Brad's Raw Foods

I've been really into assorted snack foods lately, particularly salty things like chips.  In an attempt to be healthier, I decided to try out a new brand of kale chips.  I really liked kale chips in the past, particularly a few years ago when I used to make them myself and season them with all sorts of things, but I don't recall what brand I used to get when I did get store bought ones.  I tried Brad's Raw Foods because the flavors sounded good.  The kale chips themselves impressed me every time, but I didn't like the flavors of them.  I haven't found any that I'd purchase again.

Natural Nacho Kale Chips.

• Natural Nacho: "Coated with sunflower seeds, red bell pepper, agave nectar, chickpea miso, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion, Bragg Aminos, and Himalayan sea salt". I wanted to like these.  The kale chips themselves were nicely done, big chunks.  They were well coated in seasoning.  But I did not like the nacho cheese flavor at all.  Personal preference perhaps?
• Nasty Hot Kale Chips: "Smothered with red bell pepper, cashews, sunflower seeds, lemon juice, jalapeno pepper, chickpea miso, Himalayan sea salt, and cayenne pepper". These were better than the nacho ones, but I still didn't like them.  Again, the kale was nice and crispy, in big chunks.  The coating was spot on.  But I just really didn't like the flavor, they had a strange bitterness to them.  I liked the spicy though.  I tried these several times, to make sure my first failure wasn't just due to the mood I was in, but I never liked them.  The crunch was good, the chunks were good, but they just didn't come together for me.  Another friend said they tasted too much like grass.
• Vampire Killer: "Coated with red bell pepper, cashews, sunflower seeds, lemon juice, scallions, chickpea miso, garlic, and Himalayan sea salt".  These I actually liked.  The kale chips were again nice big chunks, and the seasoning on these was enjoyable.  Although, they did leave me with some serious garlic breath.

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La Boulange Breakfast Catering

When I moved to San Francisco, La Boulange was just a small local chain of bakeries.  I think they had maybe 3 stores.  It was there that I first had creamy greek yogurt with fruit, honey, and granola, and got totally hooked.  Then they started expanding.  Their growth was astounding.  It seemed like every couple months a new store was popping up.  And then Starbucks bought them a year or so ago.  And now, Starbucks is rolling out La Boulange baked goods in all of their locations, replacing the products they used to have.  Really an incredible accomplishment.

I've reviewed pretty much all of their baked goods before.  For the most part, I haven't been that impressed.  I can't say I really understand their success.  I've also reviewed an event catered by La Boulange.  Again, not super impressed.  Nothing is ever bad, but nothing is ever that good either.  Except that yogurt and granola.  I have such amazing memories of that dish!

My apartment complex holds an impressive number of events each year.  A couple times per month we have simple wine and cheese receptions, but we also have larger evening events every few months.  The food has ranged from really impressive to just ok, usually catered by JJardine Catering or 

Delessio, which I've reviewed preciously.  This time however, our "Resident Services Manager" did something a bit different, and hosted a "Back to School" Sunday Brunch.  I love brunch, and he promised delicious baked goods, so even though I had no kids of my own going back to school, I eagerly rushed down.

I was curious where he was going to source the goods from, and was a bit disappointed when I saw the La Boulange napkins.  As I've said, their stuff is never bad, but, it isn't that good.  Oh well, I was still excited, as all I had to do was go downstairs and there was a huge brunch spread waiting for me!

He ordered the "Grand Breakfast" package, featuring bread and pastry baskets, fruit salad, quiche, orange juice, and coffee.  Each 10 person package is $125.  Of course, we had several sets, since our building is huge.  My opinion on La Boulange remains unchanged after this event.  I'm curious how people feel about the Starbucks offerings, as they are all actually baked off-site in large baking centers and then distributed throughout the region, so they are even less fresh, and likely less tasty, than those products in the actual La Boulange stores.  Have you had the Starbucks, or La Boulange products lately?

Salmon and Dill Quiche.

The breakfast catering package starts with large quiches, cut into pie slices: "Traditional pastry crust filled with egg and savory ingredients."  Ours came with three different quiches, and of course, I tried them all.

I tried several of the quiches previously in mini form at the last La Boulange catered event I attended, and didn't really like them.  Then again, I actually really dislike quiche.  There have been very few quiches that I have ever even tolerated, let alone liked.

All of the quiches had the same pastry crust.  I really didn't like it.  I love pastry, so this wasn't just me not liking pastry.  It was oily rather than buttery, felt greasy yet dried out, and had no real flavor.  Meh.  But it was better than the mini tart shells the mini versions are served on.  The quiches all had a standard egg base, which is the aspect of quiche I don't like, and it didn't seem seasoned at all.  Meh.

I started with one that I hadn't tried before: Bacon and Pea.  I like bacon, I like peas, so I hoped this would be good.  The "bacon" seemed more like ham to me, flabby.  Tiny chunks.  I didn't find anything redeeming about the quiche.

I moved on to the Salmon and Dill.  I like salmon, and remembered that I had quasi-liked this one when I tried it before.  It had large chunks of salmon, and tons of greens.  I was confused by the amount of greens.  "Salmon and dill" it said, yet there was no way the massive amount of greens was all dill.  It turned out to be spinach, a strange pairing with the salmon.  The only good thing about this was the size of the chunks of salmon, impressively large, and well distributed throughout.

Finally, I tried the vegetable quiche.  This one sounded the most boring, as it had no star ingredient like bacon or salmon, but actually turned out to be the most delicious.  Once I had a few bites, I remembered that I had it in mini-form at the last event and didn't like it, and that I also had it in a larger form at the bakery once.  The vegetables are a mix of leeks, mushrooms, and tomatoes, and all were quite flavorful.  The pastry crust was still really dry, oily, and flavorless however.  But a bite of mostly leeks and tomato was tasty enough.

A quiche was part of each package, but you can also purchase a full quiche of 10 slices of this size for $30.

Almond Croissant.

I mostly ate quiche to make sure I had some protein, and then quickly moved on to the good stuff: the baked goods!

Next was a basket of assorted croissants: plain croissants, chocolate croissants, and almond croissants.  Now, I've tried all of their croissants before.  Multiple times.  I've never liked them.  But still, I wanted to give them another chance.

I went for the most interesting of the croissants, the almond croissant.  This thing was loaded up.  The inside was an incredibly thick layer of almond paste.  I think there was actually just too much of it, as it overwhelmed the croissant.  The filling was ok, had slight almond flavor, a nice consistency, but somehow didn't quite do it for me.  The croissant was then topped with even more of the almond paste, which really seemed like overkill, then topped with powdered sugar, and tons of sliced almonds.  They really just overdid it with everything on this croissant.  Too much filling, too much extra almond paste on top, and even too many sliced almonds.  I wanted to taste almond, but even with all of these almond components, I didn't realize taste almonds.  The crunch from the sliced almonds was nice.

But the real problem was the croissant dough itself.  It just wasn't good.  I've felt that way every single time I've tried any of their croissants.  It isn't moist.  It isn't flaky. It isn't buttery.  It always seems stale, no matter how fresh they appear to be.

Starbucks now carries all of their croissants, although they come in a smaller size, and are more shelf stable.  The La Boulange ones at least look good and only disappoint once you eat them, the Starbucks-La Boulange ones don't even look appealing in the case.  I'm curious, has anyone tried them yet?

I forgot to take a photo before I broke into my croissant, so here I just have a mutilated corner.  This was about 1/4 of a croissant.  The things are huge, you do get a lot for your money I guess.  I ate 3/4 of it at room temperature, and slathered on some jam, which really helped it a lot.  Paired with a coffee, I almost even enjoyed it that way.  I brought home this remaining 1/4 and tried heating it up in the toaster oven, hoping to make it a bit moister, but it actually just got worse.  The filling turned gummy and strange, so I certainly don't recommend that move!

The croissants are normally $2.25 for plain, $2.50 for chocolate, and $2.75 for almond, or an assorted catering basket is $35.

Orange cinnamon morning bun.

Along with the trio of croissants, the pastry basket also contained orange cinnamon morning buns, and fruit danishes.

The danishes didn't even look good.  The dough looked like the same croissant dough that I never like, and they were filled with a gummy looking cheese, and some soggy looking fruit.  They were also huge.  Perhaps if they'd been cut in half I would have tried one, but a full one was way too much, and I didn't want to waste.  Normally $2.75.

Instead I went for the morning bun.  San Francisco has some very good morning buns (yes, I'm looking at you totally-hyped-but-ridiculously-good Tartine morning bun!), and I've been craving them lately.  I hoped it would have a slightly caramelized exterior, a bit crispy outer layer, yet be moist inside, with a doughy center.  Loaded with cinnamon and sugar.  A total indulgence, perfect with a black coffee.  That is what I wanted.

I knew it wouldn't be quite that, as I could see there was some orange marmalade in it too, but that didn't bother me.  What bothered me is that there was no caramelized exterior. There was no moist interior.  Instead, there was just more of their very mediocre, somewhat stale tasting croissant dough base.  Sigh.  Yes, it had tons of cinnamon and sugar, but how come it didn't caramelize at all?  And the orange marmalade was fine, but, sigh.

Starbucks now carries these too, and I imagine they are even MORE dried out and stale there.  Normally $2.50 each, a decent size, but not worth getting.

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Organic Bread Basket with homemade jams.

Next to the pastries was a far inferior looking basket: assorted breads.  Sliced baguette, apricot apple hazelnut bread & multigrain boulot.  I didn't try any of them.  If I had realized one was apricot apple hazelnut, I would have tried it, but I thought they were all plain.  I'm still not sure one really was that variety, but that is what their online catering menu advertises.  I'm not sure I saw anyone touch the bread baskets.  Who goes for bread when there are pastries?

The bread was served with a bowl of butter, raspberry violet jam, and apricot vanilla jam.

The jams are where La Boulange shines.  I've always really liked their jams, and it is one unique thing about their stores: they have a very impressive condiment station!  Sure, they have ketchup, mustard, cornichons for the savory items.  But they also always have house made jams and nutella!  And they don't charge extra to slather as much of this stuff as you want on your baked goods.

As always, I loved both the raspberry violet and the apricot vanilla jam.  Both were very sweet jams, but they went really well with almond croissant.  The apricot vanilla had a complex flavor from the addition of the vanilla, and was my favorite of the pairing, although I'd gladly eat either again.

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Fruit Salad.

The brunch spread also included fresh cut fruit: pineapple, grapes, cantaloupe, honeydew, and strawberries.  This is the same mix of fruit that they use in those greek yogurt and granola parfaits that I so fondly remember.  The fruit was never the highlight of the parfaits (it was the amazingly creamy greek yogurt, seriously, I wish I knew what brand they used!) and of course their house-made granola.  But the fruit was always good.  Ojan and I used to always split a parfait, and since I'm allergic to melon, he'd get all the melon, and a few pieces of other fruit that I spared, but I'd mostly get the grapes, pineapple, and strawberries.  I tried a few pieces just for old time's sake, and it seemed about how I remembered.  I kinda think they sweeten the fruit.

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Coffee and orange juice.

And finally, the beverages.

The coffee was actually quite good.  Very strong.  Served with a variety of sweeteners (Sugar! Sugar in the Raw! Splenda! Equal! Sweet N Low! Pick your poison!), along with half and half.  I'm pretty sure they have NOT started serving Starbucks coffee, although I imagine that day is coming.  I can't stand Starbucks coffee!

They also provided orange juice, Evolution Fresh brand of course, since it is a subsidy of Starbucks.  It didn't seem particularly interesting.

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Juan J's Desserts

Juan J's is a LA based producer of pre-packaged Mexican style creamy desserts.  They make three styles of flan, along with rice pudding, a few different gelatins (some with fruit), and a custard dessert (jericalla - a fascinating sounding cross between flan and creme brûlée).

I discovered Juan J's in the refrigerated section at my local corner market, Bayside Market, next to the pre-made Jello and nasty Kozy Shack puddings.  I didn't really have high hopes, since it was a packaged product, but I sure do love my puddings, so I gave it a try.  I'm so glad I did!  Bayside Market only carries the rice pudding and flan, and since I don't tend to like flan I didn't try that, but I'm now on a quest to find other places that sell Juan J's products, particularly the jericalla.  Even if it is a cross with flan, my love of creme brûlée makes me very interested.  If you spot this around San Francisco, let me know!

Arroz con leche.

The rice pudding didn't really look like much.  Just pre-packaged rice pudding.  How good could it be?

The answer: it was astonishingly good.  The top was covered in cinnamon, a really flavorful strong cinnamon.  The pudding itself was creamy.  It wasn't too thick, it wasn't too thin, just enough liquid to make it a pudding, not at all runny.  It was sweetened, but not too sweet.  I think there was some vanilla as well.  The rice was well cooked, not too mushy, not too al dente.

I was ready to have to doctor it up, adding some fruit compote, or other spices, or nuts, or something to it, like I have with so many other rice puddings I've tried.  Since I had so many ideas on how I'd "fix it", assuming it would be bad, I had a few lined up to try (including a fresh berry compote), and I did try some that way, but quickly regretted it.  It really was just perfect as it was.  I should have left it alone.

I tend to order rice pudding whenever I see it on menus at restaurants, since I can really love it, but usually I am disappointed.  This didn't suffer from any of the common ailments, like by the incredibly watery version from Lahore Karahi or the goopy, flavorless one from Camino.  It was even better than the decent baked one from Tuba, or the elegant one at Cyrus.  Yes, this pre-packaged one was better than any restaurant version I recall having.

I thought the serving size looked too big, but quickly realized it wasn't going to be a problem.  I devoured it.  It was great as a dessert, paired with a coffee to which I added cinnamon.  I intended to save half for breakfast the next morning (don't judge! Totally acceptable breakfast food!), and serve it warm, but alas, I had no restraint and never got to it.  Whoops.  Next time :)

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Deli @ Bayside Market

Bayside Market is a corner store and deli, located just a few blocks from my house.  It is part of the RJ's Market Chain, which also includes RJ's Market in Levi Plaza and Rincon Market (a few blocks in the other direction from my house).

The locations are all a bit different, but are corner stores tailored to the SF neighborhoods in which they are embedded.  For example, they carry an impressive line up of higher end chocolates, the cream cheese selection is small but of course includes a non-dairy option, and their liquor selection is quite large given the overall store size.  They also all have delis with assorted pre-made salads, they make sandwiches to order, and have huge salad bars.

I needed some easy cold dishes for take-out, and I've kinda been craving deli salads, so I checked out the deli and the salad bar offerings.  Over a few visits, I've tried many of their salads.  All seemed to be fresh and made with quality ingredients, but some of the flavors didn't work for me.  But others were great.  It seemed very hit or miss.  I wish they were the sort of place that let you sample before buying, since they varied widely!

Thai inspired pasta salad. $8.49/lb.

I was told this was a Thai pasta salad. It seemed to have egg noodles, mushrooms, pea tendrils, roasted red peppers, and almond slivers in a peanut based sauce.  I guess the peanut sauce is what made it Thai?  The noodles were decently cooked, a bit mushy, but not bad. The mushrooms were wild mushrooms, not just button mushrooms, and they added a good heartiness.  Roasted red peppers added good flavor, far better than regular raw red pepper.  The almonds gave a good crunch.  I just love pea tendrils, so I was thrilled to see them instead of more classic spinach for the greens.  I was very surprised to see them using an expensive ingredient like that in the pasta salad, as it was wilted and lost in the dressing.  I wish it was allowed to shine more!

Speaking of the dressing.  I didn't really like it.  Sorta peanut flavored, but not really.  Creamy, but ... I dunno.  Something didn't come together for me with this.

I really appreciated the mix of ingredients in here, the use of wild mushrooms, roasted peppers, and pea tendrils, but sadly, I didn't like the salad.  My least favorite, and I didn't even finish it.  Priced fairly high per pound at $8.49, which I guess makes sense given the pea shoots?  I was a little surprised though, as it was higher priced than most of the salads, including the seafood options.

Shrimp salad. $7.59/lb.

This came out of the salad bar.  The shrimp were small size, but nicely cooked, not rubbery, not fishy.  The seasoning on them was really impressive, strong salt and pepper flavor.  The entire thing was fresh and light, with tomatoes, red onion, chives.

I liked this one, my second favorite, and I'd get it again if I was nearby and needed something simple.  $7.59/lb was a tiny bit high, but not bad for seafood.

Vegan Brocoli Salad. $8.49/lb.

This looked like the broccoli crunch salad from Whole Foods, which I always absolutely love.  In fact, the ingredients are almost identical: brocoli, red onion, cashews, and bacon, in a creamy dressing.  Except, in this case, the bacon is vegan.  And I think the dressing must be too.

The brocoli was nicely cooked, still crunchy.  Like the Whole Foods version, I liked the red onion and cashews with it.  But ... the vegan bacon?  So strange tasting.  I have nothing against fake meat proteins, but I didn't like this.  The dressing also wasn't as creamy as the Whole Foods one.  Basically, it just made me want the Whole Foods one!  Second to last favorite, I wouldn't get again.

Priced the same as the first salad, at $8.49/lb, which again seemed a bit high, but it did have the specialty vegan ingredients.

Calamari Salad. $16.99/lb.

This calamari salad, featured both bodies and rings, along with celery, and peppers.  Light and refreshing.

The calamari bodies were nicely cooked, not rubbery, but a bit fishy.  But the rings were very chewy.  I didn't like this, and I wouldn't get it again.

The price per pound on this was a whopping $16.99, making this small container $9.  Definitely not worth it.

San Francisco Potato Salad. $4.49.

Next, a classic potato salad.  I love potato salad. No egg.

Very creamy dressing, lots and lots of mayo.  The potatoes were in really nice size chunks and were well cooked, not too mushy, not too crisp.  But, I didn't really like something in the seasoning.  I'm not sure what it was, but this wasn't a winner for me, and I wouldn't get it again.

Priced at only $4.49/lb, which seemed totally reasonable.

Jane's Honey Mustard Pasta Salad. $6.49/lb.

I was told by the guy at the deli that this was his absolute favorite of their salads.

Penne pasta, sundried tomatoes, black olives, in a creamy dressing, again mayo based.  I didn't really taste a strong honey mustard flavor, but there was a slight sweetness, which I liked.  I again appreciated the sundried tomatoes.  But, like the potato salad, it was over dressed.  The tubes were full of dressing, so you'd often bite into one and a mouth full of mayo would squirt out.  I like mayo dressings, but blech.  Once I squeezed out some of the dressing, it was my third favorite of the salads, but I'm not sure I'd get it again.

Coleslaw. $4.49/lb.

I also really love coleslaw.  Classic coleslaw.  Really crisp cabbage, in assorted size chunks.  I was impressed by how fresh and crispy it was.  Creamy mayo based dressing.  Very, very dressed, but I liked it.  Not remarkable, but solid.  My favorite of the salads, and I'd get it again if I was in the mood for some slaw.

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Tavern Dining at Home Hill Inn

As you may have noticed, I really like Home Hill Inn.  It is by far the best restaurant I've been to in NH, and rivals those in San Francisco.  During my recent visit to see my family, I was determined to fit in as many meals there as possible, to experience the full variety of what they have to offer, since I'd only dined in the regular dining room before.  So I went for a formal tasting menu with a group in the private room early on in my visit.  I went for brunch a few days later.  But I also wanted to check out their tavern (really, just a bar area, but they call it a tavern).

The tavern features a large bar with seating, along with a few tables for 2-4 people.  They don't take reservations for the tavern, you just drop in, and it is a more casual environment.  You can order off the full dinner menu, but they also have a section of "Tavern Fare".  And on Tuesday nights, they have live music.

My last night in town was a Tuesday, and I was still really sad that I never got to have their fish & chips at brunch a few days earlier, so I somehow managed to convince my mom to go back to Home Hill for the third time, in less than a week.  My dad agreed to join us, but it was clear he wasn't remotely interested, as he is most certainly NOT a foodie, and even the tavern fare was a bit exotic for him.  But ... I have been wanting that fish & chips since I first read Home Hill's menu back in December, and tried to get my sister to go with me to the tavern back then, but she wasn't interested.  And it was on the menu the night we did the tasting menu, but alas, not on ours (I know, I know, fish & chips isn't really tasting menu appropriate, but I've been wanting it so badly!).  And it is normally on the brunch menu, but as I mentioned before, the morning we went, it was replaced with fried lobster.  So I was determined to finally get my haddock before I left!

When we arrived, I was a bit surprised that their was no live music.  I asked our server when the music was suppose to start, and she said they had cancelled.  Darn!  It would have made for a fun atmosphere, but no worry, we were there for the food anyway.

I almost cried when I saw the menu.  It seems that Tuesday nights are completely scaled back.  Their website actually says they aren't even open on Tuesday nights, so perhaps they are just experimenting with a smaller offering?  The starters section of the menu and the flatbreads were about the same as when we were there the other night, but both the entrees and tavern fare options were greatly reduced.  For tavern fare, there was only a burger, lobster roll, or bratwurst.  NO FISH & CHIPS.  So I was pretty disappointed, but I also knew that the other night they had some great sounding main entrees, like scallops.  So I moved my eyes down to that part of the menu.  It was shockingly short.  And ... no scallops.  No other seafood at all, other than the halibut dish that I had already.  I was pretty devastated.

The lack of live music and menu disappointment turned out to be just the start of a string of disappointments throughout the evening.  Everything about the food was almost the polar opposite of what we had experienced on all of our previous visits.  I've raved in the past about the amazing execution of everything - the fish, the vegetables, the sauces, everything was just so well done before.  Everything was expertly seasoned.  None of that was true this night.

The only shining star goes to our server, who was really friendly and nice, even when I was asking annoying questions, like "Are you sure you don't have any fish and chips?  Or scallops?"  She did tell me that seafood delivery day is Wednesday, so that is why there wasn't any other seafood.  She even noticed that we looked a bit cold, and quickly offered to cover up the AC vents (with menus - genius).

Had this been my first visit to Home Hill, I would never return.  If someone asked me to go back, I'd suggest other places.  My previous visits have been such highlights however, that I do still firmly intend to return next time I am in town.  I'd even still try the tavern, as I don't think it was being seated in there that was the issue.  I'll just be very sure not to ever go on a Tuesday.  It pains me greatly to write this review, and is perhaps the most tormented I've ever been reviewing somewhere.

House-made Potato Chips.

After we placed our order, we were brought the customary basket of house-made Home Hill goodness.  At brunch, the basket is filled with seasonal muffins.  At dinner in the main dining room, it is filled with fresh bread.  Apparently, in the pub (or perhaps on Tuesday nights in general?), it is filled with chips.

They were served warm, clearly fresh and made in-house, but very oily, and not really seasoned.  I didn't like them at all, but my parents devoured them.  My father, who never has anything to say about any food he tries, even commented on how they were better than the ones my mom normally purchases.  I guess if you like plain chips, these were good?  I dunno, I just don't ever eat plain chips, I prefer them flavored, or at least with a dip to dunk in.

Cherry Pig: Cherry Heering Infused Whistle Pig Rye Bourbon, Muddled Cherries, Urban Moonshine Maple Bitters.  $14. 

Since I wasn't all that enthralled with the wines on my previous visit, I decided to try a cocktail.  Their cocktail menu was impressive, really creative sounding drinks, all blended with local ingredients (like the bellini I had at brunch!).

I was first drawn towards the sweet, fruity creations, but decided they wouldn't pair well with my meal, and I was sitting in a tavern, so a rye drink just somehow appealed.  Like the rest of the drinks, it was made with local ingredients: the maple bitters and even the rye itself from Vermont producers.

While I wasn't looking for a sweet drink, I was shocked by how NOT sweet this was.  I expected the cherries and maple to impart some sweetness, but this really was an intense rye drink, and very bitter.  The first few sips I didn't like very much, and I just pulled out my cherries and enjoyed them.  As the ice cubes melted a bit, and I re-adjusted my expectations, it really grew on me.  By the end, I was sad to have finished it.

It was creative, good, and I enjoyed it, but I probably wouldn't order it again.  The price seemed high, normal San Francisco prices even, which I didn't expect given how reasonable all their other prices are (food, wines, etc).

Red Sangria: Pinot Noir, Orange, Grapefruit, Pineapple.  $12.

My mother also decided on a cocktail.  I apparently was a very bad influence on her, as she commented that she drank more during my week-long visit than the previous six months combined.  Whoops.

Her sangria was fruity and sweet, about what you'd expect.  A large size, justifying its $12 price.

My dad called us lushes and drank water :)

Roasted Heirloom Beets and Tender Greens Salad: Basil Vinaigrette, Easter Egg radish, Sheep's milk cheese.  $9.

As we were deciding what to order, we heard a guest at a nearby table ask, "Excuse me, is this the beet salad?"  The server responded, "Yes, that is your heirloom beet salad".  The diner than asked, "Well, then, isn't it supposed to ... contain beets?"  I chuckled inside as the server whisked it away.  I assumed there was just a mistake with their salad.

My mom loves beets.  She has been ordering beet dishes everywhere we've gone, so I wasn't surprised that she ordered this as a starter.  Given the description, she expected beets to be prominent.  They weren't.  There were just a few tiny pieces of beet in the entire thing, along with a few shaved radish slices.

It looked good to me though, mostly composed of the greens, which I expected to be fresh, crispy, and delicious, like the greens from our brunch dishes.  So while she was disappointed, I was about to dig in, when she made it pretty clear that the salad was not a winner, and not even worth trying.

She said the greens were all gritty, like they hadn't been washed.  They were dressed with a vinaigrette that she said was really just heavy oil.  And, she said the entire thing needed salt.  I often pick on her for saying that things are TOO salty, saying she just doesn't have a "chef's palette", so it was striking that she thought it was under-seasoned.

There was also a slice of cheese, just listed on the menu as "Sheep's milk cheese", we have no idea what kind it was, which is odd, given that they seem to pride themselves on listing all of their producers.

My mom did not bother finishing this dish.

Cheese Boa rd: Jasper Hill Bayley Hazen Blue, Spring Brook Farm Tarentaise, Crostini, Blueberries, Champagne Grapes, Honeycomb.  $8 ($4 each).

My dad, as I've mentioned, is a bit of a non-adventurous eater.  All of the starters were too exotic for him, save the cheese board.  On the menu, it listed "choice of local cheese", $4 each.  He ordered the cheese board, and the server asked what cheese he'd like.  He asked what they had ... and she realized we had no cheese menu.  In fact, they didn't have a cheese menu anywhere.  She left to go print one out somewhere.  It took quite a while for her to return, and my mom had already received her salad by the time he was able to order his cheeses.

My father also doesn't really know cheeses.  He had no idea how to pick.  I asked what he liked, and eventually garnered that he does like blue cheese and swiss cheese, so I selected the single blue cheese, and one that was listed as "alpine-style" for him.

We had the blue, Jasper Hill Bayley Hazen, at our tasting menu a few nights earlier.  It was about the same as that night.  The other selection was from Spring Brook Farm, in Reading, VT, also a cow's milk cheese.  It was nutty and firm, a decent cheese.

For his sides, he received the same crostini, grapes, and honeycomb that we had, but he also was given blueberries.  He doesn't talk much about food, so I don't really have a sense of how much he enjoyed this, but it was his first time trying honeycomb (which I made him try with the blue, since I loved it so much when I had it).  He didn't like it.

Local BLT Flatbread: Applewood bacon, garden greens, heirloom tomatoes, aioli. $15.

For his main, my father stuck with a mashup of two things he knows: pizza and BLTs.  Again, I don't have a sense of how much he liked it, as he wouldn't really say.

I did try a few bites, and was impressed with how crispy the crust was, but overall, it was lacking much punch.  The aioli had no flavor, so it was really just a crispy crust with a few chunks of tomato, the same greens that my mom had from her salad, and bacon, on top.  The tomatoes were fresh and quite good, but they weren't enough to really make this pop.

I liked the presentation on the bread board.

Lobster Roll: shallot, garlic, celery, Meyer lemon aioli, fries.  $19.

As I've mentioned, my mother loves lobster.  We had it a number of times during my visit, as she was thrilled to have someone else around to eat seafood with her, as my dad eats none.  She has been talking about lobster rolls all week, so this was a no brainer for her.

The lobster roll itself was fairly unremarkable, again, no real seasoning.  There seemed to be too much bread for the roll, and it kinda fell aspart the moment she picked it up.  She isn't carb-adverse or anything, but left behind huge chunks of bread.  She said it masked all other flavors.  We weren't sure where the meyer lemon aioli was, perhaps that was the light dressing on the lobster?  It wasn't overdressed at least, but we were expecting aioli to dunk the fries in.

Speaking of the fries, they were mostly cold when they arrived.  Not just not warm, but stone cold. Well, most of them, a few were actually warm.  Very inconsistent.  Like the chips, really oily.

They weren't listed on the menu, but it also came with slaw and pickles.  The slaw had strong seasoning, unlike everything else we encountered that night, and it was crispy and fresh, but something wasn't right.  The assorted pickles were good, not very vinegary.

Overall, my mother did not like this.  She ate the lobster out of the bread, but didn't find it to be that good.  She left a huge portion of the roll untouched.  She only ate a few fries, only a bite of slaw.  She was quite disappointed all around.

Veal Masala: Gnocchi, Masala wine, cultivated mushrooms, pecorino.  $24.

Speaking of disappointment ... I was there because I wanted seafood.  As I mentioned, the main reason we were there is because they did not have the fish & chips when I went for brunch, but I knew the fish & chips were normally on their tavern menu.  I was there for one thing only: fish & chips!  And the only seafood option was the halibut that I'd already had.  Perhaps I should have just gone for the halibut again, but given that it seemed like the fish wasn't fresh, I branched out.

I asked our server about the veal.  It had been years since I'd had veal, but I know that veal can be quite delicious, and I do love mushrooms and gnocchi.  She raved about the dish, saying how tender it was.  So, I went for it.

I started with a bite of the veal. It was incredibly chewy, way, way overcooked.  Tender is not a word I'd ever use to describe it.  I was sad, but moved on to the gnocchi.  It was unremarkable, not the kind I like that is seared on the outside and creamy on the inside, all just the same, mushy consistency.  Mediocre gnocchi can be saved by a great sauce, but the sauce on this was actually the worst part of the dish.  It was really just a huge pool of oil, with tons of soggy mushrooms in it.

I was really upset with it, but kept trying a few bites.  I moved on to eating my mom's cold fries, or my dad's banal flatbread, as I just didn't want anything to do with mine.  I thought that perhaps I was just being a snob, or that it was just because I really wanted seafood that I disliked it so much, but my mom asked for some, since she didn't like her dish.  I gave her a plate full, and she immediately remarked on how bad it was, saying that it was overdone, and just a pile of grease.  She took one bite and pushed it away.  This was before I gave my evaluation, so I knew it wasn't just me.

At $24, this was one of their most pricy dishes, and it was certainly not worth the price.  Way overcooked, insanely oily, just no redeeming qualities, at all.

Cherry Cheesecake. $8.

I was seriously sad after the entrees.  It wasn't just that Home Hill wasn't living up to our previous experiences, it was really just not good.  My mom proposed going out to ice cream to make up for it, but it was kinda cold out, so I decided against it.  When our server mentioned that they had cheesecake, I perked up a bit.  The cheesecake preparation was  a cherry cheesecake, slightly different from the raspberry cheesecake from the tasting menu that I'd really liked a few nights before.  So, we got it.

It wasn't the same, at all.

First, look at how thick the crust was.  I think the ratio of crust to filling was about 60:40.  So much crust!  The crust was good, buttery, crumbly, but there was way too much of it.  This version did not have the thin chocolate layer between the crust and filling.  The filling was creamy, but didn't have much flavor.  It really didn't seem the same as the previous one, at all.  But overall, these components were all fine, just not as great as I expected given our prior cheesecake.

But the worst part was the topping.  The previous one we had came with a delicious raspberry coulis.  This was covered in what honestly seemed like canned cherries.  Thick, sweet, not remotely fresh.

Not pictured is the decaf coffee I ordered alongside my dessert.  Like all of the coffee I ordered at Home Hill, it was quite good, individual french press style.  Highlight of the meal for sure, and the only part of our dinner that was consistent with our previous experiences.

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Dole Fruit Crisps

I eat a lot of fruit, but it is generally fresh.  I'm spoiled living in Northern California, with a serious abundance of amazing fruit.  Sometimes I'll eat dried fruit, but canned?  No way.  Probably the only one of Dole's packaged products I'd ever even had before is the canned pineapple (which, as a child, I actually thought was the only way pineapple came - lols!).  But the fruit crisp line sounded great, in name anyway, as crisps are one of my favorite desserts.  If they were even halfway decent, I was sold, since nothing gets easier than opening up a package!

So yes, Dole Fruit Crisps are a totally random, totally generic grocery store item and ...  I really do like them!  I struggled deciding how to label these amazing cups of goodness.  One could argue that they make for a good breakfast (I certainly justified it to myself!).  Dole's marketing mostly positions them as a snack item.  Anyone who looks at the sugar content probably considers them dessert.  Regardless of what time of day you want to eat them, you should do just that: eat them!

Besides the sugar content, some of which obviously comes from the fruit (but there is added sugar), they are fairly healthy.  I won't tell you they are a health food item obviously, but they are fairly low fat, low calorie, and satisfying.  If you were having one for dessert, it would be a very guilt free item!

The fruit crisps come in several flavors: apple cinnamon, apple pear, and peach.  Each are standard Dole fruit packed in a fruit syrup, with a separate container of crumbled oat and brown sugar topping.  They are individually packaged, with two separate compartments, like those crazy yogurts with mix-ins, the crumble topping on top.

The packaging emphasizes how versatile they are, and I actually agree.  You can eat them at room temperature, making them a good snack/dessert to pack on a trip (imagine how jealous your seatmates will be on your next flight when you bust out apple crisp next to them!) or in a child's lunchbox.  You can stick them in the fridge and eat them chilled.  Or the containers are even microwave safe, so you can heat them up.  Who doesn't love warm fruit crisp?

You may wonder why I even encountered these in the first place.  I read about them a while ago, tons of rave reviews.  Perhaps my all time favorite dessert is warm fruit crisp served with ice cream.  Of course, I regularly eat warm fruit crisp, made with fresh, in season, local produce.  Why would I ever buy these?  Let's just call it a moment of weakness at the grocery store.  I went for the apple cinnamon, so it was chunks of apples, in a syrup, with cinnamon spicing.  To be honest, I had very low expectations, even though the internet was full of raving reviews.  I laughed at the fact that I was even purchasing packaged fruit.  I have no idea when I last ate something like this.

I wanted to evaluate them simply at first, and tried one right out of the fridge.  First I tried a bite of just the fruit.  It wasn't soggy.  It wasn't too crisp.  Hmm.  Clearly not fresh apples, but, not bad.  The syrup wasn't standard fruit syrup that canned fruit is packed in, instead, it was thicker, more like what belongs in a crisp.  It was sweet for sure, but nicely spiced with cinnamon.  Hmm.  Not bad.  I probably wouldn't want to just eat a cup of the fruit, as it was pretty sweet, but it was far better than expected.

Then I opened my crisp topping.  This is where I can be a serious snob.  When I get crisps at restaurants and the topping isn't actually crispy, or is just oats and not well spiced, I get so grumpy.  You may also recall that I've been on a quest to find granola I really enjoy, and I've been striking out over and over.  So, I really didn't think this would be much to write home about, and is clearly something I have opinions on.

I was wrong.  The topping was fantastic.  It was crunchy.  It was slightly sweetened, with a fantastic brown sugar flavor, not just sweet.  I could sprinkle on as much as I wanted.  And even better, there was plenty of it.  I had leftovers each time, and used it for other things later - topping for my own fruit crisp, stirred into yogurt, sprinkled over ice cream.  If I could buy just that topping, I would.

My first enjoyment of one of these was at breakfast, as I just couldn't wait.  Besides the sugar, it really isn't that bad as a breakfast item: fruit, whole grain oats, seems ok to me!  Add a dollop of yogurt and it turns into a complete breakfast.  I had half of one cold, while waiting for the other half to warm up (in the toaster oven, not in the microwave as they suggest ... because, seriously who uses microwaves?)  I actually preferred it cold, which surprised me, as I'm always a fan of warm crisp.  Perhaps as a breakfast item it made more sense cold?  Either way, a dollop of yogurt on top was nice to cut the sweetness, and convince my brain I was having breakfast, not dessert.

But of course, I really wanted to try it warm, with ice cream, as a dessert.

So, a few days later, I warmed up another one.  Sprinkled on the topping, and baked it that way.  It smelt great.  I took my first bite, and again, didn't like it much when it was warm.  It is like the sweetness just gets concentrated or something.  But the moment I added a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was great!  Warm, sweet, decently spiced fruit.  Crunchy, equally well spiced topping.  Cold, creamy vanilla ice cream.  Quite tasty and satisfying.  Honestly, better than many crisps I've had at fancy restaurants.  This is clearly the winning way to enjoy it.

I found an individual serving too small.  It was gone in only a few bites!  I wanted more, more, more.  Yes, I licked the lid and scraped out every last drop.  I guess this is partially how they keep the nutrition stats fairly reasonable, and I do think they are mostly intended for children.  I did like that they provided plenty of the delicious oat topping though, no skimping there.

Will I go buy more of these?  Probably not, as I have access to plenty of fruit crisps regularly.  But if I didn't, they honestly weren't bad.

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Private Event Dining @ Wayfare Tavern

The news just broke that one of my favorite chefs, Joey Elenterio, has joined the kitchen at Tyler Florence's Wayfare Tavern.  I'm beyond excited.  My absolute top meal of 2012 was at Chez TJ, when he was the chef there.  Since he left Chez TJ, I've been anxiously awaiting the news to find out where he would wind up.  I was hoping it would be in San Francisco.  And it is!  I can't wait to see what he does with the menu and concept there.

But before he started, I attended a special event at Wayfare Tavern.  It had been a couple years since I last visited.  I only had vague memories of my previous visit.  I remembered the warm popovers in place of standard bread service.  I remembered that everyone loves their fried chicken.  I remembered that I thought the burger was just too fatty, with too much cheese, too greasy.  But I also remembered that the dessert was insanely good.

But back to this visit, for a special event. It was held in one of their private rooms, the Bartlett Room, a really nice space.  Rich mahogany panelling, hardwood floors, a private bar, attached private bathrooms.  Overlooking a wine cellar.  Really a great venue, particularly suited for a business lunch, as it has flat screen TVs with audio/visual hookups for presentations.

On our tables was a printed menu with a starter, 3 entrees, a side, and a dessert listed, so I thought we'd all select which entree we wanted.  I was confused when no one came to take our orders, and food just started showing up.  The entire meal was all done family style, with insane portions.  Each person really did receive a full starter, 3 entrees, a side, and a dessert.  It was a bit crazy.

The service was ok, but the way the food was brought out was really strange.  Some tables were served long before others, the side came out way ahead of the entrees, and we had a really long lag before the last entree.  Since I actually only wanted that one (I didn't want the fried chicken or the burger), it was really awkward, as I had no idea when it would be arriving, and it of course arrived last, after a really long lag.  They seem to do lots of group events like this, but the service was really not polished.

Lemonade.

Since this was a business lunch event, we were offered only soft drinks, iced tea, and lemonade rather than alcohol.  Since I'm not really a soda person, and I didn't want the caffeine, I went for lemonade.

This was not good lemonade, it was very, very sweet, and not tart.  It tasted like it came from a mix.  I did not like it at all.

Fresh Popover.

One of Wayfare's signature items is their fresh popovers, delivered at the start of a meal instead of basic bread.  Served with butter and salt on the side.

These were good popovers.  I was impressed that they were delivered so fresh and steaming hot, even to a large group of our size.  They were light and fluffy, slightly eggy.

The butter on the side was hard, but since the popovers were still so hot, it melted easily into them.

Good, but, I felt like something was missing.  Since it was served with only butter, I wanted some herbs or ... something.  Or maybe I just want popovers for breakfast with jam instead.

Di Stefano Burrata, Summer Harvest Caponata, Grilled Sourdough, Extra Virgin Olive Oil. 

Since this was a large event, everything was served family-style.

Under the massive amount of burrata was grilled sourdough crostini.  It was very crunchy, and made the dish very hard to eat with knife and fork.  It seemed more like finger food, except that there was so much topping that it made it hard to eat that way too.

The burrata, as I hoped, was creamy and delicious.  Man, I love burrata.  I was amused at my tablemates, most of whom didn't know what burrata was, had never heard of it, and eventually concluded that it was mozzarella.  I tried to explain that no, it wasn't just mozzarella, but they didn't believe me.  They are missing out!

On top of the burrata was a "summer harvest caponata", made up of eggplant, pine nuts, olives, capers. It was very flavorful, but I didn't think it went all that well with the burrata.

Overall, this dish was ok, but really all that I liked was the burrata itself.  It also seemed like it was missing something, and in this case, I really think it needed some olive oil, which was listed on the menu, but wasn't present in the dish (besides on the crostini).   I probably wouldn't order this again.

Grilled Asparagus.

For a side dish, we had a platter of grilled asparagus.  The amount of asparagus for our table size seemed pretty off.  Most of us got only 1-2 spears.  I was trying to not be greedy, even though I really wanted more.  The last person to receive the platter actually didn't get any.

It was ok grilled asparagus, nothing spectacular, topped with bread crumbs.  On the regular lunch menu for $8.  I wouldn't get it again.

WayFare burger “Le Grand”: Grilled Onions, Smoked Bacon, Garlic Aioli, Brie Cheese, Brioche.

The first entree was a huge platter of their famous fried chicken, with enough for every person to have about 2 pieces.  Since I knew how much other food was coming, and I don't really like chicken, I skipped it.  But my tablemates seemed to think it lived up to the hype. It looked fresh and crispy.

The next entree was a platter of burgers.  This was really weird to have family style.  Each burger was cut in half, so each person got half a burger.

The burger is another one of their signature dishes, and what I ordered when I visited Wayfare Tavern for dinner before, after reading about how amazing it was supposed to be.  It has all the right petigree: a high end blend of beef, Mt. Tam cheese, Panorama bun, Nueske's Bacon.  I remembered that I didn't really like it before, and wasn't going to have one this time.  But, the final entree was no where in sight, and after skipping the fried chicken, I was hungry, and felt weird not eating anything when everyone around me was.

The whole thing was again just way too greasy for me, which is what you expect with high fat percentage (75!) beef, along with brioche, cheese, and bacon.  It also was served cold.  Downside of group dining for sure, and it seems like such a strange choice to put on a family-style menu.

The brie was nicely melted, but kinda congealed since it wasn't hot, and it was a really, really thin layer.  I thought this thing was known for oozing with the delicious cheese?  I'm pretty sure it was Mt. Tam, which I tend to adore.

The bacon was unremarkable, not as crispy as I'd like.  The grilled red onion was a giant hunk.  Sadly, it was my favorite part of the burger.  It was already slathered in aioli, that didn't seem very garlicky.

The beef itself is a mix of short rib, brisket, prime rib, and filet.  It should have been very flavorful, but it wasn't.  Perhaps I was just too distracted by it being cooked way more than I'd ever order (it was pretty much medium-well).  A shame for quality meat!

I would not get this again, which is exactly what I thought when I got it the other time I visited the restaurant.  Normally $19.

Seared Ahi Tuna: Carrot puree, roasted carrots, crispy ginger, soy caramel.

Finally, after everyone else had already consumed 2 pieces of fried chicken, a half a huge burger, burrata, and popovers, the final entree arrived.  It was the one I had wanted all along.

Seared ahi, served over a carrot puree, with roasted carrots, a soy caramel drizzle, and crispy ginger.  Another strange one to have family style, as many people didn't get all of the components.  There certainly weren't enough of everything to go around, and when serving off a big platter, it was hard to get some of everything.

The ahi was ok, nicely barely seared, but it wasn't very flavorful and was kinda stringy and chewy.  The soy caramel drizzle was tasty and went well with it, and with the carrots.

The roasted carrots were nicely cooked, and I liked how they included coins of large carrots, and full baby carrots.  The carrot puree was creamy and flavorful, but seemed really, really strange to pair with tuna.  Trio of carrot preparations was fun, but ... carrots and ahi?

The best part was a roasted baby carrot with soy caramel, but I wouldn't order this again.

A normal lunch portion is $28.

Mini Chocolate Cupcake.

And to finish, we received a platter of mini chocolate cupcakes, with 1-2 per person.  We all loved these.

Fairly moist chocolate cake, creamy, sweet frosting, fun little chocolate pearls.  Best dish of the meal.

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