Doctor Kracker

Take one wild guess what sort of products "Doctor Kracker" makes?  I'll give you a clue: they make three different styles: "snackers", "culinary crisps", and "crispbreads".   Yup, all are basically ... crackers.  Er, krackers?

"The Doctor delivers! Seeds and whole grains are packed with vitality, protein, fiber and essential fatty acids. They are nature's nutritional powerhouse and form the basis of Dr. Kracker's award winning flavors. With Dr. Kracker you get the rich, toasty taste of organically grown whole grains and whole seeds, as well as an abundance of plant-based protein, heart healthy fiber and essential micronutrients. All this is in a healthy cracker that can be enjoyed alone or paired with almost anything. When it comes to wholesome whole grain goodness packed into an artisan baked and tasty cracker, Dr. Kracker delivers!"

The "snackers" are bite size crackers, loaded with seeds and whole grains, and come in three flavors: "klassic" 3 seed, pumpkin cheddar, and "seedlander".  The "culinary crisps" are also bite size crackers, but they come in a re-sealable bag.  Honestly, that is the only difference I see between the product lines, other than the flavors, the later of which comes in garlic parmesan, asiago cheese, or apple oat crunch.  And finally, the "crispbreads", which look like just bigger versions of the snackers, available in the same three flavors, and also in whole wheat or spelt.

"Whole grain strong. Whole grains, whole seeds. Simply delicious all by themselves. Even more delicious with your favorite dips or toppings."

Anyway, Doctor Kracker market themselves as being more than just crackers, in that they can standalone, or be used with toppings.

Pumpkin Cheddar Snack Flat.

The astute reader will realize that I never said anything about snack flats.  No, those weren't one of the 3 product lines I mentioned.  These aren't listed on their web site as a product line, but is what they brought to the snack fair my office was holding.  The best I can tell, the snack flat is half the size of a crispbread, larger than a snacker?  Perhaps a new line they are launching?

Anyway, I first tried one plain.  After all, they claim you don't need toppings.  Cheddar and pumpkin seeds seemed like they'd be more than enough to stand alone.  And they did have a lot of flavor.  Unfortunately, the flavor I tasted most was bitter flax.  I wouldn't have picked one up if I had realized there was quite so much flax in it.

I can't give these an unbiased review, as I'm sure if you like flax, your experience of these will be very different from mine.  But in my world, these were not at all good, and I didn't even want a second bite.

*+.

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Sweetie Pie's Bakery

Sweetie Pies is an interesting bakery.  

"Sweetie Pies is a nationally acclaimed bakery located in the heart of downtown Napa Valley and nestled in the historic Napa Mill."

The national claim comes in the form of all sorts of interesting awards, like Best Mail-Order Pies award fromBon Appetit (for their pumpkin pie), a feature in Food & Wine's America's Best Pie Spots (for their strawberry-rhubarb pie), etc. 

In addition to pies (which, yes, Sweetie Pies makes a large range of fruit, custard, and cream pies), Sweetie Pies makes tarts, cookies, bars, muffins (so many flavors, including ones with fillings), scones (again, many flavors, some quite unique), croissants (yup, so many options, like a unique "black and blue" with pastry cream, blackberries, and blueberries), coffee cakes, quickbreads, breakfast pastries (cinnamon buns, sticky buns, turnovers, danishes, morning buns, bearclaws, etc), cakes and cupcakes, cheesecakes, puddings, and even "Retro Desserts" like fancy versions of Twinkies, Nutter Butters, Yodels, and Whoopie Pies.  If you visit the bakery itself, they also have a breakfast and lunch menu.

Sweetie Pies seems to have a large wedding cake and wholesale business, which is how I encountered their goods.

Dessert Bars

Bars are not one of my favorite types of desserts, but alas, sometimes I attend events where the host pick, well, not my favorites.  Sweetie Pies makes all your classic bars: brownies, pecan or lemon bars, Seven Wonders, yadda yadda, and healthier items like a low fat oatcake.

Raspberry Coconut Bar.

"Raspberry jam layered with sweet coconut on a graham cracker crust." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Graham cracker crust topped with raspberry jam and a coconut streusel topping." -- Sweetie Pies

Well, it was a bar.  Featuring what was basically a dry crust.  Not exactly my thing.

The base was described as a "graham cracker crust", but, really this was a dense, kinda dry, thick cake.  I didn't care for it.

On top of that was the fruity raspberry jam layer.  Very fruity.  Very sweet.  You need to really want fruity to like this bar.  But if you are in that mood, then, yes, very fruit forward.

On top is a very thick layer of coconut.  Not sure what was "streusel" about it though, it was just lots of coconut, kinda burnt on top. 

This certainly was not an item for me, but, if you like fruity, you like cake, and you like a lot of coconut, perhaps it is for you?  Besides the burnt top, I can't actually criticize the execution of it.

***.

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Uncle Toby's

If you go to Australia, and you ever eat any kind of oats or cereal, chances are high you will encounter Uncle Toby's.  Traditional, rolled, quick oats, in blends, in sachets, in cups.  Cold cereals, including, basic Weeties and, um, Cheerios?  How are those an Uncle Toby's product, not General Mills?  Grab n go snacks like oat balls, oatslices, muesli bars, and more.  Even oat milk.  Yup, Uncle Toby's has the oat-related market down.

I know I've had plenty of the cereals at hotel breakfast buffets over the years, but alas, I never took notes or photos on them.

Muesli Bars

"Uncle Tobys Muesli Bars, for tasty and wholesome energy on-the-go We're proud to bring you Australia’s largest range of 4 out of 5 Health Star Rating muesli bars.

When you need energy to power through your day, reach for an Uncle Tobys Muesli Bar. They're made with 100% Australian oats, with no artificial colours or flavours, so they're a nutritious and great-tasting way to fuel you on your journey to greatness."

Uncle Toby's makes a lot of bars.  Even within the most basic category, muesli bars, they have 3 styles: chewy, crunchy, or yoghurt topps (yes, this is how they spell it.  No, that is not normal Australian).  These sound like granola bars to me, just, Australianized. Oh, a line of drizzled ones.

I didn't bother try the chewy or crunchy, since I never really want granola bars, but the yoghurt ones sounded interesting at least.  Yogurt Topps are available in 5 flavors: Mango and Passionfruit, Raspberry, Strawberry, Apricot, and Honeycomb.

Apricot Yoghurt Topps Muesli Bar.

I really wanted to find the honeycomb flavor, but alas, I did not, so I opted for my second choice: apricot.

Yes, it was basically a granola bar, made with Uncle Tobys rolled oats as the base, with little bits of dried apricot (and apple) inside, coated in a "yoghurt compound", and topped with coconut.

I figured I'd try a bite and pass it on to my traveling companion.  Just a granola bar, right?

Well, it was (honestly, not sure what classified this as muesli rather than granola), but it was really quite enjoyable, and I never ended up sharing.

The bar was a soft style, nicely sweetened.  I loved the bits of apricot.  The flavor came through loud and clear and the pieces of fruit added a nice chew.

The yoghurt coating wasn't as questionable as many are.  Sure, it was made from all sorts of odd ingredients, but it was smooth and creamy, and the sweetness was quite pleasant.

I wasn't expecting the shredded coconut on the outside, and I ended up really liking that too, again, good flavor that you could really taste, and added texture.

So, overall?  Yes, a granola bar, but a really good one.  It was sweet, it was chewy, it had creamy coating, and it perfectly satisfied me.

****.

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Super Duper Burger

Update Review, 2022

I know it is a burger place, and a popular one at that, but, I go to Super Duper for one thing: ice cream!  Specifically, soft serve.  As you know from my earlier reviews (below!), Super Duper usually has really, really good soft serve.  Just chocolate or vanilla (or twist), but, super creamy, rich, Strauss base.  Some of the best soft serve, for basic flavors, in the city.

Vanilla with Dip. $4.75 + $0.50.

I lovely summer-ish day, I was so excited to get my soft serve (with dip, because, really, I'm a little kid at heart!).

Alas, on this day, it was not as glorious as usual.  The consistency was just off.  Slightly icy.  Sorta grainy.  Pretty mediocre, actually.  The flavor was still great - such quality vanilla, but alas, the consistency really was not up to their regular standards.

I did enjoy the snappy chocolate shell, even though it made eating it a bit difficult on the hot day, as the ice cream underneath melted quickly.

Overall though, due to the consistency issues, just a mediocre cone.  Had this been my first from Super Duper, I would never return.  **+.

I grew up in the land of soft serve (well, during the summer that is, memorial day through labor day, soft serve stands everywhere, but alas, none off season!), so to me, paying much more than $1-2 for a cone still feels expensive.  So the Super Duper base price of $4.75 just seemed, um, crazy, honestly.  I know this is SF, and it *is* organic soft serve, so I get it.  But still, given how mediocre the cone was, it really was not worth it.  Um, Burger King and McDonald's soft serve is generally better than this was today.  The $0.50 add-on for dip seems reasonable.

Update Review: 2019/2020 Visits

My first visit to Super Duper Burger was actually for breakfast, amusingly, as you read about before (good breakfast sandwiches, great donuts).  But finally I have returned and tried the namesake item (burger), and a few other things.  The highlight though? ZOMG, the ice cream.  Best soft serve I've found in San Francisco.  And they have dip ... swoon.

Catering: Mini Burger with Cheese.

The first time I had the burger, it was at a catered event, and I was blown away.  So I set out to visit the restaurant in person, stat.

Burger (with cheese).

"4 oz. patty, with Super Sauce, Add Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato."

Ok, wow, this was good.

Burger (inside).

The bun was soft and fluffy, the patty fairly juicy and flavorful, the cheesy nicely melty, and just the right amount of other garnish (lettuce, tomato).  Really an excellent, non-fancy, burger, although I think it was even better at the event.

Three Dips. $1.50.

"Super Sauce, Housemade Mayo, Chipotle".

I tried the trio of sauces, available to go along with your fries.

The super sauce was pretty classic "special sauce", creamy, flavorful, good, not quite what I wanted for my fries, but excellent on a burger.

The housemade mayo really surprised me, my favorite of the trio.  It was somehow more ... flavorful than most?  I really liked it.

The chipotle was my least favorite, as I don't actually like chipotle seasoning.

Super Salad. $6.50.

"With Cucumber, Tomatoes, Pumpkin Seeds and Quinoa. Choice of Caesar Dressing or Lemon Vinaigrette."

Super Duper offers only a single salad, a kinda boring option really, just mixed greens with huge chunks of cucumbers and tomato, and a bit too generously topped with pumpkin seeds, quinoa, and red onion for my taste.  I ordered the Caesar dressing, but alas, was given the lemon vinaigrette, and didn't realize until too late.  I don't like vinaigrette!

The base was fine, pretty standard mixed greens.  Fresh enough.  Same with the tomatoes.  The red onion was a bit ... slimy and really quite strong.  Too much was added, and this seems better for a burger than a salad.  Too harsh.

The cucumbers I *loved*.  I don't really know why, but I loved them.  Fresh, crisp, maybe slightly pickled?  Or at least not a common cucumber variety.  I really, really, really liked the cucumbers.

The quinoa and pumpkin seeds were standard, but much like the red onion, applied with a heavy hand.  Vinaigrette was standard too, tangy lemon, not for me.

Grilled Chicken. $3.50.

You can add on a few things to the salad, such as any of the burger patties (beef, chicken, veggie), or burger toppings (bacon, avocado, egg, grilled onions, jalapeño peppers).

This wasn't for me, but my friend added grilled chicken.  It looked ... uh ... sad.

Regular Vanilla & Chocolate Twist, with Chocolate Dip. $4.50.

"Straus Family Creamery organic soft serve ice cream."

If you've had Staus soft serve around the Bay Area, I don't need to tell you that this is quality soft serve.  For simple vanilla and chocolate, Straus sets a high bar, certainly the best in the area.

The ice cream is perfectly rich and creamy.  The chocolate soft serve is just right, milk chocolate, certainly not mild.  The vanilla I actually think I prefer, but, I had a moment of FOMO, so I went for the swirl.   Seriously, it is such excellent ice cream.

It didn't need a topping.  Really.  But, when a place has chocolate dip as an option, how do you not go for it?  The dip was expertly applied, my cone entirely in tact and photogenic after its bath in the chocolate dip.  The dip hardened immediately, and formed a delightful shell to crack through.  Like the chocolate in the ice cream, it was milk chocolate, but quality chocolate.

Even the *cone* was good.  I usually consider cake cones just a vessel for my ice cream, so often stale, so often cardboard-esque.  But this cone?  It was ... fresh.  Crisp.  Seriously, I even liked this cone.  

Best soft serve in San Francisco, so glad to have discovered it!

Original Review: May 2016 breakfast

Super Duper Burger is obviously known for, well, the burgers.  But, I went for breakfast.  And it was great.

I'll rewind a bit.  Super Duper is a relatively small chain, with 6 locations in SF and a few in the surrounding areas.  I remember when the first one opened, and I thought, "oh, just another cheap burger place".  I glanced at the menu, and wasn't really inspired to visit.  They only have regular fries, no fun sides like sweet potato fries or onion rings (random aside: it is even on their FAQ about why they don't have sweet potato fries, so, clearly, I'm not the only one who wishes they did!).  They have basic beef, veggie, or chicken burgers.  And not much more.  Of course, the one thing that did catch my eye is the dessert, as they offer soft serve ice cream.  Yes, soft serve ICE CREAM.  I grew up in the land of soft serve, and really, really miss it in San Francisco.  Given that it is Straus Family Creamery organic ice cream, I imagine it is quite a bit better than the only other soft serve ice cream I know in town: McDonald's.

Super Duper's slogan, er, "promise" is "Fast food burgers.  Slow food values."  This translates into a fast-casual establishment, with decently fast food preparation, reasonable prices, and quality ingredients.  Everything is made to order.   The beef is humanely-raised, 100% vegetarian-fed and ground fresh daily (Niman Ranch).  The buns are made by a local bakery.  The pickles are housemade ... and unlimited!

But anyway.  I still have never been to Super Duper to try a burger, nor to try the fries, nor to get an ice cream cone (which, by the way, they offer with chocolate dip too!).  I went for breakfast.

Let's just say ... I was impressed.  As a fast-casual establishment I expected something more like McDonald's, or perhaps Starbucks or Panera.  But no, Super Duper is much higher quality, in terms of product and preparation.  And seriously, how many other fast casual places serve Four Barrel coffee and bake their own donuts?

The Space

Front Counter

The front of the store has two registers and menu boards with the main menu.  You order at the register, and either take a buzzer or just give your name (seemingly depending on how busy it is?)

The kitchen is to the side with an open pass.  My order was ready in less than 5 minutes, and my name called out from this area.

Condiments, Drinks, PICKLES!

On one the side is a self-serve soda fountain, napkins, salt, pepper, and basic condiments to go along with the burgers (ketchup and mustard), and ...  house made pickle spears.

All you can eat pickles?  Complimentary?  ZOMG.

On the other side is the self-serve coffee with sugar and creamer, along with water.

Seating.

The decor is pretty hard to describe.  Industrial feeling flooring, but brick walls.  Metal chairs and stools, but carved wood tables.  There are booths, regular tables, and large communal tables inside, and more seating outside.  At lunchtime, there is always a line.

Outdoor Seating.

Super Duper is also a rare find in San Francisco, with a decent amount of outdoor seating on the sidewalk.  During the week, this area is always full.

The Food

Super Duper Burger is, at its core, a burger place.  The main menu is burgers, and standard things that go along with burgers like fries and shakes (and of course chicken sandwiches and veggie burgers for your non-beef eating friends).  But I was there for breakfast.  The lunch/dinner menu isn't large, but the breakfast menu is even smaller.  They offer two things: breakfast egg sandwiches and donuts.

The standard breakfast at Super Duper is the "Mini Breakfast", for $6 ($5.50 without cheese).  It consists of a egg and cheese sandwich on an english muffin, a mini donut, and a small coffee.  Now, to me, a full english muffin egg and cheese sandwich is a full size breakfast, so, how you can add on a donut and call it a "mini" breakfast is beyond me.  But, hey, why not?

For $2 more, you can also upgrade to the "Super Combo".  This turns your small coffee into a large (totally reasonable), adds your choice of bacon, sausage, or avocado to your sandwich (again, reasonable), and ... turns the single donut into 3 donuts!  I hope that means you are supposed to share with friends.  Even though they are mini donuts, a full egg sandwich (with meat) and three donuts seems a bit ... ambitious for an everyday breakfast.  Anyway.

Coffee is self-serve, and Four Barrel.  I applaud them for offering decent coffee and partnering with a local roaster.

Breakfast Sandwich: Egg & Cheese.

"Super Duper’s breakfast sandwiches are made using farm-fresh organic eggs, cheddar."

As I mentioned you can also opt to upgrade to include sausage, bacon, or avocado.  I stuck with the basic egg and cheese, although, I do love a good sausage patty!

Since I got my order to-go, it came packaged in a foil bag (with a paper wrapper around it), all compostable.  The foil really did work wonders to keep the heat in, although I opened my bag and ate it as soon as I was a few steps out the door.  I couldn't wait!

Breakfast Sandwich: Inside.

I was really impressed with my breakfast sandwich the moment I opened it up.  It was clearly made to order, nothing like the pre-made and magically heated up offerings from Starbucks.

The english muffin was toasty on the outside, with a slightly crispness, and not at all burnt.  One point for that.

The cheese was well melted, it was good quality flavorful sharp cheddar, there was plenty of it.  More points.

And the egg?  Swoon.  This was no microwaved egg patty.  Remember all the different "egg" options I tried at Starbucks?  Yeah, this was not that.  This was, gasp, a real egg.  Fried.  It was perfectly cooked, not rubbery, and the center yolk was the right level of gooey and oozed out once I got to it.  Swoon.

I'm really not a huge egg fan, nor english muffin fan, but, I'm still somewhat in disbelief at how nicely done this was.  Quality ingredients, freshly prepared, what a concept.  I'd certainly get it again if I were craving an egg sandwich.  Next time I'd need to try the sausage too.

Donut Bag!

Donuts are available in 3 flavors: vanilla glazed, chocolate glazed, and cinnamon sugar coated.  I opted for the vanilla glaze.  My donut came in a really cute little paper bag that said "Donuts" on it.

Mini Vanilla Glazed Donut.

"We make our donuts fresh each morning using a super-secret recipe and an old-fashioned donut machine. They come dressed in a dusting of sugar or a sugar glaze."

I may have thought that a full egg sandwich and a donut was a bit sizable for a regular work day breakfast, but, there is something pretty fun about having a "dessert" waiting for you as part of your breakfast.  And, you know how much I love donuts.

The donuts looked pretty simple, just small, standard cake donuts, but, wow, this was a great donut.  It was clearly quite fresh (still warm even!).  It was a fairly dense donut, and it was a little greasy, in the fried dough sorta way (although it was a dense cake style not a lighter raised dough).  It was slightly crispy on the outside, but very moist inside.  It had a nice tang to the base flavor.  As for my topping choice, I really liked the sweet glaze.   I'm pretty sure the cinnamon and sugar would be excellent too.

The mini size was actually perfect, it made it not feel too indulgent.  An everyday donut if you will.

I really enjoyed this, and would certainly get another.

In addition to being sold as part of the combo breakfast, donuts are sold individually for $0.75 each, 3 for $2, or a dozen for $8, really an incredible value.

Mini Vanilla Glazed Donut.

And ... I had another.

Again, a nice donut.  A greasier, denser style, but not in a bad way exactly.  Tons of very sweet vanilla glaze on top.  This one wasn't warm, so not quite as good as the first I had, but I did enjoy it with my coffee, and, the size really is perfect.

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Cheez-Its

Cheez-it.  You know, the square, orange, fake-cheesy, thin, baked crackers.  Not an item I have ever liked.  Not as a child, not as an adult, just, not my thing.  At all.  

They come in several flavors now, besides the "original", and they come in larger size if you please, but none of those have ever appealed to me either.  I've entirely ignored this brand basically my entire life.

But when they came out with a new line, "Grooves", in 2020, I decided to give them a try.

Grooves

"Bold Flavor, Big Crunch."

Grooves don't look particularly like Cheez-Its, besides being square, as they are bigger, a bit thicker, and are, well, grooved.  They come in 4 flavors: Bold Cheddar, Sharp White Cheddar, Zesty Cheddar Ranch, and trendy Scorchin' Hot Cheddar.

Sharp White Cheddar.

"Cheez-It Grooves® bring you deep flavor and deep crunch, with huge white cheddar grooves. Cheez-It Grooves® Sharp White Cheddar crispy snack crackers are made with 100% real cheese to bring you that irresistibly cheesy, sharp white cheddar flavor!"

I tried the sharp white cheddar, and liked them more than any other Cheez-Its, or, really, than any other cheesy snack in recent memory.

The Grooves form factor really is better: crispier, crunchier, yet lighter at the same time.  The white cheddar flavor was decently sharp, and had a slight "grown up" taste to it.  These aren't your child's Cheez-its, is what they seem to be saying.

Would I go purchase them?  No.  But did I finish my bag, and find myself kinda drawn to them?  Yup.

***+.

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Delicious Alchemy

Baked goods.  You know how much I love them.  But ... gluten-free baked goods?  Skeptical.  Or vegan baked goods?  Yup, skeptical.  Or, uh, British desserts actually being good?  Same.  All of the above are usually not my thing, as I'm #teambutter #teamcream and care about the texture of my baked goods ... and yet here I am, talking about Delicious Alchemy, a gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan health food company based in the UK that makes baked goods.

"As coeliacs, gluten free converts, foodies and fanatics, we know it can be hard to find delicious food without the gluten. That’s why we created Delicious Alchemy, a place for the most delicious food crafted without gluten, dairy or anything unsavory."

Delicious Alchemy is a pretty successful company at this point, just over 10 years old, with a product line that includes cereals, baking mixes, and porridge, but they previously made mini-loafs, rolls, pizza bases, cookies, and more.  They also produced a line for Sainsbury's.  Last time I was visiting London, I got a chance to try them out.

 Apple & Sultana Cookies.

To make my adventure with Delicious Alchemy even more amusing, the product I picked to try?  Apple & sultana cookies.  Add more strikes to the list: baked goods at the bottom of my list?  Yup, that would be cookies.  And worst thing to put in a cookie?  I'm looking at you raisins (sultanas).  And yet, here I was.

These ... weren't bad.  They had more of a "healthy" taste to them, much like an oatmeal raisin cookie, but one that isn't loaded with sugar.

However, they weren't exactly a health food.  The first ingredient?  Margarine.  Lol.  And there were no oats, even though my brain swore I tasted it.  The base was rice flour, maize flour, potato starch, rice starch, millet flake, dried egg, and coconut, which, somehow, my brain translated into oat, because that is the only similar thing it knew.

The cookie texture was crispy and a bit crumbly.  I didn't taste apple, but, there was puree in there I guess?  There certainly were not chunks of dried apple.  The sultanas were dried, and weren't offensive.

Overall, this was better than I expected.  I easily finished one, and hesitated before giving the second one away to a friend.  But, at the end of the day, I'm just not that into cookies.

Overall, honestly a surprise, and I think these would have a place in my life is as ... healthy breakfast cookies, just not as treats.

***.

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Lahore Karahi

Update Review, 2021 Visits

It had been nearly 10 years (!) since I last visited, and reviewed, Lahore Karahi, an Indian restaurant in the Tenderloin.  The neighborhood isn't one I necessarily seek out, but, they have plenty of Indian restaurants, and some are really quite good.  My visits this time were in the depths of the pandemic, when I wanted some reason to get out of the house, get something tasty, and help support local businesses.

I placed all my orders online in advance, and although they were never ready when I arrived, they were prepared fresh to order.  The single staff member was friendly and seemed to be running the entire place (no dine-in service at the time).  I was impressed with the quality of my simple items, and I'll gladly return to get a full meal sometime.

Sweet Naan. $3.99.

"Sugar, coconut and raisins added to baked naan."

This was fascinating!!!

I had sweet naan once before in my life, and I didn't really like it then (my review, from Al Hamra), but also I had no idea what to expect then, and sought it out for dessert, which, it wasn't.

This version I also didn't know what to expect exactly, and I knew people said that it was different from most other sweet naan styles, so that made it even harder to reason about.  In particular, most other sweet naan has cherries, at least from what I've seen on menus, and this did not.

Anyway.  It was handed over piping hot.  Freshly made.  The foil literally almost too hot to touch.  I appreciated that they wrapped it up to keep it warm.

From the outside, it almost looked like regular naan, although it had some pockmarks.  

The naan itself was ok.  Not remarkable, and a bit chewy and thin.  I had it pretty fresh, so I don't think this was from being wrapped up a few minutes?  The chew didn't seem quite right, and I kinda wanted it fluffier, although maybe that isn't how it is done for sweet naan?

There was a little char on the bottom that was good.

But this was about the insides, anyway.  That is where it got really, really interesting.

Sweet Naan: Inside.

Yeah, inside.  *What* was inside?  I honestly don't know.

The menu said "sugar, coconut, and raisins", yes, those were all present.  The coconut was shredded dried coconut, the raisins were golden raisins left whole throughout.  And the filling had a sweetness.

But there was clearly much more going on.  In addition to the sweet fruitiness is a ... nutty earthiness?  I believe there is a substantial amount of sesame seeds.  Maybe some almond paste?  And there was bits of something orange and candied, some other dried fruit I think?  But it didn't seem to be cherry like others.

And then ... a touch of something else savory.  Garlic? Onion?  Curry powder?  I'm not sure, but it was subtle, and there, creating a balance unlike anything I've had before.

It was just really, really fascinating.  Sweet, yes, but there was also so much savoriness to it.

I sought it out thinking I'd use it for a dessert item, or, I thought it might just be like a soft, puffy, white bread with raisins in it, and I'd toast it/eat it warm slathered with cream cheese for breakfast.  But after a few bites I imagined it going great with a spicy curry, or with yogurt (raita) too.

I greatly enjoyed it, just as is, for an afternoon snack (I bet great with chai!), and had another hunk the next morning, warmed up in toaster oven, for breakfast.  It was great for breakfast too, sweet, but not too sweet.  If I had more, I'd try it for dessert dunked in whipped cream or stuffed with mango ice cream.  It seems really versatile.

I'd love to learn more about sweet naan styles so I can figure out how to best pair it in the future.

***+.

Pappadam. $2.

"Crispy spiced lentil wafers. Served with homemade mint and tamarind chutney."

I ordered the pappadam just because I remembered that their chutney is so delicious.  If I ordered pappadam, I'd get chutney.  I think the chutney is made in house.

The pappadam itself was fine, crispy, good lentil flavor, not stale. ***.

It came with only mint chutney (not tamarind as it was supposed to), but I received 3 of the fantastic mint chutney, so I was pretty happy.   I adore this spicy chutney, but I don't think it goes all that great with the pappadam - the pappadam is better with raita or mango chutney (or, just dunked in curry). 

Housemade Mint Chutney. 

The mint chutney is really, really good.  I love it drizzled on roast veggies, with grilled paneer cubes, or really, with just about anything, including using as a salad dressing.  Spicy and flavorful.

****.

Update review: I got it again.  It was quite good, really spicy actually, and fresh tasting. Again, I believe them when they say homemade.  ****.

Mango Chutney. $2.99.

"Indian-style spiced mango chutney."

I also ordered the mango chutney, available separately.  It was fairly standard mango chutney.  Slight sweet, slightly sour.   I suspect not made in house.

Not much to say, but nice to have to pair with things (particularly with samosa!).

***.

Raita. $2.99.

"Homemade yogurt with cucumber."

Yup, more dips, I also got the raita. 

The raita was actually quite nice, which, honestly surprised me.  It seemed legit house made, a quality product.  In particular, it was quite thick, like labne, which I really enjoyed (usually raita, or at least the raita I seem to wind up getting places, is runnier?).

Anyway, I really liked it.  Awesome to dunk crudite into in particular.

****.

Original Review, December 2012

I've been on a quest to find some indian food I like in San Francisco.  I've been to plenty of places that have been mediocre, but no where that I really find myself wanting to go back to.  So when I recently got some more GoPago credits, I decided to use them to gamble and try out another Indian place.

I decided on Lahore Karahi, a place with fantastic Yelp reviews ... until a few months ago.  I read that it was sold recently, and people are very unhappy with the new ownership.  But I still gave it a try, since I figured that some of the negativity was just people not dealing well with change.

It is a very small place in the Tenderloin, with a somewhat strange model.  Normally, you order at the register, but they bring the food out to you when it is ready.  They seemed to mostly do take-out, and have several online ordering systems, like GoPago, which I used.  I liked that they had a dine-in option available through GoPago.

This is not somewhere you go for decor or ambiance.  The tablecloths were all dirty, stained, and wrinkled.  They then had a plastic layer on top of them, so it seemed really strange that they were so dirty, given the protectors on top.

The staff weren't unfriendly exactly, but said very few words.  On one side of the room was an area with water and unlabeled carafes, with a big sign saying "Self Service".  Luckily, I'd read about this beforehand, so I knew that I could help myself to some hot chai, but I got the impression that no one would have told me about this otherwise.

Overall, it wasn't really good nor bad, just fairly unremarkable.  But, it was definitely the cheapest indian food I've had, and was a fantastic value for the money.  I'd consider going back, but wouldn't go out of my way for it, and will continue my quest to find somewhere I like more!

Chai.  Complimentary.

As I mentioned, there were some unlabeled carafes over on the side, with paper cups next to them.  They were filled with piping hot chai.  It was unsweetened, but there was also sugar you could add in to taste.  It wasn't really remarkable, very milky and barely tea flavored, and almost soapy tasting, but I liked having a nice hot drink, and the price sure was right!

***.

Shahi Paneer.: Lightly fried cheese cooked with nuts in tomato sauce.  $7.99.

My shahi paneer arrived piping hot, within just a few minutes of my ordering.  It stayed incredibly hot the entire time I was eating, with steam continuing to rise from it, even when I was finished.

The sauce was very creamy, clearly made with a lot of heavy cream.  It was also glistening with oil.  A little too heavy for my taste, but I somewhat expected that.  It was pretty flavorful, with decent spicing, and large chunks of spices throughout, including whole leaves.

The paneer was a bit of a disappointment   It was mushy, kinda rubbery, and not really fried on the edges.  It did have a nice flavor however.

The portion size was generous, with a lot of paneer, far more than anywhere else I've been.  And for only $7.99 this was a really good value.  I'd consider getting this again, but it wasn't particularly remarkable.

***.

Naan.  $1.

The naan was freshly made to order.  I saw it being kneaded out after I ordered.  It was actually a really nice size, smaller than many places, which I liked.  Slathered with some oil, and cut into quarters.

It was decent naan.  I wouldn't rave about it, but it was better than most.  Hot, fresh, fluffy, with a good char in a few places.  And only $1?  Very good value, and I'd love to try some of the other flavored/filled naan next time.

***+.

Kheer: Special rice cooked with milk and sugar, served cold with pistachios.  $2. 

And, time for dessert! The rice pudding wasn't anything special.  Tiny bits of rice, sweet milky base, some spicing, a few sliced nuts, and a total of 2 raisins in my entire portion.  I added cinnamon and blueberries to it when I got home, and enjoyed it much more.

This was a small little container, but just the right amount for one person, and not bad for $2.  I wish all restaurants offered up small little desserts like this!

Anyway, this wasn't bad, but it wasn't good.  I wouldn't get again.

***.

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