Good Natured Selects

Snacks, snacks, snacks.  I love my snacks, particularly chip-like things these days.  Which lead me to Good Natured Selects.

"Good Natured Selects is all about those little snacking victories. That’s why we set out to craft a recipe made with real ingredients and packed with so much flavor it satisfies your snack cravings."

I'm unable to find much information on the company, nor an explanation of the 'Selects' part of the name, as they don't seem to have non-Select offerings, but their product lines all feature veggie forward crispy snacks, such as the Toasted Thins, Puffs, and crazy triangle shaped "Veg-ables".  All are gluten-free, non GMO, etc.  I've tried the thins, as my niece is recently gluten-free, and I'm exploring all sorts of snacks with her.

Toasted Thins

"These baked crisps are the tastiest way to eat your vegetables. In fact, they contain a half serving of real vegetables in every serving. Now you can get the goodness of carrots, bell peppers and spinach in a snack that the whole family will enjoy."

The toasted thins come in flavors like multigrain, ranch, and cheddar cheese, and all have a very vegetable forward base. 

Ranch.

"Starting with a blend of carrots, bell peppers and spinach, these carefully crafted thins are then baked and seasoned with the tangy buttermilk flavor of ranch to deliver the perfect combination of flavor and crunch. With a half serving of vegetables per serving, these Vegetable Crisps are here for the win!"

These are fairly interesting chips, er, toasted thins.  They are crispy and have the same satisfying form factor of a traditional chip.  And the base is more potato forward than I expected, while you can taste the veggies a little, the dominant flavor is still potato, in the direction of the taste of instant mashed potatoes, but, in a crispy form (which, makes sense, the first two ingredients are dried potatoes and potato starch).  The taste is familiar, but a bit different, and a bit healthy tasting.

The small ridges hold seasoning well, and although they don't taste like traditional ranch to me, the flavor is quite savory, a bit creamy, a bit zesty.  Good garlic/onion/sour cream flavors.

Overall, they are decent.  I found myself liking them at first bite, but after a few, they trended a touch too healthy-vegetabley for me, but, they really are a reasonable choice for a veggie forward item.  ***.

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Wine Chips

I like wine.  I clearly like chips.  Yet I have never thought of pairing wine + chips.  That is, I never thought of it, until I was introduced to Wine Chips.

"We made Wine Chips because we love wine and we love cheese (who doesn't?) but realized that putting the cheese IN the wine was a bad idea for both.  So one evening in 2017, over a glass of wine (ok maybe two), we wished for something simple, portable, dip-able, endlessly snack-able, cheese-ladened and delicious.  And just like that (ok, it took a lot of work, a lot of samples, a lot of wine and the dedication of more than a few passionate oenophiles, exuberant chip connoisseurs and mildly lazy party guests) the wine chip was born."

Hmm.  Chips crafted specifically for wine pairings.  The concept is unique as far as I know, and hey, I'm always up for trying a new snack, even if it sounds a bit like a gimmick.  

Wine chips come in different "collections".  The primary product line is the "Estate Collection" of cheese flavored chips.

"Wine Chips are hand-made, lattice cut, extra thick, gourmet potato chips, all with distinctive flavors designed specifically to pair with wine."

Besides the unique aspect of the chips that is the central concept, wine pairing, the other notable thing about the chips is the form factor.  The chips are thicker than any other chip I've ever had, at least 3-4 times thicker than standard chips.  I was never quite sure if I liked that or not - it made them eat pretty heavy, and almost more like a cracker.  I never tried it, but I suspect they'd work great as dip chips as they have so much integrity, or, perhaps used like a cracker with cheese (and wine, of course)? 

The Charcuterie Collection.  

"At the center of the Wine Chips vision is the cheese board.  But alongside that iconic wine pairing we have always sought out the ideal complementary charcuterie flavors that would take the vision to the next level."

The charcuterie collection contains three flavors:

• Dry Aged Ribeye 
• Spicy Calabrese
• Billionaire's Bacon
  

Available as a collection of one tube + one refill of each for $46.99, or individually in 1 ounce bags for $4.49 each.

These flavors are generally available for Diamond Private Reserve Club members only.  I was able to try all three.

Spicy Calabrese.

"This delicious Wine Chip offers those special flavor notes that you would expect to discover on a delicious charcuterie board: a tanginess, saltiness, meatiness, and spiciness that will conjure up the sensation of pairing your wine with gourmet charcuterie while relaxing at a sidewalk cafe."

The spicy calabrese was the first flavor of wine chip I tried.  And wow, it was intense, and a bit of an acquired taste.

First though, the base chip: a thicker cut, ruffled chip.  A decent chip, the only remarkable aspect was that it was a bit thicker than normal, and the ridges helped hold in the seasoning.  I was glad they weren't thin crispy kettle style chips.

And then the interesting bit: the flavor.  What *does* a calabrese chip taste like?  And, what is even on them?  No, there is no actual meat used in these chips.  They are vegetarian. But what is on them is "spicy calabrese seasoning", or, I suppose, the spices generally used in the sausage?  Onion, garlic, salt, cayenne, and of course "natural flavors", sugar, and interestingly, red wine vinegar and yeast.  The red wine vinegar left a slight tang, but otherwise they were deeply savory, almost kinda like bbq in nature.  Certainly unique, and they reminded me a lot of chips like those I've discovered in other countries where my brain somewhat struggles to know what I'm eating (and, correspondingly, they have crazy names).

And because these are "wine chips" after all, of course I was provided with wine pairing suggestions:

"In terms of pairing, the Zinfandel grape is closely related to Primitivo, which is primarily grown in Southern Italy. These cousins are loaded with jammy fruit and peppery spice. More broadly, the traditional flavors of spicy Italian charcuterie are amplified by rich reds."

Since I generally each chips with my weekday lunch, and don't go for a glass of wine then, I didn't take them up on this pairing idea, but I can see how it would work really well.  I think they'd go great with some brie too.

I did like these, but found I really needed to be in the mood for them, and, a little went a long way given the strong flavors. ***+.

Dry Aged Ribeye.

"Crunching on a Dry-Aged Ribeye Wine Chip is a different experience.  One is initially drawn to its thick, robust crunch, but its pepper, onion, and garlic notes combine with a potpourri of spices to elicit the distinct flavors of a meaty steakhouse cut.  When you pair it with a robust red wine, you'll think you're eating a crispy, delicious steak!"

Next, I went for the dry aged ribeye.  The chip form factor was the same, a thicker style, rippled chip, and just like the spicy calabrese, I found I really needed to be in the mood for them, and a little went a long way.  When you think of a wine as an everyday drinking wine vs one that is bigger, bolder, and you need to be in the mood for it and have the right pairings lined up, imagine that, but for chips.  You don't just grab a handful of these to snack, or to have with your regular lunch.  But, if you are in the mood for intense chips, and have your cheese, charcuterie, wine, etc lined up, they work really well.

This flavor, much like the spicy calabrese, was ... confusing.  Really just different from other kinds of chips I've had, and my brain always struggled a bit with them.  I was never sure how much I actually liked them, and the flavor was hard to describe, but, kinda like the rub on a dry aged steak?  Lots of black pepper, some onion and garlic, a bit of a grill flavor ... just, and odd, and intense, mix of flavors.

"Designed by our Master Sommeliers to pair with your favorite full-bodied Red Wine or ....... even a beer! Yes, on fathers day, a beer would work really well."

The pairing suggestion was with a big bold red, which I think is necessary given how intense and bold the flavor of the chips is. 

I liked these less than the spicy calabrese.  **+.

Billionaire's Bacon.

"It’s a tangy, sweet & savory Wine Chip that tastes like a crispy piece of maple-glazed bacon, only it’s actually a hand-made vegetarian gourmet wine snack! "

And finally, the one I was most excited for, the "Billionaire's Bacon", designed to taste like brunch favorite Billionaire (or Millionaire) Bacon.   Like the others, it was a thick style of ridge cut chip.

Did it taste like bacon?  Uh, no.  Did it taste kinda sweet and smoky?  Yes?  I think.  It was another complex, complicated flavor, somewhere in the direction of BBQ, but just far more interesting. 

"Pair our Billionaire’s Bacon with rich, ripe reds, port or your favorite dessert wine!"

I generally had the chips at lunch, so I wasn't pairing with ripe reds nor port, but I do see how that could work.

I think these were my favorite, but also, it is possible I've just learned what to expect from such intense, bold chips.   Plus, I'm a sucker for anything bbq like. ****. 

The Estate Collection.

The Estate Collection features 5 cheeses flavors:

• Smoked Gouda
• Asiago
• Blue Cheese
• Manchego
• Serrano Cheddar

Available as a collection of one tube + one refill of each for $75.99, or a "Starter Kit" of one tube + two refills of a single flavor for $21.99.  I only tried one of these.

Smoked Gouda.

"Smoked Gouda’s smoky, sweet saltiness are a perfect match for the wine lover in all of us. Our custom Smoked Gouda flavored chip pairs well with a Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio or a festive sparkling wine like an exotic Metodo, Cava, Sekt, Espumante or even a great Rose."

I saved the smoked gouda for last, thinking they were the ones I'd like the most.  They weren't.

On the positive side, I've really grown to love the form factor of Wine Chips, with the thick slices and ridges.  And they were incredibly well coated in seasoning.  However, the flavor of the seasoning didn't do it for me.  Something just tasted a bit off about them, and I didn't get the promised smoky quality.  They were lightly cheesy, and considerably less zingy than the others I had tried, where the others all sorta reminded me of more sophisticated versions of bbq chips, these did not.

My least favorites, and I didn't even finish the bag. *.

Update Review: I didn't finish that first bag, but a few months later, I found the refill bags, and gave them another try.  I went in with low expectations, thinking I'd quickly ditch the bag and ... well, um, I devoured nearly a full bag in one sitting.  I guess I was really in the mood?  As with the other chips, they had the same thick form factor, with ridges to catch all the seasoning.  I love this form of chip, and don't understand why more brands don't make such thick chips.  A+ to the chip itself.  The flavor, while not zingy or in the bbq direction like the others, was quite cheesy.  A sophisticated cheddar flavor, or, well, I guess, gouda.  I still did not really taste the smoke, but, the gouda was there, and I was in the mood for a cheesy, savory snack, and these delivered.  ***+.

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Health Warrior

Chia Bars.  Protein Powder.  "Mug Muffins".  All healthy.  All loaded with protein.   Dairy free, soy free, gluten free, non GMO, low sugar.  Those are the products that Health Warrior makes.  Yeah, not exactly things I gravitate towards, with the exception of the suspicious sounding "muffins", as I do love my baked goods.

And yet I tried their entire product line, during a time when I was trying to incorporate more protein into my diet.

I can't say I'll be getting more.

Protein Muffins

"Breakfast muffins ready in a minute."

Sounds too good to be true right?

"Health Warrior’s new Protein Mug Muffins are a warm, spoonable muffin with 12g of plant based protein and only 6g of sugar. They are made from superfoods like sorghum, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, and almonds. Plus, they are dairy free, soy free, gluten free, non GMO and contain no stevia or sugar alcohols."

Healthy muffins, high protein, no crap, variety of flavors, and ready in a minute?

Yup, to say I was skeptical is an understatement. 

"Ready in a Minute"

They come in a variety of classic muffin flavors: blueberry, banana nut, double chocolate, and peanut butter chocolate chip.  I tried them all.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Mix + 1/4 Cup Water.

The instructions are simple, all the same, but do require a 1/4 cup measuring cup.  This is "baking" after all, and I knew from reading reviews that eyeballing the amount is not recommended.

Step 1?  Add 1/4 cup cold water.

Chocolate Peanut Butter: Mixed.

Step 2?  Mix well.  Again, I knew from reviews to do this right: mix *well*.  Put some energy into it.

Step 3?  Microwave for 45 seconds to 1 minute.

Mine seemed a touch wet (instructions warned it might be), so I did the additional time.

Chocolate Peanut Butter: "Baked".

Step 4?  Let stand 2 minutes.

So, "ready in a minute", not exactly, but certainly less than 5 minutes.  Easy, but, requires *some* precision.

One baked, it looked ... um ... interesting.  I expected it to rise up and well, look like a muffin in some way, which it clearly did not.

But I'll admit my creation smelt good.  Lovely aroma of peanut butter. But it certainly didn't look like a muffin, and I was still curious about the whole "spoonable" aspect.

Chocolate Peanut Butter: Melty Chips.

The first one I tried was the chocolate peanut butter, the one I was most excited for.  

I dug in.  Melty chocolate chips were studded throughout.  This was a good thing.

But a muffin this was not.  It was not even really a bread ... it is very hard to describe the texture.  I guess, imagine what a gluten-free, dairy-free, etc, etc microwaved creation would be like, and you probably can figure it out.  Kinda dense, not fluffy, kinda crumbly, but not like a muffin ... it was odd, really.  

The peanut butter flavor was there, although not as intense as I was hoping.  The aroma was stronger than the taste, but I could taste peanut butter, which I liked.  I didn't taste too many odd things from the variety of flours (sorghum, almond, tapioca) and proteins (fava beans, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed).  I liked the little melty chocolate chips.  It was almost ok.  Although "ok", with a very strange texture.

But what I haven't mentioned is the dominant taste.  An odd sweetness.  Sure, they don't use Stevia, and don't use regular white sugar, but primary flavor was just an odd, odd, sweetness.  I think this must be from the monk fruit extract?  They also use brown sugar, but it wasn't what I was detecting.

I could get past the texture, unique as it was, I could even enjoy the peanut butter and the chocolate, but ... I couldn't get past that strange sweetness.

Also, it was just a bit ... boring.  I know it is a healthy breakfast item, so it doesn't need more, but for me, it did.

I added my favorite hot fudge (shhh, don't judge!  I wanted to add more chocolately element and mask the sweet!) and I added whipped cream, and I did actually sorta enjoy it this way.  Warm baked thing, melty bits of chocolate, peanut butter and chocolate combo, a la whipped cream?  Was it healthy now?  Nope.  Was it vegan now?  Nope.  Was it breakfast?  Ha.  But I liked it, and it did have more protein than my normal breakfast ...

I almost added butter (it *is* a muffin after all), and would consider that with the other flavors.

Update Review:
I tried another a few weeks later, again trying for breakfast, and finding it too ... boring.  Again I wanted stronger peanut butter and chocolate, and the texture was so odd, but really, it needed something added.  So I added.  I added a bunch of chocolate ganache, a few disks of white chocolate, and a bit more of my favorite peanut butter.  Warmed it all up.  Now it had lots of chocolate and peanut butter, both really melty, and more sweetness.  And I put whipped cream on top.  I actually quite liked it, but, I had added quite a bit at this point, and, uh, definitely was no longer eating a guilt free breakfast.

I think these might be well suited for dessert.  Warm, with ice cream, more like a chocolate peanut butter cake, could work much better? Or maybe just with fudge and whipped cream as I did for breakfast ...

Banana Nut: Mixed.

I moved on to the next flavor.  Banana nut.

While stirring, I noted that I certainly didn't smell banana, and I didn't really see or feel many chunks of banana ...

I stirred it well, and it really did come together a nice batter consistency.  Into the microwave it went for a minute.

Banana Nut: Cooked.

After a minute it still did seem wet, so I let it go the extra 15 seconds as advised.  Still looked a bit wet, but I decided to give it the 2 minute rest time, and went to make my coffee and see what I returned to.

Banana Nut Muffin: Baked!

This one actually came out the best, texture-wise.

It extracted from the cup in one piece, and, actually kinda did look like a flatter, denser style muffin.  Or mini cake I guess?

The texture really wasn't bad - it wasn't strangely wet, it wasn't dry.  Sure, it wasn't a crumbly muffin, but I knew not to expect that at this point.  A warm, dense but moist cake.  Not bad.

The taste though ... banana haters did not need to fear.  This didn't taste like banana much at all.  Honestly, I didn't detect *any* banana to it.  There were a few tiny chunks of nut, I guess, almonds say the ingredients, but again, so few it wasn't really noticeable.  Almond was an odd choice, normally a banana nut muffin would have walnuts?

It mostly was just very, very boring, lacking any flavor I wanted.  It still had a bit of a funky flavor, I don't mind the strange flavor from the flours, but the sweetener still got to me.

While it was warm, I slathered a chunk in copious amounts of butter, and it was significantly better that way.  I spread chocolate ganache on another, and that was considerably better too.  And the final chunk I spread on warm melty peanut butter.  Also better (although a bit too dry).

I salvaged this one, but didn't want another.

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Blueberry

Next up was the blueberry.  Classic muffin flavor.

Well, it had little tiny bits of dried blueberry.

But without something like chocolate or peanut butter to add any real dimension, it was just the odd texture, odd flavor, and ... lacking.  Adding *copious* amounts of butter added a little something, but, this just wasn't a winner.

My gluten-free low sugar friend also didn't like it, and he is used to foods that are like this ...

Chia Bars: "The 100 Calorie Real Food Bar."

"With only 100 calories and 3g of sugar, Chia Bars are the perfect fit for your healthy lifestyle. They're made with real, plant based ingredients that fill you up without weighing you down. Plus, they're dairy free, gluten free, soy free, and non-GMO."

Ok, so, pre-warning: I hate chia seeds.  I just find them bitter, and a odd flavor that I can't ever get over.  And I *loath* them when made into slimy chia pudding.  So I fully admit that this product is not one that would ever normally appeal to me.

The bars come in some very tempting sounding dessert flavors, not just simple Dark Chocolate (or Dark Chocolate Cherry, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter), or Caramel Sea Salt, but also Strawberry Shortcake and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  And in fruity varieties, not just basic fruits like Banana Nut or Apple Cinnamon, but also tropical flavors, Coconut, Acai Berry, Mango.

But I know better.  Good sounding flavors do not change the makeup of the bars, and, I suspected these would go the way of most other nutrition bars, no matter how good of flavors they have.  I was given one to sample though, so, I had to try it, right?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

I had the chance to try the chocolate chip cookie dough, made with the base of white chia seeds, brown rice crisps, and rolled oats, bound together with cashew butter and chicory root fiber, and sweetened with brown rice syrup.  And then, yes, some chocolate chips, vanilla, sea salt, etc.

I actually wanted to like this.  I almost liked it, in fact.

The texture wasn’t that bad, it was clearly a healthy protein bar with a kinda mushy base to it, but I liked the crunch from the chia seeds, and it broke apart nicely.

I liked that I could see, and nearly taste, the little chocolate chips.  It held promise of the “cookie dough” flavor it was.

But … underlying it all was a horrible, horrible bitter taste that I just couldn’t shake.  So close to being good, and far better than I expected actually, but not the right thing for me.

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Scharffen Berger Chocolate

The first time my mother and sister came to visit me in the Bay Area, I lived in Sunnyvale.  I was working a zillion hours a day and had barely even been to San Francisco myself.  My world basically consisted of  apartment, my office, and the route between them.  I had no idea what to do with tourists.

Somehow, we found our way to the Scharffen Berger factory, to go on a tour.  It was my first chocolate factory tour, so it was somewhat interesting.  I know they are our local chocolate maker, so I feel like I should be loyal, but I don't really love their products.  They aren't bad, but really aren't that great.  Maybe they were better before being acquired by Hershey?

I've had a lot of Scharffen Berger over the past few years, but I didn't take notes previously.  I recently received a sampler pack including a milk, bittersweet, and extra dark variety, so we tasted them as a flight.

• 41%: This was very creamy, very smooth, nice mouthfeel, but a milk chocolate obviously, and not something we normally go for.  One fellow taster said: "not bad for milk chocolate ... just really really sweet!"
• 70%: Very bitter, not smooth/refined/balanced flavor at all. One fellow taster said "That is a lot better than the 36%".  [ hmm, now I like it, although very bitter for sure, like the bitterness ] [ Decent snap to it, fairly bitter, but not that balanced ]  
• 82%: More bitter, but still not smooth or refined.  One fellow taster remarked that it was "really fruity.  Doesn't have the best texture".  None of us really liked it.  Noted that it was good for baking.

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Crab Night @ Camino!

[ Originally posted January 16, 2012.  Moving to blog in anticipation of crab season! ]

Every Monday night in January, Camino in Oakland does a special crab night.  For $34, you get a starter, half a roast crab, sides, and dessert.  $12 more gets you a full crab.   The starter, sides, and desserts change weekly, but the roast crab is always the star.  We went last year, and couldn't wait to return this year.  With so many fantastic restaurants in San Francisco, there are few reasons to cross the bridge into Oakland, but this is one of them!

The restaurant features an open kitchen with a huge fireplace in the center.  Most everything is cooked on the fireplace, and it is really fun to walk back there and watch.  The restaurant is mostly all giant communal tables, but they do put space between people, so it isn't like you are bumping into your neighbors.  The entire space is open and comfortable.  Eating there was a really relaxing experience, almost like being in a friend's home.  Service was sufficient and unobtrusive.  They provide complimentary house filtered sparkling or still water, which is always nice.  The cocktails and champagne my dining companions ordered were all tasty.

Tonight's dinner review is pretty much exactly the same as it was a year ago: appetizers are forgettable, crab and the salad it comes with are amazing, and dessert is bad.  But the crab, oh the crab.  Amazing.

This is probably my favorite of all Monday night specials I've ever had.  It certainly does not fall in the category of places running specials in order to get people in on Monday nights when they are using subpar ingredients or staff.  This is just ... special.  I'd go back again, any night!

Pickled carrots, celery.

Complimentary starter.  Just random pickled stuff.  Fairly uninteresting to me, but I eat pickled stuff pretty much daily, so I think I'm kinda spoiled and it takes a lot for me to find pickled veggies particularly interesting.  They are never/rarely as good as the "famous" ones my great aunt makes!

Epi, slabs of butter.

Complimentary bread, but you have to ask for it.  Served cold (boo) with giant slabs of hard butter (double boo) that was hard to spread on the bread.

That said, I enjoyed dipping it in sauces later on in the meal, so I'm glad we had it.

Wood oven-roasted local oysters with absinthe, breadcrumbs and yacón salad.  $13.

Not part of the Monday night special, we added this on.

The oysters were pretty forgettable.  No interesting flavors at all, lots of breadcrumb.  I'd definitely skip this in the future.

The yacon salad that came with it was delicious!  Crisp and the dressing on it was addictive.  I don't really understand why it was served as an accompaniment to the oysters though.

Spicy crab broth with leeks, parsley root and wild nettles.

First course of the Monday crab special.


I'm not really a soup person, so this wasn't all that interesting to me.  The veggies were cooked well (not too mushy, not too crisp), and it was impressive how much crab flavor they were able to impart into the soup, but I found it a little too salty.

The aforementioned bread dipped in the broth was nice.

Full Dungeness crab grilled in the fireplace with farro, chicory salad and mint.

And finally, what we were there for!  Grilled crab!

The crab itself was seasoned wonderfully and the fireplace gives it an amazing smokey flavor.  So, so flavorful!  There is a hollandaise sauce hiding on the plate as well, that wasn't really needed because the crab had so much flavor on its own (particularly when still warm), but as the crab cooled, having some bites with the hollendaise worked really well too, the flavors from the crab seasoning mixed nicely with it.

Hiding under the crab was a really nice farro, the grains perfectly cooked with a nice crunch to them, and very flavorful and well seasoned.  The chicory salad was a mix of both bitter chicory and other greens.  This combined well with the farro and with the hollendaise.

I managed to make up a few "perfect bites" that included farro, greens, crab meat, and hollandaise   A bite with all of that in it was pretty much amazing and had such great flavors that worked together sensationally!

The leftover bread dipped in the hollendaise was also quite nice (yes, I'm a sauce person ... I love everything with sauces!)

The aftermath!

After all that hard work, here is the leftover carnage.  Not a drop of crab meat remaining, I promise.

Cara cara orange sorbet with pomegranate granita and citrus.

This was the included dessert, not something I'd ever order.  It was incredibly meh to me.

The citrus was fine, but I have better citrus at the farmer's market 3 times a week.  The sorbet was fine, but sorbet is just kinda boring, and I have better sorbet at the farmer's market (Scream) every week.  The pomegrante was a nice tart component.  I guess if you like fruity, light desserts this was good.

Rice pudding with mastika and cardamom.  $9.

Since I wasn't satisfied with the previous dessert, I added on one of my favorites: rice pudding.

It came with some almonds, topped with whipped cream.  It was not particularly flavorful, very goopey, the rice cooked inconsistently, and served cold.  Disappointing.

I can really enjoy rice pudding, but I like it to have some defining characteristic: nice flavors, warm, custardy ... something. This was really just sorta there and not very good at all.  I should have just had another crab for dessert :)

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Ruffles Chips

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

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

Baked! Cheddar and Sour Cream.

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

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

Cheddar & Sour Cream.

Now these, these are just like I remember. 

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

Update Review: Yup, exactly what I remember, except that I don’t really like them now :(
Update Review #2: Ok, they have their place.  I think it is alongside a burger or hotdog, at a cookout.  In any other setting I seem to dislike them, but there, they aren't bad.

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Cooking Demo: Fifth Floor

Today's Demo was by pastry chef Francis Ang, from the Fifth Floor.  He made amazing beignets.

Almond Beignet with Hamada Farms Satsuma marmalade, crème fraîche, candied sage.

This was the tastiest beignet I've had in ages! For some reason, I've had a lot of beignets lately, and I've been pretty disappointed by them. I'd actually decided that I must just not really like beignets. And then this came along ...

Fresh out of the fryer, rolled in cinnamon, sugar, and crushed almonds, with a dollop of creme fraiche, sitting on top of satsuma marmalade to dip it in ... so delicious! I can't wait to go to the Fifth Floor and have some of their desserts!

Recipe: http://www.cuesa.org/recipe/beignets-satsuma-marmalade

[ Originally posted February 17, 2012 ]

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Baked Goods from La Boulange

Several years ago, I went to my first La Boulange in Pac Heights. It was my first time having Greek yogurt, and my first time having yogurt and granola, and I got hooked (it probably helps that their granola is insanely decadent, the Greek yogurt is amazingly creamy, and that it is served with tons of honey and fresh fruit). I have very fond memories of that place, and whenever I was in Pac Heights would always stop in for the yogurt and granola. There were only one or two other La Boulanges in the city at the time.

Times have changed! In the past month, two more have opened in my neighborhood. There are now 12 total, and they sell their cookie dough and pastry dough in grocery stores. I currently have 3 La Boulanges within a mile of my house and in a few weeks will have 2 more (they are opening one in the Westfield and one in the Metreon).

Anyway, I digress. As part of their new openings, they have been very, very sample heavy. Which has meant that anytime I've stopped in to get a single item, I've gotten to try out a few more too! And today I hosted an event at work and picked up a bunch of other new items to try out. Thus, I have a pretty comprensive list of items (mostly bakery ones) that I've tried recently. I've been dutifully taking notes, and today a friend asked what I thought of La Boulange. Little did he know he'd get this for a response :)

Summary: inconsistencies!

Cookies

Summary: Generally not very good, could be personal preference since I don’t like hard cookies.

Almond Croquet Bordelais

• Shortbreads
• Orange Blossom: Tasting notes: Meh. Very crisp, not very flavorful or buttery like shortbread should be. 
• Chocolate Chip: Tasting notes: Again, crisp, but this one was buttery, decent for that style cookie, but I prefer soft chocolate chip cookies.  [ Buttery, nice amount of chocolate chips, decent for this type of cookie.  Reminded me somewhat of biscotti, and went well dunked in froth of cappuccino ]
• Double Chocolate: Tasting notes: Again, crisp. Chocolate shortbread base with small chocolate chips. Ok chocolate flavor, but not buttery like shortbread should be.  [ Kinda bitter, but I really liked the crunch from the chocolate chips ] [ Very intense chocolate flavor, not bad ] [ A bit buttery, a bit chocolatey.  Not something I'd seek out, but not bad. ]
• Espresso: Tasting notes: Again crisp. This one was pretty bad. Not flavorful or buttery and had a real gritty texture from espresso grinds in it. 
• Spicy Parmesan: This was a shortbread, but savory.  Almost like a cracker, but still a shortbread base.  It had a tiny bit of cheese flavor, and I have no idea what the "spicy" referred to, as I didn't detect any spice.  It was soggy.  And had a horrible mouthfeel.  Did not like, at all. [ Nice and cheesy, but a bit strange texture-wise, as it was like a shortbread cookie, but savory.  It also had chunks of something in it.  It wasn't spicy.  This was almost good, but not quite. ]
• Nuage
• Cocoa nib: A meringue cookie with cocoa nibs inside of it. Tasting notes: Light, airy, very sweet, tiny amount of chocolate. Tasting notes (updated): Strangely eggy.  [ Nice cocoa nibs, but just sweet cookie ]
• Lemon: Lemon flavored meringue cookie. Tasting notes: Ridiculously sweet but very strong lemon flavor. Kinda eggy though. 
• Rose: Tasting notes: Subtle rose flavor, mostly just sweet, very airy.  Meh.
• Almond Croquet Bordelais: Sorta a cross between a cookie and a biscotti. Tasting notes: Nice almond flavor, decent sized chunks of almonds, caramelized like exterior. Pretty tasty and I’d enjoy this with a cappuccino.  [ Nice buttery, almondy cookie.  Crispy, but good flavors. ] [ These go great with coffee drinks.  Or red wine.  My favorite of their cookies, by far. ]  [ My favorite of their products.  Sweet.  Buttery.  Great crunch from the almonds.  Great with coffee. ]
• Congolais. Basically a coconut macaroon. Tasting notes: Just a big pile of coconut, but also sorta buttery/oily.  [ Really tasty, nice coconut flavor, perfect level of sweetness ] [ Very moist, great coconut flavor, like! ]
• Ground Hazelnut Cookie: sorta like a macaron but without the filling, just the cookie part. Tasting notes: Decent hazelnut flavor but not a good texture. [ Very strong hazelnut flavor, ground nuts make for interesting texture. ] [ very nutty, but meh ]
• Palmier: Buttery, with big sugar crystals on it, but just crispy and pretty generic.  [ Kinda dried out, not much flavor, sugar not caramelized. ]

Tarts/Pies: 

Summary: Generally not very good, due to the fact that their default tart shell is just hard and flavorless.

• Bunde Fruit Tart: Tart shell, almond custard-like filing, apricot and glaze on top.  Tasting notes: same old tart shell, custard filling not bad.
• Chocolate Ganache Tart: chocolate crust with chocolate ganache topped with cocoa nibs. Tasting notes: The crust was boring and lacking depth of flavor, but better than their standard tart shell. The ganache was super melty and pretty nice, but not that intensely chocolaty. The nibs on top added a nice crunch. Definitely one of their better tarts. [ Chocolate crust is pretty flavorless. Ganache layer is very smooth and creamy, but lacking a lot of intense chocolate flavor. Nibs on top give great crunch. ]  [ Tart shell is just chocolate crust, but the ganache is so incredibly creamy and delicious.  Best thing I've had there! ] [ Love, love this chocolate ganache. Creamy, chocolatey, quite tasty.  Would eat it as a pudding if I could! ] [ Ganache rich and chocolatey, pretty delicious, like the crunch from nibs on top ]
• Flan Tart: Tart shell with flan on top. Tasting notes: Flan nice and custardy, but the tart shell is again hard and flavorless. Would just prefer the flan!  [ Flan was creamy and eggy.  Tart shell soft and not bad.  One of the best tarts I've had there! ]  [ Flan was eggy but creamy and good.  Nice flavor.  Tart shell was soft and not bad.  I enjoyed this. ]
• Gâteau Basque: I wasn't actually familiar with what a gâteau basque was, but they had this available as samples.  It is apparently an almond based cake, but I didn't taste almond.  It almost seemed more like a custard to me, kinda eggy, soggy.  There was also a thin layer of cherry.  I didn't care for this.
• Goat Cheese and Pear Tart: Didn't really taste goat cheese, which was good for me since I don't like goat cheese.  The pear was ... purple, and I wouldn't have known it was pear if I hadn't read that.
• Pecan Pie: Again, same old tart shell, topped with bitter pecans.  Not good at all.
• Pumpkin Pie: Very creamy, nicely spiced, I think my favorite thing I've had from there in recent memory!
• Red Fruit Tart: Tart shell, custard filling, topped with raspberries and strawberries.  Tasting notes:  Same old hard style start shell that is mediocre.  Custard filling creamy with a nice vanilla flavor. Fruit was just fresh fruit on top, not notable. [ Generic tart shell, pastry cream, meh fruit.  All meh. ]
• Rustic Apple Tart: Tart shell with apple filling. Tasting notes: Apple filling was mushy, as if overcooked. Not very flavorful or spiced. Tart shell hard, flavorless, boring. 
• Rice Pudding and Apricot Tart: Tart shell, with layer of apricot jam, with thicker layer of rice pudding. Tasting notes: Same tart shell that I’m not a fan of. Apricot not very flavorful. Rice pudding kinda mushy, no real flavors to it. 
• Strawberry Rhubarb Tart: Tart shell, baked, sweetened chunks of rhubarb and strawberries, crumble topping.  Tasting notes: This was really quite good.  Sweet yet tart, fruit was cooked down to be soft. [ Again, pretty good.  Fruit was nice and soft, pretty sweet.  Tart crust was a lot better than other ones, seemed softer and leaning more towards being a pastry. ] [ Crust is sorta mix between pastry and tart shell, I like it more than their standard tart shell, but it was mushy.  Filling of strawberry and rhubarb very sweet and mushy.  Crumble topping had no flavor. ] [ Crust mushy, filling just sweet and mushy, crumble top completely lost.  I wish this was good, but it just isn't. ] [ Crust boring, filling somehow both too sweet and too tart, just mushy rhubarb.  I really didn't like this! ]
• Stone Fruit Tart: Mushy not very good tart shell, mushy filling.  Do not like.
• Tropezienne Tart: Brioche filled with whipped pastry cream, topped with big sugar crystals. Tasting notes: Pastry cream was kinda eggy. Would have liked some vanilla flavor or something more to it. Brioche was fairly flavorless as well.

Croissants:

• Almond Croissant: butter croissant filled with marzipan layer, topped with more marzipan and sliced almonds. Tasting notes: pastry was pretty mediocre. Marzipan was nicely sweetened. [ pastry dough just not very good, fairly dry.  Marzipan also didn't have much flavor.  Just not very good ] [ Dry croissant dough.  Marzipan filling inside was decent.  Flakes of almond on the outside were a good touch.  But did not like overall, croissant itself just not very good. ] [ Not remarkable croissant dough, almond paste wasn't really almond flavored, very dry even though fresh.  Meh. ]
• Chocolate Croissant: Tasting notes: slight amount of chocolate swirled into a decent flaky pastry, not particularly notable. [ Dry, flavorless croissant. Decent dark chocolate inside. But not a good croissant at all. ] [ Dough not laminated, not buttery or flaky.  Chocolate ok. ]
• Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant: butter croissant filled with chocolate and ground hazelnut. Tasting notes: decent flaky pastry, chocolate and hazelnut plentiful but not very strong flavors. 
• Ham and Cheese Croissant: Tasting notes: croissant wasn't remarkable, ham wasn't crispy, all was just fairly meh.
• Vegetable Croissant: butter croissant filled with mixed vegetables and cheese. Tasting notes: nice flaky buttery croissant dough, plentiful veggie and cheese filling. YUM

Other Pastries:

• Croissant Bread Pudding: Bread pudding made from croissant pieces. Tasting notes: not moist, not flavorful, meh. [ Incredibly moist, wet even, custardy, strong egg flavor. ] [ Very moist, had an eggy flavor, pretty good! ] [ Not very good at all.  Just a mushy flavorless base. ] [ Burnt, hard top, somewhat strange consistency body, not good ]. [ Too moist, soggy, no flavor.  How do they make croissant bread pudding not be awesome? ]  [ Just soggy and eggy, not good at all ] [ Soggy, mushy, perhaps the worst bread pudding I've ever had.  I really, really don't like this. ]
• Apple Turnover: Tasting notes: enjoyable flaky buttery pastry dough, but like the apple tart, the apple filling inside is mushy and not very well spiced.  [ The apple filling was horrible.  Seems like canned stuff.  Not good. ]
• Chocolate Eclair: Classic eclair filled with chocolate cream and topped with chocolate ganache. Tasting notes: The chocolate cream inside was chocolately and good. The choux pastry was fine, better than their tart or quiche shells. 
• Raisin Custard Swirl: Tasting notes: Pretty decent croissant style dough. Big sugar crystals on top. But not much raisin or custard. Goes well with coffee. 
• Orange Cinnamon Morning Bun: Tasting notes. Swirl of decent croissant style dough with good orange flavoring throughout. Didn’t taste a lot of cinnamon. Large chunks of sugar on top.
• Sugar Brioche: Tasting notes: basically just a dry uninteresting bread with some sugar crystals on top.  Meh. [ Again, dry, totally uninteresting bread, slightly eggy.  Better once I slathered it with Nutella. ]

Cakes:

Bûche de Noël. $34.

Summary: Nothing very interesting here.

• Pound Cakes
• Blueberry Vanilla Pound Cake: just like the plain pound cake, but loaded with blueberries. Tasting notes: generous on the blueberries, but still not very good. 
• Caramelized Pistachio Pound Cake: Tasting notes: pistachios were kinda soggy and bad texture, but the cake was moist and nicely buttery. Tasting notes (updated): Nice pistachio flavor, nice and buttery. 
• Peach Almond Pound Cake: Tasting notes: dry, didn't taste peaches or almonds at all.  Not good.
• Vanilla Pound Cake: Tasting notes: completely flavorless, not interesting texture, meh. Tasting notes(updated): Strange eggy flavor. Not good. [ Not very flavorful, not interesting ] [ No flavor at all, not good, not moist. ] [ Moist, decent pound cake, but didn't have much flavor on its own.  Slathered with some of their hazelnut spread or jams from the condiment bar, it was much better! ] [ Very buttery, but no real other flavor, do not like. ]
• Raspberry Financier: Tasting notes: cute little thing, nice fruit flavor in center from raspberry, but hard, not very fresh tasting. [ Nice raspberry flavor in center dot, but not enough of it. Moist, good texture from the nuts, but meh. ] 
• Seasonal Specials:
• Bûche de Noël: This was cute, but most of the toppings were not edible.  Cute little fondant embellishments are way more fun!  The end pieces were chocolate, but very mediocre chocolate.  The cake inside was basically like air.  Very fluffy, brown but not very chocolatey.  It was almost non-existent and sorta disintegrated away.  I guess this is normal, as bûche de noël is usually made of light sponge cake.  Of course, I never like cake very much anyway, so the part of these that I was excited about was the creamy filling, in this case, chocolate mousse.  It was ok, and I ate it, but there wasn't anything particularly notable about it.
• Galette Des Rois: Puff pastry crust with Frangipane filling. Tasting notes: Decent pastry crust, but flavorless filling.  [ Dry, flavorless pastry crust, slightly almond flavored creamy filling.  Not very good. ]
• Super Vanilla: Tasting notes: Moist, sweet, decent.
• Chocolate Fondant: basically a super dense brownie, topped with powedered sugar. Tasting notes: Decent rich chocolate flavor. Would probably be really good warm with ice cream! [ Moist, super rich, very brownie-like. One of my favorite things they make. ]

Macarons

Summary: some good, some bad, totally depends on flavors.

Violet Cassis Macaron.

• Lemon: Tasting notes: cookie was not interesting flavor nor texture, filling was just kinda sweet lemon, not very good. 
• Caramel: Tasting notes: caramel filling was just tons of sweet, cookie was not interesting flavor nor texture. 
• Rum Raisin: Tasting notes: Filling was nice and boozy, pretty flavorful, decent. 
• Cherry: Tasting notes: nice, flavorful, complex cherry flavor. 
• Coconut: Topped with coconut flakes. Tasting notes: nice coconut flavor, yummy, flakes enhanced flavors. 
• Chocolate: Tasting notes: nice soft cookie, delicious ganache inside. Tasted like a really great brownie. Paired amazingly with coffee.  [ Very rich chocolately filling, good soft cookie, quite good ] [ Definitely my favorite of their macarons, but not really classic macarons.  It was basically like a rich, fudgey brownie. ]
• Coffee: Tasting notes: no flavor at all. Would have never identified this flavor. [ Coffee is in the cookie only, filling is just sweet.  Cookie nice and soft and well done, but sweet filling just doesn't work well. ]
• Pistachio: Tasting notes: pretty good, soft cookie, good pistachio flavor. [ Sweet, not tons of pistachio flavor. ]
• Raspberry: Tasting notes: really great raspberry flavor in both the nicely executed cookie and the sweet filling.
• Violet Cassis: Tasting notes: Looked beautiful, but no flavor. [ Strangely gummy on the outside, moist inside, not at all like what a macaron should be! ]

Quiche

• Cauliflower Quiche: Their same uninteresting pastry crust, filling with, well, cauliflower.  Not particularly interesting.
• Vegetable Quiche: Pastry crust filled with eggy custard, mushrooms, spinach, leeks, tomatoes. Tasting notes: Crust itself was forgettable, kinda oily and flavorless. Vegetables were inconsistently spread around in the quiche. Bites with tomato and leeks were particularly good.

Sauce/Jam

One of my favorite features of La Boulange is the condiments station.  It always includes their house-made spreads!

• Caramel Sauce: Tasting notes: sweet, goeey, decent caramel flavor.  [ Decent sweet caramel, no reason to purchase it, but, good. ] 
• Hazelnut Jam: Tasting notes: very very sweet but incredible hazelnut flavor. [ Intense hazelnut flavor ] [ Very nice flavor, quite tasty on bread ] [ Very good, I really enjoy this slathered on anything. ]
• Raspberry Violet Jam: Tasting notes: sweet jam, decent raspberry flavor.  Not outstanding, but better than what you find at most cafes/diners/etc. [ Very sweet, too sweet, not very good jam. ]
• Apricot Vanilla Jam: Tasting notes: sweet jam, decent apricot flavor.  

Other - Packaged Goods

• Granola: Tasting notes: so ridiculously tasty, particularly with honey. I love this stuff. Some of the best granola I’ve ever had.
• House Seasoned Potato Chips: Tasting notes: These were very oily and greasy.  Thin style.  Covered in visible herbs and seasonings, but really didn't taste like much of anything.

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