Hu Snacks

Thank you, JetBlue.

Thank you for introducing me to Hu, a brand I likely wouldn't have discovered on my own, but now regularly crave and seek out.  Hu makes a variety of chocolate products: milk or dark chocolate bars, baking gems, and chocolate covered things (hunks).  The products are all gluten-free, keto, paleo, etc.  All organic, fair trade when possible.  No refined sugars. Vegan besides the milk chocolates.

Bag of Hu!

I've only had one of their products, the parting gift given on JetBlue Mint flights, but I really adore them, and would gladly try more of their products.  (They usually give you just one bag, but, uh, my flight attendant really hooked me up when I said how much I loved them!).

Dark Chocolate Hunks

"Chocolate covered and ready for snacking."

Hunks are just the brand name for (dark) chocolate covered things.  They are available in only 3 varieties: almonds + sea salt, sour goldenberries, and cashews + vanilla bean.  Pretty simple concept that is done a zillion times over.  Chocolate covered nuts and dried fruit.  Yup, been there, seen that.  Or at least, that is what I thought, until I tried these.

I've only had one kind of Hunks, but I found them exceptional.  Yes, they still *are* just chocolate covered nuts, but they are done very, very well.

Cashews + Vanilla Bean.

"Think of Hunks as the perfect marriage between our signature 70% dark chocolate — the same we use in our Simple Dark Chocolate Bars — and organic nuts."

Yes, the product I'm raving about is just chocolate covered cashews.  And while I like cashews, I certainly don't generally get excited about them, chocolate covered or not.  But these I get excited about.

The ingredients are pretty simple: cashews, cacao, cocoa butter, coconut sugar, salt, vanilla bean.  No palm oil used in the chocolate coating, which makes them less shiny that most other brands. The coconut sugar used to sweeten is unrefined.  Simple.  Just basic chocolate covered nuts.  They shouldn't be special right?

But they are so good!  The chocolate coating is less creamy and shiny compared to traditional chocolate covered items, and the layer isn't particularly thick, which all sounds like it would be a negative, but actually, allows the quality of the dark chocolate and the nut itself to really shine.  The chocolate is deep, dark, and intense, and not too sweet.  The nut is nicely roasted, tastes quite fresh.  The touch of sea salt makes them pop.

These are just really quite good.  Not much more to say than that.  A great snack, a nice little treat to sneak alongside my breakfast, likely great paired with red wine too.  Love them.  ****+.

Dominique Ansel Workshop

One of my first visits to New York, I visited Domnique Ansel Kitchen on my last day, not to try the oh-so-famous cronut, but rather, the DKA.  I was going through a kouign amann discovery phase at the time, and *needed* to try that famous version.  I enjoyed it, and the rest of the lineup looked great, but it never made it back to the top of my list during subsequent trips to NY.

Then, I spent 5 weeks in New York in the summer of 2023, and even with that longer stay, somehow visiting any of the locations (the bakery, the workshop) just never reached the top of my list.  So when I returned in October, I was determined to give it another shot.  This time, I visited the "Workshop".  It was so great I returned again in August 2024 when I spent another month in NY.

"Our newest shop is a celebration of croissants,  located right inside of our pastry production kitchens here in Flatiron, NYC, just a block up from Madison Square Park. Stop in for a taste of all different types of croissants and breakfast viennoiserie, stroll to the park, and enjoy!"

The Workshop really is that - it is their massive baking facility, with just a tiny little side area for those who want to stop by in person.  The menu is entirely different from the other locations (besides croissants and cookies), and they do NOT carry the cronut.  They offer a few savory items as well, but I focused on sweet.  

I really enjoyed my goodies, and several were particularly mind blowing.  Next time I'm in New York, I *will* return!

Pain au Chocolate. $7.70.

"Double chocolate croissant with three batons of chocolate."

I like chocolate.  I like croissants.  And yet chocolate croissants / pain au chocolate are rarely what I gravitate towards.  But I was drawn in by this as it wasn't a standard offering with chocolate only inside, but rather, chocolate in the dough as well (but it did have three big batons of chocolate within as well).

The pastry was exceptional, as expected.  Ridiculously flaky exterior that shattered in a beautifully messy way.  It did have a bit of chocolate flavor to it, but it wasn't dramatic.  The chocolate batons within were deep and dark, clearly high quality chocolate, definitely where the majority of the chocolate aspect came from.  The bakery likes to point out that they throw in an additional baton instead of the usual 2.

This still wouldn't be my top choice of croissant flavor, but, it was a high quality, textbook execution, of a pain au chocolate with a touch of extra chocolate.  ***+. 

Almond Croissant. $7.25.

"with extra homemade almond frangipane, crunchy toasted almonds, and confectioners sugar."

Oh, wow.  Um.  Wow.  This was truly fabulous.  I don't think I've had a better almond croissant, anywhere.  

Where to start ... it was stuffed full of very flavorful frangipane, that almost tasted like it had a boozy aspect to it, in a good way.  Plenty of it.  A+ filling.

And the pastry itself, top notch, well laminated, crispy, buttery, flaky, yadda yadda.  

And then, what pushed it far above and beyond other very good almond croissants: the topping.  It was absolutely coated in the slivered almonds, that had a deep toasty flavor, phenomenal crunch, and lots of caramelization.  Exceptional.

There is nothing that I'd change about this.  Flawless.  Perfect *****.

Croissants. $5.50 Classic / $6 Olive Oil.

"Classic Croissant made with Beurre d’Isigny French butter and Les Grands Moulins des Paris flour."

"Olive Oil Croissant made with cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and a hint of rosemary, confit garlic, and coarse sea salt."

I think the larger ones here are the regular classic croissants, and the thinner the olive oil?

I tried a hunk of the olive oil croissant, mostly out of complete curiosity.  It really was interesting!  It was an excellent croissant, but, far more savory.  My brain somewhat tasted focaccia, with the oil/rosemary/salt (I didn't detect the garlic), but ... it was a croissant.  I think this would make a totally incredible breakfast sandwich (which, I realized after I wrote this, they do offer).  ***+.

Brown Sugar DKA. $6.50.

“Dominique’s Kouign Amann”: similar to a caramelized croissant, with tender flaky layers

inside and a caramelized crunchy crust outside. Our best-seller!!"

"Best described as a “caramelized croissant,” our classic DKA (short for “Dominique’s Kouign Amann”) is a Breton pastry that features a crispy, caramelized crust on the outside with a flaky and tender crumb within, and a bit of gooeyness in the center. It's no wonder these flaky golden pastries are our #1 best-seller here at the Bakery! "

And of course, I had to get a DKA.  I had this once before, my first ever visit to any Dominique Ansel location (Dominique Ansel Kitchen), and did find it to be one of the best kouign amann's I'd ever had.

It remains exceptionally well done.  Everything you want in a kouign amann: very crispy caramelized exterior, flaky layers, SOOO much butter and sugar flavor.  And their kinda signature touch of a slightly gooey caramel center.  

Sugar. Butter.  Crispness.  Decadence.  Yup.  ****+.

Chocolate Caramelia Triangle. $7.50.
(2023).

"Filled with silky Valrhona Caramelia (caramelized milk chocolate) pastry cream."

My first selection of more interesting items was inspired by the memory of a couple different cream filled flaky pastries I had during my stay in New York in August: the insanely delicious lobster tail from  Mia's Bakery in Brooklyn, and the chocolate cream version from Veniero's.  I was craving quality flaky pastry and delicious cream filling.

When I picked this up, I was shocked.  First, it was considerably bigger than I was expecting.  Much like most lobster tail pastries, it was a monster compared to the size of a standard danish or croissant.  But even though it was physically large, the weight still surprised me.  This thing was hefty.  Seriously, it weighed a ton.

The pastry was fairly standard laminated dough, like you'd get with any filled croissant.  Reasonably buttery, reasonably flaky, definitely not stale.  Not particularly great, but certainly better than an average bakery.  It had a few lines of a darker color through it, that might have been chocolate, but I didn't taste a difference in that area.  The pastry was a couple layers thick.  ***+.  (Don't mind the slight caramel glaze on top here, that actually came from my second item, that was packaged in the same bag as it).

Chocolate Caramelia Triangle: Inside.

Inside is where it got interesting.  It was absolutely loaded with the pastry cream.  This is where all the weight came from.  Light fluffy chocolate whipped cream this was not.  It was very thick custard style cream, with intense caramelia flavor.  If you are unfamiliar, caramelia is one of Valrhona's signature milk chocolates (36%), that has remarkably strong buttery caramel tones (it does have butter in it, after all).  This tasted like if you melted down a caramello bar (or any other sweet buttery caramel filled bar of your choice) and then made it into rich pastry cream.  Intense, intense, intense.  The pastry helped cut it a bit, but, wow, this was quite rich, and a little went a long way.  ***+.

If you are a caramel and chocolate lover, this is definitely worth a try.  I enjoyed it, but found it too heavy and rich to eat more than 1/3, maybe 1/2 of in one sitting, so I recommend sharing with someone.  I had the second half later with vanilla ice cream, which was a nice pairing, and helped cut the richness a bit.  

Sea Salt Hazelnut Praliné Flan. $7.75.
(2023).

"A French-style flan with hazelnut pastry cream baked in a laminated brioche nest, hazelnut praliné, and Maldon sea salt."

Next up, the incredibly fascinating flan pastry.  Yes, this was a laminated brioche "nest" (basically, a croissant shell), filled with thick rich flan, topped with hazelnut pastry cream, topped with hazelnut praliné (which, was basically like hazelnut butter), and some hazelnut pieces.  If I thought the previous item was rich, this was another notch.  It was also incredible.

The pastry itself was remarkable.  Much like the triangle pastry, it was well laminated, had beautiful layers, was reasonably crisp, but not particularly decadent, no noteworthy flavor.  Better than average, but not amazing.  ***+.

The pastry nest was very well formed, and thicker than the triangle pastry, as was needed to hold the marvelous contents.

Sea Salt Hazelnut Praliné Flan: Cross Section.

And here you can see those contents.

Filling the cup was the flan.  Well set, thick, rich, good flan.  Not too sweet,  This alone would be a good flan.  ****.  Together, the laminated nest and the flan filling sorta gave off the vibes of a Chinese egg custard tart or Portuguese pastel de nata, but, with a French spin.

But then ... the hazelnut praliné.  OMG.  It was one of the tastiest things I've had in a while, and, I say that eating lots of tasty things regularly.  It was sweet.  It was nutty.  It was gritty.  It was salty.  It was like the best cookie butter, but, amplified.  Truly, I think it is ground candied hazelnuts.  They should sell this by the jar.  I'd spread it on anything, including, my finger, direct in the jar.  This was bonkers good.  Perfectly ooey gooey too.  *****.  Flawless.

Add in some hazelnut halves for even more crunch, and more hazelnut flavor, and, well, this was just a truly wonderful treat to eat.  Every component could easily be enjoyed on its own - quality pastry, rich thick flan, insane-o hazelnut praliné.  But put it all together?  And it totally worked.

Glorious.  I'd get another with no hesitation.  ****.

Strawberries & Cream Pistachio Roll. $10.
(2024).

"Fresh strawberry compote, vanilla Chantilly, pistachio ganache, laminated brioche."

Oh, man.  Another one that may look the size of a normal filled croissant in this photo, but I assure you, it was not.  It was really quite large, easily splittable by 2-3 people.  The super-size of the pastries from the Workshop always surprises me, but it does make the now $10 price more reasonable.  

Anyway, what we had here was a laminated brioche, with bi-color layers of strawberry and regular pastry, with an attractive pattern on top, accented by strawberry white chocolate paint.  The ends were dunked in more of the white chocolate and covered in pistachio bits.

The pastry was good, clearly fresh, crispy.  It reminded me of croissant pastry, but a bit crispier, less big pockets of air, and a bit more rich.  You could really taste the butter, in a good way.  I guess, now I know what "laminated brioche" really is.  It was a good vehicle for what was to come.  **** pastry.

Strawberries & Cream Pistachio Roll: Chantilly.

I cut into it to reveal the fillings.  At first I was confused: why did I see only the white vanilla chantilly?  Where was the pistachio ganache? The fresh strawberry compote?  It turned out, the end with the pistachios decorating it was also filled about 1/4 of the way with pistachio ganache, and the strawberry compote was primarily concentrated in the top half as well.  So, don't just cut in half and hand one half off to a friend (unless you slice the other way or want one of you to not get all the great fillings).

The vanilla chantilly was pretty incredible.  I've never had such a light, fluffy cream in my life. It tasted so purely of cream, like, intense cream flavor, but, fluffy.  Remarkable.  ****+ cream.  Like something you'd get in Japan.

My slight complaint is that there really was not much of the strawberry compote, there was some in the folds of the pastry as you can see here, but that was about it.  It was sweet, fruity, light, and really went well with everything else, but I wanted more of it.  

Strawberry & Pistachio Roll: Pistachio Ganache.

And finally, the pistachio ganache, from the end with the pistachio bits on it.  It was thicker than the chantilly, a pretty light green color.  It was very rich, and mildly sweet, in a white chocolate sweet way.  I actually thought it didn't taste all that strongly of pistachio, but it was enjoyable anyway.  ***, because it didn't quite deliver in the pistachio department.  The pistachio bits on the end certainly did, and they also added nice crunch.

I did find the choice of concentrating the ganache on the end less than ideal.  It made those bites really almost too rich.  I liked the ganache, don't get me wrong, but I wanted more of the lighter cream to cut it, particularly given the richness of the laminated brioche.

If I sound critical, that is only because this is at the top echelon of baking perfection.  It was a very, very, very good pastry.  Most bakeries only dream of achieving this level of quality.  The pastry, the fillings, everything was truly textbook, which I mean in a perfection sense, not boring.  Overall, ****, and I'd certainly get it again, and can't wait to try more of their offerings.

Caramelia Feuilletine Clusters. $18.
(2023).

"These deliciously decadent clusters are made crunchy wafer crisps covered in rich Valrhona Caramelia (caramelized milk chocolate). Bet you can’t eat just one!"

And finally, since I was getting delivery one time, and couldn't resist just adding on one more item to take home with me, the caramelia feuilletine clusters, which feature one of my favorite things: feuilletine.  Take feuilletine and cover it in quality milk chocolate, and make it even more snackable by forming clusters?  Um, yes.

These were pretty much exactly the sum of their parts.  Feuilletine, super crispy, formed into clusters, smothered in very rich creamy Caramelia chocolate (the same used in the triangle pastry).  Crunchy, chocolatey, caramely, rich.  Very tasty, but I found that one cluster was enough at at ime.  I liked to pair with coffee, or top with whipped cream, to balance out a bit.

Very enjoyable, but I don't think I'd get another batch.  ***+.

Balboa Cafe

Balboa Cafe is relatively well known in San Francisco, although I'll admit I was only vaguely aware of it until recently.  

"Since 1913, Balboa Cafe has served as one of San Francisco's oldest restaurant where it all started as a working-man’s saloon. Now it’s a cherished neighborhood establishment where people from all corners of the Bay Area and beyond come for community and our beloved classics, like the Balboa Burger on a baguette, the Wednesday Chicken Paillard special, and the famed Espressotini. Despite our city's evolution, Balboa Cafe remains a timeless destination for those seeking a taste of San Francisco's nostalgia."

It has a firm place in SF history, as its been around since 1913, and has been in operation the entire time, lasting through all sorts of interesting eras of history (Prohibition, the Great Depression, the '89 earthquake, Covid pandemic, etc).  Ownership has changed, interior modified, menu evolved, but, at its roots, the same establishment. 

"The evolution of the espresso martini is steeped in the genius of marrying two favorite pastimes - coffee and cocktails. The popularity of the iconic Balboa Espressotini gained traction early on, and our bartenders were challenged to keep up with the demand. In 2017, we partnered with Shane from Top Hat Provisions, who blended a proprietary, single-origin cold brew coffee that we could mix with our signature blend of spirits in a nitro tank to create an ice-cold espressotini tha’s shaken to frothy perfection."

The recent-ish rise to fame for Balboa Cafe is their Espressotini, which they introduced in 2017, and they now have on tap.  They definitely take credit for introducing SF to this phenomenon.  The current popularity seems to be as a boozy brunch scene on weekends, and nighttime watering hole, with some focus on the food, and the overall hospitality, but the primary focus is definitely the bar program.  As I don't frequent the Marina, nor do I generally go for boozy brunch, it hasn't really been on my radar.

I also assumed that it was rather hype-y, and commercialized ... after all, um, they have a lot of merch for sale, banded canned Espressotinis, and the like.  I was pleased to see that wasn't the case when I visited for weekend brunch one day.  There really was a fair amount of charm to the place, the host was remarkably hospitable, and the place just felt nicely worn in, comfortable, and authentic.  The food?  Well, eh.  But I did have my first espressotini, and that alone was a novel win.

Setting

Balboa Cafe is located right on Fillmore Street in a busy area of the Marina.

Entrance

The entrance is fairly charming, with a slightly shabby look of elegant time's past.

Bar.

The look extends inside to the long bar that is a central point of the restaurant.  So much old wood, mirrors, and just old school vibes.  It feels remarkably comfortable, as it is so clearly comfortable with itself.

Sidewalk Seating.

There are tables inside as well, but the coveted spots, at least for weekend brunch on a sunny day, are the outdoor tables.  They aren't a fancy setup, but by mid-afternoon, this is where the crowds definitely wanted to be, and the entire place was packed.

Drinks

Every patron at Balboa Cafe had an alcoholic drink in front of them, at 1:30pm on Saturday.  Again, clearly, people are here to drink, even during the day. Most everyone had the exact same drink: the espressotini, although there was a stray glass of rose at one end of the bar, and I saw a few beers get poured from the tap.  But mostly, that cocktail list, and certainly the wines (besides rose/sparkling), didn't seem to be something anyone took notice of.  

Drink Menu.

The reason people are at Balboa Cafe is the vibe, and the drinks.  The brunch menu called out a few cocktails in particular (obviously, their signature espressotini, along with the default brunch drinks of mimosa, bellini, or bloody mary, and the cadillac), but a full drink list, including beer, wine, ciders, and many more cocktails was provided.

Balboa Espressotini (decaf). $19.

"Stoli vanilla, kahlua, top hat cold brew espresso."

Clearly, I had to order the espressotini, right?  I mean, if everyone else is doing it, AND it is what they are known for ... 

I'll admit this was my first espressotini.  The reason is pretty simple: I don't drink caffeine after about 10am, I limit even decaf coffee and chocolate until about 2pm, and never have anything with any caffeine later than that.  Although I drink a glass of wine with dinner nearly every night, and enjoy a cocktail when I go out, I rarely day drink.  So ... the espressotini really just doesn't have much place in my lifestyle.  But I see why they are so popular: they jazz you up, AND make you tipsy, AND taste like dessert?  Winner, winner, and danger, danger.

But anyway, yes, espressotinis are fairly popular these days, but why such a BIG THING at Balboa Cafe in particular?  I think because they were a bit ahead of the trend, and introduced them in 2017, and, well, for the younger Marina crowd, this was a very fitting drink for their lifestyles.  And so it took off, making Balboa a destination for folks.  They couldn't keep up with the demand of making so many of them (pulling shots, shaking, etc), so they worked with a coffee producer to make a super concentrated cold brew that they could put on tap to use for the base of the drink, eliminating much of the manual work.  The bartenders churn out a lot of these daily, and do so with incredible throughput. 

I however wanted decaf, knowing that super concentrated coffee at 2pm was not an ok idea for me.  Luckily, Balboa Cafe *does* offer a decaf version, but it definitely isn't the same recipe as the regular.  My bartender needed to actually brew a decaf shot and mix the old fashioned way in a shaker to produce the decaf version.  When it was sat down in front of me, it didn't look nearly as good as the ones everyone else had (I didn't see anyone else get decaf, just me, the lame old person ...). It was all mixed up and foggy, as you can see here.

Balboa Espressotino: once settled.

But then it settled, and looked much like everyone else's.  It really is an attractive drink once it settles, frothy on top, deep and rich below.  

And, sigh, it really is remarkably delicious.  Sweet from the vanilla Stoli and Kahlua.  Super frothy.  Nice bitterness from espresso.  Amps you up, gets you drunk, AND is like a dessert all in one.  I instantly understood why everyone loves these.  Yes, yes, this was totally delicious (but such a bad idea! Did I get old somewhere along the way?).

****.

Side note: You can now even buy a nitro canned version of the espressotini from Balboa Cafe directly to take home, if you must.

House Sparkling Water (complimentary).

I asked for sparkling water, and was originally given tap ice water.  I asked again, and this time was given sparkling water from the soda dispenser in the bar.  It came attractively served, with a lime wedge, but, I hated the taste.  Not filtered, and just not good.  In the future I'd remember to ask for bottled sparkling.

Food

As I mentioned, Balboa Cafe is very popular.  It is very well known.  But it is not because of the food.  That was clear to me from my research before visiting, but extremely clear once I actually had my first bite.  The food was highly mediocre, mostly below average for even a generic boring restaurant.  You do not go there for the food.

Brunch Menu.

The brunch menu has a combination of items from their weekday lunch menu, their dinner menu classics, and some more breakfast appropriate dishes.

I was interested in most of the seafood options (ahi tuna cones, fried calamari, mussels mariniere), but also was a bit skeptical that a place known for the espressotini and not really for the food would do a decent job with seafood.  Most people around me seemed to be getting burgers and fries (if anything, plenty were there just for drinks).  I opted for one starter, one salad, one entree, and of course desserts, intending to take whatever was leftover home.

Buttermilk Fried Calamari. $19.

"Spicy marinara, house tartar sauce."

Well, my meal didn't start off very well.  The calamari was highly, highly mediocre.

On the plus side, it had a good distribution of rings and tentacles, and was served warm.  I appreciated the lemon wedges.  

But, the rings in particular were quite chewy, some pieces tasted fishy, and the coating wasn't particularly flavorful nor crisp.  The "spicy" marinara was not spicy at all and tasted like a jar tomato sauce, the tartar was average, mostly mayo.  It is nice that they offered both sauces, I'm definitely one for the tartar (or really, cocktail), but I know many people like the Italian style marinara sauce with theirs.

**.  I would not get this again, and did not even come close to finishing it (even the leftovers air fried at home to make crispy just weren't tasty as they were far too chewy and just ... not good tasting).

Grilled Veggie Salad. $22.
No goat cheese, "dressing on the side", add shrimp (+$8)

"Grilled asparagus, summer squash & red onion, romaine, raddicchio, carrots, radish, basil, sunflower seeds, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, herbed champagne vinaigrette."

I moved on to a salad. I asked for no goat cheese, dressing on the side, and added shrimp.  My order was initially taken by a server who was just memorizing it all, but as soon as I made modifications, he pulled out a napkin and wrote it down.  Unfortunately, that napkin didn't seem to serve him, or me, well.

When my salad was placed in front of me, I thought I had gotten someone else's order.  Clearly this wasn't mine, right?  Because ...  I asked for dressing on the side, to start. But also, when this was brought out, I really thought it was another salad, not the grilled veggie salad.  The server assured me it was the grilled veggie salad.  And I guess it was, but, it WAS dressed when I asked for it not to be, and, well, I certainly expected it to have more grilled vegetables.

The base was fine - torn romaine and radicchio, very fresh and crisp.  Matchstick carrots were fine too, and I liked the big slices of radish.  Cherry tomatoes were flavorful and not mealy.  So actually, a pretty decent base.  ***+.

But where were those grilled vegetables?  I had exactly four very small pieces of zucchini that seemed raw, zero red onion that was listed in the description, and a few small shaved pieces of asparagus.  I was looking forward to big juicy asparagus spears, chunks of summer squash, and some lovely grilled onions.  The components that were there were good, but, just not what I was expecting, and really quite minimal for a "grilled veggie" named salad.  ***+.

The real issue was the dressing.  I wanted it on the side as I don't like vinaigrettes, and this was really, really, really dressed in it.  Very tangy, and just not what I like at all.  Booo.  I didn't bother correcting the situation though.  I truly disliked the dressing.

The salad lacked any seasoning, but luckily pepper and salt were on the table, and the pepper in particular really helped.

For $8 I added shrimp, which was a portion of 6.  The shrimp were large, juicy, properly deveined and cleaned.  Great bounce to them, not rubbery.  Better than average / expected.  Definitely worth the $8. ***+.

Overall, if the dressing had been left off as I wanted, I would have liked it, and just been sad it wasn't more grilled veggie forward, but as served, it was a miss for me entirely.  *** besides the dressing, but ** with.  Also, really, a $30 salad?  (add also 4% SF tax, 8.625% state tax, and at least 20% tip, and this becomes a $40.50 salad.  Um, craziness).

Pulled Pork Sandwich.  $22.

"Remoulade, onion ring, fresno chilies, pickled onion slaw, brioche bun."

I tried to order the mussels as my main dish, but I was told I couldn't take home any leftovers because it was shellfish.  I've never been told you can't take shellfish home before, but, that was their policy.  They said the mussels were the only dish that couldn't be taken as leftovers.  Um, ok.

So I went with my third choice, the pulled pork.  The menu did not say that it came with fries, but it did.  The fries were very mediocre, thin, crispy, but not very well seasoned, and not very actually flavorful.  I would have preferred another side choice, and I saw others asked if they wanted fries or salad with their sandwiches, so not sure why I wasn't asked, nor why the menu didn't specify the side (it only lists the fries as coming with the burger). ** fries.  The ketchup tasted odd.

The pulled pork sandwich was decent though.  Glossy brioche bun that was lightly toasted inside.  The top bun was smothered with remoulade which seemed unnecessary with the already sauced pork.  I'm all for mayo sauces, but this seemed a bit overkill.  Under that was a big juicy onion ring.  I liked how hefty it was.  It made me wish onion rings were actually on the menu - if they can make one here, couldn't they make a basket of rings as an appetizer or side?  They have a nice lineup other sides, including fried items, so it doesn't seem like a fryer space problem ... I'd love to order onion rings with remoulade to dip them in! 

The pulled pork was a good portion, and all well shredded.  Well sauced in a fairly sweet sauce, slight bbq notes.  Moist.  Under that was the slaw, a vinegar style, very tart.  Nice for a bit of freshness, but a touch too high on the acid for me.  I never found any fresno chiles.

So overall, a decent enough pulled pork sandwich, ***.  Not something I'd go back for, but, it was decent enough.

Dessert Menu.

After a fairly lackluster meal, I still asked to see the dessert menu, as my sweet tooth always needs satisfying (although, to be honest, the espressotini really did serve as a pretty decent dessert item!).

The options all sounded decent - none that were totally amazing, but all ones I'd be happy to try: an ice cream sundae, chocolate lava cake, sticky toffee pudding, creme brûlée.  Nothing earth shattering, but standard crowd pleasing desserts, and ones I have dedicated labels for on my blog.

I asked my server how the desserts were, and he said they were good.  I asked his favorite, and he told me he doesn't actually like sweets.  Well, ok ... I tried to ask what other people seem to like, and he simply told me that the ice cream sundae was really large and would be too much for me.  He quasi suggested the sticky toffee pudding, but not in a convincing way at all.

Sticky Toffee Pudding.  $15.

"Medjool dates, toffee sauce, vanilla gelato." 

So, I went for the semi-recommended sticky toffee pudding.  I do love a good sticky toffee pudding, and went on an epic quest last time I was in London to try it essentially everywhere (including an average version at Heddon Street Kitchen, an awful version at Hawksmoor Seven Dials, and my favorite, amusingly from the buffet restaurant, Tibits).

This though .... wow, what a letdown.  Where to start.

It was:

1. Cold, not warm. Who serves sticky toffee pudding not warmed up?
2. Hard.  What is sticky toffee pudding without gooey, moist, softness?
3. Dry.  Entirely, um, not sticky?  There was literally no signature sticky toffee sauce at all, only a little drizzle of caramel on top of the gelato.  None on the cake.  Um, what?

The cake was basically just dry, hard, and tasted like dates.  Not sticky toffee pudding, and not enjoyable. *.

The gelato was fine.  The caramel drizzle was fine, but seemed likely not house made, just the kind from a squirt bottle.  *** gelato and sauce.

* star overall, sorry, this was just not sticky toffee pudding.

Vanilla Creme Brûlée. $12.

"Anis biscotti."

I hedged my bets though and also got another favorite of mine: creme brûlée.  As you know, I love all puddings, and have a label on my blog just for creme brûlée, so I was excited for this.

Sigh.  Another letdown.

It *did* pass the tap test.  Lovely caramelization on top.  But the body of the creme brûlée was not well set; it was remarkably runny.  Flavor trended too high in the egginess too.  It basically was like a creme anglaise sauce, just with a caramelized top.

Overall, good top, but meh overall.  I also wanted a few fresh berries or something.  **.

Biscotti: this was fine, crispy, good anise flavor.  ***.

The Club, SFO

Update Review, January 2025 Visit

This was my second visit to The Club, my previous was in August right after they opened (see below).  My feelings on the place are largely the same: nice space (although the tables are very close together), annoying wait list (and wait to get on the wait list, and then wait to get in once you get called back, etc), mediocre food.  At least the elevator was finally working, and I did check out some of the amenity spaces this time, and they really are nice.

Amenities

I knew the Club had a few reservable amenities, such as showers, private meeting rooms, and a yoga studio, but I did not investigate them last time.  This time, I scanned the QR code on my table, and saw the yoga studio reservations were wide open, so I figured it might be novel to check out.  It really was a nice escape, and I'd gladly do it again.

Lululemon Studio

Bookings are for 30 minute slots.  You check in with an "escort" who brings you to the room, and hands you a tablet with the app on it.  The app has a variety of workouts to pick from - the expected yoga, but also strength training classes and many that require equipment ... that they don't have.  So that was a bit odd.  The app is connected to the special mirror, which is where the class actually plays (you don't just watch it on the tablet).

Open Space.

The space is actually fairly large, and reasonably nicely decorated.  There are two separate Lululemon mirrors, but I'm not sure if they do multiple bookings at a time.  I was in there solo and really appreciated having such privacy.  Not that SFO is a busy hectic airport in general, its quite easy to find private space, but this was another level of my own tranquil space.

The Mirror.

I selected a barre workout, and got started.  The mirror showed the workout, the sound played from there, it also showed my class progress, and estimated calorie burn, while also being an actual mirror to watch my own alignment.  Kinda cool.

Water, Mats, Etc.

The room had only a few props available - yoga mats and yoga blocks, along with towels and spa water.  No weights or other equipment that many of the classes required.

Food & Drink - Mid-Day

The food lineup was largely the same as my visit back in August, even though it had been nearly 6 months.  They clearly don't rotate the menu much.  It was all pretty average lounge food, not really as nice as the space implied it might be.

No Coffee.

There are two coffee machines.  Both were broken.  The bar does not have an additional machine.  There was carafes of drip coffee, regular only, available instead.  At 2pm, I really wanted decaf, but it was not an option.  Not even instant.

Breads.

The breads are not labelled.  I read a review from someone else who tried the middle bread, thinking it was like the others (e.g. sandwich/toast sliced bread, because this area was labelled "local breads with toppings", and the toaster was next to this display), but was very surprised to find it was ... pound cake.  Like, sweet dessert style cake.  Not really bread.

And so, curious about it myself, I tried it.  Indeed.  It was pound cake.  Thin sliced like for toast though, so it looked like regular bread, but, definitely was not.  It tasted kinda stale and just very processed.  I did not enjoy it.  I don't think jam or cream cheese (the available less savory spreads) would have helped. *+. 

Pickled Stuff & Spreads.

I gave the pickled stuff another try, and tried a pickled carrot.  It was nicely al dente, but otherwise not interesting.

Salads.

The same two salads as my previous again, now with an additional chicken noodle salad.

I didn't try the California Cabernet salad it as looked soggy, overdressed, and loaded with feta, so not likely to be a success for me.  I tried the others.

The black rice and kale salad was also over dressed, and too sweet, and no longer had the peas I enjoyed last time.  I tried a bit of the cabbage and noodles but avoided the chicken, it was mediocre too. Basically, pretty generic lounge quality here.  **.

Coconut Curry.

The same vegetarian coconut curry was there from my previous visit, now with bulk rice, which seemed to work much better than last time when they had the rice pre-plated in small individual bowls.

Fruit & Wrap.

I didn't try the vegetarian wrap that had hummus as I don't care for it, and couldn't have any fruit because I'm allergic to melons.

Beef & Broccoli Teriyaki

The one major change from my previous visit was the hot protein dish changed from orange chicken with broccoli to beef teriyaki with broccoli.  And again the improvement with large format rice rather than individual bowls.

I did try the broccoli, and it was well cooked, not too mushy, but the sauce was really quite greasy.  **.

Dessert.

The dessert lineup still had the same brownies as my previous visit, but the awful strawberry mound was replaced with lemon squares.

I tried both.  The brownie was dense, chocolatey, pretty generic.  Fine, but nothing special.  

The lemon square had a tasty enough shortbread crust (and I intentionally took a corner piece with extra!).  I don't actually really like lemon desserts, so the fact that the layer above the thick crust didn't have much flavor was a win for me, but it certainly wasn't very lemon-y, and that layer was kinda just soft mush that was quasi-sweet.  I really did like the crust though. *** crust, * rest, ** overall.

Snack Mix: Healthy Trails.

2 of the same snack mix jars were there from my previous visit, one with dried fruit/nuts, and one with gummy bears, but a new one was also added, dubbed "healthy trails".  However, I believe this label was wrong, as that is the indeed the name of a Truly Good Snacks mix (and the brand The Club locations use nationwide) but ... the items in this really didn't match.

Healthy trails is described as "A classic trail mix blend of raisins, roasted almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.nuts. It is all natural and only roasted, not salted."  But this was clearly granola, and it had some goodies hiding within, like clearly glazed walnuts and ...

Snack Mix.

Yogurt pretzels!  There were just a few lurking within the jar, but, I was happy to discover those.  They were standard, average yogurt pretzels, but I really do enjoy them.

The glazed nuts were less glazed tasting than they looked.  They were fairly bitter.  Granola was granola.  Mild spicing.

Overall, not a mix I found myself wanting to munch on as finger food (besides the pretzels) but made a decent granola.  Low ***.

Original Review, August 2024

It finally opened.  The Club, at San Francisco International Airport, in the newer section of Terminal 1.  for Priority Pass members, at long last, a club we could use.  Or, theoretically at least.

Setting

The Club is located close to the entrance to the main wing of the terminal.  If you visit at what seems to be most times of day, it won't be hard to spot: just look for the line.  Access issues aside, it is a relatively large lounge.  In addition to the dining spaces I focus my review on, they did have a kid's play area, and some private work areas, along with a wellness area that was locked.

The Line!

Well, all the early reviews were right.  Expect wait times.  This ... was the line to get in the front door midday during the week.  Once through the door, you got in another line.  That line was just to put your name on a waitlist (!).  You then get a text when your spot is ready, and it is held for 10 minutes.

I waited in line for 20 minutes to put my name on a list.  I was quoted 30 mins wait at that point, but got my text within 20 minutes.  But yes, expect a line.

Fire Pit.

Inside, right at the top of the stairs when you enter, is a lovely fire pit.  It was the only area in the lounge not heavily used.  It looks great, but lacks tables or electricity, so sadly underutilized.

Seating.

The rest of the space is basically one huge room, with assorted styles of table seating, or arm chairs with side tables.

Yes, the ceiling is cool.

Bar.

I didn't visit the bar, but it was an attractive looking space.

Live Action Station.

It wasn't available during the daytime, only in the morning, but there was a live action station that serves breakfast sandwiches in the morning.

Food & Drink

The food and drink offering were pretty standard for a US domestic lounge.  Interestingly, no salad bar (just pre-made salads) and only one soup.  I've always thought that basic salad offerings and 2 soups was kinda standard fare.  There were two hot entrees.  No sandwiches, although signs indicated that there should be.  Two desserts.  Two snack mixes.  All fairly low end average quality.

Coffee / Tea.

No barista station (that I saw) in this lounge, but brewed coffee and tea bags were available self-serve.

Water Tap.

No water bottles or flavored water infusions are available, but there is a water tap with still, sparkling, or hot water.

There was also a soda dispenser with basic soft drinks.

Snacks.

No classic snack mix, but instead California Mix with assorted nuts and dried fruit, and gummy bears.

Breads.

Several types of bread, with a toaster on the side.  Basic spreads were located further down.

Soup.

There was a single soup of the day, along with some garnishes.

Fermented Station.

I eagerly tried a few of the pickled things.  The carrots were mushy and way too soft (and didn't taste pickled ...).  The radish wasn't quite as soft, but it certainly lacked any snap or crispness.  Cornichons were standard.

California Cabernet Chopped Salad.

"California kale chopped salad with cauliflower florets, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, and ricotta tossed in a Cabernet vinaigrette."

I really liked the idea of this salad, as I love curly kale as a base, I enjoy cooked cauliflower in salads, and of course, yay for tomatoes in season in summer, and ricotta for creaminess and sunflower seeds for crunch.  But it wasn't as good in practice as it seemed it would be.  It was heavily dressed, and I think had been made quite a while before, as it was pretty soggy.  The cooked cauliflower was rather soft, not roasted or lightly charred as I had hoped.  The tomatoes were tiny tiny bits, entirely lost in the rest of the mix.  It was ok, but just not great, and really suffered from the dressing (I also probably liked it even less as I don't care for vinaigrettes in general).  

Low *** for being well thought out at least.

Peas and Black Rice Salad.

"Black rice served with sheared English peas, fresh radish, and tossed in tarragon dressing."

Next up was another composed salad, also with a kale base.  This one was also over dressed, but less soggy, and everything else in it was great.  The radishes were crisp and sharp, the peas lightly sweet and not too soft, and the rice added nice texture.

I really enjoyed this one.  ****.

This area was also supposed to have a vegetarian wrap, but I never saw any during my 45 minute stay.

Curry.

There were two hot entrees, the first was a vegetarian coconut based curry.  I didn't try it.

Rice.

People waited a long time for rice, needed for the curry or the other hot entree.  It was entirely out the first few times I went by the buffet.  They definitely are having issues keeping the buffet full.  (I suspect switching to large format self-serve rice would make things better?  Curious why the entrees themselves are large format, but the rice isn't?).

Orange Chicken with Broccoli.

I'd been craving Panda Express when I visited the lounge, so I was pretty excited when a batch of the orange chicken was brought out about 30 minutes into my visit (it was missing previously).  The chicken looked, um ... suspect let's just say, as it looked more like gnocchi?  As one who doesn't actually like chicken anyway, I wasn't too upset by this.

The broccoli was large hunks, reasonably well cooked.  The chicken balls actually did have real chicken in them, just, lots of breading, and an unusual appearance.  The sauce coated everything well.  But ... the sauce was also very sweet and one-note.  This just wasn't all that good, and made me crave Panda Express even more.  **.

Fruit.

Fresh fruit on offer, even in the middle of summer was ... melons.  Not even very ripe looking ones at that.  I skipped due to allergy anyway.

Desserts.

I was happy to see a US domestic lounge that had a dessert offering other than just cookies or brownies.  Yes, they *did* have little brownies, but also an item dubbed "strawberry shortcake". 

Strawberry Shortcake: 

"With whipped vanilla cream and fresh strawberries."

When I think of strawberry shortcake, I think of a sweet biscuit, topped with macerated berries, and whipped cream.  I know some people believe angel food cake is also an acceptable base (I am not one of those people).  But I certainly think of some kind of base sweet carb topped with fresh albeit sweetened berries.  This dessert was clearly not that.  But still, I tried.

It was really quite odd.  Balls that seemed like they had been scooped with an ice cream scoop of mushed cake and some cream.  Drizzled with a cloying sweet very fake berry sauce.  No actual strawberries, despite what the menu card said.  It tasted highly artificial, and the fake flavor that strawberry sauce was impossible to get past.  Hard pass. *.