Mia's Brooklyn Bakery

Update Review, December 2024

Short visit to New York, and one of my priorities was clear.  I needed another lobster tail from Mia's Bakery.  I still consider the one I had several years ago to be one of the best pastries I've ever had.  And ... they now have a location in Manhattan!  w00t.  With easy access to the lobster tails (via DoorDash) this was a no brainer.

Delivery Bag.

I was already excited to get my Mia's goodies, but seeing the hand drawn happy little man on the bag made me smile and genuinely feel extra-valued as a customer.

Americano. Decaf. $4.

I ordered coffee, for delivery, my first time ever really.  I had low expectations for how it would fare, particularly in a city, where the deliveries are all done by bike.  

I was quite impressed when I opened the large bag to find the americano entirely intact.  It was wrapped in two layers of plastic wrap (one under the lid, one over it), and in an box insert. It literally did not spill at all.  Wild, I guess they figured out hot beverage delivery in NY.

As for the americano, the decaf had no funk to it, but was a bit weak flavor-wise.  No complexity, but also seemed kinda watered down.  ***.

Pistachio? Lobster Tail. $8.

I was pretty thrilled to pull out my lobster tail.  I could tell as I picked up the little paper bag that it was just as hefty as I remembered.  The shape of it was actually quite different this time - much thinner, and more horn shaped, previously it had a very wide base and more triangular shape.  But it still looked quite inviting, with crispy layers, and powdered sugar coating.  I wondered if the different shape was just for the pistachio version.

I couldn't wait to get into it.

Lobster Tail: Inside.

"Flaky pastry shell filled with creamy ricotta cheese and dusted with powdered sugar."

Alas, as I cut it in half, I was met with some disappointment.  The pastry shattered beautifully, but ... it sure looked like regular pastry cream filling.  I expected it to perhaps be green, or at least tinted, or have some pistachio bits?  One taste and I knew that I sadly not received the pistachio version.  The filling was definitely just regular pastry cream.  I was disappointed, as I really did want the pistachio one ($0.50 more!).  That said, it really was a great item, just one I had already tried before.

The exterior, insanely crispy, insanely messy, awesomeness.  Really just a unique style, far crispier than any other laminated pastries, with the choux-like layer underneath the shell.  The powdered sugar gave it just the right touch of sweetness.  It was as fresh as can be really.

And inside, the cream filling.  It was loaded full of cream, all the way through.  Very thick, very rich, akin to creme brûlée really.  Their menu says it is ricotta cheese filling, like a cannoli, but it really wasn't.  This is more like Bavarian cream.  Or diplomat maybe?  I don't know my baking creams all that well.  Perhaps just standard crème pâtissière.  Anyway, thick, rich, great consistency, lovely vanilla flavor, not too sweet.  Very good filling, just sadly not the one I ordered.

Overall, this is a fabulous item, but a bit more plain that I was seeking out.  ****+.  (Side note: it made me kinda want a version with a chocolate component, either chocolate chips within or chocolate shell perhaps, sorta like a Boston cream lobster tail ...). 

Update Review, September 2024

My last day in the NY office, and I stumbled upon some extra cake.  Sadly, not my precious Empire Cakes (this was actually my first visit ever to that office where I didn't encounter extra Empire Cakes cake or cupcakes), but I was still happy to try another treat from Mia's.  While the one cupcake I had from them before (and the cake pop) were not that great, I still drool thinking about their lobster tail, which, to this day, is one of the best pastries I've ever had.

I'm glad I went running when I saw the chat about extra cake, as it proved to be another Mia's winner.

Oreo Cake (Custom Design). 10". $85.

"For All Of Us Who Want To Be 12 Forever… Chocolate Cake, Our Oreo Mousse, topped with Fresh whipped cream and Oreos."

This cake was for a co-worker's birthday, and his teammates had the photo of his own cake on the cake.  I didn't see it in its full form, but this is something Mia's does regularly.  The cake was three layers of chocolate cake, with Oreo mousse (studded with Oreos) in between the layers, and a whipped cream style frosting on top.  

It was a very good cake.  The cake was a very open sponge, quite moist, strong chocolate flavor.  The style of cake I really do like.  **** chocolate cake.

The Oreo mousse was sweet, fluffy, and tasted quite a bit like Oreos, as it had Oreos within (that were nicely soft).  The frosting on top was equally sweet, but lacked the actual Oreos.  Neither were cloying sweet, but, definitely sweet.  They made it have very strong Oreo vibes, which isn't what I normally opt for, but, this was very good. **** mousse.

So overall, yes, a very good cake, and wonderful if you like cookies and cream / Oreo flavors.  **** overall, and it made me want to try their other cakes.  It was considerably better than the cupcake I had a year prior from Mia's.

I think this was the 10" for $85, slices are also available for $9.25. 

Original Review, August 2023

When I recently spent time in New York City, I was determined to eat some excellent things, which, if you've ever been, you know it is quite easy to do there.  But on my list of tasty things was, as always, wonderful dessert and baked goods.  I had an overwhelming number of options, for every style of dessert I was craving.  As I narrowed in my research to bakeries, and in particular, to ones in Brooklyn where I was staying, two names kept coming up over and over: Martha's Country Bakery, and Mia's Brooklyn Bakery.  I made an agonizing decision to pick Mia's for my first venture into the NY bakery scene.  

I don't know much about the bakery, nor its history.  They have only two locations, the one in Brooklyn that they are named for, and an offshoot near Times Square.  The menu is seriously extensive, and I tried to hit most categories in my single order: pastry, pie, cake.  Sadly, I skipped the puddings, cheesecakes, danishes/muffins/croissants, tarts, cookies and bars.  Next time.  (And yes, there will be a next time, because this place was fabulous).

I did not visit in person myself, opting rather to get my goodies delivered.  Since it was delivery, I wanted to "make it worth it", and thus, ordered far too many things than was reasonable, but, I was not upset with this move.  Everything arrived well packaged, although the delivery took quite a while, more than 1.5 excruciating hours!  

Pastries

Mia's carries two styles of pastries, breakfast pastries such as muffins, danishes, and croissants, and more dessert style pastries, which is where I focused.

Pastry Lineup.

The pastry section of the menu includes items that I do traditionally think of as pastries, but also a bunch of custards such as panna cotta, flan, creme brulee, plus bread or banana pudding, and bars and brownies.  I was of course very tempted by all the puddings and custards, given that I have label dedicated to them on my blog, but, I had just had panna cotta the week before from Cellermaker, and had been eating incredible mousse and pudding and trifle every day at my office (they specialize in homemade puddings of all kinds!), so, I managed to look past those items.

Assorted Classics

Mia's further breaks the pastry menu down into a group of "assorted classics" that contains, well, some Italian classics such as cannoli (in two sizes, both regular or chocolate covered), lobster tails (with regular or Nutella filling), orange pie, and ... baklava.  Well, as they say, "assorted" classics.

I originally planned to get a napoleon from Mia's, one of their signature items, but couldn't stop thinking about the epic lobster tail I had seen mentioned.  Both involve flaky pastry and thick custard filling, so I didn't want both, and at last minute, I switched to the lobster tail, because it just seemed more fun to eat.

This was an excellent decision.

Lobster Tail.

Ok, wow.  Wow, wow, wow.

This lobster tail was, in a word, incredible.  First, of course, it was MASSIVE.  It may be hard to tell from the photo, but, this could feed 4 people and not leave any of them unsatisfied.  It was a monster.  A delicious monster.

The pastry was insanely crispy.  Flaky.  Delicious.  Hard to describe if you haven't had a pastry like this before, as it isn't softer/eggier choux like a creme puff or eclair, but also isn't quite like a croissant either.  It is essentially a layered laminated dough (like a croissant) with a thin core of choux, if that makes sense.  The pastry was incredible, and the powdered sugar dusting completed the deal.  ***** pastry.

Lobster Tail: Inside.

And then we get to the filling.  The filling is why, besides the sheer size, that the lobster tail weighs a ton.  It was filled, to the brim, with diplomat cream.  Here you can see the cross-section of the tiny tail end.  Stuffed.  

And the cream?  Also phenomenal.  Thick.  Rich.  Vanilla bean flavored.  Essentially, think of the best creme brulee custard you've ever had, and that is what this is.  I think it easily fit 3 full size creme brulees inside of it, just, sans torching of course.  *****, perfect cream too.

Add all that together, and you get a truly stunning dessert.  Crispy, flaky, creamy, light, rich, everything, all in one.  If I could make it just a touch different, I might drizzle it with chocolate just because I was in the mood for chocolate, but, it was absolutely stunning as it was.  Perfection.

But do note that it is 1) huge and 2) has very little shelf life, as the cream filling needs refrigeration and that would ruin the flaky pastry, so, go very hungry, or prepared to share (although I promise you won't want to).

Perfect *****, one of the best pastries I've ever had.

Pies

Whole pies (8" or 10") are available in a variety of flavors for $30-40, and most are also available in slices.  Options include your fruity standards: apple, blueberry, cherry, or triple berry (all available crumb topped or double crust), all 8", or, custard pies: key lime, pumpkin, coconut custard, or pecan, all 10".

Pie Menu. $8.25/slice.

The by the slice lineup also included a few more: banana or chocolate cream, and did not offer any of the crumb topped, only the double crust.  All slices are $8.25/slice.

I selected two slices for my order, but truly would have been happy with any.

When my order arrived, I learned that "slice" here means ... 1/4 of a pie!  Really.  These are massive slices, 2 servings according to my family's already large slice definition, and easily could be 3.  Essentially, a 10" pie is usually a round 8-10 slices, and they clearly were making it just 4.

Blueberry.

Since it was summer, a fruity pie seemed appropriate.  I first selected cherry, then at last minute swapped to blueberry, although I had a moment of remorse that I hadn't picked the triple berry.  Really, all the fruity options sounded good to me.  Although I like crumb tops, I like great pie crust even more, so was glad the by-the-slice options were all double crust.

The pie looked like a high quality homemade pie.  I was drawn in by the pearl sugar on top, and actually appreciated the fact that the back crust was slightly dark, as it made it look not mass produced.

The crust was fine.  A bit better than your average grocery store crust, but it wasn't particularly flaky, buttery, or special.  So, average for a bakery, something a home baker would be happy enough with.  *** crust.

The filling had a lot going right for it.  First, it was very generously filled.  Bursting with blueberries.  Big juicy berries.  Just the right amount of goo.  Not too sweet or cloying.  Really, excellent filling, in most ways.  But ... it had a spicing I didn't quite care for, it seemed perhaps citrus, orange maybe?  Just a touch too strong, and not a flavor I was anticipating.   So, again, just not quite my style, making this a **+ for me for the filling.

Overall, **+, not one I'd get again.

Pecan.

Next, I had a slice of one of my favorite classic pies: pecan.  Pecan is always the pie I request when my mom makes pies for the holidays.  This order was also a strategic move on my part, because I knew it would keep a few days, and freeze beautifully, and, given how much I was ordering, I wouldn't get to it right away.  

But of course I did try it right away, because, how could I not?  It was a very nice pecan pie.  You can see how loaded up with whole pecan halves it is, no skimping here.  The pecans were lightly glazed on top.  All perched on top of a sweet custard filling, not too sweet, just the right level of sweet you want from a pecan pie.  Which is sweet, don't get me wrong, but just not cloying as some generic pecan pies can be.

The crust was similar to the blueberry pie, fairly average for a bakery, not particularly buttery nor flaky, but not stale or too processed tasting.

Overall, a high quality pie, clearly well made, and full of premium ingredients.  **** overall, and would get another half star if the crust was better.

Cakes, Cupcakes, Cake Pops

Cakes, and related items, make up a big portion of the menu.  Massive layer cakes in a slew of flavors, from the classics like chocolate fudge, vanilla, black forest, German chocolate, Brooklyn blackout, red velvet, strawberry shortcake, carrot, etc, to more unique offerings like Oreo, Nutella, or burnt almond.  And then there are all the assorted cheesecakes, cupcakes, and cake pops.  And napoleon cakes.  So many choices.

I nearly went for a slice of the burnt almond cake, as it certainly seemed unique, or the well regarded napoleon cake (available regular or with berries inside), but decided in the end on one cupcake, and one cake pop, so I could try two things for the price of one larger slice. 

Cupcakes

The cupcake lineup doesn't mirror the full size cake lineup.

Cupcake Menu.

Instead, it has more basics (vanilla and chocolate, with vanilla and chocolate frosting, in all varieties) and filled cupcakes of all kinds like Boston Cream, or even a creme brulee filled and topped one.  There are a few vegan offerings as well.

Cupcakes range from $4.50 - $5.25 each, depending on the variety.

I ordered the cookie dough cupcake, with cookie dough filling inside, and a mini homemade chocolate chip cookie on top, but, alas, they were sold out.

Vanilla Vanilla Cupcake. $4.50.

"Vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting."

And thus, I got the simple vanilla-vanilla.

It looked fairly average.  Average size, not particularly large.  Average amount of frosting.  Slight decoration from a couple little white pearls.  

It wasn't my style of cupcake.  The cake itself was a very light sponge, almost akin to an angel food cake.  Which just isn't the type of cake I prefer.  I like it denser, sweeter, American style butter cake.  The frosting was nicely sweet, fluffy, but just plain vanilla, so not all that interesting.

Sadly for me, this was a meh, just due to preference in cake style really.  Those who like a lighter, less sweet cupcake would probably enjoy.  **+.  For me, Empire Cakes still makes my favorite cupcakes in New York (update review coming soon!).

Cake Pops ($3.75)

Cake pops are available in 4 flavors: chocolate, red velvet, salted caramel, or Oreo.

When I ordered, they had only the salted caramel and Oreo available, so I went with the Oreo, even though I really do not like Oreos and dislike "cookies and cream" style things.  I was really craving chocolate.

Oreo Cake Pop.

Luckily for me, there was very little Oreo about this.  If you asked me what kind it was, I would have told you it was a dark chocolate cake with white chocolate shell.  Definitely a darker style cake than standard chocolate cake, more like a Brooklyn blackout cake.  And definitely a sweet shell, but, really tasted like just standard sweet white chocolate, not particularly Oreo creme like.  Which was fine with me.

The pop was bigger than most cake pops I've had, more than a few bites, but still smaller than a cupcake.

Oreo Cake Pop: Inside.

Here you can see the inside.  Like I said, deep dark chocolate.  Nice cocoa flavor, very moist, presumably there is some buttercream mixed in here as is customary with cake pops.  Sweet and chocolately, and exactly what I was craving.

The shell was a nice thickness, good snap to it, classic sweet white chocolate flavor.

Overall, nothing earth shattering here, but, a good, slightly large, cake pop.  ***+.

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United Airlines, SFO - EWR, Business Class

My first time flying with United from San Francisco to New York (well, Newark).  This route, along with flights to LAX, are marketed as "premium transcontinental" and as such include some extra nice things like lounge access and extended dining (I've flown the reverse direction before, which you can read about in my previous post).  My flight also happened to take place just a few weeks after United *seriously* upgraded the dining experience for these routes, really putting it on par (or frankly surpassing) their offerings for international flights.  My feelings on it are a bit mixed.

Flight Details

Departure: SFO 1pm (scheduled) 1:40pm (actual)

Arrival: EWR 9:35pm (scheduled)

Aircraft: 777-200 (scheduled) 757-200W (actual)

Sigh.

So I booked this flight for the full on Polaris cabin experience (although still domestic first class of course), on a 777-200.  I booked way in advance, and scored my favorite seat (single, row 3, window, right hand side table, etc).  And ... aircraft change to narrow body, 757.  2-2 layout.  Sigh.  

I did however  "win" in that starting November 15, 2024, United revived the premium transcon routes to be a full on experience.  First meal service had an appetizer added (in addition to salad and bread), entree sizes were increased, additional dessert options added, wine list upgraded, and then ... a full second meal pre-arrival added (no more hummus plate or cheese platter), with multiple options.  For this flight, with a flight time of under 5 hours, um, this was a lot.  Salad + app + bread + generous main + dessert and then ... full second meal 2 hours later?  Uh yeah.  They over compensated for years of sadness.  But I was still excited for it.

Drinks

There was no PDB offered, although we had water bottles at our seats.  Pre-orders were confirmed (or orders taken for those who didn't pre-order) for the first meal service, and drink orders taken, while still on the ground.  Once underway, we were brought hot towels.

Wine List.

As I mentioned, the wine list had some actual decent options: one sparkling, two each of red and white.  One of the reds (the Pinot) retails for $45/bottle, so yes, this was an upgrade (the other is around $20).

Drinks, Nuts.

I asked for the pinot noir, and the FA said, "the red wine", so that made me a bit uncertain if they did indeed have two different offerings, and if I'd get the one I wanted (answer, yes, and I did end up trying both).  Drinks were served nearly an hour after takeoff, along with a small bowl of (warm, in a very hot ramekin!) nuts (almonds, cashews only).

Red Wine.

Talbott “Sleepy Hollow Vineyard” Pinot Noir, 2022

Santa Lucia Highlands, California

"A vibrant Pinot Noir with ripe cherry and black raspberry on the nose and stunning flavors of dark berries and peppery spice on the palate. Pairs best with chicken and vegetables."

This was decent.  Not too much tanin, a touch of acid, and a fairly ... round taste.  Again, decent, not great, but decent.  ***.

Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon, 2021

Napa Valley, California

"A full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with aromas of blackberry, blackcurrant and sage that greets the senses. Layers of vanilla and cassis are complemented by cedar on the palate. Pairs best with beef."

I later switched to the Cabernet just to try it.  I actually liked it more, it had a bit more structure and just more going on overall.  I've had this before elsewhere and always found it "fine", so I was surprised that I preferred it.  ***+.

Takeoff Meal

Menu.

So for the main meal, as I mentioned, salad and appetizer, and then choice of 4 mains, and choice of 4 desserts.  So many options!

For the main dish, I was actually quasi-tempted by the Chilean sea bass, as I am primarily pescatarian and I love asparagus (that it came with), but, I was headed to NY intending to eat lots of good seafood there, and I loathe lentils (also what it came with), so I ruled it out.  I don't eat chicken, and didn't want the sides that came with it either (meh, broccolini and roast potatoes), so that was easy to rule out.  Which left polenta with mushroom ragout (that might be ok?), and the beef.  I literally never ever get beef (filet) on a flight, and I didn't actually want a giant steak at such a weird time and with such a big meal ahead, but I really wanted the sides: potato gratin and green beans!  And thus, pre-order filet it was.

Meal.

Our trays were brought out one by one.  No tablecloth provided.  Salad, appetizer, and main dish all at once, along with butter, salt & pepper, and dressing packet.  

Bread: Pumpernickel Roll.

After the first several rows were served, the FA came through with a bread basket.  He did a second pass later in the service as well.  Choices were garlic bread, white dinner roll, or pumpknickle, which I selected.

The bread was really nicely warm.  Soft, not stale tasting.  A bit boring, and not super strong pumpernickel flavor, but, not offensive.  I prefer some of United's other breads.  **+.

Salad: Baby red oak leaf arugula salad.

"Baby red oak leaf arugula salad with shave parmesan, artichokes and roasted red tomatoes."

The salad was fine.  Greens nicely crisp and fresh.  I dislike artichokes so I picked them out.  Roasted tomatoes were fine, flavorful, and likely better than the usual mealy out of season tomatoes.  The shaved parmesan was huge shards, decent, but it was too much cheese with the giant ball of cheese appetizer alongside.  I didn't try the dressing, but I know others are excited about the recent dressing change.

So, fine, but not really things I care for all that much.  Still, nice to have fresh salad base.  **+ just due to my preferences.

Appetizer: Burrata.

"Burrata with grilled asapragus (sic) and caper salsa."

Ooooh, burrata.  Now, I love wonderfully ripe burrata.  And I know burrata has become kinda a menu staple of airlines in recent years, and it generally is ... well, no better than average mozzarella.  And this was no different.

It was a huge ball of burrata.  Really too much for a single serving like this.  It wasn't particularly creamy, no bursting with fresh cream.  Basically, slightly softer mozzarella.  Fine, but not what I look for in burrata.  ** burrata.

The asparagus/caper element was fascinating, truly, a "salsa" of sorts with finely chopped asparagus, I think raw, or at least, very lightly cooked.  I love asparagus, so this was good.  I didn't taste any capers.  It was all in a bit of flavorful oil, well seasoned.  I liked this, but it didn't seem like a natural pairing for burrata, and instead, I put it all on my salad to jazz that up. ***.

Main Dish: Sautéed beef filet.

"Sauteed beef filet with green beans, sweet potato gratin and thyme demi-glace.'

And the main dish, which I ordered mostly for the sides.

The piece of meat was really quite substantial.  It was attractive looking actually, crusted with herbs, and even seemed like it had a nice sear.  It was reasonable for airline steak - cooked well done, but at least soft, and easy to cut.  The flavor was decent, not too chewy, no fatty bits.  The herb crust was flavorful.  I don't eat much steak, and definitely not well done, so I didn't eat much of it, but I admit it was better than expected.  **+.  

I appreciated that the sauce was served on the side.  It was flavorful, rich demi-glace.  It went well with the steak (even though honestly the meat was flavorful enough to not need it), and was nice to dunk bread in too.  Not really the kind of sauce I'm excited for (I'm more of a cream sauce person), but it was good for what it was.  **+.

The green beans I was really looking forward to.  I really like green beans.  These however were ... quite thin, and way overcooked.  No snappy fresh vibrant green beans here.  They were soft, soft, soft.  Little flavor.  I kept trying to like them, but really, they were not enjoyable. *.

And finally, the element I was most looking forward to, sweet potato gratin!  I had to laugh at the same portion size, although, with the rest of the feast, I really didn't need it to be bigger.

It was ok.  Soft sweet potato slices, cream/cheese binding it together, lots of "Thanksgiving" style herbs.  The spicing from the herbs was a bit too aggressive for me, much like pumpkin spice can be.  It lacked a crispy top, and anything really compelling to keep drawing me back in.  Low ***.  

Custom Ice Cream Sundae.

Tillamook® vanilla bean ice cream sundae

"Tillamook® vanilla bean ice cream sundae with assorted toppings."

Tillamook® chocolate ice cream holiday sundae

"Tillamook® chocolate ice cream holiday sundae with peppermint bark, mini marshmallows topped with fresh whipped cream."

I was pretty excited by the expanded ice cream sundae options.  Because of the special holiday sundae, the regular lineup of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge/caramel, nuts/choc chips, whipped cream, and cherry was joined by a second base ice cream flavor (chocolate), along with peppermint bark and mini marshmallows as toppings.  

I was also excited because this was my first semi-daytime flight with a United sundae (they are always evening for me!), so I was going to get to try the hot fudge.  I'm always stuck with caramel since I avoid caffeine later in the day.  I love good thick rich hot fudge.

When it arrived, my excitement continued.  It looked great!  Until I looked more closely.  What I asked for vanilla ice cream, "just a little hot fudge", almonds, whipped cream, and peppermint bark.  What I got was ... chocolate ice cream, tons of chocolate sauce, chocolate chips, almonds, whipped cream, and peppermint bark.  Sigh.  I don't like chocolate ice cream, and I realized that error before I took a single bite, so I asked for it to be remade.  I again said, "just a little hot fudge, almonds, whipped cream, and peppermint bark".

Custom Ice Cream #2.

The second version at least had vanilla ice cream, but, it too had an extreme amount of chocolate sauce (not the "little" I had requested, and definitely not "hot fudge" as advertised), and was covered in chocolate chips I didn't order.  The sliced almonds, peppermint bark, and whipped cream were correct. 

This was ... ok.  The ice cream was served hard, not a rock, but definitely not nicely soft.  This was fine, I was stuffed from the feast, and waiting a little for it to melt was not a bad thing.  Tillamook is decent enough ice cream, not great, but decent (I preferred hagen-datz!).  Pretty basic vanilla.  *** ice cream.

The chocolate sauce I hated.  It seemed to be just Hershey syrup (or something similar).  Definitely not hot fudge.  Hot fudge should be, firstly, hot.  And thick.  And rich.  This was thin watery cold syrup.  And zomg, so much of it.  Pools of syrup I disliked. BOOO.  This whole time I've thought I was missing out by never getting to have hot fudge, but, turns out, I wasn't missing out at all. *.

The almonds were fine, sliced, great for crunch, but also tons of them.  Chocolate chips were mini size, dark chocolate (or at least semi-sweet), and were tasty, but I didn't actually want that much chocolate at this point, hence why I hadn't ordered them.  Whipped cream was fine.  All pretty average toppings.  ***.

The peppermint bark was a single piece perched on top.  It was good, perhaps Ghirardelli?  Creamy chocolate, nice mint, yup.  A fun seasonal touch. 

Overall, well, some highlights, some lowlights, mostly because I didn't get what I ordered, and because the hot fudge was indeed not that.  In the future, I'd go back to caramel I guess (or, verify that they have real hot fudge, I really think I've seen it on some flights ...).

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

The other dessert option, advertised by the FA as 'chocolate cake', was a triple chocolate cheesecake (per the actual menu).  I think the triple was the chocolate cheesecake base itself (1), the chocolate fudge-like topping (2), and chocolate studding it (3)?

It was pretty decent cheesecake, very smooth, creamy, rich.  Incredibly chocolate forward.  The fairly small slice was appropriate.  It ate a bit more like a very firm thick chocolate mousse than a cheesecake necessary, as I didn't taste super strong cream cheese, but this didn't bother me.  

It was good, and definitely best served with some whipped cream on the side (which wasn't offered, but you could certainly as for, as they have it for the sundaes).  ***+.

Arrival Meal

And then, just 2 hours later, when we were about 1.5 hours outside of Newark, it was time to eat again.  In this direction (the faster direction), in winter (with the tailwinds), yeah, second meal is really not needed (although I'd love just a little togo option, as I do tend to get hungry for just a little something more once I reach an east coast destination).  But a real meal?   Yeah ... The total flight time is less than 5 hours!

Menu.

The second meal had "only" 3 options: an entree salad (with optional chicken on the side), pasta (vegetarian), or cod fritters.  There was no preorder for this meal.  All came with a fruit bowl and bread/butter.  I had seen photos of these meals, so I knew about the not otherwise mentioned fruit bowl, and asked if it had melons, as I'm extremely allergic.  It did, indeed, have both watermelon and cantaloupe.  I asked to skip it, which also seemed to result in my not getting the bread, which was fine with me.

I was actually quite excited for the fritters, or, at least I was before my flight, but I was still so stuffed I couldn't really imagine eating them at this point.  Most other passengers skipped this meal service; of the 16 seats, I think 3 of us opted for something (one other person got the same dish as me, and my seat mate got the salad).  I of course partook "for research" (and yes, I had a container with me to stash them in, on ice).  The meals were served near instantly after ordering, clearly already heated and ready to go, and I suspect mostly tossed in the trash.

Cod Fritters.

"Cod fritter with minted smashed peas and grilled lemon slices."

The dish was a lighter portion, two small size cod cakes (really cakes, not fritters ... fritters I think of as more fried, and potentially a different shape?), and just two spoonfuls of the smashed peas.  

The peas honestly didn't taste like peas, nor mint, they just tasted like ... uh .. green soft warm mashed ... something herby?  Definitely strange, and not particularly good.  *.

Also herby was the sauce that came in a little plastic condiment container.  Mayo and herbs.  It wasn't listed on the menu, but I'd call it an herb aioli probably?  It was fine, and it did go well enough with the cakes.

The cakes were decent.  Certainly not crispy, just rather soft, so not the quality you'd get actually in a restaurant obviously.  But the flavor was fine, a bit fishy but not in an off-putting way.  Seemingly a fair amount of filler.  A strange pre-arrival snack, but I didn't dislike them.  ***.

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Dunkin' Donuts: Food Items

Update Review, December 2024

In late November, I randomly got an email from Dunkin': "Bring on the FREE breakfast sandwiches! Now through 12/11, get one free classic breakfast sandwich daily."

Of course I was drawn in: free!  Now, I've never had a breakfast sandwich from Dunkin, and never heard anyone say they were good, but, free!  And yeah, there is the problem that I live where there is no Dunkin' ... except that I was headed to NY on Dec 7, which meant I could sneak in a few free breakfast sandwiches ... if I wanted to use my precious NY time and stomach space in that way.  My curiosity and love of free things won out, so of course I did try a few.

Spoiler: there is a reason no one raves about Dunkin' breakfast sandwiches.  They aren't actually any good!  For my daily freebie, I had my choice of fillings (egg, sausage, turkey sausage, bacon, white cheddar or American cheese) on my choice of breads (several kinds of bagels, croissant, sourdough sliced bread, english muffin).  The sandwiches were all $5.99 in my location.  After trying only two, I decided it really wasn't worth further experimentation, and forfeited my 3 final freebies.   

Turkey Sausage, Egg, & Cheese.
(Multigrain Bagel, American Cheese).

For my first ever breakfast sandwich, I went for the one with all my top choices: turkey sausage, American cheese, and multigrain bagel.  I was a bit skeptical of the bagel aspect, as, well, Dunkin isn't known for bagels, but I really do love some multigrain bagels.

The bagel was as subpar as I thought it would be.  Hard.  Dry.  It did have some attractive oats and seeds on the outside, and did have a nice hearty taste, but, it just was clearly not a fresh bagel, and I don't think it would have been particularly good fresh anyway.  * bagel.

My cheese choice was American, which was a hard choice as I like white cheddar too, but I felt like starting classic.  The cheese slice was not really melted much as you can see here in the bagel hole. It was pretty standard generic bright yellow American cheese.  It was fine, but the lack of meltyness was definitely sad.  **+ cheese.

Egg Patty.

The egg patty didn't look totally awful, although clearly fast food style.  And it wasn't rubbery as I feared.  But instead it was ... spongy.  It had no real flavor either.  Not good. *.

Turkey Sausage.

And the worst part ... the sausage.  A strange square shape.  I love a good seasoned breakfast sausage patty, low brow sausage not really a concern for me, but this ...

This was HORRIBLE.  Tasted very ... nasty.  Highly processed, I guess maybe like turkey, but not like any sausage I’ve ever had. Zero stars.  Spit out.

Sausage, Egg, & Cheese.
(Everything Bagel, No Egg, White Cheddar).

Um, wow.

My next one I opted for no egg as I hadn't liked it before, moved on to the regular sausage and other cheese cheese choice, and took another try with a different kind of bagel.

This was ... the ultimate in "not even trying".  It was cold.  Like, not even a tiny bit warm.  The cheese was obviously entirely unmelted.  The patty had white bits of fat solidified on the outside.  I can't even ...

Everything Bagel.

The everything bagel was as bad as the multigrain.  Hard.  Not fresh.  Decent coating of seeds.  Do not get bagels here. 

White Cheddar Cheese.

The white cheddar was as average and standard as the American, except that it was entirely unmelted, which isn't what you want in a breakfast sandwich (at least, I wanted melty cheese ...).  Fine cheese, but the preparation on this left much, much to be desired.

Sausage.

The regular sausage was a totally different format from the turkey sausage: round, undersized (compared to the square turkey sausage that was bigger than the bagel).

As I mentioned, this was served entirely cold.  Not warmed in any way.  As such, it had congealed bits of white fat on it.  Really?  Really Dunkin?  Please at least ... pretend to care?

Anyway, it was not very good quality, even once I heated it.  Very mushy and highly processed low quality taste. *.

Original Review, January 2021

Dunkin' Donuts.

What "America Runs On".  A staple of my growing up.  Yadda yadda.

I've reviewed plenty of the donuts (and other "bakery") items before, I've reviewed the drinks (e.g. coffee, and crazy iced blended "desserts" that call themselves drinks), but I have never covered the *food* items at Dunkin' Donuts before.

Why?  Well, I didn't actually try any of these until the fall of 2021, when I was on the East Coast for 6 months, avoiding the COVID lockdown world of San Francisco.  

Also, um, who goes to Dunkin' Donuts for the *food*?  Donuts, coffee, muffins, sure, but the food items?  I honestly had never heard of anyone even trying something.

But given my extended time on the east coast, I eventually got curious.  I'm glad I did.

Sandwiches and Snacks

So, what food does Dunkin' offer?

A decent lineup of breakfast sandwiches, with all the standard bacon/sausage/ham options (and now, trendy Beyond Sausage!), several types of (microwaved) egg, and cheese in any of their bagels/english muffins/croissants ... or multigrain thins for the healthy types, simple sides - hash browns and "snackin' bacon" (yes, literally, you get a bag of bacon!), and "Wake-Up Wraps".  That is it.

No lunch items.  This is an area that Dunkin' has struggled, many other items have been part of the lineup at times, but nothing seems to have stuck.

I was drawn in though, by the promise of ... bacon.

Maple Sugar Bacon Wake-Up Wrap®.  $2.09.

"Our delicious Wake-Up Wrap® Sandwiches are made-to-order with your choice of protein, egg and cheese. The perfect portion to help start your day or fuel your afternoon."

Wake-Up Wraps come in whatever form you want - very customizable.  Simple egg and cheese or just a veggie egg white are kinda boring, but, you can pick any of the breakfast meats they offer: bacon, sausage, turkey sausage, Beyond Sausage, ham, or, the new Maple Sugar Bacon too.  My choice was clear - maple. sugar. bacon.

Also your choice of egg, although "fried egg" (ha!) comes standard, you can opt for the veggie egg patty, which I did, although I asked for it on the side (more on that later).

And finally, cheese, for this one, white cheddar is standard, but all others use American, and you can always swap the cheese.

My order was ready fairly quickly, and I was pleased with the warm, "fresh" result.

I can't say it looked particularly glorious, just like a breakfast soft taco, slightly crispy on the outside.  It was nicely warm though.

Maple Sugar Bacon Wake-Up Wrap®: Peeking Inside.

"Extra bacon caramelized with maple sugar seasoning, egg and white cheddar cheese, all wrapped in a tortilla."

I peeked inside my creation - the maple sugar bacon wrap, with white cheddar, no egg (inside).

The cheese was perfectly melty.  I spied nice looking bacon.

I got excited.

I tried a bite of the tortilla.  It was ... um, a tortilla?  Not what I ever really want.  It was slightly crisp, and warm, and not stale?

Maple Sugar Bacon Wake-Up Wrap®: BACON!

The cheese was ... fine I guess.  It was nicely melted, but it didn't really have much flavor.  And it, or maybe the bacon, or likely the combo of both, were really really oily.  Cheese, eh.

But the bacon?  The maple sugar bacon?  Now *that* was good.  Very, very, very good.  

Classic pork bacon, actually really nicely cooked - not flabby, not too crispy, I quite liked it.  It had a slight smokiness to it (from flavoring, not legit smoking, but whatever), and then of course the amazing maple sugar seasoning mix ... sugar, maple sugar, black pepper ... oh yes.  The portion of bacon was decent.

It made me immediately wish I had just purchased the Snakin' Bacon (literally, just a bag of the bacon!).  #nextTime

Overall: Tortilla ** (fine but not my thing), cheese ** (again, fine but not my thing), bacon ****

Veggie Egg White "Omelette" (on the side).

The Wake-Up Wrap normally comes with the "fried egg patty", which I knew I didn't want.  I also didn't really want the other option, the veggie egg white "omelette", but I knew my mom might, so I asked for it on the side.  

This was no problem, and just heated and placed in its own bag.  

Veggie Egg White (on the side).

It was half a round patty I believe, likely a full one is provided in the breakfast sandwiches, and the half size is used in the Wake-Up Wraps to mirror the half moon shape?

It is just egg white with some bits of green peppers, red peppers, and spinach.  It was exactly what you'd expect - a fast food steamed egg white patty with no flavor or texture worth nothing.

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