Popup Bagels, NYC

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Popup Bagels is not from NYC.  NYC is a city of great bagels.  Yes, I still was excited to try Popup Bagels.

"What started as a local sensation, founded by Adam Goldberg in Westport, CT, has quickly grown into a celebrated name. It has earned acclaim from bagel lovers and industry experts alike and led to a nationwide expansion. No sandwiches here - we serve our bagels fresh from the oven, hot and whole, to Grip, Rip and Dip."

If you are unfamiliar, Popup Bagels is now a nationwide franchise with a bunch of locations, although it really did start as a popup in Connecticut.  It is still relatively young, started only in 2020.  Their concept differs from most bagel places: Grip, Rip, and Dip.  These aren't bagels to be sliced and toasted.

"Simple menu. Exceptional product. We focus on the essence of the perfect bagel, a product so good it stands on its own. Paired with a rotating menu of epic schmears that change weekly, every choice earns its place."

They don't make a slew of varieties of bagels, only the basics (plain, poppy, sesame, salt, everything).  You can't buy a single bagel, the minimum order is 3 (for $13).  You can also but 6 (for $22), or a dozen.  They do not toast nor slice their bagels, nor do they apply the cream cheese/butter.  You certainly cannot get a bagel sandwich or pizza bagel.  You are supposed to rip off pieces, and dip them into your cream cheese or butter, which they call schmear.  

They always have plain cream cheese and plain butter, and a flavor of each of the week, which is often fairly interesting.  The week I had them, the butter flavor was chimichurri, and the cream cheese was elote.  Sometimes they are savory like this, other times they are sweet.  The flavor sometimes is in partnership with another brand, creating lots of hype.  And always so limited, so all the FOMO kicks in too.  They unique style went viral a while back, and expansion has been rapid since.

And thus, people love/hate them.  They wait in long lines, despite the fairly non-customer friendly policies.  They buy more bagels at a time than they want, cuz them's the rules, but will still complain about it.  They post about it on Instagram or TikTok, showing off their prizes.   Many New Yorkers loathe the place and will passionately tell you all about their favorite bagel place instead.  Others will still line up when ZOMG the flavor is a collab with so-and-so.

Popup Bagels has been on my radar for a bit, due to all this (mostly due to walking by and seeing the looong lines and wondering what they were for).  I didn't go wait in the line, nor did I go buy my minimum 3 bagels, but rather, I got to try them when we had them at my office to celebrate a launch.

You can get 3 plus 1 schmear for $13, or 6 plus 1 schmear for $22.

Branded Box.

For catering / large orders, the bagels come in their own branded box.  We had an assortment of all 5 flavors.

Sesame Bagel.

"At PopUp Bagels, our mission is fueled by passion and dedication: to craft unmistakably perfect bagels with no frills, using the essence of simplicity - crispy crusts, soft crumb centers, and an ideal proportion of seeds. Every bagel is a product of precision, from the high-quality ingredients in our dough to the meticulous proofing process and expert bake that achieves the perfect texture and flavor."

I went for the sesame bagel.

Ok, I was impressed.  This bagel had such a remarkable chew!  I sorta see the appeal of this rip and dip style.  The crust was so inviting to break into.  It was well crusted in sesame seeds.  I'm usually one who does lightly toast a bagel, but yes, for this style of bagel, you don't need that.

A good, different, bagel experience.  I'd gladly have another, but, I wouldn't go deal with their lines/minimums for it.  4/5.

Salted Butter. $7.

I also tried the butter.  Yes, it is just salted slightly whipped butter.  But it is very good butter.  Go wait in a line for it butter?  Of course not.  But, very pure flavor, very high end butter.  4/5.

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Thatcher's Gourmet Popcorn

Update Review, May 2026

It had been a few years since I encountered Thatcher's, a local fancy-ish popcorn maker in San Francisco.  My review remains much the same: I want to like this brand more than I do, it just isn't that good.

Cookies & Cream.

"Indulge in the delightful taste of Thatcher's Cookies 'N' Cream Popcorn, a gourmet treat that combines the beloved flavors of an all-American classic. This 8 oz deluxe bag features air-popped popcorn mixed with crushed Oreo cookies, creating a crunchy and satisfying snack. Coated in rich, smooth white frosting and drizzled with cream of tartar, each bite delivers a perfect balance of sweetness and nostalgia."

So, I don't actually really like Oreos.  This fact is considered blasphemy in my family, as my father *loves* Oreos, and there is no understanding that someone could in fact not only not love them, but actually, just not even like them.   So I rarely go for cookies & cream inspired items.  But when someone else got this and had extra to share, of course I still tried it!  

It was ... ok.  The base popcorn fairly average, smaller standard size kernels, not the larger ones many gourmet brands use.  It was a caramel corn base it seemed, although not fully coated in caramel.  I didn't really notice the white frosting (or cream of tartar?!) precisely, but it did have quite a bit of Oreo dust in it, and a vague sweet Stuf (the filling in Oreos) flavor.  It tasted like Oreos, no question.  

If you like Oreos, then likely a good pick.  For me it was just average popcorn, in a flavor I wasn't particularly into.  Low 3/5.

Sriracha.

This was … not very good.  The popcorn itself didn’t taste very fresh, was a bit soft.  It was full of hulls.  Just, not high quality popcorn to start.

The flavor was also very muddled, as they use cheese powder on it (why?), and it was strangely sweet.  In fact, the second ingredient, after popcorn, was sugar.  Then cheese powder.  The sriracha powder came near the end of the ingredient list.  It was mostly a sorta savory yet sweet lightly zesty flavor, not spicy at all.  I kept trying to like it, but didn’t really.  2/5.

Update Review, March 2023

It had been many years since I last had Thatcher's popcorn, a SF brand (although now only virtual, they closed their stores during Covid).  When I last had it, I appreciated the quality of the popcorn, large, fluffy, well popped kernels, but didn't find the flavors all that compelling.  However, when someone brought some giant party bags into my office ... of course I couldn't resist a re-visit!

I tried both flavors available, both savory ones, and my overall review is the same: great quality popcorn, flavors aren't amazing though.

Parmesan & Herbs.

"Take this combination: air popped popcorn, parmesan cheese, garlic, Italian herbs and corn oil. A la italiano upscale flavor!!!"

The parmesan & herb I had tried before, and found fairly subtle and boring then.

My impression this time was more favorable - I did detect the cheese and herbs reasonably well.  The pieces were well coated, and I again really loved the large size kernels.  A nice savory popcorn that didn't feel too decadent, didn't leave you with cheese laden fingers, and had a nice herb mix.  Still a touch boring, but well made, and nice for something light.  3.5/5.

White Cheddar Cheese.

"This is so Cheddary and flavorful it's hard to believe it's healthy! Try eating only one of these! "

Next I moved on to another cheesy option, classic white cheddar.  These pieces had a stronger cheese element, stronger flavor overall.  Fairly one note, just, cheddar, but if you are in the mood for cheesy, but not overly heavy, popcorn, this was another well made flavor.  I liked it less than the more interesting parmesan & herbs though.  3/5.

They also make a white cheddar with truffle that could be more interesting, and a bright orange cheddar version as well.

Original Review, September 2019

Another day, another snack food manufacturer to try, featuring one of my favorites: popcorn.

Thatcher's Gourmet Popcorn is actually local to me, based in San Francisco.  It is a cute success story, a local business that started in 1983, did well, and fairly quickly expanded into having multiple shops and a warehouse.  Now, they are an international distributor of popcorn.

"Thatcher's Gourmet Popcorn is made the old-fashioned way, using small batches to ensure optimum coating for each and every kernel."

I was drawn in by the flavor ranges, like many companies in this space, they feature both sweet and savory.  I won't enumerate them all, but in addition to the classics, there are interesting savory flavors like Sriracha, Jalapeno, and White Cheddar Flavor, and fun sweet creations like Birthday Cake, Cinnamon Toast, and Tiramisu.

I was able to try one sweet and one savory.  Neither flavor actually was all that successful, but, I think the popcorn itself was really well made.

Uni-Korn.

"This new and spectacular flavor blends blueberry, vanilla, blackberry and strawberry to create a fruity flavor that's out of this world."

I went for the flashiest, most decadent, most Insta-worthy flavor of all: Uni-Korn.

It promised 4 fruity flavors (ok, 3 fruity flavors plus vanilla), but, um ... what it was was just extreme sweet.  I know I picked a sweet one but this was ... something else.

To give the positive points though, the kernels were large, fresh, well popped, and extremely well coated.  The popcorn element was good.

Uni-Korn: Close Up.

At first glance, it looked like only a trio of colors (pink, white, blue), but it turned out to be all 4 as described, with two shades of pink.

If I had to guess to match colors, the white was vanilla, the blue was blueberry, the darker pink blackberry, and the lighter pink strawberry?  But honestly, it doesn't matter, as the flavors were not distinct.

It just tasted like sugar.  Too much sugar.  I love sweet but this was ... just not interesting, and honestly, I didn't taste any distinct flavors, no matter how many pieces I had (and yes, I kept trying to like it, on multiple days, but ... it just really wasn't distinct, and was so very cloyingly sweet!). 1/5.

Parmesan & Herbs.

"Excellent Parmesan cheese taste mixed with herbs will deliver the best savory taste!"

Next I went savory.  A cheesy version, but rather than the more common cheddar, this was parmesan.  With herbs.

The popcorn kernels again had a great pedigree.  Large, well popped, uh, fluffy, if that is a thing.  They were reasonably well coated with the powdered parmesan and some visible flecks of herbs.

The flavor was not very intense though - not particularly cheesy, not particularly herby.  Subtle.  A lighter styles popcorn, fine, but not particularly compelling.  But again, well made popcorn itself. Very low 3/5.

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Double Rainbow Ice Cream

Double Rainbow is a brand of ice cream I've vaguely known about for a while.  I think I likely first heard of them back when JetBlue first started serving ice cream in their Mint cabin, and always featured a local ice cream from the port of departure (you can read about my thoughts on some of those scoops here).  I remember being let down that they picked Double Rainbow for SF, when we had so many other better brands.  JetBlue did away with the local brands years ago now, and switched to a generic vanilla gelato (albeit with rotating toppings).  I kinda forgot about Double Rainbow.

And then I dined at Square Pies Guys (review coming soon!) and fell in love with their warm monkey bread desserts.  They don't serve the monkey bread with ice cream, but they also sorta randomly sell Double Rainbow ice cream (by the pint only), so, I always snagged a pint to pair with my dessert, and brought home the rest.   I've since explored more of their offerings.

The brand started in the 1950s with a pair of friends selling ice cream at Coney Island, before heading to San Francisco and starting a local business in 1976.  Since then, they've been Bay Area based, but distribute nationwide

"We work hard to craft the very best ice cream with no short cuts. The old fashioned way if you will, made with quality ingredients and no sacrifices. We believe in hard work and doing things the right way, the way we have done it for over 45 years. From classic flavors, to unique culinary delights, to the very best non dairy frozen desserts, there is a place for everyone at Double Rainbow."

They currently make about a dozen flavors, including a few dairy free (soy milk based), along with a single sorbet.  The flavors are fairly classic, no real unique offerings, although they at least have a handful with mix-ins that are broad appeal.

I've found the ice cream overall to be ok, but not great.  I have no reason to seek it out going forward but mostly happily consumed my pints.

French Vanilla.

"There’s nothing plain about this classic. Winner of Best in America, Double Rainbow’s French Vanilla is a perfectly crafted blend of the highest quality milk, cream, eggs and vanilla." -- SPG

"If you are a diehard purist, then we would like to introduce you to a true classic. Our award winning French Vanilla ice cream is sure to bring a smile to your face." -- Double Rainbow

I started basic.  Vanilla, which happens to be French vanilla.

French vanilla is rarely the type of vanilla ice cream I prefer.  Vanilla bean, old fashioned vanilla, even just generic vanilla ... I prefer them.  The extra egg yolk and more custardy nature of French vanilla just isn't my style.  But, I needed some vanilla ice cream to pair with a dessert at Square Pies Guys, and this was the only one available that made any sense.

As I kinda expected, I wasn't into it.  It was very classic French vanilla ice cream though, and if that is what you want, this is a very true to that style.  A far more yellow hue to it than whiter color of other vanilla styles, due to the extra yolk.  Flavor was a bit more, well, custardy than regular vanilla, although I didn't find the vanilla aspect to be very flavorful itself.  I didn't find it as creamy as I'd like either, and it didn't melt in a compelling way either, so even as a base ice cream, it was subpar for me.  I'm glad it wasn't the first flavor I tried from Double Rainbow, as I probably would not have ever tried other products from them.

2/5, as the creamy/melty nature wasn't great, and I wasn't into the flavor (the later of which is a preference thing).  

Square "Pint" Guys.
Special.

"Double Rainbow's milk chocolate and coffee ice cream base with crushed cookie crumb “pie crust” pieces and a fudge swirl. Super rich and decadent just like the classic Mississippi Mud Pie."

Next I moved on to the most exciting sounding flavor available at Square Pies Guys, dubbed Square "Pint" Guys.  Cute.  This is a special flavor made just for SPG, a play on Double Rainbow's regular Mississippi Mud Pie flavor, but with both chocolate and coffee ice cream as the base.

It was a stunner, which was obvious the moment I opened my first pint.  Just *look* at all that fudge! Yes, it was just as rich and decadent as they proclaimed it would be.

The fudge definitely dominated this pint. They called it "a swirl", but really, it was far more than what I'd call a swirl.  It was great - thick, rich, deeply chocolatey fudge, so I wasn't mad at it, but it took some digging to get actual ice cream.

The ice cream I did get to seemed to just be chocolate.  It was good, pretty standard chocolate ice cream ... but I'm not generally a chocolate ice cream person.  I did occasionally get a bite of coffee, and that I liked considerably more.

Square "Pint" Guys: within.

And finally, the mud pie aspect, crushed cookie crumb pieces.  It took some digging to get to these, and the top portion of my pint was just ice cream and fudge (with literally more fudge than ice cream, not that I'm complaining really as I loved that!).  But once I got deeper in, I did find the chocolate cookie pieces, that I guess were crushed cookie pie crust?  Anyway, they were fine, akin to Oreo though, which is never something I care for that much.

Overall, this was a decadent, reasonably good pint, and I appreciated that all I had to do was add some fresh strawberries and whipped cream, and basically had a sundae ready to go.  Low 4/5.

Strawberry Cheesecake / Strawberry w/ Cake.

"You don’t have to travel to the Big Apple for this classic dessert. We swirl our delicious cheesecake ice cream with strawberries and cheesecake pieces. Yum!" -- Double Rainbow

"Creamy strawberry ice cream laced with luscious berries and cheesecake pieces." -- SPG

I got this pint from Square Pies Guys, where they had it on the menu as "Strawberry w/ Cake", yet the pint I was handed said "Strawberry Cheesecake" (as does Double Rainbow's own website).  I assumed it was the same ice cream, until I then read the menu description SPG provided, compared to the one on Double Rainbow's own website.  Both noted the berries and cheesecake pieces incorporated into the base ice cream, but, SPG called the base simply strawberry and Double Rainbow called it cheesecake.  That's a pretty big difference.  I was far more interested in cheesecake ice cream with extra bits of cheesecake and strawberries than I was in strawberry ice cream with the same, as I just don't generally go for strawberry ice cream.

It did indeed seem to be a strawberry ice cream base.  It had fairly generous hunks of strawberry in it, which I found myself strangely enjoying, even though they were quite icy.  Really excellent strawberry flavor, but again, strawberry flavored base ice cream is not my preference.

Strawberry Cheesecake: Finally a cheesecake!

But what about the cheesecake?

It didn't seem to be in the base itself.  Perhaps it was a bit richer than a standard strawberry ice cream, but I wouldn't call out cheesecake specifically, and I still think it was likely just strawberry.  It was nicely creamy, and I enjoyed it more than most strawberry ice cream, but, I don't think the cheesecake was in the base.

After a bit of digging, a found a small cube of cheesecake. And then another.  And another.  Ok, it was loaded up with these little cubes.  They were strangely ... chewy?  But not in a bad way.  Just in an unexpected way.  Chewy is not a word I'd normally associate with cheesecake nor ice cream. They did not have a very strong cream cheese flavor, but were nicely rich. If you are looking for something very cheesecake forward, this is not it, but it was still enjoyable.  

3/5 for me because I rarely want a strawberry ice cream, but, it was interesting and a bit different.  I wouldn't seek it out again.

It's a Goody.

"Double Rainbow's classic, award winning Vanilla Ice Cream gets even more delicious with ribbons of peanut butter and rich fudge chips." -- SPG

"We start with our classic french vanilla ice cream, then we add ribbons of peanut butter and decadent fudge chips. And yes, it most certainly is a Goody! " -- Double Rainbow

This is Double Rainbow's best selling flavor.  I mean, it seems hard to go wrong with the chocolate and peanut butter combo after all.

It was basically exactly as you'd expect: a fairly standard base vanilla ice cream, flecked with little dark (?) chocolate chips, and swirls of decadent peanut butter.   The peanut butter was smooth and creamy, strong peanut flavor. The bites with peanut butter were fairly indulgent, the bites without were fairly plain, but I don't think you'd want anything heavier.  The chocolate element was fairly minimal, but I did appreciate the texture from the flecks.  The ice cream itself was average though, not super premium, not amazing melting qualities.  3.5/5.

Mango Tangerine Sorbet.

"Perfectly sweet mangos and tangy tangerines are blended together to create an exciting sorbet flavor."

I'm definitely NOT a sorbet person, but, I tried this for completeness, as it is the final flavor that SPG carries.

I was pleasantly surprised.  Yes, it was sorbet, so it was kinda icy, but it was so bright and fruity (although very sweet).  The mango and tangerine combo is surprisingly effective.  I would never want a bowl of this on its own, but, paired with super melty creamy vanilla ice cream and/or lots of whipped cream, it works well.  

3.5/5.

Update review: I've had this several more times, and am surprised by how much I like it.  Yes, it is icy sorbet, yes, it is very sweet, but, the fruity nature is just really good, and when you add plenty of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla, it just balances out so well.  3.5/5.

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United Club, Newark Airport (Gate Area C123)

Update Review, May 2026

This was my second visit to this lounge, the only lounge I had previously been to in Newark.  However, I got the chance to check out the much smaller UA Club near C74 AND the Polaris lounge (review soon!) on this day, and I think this one, near C123 quickly became my least favorite of the three, which surprised me as I thought it was pretty impressive before.  

I think it changed a lot from its early days.

No Hot Water for Tea.

There was no water anywhere in the lounge.  This meant no hot water for tea.

No Soft Drinks / Ice / Water.

It also meant no soft drinks of any kind, no water, no ice.  They had signs saying you could ask for water.  I did try to ask for sparkling water and was told nothing was available other than (tiny) bottles of still water.  Ooph.  This was clearly something going on, not a intentional change, but, it definitely set the tone.

Snacks.

The snack jars had decent enough sesame sticks, dried fruit bits, and very sweet plantain chips that seemed like they really were just banana chips (but were labelled plantains ...).

Sandwiches.

The deli area had three kinds of sandwiches and pickles, served from behind glass and plated to order, rather than the basic self-serve of the regular UA clubs.  I had liked the pulled pork one on my previous visit, but now they just had basic sandwiches (turkey, veggie, deli meat).

Salads.

There was no salad bar, but three premade salads.

Soup.

They had two soups of the day.

Cheese & Crackers.

The cheese and crackers lineup was standard UA Club blah, again, a surprise as the much smaller club down the concourse had an extensive cheese lineup at the C123 lounge.

Hot Dishes: Mains.

The hot dishes of the day were chicken or vegetarian tortellini.

Hot Dishes: Sides.

There was also rice and veggies.

Cookies.

The only dessert was chocolate chip cookies.  This surprised me, as the much smaller club near C74 had two kinds of cookies, and brownies, and even rice pudding (mmm, rice pudding!).

Original Review, September 2023

In June 2023, United opened a new lounge at the Newark airport, to a lot of fanfare.  Praise was actually fairly high, which surprised me, given that, well, it is a United domestic lounge.

I had the opportunity to visit recently, and, well, I was actually really impressed.  Impressed, by United.  For realz.

Now, it does NOT compare to a international first class lounge, or anything like that, no fine dining, but, the space is well designed, the food lineup is extensive, and things were actually tasty.

Setting

This lounge is located near gate C123, up a level from the gates.  The entry is quite simple, no human interaction required, simply scan a boarding pass and go.  The lounge is fairly huge.  And obviously, all shiny and new. and frankly, the nicest (non-Polaris) United lounge I've ever seen.  

As large as it was however, it was BUSY.  So full. Not really any seats available, even though really a sizable lounge.  It was impressive how many people it held, and just how much activity there was (2pm, Saturday).

I didn't check them out, but there are full shower suites available (a rare thing for a domestic lounge!), and a "wellness room", which I'm not sure even is.  The regular bathrooms were pleasant enough, well maintained, large as well.

Entry "Library".

When you enter, you enter through a library area, with no seating, and a simple water/fruit setup.  Fairly welcoming, really.

More Seating.

Past that is one big seating area, with sky lights, and a beverage station with coffee, water, and snack dispensers.

Spacious.

Continuing along, you reach the much bigger lounge area, with a variety of seating options, overlooking the airport.  Great for those who want to watch the planes come and go.  All seats had ample power outlets.

There is also dining specific seating, that I didn't seem to get a photo of.

Bar.

Another fixture is the looooong bar, with multiple bartenders working it.  I did not investigate the drink lineup on offer.

At the far end, out of sight here, is a full barista station, with made to order espresso drinks, Illy brand.

Food & Drink

In addition to the staffed bar and coffee bar for alcohol and caffeine, respectively, there are many self-serve coffee and tea stations, water bottle refill stations, and multiple Coke Freestyle machines with #allTheOptions.  I appreciated the beverage selection, and came prepared with empty water bottles to fill, but I did hear grumpy people complaining that there were no cans nor bottles available.

The food in this lounge far exceeded any other domestic United lounge I've been in.  I was actually very happy with my warm bbq pulled pork sandwich, delicious potato salad, buttered fresh corn on the cob, and a lovely side salad with shockingly good tomatoes.  BBQ vibes were very comforting and satisfying.  Perhaps not fine dining, but, comfort food done well has its place.

Snack Mix.

A simple thing, but I enjoyed the snack mix station (located separate from the buffet area, in a different drink/snack station).

The lineup the day I visited was: sesame sticks, "healthy trail mix" (which was 90% banana chips with a few bits of other dried fruit), and wasabi peas/edamame mix.  All were standard quality, not stale, and exactly what I like to munch on.

Basic, but, **** from me.

illy Cold Brew.

I did quite enjoy the illy cold brew, it was smooth, not bitter, seemed pretty high quality (although not nitro as advertised).  Served by the barista at the coffee bar, not self-serve.  ****.

Sandwiches.

I approached the buffet, and was, well, stunned.  Was I in an actual cafe, or United Club?!  

Yes, the first thing I encountered was sandwiches, but, they were in an actual nice looking display, were served to order, with your choice of pickles or olives added to the side of the plate.  Definitely a step above most domestic lounge sandwich offerings.

The options were a turkey sandwich, grilled vegetable, or bbq pulled pork.

I went for the pulled pork, and honestly, it was not bad.  Served warm, nice bbq sauce, some slaw, pork wasn't too fatty.  The bun was average, but the fillings, truly not bad.

I was stunned.  ***+.

Soup.

Two soups (chicken noodle, cream of broccoli) and crackers came next.  Didn't try, these are obviously not special.

Salad Bar.

Then came the salad bar, with two types of greens, marinated tomatoes that were actually ripe, fresh, and juicy, cucumbers, and farro.  I was stunned by the quality tomatoes.  They weren't mealy, generic tomatoes in any way.f

Salad Bar Part 2.

The next section had potato salad, edamame, shredded carrots, cooked broccoli, and shredded cheese.

I had the potato salad and really enjoyed it.  Nice size bits of egg in the mix with the potato, nice kick from spicy mustard, very creamy.  I'd be happy to buy this in a cafe/deli.  ****.

Cheese / Crackers / Chips / Salsa.

I didn't try the fairly boring looking cheese, or the chips and salsa, but I did appreciate the big juicy grapes.

Hot Foods: Rice, Beans, Pasta.

And then ... an actual hot food buffet.  In a domestic lounge.  Wow!

The first section had rice and beans, which you could definitely use to make some good nachos with the chips/salsa/cheese, along with a vegetarian pasta dish.  Everything was well labelled with ingredients and allergens.

Hot Foods: Corn on the cob, Chicken.

And then ... corn on the cob!  And a chicken dish.

I was pretty excited by the corn.  I enjoyed plenty of fresh corn on the cob during my August visit to the east coast, and this was one last taste of that.  Sure, it wasn't as fresh and flavorful as the corn I had been getting from the local farm, but it really wasn't bad.  Well cooked, not dried out, lightly buttered and seasoned.  Not amazing, but, certainly unexpected and enjoyable enough.  ***+.

Cookies, Brownies.

Desserts were a letdown, only cookies and brownies, generic United lounge offerings.  I didn't have either, and waited for my ice cream sundae on my flight.

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Saucy Bao

My office brings in two popup local businesses 3 days a week to do a lunch catered offering.  Many of these business have food trucks, or stalls at regular food festivals, although occasionally some have regular brick and mortar businesses too.  Most are relatively small and unknown; I don't think I've recognized the names of more than 1-2 over the years (ok, they brought Katz once, and that was epic).

It is a fun way to get some variety, and support local businesses, but generally the food isn't actually that good (Katz was the exception).  It often just isn't very fresh, which I think is the real problem, and they are working with hot boxes to keep things warm that they aren't familiar with, so it just doesn't bode all that well for anything served warm.  They never actually cook or prepare anything on-site as they do soo many covers in an exceptionally short period of time, so it isn't like a regular food festival where they do often do some prep there.  This is basically just serve, serve, serve, rapid fire.  They often sell out within 30 minutes, rarely lasting a full hour.  I've stopped trying most of them, but Saucy Bao caught my eye.

I swung by on the first day of the three day service, and the line, right at the 11:30am opening was crazypants long.  I gave up, and opted to arrive early the next day.  I was second in line at 11:10am.

Mock Storefront.

They decorated the area much like they would at a stall at a popup food festival.

Catering Setup.

The bao were kept in a hot box until serving time, and then brought out on the line in catering pans to serve.  It wasn't particularly effective; the buns were not very warm, many were falling apart.  They clearly just were not freshly made/steamed, which is to be expected, but not even being warm was a real let down.  The staff seemed to notice that they were not warm enough, and tried to turn up the hot box for future customers.

Menu.

The menu featured four kinds of buns: pork, beef, chicken, or vegan, along with three sauces (house sauce, chili oil, spicy mayo).  All had soy, green onion, garlic, sugar, salt, and sesame oil in the filling, along with oyster sauce (or, "vegetarian oyster-style sauce" in the case of the vegan one).  The chicken one also had carrot and corn in it (random), and the beef was supposed to have spinach and cabbage but didn't actually seem to.

We were allowed to pick three buns each, and could mix and match.  I got all but the chicken, as I truly dislike it.

Bao: beef, pork, veggie.

The trio all had the same tasting simple bao casing.  Soft, fresh enough, but basically average and not very noteworthy.  They all tasted the same, despite the beef one having an orange hue, and the veggie one having no pleats.  

Bao: Inside.

All were stuffed reasonably well with filling.

Beef:

This one was just ... odd.  The beef was a really dense, gristly meatball-esque.  The ingredients did not list mushroom, but I'm fairly sure there was mushroom bits in there (either that, or it was some really odd beef).  It was all just heavy, not very flavorful, and not great texture.  The ingredients said the beef one would have spinach, green onion, and cabbage, but I didn't find any of those things in it.  Just the not-so-good meatball.  My least favorite.  1/5.

Veggie:

The surprise hit of my trio.  I got this mostly because I needed a third choice and didn't want to double up on another, but it was actually by far the best.  The filling was very strong on the green onion (honestly, I tasted a lot of garlic, but that wasn't listed as an ingredient?), and had barely any mushroom (I saw two tiny bits, but didn't really taste nor get texture from them at all), but it was flavorful and fresh and juicy.  It went well with the sauces.  The only one I'd consider getting again, although I wouldn't seek it out.  Higher 3/5.

Pork:

The one I expected to like the most, as it is the most common type of bao I encounter and generally enjoy. But this I didn't care for at all.  It had the common unnaturally red bbq pork-esq filling, but the pork was incredibly fatty, and the flavor wasn't particularly compelling either.  The red color/sauce made me think bbq pork buns, but the flavor was very muted.  I tried a few bites hoping I got a bad first few bits of pork, but, no, this just wasn't very good.  1/5.

Chili Oil & House Special Sweet Garlic Sauce.

The business name is "Saucy Bao" after all, so they do have sauces.  These were normally drizzled on top of the buns, but I asked for mine on the side.  We were given a choice of chili oil or house special sweet garlic sauce, but I asked for both.  They also were drizzling on spicy mayo, which seemed odd to me - I adore spicy mayo, don't get me wrong, but it seemed like an odd thing to put on these style buns?

Chili oil:

The chili oil was fairly standard, slightly spicy (presumably sesame) oil.  It went reasonably well with the bao, as you'd expect.  3/5.

House special sweet garlic sauce:

The house special sauce was a complete surprise.  It was shockingly good.  It was indeed sweet and garlic-y, and, well, special.  It was made from a base of soy + oyster + vinegar + sesame oil, plus lots of bits of fresh minced garlic, and sugar.  They seemed to add sugar to everything (all the buns had it in the filling too), but here it worked really well.  The result was a sorta sweet and sour sauce, with a strong aroma, and really classic "Chinese food restaurant" taste.  It went well with the buns, and I suspect would go well with any kind of dumpling, steamed veggies, etc.  I really liked this.  4/5.

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Ruffles Chips

Update Review, 2026

As I discovered back in my original review in 2012, it turns out, the chips I grew up eating, Ruffles, just really truly aren't for me anymore.  But after another nearly 15 years, I decided to give them one more shot ... and, yeah, nope.  Not the chips for me, nostalgia and all.

Cheddar & Sour Cream.

"A blend of rich, velvety cheddar with smooth, creamy sour cream flavor."

I was so excited when I saw these at my office one day.  Sure, I remembered that I've really not enjoyed any Ruffles in recent years (my parents still exclusively eat them, and, meh), but I had such fond memories of this flavor.

The flavor still was nostalgic for me: creamy, cheesy, unique.  But underlying all that was the base Ruffles chip, which I just don't care for.  The taste is really greasy, they don't really taste like potatoes, I just don't care for them.  Maybe 3/5 nostalgic flavor, but still just a 1/5 for me because, Ruffles.

Baked Cheddar & Sour Cream.

Next up, baked. These tasted way too healthy.  Like compressed potato flakes.  I didn't care for the form factor, and even the "ridges" weren't as dominant as in real Ruffles with ridges.  Cheddar & sour cream flavor was ok.

1.5/5.

Original Review, 2012

My favorite chips back when I was a kid were Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream (or perhaps Cape Cod chips, those still hold a special place in my heart!).  I loved the addicting tang from the sour cream, and the cheesy goodness.

It was time to try them out again, along with their baked counterparts.  I appreciated them for the nostalgia, but, turns out, my tastes have changed.   I guess Frito-Lay brand chips in general just ... don't quite do it for me, as you've read about in all my other reviews too.

Baked! Cheddar and Sour Cream.

These were unlike any other baked chips that I've had in that they were still ruffles, so they had ridges.  Most baked chips don't have that going for them.

They were basically a healthier, more potato-y tasting Ruffle.  The sour cream flavor was very strong, the cheddar flavor was ok.  Not bad for a healthier chip, but not really something I want more of.

Cheddar & Sour Cream.

Now these, these are just like I remember. 

Strong flavor that I guess is cheddar and sour cream.  Orange coating.  Yup.

Update Review: Yup, exactly what I remember, except that I don’t really like them now :(

Update Review #2: Ok, they have their place.  I think it is alongside a burger or hotdog, at a cookout.  In any other setting I seem to dislike them, but there, they aren't bad.

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