Zaab Zaab

I spent a significant amount of time in Sydney over the years, and whenever I was there, I ate southeast Asian food basically the entire time (with a bit of "Australian" thrown in from time to time, but mostly, southeast Asian).  It was just sooo good there, considerably better than anything I had in San Francisco.  I had kinda stopped eating that food in the US for the most part, as I was always let down. But since moving to New York, I've started warming to the idea of finding good Thai (and Singaporean and Malaysian, hopefully) food, particularly after loving some dishes from Thai Diner and Fish Cheeks.

I still didn't actually seek out Zaab Zaab, a local Thai restaurant, with two locations, one in Brooklyn, one in Queens.  They actually came to my office to do a catered meal, which is obviously a different experience than visiting their real restaurant.

Menu.

"All Khao Soi's are served with your choice of protein, egg noodles, broccoli, chopped garlic shallots, lime, and optional dried chili, topped fried noodles."

Our menu was one main dish: khao soi, which delighted me, as it has been my recent favorite Thai dish anywhere.  I liked the visual display with the real product, which probably was helpful to those less familiar.  For proteins, the options were fried chicken, regular or spicy pork belly, or fried tofu.  Interestingly, at the restaurant, they have only one version, with beef shank (which we didn't have).

Assembly Line.

Dishes were assembled to order, assembly line style.  Pick your base (rice, noodles), your protein (chicken, pork belly, tofu), your toppings (broccoli, garlic shallots, lime, herbs).  Items were added to your bowl, which was then finished with a ladle or two of the curry sauce, and crispy noodles.  Chili was on the side for us to add ourselves to customize the spice level, and it was legit spicy, I greatly appreciated this.

Khao Soi, Tofu.

I got noodles as my base, all the toppings, and fried tofu, as I was just not in the mood for pork belly, although it looked crispy, fatty, and excellent.

I liked this.  The noodles in the base were well cooked, not too mushy.  The curry was creamy and flavorful, relatively complex and balanced.  My scoop of chili definitely put the spice level in a nice place.  The toppings were all standard and good, the broccoli nicely crisp.  Of course I adored the crispy noodles on top.  The fried tofu had a really fresh flavor, strong soy, and I liked the fried aspect.

This was all good, average for a real Thai restaurant.  I liked it, it was comforting, and it seemed relatively authentic, but I wouldn't call it a destination dish.  Just, good.  3.5/5.

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Gnocchi on 9th

I can't say I eat a lot of gnocchi, but I do like it from time to time, so I was excited when Gnocchi on 9th was doing a popup event at my office.  Gnocchi on 9th is a small chain that started only in 2024, that somehow has 10 locations now.

The place doesn't actually get that great of reviews, but it certainly is well known (and people seem to love at festivals and winter markets).  A lot of the hype seems to be the unique serving style (in takeout Chinese food containers), and the fact that you can get a bit blog of burrata perched on top.  Still, I had hope.  Alas.

Storefront.

I did not visit the actual restaurant, but I have walked by it many times.  Instead, they came to us with a catering setup.

The restaurant has a very streamlined menu of basically just gnocchi, but for our event, it was even more minimal, only two options, alla vodka or al pesto.  No toppings or add-ons.  Boo.  At the actual restaurants, you can add burrata (definitely what gets all the Instagram notice), or shrimp.  They also have a few more sauce options to choose from, such as bolognese, cacio e pepe, truffle alfredo, along with a gluten free version, and salad and tiramisu to round it out.

Gnocchi alla Vodka.

"Gnocchi in a luscious, tomato and cream sauce. Everybody’s favorite choice."

I'll cut right to chase.  I did not like this.

The gnocchi was gloopy. Way too mushy. The sauce reminded me of something very, very distinct, instantly: Chef Boyardee.  Or actually, I guess Campbells, as it gave VERY strong SpaghettiOs flashbacks.  Granted, I haven't tried those in many, many years but my brain identified the taste shockingly fast.  

I did not like this.  1/5.

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Taste It Presents Desserts

As you know by now, desserts, and baked goods in general, are pretty much my favorite things to review.  And by "review", you know I mean "eat".  For "research".  While I certainly love local small bakeries, for my group at work, we are required to order through foodservice distributors, so I've had my share of wholesale items.  Many taste like the freezers they come from, most are non-offensively average, and every once in a while I find a vendor that makes a noteworthy item.  Like Taste It Presents.

"Taste It Presents creates gloriously tempting gourmet desserts, delighting pleasure seekers across the country. "

Taste It Presents also has 4 sister brands, Cannoli Factory, Love & Quiches, Joey’s Fine Foods and Sweet Sofia’s Bakery, but I've only tried the signature Taste It Presents line.  

"We offer a full range of triumphant frozen desserts for Foodservice and Retail, including American, Italian, Spanish/Latin, Asian and other world-renowned specialties. Choose from a wide assortment of delectable cakes, trays and pies, creamy cheesecakes, individual desserts, mousse desserts, brownies, dessert bars, cookies and cupcakes, grab-n-go, gluten free, baked goods and other top-selling favorites."

The lineup from Taste It Presents is reasonably extensive, but I've only tried the cakes.

Cakes

"No major milestone in life can be passed without cake marking the occasion. Our memory-making temptations have been capturing the hearts of diners for decades.

From the Belgian chocolate in our mousse cakes and the Italian Amarettini cookies atop our Toasted Almond Cream Cake to authentic Key lime juice in our Key Lime Pie, we source only premium ingredients, ensuring each cake has just the right balance of flavor, sweetness and texture."

The lineup of cakes is quite extensive, and I've tried several.  The quality bar is high.  And, spoiler, they make my favorite lemon dessert of all time.

Limoncello Mascarpone Cake.

"Our luscious Limoncello Mascarpone cake is a rich combination of Sicilian lemon infused sponge cake and Italian mascarpone topped with European white chocolate curls. A refreshingly light creamy dessert with the perfect combination of sweet and tart."

Limoncello.  I like Limoncello.  But ... I dislike most citrus based desserts - lemon curd, key lime ... just, sorry, not my thing.  And cake?  Eh.  Its ok, but, generally I want a pie, crisp, cobbler, mousse, or just something ... more interesting.  

The first time I saw the Limoncello Mascarpone Cake, I tried it, mostly because I was desperately wanting something sweet, and I figured, if nothing else, I'd eat the creamy frosting and white chocolate off the top.

But ... this is actually really good.   Really, really good.  It is a repeat order for my team.  We all rave about it every time it is served.

Limoncello Mascarpone Cake: Side Profile.

The sponge cake is light as air.  So fluffy, yet moist.  Amazingly light.  Like I said, I don't like cake, and I genuinely like this.

The layers of filling are sweetened, rich mascarpone cream, far more interesting than just sweet buttercream.  Perfect compliment to the lightness of the cake.

The white chocolate curls on top add an extra hit of sweetness, and a bit of texture.  The manufacturer recommends serving with fresh berries, whipped cream, or raspberry coulis.  I think the sweet coulis would be overkill, and mask the lightness of the limoncello, and more whipped cream is just totally unnecessary (not something I say often!), but berries I'd like to try sometime.

Is it good for you?  Well, no.  The mascarpone and cream add up.  A single slice (4oz, as pre-sliced is 380 calories), but honestly, it feels lighter!

4.5/5.

Limoncello Mascarpone Cake: Again!

I'm shocked every time I have this, as I genuinely like it.  I've added it to our rotation to theme alongside "Italian night" when we have it.

Most recently, I took my own suggestion and paired with fresh blueberries and raspberries, and they complimented the lemon and cream beautifully.  Definite success.

4.5/5.

10" Mixed Berry Cake.

"Sponge cake with Mascarpone cream, topped and filled with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, black and red currants." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Mixed Berry Cake is refreshingly light and creamy, with colorful blue, red & black wild berries." -- Taste It Presents

After the surprise success of the Limoncello Mascarpone cake, I eagerly ordered the new Mixed Berry cake, as it too promised layers of mascarpone cream.

It is a nice looking cake, loaded with berries and white chocolate garnish on top.

And it too delivered.  The cake was again light and really not bad (for cake!), although this time not soaked in anything.  The mascarpone cream with thick, rich, and pretty fantastic.

Mixed Berry Cake: Side Profile.

The fruit was also found in the layers, assorted types of berries - blueberry, raspberries, strawberries - and tiny currants.  All the assorted fruits gave great pops of flavor, and I especially appreciated the currants.  Add in a bit of sweet white chocolate curls and I was quite pleased.

Update: we have had this several other times, and I've always enjoyed it.  Best when allowed to warm up to room temperature, and soften a bit, rather than "refrigerator" temperature.

3.5/5.

Mixed Berry Cake / Wildberry Cream Cake.

"Two layers of light, buttery sponge cake are delicately soaked in vanilla syrup, then enveloped with two layers of heavenly Italian mascarpone cream that is hand mixed with blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, black and red currants.

Topped with white chocolate curls."

Same cake, new name?  I think it is now marketed as the Wildberry Cream Cake, with a more accurate description, but I'm pretty sure this is the same cake.

I again do like the cream, but the berries weren't as great as I remembered - specifically, I wasn't into the currants, and they were dominant.

3/5.

Toasted Almond Cake, 10" Round.

"Delectable combination of imported ladyfingers lightly soaked in amaretto syrup, layered with smooth and creamy Italian mascarpone. Finished with crushed amaretiini cookies and roasted California Almonds." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"This 2 layer sponge cake is delicately soaked in amaretto syrup layered with imported mascarpone cream and topped with Italian amarettini cookies and roasted almonds." -- Taste It Presents

After enjoying the previous cakes, I branched out, ordering more cakes, again drawn in by teh mascarpone.

This cake is one of their signature items, and is available in a slew of formats - a full tray tiramisu style, a 7" round cake, a 10" round cake, and even individual pudding cups.  We had the larger 10" round.

Toasted Almond Cake: Side Profile.

It was a fantastic cake.

Much like the limoncello mascarpone and the berry mascarpone, it was made from light, moist ladyfingers, this time soaked in amaretto syrup.  I really don't tend to enjoy cake, but, when its this light and moist, it really is nice.  The soaked cakes from Taste It are better than the unsoaked.

And then, of course, their wonderful mascarpone cream.  Thick, rich, smooth, creamy.

Just the layers alone were a wonderful cake actually, but the crunchy amaretti cookies and bits of caramelized almond on top really pushed it over the top.

Light and moist.  Creamy and decadent.  Crispy and sweet.  Very good.

3/5.

Update:
I had it another time, and ... it wasn't as good.  It tasted stale in a strange way, like, the cream filling actually tasted stale, which is not a flavor I've ever associated with cream before.  I wonder if it was in a fridge with something with odor?

Tiramisu Cake.

"A light sponge cake and ladyfingers delicately soaked in espresso, alternately layered with imported mascarpone cheese and finished with a light dusting of cocoa." 

Tiramisu, as a cake?  Ok, why not?

This looked basically like a tiramisu, with layers of alternating soaked sponge cake, and mascarpone.

Tiramisu Cake: Inside.

Three layers total, but it was clear from immediate inspection that the ratio of everything was far more "cake" than I wanted.  Yes, this was a cake, not a tiramisu.

The cake was ... fine.  But boring.  Standard cake.  A bit dry.  Not a light airy one like in some of the other products.

The mascarpone filling though of course was thick, rich, and delicious.  I wanted more of it, like a real tiramisu.

The amount of cocoa on top was too aggressive for my tastes.

2.5/5.

Tiramisu.

"A traditional Italian dessert consisting of alternating layers of imported Mascarpone and ladyfingers delicately soaked in espresso with a hint of liquor."

Taste It also makes traditional tiramisu, which comes in a large tray of pre-scored slices for banquets and catering.

It was pretty classic, decent enough tiramisu.  Unlike the layer cake, the ratios were much better, enough cake obviously, but, look at the cream topping!  Much better.

The ladyfingers were nicely soaked, moist, lots of espresso.  The mascarpone cream was thick and rich, good flavor.  Powdered cocoa on top.

Very classic, no more, no less. 3/5.

Update: I had it a second time, and was less thrilled.  The cake was nicely soaked, but, the cream didn't have much depth to it, and, eh, cake.

Tiramisu (2026).

"A traditional Italian dessert consisting of alternating layers of imported Mascarpone and ladyfingers delicately soaked in espresso with a hint of liquor."

I had this years ago and found it pretty average, but it looked just so inviting that I tried it again.

And ... yeah.  Eh.  The ladyfingers were well soaked, but that just meant mushy, and the espresso flavor wasn't particularly strong.  The fluffy sweetened mascarpone-whip was tasty enough, and with the cocoa powder on top that was enjoyable.  But I wouldn't get this again, just not enough flavor overall.  Low 3/5.

Dulce de Leche Cake.

"A rich chocolate cake topped with dulce de leche mousse, sprinkled with chocolate curls." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Savor this rich chocolate cake topped with dulce de leche mousse (caramel flavor) sprinkled with chocolate curls." -- Taste It Presents

I was excited to order this one, something totally different, featuring mousse.

Sweet. Very, very, very sweet.  That is what I have to say about this one.

It looked like such a stunner, and everyone was excited for it, but most slices wound up in the trash.

Dulce de Leche Cake: Side Profile.

The base was fairly dry, not rich as advertised, chocolate cake.  I didn't care for that, but I never really care for cake.

The rest was the "mousse".  The texture was smooth and creamy, but the flavor was overwhelmingly sweet, in a cloying way, with a strange aftertaste.

The chocolate curls on top were at least good, nice dark chocolate.

1.5/5.

Caramel Pecan Fudge.

"The ultimate combination of rich chocolate mousse cake, topped with pecans, swirls of caramel and milk chocolate." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor.

"Caramels, pecans and fudge? Is there any BETTER combination? Put this cake on your menu, and watch the smiles come..." -- Taste It

There were some good, and some bad, parts to this.

The cake was dry and boring, not rich, not chocolately, not moist.  Throwaway component.

The chocolate mousse however was good.  Very thick, very rich, very chocolately.  Intense.

The caramel drizzle over the top was also nice, sweet, standard caramel.  I liked the crunch from the pecans too.

Overall though, it was actually ... too rich.  It needed whipped cream.  Badly.

Once I removed the cake, added whipped cream, and just had an amazing chocolate mousse with caramel and pecans and whipped cream, I really enjoyed it.

2.5/5.

 Belgian Chocolate Mousse.

"For the chocolate lover. A satisfyingly smooth chocolate mousse on a chocolate crust." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"A chocolate lover's dream. This light and satisfying cake has smooth Belgian chocolate mousse and is finished with tasty chocolate shavings." -- Taste It Presents

This was an ok product.  The mousse was creamy and rich, not super intense chocolate, but enough.  The texture was spot on.  I really liked the dark chocolate shavings on top.

The cake crust was dry, boring, and best left behind, but chocolate mousse doesn't need chocolate cake with it anyway.

Even better with some whipped cream.  Not an amazing mousse, but not awful.

3/5.

Flourless Chocolate Cake.

"Indulge your senses with this decadent, flourless chocolate cake. A chocolate lover’s dream, this dessert will delight gluten and non-Gluten Free customers alike.  Made with the finest Belgian semi sweet chocolate, butter, cocoa powder and vanilla. Unlike other flourless chocolate cakes which can be gritty, flakey or dry, this cake is delicately rich, and bursting with a smooth, moist, and creamy texture."

This was one of the better flourless chocolate cakes I have ever had.  It really was remarkably smooth and creamy, almost like a really thick pudding or mousse.  Deep, rich chocolate flavor.  

I laughed at the pieces my cafe cut them into, but I understand why - this is a "little goes a long way" kind of cake.  Best paired with some whipped cream to cut the heaviness, or strawberries/raspberries if consumed cold.  I also heated up a second slice the next day and added a scoop of coffee ice cream, which worked beautifully as well.

4/5.

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Takumi Taco

Mexican and Japanese fusion is not new nor novel.  Sushi burritos are all around these days.  But what about a place that is actually both Japanese and Mexican, as in, not just Japanese ingredients treated in a Mexican way, but rather, has real Mexican food too.  That's a bit different.  And honestly, a bit confused.  

"Takumi Taco serves Japanese Inspired Mexican food. The concept was born from our love of two incredible cuisines with deep, rich, and unique food cultures. Takumi Taco started in April 2012 as a taco stand at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn. From there, we expanded to multiple food halls across New York City growing our menu along the way to serve the ever-changing needs of our customers. We pride ourselves on serving fresh, unique food in a fast casual setting."

Takumi Taco is such a place, offering up mostly Mexican tacos, burritos, bowls, and sides, but then also has a few fusion items in the mix.

Popup Menu.

At the restaurant, most of the tacos use traditional corn tortillas, with the exception of the Japanese inspired ones (spicy tuna or curry beef), and a vegetarian lentil one that use a far more fun sounding crispy gyoza shell instead.  For our event, we had just one with the gyoza (spicy tuna), so of course I had to get that.  We also had the choice of two others (chicken, vegetarian cauliflower) and two sides (Mexican corn salad or Japanese slaw).

Bento Box. $13.75.
Spicy Tuna / Cauliflower / Takumi Slaw.

I got a bento box, which comes with two tacos and one side.  It also came with tortilla chips.

Spicy Tuna:

"Sashimi Grade Big Eye Tuna, Jicama, Avocado, Cucumber, Spicy Mayo, Radish, Sesame Seeds, Crispy Gyoza Shell."

This is the item I was most excited for, with the gyoza shell and basically tuna poke filling (although, yes, it had avocado, and yes, I am allergic).  I had hoped to ask for the avocado to be left off, but it was pre-mixed.  My allergy is such that if I don't eat it, but it has touched things I eat, I'll feel it, my lips and throat will swell a little, but it is generally fine, so, I still risked it (unlike my melon allergy which is far more severe).

I loved this and I'm glad I still got it even with the avocado.

The gyoza shell worked so well.  It was super crisp, and seemed pretty fresh, just a big giant wonton.  The filling was full of diced tuna, cucumbers, jicama, and avocado, all cut to about the same size, which made for easy bites.  The jicama added remarkable crunch, and it, along with the cucumber, were nicely juicy.  The spicy mayo was creamy and slightly spicy, and very generously applied.  Speaking of generous, it was stuffed really quite full.

This to me was better than a poke bowl or spicy tuna roll, as it allowed the fillings to shine in a better way, and, did I mention, I loved that shell?  It was fun to eat, it was tasty, and I'd get more of these in a heartbeat.  4/5.

Cauliflower Taco:
"Roasted Cauliflower, Sauteed Onions, Pineapple Pico De Gallo, Corn Tortilla."

Since a bento box contains two tacos, and I wanted to hedge my bets but hate chicken, I got the cauliflower taco as well.  It was al pastor style cauliflower, in a warm corn tortilla, topped with the pineapple pico de gallo to order.

I could care less about the (double) corn tortilla, but the cauliflower bits were flavorful from the al pastor sauce, and the pico de gallo was pretty vibrant and the pineapple a nice touch.  I don't get excited about Mexican flavors, and I'd prefer bigger hunks of cauliflower, but this was fine.  3/5.

Takumi Slaw:
"Napa/Red Cabbage, Carrot, Kale, Radish, Sesame Seeds, Sesame Dressing."

I adore slaw, I adore Japanese style things, so this was a great match for me, a slaw with a bit of Japanese inspiration in the dressing.  I liked that the dressing was added to order, rather than pre-mixed, as it meant the cabbage was crisp.  But otherwise this was a bit boring, I liked everything in it, but the dressing was a bit goopy, and there just wasn't much crunch.  Fine, but boring.  3/5.

Tortilla Chips:

I'm not one for tortilla chips, and would have asked to have these left off if I had known they'd be included, but I have to admit, they were good chips.  Crisp, fresh, thin, really well seasoned.  Definitely seemed homemade.  Far better than average.  4/5.

Bento Box.
2x Spicy Tuna / Slaw / Chips.

I liked Takumi so much I went back a few days later, but opted for two of the spicy tuna. 

The chips seemed less seasoned this time, more like just generic tortilla chips, and I again wished I'd left them off, but otherwise, this was much the same.  My feelings on the slaw were also unchanged.

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Mighty Quinn's BBQ

New York City has a lot of great food.  But I can't say I've ever heard people talk about NY as being a great place for BBQ, although there are several places around, including Mighty Quinn's, a small chain with a couple locations in Manhattan, one each in Brooklyn and Queens, along with New Jersey, Florida, and Maryland.  You may notice a distinct lack of locations in the actual bbq regions of the country.

Anyway, I still had hope, as a chain has to have something going for it to continue to open that many franchises, even if it started in NY.

"We bring together the best of all great BBQ techniques to create something uniquely its own. The process begins with the best, all-natural meats and poultry, seasoned with perfect spice blends and then smoked with wood for many, many hours until the perfect harmony of smoke, flavor and time emerges. Our food is steeped in tradition but given new life. BBQ was created in the South but Mighty Quinn's Barbeque was born in New York!"

I didn't actually visit one of the local restaurants in person, but rather got to experience their product at a catered event in my office.  For our event, we had the choice of two proteins: Kick'n Chicken or Burnt Ends.  At their actual restaurants they have many other offerings like brisket, pulled pork, ribs, sausages, wings, and more.  We didn't have any of their sides but they do have a pretty decent sounding lineup of cornbread, burnt end baked beans, mac & cheese fritters, mac and cheese, candied pecan topped sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, broccoli salad with bacon, two kinds of slaw, loaded fries or potatoes, etc, etc.  I was sad to not get to try any of those items.  And don't get me started on how sad I was to miss the cinnamon bun bread pudding. We did also have their house pickled cucumbers and onions and their signature bbq sauce.

Burnt Ends.

We were only allowed one portion, and it was a bit meager.  I can't blame the business for this, but, it did look a bit sad when served.

I had mixed feelings on these.  The smokiness was exceptional.  Maybe almost too smoky, as it got to be a bit much in a way I've never experienced before.  Like, inside of an ashtray.  But a small bite really was fantastic, and I suspect would go sooo well with mac and cheese or mashed potatoes to balance it out.

The pieces had a great char on them.  But ... the meat just wasn't that tender, it didn't pull apart nicely, it had some chewy big hunks of fat, and the flavor was fairly muted other than the smoke.  It let me down because the smoke hit hard at first, the char was obvious, and these seemed like great signs, but, at the end of the bite, I wasn't really all that happy with it.  Low 3/5 sadly.

Pickles.

Pickled cucumbers.

These were a bit different from most pickles. Crinkle cut, slices, but they were strangely pale.  Fairly soft, not mushy, but not as crunchy as some.  Relatively standard flavor.  Overall they were fine, but not special.  3/5.

Pickled onions

These were pretty standard pickled onions, good acidity to cut the fatiness and smokiness of the meat.  3/5.

BBQ Sauce.

The bbq sauce was good.  A nice consistency, not to runny, not too thick.  It had some vinegar tang but not too much.  It had some sweetness, but not too much.  Basically a very balanced bbq sauce, that didn't taste commercial.  3.5/5.

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Lisa's Dumplings

Lisa's Dumplings is a dumpling restaurant up near Columbus Circle in NY.  It was started, you guessed it, by someone named Lisa.

"Her philosophy for Lisa's Dumplings is to create all natural, freshly cooked dumplings, with no artificial flavors or ingredients. Her store is an open kitchen where customers can see their dumplings being prepared right in front of them. The wrappers are hand made at the front counter, and the fillings are placed in them and then pinched closed into the perfectly formed  flavor pocket known as a dumpling. The dumplings come in a variety of flavors and are either steamed or fried. Customers stand at the counter watching the process take place in anticipation of that first savory bite." 

The restaurant features an open kitchen so you can watch the dumpling making action, which I haven't actually seen, as I only experienced their dumplings at a popup event offsite.

Popup Decoration.

At the event, they decorated nicely with traditional Chinese decor and a sign about the chef.

Popup Menu.

The popup menu was a dumpling meal, with choice of dumpling, sauce, and side.  Although the menu said only 1 kind of dumpling was allowed, many of us asked for two kinds which was no problem.

Steamed Dumplings.

Our lineup was only steamed dumplings, 4 kinds: Pork & Chinese Cabbage, Beef & Onion, Chicken & Green Pepper, and Veggie.  At the actual restaurant, they have more varieties (including seafood) and all are available pan fried or steamed.

If you buy them at the store, they come 7 to an order for $11.99/10 for $13.99/14 for $17.99, +$1 for pan fried instead of steamed.

I tried two kinds (pork & cabbage, veggie), but actually really disliked both.  They had a ton of 5-spice in them, and I truly don't like 5-spice.  There was no way to appreciate the filling given how strong the spicing was.  I wouldn't call them particularly well made dumplings either, as the wrappers were very thick and many weren't fully sealed.

Sides.

For sides we have 3 choices, all served cold:

• Cabbage and Cucumber Salad
• Kimchee
• Honey Glazed Potato

Dumplings (pork & cabbage, veggie)
w/ cabbage & cucumber salad, honey glazed potato.

For my meal, I selected two kinds of dumplings, and two sides.

Cabbage & cucumber salad:

This was a pretty simple side, just cabbage and cucumbers with rice vinegar and a hint of garlic and salt. It was fine.  3/5.

Honey glazed potato:

This was good.  Fairly flavorful, with soy and honey.  Potato not too mushy.  But a bit odd as a cold dish, and a bit odd alongside carby dumplings. 3/5.

Pork & Chinese Cabbage dumplings:

The wrappers were thick, and split apart on many of the dumplings.  The ball of pork inside was pretty big, and had a nice amount of chopped cabbage.  But ... I actually hated these due to the aggressive amount of 5-spice.  1/5.

Veggie dumplings:

The veggie dumplings turned out to be bok choy, carrot, and shiitake mushroom, with lots of five-spice.  Again, the 5 spice just killed these for me.  Also the veggies were pretty mushy.  Meh.  0/5.

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Mister Softee

Mister Softee.  An iconic brand you'd think I would have experienced before now, given that I adore soft serve ice cream.  And yet, although I had great brand awareness, I hadn't ever actually visited a Mister Softee truck before now.

"Mister Softee was founded by William Conway and James Conway in 1956 in Philadelphia and is one of the largest franchisers of soft ice cream in the United States, with about 350 franchisees operating 625 trucks in 18 states. The headquarters have been in Runnemede, New Jersey since 1958. It is still run by the Conway family, co-owned by cousins Jim Conway Jr. and John Conway."

Mister Softee trucks are ~everywhere in NYC, but the city also has so much actual premium high end specialty soft serve I've just never prioritize it, although I've walked by the trucks many, many times.  Also, I'll admit I've always thought they were overpriced for what is pretty basic ice cream at the end of the day.  They do NOT post their prices on the trucks (hello, tourist tax), but when I've stopped by to ask a few times I recall a basic cone being $6-8, which seems crazy to me.  They have just the basics: vanilla and chocolate soft serve (or twist), cup or cone (or double cone), and standard generic chocolate or cherry dip, sprinkles, and simple sauces for sundaes.  I think they only do a single size.  That is it.  Iconic, yes, premium, no.

But ... they also do catering, and I attended an event with the Mister Softee truck for all attendees, so I seized the moment to finally get to try it.

Small Vanilla with Rainbow Sprinkles.

This was such a basic cone!  It wasn't made with any particular care, it was kinda small (although really the size was fine with me), the sprinkles weren't particularly well applied.  Basically, generic, you can get it anywhere, in terms of looks.

The taste was good, but again, pretty generic you can get it anywhere.  The base flavor was perhaps a bit vanilla, not too fake tasting, not too sweet, but definitely more akin to frosting flavor than a deep rich vanilla.  It was very creamy, perfect temperature and consistency, and melted beautifully.  Their machine is clearly well calibrated.  The sprinkles were standard sugar sprinkles, the cone a triangle shape cake cone (which is actually my favorite style - I grew out of sugar cones for the most part, but I get annoyed by the flat bases of standard cake cones).  Both were fresh though, no staleness detected.

I see this as what is probably a very reliable, basic cone.  It is good, there is nothing at all wrong with it, but it is not an interesting, unique, or premium product.  Certainly many steps above a fast food cone though.  High 3/5, maybe 3.5/5.

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Dickson's Farmstand & Meats

I don't seek out things like butcher shops.  And yet, here I am, reviewing a butcher shop / restuarant.

"Dickson's Farmstand is a neighborhood butcher shop in Chelsea Market offering artisanal meats and house-made charcuterie. Our beef, pork, lamb, and poultry are sourced from small, family farms in upstate New York that are carefully handpicked for their humanely-raised, high-quality animals. We proudly share with you the stories of our farmers and their methods."

Dickson's is located across the street from my office, in Chelsea Market, so a very convenient location that I walk by every day.  That alone wasn't enough for me to give them a second glance though really.  I only paid attention when they actually brought them *into* our office, for a special lunch catered event.  If you do visit the actual shop though, they have a full service butcher counter with all the expected meats, plus grocery items, and a restaurant serving lunch and dinner.

Menu.

For our event, we had a very limited menu: the choice of a housemade hot dog or bbq star fruit (which, I'll admit, sounded mildly interesting), both of which just came with packaged chips.

The regular business has a much larger menu, with burgers, sandwiches, sausages, hot dogs, bbq items like ribs, pulled pork, and brisket, fried or roast chicken, steaks, and various sides including fries, mac and cheese, cole slaw, and other veggies.  I was sad they didn't at least include the cole slaw with our menu.

Hot Dog Toppings (in-store),

In the store you will find all the standard hot dog toppings, including crowd pleasers like chili and cheese sauce, or bacon, along with traditional choices like sauerkraut, chopped onions, and the like.

Housemade Hot Dog ($7)
w/ sweet pepper relish (+$1.25), kewpie mayo (+$0.25),
krispy onions (+$1.50).

"Beef and pork hot dog smoked over hickory & apple wood, topped with krispy onions, kewpie mayo, and sweet pepper relish, served on a Martin's potato bun."

Since this was a popup special event, we were not able to pick our own toppings, but I still liked the sound of the selection made for us, at least, I was definitely a fan of the Kewpie and "krispy onions", which the menu revealed are just fried shallots.  The toppings came very evenly, and generously, applied.

The hotdog was a slightly bigger than average length, delightfully longer than the bun (in a good way, that made eating that first bite a bit extra fun).  The casing had a wonderful snap, the dog was juicy.  You could tell it wasn't just generic processed meat, it had tons of flavor, almost more akin to a sausage really.  It was a blend of beef and heritage pork, and neither dominated, plus plenty of spices including smoky paprika.  It had a much higher level of smokiness than a hotdog usually does, again, akin to a sausage.  Really, just a high quality product, but it might not satisfy say a picky child who has a specific notion of what a hotdog is.  Think, thin sausage that is less granular texture, or flavor of a sausage, format of a hotdog.  I liked it, but again, not quite a standard hot dog.  4/5 hotdog.

The bun was soft, fresh, and what you'd expect from a Martin's bun if you've had them before.  A slightly sweeter, more robust flavor than your standard bun, and certainly more yellow.  It worked here, matching the slightly elevated style of the dog itself.

And then of course the toppings.  I adore Kewpie, I adore fried shallots, so, those were great just in general, although I'm not entirely sure they are what I'd pick in the future for a custom dog.  I did also want ketchup and mustard, call me traditional.  The sweet pepper relish was the only miss for me, but I can be pretty fickle about both relish and sweet peppers, so, not a surprise.  It was also heavy on the tomatillos.  It was nicely chunky, just a bit too tart for me.

If purchased at the shop, this would be $8.50 with this topping set.

Overall, I enjoyed this, and I'd consider getting another, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.  3.5/5.

BBQ Star Fruit.

"Star fruit topped with BBQ sauce and coleslaw, served on a Martin's potato bun."

The vegetarian offering was the same bun (Martin's potato), but this time stuffed with ... bbq star fruit.  I can't say I've encountered that before.  I've seen plenty of jackfruit in place of meat before (my office cafes in SF LOVED jackfruit as a vegetarian sub), but I've not seen star fruit used before.  But I love bbq, and I love slaw, so, why not? 

The answer, at least for me, is because it is way too sweet.  The texture was quasi-interesting, but, wow, it was so sweet. The bbq sauce was a standard-ish formula of ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, molasses.  It didn't do anything to balance out the sweetness of the star fruit.  I just really didn't care for this base component, although I can see what they were going for, a veggie pulled pork-ish sort of base.  1/5 filling.

The slaw was classic cabbage (red/green), carrot, and red onions, with mayo based dressing, that also had buttermilk for some tang, cider vinegar for acid, and horseradish for kick.  You can buy this slaw as a side at the restaurant.  I didn't really care for this either, even though I love cole slaw and everything in this sounded like the right ingredients.  It was just too tart and hard to really get a bite without the rest of the flavor from the bbq star fruit with it.  I'd try it again separate, but, I didn't enjoy it here.

I don't think this dish is served at their regular store, and was an offering they did to accommodate vegetarians at our office.

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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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Sugar Mama Desserts

As you may likely realize by now, I eat a lot of ice cream (and other ice cream adjacent frozen desserts).  Generally at least once a day.  And I love to try new brands, particularly smaller local ones, such as Sugar Mama Desserts, a new discovery of mine.

"Our all-natural ice cream is made with the freshest ingredients including locally-grown fruits, authentic ingredients, and vegetable-based coloring. Ex. Our strawberry ice cream contains 1/2 pound of organic strawberries in every pint. Also, our Mint n' Chip is colored with Fresh Spinach."

Sugar Mama has a great background, like many local small businesses, with a founder who got into the business starting with farmer's markets, gained customer loyalty, and eventually expanded to doing special events, and ultimately, a brick and mortar shop.  They take great pride in their ingredient sourcing and clean foods approach.  Sugar Mama is based in Milpitas, so I haven't visited in person, but was treated to their ice cream at several events with catering.

The flavor lineup at Sugar Mama is quite large, although only a few are offered at any given time.  It features simple classics (vanilla bean, cookie dough, chocolate chip, cookies and cream, cookie monster, salted caramel), plenty of chocolate laden crowd pleasers (dark chocolate, fudge brownie milk chocolate, Nutella fudge brownie, S'mores, rocky road, mocha almond fudge, banana walnut chocolate chip, milk chocolate pearl crunch, mint double chip, mint n' chip, malted milk double chocolate, peanut butter Oreo), many Asian inspired flavors (black sesame brittle, smooth black sesame, durian, taro, ube, jackfruit, lychee, mango, yuzu meringue pie, cherry blossom, sweet paan), tea infusions (Tie Guan Yin Tea, white peach green tea, matcha green tea, brown bear milk tea, thai tea), Mediteranean influence (raspberry rose wine, saffron rose water pistachio, raspberry rosewater, rosewater sake, pistachio almond), and more unique offerings (avocado, custard apple, blueberry Oreo, earl grey lavender,, sweet corn, Triple BBB Bourbon).  And of course, some fruity vegan sorbets (pomegranate acai, raspberry lychee, strawberry lemonade, blueberry, guava, honey lavender blueberry) and seasonal offerings (pumpkin swirl chai tea biscuit, Christmas Oreo, white chocolate hazelnut pumpkin).

First Encounter 2022

My first encounter was with delivery of single cups to my office.  I was able to try four flavors: one simple, one chocolately, one Asian, and one vegan.  All were fantastic. Prices are quite reasonable for such high quality ice cream at $4.50 scoop or $13-13.50 per pint.

Vanilla Bean.

"Blended with Madagascar bourbon vanilla and real vanilla bean seeds, Sugar Mama Desserts' Vanilla Bean ice cream is a the Silver Medalist in the 2013 Wisconsin Dairy Association Competition!"

I started simple.  Vanilla.  Bo-ring right?  No, not this vanilla.

I understand why this is an award winning ice cream. The base is clearly high quality fresh premium ice cream, perfect texture, melts beautifully.  The vanilla is where it shines - using both bourbon vanilla and flecks from the vanilla bean seeds creates a shockingly complex and interesting vanilla flavor.

This flavor pairs beautifully with basically any dessert (fruit crisp, crumble, cobbler, pie), warm donuts or cinnamon rolls, etc, etc, but the vanilla is interesting enough that it works well on its own too.  I found I rarely want to turn it into a sundae - it would be a pity to cover up the great favor with so many toppings.

I'd get it again in a heartbeat, and was thrilled to stock my freezer with the extras.  One of the best vanilla ice creams I've ever had. High 4/5.

Dark Chocolate Salty Caramel.

"Local Guittard chocolate layered with handmade salted caramel."

Next I went decadent.  Dark Chocolate Salty Caramel. This was an intense ice cream.  On all fronts.

It was indeed extremely dark chocolate ice cream.  And then, added intensity with the sweet and deep caramel.  Finishing with a punch of a legit level of salt.  Bitter chocolate + sweet caramel + salt, all amped up to the limits, in a way that just combined to create, well, an intense experience.  It was like having the darkest deepest chocolate ice cream you can imagine, smothered in a really thick rich decadent legit salted caramel, but, all as one component.

I liked it, but, a little went a loooong way.  I think it might be good with bananas sliced on top, and it definitely benefited from whipped cream.

3.5/5.

Black Sesame Brittle.

"Sweet, savory, crunchy and rich. Tastes like peanut butter but without nuts. This deeply satisfying flavor is made with black sesame brittle from Sweet Dragon Baking Company."

I took my first bite of this thinking it was just black sesame (which, is glorious enough!), but was completely surprised to find the bits of brittle inside.  OMG, is all I can say.

I love the taste of black sesame, get it rarely, and this was top notch.  Strong flavor, perfectly creamy and clearly premium ice cream, very very nutty.  As it got softer, it really tasted nearly like peanut butter, just, sophisticated.  But what took it over the top was that brittle.  It came in generous pockets throughout, and I loved the crunch and hit of sweetness it added.  Honestly, I'd purchase just the brittle too if I could.

I'd get this again a heartbeat, probably the best black sesame ice cream I've ever had.  I'm curious to try their "Smooth Black Sesame" flavor too.

4.5/5.

Mango Pineapple Coconut Sorbet (Vegan).

"Made with a refreshing tropical mixture of ripe and juicy mangoes, pineapples and young coconuts."

The last flavor I tried was a sorbet, when there was plenty left over unclaimed.  Sorbet is never what I go for, but, I do love mango. 

I was impressed with this flavor as well.  Yes, it was sorbet, but it was fairly creamy, and intensely flavorful.  The mango and pineapple were both very vibrant and fruity, and elevated each other.  For a sorbet, this was great.  3.5/5, maybe even 4/5.

Second Encounter, Catering, July 2024

My next encounter was a full catering setup, with their cart brought on side, and full toppings bar.

Flavor Line Up.

They had quite festive signs customized for our event, listing out the 6 flavor options, noting which were dairy-free, which had wheat, etc.  Our lineup was pretty good:

• Award-Winning Vanilla Bean 
• Fresh Guava
• Earl Grey Lavender Biscuit 
• Mint Double Chocolate
• Irish Whiskey Pralines
• Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet

Cart.

Ice cream was scooped to order by the staff.  I had a hard time narrowing down to a single pick, but then I was asked, "one scoop or two?", and realized I could 1) get two scoops! and 2) likely pick two flavors.  I obviously got two scoops, two different flavors.

Toppings.

Toppings for full sundaes came next with chopped nuts, sprinkles, fresh berries, and gummy bears.  The staff applied all toppings for you, which was both inefficient (as there was a line, and this meant they weren't scooping ...), but also meant not really getting the ratio or distribution of toppings you wanted. 

More Toppings.

Mini m&Ms, brownie brittle, classic sundae cherries, and whipped cream came next.  Whipped cream was Land O Lakes brand, which is less common around here.

Again, staff applied to your sundae.  I guess we can't be trusted with our own toppings ...

Salted Caramel & Hot Fudge.

I appreciated that they had legit hot fudge and caramel, kept warm in a warmer.  Major points for not just having runny chocolate sauce.

The hot fudge was thick, decadent, and very good. 4/5.

Irish Whiskey Praline & Mint Double Chocolate
w/ Hot Fudge, Whipped Cream, Nuts, Sprinkles.

And here you can see the results of a staff member building the sundae, particularly when the whipped cream was the second to last thing in the topping lineup, so sprinkles and smaller toppings were hidden under it, and the hot sauces came last (instead of more commonly first) and then just melted the whipped cream away ...

Anyway, toppings aside, the ice cream was good.  Clearly very fresh ice cream, no crystallization, no freezer burn, etc. 

Irish Whiskey Praline:

The server warned me this was pretty boozy tasting, and he was absolutely right.  It was loaded with a generous amount of bits of praline for crunch, and tasted really quite strongly of Irish whiskey.  I loved it, and didn't think it even really needed toppings, although the hot fudge was pretty great, and the pairing worked well.  If you like whiskey, and you like praline, get this, no question.  4/5.

Mint Double Chocolate:

I don't usually go for chocolate base ice creams, but, given how interesting the dark chocolate salty caramel flavor had been, I was drawn in.  The base was again a deep dark chocolate.  Very rich.  The "double" chocolate component seemed to be hunks of chocolate cookie, akin to the cookie from an Oreo, soft from being inside the ice cream.  The mint came in the form of light green white chocolate mint chips.  I wanted to taste more mint, as the mint got pretty lost with the super rich chocolate base and the hot fudge on top.  Overall, a good flavor, but not one I'd get again most likely.  3.5/5.

These two flavors didn't really compliment each other well, I wouldn't recommend them together.  The mint double chocolate really does benefit from a scoop of something a bit more mellow out the chocolate intensity, but the boozy whiskey wasn't really that.

Third Encounter, Catering, September 2025

Another summer with ice cream social provided by Sugar Mama!  Same setup as the previous year, 6 flavors to pick from (we could pick 2) and toppings bar.

Flavors.

The flavor lineup was fantastic.  There was vanilla bean and milk chocolate pearl crunch for those who wanted basic flavors, but .... honey lavender blueberry, saffron rosewater pistachio, fresh mango, and pomegranate dragonfruit (sorbet).  It was extremely difficult to pick just two flavors.  Besides the vanilla bean, these were all new flavors compared to my past encounters.

Toppings.

The toppings lineup was a bit less nice than last time, chocolate sauce or caramel (both of which were in a warming thing, but not actually hot), fruit (blackberries, canned fruit cocktail - tacky!), guava, maraschino cherries), candy (M&Ms, sprinkles, gummy bears), and generic canned whipped cream.  No nuts this time.  We were however allowed to top our own rather than the staff doing it for us, which was a big win in my book.

I eagerly took the hot fudge, but, 1) it wasn't hot and 2) it was just chocolate sauce and 3) it wasn't very good, along with berries (blackberries, but they didn't go great with my ice cream, really needed strawberries or raspberries), and of course, whipped cream and sprinkles (they had a great brand of sprinkles, super crunchy).

Saffron Rosewater Pistachio / Milk Chocolate Pearl Crunch.

I was really curious about the honey lavender blueberry, but I decided to randomly get the milk chocolate pearl crunch in addition to my first choice (saffron rosewater pistachio).  As I was the first guest (surprise!) the ice cream was still rock solid.

Saffron Rosewater Pistachio

I was sad that my scooper gave me 70% chocolate and only a small bit of the pistachio, as that is the one I was most excited for.  It was good though, strong pistachio flavor, with whole pistachios embedded within.  They added great crunch and serious real pistachio flavor (nothing about this tasted fake).  The saffron I didn't really detect, and the rosewater was subtle, which for me was a good thing.  A nice flavor, I'd get it again if craving pistachio.  3.5/5.

Milk Chocolate Pearl Crunch

I don't normally go for chocolate ice cream, particularly when there are so many other great options, but, I was really craving chocolate and the "milk chocolate pearls" sure sounded a lot like Crispearls, and I adore those things.

It was ... well, milk chocolate ice cream.  Not really my thing.  I rarely actually like a chocolate ice cream, so this was just a poor order on my part.  It was fine chocolate ice cream, good milk chocolate flavor, creamy.  But, eh, it was milk chocolate ice cream.  I did of course love the crispearls for crunch and the actual chocolate flavor I was looking for.  I'll give this a 3/5 but for me it was actually probably lower.  

Fourth Encounter, Catering, Sept 2025

Flavors.

Our flavors this time were slightly less fun for me than in the past, but still decent.  One chocolate flavor I've had before (dark chocolate salty caramel), one vegan sorbet (mango pineapple coconut), and then four that were new to me: caramel cone, strawberry, pistachio, and white peach sencha green tea.

Toppings.

The toppings lineup was again a bit different, with hot fudge and caramel, plus sprinkles and M&Ms as seem standard, but slightly different gummies, chopped peanuts, and then stewed strawberries and mango rather than fresh fruit.  No whipped cream this time.

Pistachio & Caramel Cone.

Pistachio:

I had the pistachio saffron before, but this one was pure pistachio.  I was blown away by how intense the pistachio was.  Incredible pistachio flavor. Smooth, well churned gelato as the base.  You definitely need to actually want pistachio, but if you do, this was really fantastic.  Strong 3.5/5, not a flavor I often want, but, very, very, very well done.

Caramel Cone:

I got this because the others didn't sound great to me, and because I wanted to try something I hadn't had before.  But caramel cone is pretty boring and mainstream compared to most of their flavors, and not something I'd be excited about in general.  I somehow lost my notes on it, and it wasn't memorable in any way clearly, so, uh, 3/5?

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