Torres Foie Gras Chips

OMG, OMG, OMG.

Ok, now that I've got my excitement out, let's dive into this review.  

Chips.  Something I grew up eating very regularly alongside lunch and always at parties with dips.  And then something I kinda just forgot about for years in my early adulthood.  In grad school, chips would have been a splurge I couldn't really afford, and then once working somewhere with cafes serving fantastic meals, I just never really found a spot or reason for chips in my life.

And then the pandemic happened, and I rediscovered chips anew.  I now eat them daily with my lunches, and find it crazy that I stopped entirely for so many years, but hey, I'm back on the chip wagon, and frequently seek out new brands and flavors.  Which lead me to discover Torres chips.

"Imported from Spain, Torres Potato Chips are light and crispy with bold flavors. Fried in high-quality Spanish oil, the taste is unparalleled. Torres chips are the perfect snack for those with food sensitivities, as all flavors are free of gluten, traces of peanuts and other nuts, lactose, or egg products."

The brand comes from Spain, and I haven't seem them in many places in the US.  I don't know much about the company, besides that it started in 1969 making chips, and has expanded to other snacks.  And that they make some pretty amazing flavors.  Like, um, foie gras chips.  Yes, foie gras chips.  Other flavors in their lineup include black truffle, caviar, Iberian ham, sparkling wine, cured cheese, fried egg, and more common paprika, Mediterranean herbs, and olive oil.   The caviar chips even actually include dried caviar (!).

I only found the foie gras ones at a local store, but I'd love to try others too.

Foie Gras Chips.

"Enjoy an original, delicate and delicious gourmet snack."

So yes.  Be still my heart.  Foie gras chips.  Longtime readers of my blog know how I feel about foie gras, so I couldn't wait to try them.  I'll admit that meat flavored chips aren't very common in general in the US, let alone foie gras flavored, so this was partially novelty to me too.

They were good chips.  The form factor itself was compelling, fairly thin, super crispy, little bubbles on them (indicating of course lots of oil and frying and unhealthiness!).  Large slices of potato, many of them rolled over.  Crunchy, addicting form factor.

And then the taste.  Did they taste like foie gras?  Well, not exactly.  If you gave these to me without a description and asked what they were, I wouldn't have guessed that.  But they are deeply savory, and complex, and unlike any other chips I've had, even other meat chip flavors. Do they contain foie gras?  Uh, no.  "Foie gras flavoring", says the helpful ingredients label.  But I liked them quite a bit, and don't really mind the mystery flavoring.

**** for complexity and uniqueness.  I'd love to get my hands on some of their caviar chips next ...

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Black Jet Bakery

Update Review, 2024

I didn't seek out Black Jet Bakery, but, when someone in my office had extra cake to share, of course I went to try it, as its 10 years (!) since I last had their goods.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake.

"Moist devil's food cake layered with our old fashioned chocolate cream cheese frosting and topped with sprinkles."

I'll admit the variety of cake the person who ordered this picked wasn't really one I'd generally go for - devil's food.  Chocolate frosting in particular is rarely what I'm interested in, and I mostly only like chocolate cake when it is warm, and served with ice cream.

But still, cake.  And I wanted to try it.

It was about as I expected.  Deep, dark devil's food cake, which is fine, but not exciting to me.  It was reasonably moist and not dry.  Reasonable chocolate flavor.

And then the frosting. I like chocolate.  I like cream cheese frosting.  I like cheesecake.  I don't like chocolate cheesecake.  Turns out, the same is true for chocolate cream cheese frosting.  Something about the chocolate and cream cheese combo just doesn't do it for me.  There was plenty of this frosting, and it was true to both the cream cheese and chocolate flavors, both fairly pronounced, but, alas, not my favorite.

Overall, I think a fine cake, good ratios of frosting to cake, fresh enough, but, not one I really enjoyed. **.

Available as 8 inch for $50, 10 inch or 1/4 sheet for $100, or 1/2 sheet for $200.

Original Review, January 2015

I remember when Black Jet Bakery opened in the Ferry Building.  I was so excited to have another bakery close by. You know me and my love of baked goods!  Plus, they had all sorts of interesting sounding items, like "German Shepherds", aka, homemade Devil Dogs with german choc cake filling!  And homemade "Nuttah Buttahs"!  And of course, homemade pop tarts with a variety of fillings, and absolutely adorable mini pies.

I tried many items over the years, but didn't take notes, as it was before my food blogging days.  A few years ago, as I mentioned last week, I wanted both pumpkin and pecan pies for Thanksgiving, so I decided to purchase mini versions of each, and Black Jet was where I immediately went for one of them, since I'd been eyeing their mini pies for years, even though I was never all that impressed with anything else I'd tried there.

They have since closed their Ferry Building location, but have a shop in the Mission, and are available around town through Good Eggs.  But I don't see any reason to seek them out.

Lil Pumpkin Pie. $5.

"This little 3.5 inch beauty is quite the treat for 1 or 2.  Excellent crust to filling ratio, to boot."

The pumpkin filling was not particularly interesting, not very spiced, just kinda there.  The crust on the bottom and where the pumpkin filling touched it was ok, but otherwise it was pretty dry.  It was also buttery, but not in a good way. There was no real flavor to the crust.  Meh, meh, meh

If you want a tasty pie, get it from Flour & Co.

[ Not Pictured ]

• Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Cookie with Sea Salt: "Classic chocolate chip cookies filled with milk and dark chocolate and topped with Maldon Sea Salt Flakes."  Tasting notes: Meh. (wow, that memorable huh?  Sorry, this is literally all my notes say!)
• Sugar Cookie: Soft, but no flavor complexity, just buttery, meh [ Slight lemon flavor, moist, bad mouthfeel, too much butter]
• Boozy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie: Tum!  Nice and moist, good flavor in cookie itself.
• Cakes
• Sour Cream Coffee Cake: "Classic Sour Cream Coffee cake. Delicious for breakfast or as an afternoon snack with coffee!"  Tasting notes: Nothing special, not bad but not good.
• Bars
• Salty Nutty Brownie: Nice rich chocolate flavor, moist, pretty good.
• Lemon Square: Way too sweet.  Very lemony.  Not my thing at all.
• Brown Butter Blondie: Not good.  Really plain, very little chocolate, no nuts.

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Chico's Pizza

Pizza.  Something I grew up eating tons of (we literally had family pizza night once a week, and, well, they still do), something I certainly ordered late night in college regularly, and then ... not really something I ate for like 15 years.  I didn't actively dislike it, but, I would absolutely never pick it.  And then the past few years happened, and I've turned back into a pizza fan.  I can't explain it.

But my pizza enjoyment has largely been at very well regarded places (e.g. Tony's in SF), or basically everywhere in NY when I was there for a month last summer, or, more recently, diving into the world of Detroit style pizza ().   I haven't really sought out generic, "American" style pizza, like Chico's.  To be fair, I didn't seek out Chico's either, but it was ordered by the host of an event I was at recently.

"Try the best pizzas in San Francisco.

Chico's Pizza is one of the most popular in San Francisco. Try their pizza, and you'll soon see why."

Even though I had never heard of Chico's before, it turns out that it is a small chain, with 3 locations in San Francisco.  It has been around a while.  Some, like their website, say it "the best" and "one of the most popular", which is a bit surprising to me, given that I'd never heard of it before.  I'm not sure which we ordered from, I assume the closest location, on 6th St.

Chico's offers a slew of pre-designed pizzas with all your basics like vegetarian, meat lovers, greek, bbq chicken, etc, along with some more unique options like the San Francisco pizza with pepperoni, Canadian bacon, beef, olives, and feta (which, frankly, sounds confused and muddled and I don't understand why it has anything to do with SF), or the Tijuana pizza with peppers, onions, sausage, tomato, and jalapeños.   You can create your own from a sizable lineup of topping choices.   They do not offer gluten-free crust, nor do they offer vegan cheese.   Sizes range from 12" small to 14" medium to 16" large and 18" x-large. You can customize any pizza, including their specialty ones.  Their online ordering even lets you put in a special note to the kitchen, which I've rarely seen offered.  

In addition to pizza, Chico's has salads (5 kinds), calzones (5 kinds), hot sandwiches (10 kinds, ranging from meatball parm to chicken pesto with grilled mushrooms), and sides/apps such as several kinds of wings, mozzarella sticks, jalapeño poppers, and garlic bread.  We had several kinds of pizza, and salad (which I didn't take a photo of, but it was fresh and tasty enough).

I liked Chico's for what it was.  It isn't trying to be fancy or any kind of niche pizza.  I wouldn't order it myself, but if I am at another party with it, and I'm craving generic pizza, I'd gladly grab a slice.

Meat Lover's.

"Cheese, Italian sausage, salami, pepperoni, and Canadian bacon."

This was not bad.  Very big puffy crust, very bready, not special, but it was fine.  Standard sauce and cheese, well coated, nicely melted.  Basically, as generic as it gets, but all fine.

The meats though were good.  The little balls tasted immediately recognizable, but not as Italian sausage, which is what they were I guess.  They tasted EXACTLY like (my memory of) the little meatballs in Spaghetti-os.  I liked them, but they weren't very sausage like.

The salami was salami, fine, but not my thing.  Generic pepperoni.  I really liked the Canadian bacon for some reason.

Overall, not a bad pizza if craving generic pizza, and yay for the meats. ***.

$22.50 (small) - $30.50 (x-large).

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Sheraton Grand Krakow, Executive Lounge

In the years leading up to the Covid pandemic, I travelled quite a bit for work, regularly 100-120 nights a year on the road, with Marriott hotels (originally Starwood) as my loyalty chain of choice.  As such, I had fairly high status, and with that, executive lounge access at properties that have them.  I didn't know prior to all those nights in hotels how much I'd value such an amenity, but lounges have become key elements of my stay as a hotel guest, and I highly value a nice lounge.

"Sheraton Club is a space designed for relaxation where you can enjoy refreshments throughout the day and a wide selection of hot and cold snacks and alcoholic beverages in the evening. Access to the Sheraton Club is additionally charged."

When I was in Krakow this year, I had access to the lounge at the Sheraton Grand.  It was easily the least impressive lounge I've been to internationally, and seemed highly underutilized.  During the day, I literally never encountered another guest there when I would cruise through for a drink or snack.  The fact that it isn't open for breakfast, the time when I think most elite business guests really value it, is odd to me.  So, it was pretty ho-hum and boring overall, but I did absolutely adore the crispy peanut snacks they had all day, and some of the desserts were shockingly good.  A nice-to-have, but not defining feature of the property. 

Setting

The lounge is located on the 2nd floor, down at the far end of the hallway.  If you didn't know to look for it, you would not know it was there, just on the lowest guest room floor tucked away.  It is open daily from 6am-11pm, but is largely empty and unattended, quite different from most lounges I've visited.

Seating.

The lounge is fairly small, with just one section.  There are a few soft couches with coffee tables, and a few small dining tables, plus an area where the evening buffet gets set up.  Not really the type of place people linger around outside of the cocktail hour.  It is open to the interior atrium of the main hotel, overlooking the restaurant below.

Drinks

Soft Drinks.

Soft drinks are available to grab all day long.  Sadly no sparkling water, and only sugared drinks.

They had a self-serve filtered water tap that made still or sparkling water, but was located very close to the counter, so you couldn't use it to fill your own bottle (likely intentionally for hygiene reasons?).

There was also beer on tap.

Coffee Machine.

A standard robot coffee machine is also available all day, with cups to go.

Water and Tea.

Spa water and tea bags were available all day long.

Red Wine.

Red wine, vodka, gin, and scotch are available nightly from 6pm-8pm.  No white wine.

My first night, there were two red wines.  Pluvium Spanish wine and Castillo Lagomar Semi Tinto.  I tried both, and didn't care for either.  Both not generally the style of wine I go for anyway.  I don't get the impression that wine is big in Poland - everyone else in the lounge was enjoying the beer on tap, or the vodka, and we saw very small wine lists in general when dining out.

Red Wine Night #2.

The second night a third wine was added, Alto Barrica Red Semi - Dry.  It also wasn't very good.  

Wine selection: below average, **+.

Savory Food

The savory food lineup features several hot dishes, plus cold canapes, and your standard cheeses and charcuterie.  I didn't find anything particularly good.  It changed nightly.

Fennel Soup / Couscous.

Every night started with a soup and a grain.

The fennel soup was ok.  It was very thick.  It needed seasoning, and I wanted something a bit more going on, but it was ok.  **+.

I didn't try the couscous.

Minestrone Soup.

The next night it was minestrone, which I didn't try.

Chicken Strips / Porridge with Bacon.

Nor did I try the chicken strips or porridge, also on offer the second night.

Pork Meat / Pasta with Tomatoes.

The other hot dishes didn't look good, but I tried them anyway.

The "pork meat" was some kind of stew, lackluster quality meat, lackluster flavor.  I didn't care for this.  I think this is a fairly traditional Polish stew.*.

The pasta was literally just basic penne with tomato sauce.  The flagship restaurant on site is an Italian restaurant, so I somewhat expected more from the pasta offering. *+.

Polendusice (?) / Potato.

The next night, for the meat and carbs we had ... this.

The first dish was ... a mystery.  The word it was labelled with, "Polendusice", doesn't translate to anything in English from Polish, and I can't find it anywhere.  I later asked about it and was told it was pork tenderloin.  It was ... not very good.  Tender, but not great flavor in the pork, and it didn't seem very high quality. The brown gravy tasted like from a jar.  *+.

The potato wedges were ok, not great, clearly not freshly fried, but they had good seasoning, and there were tasty sauces to dunk them in.  **+.

Pickles, Olives, Condiments night #1.

I liked the mixed pickles.

The first night had just mayonnaise and "burger sauce" which I didn't try.  The next night though this was bbq sauce and garlic aioli, both of which were tasty.  The garlic aioli was particularly flavorful.  ***+.

Tartines with turkey, salad fixings,
charcuterie, cheese, fruit, nuts.

Most nights had some kind of crostini or tartine, basic salad fixings, and cheese and cold cuts.

I didn't try the turkey open faced tartine.

The salad station was mixed leaves, tomatoes, and cucumbers.  Nothing special, but not bad.  Nice to have some vegetables.

I also tried a few things from the charcuterie platter, including an ok rillettes style product.  

Eh.  **.

Cheese Platter.

I tried a few things from the cheese platter, not knowing what any was exactly, and didn't care for them either.  One looked really promising, grilled, halloumi-like, but I hated the flavor.  From my later research on Polish food, I think this was grilled oscypek (which I confirmed when I saw it at breakfast too).  I later learned (from the excellent description cards at breakfast), that the one that looked like Gouda, but then surprised me with its different taste, was Amber cheese, an aged yellow cheese.  **.

The next day at breakfast, at the restaurant (review coming soon!), I found many of these same items, with labels, which was much more helpful.

Sandwich offering day 2.

The second day this area had a tortilla with cheese (cream?) and cucumber instead of the tartine, which I didn't try.

Tartines with Egg Paste.

Next, another tartine, this time with "egg paste".  I tried this one.

The crostini base was overly crispy.  The egg paste, e.g. egg salad, was fine.  Yay for a little more freshness from tomato and arugula too.  **+.

The next night had a similar item, but on softer baguette slices.

Mushroom & Cabbage Strudel?

The second night had this item, with no label.  I think it was a mushroom and cabbage filled strudel? There may have been leeks too.  The mushrooms were the kind that taste like from a can sadly.  I really couldn't tell if it was leeks or cabbage, but, there was some kind of very cooked down vegetable in there.  Not particularly well seasoned.  The pastry on top was flaky, but was entirely raw on the bottom.

Just not very good. But yay pastry? *.

Canape with Fish Paste.

Did not like this either, very fishy odd taste to the paste. *.

Burrata Salad.

The salad selection the first night was burrata. Again, given the Italian restaurant on site, I had high hopes for the burrata.  The restaurant, and the casual rooftop bar, both feature burrata preps on the menu.

It was ok?  Not as ripe and oozing cream as I'd like, but it tasted fresh.  The drizzle of olive oil and maybe pesto was a decent compliment.  Eh to beets, but that's just my preference.  **+.

Macaroni Salad with Chicken.

The next night the salad was "macaroni" (as labelled) with chicken.  It was just some basic corkscrew pasta with tomatoes and slices of chicken.  Not particularly good. **.

All Day Snacks.

Every day, all day, had some kind of coated peanuts.  I became addicted to them.  Super crunchy shell, flavorful coatings (different color/flavor every day, these were paprika I think?  Other days had orange bbq? ones and green wasabi? ones), all with a peanut inside.  Highlight of the lounge.  I adored these.  Why do we not have them in the US?  *****.

Sweet

So the drinks, the savory food, not really netting the Sheraton Grand Krakow lounge any points in my book.  But you know how much I value good desserts, and here, they shockingly did deliver on some items.

Cake / Filled Croissant.

During the day, a few sweet bites are available.

I tried the filled croissant, it seemed to be filled with some kind of jam.  It was a darker style pastry dough, like it was trying to be wholesome and healthier?  Not much buttery flavor.  Vague fruity filling.  Not very good.  **.

Nutella Donut.

The next day, during the late morning/afternoon, there was a nutella filled donut, the same kind that Marriott hotels have worldwide in their breakfast buffets, and I do kinda like.

Other days had other fillings.  Many of which I hadn't had before at other properties, such as Biscoff or white chocolate, both of which were great.  I do like these, in their own way, but when in Krakow, if you want a donut, I highly recommend going to get an actual Polish donut, even if you just go somewhere like Dobra Pączkarnia.  ***+.

Banana Cake.

In the evening, the afternoon cake was back, but more dressed up this time, with a little cream and dried apple slice.  I did not try this.

Nut Cake.

Another night it was nut cake, that I also didn't try.  Again very dressed up.

Chocolate Cake with Pistachio.

One night, the cake offering was much better looking: chocolate cake with pistachio.  This wasn't really "cake" though, it was VERY rich, and very excellent, flourless chocolate cake style cake.  

So dense, so rich, so chocolatey, so very very good.  Consistency, texture, flavor, all done really well.  It had a fantastic crispy base as well.  I wanted whipped cream to lighten it, or some fresh strawberries or raspberries, but it really was excellent.  ****+.

Brownies.

The second night the other option was brownies, that I didn't try.

Cheesecake.

My final night it was the cheesecake, the same offered in the cafe downstairs, or served in the restaurant, for 40PLN.  Literally same item as the display case in cafe.  Very big slices.

It was good cheesecake.  Ricotta style I think, some lemon to it.  Tasty crust.  ***+.

Tiramisu.

"Mascarpone | savoiardi | cocoa."

Every night also had some kind of pudding.  This thrilled me, as I adore puddings (hence why my blog has a label devoted to pudding reviews!).

The tiramisu was fabulous.  Truly fabulous.  Great actual amaretti flavor from the biscuits on top, well soaked moist but not mushy ladyfingers within, thick rich cream, notes of coffee and chocolate.   Probably the best tiramisu I've had in many years.  I'd gladly get this again.  ****+.

Tiramisù Classico is on the menu at the restaurant for zł 43.

Mascarpone with Peach.

The next night, I was delighted to see another type of pudding-pot, as I just adore puddings in general.  Mascarpone sounded good to me.

It was ... ok-ish.  The base of the jar had the peach, which honestly somewhat reminded me of baby food puree.  Like applesauce, but, peach.  I love fresh peaches, but I wasn't really into this.  There was a lot of it.

Above that, the mascarpone.  It was thick, rich, not very sweet.  It had a strange bitter aftertaste.

The berries on top were fine.

I really wanted to like this more than I did in practice.  *+.

Vanilla Cream with Raspberries.

Another day, another cream.  This one didn't say mascarpone, but I think it was.  And again, there was something just not ... right about it.  Such an odd aftertaste.  "Raspberries" were just goo in the base. Did not like. *.

Panna Cotta with Apple.

Another night, the pudding offering was even more appealing to me: panna cotta!  I even have a label on my blog just for this particular type of pudding, so, clearly a favorite of mine.

It was good.  Well set.  Rich.  Strong cinnamon flavor.  Sweet enough.  I didn't really care about the apple compote or little cookie on top, but the panna cotta was good.  I did want a touch of whipped cream to complete the deal, but it wasn't needed.  ****.

The restaurant has a version of this on their menu too, although that one has rosemary.

Apple Crumble.

And finally, my last night, apple crumble.  (Side note: they really seem to like using amaretti cookies for garnish.  They made no sense here.  I also was not into the tart cherry-apple thing on top).

But the apple pie filling was good, a mushy style with thin sliced apples, but well spiced, and good.  The crumble topping had no clumps, but good flavor and sweetness level, added some texture.  I really wanted it warm with ice cream, but it was good.  ***+.

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Auntie Anne's Pretzels

Update Review, 2024

Another year, another National Pretzel Day, and thus, another visit to Auntie Anne's.  This visit was a winner, and restored my faith in the chain.

Cinnamon Sugar.

This was a good pretzel!

It was hot and seemed quite fresh, well coated in cinnamon sugar, and properly formed.  A large size, but not overly massive.  Moist and doughy, not burnt.  Nice buttery flavor under the sweetness.  Great dunked in whipped cream.  

I enjoyed it, one of the better soft pretzels I've had lately, and dramatically better than Wetzel's (in both taste and shape).  High ***, borderline ***+.

Update Review, September 2023

Sweet Almond. $5.69.

Sadly, this pretzel spent a bit too long in the oven, the bottom was a touch burnt.  The pretzel was overall quite dry, fairly hard, and not really warm.  

It didn't have much of the almond coating on it either.  Not a winner this time.

I did still like the almond coating, but, the base pretzel was clearly not fresh at all.  **+.

Update Review, April 2023

Another year, another National Pretzel Day!  Of course I went to celebrate with a free pretzel at OG Auntie Anne's.   I was thrilled that there was essentially no line. The staff were not particularly friendly, likely not excited about this "holiday".

Cinnamon Sugar. $5.49.

"A pretzel hot from the oven, sprinkled with fresh cinnamon and sweet sugar."

For National Pretzel Day, we had the choice of Original or Cinnamon Sugar, even though the Sweet Almond is the same price (and is my favorite!).  I opted for cinnamon sugar, hoping to get a fresher pretzel, as the regulars didn't look particularly fresh.

It didn't seem particularly fresh either.  The base pretzel was ok, I think Wetzel's is considerably better (puffier, softer, better flavor), but, I did love the very copious amounts of cinnamon and sugar.  Best dunked in whipped cream.  ***.

Update Review, 2022 Visits

I've been really, really missing Auntie Anne's.  The location in the mall near me closed at the start of the pandemic, and just barely re-opened.  Finally.  To be honest, I thought they were closed for good, so I was thrilled to see it spring back into life.

The same mall has Wetzel's (which I frequented throughout the pandemic and reviewed before) just two floors below, but, I missed my Auntie Anne's!

Cinnamon Sugar.

"A soft Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel will satisfy any spirit. It’s hot from the oven, sprinkled with fresh cinnamon, sweet sugar and handed right over."

I somehow never had a cinnamon sugar pretzel from Auntie Anne's before.  I think I was always drawn in by the addictive coating on the sour cream & onion if I wanted savory, or the more decadent sweet almond for sweet.  But I was craving cinnamon and sugar, having had a kinda crappy churro after lunch.

This was everything my sad churro was not.  It was hot, fresh, doughy.  It was SMOTHERED in cinnamon and sugar.  Seriously, it made me laugh how much cinnamon and sugar was on it, but, I wasn't really complaining.  It was buttery beneath all that, and was basically like what you kinda want your cinnamon toast to be in the morning, but don't quite dare do as an adult.  Like most sweet pretzels I found it a bit boring on its own, but enjoyed dipping it into whipped cream.

A decent enough pretzel, but I'm starting to think I love the aroma and idea of pretzels more than the actual experience ... they never feel quite like a complete dessert for me, but are kinda too much for just a "snack" ...

***.

Sweet Almond.  (No Butter).  $5.99.

"This sweet yet salty pretzel is baked fresh and topped with our own toasted almond crunch. For maximum appeal, dunk this pretzel down in Caramel Dip."

The pretzels in the display didn't look particularly fresh, so I asked for one without butter.  I was told it would be 10 minutes, and I said that was fine.  She also asked if it was an allergy or preference, I said just a preference.  

My pretzel was actually completely made to order - I watched it get rolled out, formed, coated, and baked.  It was handed over moments after coming out of the oven.  It doesn't get fresher than that!

My technique for getting a fresh pretzel certainly worked, but, I don't actually recommend a butterless pretzel ... it was fairly dry, and, well, not very decadent.  Luckily I had cream cheese icing with me, and once I slathered that on, it didn't matter, but, yeah, the butter really does help.

Overall, a nice fresh pretzel, good crunch and sweetness from the almond crunch coat, and nice to dunk / slather with a spread for a dessert.

***+.

Update Reviews, 2018 & 2019 Visits

I adore Auntie Anne's Pretzels, when they are fresh, hot, and topped with care.  I've reviewed them many times before, so please start there if you are unfamiliar.

This is just an update of a few more visits, and a few more varieties tried.

The theme is the same though: freshness matters!

Original (with salt and butter). March 2018.

"Every single pretzel is an original, and freshly baked to raise the standard of snacking. It’s the pretzel that started it all — made from five, simple, fresh ingredients."

I waltzed up to Auntie Anne's pretzel stand, firmly intending to get a sweet pretzel.  I was still wavering between cinnamon sugar and sweet almond, but it was mid-afternoon, I had a big savory lunch, and my pretzel was going to be a bit of a sweet pick me up.

And then, right as I was stepping up to order, a fresh batch of original pretzels was brought out.  They were visibly hot and fresh.  Glistening with butter.  I looked over at the sole cinnamon sugar pretzel on the rack.  It was clearly the last of a batch, and had been there a while.  There weren't any sweet almond ready.

And so my decision was made.  I had the opportunity to try one fresher than fresh, how could I pass that up, even if it wasn't really what I wanted?

In retrospect, I should have still gone for sweet almond, and just waited for a sweet one.  Or at least added on a sweet dip.  But in my moment of quickly changing plans, I just blurted out that I wanted one of the fresh ones, nothing else.

I walked away with my prize.  It was perfectly hot and fresh.  And that *did* make a difference.  It was softer, doughier than any other I have ever had.  The butter sorta dripped down off of it, not yet having fully sunk in.  It was a very fresh pretzel, and wow, yes, it makes a difference, and I recommend it.

The only problem?  Well, it was a plain pretzel.  Hot, fresh, well made, buttery, slightly salty ... but not the sweet treat I wanted.  If I had grabbed a sweet glaze dip, I'm sure I would have been thrilled.  This was my own fault for not enjoying fully, but it did give me the chance to see what a difference a fresh batch makes, and next time, I'd order that one that wasn't already ready, and just wait for it.

Roasted Garlic & Parmesan, No Salt.  October 2018.

"Roasted Garlic Parmesan Pretzels are why “freshly baked” matters so much. The aroma of garlic and fresh parmesan makes this savory treat the best thing since sliced garlic bread."

I've raved about the Sour Cream & Onion pretzels from Auntie Anne's before, like the first time I had it, and the second time, but not the third due to lack of freshness).  They really are my favorite of the savories.  But I finally made myself break out of my mold to try a new savory variety, the one I hadn't tried yet and always almost consider getting: roasted garlic & parmesan.

When I ordered, as always, I was asked if I wanted a salted or unsalted pretzel.  I knew from experience with the sour cream & onion that the coating was quite salty, and adding it to a salty pretzel was salt overload, so I asked if the garlic & parmesan coating had salt in it.  The person taking my order didn't know.  She asked someone else.  They didn't know.  I asked how people normally get it.  She said she didn't know.  I asked if she had it before.  No.  Sigh.  Not so helpful.  I decided to play it safe, and went for an unsalted pretzel as the base.

Sadly, there were no fresh pretzels ready, not salted or unsalted, and I could tell they were all pretty old, no longer glistening with butter.  I almost asked to wait for a fresh batch, but ... the staff were so genuinely uninterested in providing good service that I gave up.  I accepted my fate.

My pretzel was handed over, and I could tell that the same "care" was put into coating it as helping me order.  HUGE clumps were all over, the bag filled with clumps and extra coating.  The lack of fresh butter coating likely made it stick less well.

The pretzel, as expected, was warm since it was under a heater, but, wasn't fresh, doughy, or buttery.  All the things that make these pretzels magical were lost.

But I was there for the coating, and, even though it was a total mess, there was plenty of coating.  It was very savory, strong garlic and parmesan flavor, really like garlic bread or something appropriate to pair with pasta, or, dunk in marinara sauce (which they do offer).  If you are in the mood for an italian pretzel, this would certainly hit the spot.  Without marinara sauce though it was a bit of an odd snack, so I certainly recommend that as well.

I'm glad I tried it, and appreciated the strong garlic/parmesan, but I wouldn't get it again, just not the right style of pretzel for me.  And again, I highly recommend waiting for fresh pretzels as a base ... they make such a difference!

Sweet Almond (September 2019).

"This sweet yet salty pretzel is baked fresh and topped with our own toasted almond crunch."

I finally, finally, finally got my sweet pretzel.  I had tried a sample of this long ago, and adored it.  I was so excited to finally have a full size one, as I loved the sweet and salty combo, and the crunch, when I tried it before.

I went prepared, with my own whipped cream to dunk into, plus some dulce de leche to drizzle over, just in case.

I was excited.  I was less excited when I saw the sweet almond sitting there in the window, as they didn't look particularly fresh, but I was committed at that point.  The server was very friendly, told me how much he liked this kind, and handed over my warm prize.

I ... well, I didn't like it.  It was dry.  Tough.  Chewy.  Just, not fresh at all, as I had suspected from the look of it.

I tried to salvage it by dipping it in my whipped cream, which, as it hit the warm pretzel melted slightly, and added a bit of moisture.  The dulce de leche was perfect with it too.  And I did love the crunch from the nuts on the outside.

But none of that made it actually something I wanted to finish.  Just too dry, too chewy, too old.

I'd give this flavor another try though, just, fresh, because I think it really is a winning recipe.

Update Review, January 2018

Remember how much I raved about the sour cream & onion pretzel from Auntie Anne's last time I wrote an update review?  Yeah, I loved the thing.  I had to get another.

Sadly, it turns out the experience varies greatly based on how fresh the pretzel is, and, who makes it.

Sour Cream & Onion Pretzel. $3.99.

My previous pretzel was clearly much fresher.  It was warm for one thing.  It was soft.  It was buttery.  And it was perfectly coated in the sour cream and onion crack powder.

This one ... calling it lukewarm would be generous.  It was kinda hard and chewy.  It wasn't very buttery, to the point where I think she might have used an unbuttered one?  Either than, or the butter had soaked in long ago.

The coating was still totally addicting and delicious, but, uh, it wasn't so expertly applied.  Clumps here or there, and big chunks with none.

Sadness, as this really was amazing when fresher and made with care!

Update Review, October 2017

I didn't grow up with mall food court pretzels (well, mostly, I didn't grow up with malls, as I was in a small town in New Hampshire).  But once I discovered them, late in life, I'll admit, I was pretty addicted.  Not go-out-of-my-way-for-them addicted, but, I'm fairly incapable of walking past somewhere like Auntie Anne's Pretzels and getting one.  Soft, buttery, warm, I just love them!

Pretzel Glory.

I've reviewed Auntie Anne's before, back when they did a sampling program I was part of, but this review focused on one of Oprah's favorite things: the pretzel dog, and my recent discovery of the glorious savory pretzels.

Classic Anne's.

Like most Auntie Anne's location, the one I visited was in a mall (the Westfield in San Francisco), and had large windows where you can watch the constant pretzel production.  And smell the pretzels, glorious, glorious pretzels.

Lineup.

The warming area next to the register was filled with everything that was ready to go, including multiple types of pretzels, nuggets, and of course, the dogs.

If you want something that isn't there at the ready, they'll make it for you, and I heard them quote times of about 15 minutes for the folks who wanted items not already ready.

Jalapeño & Cheese Pretzel Dog Packaging.

Luckily for me, on my pretzel dog craving visit, I wanted a pretzel dog, and all varieties were ready for me.  Auntie Anne's makes two sizes of pretzel dogs (regular and jumbo), all available in "original", cheese, or jalapeño & cheese.  The hot dog inside each is a Nathan's all beef frank.

Mine was handed over quickly inside a foil bag to keep it warm, and, make it easy to devour while standing.  Ketchup and mustard packets are available (standard ketchup and yellow mustard), or you can opt for one of the dips.

Jalapeño & Cheese Pretzel Dog.

"A crispy three-cheese pretzel, topped with spicy jalapeño slices wrapped around a delicious Nathan’s Famous® hot dog, is a fresh look at the Pretzel Dog."

I decided to go all out, for the jalapeño & cheese version.  I've loved the plain one in the past, but, why not jazz it up?

It looked great, 4 slices of jalapeño on top, lovely cheese crusting.

The jalapeño slices were crazy spicy, so, be warned.  I guess I should have expected that, but they actually were too spicy for me, and I didn't think I was a wimp.

The cheesy top, something I thought I'd love, I ended up disliking.  The crispy crusty nature of it was nice, but, actually, I didn't want a cheesy pretzel.  I wanted to taste the buttery Auntie Anne's glorious pretzel!

Jalapeño & Cheese Pretzel Dog: Side View.

But even the pretzel, once I uncovered it from under all the cheese, didn't really live up.  It seemed like just ... warm white bread?  I loved how golden it was, how soft it was, how nice the crust on it was, but, I thought they were always more ... pretzel-y before?  And ... buttery!  I missed the butter.

The hot dog inside was certainly a classic dog.  Juicy, moist, nicely cooked, a standard beef hot dog.  I actually prefer turkey dogs, but they only offer beef.

So overall ... I was actually pretty disappointed.  The beef only dog option was to be expected, but, I really lamented not getting to enjoy a buttery soft pretzel I so wanted!

Sour Cream & Onion Pretzel. $3.99.

"Our Sour Cream & Onion Pretzel is full of nothing but flavor!! A hint of sour cream and onion are freshly baked into a warm, soft pretzel for you to savor bite by bite."

So the next week I went back.  This time, I had my eye on one thing: regular pretzels.  No more beef hot dog, no more cheese to distract me.  Except, then I saw that you could get most of the flavored pretzels for the same price as a plain regular (buttered and salted of course) pretzel.

I was torn by indecision.  I quickly ruled out the jalapeño cheese one obviously, since I didn't like that in the pretzel dog, and the pepperoni (also cheesy), but the other savory options sounded fascinating: sour cream & onion? Roasted garlic & parmesan?  I like those flavors in general, I was curious how they would translate into a pretzel, and, adding the topping seemed like it would turn it into more of a "meal", right?  And of course, the sweet ones caught my eye too: perhaps not the raisin one, or the too trendy seasonal pumpkin spice, but cinnamon sugar is always classic, and I adore the crunchy sweet almond one.  But I was there for something savory, planning to get froyo right after.

I asked the person taking my order which he preferred between sour cream & onion and roasted garlic & parmesan, as there was no line, and I assumed he'd actually tried both before.  He said the sour cream & onion was his favorite, but quickly followed up that both were good.

That was enough for me.  Sour cream & onion it was.

I didn't see any sour cream & onion pretzels ready in the warmer, but next he asked me if I wanted it salted and if I wanted butter.  I said yes to both, thinking that those things are obviously what make pretzels delicious (although I expected the topping to be kinda salty too), and was surprised when he grabbed the regular buttered, salted pretzel from the warmer.  He disappeared around a corner, and quickly came back, sour cream & onion-ified pretzel in hand.

Aha!  For pretzels where the variety is just a coating, not a baked in/on topping (pepperoni, jalapeño, raisins, etc are obviously different pretzel bases), they just coat it after the fact.  And coat it they do.

Can you even see the pretzel under its newfound jacket of sour cream and onion coating?  I was a bit worried I made a horrible decision, as it looked impossible to scrape off or avoid if I didn't like it, and it certainly wasn't going to be mild, but my fears vanished as I took a bite.

Oh wow that was good.  Very, very good.

And salty.  The original pretzel has 400 mg of sodium just in the base pretzel, and if you get a standard one with salt that is 990 mg.  These beauties?  Yup, 1240 mg or, uh, 52% of your daily recommended intake.  Bring water.

Imagine the awesomeness that is sour cream and onion chips.  In particular, think about the build up on your fingers after eating a bag, that you know you want to lick.  This pretzel was coated in that.  Absolutely coated.  It was salty, it was vaguely onion-y (in a green onion sense), and perhaps a bit sour creamy (in a slightly tangy way).  That coating was magic.  So very good.  What it was made from?  I have no idea.  They don't provide ingredient info (and probably better to not know, if it is anything like the addicting garlic sauce from Papa John's!)

The pretzel itself was also exactly what I remembered from Auntie Anne's of past visits: it was soft, slightly dough inside, super buttery, and just a wonderful base for the flavorful coating.  Seriously, why eat flavored chips when you can eat flavored soft pretzels?

I thought I might want a dip, and brought fancy mustard with me, and although I did use some, it absolutely didn't need it.  This thing was glorious on its own.  I intended to share at least a few bites with a friend who was waiting for me in the food court downstairs, but, uh, I hoarded this.  Too good to share.

And yes, that coating got all over my fingers, in a far worse way than a bag of chips did.  And you know I licked every last bit off.  Did I mention, so very good?

I'd gladly get another, although I'd leave off the standard large rock salt, it is really not necessary with the sour cream & onion coating.

Original Review, November 2012

Mmm, soft pretzels.  Whenever I walk by Auntie Anne's inside the Westfield mall, the aroma of buttery pretzel is always so appealing.  Then I see the lines.  And then I remember that it was the dipping sauces that I always loved anyway.  And then I see Yoppi across the way, and beeline it for some froyo.

But, Auntie Anne's ran a promotion for the past 6 weeks, called "Sampling Saturdays", where they offered up samples of some signature item all day.  There was also a contest to win a trip, a code you could text message them to be entered in drawings, and scratch cards with instant winnings involved.  But the samples, that is clearly what I was there for!

The first few times, I went to the Westfield location, but it was too annoying to be worth it.  The lines were long, the staff weren't friendly, and they seemed to never actually be participating in Sampling Saturdays.  "Come back in 10 minutes" or "Not now" was the common response I got.  Then, I was in Macy's on a Saturday, and saw that there is a Auntie Anne's location there as well.  With no lines.  And pleasant staff.  On most times, they had the samples out and ready to go, and on the rare cases when they didn't, and I asked about Sampling Saturdays, they prepared them right there on the spot, super fresh and hot.  And when they didn't have any of the item available that they were supposed to be sampling, they offered me something else instead.  Such radically different service at both locations!

Anyway, for the most part, the pretzels were exactly what I remembered from the few times I had them as a child.  Warm, soft, buttery, and decent.  Not something you want to go out of your way for, but they can hit the spot.  If only they'd featured the dipping sauces for a Sampling Saturday!

Salted Pretzel Nugget.

This is the bite size version of their signature pretzel, served as a container full of little nuggets.  They are coated with butter and salt.  Soft, nice chew , lots of butter, nice big flakes of salt with good flavor.

Notes from previous tastings: Buttery, soft, salty, kinda delicious.

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Nugget.

And another version of the nuggets, these are rolled in cinnamon and sugar, and are slightly larger.  There was a serious amount of cinnamon and sugar coating on these, that was sweet and tasty, but totally overwhelming.  I had no idea I was eating a pretzel rather than a donut hole.  A sweet little treat, but not particularly good.  Would not order.

Notes from previous tastings: Not flavorful enough, buttery, meh  [ Not very good, lots of cinnamon and sugar though. ] [ Soft, buttery, tons of cinnamon and sugar. ]  [ Not very good.  Not buttery, not flavorful, and just tons of the cinnamon and sugar.  I love cinnamon and sugar rolled donut holes, so I thought this would be good, but it just wasn't. ]

Almond Pretzel.

This is a regular butter pretzel, which is then rolled in toasted almond pieces.  It was warm, soft, buttery, and quite delicious.  The almond pieces added a really nice crunch, and some good flavor.  It also seemed like there was some sugar on here, as the exterior seemed caramelized.  Maybe it was just tons of butter.  My favorite of the pretzels!

Notes from previous tastings: Buttery, almonds add a good crunch.  Would get again.  [ Nice crunchy almonds on outside, buttery, pretzel itself kinda meh though. ]

Pretzel Dog.

A Nathan's hot dog, wrapped in pretzel.  The full size version is a ridiculous long jumbo dog.  It was really quite good.  The hot dog was moist and juicy, the pretzel hot and buttery.  I'd like to have some ketchup and mustard with it, but the buttery pretzel added plenty of flavor.  I was pretty surprised by how tasty this was, and assumed that I might have enjoyed it only because I was hungry, but I had one another time, and liked it just as much.  Hmm.

Notes from other tastings: This was really surprisingly good!  The hot dog was juicy and plump.  The pretzel was warm, hot, puffy, and buttery.  It all went together well.  So strange that I like these, but I do!

I've also tried the mini pretzel dog bites, which have tiny little mini hots inside, basically, pigs-in-a-blanket, made with pretzel as the wrapper.  Easily snackable, and just as good as the full size with a juicy little hot dog bite inside, and fluffy, buttery, delicious pretzel outside.

Honey Whole Grain.

This is their newest offering, I think an attempt to be slightly healthier, with "whole grains".  It certainly looked different from the standard pretzels, with a darker color.  It also did indeed taste heartier.  I didn't get any sweetness from the "honey" but I did like the more developed flavor.  It was also nicely buttery and coated in large flakes of salt.  Warm, chewy, salty ... not bad!

Strawberry Lemonade Mixer.

This was fairly refreshing, tart and sweet.  Not bad for a strawberry lemonade.

Wild Cherry Lemonade Mixer.

Not very good, particularly compared with the strawberry.  It was just sweet.  No tartness.  Did not like.

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