.  Again, after being in Munich, land of all the mustards, this just didn't compare.

**.

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