Crumbl Cookies

Update Review, August 2025 Visit

My second ever visit to Crumbl.  We don't have a location in SF surprisingly, so I've only ever visited while traveling.  Even my hometown in NH has one now, so I find it a bit puzzling that they haven't opened any in SF yet ... but anyway, on to the review!

Display Cookies.

The week I visited, Crumbl had a fairly boring (to me) lineup of 7 primary cookies, along with one trendy Dubai Chocolate Brownie, plus the minis.  From the 7, two of the cookies featured Oreos (one golden, one regular) and I dislike Oreos, so those were out.  One was just the basic chocolate chip, which is just boring.  The Kit Kat, S'mores, and chocolate peanut butter just really didn't call out to me.  I was striking out.  But the final one, strawberry pretzel pie, was at least vaguely interesting.  Still, not a week that excited me, but I still picked up a cookie.

As always, the cookies were showcased in a display when you enter.

Strawberry Pretzel Pie Cookie.
(Chilled). $5.29.

"A buttery pie-inspired cookie rolled in pretzel pieces, adorned with whipped cream cheese topping, house-made strawberry jam, and more crunchy pretzel pieces."

My choice was easy, the only interesting (to me) one: strawberry pretzel pie.  Inspired by strawberry pretzel salad/pie, if you are familiar with that sorta retro Southern 1960s dessert with strawberry Jello, Cool Whip, and cream cheese, usually on a pretzel crust base as a bar, or made into a pie crust shell.  The Crumbl spin on it of course was a cookie.  This is one of the chilled offerings.

It was assembled to order, with the whipped cream cheese topping, jam, and pretzel garnish added to order.  It was presented to me for my approval, and handed over.  I immediately plucked off the pretzel from the top, dragged it through the jam and whipped topping, and plopped it into my mouth.

I was let down but also quite happy, all at once.  Let down because the pretzel was soft, soggy, kinda stale ... even though assembled to order and consumed literally on the spot.  This confused me.  Clearly the pretzels in the assembly station weren't exactly the freshest.  So, -1 point for the "more crunchy pretzel pieces" being well, not that.

But the jam!  Oh the jam.  The jam was incredible.  It looked a bit ho-hum, and I know people really like it and that it is house-made, and, yeah, it is rave worthy.  Intensely fruity, concentrated berry flavor.  It was far from generic strawberry jam you'd find at a diner.  They make it in-house at the individual stores.  Excellent jam, although it was very sweet.  4/5.

Then, the whipped topping.  This sorta reminded me of slightly cream cheese-y Cool Whip.  Far lighter and more like a mousse than cheesecake, but with some of those flavors in there.  It went great with the jam, just like it would go great with the strawberry jello in the classic pretzel pie, but it too was really fairly sweet, particularly alongside the jam, I found myself wanting it to have the sweetness toned down a bit, and the cheesiness amped up.  Probably 4/5 for that too, isolated, but maybe 3.5 in this application due to sweetness. (Oh, wow, I looked up the ingredients, and yes, it actually *is* Cool Whip and cream cheese, lol).

And then of course, there is the fact that this is a cookie after all.  The cookie base was quite interesting.  A thick, soft cookie.  Buttery, sweet but not too sweet, sorta like a softer shortbread almost with the high buttery flavor.  But also it was studded with candied pretzel pieces, so many pretzel pieces, baked inside and then it was rolled in them.  They added a lot of texture, flavor, and salt.  It was a fairly decadent tasting base cookie. 3.5/5 base.

Put it all together, and you have sweet, fruity, creamy, salty, yep, yep, yep.  But it still trended too sweet for me overall, fine in small pieces, or with black coffee or red wine, but hard to really devour on its own (not that you should necessary try to take this down in one sitting anyway. T his is actually one of their more modest desserts, only 620 calories (the rest of the lineup was more in the 800 range, or even over 1000 for the Dubai chocolate brownie), but still, an undertaking (it is also available in mini form).

I enjoyed trying this, but I wouldn't get it again. High 3.5/5.

Original Review, January 2024

I spent many years not really being into cookies, mostly considering them a snack, and not worthy of a full fledged dessert slot.  Sure, a cookie could be an element of a dessert, but you'd never find me eating just a cookie and calling that dessert.

Sometime during the covid lockdown, I got a bit more, let's say, adaptable, and settled on eating cookies more.  Yes, I did still normally warm them up and serve them with ice cream sandwiched in-between, or I'd dunk into whipped cream and sprinkles, but, I finally started eating more cookies, and even, gasp, craving them from time to time.

This past summer, when I was in New York for my birthday, I of course did my annual birthday freebie crawl, and was delighted to have so many more venues to hit up.  One of those was Crumbl, a fairly popular nationwide cookie chain, that somehow doesn't have a location in SF.

Crumbl is a relatively new chain, started only in 2017.  They have more than 800 stores in the US now, and some internationally.  Rapid expansion, for sure.

They started out with serving literally just chocolate chip cookies, but quickly expanded the menu too.  The concept now is actually fairly unique, with 6 cookies offered every week, the same 6 at every Crumbl location, and they change weekly on Mondays.  Seasonal offerings abound.  This gives a consistent experience across locations, but, a constant sense of missing out and thus needing to visit, stat.   They have a decent loyalty program, and, yes, a free cookie on your birthday.  I'll gladly return, and wish they'd open in SF.

Daily Offerings.

Every week features a new rotation of 5 cookies (I think chocolate chip is always offered), which run Mon-Sat (they are closed on Sun, nationwide), and every store can do a "mystery cookie" of their choice, which changes throughout the week.  The lineup includes a mix of both warm and chilled cookies.  They are all quite large, bigger than average cookies (I later looked it up, and saw the serving size is 1/4 of a cookie ... doh).  They do also make some mini (e.g. normal size) cookies.

The week I visited, the lineup was: semi-sweet chocolate chunk (warm), caramel pumpkin cake (warm), chocolate peanut butter ft. Oreo (warm), key lime pie (chilled), chocolate toffee cake (warm), and the mystery flavor was another chocolate one (also warm).

Box.

Cookies are prepared to order, so, warm ones are warmed up, and *then* toppings are applied as needed (which makes sense, as the toppings would melt as the cookies are warmed, and most have some kind of frosting/whipped cream/etc on top).

Since mine was a chilled cookie, I didn't realize it too would be prepared to order, but it was filled and topped to order, and then put in a box, perfectly sized to fit the (very large) cookie.  Again, these are not normal size cookies.

Key Lime Pie.

"Our refreshing classic key lime pie rendition includes a chilled buttered graham crust, zesty lime filling, whipped cream, graham cracker crumbs, and a fresh lime wedge to squeeze on top."

If you read my blog much, you'll realize what an odd order this is for me.  I don't tend to like citrus based desserts.  But ...  I didn't want something with chocolate (as it was evening and I avoid caffeine), so, that left with me with the choice of the pumpkin cake one, or this.  As it was just barely the start of September, and 95* out (!!!), I certainly was not ready to delve into pumpkin spice themes, I was in full on summer mode still.  Thus, key lime pie it was.

I was very pleased with this "cookie".  Calling it a cookie is a bit odd, but, I guess, at the heart, the base *is* a cookie.  It was a fascinating graham cookie, not anything like a graham cracker, more, well, like a sweet sugar cookie, perfectly soft and sweet, but ... it tasted exactly like graham cracker.  Also not like a graham crust you'd find in a normal key lime pie either, it was not crumbly and dusty like that.  Really unique and interesting.  Far better than any graham cracker I've ever had, or any graham cracker crust, which I generally really do not care for.  Very thick, yet so soft.  **** cookie base.

And then, the key lime filling.  This was a little bit more runny than what you'd find in a well set key lime pie, but, it was smooth, creamy, tangy, lightly sweet.  Not a curd, which I appreciated, as I don't tend to like citrus curds.  Nice lime flavor.  Also quite good.  ****.

The little dot of whipped cream, the sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs, and the half a thin slice of lime really elevated the presentation dramatically, even if they were fairly easily lost in the end creation.

Overall, soft, sweet, tangy, unique, and definitely one of the most interesting cookies I've had in a long time.  I'd get it again, but now really want to try more of their offerings!  **** overall.

I was a bit thrown off by the fact that the sign said "180 calories" for the cookie ... that just didn't make sense, given the size, and decadent taste and fillings.  When I looked in more detail on the website, I found the reason why: the serving size is 1/4 of a cookie.  Aha.  If I was to eat the whole cookie, it clocks in at 720 calories!  Which definitely makes more sense, but also is far more than I expected.

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Ike's Place

Update Review, Sept 2025, Mission Bay Location

It had been several years since I visited an Ike's location.  I have had such varied experiences in the past (some great, some very meh), and there weren't historically any locations near me, so it was always a trek to seek out Ike's, which, besides loving the dutch crunch bread, I just didn't have enough reason to do.  Ok, I did have a reason, once a year, to go get my free birthday sandwich, except that the past few summers I've been on the east coast enjoying summer for my birthday in August, and thus, no birthday freebie either.

This year I did seek it out, for 3 reasons.  1) they opened a new location that is much closer, and a far more pleasant walk, to my house, 2) I realized that even if I wasn't in SF around my birthday, I could schedule my order for future, after the birthday reward expired, but still redeem it as long as I placed the order before it expired, and 3) I saw they had ... lobster on the menu now?  So I was all in, although while Ike's is reasonably well regarded, I don't really think of it being a place I'd specifically seek out lobster.  If you are curious, you can get the lobster several ways, the basic "Buddy's Fave", which is what I did, or as a Surf & Turf with steak, mushrooms, and provolone added too (for a whopping $23.95).

Mission Bay Location.

My visit was to the newish Mission Bay Location, which seemed about the same size (in my memory) to the Polk Street location.  There were a handful of tables of varying heights, lots of light from floor to ceiling windows, and a central prep area.  It was clean in the dining room, although the bathroom floor was exceptionally sticky, and left my sneakers sticking all over the floor for a while after my visit.  Staff were friendly, and my order was ready on time.

#29: Buddy's Fave. $15.95.
on Dutch Crunch w/ All the Freebies.

"Dirty Lobster Salad, American. [1230 cal]."

This may be the first time ever at Ike's that I didn't modify a sandwich rather dramatically.  I left it exactly as specified on the menu with no omissions or substitutions, opted for dutch crunch for my bread choice (because, um, really, it isn't a question), got all the free veggie toppings (lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, banana peppers, jalapenos), and did ask for light dirty sauce (I do love it, but find it can dominate, and I wasn't sure if this would have the regular double dirty (both pieces of bread) AND in the lobster salad mix (is that what "dirty lobster salad" is?)), but really mostly left this alone.

The dutch crunch was excellent as it should be.  Fresh bread, soft, lofty, and great crusting on the top piece.  Lightly toasted.  Slathered with the dirty sauce, which was crazy flavorful and garlicky and awesome.  The American cheese was also adjacent to the bottom bread, and was lightly melted in, and all together honestly that bread + dirty sauce + cheese was just very tasty and satisfying on its own.  I'd be happy to just eat open faced dirty sauce cheesy garlic bread pieces, I didn't even need the rest of the sandwich.  5/5 bread+dirty suace+cheese, really.  IYKYK.

Buddy's Fave: Inside.

But let's talk about those fillings, as I've had mixed success with them in the past.  I'm happy to report that all the standard free add-ins were good this time.  Fresh enough chopped romaine, well sliced red onion, pickles + banana peppers + pickled jalapeno that were all fairly standard but good, and even the tomato slices were fresh and flavorful.  These toppings were all well distributed equally throughout the sandwich, every bite had them included, and the ratios were all good.  Nothing earth shattering here, but, decent quality sandwich components, assembled with care.  Low 4/5 veggies.

And then of course, the dirty lobster salad.  This was the wildcard unknown to me, as I couldn't really find reviews of it online, and I think it may be fairly new.  I wasn't sure if it would be like a New England style lobster roll, with basically just pieces of lobster, Maine style mixed with mayo and cold (or even Connecticut style warm with mayo, but that seemed less likely), or if it would be more like grocery store deli "lobster" salad that is a mix of a tiny bit of lobster and mostly imitation crab mixed with mayo and pretty coarsely chopped up.  It turned out to be the later, and I'm not actually sure if it had real lobster in it, but I think it did have a few tiny pieces?  I also couldn't tell if that odd piece you see in the photo was some stray turkey that got in there, or if it was imitation crab meat that wasn't chopped up properly and had unrolled?  It was all mixed with mayo (and nothing else I could tell, no celery or anything), and honestly wasn't bad, but I do like krab salad, and that is really what this seemed like. 3.5/5 lobster salad, as really it didn't deliver in the lobster department, but I still quite enjoyed it.

I found this more enjoyable to descruct than eat as a complete sandwich, something I did out of necessity at first as I was dealing with an oral injury that has left me not capable of biting into things, particularly massive sandwiches like this.  I liked the lobster salad with all the veggies just as a salad basically, and I liked the toasted bun as dirty sauce cheesy bread pieces that I ate separately so I could cut into manageable hunks for my broken mouth.  Doing it that way allowed the two concepts to shine in their own ways, and not detract - the dutch crunch and dirty sauce and cheese totally overshadowed the "lobster" otherwise.  All in all, I really enjoyed this, even if not really much lobster included. 4/5.

Update Reviews, 2018 & 2019

While I'm not a sandwich girl in general, from time to time, I get a craving.  Which lead me to finally try cult classic Ike's in the past (start with my original review there!).  I still don't go for sandwiches often, but when I do, Ike's has become my place ... even though, well, every visit leaves me questioning why ...

2018

My visit in 2018 was ... not good.  I don't know what was going on that day.

I got in line at 12:10pm.  It took 20 minutes for me to even be able to order, with only 2 people in line in front of me.  It then took another 25 minutes to actually get my sandwich.  Yes, it was 12:56pm when my name was called.  For a *sandwich*.

Sandwich Backup.

The staff were clearly slammed, or, at least they were very backed up.  There was a huge line of sandwiches awaiting final assembly.

Dirty Floor & Counter.

And the place was ... a mess.  No wonder they couldn't work efficiently?  You can see all the outstanding tickets here, but also, the floor was covered in ... bits of food.

It was kinda gross, actually.

What a mess.

There were also boxes half emptied and left all over the space.  How could they all move around and work?  Yeah, they couldn't, effectively.

I guess, seeing this, it doesn't surprise me it took so long to get my order.

Pee Wee (with modifications/additions)
All The Toppings, Whole Wheat, Side of Godfather Sauce. $10+.

"French Dressing, Home Made Poppy Seed Coleslaw, Swiss, Vegan Turkey" ... "Sub Vegan Breaded Chicken for Vegan Turkey, Sub Honey Mustard for French Dressing, Add Veggie Bacon, and include Godfather Sauce on the Side."

My order was a customization of one of the named sandwiches, as they don't have an option to build your own.  But really, I wanted to create my own sandwich.  There were things I knew I wanted: for protein, the vegan breaded chicken was good before, and I was curious about the veggie bacon.  I wanted cheese, and Swiss and smoked gouda both sounded good.  I wanted the house made slaw again.  I wanted all the standard free veggie toppings, including lots of pickles this time.  I wanted sauces, perhaps the Frank's buffalo sauce, as I do adore that.  Or maybe ranch, wasabi mayo, red pesto, or the Godfather Sauce that I still hadn't tried.  I was tempted by the thought of adding onion rings or poppers.  But there was no particular sandwich that sounded more or less like what I was looking for.  I also was going back and forth between the idea of a Frank's buffalo based creation, or going really classic and bringing myself back to my college days, where I used to always get chicken finger wraps with honey mustard.  It was the later that I settled on.  Of course, there was no honey mustard chicken finger sandwich on the menu.  And I still wanted the slaw.

So, I made a very modified custom sandwich out of the Pee Wee.  I intended to get Dutch Crunch (because, um, its the best), but, they were out (!!!!).  My options were Sourdough (no way), whole wheat, or french.  As I was saying "French", I changed my mind, and opted for whole wheat.  I didn't want either, might as well pick the perhaps healthier option?

I kept 2 of the 4 ingredients, and only added one additional, that's not ... *totally* custom, uh, right?  I could have also picked the Love Triangle, and removed 3 things and added 2, or the Handsome Owl (minus 2, plus 2), but this was the one that felt easiest, replacing protein for protein, and sauce for sauce, and, well, the base price was also the lowest, at only $10.  The like substitutions did not cost extra, but adding the additional protein (veggie bacon), did.

I opted for all the standard toppings (lettuce, tomato, Dirty Sauce), plus all the other free toppings (red onion, jalapeno, banana peppers, and extra pickles), and since I really wanted to try the Godfather sauce, but wasn't sure how it would go with the sandwich, I asked for a side of that.

Godfather Sauce is a horseradish dijon mayo, basically, um, all the things.  I was provided a side container of it, and certainly did not need it with my sandwich (more on that soon), but did try it, and use it, later.  It was, well, creamy since mayo based, it had a bit of kick from the horseradish, and then had some dijon kick as well.  The dijon was a bit too strong for me, I would have preferred it mellowed out a bit, or perhaps that this just be a horseradish mayo, but, it was an interesting sauce, and I'm glad I tried it.  Probably best with something like roast beef?

My sandwich ... well, it took forever as I noted already, but also, it was a rather soggy disaster.  I ate it immediately, in the shop, so this wasn't a case where it suffered in transit.  It also wasn't entirely my correct order, but, I didn't bother try to get it replaced.

So, so, so soggy!

The biggest problem was ... it was just a soggy mess, just absolutely laden in mayo sauces.  I adore mayo, I love aioli, believe me, I really do, but this was just out of control.  Both layers of paper were soaked through even when I opened it literally 20 seconds after being handed over.

The poor construction really truly ruined this sandwich, sadly.  And this is why I didn't need the Godfather Sauce actually with my sandwich, there is just no way I could have had more sauce!

Modified (Soggy) Pee Wee.

So, what did I have?

Ridiculously soggy whole wheat bread, to start.  The bottom bun wasn't even still bread.  Seriously.  It was just mush.  It wasn't toasty and warm in any way, I think toasted long before it was assembled given the backup of sandwiches.  The whole wheat was forgettable.  I discarded most of my bread, eating this more as a salad.  Good thing they had forks available.

The vegan breaded chicken (Gardein Chicken Tenders, if you are curious), were ok.  Like the bread, not hot, and certainly not crispy given the pool of sauce they were swimming in.  Really a shame, as I know they do heat them, and I know they can be pretty crispy.  I do still think they are a decent product, mimicking that style of breaded chicken tender well, and, the serving was quite generous, each half my sandwich had multiple full large chicken fingers on it.  I'd get these again.

The veggie bacon was less successful, but I think that is just what the product is.  I believe it was Morningstar Farms brand (not vegan, if you care).  Not crispy, didn't really taste like bacon, not hot.  But again, a generous amount, big full slices, and it was nice to have something with different texture, even if it didn't really have any interesting taste (I was hoping for crunch and smokiness, neither of which I got from these strips).

The swiss cheese was fine, nicely melted, but of course, it was long since freshly melted, and was all congealed.  Even though I ate it immediately.  Again, I think the sandwiches were all just all backed up at each assembly station, so it was toasted long before anyone got to finishing it and handing it over.

The slaw was about what I remembered, nice to have cabbage and crunch, and it came in its own mayo base.   I liked the slaw, and would get it again, although, I think this inspires me to ask for all the sauces on the side, as it isn't clear that you need any sauce if you get this slaw.

All Ike's sandwiches are served with lettuce, tomato, and Dirty Sauce, but, mine was missing the lettuce.  Is that because they assumed I didn't want it because I had slaw?  Last time, they overloaded me with lettuce even when I had slaw, so, not sure.  I did actually want it this time, and maybe it would have helped absorb some of the sauces!  The tomato slices were again entirely lackluster, just not great tomato, although the slices seemed fresh enough, and were nicely laid on the sandwich.  The signature Dirty Sauce was ... well, everywhere?  I know they layer it on both sides of the bread, and toast it on, but it was really just everywhere.  I have no idea how, but it just took over everything.  There was soooo much of it.  Perhaps I'm confusing some of the mayo based dressing from the slaw, which was in the middle, for the Dirty Sauce, but, wowzer.  So much mayo based sauce.  I like it and everything, but, yeah.  Soggy and overwhelming.

I also added all the other free toppings, and kinda regretted it.  The red onion was fine, as were the banana peppers, but neither were necessary.  The jalapenos though I ended up really not liking, they were the pickled kind, still very spicy, but, not a taste I like, and there were lots sliced up and distributed throughout.  I asked for extra pickles since I loved them so much last time, but I'm honestly not sure why I liked them so much before.  They were just ... pickles?  Fine, but nothing special, and I didn't need that many.

So that was that.  Soggy.  Cold.  Way too much sauce.  Oops on ordering the jalapenos and pickles, cuz they took over.  Missing lettuce.  Oh, and what about that honey mustard, the inspiration for the creation in the first place?  I think it was missing too.  Maybe they just added more Dirty Sauce in its place, lol.  I really didn't taste anything else, nor see anything that looked like honey mustard, so, I really do think that was lost (unless their honey mustard is also a mayo based sauce?).

I still would want to try something like this again, but, my order would be ... no jalapeno, no tomato (I give up on their tomatoes, otherwise, yes, I'd want these), probably no banana peppers or red onion, and both Dirty Sauce and honey mustard on the side.  Oh, and Dutch Crunch of course.  But the honey mustard chicken finger with slaw concept I do want to keep working on.  And maybe I'd go for good old American cheese ....

August 2019

A year later, I still went back to Ike's.  Why?  Well, I had a serious craving for a sandwich I used to get in college at our on campus diner.  I had visions of kinda re-creating that.  Sorta.

So I returned, same Polk St location, 6:15pm on a Tuesday.

There were only 4 other patrons in the store, two groups of two, waiting for their sandwiches.  Ordering was easy, even though I was making an entirely custom thing "people do it all the time, its totally normal!", I was assured.

Ike's redeemed itself!

It did take a while to get my sandwich, longer than I expected, and it was confusing how it could really take that long ... at one point, I saw all 4 staff members working on a single sandwich, trying to assemble it.  I know they were handling a decent number of online orders, but still, it certainly wasn't speedy.

But ... I didn't mind, in the end.  I was thrilled with my sandwich.  I'd happily get exactly the same thing again, no question.

Ike's sandwiches are very large, and I found a half was more than enough for my appetite at the time.  I ate the other half a day later, which seems crazy for an assembled sandwich, but it was still glorious - I just put it open faced into the toaster to crisp it all back up, and honestly, essentially as good as new!

Custom Sandwich.

When my name was finally called, I was asked "wanna sucker?",which made me giggle a little, and yes, I accepted the caramel apple sucker.  I know Ike's is a big chain now, but I'm glad they have kept some little touches like this.

You can see I also learned from my past notes, and got my sauce (well, one of them) on the side.  This was no problem.

For my creation, I basically knew what I wanted ... but I wasn't sure how to order it.  That said, I know Ike's will make you anything you want, if they have the ingredients, so I just asked the person taking my order if it was easier for me to try to tell her a modified sandwich, or to just tell her what I wanted - as in, do I just say "I want X, Y, and Z" or do I say "I want a {Sandwich Name} but with X instead of Y, add Z, etc."  She just said, "it depends, let's figure it out.  What do you want?"  I was really thrilled with how easy she made the experience, when I thought I was going to be super annoying.

What I wanted?  Vegan breaded chicken, melted American cheese, honey mustard (but on the side), dirty sauce, lettuce, extra pickles, and, um onion rings.  This is not on the menu ... at all.  But it is what I wanted!

Her solution was to order the Danny Glover, but, um, *very* modified, as I literally only kept one component of it.  She said it would price the cheapest this way, and I believed her.

So I started with the base Danny Glover: vegan chicken, BBQ sauce, and cheddar cheese ... where the only part of it I wanted was the vegan breaded chicken (my goto).  I swapped out the cheese (American instead of cheddar), I swapped out the sauce (honey mustard instead of bbq, and had it on the side), I added beer battered fried onion rings ... and then included the standard offering of dirty sauce, lettuce but not tomatoes (they are never very good), and added optional pickles (extra, in fact).

I felt like a huge pain in the ass, but she really didn't treat me that way at all.

Modified Danny Glover: Vegan Chicken, Onion Rings, American Cheese,
Lettuce, Extra Pickles, Dirty Sauce on Dutch Crunch. ($11.11 + $3).

My sandwich arrived piping hot.  I literally saw steam come rolling out as I opened it up.  This was a great sign.

As always, I liked the vegan breaded chicken (Gardein brand, I think).  I probably wouldn't really like these as a full serving of standalone chicken nuggets, but, in the sandwich, I like them quite a bit.  The texture works, and they aren't too odd in a fake meat way.  When I extracted one and slathered it in honey mustard, it was delightful.

I could have picked fancy cheeses like gouda or havarti or even just something more exiting like swiss, but I went for American, because that is what I was trying to re-create from my college days.   It was perfectly melted, and went great with the breaded chicken and honey mustard, just as I envisioned.

The lettuce I almost left off, since the past few times it has been excessive and actually decreased my happiness with the sandwich, but again, in interests of my memory sandwich, I kept it.  It actually was a totally normal amount, generic shredded iceberg, which, well, worked with my chicken finger and american cheese concept.  Simple, no frills.  I was glad I had it for some freshness.

I asked for extra pickles, but actually ended up disliking them entirely, which happened last time.  I'm not sure what it is about these pickles, but, I guess they just aren't for me.  Note to self: no pickles next time.  I didn't bother with the tomatoes as they have been so bad the past few times.

Dutch Crunch!

For my bread, I picked dutch crunch, the king of sandwich breads that I am glad I have discovered since moving to the Bay Area (did you know it doesn't really exist other places?).  And unlike last time, it was not sold out.

It was nicely toasted, crispy on the outside, super soft inside, and even more crispy due to the dutch crunch sugar/rice flour coating.  Love that bread.

It came with the dirty sauce slathered on both sides, baked on.  I almost asked for the dirty sauce on the side, like the honey mustard, but I remembered that they bake it on, and that is the magic touch.

And magic it is.  Seriously.  Herby, garlic-y, and when it bakes into the bread it just makes for ultimate deliciousness.

I somewhat deconstructed half my half sandwich, and choose to just eat the chicken and onion rings as finger food dipped into honey mustard, and the bread just with the amazing dirty sauce and some american cheese baked on, and I truly even loved just the bread and sauce.  No sandwich even required.  And I am *not* a bread girl.  It was like creamy garlic bread, if that makes sense.  All the flavor and herbs of garlic bread, but creamy from the mayo components.  A++ and being well toasted, hot and fresh, made a huge difference.

Onion Rings.

Oh, and those ridiculous onion rings I added for no reason at all (do you really need a reason to add onion rings? I mean, come on, they are onion rings!).

They were good.  Not the crispiest, so when I extracted them to eat just as onion rings dunked in honey mustard that wasn't the best, but they were great inside the sandwich, added pleasant onion flavor, and a bit more texture from the breading.  And I love the onion rings and honey mustard combo.

I'd get these again, but they aren't 100% necessary.

Honey Mustard.

The honey mustard was GLORIOUS.

A creamy, clearly mayo based version of honey mustard.  Not too tangy, just enough.  Perfect flavor combo with the onion rings and the chicken.  I loved dunking them, and my sandwich bites, into it.

I'm glad I had it on the side though, as it allowed me to use as much or little as I wanted on specific bites.  I'll certainly do that again.

Original Review, 2017

Ike's is a small-ish chain of sandwich shops, that started in San Francisco (yes, by Ike), in 2007.  To say it has been successful is an understatement.  In only 10 years, they have expanded to 36 locations throughout the state (and I think Arizona?).

The original SF location was on 16th Street, but it had to shut down after 5 years when the lease expired, and a renewal was not offered (which created LOTS of angry San Franciscans).  Ike's moved to a temporary home in the Castro, literally, inside a bakery, and then got into trouble because it is a chain now, and that was breaking some kind of rules.  Finally, they have a new place on Polk Street, which is where I visited.

Now, you might realize that I've probably never (?) reviewed a sandwich before.  I don't generally really like sandwiches.  But ... Ike's has such acclaim, and such an interesting menu, that I finally had to try it.

Oh, and they have a birthday club, where you get a free sandwich on your birthday.  You know I can't resist a birthday freebie.

Setting

Entire Shop.

The shop is fairly narrow, with not much seating.

You order at a register at the entrance, sandwiches are prepped in the small kitchen in the middle, there is a soda fountain on the side, and several high top tables for two.  There is one single lower table with 3 chairs.  I imagine when it gets busy, finding a seat is hard, or I suspect most people take their sandwiches to go, although, the neighborhood isn't really one where you want to just go eat outside.

There is no bathroom.  But they do have a hand sanitizer pump to clean your hands somewhat.

Menu.

The menu is ... daunting to say the least.  More than 50 sandwiches (even when they first opened, they had 46!).  And, they mostly all sound amazing.

Sandwiches are named after celebrities, places, and concepts, so you have to read all the details to know what is in your sandwich.  No option to order just "a turkey sandwich", although I'm sure you could do that.  The closest you can get to a normal named sandwich is the Paul Reubens, which is a play on a reuben with pastrami, purple slaw, french dressing, and swiss (yeah, I said closest, if you were expecting corned beef not pastrami, sauerkraut instead of slaw, and Russian instead of French, you'd be sad).  Many involve fried items, including onion rings, jalapeño poppers, mozzarella sticks, and even mac and cheese.  All have some kind of sauces.  These are not light sandwiches.

Each location also has location specific specials, and each day also has two specials (on a separate menu).  And of course, you can modify your sandwich in a slew of ways.

Meat options include halal chicken or fried chicken, deli sliced turkey, roast beef, pastrami, ham, and salami, bacon, meatballs, and thin sliced rib-eye.  However, vegetarians, and vegans, have nearly as many options to pick from, and they aren't just hummus and sprouts.  The fried chicken is replaced with vegan breaded chicken.  There is vegan steak, turkey, and even bacon and meatball equivalents.  You can also opt for breaded fried eggplant, or yes, hummus, if you don't go for the fake proteins.  There is vegan cheese and vegan aioli offered.  Sandwiches that aren't vegan by design, but can be made vegan, have a marking on the menu.

Dutch crunch is the standard bread offering ("World Famous", they say, and about 70% of people opt for it), but you can also select from french, sourdough, whole wheat, or gluten free bread.  All the breads are huge grinder rolls, not sliced bread, and only in one, very large, size.

All sandwiches come with lettuce, tomato, and Dirty Sauce by default.  The "Dirty Sauce" is Ike's secret ingredient, a garlic aioli (normally mayo based, but they also make an egg-free vegan version), that they toast right into the bread, on both sides, under your cheese and meat choices.  And then they add another layer after toasting.  Um, yeah, these aren't light sandwiches.

You can also add red onion, pickles, banana peppers, and jalapeños for free.

On top of that, there are lots of other add-ons, like spinach or cucumbers (for $1), avocado or bacon ($2.50), cheese ($1.50), mushrooms ($2), any of the sauces ($1-2, depending on the sauce), double meat ($2), halal chicken (instead of fried, $1), or, for the really crazy, beer battered onion rings or beer battered zucchini ($3), stuffed jalapeño poppers or mozzarella sticks ($3.50).

I was fatigued just reading the menu.  But when I realized that I'd be happy with any of at least 10 different choices, that actually made it easier.  It seemed hard to go wrong.  Interestingly, everything I wanted was vegetarian.  I think mostly because I was excited by the fake chicken and turkey, since I don't like the real stuff.

In the end, I narrowed down to a handful: 1) The "Danny Glover" with BBQ Sauce, Cheddar, and Vegan Breaded Chicken, 2) The "Handsome Owl" with Swiss, Teriyaki, Vegan Breaded Chicken, and Wasabi Mayo, 3) The "Chased & Confused (SF Exclusive)" with Bacon, Flaming Hot Cheetos, Ranch, Red Pesto, Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers, 4) The "Pee Wee" with French Dressing, Home Made Poppy Seed Coleslaw, Swiss, Vegan Turkey, or either of the weekend specials, "The Love Shaq" or "The Turner", both featuring, uh, mac and cheese (the former with american/bacon/dirty sauce, the later with bbq/honey mustard/honey).

I ruled out the mac and cheese options, and the Chased & Confused (although, really, Flaming Hot Cheetos and stuffed jalapeño poppers inside a sandwich did seem ... tempting).  And from there, I kinda made my own sandwich, using the Danny Glover as the base because I really wanted bbq and the vegan breaded chicken, subbing in a few things from the Handsome Owl, and adding in something from Pee Wee.  When you can't decide, just, make it your own?

Assembly Area.

Sandwiches are all made to order, and, they take time.  At least 10 minutes.  Because, well, there is a lot going on in each.

Each sandwich runs through the toaster, open faced, to crunch up the bread, bake in the Dirty Sauce, melt the cheese, and warm the meat.  Then there are many toppings and sauces to add.  When your order is ready, "Order Up!" is called, and you walk up to get it.  I was a bit surprised by the lack of system, no number given, no name, and everyone sorta just had to figure out when it was their turn.  Maybe they get more formal about the process when busier?

Food

Besides sandwiches, Ike's offers bagged chips (Zapp's chips, with all their innovative flavors I've reviewed before) and a couple bars/cookies.  That's it.  No other sides, not even the slaw they make for the sandwiches, nor the onion rings, poppers, or mozzarella sticks as an appetizer.  They are all about the sandwiches.

Wrapped Up ... with Lollipops!

When my order was ready, I was asked if I wanted caramel apple or blue razz lollipops.  I had no idea it came with lollipops, but, that was awesome.

It came wrapped up in two layers of paper wrap, one which actually held the sandwich and was sliced in half, and a full size extra wrapper, even though I indicated that I'd be eating there.  There isn't really a dine-in option for how it is served (e.g. no plate, no basket, etc), but if you eat there, they don't give you a paper bag to put it in.

I was surprised by how massive it was.  Length-wise, I think it was probably 10", but it was the girth that was dramatic.  Like a San Francisco super burrito, this thing isn't really meant to be eaten by one normal human.  Particularly one that plans to go out to dessert on the way home.  You can easily split one with someone, particularly if you have a bag of chips alongside, and go out for dessert after.  Or, if you don't need all that junk food in your life, a half is still a pretty serious undertaking.  I saw many people leaving with their extra half wrapped up in the paper wrapper, which, makes that seem a lot more convenient even for dine-in customers, now that I think about it.

Danny Glover on Dutch Crunch (Modified). $11.11 + $1.50.

"BBQ Sauce, Cheddar, Vegan Breaded Chicken" - Cheddar + Swiss + Tomato/Red Onion/Pickles/Dirty Sauce.

It came sliced in half, which was necessary to pick it up.  Just a half really was a full sandwich.  Check out the girth!

My order was the Danny Glover, but I made a few substitutions.  I ordered this because I wanted BBQ sauce, but, I like swiss more than cheddar, so, subbed out my cheese.  I accepted the standard tomatoes and dirty sauce, added the optional free pickles and red onions, and asked to have their well known purple slaw in place of the standard lettuce ($1.50 extra, which I was informed of at the time).  The bread choice was obviously dutch crunch, toasted.

I was surprised to open up my sandwich and find ... lettuce, the item I had subbed out for the slaw.  I had the slaw too, but, I also had lettuce, tons of it.  Very generic shredded iceberg, not particularly fresh.  My fellow dining companion noted that it took away from his sandwich experience having that much lettuce.  I removed most of it from my half.  Also generic?  The tomatoes.  Not particularly ripe, not particularly good.  I removed those too.  I think the red onion might have been left out, I never found it.

What I did find was BBQ sauce.  Tons of BBQ sauce.  It was seeping out one whole side.  It overwhelmed all other flavors.  And it wasn't possible to really remove it.  I like BBQ, which is why I ordered it, but, I actually didn't end up liking the flavor of it, even if it wasn't saturated in it, it was too sweet for my taste.

But now for the good parts.

The vegan breaded chicken was actually good.  A nice texture.  The breading was a bit soggy amongst all the other sandwich elements, but, besides that, I liked it.  Far more than regular chicken.  I'd gladly get it again.  There was a lot of it, full size thick "chicken" strips, well distributed throughout.  Most bites had a full bite of the chicken.

The swiss was nicely melted on, and again, covered the whole thing.  I loved the pickles.  Just classic dill chips, but, I really liked the crunch and flavor they added.  The slaw added a bit more crunch too, more than the lettuce, and I'm glad I added it (and, wished I had it instead, as I asked).  It was creamy slaw though, so that, plus the dirty sauce, was a fair amount of mayo-y sauces.  I did love the dirty sauce though, and, who am I kidding, I'm a mayo girl.

The dutch crunch was pretty standard dutch crunch, crunchy on top, fresh enough, nicely toasted.

Overall, this was a mixed bag.  The poor assembly that over BBQ'ed it definitely ruined it though.  I could just remove the lettuce and tomato, but, the BBQ overruled everything else.  That said, the other components were good, so I'd gladly give Ike's another chance, with another person assembling my sandwich.  I just wouldn't get BBQ, lettuce, or tomato.

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Ole & Steene

Ole & Steen is an "all day Danish bakery" that started in 1991 in Copenhagen. They expanded to London in 2016, and then in 2019 to New York City, which is where I visited.  They now have 5 locations in New York, I visited the one closest to Union Square.

The menu offers up sandwiches, parfaits, and whatnot for breakfast, toasties, soups, bowls, and salads for lunch, a full line up of espresso drinks and coffee, but the focus really is on the bakery side of things. On the bakery side, the breads take center stage, with a slew of different Danish rye and sourdough loaves, assorted sweet and savory buns, many pastries (including their well known Cinnamon Social), along with cakes and tarts.  Given my love of dessert and baked goods, you can guess what I was there for.  Oh, and did I mention, that they give you a birthday treat for free if you join their rewards club?  I can never resist a good freebie, and this actually was a good one.

Blueberry Muffin (sample).

"Vanilla batter, blueberries, topped with almonds and crunchy sugar." 

When I first visited to scope the place out, they had samples on the counter.  I eagerly grabbed one.  It turned out to be the blueberry muffin.

It was a fairly sweet muffin and tasted rather processed.  The base did have a strong vanilla flavor.  More like a blueberry crumb cake for an afternoon snack than a breakfast item.  Mine didn't have any almonds, but did have pearl sugar on top for a bit of crunch.   The berries weren't particularly plump nor plentiful.

Seemed sorta like the kind of muffin you find it a hotel breakfast buffet.  2.5/5.

$6.50 normally.

Carrot Muffin.

"Carrot cake, cream cheese frosting."

Other visit, this time to actually get my birthday treat, but I couldn't resist trying another sample that was laid out, this time the carrot muffin, which, given the fact that it had actual frosting, certainly seemed even more like a snack/dessert item than the blueberry crumb cake muffin, which I already thought wasn't really a breakfast item.

I love carrot cake, and had been sorta craving it, so this sounded great to me.  Alas, it did not please me.

The frosting was a bit too fluffy, a bit too sweet, and tasted more like butter or shortening than cream cheese.  I didn't detect any cream cheese element really.  The cake was too strongly spiced, and dry.  It lacked any raisins, nuts, or pineapple to jazz it up.  Bo-ring, and I didn't even want to finish my little sample.  2/5.

Also $6.50 normally.

Strawberry Tart. $10.

"Fresh strawberries, vanilla cream filling, dark chocolate-covered nutty shortcrust base, sprinkled with

chopped almonds ."

For my birthday free small cake, I went for the strawberry tart.  Regular readers of my blog know that I'm not normally one for tarts, but this wasn't a standard American/French style tart.  I'm told it is a classic Danish style though?  It certainly wasn't as pretty as tarts from French patisseries, but it also wasn't quite rustic, rather, just somewhere in-between.  This is the small, personal size, but they also make this in a larger format.

It actually was really quite good.  The strawberries on top were fresh and ripe, and the almond slivers added great crunch.  Good, but not standout, elements.  The rest is where it got both unique (to me anyway) and delicious.

Strawberry Tart: Cross-Section.

The rest really was quite different from what I was expecting.

Yes, there was a thin shortcrust base that was fairly average (and why I'm not into tarts in general) but above that was a thick layer of almond frangipane.  It was soft, nutty, sweet, and quite tasty.  Lovely almond notes, that were accented even more by the sliced almonds on top.  The dark chocolate covering it was a very thin layer, so easily lost, and I did find myself wanting more dark chocolate (so I added mini dark chocolate chips!).

Then, the part that really surprised me, was the "vanilla cream filling", which was a thick, rich, diplomat cream.  The consistency was perfect, it did have quite a bit of vanilla flavor, and it was the right level of not too sweet.  

Any set of these elements was enjoyable, e.g. just some frangipane and strawberries, or cream and strawberries and sliced nuts, and I almost enjoyed eating it more deconstructed in different combinations than all together.  It really had a lot to offer, and was better than I expected.

Low 4/5.

Raspberry Almond Croissant.
(Special). $7.95.

"Almond and raspberry jam filled croissant dusted with freeze dried raspberries."

I visited at 6:50pm to use up my rewards points that were going to expire.  I could pick any Danish item, and was immediately drawn to the raspberry Almond croissants, which aren't actually part of their formal menu, but were a special at this location.  There were two left in the case, and the person bagging up my order hesitated for a second, and just scooped them both up.  Score!  It was interesting to see them side by side though, as, not sure if you can tell from the photo, but they were quite different in shape and baking job, one was super puffy, and one was flat as a pancake.  And both were massive (that is not a normal small individual pastry bag, for reference).  I knew I wouldn't eat them both that night, and croissants are never that great a day old, so I handed one off to a friend who happened to be just a few blocks away.  I couldn't decide which one I'd prefer: the lofty one clearly looked better, but the smushed one had more topping, so I let her pick.  I got the pancake version.

I had pretty low expectations for this, given that Ole & Steen gets pretty mediocre reviews in general, plus laminated pastries like this are rarely good at the end of the day, even from a great bakery, but, hey, I had reward points to blow, and these did look unique.  

I was really quite surprised by how decent it was, smashed and all.  The pastry itself wasn't the flakiest, the most well laminated, the freshest, but it did have a really great, strong buttery flavor to it.  Perhaps a touch over baked though, pretty dark.  But the butter flavor was quite notable.

Of course, a twice baked and filled croissant is only partially about the croissant itself.  The fillings and toppings are the star attraction really, and they most certainly were here.  It was extremely generously stuffed with almond frangipane.  So much of it - nearly too much, really, it made it really a heavy item! There was more baked on top, along with the crunchy sliced almonds, which I loved for the extra crunch.  But that is all standard twice baked almond croissant.  The raspberry is what took this over the top.  There were pockets of intensely flavorful, fruity, sweet, raspberry jam within.  That jam was very, very good, and the bites I got with it were fantastic.  That said, it was not well distributed, so there were a few bites loaded with it, and most without.  The freeze dried raspberry dust on top was nice for looks, but I didn't really taste.  

I brought this home, warmed it up a bit, and stuffed it with ice cream to balance the heavy frangipane, and really quite enjoyed it.  3.5/5.

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PLNT Burger

Update Review, August 2025 Visits

I visited PLNT 3 times when I was in NY this summer.  I ordered in person twice for shakes, and once online for a burger.  That time was only a quasi-success, as my order was ready at the expected time, but really, it was ready at least 10-15 mins earlier, and wasn't actually warm when I got it.  The times I ordered in person were fine, ready fast. 

Sweets

When I visited last year for my free birthday shake, PLNT used Oatly for the soft serve (and for the oat milk they blend it with).  However, Oatly has ended that product, so they had to find a new plant based soft serve to move to.  They went with Eclipse, which I've had in hard serve before (didn't care for the vanilla, but the cookie butter was good!).  I'm not sure I noticed a difference in milkshake form, since it is blended with the Oatly oat milk still.  

Banana Brulee Milkshake (Small). $6.69.
No caramel, add rainbow sprinkles (+$1), half banana.

"Try this limited-edition, chef-crafted collaboration between PLNT Burger and Cookies, while supplies last. Infused with love and 100% plant-based deliciousness."

I was again a bit stumped on what flavor milkshake to order.  I don't order milkshakes in regular life, and vanilla, chocolate, twist, or black and white just seemed ... boring.  And although I love strawberries, I don't care for strawberry ice cream /  milkshakes / yogurt at all.  Which left me with the mint cookies & cream (that I had last year, uh, sub chocolate sprinkles for Oreo) or this, the special banana brulee milkshake.  I was drawn to it because I saw photos of it, and it was supposed to have whipped cream and brulee sprinkles on top.  Whipped cream isn't even an option with any of the others, so that alone drew me in.

It is made with the vanilla soft serve (Eclipse), oat milk (Oatly), caramel syrup, bananas, and the aforementioned whipped cream and brulee sugar crystals.  Or at least, that is what all their materials say, and what the photos show. But it was handed over like this, sans any fun toppings.  I asked about this, and the staff member just shrugged and said, "Yeah, we don't make them like that no more.".  Well, ok then.  So, no whipped cream, no brulee topping.  

When I ordered, I had the option to include no whipped cream or no sugar topping (and no caramel, no bananas, or sub chocolate soft serve for the vanilla).  I did NOT take those first omissions, but it seems they need to update the menu and the app to reflect how they are currently making the shake.  I did opt to have no caramel added (I was worried about it just being too sweet), but added rainbow sprinkles to give it some sweetness and fun texture, as I had loved the texture the chocolate sprinkles added to my mint shake last summer.  You can add sprinkles (either color), caramel, chocolate sauce, or Oreo for $1 more.  I also asked in person (since not possible in the online ordering) to use only half the banana as I didn't want it over the top banana-y.  After all, I was mostly getting this for the fun toppings (alas!).

Anyway, my annoyance that they changed it to be more boring aside, this was good.  The flavor was definitely oaty, which I don't mind.  It had good banana flavor, definitely exactly what I was aiming for, and if that really was half, I think regular amount would have been way too much for my tastes.  It was perfectly blended, easily drinkable with a straw with some intentional suction, also possible to eat with a spoon with no problem.  It had only a small amount of rainbow sprinkles blended in, which did add a nice sweetness and a tiny bit of texture, but there wasn't much, definitely nothing like last year's copious additions.

So overall, this was enjoyable, and obviously free so a great value, but I wouldn't get this again unless craving banana.  3.5/5.

Vanilla Shake (small). $6.79.
Add chocolate sprinkles (+$1).

A week later, I was craving another shake.  An oat shake at that.  What had gotten into me? For my next shake, I went back to my mint chocolate chip inspiration, this time opting to create a chocolate chip version, so just a vanilla shake to which I added chocolate sprinkles.

It was prepared quickly, and served super full, which I was pleased by.  No skimping here!  It was well blended, a great consistency, and yeah, just a pretty decent vanilla, oat based, shake.  It was easy to drink with the provided straw, or use a spoon if I wished.  Nice sweetness level, no fake vanilla taste.  Just, good.  3.5/5 base.

Vanilla Shake: SPRINKLES!

And the chocolate sprinkles?  Fabulous!  It was much like my first shake that was absolutely loaded with them.  Very bite/sip had tons of sprinkles.  The base had tons of sprinkles.  So much texture, and it really made it eat like chocolate chip soft serve.

Approaching 4/5 really, although I'm still not one to really ever crave a shake, let alone a vegan one, this really is nicely made.

Chocolate Soft Serve.

I asked how chocolately the soft serve was and was offered a sample.  I'm glad I tried it, as I really did not care for it.  It tasted exactly like a fudgesicle (just a sorta oaty one) and I really, really don't like that flavor.  Something about that kind of chocolate flavor and the iciness.  Not for me at all. 1/5.

Burgers

PLNT offers 6 different burgers, ranging from simple burger to a double to a patty melt, plus a few other variations.  You can easily make a few changes to the burgers such as getting it as a swiss chard wrap (no extra fee) or on an actual gluten-free bun (+$3.59), switch out the cheese to pepper jack, get a bigger patty (+$2), change the patty to chik'n (+$1), or change it to their "actual veggies" patty (+$2), and ask for the sauce on the side as easy changes.  You can further customize by "adds" such as guacamole/grilled or fresh jalapenos, crispy onions, mushroom bacon, an extra patty, or "spicy dust" for varying upcharges, and have any of the base elements left out.  They also have 2 chicken (er, Chik'n) and one fish option.

Cheeseburger. $9.39.
(Sub Swiss Chard Wrap, Sauce on the Side).

"Plant-Based Patty, Caramelized Onion, Pickles, Stockeld Cultured Cheddar (V), Green Leaf Lettuce, Roma Tomato, PLNT Sauce, Potato Bun."

For my first actual burger from PLNT, I opted for the cheeseburger.  Since I'm not all that into buns, and I adore swiss chard, I got it as a swiss chard wrap rather than a bun, and asked for the sauce on the side in case I didn't care for it.  These were all predefined easy mods when ordering.

It came wrapped in a pretty large piece of greens, that actually seemed like collard greens, not swiss chard.  I didn't mind this, as I like collards too, but, take note.  The wrap was crisp, fresh, a bit awkward to eat, but a nice change from a bun.  I did actually just end up eating the contents mostly without it, and bringing it home to saute later.  4/5 for the wrap though, good, and a unique offering.

Cheeseburger: Inside.

Nestled within was the rest of the burger ingredients.  Everything was as expected, all ingredients included, although the tomato seemed to be a regular large round tomato, not Roma as the menu said (the third menu inaccuracy I found, after the lack of brulee milkshake toppings and the change of the type of green for the wrap ...).

The cheese was nicely melted, gooey, decent cheddar flavor, and really not distinguishable from regular dairy cheddar, particularly with all the other ingredients within.  The caramelized onions were chopped up bits and were very tasty, particularly with the cheese.  There were tons of them.  I loved these two components, along with the very tasty copious pickle slices.  4/5 for all of that.

The tomato was the only letdown.  I didn't care that it didn't seem to be Roma, but it wasn't very juicy nor fresh, and it was August, peak tomato season, so this was quite sad.  At least it wasn't mealy, it was just not ripe and tasted like nothing really.  2/5 tomato.

And then of course the burger patty.  This was a thin, fast food style patty, so not thick and juicy, but it was nicely charred.  It ate like a meaty style patty, e.g. Beyond or Impossible (although it is proprietary, not either of those brands exactly), not like an old-school traditional veggie burger (although they offer that too, the "Actual Veggies" burger).  With the excellent toppings, I barely cared that it wasn't beef, I mostly cared that it was a thin style patty, which isn't normally what I go for.  But very good for a non-beef burger, 3.5/5.

Put it all together, and particularly carried by the strength of the caramelized onions/cheese/pickles, this may be a low 4 star.

Original Review, August 2024 Visit

When you think of vegan food, you most likely don't think of burgers, fries, and shakes.  At least, I don't.  I think of generally more healthy cuisine, with a focus around whole plants and vegetables.  But ... it makes sense that vegans want indulgent comfort food too.  Enter: PLNT Burger.  Basically akin to Shake Shack or your favorite burger joint, but, entirely vegan.

"Our menu is 100% plant-based, kosher and delicious."

They aren't trying to be ultra healthy, just, tasty.  Now this I can get behind. 

The chain has locations in NYC, the Boston and DC areas, and Pennsylvania.  I wasn't aware of it however until I recently visited NY, and I kept walking by both locations.  I was intrigued enough to look it up, and the reviews were quite positive.  I was sold when I saw they were offering a free burger or sandwich just for signing up for the rewards club, and doubly sold when I saw I'd get a free shake on my birthday (which just happened to be that month).  You know I love my freebies.

Setting

In NYC, there are two PLNT Burger locations, both adjacent to parks, one across the street from Bryant Park, the other half a block off Madison Square Park.

Bryant Park Location.

The Bryant Park location had virtually no seating, just three seats in the window, and a few stools around the center island.  No outdoor seating.  Clearly a location for takeout, during the warmer weather, it is easy to cross the street and dine in Bryant Park.  I'm curious what people do in the winter however.

Ordering is done via several kiosks along the wall, online through your phone, or, in person if you wished.  I ordered online as I had a reward to redeem and that seemed easiest since I was logged in.  The staff at this location were wonderful, very friendly, welcoming, up for modifying things, and wished me a happy birthday (as I was there redeeming my reward).  I was the only guest at 12:30pm on a Sunday though, which seems a bit concerning for their business.

Burgers / Sandwiches

If you are curious, the burgers use Beyond Burger, the cheese is Follow Your Heart vegan cheese.  I'm not sure what brand the crispy or grilled chicken, fish fillets, or "actual veggies" veggie burgers are.  I still haven't tried one of the burgers, but I hope to next time I'm in NY.

Sweets

For desserts, PLNT has four offerings: soft serve, shakes, floats, and cookies.  All are obviously vegan.  

Cookies are your standard chocolate chip, or a healthy sounding carrot-oat-pineapple. The soft serve is oat-milk based, available in chocolate or vanilla, with or without rainbow or chocolate sprinkles.  I was pretty interested in that, as I adore soft serve in general, and really do quite like oat milk (and the common brand of oat based soft serve on the market, Oatly), but my birthday reward was for a shake only.  

For shakes, I had a lot of options.  Too many, really.  I was so indecisive.  The lineup started with the basics: vanilla, chocolate, or swirl, using the vanilla or chocolate (or both for swirl, obviously) based soft serve.  Then there was strawberry, which I think used syrup with the vanilla base.  Or black and white, which, my research tells me, is a fairly common type of milkshake, that uses vanilla base plus chocolate syrup (rather than the swirl, which is both the vanilla and chocolate bases).  So I think it is less chocolately than a chocolate shake (that uses chocolate base), but more chocolately than the swirl (since that has the vanilla mixed with chocolate)?  Next up is peppermint cookies & cream (vanilla base, peppermint syrup, Oreos). From there, the specials roll in, which during my visit was a banana creme brulee, with bananas blended in and a brulee topping.  You can add sprinkles (rainbow or chocolate), graham crumbs, Oreos, chocolate sauce, or caramel to any shake.  So if the peppermint cookies & cream isn't your thing, but you still want cookies & cream, just add Oreo to the vanilla base (or chocolate, if you want more chocolate flavor, etc).   No whipped (non-dairy) cream topping options.

Mint Cookies N' Cream OATasty Shake. $6.49.
(-Oreos, Sub Chocolate Sprinkles).

Even with all the customization options possible, I still wanted something a bit different, not from the menu.  See, I don't like Oreos, or strawberry shakes, but I wanted something more interesting than just vanilla or chocolate (or even either of those with sprinkles).  I loved the appeal of the mint, but, that was only available in the peppermint cookies & cream.  There was no option to remove the Oreos, but I asked anyway, and asked if I could sub chocolate sprinkles for the Oreos.  Both are priced the same as add-ins, so I hoped this would be allowed.  The staff member I asked said it was no problem at all, and she'd be happy to do it.  I told her I was basically trying to make mint chip, and she approved of my creation.

My shake was quickly prepared, and handed over with a smile.  She wished me a happy birthday.  I was really pleased with the service.

I was even more pleased when I took a sip of the shake.  It was good.  Very good.  The mint flavor was very strong (nearly too strong).  The shake was really well blended, the perfect level of soft and melty, easy to suck up with a straw.  It was loaded with chocolate sprinkles.  Again, borderline too much, but, I loved the texture from the little bits, and the pops of chocolate flavor.  Sure, actual chips would be better, but this definitely created the mint chip experience I was looking for.  The oat milk base was, well, oaty, but really quite enjoyable, creamy, rich.  I'm surprised they don't have a cinnamon/horchata shake available, as it seems like it would be a natural fit.

I absolutely loved it, and would get again without question, although I am also interested in trying others.  ****.

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