Cloverhill Bakery

I normally review traditional bakeries on Thursdays, but Cloverhill is called a "bakery", so I decided it counts.  They don't have a storefront though, rather they produce packaged goods, usually sold in vending machines.

Vending machine baked goods are not something I'd normally eat, but the really good one from 7-Eleven re-inspired me (although that one wasn't pre-packaged exactly, as they claimed they are baked fresh every morning).  Anyway, I learned my lesson.  No more packaged baked goods.  Meh.

Big Texas Cinnamon Roll.

This thing is an award winner: "The Big Texas is the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Automatic Merchandiser Readers' Choice Pastry of the Year". Potential?  No.

First, I tried it at room temperature. This cinnamon roll had absolutely nothing going for it.  It tasted like kinda stale bread, just with a bit of cinnamon swirled in and cheap icing on top.  Not worth even a second bite.

However, I was encouraged by the glazed bun from Walgreens, which was clearly a prepackaged item, was also not good at room temperature, but proclaimed I should warm it up, and when I did, it got much better.  The packaging for the Big Texas Cinnamon Roll said the same thing.  So, just like the Walgreens one, I put it in the toaster oven for a few minutes.

The icing melted. The whole thing got softer.  It was better, but ... that didn't really save it.  Definitely won't be trying another one of these, and I've been re-inspired to stop trying packaged baked goods :)

Read More...

Cedar Hill: Kitchen + Smokehouse

I've visited Cedar Hill a few times, but alas, they closed a few months ago.  This review is a bit delayed.

My first visit was inspired by the fact that I had some chili at home and I wanted a side to go along with it.  So, doing what I do these days, I pulled out LevelUp, to find somewhere suitable.  I quickly found a BBQ place, that seeded LevelUp with a whole $4!  I could buy some corn bread with that, which would go perfectly with my chili!

Cedar Hill was a cute place, with a few tables outside, a bar area, and some tables inside.  It was casual and friendly feeling.  I ordered my cornbread togo, which you can do at the bar.  It seemed like many people get take out from here.  While I waited, I examined their large selection of house made sauces, mostly bbq based, with a huge variety of flavor profiles.  I'm not really a bbq person, but if I were, I'd go back to try out their sauces.  Perhaps I'd go back just for sides, as I do love all of the things that go along with bbq, like mac and cheese, potato salad, etc.  They also run a food truck, The Rib Whip, which I've seen around town but never stopped at.

When I went to pay, no one knew how to use LevelUp.  Like my snafu at Fresco Pizza and Shwarma, their phone was also unplugged and dead.  But, they plugged it in, turned it on, and asked around until they found a cook who knew how to use it.  And unlike Fresco Pizza, they apologized and didn't act like I was the worst person ever.

On my next visit, the setup had changed somewhat.  It appears that everyone now orders at a counter, where the LevelUp phone is nicely installed next to the register. It worked flawlessly on my second visit.  The staff were very friendly.  When I mentioned how hot out it was, she offered me a plastic cup to fill with water togo, since I was getting my food togo.  Very appreciated!

Cedar Hill Cornbread : Housemade skillet cornbread with jam & butter.  $3.50.

The cornbread was served in a big wedge, with butter and sweet pepper jam on the side.  The cornbread had a nice gritty consistency from the cornmeal, but no real chunks of corn.  It was fairly moist, with a crisper top layer, and a very crisp bottom from being cooked in a skillet.  It was good, but not remarkable.

The sweet pepper jam was a nice touch, but I really wished the butter was honey butter!

I enjoyed this with my chili, but I would not go out of my way for it otherwise.

Small Side of Coleslaw.  $4.

They offer two varieties of coleslaw, a mayo based version and a vinegar based version.  I'm definitely a mayo version gal, but I asked for a recommendation just in case.  The person taking my order very promptly said she liked the mayo one best.  Good!

The slaw was made up of both red and green cabbage, nice and crisp, in assorted size chunks.  The cabbage was nicely prepared.  There was also a ton of red and green peppers.  I've kinda been anti-bell peppers lately, so this was disappointing.  There was a lot of it!  There was also some red onion.

The slaw was only lightly dressed, not all that much mayo, but also, just not much flavor.  Incredibly unremarkable.  I tried out a couple of their house made bbq sauces, hoping to amp up the flavor a little, but, it still was pretty lacking.

A small size was $4, and really not worth it.  This was as unremarkable as any grocery store variety, and at least twice as expensive.  Would not get again.

Read More...

Langostino Lobster Burrito from Rubio's!

Since I've reviewed Rubio's so many times now, I'm going to spare you the intro.  It was the same as always friendly staff, fast efficient service.

My most recent visit to Rubio's to try the latest limited addition offering, the always exciting Langostino Lobster, available only for a short time every year starting in October.  It was also my first time having a burrito at Rubio's, as I'm normally more of a taco girl.

I liked my lobster burrito quite a bit, and after my last couple Rubio's experiences that were slightly disappointing, this helped me remember why I became such a fan in the first place.  I'll be going back!

Half a Langostino Lobster Burrito. Full size: $9.29.

"Tender Langostino Lobster, our new citrus rice, fresh guacamole, black beans, chipotle white sauce, crisp lettuce and salsa fresca drizzled with warm basil butter then wrapped in a warm flour tortilla and garnished with a slice of lime."

To start, I'm not normally a burrito person, since I don't tend to care for rice and beans.  But ... this was a very tasty burrito!

The flour tortilla was warm and fresh tasting.  Not gummy, not soggy, good.

The "new citrus rice" surprised me.  Again, I'm not normally a rice fan, but this was fluffy, moist, and flavorful.  It really didn't seem like it had been sitting around for ages.

The black beans were as I expected, just not my thing.  They were tender, well cooked, but I don't care for beans.  I would normally ask to have these left out, but I wanted to try their full recipe to give it a chance (well, except I had to leave out the guacamole, since I'm allergic).

The langostino lobster really surprised me.  First, there was tons of it.  Such a generous serving.  The pieces were tender, seemed almost grilled?  Slightly sweet, not fishy, good flavor and perfect texture, not too chewy.  Much better than when I had it last year in the taco.

The lettuce and salsa fresca were also very good.  Both were incredibly fresh.  The lettuce was indeed crisp, as described.  How often does lettuce inside a burrito stay crisp?  And the tomato was far, far better than any tomato I've had at a fast-casual restaurant (well, besides Rubio's!).  It also had some corn.  Amazingly fresh ingredients.

The star for me was the chipotle white sauce.  It had a bit of kick, and was really creamy.  It went perfectly with the lobster and the salsa fresca.  I didn't detect the warm basil butter as a distinct ingredient, but I'm guessing it was mostly mixed with the other sauce.

The burrito was well constructed.  Tightly wrapped, ingredients very evenly distributed throughout.  Far better than pretty much any burrito shop I've been to.

So, overall, I liked this.  I probably wouldn't get the burrito again though, just because I'm not a huge fan of burritos.  Or if I did, I'd leave out the beans.  I'd certainly go for the taco, or, I think what I'd really like is just a salad, topped with the langostino, salsa fresca, and the delicious sauce as a dressing.

This ranks up there as one of my favorite Rubio's dishes, and re-affirms why I first really started liking Rubio's: fresh, flavorful, and really well prepared.

The price is $9.29 for a full size burrito, which is one of the most expensive items you can buy at Rubio's, but it is because of the very generous amount of langostino.  I think the price is pretty justified.

Read More...

Seasonal Offerings from Jamba Juice

If you've read my blog for a while, you have probably heard me mention that I was on a medically necessary liquids-only diet for months a few years ago, and thus smoothies were a huge part of my life.  During that time, I had way more than my share of smoothies, including of course, Jamba Juice, which I've reviewed before.  I was totally sick of smoothies, and have pretty much avoided them since.  I sorta grew to hate them.  After several weeks of consuming only liquids, it really doesn't matter how good a smoothie is, you just don't want another.  Years later, and smoothies still aren't really appealing to me.

But then I saw that Jamba juice offered a matcha green tea smoothie.  I've been loving matcha lately, and it sounded more like a Peet's matcha freddo or a Starbuck's matcha frappuchino than a smoothie, listed in the "Creamy Treats" section of the menu, made with frozen yogurt and not any fruit or vegetables.  So, even though I thought I'd never set foot inside a Jamba Juice again ... I did.

The Jamba Juice near me allows for ordering through your phone via Paypal, so I made my order, and then walked the few blocks to pick it up.  When I entered however, I was met with disappointment.  Jamba Juice discontinued the matcha!  (Although, outcry was so loud over this, that they are bringing it back ... soon).

Since I'd already paid via the phone app, the worker said she'd make me whatever I wanted in its place.  As I said, I don't like smoothies really.  I didn't want a classic smoothie.  I didn't really want anything.  I sadly glanced over the menu, pausing at the rest of the milkshake-like "Creamy Treats" section of the menu.  These are the ones that even Jamba Juice isn't trying to claim are healthy.  They are made with frozen yogurt and more decadent ingredients.  I've tried several of them before, and although I liked them more than the smoothies, I didn't find one that I really wanted to repeat.  Having no real good choice, I went for the seasonal special, the pumpkin smash.  I wasn't really sure if I'd like it or not, but, there wasn't anything I wanted more.

It was good, but I still really want to try that matcha, when it makes its return!

Pumpkin Smash. Original Size. $5.59.

Since Jamba Juice didn't have the matcha, the friendly worker upgraded me from the 16 ounce size I ordered to the "original" size, aka, 24 ounces.  It was massive!  I honestly didn't think I'd even come close to finishing it, yet somehow ... I did.  107 grams of sugar later, I somewhat regretted that move.  So. Much. Sugar.

It was creamy, icy, well blended.  Basically a milkshake.  A very pumpkin-y milkshake.  The spicing was present, but not all that strong.  It was sweet, but not too sweet.  It wasn't bad.  It wasn't great.  Would I go back for another?  Probably not.  But, if I found myself needing to pick a random Jamba Juice creation to get again, I'd consider it.

At $5.59 for the gigantic size, it was priced right in line with all of their other drinks, but I still find them to be really expensive and not worth the price.  For the fruit ones, I can somewhat understand, as fruit is expensive, but this was froyo, dairy base, and "pumpkin spice base", not exactly premium ingredients.

Read More...

CalNaturale Drinks

I haven't reviewed many, but I went through a phase where I drank lots of protein shakes and smoothies.  I was always on a quest to find some that satisfied, but I honestly still don't have a brand I'd recommend highly.

CalNaturale is part of California Natural Products, a natural foods company.  The CalNaturale label makes two product lines: Svelte Protein Shakes and ... Wine.  I've never tried their wine.

The shakes are all dairy-free and gluten-free, soy based, and fairly low sugar, sweetened with Stevia.  When I was on a liquids diet, I tried out many, many brands of protein drinks, and these were some of my favorites.  I wouldn't really pick one up now, as I kinda want nothing to do with smoothies and shakes after months of being required to only have liquids, but if I needed to again, I'd probably start with these. Not a strong recommendation, but decent.

• "Enjoy Yourself", aka, Cappuccino.  Tasting notes: Subtle coffee flavor.  Very sweet, with fake sweetener taste.  Don’t taste much soy.  Meh.  [ Too fake tasting, the fake sweetener just rules the flavor. Even when diluted with plain soy milk, not very good.  Least favorite, by far, will not try again. ]
• "Hello Beautiful", aka, Chocolate.  Tasting notes: Kinda thick and too much on its own.  Better when diluted with almond milk, as the chocolate and almond are a nice combo.  Slightly too fake sweet tasting. [ On its own, it was a bit too think, and very, very sweet, in a fake way.  It mixed very well with almond milk again, about 60% Svelte and 40% almond milk was a good combination, chocolatey and almondy, thinner, and not as well.  Best served super chilled. ] [ Next, I blended it up with frozen banana and almond milk.  It was way too sweet for me that way.  So I added regular milk.  And coconut, since who doesn't like coconut and chocolate.  And then ... peanut butter!  At that point, it turned into a delicious banana-chocolate-peanut butter-coconut shake.  Which I topped with whipped cream.  Totally not what this drink is intended for, but I liked it this way :) ]
• "Just Your Style", aka, Spiced Chai.  Tasting notes: This was by far my favorite.  Nice spicing, it almost reminded me of a pumpkin pie spiced drink.  Maybe October is just getting to me :)  It also wasn't too sweet, and didn't have the fake taste to it that other varieties did.  Would get this again.
• "Looking Good", aka French Vanilla.  Tasting notes: This was pretty good.  Mostly like yummy vanilla flavored soy milk but had added protein to make more complete meal. [ Way too sweet, way too fake tasting. ]  [ Way, way too sweet. Not sure how I ever tolerated this! ]

Read More...

Baked Goods ... from Walgreens

You may have noticed that I really like baked goods.  I tend to have fairly high standards, and generally only consume baked goods that are baked fresh, considering even day old pastries to be useless.  So why on earth would I try the pre-packaged baked goods from Walgreens?

Well, before Google Shopping Express launched, I was helping test the service.  I was tasked with making lots of small orders from the then fairly limited number of merchants.  Walgreens was one.  After I got my fill of dishwasher detergent, hand soap, shampoo, lotion, and other responsible household items, I decided to have more fun.  I saw they offered baked goods, so I figured they were worth trying out.  I'm sure if I had seen them in person at the store I would have never picked them up.  But online, they looked ... decent?

Looks can be deceiving :) There really is no reason to get any of these, but I did enjoy the fact that I could order a donut online and have it delivered to my doorstep just a few hours later!  While I don't recommend Walgreens baked goods, if you live in the Bay Area, I do really recommend Google Shopping Express, particularly now that they have expanded the merchant selection.  It has made me consider 2 day Amazon Prime way, way too slow!

Blueberry Blast Muffin.

The description was pretty simple: "blasting with blueberry goodness."

Well, this was about what you'd expect from a packaged muffin with a long shelf life.  Since it was in a wrapper it was kinda gummy on top.  It was moist, but not in a fresh way.

The most stand out thing about the muffin was how very sweet it was.  It was much more of a blueberry cake than a muffin.  I'm all for sweets in the morning, but this was indistinguishable from a sweet pound cake, just shaped like a muffin.  Besides being sweet, the base had nothing going on.  No tang, no spicing, nothing.  I wasn't entirely surprised when I looked at the ingredients to see sugar as the first ingredient, even before flour.

It was indeed loaded with blueberries; I was impressed with how many, but they were little tiny wild blueberries, which I never prefer. It reminded me a bit of the Panera blueberry muffin in that way.

The nutrition stats were pretty standard for this sort of baked good - 400 calories, 30g sugar, 22g fat.  Of course, the recommended serving size is 1/2 muffin, which always makes me laugh, because who eats half a muffin?

It was better once I heated it up, and got it a bit crispy, which removed the strange gummy aspect to it.  I also then slathered it in butter.  Salvageable, but certainly not something I'd ever get again.

Jumbo Glazed Honey Bun.

I randomly really crave donuts.  It always makes me laugh when it happens, because I'll go months without thinking about donuts at all, and then suddenly, I need one, stat!

This time, the craving came a day after trying a cronut.  The cronut did not change my world, and instead, just left me craving a simple, glazed donut.  I've tried many from assorted places around town, but really haven't found any that I love.  So, when I had the chance to get the one from Walgreens, I figured it was worth a try.

They make two versions of the "jumbo" honey buns, glazed or iced.  I went for the glazed since it more resembled a classic donut.

It looked even worse than the muffin, super gummy.  I tried a bite at room temperature, and was met with immediate dismay.  It was pretty gross.  Indeed very gummy, kinda soggy, absolutely nothing good about it.

I am notorious for serving most of my baked goods warm, but it has never occurred to me to warm up a donut, even though I love them hot and fresh.  Interestingly, even Walgreens recommend that you serve this heated up.  The packaging is filled with statements like "tastes great warm!" and "microwave for 5-10 seconds!"

So I did, not expecting much change.  Well, technically, I put it in the toaster oven for a few minutes instead of the microwave, because, ew, microwaves.

And ... it transformed! I was shocked.  Sure, I'm a huge advocate of warming things up, and my co-workers are endlessly amused by the fact that I warm up desserts, oatmeal bars, etc, all day long.  I know warm baked goods are better than cold.  But this was a magic transformation, very similar to the cinnamon roll from 7-Eleven (which I totally recommend!).

It was soft, the glaze melted a bit, and it was a warm, sugary, delight.  Was it a fresh baked donut?  No.  Was it downright awful for you?  Um, yes.  It had a crazy long shelf life.  It had a slew of preservatives.  It was horrible for you, in just about every way.  This honey bun clocks in at ... 600 calories! 35 grams of fat.  27 grams sugar.  ZOMG.

I can't say that I recommend this exactly, but I did quite honestly enjoy it once I had it warm.  If there was another one, I'd eat it.  That's all I'm sayin'.

Read More...

Toma

I was really excited when I heard about Toma, a Mexican restaurant in the Marina that opened this past year.  I really do enjoy mexican cuisine, but most casual places use lower end meats and products than I'm really comfortable consuming.  But Toma boasts that all of their meats come from Golden Gate Meats.  Everything is free range, no hormones, etc.  The recipes have been handed down from their grandparents.  The tortillas are even made to order!  They have multiple vegetarian choices, and even gluten-free options.  It sounded very promising, although Yelp! reviews were quite mixed.

I eagerly stopped in one afternoon when I saw that they were offering a $5 credit if you paid with Paypal.  It was a hot afternoon, and I really wanted a refreshing horchata, a taco, and some salty chips!  Unfortunately, they did not have any horchata, even though the menu listed it, instead, a single agua fresca was available (along with standard canned and bottled drinks).  Strike one, but understandable.

The space is tiny, with a couple counter seats along the window, and two small tables outside.  A small salsa bar completes the space.  Most people seem to take their food to go.

The staff weren't exactly friendly.  They kinda glared at me while I decided what to order.  Paying with Paypal worked like a charm though, I really am loving it.  No awkward scanning of QR codes like LevelUp.  I'm very curious to see how their adoption goes, as it is only available in a handful of places in SF so far.

Anyway, the food sadly wasn't very good.  I won't be going back to Toma.

Championes Taco.  $2.95.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't really care for chicken, pork, or beef,  so I was excited to see that they had two different veggie options.  I went for the championes, a mix of "grilled mushrooms, roasted chile poblano, and onions", since the roasted poblanos sounded fantastic (my other choice was grilled yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and onions, which also sounded good), topped with pico de gallo.

My taco was delivered to me a few minutes later.  It looked a bit difficult to eat, so I grabbed a fork to try out the filling first.

The filling was almost entirely mushrooms.  I was surprised by what they were.  Since the menu said grilled mushrooms, so I expected perhaps grilled portabellos.  Or, um, at least something grilled.  These were small mushrooms, super slimy, and honestly seemed like they came out of a jar.  Like pizza topping mushrooms.  I'm guessing they had just been cooked down extensively.  Unremarkable, no flavor, and certainly not grilled.

As for the poblanos that I was excited for, my entire taco contained exactly two small pieces.  Again, "roasted"?  I don't think so.  There was also a small amount of cooked down onion.  But mostly, it was just a very large pile of mushroom.  Very, very, watery mushroom.  There was a pool of liquid in my box within the first moment I picked it up.  Impossible to eat.

The wateriness completely ruined the tortilla.  It might have indeed been a fresh, made-to-order tortilla.  It did have a nice corn flavor.  But, it was a very soggy mess.  Not remotely crisp, and it really didn't seem like it had been griddled long enough, as it was kinda doughy.  But maybe that was just all the liquid.

It was topped with a simple pico de gallo, tomatoes/onions/cilantro.  Not particularly interesting nor flavorful.  Served with a slice of lime.

I didn't even want more than a few bites of this taco.

As I mentioned, there was a salsa bar, with four different salsas, more chunks of lime, and an onion/cilantro mix.

I tried all four salsas, and all were incredibly watery.  I guess that is the theme here.  The most mild one honestly seemed just like watered down tomato sauce.  One had a bit of heat.  None were labelled, so you had to try all of them in order to figure out which were spicy.  Incredibly boring salsas.  I brought home some chips and salsa for Ojan, who loves chips and salsas, but he didn't want any of these either.

At $2.95, the price for the taco was fine, and would be considered quite good for a meat one (they are all the same price), but meh, not even worth that.

Side of chips.  $1.

Since the tacos do not come with chips, I splurged for a side of chips.  They came in a cute little paper bag.  They were cold.  Very standard chips.  I was expecting something more freshly made since that seemed to be the idea they were going for at Toma, but these could have been from any bag in a grocery store.

Good portion for $1, but not really worth getting, particularly given that the salsas were so weak that there was nothing to do with them.

Read More...