Opera Patisserie

Opera Patisserie.  It sounds, uh, French perhaps.  And like it should have a fancy storefront.  But no, Opera Patisserie is a wholesale bakery, specializing in mostly cakes, along with savory quiches, for the hospitality industry, with no physical retail store.  They are based in Southern California.

"Since 2002 Opera Patisserie has been creating desserts for the hospitality setting that are innovative and exciting as well as beautifully presented and delicious. The ingredients are some of the finest available such as chocolate from Belgium, fruit purees from France as well as the best local California products such as almonds flour and dairy items. Many of the items are Gluten Free."

That said, they do promise quality sourcing, chocolate from Belgium, fruit puree from France, yadda yadda, and they do actually offer a large number of gluten-free or vegan items.  My distributor offered most of their product line, so I was eager to try out items from across the menu, and happy that I'd be able to offer desserts to my gluten-free diners.

But alas, nearly everything we tried was ... really quite bad.  And we tried quite a few.  All awful, except one, single item.

Tartlets

Opera Patisserie makes tartlets in 8 flavors: Pistachio, Lemon Meringue, Key Lime, Chocolate, Coconut, Red Berry, Apple Crumble, and Salted Caramel.  They are all bite sized, use the same tart shells, and arrive frozen.  I've tried several, and they are all awful.

Apple Crumble.

The first tartlet I tried looked ok.  A cute little apple crumble.

But the tart shell was pretty horrible.  I don't like tart shells in general, but this was soggy, broke apart, and wasn't buttery or redeeming in any way.

The filling was cubes of apple (mixed with high fructose corn syrup of course), overly spiced with cinnamon/nutmeg, and was very mushy.

The crumble on top?  Also mushy/soggy.

Nothing good about this, clearly not an item that did well with defrosting.

Pistachio.

Next I went for pistachio, drawn in by the (clearly, fake) color, and creamy, pudding-like look of it.

It was no better.  And the ingredients in this?  Not so wholesome:

Cream (Milk, Carrageenan, Mono, And Diglycerides, Polysorbete 80), Food Color Green (Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Glycerine, Sugar, Modified Food Starch, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Vegetable Gums, Citric Acid And E 102, E133, Blue 1, Yellow 5), Almond Essence (Water, Emulsifier: Mono-And Diglyceride From Fatty Acids, Thickener: Xanthar (0.2%), Preservative: Potassium Sorbate (0.1%), Flavors), Unbleached Flour: Unbleached Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Pistachio Paste (Pistachios, Sugar, Canola Oil, Natural Flavor), Confectioner Sugar (Cornstarch), Pate A Glacer Ivoire (Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Fat (Coconut, Palm Kernel), Skimmed Milk Powder, Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin), Butter (Pasteurized Cream, Milk), Egg Yolk, Granulated Sugar, Egg Whole, Almond Flour, Vanilla Paste (Water, Alcohol, Sugar, Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Beans And Gun Tragacanth (Natural Thickener)), Water, Gelatin Sheets, Baking Powder (Baking Soda (For Leavening), Cornstarch, Sodium Aluminum Sulfate (For Leavening) Calcium Sulfate, Monocalcium Phosphate (For Leavening)), Chocolate White 30% (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Whole Milk Powder, Skimmed Milk Powder, Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavor), Canola Oil, Cocoa Butter Chips.

I mean, really?

Anyway, this one was just as bad as the apple.

Soggy, soft tart shell.  Strange flavored filling that was medicinal in nature.  It didn't taste like pistachio, but seriously, how could it, given how much other junk was inside?

Chocolate.

The chocolate one was equally bad.

The tart shell this time was different - mushy chocolate, sorta like a mushy brownie.  The chocolate frosting offered nothing.

Cakes

The cakes, available round or in sheet cake form, sadly, are just as bad.  I'll give a few credits for at least attempting to have decent gluten free options?

GF Tiramisu.

"Gluten Free Lady Fingers, Mascarpone Mousse, Espresso Creme Brulee, Gluten Free Crumble." 

I started with the tiramisu, always a crowd pleaser, and general kinda hard to screw up.  Enough cream, mascarpone, and espresso soak and things generally work out, right?

But ... this was ... awful.  Served as round "individual" cakes, but our cafe cut them in half to be reasonable portions.

I'm glad they did, as I felt bad wasting even what I did.

The crust? Sawdust.  Above that, a brown layer (espresso?) that was a horrible gelatinous texture.  Cardboard ladyfinger in the middle.  Ok-ish creme on top.  Bitter crumble.

Not.  Good.

GF Red Berry Opera.

"Gluten Free Vanilla Cake, Vanilla Buttercream, Red Berry Compote."

I still kept trying, as the items often looked ok ...

This one suffered from me putting it in a togo container, but I assure you, that is not why it was awful.  It was just ... awful.

Dry cake.  Mediocre "buttercream".  And the strawberry compote?  Soooo bad.  Gummy.

GF Mango Cake.

"Vanilla Cake, Vanilla Buttercream, and Mango Compote."

What about ... mango?  Nope, this was horrible too.

Mushy, mushy cake.  The cream was not interesting.  The fruity layer cloying.  Not for me, at all.

Mini Assorted Cupcakes: Vanilla, Chocolate, Red Velvet.

And then there were cupcakes.

Yup,  awful cupcakes.  The cakes were stale and dry.  Really not tasty, at all.  The vanilla didn't taste vanilla, just plain.  The red velvet tasted identical, it was just red.  Chocolate cake not very intense.  But so dry and just not good, at all.

The vanilla and red velvet were frosted with what seemed to be the same frosting ... no signature cream cheese frosting for the red velvet.  Honestly, it was just a pink version of the "vanilla" one.  Both, just plain.  The frosting was sweet and fluffy, fine really.  I liked the random nuts and chocolate on top.

The chocolate frosting was the best, really thick and fudgey.

So, frostings decent, cakes horrible.  Sigh.

Red Velvet Cake.

"Red velvet cake with cheesecake mousse and red chocolate glaze." - GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake / Cheesecake Mousse / Chocolate Glaze / Chocolate Crumble." - Opera Patisserie

This might be called red velvet cake, but it certainly doesn't look like any traditional red velvet cake.  Instead of cream cheese icing on top, it had a "red chocolate glaze".  It was nicely decorated at least.

And ... that is about all I have to say positive about this item.

It tasted ... odd.  Really, really ... odd.  I don't have a better word for it.  It had a funk to it that I did not appreciate.

Red Velvet: Side View.

For the side, you can see further that this is definitely not your standard red velvet cake.  It was a layered cake, with layers of red velvet cake and cheesecake mouse, rather than cream cheese frosting.  But that is not what was wrong with it.

The cake layers were mush.  Soggy mush.  Sawdust like mush.  The cake was awful, exactly the style of cake that gives gluten-free a bad reputation.  I hated the cake.

But, cheesecake mousse had promise right?  Wrong.  It was a strange texture, tasted *nothing* like cheesecake, no cream cheese flavor at all, and had a horrible aftertaste.

And the red chocolate glaze?  I think that was the worst part.  The funk was most prevalent in that glaze.

This was just horrible all around.  Bad texture, no red velvet flavor, and an aftertaste that was hard to get away from.  Do not eat this.

Individual Desserts

The last category of offerings from Opera Patisserie is "Individual Desserts", a slightly amusing categorization as aren't the tartlets and cupcakes, um, individuals too?

This category also turned out to be the only decent items I had from Opera Patisserie.

Chocolate Dome.

"Crunchy parline base, chocolate mousse, and vanilla creme brulee and cherry in brandy." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Crunch Praline Base Chocolate Mousse with Vanilla Crème Brulee and  Cherry in Brandy." -- Opera Patisserie

Um, this was good.  Really, really good.  And yes, you are still reading about Opera Patisserie.

I'll start with the chocolate mousse, certainly the defining element.  It was ... really wonderful chocolate mousse, deep chocolate flavor (58% dark chocolate is used), creamy and rich, yet somehow light in texture.  A decadent mousse you felt a bit guilty eating, but loved every moment.  I would have been happy with *just* the mousse.

And it looked like just a chocolate mousse dome, but there was much more inside, exactly as described.

Chocolate Dome: Inside.

Yes, inside really was so much more.

The base was a thin crispy layer of chocolate mixed with some kind of crunchy praline, I think perhaps hazelnut, and it added just the right amount of texture.  Any thicker and it would distract, but this mixed in quite nicely.  I liked even the base, and it went so well with the mousse.

And then the middle, "vanilla creme brûlée".  Ok, it was not really creme brûlée, there wasn't a brûlée element here obviously, but there was a nicely set, rich and creamy, vanilla custard.  You know how I feel about creme brûlée, so I was thrilled by this component too.  Just like the chocolate mousse, it was really well done.  It helped cut the intense chocolate level quite a bit, but certainly didn't lighten the item up any, as custard isn't exactly a light offering.

And finally, yup, pieces of branded cherries, juicy and a bit boozy.  I did enjoy the chocolate and cherry pairing.

Put this all together, and you had texture and crunch, fabulous mousse, intense chocolate, and a bit of booziness ... really, what more does a dessert need?  I actually added a little whipped cream to lighten it up, but I decided that it wasn't really necessary.

I really enjoyed this, would happily get another.

Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Mousse.

"Vegan chocolate mousse and gluten free chocolate cake."

These come as squares, but our caterer cut them all in half.

Which was plenty.  This wasn't a great item.  But it wasn't awful.  Just, mediocre.

The cake wasn't dry exactly, but it was ... well, what you expect from gluten-free.  The mousse was fluffy, but not very strong in the chocolate department.

If you are vegan and gluten-free though, this could be exciting perhaps? It fared better than most of the offerings.

Read More...

Hinodeya Downtown

Hinodeya Downtown is, you guessed it, the "downtown" location of Hinodeya, a Ramen Bar.  The main (US) location is in Japantown in SF, but both SF locations are the first US based sites of a very long running ramen family from Japan.

"I LOVE “DASHI”

 Their tagline, simple, and to the point.  The key component of their ramen: quality dashi.

“DASHI” is a traditional stock of bonito skipjack tuna (katsuo) and konbu seaweed, making a broth brimming with umami, the savory fifth taste sensation. Enjoy a cultural taste of Japan through Ramen."

I'm not a ramen fan really, but this restaurant gets such stellar reviews, and was open with takeout during the COVID days, so, I finally went to check it out.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

I ordered via Seamless (e.g. Grubhub), and the first time, my order was ready, literally, *exactly* at the time I specified.  I literally watched it come from kitchen to window, at 1:29pm, it was packaged up, and ready at 1:30pm.  Wowzer.  And the staff?  Really friendly, even a nod from the kitchen.  My second visit was no different, order ready promptly, friendly staff.  Same thing the third time.  This establishment has nailed takeout.

Setting

I don't know anything about the Japantown location, but the "downtown" location is indeed downtown, on the edge of Chinatown.  Open every day, lunch and dinner.

Storefront.

The street really was a bit sad during early COVID shelter in place, with most businesses closed (it *was* also Sunday), but Hinodeya had a nice curb appeal, the actual light up sign in Japanese, and more signage down on the street to draw you in.  

Since indoor seating was closed, I cannot comment on that, but, the takeout setup was well managed, a table to get your order from, etc.

Outdoor Seating.

The first time I visited, outdoor dining was also still closed.  I took my food literally across the street, to Washington Square park, to sit in the sun and enjoy the glorious afternoon.

The second time however, outdoor dining was open, and they had tables set up on the sidewalk.

Outdoor Tables.

Tables all had a QR code on them to scan to order, contactless.

I ordered in advance via Grubhub, as I was expecting to just go back over to the park, but since the tables were all vacant, I was offered a seat there, which I gladly accepted.  My order was packaged togo, but had I ordered there (via QR code or register) it would have been served normal dine-in style.

Decor was cute, the little lamps on each table.  They are making the outdoor dining thing work.

Food

The main attraction at Hinodeya is the ramen, definitely the signature dish, although the menu is rounded out by curry & rice dishes, sides (mostly deep fried items, like fried oysters, fried calamari, veggie or shrimp tempura, crispy chicken kara-age, different gyoza), plus "small bites", items like edamame (regular or spicy), takoyaki, marinated octopus, and more.

It is the small bites menu that drew me in.

Shishito Peppers. $5.

"Lightly fried and tossed in a savory soy glaze. 1 in 10 shishito can be extra spicy! Vagan." (sic)

The peppers were clearly extremely freshly prepared.  Hot and fresh.  Lightly fried and blistered.  Perfectly executed.

The glaze wasn't too sweet, but it had a sweetness to compliment the peppers (and, likely, would go well if any were spicy!), and not too much soy.  Balanced quite nicely.  Loaded with sesame seeds, and I loved the nutty notes and crunch they added.

Overall, just a really, really well executed dish, one of the best preps of fried shishitos I've ever had actually.

Since it was just me eating them, I got a touch sick of them and split into a second serving, but I can see munching on these with friends, while drinking sake and waiting for ramen, being the ideal eating experience.

***+.

Agadashi Tofu. $5.

"Age Dashi Tofu is a dish of tofu lightly dusted with starch, then deep fried , and served in Dashi -based sauce seasoning with soy sauce. It is one of the side dishes that has long been popular in japan."

I may not be a ramen girl in general, but I do appreciate good dashi (I do love sauces and flavor complexity after all!), and, actually, sometimes love agadashi tofu ... even though I generally don't care for tofu, either.  I'm glad that a chef I really respect made me try it once, and introduced me to it.  Deep fried, flavorful starchy shell, creamy smooth tofu in delicious broth?  Now that I can get behind (and soft tofu is really the only kind I like, it is basically ... savory pudding after all, and you know how I feel about pudding ...).

My order came loaded up with goodies: plentiful bonito flakes dancing on top, a nice handful of sliced green onions, and, a sole shishito pepper, which I was thrilled to see.  Beneath all this was the tofu. The dashi was packaged separate for takeout.

The toppings were great.  Fresh harsh green onion, standard bonito, and the shishito was even juicier than when I had them as a side dish before.  They certainly completed the dish.

And the tofu?  Quite good.  It was really lightly coated and fried, less of a shell on it that I am used to, but still nice.  The tofu was soooo smooth and creamy, it really is a shame that tofu gets such a bad rep (even by me!) as the other styles just don't compare.

Basically, all nicely done, ***+, a well executed and composed dish.  But of course, the dashi is key ...

Dashi.

I really appreciated that the dashi was packaged up separately, as it most certainly would have gotten the rest of the dish soggy pretty immediately.

I had high hopes for the dashi, given the restaurant's seeming focus on dashi perfection, and, well, it delivered.  It was complex, flavorful, and completed the dish perfectly.

My only complaint?  Not really enough of it.  I wanted to slurp up more of that incredible flavor!  Maybe I really *should* get ramen sometime ... hmmm ...

**** dish overall.  I'd get it again.

Spicy Edamame. $5.

"Tossed in hot sauce with garlic and dashi sauce,spicy and savory."

This was a fairly random order on my part.  I'm not quite sure what I was expecting since I don't really like edamame that much (not sure why, I used to ...), but the allure of the sauce, and every positive Yelp reviews of this dish in particular, drew me in.

I also grabbed an extra crispy garlic topping "just in case", as they were stocked at the pickup area.

The edamame was, well, edamame?   Steamed, warm, fine.  But I wasn't really there for that, after all.

I did really like the sauce, it was complex, and yes, sorta spicy, and it coated the edamame well.  Intense garlic too.  It made sucking on the pods that much more fun.    That sauce ... I think it could do great things on other dishes too.

***+, as I am rarely going to want edamame, but the sauce was interesting to try.

Read More...

Ramen Kobo WARAKU

Ramen.  Not really something I eat much of ... just not really my thing.  But I do like other dishes often served at ramen restaurants (e.g. casual Japanese appetizers), which lead me to discover Ramen Kobo Karaku.

""Ramen D2C"- Your Favorite Ramen, Straight From the Kitchen!"

Honestly, I'm not sure what this catch phrase means.  But as I learned about the establishment, I became enamored with their story.

The owner hails from Japan, moved here 5 years ago, has background in all types of Japanese casual restaurants (izakayas, udon restaurants, ramen).  He lost his job when COVID hit, met a ramen chef who was looking for work too, and was inspired by what he saw going on all around - a city full of people struggling to make simple food, trying not to order too much delivery due to the expense.  And thus the concept of Ramen Kobu Waraku was born, with a desire to have quality ramen and casual Japanese cuisine, delivered across the city.

"We wanted our ramen to be more affordable, heartier, and tastier than ramen dining, and to top it all off, we wanted to have our ramen delivered quickly to people, which is why we decided to run with a "cloud kitchen". We don't directly serve any customers, and our kitchen is too small for us to have a diversified menu however, we can assured you that you’ll be blown away by our signature Tantan Spicy Miso Ramen or Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen."

And the way to achieve this was by *not* getting a storefront, and working out of a cloud kitchen, at the big 60 Morris Street complex, alongside a slew of other businesses and virtual restaurants.

While I've had, uh, mixed success with the 60 Morris businesses, Ramen Kobu Waraku is a shining star. Clearly a quality establishment, and I really hope they thrive.

And if you wonder about the name ... I learned that "WA(和)" means "Japan" or "relax", "RAKU(楽）means "fan" or "enjoy", and "Kobo" is like a lab.  So ... a relaxing, enjoyable, ramen lab.  I'll take it.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

My order was via Seamless (or Grub Hub), and was ready quickly (also, when I visited, Ramen Kobo Waraku was offering $5 off your first order! Score!).  I choose to pick up at 60 Morris myself, and just ate immediately nearby outside, but you can also opt for delivery.

My First Visit: Sublime Takoyaki!

The first time I ordered, I went straight for the takoyaki.  Sure, I was a little tempted by other things on the menu, which of course had ramen (pork, chicken, or even a version with ground Impossible meat), rice bowls, and a bunch of other appetizers (including several flavors of karaage, steamed edamame, deep fried shisitos, chili bean sprouts, some very tempting gyoza, and seared pork belly ...), and even cheese foam boba drinks.  But I wanted fried deliciousness with tasty sauces.

And fried deliciousness with tasty sauces is *exactly* what I got.  I was blown away, even compared to takoyaki I had in Japan (sorry, Gindaco, I know you are popular, but, no comparison!).

Takoyaki. $4.95.

"5pcs deep fried Takoyaki topped with Takoyaki Sauce, Mayonaise, Aonori, Bonito Flakes. (sic)" 

The takoyaki were glorious.  Piping hot when I got them, I was glad I decided to just stay and eat right outside.

They came topped with the expected toppings, just like okinomiyaki, of bonito flakes and aonori, and came with a small pile of pickled shredded ginger as well.  The toppings were all standard, but good for completing a "perfect bite".

I asked for my sauces on the side, so they were packaged separately.

Now, as for the takoyaki themselves.  They were well prepared.  Crisp on the outside, oily and greasy, but not in a gross way.  Maybe I was craving this sort of thing.  Plus, smother it in sauce and mayo, and it helps cut the greasiness, heh.

Takoyaki: Inside.

But of course, it is what is inside the takoyaki that matters too.  Sooo often takoyaki are filled with chewy octopus.  Or negligible octopus.  Or are under cooked and doughy.  These suffered none of those common problems.  These were perfect inside.

The inside was creamy, gooey, but cooked through, filled with good sized hunks of octopus, not chewy.  I was really, really impressed with inside these balls.  The filling was simple, no additional flavoring inside, but it was just really really well done, and once you had a bite with the toppings and sauce, it was just glorious.

****+ for the execution on the takoyaki, definitely the best I've ever had.  At ~$5 for 5, the price was fine.

And about those sauces ...

Mayonnaise & Takoyaki Sauce.

The mayo sauce I believe was just mayo, Japanese mayo though, which to me is always a bit less tangy, thicker, richer, and definitely tastier.  It added the right creaminess when added to the takoyaki.  And the "takoyaki sauce"?  DELICIOUS.  Wow.  Such complex flavor, sweet and salty, I think there was some miso in it, sooooo much umami.  If you have ever wondered what umami tastes like, it is this!

The sauces together were the perfect finishing touch.

Perfect *****, all around

Read More...

C'est Gourmet Pastries

C'est Gourmet.

It sounds ... fancy.  And french.  And what is C'est Gourmet?  It is, uh, the slightly-French skewed product line of baked goods from Boston Gourmet Chefs, a wholesale speciality food distributor.  They produce fairly standard pastries: danishes, croissants, cinnamon rolls, etc, along with some savory appetizers like caramelized onion or fig brie en croute.  It was their turnovers and hand pies however that drew me in, slightly more unique offerings.

Turnovers

The turnovers are actually vegan, and are available in apple and cherry versions.

Vegan Cherry Turnover.

I started with a cherry turnover.  It was ... not very good.

The pastry was fine, it was flaky, it was not strange and "oh, that's vegan", if you know what I mean.  But, it wasn't anything special.

The insides are what ruined it though.

Cherry Turnover: Inside.

This is what lay inside.

Cherry ... gel.  There were no berries, no bits of berries, just, gel.  Goo.  Sometimes goo can be tasty, don't get me wrong.  When its a runnier style, I really do love cherry pie from a can filling, but, this ... was a solid mass of goo.  Really not good at all.

*+.

Hand Pies

Hand pies are made in classic apple, strawberry, and cinnamon varieties year round (the last two of which are glazed - and strawberry one is topped with little sprinkles, making them look exactly like gourmet pot tarts!).  They also make seasonal flavors like pumpkin.

Unlike the turnovers, these are not vegan.

Pumpkin.

The hand pies were fine.  Large size, fairly classic hand pie shape.  Golden brown exterior, garnished with pearl sugar.

The pastry was decent enough, flaky, but not remarkable.

Seasonal Pumpkin: Inside.

Inside was filled with a mashed pumpkin, which actually tasted more like sweet potato to me.  It is blended with cream cheese and evaporated milk, creating quite a creamy consistency, which was nice.  However, the seasoning was too strong on the "pumpkin spice" (nutmeg, clovers, ginger, cinnamon) for my taste, but, I have a particularly low tolerance for nutmeg.

It was well filled.

Overall, I found this "fine".  The pastry was fine, but not great, the filling was fine, and had its highlights and lowlights. I wasn't really tempted to have another, but I'd love to try the iced varieties.

***.

Pumpkin (November 2019).

When "pumpkin season" rolled around again the next year, I tried it again, actually forgetting that I had previously reviewed it.

My new review is nearly identical to before - decent pastry, flaky, fresh, but not particularly notable, and good amount of filling, more sweet potato like than pumpkin, but again, just too spiced for my preferences.

They seem like a quality product, just not the one for me.

***.

Read More...

Cafe Madeline

Cafe Madeline is a small cafe, with two locations in San Francisco in the Financial District, offering up a wide variety of pastries, cakes, cookies, and more.  They also serve a few breakfast and lunch items.  Open weekdays only.  Their display cases always look fabulous, and their staying power, open since 1999, proves that the locals agree.

"Our own line of French style pastries with American influences."

While some of the savory lunch food sounds good (burrata lasagna! Pot pies with quality pastry!), it is the baked goods that drew me in, well, that and their puddings, zomg, I adore pudding in general, and fancy puddings?  YES! 

Too Good To Go "Mystery" Bag
The Real Real Cafe Cafe. $3.99.

My first time trying Cafe Madeline however was not by visiting the cafe itself, but rather, by getting pastries from nearby The Real Real Cafe Cafe (no, not a type-o, that is its name), a small cafe on Maiden Lane, located inside a luxury consignment shop (The Real Real).  They carry a large assortment of pastries from Cafe Madeline, along with savory quiches and puddings.

I didn't actually purchase my items directly however, I got them using Too Good To Go, a service that lets you reserve a mystery bag for discounted price, to "rescue" food that may otherwise go to waste.  In this case, I paid $3.99, and was given the choice of any 4 pastries from the case that I desired (except the cookies) or a pre-made salad (normally $17, as it came with fresh grilled salmon or chicken on top).  It was no question, I was clearly going for the pastries.

I selected:

• Blueberry chocolate scone (normally $4.50)
• Ham & cheese roll (normally $4.75)
• Strawberry ricotta puff (normally $4.75)
• Raspberry pop tart (normally $5.50)

The bag value was $19.50, so paying only $3.99, and getting to pick the goodies myself, was a fabulous value!  I highly recommend TGTG if you like surprise treats (although, beware, look at the ratings, some places really are not a win - think: expired items, rotten produce, etc).

Anyway.  Back to The Real Real Cafe Cafe and Cafe Madeline.  This was most certainly a win!

Ham & Cheese Roll. $4.75.

"Zoe's honey ham with melted cheese, served in a flaky pastry puff."

I started with a savory item, to at least pretend to be responsible and not just eat a giant pile of sugar and carbs.  I brought it home to lightly warm up in my toaster oven, while I assembled a little side salad.  See, responsible!

The pastry looked fabulous, quite flaky, but I didn't find it particularly satisfying to eat - yes, it flaked all over the place, and it was buttery, but somehow, not as glorious as it looked.

Ham & Cheese Roll: Inside.

The roll was generously filled with a thick slice of ham and cheese.  I loved how my cheese got all melty when I warmed it.  The ham was ... ok.  I didn't really think it was particularly great, although I know Zoe's is well known.  It didn't taste like honey ham to me, just, ham.  I added honey mustard to jazz it up.

So, overall, it fell a bit flat.  The pedigree was there - flaky pastry, quality ham - but it was just "ok".

***.

Strawberry Ricotta Puff. $4.75.

"Strawberries, ricotta cheese, organic flour, organic butter, white sugar, wrapped in a light flaky pastry puff."

This strawberry ricotta puff made up for the ham & cheese roll, and then some.  My goodness this was good.

Beautiful flaky pastry, dusted with powdered sugar to amp up the sweetness, but not too much.  The pastry alone made me quite happy.

But it was the filling that just made this item shine.  And shine it did!

Strawberry Ricotta Puff: Inside.

The ricotta was lightly sweetened, and soo creamy.  Like a fluffier cheesecake almost.  And then the strawberry, full juicy berries, bursting with flavor and fruitiness.  So incredibly good.  

Every element of this item was fabulous on its own - beautiful laminated sweet flaky pastry, incredible cheesecake-like ricotta, and juicy berries - but combined?  MAGIC.

I warmed it up slightly and enjoyed even more.  I'd get another in a heartbeat.

****+.

Raspberry Pop Tart. $5.75.

"White sugar, organic butter, organic flour, baking powder, organic cream cheese, raw vanilla and fresh raspberry compote."

I adored the strawberry ricotta puff, but ... the Pop Tart gave it a run for its money.  It was this item that I was most excited by just looking at it, and it really lived up.

Perfect crust, this one pie crust style, rather than puff pastry like the previous items.  Thicker, more firm, less flaky.  Covered in pearl sugar AND drizzled with bit of ... something sweet?  This thing could have no filling and I'd still love it.  This is what pie crust dreams are made of.

Inside was the raspberry compote, and it, like the other items, was well stuffed.  Fruity, sweet, and tasty, but I preferred the juicy roast strawberries in the puff to this, just slightly.

Overall though, fabulous, basically a fruity hand pie, and I'd gladly get another.

****.

Blueberry Chocolate Scone. $4.50.

"Butter, flour, sugar, eggs, cream, vanilla, baking powder, salt, blueberries, chocolate chips."

And lastly, the scone, strategy on my part as I hoped to save it for breakfast the next day.  Really, how many pastries do you think I can eat in one sitting?  Particularly ones as large as these!

I of course tried it right away though.

It was a good scone, soft, not too crumbly.  Loaded with big juicy blueberries AND chocolate chips, which did clash a bit for me.  I like both these things, I like them both in scones even, but, together, they almost seemed to compete.  Chocolate muddling the fruity goodness, and fruit muddling the chocolately nature.

Still though, this is just a nit, it was a great scone, and I liked the slight tang to it, not sure where it came from as it doesn't use buttermilk, but I liked it.

***+.

Read More...

Terra Chips

Terra Chips sound exactly like a product I'd love.  I've been on a ridiculous chips craving fest for ... a year?  I don't even know how long.  Somehow, mid-pandemic, chips just became a staple of my life.  I eat them every day.  

"For over two decades, TERRA® chips has had a passion for creating top quality, delicious chips. 

Our chips are made from real whole vegetables. We source a diverse range of root vegetables to create each delicious TERRA® blend."

And Terra Chips makes more unique chips, not standard potato based, but rather, all sorts of root veggies.  They were certainly the first of their kind in most markets.  While my potato chip love is a bit newfound, I've adored taro, yucca, plantain, etc chips for years, so, again, these sound like something I'd love.

And yet ... I don't.  I never did.  I've tried them so many times, but somehow, they just always greatly disappoint. 

Exotic Chips

The main product line by Terra is their "exotic" chips, available in several blends, from their signature original mix (also available with Mediterranean spices), to several potato only blends (Terra Blues, Exotic Potato, or Heritage Blend), to other colorful collections like the stunning Stripes and Blues.

Original Terra Chips.

The original variety of Terra Chips, aptly named "original", is the most complex: it contains 6 types of chips!  Luckily, it came with a guide on the back as to what they all were.

The lineup?  Yuca, Taro, Sweet Potato, Batata, Parsnip, and "Ruby Dipped Vegetables".

I was most excited for the first two, obviously, as I adore both taro and yuca.

Distribution of Chips :(
Parsnip / Ruby Dipped Vegetables / Sweet Potato / Batata / Taro / Yuca (clockwise from top L)

I of course wanted to identify them all, and taste individually.  So I sorted them, and to my dismay, I found they were not very equally distributed in the bag.  At all.  And the ones I was most excited for?  Yeah.  2 tiny fragments each.

My disappointment continued as I tasted them all.  These are very greasy style chips.  They were crispy at least, but oh so greasy.  In not a pleasant way.

Parsnip
"A member of the same family as carrots, fennel, parsley, celery, celeriac and chervil."

I actually had only one of these (the other that I thought was parsnip was thin batata).  It was slightly sweet and almost soft it was so greasy.  I think this could be good, but, the one I had wasn't.

Ruby Dipped Vegetables
"Perhaps the most dramatic, these TERRA ®Chips are kissed with beet juice, resulting in their distinctive autumn red color."

The majority of the bag was ruby dipped.

Interestingly, most of the ruby dipped ones were taro, with a few that I think were just sweet potato.  There didn't seem to be any others represented.  They didn't really taste of beet, but they had some kind of different flavor, sorta.  Again so greasy.  The ruby coating definitely masked the taro flavor, which made me sad.

Sweet Potato
"Sweet potato, a root vegetable often called a yam, is not really a yam at all, but rather a distinct variety of the Ipomea Batata family. Cultivated for thousands of years in the Western Hemisphere, sweet potatoes have become an important part of traditional American cuisine."

Boring, greasy, just a potato chip.

Batata / (Boniato or Cuban Sweet Potato) 
"Light brown in color, yet darker than the Yuca. Batata has been savored in the Caribbean for centuries."

Boring, greasy, just a potato chip.

Taro (also known as Malanga and Dasheen)
"The white chip with the characteristic purplish-brown lines."

These were the ones I was most looking forward to.  They were ... fine.  Pretty greasy.  Slight taro flavor.  Mostly just tasted grease, not lovely taro.  Not high up there in the taro chips I've had, but not *bad* exactly.

Yuca / (Cassava)
"The lightest of color of the TERRA® Chips, pale yellow-white."

Definitely the best.  Super crispy.  Wish I had more than 2 fragments!

Of this assortment, the only ones I liked were yuca, and I was quite displeased with the distribution of chips.

Original: Bag #2.

A few days later, I opened another bag.

The difference in the distribution was shocking.  This one was considerably more balanced.

However, the chips still were ... eh.  I was glad to have nearly full size taro and yucca this time, but, they were still just so greasy.  

I would not get any of these again.

*+.

Sweet Potato

Although sweet potatoes are featured in some of the exotic chip blends, Terra also has an entire product range devoted to sweet potato chips, some are just a subset of the ones from the exotic mixes, like "Sweets & Beets", "Sweets & Blues", or "Red, White, & Blues" (yukon gold, sweet, and blue potatoes), all of which use the thin, crispy style of sweet potato chip found in the exotic mix.  But others add in a waved ruffled version, slightly thicker. Available plain, with sea salt, barbecued, or mixed with carrot chips.  A bunch of other varities of the thin ones are also available, chipotle, mixed with apples, etc, etc. 

I tried just the ruffled sweets, salted to get a sense if I'd like the different style perhaps, given I wasn't into the ones in the mix.

Sweet Potato with Sea Salt.

"Sweet potato, a root vegetable often called a yam, is not really a yam at all, but rather a distinct variety of the Ipomea Batata family. Cultivated for thousands of years in the Western Hemisphere, sweet potatoes have become an important part of traditional American cuisine."

They *did* look entirely different.

Larger, thicker, wavy.  Not nearly as greasy.

But ... still just sweet potato chips, not really my thing, besides crunching up and throwing on top of salad or something.

Meh. **+.

Read More...

Sweet Joanna's Cafe

Sweet Joanna's is a cafe located close to my home and office.  I've walked by it daily, literally, for years, without giving it at second glance.  Open during the week only, for breakfast (bagels, egg sandos, etc) and lunch (sandwiches), and is always shockingly busy.  But as my office provided me with breakfast and lunch, I never had a reason to visit a cafe during the week.  So I walked on by.

That is, until the year(s) of Covid.  Somehow, Sweet Joanna's made it through, one of few places in the neighborhood that opened back up.  I was glad to finally check it out.

I always ordered online using Allset, or Too Good To Go, and pickup was quite easy.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

One extra thing to note: the staff at Sweet Joanna's are wonderful.  You can tell they know their regulars, and are a real family business.  I see the owner (?) slide free pastries into the bags of regulars often.  It is the sort of place you feel good visiting, and want to succeed.

Sweet Joanna's has, hands down, the best selection of chips I have ever seen.  Seriously, they carry a huge variety of brands, no loyalty to one or another, and within each brand, they have all the classic but also really obscure flavors.  I've never seen such variety in chips, anywhere.  Not even the grocery store.

They also have an impressive bottled drinks lineup, again, just vast selection, so many brands, so many flavors.  Little things like this show how much thought the owner's put into creating a great experience for their customers.  Chances are high they'll have your favorite, even if radically different from your co-workers, and yes, they'll have theirs too.

Sweet Joanna's had outdoor seating on the sidewalk, and did even before Covid days.  Most people tend to grab their items and go, but, for those that stay, there are a decent number of tables outside, and a few inside.

Baked Goods

While Sweet Joanna's mostly is a lunch destination, always crazy busy with nearby workers coming in for a sandwich and bag of chips from their epic selection, the baked goods are not to be missed.  I'm a baked goods lover, and I was highly impressed with the quality.  I was told that Sweet Joanna's bakes all their own pastries in house, daily, which is fairly impressive for such a small cafe, but, um, I am fairly certain that at least most of the items come from California Smart Foods, a wholesale bakery here in San Francisco.

The baked goods lineup ranges from dessert items like cookies and brownies, to breakfast staples like muffins and scones, to very tempting looking donuts, croissants, buns, and more.  They are displayed right at the register, and look amazing.

Pastries

The pastry lineup is what always draws me in.  Several varieties of croissants, danishes, sweet buns, and more.

Morning Bun.  $2.75.

The first time I ordered, I ordered online, and selected a sticky bun.  Alas, when I arrived, they had no sticky buns left.  Only morning buns (among other goodies).

I accepted the morning bun instead, but walked away a bit sad and annoyed.  I was in the mood for a sickeningly sweet sticky bun!  Turns out though, I 'won'.  Maybe their sticky bun is amazing, but this was incredible.  I'm almost glad they didn't have the sticky bun, as it lead to me discovering the morning bun instead.

It was GLORIOUS.  So much more than meets the eye.

Perfectly crispy exterior, flaky, buttery, moist dough inside.  Coated in soooo much sugar and a touch of cinnamon.  And, then ... MARZIPAN!  The entire base was marzipan.  Glory.

I adored this, and would gladly get another.  ****.

Almond Bear Claw.  $2.75.

Next up was an item selected for me, the almond bear claw.

It had a great shine to it, and was covered in slivered almonds.  I couldn't wait to see what was inside.

I'll cut right to the chase though.  This was a highly, highly mediocre pastry.

Sure, it was fresh enough, the pastry was flaky, and it did have plenty of almonds on the exterior, but it really was quite boring, particularly when compared to the morning bun.  I expected a generous almond filling, and it had very little.  There was a smidge of almond paste inside, but barely enough to taste.  The result was a fairly dry pastry, one full of promise, but no delivery.

**+.

Update: It might sound odd, but I froze half of it, and realized I liked it far more frozen.  Like, direct from freezer.  Still not a great pastry, but I liked it more this way. ***.

Apple Turnover. $2.75.

This was another item selected for me, as part of a Too Good To Go bag, but I was fairly excited by it, as I was in a bit of a pie mood.  I wasn't sure what flavor it was, but it turned out to be apple.

The pastry was fairly average, a bit flaky, a bit stale (it was end of day).  I liked the pearl sugar on top, even though there was a comical amount.  Inside was apple filling, a rather mushy, applesauce like style with a few chunks.  Very little seasoning to the apple mix, which at least meant it wasn't aggressively over spiced, but also made it not very interesting.

I didn't hate this, but it certainly was not as good as the one I had the week before from Le Sandwich (made by Dianda's Italian bakery), which I'll review soon.

***, highly average.  Once heated, and stuffed with ice cream, it elevated to a ***+.

Plain Croissant. $2.75.

Another Too Good To Go selection, the massive plain croissant, clearly not a flaky french style.

It was really quite buttery, and had a nice flavor to it, but a flaky, messy, quality French pastry it was not.  Still, I did enjoy it, and I think it would work great as a vehicle for a breakfast sandwich, filled with runny egg and cheese.

***.

Scones

Sweet Joanna's carries two kinds of scones, blueberry or cranberry walnut.

Cranberry Walnut Scone.  $2.75.

My second visit to Sweet Joanna's fared no better.  I again ordered a sticky bun online, but they were out when I arrived.  And they were out of donuts.  Only a few danishes and scones remained.  I told the staff member to pick for me, and he selected this scone, cranberry walnut.

It was ... ok.  I didn't really like it at first, as I don't like cranberry that much.  It was very soft, cake style.  I liked the sugar on top.   The nuts were minimal but I did like the crunch they added.  But, the tart cranberry didn't really do it for me.

**, at first.

But I kept trying, unwilling to throw it out.  I turned it into "scone porridge" 2 days later.  Yes, scone porridge.  A new invention, heh.  I crumbled it up, removed the cranberries, added milk, and warmed it in microwave.  Then I added sprinkles and cinnamon.

It was like mushy thick oatmeal, and the nuts were great.  I certainly wouldn't seek this scone out, but, hey, it worked as porridge ...

***+, in my new form.

Muffins

Sweet Joanna's offers up three kinds of muffins: classic blueberry, healthy bran, and banana walnut.  All have a homemade look to them, and uh, often look slightly burnt.  You know, "homemade"!

Banana Walnut Muffin.  $2.75.

The first muffin I tried was banana walnut.  I loved how it had slices of banana visible on the outside, and they looked gloriously caramelized.

I love a crispy top on my muffins, so even though this looked a bit dark, I was excited by how crispy it looked.

It was a decent banana muffin, very, well, banana forward? You had to be in the mood for banana bread to enjoy it.  Fairly spiced.  Moist, well studded with bits of walnut for texture.  The banana slices were only on the outside, but I liked what they added.

Overall, a fine banana muffin, but again, you had to want a banana muffin, which isn't usually my thing.  It went nicely toasted with cream cheese slathered on.

***.

Banana Walnut Muffin. $2.75.

A month or so later, I got another.  This one was far lighter on top, and had even more slices of banana perched on top.

It was slightly less over baked, but otherwise was pretty much the same.  Good warm with cream cheese, but not something I'd seek out.

***.

Blueberry Muffin. $2.75.

The blueberry muffin was letdown.

The top was crisp, but without a sugar coating or anything, it just felt a bit burnt.  Inside was equally dry, not a moist muffin.  The texture sorta reminded me of what I'd expect from a gluten-free muffin, although it was not.

It was loaded with berries, generous berries all throughout, but, the base muffin just had no flavor.  No tang, no sweetness, just, nothing.  Incredibly boring.  Again, sorta reminded me of what you'd expect from a gluten-free baked good, it tasted a bit ... like cardboard.

Boring, dry, meh.

**.

Cookies

I've long eyed the massive cookies at Sweet Joanna's, but they never make it to the top of my priority list of items to try out.  I mean, really, how do you pick a cookie when there are so many decadent pastries sitting there!  They offer only chocolate chip cookies, available with or without a chocolate dip, and coconut macaroons.

I finally tried one.

Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Chip Cookie.  $2.75.

One day, I actually really was in the mood for a cookie AND was really in the mood for chocolate, so the chocolate dipped cookie sounded perfect.

It was a decent cookie, quite large, crisp, which isn't how I generally prefer my cookies, but made for a good "cookies and milk" cookie, if that makes sense.  The kind to dunk in milk.  It was loaded with little chips, and the chocolate coating really just sealed the deal.  It was precisely what I was looking for.

These are also available in a non-dipped form, if, for some reason, you prefer less chocolate.

***.

Other

I still have never had the main draw of Joanna's, the sandwiches, but one day my Too Good To Go bag contained sandwich filling.  They also have a daily soup, available with or without vegetables, that frequently winds up in Too Good To Go bags.

Egg Salad.

Sweet Joanna's makes their egg salad fresh daily.  

It was a mushy style, with no obvious seasoning nor mix ins, besides the expected egg and mayo.  However, the moment I tasted it, I knew there was at least one other thing in here: mustard.  So much mustard.  The dominant flavor, not egg, but, mustard.  It desperately lacked any other seasoning.

I imagine on a proper sandwich the veggies, bun, etc would balance it out perhaps,  but, as it was, this was just very, very mustard heavy and mushy.

Eh.  **+.

Read More...