Chip City, NYC

Cookies.  Not an item I ever really seek out.  I'm a dessert girl to the core, but to me, cookies aren't what I consider a "real" dessert.  Sometimes I'll enjoy a warm gooey cookie a la mode with a drizzle of a syrup and fresh fruit perhaps, but just a cookie?  Meh.  Not a real dessert (there are of course exceptions, like the Salted Caramel Manifesto cookie from Sweet Street, that is basically my favorite cookie on the planet, but even that I like to at least dip in whipped cream).  But cookies are definitely having their trendy spotlight (I'm looking at you Crumbl, which certainly takes the definition of "cookie" a bit liberally).  

Which brings me to Chip City, a New York City based franchise akin to Crumbl (they have expanded to a few other cities in other states as well now).  Cookies are the focus.  

The flavors change weekly, on Fridays.  The lineup always includes 5 from their classic cookie lineup, plus two more from the seasonals, along with one vegan offering, with special holiday ones making an appearance from time to time.  On top of that, sometimes one that is offered for just one day, replacing one of the classics.  You can always find the week's choices on their Instagram page.

The classics include your basic expected flavors, but also tempting options like cookie butter with Biscoff, Nutella sea salt, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Rev Velvet Cookies N' Cream, Blueberry Cheesecake, and more.  Seasonally, you get caramel corn, caramel apple cider doughnut, pecan pie, sweet potato s'mores, red velvet hot chocolate, peppermint crinkle, white chocolate gingerbread, and of course pumpkin spice latte (along with others) in the fall and winter.  Spring and summer bring banana nut oat, cannoli (what's spring/summer about that?), lemon berry, key lime pie, hot honey cornbread, peach cobbler, and more.  Oooh, and fluffernutter hits in the winter too.  Many are stuffed/filled, and some are topped, the fluffernutter for example has marshmallow filling, the cannoli has cannoli cream and mini chips on top.  Then there are the "Chip City Holiday" cookies, ones that come out for very exclusive appearnances.  Here you'll find crazy things like a baklava cookie (filled with spiced honey walnuts and wrapped in crispy phyllo dough!) and a blueberry Eggo waffle cookie (topped with a maple icing and Eggo® Graham Crackers).  These are all big, thick, gooey cookies.  Considered 4 servings each.  

In addition to the standard large cookies, they also offer thins (much crispier, single serving size), and, at some locations, the ever trendy crookies and, again, some locations only, ice cream.

The week I visited (in August), the lineup was:

• Chocolate Chip
• S’mores
• Confetti
• Cookies N Cream
• Triple Chocolate
• Banana Cream Pie
• Lemon Berry
• Dairy-Free Cookie Butter
• One day only: Choco Coco Caramel - 8/30 (replaces Confetti) and Peach Cobbler - 8/31 (replaces Confetti)

The first 5 are the classics, the next two were the summer seasonal picks of the week.  I recommend signing up for their rewards program, as you get a free one on your birthday, among other rewards.

Storefront.

The stores are mostly just cookie counters, with no / minimal seating.  They are no frills, except for the aroma of freshly baked cookies.  The aroma pouring out the door is a bit irresistible, even for someone who isn't as in to cookies normally.  

Fresh Baked.

The smell comes of course from the fresh baked cookies.  Cookies are baked in small batches at a time at each shop (literally just a tray of 6), so they are fresh as can be.

Enticing Cookies.

Chip City highlights the fresh baked nature by not even putting them into display cases, but rather, just displaying the cookie trays.

More Cookies.

 They are served using standard cookie spatula.  They look they just came out of the oven, because, well, they did.

Branded Box.

Once you order, cookies are not handed over in a generic cookie/pastry sleeve.  They always come in branded boxes.  This one was for a half dozen, but even a single cookie comes in a mini cookie box.

Cookie Carnage.

My first encounter with Chip City is when I stumbled upon this box of carnage in the office.  I tried a few nibbles, and quickly went back for more.

Chocolate Chip (Classic)

"Brown sugar cookie mixed with dark chocolate chips."

I started with the most basic.  Chocolate chip. This was very good.  The brown sugar made for more complex base than a standard chocolate chip cookie.   Plenty of high quality dark chocolate throughout.  Buttery, decadent, and sweet.  One of the better choc chip cookies I've ever had.  ****.

Orange N' Cream Cookie (Weekly Special).

"Orange cream sugar cookie stuffed with an orange cream cheese filling and drizzled with an orange cream flavored glaze."

Not a cookie I would have ever ordered given my dislike of citrus desserts, but, this turned out to be very good.  A thick sugar cookie base, which was kinda a first for me - I'm used to sugar cookies being thinner.  This was the form of thick, rich, gooey cookie, but, all the flavor of a sugar cookie.  So buttery and sweet and decadent.  And then, the hints of citrus and cream.  I'm glad I got to try this (and actually had taken a hunk not pictured here to start before I knew what it was, so I had a bigger hunk that it appears).  ****.

Dairy-Free Trail Mix (Discontinued).

"Oatmeal cookie made with roasted peanuts, raisins, and mini chocolate chips."

I lost my notes on this one, but I remember loving all the textures and components, particularly the peanuts.

Banana Cream Pie (Summer Special).

"Banana Cream Pie Cookie Sugar cookie with fresh banana and vanilla wafers, filled with banana pudding."

My next encounter was when I visited for my birthday in August.

I almost made the trip just for the one day only peach cobbler special, but decided that the banana cream pie was really calling my name.  I had been craving more banana cream pudding since having it at Magnolia the week before (everything else, cupcakes included, is not worth the hype at Magnolia, but that banana pudding ... swoon!).  The cookie was topped with a spray of whipped cream to order.

The cookie base was good - a very sweet cookie, lofty, quite soft, almost cake-like.  It had some complexity to it, which I guess was the vanilla wafer and banana bits, although I didn't really distinctly taste either.  But sweet and soft, and decent enough, it was.  ***+ base.

The whipped cream on top was interesting - it tasted far more like frosting/icing than whipped cream.  Definitely very sweetened.  Good, but it made me think of a cupcake more than a banana cream pie.  ***+.

Banana Cream Pie: Inside.

And then of course, perhaps the part I was most intrigued by, the banana pudding filling.  Given that the cookie was fresh and warm, and I think of banana pudding as a chilled item, I wasn't sure how this would work.  

The amount of filling was reasonable as it was a cookie after all, but there really wasn't that much.  I don't really think a pudding stuffed cookie makes all that much sense.  At least for me, I want more quantity when I have pudding, so stuffing donuts, croissants, bigger items works much better.  Cookie butter, chocolate, icing, etc stuffings work well in cookie, but pudding?  It was too easily lost.  It was fine, kinda basic banana pudding, but, really hard to really taste.  ***.

I did enjoy this cookie.  It was well baked, and flavorful, it just didn't really remind me of banana cream pie.  ***+.

One of their lightest offerings, 150 calories per serving, which of course is an amusing 1/4 of the cookie.

Area Four, Cambridge, MA

Update Review, June 2024

After really not enjoying my one prior visit to Area Four, after an 8 year hiatus, I gave it another try, when I was in the area, and had been on a bit of pizza kick.  I just got takeout, as I had been so let down by the service before, and it was a lovely night to just go picnic outside nearby with my loot.

Fresh Macaroni & Cheese. $11. 
+ Bacon. $5.

"Housemade Creste di Gallo Pasta, Vermont Cheddar Cheese Sauce, Pangrattato."

To hedge my bets, I got something from the "not pizza" menu as well, one that I thought most places can do decently, and would be fine to just take home and eat another day if I liked the pizza: mac and cheese.  And added bacon, because, why not?

I'll admit that it looked pretty decent - fancy pasta shape, very creamy, attractive breadcrumbs and herbs on top.  And they make the pasta in-house?  Not what I'd expect.

It was however pretty average.  The pasta wasn't too mushy or overcooked, but I'd like it a bit more al dente.  The shape was unique and fun though, and it held the cheese sauce well.  The cheese sauce was strongly flavored, and I didn't particularly like it, but I could respect how nicely creamy it was.  One thing I love about a baked mac and cheese is crispy bits, and this didn't seem to have any, I think likely just stovetop mixed and garnished?   The breadcrumbs on top were a tiny bit of texture, but not much.

So, it looked good, but nothing particularly special, and the flavor was a bit off for me in a way I can't really describe.  **+.  $5 for the small amount of bacon add-in seemed too high.

A4 Sausage & Pickled Peppers. (small). $18.

"A4 Mozzarella, Tomato, Pecorino & Parsley."

For pizza, I was craving red sauce and sausage.  And thus, one of their signature pizzas it was.  

Like the mac and cheese, it did look fairly attractive.  Puffy crust, charred bits in an intentional way, well distributed toppings (although the cheese really only went 2/3 up the slices, leaving massive crust only boring sections).  The crust was reasonable enough tasting, decent enough chew.  The cheese was clearly not very melty by the time I got it, even though I got it fresh as they brought it out, and sat down just around the corner with it.  The sausage hunks were large and quite flavorful.  I did really like the sausage. **** sausage.

So again, looked good, but not really special, besides the nice sausage.  Very low ***.

Original Review, July 2016

Area Four is (mostly) a pizza place in Cambridge, MA.  They have won several "Best of Boston" awards, have been on Food Network and Cooking Channel, and are known for their commitment to sustainable sourcing, quality ingredients, and not taking shortcuts.

I said "mostly" a pizza place, because the space is really two establishments, one is a coffee shop with pastries and the like, the other, the pizza parlor.  The pizza place is open for lunch and dinner daily, and brunch on weekends, and features a big wood fired oven in the center.  I didn't get a chance to experience brunch, but those items are also baked in the oven, like an incredible sounding baked french toast with bourbon, fruit, and pecans and a bunch of dishes called "messes", which are eggs and other goodies cooked in skillets in the wood oven.

My visit was for dinner, with a group of 8, including children.  Which might start to explain why I was at a pizza place, as, well, pizza is never really at the top of my list of cuisines, particularly when I have a limited amount of time in a city (unless I'm waffling it of course!).  But, we needed somewhere that could seat 8, was child friendly, and near our office in Cambridge.  Area Four seemed like a natural fit, as it gets great reviews for the food, and the kids would like it too.

So, how was it?  Meh.

Service wasn't particularly good, and the pacing of the food was pretty bad.  We ordered two starters, two salads, and 4 pizzas for the group, all of which arrived within 5 minutes of each other.  The timing of the initial items was fine, pretty fast after we ordered, but it really would have been nice to enjoy the starters before the onslaught of pizzas arrived.  And then, after we ordered dessert, it took 30 minutes for the dessert to come.  I had honestly started to believe they had forgotten it, and, such a long wait wasn't exactly child-friendly.  30 minutes for dessert, at a casual joint, is just too much.

Besides just the poor timing, we also weren't really well taken care of.  After our dessert order went in, our table was only half-cleared.  Some of the pizza stands were left behind, bits of food and wrappers were left behind, it was just a mess.  The napkins were all removed and replacements never brought.  At least we had water jugs on the table so we didn't need someone to fill our glasses.

Overall, it was a fine choice for the occasion, but I don't think I'd return.  If I did, it would be for basically just one thing: dessert.  The pizza was fairly lackluster, but, the dessert quite delicious.

The Setting

Area Four is located near Kendall Square in Cambridge, just a few blocks down from our office, alongside a park (in an area I think known as technology park).

Outside Seating.

During the pleasant time of year, Area Four has substantial seating out front and along the side.  It was a beautiful evening when we visited, and I wished we were able to sit outside, but, our group was too large for those tables, they were mostly groups of two or four.

High Table.

The space inside was a mix of standard tables and high tables.  Groups ranged from pairs to large groups of 8 or 10.  We were a group of 8 and had a collection of smaller tables pushed together.

Tables were pretty basic, casual, wooden tops, with noisy metal chairs.

The walls were decorated with permanent chalkboards noting their principles of good ingredients, sustainability, etc.

There was also a bar area and the main focal point was the pizza ovens in the middle of the room.  It is a fairly big space, and, a loud one.  Perhaps it was just due to our group size, but I couldn't hear anyone at the other end of the table, and spent the whole night unable to really participate in conversation.  I don't think the concrete floors and metal chairs helped with sound dampening.

Dry Goods: Not the bathroom.

Our place settings were white plates, cloth napkins with a fork and huge knife, and water glass.  Water carafes were brought to the table so we could serve ourselves more water as we wanted.  I thought the knives were crazy, until we got the pizza, and I realized they were necessary.

There were a lot of doors leading out of the main dining area.  Clearly, people often assume they lead to bathrooms, as they are all marked that they are explicitly NOT the bathroom.

The first door I saw said "Dry Goods (not the bathroom...)"  I thought it was mildly funny, until I saw more doors.

Office: Also not the bathroom.

The next one was better, the office, marked as "... also not the bathroom".  I laughed out loud when I saw that one.

Emergency Exit: Definitely not the bathroom

But the best was the the emergency exit to the outside, or, "definitely not the bathroom."

I thought these were all a cute, fun touch.

Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes.

On each table was a selection of condiments: salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, all in cute little jars.  I expected oregano or parmesan cheese shakers too, but, this was it.  I don't think any of us used the seasonings, but, I appreciated the cute jars.

Savory Food

Simple Menu.

The menu is not large, consisting of "Not Pizza" and "Pizza".  Besides pizza, there was exactly one type of salad, one soup, a few appetizers (ribs, spreads and pita, garlic knots), sides (roasted zucchini, papas bravas, or mushrooms), and a few random entrees (chicken, arctic char, mac and cheese).  The pizza selection was 10 pizzas, along with a special of the day.  And that was it.

Pizza is clearly the focus, and every table ordered it.  Area Four does one thing different with their pizza than most ... they use sourdough as the base.  This might raise alarm bells for you if you've been a reader of my blog for a while.  You might realize how I feel about sourdough.  Yup, I hate it.  So when I saw the proclamation "12-year-old starter + flour + water + salt. No oil or sugar. Ever. Over 30 hours of fermentation. Handcrafted cheese. 1 wood-fire oven. Simplicity at it’s best.", let's just say my heart kinda sunk.  How did I not pick up on that fact when reading the reviews?

Still, I pressed on.  We ordered a few salads since I knew the others value their greens, some garlic knots as they are the items people rave about (even more than the pizzas), and of course,  pizzas.  Our server told us that each small pizza serves one person, which turned out to be totally misleading.  We had way too much pizza, and wound up with 1.5 full pizzas extra at the end of the night that nobody wanted.  And sadly, I was traveling, so I couldn't bring it home to waffle!

City Grower's Mixed Greens.  $12.

"Fennel, Radish, Apple, Carrot, Almonds, Manchego & Lemon Vinaigrette."

We started with salad, because I had read good reviews about the salads and I knew the others in the group like to eat healthier.

I can't say I understand the reviews at all.  It was just a salad.  Generic mixed greens, sliced fennel, shredded carrots and apple, chunks of radish, shaved manchego cheese, and chunks of almond.  I guess the different cuts were kinda interesting, and I appreciated the crunch from the almond, but, really, there was nothing remarkable about this salad, and it is the only kind on the menu.

The dressing was a very tangy lemon vinaigrette, too tangy, and too lemony for my tastes.  I didn't really like anything about this salad, and wouldn't get it again. *+.

Garlic Knots (3). $6.

"Red Sauce, Pecorino, Crispy Garlic & Gremolata."

Next came an order of garlic knots, the item I had read the most rave reviews about.  Even more than the pizza really.  Garlic knots are available plain with red sauce on the side as pictured here, or smothered with cheese sauce.  Both get great reviews, and seemed really different, so, we opted for an order of each.

They were served in a basket on a piece of parchment paper, with the tomato sauce on the side.  The knots were fresh from the oven and warm, with some cheese, garlic, and herbs on top.  I liked how they had a toasted exterior.  They were pleasantly doughy inside.

But ... I could taste the sourdough.  Yup, the knots were also made from the same dough as the pizza, and thus, sourdough.

I dunked mine in the sauce to try to mask the sourdough, which helped a little.  The sauce was tangy, good tomato sauce, served warm.

Overall, these were fine, but fairly boring, and, well, too sourdoughy.  Like the salad, I didn't see anything particularly noteworthy about them. **+.

The plain garlic knots came 3 to an order, a reasonable portion for $6, and easy enough for us to share.

Supreme Knots (5). $13.

"5 Knots in Red Sauce, Covered in Melted Cheese."

I really had my eyes on the supreme knots though.  These were served in a skillet, a huge mound of 5 of the knots, covered in the tangy tomato sauce, and then absolutely smothered in cheese.  I mean, seriously, look at that mountain of garlic knots!

I eagerly dove into this, expecting it to be the item of the night for me.  It was really hard to serve, as the cheese was really thick, stringy, and hard to get through.  Undeterred, I cut off a chunk of a knot, severed the strings of cheese going everywhere, and dug in, leaving the others to deal with extracting chunks themselves.

I liked this MUCH more than the plain knots.  The red sauce soaked into the knots since it was put on before the cheese and then it was all baked together, so it kinda made the bread soggy, like a bread pudding, where it touched.  This might not sound like a good thing, but, I did like how it really soaked up the sauce, and it created a textural difference where the soggy saucy bits were versus the crispy bits without sauce.

Like the plain knots, the garlic flavor was strong, and I appreciated all the extra herbs.  Very good flavors.

But the star of the show here was the cheese.  I think it was mozzarella.  It was melty, it was stringy, and it was a perfect combo with the tangy red sauce.

This was basically pizza, just, in a more fun form.  I suspect it is the same dough, the same red sauce, the same cheese.  Just here, the bread component is more doughy, and there is tons of garlic and herbs.

Overall, this was pretty tasty, and a bit more of a unique dish.  It was my favorite savory item of the night, and I'd get it again, but, I really wish it wasn't sourdough.  I could still taste way too much sourdough, even through all the other great flavors. ***+.

The portion of 5 knots for this was a bit odd compared to the 3 for the regular knots.  With all the cheese on this, it was not a light item, and I really don't think anyone would want more than one full knot out of here, so, you needed a large party to split this with.  Why not offer as only 3 like the plain knots?

Small Hawaiian (front) $16.50.  Small Margherita (back). $13.

Moments after the garlic knots were delivered, so were the first pizzas.  Our table was full within seconds.  And it was all hot food, quickly getting cold.  This made me pretty upset, as I wanted to have the time to enjoy the garlic knots without rushing to eat the rapidly cooling pizzas.

I didn't pick any of the pizza, since I knew they had sourdough crust, and I was mostly planning to fill up on garlic knots and dessert.  The others picked 4 pizzas: Hawaiian, clam and bacon, the special of the day, plus a simple pizza for the kids.  None of these are the pizzas I would have picked, and I almost spoke up, suggesting the ones I thought sounded better, like the "Not Pepperoni" with sopressata and pecorino, or the sausage and banana pepper, or even the white anchovy.  I was also tempted by the caramelized onion with onion sauce, candied walnuts, and green onions.  But, since I wasn't planning to eat much pizza, I let them make all the decisions.

None of the pizzas were well cut, and everyone struggled removing slices.  No wonder they provided us with the massive knives?

"A4 Mozzarella, Tomato, Ham, Cilantro & Scallions, Roasted Pineapple Salsa."

Of the pizzas we ordered, the Hawaiian sounded the best, so I took a small slice.  I was not impressed.  The crust was soggy, perhaps from all the moisture from the pineapple chunks.  It was hard to pick up a slice without it flopping all over the place.

The pineapple "salsa" just seemed to be chunks of I guess roasted pineapple, soft, and sweet.  The ham was slices, a bit salty, a nice contrast to the sweet fruit.  Tangy red sauce was under this all and there was way too much cilantro on top.

Overall, pretty lackluster.  Only 2 slices total of this were eaten, as no one wanted it.  I'm not sure why they ordered it. **.

"A4 Mozzarella, Tomato, Pecorino & Basil."

The margherita was for the kids, just a basic cheese pizza.  The little girl, who I've never really seen interested in food, single handedly took down a couple slices of it.  She asked for more and more, again, something I had never seen from her.  It must have been good for a kid's palette!

"Clam Sauce, Pecorino, Hot Pepper & Parsley."

Not pictured is the clam and bacon, the top pick of one diner.  Others also raved about it, so I tried a bite, even though I really don't tend to like clams and this sounded, and looked, totally unappetizing to me.  And ... yeah, super chewy clams, in a fishy white sauce.  I wanted to spit it out.  They all liked it though and it was the only pizza to get finished, so, clearly I was the outlier. *.

Small Special. $16.

The final pizza was the daily special.  I did not hear the description of it, it was not on the menu, and I didn't even realize we were ordering it until someone threw it onto our order at last minute, so I can't tell you what it was exactly.  I think it was topped with a garlic white sauce, slices of zucchini, spinach, pecorino, and lemon wedges (presumably to drizzle over it?)

Again, I didn't like the crust, but, the zucchini was nicely cooked and I liked how crispy the spinach was on top.  There was some interesting flavor at least to this.  The lemon wedges were super random. **+/

The Sweet Stuff

The dessert menu, titled "The Sweet Stuff" was very small.  It had two items on it: a seasonal crisp or fresh baked cookies.  Of course, I had done my research, and knew that these "cookies" were not really cookies in the traditional sense.  They are skillet cookies, aka, cookie dough baked in a cast iron skillet in the wood oven, served piping hot and ooey gooey.  While I don't like cookies, these don't really count as cookies in my book.  And what's better, each "cookie" comes with a sauce, but, you can also opt to add a scoop of daily ice cream from Toscanini's, arguably the best ice cream in Boston.  Oh, and they are huge.

So, yes, cookies, but warm, and with quality ice cream?  I had my eyes on these before we even arrived.  Of course I saved room for dessert.

Sweet Stuff Menu.

Our choices for "cookies" were chocolate macadamia nut with chocolate sauce, peanut butter oat with caramel, and butterscotch chocolate chip with caramel.  The daily ice cream choices were vanilla, strawberry, or salty caramel.  The crisp was rhubarb.  Since we knew the desserts were large, we opted to double up, two people per dessert

One child and adult pair went for the chocolate macadamia.  I was too far away to snap a photo, but it looked like a chocolatey delight, topped with chocolate sauce, and they added on vanilla ice cream.  It was devoured quickly.

My partner's first instinct was the peanut butter oat, which I would have gladly gone for, but I also suggested the butterscotch chocolate chip, so we went for that instead.  I opted for salted caramel ice cream, because I really love having cold ice cream with warm desserts, although my fellow diner was inclined to get it without.

Finally, a few others wanted the rhubarb crisp.  I adore fruit crisps, particularly hot and fresh ones, but, I loathe rhubarb, so I was pretty sad it was the seasonal crisp on offer.

As I mentioned earlier, desserts took a very, very long time to arrive.  During the wait, our table was only half cleared, we still had pizza stands and lots of chunks of food laying around.  At one point, someone came and took away all the napkins and replacements were never brought.  I thought our dessert was forgotten, until a while later, when someone brought out a plate with 9 spoons on it (there was 8 of us).  Finally, literally, 35 minutes later, our desserts arrived.

They were worth it.  Incredible.  Highlight of the meal, by far.

Fresh Baked Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookie with Caramel Sauce. $7.  Salty Caramel Ice Cream. $2.

"Fresh Wood Fired Cookie."

OMG, OMG, OMG.  That is basically all I have to say about this.  Ok, if I have to pick three other words, they would be: gooey, hot, yum.

The "cookies" are served in round cast iron skillets with handles, still super hot, fresh out of the oven.

It was as ooey-gooey as I hoped it would be.  It was sweet and buttery.  I didn't actually taste butterscotch, but I didn't mind.  It did have plentiful chocolate chips.  **** cookie.

The caramel sauce on top was almost too much sweet for me, and I sorta wished it wasn't there.  The cookie was sweet, the ice cream was sweet, and the sauce just pushed it over the top. *** sauce.

The ice cream was great, it had a touch of saltiness to it, but otherwise was sweet caramel.  It was smooth and creamy.  I see why people love Toscaninis. **** ice cream.

I thought the ice cream was necessary to compliment the warm goo and the sweetness, but my fellow diner said it was fine without.  I think the cookie and just the caramel would have been a bit much, I would have at least wanted whipped cream, if I wasn't getting the ice cream.  But really, the ice cream was perfect.

I really liked this, and we easily devoured it.  It was hard for me to share bites with the others who wanted to try it.  It was all I could do to stop myself from saying "no", and meaning it.  It was all I could do to stop myself from not even letting my companion have his portion (I'm pretty certain he didn't get close to half anyway).  ****.

I'd clearly get this again, and would also like to try that peanut butter one.

Rhubarb Crisp. $7.

"Almond oat crumble, topped with whipped sweet cream and salted caramel sauce."

As I said, I hate rhubarb, but I love fruit crisps.  And, I'll be honest, this looked pretty good.  Seriously, look at that mound of whipped cream!

When it was clear that this dessert wasn't going to get finished by the others, I tried a bite.  And ... it was even worse than I expected.  Not only was it rhubarb, it had tons of orange flavor.  I hate orange in desserts!

I can't really judge this fairly since I dislike the main flavors, but, it was a hot fresh crisp, and the topping was crispy and generous.  **.

United Airlines Domestic First Class, BOS-SFO

Flight Details

Flight: UA1187

Departure: BOS 1:58pm (scheduled) (1:54pm pushback, 2:12pm takeoff)

Arrival: SFO 5:30pm (scheduled) 4:56pm actual

Aircraft: 737 Max 9

Seat: 4E

This was a pretty average United domestic flight.  We took off on time, minimal drama in-flight.

The aircraft itself is pretty meh for such a long flight - the seats just really were not comfortable at all, and mine wouldn't recline.  No footrest.  No real functional spaces around to put things, besides a slot for water bottle and space for a phone and laptop.  No in-seat entertainment units.  Not even USB ports for charging.  No amenities besides a small thin blanket, no pillow, which I really wanted for some lumbar support.  Meh.  Wifi worked fine.

Service was good, the FAs were very good about offering more beverages and picking up used items.  They weren't overly friendly or interesting, but were attentive enough.

Food & Drink

Once everyone *finally* boarded (it was a lengthy boarding time), PDB of water or sparkling wine was offered.  I asked for sparkling water, and that was accommodated.

One underway, drink orders were taken, as were food orders for those who hadn't preordered.  Beverages came out fairly quickly, meals around the 1 hour mark.  No snacks later in the flight, even though the same length as the other transcons like those from Newark than include an entire second meal service.

AHA Sparkling Water Pineapple + Passionfruit / Red Wine.

I started with sparkling water as always (no ice) and opted to try the Pineapple + Passionfruit AHA (I usually go for the blueberry + pomegranate). It was way too fruity for me, so now I know. I opted for the blueberry + pomegranate for the rest of the flight. I appreciate that they have flavored sparkling water.

I also opted for "the red wine", no idea what it was.  It was decent enough, not too much acid nor tanin, and actually some body to it. ***.

No nuts provided.

Decaf Coffee.  Black.

With my dessert, I asked for decaf coffee.  It was clearly instant, and not very good.  But nice and hot. **.

Menu.

For my main dish, I had an amusing list of choices: chicken (grilled), chicken (charred), or chicken (also grilled), or two vegetarian options.  Wow, United, wow.  2 of the dishes (one of the chickens, and the enchiladas) were pre-order only.  Those who didn't pre-order had only two choices in practice, the salad or the chicken with rice.  Nearly everyone had pre-ordered, I only heard the FA ask 2 people what they'd like, and they were not given the pasta choice.

Given that I loathe chicken, and truly disliked one of the vegetarian options before (the enchiladas), I essentially had no choice.  Mezze rigatoni it was, even though I can't say I've been impressed with United's pasta in the past.

Meal.

My meal was served about an hour after the actual takeoff, as expected.  All of the meals, besides the entree salad, come with the same side salad and roll, butter, salt, pepper, and olive oil, and dessert, all served at once.

Roll.

The roll was served nicely warm.  It was my least favorite of the selections in the United lineup though, just a white roll (I actually quite like their grainy one or the wheat one).  It was fresh enough tasting, not stale, not dried out.  I liked the cornmeal on top.  Good to dunk in the sauce too.  Low ***.

Salad.

The salad was different from versions I've had in the past, this time with a base of mixed greens, cucumbers, and sundried tomatoes (instead of fresh), and copious amounts of large shards of cheese.  The greens were actually pretty fresh tasting, not wilted, and not frozen (both of which are things that happen frequently with United salads).  I don't care for cucumbers, so those I pushed aside.  And although I'm not a big fan of sundried tomatoes, they were dramatically better than the usual mealy and not ripe fresh tomatoes, so they worked really well here.  Lots of flavors.  The cheese was good, but there was really quite a bit of it given the small amount of greens (which is my only real complaint with the salad, it is really quite small!).  I added my own additional greens and veggies, and my own dressing (they only provide olive oil now?  What happened to the generic balsamic vinaigrette pots?).  Higher end of ***.

Mezze Rigatoni.

"Mezze rigatoni with vodka sauce."

People on social media have said reasonable things about this dish.  As have friends of mine who have flown with United recently and had it. And, like I said, it's not like I really had a choice ... I don't eat chicken, and I didn't want the enchiladas that I had truly disliked before.  I did consider just getting the entree salad (which has chicken, but I could avoid that), and bringing a bit more of my own food, but hey, in the interests of research, I figured this was worth a try.

The dish actually looked pretty good.  Well sauced.  Not overcooked.  Attractive sprinkle of cheese on top.  It was hot but not scalding, and held its heat well.

But I was underwhelmed by the flavor.  The pasta was cooked well enough - not mushy, not dried out, I'd even say maybe actually somewhat al dente.  The portion was fine.  The ratio of sauce to pasta was good.  But the sauce was highly mediocre.  It tasted like it came from a jar, or a cafeteria.  It was creamy, but just didn't taste like much of anything.  Mild tomato flavor.  No spices whatsoever.  It definitely needed salt, and really would have benefitted from anything else like garlic, herbs, chili flakes ... just, something.  Remarkably bland.  I was glad I at least had red chili flakes with me.

**+.  I wouldn't get this again.  If I had the same menu in the future, I'd either take a gamble ordering one of the special meals like Asian vegetarian or Kosher, or see if I could order the beer cheese burger from economy.  This menu just had nothing I wanted.

Dessert.

The dessert made me laugh when I saw it.  For two reasons, first, because it wasn't what was on the menu, but moreover, because it was *tiny*.  I know I come from a family that enjoys dessert and eats big slices, but, wow, this was a child or mouse's portion! 

The menu said we'd have the "harvest apple tart", which I've had before and actually quite like (it is one of Eli's Cheesecake and United's better items), but instead we had tiny pieces of blueberry cheesecake.  The cheesecake was served a bit too warm, but otherwise was fine.  Reasonably creamy, reasonable cream cheese flavor.  Minimal soft crust, better than generic cardboard like graham crust.  The blueberry element was also minimal, clearly it was a distinct layer in the cheesecake, but my tiny slice had only one bit of berry in it.  So, "fine", but not special, and one of the weaker desserts in the United lineup (that generally I think are reasonably decent).  Low ***.

Bonus Slice!

When I laughed about how tiny it was to the FA, she offered me an extra, which I gladly accepted.  And yes, I had plated my first slice up with my own fresh fruit to embellish it.

Burma Love

Update Review, 2024 Visits

Golden Ginger Salad ... new version?

I loved this salad before.  But I was very confused when I saw the container for it this time.  Why ... why was there butternut squash?  Where was the vibrant purple cabbage?  What happened to the lettuce base?  Why did the dressing look so different?  Where did the lemon go?  And what about that powder (that I didn't really care for before anyway), where was it?  I actually like butternut squash, so these were not bad changes, but it really seemed like an entirely different product, but still had the same name.

Golden Ginger Salad.

"Butternut squash, kale, napa cabbage, red bell pepper, toasted coconut, and our citrus ginger dressing."

So, yes, this was an entirely different salad.  Frankly, I'm not sure why they didn't change the name.

It had a base of shredded kale and napa cabbage, which felt hearty, and had good texture.  It was reasonably fresh, although browning in places.  In the mix was also a lot of large shards of coconut, which somewhat dominated both the flavor and the texture (a bit soft and chewy).  I would have preferred no coconut in this base.  

On top was a mound of small bits of red bell pepper, and a mound of butternut squash cubes.  Both were fine.

A large container of dressing contained the citrus ginger dressing, that was looked entirely different from the version I loved so much before.  That one was loaded with shards of ginger, this looked to be just regular dressing.  It had a bit of a zing to it, and tasted a bit healthy, but, sadly, it was nothing like the previous version.

And finally, the small container of crunchy mix, that I did love again.

Overall, an ok base, ok mix-ins, and better in some ways than the previous version (e.g. no powder), but I preferred the prior version.  ***.

Tea Leaf Salad.

I also got the tea leaf salad again.  It too had changed, but only slightly, now with bits of green bell pepper and red onion on top, and some napa cabbage in the base.  Otherwise though, this was mostly the same.

The base lettuce/napa cabbage was fresh enough, as were the bits of onion and bell pepper.  The tomatoes (only 3) were very ripe, a bit mushy.  The lemon was nice to drizzle over it.  The dressing again reminded me of a tea-chimichurri, and I didn't mind it, but also didn't love it.  **+.

Burmese Crunchy Mix. $8.99/container.

"Our Burmese Crunchy Mix is a medley of roasted peanuts, garlic chips, chickpeas, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds that can be used to top salads made with our range of Fermented Tea Leaf Dressings, or any dish requiring a nutty, rich garnish."

I adore this.  Not only as a salad topping, but also just as a snack to munch on, and I think it would be great on top of things like mashed potatoes too.  Big pieces of fried garlic, crunchy little chickpeas and seeds, mmm, peanuts.  So much flavor, so much crunch.  Love it.  ****.

Original Review, April 2023

Prior to 1992, the San Francisco Bay Area did not have much Burmese cuisine awareness.  But that all changed when Burma Superstar opened in the Richmond, founded by a recent transplant from Burma who lamented the lack of Burmese food, and became "famous" for their tea leaf salad.  It soon won national awards. I remember hearing about it way back when I first moved to the area, and remember visiting at some point during my first year in the city to try that salad.  My memory is mostly that it was on the far other side of the city, didn't take reservations and had a long wait, and the food was totally unfamiliar to me.  I don't recall if I liked it or not.  By 2014 they had opened a spin-off, Burma Love, in the Mission, far more accessible to most, and the fame spread further.  And then in 2019 another, Burma Love downtown.  There is a 4th location coming soon as well.

In 2016, Burma Superstar/Burma Love products became even more accessible, when they opened a retail line.  They won more awards, now for their pantry items, such as the dressing.  They also sell their own blend of fish sauce, housemade fried garlic chips, other tea leaf products (such as aioli), a slew of grab-n-go premade salads, noodles, and wraps, plus meal kits.  You can now find the retail products all over the area - from grocery stores to Good Eggs to local cafes.  Or, where I discovered them, at the San Francisco International Airport, at Napa Farms Market (which I've reviewed before, covering their own items) and Green Beans coffee shop.

During my last few trips through SFO, I've grab a few of the grab-n-goes, and gotten a chance to at least have something a bit different in the airport.

Golden Ginger Salad.

"A refreshing salad of green leaf lettuce, matchstick carrots, shredded purple cabbage and our fragrant organic pickled ginger dressing deliver the flavors of Burmese ginger salad. This salad is vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free."

The first item I tried from Burma Love was the golden ginger salad.  I had just come off an international flight and my body was craving something healthy and refreshing, so when I saw this at the Green Beans coffee shop, it looked totally appropriate.

The salad was decent.  The base a touch boring, just green leaf lettuce, shredded carrots and cabbage, but all fresh enough.  The lemon I think was nice in theory, but I didn't find it did much, even when I tried to squeeze out the juice to get a bit more pop and acid in the salad.  It just wasn't actually juicy.  The toppings though are what made the salad interesting.  

The "dressing" was basically a slightly sweet pickled ginger, chopped up more than you'd see for sushi ginger.  I quite liked it, but, it wasn't really a dressing, and I found myself wanting a bit more moisture for the salad, something to really dress it, given all the leafy greens.

The "crunchy mix" was fantastic - great flavors and textures.  It was a mix of roasted sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, peanuts, split peas, garlic, and more.  Honestly, I would like to just buy a package of this to sprinkle on just about anything (which, it turns out, must not be a unique ask - they sell it as a standalone item).

And finally, the small little container that was ... chickpea powder.  I'm still not sure how I felt about this.  It mostly just was an odd, dry element.  The salad already didn't quite have a dressing, and then adding powder to it made it eat ... interestingly.   Dry.  I also didn't particularly care for the taste of it.

So overall, it was good - average vegetable base, interesting toppings.  I really did like the crunchy mix.  It was not really worth the high airport price tag though.

*** overall, **** for the crispy stuff.

Fermented Tea Leaf Salad.

"Take our iconic Tea Leaf Salad with you on the go! Includes our award winning Vegan Dressing, our Burmese Crunchy Mix, fresh plum tomatoes, crisp romaine lettuce and a slice of lemon to flavor to taste. This salad is vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free."

The next time I was flying through SFO and landed in the same state of mind really needing vegetables, I decided to try the other Burma Love salad, this time, their signature fermented tea leaf salad.  It too had a fairly boring base, just romaine and a few plum tomatoes, plus another lemon slice.  Fresh enough, but, boring.

But it had a real dressing, their famous fermented tea leaf dressing, which, yes, has tea leaves along with garlic, green jalapeño, lime juice, ginger, dried mushrooms, dried tomato, really, an interesting batch of flavors together.  This was my first time having a tea leaf salad that I remember (although I'm pretty sure I tried it back in 2005 at the restaurant), and when I tasted it, I was rather surprised.  It tasted, well, like tea leaves, actually.  Basically, think tea leaves in place of parsley in a chimichurri.  It was a fascinating flavor, lightly bitter, and just not what I ever expect with salad.

Oh, and, um, I might have also picked this because it had an even bigger container of the crunchy mix with it than the previous salad, the same blend.  I again loved that stuff.  Next time, I'm just getting a bag o crunchy mix!

Overall, a fine salad - again pretty average base, but interesting toppings.  I wouldn't get it again as I just don't see myself ever wanting tea leaf dressing, but, I was glad to try it.  ***.

Burmese Samusa Wrap.

"A hearty spinach wrap featuring Burmese curried potatoes and peas and crunchy fresh veggies."

Deciding to branch out from the salads, next I tried the single sandwich-like item that Burma Love produces, a samusa wrap.  It was a basic spinach wrap, with samusa-like filling (e.g. potatoes, peas, carrots, onions with curry seasoning), plus crispy shredded cabbage/carrots, and their tea leaf dressing turned into aioli (or so they said, I never found that).  On the side was a chili dipping sauce, that unfortunately had opened up in my container, and got all over everything, making it a bit soggy.

So ... the wrap was soggy both from the spilled sauce, and just from the way it was packaged and condensation.  The spinach wrap was actually fine, but, soggy wrap isn't particularly appealing.  I thought it might be fine if I toasted it, or at least extracted the samusa bits and warmed them up in the toaster oven to use some way, but I never got that far.  I took a few bites of the fillings and was really, really, really put off by the taste.  The cabbage/carrots tasted fermented, not in a nicely pickled way, but in a "this food as gone bad" way.  The taste was foul.  And the cooked potato/pea/carrot/etc mix also tasted a bit off, but really, there just wasn't much of this, and it was just a little cold small diced potato/peas/carrots, basically some mush, along with all the very fermented tasting "crunchy fresh veggie".  I honestly do think that perhaps this had gone bad, and that might explain why it was so moist too?  It was dated with a "Eat by" date of the day I got it.

The only redeeming thing about this was the sauce.  That chili dipping sauce was quite good, sweet and lightly spicy, and I suspect would be necessary to give this thing any flavor if I had been willing to risk eating it, but, I ended up extracting a little of the non-soggy wrap, dunking it in the sauce, and ditching the rest.  This really was no good.

*.