Siete

My little niece recently became gluten-free and dairy free (not by choice).  During the initial adjustment phase, my mother, and her mother, both basically bought every snack food, baked good, alternative pasta/milk/baking mixes, etc that they could find.  Most, my niece was uninterested in.  And thus, the rest of us greatly increased our gluten-free and dairy free product intake.  Not that I minded really, as I love trying things, even when they are generally less likely to be good.

Which lead me to Siete, a brand of paleo, non GMO, gluten free, dairy free, soy free, vegan products.  The brand focuses on Mexican-American foods, including chips, seasonings, salsas, beans, taco shells, tortillas, and cookies.  We tried mostly the snacks.

Churro Grain Free Cinnamon Chips.

"“Churros...” Even the name melts in our mouth as we roll our tongues to say it! Inspired by trips to the plaza in Mexico on Saturday afternoons, walking from vendor to vendor under vibrant papel picado and piñatas, with newspaper-wrapped churros in hand, we made these Grain Free Churro Strips! Not only are they extremely delicious, but they’re also made with simple ingredients like cassava flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla bean powder, so everyone can enjoy. All that’s left for you to decide is whether or not to pair with cajeta, dip in hot chocolate, or savor straight from the bag!"

These really are quite tasty, and don't taste gluten-free or odd.  The fat strip form factor is effective: they have a slightly blistered nature, and good crunch to them.  They are very well coated in cinnamon and (coconut) sugar.  Crunchy, sweet, cinnamon-y, yup, nothing to dislike here.

They are great to just munch on, and a bag goes quickly, but I think they'd be great dunked in whipped cream or used on an ice cream sundae or pudding garnish too.  But my bag didn't last long enough to test any of those theories out.  ****.

Sea Salt Tortilla Chips.

"Tortilla chips without any grains that taste better than any regular chip you have ever eaten."

Tortilla chips are available in a variety of flavors: Sea Salt, Lime, Nacho, Fuego, Ranch, Sal y Limón, and No Salt.  We had the basic sea salt.

They ... were tortilla chips.  Triangle shape.  Some grains to them.  Very minimal salt.  Relatively thin.  Crispy.  Pretty average tortilla chips, but I guess that is success, in that they didn't taste gluten free?  Not my thing as I don't go for tortilla chips really.  **.

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The Common Man Roadside Donuts

The Common Man is a chain of restaurants (and Inns) around New England.  I've reviewed their event catering before, when they catered a reception in honor of my grandmother.  Much like dining at the restaurant, I found it a bit hit or miss, and mostly forgettable.   The Common Man also runs several fast casual locations at highway rest stops, known as The Common Man Roadside.  These venues have coffee shops with all your standard espresso drinks and pastries, market with grab and go, and delis with breakfast sandwiches, omelettes or burritos in the morning, and deli sandwiches, wraps, grilled sandwiches, burgers, salads, and fried food later in the day.  They also have pizza and pasta at some locations, along with ice cream stands.  One of them, the Millyard, has full service lunch, dinner, and brunch with greatly expanded offerings.  But although I've passed by them en route to the bathroom for a pit stop, I haven't ever actually visited one.

"You might smell the Donut Shop before you actually see it. That tantalizing smell is coming from a small building next to the Hooksett Welcome Center where irresistible apple cider donuts are made daily year-round. Come watch them being created. No doubt, you will have to eat some here while they’re still warm, and then take a bag home to share. Your family and friends will appreciate it.

The choice is yours – plain, cinnamon & sugar, maple glazed pumpkin, or chocolate. Visit once and you’ll understand why the Donut Shop is a regular destination for many. You’ll be back, again and again."

The Common Man Roadside also has a standalone donut shop at one of their locations.  Clearly, as someone who eats donuts about once a week, this has caught my attention.  But I still never visited, as it was always closed in the afternoons when I went through the area.  When my parents recently returned from a road trip to Maine, they did stop, when it was open, and of course my mother impulse bought a dox of donuts.  So finally I got a chance to try them!  I think all the donuts are cider donuts, which are rare in the San Francisco area where I now live (I think the only time I've seen them were once at Craftsman & Wolves), but are very common around New England, particularly in the fall (like the ones from Lou's that everyone raves about in my home town).

Cinnamon Sugar Cider Donuts.

My mom selected these, and opted for the basic cinnamon sugar cider donuts.

I found them ... ok.  One thing I usually like about a cider donut is the great crust on it, a nice crisp exterior, and these were just soft all over.  The base flavor was fine, slightly spiced.  Decently coated in cinnamon sugar.  They tasted fresh enough, just a bit boring.  I wouldn't get them again.  Better once I heated up to make a bit more crispy, and topped with a scoop of ice cream.  Low ***.

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Ho Ho Té, NYC

Ho Ho Té is a bubble tea and snack store in NY in midtown.  They have no website, and I think they operate primarily for delivery and tourists who stumble in.  I got a chance to try out a dessert from them this summer, when I was visiting and ordering sushi on DoorDash, and took advantage of the "add a treat" feature to add on a treat from a nearby business.  I know little else about the place, other than that they have a number of taro items, which is what caught my eye.  Give the name, I think the bubble tea is likely their primary business?

Taro Puffs. $5.50.

"Flaky taro puffs filled with a smooth, creamy taro paste, presented with a light sprinkling of sesame seeds."

The puffs arrived in a cute little package, 2 to an order.  They were not warm.  The color was sorta grey purple.  They didn't look particular attractive.

I bit in and was pretty let down.  The pastry was not very flaky at all.  It didn't taste particularly fresh.  Highly mediocre pastry, and no real flavor to it.  **+

Taro Puffs: Inside.

Inside was generously stuffed with taro paste.  It was fairly standard taro paste.  Decent flavor, not too sweet.  The taro paste was fine, but not remarkable.  ***.

Overall, a very low ***.  I wanted it fresher, warmer, flakier.

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Thai Diner, NYC

Update Review, August 2024

When I returned to NY this summer, Thai Diner was high on my list of places to repeat order from.  I was very tempted by their newest brunch offerings too (think: Thai tea French toast!), and by their lunchtime Thai style philly cheese steak that gets all the raves, but, in the end, my eating agenda wound up too packed, and I was only able to sneak in a small order my second to last day in town.

Snacks: Boiled Octopus. $17.

"Broiled Octopus served with Spicy Seafood Nam Prik."

I opted for just a dish from the "snacks" (e.g. appetizers) menu, as I had other food at home to finish up.  I was really craving octopus, so was quite excited when I saw this was still on the menu.

The octopus was really nicely prepared.  It was broiled I guess, but I think it was finished on the grill, as it was nicely crisp and a bit smoky.  The pieces were chopped up to perfect bite size, and were remarkably tender.  So simple, but some of the best octopus I've had in the past few years.

It came with a lime to drizzle over it, perhaps the first element that actually screamed out "Thai" rather than Mediterranean/Italian/etc, which did add a hit of acidity and brightness.  The spicy seafood Nam Prik I had the first time I ordered from Thai Diner when I just got extra sauces to play with, so I knew what to expect from that.  It was indeed spicy, and it had all the signature elements of Thai cuisine you'd expect: heat, sour notes, acidity, a touch of sweetness, some funk from fish sauce ... it had a ton going on, and was a flavorful (and spicy) powerhouse.  I gladly used the leftovers drizzled on other dishes, and it added instant next level flavor.  I think I almost liked it more on other things than on the octopus, as the octopus was so good I kinda didn't want anything to mask it.

Loved this, highly recommend, and would get again no question. ****+.

Original Review, March 2024

New York has no shortage of great options for dining, no matter what cuisine you are interested in.  When I visited this past summer, I was craving good thai food, as we just don't really have great thai in San Francisco.  I had numerous options of course My first thai craving lead me to order from the well regarded Fish Cheeks, which I did enjoy, and would gladly get again, but, I wanted to try something different.  Somehow my searched lead me to Thai Diner, a concept that sounded great to me - thai food, served all day (including breakfast), in a diner-like setting. The menu sounded fairly authentic, had some great sounding dishes, and used proteins I enjoy like octopus, liver, and skate.  It has a Michelin bib gourmand too, so, some credibility.

Packaging.

I ordered for delivery on DoorDash, so I didn't get to see the diner decor, but, reviews I read all really do laud the decorations and vibe.  

My items all came nicely labeled with the contents, and a vibrant Thai Diner sticker was used to seal for both security and practicality.  My items came in a variety of containers: this cardboard box for the salad, an aluminum tray with plastic lid for another, and a cardboard bowl for another.  All disposable, no re-usable.

Food

So, the menu.   I wanted much of it.  If I was there at breakfast or brunch, I'd certainly be tempted by the thai tea babka french toast (think: thai tea butter, salty condensed milk, babka base!!!) or even the well lauded breakfast sandwiches (wrapped in roti of course).  But I wanted dinner food, and was alone, so, I couldn't order too much.  I went for a salad, a "snack", and a dessert, so I skipped the main dishes entirely, including the sandwiches & platters section (diner inspired here, but, thai), the "House specilaities" (everything from curries to lobster omelettes to one of my favorites, khao soi), and the "From our woks" (noodle dishes, which can be made with standard tofu, chicken, or vegetarian, but also fried chicken (!), beef shortrib, or large prawns).  I also skipped the sides and the raw bar, so I could order two dishes (salad and snack) and not have too much leftover.

They also have an extensive drink menu, with tons of teas, espresso drinks, wine, and fun sounding cocktails or herbal elixir shots.

Soup & Salad

Soup & Salad Menu.

To start, I got a salad.  Not what I'd ever normally order from a Thai restaurant, but I read so many rave reviews of their baan salad (and also, I have had some fantastic crispy rice salads in the past).  They also had a standard papaya salad.  To the salads you can add a variety of proteins: a fried egg ($2), fried tofu ($5), chicken ($7), fried chicken ($8), beef ($9), prawns ($10), snow crab claw ($13), or even a half chilled lobster ($15).

Baan Salad (No Avocado). $15.

"House salad with Crispy Red Curry Rice, Romaine, Watercress, Avocado, Red Onion & Thai Herbs.  Served with Sweet Chili Dressing."

I was ordering it as a light side salad, so I did not add any protein, although I did ask to have the avocado omitted as I'm allergic. Luckily, it was a built-in option when ordering online to have no avocado (same with red onion).

I was fairly underwhelmed by the salad.  The base was as promised, romaine and watercress, both quite fresh and crisp, along with some herbs mixed in.  There were also some slices of watermelon radish, which along with the thinly sliced red onion, added a pop of color.  But besides the crispy rice, there wasn't anything else to this.  The crispy rice added great texture, but it was more like the crispy rice topping from Sweetgreen (which I do adore), than the mind blowing creation that was the crispy rice salad at Mumu in Sydney.  Just individual bits of dry crispy rice.  A garnish, not a focal point.  I had to leave off the avocado that is normally included due to my allergy.

So, a kinda boring salad.  That said, my salad was also missing the dressing.  They had an option to have the dressing on the side, rather than pre-dressed, which I selected.  However, my dressing was nowhere to be found.  The sweet chili dressing sounded unique, but, alas, I had none.  And thus, no dressing, and no avocado (that part was my choice), and an interesting salad it was not.  *** as it was all fresh. 

This also happens to be vegan.

Snacks

Snack Menu

The next dish I got was from the "Snacks" portion of the menu, essentially the appetizers.   This section had so many heavy hitters, like spicy stuffed clams, octopus with seafood nam prik that people rave about (and I do love octopus!), betal leaf wraps (always something I enjoy), Thai "disco fries" with massaman curry and other toppings, and so on.  Picking just one was very, very hard.  If I were to return, I'd love to try more from here.

Snack: Spicy Chopped Chicken Liver. $16.

"with Pineapple, Thai Herbs & 2 Rotis."

I settled on just one, the spicy chicken liver, as it definitely sounded the most unique, and is one of the most well regarded items on the menu.  Plus, I love chicken liver!

It was just as fascinating, and delicious, as people had said it would be.  It hit all the notes of great Thai cuisine: spicy, sour, sweet, salty, bitter.  The chopped chicken liver mix was well seasoned, and properly funky.  It reminded me a bit of some fermented pork Thai dishes I've had, with all that umami in it.  Very good chicken liver.  The crispy fried onion bits on top added crunch and salt, the cubes of pineapple added a balancing sweetness, the thin sliced red onion and lime to squeeze over provided the acid and sour notes, and the fresh herbs brightened it all up.  They really nailed the balance of all the things, in a very unexpected dish.  I've had various types of liver or pate with a fruit component many times, but this was hands down the most unique prep I've had in years.  ****, unique, and very well thought out.

It came with 2 fresh roti, each packaged in a metallic bag to keep warm.  The roti was very good - flaky, buttery/oily, lightly decadent.  As good of roti as I've had, particularly as I wasn't having it quite fresh.  ****.  Additional roti can be added to any order for $3.

Making wraps with the liver and other ingredients made for really quite taste bites, particularly when I drizzled the spicy sauce in as well.  Speaking of that sauce, it was definitely spicy, and full of unique flavor.  Again, properly funky, nice umami and spice, just, everything.   **** sauce too.

So, overall, a unique dish, very tasty, and fun to eat as well.  **** all around, and I highly recommend.

Roasted Chili Nam Jim / Spicy Seafood Nam Prik. $1.75 each.

I couldn't resist adding extra sauces to my order, as I'm a sauce girl through and through.

First up was the roasted chili nam jim. It was fairly similar to the sauce that came with the liver, capturing all the classic Thai goodness of sweet, sour, spicy, and pungent.  Funky yet balanced, and would be fabulous on just about anythin.  ****.

And lastly, the spicy seafood nam prik, which normally comes with the octopus appetizer, and gets rave reviews.  This truly was spicy as advertised, and overall very flavorful.  I detected lime juice and fish sauce, which both gave it a balanced complexity.  I absolutely see how it would make for a great dip for grilled octopus or calamari, or really, any seafood.  Or even something like yucca fries.  ****.

Dessert

Dessert Menu.

And then of course, dessert.  The entire dessert lineup was tempting too, with a "thai coffee monster" (a monster shaped thai coffee cake with condensed milk frosting) that I would have ordered if it was earlier in the day for caffeine, or a play on the signature New York black & white cookie with a "green & white", featuring pandan and salty coconut (!), and, for dine-in, an epic sundae.  But, if I had to pick one, the banana rum pudding it was, as I adore puddings.   

Banana Rum Pudding. $10.

"Banana Pudding with Uncle Boons Rum topped with Whipped Cream, Caramelized Bananas & Thai Lotus Sesame Tuile. "

I love all pudding, but I really love banana pudding, and I certainly bought in to the idea of adding both rum and a tuile on top.  I was so excited for this.

When you dine-in, the tuile is a topper on the big pudding bowl.  I asked to have it on the side so it would stay crispy.  I'm not sure if they normally stuff it in with the pudding.

The pudding base was ... fine.  It had a strong banana flavor.  This wasn't just vanilla pudding layered with sliced bananas, it was actually banana pudding.  I did not taste any rum.  It was however really quite sweet, and a fairly thin style, not a rich and creamy pudding.  ***.

On top was whipped cream, thicker.  It helped balanced the sweet pudding a bit.  ***.

Then, the caramelized bananas, which were a notch above standard just plain sliced bananas for sure.  They were lightly bruleed on the top.

And finally, the beautiful crispy sesame tuile.  This was not only awesome to eat (so crunchy!), it was loaded with sesame flavor.  Such intense sesame.  Sweet too, as it was glazed in some way.  Delightful.  You could definitely just eat these as a snack and be quite happy.  ****+.

Overall, this was good, but not amazing.  The pudding a bit too thin and too sweet, but the other elements somewhat made up for it.  In a city of such great banana pudding though (I'm looking at you Magnolia!), this didn't really measure up.  ***+.

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Rule Breaker Snacks

Not by choice, my little niece recently became both gluten-free and dairy free.  For a child, this has been a hard adjustment not being able to eat the snacks everyone else around is eating, and in attempts to give her special things, my mom is slowly working her way through all the products on the market.  I of course have used this opportunity to try things out myself.

Which leads us to Rule Breaker snacks.

Allergen Free.

Rule Breaker is free from the top 11 allergens, so they easily encompass everything my niece needs to avoid, and then some.  Kosher and halal on top of that.  AND, they also aim to be healthier, lower sugar, etc.

The product line is all cookie-adjacent, with single serve normal size cookies, smaller cookies called Juniors, and mini Bites.  The Bites are what I tried.  Most come in a few flavors, including seasonal special like pumpkin spice in the fall, and mint chocolate in the winter.  I tried 3 of the core flavors.

Strawberry Shortcake.

"Rule Breaker Snacks Strawberry Shortcake Bites feature creamy white chocolate chips, a delectable soft-baked texture and of course sweet strawberry flavor. Our little “patch” of Strawberry Shortcake are great for snacking on-the-go, ideal for school and just perfect for picnics in the sunshine."

The first flavor I tried was the most unique: strawberry shortcake.  I love white chocolate, so these called out most to me.  

I did not like these.

They were soft, as promised.  But they tasted more like a nutrition bar than a cookie.  Chewy like one of those bars too.  They tasted healthy.  Not particularly fruity, or at least, not strawberry forward.  This is no real surprise though, particularly once I looked at the ingredients, as chickpeas are the first ingredient, and they are sweetened with date paste and brown rice syrup.  The pink color comes from beets.  Yup, these are far to healthy for me.  Did not even want to finish a single bite.  *.

Chocolate Brownie.

"It doesn't get more chocolately than these rich, fudgy hunks of heaven. We took the same great recipe for our full-size Chocolate Brownies and shrunk them down to just the right size to pop into your mouth.  Rule Breaker Chocolate Brownie Bites may be little, but they're studded with LOTS of chocolate chips. They're so delicious you'd never know that the first ingredient is chickpeas (yes, chickpeas!) and at just 100 calories per serving, they make the perfect snack."

Next up, we tried the most decadent sounding, chocolate brownie.  They were a bit better, but still not very good.  Another soft baked base, sorta between a cookie and brownie.  They did taste a bit chocolately.  But they also had a strange aftertaste, and certainly ate more like a protein bar than an actual treat.  Did not want a second one. *+.

Chocolate Chip.

"If you love chewy, soft-baked chocolate chip cookies, these are the treats for you.  We took the same great recipe for our full-size Chocolate Chip Blondies and shrunk them down to just the right size to pop into your mouth.  They may be little, but they're studded with LOTS of chocolate chips. They're so delicious you'd never know that the first ingredient is chickpeas (yes, chickpeas!) and at just 100 calories per serving, they make the perfect snack."

Finally, although I certainly had no expectations that they would be enjoyable, it was time for chocolate chip.  I was confused when I opened the box as they didn't look anything like the images on the box, nor like, well, chocolate chip cookies.  The base cookie was not blonde, it was just slightly lighter color brown than the chocolate brownie ones.  And the taste?  Yeah, about the same.  Soft cookie-bar bites that seem like a protein bar and not an actual dessert.  Did not want a second bite. *+.

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Colonial Donuts

My work group has a donut rotation, where someone brings in donuts from their vendor of choice every week.  As a lover of donuts, and discovering new places, this is obviously a huge draw for me, particularly when someone brings in donuts from somewhere I'm unlikely to trek to.

Colonial Donuts is located in Oakland, and thus generally outside my stomping grounds.  They offer bagels, coffee, and obviously donuts, and have been in business for 60+ years.

Iconic Pink Box.

"Our menu features a range of donut flavors from classic glazed to modern twists like Mochi Donuts. Whether you're in the mood for a simple glazed donut or a more elaborate treat, we have something for everyone. We are grateful for the community's support and look forward to serving you delicious donuts for years to come."

Like many donut shops, Colonial Donuts uses the iconic pink box, although they do put their own stickers on it.  They make both raised and cake donuts, along with fancy specialty ones.

Raised. $1.95.

Raised donuts are available with chocolate or maple icing (with or without sprinkles), regular glaze, and crumb, coconut, or sugar coatings.

Raised Glazed.

The first donut I had from Colonial Donuts I went super simple.  Raised glazed.

This was a very good simple glazed donut.  Super fluffy.  Nicely glazed.  I went back for more, even though I had an awesome donut from Johnny Doughnuts at my desk as well (it was a very donut heavy day!).

****.

Raised Sugared.

The next time someone brought in donuts from Colonial Donuts, I was too late to get another glazed raised, so went for the sugared instead.

It was again a good simple donut.  Nice and lofty.  Fresh tasting, no stale oil taste.  Well coated in sugar.  Best warmed up and served a la mode.  ***+.

Cake. $1.95.

The cake style lineup at Colonial Donuts is bigger than many places, with standard plain, powdered, chocolate, sugar, cinnamon sugar, but also whole wheat (!), blueberry, and Devil's Food.  Many available with sprinkles too. I've never seen a whole wheat donut before.

Cinnamon Sugar Cake.

Cake donuts are not generally my thing, but when there were plenty extras, I tried a hunk of the cinnamon sugar one.  

It had a decent flavor to the base, was decent moist, decent crispy, and well coated cinnamon sugar.  But just not my favorite style of donut.  Low *** due to personal preferences.

Fancy $2.75

If you'd like something a bit more fancy, the "Fancy" category contains bars (plain, maple), twists (chocolate, glazed), raspberry jelly filled (plain, glazed, powdered), buttermilk (plain, glazed, chocolate), other filled glazed donuts (cherry, lemon, apple), and French Crullers (glazed, maple, chocolate).  These are more pricy at $2.75 each.  I haven't yet had any from this category, but I'm eying the crullers, buttermilk, and jelly filled for sure.

Extra Fancy $3.25

And the final category, the "extra fancy" which has all the heavy hitters like apple fritters, bear claws, custard filled French crullers, cinnamon rolls, turnovers, and custard filled bars.  It also includes new school donuts like ube or red velvet cake, maple bacon raised, and mochi donuts.  This extra fanciness raises the price to $3.25.

Custard Filled Bar. $3.25.

I moved on to a more premium donut, the custard filled chocolate iced bar.

Like the raised rings, this was a nice fluffy donut, fresh tasting.  Inside was generously filled with a decent pudding style filling.  Plenty of milk chocolate glaze.  Basically, no qualms with it, and good components, but not my style of donut (I just don't really like chocolate icing on donuts ... I don't know why.  Sorry Boston cream :(

My least favorite,  ***.

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LoveMi Yogurt

When I was just in NY, I randomly stumbled into a soft opening for a new yogurt drink place, LoveMi Yogurt.  It was across the street from where I was staying, and I saw the business name and was hoping it was a froyo place, but, the doors were never open, the lights never on, etc for the first week I was there.  Then, one random afternoon, the door was open, so I looked in to see if it was indeed a froyo shop. It is not, but the staff very eagerly greeted me.  They were doing a soft opening, and literally no one was there.  They said they could make me any drink I wanted for free, and just asked me to post to social media.  Um, ok?  #score

My research shows me that this is their second location, their first opened in Chinatown just a few weeks prior.  Very ambitious business owner to be opening two locations right away!

Anyway, I became a big fan of yogurt drinks, particularly ones with rice in them, when I was in Sydney years ago and fell in love with Koomi. I've never found anywhere like it in the US, although I've tried (yes, I've tried Yomie, and no, I don't care for it).  I was eager to try their offerings.

Menu.

I spent a moment to take in the menu. Avocado drinks are a big part of their range, which I moved right past, given my allergy.  They also have standard milk or fruit tea options, and thick milks, but the yogurts where were I honed in.  I was most excited for the Five-Grain Yogurt Series, in particular, for the purple sweet potato yogurt.  But, alas, they didn't have that yet.  I nearly went for the purple rice yogurt instead, but at last minute, decided I wanted something fruity, and went for the mango yogurt.  Mango pomelo sago was also an option, but that one uses coconut yogurt, and I really wanted standard, tangy, thick yogurt.  So, mango yogurt it was.

Mango Yogurt.

I asked for it less sweet, as the menu said options were 30%, 50%, 70%, 100%, but I was told I couldn't modify it.  I tried to add crystal boba, or anything really, but I was told I couldn't do that either, although the menu listed these options.  I'm not sure if this was a pre-opening restriction?

Anyway, the drink was ... ok.  It did have tons of mango, strong fruity flavor.  Fresh and ripe mango.  It was well blended, lightly icy and refreshing.  The yogurt was on top (not just blended in), so it gave me a chance to try it on its own.  That was the part that let me down.  It wasn't as thick and tangy and decadent as Australian yogurt.  It kinda was just generic yogurt, not even very tangy by American standards.  It made the overall drink pretty boring.

I really wanted some crystal boba, sticky rice, or something in here to jazz it up.

I'd still consider trying another drink, but this one just wasn't very compelling to inspire another visit. **+.

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