Original Beans, Chocolate Bars

On Fridays, I usually review snacks.  Which, I obviously love.  But another thing I love?  Chocolate.  I have at least one piece, every morning, without fail, alongside my cup of morning coffee.  Much like snack foods, I love trying every brand I can, which this time lead me to Original Beans.

"Speak what’s true. Eat what’s pure. Preserve what’s rare."

This is the mission of Original Beans, as the company has a strong focus on sustainability.  They partner closely with the cacao farmers in South America, Africa and Asia, where all the beans for their single origin bars originate.

Assorted Mini Bars.

I was able to try an assortment of flavors, all in adorable mini form.  Strangely, the one I liked best?  The white chocolate!

Edel Weiss, Bare White Chocolate.
Yuna River Valley, Dominican Republic, 40%.

"Sweet impressions of banana milk and cacao butter paint a golden portrait of the bare organic life in the Yuna River Valley."

I started with a white chocolate.

Wow.  This was really good white chocolate.  A product that often is entirely overlooked, just sweet and waxy and "not chocolate", but this ... this was lovely.

Incredibly smooth, great texture, sweet in a pleasant, not cloying way, no waxy qualities.  A really, really nice bar.

****.

Edel Weiss, Bare White Chocolate.
Yuna River Valley, Dominican Republic. 40%.

This was another lovely white chocolate.  Same name, but different color wrapper, I'm not 100% certain it was the same, but I think it was?

So smooth and creamy, really quite enjoyable.

****.

Esmeraldas Milk 42% with Fleur de Sel.

"Notes of caramel and hazelnuts with Fleur de Sel resonate throughout this silky milk Rare & Original chocolate. The taste floats down from Ecuador’s last Pacific cloudforest, where endangered tree frogs bask in the breeze."

Next I went for a milk chocolate.

This was ... fine.  A very smooth, creamy milk chocolate.  I thought I almost tasted hazelnuts, so I was pretty shocked when I later read the description and it mentioned "notes of ... hazelnuts".  Well then.  Maybe I *do* have a sophisticated chocolate tasting palette!  I didn't taste the fleur de sel though.

Overall, it didn't seem like a particularly notable bar, but I'll admit that I was in the mood for dark chocolate, not milk, at the time.

Update Review: I've since had another.  I again did not taste any fleur de sel.  This time I didn't particularly taste hazelnut either, but it was a decently smooth milk chocolate.  Not remarkable, but not bad.  If it were a wine, I'd call it a table wine.

***.

CRU VIRUNGA (70%). 
Deep Dark Chocolate, Virunga National Park, Eastern Congo D.R..

"Hints of morello cherries, earthy chocolate and black tea are revealed as this chocolate from Rare Amelonado beans melts in your mouth. The deep flavours embody the spirit of the last mountain gorillas that inhabit Virunga Park."

Next, I went dark, a 70% bar.

I didn't taste any of the complexities described.  Instead, just, mediocre dark chocolate.  Smooth enough, not crazy sweet, but, not complex.  Slightly bitter in an unpleasant way.

Not for me really.

**+.

Cru Virunga 70%.
Deep Dark Chocolate, Virunga Park, Congo DR.
(Update)

"Hints of morello cherries, earthy chocolate and black tea are revealed as our Rare & Original Cru Virunga melts in your mouth. The deep flavours embody the spirit of the last mountain gorillas that inhabit Virunga Park."

A year or so later, I tried it again.  I broke off a chunk of this before I took the photo, not intending to review it, just assuming I would feel the same.

But ... it was too good not to write up, so, apologies for the photo.  You'd think that I know better by now.

This was beautiful, smooth, rich, dark chocolate.  Perfect snap, perfect shine. ****.

PIURA PORCELANA 75%.
Bright Dark Chocolate, Peruvian Nacional.

"Flavours of lime, raspberry and pecan divulge the secrets of a rare white cacao–nature’s delicious mistake–we found along Peru’s coastal desert and habitat of hundreds of captivating butterflies."

And finally, darker, a 75%.

75% dark chocolate should be fairly dark and complex.  This ... was not.  It was smooth, snappy, but really sweet.  I felt bad, but it reminded me of Hershey's Special Dark, just nothing to it.

**+.

Piura Porcelana 75%.
Bright Dark Chocolate, Piura Valley, Peru.
(Update)

"Flavours of lime, raspberry and pecan divulge the secrets of an Ultra Rare white cacao–nature’s delicious mistake–we found along Peru’s coastal desert and habitat of hundreds of captivating butterflies."

Much like the 70%, I tried the 75% again a few years later.  This one I also took a piece of before taking a photo, but, it was less successful.  As in, not successful.

It was a darker bar by percentage (75% instead of 70%) but it didn't taste like a dark chocolate.  It had no depth.  No smoothness.  A very boring, generic, nondescript bar.  And no, I didn't get hints of lime, raspberry, or pecan.

**+.

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Hanover Scoops

Ice cream.  I eat a lot of ice cream.  At least once a day.  For me though, ice cream is usually an accompaniment to a warm fruit crisp, crumble, slice of pie, or other "real dessert".  Sometimes I'll be low key and use it as a stuffing for an ice cream cookie sandwich.  But I very, very rarely have just a scoop of ice cream, particularly hard serve.  But soft serve I have a soft spot for (see what I did there?).  A warm day, a cone of soft serve with sprinkles, in the sun, and in those circumstances, I need nothing more.  "Just ice cream", if it is good soft serve, is all I need.

Whenever I visit my family on the east coast in the summer, ice cream outings are a way of life.  80+ degree days, a mother who loves ice cream and wants to spend time wtih me, perfect match.  The thing is ... there just isn't great ice cream around town.  The main ice cream place in town, Dairy Twirl, sometimes has a decent soft serve flavor (they do a particularly good mint, lemon, and amaretto!),  but, its pretty expensive and generally just average.  A bit further away is Ice Cream Fore-U, that is I think is slightly better, and better priced, but not worth the extra 10 minute drive.  If I'm craving super sweet, there is Mac's Maple, for soft serve maple creamies that are good, but, very sweet, and it too is a bit far away.  And that is it, besides McDonald's and Burger King, for soft serve.

So when I saw a new place opening in the town next door (Hanover), with locally made ice cream (mostly hard serve), but also vanilla, chocolate, and maple soft serve I had to check it out.  I hoped to find a new gem.  Hanover Scoops is the second location for the brand, the other is in Woodstock, aptly named Woodstock Scoops.

Spoiler: I did not find a new gem.  If you are looking for good soft serve in New Hampshire, there is a gem, King Kone, it just is 1.5 hours away from my parent's house, so not particularly practical (but seriously, best soft serve ever!).

Signage.

Hanover Scoops is located next to the Nugget movie theater, with a sign out on the sidewalk to draw you in.

Ordering Area.

Inside is quite simple, with a small area to line up and order, with an ice cream cooler on the side.

Bar.

The ice cream freezers and machine are behind a high bar, that has some basic toppings on display.  All looked pretty generic brand/quality.

The only unique offerings are maple syrup or maple sprinkles, along with the aforementioned maple soft serve.

Vanilla & Chocolate Twist.  Kiddie. 
w/ chocolate sprinkles.

The day I visited we were met with sadness.  No maple soft serve.  Only basic vanilla and chocolate.

I opted for a kiddie cone, which was about the size I'd expect.  The ice cream was ... fine.  Creamy, but fairly plain vanilla, creamy but not really the style of chocolate I like chocolate.  Very, very average.  Same with the cone, and the fairly waxy generic sprinkles.

There was nothing interesting about this cone really, and I wouldn't go back for it.

**+.

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The Skinny Pancake, Quechee, VT

Update Review, July 2022

I think I like the idea of crepes more than the actual things.  Or maybe, I just haven't had all that great of crepes?  (Hmm, on second thought, I do remembering loving them at Ti Couz in SF, years ago, before it closed in 2011).  Anyway, The Skinny Pancake is a crepe shop Vermont, with several locations, and seems quite successful (you can read the details in my prior review).  So even though my previous visit to the Skinny Pancake didn't really leave me inspired to return, I did.

The last time I visited The Skinny Pancake, I opted for the loaded "Veggie Monster" filled with veggies, pesto, and cheese, and opted for the more hearty gluten-free buckwheat crepe base.  This time I went for a traditional (savory) crepe and went meaty.  I can't say it was any better.

Lumberjack. $11.

"North County Smokehouse ham and Cabot cheddar in a savory crepe."

Just like my previous visit, my crepe was barely lukewarm when I received it.  I don't really understand ... do they have that much delay getting from kitchen to pickup window?  Unlike last time, it did not come in a cute crepe (or pizza slice) shaped box, just a standard square takeout container.

Last time I got the gluten-free buckwheat crepe shell, hoping it would be more flavorful, but it wasn't, so I went traditional this time.  Last time the crepe was nicely crispy, this time it was soft and doughy.  It was slightly undercooked in the thickest places.  Speaking of thickness, this was by far the thickest crepe I've ever seen.  Much more like a, uh, thin (skinny?) pancake than a regular crepe.  Maybe that is what they are going for, per the name?  It was just odd to have such a thick doughy soft crepe shell.

Lumberjack: Inside.

Inside was 3 slices of local North Country Smokehouse ham and local Cabot cheddar, reasonably well melted and not greasy.  The ham was was fine although not the kind of deli-like ham I prefer, it was more like thin slices of actual dinner ham, and sadly I think I just don't care for Cabot cheddar all that much (I like the super sharp kind with a glass of wine perhaps, but, this mild cheddar melted ... eh).  There was no seasoning, no sauce, nothing to really give it any flavor, and neither the ham nor cheese had a smoky nature to them.

Overall, just very boring, not much flavor, and an oddly thick crepe wrapper.  It seemed pricey at $11 for so little in it.

*+.

Original Review, October 2021

Skinny Pancake.  Otherwise known as, um, a crepe.  Also, the name of a chain of casual restaurants around Vermont and New Hampshire.

"Love Local. The Skinny Pancake is on a mission to change the world by building a safer, healthier and more delicious food shed while creating everyday enjoyment that is fun and affordable. Please join us." 

The Skinny Pancake started as a food cart, expanded to a brick and mortar in Burlington, VT, and now has 8 locations, including one at the airport.  They source ingredients locally, and give back 1% of their revenue to a local nonprofit.  Yadda yadda.

The Skinny Pancake is known for the crepes, obviously, available in both savory and sweet versions, with traditional or gluten-free vegan buckwheat batter.  They also have a few other breakfast items like breakfast burritos, breakfast sandwiches, and classic egg plates, and burger, salads, fries and the like at lunch.  They do not, in fact, serve any traditional pancakes.

The place seems pretty well known, and fairly busy, so I finally gave it a try.

Outdoor Seating.

I visited the Quechee, VT location, located not far from the main Quechee attraction: the gorge.

My visit was during COVID days, so indoor seating was closed, and The Skinny Pancake had set up a tent outside with picnic tables for dining.  The building looked to have decent seating inside, but, alas, closed.

Outdoor Ordering & Condiments.

Ordering was done at a window outside, or, online.  Self-service condiments included creamer and whatnot for cookie, their house made bbq sauce, and hot sauce.

Veggie Monster on Buckwheat Crepe. $10.50 + $0.75.

"Roasted squash, baby spinach, caramelized onions, Cabot cheddar, and basil-sunflower seed pesto in a savory crepe."

For my crepe, I went with a savory option, rather than sweet as you may expect, as I had plenty of sweets at home, and I was looking for something light for lunch.  Options spanned from a simple "Grilled Cheese Crepe" with local Cabot cheese to a kinda over the top but fantastic sounding "Johnny Crepe" with pulled pork, maple bbq sauce, caramelized onions, cheddar, and special cornmeal crepe batter.  Had I been hungrier, I certainly would have opted for that, but instead, I went for the most interesting but lighter sounding option, the Veggie Monster.  I wanted something heartier tasting, so opted for the gluten-free, vegan buckwheat batter rather than traditional batter, for $0.75 more.

My crepe was handed over quickly, but somehow was only lukewarm.  I did like the pizza-shaped custom crepe boxes though.

The shell was not as flavorful as I was expecting, just, boring really.  It was nicely crisp.  Inside the cheese was sorta melted, but ... everything else let me down.  The hunks of squash (delicata) weren't really cooked enough, the baby spinach was raw, and the onions didn't have any depth of flavor from caramelization.  I didn't taste, nor see, any pesto.  Really, it just lacked in flavor all around, and seemed like it wasn't cooked as much as it should be.  The ingredient lineup *should* have tasted better than this!

The "monster" is also available in a vegan version with house-made seitan instead of cheese for $11, or in a "morning" version with an egg for $11.50.

I was not impressed, and wouldn't go back, unless someone really wanted to.

*+.

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Delta First Class, SFO-BOS

Flight Details:

Flight: DL 322Departure: SFO, 1:17pm (scheduled) 1:52pm (actual)
Arrival: BOS, 10:10pm (scheduled) (actual)

Aircraft: A321Neo
Seat: 4B

This was my first time flying First Class on Delta, and it was on their brand new A321Neo.  The plane was less than 6 weeks old.  This review will contain a number of comparisons with JetBlue Mint, as that is the only way I've flown across the country in the past few years.  Given similar prices and flight times, I'd certainly pick JetBlue over Delta in the future.

Our flight boarded on time, but we spent a very long time at the gate.  Once airborne, it took quite a while to do beverage service, let alone meal service.  Given that it was already a bit late for lunch (1:17pm departure scheduled), the delays turned me into a fairly hangry passenger.  In the future, I'd make sure to have snacks with me, and eat a second breakfast probably to bridge the gap.

Service was reasonable, our cabin of 20 seats worked by two flight attendants.  Not particularly friendly, no attempts to bond with any passengers, but, they did the job, and weren't rude.  In the back it was clear the FA working the PA system was not pleased with passengers, as she was frequently commenting about all the ways people were breaking the rules.  I was glad she was not working our cabin.

Amenities

I was surprised that there were seemingly no amenities.  No amenity kit, no pillow or blanket, not even headphones, even in First.  At our seats, we were provided a mini water bottle, and that was it.

Once the flight had boarded, we were offered a pre-departure beverage, however, it was limited to just orange juice, sparkling wine, or a mimosa.  No sparkling water, nothing else outside those 3 options.  Nearly every person attempted to order sparkling water or beer, and were turned down.

Amenity Kit.

Eventually, while we were still sitting at the gate, a meager amenity kit was provided, with basics.  No fun items like JetBlue, no partnerships, very bare bones.  I asked about headphones, and was provided the same little ear buds as main cabin.  Hmm.

I found it fairly chilly on board, and really missed having a little blanket.

Wifi worked well, and was quite fast.  Modern aircraft with modern wifi, it really showed.

Seat:

The layout is a 2-2, with rows slightly staggered from each other, which does give a small additional amount of privacy from those across the aisle.

The seat was reasonably comfortable, and it was nice being on a new aircraft.  In particular, it was well padded.  

Seats do not fully lay flat, but did recline a bit.  No fancy controls for adjusting anything else though, just a recline button.  No lumbar, no massage, etc.  No leg or foot rest.

Screen.

In flight entertainment screen is located in the seat back in from of you, and tilts back to allow you to position it if your forward neighbor reclines.

Controls are only touch screen, no separate hand held unit, which I found pretty cumbersome, as mine didn't work well.  It also meant the guy behind me was constantly jabbing forcefully at his, particularly as he got more and more drunk, and it kept jarring my entire seat.  I suspect these won't do well with age if they were already not working that great.

Purse / Laptop Slot.

At floor level between the seats is a small slot for holding a laptop/tablet/magazine, and a small compartment that sorta kinda fit my purse, but really couldn't fit much more.  Standard under seat storage was available to fit my backpack, although I found I didn't really want to leave it there, as there wasn't tons of legroom with it down there.

Phone Slot / Power.

In the wing between the seats, there was a remarkably handy sleeve for stashing your phone during flight.  

Regular and USB power was also located along here, another aspect that showed how much thought went into the design of the seats.  No power cords to step over, get tangled up, etc.  A small thing, but, it really made a difference.

Beverage Tray / Water bottle slot.

In the arm of the seat, there was a compartment for water bottles, which was quite handy.  Between the seats was a reasonably large drink tray, which I appreciated for setting my drinks so I could use my tray space for my laptop (during the >1 hour post getting a little placemat and actually getting my meal).

Food & Drink

The food and drink options were what you'd expect from a domestic airline.  Nothing particularly interesting or remarkable, but not horribly offensive.  Not up to par with international business class, and no where near JetBlue quality.

Drinks:

Pre-departure, we were only offered sparkling wine, orange juice, or a mimosa.  No sparkling water, no soft drinks, etc.  No exceptions.

Once underway, the FA came through one by one taking drink orders.  With no menu, this was slow.  It was more than an hour after takeoff, and nearly 3 hours after boarding, before I had a drink in hand, and combined with the inflexible PDP, I was really thirsty.  

For non-alcoholic beverages, standard Coca-Cola soft drinks were available, along with basic juices, Starbucks hot coffee and tea, and Explorer Cold Brew coffee, regular and sparkling water.  I tried to get a cold brew, but alas, it wasn't catered on our flight.  Nor was the Sprite Zero I tried to order.  Two strikes!

Beer drinkers had a few choices, and there was even Vizzly Pineapple Mango Seltzer.  I was interested in the wines, which sadly were just listed as "red", "white", or "sparkling".  No details provided unfortunately.  Finally, basic spirits were there, but also some fun canned cocktails: WhistlePig Old Fashioned, Tip Top™ Old Fashioned Cocktail, Tip Top™ Margarita Cocktail.

"Red Wine".

I opted for red wine, there was one option "a cabernet".  It was ... fine.  Unremarkable.  Definitely not as good as the wines on JetBlue, where JetBlue really excels.  This was very much a table wine, very grapey.  Eh.  ***.

Tip Top Old Fashioned.

Later in the flight I decided to try one of the TipTop pre-made cocktails, and opted for the Old Fashioned.  It was a legit cocktail.  Very boozy.  This was a nice offering for a consistent well made drink that required minimal effort on the part of the flight attendants.  I'd love to try more of their cocktails (on some flights they have a few others too, mine only had the margarita and old fashioned). ***+.

Food:

No welcome snack, not even nuts, was provided.  Meanwhile, in main cabin, they already had the carts go through, with complimentary snacks (chips, nuts, Biscoff) and buy on board options, before we were asked what we wanted for our meal.  I sorta wanted to jump back there and grab some chips or nuts!

No menus were provided.  Technically, we should have been able to order our meals in advance of the flight (7 days to 24 hours before), including choices not available in the standard 3 on board, but, you can only do so through the Delta App (not the website), and it just loaded a blank screen for me.  I tried to contact customer service to select my entree, but they only seemed to know about "special meals", and I was just trying to pre-reserve an entree so I wouldn't get stuck with chicken.

About an hour into our flight, a flight attendant came through to take meal orders, describing the basic entree options as he did so: chilled chicken salad, warm short rib, warm vegetarian Impossible burrito.  No seafood option, and surprisingly no pasta. 

Menu:

• Salad
• Bread: Sourdough Roll with cultured Banner Butter
• Main Entree:
• Braised Beef Short Rib with red wine demi-glace, polenta, asparagus, roasted tomatoes, and shiitake mushrooms
• Green Chili Chicken Salad with arugula, black beans, grilled corn, roasted sweet potato, cojita cheese and cilantro lime vinaigrette
• Impossible Burrito filled with black beans and rice topped with salsa verde, Monterey jack cheese and pico de gallo (vegetarian).
• Desert

They had limited meals available, and the row behind me only had salad or vegetarian option available.  I managed to snag one of the last beef options, which I did mostly because I really wanted the polenta, asparagus, and mushrooms.  I was tempted by the Impossible burrito actually, as I really like Impossible meat, but, it had beans and rice too, and just isn't really my thing.  It came with nothing else.

Meal.

Meals were delivered row by row, fairly quickly once they were ready, but that was pretty far into the flight.  Everything came on one tray - a salad (dressing on side), roll with butter, my entree selection, and a dessert.

Salad.

The salad was decent, seasonal.  

A base of mixed greens, with chopped pecans, strawberries, and I think feta.  The greens were fresh enough, as were the berries.  I liked having the nuts for crunch.  I didn't care for the sweet (strawberry?) vinaigrette on the side, but otherwise, it was a fine salad, although I decided to pull the berries off and use them with the dessert, and add my own additional raw veggies (that I had with me just in case) and my own dressing.  ***.

Roll.

The roll was not warm, and was sourdough, so I didn't have it.  I liked the presentation of the butter.

Entree: Beef.

"Braised Beef Short Rib with red wine demi-glace, polenta, asparagus, roasted tomatoes, and shiitake mushrooms."

My meal was delivered piping hot.  Ridiculously hot.  I was able to eat my salad (including adding my own veggies and dressing) and it still was quite hot.  

This was decent.  Not amazing, not fine dining, but, decent.  

The polenta was a bit thin, but reasonably good.   I think it had a decent amount of cream, perhaps some cheese?  I liked having something other than potatoes as the base.  It was however drowned in the demi-glace, that made it rather greasy.  It also badly needed seasoning - the small packet of salt and pepper wasn't enough, and I was glad I had extra with me.  I definitely prefer airlines that provide individual little shakers.

The veggies were also all decent.  I love asparagus and mushrooms, so I was pretty happy to have those, although the asparagus was quite thin and didn't have much flavor.  There was also a lot of what seemed to be pickled onion, which was rather harsh and dominating, but easily avoided.  Finally, the roasted cherry tomatoes added acidity and I was surprised to find I liked them more than I usually do (I love tomatoes, but just not generally cooked).  

And finally, the beef.  People say that Delta does a good job with the short rib, and they are right.  It was remarkably tender, easily broken apart by a fork, and a large portion.  Slight fattiness, but well rendered fat.  The demi-glace was appropriate with it, although not my thing really, and unfortunately the dish had a lot of it.

So overall, nothing bad, everything reasonably well prepared, and a dish that felt fairly cohesive.  I did find the dish to eat quite heavy though - a large piece of beef, rather greasy demi-glace, and rich polenta, it felt like a bit much for a flight (and strangely timed meal.  It was 3:15pm in San Francisco, although I suppose that was a reasonable dinner time in Boston.

***.

Dessert.

I'm not really sure what the dessert was.  The online menu I saw online had a description that didn't match what we had.  It seemed to be an oatmeal base, with a bit of berry compote, and little pearls on top, along with two blackberries on the side.   Basically a berry oat bar?  Just one that had been frozen and defrosted, and suffered in the process. 

It was quite soggy, the oat layer was really just mush.  The white pearls on top were not crispy.  It was very, very sweet.  It desperately needed either whipped cream or ice cream to balance it out.  I'm glad I saved my strawberries to add to it to balance it out a little and give it a texture other than mush.

This was buffet quality, definitely not very good.   Basically a mushy granola bar kinda, that wanted to be more like a fruit crumble.

**+.

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Subway Sandwiches and Cookies

Update Review, July 2022: Sandwiches

Oh Subway.  The brand, although crazy successful in terms of number of stores, has struggled in the past few years.  Tuna sandwiches that contain no tuna,  Etc.  Subway, also, not a place I frequent at all, but, when I was growing up, was a common destination for family dinner out (yes, really.  We got to go out to eat about once a week or every other week, and, we went to Subway 50% of the time.  The other picks were Del Taco or Papa Ginos. Never real restaurants ...).  Let's just say, I ate a lot of Subway as a kid, and, mostly haven't looked back at it (besides the few times I've reviewed before when they've had special promos).

But in July 2022 Subway bet big on a huge concept change and new launch.  They didn't just introduce one new menu item, or one new ingredient, but overhauled the main menu entirely, with a dozen new subs, all part of specialized "Series", all moving away from the customize built sandwich mold and rather, they came with all pre-set toppings/sauces/bread.  This was a big change for Subway.

So when I was visiting my family in July 2022, right around the launch, Subway it was for dinner.

New Subway Series Menu.

The Subway Series basically took over the menu.  While build-your-own options still exist, they are relegated to a small corner of the menu.

The Subway Series menu includes four categories with three different sandwiches in each section: Cheesesteaks, Italianos, Chicken, and Clubs.  All are assigned both a name, and a number, to make ordering easy (aka, "I'd like a #3 with chips and a drink", I think is the vibe they are aiming for.

The lineup:

• Cheesesteaks: #1 The Philly, #2 The Outlaw™, #3 The Monster™
• Italianos: #4 Supreme Meats, #5 Bella Mozza, #6 The Boss
• Chicken: #7 The MexiCali, #8 The Great Garlic™, #9 The Champ™
• Clubs: #10 All-American Club®, #11 Subway Club®, #12 Turkey Cali Club™

As you could expect, the cheesesteaks are all toasted subs with thinly sliced steak and cheese (and then different sauces and goodies added in), and the chicken line all involve their new (?) rotisserie chicken.  As for the "Italianos", those are a mixed bunch of one featuring all the Italian meats, another with fresh mozzarella, and finally, a meatball sub.  The clubs are turkey based, but aren't really all what I'd consider clubs.  The All-American is your classic ham/turkey/bacon, but the "Subway Club" has no bacon, just ham/turkey/roast beef, which doesn't seem like a club to me (I thought bacon was key?), and the Turkey Cali Club has turkey and bacon, but also avocado and fresh mozzarella.  

All come with fixed vegetable ingredients, sauces, and bread choice, and whether they are toasted or not, but you can modify as you please, as after all, they are still made to order.

My mother went for a chicken option, my dad an Italiano, and me, a Club.  I did try a tiny bite of my mom's #8, and admit that the rotisserie style pulled chicken was decent, seemingly mostly white meat, moist chicken.

Italiano: #5 Bella Mozza
on Hearty Multigrain. 6 Inch. $6.39. 

"Lotsa meat and lotsa mozzarella make this special. Thin-sliced Black Forest ham, our NEW capicola, and BelGioioso® Fresh Mozzarella on fresh-baked Artisan Italian bread. Topped with spinach, tomatoes, red onions, and banana peppers and drizzled with our tangy MVP Parmesan Vinaigrette®."

For my father, I picked up the Bella Mozza, the only one of the 12 new subs that had ingredients he kinda likes (he doesn't eat steak, turkey, or chicken, and doesn't like meatball subs, and only "tolerates" salami).  I went for the wheat bread (er, Hearty Multigrain) since that is what he uses for his mustard + cheese sandwiches at home, and I thought he'd like.

I tried a little corner of the bread out of curiosity, it seemed fresh, and was, uh, just basically wheat bread?

#5 Bella Mozza: Inside.

Inside was the pre-selected veggies, plus jalapeños that I asked to have added for him.  The fresh mozzarella was a generous portion and did look decent, and I liked it last year when I had it in the new (at the time) "Cali Fresh" menu.  I didn't try it this time though.

I did steal a piece of baby spinach with the MVP Parmesan Vinaigrette on it to try it, and the dressing was, exactly as advertised, "tangy".  It had good herb flavor and a bit of zing.  It tasted, for lack of better word, Italian.

This seemed like a reasonable Italian-eque sandwich, and dad said it was fine, although he'd prefer just a veggie sub.

Clubs: #10 All-American Club®
on Artisan Italian. 6 inch. Not toasted. $6.49.

"The American classic. Oven-roasted turkey, Black Forest ham, crisp bacon, and American cheese with lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and mayo. Served toasted on Artisan Italian bread."

My pick was fairly easy.  While a cheesesteak or meatball parm are slightly interesting, I know I actually like Subway bacon, so I wanted something with bacon, and I didn't want chicken, so, the All American Club was it.  I'd consider the Turkey Cali Club as well (but, no avocado since I'm allergic) or the Supreme Meats sometime too.

I kept their bread suggestion, which I always thought was just "white", but is actually dubbed "Artisan Italian", and asked to have it not toasted since I wouldn't be eating it right away.  I also had them add pickles and black olives, my old favorites from Subway, along with jalapeños for a bit of kick.

I thought I had a memory of liking Subway white bread, but ... this really wasn't what I remembered.  It was soft and fresh enough, but tasted just like a generic hamburger bun, which I didn't care for.  Hmm.

The sub was loaded up with meat - I was surprised to see 6 round slices of just the turkey, along with several larger slices of ham, and two strips of bacon.  The turkey was fairly standard generic lunch meat turkey, no better, nor worse than anything you'd get out of a package at the grocery store.  The ham was much the same, no particularly smoky flavor, and had some streaky fat lines, but, standard, good enough, ham.

So ** bread and **+ basic sandwich deli meats.  But those weren't the elements I was most interested in anyway.

#10 All-American Club®: Inside.

The bacon, only two strips, certainly didn't look good.  I knew to expect this.  It is not crisp bacon. It is super thin. It is flabby.  But somehow, this strange bacon works for me.  It sorta reminds me of prosciutto.  I really liked it.  My favorite part of the sandwich.

The regularly included veggies were your standard, basic, chain sandwich shop items and quality: shredded lettuce, rather pale and uninteresting tomatoes, sliced red onion.  I would probably opt to leave out the tomatoes in the future, although they did add a juicy component and classic club sandwich feel.  I appreciated the harshness from the red onion for a touch a of acidity.  My additions of pickles and olives were exactly what I remembered from childhood, and I still really liked, in their special Subway way, but, the black olives in particular are really just sliced canned olives, there is nothing interesting about these at all.  I liked having the jalapeños as well, not something I'd added before, as I appreciated a bit of heat. 

And then, of course, mayo.  Yup, its just standard mayo, but, I like it, and it goes very well with everything else in this sandwich.  Veggies: ***, bacon: ****, mayo: ***+.

So overall, I was let down by the bread, but otherwise, I quite enjoyed the contents of my sandwich.  Yes, it is just Subway, and no, I won't go out of my way for another, but, it did the trick.  ***+.

Update Review, July 2021: Sandwich

On July 13, 2021, Subway did something revolutionary.  They … introduced new menu items, their first big menu change in several years.  To celebrate the launch of the new menu, they offered up free 6 inch sandwiches to the first 50 people at each store, the caveat being that the freebie was only good for the new "Cali Fresh" Turkey.

Of course I sought this out, fond memories of Subway from my childhood guiding me.

My experience was … mixed.  My “Sandwich Artist” barely acknowledged my existence, and he also didn’t seem to know the new menu … at least, what I got did NOT match the menu description.  Still, it was satisfying, and I kinda enjoyed my Subway ...

"Cali Fresh" Turkey. $7.89.

"West coast, east coast, it doesn’t matter to us. We make our Cali Turkey for anyone, on freshly baked Hearty Multigrain bread loaded with oven roasted turkey, hickory smoked bacon, smashed avocado, BelGioioso® Fresh Mozzarella, mayo, and baby spinach."

I had no choice in my sandwich, the freebie was for the "Cali Fresh" turkey sandwich only.  A similar "Cali Fresh" steak sandwich was also added to the menu, but was not an option for the free offering. 

The Cali Fresh is a toasted sub, still a novel concept to me, as Subway of my youth never had toasting as an option, and, besides for other freebies, I haven't sought out Subway as an adult.

It was supposed to come on multigrain bread.  Instead, it sure looked like the regular white Italian bread to me? 

My sandwich artist started by adding turkey, bacon, and the new mozzarella slices, before it was popped into the toaster oven.  After a timer beeped, it was loaded up with TONS of mayo, baby spinach, red onion, and sliced tomato.  Somehow avocado never entered the picture, a kinda key feature of a “Cali” inspired dish, but I was glad, as I’m allergic and was going to ask to have it left off anyway.

I asked for pickles and olives (always my favs and what I used to double up on!), and my sandwich artist very grumpily added them, informing me that this sandwich was NOT supposed to have them.  Interestingly, the Cali Fresh steak version does not come with specified veggies like this, rather, you get to pick them. Why is turkey more opinionated?

Anyway, no salt nor pepper were added, no offer of any either.

I did kinda enjoy this sandwich.  The bread, yes, just white bread and not the hearty multigrain, was soft and fluffy, and did taste quite fresh, likely out of the oven less than an hour before, as I was there right near opening.  It wasn’t toasted really, the time in the oven wasn’t enough to toast it, but it was warm.  I liked the bread.

Then, the proteins: three thin styles of turkey breast, deli style.  Eh to turkey breast, but it was fine, quite generic.  Then the bacon, which looked fairly awful, flabby, etc but was fairly satisfying.  Maybe I was just in a bacon mood?  (Side note: Mendocino Farms has fabulous bacon, and I had it just a few days prior, so I think I had that on my mind).  The fresh mozzarella was melted mostly, from the oven toasting, which was nice.  The slices were fairly thick, highlighting the fresh motz style rather than deli cheese slice.

Due to all the premium ingredients (bacon, avocado, fancy cheese), this 6" sub is normally $7.89, more than the basic turkey, or other standard sandwiches.

"Cali Fresh" Turkey + pickles + olives: inside.

Inside was plenty of veggies.

The baby spinach was fine, although I prefer classic iceberg in a sando like this.  Red onions, also fine.  The tomato wasn’t bad, not mealy, but still fast food tomato, not juicy fresh heirloom tomatoes (again, compared to Mendocino Farms which is featuring some amazing heirlooms right now!).  These veggies were all just fine, they didn’t detract from, nor add to, the sandwich.

My addition of pickles and olives I quite liked, mostly for nostalgia sake, but also, I really do like their pickles!  I wished I had asked for hot peppers too, but, the sandwich maker clearly didn’t want to modify in the first place, so, I didn’t bother.  

None of these elements, not the proteins, not the veggies, not the bread, dominated the sandwich however.  No, this sandwich was dominated by something else.  The mayo.  So. Much. Mayo.  It was good mayo, and I liked the creamy quality it added, but, wow.  So. Much. Mayo.

So, overall, I did like it, strangely satisfying, nice for the memories, and my bacon inspired mood.  But I wouldn’t get turkey again.

***.

Update Review, May 2021: Cookie

I know, I know, I've never really quite cared for Subway in my adult years, not the subs, not the cookies, nothing.  But it was such a foundation of my childhood, a regular place on my family's rotation when we ate out (alongside Del Taco and Papa Ginos!), a place of fond memories (6" cold cut combo, all the veggies, extra pickles, extra black olives, mayo and making my own mixed fountain drink of orange-root beer-sprite!), that I finally returned.

Not for a sub though, but to get my birthday freebie cookie, during spring 2021 when I suddenly decided I loved cookies of all kinds.  Yes me, I started loving cookies.  I blame covid, because, really, I've never been a cookie lover before!

Anyway, Subway always has a selection of cookies in a display at the register, looking quasi-fresh baked. I don't recall ever, ever getting one as a kid, even when we were Subway regulars.

Strawberry Cheesecake. $0.79.

For my prized free cookie, I opted for ... strawberry cheesecake.

Strawberry cheesecake is a pretty non-standard cookie variety, and it struck me as interesting, particularly alongside the more run-of-the-mill offerings otherwise on display (choc chip, oatmeal raisin, sugar, etc).  I had to try it.

The cookie looked softer than it was, certainly a harder style cookie then I prefer.  I kinda assumed Subway baked the cookies off fresh daily, but it didn't strike me as particularly fresh tasting either.  Hmm.  Pedigree wise, it was an "eh".

The flavors were good though - intense bursts of fruit ("strawberry") and decent cream cheese/cheesecake flavor.  It wasn't too sweet.  I was fairly impressed with how it tasted.

But, the harder style, and lack of freshness turned a fun flavor into just an "ok" cookie.  I wouldn't get another, but was glad to try it.

**+.

Original Reviews

When I was growing up, my family went out to eat once a week, on Sunday night.  This may sound fancy, but, really what we did was go to "the driver's choice" of restaurant, aka, my dad's choice, which alternated between Del Taco, Papa Ginos, and Subway.  When the previous two closed, Subway became the family standard.  I kinda hated it, as I've never been a huge lover of sandwiches, but I got to mix my own drink at the soda fountain, and perfected a mix of orange soda, root beer, and I don't remember what else, which is really all I remember.  Oh, and the pickles.  I always liked the pickles.

Anyway, I didn't visit for years.  Likely ... 20?  I had no reason to ever return to a Subway restaurant.  Until ... T-Mobile did a promo where T-mobile customers got a free 6 inch sub of the day on Tuesday.  You know I can't resist freebies.  A few weeks later, they did it again, offering up free cookies.  What can I say, I went back.

Visit #1, September 2016: Sandwich

So, to Subway I went.  Unfortunately, the sub of the day was chicken, and I don't like chicken.  My favorite Subway sub was always just the Veggie Delight anyway, so I figured this wasn't a big deal, I'd still get the veggies, and I could just ask to have the chicken left off.  It seemed like a simple request.

"Then it would be a veggie delight, which is not the sub of the day, and your promo is not valid for that", was the response. I tried again, saying, you can pretend to put the chicken on, just, don't.  It wouldn't fly.  Well then, ok.  So I asked to have the chicken on the side.  The first person making my sub did indeed leave it on the side, but, as my sub progressed down the assembly line, each and every person decided to add it back in.  I eventually gave up.  There was no getting away from the chicken breast.  I didn't bother try it, since I don't like chicken, and this was surely not going to change my mind.  It was a thin strip of chicken with fake looking grill marks on it.

I can't say my trip to Subway was a success, but, mostly it was really just poor management at that particular Subway.

My visit was at 12:30pm, and they were out of almost all types of bread.  Isn't that prime sandwich time?  The line was ridiculously long, but the bottleneck was not the ordering section.  It was long to checkout, which made the line backed up all the way through the ordering stations.  There were at least 10-15 people in front of me in line, I was no where near the counter, couldn't see the options or anything, and had a worker asking me what I wanted.  From way back in line I tried to call out my bread choice and protein.  It was ridiculous shouting past all the people, but, the staff were insisting that people keep ordering, even though we were so far away.  It got more ridiculous as our subs progressed down the line, moving to the next station to have more toppings added, as we got progressively further and further away.  The staff really didn't seem to care though, just slapping things on and looking very bored.  When I asked for "extra pickles and black olives", I got an eye roll.  I don't think anyone took their "sandwich artist" titles very seriously.

Oven Roasted Chicken, Italian Herbs & Cheese Bread, 6 inch.

"The Oven Roasted Chicken you love is piled high atop freshly baked bread with your favorite toppings from spicy jalapeños to crisp green peppers."

I added cheese (Swiss), most of the veggies (leaving off spinach and cucumbers, but including lettuce, tomato, green pepper, red onion, banana peppers, 

, pickles, black olives), plus extra pickles and black olives, and Creamy Sriracha sauce.

When I visited my family over the summer, my little sister ordered a sub at Subway and asked to have it toasted, something I hadn't ever done before (did Subway toast sandwiches back when I used to go?)  But not only did she have it toasted, she had her onions and peppers toasted with the cheese.  I thought this was genius.  So I tried to replicate that here, asking for my onions and all the different types of peppers to be added with the cheese before toasting.

After it came out of the toaster, I had them add the rest of the veggie toppings and the dressing as usual.

When my sister did this, it looked great.  I think she had a steak and cheese, and it really did almost look like a Philly cheesesteak.  Her peppers and onions got soft, her cheese perfectly melted.  The same did not apply to mine.  It was toasted for only a second.  The bread didn't really get toasty, the veggies weren't softened at all, and the cheese wasn't melted.  What was the point of toasting?

For bread, I went with Italian Herb & Cheese after my other choices were not available.  It was stale tasting.  I thought Subway was all about fresh bread?

The lettuce (shredded iceberg), green peppers, onions, banana peppers, and jalapeños were all pretty standard.  Not particularly great, but not bad.  The tomatoes however were not good.  Thin, anemic looking slices, mealy.  It was summer, so, no excuse for bad tomatoes.

The pickles and sliced black olives I did love though, and they were pretty much what I remembered from childhood, hence the ordering extra.

It was my first time trying the creamy srirracha, a bit random, but, I wanted some flavor and I wanted to try something different.  In the past, I always went for mayo or the sweet onion sauce.  I sorta wish I had stuck to my old standbys, but, the creamy srirracha was ok, creamy, a bit spicy.

Overall, this sandwich really could have been ok.  It had potential.  But the staff just really not caring as they threw it all together, and the stale bread, really just made for a sub-par experience.

The guy behind me clearly knew what he was doing.  He also got the oven roasted chicken sub of the day, but turned it into a chicken parm!  He had them add marinara sauce (usually for the meatball sub) and had provolone melted on.  Totally different than what I'd expect from that sandwich, and, assuming he got it remotely hot after making his way all the way to checkout, I'm sure more exciting.

Visit #2, November 2016: Cookies

Near the register, at every Subway, is a display of cookies.  The standard lineup is chocolate chip, double chocolate chip, white chocolate macadamia, M&M, raspberry cheesecake, oatmeal raisin, sugar, and peanut butter, but they also introduce seasonal varieties from time to time, like Pumpkin Spice or Apple Pie.

Since I'm not a cookie girl, even back when I used to frequent Subway, I don't think I ever got these cookies.  But, two free cookies, who can resist that?

Chocolate Chip.

For my first cookie, I went with the classic chocolate chip, mostly intending to bring it to Ojan.

It was a totally boring, hard, crispy cookie that looked like it should have been softer.  Perhaps it would be good warmed up?

It had a decent amount of chocolate chips at least.

White Chocolate Macadamia.

For the second choice, I went for one I wanted: white chocolate macadamia.

It was, sadly, the same hard style as the chocolate chip.  Like the chocolate chip, it had a good amount of white chocolate chips, and a decent number of macadamias.

But, it was just too crispy to be the type of cookie I'd ever like.  Soft and gooey is the only way I ever enjoy a cookie.

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