Utz Quality Foods

Update Review, 2024

I've reviewed Utz very addicting snack mixes, and decent enough chips before, but somehow, I never had tried the basic, plain, simple chips before now.

Original.

"Indulge in the timeless appeal of Utz Original Potato Chips. Made with the finest quality potatoes and a touch of salt, these chips deliver a crispy and flavorful snacking experience that has delighted generations. Each chip is meticulously crafted using Utz's time-honored recipe, ensuring that every bite is filled with pure potato perfection."

Thin and crispy.  Not a blistered kettle style.  Very simple basic chips.  Good salt level.  Not much more to say about these, they tasted like slightly higher end Lay's and not much more.  I found them quite boring, but suspect they'd go well with dip.  **+.

Update Reviews, 2021

Can't. Stop. Eating. Utz. Pub. Mix.

I think that sums this up nicely.

Pub Mix.

"Looking for the perfect snack to serve at your next party or get together?  Our Utz Pub Mix is a sure crowd-pleaser. This savory blend of honey mustard twists, cheddar cheese twists, honey roasted sesame chips, oriental rice crackers, pretzel stix, nacho bagel chips, and worcestershire rye chips is "crunch-tastic". 

Danger. Danger. Danger.

This mix, which I have reviewed before, and know I like, just spells, D-A-N-G-E-R to me.  The container claims to be 20 servings (!), which, um, perhaps you can not tell, but this is NOT a big container.  I don't have any idea where they get 20 from, even assuming small snack size portions.

I blame my mother for picking it up when I was visiting.  

It really does have everything going on.  There are many products like this out there, but what sets the Utz one apart is that it is actually, um, good?  Every element actually is decent.

I'll start with the most boring, and work my way up to the ones that I think are the best.  But really, I had no problem eating any of these, alone, or as a mix.  #addicting.

• Pretzel stix: Even the basic pretzel sticks, er, "stix", were good, although they are just pretzels.  Extremely buttery, crispy.  ***.
• Worcestershire rye chips: These are ok, good for what they are.  Nearly all of these were in-tact, full round pieces.  They taste a bit like Chex mix from the Worcestershire flavoring.  ***+.
• Nacho bagel chips: Probably my least favorite thing of the mix, they are ok, but not really my thing.  Strangely no whole ones anywhere in the container, all were broken. ***.
• Cheddar Cheese Twistix: Great form factor, zesty, cheesy.  If you want cheesy things, these are good. Sorta tasted nacho though which is less my favorite. ***.
• Honey Mustard Twistix: Yum.  Same twisty form factor as above, very savory, salty.  Sometimes WAY too addicting. ****.
• Oriental rice crackers: Good!  Just rice crackers, assorted shapes, but crispy, not stale, and well flavored. ****.
• Honey roasted sesame chips:  I always want to like these, in snack mixes or random brands we buy, and just usually don't like ... any.  I don't know why.  Well finally some I like - in this mix!  Super sweet, larger than most, crunchy, slightly savory from sesame ... just very very good. ****+.

Add it all up?  Yes.  DANGER.  Let's just say, this is not 20 servings for me.

****.

Utz Poker Mix: The Ultimate Blend with a Touch of Spice.

"It's no bluff when we say that Utz® Poker Mix is sure to be a winner at your next gathering or game night! This blend contains an assortment of Rice Crackers, Pretzels, Honey Sesame Chips, Cajun Corn Sticks, Chili Cheese Corn Jax, and Wasabi Peas with a touch of spice!"

Next up, "poker" mix.  You know, different from what you eat at the pub ... This mix was a mixed bag.

The downside?  It was VERY pretzel heavy, with pretzel twists in a variety of shapes, plus big darker pretzel rods.  Given that I am "eh" on most pretzels, the fact that it was more than 50% pretzel was definitely a downside.   The regular ones were nicely buttery, but still not my thing.  The dark ones turned out to be pumpernickel, which was as least unique.  If you love these, Utz produces a standalone version of these as well.

But the rest was good.  The asian rice crackers and honey sesame chips were the same as in the Pub Mix, and I liked them there, and felt exactly the same about them here.  The rice crackers came in a few shapes, and were well seasoned.  The honey sesame chips were sweet, crunchy, and fatter than the shapes found in other mixes, but I liked that too.  They too are available as a standalone product.

New to this mix were the cajun corn sticks and wasabi peas.  The corn sticks were fine, good crunch, zesty seasoning, a nice shape to add to the mix.  The wasabi peas were top notch, exactly the kind I like, great zing.  I never found any chili cheese corn jax ...

Overall, I enjoyed digging through it for all the pieces I liked, and may or may not have left behind a barrel of pretzels for my mom.

***+ overall.

Update Review, June 2017

Several years ago, I discovered Utz at Phat Philly, as I wrote about in my original review of the chips.   I tried a few varieties, thought they were good, and, moved on with life.  I love snack foods, and the chips were good, but, I didn't go seeking out more products.

And then I tried the pub mix.  I love snacks in general, but my absolute weakness is mixed snacks, where I can rummage through a mix, picking out the items I want most at that moment (hello, Chex mix, in all its varieties!).  The pub mix delivered on this as well.

So I took a step back to finally learn about Utz.  They are based in Pennsylvania, which I knew.  But I didn't know they are the largest independent privately held snack maker in the US.  Nor did I know that they started as a husband and wife, in the 1920s, with her making chips by hand in their house, and him delivering them to stores.  I think they've come a long way since then, like buying Zapp's, who's unique flavored chips I've tried before.

Chips (regular, kettle, or even lard based) and pretzels are their primary products, but they also make puffs, popcorn, tortillal chips, pork rinds, snack mixes, even crackers and dips.  This time around, I tried a snack mix, and pretzels.

Barrels

"When you’re ready to party and entertain, there’s nothing better than Utz Snacks – and we’re totally down with that! That’s why we make giant barrelfuls of all your faves, so you don’t run out!"

Utz makes a number of different snacks packaged in barrels, including all the crowd pleasers: cheese balls, caramel corn, pork rinds, and, savory snack mixes.   The mixes are dubbed poker mix, pub mix, and party mix.  I have no idea how they decided which mix is more "poker" appropriate vs "pub", as all are a mix of assorted shapes and flavors of pretzels, corn snacks, cheesy snacks, and chips.  The "Party Mix" is more chip focused, with 4 different types of chips in the mix, but the other two are near equals in variety, just with totally different choices.  Party Mix also comes in smaller sized bags, for when barrels aren't quite what you need.

Pub Mix.

"When you’re ready to party and entertain, there’s nothing better than utz pub mix. Contains honey roasted sesame chips, nacho bagel chips, oriental rice crackers, pretzel Stix, seasoned pretzel twistix, and Worcestershire rye chips."

I had the pub mix, although I was not in a pub.

I really liked this the.  I liked each element for different reasons, and although they combined together nicely, I preferred to just eat one type at a time.  The sizes of each item made for easy eating, only a bite or two each, and I liked the variety of shapes, as it encouraged my picking through the mix in a way I enjoyed.

I was amused how my choice of items changed based on mood.  Some days, I *really* wanted the cheesy nacho bagel chips, others I adored the sweet sesame chips, and others, I just wanted simple rice crackers.  The only item I never wanted?  The pretzels.

Sticks: Pretzel Stix, Cheddar Cheese Twistix, Honey Mustard Twistix.

The only element I didn't care for was the simple "pretzel stix", since I just don't care for pretzels.  They were, well, pretzel sticks.

The "seasoned pretzel twistix" were two varieties, honey mustard and cheddar cheese, both about the same length as the pretzel sticks, but twisty-style, and not really pretzel-y, as in, they didn't have a white interior and brown exterior, and they were softer.  I liked both flavors, although I didn't realize the honey mustard was supposed to be honey mustard until I read this description.  It seemed more like ... herby?  The cheddar cheese ones were coated in orange powder, that of course got all over my fingers, and had a good (fake) cheese quality to it.  Still, these were my last two picks, besides the pretzels, and not an item I ever found myself digging for.

Chips: Honey Roasted Sesame, Worcestershire Rye, Nacho Cheese Bagel.

There were three types of "chips" - honey roasted sesame chips, round flat nacho flavored bagel chips, and round flat darker Worcestershire rye chips.

Most of the chips were broken into smaller bits, but even full size pieces were still bite size.  The sesame ones were the only sweet element in the mix, and I appreciated them for when I felt like something sweet rather than savory, and I liked the texture from the seeds.  I also sometimes kinda loved them mixed with the cheesy elements, in a Chicago popcorn kinda way.  Overall, the honey roasted sesame chips were probably my first pick.

The Worcestershire rye chips reminded me of the flavors of Chex mix, and made me quite nostalgic for my mom's homemade Chex mix.  They were particularly good used as crackers with some soft triple cream cheese.

The bagel chips were cheesy just like the twists, but better coated, and had a tiny bit of additional zesty (I guess nacho?) spicing to them.  These were often my favorites, when I was looking for something besides the sweet sesame chips.

Oriental Rice Crackers.

The final element is oriental rice crackers, in an assortment of shapes, sizes, and colors.  They were fairly standard rice crackers, slight soy sauce flavor, good enough, but not particularly interesting.

Typical Handful.

Most of the chips and twistix were broken pieces.  The rice crackers and pretzels seemed less prone to the breakage.  The distribution of items was great, nothing dominated (I hate it when mixes are majority pretzels!).

This shows a typical handful, in terms of assortment, and piece sizes.

Country Store Pretzel Stix.

I also tried a barrel of just pretzel sticks.  I didn't seek these out, obviously, since I didn't like them in the mix.

These tasted exactly like slightly bigger versions of the stix found in the Pub Mix.  I'm not sure what made these "Country Store", or what was different, besides the size.  Meh to these, but I'm not one for hard style pretzels anyway.

Original Review, February 2015

The other day I reviewed Phat Philly, a cheesesteak shop in the Mission.

Along with their signatures cheesesteaks and fries, they also carry a few Philly classic treats, like Tastycakes and Utz Chips.  I hadn't ever heard of Utz before, but apparently they are a big thing in Philly, and they make a variety of chips, pretzels, and snack mixes.  Since I always love trying new varieties of chips, I couldn't resist grabbing a bag to take with me, to enjoy later.

"The Crab Chip"

"Dive into the unique and delectable flavors of Utz "The Crab Chip" Potato Chips. Inspired by the rich culinary heritage of the Chesapeake Bay, these chips capture the essence of the region's love for seafood. Each chip is infused with a special blend of seasonings that create a savory and slightly spicy taste, reminiscent of a mouthwatering crab feast.

Crafted with care and precision, Utz "The Crab Chip" Potato Chips offer a delightful crunch that will keep you coming back for more. The flavors are perfectly balanced, allowing the natural sweetness of the potatoes to shine through while delivering a hint of Chesapeake Bay-inspired seasoning. Whether you're enjoying a beachside picnic, hosting a backyard cookout, or simply seeking a snack to satisfy your seafood cravings, Utz "The Crab Chip" Potato Chips are a must-have."

I had to pick the most interesting sounding flavor: crab.  What on earth is a crab flavored chip?

It turns out, the answer is: a chip seasoned with Old Bay.  So no, they did not taste like crab.  Instead, they tasted like Old Bay.  Or basically, like a barbecue chip.  They looked like a barbecue chip too, in color.  They had the same slightly sweet, slightly tangy thing going on that a barbecue chip does.  If you gave them to me without a label, I'd say they were just a slightly different barbecue.  The seasoning was very heavy in the salt, perhaps too much.  But besides that, I was intrigued enough to easily finish the bag.

The chips themselves were decent, thin sliced, crispy.  Not kettle style exactly, but not certainly not baked.  Better than most brands at this price point.

I ate several of them plain to taste the flavors, but then decided to try something out.  In my head, I thought, "well, people eat chips with dip" and "I love my barbecue chips dipped in onion dip, or even yogurt, and these are basically like barbecue chips".  So, yes, I wanted to dip them in something.  I'd just finished a crab louie salad, which is what made me inspired to dig the crab chips out of my pantry in the first place, as I wanted more crab.  If crab goes with louie dressing in a salad, and chips go with dip, then, doesn't it follow that crab chips would be great dunked in louie dressing?  Don't judge.  They were awesome this way.  Creamy dressing, tangy chips ... perfect.  The bag stood no chance once I discovered this combo.

I wouldn't go out of my way to find Utz chips, but if I were ever somewhere that had them again, and I wanted a crunchy, salty snack, I'd get them again. ***.

Salt 'n Vinegar.

"Embark on a tangy adventure with Utz® Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips. Crafted with the perfect balance of zesty vinegar and savory salt, these chips deliver a bold and tantalizing snacking experience that is sure to satisfy your cravings. Each chip is thinly sliced and expertly seasoned to create a crispy texture and a burst of tangy flavor in every bite. The combination of salt and vinegar creates a taste sensation that will leave your taste buds tingling with delight. Whether you're seeking a flavorful snack to enjoy on your own or looking to add some excitement to your next gathering, Utz® Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips are the ultimate choice. Elevate your snacking game and let the zingy and savory flavors transport you to a world of deliciousness."

 Well, I found Utz again :)

This time, I was craving salty, so salt 'n vinegar it was.

Again, basic crispy, thin style chip.  They somewhat reminded me of classic Lays.  Tangy vinegar was the prominent flavor, with some salt.

Nothing wrong with these, but not particularly exciting.  ***.

Sour Cream and Onion.

"Treat your taste buds to the creamy and tangy goodness of Utz® Sour Cream & Onion Potato Chips. Each chip is perfectly seasoned with a savory blend of sour cream and zesty onion, creating a flavor combination that is both bold and satisfying. The crispy texture of these chips adds an extra layer of enjoyment with every bite. Whether you're snacking on the go, hosting a gathering with friends, or simply satisfying your cravings at home, Utz® Sour Cream & Onion Potato Chips are the go-to choice. Discover the delightful taste that has made this flavor a classic favorite among chip lovers. So, grab a bag and let the creamy and tangy flavors tantalize your taste buds."

 These looked exactly like the salt 'n vinegar.  That is, they had no visible specs of something green indicating onions, nor white powder indicating sour cream.

And ... they tasted pretty plain.  Not even very salty.

I do like the thin style, but these were majorly lacking in the flavor department.  **+.

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Sunday Bakeshop

I love everything I know about Sunday Bakeshop.  Baked goods and snacks - two of my favorite things.  AND in flavors I enjoy?  Yes!

"Sunday Bakeshop is an Asian American, French inspired bakery that celebrates the ingredients and sweets we grew up eating. Our philosophy is to create fun, flavorful and unique pastries that span many cultures and techniques, while using high quality, seasonal ingredients.

Sunday Bakeshop invites you to enjoy life’s sweetest moments; and treat yourself to something delicious.  Make life sweeter! "

What does Asian American inspiration look like in a French bakery?  Think: ube twice baked croissants, kimchi corn cheese danishes, red velvet White Rabbit cookies, black sesame crispy treats, raspberry rose mochi cakes, and more.  Oh yes.

I haven't actually gotten the chance to try their baked goods, as they aren't carried near me, but I did get to try some of their snacks, and I was quite pleased.

Chex Mix

I'm no stranger to Chex Mix.  As in, I consume far more of it than an average human, even one who thinks they eat a lot of Chex Mix.  That said, I rarely ever eat the commercial Chex brand Chex mix, as, well, it really isn't that good.  

I've been spoiled by a mother who makes custom Chex mix blends for every person at Christmas, with our own favorite brand items and our own favorite mix-ins (e.g. different brand pretzels for me vs my sister, mine has chow mein noodles, wontons, corn nuts, wasabi peas, plantain chips, and the like, my sister's has Goldfish crackers whereas those aren't allowed anywhere near mine, I have brazil nuts and macadamias, my sister has other mixed nuts, my dairy free cousin has vegan butter instead, etc).  Spoiled, yes.  My doesn't just make the standard Worchetershire savory blend (although that *is* her classic mix), she also makes other savory versions (spicy! Truffle! Cheesy!) and loves trying out new sweet and decadent versions.

I've also been spoiled by working in an office that had an in-house pastry department that made snacks for our microkitchens, and for several years, they made homemade Japanese style furikake Chex mix every day that I was absolutely addicted to.  Once those glory days passed, my Japanese Chex Mix hookup was easy to find, as another one of the pastry chefs from my office started his own brand, and he makes Japanese style Chex mix in a slew of flavors (not just a sweet furikake version, but also a white truffle one, a spicy one, etc.  Stay tuned for the review of Mackbox, coming soon!).  And of course, I've tried a few other commercial versions too, like LoloYum, that I wasn't really impressed by.

So it suffices to say, that at any given time, I have at least 8-10 different Chex mixes on hand in my house (most will be vacuum sealed, and frozen, for longer term storage). I definitely didn't need to try yet another Japanese style Chex mix.  But, when I saw it offered from Sunday Bakeshop, I couldn't help but try it.

Furikake Chex Mix. $9.

"A throwback to the classic Chex mix but amped up with soy, seaweed, and a little spice. This makes for the perfect savory and sweet snack with a small kick."

The Sunday Bakehouse version at first seems much like my mom's, or MackBox's classic version, with Chex, honeycomb cereal,  bugles, pretzel sticks, and of course, TONS of furikake.  

I was surprised when I took my first bite though that I was actually distinct from other versions I have tried.  First, it was considerably more, uh, green.  It just had a lot more seaweed coating than others.  This gave a stronger vegetal taste.  Second, it was not nearly as sweet.  My mom's version is essentially candied, and Mack's is pretty heavy in the sugar, and this, while certainly still sweet, was a touch more savory than others.  And finally, rather than just blonde (corn or rice) Chex, they also use darker wheat Chex, which again, just made it a bit more hearty and savory overall (the honeycomb and bugle pieces were of course still more sweet).

I appreciated the subtle but noticeable changes from other versions.  I think this bag was intended to be more than one serving, but, um, mine didn't go that way.  Clearly, I liked it.  ****.

Popcorn

Probably my absolute favorite snack, and quite frankly, a bit of an addiction for me, is popcorn.  Sweet, savory, cheesy, spicy, decadent, I eat it all.  Never microwave popcorn though.  And generally frozen (it is crispier!).  I can go on and on about my love of popcorn, but, you've probably heard it before.  I obviously had to try Sunday Bakeshop's popcorn.

They always carry one signature flavor, pandan coconut, but from time to time offer others too, such as a spicy gochujang one, and I think I saw black sesame once.

Pandan Coconut Caramel Corn. $8.

"Twist of the traditional Cracker Jack that many of us grew up eating and love. A sweet and salty caramel corn with hints of coconut and exotic notes of pandan flavor."

Well, clearly I love popcorn.  And, I really enjoy pandan.  So this was a no brainer.  I had high hopes, and they were entirely met, even exceeded.  The popcorn had a lovely green hue.

The kernels were all large, fluffy type, quite fresh tasting.  Well popped, no unpopped or quasi-popped pieces.  The pieces were well coated in sweet pandan flavored glaze, real legit pandan flavor that I quite enjoyed.  Certainly sweet, but not cloying at all.  I didn't taste much coconut, but that did not bother me.   Most pieces were entirely coated, but there were a few that were only 70% or so coated, which I actually liked, to lighten it up a bit.

Overall, very good, and very easy to devour.  I'd gladly get this again.  ****+.

Cookies

They also make red velvet White Rabbit cookies and a more pedestrian brown butter chocolate chip.

Ube Snickerdoodle. $3.50.

"A cakey cookie with chewy edges flavored with ube and coconut."

"A chewy, soft baked cookie with mashed ube and shredded coconut, finished with sugar."

Snickerdoodles are basically at the bottom of my list of cookie preferences.  I like cinnamon in general, but, I just don't really ever recall liking a snickerdoodle.  So although I adore ube, I was slightly deterred by the "snickerdoodle" name to this.  

When I looked at the ingredients though, there was no cinnamon.  I thought that was kinda a defining characteristic of a snickerdoodle, so I'm not quite sure why they call this one?  Anyway.  It was an ok cookie.  Somewhat soft, somewhat chewy edges as described.  Very mild ube flavor, stronger coconut flavor/texture from shredded coconut, pearl sugar on top.  Basically a sugar cookie, with some interesting texture from coconut, mild other flavor, and purple hue.  Definitely not as powerful as I was hoping the ube would be.  ***.

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Bon Appetit Creperie

Crepes.  I know people tend to get excited by them, but I generally do not.  I'm not sure why, particularly as sweet crepes are basically just an excuse for toppings/fillings, and I definitely get excited about those.  But crepes just aren't something I've ever been into (the slight exception being a very specific, savory no less, crepe from Ti Couz in San Francisco, which closed in 2011, but I still salivate thinking of the buckwheat crepe with this incredible mushroom sauce and caramelized onions ...).  Ok, crepe cakes I also can get excited about.  But actual just standard crepes?  Meh.

And yet here I am reviewing Bon Appetit Crêperie.  They are a small family owned business that started in 2017, as a crepe stand in Pennsylvania, and quickly moved to Boston.  They now have a location in Boston, and one in Chicago.

"Bon Appetit Crêperie infuses French, Mediterranean, and African cuisine to create dynamic flavors in every crêpe."

They have a physical shop in Boston Public Market, but I encountered them during a catered event, where they had a stand set up.

Event menu.

For our event, the hosts selected 2 savory and 2 sweet crepes:

• Sea Master (normally $13.50): Smoked salmon, capers and scallions on a cream cheese spread.
• Caprese ($11.99): Olive oil, Sesame Balsamic Vinaigrette, Mozzarella Cheese, Tomatoes, Basil.
• Classic ($10): Fresh cut strawberries and bananas on a Nutella spread topped with a chocolate drizzle and whipped cream.
• Parisian ($8.99): Squeezed fresh lime and lemon, melted butter and sugar.

At their shop, they offer an extensive line of savory and sweet crepes, including gluten-free.  I'll admit I was a bit let down by the choices we had, and would have preferred many of their other sweet ones, or any of the béchamel or brie based savory ones, but alas.

Parisian ($8.99).

"Squeezed fresh lime and lemon, melted butter and sugar."

It was evening, and I didn't want the caffeine in Nutella (plus, I just don't care for Nutella that much in general), so for a sweet option, I was left with the very simple Parisian.  My crepe was heated up to order, a hunk of butter added, and then their house lemon and lime syrup squirted within.  It was folded up and handed over.  Powdered sugar was available on the side as well to finish it if I wanted.

It was ... fine?  The crepes were pre-made, only warmed on the griddle to order, so not quite the same as a fresh crepe.  But nicely made, didn't tear too easily, etc.  Butter melted in nicely, lots of tang from lemon and lime.  It was what it was.  Boring for me, but, my mother enjoyed it with fresh fruit added.  Low ***.

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Renaissance Warsaw Airport Hotel Executive Lounge

Somehow, in all my travel over the past few years, I've never stayed at an airport hotel.  I've pondered it a few times, particularly as I get a bit stressy about things going wrong getting to the airport, but I've always valued staying closer to where I'm spending my time in a given city, and not wanted the additional burden of moving just for the last night.  During my recent business trip to Poland, I was in Warsaw for only one day (two nights) and decided to do the airport hotel thing, given my early morning flight out.  It was a good tradeoff, as I only had to "commute" from there to the office one day, and I would have needed to do one of those directions anyway to leave.

My hotel choice was the Renaissance Warsaw Airport hotel, located literally across from the passenger drop off area.  You cannot get closer than this, without being physically attached.  I'll admit, it was pretty amazing to just walk out the front door, cross the street, and be there.

But this is Julie's Dining Club, not a general hotel and travel experience blog (although, hey, should I branch out?), so I'll focus on the dining experiences I encountered on the property in the Executive Lounge.

Setting

The lounge is very modest, and seemed to serve very few guests.

Lounge Seating.

The lounge doesn't have all that much seating.  Several areas with couches for big groups like this, which feels like a mis-match from general lounge clients, which I thought were mostly solo travelers?  The seating also didn't really make sense for eating, as the tables were low.  There was only one single actual dining table.

Side Area.

On the side was a few small chairs with just a side table, and two desks to hunker down and work.

And that was the extent of the space.

Drinks

Drinks are all self-serve, although there is a lounge attendant hovering around to try to be helpful (with little else to do it seemed).

Cold Beverages.

Carafes of house filtered water and sparkling water were available room temp or chilled, along with fruit juices, a few mixers, Pepsi, and beer.

Wine and Spirits.

A single variety of red wine was on offer, along with gin, rum, mixers, and a single type of chilled white wine.

I tried the red wine (Kangaroo Shiraz) and didn't mind it.  Pretty drinkable, low acid, low tanin, still a bit of structure.  One of the better hotel lounge wines I've had.  ***+.

Snacks

During the day, and into the evening, little pots of different snacks are available.

Assorted Snacks.

There were several kinds of nuts, raisins, and apricots, along with some crackers on this stand.

Snacks.

Others were under a dome.  But there was no rhyme or reason to what was where, duplicates were everywhere.

More snacks.

I tried a few of the mixed colorful cracker-like things in front here.  They were tasty.  Nice to munch on.

Evening Dinner

The lineup could sorta be dinner.  I was surprised that it seemed to be more main dish focused than the standard canapes and small plates.  That said, even I didn't really want dinner here.  

The lineup had 3 hot dishes, and some sandwiches and cold snacks.  No hot apps.  And if you were vegetarian, you'd only have salad and small little snacks.

Beef in Oriental Sauce with Vegetables.

The first entree was beef, in "oriental" sauce with "vegetables".  It was lukewarm.

The beef was relatively tender, shredded style meat.  The vegetables I could never quite identify, besides bell peppers, mushrooms, and onion.  The vegetable pieces were all quite small, and there wasn't much of them.  The sauce was not really what I think of as oriental, but maybe a bit like American beef stew/gravy mixed with soy sauce?

I can't say this tasted good, nor bad, it was just kind of odd, and not what I wanted.  I wanted more vegetables!  **.

Tuna with Seafood in a Tomato Caper Sauce.

Next up, the seafood main dish.  Tuna "with seafood".  This had chunks of cooked tuna (fine I guess) and what I think was some very spongy bits of calamari.  The tomato sauce was basic, capers at least added some saltiness.  One bite of this was enough.  Also lukewarm. *+.

Mashed Potatoes with Truffle Oil.

The final hot dish was mashed potatoes.  The card said it had truffle oil, but I didn't taste truffle.  I did taste some garlic, which was nice.  The potatoes were fine, needed seasoning though.  Not a rich and creamy style, but fairly satisfying. ***.

There was no other carbs, like even rolls, to mop up the sauces from the two other hot dishes, which both really seemed like they needed a roll, or rice, or something.

Wraps, Cheese, Meat Sticks.

The signs said there were wraps with salmon, or ham, or hummus.  I tried to find a salmon one but did not succeed.  

There was no cheese or charcuterie board as is more standard in lounges, but rather, just cups with one kind of cheese sticks, or one kind of meat stick.  I did try the meat stick, and it was actually tasty enough.  ***+ meat stick.

No Idea ...

Thinking this might be some kind of seafood spread, I grabbed it.  I'm still not sure what it was, but I think it might have just been vegetarian, cream cheese mixed with something?  Not very good.  No real flavor, no seasoning.  There was another one that looked similar but more like cottage cheese on top that I didn't try.

*+.

Salad with Strawberries, Goat Cheese, and Chive.

The fanciest item was the salad offering, pots of one kind of torn greens, with strawberries and tons of goat cheese, and a pipette of I think chive vinaigrette?

I dislike goat cheese, so I pushed that aside.  The strawberries were not very good, and it was strawberry season, and I'd been eating great berries all week elsewhere, so this was a letdown.  There was no seasoning, and the dressing really seemed to be just oil.  The greens were loosely torn.

This was really the only vegetable available, besides pickles.  **.

Hummus?

No idea what this unlabelled tartlet was.  When I went back for my second round of food, there were no more, and they were never replenished.  Maybe hummus?

Desserts.

The dessert lineup had signs for several items: chocolate cake with cherries, chocolate block, and apple pie, along with panna cotta.  However, there was definitely one chocolate pudding, and, the base of the tall shot glasses with orange topping was totally different from the wider ones with the pink topping.  And the cake certainly didn't seem to be apple as labelled.  So, treat the signs with a grain of salt.

Anyway, I tried everything that was not caffeinated.

The tall shot glass pudding was my favorite.  It was a smooth pudding, almost yogurt-like, in a not very sweet way, and perhaps buttermilk.  Was this the panna cotta?  I think so?  The mango (?) sweet fruity topping was fine.  I wouldn't rave about this, but enjoyed it.  ***+.

Next, the other non-chocolate pudding.  This one was a totally different consistency.  It was more fluffy and mousse-like.  Maybe white chocolate.  It was sweeter.  And didn't taste particularly good.  Not bad, but not good.  The fruity stuff on top was kinda like a gel, not very good either.  I didn't really want more than a few bites of this.  **+.

And the non-chocolate cake, definitely not apple pie.  It might have been rhubarb?  It was dry, tasted highly processed, and even the crumble topping was not very good.  Meh.  *.

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Street Spudz Potato Cart, Boston

Street Spudz.  You know, fries you eat on the street.  That is the concept behind the Street Spudz Potato Cart, a french fry cart I encountered in Boston.

"We like to joke but frying potatoes is truly the intersection of Art and Science… We’ve spent countless hours researching different blanching techniques, testing more frying mediums than we can count, and finding the perfect temp to finish a fry at… All to get us to the point of being able to say we’ve created one killer French fry recipe (and have eaten a TON of spuds)."

Everyone likes to say their fries are the best, and that they've perfected the technique, and Street Spudz is no different. 

"We went 150 miles North of Boston to Vacation Land to find the perfect potato for our cart. We’re proud to source locally from Green Thumb Farms in Fryeburg , Maine. Our French Fries are created from Round White potatoes. Green Thumb has the perfect combination of above-average growing days, natural minerals, and the ability to irrigate from the crystal clear waters of the Saco River."

They also pride themselves in sourcing very locally, with potatoes from Maine.

I'm not sure where they normally set up their cart, but I encountered them at a catered event.  They had a great setup with fryers right there.

Menu.

For events, they always offer their classic house fries and spud sauce, plus your choice of 2 others.  For our event, the other options were truffle parmesan fries, or bacon cheese fries.  Street Spudz also makes some fascinating sounding pickle ranch fries, animal style, garlic + rosemary, bbq bacon, and even buffalo chicken or smashburger topped, but alas, not on our menu.

Spud sauce or ketchup were available to dip.

Truffle Parmesan Fries.

"Truffle oil, shaved parmesan, herb."

I went for the truffle parmesan fries.  These seemed to be just their house fries with a sprinkle of the shaved parmesan and herbs on top, which I think had been tossed in truffle oil.  I was hoping the fries themselves would have the truffle oil, and thus, considerably more flavor.  

That said, the fries were fine.  Thin style, a bit limp, but understandable given the catering and 98* weather (really!).  I liked the crispy skin on tips, and the truffle and parmesan *were* good, there just wasn't much of it.

The spud sauce (ketchup, mayo, pickles, vinegar, oregano) was creamy and flavorful, pretty classic "special sauce" style.

***.

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