Varda Chocolatier

Varda Chocolatier I discovered on a recent Japan Airlines flight, although they aren't actually based in Japan, the shop is right outside NYC.

"We use only the finest dark (semi-sweet) milk and white Belgian (Callebaut) chocolate and natural ingredients to create our truffles, pralines, squares, roll bars, coins, signature boxes, holiday gifts, baskets and much more."

Varda makes a slew of different types of chocolates, including coins, truffles (round chocolates filled with all sorts of fillings and decorated on top), and pralines (mostly square and flat, also with fillings, but with printed on designs on the flat top).  I'm still not entirely sure what the difference is between the truffle and praline designation though, as I always thought of pralines as containing nuts, and these didn't.

I don't have much more to share about Varda, as their website is very limited, and so I wasn't able to learn much more to share with you.  It seems they mostly sell gift sets online, and other than that, distribute to airlines, cruise ships, hotels, etc.

What I can tell you is that I enjoyed their chocolate and would gladly have more.

Box of Mini Pralines.

"Mini Pralines packed in a Gold Ballotine Box."

The duo of pralines came in a small gold box, shiny, blingy, and tied up with a gold string.  They offer similar packaging in silver or white.

The packaging warns that the chocolates require refrigeration, but need to be served at room temperature, so you have to pull them out 2 hours before serving, minimum.  I'm not entirely sure why they require refrigeration?  These are high maintenance chocolates.

Cosmos Pralines.

"Dark filling with a hint of Irish Cream in Dark or Milk Chocolate".

Inside was two chocolates (which they call pralines), each with pretty decorations, inspired by the cosmos - suns, moons, stars, planets, etc.

The milk chocolate is on the left with the white cosmos, the dark on the right with gold.

Milk Chocolate Cosmos.

The milk chocolate one I tried first.

The milk chocolate shell was creamy and decent.  Inside was a smooth chocolate filling, that tasted to me more like a soft caramel than just chocolate.

I didn't know they were Irish Cream flavored until I looked them up, but I did detect a flavor to it that I couldn't quite figure out.  That must have been it?

Overall, it was fine, but not remarkable. ***.

Dark Chocolate Cosmos.

Next up was dark chocolate.

This one I really enjoyed.

The dark shell had the perfect snap, and although it was a sweeter dark chocolate, I still liked it.

Inside was creamy smooth dark chocolate, again, a sweeter style, but a good one.  I'd gladly have more of these.  ****.

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Union Square Donuts

I am no stranger to donuts.  Nor am I a stranger to Boston.  The former I eat pretty much weekly (yay for an office with great donut culture!), and the later I visit at least twice a year (en route to my family in NH).  So of course it makes sense that I kinda have my eye on the Boston donut scene (and no, Dunkin' Donuts does NOT count, even though I've reviewed them too of course). 

I loved the donuts from Ohlin's Bakery years ago, but sadly, it burnt down, and was located out in the suburbs anyway.  Some of the well known bakeries, like Flour, do donuts as special things on weekends (which I've had, and they are fantastic!).

But for relatively mainstream donuts in Boston proper these days, I think most people tend to rave about one of three places: Kane Donuts (which has been on my list ~forever but I still haven't tried), Blackbird Donuts (which I've had in my office before), and Union Square Donuts.  

"Union Square Donuts is an award-winning donut company with locations in Boston, Brookline and Somerville, MA. Our donuts are made fresh, by hand, every single day. We pride ourselves on our commitment to producing the best donuts possible, using high-quality ingredients, an extraordinary attention to detail, and all with a passion that shines through to everything we make. " 

Union Square has several locations in the area, I'm not sure which one ours came from.  

"Originating from a brioche dough, our donuts have a light and airy, almost pastry-like texture. All glazes, sugars, jams, and creams are created in-house using real, wholesome ingredients. We love making donuts and that care, passion, and happiness is in every donut we create. We strive to be modern, pushing the creative boundaries of flavor combinations while remaining firmly rooted in traditional pastry techniques. Our bakery team works constantly to develop new products that incorporate regional, national & global flavor trends while staying true to the classic flavors that make donuts timeless."

The donut lineup has a couple basic classics, e.g. glazed or sugar coated, but is mostly far more unique offerings (think: raspberry cheesecake, pecan pie), and changes frequently.  They have many seasonal specials.  Most of the donuts are raised donuts, but they are loftier and lighter than standard raised donuts, due to the brioche base.  They are also larger than most regular donuts.  They make a couple vegan donuts as well, but no gluten-free.

One day when I was working in the Cambridge office, a coveted email came out: "Extra Union Square Donuts! Lots of them, come and get them!".  I'd heard of Union Square Donuts, but hadn't yet had them myself, so I obviously went running (uh, yes, literally).  I was able to try several kinds, and was blown away.  Definitely some of the best donuts I've had in a few years.  I'd gladly try more, and preferably, not just someone's discards.

Donut Carnage (clockwise from top left)
Holiday Sprinkles, Raspberry Cheesecake, Pecan Pie
 Double Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Caramel Pecan
Sugar Raised, Sea Salt Whiskey Caramel,
Vietnamese Coffee, Maple Bacon

I certainly could have tried all of them, given that they were already cut into hunks, but I restrained myself, and just choose 5.  I have some regrets I didn't try more, as they were execllent.

Double Chocolate Cake Donut. $4.00
"Chocolate on chocolate? Say no more! Our rich moist chocolate cake donut is topped with milk chocolate glaze and sprinkled with chocolate curls. Chocolate lovers, rejoice!"

I'm not normally a cake donut person, and definitely not chocolate cake donut, but I wanted to at least try a cake donut from Union Square Donuts (which I later learned is the only one they make), so I tried a tiny sliver of the double chocolate.  It was a fairly chocolately dense cake donut, with a nice chocolate glaze.  But I still just don't see the appeal of such a thing - if I wanted chocolate cake, I'd have chocolate cake ... which would be more moist, and have more frosting.  Anyway, it was a fine chocolate cake donut, but, chocolate cake donut it was.  ***.

Holiday Sprinkles. $4.00.

"Our fluffy brioche donut is dipped in a rich Belgian Dark Chocolate Glaze and covered in festive sprinkles. Make everyday feel like a holiday!"

Next I tried their classic raised brioche donut that was decked out for the holidays.  I expected it to be a bit ho-hum, but it was the first bite of this one that made me decide to try several others.  The donut was light and airy, and not fried tasting.  The brioche base really makes such a difference.  It had a sweet glaze, and plenty of sprinkles.  It was the perfect texture, perfect sweetness.  Just a really good donut.  ****+.  My favorite of the donuts I tried.

I realized later that I think this may have actually been the *vegan* holiday sprinkles donut, as that one comes with a vanilla glaze, and the regular one has a chocolate glaze, and this sure seemed like a vanilla glaze.  If it was indeed vegan, that is a very impressive vegan donut!

Sea Salt Whiskey Caramel. $4.00

"With each bite of this brioche donut, enjoy the rich caramel glaze with a subtle hit of whisky. We sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt to finish off this flavorful classic. Cheers to donuts and whisky."

Next I went for the one that looked a bit like a creme brulee.  It turned out to be caramel with whiskey, which I can't say I tasted the booze, but, it was slightly crisp on top, was another perfectly light and airy brioche base, and the sweetness was just right, not cloying.  Another just lovely donut, and a bit different from your standard glazed.  ****.  My second favorite.

Chocolate Caramel Pecan Donut. $4.75.

"We fill our classic brioche donut dough with a rich Dulce de Leche pastry cream then dip it in our milk chocolate glaze and finish off with a caramel drizzle and candied pecans."

I moved on to the more decadent creations.  This one was oozing dulce de leche cream everywhere, how could I not go for it?  Since it was pastry cream, not pure dulce de leche, it was creamier and less sweet than dulce de leche alone would be.  The toppings were extensive as well, with chocolate glaze and caramel and candied nuts.  While it wasn't cloying sweet, it was definitely the sweetest of the bunch, and much more for a dessert than a mid-morning or afternoon treat.  The elements were all good, but, I actually preferred the more simple donuts.  ***+.

Pecan Pie Donut. $4.75.

"Enjoy our classic yeasted donut loaded with a gooey brown sugar and toasted pecan filling, sweet molasses glaze and topped with crumbles of buttery pie crust. Help yourself to a slice or a dozen delicious Pecan Pie Donuts."

And lastly, the pecan pie. I adore pecan pie, and I loved everything about the sound of this one.  It seems my co-workers did as well, as there was just a tiny chunk of it left.  I snatched all that was left.

It really was pecan pie in donut form.  The donut base was again a light and airy brioche donut, not too fried tasting.  Inside was, well, pecan pie filling.  The nuts were chopped more than they would be in a regular pie, which makes sense, but otherwise, it was exactly what you'd expect from pecan pie insides, although slightly more sophisticated since it used brown sugar.  It was sweet, but not over the top, and didn't scream out "corn syrup" - which, I'll admit, does have its place in pecan pie.  I didn't really taste the molasses in the glaze, nor the butteriness of the pie crust crumble, but they did add a touch of balance and further texture to it.  There was also some spicing that I didn't love however - I think either cinnamon or nutmeg? 

Overall though, this was very good, and I wish I'd been able to try a bigger piece.  I suspect it would be incredible lightly warmed up and served with vanilla ice cream or gelato.  ****, but my third pick due to the spicing.

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Sushi Shio

Sometimes, you just crave uni.  No?  Just me?  Well, it happened to me, randomly in the months of August and September, when San Francisco had a bit of a heat wave, and, accordingly, I stopped wanting hot food, and opted for a lot of sushi.  And the thing I really wanted? Yup, uni.

It all started when I had some really fantastic uni at Fenikkusu, and from there, I just started seeking it out.  However, I didn't venture all over the city for my uni goodness, opting rather for delivery.  While browsing around on DoorDash, I quickly narrowed in on Sushi Shio.  A well rated establishment (which, matters more for sushi than other things!), and in particular, they had a fascinating uni ... bruschetta.  I had to get it.

Ordering online was easy, packaging was attractive, food was good, and I'd definitely consider exploring more of their menu (or, really, just getting that bruschetta again!).

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!

• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

Delivery Packaging.

When I opened my bag, the first thing I noticed was the unique packaging.  No standard sushi takeout tray here.  Instead each item was in a cardboard box, with a clear plastic lid.  It seemed considerably more attractive for some reason.

No soy sauce was provided with my order, although additional ginger, and chopsticks, were.

Appetizer: Japanese Bruschetta with Uni and truffle. $23.

"Toasted sourdough with 2 kinds of uni, truffle and ikura."

Ok.  Yes, I ordered totally ridiculous uni toast.  Or, as they dubbed it, "Japanese bruschetta".  This was a very creative dish, that did kinda make sense.  After all, uni is soft and luxurious, why serve it just on rice?  Toast makes nearly as much sense, really.  And many fancy restaurants will shave truffle on top of uni dishes, and many Japanese places will have a "spoon" with an oyster, uni, and ikura, so, yeah.  I haven't seen something like this before, but, it all made sense.

I was also drawn to this because the toast, er, bruschetta, contained both local-ish Santa Barbara and Japanese hokkaido uni.  I was originally planning to order both as nigiri, so I could do a side-by-side comparison, but, why not get them on toast, where they would, literally, be side by side.  It was the same price as two pieces of nigiri anyway.

The bruschetta survived delivery just fine.  The visual of the uni, separated by ikura, was fascinating to see the difference.  The hokkaido uni was on the left, darker, much smaller tongues, about 6 pieces laid out horizontally.  The santa barbara uni on the other hand was only 2-3 pieces, laid vertical, as they were considerably bigger.  And they tasted entirely different.  The hokkaido uni was very consistent - strong uni flavor, but no funk.  Pretty classic uni taste.  It seemed fresh enough.  The santa barbara uni on the other hand had one piece that was really sweet (and creamy?!), and one that was kinda all funk ... the taste that I think makes people not like uni.  I liked the sweet piece the most, but, overall, definitely preferred the hokkaido because the other was so funky.  Anyway, it was great to try them side by side and realize that I truly did have a preference (which, wasn't a first, after all, I did visit Uniholic in Tokyo and have an entire meal made of of uni tastings in all various forms ... swoon, that uni ice cream, unforgettable!).

The toast base was a thin slice, lightly toasted.  It was crisp when it arrived, but did soften up pretty fast, so, beware if you are getting delivery.  I really did like having uni on toast, I think I preferred it to having it on rice, it reminded me more of pate this way.  Also, it was quite easy to eat in this form!

The ikura was marinated, so it incorporated some soy flavor in it.  It was intensely salty, and added fun pops to the bites.  Uni and ikura, a totally fine pairing.  There was a generous amount of it.  I liked the freshness the shiso leaf brought as well.

And then, the truffle.  In addition to the two pieces shaved on top, I believe there was a drizzle of truffle oil, as I tasted it in other bites.  It definitely made it taste fancy, for lack of better word, but I'm not sure it really added anything to the dish.  I think I'd prefer gold leaf if I wanted to just bling it up. Sushi Shio lets you add on truffle to any item for $6, if you please.

Overall, I was quite glad I got this.  It was unique, it was fun to eat, and it was a great assortment of textures and flavors.  And now, um, I just want uni toast, rather than uni nigiri.

****.

Scallop Sashimi, Hokkaido. $12.

The sashimi came in its own little box, with a bed of shredded diakon, a shiso leaf, ginger, and wasabi.    I guess it must have been pre-sauced, but, kinda lost in delivery as it likely rolled off and soaked into the box?

The garnishes were all fresh and clearly good quality.  The scallop was sweet and refreshing.  Just a nice fresh piece.  I tend to prefer seared scallops, but this was a nice fresh compliment to the heavier, stronger tasting uni dish, exactly why I ordered it.

Average for a good sushi restaurant, which makes it above average overall. ***+.

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Petit Pita

I've talked before about the various virtual or "ghost" kitchens that operate out of 60 Morris Street in San Francisco, such as Korean Burrito Joint with the fantastic fried dumplings, Ramen Kobo WARAKU for the best takoyaki I've ever had, Dip Me B!tch for some ok dips and dunkers, Ben's Fast Food for healthy veggies and dessert, and Basil Cart for quite reasonable Thai cuisine (and my first ever kao soi).  During the depths of the Pandemic, venturing to 60 Moris to get some kind of takeout became an outlet, an adventure, and a way to get out of the house, so I tried nearly all the businesses located there.

After so many other hits at 60 Morris, I decided to give Petit Pita a try, even though the cuisine isn't a style I normally go for.  The menu is basically mediterranean, with different dips you can enjoy with pita (hummus, baba ghhnush, tzatziki), falafel, Greek or mediterranean salads, wraps and sandwiches (and a token burger), fries or rice as sides, and rice pudding or baklava for dessert.

I only had a few small items, but I was impressed with the quality and prices, and returned many times.

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!

• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

My orders were via Seamless, and were ready for pickup in the lockers promptly.

Pickles. $2.95.

The pickles from Petit Pita were kinda exciting - a generous portion of cucumber spears, slices of carrot, a couple jalapeno, and a single olive.

All were good - nicely crisp, spiced with I think mustard seed, acidic.  I enjoyed them, and it was nice to get homemade pickles (I grew up in a pickling family, so non-commercial pickles are how I was raised).

***+.

Falafel. $1.50.

I was very surprised when I opened my order from Petit Pita.  I ordered a single falafel side, and expected a little round falafel ball, sans any accompaniments.  Literally, I expected just a falafel, and nothing more . I just wanted to try it, and was planning to toss it onto my salad for a little extra protein.  Instead, I found a slice of bell pepper, warm hummus, and a large oblong falafel, the size of two regular round balls.  It highly exceeded expectations.

Even more shocking?  I really liked the hummus, seriously garlic-y and flavorful, smooth and creamy.  The falafel was very dark, very fried, very dense, but it too had good flavor and a nice texture.  Both were the best I've had in years, and better than other highly regarded ones such as Oren's Hummus.

I scraped my salad plan, and stuffed it all into a pita instead, added hot chutney I had leftover from Sajj, and fresh lettuce/tomato/onion, and really enjoyed it.

For $1.50 this was quite the deal. ***+.

Falafel. $1.50.

Just a few weeks later, I got another, but this time, I knew what to expect ... kinda.  I was thrown off a bit when I opened up my bag, as it contained a different style takeaway dish (square plastic container vs round cardboard bowl), and the things that came with it were totally different.

The falafel looked the same, and just as odd - large, oblong, dark, and way over fried.  But I knew I did actually like it last time, so I tried not to judge based on its looks.  It was just as tasty as last time.

There was just a tiny smear of the delightful hummus this time however, which let me down a bit, but the veggies bits were amped up to be a mini side salad, with a few mixed greens, slices of cucumber, cherry tomatoes, single slice of red bell pepper, and red onion.  Really a nice assortment of fresh veggies. Get a pita and some tahini sauce, and you easily had a mini snack.  I'm still shocked by the quality, freshness, and price.

***+.

Falafel. $1.50.

Another day, another falafel ...

This time the same as the last, large dark super fried looking falafel, small amount of their crazy good hummus, chunk of cherry tomato, cucumber, red onion, mixed greens.

I again really enjoyed it, wrapped in pita.  I do prefer when they give me more hummus however.

***.

Falafel. $1.50.

And again.  What can I say, I got a bit hooked.  And again, what a value.  

Warm hummus, creamy and flavorful, I really quite liked it, and I'm not one to normally be excited about hummus.  The portion was back to being more substantial.  Fresh springs of mixed greens, a few slices of cucumber, a sliced grape tomato, a single slice of green pepper, all dressed in a flavorful vinaigrette, which I think was a new addition. And then of course, the oblong dark fried falafel ball that is far better than it looks.

So tasty thrown into a pita for a snack, or on top of a salad.

***+.

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