Oh Snap! Pickling Co

Pickles.  I love pickles.  I grew up in a pickling family, always with our own homemade pickles of all kinds - yes, dill spears, but also my favorite bread and butter pickles, dilly beans, pickled asparagus, pickled beets, and mixed pickles of all kinds.  My mother made pickles, my great aunt made incredible pickles, pickles, pickles everywhere.  We did not have store bought pickles in the house ever, and to this day, I find most commercial pickles ... well, odd.  Why are they so neon green?  Why are the seeds in the dill spears so small?  The only real generic pickles I tolerate are McDonald's slices on burgers, which I do kinda love, but in the same way that a McDonald's burger patty itself has a special time and place.

Still, I was excited to discover Oh Snap!, a brand of snacking pickles.  Yes, snacking pickles.  This is a thing.

"Our pickles are best enjoyed cold, but beyond that we encourage eating them any and everywhere. Take them on a train, eat them on a plane, put them in a drink, or take them to the skating rink. The world is your pickle."

The products are single serve packages, without brine, to make for easy snacking anywhere, although they do require refrigeration.  You can find them at corner stores, Walgreens, Target, Walmart, and more.  Snacking pickles somehow became mainstream relatively quickly, and this is a concept I can definitely get behind.

The Oh Snap! lineup is impressive.  In addition to a few expected cucumber varieties ("gone dillz" and dilly bites, sassy bites, hotties, and hottie bites), they have pickled "cool beans", "carrot cuties", and "pretty peas".  They recently expanded to include pickled fruits, including apples and pineapples (!), both of which are available in spiced or plain varieties.

I've tried a number of products, and I still do love the concept and variety, but I'm partial to my family's homemade pickles.

Dilly Bites.

"The original and bestselling fresh dill pickle snacking bites! Perfectly crisp for a satisfying crunch and packed with a dilly flavor."

I started with the most basic, the dilly bites.  These are classic cucumbers, fairly acidic, light dill flavor.  They come thickly sliced, far thicker than you'd want on a burger or sandwich, more appropriate for snacking as they intend (although spears are likely better for that anyway).  They had a reasonable snap to them, but were a bit softer than I'd prefer.

Overall, fine, but not something I'd purchase again, but I'm also a snob raised on homemade pickles, and rarely do I find a commercial brand worth purchasing.  ***.

Hottie Bites.

"Is it hot in here, or is that just us? The perfect marriage of tangy dill and spicy heat, Hotties are here to kick your tastebuds into the next gear."

The "Hottie" bites look just like the Dilly Bites, but do indeed have a bit of heat to them.  Nothing overwhelming, just a little hit of something.  

I didn't like these more or less than the regular ones, they were just different.  ***.

Sassy Bites.

"Sassy, classy, a little bit flashy. Where sweet meets gentle heat, our Sassy Bites were born. Perfect for solo snacking, on salads and burgers, or wherever your heart desires."

And finally, the "Sassy" bites, which aren't quite as hot as the hotties, and are slightly sweet.  Decent flavor.  Easy to snack on, and I did like throwing into salads.  Again, still a bit of a softer style, but I think these were my favorites of the cucumber based pickles.  ***+.

Carrot Cuties.

"Eaten by the handful or sliced up in a salad, Carrot Cuties deliver a deliciously sweet crunch packed with vinegary goodness."

Next up, carrots!

I liked the idea of pickled carrot sticks, given that I love pickles, and I enjoy munching on baby carrots.  Pickled carrot sticks seemed like a great product for me, particularly as a finger food snack.

They were decent.  I liked that the carrot was still al dente and had a nice crunch.  They were sorta acidic, but not particularly flavorful otherwise. There isn't a lot to these, just carrots, vinegar, salt, and some other chemicals for preserving.

Fine, but not something I see myself being excited about.  ***.

Pineapple Bites.

"Sweet and savory."

And finally, one of the fruit options.  Pineapples.

Well, these were different.  They also made me realize I don't particularly like pineapple.  But, yes, these were pickled wedges of pineapple.  Juicy.  Slightly savory.  But sweet.  Lightly pickled I guess.  I think they might be good tossed into a poke bowl, or perhaps on pizza (if pineapple pizza is your style).  I didn't particularly want to snack on them though, because, meh, pineapple.  **+.

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Aura Tea

Vegan.  Low-sugar.  Keto.  These are not terms normally associated with bubble tea.  No, bubble tea is known for being sugar laden, calorie heavy, really, much like many Starbucks drinks, dessert masquerading as a beverage.

Enter Aura Tea, a new tea shop in San Francisco that aims to reverse that trend, started by a founder who loved bubble tea, but found herself gaining unwanted weight.  And thus, Aura Tea was born.

Setting

Aura just opened in Rincon Center, sorta out of the way in an inner courtyard.

Signage

Aura has signage to draw you in, advertising the 0 sugar, low calorie, keto nature.  I was surprised they don't call out the fact that everything is vegan on this sign as well.

Storefront.

It is a small shop without seating, but there is abundant seating in the courtyard outside.

Drinks

How to Fuel Your Aura.

In addition to a menu with pre-made options, Aura has a guide to "fuel your Aura", walking you through how to pick the base (caffeinated or not, tea or coffee), size, milk, sweetness, and additions.

Like most bubble tea places, the first step at Aura Tea is to pick your tea base.  There are 4 options: classic black, jasmine green (for lower caffeine), butterfly tea (no caffeine), and masala chai.

From there, you can add 1-2 flavors, included with the base price ($6.95): strawberry, mango, pineapple, lemon, watermelon, and peach.  Sadly, these are just standard Torani syrups, the sugar-free ones.  Not quite what I expected, for a health focused establishment, I thought they'd make their own fruit purees.

Then, time for milk.  Since all are vegan, your options are oat, coconut, or almond milk.

Boba is included in the base price.  Only regular boba, or a keto version are available as "toppings" - no jellies, no foams, etc.  Again, they aim to stay healthy so those things are out.

Finally, if you want to add-in more, there are some boosts like ginger, CBD, turmeric and more for an additional fee.

Strawberry Jasmine Green Tea w/ Oat Milk. $6.95.

This was the co-founder's recommendation, jasmine green tea with strawberry syrup and oat milk added.

I was able to try a sample of this at a pre-opening event.

I'll be honest - you could have told me this was a rather flat Italian (cream) soda with boba in it, and I would have believed it without hesitation.  While there was jasmine tea in here, I didn't taste it at all.  There was no tea taste to this drink.

It was quite fruity and sweet, but it didn't taste like real fruit.  This is exactly what I'd expect: no fruit puree, no fruit used, just sugar free fruit syrup.  It was nearly half oat milk, which made it quite milky, and also contributed to the lack of tea taste.

So ... bubble tea?  Uh, not really in my mind.  Fruity milk that happened to have pearls in it?  Yes.  

Speaking of the pearls, they were fairly hard, and not particularly great.

So ... yeah, for sugar free fruity milk it was fine, but I'd prefer it without the pearls, and a carton of oat milk and a bottle of torani syrup could give me this at home just as easily.

Sadly, **+.

Strawberry Butterfly Tea w/ light Oat Milk. $6.95.

Since my visit was in the afternoon and I didn't want caffeine, I went for the butterfly tea, which was a lovely shade of purple.  I got strawberry flavor which created a pink hue at the base, and opted for light (oat) milk.  It really did look pretty, far better than you can tell from this photo.

This was fairly different from any other bubble tea I've ever had.  The butterfly tea base doesn't have a particular strong tea flavor to it, and the strawberry syrup was pretty sweet, making it oddly not refreshing due to the sweetness but almost refreshing due to the light tea quality, if that makes sense.  The boba seemed pretty average, nothing remarkable about them, but at least not clumped together, and the portion was good, not too many, not too few.  I expected to taste the oat a bit more pronounced, but the creaminess it added was pretty neutral.  

Overall, an absolutely fine, sweet, fruity, enjoyable drink, and slightly unique.

***.

Cold Brew with Tapioca Pearls, and Boba Jelly (konjac agar pearls).
No sweet. Oat milk.

Who says that boba is just for tea?  Or that fun espresso drinks must be loaded with sugar?  Not Aura!  I was interested to see the cold brew boba on the menu, as a way to really mix it up.  So at last minute, rather than getting my standard taro milk tea, I went for cold brew boba.

I opted for zero sweetness, and oat milk, but all the standard customizations of sweetness and alternate milks were available.  For my boba, I couldn't decide between their house sweetened tapioca pearls, or the konjac agar crystal jellies, so I went for a mix of both.  It was freshly made, and shaken in a real cocktail shaker, to order.

The oat milk was creamy and made it taste far more decadent than it was, and I loved the textures from both styles of pearls, one was more chewy, the other more bouncy.  I really enjoyed this as a change from regular tea based boba drinks, and it makes me wonder why more places don't offer coffee base.  Sure, you don't get the deep rich flavor of the coffee, but, isn't that true for nearly every Starbucks creation too?

***+.

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James Hook & Co Seafood, Boston

When visiting Boston, most people who eat seafood seek out lobster rolls at least once.  It is what you do.  And while I think lobster is fine, I don't adore it, find it pretty overrated and $$$, and honestly prefer crab most of the time anyway.  But hey, when in Rome ...

During my recent visit to Boston, I decided to actually go for the lobster.  My first night, I had what turned out to be the best lobster roll of my life, no question, from Eventide Fenway, although it was a non-traditional style (brown butter lobster, steamed bun).  It inspired me to actually get a second lobster roll on my final day in town, although this time, I decided to go traditional style, and chilled with mayo.

Of course, I had *many* choices of where to get said classic lobster roll.  And if you ask locals, or consult the guides, they'll easily list off 15 or so very highly regarded places.  Picking one was a bit difficult, but I finally settled on James Hook & Co, known for their ridiculously fresh lobster rolls, among other things.  They did win the "Best of Boston" award for their version in 2020.

I was also drawn to James Hook because it is a no frills sort of place.  I walked by once a few years ago to scope it out.  It is not a fancy seafood restaurant.  It is a fresh lobster shack, open only during the day, not dinner, and is a casual setting.  Picnic tables outside.  That sort of place.  The menu does have other things, but, the menu isn't extensive, and lobster rolls are the highlights for most.

Lobster rolls at James Hook are available in two sizes (regular or large), hot with butter, or cold with mayo.  The cheapest option is the regular with mayo at $27.99.  The hot with butter version is strangely $7 more, $34.99.  Some other places charge $1-2 more for butter, but $7 seemed excessive ... Strange also, the large with mayo is $7 more than the regular with mayo, while the large with butter is only $4 more.  Odd pricing for sure.  Anyway, prices were about what I'd expect, market rate for quality lobster, and lower than higher end fine dining offerings.

I ordered for delivery on DoorDash, which was quite easy, and my order arrived quickly.

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 ]

I was glad to try James Hook finally, but the lobster roll didn't turn out to be the star for me.  That said, I absolutely plan to order from them again in the future, to get more of the insanely perfect clam chowder, and likely try other items, like the crab cakes.

12 Ounce Clam Chowder. $9.99

"This award winning, two-time Boston Chowder Fest champion New England Clam Chowder is as good as it gets. A perfect blend of tender sweet whole clams, clam broth, cream, natural cut potatoes and roux that make this chowder an all time New England favorite."

People RAVE about the chowder at James Hook.  Seriously, rave.  But people rave about a lot of clam chowder, and I do like clam chowder, but generally I find it good, even great, but not something I can't stop talking about.  And then I had this.

Ok, it truly is the best clam chowder I've ever had.  It takes rich and creamy to entirely new level.  It is thick.  It is creamy.  It tastes like quality cream.  It is truly loaded with clam, and hunks of potato.  Reasonably well seasoned (although I added more pepper).  Fantastic chowder, really.  Best I've ever had.  ****+.

They lose half a star for just serving it with generic oyster crackers, rather than a nice crusty housemade roll (Legal Seafood still has my favorite rolls for chowder, even if the rest of their food is kinda mediocre) or even housemade crackers.  

The cup, 12 ounces, was plenty given the richness, and given the quality, the $9.99 price was fine.  I could also opt for the 16 ounce for $14.99 or 32 ounces for $29.99.

Regular Lobster Roll with Mayo. $27.99.

"This is a classic… a hot dog bun filled with fresh lobster meat and dressed in nothing more than mayo."

I was amazed when I opened up my lobster roll.  Wow, there was a TON of lobster in here.  And this was the "regular", not large, roll!  Compared to my lobster roll from Eventide a few days prior this was ... 4-6x? the amount of lobster probably.  So much lobster.  And such huge chunks.  Many huge tail chunks.  Incredible.

The lobster was nicely cooked, not chewy, not rubbery, no bits of shell, etc.  It was dressed with a fair amount of mayo, and not really any seasoning, but, a classic lobster roll it was.  Good quality, but not exciting or novel.  I did wish for a lemon to squeeze on top, or perhaps a bit of chives or something.  I know not traditional, but even some bits of celery for crunch I'd kinda want.

The bun was a simple hot dog bun, I think maybe very, very lightly toasted, but not much to speak of.  I don't think it was buttered or anything (which I appreciated).  It didn't seem special in any way, it wasn't stale, but it didn't taste very fresh, fluffy, or special either, and wasn't anything slightly fancy like brioche.  Just a bun.

Overall, this was very simple, and very classic.  It was good, well prepared, but didn't really blow me away.  I wanted a fancier roll really ... brioche bun, herbs or seasoning, that kind of thing.  But I can't fault them for generous quantity of lobster, clearly fresh lobster, and good execution on a simple version.  ***+.  If you went with someone else, and each got a chowder, you could easily split this with someone given how much lobster it had.

The large size is $7 more, and comes in a hoagie roll instead of hot dog bun.  I can't even imagine how much lobster is packed into that.

Whoopie Pie. $3.99.

"A layer of sweet frosting filling stuffed between two fluffy cakes."

Of course, I got dessert too.  As classic New England as the lobster roll, the whoopie pie.

I was a bit let down to discover that James Hook doesn't make their own whoopie pies.  The whoopie pies were packaged, from Boston Baking, so at least a local company.  The company also makes red velvet,  vanilla, and chocolate chip versions, but James Hook only carries the classic chocolate one.  As a packaged product, this also meant the nutrition facts were front a center, and, gulp, yes, 670 calories each!

These aren't particularly wholesome products, fairly mass produced, designed to freeze and thaw and serve, and loaded with all sorts of odd sounding ingredients like hydrogenated oils of all kinds, TBHQ (!?), "propylene glycol monostearate", and many more bioengineered food ingredients I've never heard of.

How was it?  Eh.

The cake was not particularly moist, and didn't have a deep chocolate flavor.  Truly not much better than a packaged Devil Dog.  Meh.

The filling was sweet, and a nice consistency.  Not too cloying (whoopie pie filling *should* be slightly cloying, it is part of the experience, this is no cupcake buttercream inside!).  I liked the filling more than the cake.

Overall, this was highly average, not particularly better than a packaged Hostess, Little Debbie, or Drake's cake.  **+.

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Delta First Class, BOS - SFO

I've only flown with Delta airlines a few times, all in the past two years.  The first time is when they introduced a brand new aircraft, the A321Neo, and just happened to be flying it on the route I take to visit my family, San Francisco to Boston.  Prices were dramatically better than my usual JetBlue, so, I tried it.  I wasn't particularly impressed, as you may have read about then.  It just doesn't compare to the experience of having a suite with a door on JetBlue.  I also picked Delta last year for a shorter flight, from Salt Lake City to Orlando, and it was fine, average domestic shorter haul flight, and a much shorter flight, Seattle to San Francisco a few weeks ago, that had no meal service, and thus, no blog post.  All 3 of those flights were fairly delayed, and overall not amazing experiences, so I wasn't planning to pick Delta again ...

But, during my annual summertime visit to see my family this year, the prices were again much better than JetBlue, the flight times were better, so, even if I didn't love Delta, I assumed it would be better than the other similarly timed and priced options with United or Alaska.  And thus, back on the A321Neo it was, this time, the reverse route, from BOS to SFO.

I've reviewed the aircraft before, so I'll skip that part this time, the only difference from my previous flight is that we were given tiny pillows and blankets (waiting on our seat), whereas I didn't have those the summer before.  But, no amenity kit this time.  Not sure if these were intentional changes, or just random.  I was glad to have the light blanket given that it got pretty cold/drafty once underway.

Flight Details

Aircraft: A321Neo

Flight: DL 475

Departure: BOS, 5:05pm (scheduled) 5:27pm (actual)

Arrival: SFO, 8:52pm (scheduled) 8:46pm (actual)

Seat: 03C

We started boarding at the specified time on the dot. I was impressed.  Slight delay pushing back from the gate due to trouble shutting one of the doors, but otherwise, reasonable departure.  Friendly enough crew, some turbulence, but, we were warned about it.  Arrived on time.  Baggage took >20 minutes, but Delta honored their 20 min guarantee, and rewarded me with points for being slow.  Overall, a decent enough flight in terms of logistics.

Drinks

In addition to a few beers, hard seltzer, and usual basic spirits, Delta offers wine and a couple cocktails, which is where I focused my attention.

Wines

• La Fête Du Rosé
• Imagery® Cabernet Sauvignon
• Imagery® Chardonnay
• Une Femme ‘The Betty’ Sparkling Wine
  

Cocktails

• Filthy® Bloody Mary
• Tip Top™ Old Fashioned Cocktail
• Tip Top™ Espresso Martini

Orders for drinks were taken before takeoff at the same time as our meal orders.  No PDB, although there was a small bottle of water waiting at our seats.   Drinks were brought to us fairly soon once underway.

Sparkling Water, Red Wine.

I started with sparkling water (no ice) and the "red wine", which I think was the Imagery Cabernet Sauvignon I saw listed online and I've had before.   I was given a VERY generous pour.

The wine was about as I remembered.  Fine for a airline wine, but not special.  It had a very ... I don't know, rounded taste to it?  Not acidic, not tannic, but a lot going on in a strange way.  Fine, but not something I'd actually seek out.  ***.

The sparkling water was Fever Tree club soda. Lightly sparkling, I do prefer more carbonation.  ***.

Tip Top Old Fashioned.

I moved on to a cocktail later, an old fashioned, not made by the FAs, but, by Tip Top.  It is a canned product, but they pour over ice and serve attractively.  I've had this before, and enjoyed it again, nicely boozy, nicely balanced.  ****.

Dinner

The meal served is dinner.  There was no printed menu, and no pre-order (which is true for all flights with the A321Neo).  This route gets Delta One catering, even though not actually a Delta One route, which no one seems to quite understand why, but, I won't complain.  If you are curious, the difference is that it includes bread and butter alongside the starter salad, unlike most domestic First that don't include bread, and the dessert is slightly upgraded (not cookie/brownie, but still not ice cream/gelato like the competition serves).  There were 3 entree choices, one vegetarian, one chilled. I learned that they always have one chilled, and fewer hot dishes than passengers, because they don't have enough oven space to heat a meal for each first class guest (!!!).  This is why no pre-order is available.  Seems like, um, poor design choices were made.

There were no printed menus.  The flight attendant described the options as "chicken, salad with roast beef, or homemade pasta", no further details, so I was glad I had found the true descriptions online in advance.  She also hadn't seen them before, so when I asked questions about one, she had no idea.

The menu was as follows: 

SALAD: Grilled Vegetable and Mozzarella Salad

"Arugula, toasted pine nuts, balsamic vinaigrette."

BREAD: Sourdough Roll

"Banner Butter."

MAIN COURSE: Please select one of the options below.

• Roast Beef Salad: green beans, tomatoes, black olives, hardboiled egg, potatoes, creamy Dijon dressing. Served with fresh fruit.
• Cajun Spiced Chicken Breast: sweet corn jalapeno gratin, zucchini, sea salt red peppers.
• Homemade Ricotta Cappellacci Pasta: asparagus, morel mushroom sauce (vegetarian).

DESSERT: White Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Orders were taken before we took off.  I was in row 3, and so I got my choice (the pasta), but they ran out of the pasta in my row, and the chicken in the next.  Row 1 and one side of row 2 had only the salad as an option.  This is standard, as I mentioned, they can't actually heat a meal for everyone.  Pick your seat accordingly, depending on the direction you are flying.

Dinner.

Meals were delivered from to back, even though orders were taken back to front.  Meal service was quite fast, with the first row eating within 25 minutes of takeoff.  I was impressed with the efficiency of our crew.  Everything arrived on one tray at once, including dessert.  No nuts or starter.  Salt & pepper packet rather than shakers.

The meal looked good at first glance, and people talk about how good the Do & Co catering is out of Boston, but, it really did let me down.

Bread & Butter.

"Banner Butter."

The bread was not served warm, but at least it didn't seem to be sourdough as I had expected (per the Delta One published menu online).  It had a nice shine to it, and was fluffy, but didn't taste particularly fresh.  Pretty much standard quality airline quality bread, that I only had about half of before discarding it.  It was useful to slather with cream sauce from the ravioli, but otherwise, it wasn't actually good.  **+.

The butter was nice quality Banner butter though.  

Grilled Vegetable and Mozzarella Salad.

"Arugula, toasted pine nuts, balsamic vinaigrette."

I had decent hopes for the side salad, with grilled vegetables, as others really do praise the Do & Co catering out of Boston.  The "salad" had a few stray leaves of arugula that were fine but really only ... 4? in the whole dish, two slices of zucchini, one slice of summer squash, and one of eggplant, all "grilled", mushy, and not tasty, plus two forms of tomato: one slice, and a few halves of grape tomato, all of which were mealy and definitely not good, and then some tiny bits of olive and pine nuts.  It seemed really random, with some cohesion at first glance with the grilled veggies and mozzarella, except the olives made no sense, nor did the two different forms of tomato.  I appreciated that the dressing was on the side, as I don't tend to like vinaigrettes.  

I really didn't like this, no matter how much I tried.  I wanted to use the roast veggies in my pasta, but, they just really weren't good.  The mozzarella was not particularly ripe, and not really wanted given all the cheese and richness in my pasta dish, but perhaps was more welcome with the chicken entree (the salad entree didn't include this salad, it had fruit salad instead)?

Pretty disappointing.  *.

Homemade Ricotta Cappellacci Pasta.

"Asparagus, morel mushroom sauce."

For my entree, I went for the pasta.  It was a fairly easy choice, as I had read a few good reviews of it, plus, I really like asparagus and morels.  I don't like chicken, so that was essentially out, although I almost ordered it just for the sides, a tasty looking potato gratin with corn and other veggies, and almost went for the roast beef salad, just as a "safe" option.

I had to laugh at the "homemade" tacked on to the description ... what does that imply about the other 2 choices?  And, at some level, what does "homemade" even mean given that this is mass produced catering ...

The portion was quite generous, with 7 large stuffed patties ("cappellacci").  It actually looked good at first glance, with the asparagus spears nicely lined up, and the bits of morel.   The asparagus was actually quite good, and I did like the morels on top.  But the rest, um, well, not as successful.  Asparagus and morels: ****.

The pasta itself I didn't care for.  It was reasonably well cooked, not too mushy, although not al dente, not dried out, and was decently stuffed with ricotta, but, it was just generic ricotta ravioli basically, just, a bit fancier looking with a different shape and crimped edges.  It wasn't seasoned at all, the filling very bland, and the pasta had no flavor to it.  Cappellacci: **.

Broken Sauce.

The real issue I had with the dish however was the sauce.  It was entirely broken.  The very top looked ok, but, once I dug in, I basically had a pool of butter, and a pool of grainy mushroom sauce.  It wasn't appealing, and the part that was just the broken butter really didn't taste good.  I tried to mix it back up, but, a broken sauce is a broken sauce.  I think the mushroom cream sauce could have been pretty good, and did use some bread to soak up the parts that were less broken, but, it was basically an oily, rich mess.  Potential, but, not properly prepared. **.

White Chocolate Raspberry Tart.

Dessert was definitely the highlight.  It didn't look particularly special, and I didn't think it was really a "tart" as described, but, it was a decent white chocolate mousse, sweet but not cloying, slight complexity to the mousse, nice creamy texture.  It had a very thin compressed base, and raspberry gel inside, like the dot of raspberry sauce on the side.

As they served it, ***+, and enjoyable enough.

Dessert: Upgraded.

But of course I had to embellish it a bit, and came prepared with my own fresh raspberries and strawberries, and rainbow sprinkles.  I was pretty pleased with myself, and quite enjoyed my final creation.  Sweet, creamy, fruity, fresh ... what's not to like?  **** as I had it.

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Wellsley Farms

"BJ's" is a common noun around my parent's house these days.  A regular on the weekend agenda.  "Gotta leave time on Sunday for BJ's!", mom will say with no touch of irony in her voice.  "Dad and I are doing date night at Panera, and then BJ's!", she'll say with glee, as I stifle my lols.  "Gotta make it hasty with BJ's".  It goes on and on, and I giggle like a silly school girl, but, BJ's is a big deal for them.  That is because she's referring of course to BJ's, the wholesale store.  It was a major thing when the town got a BJ's, as previously, folks had to drive about 1.5 hours to the nearest similar establishment (Sam's Club).  This all happened long after I moved out, so I didn't grow up with BJ's products.

In case you are wondering, BJ's refers to the initials of Beverly Jean Weich, the daughter of Mervyn Weich, the company's original president.  In addition to distributing lots of brand name bulk products, BJ's has two private label brands, Berkley-Jensen and Wellsley Farms.  Wellsely Farms is the upscale line.  And strangely, the B and J in Berkley-Jensen have nothing to do with the B and J in the store name.

Anyway, in my time visiting my parents, we sometimes wind up with goodies from BJ's, so I've tried a few assorted product categories over time, from their house brands.

Deli Salads

BJ's carries a range of basic deli salads, not scooped to order like a regular grocery store deli, but, prepackaged.  My mom always makes her own deli salads, so we don't usually get to try these.

Wellsley Farms Macaroni Salad.

One day I was really craving macaroni salad, and I was a captive audience stuck wandering around while we just "popped in for a few quick things".  And thus, a giant thing of BJ's Wellsley Farms brand macaroni salad wound up in the cart.

It was totally classic store bought macaroni salad.  Like you get at basically any deli.  I kinda think it is all made by some manufacturer somewhere and just resold at grocery store delis nationwide.  Base of elbow pasta, cooked decently, not too soft, but not quite as al dente as I'd make it.  Little cubes of red and green peppers.  Lots of creamy mayo sauce, deep inside the noodles that squirts out as you bite in, that brings me childlike glee.

It seems pretty reliable, awful for you, and is somehow loaded with enough preservatives that the expiration date was a month out from when we purchased it, mayo forward and all.  I liked it, in a classic way, but, I don't feel particularly compelled to get more of it. ***.

Ice Cream

Mini Ice Cream Variety Pack.

One day when I visited BJs, the sample station had ice cream.  I was rather thrilled, even though it was 11am, and I felt a *tiny* bit guilty going for an ice cream at that time.

The station featured the mini ice cream variety pack, with 3 choices (sandwiches, almond bars, or cones), all mini, portion-controlled, sizes.  As the server said, "in a sandwich, on a stick, or in a cone.  Something for everyone."

Mini Sandwich:

"Vanilla ice cream between two wafer cookies."

My mom went for the mini sandwich, and offered me a bite.  I'm not one for ice cream sandwiches, but, who am I to turn down a bite of ice cream?

It was exactly as I expected, just generic vanilla ice cream, inside two wafer cookies.   The wafers weren't traditional though, not chocolate, instead, blond.  Even more boring than chocolate.  The texture though was exactly like a normal ice cream sandwich.  Not for me, but fine I guess.  **+.

Mini Cone:

"Wafer cone filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with low-fat cocoa and hazelnuts."

I opted for the mini cone (ruling out the stick option, ice cream coated with chocolate and almonds).

It was adorable, really.  I do appreciate that they make things in sizes like this, although I question if one could really satisfy.

The ice cream was again fairly generic ice cream, not much vanilla flavor, but it was creamy and melted perfectly.  I liked the chocolate and nuts on top.  I give them credit for using hazelnuts instead of peanuts.  The cone was a standard sugar cone, lined with chocolate, plenty in the tip, no seepage.

Overall, very generic, but good enough, and a very cute size. ***+.

Snack Foods

Of course, you know me, and my love of snacks.  Of course I've tried some from BJ's, usually found near the produce section, in clear containers to draw you in.  None were particularly good, and even though they look like the same selections you'd find in any grocery store, I found them slightly worse in taste and quality.

Tavern Blend.

"A blend of honey roasted sesame sticks, butter toffee peanuts, salted peanuts, pretzels, corn chips, and cajun style corn sticks."

My mom picked this one and had it at home as a surprise for me.  There is a little something for everyone in this mix, sweet and salty, crunchy, assorted textures and sizes, but, it isn't one I would have picked myself.  Half the elements are things I don't really care for (corn chips, pretzels, plain salted peanuts).  

Nothing in it was particularly notable.  Overall, it was all fine, but boring, and not my favorite items.  Reviews of each component follow.

Pretzels, Corn Chips.

The pretzel sticks were just that, pretzel sticks, nothing something I ever go for.  **+.

The corn chips were basically just small chunks of regular corn tortilla chips.  I don't really care for tortilla chips.  **+.

Honey Roasted Sesame Sticks, Cajun Style Corn Sticks.

The honey roasted sesame sticks were the item I was most looking forward to, as I do love these sometimes.  These however just weren't great, not much sesame flavor.  Still, one of the better components.  ***.

Same with the cajun style corn sticks, not much of that promised cajun flavor. **+.

Salted Peanuts, Butter Toffee Peanuts.

Plain salted peanuts were as expected. ***.

Finally, the butter toffee peanuts.  Those were ok, well coated, with a crunchy shell, very sweet.  I liked those enough, my favorite of the mix.  ***.

Overall, **+ for my preferences, probably *** for most people.

Veggie Crunch Mix.

"An assortment of crunchy sweet potatoes, squash, carrot, taro, and green beans." 

I'm obsessed with veggie chips.  There are many different brands of this exact assortment of ingredients, sold at every grocery store in town, and I've long suspected that they are all produced by the same company somewhere, and just have different labels slapped on.

So when I saw this mix at BJ's, I gladly grabbed a box, a bigger size than the version I get at the other local grocery stores (Creative Snack Co, which I've reviewed before), and, cheaper.

Except ... I didn't like most of the items in it.  I always have different favorites depending on my mood, but, in general, I like these mixes a lot.  And this time ... not so much.  Specific reviews follow.

Carrot, Taro, Green Bean, Squash, Yellow Sweet Potato, Purple Sweet Potato.

The carrots were not very good.  I didn't dislike them, but I certainly didn't like them as much as I normally do, and they didn't have much flavor.  They were oily.  Carrots are usually my 2nd or 3rd pick, and I often get boxes of just carrots because I like them so much, and these I didn't really want.  **.

The taro I *really* didn't like, and it was always my favorite before.  I was pretty sad about this, but, it just had no flavor whatsoever.  The crunch was still good, but, these offered nothing taste-wise.  **+.

Green beans were the only item with flavor, and, like the carrots, ones I normally opt to just get entire buckets of.  They were crispy, flavorful, and good, except that they too were more oily than they should be. **+.

The squash and both types of potato were awful though.  Really oily, and again, no flavor.  *.

These were basically the sort of veggie chips that give veggie chips a bad name!  This mix really let me down, ** overall.

Plantain Chips.

"Whether you love plantains or you're looking for something new to snack on, try Wellsley Farms 11 Oz. Plantain Chips. Made with palm oil and salt, the chips have that satisfyingly crispy texture and salty taste you know and love, but in a healthier form."

These were pretty decent plantain chips.  Good crunch, nicely starchy, good plantain flavor, nice salt level.

I enjoyed these, and would gladly eat more.  ***+.

Signature Oriental Mix.

 "A spicy blend of rice crackers, roasted salted peanuts, sesame sticks, honey roasted peanuts, wasabi chili crescents, roasted salted almonds, roasted salted cashews, and chili crackers."

Next up, another fairly lackluster snack mix.

The rice crackers, salted peanuts, salted almonds, and salted cashews were exactly as expected, pretty standard, and, in my opinion, just, boring.  ***.

The sesame sticks and honey roasted peanuts were both slightly sweet, but much like the versions in the other mixes, just not particularly flavorful. ***.

The "wasabi chili crescents" were the most exciting sounding item, but, I didn't really pick up on much wasabi to them.  I thought they were just the regular rice crackers.  ***.

I'm not sure which were supposed to be chili crackers, as, well I didn't find any that were particularly spicy.

So, overall, another mix that just wasn't anything special.  Fine, but not great.  ***.

Baked Goods

And then, even though my mom turns her nose up at them, I had to try a few baked goods.  Turns out, in these cases at least, I should have listened to mom.  None of these were good.

Coffee Cake Cheese Bites. $7.99 / 32.

"Wellsley Farms Coffee Cake Cheese Bites are moist bite-sized cakes with cream cheese filling and cinnamon streusel topping that the whole family can enjoy. With their delicious combination of cream cheese and cinnamon, these tasty treats are a an ideal choice for breakfast, coffee hour or snack time."

These little bites sounded, and looked, pretty good.  While coffee cake is kinda boring on its own, these had plenty of streusel on top, and a little puddle of cream cheese.  I liked the two-bite form factor, perfect for just popping one or two for a quick little snack.

The flavor however really feel flat, not really as much cinnamon as I'd like, and the texture was fairly dry.  The streusel didn't really save them, again, not much flavor.  And the cream cheese centers didn't really add any creaminess.  Meh.

*+.

Mini Chocolate Whoopie Pies. $8.49/20.

My dad loves whoopie pies.  He loves packaged snack cakes like Ding Dongs, Devil Dogs, and the like.  So when I found these at BJ's, they seemed like the perfect thing for him.  Individual mini whoopie pies that he could pack in his lunches to work?  Perfect!

And when I saw the frosting oozing out ... I had to try them too.

Um ... yeah.  I'm not sure why I tried really.  I mean, I have memories of loving my great aunt's homemade whoopie pies as a kid, but I've never liked packaged snack cakes.  Why would this be any different?  And really, it wasn't any different.  A Devil Dog, but, small and round.  Dry, very processed, not really chocolately cake, and very sweet frosting.  The frosting I did kinda like once I extracted it, but only in that sweet overload cloying sense, not because it was good frosting.

So overall, yeah, not a whoopie pie, just another generic very processed snack cake.

**.

Raspberry Flavored Cream Cheese Cake. $18.99.

"Wellsley Farms raspberry flavored cream cheese cake is a delectable treat and always baked to perfection with fresh raspberries."

I thought this was, um, a cheesecake.  A raspberry flavored cheese cake, per its name.  It is not.  It is actually a 3 layer white cake (!), with raspberry cream between the layers, and white frosting on the outside.  I thought that frosting would be cream cheese flavored (sure didn't seem to be) and I thought it was garnished with slivered almonds (it really looked like it!), but actually, the garnish around the outside was torn cake bits (!) and white chocolate. Um, ok.

So, resetting my expectations, I did not have a cheesecake, I just had a layer cake.  Ok, I can go with that.

But ... it wasn't even a good cake.  The cake was plain and rather dry, the pink frosting between the layers of cake didn't taste particularly fruity (where exactly was all this "fresh raspberries"?  They weren't a garnish, and I guess they are what made the frosting pink?), and neither the pink nor white frosting on the exterior tasted like cream cheese.  The frosting was cloying sweet.

So, virtually no raspberry component, no cream cheese taste ... and yet, it is a "raspberry flavored cream cheese cake"?  I feel duped.

The only positive thing I have to say about this is that it looked good.

It is a huge cake, claiming 24 servings, and clocks in at 8000 calories for the cake, which again, led me to believe it was an actual cheese cake!

*.

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