Made Good

Update Review, November 2023

Back when I first tried Made Good products, I think they only made the granola minis that I tried (and maybe standard granola bars too?).  Now they offer a variety of other items, such as cookies, crackers, soft baked breakfast oat bars, and "crispy squares"

Granola Bars

"Everything you love about a good granola bar and more. Chewy and flavorful, loads of great taste combinations, perfect for breakfast, lunch, or a quick snack. Plus there are nutrients from vegetable extracts in every bar, but they are perfectly concealed by all the amazing ingredients. So your kids will never know."

I'd only ever tried the granola minis before, which frankly are a more interesting product to me than granola bars, but when I saw a birthday cake flavored granola bar, I couldn't resist trying.  Granola bars come in a few other flavors as well: including some standard bars (chocolate banana, cookies & creme), and some drizzled with chocolate (cookie crumble, vanilla, or the aforementioned birthday cake).

Chocolate Drizzled Birthday Cake.

"What’s this? A MadeGood Granola Bar drizzled and dipped in chocolate, that’s what. Vegan, organic, and free from the most common allergens including dairy. It’s as rich and decadent as it looks. Tastes like the best of a birthday cake, and still, there’s a serving of veggies perfectly baked inside. Make a wish!"

Well ... this was sweet.  Which, yes, is to be expected.  But it was really really sweet.  I certainly did not taste any of the vegetables hiding within (spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, beets, mushrooms, sweet potatoes).  It tasted like any other granola bar.  Chewy style, bound by sweet goo.  Add in additional sweet due to the additional sprinkles and chocolate drizzle.  Chocolate also coated the entire backside.  The chocolate wasn't particularly good.

Very meh for me, but, if you have kids who like granola bars, I'm sure this would be a winner.  **+.

Original Review, April 2016

Granola.  Not my favorite thing, and one I am rather particular about.  I've certainly tried my share of granola, generally in cereal form or bar form, but, it has never been my "go to" snack.  For cereal form, I want the right style of clumps, the right kind of mix-ins.  For bars, I want the right kind of chewy/crispy balance.  I'm rarely satisfied on the granola front, although sometimes I do enjoy a greek yogurt, fruit, and granola parfait, particularly if I make it with Worthy Granola (still my favorite!).

But, when I was visiting another office, I saw an interesting form of granola in the micro kitchens: granola "minis" by Made Good.  They looked like little bite size nibbles.  Since I'm such a snacker, this form appealed to me.

Of course, the market being what it is these days, they boast all the standard claims: non-GMO, whole grains, low sugar, dairy-free, nut-free, organic, gluten-free, etc.  They add in an extra goodie: they contain a full serving of vegetables.  Yes, vegetables in your granola.  Just go with it for now.

In addition to the minis, Made Good makes regular granola bars. The bars come in four varieties (chocolate chip, mixed berry, chocolate banana, and apple cinnamon).  The bites also come in four varieties, randomly replacing mixed berry with strawberry, but the others are all the same.

I tried two varieties, and, they weren't bad.  I don't want more of them, but, they were certainly interesting to try.  The aforementioned vegetables come in the form of a vegetable powder added to all varieties, containing spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, beets, and shiitake mushrooms.  You can detect it, but, it is subtle, and I'm sure it helps trick some children into eating their vegetables, which I'm sure is some of the appeal.

Strawberry Granola Minis.

"Sweet juicy strawberries and gluten free oats. These granola minis taste like strawberry season all year."

Given the variety, I was a bit surprised to find dried apples and apricots in addition to the strawberry bits.  The base also contained oats and other standard granola fillers (sugar, agave, oil, brown rice, tapioca flour), and then of course, the vegetable powder.

They were ... fine.  I loved the idea of mini, munchable granola bites, since I love snacking on granola, but, for some reason, I didn't love these.  Lots of fruity flavor from the bits of dried fruit, but, they were a softer style overall, not as crispy as I like my granola.

Overall, fine, but, just not quite what I was after.  I sorta wanted to put them on ice cream or something as a crumble top.

Strawberry Granola Minis.

I tried these again years later to see if I, or the product, had changed.

I again thought they were fine.  Just fine.  The bits of dried fruit were nice chew, I didn't taste strangeness from the veggie in there, but, they were again just a bit too soft.

A concept I like though, I like snackable granola, and always go for the chunks in my regular granola.

Chocolate Banana Minis.

"Rich dark chocolate and ripe bananas. These granola minis taste just like dessert and contain the nutrients found in one  full serving of vegetables."

Next I tried the chocolate banana flavor.  The base was standard oats, sugar, oil, crisp brown rice, tapioca flour, and agave, this time with banana and chocolate chips mixed in.  I was much happier with this selection.  They were crunchier, and tasted like chocolate chip banana bread, just in crunchy granola form.  There was a slightly strange chew to them though, that I couldn't quite place.  It seemed like there was dried fruit in them, but there wasn't.  They weren't crispy or chewy, just, somewhere in-between.

There was also a slight strange flavor, sorta like when you have some kind of quickbread and find out someone snuck zucchini in it.  This no doubt came from the vegetable powder (spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, beets, shiitake mushroom).  It wasn't bad, and it was very subtle, but, slightly detectable.

Jack & Remi Ice Cream

San Francisco has no shortage of well regarded ice cream shops, such as Mitchell's (my top pick for hard ice cream in SF), or mainstay Bi-Rite, or Humpry Slocombe for more interesting flavors.  And then of course there is Smitten (no longer made to order liquid nitrogen style though), we have a Salt & Straw now, and Polly Ann for excellent flavors (that I'd definitely get more frequently if anywhere near me).  I still mourn the loss of Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous.  So we have plenty of ice cream.  And now we have more: Jack & Remi.

"“The Dessert Course” in a pint"

Jack & Remi was started by Michelin Starred Pastry Chef, Serena Chow Fisher, to elevate ice cream a bit.  As someone who eats ice cream daily, I of course had to try it out.

They have 4 signature flavors to start: all more interesting sounding than the next: Strawberry SZN, 4xChocolate, Shiso Mint Chip, and Sourdough Toast & Jam.  The shiso mint chip in particular sounds unique, and like a wonderful refreshing combo.

I attended a pre-public launch event with only two of the flavors, and sadly for me, the two I was least interested in.  Still, I was glad to try both, and can't wait to try the shiso mint chip sometime.  They'll be adding new flavors regularly.

Strawberry SZM.

"This softly sweet ice cream is filled with pieces of fresh macerated strawberries, and mixed with a white chocolate strawberry cookie crumble that’s unforgettable."

"Let every season be strawberry season with Jack & Remi's sweet strawberry base, brimming with macerated strawberries and white chocolate cookie crumble. A delectable delight for your taste buds."

I'm not generally one for strawberry ice cream, but this was good (for strawberry ice cream).  Very fresh fruit flavors, big hunks of fruit in it.  I wished for more of the cookie crumble, as that sounded great.

Creamy, clearly high fat, premium ice cream base.

***, as strawberry isn't my thing for ice cream, but, I can't fault it, just, personal preference.

4x Chocolate.

"Valrhona milk chocolate ice cream overflowing with homemade Devil’s Food Cake, dark chocolate curls and a gooey fudge ripple."

"Dive into indulgence with Jack & Remi's Valrhona milk chocolate base, filled with decadent Devil’s Food cake, dark chocolate curls, and a gooey fudge ripple. A chocolate lover's dreams come true."

4x the chocolate indeed!  This was a wonderfully decadent chocolate creation.  Very deep chocolate flavor in the base ice cream, nice hunks of moist and even deeper chocolate Devil's food cake, and darker still fudge ripple.  Great chocolate forward ice cream, with all the mix-ins you need already added.

For the curious, it uses Valrhona Caraibe Chocolate 66%.

***+.

Metropolitan Amtrak Lounge, NYC

Did you know that train station have lounges, much like airports?  I had no idea.  Granted, I know basically nothing about train travel, as I grew up in a state without trains (literally, no more tracks, the government converted them all to trails), and I've literally taken a train only once before.  I was pretty excited to take the train (Acela) from New York to Washington, DC.  

The first stop on my journey was the relatively newly opened Metropolitan Lounge.  Signage to find the lounge was easy, which I appreciated as a first time station visitor, and one with too much luggage to wander around much.  My visit was from 11:30am-1pm on a Sunday afternoon.

The Space

The lounge is located up a level from the main concourse.  Elevators or escalators can be used to reach it.

TV Zone.

Right off the entry area is a TV zone.  It was empty the entire time I was there.

Main Seating.

The main seating area is made up of quasi comfortable soft chairs, with plentiful side tables around.  The table lamps all also served as power outlet locations.  It was fairly well lit, and more than big enough for the relatively few people in the lounge during my visit.

There is an additional balcony seating area that overlooks the hustle and bustle below.

Side Area, Bar.

Screens are located throughout displaying train status, and announcements are made for pre-boarding.

There is a complementary food and basic drink station, and a paid bar off to the side.

The Food & Drink

1-2 staff members worked the food and drink area while I was there.  They took individual orders, brought them to tables, and did some bussing around the room.

Covid.

Very little in the complimentary area is self service, with signs saying that it due to Covid, which seems a bit of a cop out at this point, as many places have moved back to self serve buffets.

Pastries.

Since I arrived just before lunch, I was able to see the pastry lineup, right as it got swapped out.  They had bagels (which they toasted for you), muffins (including a gluten-free choice), and breakfast sandwiches.

More pastries.

They also had croissants and scones.  They offered to heat up the pastries.

None looked particularly good, a generic cafe or coffee shop likely has better.

Salads, Oats, Fruit.

Next up, the chilled offerings.  This area had overnight oats and fruit bowls during breakfast, and a mixed greens salad with strawberries, walnuts, and blue cheese at lunch.

Popcorn, Pretzels, Chips.

The one self serve food item is Hal's of New York popcorn (kettle or salty), pretzels, and chips.  As an avid popcorn fan, I was very pleased to be able to help myself to this.

Coffee.

Coffee (Le Colombe) was also self-serve, with regular or decaf, and a variety of flavor syrups. I tried the decaf and it was truly awful, very acidic, very old tasting, concentrated.

Ice Tea, Cold Brew.

Ice tea, spa water, and cold brew were also available.  I stuck to the spa water.

Wine and Beer list.

If you wanted to purchase it, a small selection of beer, wine, and cider was on offer.

Mixed Berry Scone.

The pastries all looked fairly lackluster.  Lower end coffee shop quality.  But I couldn't resist trying one anyway, and went for the scone, thinking it might make for a nice snack later, or perhaps breakfast the next day.  I do love my baked goods.

It was about as it looked.  No real interesting flavor to the base (no buttermilk tang, etc).  Decently crumbly, not too dry.  It wasn't stale.  Studded with little tiny bits of berries.

I found it pretty boring, but it was much better warmed up, topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream, and turned into a shortcake.  ***.

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats.

Delayed, and bored, I decided to try another item a while later.  The overnight oats, which I was told was a seasonal apple cinnamon variety.  I do sometimes really like overnight oats, and the staff member said they were pretty good.  Plus, it was the end of October, and I was really feeling the seasonal vibes of apple cinnamon.

The oats even looked pretty good, remarkably creamy.  But ... wow, they were NOT good at all. Very gloopy.  Mushy, as expected, but in a not appealing way.  No detectable apple cinnamon flavor.  I certainly didn't find any bits of apple.  I couldn't tell if the base was yogurt, some kind of milk, or what.  No real flavor besides some basic oat flavor.  

The sliced almonds were a nice crunchy element, and meh to the dried cranberries.  I didn't enjoy this at all, gave it a second chance, but truly wanted to spit it out.  Not good. *.