Joe & Seph's Popcorn

Update Review, 2022

I reviewed a couple interesting flavors of Joe & Seph's popcorn before when I found them on a BA flight (hello, marmite popcorn!), and on my flight this year, I was excited to see what flavor would be waiting for me.

Sadly, it wasn't an exciting one, just, caramel corn, their most popular flavor.  That said, Joe & Seph's has quite an extensive caramel corn lineup, 22 different flavors to be exact, but my flight offered just the run of the mill "Caramel & Sea Salt" flavor (why not "Caramel Macchiato & Whisky"? Why not "Irish Coffee Liqueur with White Chocolate Caramel"?).  At least it wasn't the "Classic Caramel"?

Caramel & Sea Salt.

"Air-popped popcorn coated by hand in our smooth buttery caramel and flakes of Sea Salt, resulting in an intense contrast of sweet and salty. "

It was fine popcorn.  Crisp.  Fresh tasting.  Well coated kernels.  Very buttery.

I have nothing negative to say about it, but it wasn't exactly exciting either. ***.

Original Review, 2018

Joe & Seph's is a gourmet popcorn manufacturer in the UK.  I discovered their products on my first trip to London a few years ago, and I'm always eager to try their new flavors, as, well, the range is extensive.

For example, consider cheesy popcorn.  They don't just make cheddar cheese popcorn ... no, they have blue cheese with walnut & celery. Or goat cheese & black pepper.  Or Olive oil, mozzarella, & tomato.  Or camembert. The list goes on.

But the cheesy popcorns are nothing compared to other options in the savory range, as it includes options like madras curry, black onion seed & lime.  Or Thai style peanut satay.  

And then there are the sweet options, which go far beyond the standard caramel corn (which, of course, they do have too).  But you can also get that caramel corn with mirin, soya, & sesame.  Or with coconut & cinnamon.

Or you can go fruity, opting for toffee apple & cinnamon.  Or lemon poppyseed.  Or orange marmalade.  Or how about orange chocolate?  Or strawberries & cream ... yes, in a popcorn.  

Want something more dessert like?  How about strawberry cheesecake?  White chocolate & raspberry?  Gingerbread?  Gingerbread latte?  Mince pie?

Nutty?  Yup, maple syrup & roasted pecan?  Honey roasted sesame? 

The most crazy sounding product line to me is the cocktail collection, with ... gin & tonic (yes, popcorn).  Fruity cosmopolitan. Refreshing mojito.  Zingy margarita.  Brandy butter.  Irish coffee liqueur with white chocolate caramel. Espresso martini.

Chocolate lovers have options.  Nut lovers have options.  Booze lovers have options.  Those who want it caffeinated have options.  Some sound amazing.  Some don't.  I wanted to try them all.

My first encounter with Joe & Seph's was actually on a British Airways flight, and, I think they just had the basic caramel corn.  I remember trying it, and thinking it was fine, but I didn't write a review.

And then, on my next flight, things got more interesting.  The marmite showed up.

Marmine Popcorn.

"We're thrilled to be working with one of Britain's most iconic brands to add another unique flavour to our popcorn range!  Our Marmite Popcorn has been air-popped and generously coated in our smooth caramel and delicious Marmite, for a sweet and salty snack."

I knew this was going to be either something I loved, or hated.  I love sweet and salty combinations though, particularly with popcorn (I often alternate between sweet caramel corn and savory cheesy corn by the handful), so, this had potential.

I'll start with the positive.  The popcorn was large kernels, fresh, all well coated.

I think the caramel layer was decent too, but it is a bit hard to evaluate as ... well, that marmite.  Wow.

Such a strong, strange, strange flavor.  I tried to like it, tried to get past the unfamiliarity, but ... it made me want to gag, nearly every bite.  And that aftertaste ... shutter.  I just couldn't do it.

Well made popcorn, but, clearly not the the flavor for me. **.

Coconut & Chia Seed Popcorn.

"New for the Summer, our delicious Coconut & Chia seed popcorn is a beautiful blend of smooth caramel, with desiccated coconut and crunchy chia seeds."

The next flavor I tried was equally fascinating.  Not a flavor I would have ever picked as I hate chia seeds, but, it was what British Airways had to offer on the flight.

It wasn't immediately obviously good nor bad.  The popcorn was well coated in caramel, again, nice large kernels.  Sweet.  Crisp. And then it had vague coconut flavor in the background, which actually went nicely with the caramel.

And then the chia seeds.  They ... weren't offensive.  They actually tasted a bit like sesame seeds to me.  They added crunch.  And a bit of nuttiness.

In the end, I think I liked it. ***.

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Mitchell's Ice Cream

Update Review, September 2022

I still have not ever been to the Mitchell's store in the Mission, but, I recently discovered that Mitchell's has a stand at Spark Social, a food truck park, not that far from my house. Danger, danger.  

The Spark Social location serves up a basic menu of 8 rotating flavors, available in bowls or cups, or as a sundae or float.   Prices are high, but maybe that is just compared to the little sketchy Tenderloin deli I normally get my Mitchell's fix at (ICU Market, 6th & Mission, for the record, great Mitchell's lineup by the scoop, super cheap!).

Double Scoop: Macapuno & Mango. ~$9.

I was happy to see some slightly interesting flavors on the lineup, in addition to basic vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.  While none of my favorites were there, macapuno and mango are always good.  I got a double scoop, one of each.

Macapuno

"Sweet, meaty coconut imported from the Philippines."

I've had the macapuno before.  This is good coconut ice cream.  Smooth, creamy, decent coconut flavor.  It paired beautifully with the mango ice cream, and I think would go nicely with fresh mango as well.  I've also enjoyed it with taro cake, and mango sticky rice.  ***+.

Mango

"We’ve been importing the world’s finest mangoes from the Philippines since 1964."

My scoop of mango ice cream came from the very bottom of the tub, and was really quite melted.  I like melty ice cream, but, this was even slightly too melted as it was handed over, and quickly was just liquid given the hot day.  It was good, don't get me wrong, nice and fruity, paired great with the coconut, and oh so creamy, but, they lose a point for serving such melted ice cream.  ***+.

Double Scoop: Thai Tea & Grasshopper Pie. $~9.

My next visit, I was there early enough in the day to opt for caffeinated options.  I remembered liking the Grasshopper Pie before, and absolutely love the Thai tea, even though I knew they wouldn't really combine together all that well, I wanted them both.  And thus, I got both.

Thai Tea

"Thai Tea infused ice cream."

The first time I had Mitchell's Thai tea ice cream I wasn't that impressed, and I'm not sure why.  I've had it several times since, and love it.  Such strong tea flavor, sweet from condensed milk but not cloying, really, it tastes exactly like a Thai tea ... just, as ice cream.  I think it would pair well with coconut ice cream too (but yeah, did not really go with the mint and chocolate notes in the Grasshopper Pie ...).

This one remains a favorite for me these days.  Solid ****.

Grasshopper Pie

"Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream with Oreo Cookies and fudge swirls."

I remember adoring this one before, so I was pretty happy to see it offered.  I didn't like it nearly as much this time.  It didn't have much mint flavor, and really was just like cookies & cream ... and I don't like cookies & cream that much.  Not sure why I loved this so much before.  It was fine ice cream, don't get me wrong, just not my flavor.  ***.

Single Scoop: Grasshopper Pie Cone. $7.50.

"Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream with Oreo Cookies and fudge swirls."

Another visit, I decided to give the Grasshopper Pie another try, thinking I must have just not been in the mood the last time.

And ... hmm, yeah, I felt the same.  I didn't taste much mint, and while it was very, very generously loaded up with Oreos, I don't actually like Oreos (or cookies & cream things), and so that wasn't a draw for me.  I did love the fudge swirls, which somehow stay perfectly runny, but, overall, I'm really not sure why I liked this so much before.  Off my rotation!

***.

Original Review - 2018 - 2021 Visits

If you live in San Francisco, or have visited, and like ice cream, chances are you have at least heard of Mitchell's Ice Cream.  While Mitchell's may not have the crazy lines of famed Bi-Rite, the crazy flavors of Humphry Slocombe, and it isn't made with liquid nitrogen like Smitten, it is a Bay Area staple, for good reason.

Mitchell's has been around since the 1950s, and although their flavors have expanded, they still just have a single storefront, although you can also find their pints in grocery stores around town, or carried by restaurants and cafes.  If a restaurant serves a dessert with coconut, mango, or ube ice cream, chances are high it comes from Mitchell's.   Nearly every Thai restaurant with ice cream on the menu sites Mitchell's as their source.  Mitchell's is credited with bringing filipino flavors to the Bay Area ice cream scene, and their mango is their top seller to this day. 

"Our super-premium ice cream is rich and creamy, made with 16% butterfat cream. Choose from 40 flavors daily. Most of our flavors are gluten free and do not contain eggs, but please call us to ask about specific flavors if you have a gluten or egg allergy."

Mitchell's is a premium ice cream, all flavors use 16% butterfat, and the quality is obvious.  Some of these flavors are downright addicting, and I seek out Mitchell's wherever it can be found.

Ice Cream

Mitchell's makes 40 "Standard" flavors, in addition to a handful of Seasonal offerings (think: fresh peach in summer, all your standard Pumpkin, Eggnog, Cinnamon Snap, Peppermint Candy, etc in winter, and Irish Coffee for St. Patty's).  If you visit their shop, they are made fresh daily, along with homemade toppings for sundaes, ice cream sandwiches with fresh baked cookies, and yup, they make halo halo too.

I've never been to Mitchell's myself, but I've had their ice cream many, many times, ranging from as part of dessert at a restaurant, to a scoop from a cafe, to getting pints from a local market.  My favorite place to get Mitchell's at is ICU Market, a tiny corner store on 6th just past Mission, definitely NOT an area I would go to for any other reason, but, they always have 8 flavors of Mitchell's available, and have the best prices I've ever found.  A single scoop at Mitchell's itself is $5.  At ICU Market? $2.75.  And the scoops are HUGE.  They always offer samples, yes, even in Covid times.  I always order online in advance, and pick my flavors when I arrive, so I don't need to deal with paying cash.  They also deliver on all the standard platforms (Mitchell's directly, or, ICU Market if you want the better prices!)

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

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

While there are a few flavors I didn't care for (dulce de leche was just too sweet), for the most part, I've really enjoyed most flavors.

ICU Market Line-up: Tropical 4, Mango, Coconut Pineapple, Oreo Cookie.

I sampled the "Tropical 4" and "Oreo Cookie" but did not get them.

Tropical 4:

"A delectable combination of mango, guava, banana and pineapple fruit."

This had potential, as I love mango and guava, but, I didn't really tasty any distinct fruits, just, kinda fruity.  The different fruits rather muddled each other it seemed.  This is a case where the sum of the parts didn't add up for me.

**+.

Oreo Cookie

"Madagascar bourbon vanilla blend with Oreo cookies."

Standard cookies-n-cream flavor, not really. my thing.  It had huge hunks of Oreo though, so kudos on that.

**.

Pineapple Coconut.

"Macaroon coconut and pineapple fruit imported from the Philippines."

Unlike the Tropical 4, Pineapple Coconut was a hit.  A lovely fruity flavor.  

Both the pineapple and coconut were quite noticeable in this, the fruity pineapple balanced by the slightly nutty coconut.  Definitely one you need to be in the mood for, but when the mood hits (the same kind of mood that inspires a piña colada?), a great flavor.

***+.

Update: I've gotten this again, and, it really grew on me.  Fruity but not too sweet, I found it very craveable.  ****.

Mango.

"We’ve been importing the world’s finest mangoes from the Philippines since 1964."

Mango.  Their signature flavor, the one that is still their number one seller, and really put Mitchell's on the map way back in the day.

The mango was, well,  mango.  Decent mango flavor, creamy quality Mitchell's base.  No surprises here.  Pairs nicely with sticky rice, fresh mango, and coconut cream.  You'll find this served at many Thai restaurants in SF.

***.

ICU Market Line-up: Thai Tea, Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Ube.

I've gotten every flavor in this lineup:

Vanilla:

"Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla blended with Indonesian Vanilla."

This may not be an "exciting" flavor, but, the vanilla from Mitchell's is quite reliable.

Very high quality vanilla, rich, creamy, just, very good.  Far above average vanilla ice cream, recommended if you want a quality vanilla to pair with anything.

****.

I get this regularly, as it really is a great match for a warm piece of pie, a sticky toffee pudding, etc.

Thai Tea.

"Thai Tea infused ice cream."

The tea flavor in the Thai Tea is decent, with sweetness from condensed milk, some depth from black tea, but it was less intense of a flavor than I expected.  It was tasty enough used in a sundae with toasted coconut and coconut milk drizzle, but I wouldn't get it again, and wished I had sampled first.

**+.

Chocolate Chip.

"Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla blend with chocolate chips."

Mitchell's chocolate chip is exactly what you'd expect: their above average vanilla, with flecks of chocolate (not chips!).  No more, no less, but good distribution of nice sweet dark chocolate.

***.

Ube.

"Purple yam imported from the Philippines."

Much like taro, I adore anything ube, so I was thrilled to finally visit  ICU when they had ube to offer.

It was decent ube ice cream, creamy, rich, but not particularly strong ube flavor.  I was expecting more, honestly.  I like the (seasonal) Trader Joe's version more ...

***+.

ICU Market & Deli:
Spumoni, Halo-Halo, Oreo Cookie, Strawberry, Butterscotch Marble,
Chocolate Caramel Crackle, Cinnamon Snap, Coconut Pineapple.

One day in the winter, the offerings included a few seasonal options, "Cinnamon Snap" and Spumoni, along with some other greats.  I left with multiple large containers that day!

Butterscotch Marble

"Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla blend with butterscotch swirls."

I sampled the Butterscotch Marble one time, quite excited to see it, but found it too sweet.  This wasn't really a problem though, as I was plenty excited by the others.

A few weeks later though, forgetting I had sampled it, I got it without sampling, and enjoyed it more.  Still sweeter than I'd really like, and interestingly, Mitchell's has removed it from the menu.

**+.

Halo Halo.

"Based on a traditional Filipino dessert, Halo Halo includes buko, langka, ube, pineapple, mongo beans, sweet beans and kaong (palm fruit)."

Finally! Halo Halo, the flavor I was most excited for, that everyone raves about, that was, really right up my alle!  It was ... fine.  Honestly a bit disappointing.  This is what I get for not sampling it first, I'm not sure I would have gotten it if I had.

I didn't find all the promised goodies in it, and the base ube/taro (?) flavor wasn't nearly as strong as other flavors from Mitchell's.  I likely wouldn't get it again.

***. 

Halo Halo (May 2021).

Except of course I did get it again.

I liked it considerably more this time, as it seemed actually loaded up with goodies.  Red beans, sweet beans, and bits of this and that could easily be found.  All set against a creamy ube base.

I still think the ube flavor isn't as strong as I'd like, and I do find this one is best if you let it get a bit softer, not necessarily melty, but, the red beans and other bits can be a bit too hard if you have it direct from -12*F freezer.

***+.  Good, but just not as great as I want it to be.

Spumoni (Winter Seasonal).

"Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla blend and chocolate ice cream with natural rum flavoring, roasted California almonds, raisins, cherries and other dried fruit."

One day I went for the seasonal winter only Spumoni, without sampling first, drawn in by the promise of goodies in this one too.

It was ... very sweet. Very, very, very sweet.  I wish I had sampled it before getting it.

I did like the bits of dried fruit, and the cherry flavor, but, yeah, too sweet for me really to just have on its own.

**+.  I won't get this one again.

Coconut Pineapple, Mocha Fudge, Mango, Halo-Halo.

Another day, another visit to ICU.

I already had mango and coconut pineapple at home, so my order was easy this time: I'd get the other two!

Mocha Fudge.

"Colombian coffee with fudge swirls."

Mocha fudge was a totally random pick from me, and done without sampling first.  You'd think I'd know better.  But in this case, I was seriously rewarded for my "risk".

The fudge in here is LEGIT!!!  So thick, rich, and, well, chocolately.  Tons of it. Lovely mocha flavor in the base, lightly bitter, which went great with the fudge.  I loved this one.

****.

Update: 

I get this regularly.

The fudge is what makes this one, so much of it, and it manages to stay this perfect consistency, not hard, not too soft, just, perfectly melty.  The coffee flavor is far better than average as well, and together they form a really lovely treat.  I'd gladly get this again.  ****+.

Grasshopper Pie, Chocolate Chip, Vanilla, Caramel Praline.

I skipped vanilla and chocolate chip this time, as I still had some at home, sampled the caramel praline, and immediately fell in love.

Caramel Praline.

"Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla blend with caramel swirls and pralines (candy coated pecans)."

I sampled this, and fell in love.  I thought it would be like the butterscotch marble or dulce de leche that I didn't care for, but, this one was a sweet winner.

Yes, a sweet offering, no question, but I really enjoyed the crunch from the candy coated pecans, and the generous, gooey caramel ribbon.

A lovely sweet ice cream without any need for embellishment.

****.

Ube, Caramel Praline.

Update: Both Ube and Caramel Praline are repeat orders for me.  They aren't on my "must get" list, but, I enjoy both, and get them frequently when they come up on the rotation.

The ube I always wish was a bit more like the Trader Joe's version (I know, I know, but I really like the Trader Joe's one!), but it does have a subtle complexity to it, sorta like, well, uh, "complex vanilla", if that makes any sense.  ***+.

The caramel praline is super sweet, particularly when you get hunks of praline, but it makes it an easy "complete" ice cream. ***+.

Grasshopper Pie.

"Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream with Oreo Cookies and fudge swirls."

I ordered the Grasshopper Pie without sampling, and it was an odd choice for me as I don't care for Oreos, but, the fudge swirl called out to me, as I had loved it so much in the mocha fudge.

I'm glad I got this flavor.  It had a LOT going on - super minty base, chocolate chips, a generous fudge swirl, and huge chunks of Oreos - but it did come together nicely.   The mint even made me tolerate the Oreos, but I could do without the Oreos, as I expected.  The minty base and fudge swirl were enough to make me still really enjoy it.  Mitchell's really has nailed the fudge swirl.

****.

Thin Mint

"Peppermint ice cream with chocolate chips."

I've also had the Thin Mint, a more simple chocolate and mint flavor.  It had a base of fairly minty ice cream, with little flecks of chocolate.  Not that interesting, just simple mint chip, but not bad either.

***.

Grasshopper Pie.

Update: I got rather addicted to this flavor, and found myself actually craving it.  Sum of the parts, clearly much better than the parts themselves!

I've since gotten it a few times, and loved it every time.  The minty base starts it off well, the hunks of Oreo keep you digging, and the generous fudge swirls keep you coming back for more ... <3

****+.

Pistachio.

"Pistachio ice cream with California pistachios."

This is a lovely pistachio ice cream.  The base didn't have tons of pistachio flavor to it, and it wasn't unnaturally green like many other brands, but that was absolutely fine.  Super rich, creamy, quality ice cream base, and *tons* of whole pistachios studded throughout.

Far above average for a pistachio ice cream, and the generous amount of whole pistachios really made it fun to eat.

****.  Gladly would get again.

Cakes

Where there is ice cream, there is cake!  And even better, ICE CREAM CAKE!  

"Each of our decorated cakes is made with a layer of ice cream (choose from any of our currently available flavors), a layer of white or chocolate cake and a coating of vanilla or chocolate frosting. You can also personalize the cake with a message or name and add extras like almonds, chocolate crunch, fudge, fruit, and Oreos." 

Mitchell's of course makes ice cream cakes, very easy to customize with your choice of any of their ice creams, white or chocolate cake, frosting (again, chocolate or vanilla), and extra goodies to coat the sides or top.  They come in 7" or 9" rounds, or 1/4, 1/2, or full sheet cakes.

Custom 9" Round Cake. $47.

To celebrate our summer interns, one of the hosts created a custom cake.  He ordered from Mitchells because it was *his* favorite, and he picked all the flavors *he* wanted.  His choices were non-offensive, anyone would like them, but, not what I would have picked.  Of course, if I was ordering, I would have done something like the epic custom ice cream cake we had from Shakedown a few years prior (also for our interns, they make great excuses for parties!).

He put in the notes that he'd like it to be topped with frosting in the colors of the Chrome logo, and we were blown away with the result.  They didn't just put on some red, yellow, green, and blue, they actually made a stunning Chrome logo on top!

The choices he made were: chocolate cake, vanilla frosting, chocolate chip ice cream.  He splurged an extra $2 to put Oreo crumbles along the outside.

By the slice ...

So, breaking it down:

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream: "Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla blend with chocolate chips"
Since Mitchell's is an ice cream shop, this is where they were expected to shine.  And shine they did.  It was just really decent ice cream.  Creamy, obviously premium, good distribution of quality chocolate chips.  Not the ice cream flavor I would have picked, but I liked the crunch from the chips and really enjoyed the ice cream.

Chocolate Cake:
Now this I didn't really care for.  It was just kinda dry, hard (because partially frozen), kinda boring cake.  No deep chocolate flavor.  That said, I'm really not a cake girl, and I rarely like cake.  My favorite ice cream cakes are Carvel (I know, judge away), because of ... the magic crispies, and, well, lack of layers of actual cake.  Come on, you know you love the crispies too.  Crispies in ice cream cake are awesome, dry, hard cake, not so much.

Vanilla Frosting:
Sweet, fluffy frosting.  Not particularly "vanilla" flavored, but I liked it.  The layer was quite thin though, so I would have preferred even more.  Again, comparing to Carvel (I can't help it!  These are the ice cream cakes I grew up with, for every single birthday), Carvel always has more extensive sweet fluffy frosting.  I wanted more.  More!

Oreo:
The crumbles on the outside added a great crunch and additional chocolatelyness, so that was a smart addition, and went well with the chocolate chips.  I'm glad he opted to spend the extra $2!

Overall, this was quite enjoyable, just sans the chocolate cake.  Given that ice cream is their speciality, I wonder why they don't offer an ice cream only version, where you can pick two flavors of ice cream, instead of a layer of cake?  I liked the mint chip ice cream cake from Bi-Rite considerably more (less cake, more frosting/toppings), even though I prefer Mitchell's ice cream.

***.

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The Happy Vegan

Things I am not: vegan.  Gluten-free.  Into healthy cafes.  And yet, here I am, reviewing The Happy Vegan, which, as you may have guessed, is a vegan cafe.

The cafe is located in Bayview, however I did not visit it in person.  I can't really tell you anything about the cafe itself, but they do serve breakfast and lunch, along with assorted pastries and desserts.  The breakfast lineup includes plant-based omelettes, yogurt, acai, and oat bowls, waffles, and bagels.  Lunch has an assortment of salads, sandwiches, and vegan burgers and fries.  Everything, and I mean everything, is vegan.  And everything is also gluten-free. 100% plant based, 100% free of all major allergens.

I tried several baked goods, bagels, and sandwiches.  Every single one of them was clearly gluten-free, if you know what I mean.  The textures were just all off.  The vegan substitutes for meats and cheeses were very clearly fakes.  There is no way you'd be convinced these were regular items, which I found pretty surprising for a place that specializes in these types of goods.  That said, they were fascinating to try at least?

Baked Goods

Even though vegan and gluten-free baked goods aren't generally that great, I thought I'd try my luck, since the place clearly specializes in making everything both vegan and gluten-free, and, well, I just love baked goods too much NOT to try when given the opportunity.  The Happy Vegan has an always changing lineup with the seasons, but it includes muffins and quick breads for the morning, pies (apple, pumpkin), cheesecake, cookies, blondies, and streusel bars for dessert.  Off-menu, they also have donuts, seemingly only available for catering.

Pumpkin Muffin. $5.

For the fall, The Happy Vegan went a bit pumpkin crazy.  They had pumpkin pie.  Pumpkin cheesecake.  Pumpkin bread.  And, as I tried, the pumpkin muffin. 

The muffin was ... interesting.  It was a style I find fairly common with either gluten-free or vegan places, that is, very dense, not light and fluffy like a regular muffin.  You have to want a heartier, denser muffin to enjoy it.  But the pumpkin flavor was good, it was nicely spiced (not too much nutmeg!), and felt very seasonally appropriate.

It came with toasted pumpkin seeds on top, which added a nice crunch.

Overall, a decent item, but you certainly would not be tricked into thinking it was a regular muffin.  ***+.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin. $5.

Next up, I tried the banana chocolate chip muffin, another quite dense item.

My first feedback?  If I hadn't read the sign saying this was banana chocolate chip, I wouldn't have known it.  I did not taste any banana, which was a real surprise, as banana is usually a pretty strong flavor.  I could see little flecks of brown when I looked closely at the muffin inside, but, I truly did not taste any banana.  The chocolate chip component was only slightly more noticeable, my muffin had perhaps 4 chips total.  I did like the little bit of sugar on top.

Like the pumpkin muffin, it was a heavy, dense muffin, with an extremely tight crumb structure.  The flavor had a hint of something to it, that I couldn't quite identify, but my brain just noted as "healthy".  When warmed up with a touch of water, it entirely disintegrated into mush (I tried half warm to see if it was better that way, and I added a splash of water to help steam it in my toaster oven ... and, yeah, it totally broke down, which regular muffins do not do!).  

So, not any banana flavor, only a couple chips, and again an odd texture, but it wasn't awful, just, not anything like a regular muffin, and certainly not for those who wanted banana.  ***.

Everything Bagel. $4.
Plant Based Cream Cheese, Butter, Chive & Onion Cream Cheese. $2 each.

The Happy Vegan makes 3 kinds of bagels:  plain, everything, and cinnamon raisin.  

I tried the everything bagel.  It was ... well, not very good.  It tasted gluten-free in every way imaginable.  Odd texture, odd chew, odd flavor.  It was a kinda hearty wheat base, as were the plain bagels.  It was heavily crusted in seeds on one side, with basically none as you see here on the other.  It was a little better when I toasted it, but, as someone who doesn't need to be gluten-free, I'd never get this.

*+ bagel.

I was pretty skeptical about the vegan spreads for the bagel too, but, hey, I wanted to try them all.  I started with the most promising, the chive & onion cream cheese.  While it had some flavor from the chive and onion, it mostly was just, well, for lack of a better word, odd.  Slightly bitter.  Slightly grainy.  Slightly sour.  Slightly sweet.  I didn't particularly want a second bite.  *.

Next up, the regular cream cheese, not that I expected that to be any better.  I think it was even worse.  Slightly sour, slightly sweet, grainy.  Tasted like tofu sorta.  I really did not like this. *.

And finally, the butter, which was strangely separated.  It also had an off taste to it, and it didn't spread well, even when I left it at room temperature for a while, and stirred it up. *.

Blueberry Donut.

Ok, now we were getting to something I was more excited by.  Donuts!  I eagerly grabbed the blue one.

The frosting was generously and evenly applied.  I thought it would taste blueberry, but, alas, it was just blue colored plain icing.  Good enough, sweet icing, but, yes, plain.

The cake part is where the blueberry element came in, with tiny blueberries studding the cake.  They gave perhaps tiny pops of flavor, but blueberry forward this donut was not.  Also, um, while it was ring shaped, this really was not a donut.  I'm fairly certain it was baked, not fried.  And the cake part?  Yes, it was very clearly gluten-free.  Slightly strange texture (*very* strange texture for a donut, just slightly strange for a bundt cake) and density.  It tasted like, well, healthy, cake? 

This donut looked much better than it was, lacked in blueberry flavor, and really was not a donut.  **.

Maple Donut.

If at first you don't succeed ... yup, I tried the other donut, this one maple.

This one was different from the blueberry in that the icing was actually flavored, it was quite strong maple flavor, sweet, and quite enjoyable.  And like the blueberry donut, it was very generously frosted.  So, frosting, quite good.

The donut cake part though, was much like the blueberry in its non-fried and odd texture nature, but also, it was entirely plain.  So, plain cake, but with tasty maple frosting.  Eh. *** for the frosting, but the cake part is bad enough that this is still just a **+ overall.

Sandwiches

The Happy Vegan has a fairly large sandwich menu, which at first glance, reads like that of any other cafe: tuna salad, BLT, caprese for cold subs, chicken cheesesteak, chicken parmesan, tuna melt, meatball marinara, grilled cheese, etc for hots ... and then you realize, wait, these are all vegan.  What is the "cheese" in the cheesesteak, the parm, and the caprese?  What is the chicken, the bacon, the meatballs ...  yes, they are all plant based.  And of course, all served on gluten-free bread.  I had my doubts.

Caprese. $9.

"Pesto, generous amounts of mozzarella and tomato, lettuce, olive oil & balsamic dressing on freshly toasted ciabatta bread."

I started with the caprese, quite interested by the idea of vegan mozzarella.

The mozzarella looked at first glance like it may be normal, but, it was considerably softer and slimier than its non-vegan counterpart would be.  It tasted like ... I'm not quite sure what, I think kinda like soft tofu.  The texture was not particularly pleasing.  That said, it was sliced thick and the portion generous.

The other fillings were fairly average: sliced tomato, shredded iceberg, nothing fancy there.  The pesto had a bit of an odd taste to it, which, I guess you'd expect, as it can't have cheese in it either.  It was a bit bitter.  It was strange to have both pesto AND olive oil and balsamic dressing in there, and it ate a bit oily.

And then, the bread.  It had a strange, grainy, mealy texture, and in this untoasted form (even though it said it was toasted, it didn't seem to be), it wasn't good.  That said, I did toast it at home, and it was considerably better, although the texture was still all off.

Overall, it was fascinating to try the mozzarella, the tomato was fine, but otherwise, not for me.  **+.  The $9 price is pretty reasonable given the speciality ingredients.

BLT Sub. $9.

"3 strips of bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo on freshly toasted ciabatta bread."

Next, I went for the BLT.  Mine was a bit of a lie, at least given the menu description, as it had only two, not the promised three, slices of "bacon".  I didn't mind.

The bacon was crispy, and fascinating, but it in no way tasted like bacon.  I didn't hate it, it was nicely salty, and savory, and it added a great crunch, but, very clearly not bacon.  The dark spots on it made it look even more fake than it needed to.

This sandwich also had the same sliced tomato and shredded iceberg, again both fine.  It was also generously slathered on one side with vegan mayo, which tasted like regular mayo to me, and for that I was appreciative.  Creamy and rich, mayo.

This was much better than the caprese, and I did actually find the fillings tasty enough, but, the bread was again a letdown.  And the bacon really was not fooling anyone!  *** fillings, **+ overall.

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Onigilly

Update Review, October 2022

I recently attended an event with lunch catered by Onigilly.   I am quite familiar with Onigilly, although I realized when I went to write this up that, wow, it has been a loooong time since I've had their products.  For the background on Onigilly, you can start with my original review from 2014 (yes, it really has been that long!).

The organizers planned an entirely vegan event, and thus, we had only vegan options, namely, all 5 of the vegan onigiri they make: teriyaki tofu, shiitake mushroom, hijiki, ume, and eggplant.  I tried all but the tofu.

All were well made onigiri - tightly wrapped, generously stuffed.  The rice was average sushi rice, slightly sticky, not hard, lightly seasoned.  The seaweed wrapping was still crisp, even though presumably they had been made a bit in advance for the large order.  Onigilly clearly is experts in making onigiri.  My feelings on the overall product are much the same as 2014: I was impressed with the flavorful fillings, and the construction of the rice balls, but, I just don't like rice enough to love these.

Hijiki -Braised Seaweed. $3.65.

"Braised hijiki seaweed, carrot, tofu & edamame."

I started with the hijiki, braised seaweed.  

The filling was basically exactly what I expected - shredded carrot, a few cooked edamame, bits of hijiki, all in a soy braise.  I think the tofu in here was just ground bits, certainly no pieces of tofu I could detect.  It was fairly flavorful, and the piece didn't need additional soy sauce added, as I had thought it would, given the braising liquid.   I did want a touch of wasabi to add though.

Overall, a fine piece, although since I don't care that much for rice, certainly a higher ratio of rice to filling than I'd like.  ***+ filling (*** overall though, due to all the rice).

Miso Nasu - Eggplant.

"Flash fried eggplant in Aka miso w/ sesame & green onion."

Eggplant was next up on my list, and I was pleased with this one.  Again, a flavorful filling that didn't require additional soy sauce.  The eggplant was soft, well cooked, and quite enticing due to the miso marinade.  I liked this filling even more than the hijiki, although, again, more rice that I really care for.  **** filling.

Shiitake Mushroom.

"Soy braised shiitake mushroom."

I sound like a broken record at this point, but, the shiitake was much like the others - flavorful filling from the soy braise, nicely cooked, slightly soft, slight chew.  The mushroom was chopped pretty small.  I think this filling would be really good on mashed potatoes ... yes, that's the odd craving I had when I ate it.  ***+ filling, about on par with the hijiki for me in terms of preference.

Ume - Pickled Plum.

"Sour pickled plum w/ shiso flakes."

The final offering was certainly different from the others, filled with pickled plum.  This one also had colorful shiso flakes on the outside.

Ume is certainly an acquired taste, incredibly sour.  I like it, but, as just a onigiri, it was a bit much on its own.  Great mixed in with the hijiki one though.

My least favorite, but also the most unique flavor.  ***.

Original Review, April 2014

Welcome to another installment of Julie-visits-a-random-place-because-of-Paypal-promotion.

I've had my eye on Onigilly for ages.  They pop up at different markets with their food cart, they've had a main location on Keary for a while now (although, only open M-F, making it less useful for me), and recently opened an Embarcadero location.  But I still hadn't managed to stop in before.

One weekday afternoon, I did manage to find myself near their Kearny St. store, so I finally visited.

I was really interested to try their amazake, described as a hot horchata, given that I like horchata, and it was very cold outside.  Unfortunately, they were out of it when I arrived at 1pm.  I guess I wasn't the only San Franciscan absolutely freezing in the 45 degree weather.

Then, I was interested in a seasonal special listed, a squash salad.  I asked what was in it.  The person taking my order didn't know.  He didn't offer to ask.  I tried to get any details, like, was it a salad of salad greens just topped with squash?  Or squash cubes in some sort of dressing?  Nothing.

Besides the unhelpful person taking my order, service was really friendly.  Each time, when my food was ready, they called me by name, and thanked me for ordering.  The store is small, with a few tables, but most people seem to grab and go.

I've stopped in several times to try assorted onigilly and sides, although I haven't really loved anything. I'm still very curious about the amazake, but it is now it is no longer on the menu.

Onigilly

On my first visit, I just went for my first onigilly.  It was ok, but not really my thing.  I had never had onigilly before, but it is basically just sushi in a slightly different style.  Their signage tells me that it is more common than sushi in Japan, due to its convenient form, good as street food.  Generally made with fillings similar to what you'd have for sushi, although less perishable, with rice, wrapped in seaweed.  Onigilly offers onigilly in a slew of varieties, mostly seafood (shrimp, cooked albacore, crab, salmon, eel, roe, etc) or vegetarian (tofu, ume, natto, shitake, lotus, etc), although they also have a few meat options (beef, chicken, bacon).  All wrapped up in seaweed, and surrounded by organic brown rice.   

A month or so after my first experience at Onigilly, I went to Tokyo, and discovered that they really are everywhere.  Even the airline lounge in SFO had them, as did every corner store, including 7-Eleven.  They were served for breakfast at my hotel.  And as snacks in my office.  You could find them pre-made absolutely everywhere (although, made with white rice, and presumably not organic).

And in Tokyo, I really liked them.  So, when I got back to San Francisco and was craving one again, I went back to Onigilly, even though I didn't really like the first one I had.  I again didn't like it, but I realized why: they use nice organic brown rice.  It was the sweetened, glumpy, white rice that I really liked in Tokyo.  The fillings are quite tasty though!

Seafood

Snow Crab. $3.22.

"Canadian snow crab w/ lemon aioli. "

The choices for onigilly were numerous, but I was craving crab. Even though this was snow crab, not local Dungeness, I still went for it.

I don't really like rice, and usually prefer sashimi at sushi restaurants, and I knew this would have even more rice than nigiri, or sushi rolls, but ... I was here to try something new. The rice was warm, hearty brown rice. They use only brown rice, California grown. It was fine, but, well, there was a lot of rice.

Inside the rice was the snow crab, a good amount, shredded. I guess there was lemon aioli in there too, but I didn't taste lemon, nor really pick up on any creamy aioli. At least it wasn't over mayo-y.

I did really like the nori wrapper. It was crispy and held up well.

I see the appeal of onigilly. It is easier to eat than sushi. If I liked rice, I could see myself enjoying it. But as it was, I really just wanted the crab out of the center. ***+.

$3.22 for a single one was fine for a snack, and they also offer platters with multiples and sides such as miso soup or edamame.

I also tried a few other seafood onigilly, such as the Miso Tuna Salad, "Cooked wild Albacore with miso aioli", which was basically the same, except with what seemed like generic canned tuna in the center rather than crab.  I think both Ojan and I were a bit shocked with the tuna, although, it wasn't advertised as anything different.  I didn't taste the miso, and it was kinda strange to just have tuna salad inside some rice. ***.

Vegetarian

 Hijiki. $2.76. Pickled Diakon. $0.46.

"Braised hijiki seaweed, carrot, tofu & edamame."

On my next visit, I went vegetarian, for the hijiki.  Again, nice crispy nori wrapper, warm brown rice.  The form changed this time however, it was served as a triangle shape, like all the ones I saw in Tokyo, rather than the more handroll style I had the first time.

I again just wasn't into the rice, but the filling was tasty and plentiful.  The seaweed had a lot of flavor infused in it, and I liked how crunchy it all was.  But, I'd still just prefer a side of hijiki salad, rather than an onigiri.  ***.

I also ordered a side of pickled diakon when I saw it on the menu.  I LOVE pickled diakon, and this was no exception.  Crunchy. I loved it, and wish I'd made a double order! ****.

The price for the single onigilly was great, only $2.76 since this was a vegetarian one.  And diakon was another $0.46, making my entire little snack just over $3, a wonderful deal.

Renkon:  $2.76

"Spicy sautéed lotus root w/ sesame".

The wrapping job on this one was quite poor.  Totally falling apart.  But what lie inside was tasty enough.  I liked how crispy the lotus root was, and the sesame added a lot of flavor.  And ... it was spicy!  I was just trying a bite of the filling out of curiosity, this was for Ojan, so I didn't have the rice to balance out the spice, and it had quite a kick.  Again, if I actually like riced balls, I'd like this one.  ***.

Meat

Spicy Bacon. $2.76.

"Bacon cooked w/ garlic butter & chili."

Ojan picked this up one day and told me I needed to try a bite.  It was certainly the most interesting of all the ones I tried.  It really was spicy.  It tasted a bit like crumbled sausage.  Really not bad at all, but I still don't like rice! ***+.

Soboro. $2.76.

"Ginger-honey braised ground beef."

Ok, this was delicious.  If only I liked the rice.  It tasted more like sausage than beef to me, but the flavor was great.  I'm glad Ojan let me steal a bite!  ***+.

Sides

Besides the onigilly, the menu is fairly limited to just a couple soups, edamame, and tamago.  I of course tried a few of these too.

Miso Soup.  $1.95.

I'm not really a soup fan in general, but I was a bit chilly, and wanted something warm and comforting.  So I got the miso soup.

I expected just a broth, maybe with a few bits of token seaweed or tofu in it.  Instead, this was fairly loaded.  Along with plentiful tofu and seaweed, there were large chunks of carrots, onions, and daikon.  The veggies were all a bit too soft for my liking, and the soup overall wasn't all that interesting, but it was a very impressive serving for the very reasonable $1.95 price tag.  It was also served piping hot. **+.

Tamagoyaki.  $1.95.

I love tamago.  I know it sounds crazy, but it is often one of my favorite pieces of nigiri when I go out for sushi.  I always terminate a sushi meal with it, and judge a restaurant by the quality of their tamago.  So I was pretty excited to see it on the menu.

The tamago was served just as slices, no rice.  This was fine with me.

But ... it wasn't really tamago.  It was just an omelet.  As you can see, there were no layers.  It wasn't seared on the outside.  Maybe it had a mild sweetness, but there wasn't much depth of flavor.  Really, it was just egg.

It wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't what I'd think of as tamago, and I wouldn't get another.  $1.95 for two pieces was a fine price. **+.

Wakame Seaweed Salad. $1.84.

"Sesame seasoned wakame seaweed on top of our mixed green salad".

The seaweed aspect of this was was pretty standard, a mix of several different seaweeds, fairly fresh tasting, a bit of sesame and dressing.  I appreciated the lemon wedge too.  But ... it was served on top of mixed greens?  That was really strange to me.

Overall, fine, not particularly good nor bad, a decent portion for $1.84, but I didn't particularly want more. ***.

Desserts

Strawberry Mochi.  $2.76.

"House Mochi with Fresh Strawberries, Rice Flour, Red Bean Paste".

Very recently, they added desserts to the menu. Or ok, a single dessert.  Since I have a serious sweet tooth, I couldn't resist, particularly because at the register, in full display when you order is the offering: strawberry mochi.

It came in a inverted cup.

The mochi, unveiled!

Inside was a large strawberry, fairly ripe, but still a bit white on one end.  It was coated in a thin layer of red bean paste, that didn't seem particularly sweetened, and a thin layer of very soft mochi, dusted with flour.

It was all ... fine.  I like mochi, I like red bean, I like strawberries, but this didn't quite come together for me.  I wouldn't really want another. **+.

$2.76 is cheap for a dessert, but for just a single mochi strawberry, it actually seemed a bit high.

Drinks

Matcha Green Tea Lemonade. $2.

What do you do on a hot day?  You order refreshing lemonade!

I've had plenty of ice tea + lemonade combos before, but never with green tea.  It was lighter, and more refreshing this way.  However, it was too sweet for my taste.  I needed to dilute it to make it drinkable, and then I quite liked it.  I probably wouldn't get another though, but it helped quench my thirst on a hot day! **+.

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