Nando's Peri Peri Chips

Nando's is a casual chain with more than 1,000 locations worldwide, but very few in the United States.  Thus, it was not until I traveled to London, and later, Sydney, that I became aware of the brand.  The company actually was founed in South Africa, and the signature dish is ... Portuguese piri piri chicken.

"Our signature dish, Nando’s PERi-PERi world-famous, all-natural PERi-PERi chicken. Marinated for 24 hours, flame grilled to succulent perfection and basted to your liking."

With me so far?  So, South African chain of casual restaurants known for the spicy Portuguese chicken ... and yet this is a snack food review.  Yup.

Along with the restaurant, which features the chicken, along with a full lineup of appetizers, salads, desserts, etc, Nando's also produces a popular line of sauces (all peri peri based), which you see frequently on condiment shelves throughout the UK and Australia.  They also make chips.

You know me, I may not like chicken, but snack foods and chips are definitely my thing, particularly when in interesting flavors ... like chicken.  The chips are available in three flavours: Smokey BBQ, Spicy Chicken and Sizzling Hot, all in a "Grooves" wavy cut.

I tried spicy chicken.

Peri Peri Grooves Spicy Chicken.

"Delicious look. Chilli rating - medium. Flavoured with genuine African bird's eye chillies (Peri-Peri). Suitable for vegetarians. Hand-fried groove cut chips with Peri-Peri chicken flavour. These are our Peri-Peri Chicken groove cut chips. Those of your who know us already will know that we're somewhat fanatical about Peri-Peri Chicken. So we've sweated our Peri-Peri socks off to create the Nando's Chicken Peri-Peri experience right here in this bag. Incredible. We've given them a medium heat, so roll up your sleeves, loosen your tie and tuck in. "
Did these taste like chicken?  Uh, no.

But were they really tasty?  Absolutely.

I liked the form factor too, really crispy, slightly thicker cut, wavy chips.  Quite munchable.

The flavor is really hard to describe.  The chips were intense though.  Savory, spiced, kinda like ... uh ... stuffing?  But with some kick.  Like spicy Thanksgiving stuffing ... in a chip.  The coating is actually onion, garlic, paprika, African Bird's Eye chillis, cayenne, "herbs", capsicum, yeast, and sugar, so, the savory and heat elements are understandable.  They don't combine to "chicken", but that is absolutely fine with me.

I enjoyed these and would gladly eat another bag, or try another flavor.

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CREAM Ice Cream Sandwiches

Update Review: December 2018

A few years ago, when CREAM first opened in San Francisco, I reviewed the venture into the artisinal ice cream sandwich world to mediocre success.  I wasn't quite into the ice cream sandwich, but I thought the cookies were shockingly good, which is a surprise given how much I don't really generally care for cookies.

I didn't seek CREAM back out, but, then I attended an event with catering by CREAM.  Well, delivery by CREAM, and the resultant fairly melted ice cream sandwiches.

Wrapped up Sandwich.

At the shop, for the base, you can pick cookies, brownies, waffles, "tacos", and Do'Sants (yup, a donut croissant).  But for this event, we had exclusively cookies.  And normally you can choose 2 different cookies to make up one ice cream sandwich, but, our hosts selected to have the same kind of cookie on both sides of the sandwich.  They also opted to have no toppings (!), sono sprinkles, nuts, candy, cookies, etc on the outside.

Still, I had to try one, right?  Even if a fairly boring basic style.

We had an assortment, and none were labelled.  This made it a bit difficult to pick.  Luckily, I was able to share and try several.

Snickerdoodle Cookies + ??. $6. 

I fairly randomly picked this one, not really sure what it was.  I was sad when I realized I had picked snickerdoodle cookies.  I'm just not that into snickerdoodles.  I like sugar, I like cinnamon, but, snickerdoodle cookies never satisfy. 

The cookies were, well, snickerdoodles.  Soft, good texture cookies, nicely sweet, but, all cinnamon-y.  Which I just didn't want.  

Inside was *very* sweet ice cream.  Very, very sweet.  I think it might have been Royal Caramel Swirl or Salted Caramel.  Either way, it was just overwhelmingly sweet, and the flavor really didn't combine well with cinnamon.

This was not a winner.

Butter Sugar Cookies + Very Berry Strawberry Ice Cream. $6.

So I tried another, although it looked like a more boring flavor.

And yes, simple, classic, boring this flavor was, simple sugar cookies and strawberry ice cream.  I don't like strawberry ice cream, but, when I do like cookies, sugar cookies are usually my choice.

The ice cream, as I expected, I didn't really care for.  I really can't explain why I don't like strawberry ice cream, but I never have.  I think it was good strawberry ice cream though, it had decent chunks of strawberry inside.

The cookies though ... they were great!!!!  Super soft.  Super sweet.  Super buttery.  Everything I want in a sugar cookie.  I truly enjoyed the cookies, mostly wiping off the melted strawberry ice cream.

Vegan Fudging Awesome Cookies + Vegan Soy Mint Chip Ice Cream. $6.

I moved on to an all vegan offering, a vegan "Fudging Awesome" cookie with soy milk mint chip ice cream.  Perhaps an odd move, as I'm not vegan, but, I actually had a CREAM vegan cookie before, and liked it, so, I wasn't worried about the cookie. And I really do like soy milk, and soy flavor, so I was interested in the ice cream too.

This one was quite melty, but still actually delicious.

First, the ice cream.  Vegan Soy Mint Chip ice cream.  It was decent, lots of minty flavor, good distribution of chips for crunch, although not much soy flavor, which I actually would have liked.

Then, the cookies.  The cookies were pretty awesome, indeed.  Deep, rich chocolate cookies.  Chunks of chocolate.  Soft, slightly chewy, great texture.  Nothing odd about these cookies that indicated veganess.  Just, good cookies.

So, vegans, you have a nice option here.

Gluten-Free Snickerdoodle + Very Berry Strawberry Ice Cream.

Yes, things I don't like.  Snickerdoodles.  Strawberry ice cream. And gluten-free baked goods?

Ha, right?  I only tried a bite, this one went to a friend.  And I only tried a bite of the cookie, not the ice cream, since I assume it was the same as the other Very Berry Strawberry ice cream I didn't care for.

The cookie was everything I hated.  Strange texture.  Strange gluten-free flavor to it.  Sawdust.  Except, cinnamon coated sawdust.  I truly hated this.  Glad I just asked for a tiny bite!

Gluten-Free White Chocolate Fudge Cookie + French Vanilla Ice Cream.

Given how good so many of the cookies are though, I wanted to give the gluten-free cookie offering a chance, with a flavor I might like, chocolate base, with white chocolate chunks.  This one was paired with simple vanilla ice cream (er, French Vanilla, that is).

The ice cream was fine, creamy, vanilla.  Nothing special, nothing bad.

The cookie though ... still a strange texture, and, the chocolate masked the sawdust flavor a bit, but, not enough.  I liked the white chocolate chunks?

Original Review: June 2015

New trend alert: ice cream sandwiches!  As you may recall from my review of Over the Moon, the other relatively new ice cream and cookie place in SF, this isn't a trend I'm really embracing.

Yes, I love ice cream.  But cookies aren't high on my list of desserts, although I could make an exception for an exceptionally good ice cream sandwich, or even, just a cookie for that matter.  And if anywhere is going to do it well, it will be somewhere that specializes in exactly those things, right?

So although I didn't really seek it out, one day when Ojan and I were in the Mission, we finally swung by CREAM.  I'll be honest, we were partially inspired because they had a PayPal promotion, where if you paid using the PayPal app on your phone, you got something like $5 off your order, which, given their amazing prices, made it totally free.  I'm a sucker for free things!

Just like Over the Moon, CREAM makes two things: cookies and ice cream.  While you can get either separately, the main idea is that you create a custom ice cream sandwich, from your choice of cookies, ice cream, and optional toppings.  CREAM started in Berkeley, but their success has been amazing, with nearly 30 franchises now, since starting only in 2010.

Talk about an overwhelming experience.  But not in the same way as Over the Moon, where it just wasn't that fancy, the ice cream was clearly old and icy, and the options fairly limited.

I like to have choice, but, wow, CREAM is choice overload.  I think I'd actually be happier with fewer options, as crazy as that sounds.

To start, you pick your cookie.  There are 10 varieties to chose from: chocolate chip, double chocolate chip, white chocolate macadamia nut, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, butter sugar, turtle, snickerdoodle, carnival, and lemon heaven.  Oh, and 4 types of vegan cookies, and 4 types of gluten-free cookies too.  18 total, compared to Over the Moon's 5.  Choices for everyone.  Oh, and did I mention, you can mix and match when you make your ice cream sandwich, so you can pick two totally different cookies, one for each side.  If I remember my basic math, that is ... 153 combinations!

The cookies are baked fresh continuously in a large array of ovens behind the counter, and left in warming areas, so they are served warm, a nice touch.  Of course, you could stop here, and just get a cookie.

But, most people then add ice cream, to make an ice cream sandwich.  Here the choices are even more extensive: more than 20 flavors of ice cream, including some seasonal options, plus of course a handful of soy based ice creams for the vegans.  All are on display behind a glass counter where you order.  And yes, you can sample flavors before you choose.

And then, optional toppings, like sprinkles, gummy bears, chocolate chips, assorted nuts, M&Ms, etc, that they roll the edges of the sandwich in.  That is, if you go for a sandwich.

You could also choose to get an ice cream sundae, with standard caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and cherries as well.  Oh, and brownies to as a base for your sundae.  Oh, did I mention, they also make milkshakes and float.  And, randomly, cupcakes?

So yes, choices.  Totally overwhelming.  At least you aren't bored in line.

Half Sandwich: Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie, Rolled Walnuts.  $1.50.

Even with so many choices, I went for an off-menu item: a half sandwich.  I read about it on Yelp, and I'm glad I did, as it was not listed anywhere on the menu.  A regular sandwich is two large cookies with two large scoops of ice cream.  I love desserts, but that seemed like a bit much, even for me.  So glad the Yelpers taught me something!

Of course, in getting a half size, you only use a one cookie, so I had to narrow down my choices to a single cookie.  I went for white chocolate macadamia nut, mostly because I just made a spur of the moment decision.  I am just not a big fan of cookies, and didn't have real opinions on this.  I appreciated that it was warm, but, it was just a cookie.  Ojan seemed to enjoy his choice of the carnival cookie (with M&Ms in it) in his creation, but, he likes cookies.

I sampled the seasonal pumpkin ice cream, but the nutmeg was too strong, a bit soapy tasting.  I settled on the peanut butter swirl, since I love peanut butter ice cream.  It was a peanut butter base with chocolate chips in it, and perhaps something else?  It had good peanut butter flavor, but was otherwise unremarkable.  Not really fancy artisanal ice cream or anything, like the other ice cream shops in the Mission.

I decided to get a topping just for fun. I went for nuts so I could have some protein with my sweets.  I was being healthy! (Or, so I told myself).  They were ... nuts.  I appreciated the crunch.

Overall, it really was just the sum of its parts.  No more, no less.  Novel I guess, but not particularly something I want.

The price however is remarkable.  A full size sandwich is only $2.99, which includes 2 cookies and 2 scoops of ice cream.  Toppings are additional $0.75.  The secret half-size is only $1.50, and totally sufficient.  Major kudos for creating a gourmet, fancy concept, and not charging accordingly.

Vegan Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip. $1.99.

On my next visit, I opted to just get a cookie, a very odd choice for me.  Even more ridiculously, I very strangely picked a vegan cookie.  I tried a few flavors of ice cream, and found them really unremarkable (soy blueberry didn't taste like much, the pumpkin was again too strong in the nutmeg).  I think their ice cream just isn't great, and I didn't want it.

But I wanted ... something.  Somehow, not a single one of the 10 varieties of regular cookie looked appealing to me.  They all just looked like basic, somewhat crisp, cookies.  But one of the vegan ones looked much bigger.  Softer.  Loaded with goodies.  So ... I got it.  Yes, I ordered a vegan cookie.

I was asked if I'd like it warmed up, which obviously I did.  It was handed over a few minutes later, moderately warm.  Not nearly as hot as I'd like though.

But the cookie was good.  It had a nice chew to it.  It was soft.  Almost gooey.  It tasted really buttery, although I know it was vegan.  I loved the crunch from the very generous amount of walnuts.  The little vegan chocolate chips got a bit melty.  Certainly one of the better cookies I've had, and shocking that it was vegan.

Single gluten-free or vegan cookies are $1.99, considerably more than standard cookies which are only $0.79 as singles (or $1.50/2, $2.20/3).

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Beverages from Panera

Update Review, 2018

It has been a while since my original review of Panera's beverages.

This is a review of a very non-traditional beverage, as only I would attempt to create. A chocolate-free hot chocolate.  With extra goodies.  Including ... chocolate chip marshmallows ... on the side.

Hot Chocolate with Chocolate Chip Marshmallows. No bittersweet chocolate sauce, 1 pump vanilla syrup, skim milk, extra foam, extra caramel, extra marshmallows, on the side. Large. $5.59.

"Hot chocolate made with our new bittersweet chocolate flavored sauce, steamed milk and topped with whipped cream, chocolate chip marshmallows and drizzled with a new salted caramel sauce."

The regular recipe for this is milk (steamed) + bittersweet chocolate syrup (5 pumps!) + whipped cream (from a can) + salted caramel drizzle (just a drizzle) + chocolate chip marshmallows (perched on top).  With this basic recipe, the drink clocks in a 630 calories.  You might want to consider this your dessert, not a casual beverage.

I however, didn't really want a hot chocolate.  I wanted a sweet warm drink though, and I really wanted to try the chocolate chip marshmallows.  So ... I made some modifications, all quite easy to do through the app, since each ingredient was listed separately, with a toggle for quantities/type.

First, I didn't actually want hot chocolate, so I clicked the button for "with No Bittersweet Chocolate Syrup."  Then, because I didn't just want a glass of warm steamed milk, I added flavor, but not so much it would be cloying sweet "with Vanilla Syrup (1 pump)."  And I didn't just want warm milk, I wanted it frothy (and, ideally, soy for flavor, but alas, only regular, skim, almond are options): "with Extra Foam Skim Milk".  But of course I wanted it to be dessert, so, also, "with Extra Salted Caramel Drizzle, with Extra Chocolate Chip Marshmallows."  But I didn't want the marshmallows to sink in, I wanted to really get to try them, so I asked for them on the side.

This takes the regular $4.49 price and jacks it up to $5.59, with the extra marshmallows costing $1.10.

I arrived at Panera just as my order was prepared, and I was thrilled to see the bag of marshmallows on the side.  I pulled off the lid, saw tons of caramel, and was pleased that they figured out my silly order.

And then I took a sip.  It was ... a hot chocolate.  A *VERY SWEET* hot chocolate.  I looked under my layer of whipped cream and it was brown.  This was definitely hot chocolate.

I looked at the tag on it, and sure enough, it listed some of my modifications, including the extra marshmallows, on the side, the caramel, the vanilla, but ... not the extra foam, not the lack of chocolate.  Confused, I looked at my e-mail order confirmation.  It was all there.  Clearly, this is an issue with their system.

I was glad I hadn't gotten far, and thus went to join the line and mention the incorrect order, showing my phone with e-mail on it.  It was quickly replaced, with something ... closer to what I ordered, but, not quite.

But to evaluate the thing I did get, since I tried it ... generic whipped cream from a can, plenty of it.  Incredibly sweet caramel, that was not only on top, but quickly mixed in to the hot chocolate, making it crazy sweet, and not chocolately at all.  I did not taste the "salted" aspected of the salted caramel.  I think the vanilla was also added, so this was just a sweet overload.

So, um, warm very sweet caramel chocolate milk with whipped cream (technically, warm steamed milk, regular + 5 pumps bittersweet chocolate syrup + 5? pumps vanilla + whipped cream + extra caramel drizzle).

Another Attempt.

What I got the next time was ... perhaps closer?  No chocolate syrup this time, but, instead of the single pump of vanilla syrup, to just give it a little flavor, it came with all 5 that are normally added.  So, very, very sweet, again.  Sigh.

The foam part was also missed, so it was just warm steamed milk, again, sweet steamed milk.  Somehow the caramel drizzle was left off this time, but I didn't mind.  Since my marshmallows were already on the side, those weren't re-added.

So this time, I had ... warm steamed milk, regular + 5 pumps vanilla syrup + whipped cream.  It was boring, very sweet, and not interesting at all.

Chocolate Chip Marshmallows (included, plus $1.10 for "extra").

But, to be fair, I was excited about this drink for one thing: the chocolate chip marshmallows!  My order, specified as "extra" included 6, so I think a normal drink comes with 3?

They were fun.  Soft, fluffy, slightly chocolate marshmallows, although, I say that generously, as they were basically just brown, not really chocolately at all.

I did like the chocolate chips embedded in one side though, great crunch, and chocolate flavor was evident there.

Fun to munch on, probably fun to dunk into a drink, if I ever let them hang around that long.

I wish you could just order these as a side, for the $1.10 upcharge, but I don't see any way to order just them, or even add to anything other than this one beverage.

Original Review, 2014

I'm sure you know Panera, so I'll skip all the general details.  Panera is a "bakery cafe", a casual place, where you order at a register.  While waiting to order, you can drool over the big displays of pastries, admire the bagels, and decide if you want a sandwich or salad made to order.  If you get anything requiring prep time, you'll be given a pager, that will buzz when your order is ready.  Most (all?) locations have wifi.

Panera is a chain, seemingly everywhere, even in my hometown in New Hampshire now.  I don't have much to say about the place in general, as I've reviewed them before.  Certainly never my top pick for baked goods, even if they claim to be a bakery, although I admit it, the bagels that aren't awful.  But this time, I am here to tell you about something different: the drinks.

Frozen Caramel, decaf.  $3.99.

Although this was described as "creamy caramel & icy espresso, topped with whipped cream & caramel syrup", the frozen drinks are actually produced from a pre-made frozen mix, which already contains the espresso and the cream-based components.  The pre-made mix is only available caffeinated.  Since I ordered decaf, this was all explained to me, and I was told that instead, she'd make it from scratch.  This did not bother me, as it is what I expected originally.

The result is much more like a Frappuccino from Starbucks or Freddo from Peet's, as they pull a fresh shot of espresso, add the dairy and the caramel sauce, and blend it with ice.  Except, that unlike Peet's or Starbucks where they would default to using whole milk, and offer non-fat, soy, etc as options, at Panera they make it with half and half instead.  My eyes went a little wide as I watched her pour at least a cup of half and half into the blender.  And a very generous amount of caramel sauce, not just flavored corn syrup, definitely cream based as well.  When she asked if I wanted it topped with whipped cream I almost laughed ... that seemed like the least offensive part of this ordeal.  (I of course said yes!)

Anyway, it was a lot tastier than the Peet's or Starbucks versions.  The coffee flavor was rather mediocre, but the whole thing was far more creamy, more like a milkshake.   Which I guess you'd expect, given all the cream.  I wonder if you asked for a Frappuccino made with cream if it would be delicious?

It also wasn't very icy, which is something I always dislike about Freddos or Frappucinos, but it seemed a little under-iced in this case.  I wanted it a bit more frozen.

The cup was swirled with decorative additional caramel as well, a nice touch in making it look pretty. The whipped cream on top was pretty standard, but good.  The drink was overall quite sweet from the caramel of course, but it was balanced out by being so creamy.

I'd get one again if I was craving a coffee-caramel milkshake, er, frozen drink.  The price was right in line with similar drinks at other establishments.

Iced Chai Tea Latte: after!

It was a hot summer day when I wound up at Panera.  Of course, this means I wasn't in San Francisco, as "hot" and "summer" do not belong in the same sentence there, unless being used ironically.  I was visiting my family in New Hampshire, and wanted something refreshing while I was out running errands.

Last summer when I was in town, I discovered that Panera makes a decent decaf iced coffee, so I went in expecting to get that, but alas, they only had regular iced.  Since I didn't want too much caffeine, I had to settle for plan B.  I was about to get an iced tea or lemonade, when I learned that my MyPanera account had a surprise reward waiting for me, about to expire in a few days: a free espresso drink or smoothie!  Since it was so hot out, I didn't want a hot drink.  And, after my months of forced liquid diet, I kinda despise smoothies.  My choices were easily narrowed down.  But I also didn't really just want an iced latte, and while the whipped cream covered frozen caramel drink was pretty good before, I wasn't looking for something so heavy.  So I went for an Iced Chai Latte.

I can probably count the number of iced chais I've had on one hand.  They just aren't usually something I go for, but my Mom loves them.  Since I was in NH visiting, I was surrounded by iced chai daily.  I think she inspired me to try it!

Described as "brewed black tea, honey, vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger & steamed milk, served over ice."

I was also given the option to add cinnamon and nutmeg, both of which I said yes to.  More spicing?  Sounds good to me!

I'm not sure why their description says they use steamed milk, as she clearly just poured chai concentrate and regular cold milk right out of the jug into a cup, over ice.

It was a good chai, although, like I said, I don't have a lot of comparisons.  Nice spicing, sweet but not too sweet, refreshing.  The extra cinnamon and nutmeg on top definitely added additional flavor, but particularly additional aroma, which enhanced my drinking experience.

Was it earth shattering?  No.  But certainly good if I was craving that sort of thing.

Iced drinks are available in only one size, 16 ounces, which looked big at first, but given how much ice was in it, turned out to be just the right size.

Decaf Coffee.

The coffee is pre-brewed, available self-service in carafes labelled with the brew time.  They have a light roast, a dark roast, and hazelnut, plus decaf.

I had the decaf, with a little hazelnut on top for some extra flavor.  It wasn't bad at all.

[ Not pictured ]

Decaf Iced Coffee

Their iced decaf is surprisingly good.  Unlike hot coffee, iced coffee is something I enjoy with added milk, which probably goes a long way in masking the decaf taste.  Their decaf iced has always been refreshing and enjoyable.

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Delicitos, Brazil

Delicitos is a snack food manufacturer in Brazil.  I love trying new snacks, so it was no brainer that of course I wanted to try these, when a co-worker brought them to the office.

The flavor lineup is definitely interesting. Spicy sausage.  Onion & parsley.  Cheese.  Barbecue. Pizza.  Pepper.  I tried the later.

Pepper Snack.

"These pillow shaped snack bites from Brazil bring the perfect pepper flavor! They're not too spicy and have just the right amount of seasoning to make you feel like you're enjoying a fresh and zesty pepper!"

I was drawn in to these.  Pepper flavor?  But what were they?  Not chips, but, uh, "pillow shaped snack bites"?  And am I supposed to want to "enjoy a fresh and zesty pepper"?

Pepper Snack: Close Up.

They were, indeed, uh, pillow snack bites.

Assorted sizes of hollow pillows.  Crunchy, crispy, delightful.  Way more fun than chips.  I loved the form factor, and wonder why we don't have it in the US.  They were wheat based, but actually tasted more like corn to me.

And the flavor? ZOMG SPICY.

Certainly the spiciest snack food I've had in a long time.  Maybe ever.  I adored the heat, and took great delight in cramming an entire handful into my mouth at once to amp up the intensity. They were spicy, but not unpleasant.

Fun form factor, great heat, what's not to love?

Serving Size.

The packaging made me laugh when I read the serving size though.  "2 cups of tea."

Is that ... a normal unit of measure in Brazil?  Or just a translation gone silly?

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Chocolats Favoris, Montreal

During my recent, very short, trip to Montreal, I discovered a wonderful thing about the city.  No, it wasn't the architecture, nor the poutine, nor even the Beaver Tails (sorry, they weren't great).  It was the soft serve ice cream.

Montreal wins at incredible soft serve, from chocolate shops no less, with elaborate high quality dips and toppings.

Like, Chocolats Favoris.  And, La Diperie.  Both were good, but La Diperie was better.

This review is for the former.

So Insta-Worthy!

Yes, I got a ridiculous creation.  Yes, it had cotton candy on top.  Yes, it was blue.  Yes, it was even called a "Kooky Cone."

However, it was good, a fun experience, and I'd go back.

Setting

Chocolats Favoris has locations in Canada only, mostly in Quebec.

Exterior.

The location I visited was in Montreal, located in a busy shopping area, right off what seemed to be a main mail.  Outside seating, fairly spacious interior, and decent seating all around.  And generous supply of napkins on all the tables, which turned out to be most handy.

Assorted Chocolate Products.

Chocolats Favoris is a chocolate shop at its roots, with a slew of chocolate products for purchase around the store, including assorted chocolate bars, "crunchy treats" of milk or dark chocolate with toppings, and tons of dipped things, milk, white, and dark chocolate coated almonds, blueberries, pretzels, cranberries, hazelnuts, pecans, coffee beans, and more.

They also carried some cooking basics, like chocolate shavings and drops, and fun toppings like mini marshmallows and cocoa nibs.

Fondue Cans.

And ...  a huge slew of fondues, which I totally would have stocked up on if I wasn't flying carry on only, doh!  I really would have loved to bring one of these home.

Fresh Truffles.

The fresh truffles I didn't even see anyone glance at, but, I'm sure there are times the place functions more as a chocolate shop than an ice cream stand, like, in the middle of winter.

But on a hot summer day, this area was empty.

Ice Cream Menu.

Step one: Pick your style.  Classic or Kooky.  In a cup or cone.

Then, pick your size, 5 choices, ranging from bébé, to mini, to petit, to medium, to large.   Yes, petit is the middle size, and, although this sign makes the littler ones look tiny ... they were not.

Then, pick your ice cream base, from 4 flavors of soft serve (or a twist).

And finally, your dip, from 12 flavors.

And that is it.

Wait, no other toppings?  That is right.  You don't get to pick the toppings other than the dip and the style.  If you go for classic, you get just dip.  If you go for Kooky, you get all their preset toppings.  No mix and match or customization.  Minus a point for this.

Kooky Cones.

"Our master chocolatiers have revolutionized the world of ice cream by developing a wild and decadent recipe for each of your favourite dippings!"

So about those Kooky Cones.

The recipes mostly all follow a simple formula: the base dip flavor, a drizzle of some kind of contrasting colored coulis, a crunchy component, and then a single large ridiculous thing sticking out the side, or many smaller mid-size things stuck on.

And yes, some of these were truly, uh, kooky.  All were quite Instagram worthy.

The maple flavor for example came dipped in maple white chocolate dip, was drizzled with milk chocolate coulis, sprinkled with graham cracker crumble, and then ... had a full size maple cookie perched on top.  The salted caramel version had the salted caramel milk chocolate dip, then caramel coulis drizzled around, and then caramel slivers, chopped chunks of pretzels, caramel popcorn, and maple popcorn all around it.  So 4 crispy toppings, and no one big thing sticking out.  Others had chunks of fudge, brownie bites, pieces of cheesecake, chocolate covered nuts, or other types of cookies (Oreos on the cookies & cream, a coffee macaroon on the tiramisu).

Aptly named?  I think so.  #kooky

Soft Serve Machines.

They have 3 machines, each with 2 flavors, but there are only 4 flavors total, since some are duplicated to handle volume and allow swirls.

When I visited the choices were vanilla, chocolate, orange, or strawberry.

12 flavors of dip

"Introducing the magic ingredient that transforms ordinary ice cream into an irresistible duo. Our famous dippings made with real chocolate are available in 12 distinct flavours—all featuring ooey gooey goodness. Every time you visit our creameries, try out a new flavour to spice up your experience!"

Here you can see all the dips, and they were dipped to order right in front of us.  They carry 12 flavors, with 2 "surprise flavors" that change out from time to time.

You are also allowed to sample if you need.  I liked that they had them so clearly displayed, so I could read the signs, see the colors, and make a choice.

Dips have either a white, milk, or dark chocolate base.  I was limiting myself to white chocolate since it was evening, which made my decision considerably easier in many ways, since my only options were basic white chocolate, cookies & cream, strawberry cheesecake, and cotton candy.  I went for the later, after sampling the strawberry cheesecake white chocolate, and not finding it to be very interesting.

Topping Station.

Behind the dipping station is the finishing station, perfectly set up for the ice cream makers to add on the ridiculous toppings in no time.

Cotton Candy Kooky Cone. Bébé.  $4.38.

"Cotton Candy, Cotton Candy Slivers, Pink White Chocolate Coulis."

Yeah, I went for this ridiculous thing.  I sampled 2 dips, and settled on the cotton candy.  And since the options are either just dip, or fully kooky, and I wanted some kind of crunch, well, the full on thing I had to do.

My creation came with a pink white chocolate coulis, dark blue shards of cotton candy slivers, and a chunk of pink cotton candy sticking out of it, all on top of a candy blue shell.  Oh boy.  And yes, I walked only a few feet away before a stranger, adult, screamed and pointed "Unicorn!!!" and asked if she could take a photo.  And when her photo didn't come out great, she asked me to come back so she could take another!

Anyway.  It was a looker, no question.

So, breaking it down.

Vanilla / Strawberry Twist Soft Serve:

For my ice cream, I was going to order just vanilla, as I knew the dip was plenty sweet, and the other flavors didn't sound interesting anyway, but my server said people really like the strawberry with it. I agreed to a strawberry and vanilla twist, and wish I had just done vanilla.  I don't like strawberry ice cream!  I somehow momentarily forgot that.  Whoops.  At least I had vanilla in there.

The ice cream was good though, sweet, creamy, rich, actually good ice cream, and not just a throwaway under all that dip.  Almost a shame really, as you lose it in all the dip.  But quality ice cream is always appreciated.  The strawberry was nicely done, fruity and flavorful, just not for me really.  Next time: simple vanilla, no need for anything else.

Cotton Candy White Chocolate Dip:

"Remember those times at the fair or circus as you pleaded with your parents to buy some sticky sweet cotton candy? Thanks to my creamy white chocolate base and colourful disposition, you no longer have to simply reminisce bygone days. My delicate sweet flavour will keep your memories alive now and forever!"

And of course, the blue dip.  Since it was a white chocolate base, it was sweet, and, well, it was cotton candy flavored, so, sweet sweet.  It actually wasn't cloying sweet, and it didn't scream out "cotton candy" in taste in any way, as it wasn't just sugar forward.  Honestly, it likely was about the same as the plain white chocolate dip, just, brilliantly colored and marketed.  That said, this isn't a bad thing, which white chocolate is quality, and not just wax and sugar.

The dip however was very thick.  Much thicker than generic ice cream stands with their waxy fake dip, but also much thicker than La Diperie, which I visited the day before.  The result was a softer shell, no snap, less pleasant texture.  And, lots and lots of dip obviously.  If you didn't like your dip, you were in trouble.  I liked it, but, again, not really cotton candy.  I think I'd recommend something else if you are looking for something more interesting than white chocolate.

Toppings:

The pink white chocolate coulis was just more sweet on the outside, truly there for visual only, no distinct flavor from the dip itself.  The shards of dark blue cotton candy slivers also didn't actually add much to the experience, I didn't taste them, nor even detect their texture really.

And then, yeah, the hunk of cotton candy.  Impractical really, but whatever.  It was fun.  And in the way, so I had to just pluck it off and eat it early on.

I opted for the bébé, and I'm very glad I did.  If this was a baby cone ... what was the mini?  What was the small?  Or, uh, the medium or large?  The baby cone was definitely enough, and not a little snack size like the baby cone at La Diperie as I was expecting.  Easily twice the size, so a better value too, as their price was about the same.

White Chocolate Crunchy Maple Pearls. $10.99.

"Symbols of elegance, pearls stand the test of time and trends. These delicate and delicious pearls marry the refined taste of crispy maple with a creamy white chocolate coating. We’re sure that they’ll always be in fashion!".

I also grabbed a treat for the road.

I recently became a bit addicted to Callebaut Crispearls (look them up, but they are used in pastry kitchens as decoration, or sometimes as ice cream toppings, but not generally something one just consumes.  Unless you are me, of course, and devour them by the handful).  These looked like large Crispearls, so I was excited to try them.

However ... I didn't like them.  They weren't what I expected, at all.  Yes, the base was a crispy ball.  That part was what I expected.

But, the ball was wrapped with milk chocolate.  I thought they were just white chocolate and maple.  Milk chocolate is fine, but, just not expected here.  And then the white chocolate.  But ... where was the maple?  I didn't taste any maple.  Not a single taste of maple.

So I expected a crunchy thing with sweet creamy white chocolate coating and decent maple flavor.  What I got was a crunchy thing with milk chocolate coating and what turned out to be a fairly unpleasant plastic taste.

I didn't care for these at all.

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Sababa, Catering

Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food.  Something you don't read about on my blog often.  For a pretty simple reason: I don't really generally like this type of food.  I don't like rice (unless in dessert!), I don't really eat much bread (unless breakfast baked goods} or desserts of course, I'm not carb adverse after all), I hate legumes, I don't really like yogurt or feta, etc, etc.  So generally, just not for me.  At all.  I rarely even like their desserts.

So, the fact that I fell in love with Sababa, a casual Middle Eastern street food restaurant in San Francisco, is fairly amusing.  It was catering even, never when any restaurant is at their finest.

Delicious Feast!

I haven't visited the store in person, but the concept is build your own bowl (with hummus or rice base) or pita sandwiches, filled with falafel, shwarma, and the like.  Not my thing.  But we had Sababa catering at an event I was at.  I tried a few bites mostly because I was bored, hungry, and, to be honest, a bit drunk the first time.  I was stunned though.

A few months later, another event, again with Sababa catering.  I was curious to see if the previous experience was just a fluke.  It wasn't.  No, it wasn't just random fickle behavior on my part, nor drunken behavior, I really truly like Sababa.  I don't understand.

That first time, I wasn't taking notes nor photos.  I did find some funny chat logs from that first night, which will have to suffice for real "reviews".  Starting with, group chat with my friends at the office where it was held, "OMG, the open mic event has REALLY good food! Mediterranean. Amazing hummus.  Fresh pita.  Great sauces.  Seriously, come try this."  And, to another friend,  "Open Mic night had REALLY good Mediterranean food, I have no idea where from, but holy crap it was good!"

That still sums it up for me.  Holy crap it was good!  So good, that I had to find out where it came from.  Sababa was the answer.

I know Oren's Hummus is the most famous hummus shop in the Bay Area, but for me, there was no comparison.  Oren's pita and hummus, and nearly everything else besides the sweet potato fries, did not impress me in any way (as you read in my review), whereas Sababa is something I'd gladly get again.

Catering Package - $8 Per Person.

"Sababa's catering meals are served family style. Each meal includes hummus, your choice of three salads, pita bread, tahini and hot sauce."

At both events, we had build your own pita platters, with a selection of proteins and sides.  The selection was different at both events, so I've been able to try much of the menu.

Each time the setup came with two proteins (eggplant and chicken the first, kofta and falafel the second), and the pita and hummus.

The first time I had Sababa, the salad picks were quinoa tabouli, moroccan carrot, and cauliflower.  The second time, it was beets, Israeli salad, and cauliflower again.

Tahini.

What really sealed the deal for me on Sababa that first time was the sauces.  No surprise there if you know me I suppose, but, I fell in love with their tahini and hot sauce (green Sababa hot sauce, made from serrano peppers, garlic, cilantro, and cardamom).

For some reason though, it wasn't included in our order the second time.  I think this was a mistake, as all catering packages are supposed to come with it.

Later orders came with only tahini, which is good, but I missed the green sauce!

Base

At the restaurant, you have your choice of base, a rice bowl with spiced rice and lentils (and one salad), a hummus bowl (with three salads), or a pita sandwich (with classic Israeli salad, hummus, tahini, cabbage, pickles).  Pita is their only non gluten-free item on the menu.

For our events, it was a DIY bar, with both hummus and pita offered, which of course, you could use in any way you wanted, not just as a pita sandwich or bowl base as they serve it.  Both pita and hummus are also available as sides.

Pita.

I don't normally go for bread, but, once I realized how good Sababa is, I went back and tried the pita.

The pita was soft and fluffy.  Clearly fresh pita.  Good dipped in the addicting green tahini or slathered with hummus.  Certainly quality pita.

Much, much better than the pita I found boring at Oren's, although still not my favorite thing.

Hummus.

The hummus was ... glorious.  Life changing.  The first hummus I've probably ever actually liked.  Really.  I don't like hummus, ever.  It tastes like chickpeas.  I hate the taste of chickpeas.  And yet.  This.  This was fantastic.

It was incredibly creamy and smooth.  I know people say Oren's has the best hummus there is, and Oren's hummus was creamy, but this was something else entirely.  I couldn't get over how fantastic the texture was.

And the flavor.  It didn't taste like chickpeas to me, at all. It was rich and luxurious.  Absolutely fantastic when combined with the tahini, or even alone.

I've had this several times now, and no, it was not a fluke, I truly adore it.

Proteins

Sababa offers 4 main proteins: falafel, chicken shawarma, ground beef kofta, and sabik (fried eggplant and egg).  The chicken and beef are the only two non-vegetarian items on the entire menu.

Falafel.

"Fried chickpeas, herbs, & spices."

The falafel was the option I was most interested in, even though I'm not generally a huge fan of falafel.  I've had some pretty bad falafel in SF, like the microwaved and spongy one at Baladie and the oily and flavorless one from Fresco Pizza & Shwarma, although Oasis Grill did a decent job.

Sababa did even better though.

The balls were a small size, and super crispy.  Seriously crispy.  They almost look over-fried, but I assure you, the crispy level is awesome.  Good texture, good flavor, not too, uh, chickpea-y.

They also had a great kick of garlic in them, and a lot of herb influence, really, quite flavorful.

This was truly good falafel, and great when combined with the toppings.

Beef Kofta.

"Ground Beef Kabab."

I didn't try the kofta as there were only 4 left and I wanted to be kind to others (and I wasn't sure if it was beef or lamb at the time).  It turns out to be ground beef, and I'd love to try it sometime.  I liked the looks of it, great sear on the outside.

Chicken.

"Chargrilled shawarma spice."
I don't like chicken, and this looked fairly dry, but, this was the chicken option.

Salads

Sababa makes 5 salads: Israeli salad, quinoa tabouli, moroccan carrot, roasted beets, and roasted cauliflower.  I've had them all, over the two encounters.

The first time I encountered Sababa, it was the roasted cauliflower, smothered in tahini, that showed me how tasty this food was.  It was really memorable, and is what made me try more items in the first place. 

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Morrocan Carrot

"Harissa spice, sheep's milk feta, orange, and cilantro."

That first time, we also had the moroccan carrot salad, which I tried, but I don't remember anything about it.

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Quinoa Tabouli.

"Picked red onion, kale, parsley, and mint dresssing"

 I do know I was impressed with the quinoa tabouli though, it was really vibrant from the mint.

I was so surprised by it that I even commented over chat, "I even like the damn cous cous!"  That counts as a review, right?

Roasted Beets.

"Dressed with yogurt cheese and Za'atar spice"

Eh, beets.  Another thing I don't really like.  I took one little chunk just to try it, only once I had discovered how good the other food was.

It was decent.  The beets nicely cooked, soft but not mushy, the labne added a touch of creaminess, the Za'atar was generously applied.

But it was still cooked beets, and tangy labne, and not really for me.

Israeli Salad.

"Chopped tomato, cucumber, & onion."

"Chopped tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and parsley dressed with lemon vinegrette."

The Israeli salad was fairly standard, tomato/cucumber/onion, but was fresh, juicy, and all same size cubes (good nice skills!)  The lemon vinaigrette was bright and refreshing.

A good compliment to the thick, creamy, hummus.

Roasted Cauliflower.

"Pine nuts, celery, & serrano pepper."

"Sesame dressing, serrano pepper, and pine nuts."

The roasted cauliflower was the first thing I tried, and liked, that first time.  I don't even really like cooked cauliflower that much, but I remember taking a really charred piece, and mostly some celery and sauce, and hoping for the best.

The flavors blew me away.  It was all about the sesame based sauce.  Creamy and really flavorful.  The cauliflower, like everything else, was well cooked, not too soggy or mushy, not al dente.  Just, done right.  The celery added freshness and crunch.  It had a touch of heat.  All awesome.

And ... it had pine nuts.  I didn't realize it until I had take my second bite, impressed, and looked closer to investigate more.  Uh-oh.  Pine nuts.

I ... don't eat pine nuts.  There are only two things (besides things I'm allergic to) that I will not eat: pine nuts and rabbits.  Rabbits because I had too many pet bunnies to bring myself to do this.  Pine nuts, because I experienced pine nut syndrome a couple years ago, and it ruined my life for nearly a week.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go look it up on Google.  I promise it is real, and it was more horrible than I ever could have imagined.  I have not been willing to eat pine nuts, no matter what that means not trying, no matter where I am, ever since.  I can't say I planned to *never* have pine nuts again in my whole life, but I was prepared to go another 10 years easily.  And then this happened.  My extreme fear of pine nuts at this point meant that not only would I not eat pine nuts, I certainly wouldn't touch anything that had touched them.

I was fairly deer in headlights once I realized what had gone down, and also, that I had more on my plate, mixed with everything else, and there were pine nuts everywhere.

Once I gained my composure, I tried another few bites of the hummus and tahini, things that weren't touching anywhere near the cauliflower.  It was so good.

I caved.  I didn't eat any pine nuts, carefully picking around them, but, I did eat this dish, and it obviously was "contaminated" with the pine nuts.

The second time I got Sababa, I hesitated, and then got it again, still avoiding the pine nuts, but, yeah.  I love how well roasted and smoky the cauliflower is.  They managed to make cauliflower interesting.

I was willing to risk pine nuts.

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Simba Chips, South Africa

Snack foods!  Fun flavored chips!  Yup, some of my favorite things.  Even more fun?  Snacks from other countries.  Like South Africa, where Simba chips originate from.

"Simba chips are made from only the very best potatoes grown right here in Southern Africa, and while every young potato aspires to become a Simba Chippie, only the very best make the grade. 

Simba, the King of Snacks, is very choosy, and he guarantees that every pack will be of the highest quality, and will always Roarrrr with flavour!"

The flavors are fascinating: smoked beef, mexican chilli, cheese & onion, tomato ... along with more standard salt & vinegar or creamy cheddar.  All promise to "Roarrrr with flavour".

Since I haven't actually visited South Africa, I was only able to sample one variety, when it came in our monthly snack food box.  It made me wish I had the chance to try more.

Mexican Chilli Flavored Potato Chips.

The flavor we tried was Mexican Chilli.

It was a decent chip.  I liked the ridges style.

The salt level was good, and they had a bit of heat to them, but not as much as I was expecting.  I've had many other jalapeno chips, or similar, that packed more punch, or, uh, roar.

But a decent chip, good form factor, enjoyable.  I found myself kinda addicted to them.  If you feel the same, it is is pretty understandable why: MSG and sugar are two key ingredients.  Yum.

I'd be happy to try more of their chips.

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