Alaska Airlines First Class, JFK-SFO

Flight info:

• Flight #114
• JFK-SFO
• 1pm (Scheduled) 12:53pm (Pushback) 1:15pm (Takeoff)
• 4:12pm (Scheduled) 3:48pm (Landing) 3:56pm (Gate)
• Seat: 3D
• Aircraft: 737-900

I've flown the opposite route, SFO-JFK several times before (reviews here), but never the other way as, frankly, I'm traumatized by the getting to JFK experience, and usually opt to fly out of Newark after a NYC visit, or go visit family in NH and fly from Boston instead.  I was not really looking forward to this trip.

My past trauma with JFK also meant I had a loooong time to hang out in the Alaska lounge, so I was pretty bored by the time I got on board (tl;dr - I've missed one flight in my life, and it was from JFK, when I thought I left far more than enough time to get to the airport/etc, and, well, zomg traffic).  Boarding started promptly on time, and was orderly and efficient.  We pushed back early, and had only about 20 min taxi time (which is good for JFK!).  We were warned to expect turbulence getting out of NY, so the FAs had to stay seated for quite a while, which delayed food and drink service (and bathroom access of course).

We arrived early, had minimal taxi to gate (<10 min), bags were delivered fast, so, operationally, this was a good flight, definitely better than my track record with JetBlue lately.

Service / Amenities

My flight was on a 737-900 (not Max) that seemed actually fairly new.  No amenities are provided other than a very thin blanket.   Service was friendly but largely absent (even once able to be up and about of course), with no one coming to pick up our trays post meal for quite a while, no real check backs to see if we needed anything later on.  The food and drink were not very good.  The seat was not comfortable.

I knew that Alaska really is not competitive on the in-flight experience in any way with the others flying this route, but ... they are so much cheaper, and hence, I did it again, but it certainly wasn't a very enjoyable nor premium experience.

Economy.

The leather still had a bit of a nice leather smell, and it seemed in good shape (no rips, tears, etc on the seats).  Since no one had pre-boarded (no kids, etc), I was able to snap a photo of the entirely empty main cabin.

First.

I was in First Class.  The seat seemed the same as all other flights I've taken with Alaska.  Wide, but otherwise, meh.  No where to put anything, just a basic seat back pocket, tiny tray table.  No where to put a water bottle, no where to hold a phone, etc.  Power outlets including USB were located between the seats.  No foot rests.  Not comfortable for 7+ hours.

Food & Drink

As we settled in, a PDB of sparkling wine, orange juice, or water was offered from a tray.  The drinks came in paper cups, which I understand for abolishing plastics, but something about drinking sparkling wine from a paper cup ...

PDB: Sparkling Wine.

I rarely get anything other than (hopefully sparkling) water when I board, but, I had been in the airport for nearly 3 hours, and was bored, and hey, sparkling wine sounded like at least something quasi-interesting at that point.

It was fine.  Fairly sweet.  Not particularly good nor bad. 3.5/5.

Nuts.

It was 1.5 hours into the flight before our first beverages were served due to the FAs being seated that entire time per pilot instructions.  Orders for drinks were taken once they were allowed up, and delivered row by row, along with some nuts (warm, mixed, salted, basically just cashews, although I had a single almond, and two seasoned bread twist things).  I would have liked more diversity in the nuts, but I loved the bready twists (or maybe I was just starving?).  Better than average offering, despite the poor distribution of items.  3.5/5.

Red Wine.

For red wine, there was no choice, just a cab.  She didn't know what kind it was.  It was not great, very high acid.  I would not want it again.  Huge pour.  Low 3/5.

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Old fashioned

Later on I switched to the Old Fashioned (Straightaway brand), as I had liked it before.  I got it not on ice as I was freezing, which made it very, very strong (I thought it was strong before, and wanted to dilute it a bit then, even with the ice watering it down).  A nice boozy, but, definitely strong.  It was also sweeter than I remembered, or really wanted.  But still a decent cocktail.  3/5.

Mango Seltzer.

I was happy to see a flavored sparkling water option, mango (Polar brand I think).  It was lightly fruity and enjoyable enough, and I'm always happy to have a flavored (non-sugar) option.  3.5/5.

Lunch-ish Menu.

For my main dish, I had 5 options: one crowd pleasing chicken (no, I hate chicken), one vegetarian AND gluten-free AND vegan pasta dish (meh, gluten-free pasta? And no cheese or cream? Sorry vegetarians that you got lumped into that bucket!), the standard fruit & cheese plate (I know it has its fans, but not what I wanted for lunch, one seafood option (shrimp diablo over grits that actually did sound pretty good), and one non-vegetarian, non-gluten-free pasta (mushroom ravioli with pork sausage garnish).  I was tempted by the shrimp and grits, particularly given that it gets great reviews, but I still had memories of how much I loved a previous pasta (shells) dish with Italian pork sausage on a previous Alaska flight, and hoped this may take the same trajectory.  Plus, it came with asparagus and featured mushrooms, both things I love.

Meal.

All meals are served with the same salad and bread roll, along with tub of ice cream, no option for anything there, no appetizer, no other dessert, etc.  Compared to the other airlines flying this premium transcon route, Alaska really really does lag behind - e.g. United has the full ice cream sundae cart and another dessert, a choice of appetizer, AND a second meal service before arrival.  

The salad/bread/main dish were all served at once.

Roll.

The bread was warm, didn't taste stale, and was pleasant enough.  A peasant style white roll, no choices.  Very hard, cold butter to go with.  3.5/5.

Salad.

The "salad" was the tiniest amount of arugula ever (like, literally 5 pieces?), plus three balls of average mozzarella, and a few sorta sundried tomatoes, all covered in pesto.  I had enjoyed something similar once before as the tomatoes were super flavorful, but this time they weren't, just kinda somewhere between roasted and fresh, no real flavor to them, and even the pesto didn't seem very flavorful.  I was glad I had my own backup salad (knowing how small theirs are in general).  1.5/5.

Mushroom Ravioli.

"Mushroom filled pasta with Calabrian chili Pomodoro sauce topped with Italian pork sausage, served with grilled asparagus, and sautéed edamame with peas. Finished with fresh parmesan cheese."

Well, I didn't really like the main dish either.  The main reason being that the sauce was really kinda crappy.  Definitely not "Calabrian chili" as advertised, just very bland, generic tomato sauce.  Very, very bland and generic.  Since the dish was smothered in it, it dominated everything else.

I did like the asparagus, and the peas (although they were hard to extract from the sauce), and found it annoying that there were both edamame and peas, as I like peas, and feel "meh" about edamame.  I would have happily eaten all the toppings though, if it wasn't for that sauce.  I just really didn't care for it.

The sausage, which had been exceptional on a previous flight was not very good.  Sorta reminded me of generic pizza topping sausage.  A bit soft, not very flavorful (a theme here).  It was fine, but, it had been SOOOO good before, this was a letdown for me.

And finally, the ravioli of course.  A decent portion of 6 ravioli.  They were filled with mushroom and ricotta.  Didn't really taste the mushroom.  The pasta was cooked kinda ok, not too dried out, but pretty soft and mushy overall.  Sorta TV dinner quality, definitely not particularly good.

Put it all together, and this was a pretty low end dish.  The sauce ruined everything for me, and besides the asparagus, I didn't really like much about it. 1.5/5.

Dessert: Salt & Straw Pumpkin Spiced Latte Cake Ice Cream.

The dessert was not served for a while, which was fine with me because 1) it was ice cream, and I was FREEZING, and 2) I had brought my own dessert anyway (always prepared!).

The flavor, as it was Sept 1 and it just changed out was ... pumpkin spice latte. Doh.  August had a pistachio with ricotta ripple that people raved about and sounded great to me, and I'm not really one for pumpkin spice.  But, still, I do like Salt & Straw, so of course I tried it.

And ... yeah.  It was aggressively pumpkin spiced, which I think is probably great if you like those spices, no doubt, but for me it was waaaay too much nutmeg and things I don't generally like.  I didn't taste anything latte about it either (which was fine, but an odd name for a flavor if it's really just pumpkin spice ...).  

It was served at a decent temperature, it still required a bit of time to soften nicely, but wasn't a total rock.  No freezer burn.  Good quality ice cream base.  But just not a flavor for me. 2/5 for the flavor, 3.5/5 for the quality.  My FA was excited to try it (this was the first day they had it) and she told me she took one bite and threw it out too.

Snacks.

1.5 hours before arrival, a snack basket was offered.  It had one kind of chips (Community Brand, salt & vinegar), 1 kind of granola bar, shortbread cookies, and these two items, cheddar popcorn and Skinny Dipped lemon almonds, both snacks I've had before elsewhere and enjoyed.

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LeLeCha New York

I have wonderful friends.  Like ones who scope out new Asian bakeries, get more goodies than they can possibly eat, and bring me some to try.  In this case, from LeLeCha, a Taiwanese bubble tea and baked goods shop that recently opened in the US, with its first location in New York in July.

"Get ready for an extraordinary tea & pastry experience, where East meets West in every bite and sip.  From iconic Dirty Buns to artisan tea creations — we’re bringing something truly special to the streets of New York."

LeLeCha does focus on the tea side of things, as you'd probably guess from their name, but both my friend and I were drawn to their Asian baked goods.  The lineup includes sweet and savory breads, loaves, buns, a few other danish style pastries.  I got to try one item from each of the Toasts, Breads & Buns, and Danishes sections of the menu.  I did try them a day old, so, I try to take that into account, but they were still fantastic, and I'm sure even better a day sooner.  I'd gladly have more goodies from this place anytime.

Branding.

The goodies came in a Wonder branded box, which I'm not entirely sure I understand.  The brand is LeLeCha, but they have "Wonder" scattered about their materials too.  And no clue what the dog thing is about.  But it was a distinctive box!

Buttery Cloud Loaf, Dirty Bun,
Butter Caramel Egg Tart (all pieces).

My friend brought me a sampler box of hunks of each of the items she got.  These are just the small pieces that she saved me, which still filled up a full box!  Most of the items are quite large in full form.

Buttery Cloud Loaf.  $8.49.

"Wheat flour and butter are thoroughly mixed and kneaded for a soft, fluffy texture. The homemade milk custard filling adds creamy sweetness, making every bite tender and rich."

The one right in front is the buttery cloud loaf.  Such a soft and fluffy loaf!  It was lightly sweet in the way that most Asian sweet breads are, and the custard filling was just the right amount of creamy goodness inside.  I really enjoyed it just as a snack, ripping off pieces of the soft fluffy bread, and I think it would be great for breakfast too.  I imagine you could toast or warm it, but I didn't find that necessary.  Very simple, but very enjoyable.  High 4/5.

They also make a loaf in a chocolate version (with cocoa-hazelnut filling and dark chocolate glaze), one with azuki red beans and pork floss (!), another one with coconut milk filling and coffee crumble topping, and a more plain one.

Dirty Bun. $8.49.

"Flaky pastry filled with rich chocolate cream, topped with a layer of green matcha powder."

Next is the dark one, the dirty bun. 

The bread itself had reasonable cocoa flavor, not super dark, but definitely chocolatey, and was standard Asian style slightly sweet bread.  As a day-old, it was a touch stale, but I can't blame them for that.  The chocolate cream filling was fantastic, great chocolate pudding flavor, and it added the strong hit of chocolate I was looking for.  The shards of dark chocolate that flaked off the top were high quality and delightful too.  4/5, good execution of a chocolate cream bun.

They also make a matcha version of this.

Butter Caramel Egg Tart. $4.99.

"Crafted with a rich 1:1.8 egg-to-milk ratio, the custard center is exceptionally silky and smooth. Hand-laminated pastry ensures long-lasting crispness, while the caramel sauce is slow-cooked by hand for deep, layered flavor."

And finally, hiding in the back, a hunk of the egg tart, which is nothing like any egg tart I've ever had before.  In fact, I had to search through the menu, and ask my friend who got it what this was, as it didn't seem possible it was the egg tart.  But it was.  And, she said it was massive, this was just a tiny hunk.  But if you had asked me what it was, I would have told you a creme brulee inside a croissant/danish crust.  

So yeah, what we had was a thick laminated pastry base, formed into a shell.  It wasn't flaky exactly, perhaps as it was a day old, but it was very well laminated, and clearly high butter.  The flavor was fabulous.  A very good pastry, just on its own.

But that filling!  Zomg.  Such a rich custard.  I guess, yes, an 1:1.8 egg to milk ratio does it as they say.  It was so thick and rich.  But not eggy at all. Sweet but not too sweet.  Really, really fantastic.  

Put it all together, and this one just hit all the high marks.  I think my favorite of the items I tried, and definitely the most dessert-like, 4.5/5.

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L'Industrie Pizzeria, NYC

When you tell someone you'll be spending time in New York, the inevitably start telling you all the places you *have* to go.  The best bagels/pizza/burger/pastrami/drinks/etc of their lives, yadda yadda.  Even locals get quite passionate about some of these categories, and pizza of course is a common one to debate.  Once you get past the variations like square pizza (generally frowned upon), places only by the slice or only by the pie, etc, you are still met with intense debate.  But there are a handful of places that nearly everyone has heard of, and at least agree are in the top.

L'Industrie is one of these places.  It is also one of those places where people line up and wait for quite a while for their slices.  Those who want a whole pie can at least order those in advance for pickup (but, no delivery, and they have 6 pie order maximums).  But most people seem to line up and wait, as part of the overall experience.  They do not take reservations.

L'Industrie has two locations, the original is in Williamsburg, opened in 2017.  They followed their success by opening a second location in Manhattan in late 2023.  Both locations are open daily, 12pm-10pm.  Both are equally busy, all the time.  

"From the City of Pistoia and the streets of NYC. We’ve come together to bring you L'industrie Pizzeria. With the artful techniques and passions of Italy blended with the flavors and characteristics of a classic New York slice. We work daily to bridge the gap between these worlds, while putting quality and passion above all."

They serve classic NY slices, but, more upscale versions of them.  The menu has 12 different curated pies on it.  No gluten-free options.  They also have a daily sandwich, soft serve gelato, and some Italian desserts (tiramisu, pistachio tres leches, cookies, olive oil cake, bombolone, etc).  No salads, no appetizers.  Just pizza and great desserts.  I like their style.

OMG, pizza.

I was thrilled, overjoyed really, when I arrived at an event to see the L'industrie boxes.  OMG.  Our hosts really brought it, with plenty to go around, a lineup of 6 different varieties (so half the menu), all of which they had to go fetch and transport to the venue, as they do not do delivery.  Dedication to serving us the some of the best pies in NY!  I was a bit sad they didn't get the fig jam and bacon one, but otherwise, happy to see the host's selections.

I tried to have restraint, and tried only 3 of the 6 kinds we had.  I'm glad I got to try 3, but my experience of each slice was fairly different.  One was ... exceptional, life-changing nearly, the others, forgettable.  That said, the great one was so great, I'll go back in a heartbeat.

L'Industrie Pie. $47.

"Prosciutto di parma and burrata."

I nearly started with their namesake pie, topped with burrata and prosciutto because, well, you kinda have to right?  And clearly many other people were going for it as their first slice.  But the prosciutto just wasn't calling out to me.  

Note that this pizza, when you get it fresh, it topped with the burrata and prosciutto after it is cooked, so those are cold toppings on the pizza.  You can see the burrata had partially melted here from being boxed up with the hot pizza, when first served, they are fresh gooey gobs.

Spicy Salami Pie. $37.

"Spicy Italian Sopressata."

I briefly considered the spicy salami too, but quickly moved on, as there were other meat toppings I was more drawn to.

Margherita Pie. $31.

"Tomato sauce, mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil, parmigiano, basil."

The basic margherita was easy for me to look past, although I did hesitate for just a second thinking it might be good to try just a simple classic one as a good base point.

Burrata Pie. $37.
(Signature).

"Tomato sauce, mozzarella, burrata."

I moved on because I saw the burrata pie, and that was clearly the answer for me, for my first slice.  A notch above the margherita, and in the direction of their namesake pie, just, sans the pork product.  And *this* is the one that turns out to be their signature pie.  I immediately understood why.  My goodness, this was an exceptional pizza.

It came with the expected big gobs of burrata well distributed on top, along with some less well distributed basil.  Again, when you get it in person, the burrata is applied after cooking, so not as melted in as it was here, the heat from the pizza had melted it a bit (which was fine with me!).

Burrata Pie (slice).

I selected a slice, and dug in.

My goodness.  I was blown away on all levels, even with extremely high expectations.  It lived up, surpassed even.

The crust was perfectly crisped, dusted with a tiny bit of flour, lightly chewy.  It was the right thickness to hold its shape well but not overwhelm, the back crust was puffy and had a slight char. Very good crust.  I'm not a crust person usually, but I wanted this crust.

The sauce is what blew me away, just the right level of tang and sweetness, and applied in the proper amount so that I tasted it in every bite, but it too did not overwhelm. And then of course the cheese and burrata on top, perfectly melted, and just dreamy.  The ratios here were right too.

Every element about this was done well, just really exceptional all together. I don't think I've had a better pizza of this style before.  5/5.  Nothing I'd change.

Pesto Hello Pie. $38.

"Crumbled Spicy Pork Sausage, Nut Free Pesto."

Next, I went for the Pesto Hello, an odd choice for me as I'm not a huge fan of pesto, but the spicy crumbled pork sausage really did call out to me.  It also had (not on the menu description) gobs of ricotta dotted on top.  This one was ... fine.

It actually had no sauce (I was expecting pesto spread under the cheese), but instead was a white pie with the pesto zig-zagged on top only.  The pesto was fairly standard, classic pesto taste, but there wasn't a lot of it.  

The sausage was as excellent as I hoped it would be, super flavorful.  I wanted even more hunks of it, or bigger hunks, as I loved it so much, and it was fairly minimal.  4/5 sausage though.

The ricotta was standard, slightly herby.  Same great crust.  But I found the slice a bit boring, besides the sausage.  Kinda dry.  It was excellent sausage but the rest of the slice wasn't compelling enough for me. 3.5/5 overall, although the sausage really was a 4/5 itself.  I wouldn't get this again, but I could imagine getting the sausage on another pie (they do allow customizations).

Tartufo Pie. $37.

"Mozzarella, braised cremini mushrooms, ricotta and truffle oil."

And for my final slice, I went for the tartufo, sorta because I had been really loving mushrooms on that trip. It too was one of their white pies, no red sauce, and it came with the same dots of ricotta on top.  The truffle (oil) aroma was strong as I picked it up.

It let me down.  The truffle oil is definitely the first thing I tasted with this one.  It was fine, but definitely dominant, so, be prepared for that.  But that is really all I tasted, no other flavors really came through.  It was fairly oily from both the truffle oil and the cheese.  It did have a good distribution of mushrooms on top as well, but I found myself really wishing it had some kind of sauce, and that the truffle oil was tamped down.  It did still have their great crust though.  The ricotta again made it eat a bit dry (besides all the oil).

But really all I tasted was truffle oil. 3/5, my least favorite.  I wouldn't get this one again.

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Carvel Ice Cream

Oh Carvel.  A brand that had such importance during my childhood, when we had a Carvel store in my hometown, and for our birthdays, we always got custom Carvel ice cream cakes.  I remember pouring through the pages and pages of glossy images of the different designs available, and after agonizing (for a child) decision making, picked my choice for my party.  Of course I liked the cakes, but, selecting the design was is what I remember most.  I don't remember ever going to the Carvel shop for anything else, although I guess they actually had a regular ice cream shop, and were not just a place for cakes.

Then at some point the Carvel store closed.  We still got Carvel cakes for parties, but they were just the standard grocery store ones (which I've reviewed before).  They *aren't* nearly as good as freshly made cakes, and obviously come in only one flavor.

Update Review, Summer 2025

I spent the summer again on the east coast this year, land of Carvel ice cream, and it happened to also be my birthday while I was there, and thus, plentiful free birthday ice cream for me (it is usable every day for two weeks around your birthday)!  I'll admit the allure of Carvel has worn down for me - it is still better than any other fast food style soft serve, or better than most soft serve I can get in San Francisco, but in New York, the land of fantastic ice cream, it doesn't really measure up.

Lemonberry Crumble (Seasonal, early Aug).

"Swirl into summer with Lemonberry Crumble—where lemon and blueberry come together for the perfect creamy soft serve."

This was a seasonal flavor when I visited, so I asked to try it.

The base ice cream was good, exceptionally creamy like all of their soft serve.  It tasted to me like a more mild black raspberry, with notes of lemon to it, but not a particularly strong flavor.  It was sweet, but not too sweet. I think my mother would really like this, as black raspberry and lemon are her favorites.  For me, 3.5/5.

Toasted Marshmallow (Seasonal, late Aug).

A few days after I had tried the lemonberry crumble, I actually returned intending to get it, but alas, the seasonal flavor had just changed to toasted marshmallow.  I tried a sample first.

It was very sweet, and, well, yeah, did taste a bit like a toasted marshmallow, but pretty artificial.  I wasn't into it. The server loved it though, she said it reminds her of those soft caramels stuffed with a little cream center.  But for me, just not the right kind of sweetness.  Still wonderfully creamy premium ice cream of course.  Low 3/5.

Nutella.

"Decadent, rich and single. The flavor of your dreams. The decadent taste of chocolate hazelnut in a soft serve ice cream."

I was craving something a bit chocolately, so asked to sample the Nutella and Oreo, neither flavors I normally gravitate towards as I don't care for either ingredient all that much individually, but, I thought might be decent in soft serve.  First up was the Nutella.

This is definitely the most decadent of their flavors, particularly nutritionally.  A small vanilla (or most others) cup or cone is 350 calories/18g fat/22g sugar, where this is 420 cal/22g fat/31g sugars (Oreo is fairly close behind with 400 cal/20g fat/27g sugar).  The reason of course is that they do indeed use real Nutella, but a small soft serve cone being 420 cal (compared to say, Burger King's 190 calories / McDonald's 200 / Dairy Queen 220) is indeed more decadent, just as they say.

It was very creamy as is all Carvel ice cream, and yes, did taste a bit like Nutella, although it was fairly muted.  It was fine, but not a flavor I was really excited by.  3/5, probably 3.5/5 just given how creamy it was. 

Oreo.

"You don't need any milk for this OREO®. Eat your favorite cookie in the smooth swirls of Carvel® soft serve."

The Oreo looked nearly identical in color and little flecks, but she was careful to keep them separate as I tried them.  It too was nicely creamy, and used real Oreo inside of it, not just vague Oreo flavor, again making it a more decadent (higher cal/sugar/fat) option.

It did taste "cookies and cream", but was still a fairly muted flavor to me.  Since I don't actually love Oreos, this was totally fine, but if you want a lot of Oreo flavor, this is not it.  For me, it was good enough, and I think would be absolutely fantastic with their crunchies on it.  3.5/5.

Vanilla/Chocolate Twist.
(Small).

Vanilla: "The original classic. We've been improving our vanilla for more than 80 years. Yes, 80 years."

Chocolate: "Chocoholics dream of this. This is why chocoholics become chocoholics. Rich, creamy, fresh chocolate that's made especially for you."

Twist: "The best of both worlds. Why settle for one classic flavor. Get the yin and yang of ice cream together in perfect harmony."

This was my first time ever having Carvel chocolate soft serve (and maybe having their vanilla?) but I visited a very small location (inside Macy's near Times Square), with only vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and the seasonal flavor and I decided to just be basic and try the twist. 

It wasn't exactly made with love, and frankly looked pretty homely, but it was fine. Truly exceptionally creamy rich soft serve, pretty standard vanilla and chocolate flavors, neither was overly pronounced, and it was sweet but not too sweet. Basically, just a classic very good vanilla and chocolate soft serve, high fat content base, classic, indeed.  3.5/5.

Vanilla. (Small).

"The original classic. We've been improving our vanilla for more than 80 years. Yes, 80 years."

Chocolate: "Chocoholics dream of this. This is why chocoholics become chocoholics. Rich, creamy, fresh chocolate that's made especially for you."

A few visits later, I was struck with tragedy.  The location was cleaning their machines, at 12:30pm on a Sunday, and had only chocolate and vanilla available.  I specifically picked that location because they have mango, mint, and birthday cake!  Sigh.  Dejected, I settled on a vanilla cone.

This was the smallest "small" I have received at any Carvel location, although at least it looked like a reasonable twirl.

It was fine.  Average.  Creamy.  Better than fast food vanilla, but actually not as good as the vanilla at other locations.  I don't think this was a very good location in terms of quality control (East Village, Manhattan, for reference).  3/5.

Oreo.
(Small).

"You don't need any milk for this OREO®. Eat your favorite cookie in the smooth swirls of Carvel® soft serve."

Wow, what a difference a different location makes!  When I got my second cone it was from the West Village location, and the staff here were so friendly AND seemed to actually put a bit of thought into making my cone.  This one looked considerably better, and was much bigger.  I settled for the Oreo, not wanting basic vanilla or chocolate again, or Nutella or toasted marshmallow, my other options.

It was unchanged in taste in full cone form (which isn't always the case!).  Very creamy, decent flavor, but not tons of Oreo came through.  I again thought it would be spectacular with their crunch coat added, I settled for chocolate sprinkles I brought with me.  3.5/5.

Mint.
(Small).

"Minty fresh. No matter the weather, it's always a good time for refreshing, creamy mint. Try it with fudge on top. A-maz-ing."

This was the biggest small yet!  Now, maybe a dish you just get more than a cone?  But the volume of ice cream was definitely considerably higher here than any of my cones.

Anyway, the flavor, mint, always a favorite of mine, and absolutely best with chocolate crunchies, sprinkles, fudge, or chocolate shell.  I got it plain, so I could add my own toppings - who wants to pay $1-2 extra for $0.05 worth of toppings!  This also gave me the opportunity to try it without chocolate elements masking the flavor at all.

Like all Carvel ice cream, yes, very creamy, very rich.  And, it seems, like all Carvel these days, just not a very strong flavor otherwise.  Another one that was an enjoyable vanilla-like flavor, with a hint of mint, but the flavor just seemed so muted.  I still liked it, the sweetness level was good, not too sweet, and the texture/consistency are top notch, but, come on, I wanted more actual mint flavor.  3.5/5, but again, just as a slightly interesting vanilla, not as a real mint flavor.

Cake Mix.
(Small).

"Better than licking the bowl. The taste of birthday cake any day of the year."

Another bowl rather than cone, and yeah, at least based on my sample size, you definitely get more ice cream in a dish than a cone.

I think in the past year Carvel changed their birthday cake-esque flavor, as I previously reviewed one called "birthday cake", and this was called "cake mix".  Anyway, this was a slightly sweeter flavor than the others, although not cloying sweet like cake batter things can sometimes be, and yes, sorta ... yeah, cake flavored.  Cake/frosting flavored, in that non-specific way.  It was good, standard Carvel creaminess.  It paired well with some leftover cake I had :)

3.5/5.

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Mango

I also sampled the mango.  I was so excited to see mango!  But like many of the flavors, it was just very muted.  I loved the base ice cream, but mango really didn't come through.  3.5/5 as a slightly more interesting vanilla.

Original Review, Summer 2024

This past year, I re-discovered Carvel ice cream shops, when I visited New York, and they had several locations.  It happened to be my birthday month as well, which was double great, because they give a free cone for your birthday reward (with sign-up).  I love a good freebie.

"Each of Carvel's handmade items starts with The Original Soft Serve™, created in 1934. Today, our delicious treats and classic ice cream cakes are a staple at birthdays, holiday parties, or any occasion worth celebrating."

Although they carry hard ice cream, I had eyes only for the soft serve.  Yes, I like all ice cream, but I'm a soft serve ice cream girl to the core.  

Carvel (inside Macy's)

I had no idea that Carvel has so many flavors of soft serve at Carve!  I thought they just had vanilla and chocolate.  But they actually have a slew more, depending on your location of course, including seasonal specials (like birthday cake, pumpkin, etc), and basics like strawberry, cold brew coffee, and chocolate hazelnut, along wtih coconut, pistachio, mint.  This is in addition to some "Carvelite" flavors and Oatly non-dairy flavors.

In Manhattan, the location inside Macy's (pictured here) had only 4 flavors, but the standalone store just a few blocks away had 6 (or 8? I forget).  The Financial District store had only vanilla/chocolate though, so, plan accordingly.

Mint.  Small.

"No matter the weather, it's always a good time for refreshing, creamy mint. Try it with fudge on top. A-maz-ing."

I went for the mint without trying to first.  I know, such a rookie move.  Now, it was good.  Don't get me wrong.  It was rich, creamy, great quality Carvel soft serve.  I really do like their soft serve.  But the mint flavor wasn't quite as strong as I was hoping it would be.  It was a good mint flavor, not medicinal or anything, and the sweetness level was nice, but, just slightly lacking in powerful mint flavor.  I suspect it would be great with chocolate sprinkles or chips . ***+

Birthday Cake. Small.

"A rainbow sprinkled cake-flavored take on The Original Soft Serve™ made in honor of our 90th birthday."

It was my birthday when I visited, so the birthday cake flavor seemed most fitting, right? Available in hard scoops or soft serve.  I asked the staff how sweet the soft serve was, and he immediately just handed me a sample cup.  It wasn't cloying sweet as I feared, and the taste was instantly recognizable: Carvel blue frosting!  It tasted *exactly* like their blue frosting, although it was a off-white color (missed opportunity!).  I do quite like that frosting, but, I don't think I'd want a full cone of this.  In the small sample size though it was enjoyable, and the consistency was excellent, very rich, smooth, creamy. ***+.

Update Review: 

Well, I returned and DID get a full cone of it.

This wasn't the prettiest cone, and it started falling over nearly immediately, but I quite enjoyed it. The birthday cake flavor tastes instantly recognizable if you are familiar with Carvel ice cream cakes. It takes exactly like their blue frosting, which I absolutely love and is my favorite part of Carvel cake (besides the crunchies of course).  Very rich, high fat content for soft serve, and shockingly not cloying sweet.  Best with sprinkles of course, which I added on my own.  Fresh tasting cone.  It turned out to be my favorite flavor. ****. 

Horchata.  Small.

"Traditional horchata flavoring (a mix of sugar & cinnamon with notes of rice flour) blended with vanilla soft serve."

This was really, really good.  Super creamy and rich, proper sweetness level (not too sweet), lovely cinnamon notes, hint of vanilla, hint of rice ... yeah, it was pretty perfect.  I wish I had gotten a full cone of it, but I was too tempted by other flavors.  ****+.

Update Review:

I tried this as a sample on my first visit, but got excited about the mint flavor and got that instead. But I kept thinking back on how good the horchata was so I returned a few days later to get it. It was again quite good- very, very creamy and rich soft serve, some light rice flavor, and mild spicing. I thought I remembered the spicing being stronger, more cinnamon, but it was still good and more interesting than your basic vanilla. ***+.

[ No Photos - Samples Only ]

Pumpkin Cheesecake: 

"A flavor-fall take on The Original Soft Serve™."

It was mid-august, and Carvel launched pumpkin cheesecake flavor, definitely a bit too early for pumpkin spice season if you ask me. But I couldn't resist trying a sample, even though I'm not generally one to love pumpkin spice things as I'm not really into nutmeg, and way too many pumpkin spice items are just far too heavy in the nutmeg. This however, was not too spiced.  It had nice warming spices, but it certainly wasn't aggressive. There was also a light pumpkin in the flavor. I can't say I really tasted any cheesecake though, I expected a different tang or something from that component, and I just didn't detect any of it. So I'd consider this a very mildly flavored pumpkin with a little bit of spices, fairly muted flavors overall. ***.

Chocolate Oatly:

"The Original Soft Serve™ you know and love, made with Oatly. Non-dairy deliciousness. Will be able to get in a variety of flavors based on your shoppe's availability."

I visited one Carvel location when they had the machines offline for cleaning, and only had their Oatly flavors available.  The staff member offered a sample, so I tried it, opting for the chocolate flavor.  It was actually very good - rich and creamy texture, nicely melty, good milk chocolate flavor.  There was a slight oat milk taste to it, but I like oat milk, so this didn't bother me.  Considerably better than expected, and a wonderful offering for those who want/need to be dairy free.  ****.

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Baked by Melissa

Whenever I visit my New York office, I encounter a lot of leftover cake, cupcakes, and other treats from the seemingly endless team celebrations.  I'm always elated when the cake happens to come from my absolute favorite, Empire Cake, but I'm always happy to try treats from anywhere really.  Which lead me to finally try cupcakes from Baked by Melissa.

I'm familiar with Baked by Melissa, but their concept (tiny little cupcakes) hasn't ever really called out to me.  I almost grabbed a few once when delayed at JFK and I saw a stand there, but they just look too tiny to be satisfying to me (even though I love to try ALL the things, so you'd think I'd relish in the idea of getting to pick a bunch just to make up a proper size dessert).  They just seem far too small (literally, bite size).  Event hosts like to get them because they are great for groups where everyone can have "just a taste" if they so choose.  They show up very frequently in our office mini kitchens.

Guide.

The cupcakes come in a zillion flavors.  Luckily the hosts of this particular event left guides alongside the cupcakes, much like a box of chocolate.  They are relatively easy to identify with a few minutes work, as they have different base colors, frosting colors, and tiny toppings.

So many extra cupcakes.

I was able to try quite a few flavors, as they show up every few days really.  I didn't particularly enjoy, well, any.

Assorted Cupcakes.

Vanilla & Sprinkles. 

Vanilla cake + white vanilla icing + rainbow sprinkles topping.

I started with the most simple in order to evaluate the base product.  It was a highly underwhelming bite.  The cake had no real interesting flavor.  The frosting was just sweet.  The cake was moist enough, but yeah, just nothing remotely interesting about this.  2.5/5.

Tie-Dye / Electric Tie-Dye (Seasonal)

"The bite-size cupcake began here. It's our signature flavor, and it's everything."

Original Tie-dye: tie-dye vanilla cake + vanilla icing + rainbow sugar crystal topping.

Electric Tie Dye: Tie-dye vanilla cake + white vanilla icing + nonpareil brittle topping.

Next I tried their signature flavor, which sounded like basically the same thing as the vanilla, just, colorful, and with rainbow sugar crystals instead of sprinkles (or, in the case of the seasonal "electric" version, a little rainbow nonpareil brittle piece).  And yeah, again, just boring cake, no interesting flavor.  The one I had was the electric version, so it had the brittle, and that itself was sweet and tasty, but overall, this cupcake was no better really than the basic vanilla, just more interesting to look at. 2.5/5.

Cookie Dough

"You know when you go to bake some cookies, but you never get to the actual baking part? Yeah. This cupcake is for you."

Yellow cake + cookie dough stuffing + chocolate icing + cookie dough topping.

Same kinda meh cake (they called this 'yellow' rather than 'vanilla' but it seemed the same?), but the cookie dough stuffing and topping were at least decent, they tasted like, well, pretty standard raw cookie dough.  3/5 cookie dough, 2.5/5 cake + frosting though.  This is the only one I really enjoyed at all.

Note that this is different from the Cookie Sandwich flavor they also offer, which is yellow chocolate chip cake + chocolate chip cookie dough stuffing + vanilla icing + chocolate chip cookie dough piece + mini chocolate chips topping, so a bit more loaded up.

Update review: I had this again a few weeks later, and again at least really liked the cookie dough gob on top.  Everything else though?  Meh.

Chocolate Chip Pancake

"They said you couldn’t eat cupcakes for breakfast? Well, we said you can."

Yellow cake + mini chocolate chips topping + maple syrup icing (also, mini chips in the cake).

This tasted very plain to me.  The mini chips on top were nice of course, but, the cake again meh, and the frosting was just a touch sweeter than the others, not particularly maple-y, and nothing that reminded me of pancakes. 2/5.

Mint Cookie

"Thin mints meet chocolate cookie butter? It was mint to be."

Mint cake + fudge stuffing + mint cookie butter topping + mint cookies & cream icing.

This one was definitely the most interesting, as it had more flavors and elements going on.  In theory anyway.  The cake was green and ... perhaps lightly minty.  The "fudge stuffing" was a tiny, tiny, tiny not of fudge, entirely lost.  The icing didn't seem mint nor cookies & cream, it seemed just as plain as the others.  The "mint cookie butter topping" seemed more like a hunk of brownie or something?  Anyway, overall, pretty meh, just some very vague minty and chocolately notes.  2.5/5.

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Cookshop

Cookshop is an American farm to table restaurant in New York, located a few blocks away from my office there.  There isn't a lot about it to make it stand out in particular - no celeb chef, no fancy decor or vibe lighting.  It somehow manages to be located in a touristy area (near the Highline, near Chelsea Market) and yet has a casual, neighborhood feel to it.  It is always busy but not hard to get reservations.  In short, you'd probably never notice it, if you didn't live or work nearby.  

I noticed Cookshop only because they are available on Doordash for delivery, and I was really craving liver one day, and they were one of the few results to come up.  The menu overall was quite appealing to me.  So I ordered from them (after doing a modicum amount of research to make sure people generally liked the place).  It was great.  A year later, I attended a work event with pre-organized small group dinners, and my group was assigned to Cookshop.  I was excited to get the full restaurant experience, but I found it really quite average.  I don't see any reason to return, but I wouldn't be opposed if someone wanted to drag me there.

They are open daily for lunch and dinner, and on weekends for brunch.  Both of my "visits" were at dinner.

Visit #1: August 2024, Delivery

My first "visit" to Cookshop was when I was really craving chicken or duck liver, and ordered just that for delivery.  I was really pleased with it, and vowed to order, or visit, again soon.

Chicken Liver Mousse. $14.

"Pickles, focaccia crackers."

This was really quite good mousse.  Remarkably smooth and creamy, no graininess to it at all. It was sprinkled with a little bit of something on top, that I couldn't quite identify. If I had any criticism, I would say it needed a touch of salt, but that was very easy for me to add some nice large flakes fleur de sel. Really top notch liver mousse, really. 4/5.

The pickled red onions had a great harshness to them, and the acid helped cut the richness of the mouse. I usually like to have a sweet element to a liver dish though so I did miss that. 

The crostini weren't interesting, very hard and abrasive, drizzled with a lot of olive oil. I didn't end up using them, and opted for some truffle brioche toast that I had instead and greatly preferred that combination. I generally want a light fluffy brioche as my carb component for any kind of liver.  2/5 For the toasts, but I still give the dish a 3.5/5 overall. 

My Creation.

The next day, I made my own little creation with the rest of the mousse.  I was VERY pleased with what I made: chicken liver mousse + my great aunt's homemade dilly beans (for acidity to cut the richness) + fresh blackberry (sweet component that is always nice to have with pate/mousse) + sprinkle of smoked sea salt (to make it all pop), on a truffle brioche toast (major upgrade from their crostini).  This was 5 star all the way.

Visit #2: August 2025, Dine-In, Dinner

My next encounter with Cookshop was a full year later, when I went in person, for dinner, with a group of 7, for dinner, at 6pm.  The food really didn't live up to my expectations though, and was really quite mediocre.  Themes were far too much olive oil on everything, and underseasoning.  Service was average.

Patio Seating.

In nice weather, there is a fairly large patio space for outside seating, which I suspect is a big hit at brunch in particular.  However, it was dreary and cool the day we visited, so we were inside.

The restaurant was pretty empty when we arrived, but quickly filled up.  It was extremely noisy within, I failed to get a photo, but there was just nothing to dampen the sounds, and it was impossible to hear each other even at our own table, across from each other.  Service was ok, not neglectful, but not super attentive, infrequent check backs.  They did try to hit some higher service points, like crumbing the table between courses, bringing out fresh cutlery between courses, etc, but didn't really deliver on a high service level experience.

Oven.

One feature inside is the big wood fired oven, where you could see pizzas and roast meats being cooked.  I was surprised that the menu doesn't call out the wood fired items more explicitly, as that seems like a unique feature.

Menu.

I was excited to order from all areas of the menu this time, as there were appetizers, mains, and desserts all jumping out at me when I looked online.  Alas, some of the menu changed the day I got there.

Cabernet Sauvignon. $20.
Trig Point 'Diamond Dust' Alexander Valley, California 2022.

The wine list was pretty short, for reds, there were four options: an Oregon pinot, an Italian, a Spanish, and a California cab, which I went for.

It was a very boring wine.  No real structure, nothing really to it. Not high acid nor tanin, but just ... boring.  Low 3/5.

This is a $30 bottle that they were selling for $20/glass.

Appetizers

Most of my group was fairly hungry when we arrived, as we were at a work summit all day, and, unlike me, they relied on the event catering, and hadn't eaten in 6+ hours.  They quickly ordered some appetizers for the table, doubling up on most of them per the server's recommendation for our group of 7.  We went for mostly hot apps, and skipped the single raw bar option, oysters.

I was heartbroken when we arrived to see the menu.  The dish I was planning to order for my appetizer, and probably NOT share, was gone!  My precious chicken liver mousse that I had before.  It was literally on the menu the day before, but rotated out that day.  I decided to still ask the server about it, who initially told me "if it's not on the menu, it means we changed the menu, and don't have it anymore", in a polite enough way.  I did ask her if she'd still check with the kitchen to see if they had any left, and she sorta non-comitally acknowledged my ask.  She returned several times to check on us, deliver drinks, etc but didn't mention the liver.  I asked again if she was able to ask, and she said no, she hadn't, and this time at least said she would.  I think she could tell I was going to be a bit annoying. She never got back to me this time either, BUT it did work out ...

The appetizers arrived in a couple waves, with a few min lag between waves.

Focaccia. $12.

"Whipped ricotta, olive oil, lemon, rosemary."

The hungry carb lovers really enjoyed the focaccia.  I never care for focaccia, so I skipped it, but tried the whipped ricotta.  I thought it was fine, not interesting, but the group really liked it.  The pool of olive oil on top seemed unnecessary, but set the tone for the rest of the main, which was very olive oil heavy throughout.  It was attractively presented on the cutting board.

Deviled Eggs. $14.

"w/ tuna salpicon."

The group also ordered a bunch of deviled eggs, which came 4 (halves) to an order.  I do like deviled eggs, although rarely order them out (and yes, deviled eggs went through *such* a phase in SF a few years back where ~everywhere had them on menus, with fun toppings/seasonings/etc, so this is not novel to me).  I think I ate way too many deviled eggs in college, where making them myself in the dining hall was my fun hack (as we had hard boiled eggs available in the salad bar, mayo and mustard and pickles in the sandwich bar, etc).

They had a somewhat unique presentation, with the eggs perched on top of extra yolk filling, and the filling clearly applied inside and out with a piping bag.  They were sliced the opposite way of how I slice them when I make them myself, but I suspect this allowed for more generous filling (and they seemed to use more yolks than whites per piece).

I tried one when there were still several left.  The filling was entirely average - it wasn't particularly creamy, it wasn't particularly seasoned, it was just generic deviled egg filling.  The tuna salpicon on top was a nice touch though, it added a salty briny pop to the eggs, much like roe does (another common bougie-up deviled eggs topping).

The tuna was unique, but still just 3/5 as there was nothing compelling about these.

Tempura Vegetables. $17.
w/ lemon aioli.

The server told us all about the vegetable tempura, which changes out based on fresh seasonal vegetables.  She recommended it, and told us it had squash, okra, squash blossoms, and I think a few other things.  I wasn't particularly interested as none of the particular veggies called out, but the group ordered it.  It was a fairly sizable portion, so I did try a few pieces.

It wasn't very good.  The ratio of batter seemed way off, far too much coating, which I wouldn't have minded if the flavor was good, but the batter also didn't really have much flavor.  Nor were they well seasoned.  Kinda greasy.  The pieces were nicely crisp however.  Eh.

The lemon aioli was standard, not particularly strong lemon.  Others dunked their tempura in the ricotta instead.  2/5.

Crab Beignets. $19.

"Carolina lump crab, smoked bluefish, corn, tartar sauce."

We finally got to an appetizer I ordered, not because I was that excited for it, but because it was the most appealing thing on the available menu (as the liver was not an option).  I knew from having read reviews that people were pretty lukewarm on it, and that in particular I should not expect a beignet, but rather, basically a crispier ball shaped crab cake (that also had corn and bluefish in it), so my expectations were set accordingly.

And yeah, the reviews seem accurate.  The balls were very crispy, perhaps a touch over fried, and definitely nothing beignet like about them besides the shape.  They came on top of what was dubbed a tartar sauce, and I usually love tartar sauce, but I wasn't into this.  It seemed more like a watery relish, with lots of chunks (good), but far too much red onion/acid, no brininess, and was just strangely liquidy.  I was excited to dredge my crab in it, until I took one bite, and changed my mind. 1/5 tartar sauce.

Crab Beignet: inside.

Inside was indeed a generous amount of crab, but also bluefish that had a pretty strong flavor, and masked the more delicate crab.  It was fairly fishy.  The corn I didn't actually notice while eating them, but the kernels were there.  So crispy, yes, but again a bit greasy, and the taste just wasn't very good. 2.5/5.

Charred Bread (for liver).

A few minutes later, another server emerged, and put a bread board on the table. We had not ordered another bread, but he quickly explained that it was a gift from the kitchen.  The bread was toasted fairly crisp, and was a kinda generic rustic/peasant loaf style.  Kinda average, not good nor bad, but also not something any of us really wanted.  3/5.  

I later realized this was intended to go with the liver (when I had it previously, it came with little crostini.  I'm not sure if their preparation changed, or if this is just how they improvised given that the liver was no longer on the menu).  

Off-menu Liver!

And behold, my liver!  Although it was not on the menu, and although my server definitely never indicated that they could still indeed whip this out for me when asked, it did show up, with a smile (from another staff member) and a mention of being a special gift from the kitchen.

It came served just as I had it a year ago with pickled cucumber and onion, plus a slightly odd garnish of an herb I couldn't identify.  That herb showed up later on my scallop dish, looking equally, if not moreso, random.

It was creamy, richy, and quite good, but I again felt it was missing salt to make it pop (harder to solve there in the restaurant than at home where I had nice finishing salts handy, and they had no salt or pepper on the tables and I was too lazy to ask), and missing a sweet component to balance it out. The pickles were quite harsh and highly acidic, but did cut through the richness of the liver a bit.

So, the liver itself was easily 4/5, probably 4.5/5, but the composed dish was more like a 3/5.  It wasn't a problem as I had ordered the other appetizers, and just took this home to play with.  I served it on top of fluffy toasted brioche one night, and on truffled brioche crackers another, and added fresh blackberries and fancy salt, and really adored it again.

Salads / Sides

The menu has a trio of salads, only a super basic little gems (literally, just lettuce and radishes in, you guessed it, olive oil dressing), a stone fruit salad, and heirloom tomatoes.  For sides, there are four vegetables, one of which is another raw tomato dish (this time beefsteak tomatoes, but I'm not sure what else is different from the salad version, as both has oil and basil and little else ...), plus romano beans, eggplant, or corn on the cob.  The middle two options didn't seem particularly seasonal, which seemed odd, given the farm to table nature of the restaurant, and the fact that it was peak summer.  I found it interesting that there were no carbs/starch side options, no token mashed potatoes or even fries (although the later did come with a few dishes).

The server tried to encourage ordering some vegetable sides for the table, but no one was interested.  No one wanted salads either.  I however really did want some vegetables, so I ordered one of the two tomato dishes, randomly picking the heirlooms (considered a salad) as it seemed perhaps a bit nicer?

Heirloom Tomatoes. $18.

"Olive oil, salt crystals, basil, red onion."

The dish was basically exactly what it seemed it would be.  Assorted colors and sizes of heirloom tomatoes.  Some thin sliced red onion.  A bit of basil.  And of course, lots of olive oil.  Like other dishes, they needed salt, despite salt crystals being an explicit ingredient.

I didn't find any of the flavors of any of the tomatoes to be nearly as intense as I hoped.  They were vibrant, and it looked great, but the flavors were fairly average.  My office salad bar had more flavorful tomatoes.  Absolutely nothing remarkable about this dish, and certainly not worth $18.  3/5.

Mains

The dinner menu has only 8 main dish protein choices, pretty much the basics: burger, steak, roast chicken, and slightly more interesting pork chop for the meat & poultry eaters, two kinds of fish, scallops, and lobster.  They came as fairly fully composed dishes, the burger and lobster with fries, the steak with potatoes, and others with some kind of minor vegetable side.  The majority of the group, myself included, ordered the scallops, although we had one person get each of the fish (tuna, bluefish), and one person get steak.  I was curious about the bluefish, as I've never had it, but I can never pass up scallops.

There are also two pastas and one pizza, all vegetarian, and it was unclear if these were main dish portions or smaller dishes.  We didn't get any, although one diner was tempted by all of them.

Pan Roasted Sea Scallops. $33.

"Fresh corn pudding, oregano, roasted red pepper relish."

My heart kinda sank when the scallops were placed in front of me.  This was perhaps the least attractive dish of scallops I've ever seen!  But aesthetics aside, I had issues with the execution too.

First, the scallops were sliced horizontally 2-3 times, so although there were 7-8 slices, I think it was only 2, maybe 3, full size scallops.  I know this is a style, and one even Gordon Ramsay does at his restaurants, but, I really like whole scallops, with a hard sear, and mid-rare center.  Particularly for a main dish, not appetizer portion, this prep seemed odd.  These were cooked fine, not rubbery, but barely any sear, and obviously fully cooked since so thin.  They were fine, but just not the style of scallop prep I would prefer.  3.5/5.

Then there was the "fresh corn pudding", that was a sorta chunky corn puree of sorts.  I loved the sounds of this, as I adore summer corn, and the natural sweetness of both scallops and corn seemed like they'd pair beautifully, but it was strangely bitter.  The texture/consistency was good, but the bitterness really somewhat ruined the otherwise delicate nature of the dish.  Another dinner who also ordered this commented that it was bitter and seemed like maybe it was made with just too much olive oil, which can make things bitter.  So, great concept, not great execution. 2/5.

The roasted red pepper relish I actually was sad to see on the menu, as I don't care for red peppers usually, but this was fine, and did compliment both the corn and scallops well.  It was fairly oily though, like many things in this meal.  3/5.

The random herb garnish seemed entirely out of place (the same garnish that came with my liver).

So put it altogether, and it was great concept of a dish, but alas, just not great in actual taste.  3/5.

All Natural Sirloin Steak. $44.
(partially consumed).

"Crisp potatoes, brava sauce, garlic, smoked paprika, salsa verde."

The server told us the steak was her favorite dish, and really sold it.  The diner next to me ordered it, and definitely thought it was oversold.  She thought it was fine, but not particularly great, and definitely not the patatas bravas style dish that was enthusiastically described.  In particular, she was let down by the sauce, that seemed like just gochujang.  She offered me what was left (pictured here), and of course I tried it.

The potatoes were decent - *very* crispy, very oily.  They reminded me of the style of potatoes that are frequently served in Australia, except that the interior wasn't as creamy.  The salt level was good on them.  But they were kinda dry, besides the oil, and I felt myself wanting something to dip them in (even ketchup would have helped!).  And, just swimming in oil on the plate.  Low 3/5.

The condiment provided was a "brava" sauce/spread, that had a bit of smokiness to it, but also just wasn't very good.  It seemed to be lacking something, not quite sure what, but it just wasn't very balanced nor enjoyable. 2/5.

Dessert

After the dishes were cleared from our main course, the table was crumbed again, and we were presented dessert menus.  Even after a kinda ho-hum meal, of course I wanted dessert.

Dessert / Cheese / Drinks.

The desert lineup is fairly small, with just three real desserts (a fruity one, a chocolate one, a cheesecake), plus cookies, ice cream, and sorbet.  Our group all mostly ordered the same thing (shortcake!), although two people opted for just a simple scoop of lemon sorbet, and one selected cookies.  I was disappointed that no one ordered the cheesecake, as I did want to try it (although, it was goat cheese!).  

We were strangely all given spoons only for our dessert, which was difficult to use to eat the shortcake.  Several of us asked for a fork instead.

Summer Berry Shortcake. $12.

"Jersey strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, vanilla whipped cream."

The shortcake was good.  It wasn't quite a traditional shortcake, at least, not how I grew up with it with a biscuit (generally cut in half), topped with macerated (or fresh) berries, topped with whipped cream, but rather it was a layered tower with the shortcake biscuit split in half, with layers of whipped cream between the pieces and on top, and then more of a berry coulis or sauce than fresh or macerated berries spooned over it all.  In fact, the number of sliced or whole berries was fairly minimal.

But it was still decent.  The shortcake biscuit was fairly firm (and nearly impossible to eat with the spoon they gave us!), but it had a decent flavor to it, a slight tang, and some sugar crystals on the outside to accent it.  A fine, but average fine, biscuit.  Not memorable, but it certainly didn't detract if that makes sense.  3/5 biscuit.

The whipped cream was above average, very thick, rich, not overly sweetened, and just tasted like really good fresh cream.  It reminded me of whipped cream you'd get in Japan where the taste of the fresh milk/cream is the dominant feature.  4/5 whipped cream.

The berry element, the least traditional aspect of it, is what I liked most.  The coulis was super fruity, very sweet yet somehow not cloying, and just really intense berry.  I wanted to lap up every last drop of it.  I did sorta miss having more actual berries, but this was too tasty to really be mad at.  4/5 berry stuff.

The plating did feel a bit like they were trying to elevate a classic comfort food homemade dessert to restaurant level, and failed slightly, as it did look messy (and not in a rustic charm way), and the mint sprig was just sorta there.  Overall though, very enjoyable, low 4/5.

One of my fellow diners was smart enough to order vanilla ice cream with theirs, which I got to try as well.  It was good - fairly creamy, quite strong vanilla bean flavor.  Not something worth getting on its own, but so great with that sauce. 3.5/5.

Oatmeal Dried Cherry Cookies. $10.
(+whipped cream, berries).

"White chocolate, pumpkin & sesame seeds."

The cookies actually came with 3 to the order, but the person who ordered them had only one, and passed the rest along to the rest of the group.  No one wanted to even try them, so of course I couldn't let them go to waste, even though cookies are definitely not what I consider a real dessert (particularly when I had my glorious shortcake!).  She also asked for basically the shortcake toppings with her cookies, basically wanting the berries, and was given a small bowl of the berries (which you can see she enjoyed!) and whipped cream that she did not have.  I was more than happy to take the extra whipped cream too!

The cookies were ... fine?  Fairly soft but still crispier around the edges than I like.  Pretty hearty, kinda healthy tasting cookies from the seeds and oats, yet plenty sweet from white chocolate, dried cherries, and sugar, the base cleary was a regular sugar content style cookie, not a healthier style.  I really wanted to like them more than I did, as I do love white chocolate, but I just didn't find anything particularly special about these.  Some slight lemon notes to them as well.  Low 3/5.

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