Eureka Popcorn

I love snacks.  I'm addicted to popcorn.  Since discovering it a few years back, I'm extremely into Singaporean and other Southeast Asian flavors.  So you can imagine how elated I was when I stumbled into a trio of products from Eureka Popcorn that a co-worker brought in to share after returning from Singapore.

"We’re a bunch of popcorn lovers on a mission to spread our snack! It all started with an idea to create the best snack around, (our “myEureka moment”) and from there, we’ve redefined what it means to have a great “Snack Time.”"

Eureka's entire product range is pretty compelling to me, mostly popcorn, with spicy heavy hitters like nasi lemak, mala, kimchi, tom yum,and wasabi, to more muted but still interesting savory flavors such as seaweed, salted egg, or lobster cheese, and of course sweet offerings like matcha, durian (!), cocoa malt, and cereal butter.  They also make mini popiah rolls in different flavors.

I would absolutely *love* to try the durian and salted egg flavors, but was still happy to try the three on offer: chilli crab, spicy cuttlefish, and tomato.  All had perfectly popped large kernels, and all were very well coated in flavoring.  Each and every piece of every variety was a flavor powerhouse.  You couldn't actually eat it too fast, as the flavors were that intense.  But I adored them all, and would love to get my hands on more.

Chilli Crab / Spicy Cuttlefish / Tomato.

Tomato:

"I’m sweet and sour and full of power. What power? I’ll have you craving more!"

I liked this, although I didn't find it sour as described. It mostly tasted to me like a bloody mary. Not a flavor I'd normally go for, but I liked it.  I did really need to be in the mood for strong tomato flavor though.  I probably wouldn't get again, but wouldn't say no if it was gifted to me.  Low 4/5.

Spicy Cuttlefish.

"Come savour the taste of the ocean and burning hot chilli that'll keep you on your toes! Spicy cuttlefish popcorn -- myeureka snack."

Next up, spicy cuttlefish.

Wow.  The flavor was very distinctly identifiable as cuttlefish.  I'm not sure I've had anything quite as clearly cuttlefish flavored before.  If you don't want a fishy flavor, definitely look elsewhere.  But I quite enjoyed it, when in the mood for such a thing.  My favorite of the flavors.  I'd gladly get again.  4.5/5.

Chilli Crab.

Chilli Crab:

"Think of a seafood delicacy, and you'll surely think of chilli crab – created after one of Singapore's national dish, I'm here to satisfy with each mouthful."

Finally perhaps their signature flavor, chilli crab.  In addition to the popcorn, this one also had crispy crab flavored filament sticks, which you see above.  The sticks were nicely crispy, and had a mild fishy flavor.

The popcorn itself I didn't think tasted much like crab.  But it was a bit sweet, and a bit tangy, sorta like bbq that lacked the mesquite or something. Very flavorful even if it doesn't sound it.  I did really like it.  My second favorite of the flavors, and it was fun to have the sticks in there too.  I'd get this again too.  High 4/5.

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Petit Chou, NYC

The New York bakery scene is incredible.  My list of top places to check out seems infinite, and my list of places I've loved is just as long.  I'm a dessert and baked goods girl to the core, so this really is a key part of my New York experience when I visit.

And this time, I finally made it to Petit Chou, one that had been near the top of my lists to visit or order from for a while.  Relatively young, they opened in 2020.  It is located in the East Village (*excellent* bakery scene overload!), and was right around the corner from where I was staying.  I only ended up visiting once, but adored my items, and can't wait to return.

"Petit Chou is a French inspired bakery with a special focus on choux pastry. Choux pastry is the base dough for all eclairs, cream puffs and profiteroles. When prepared properly it is light, crispy, with a tender interior and a perfectly hollow center. This provides us the perfect vehicle to deliver you with generously flavorful bites."

As you may guess from the name, they do specialize in choux pastry (eclairs, puffs), although have quite an extensive lineup of other items, which is important for me, as I don't generally care for choux.

Exclairs.

The first section has all the choux based items, starting with 4 kinds of beautiful looking eclairs, none of which appealed to me though, because, choux.

Puffs.

Next, more choux, the puffs.  People adore these, and I'll admit they look nothing like normal cream puffs (as they are giant and have toppings), but, still choux.

Danishes / Savory Croissants.

I was more drawn to the viennoiserie.  

Moving over to the laminated pastry section starts with 4 kinds of danish (one of which is savory, filled with scallion cream cheese), and a savory quiche nestled into a croissant dough nest.  These are all quite large, and looked beautifully decorated, but not necessarily amazing, although so many reviews talk about the quality of the pastry it made me think I must be missing something, visually.

The bottom row had the standard basic butter croissant, a ham and cheese one, and their signature breakfast croissandwich, all of which are heated up if you wish.

Pies, rolls, croissants, specials.

The finally section had what looked to me like all the heavy hitters: a strawberry and cream roll and banana cream pie (both of which are laminated pastry items), their chocolate and almond croissants, the cinnamon roll and very well regarded thick chocolate chip cookie, and a few weekend specials (peach crumble roll, peach monkey bread).

I basically wanted all of these.

Weekend Specials & Petit Gâteau.

Two more weekend specials were here, banana pudding and strawberry shortcake.  Both looked pretty great (although the pudding was massive, like everything!), and as a pudding lover (hence why my blog has a label dedicated to it), this was clearly a welcome special.  Since I had intended to get the other banana pudding item that is always on the menu (the banana cream pie), I asked about the difference (besides, obviously, the crust).  I was told the pudding has vanilla wafers in it, and a banana pastry cream, and (I think?) no fresh bananas, where the pie has fresh bananas and regular pastry cream.  The shortcake also looked great, but do note that it is not a New England style strawberry shortcake with a biscuit base, fresh macerated berries, and whipped cream, but rather a layer cake, with cake, strawberry compote, cream, and a strawberry topping.

This area also had the three petit gâteau always on the menu: blueberry cheesecake (which I nearly got as well), the chocolate supreme (known to be very sweet and chocolately!), and gluten-free tropical cake.

Goodies.

My first visit, I managed to pick only two items, which was exceptionally hard to do, but, really, they are so massive, it wouldn't make sense to get more as a solo person (and even this was an endeavour to consume!).

Double Chocolate Croissant. $7.50.

"Chocolate croissant dough rolled with two chocolate batons. Filled with chocolate cremeux."

I knew the chocolate croissant was not a standard "pain au chocolate" with batons of dark chocolate inside a standard laminated dough, nor even just one made with chocolate in the croissant dough too.  I knew from reading so many reviews from others what lurked within.  I knew from scoping it out in person a few days prior what it would look like.  I knew it would not be a standard shape, size, or contents like any other product with a similar name.  But even though  I knew what to expect, I was still taken back by the loaf size when it arrived.  It was so big, and so heavy.  And really, it was a loaf!  What croissant looks like this?

I found a knife to cut off a section.  The pastry shattered beautifully.  Shards, shards everywhere.  Excellent.  So incredibly crispy.  As expected, it did indeed have a mild chocolate flavor to it.  Very good pastry, but the insides are were this got even more interesting.

Double Chocolate Croissant: Inside.

Why yes, here you see what lay within!  Again, I knew what to expect, but still, wowzer.  It was stuffed full, to the brim, with rich dark chocolate cremeux AND multiple batons of dark chocolate.  They call it a double chocolate croissant, but, I clearly count three chocolates: in the dough, in the cremeux, the batons.  Maybe two of them use the same kind of chocolate, so only two distinct types are used?  Anyway.  These fillings.  Wow.

The cremeux was intense.  Very intense.  It was perhaps the thickest, richest, most chocolately pudding I have ever experienced.  It was heavy, and just a few bites of it left you a bit overwhelmed, and yet, it was just one component of this.  I loved it, but, I really think it needed whipped cream and fresh berries to balance it out (which, I did with the second half, the next day, I used just the pudding + whip + berries + cocoa nibs).  Insanely intense.

Then, the dark chocolate batons.  This already had so much chocolate going on, did it need those too?  Absolutely not.  But were they great?  Well, yes.  Very high quality, dark chocolate.  

I really enjoyed all the elements of this, and I think it was likely one of the most chocolately things I've ever consumed, but I don't think I'd get it again (unless I planned from the start to deconstruct).  I just couldn't quite appreciate it as a complete item, and greatly preferred to just have the pastry + dark chocolate batons and the pudding separately.  Still, at least 4/5, maybe higher, and definitely 2-3 servings, which makes the price pretty remarkable.

Banana Cream Pie. $7.

"Pie shaped croissant filled with fresh bananas and topped with vanilla pastry cream."

The item I was most excited for was the banana cream pie.  I adore cream pies and puddings.  I knew this would not be a standard cream pie though - not with a standard pastry pie crust, nor a cookie crust, nor even a graham cracker crust, all of which are pretty common with cream pies.  No, I knew they use a laminated croissant pastry as the crust, and also that it would have a different shape than most pie, as, well, it wasn't round.  And I knew it wouldn't have a whipped cream layer on top like most cream pies.  So, calling it a banana cream pie is a bit of a stretch, and luckily I knew what I was getting and still wanted this, but if you were expecting a normal one, this might be quite the surprise.  Think of it as an overstuffed huge banana cream danish maybe?

Anyway, diving in!  The pastry base was truly exceptional.  My mind was blown by this, really.  The level of butteriness and decadence is truly unlike anywhere else.  The depth of flavor, just, wow.  This is probably the best tasting laminated pastry dough I've ever had.  It of course also had plenty of layers and was nicely crispy, but, wow, the flavor in this.  Unreal.  It made me immediately want to try the danishes.

Then there was the body of the pie, very thick, rich, pastry cream.  The menu said it was not banana flavor, but rather, vanilla, although I swear I could taste banana in it.  Sweet but not overly so.  The thickness and consistency were perfect.  It was very, very good, and I would have been happy just eating a bowl of it as pudding (perhaps with some whipped cream and berries).

The banana element was fresh bananas, nestled in amongst the cream.  Big thick slices, thicker probably than I've ever had in a banana cream pie before.  The banana was fresh, not mushy, not brown, etc.  Good fresh banana, no more, no less.

So put this all together, and yes, you have something banana cream pie adjacent, although certainly non-traditional due to the base and lack of whipped cream on top.  I think it would easily satisfy any banana cream pie cravings, but also any cravings for a great pastry.   I still can't get over just how incredible that pastry base is.  Perfect 5/5, really in the top 3 pastries of my life.

Like all items from Petit Chou, there was nothing petite about this, and it was amusingly large.  From photos I had thought it was more like the size of a big Chinese egg tart, but, yeah, no.  It was 3 servings, again making the $7 price insanely reasonable.

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Great Lakes Pot Pies

Great Lakes Pot Pies is mostly a pot pie company.  They are located in Michigan, but also ship nationwide (frozen pies).  They make savory pies in various sizes and fillings, breakfast pies, sweet pies, and also hand pies.  But I tried none of those things (although I gladly would, many sound great!).  I was drawn to their snack foods business, where they sell a fairly unique product: pie chips.

Pie chips are available as a savory option (everything seasoning) or sweet (cinnamon sugar).  I tried the later.  They recommend as a snack right out of the (resealable) pouch, sprinkled on ice cream, or any other creative uses you can come up with.

Cinnamon Sugar Pie Chips.

"Irresistibly crunchy pie chips with sweet cinnamon sugar goodness. The crisp cookies come with a flaky buttery crust and are covered in cinnamon sugar."

"Savor buttery, flaky cookies crafted from our famous pie crust—each crisp bite of the cinnamon chips is reminiscent of the delight of freshly baked pie."

I wanted to love these.  I didn't love these.  I simply liked them.  

Which is to say, they were fine.  Absolutely fine.  But I wanted more from them.

They were very buttery and seemed to be made from high quality pie crust.  I liked that there were smaller nibble broken bits and bigger squares.  They did, indeed, taste like pie crust.  

But for a standalone snack, I wanted more from the cinnamon sugar element.  They were coated on just one side, and the cinnamon and sugar were both fairly muted.  I wanted more, more, more.

As an ice cream topping, pudding topping, or even just with fresh berries and whipped cream they were a nice component, but as a standalone snack, they weren't quite enough flavor for me.  Low 3/5.

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Hungry Crumbs

Update Review, September 2025

Catering Setup.

I had Hungry Crumbs as part of a catered event.  This photo was right before service, they added napkins and cookie bags before the event got started (and signs for each kind of cookie).  Cookies are normally $6.50 each.  They were served warm.  I tried all three available.

Red Velvet w/ Almonds & White Chocolate.

When I saw the sign for this cookie I nearly didn't take one.  Red velvet with white chocolate sounded great, but why add almonds to the mix?  That seemed like it would be kinda too much / muddled.

But I ended up really appreciating the almonds.  They added great crunch.  The red velvet flavor wasn't particularly strong, but the white chocolate gave a slight sweetness and creaminess like cream cheese frosting almost, so combined with the color, my brain did believe it was red velvet, just, with crunch.

The cookie was well baked, lightly crisp but still quite soft, very fresh.  3.5/5, I wouldn't get this flavor again, and I prefer a gooier cookie, but I recognize that this was well made.

Matcha Strawberry.

Next, matcha strawberry.  Not a flavor I'd ever normally pick.  I love fresh strawberries but don't really care for most strawberry flavored things, and I don't mind matcha, but its not a flavor I'm ever seeing out.

But, wow.  This was a great cookie, hands down my favorite from Hungry Crumbs.  It was even softer and better baked for my preferences than any others, and had exceptional flavor.  The strawberry was crazy intense and bright, and then the matcha came through on the finish.  It was complimentary and complex and just really shockingly good.  4/5.

Lemon Poppy. (Vegan)

The final flavor was a vegan offering, lemon poppy.

It too was a well baked cookie.  Soft and perfectly baked.  There was nothing odd or vegan tasting about it, in fact, I had forgotten it said it was vegan until I went to write this up.

The flavor wasn't quite what I was expecting though.  It was a very vibrant lemon flavor, like the strawberry in the previous cookie, really strong.  But the base cookie was a sugar cookie, so it was much sweeter than I anticipated.  Not a bad thing, just, for some reason, I wasn't expecting a sugar cookie base.  The poppy seeds added a bit of crunch, but I didn't taste them much.

So, if you like lemon desserts (which, I don't generally) and you want a sugar cookie, this is great.  For my mood though it wasn't quite right  Still a strong 3/5, and likely would be higher if I was in the mood for sweet.

Original Review, August 2024

As part of the SF Vacant to Vibrant program, the SF government is “helping small businesses, entrepreneurs, artists, and cultural organizations activate vacant storefronts to revitalize the area and promote economic recovery”, by paying their rent for the first few months, giving them grant money to seed their operations, providing resources to help with securing permits, etc. Many of these vacant storefronts are around my office and neighborhood.  One, Hungry Crumbs, just opened super close to my house (where Prima Cafe used to be, which I'm sad about losing, as I really did like their froyo and the owners seemed so nice, but I'm glad to see something finally there, it has been vacant since the pandemic).

Signage.

"Stuffed Cookies Made Right!  Hungry Crumbs offers delicious home made stuffed cookies!"

Hungry Crumbs makes one product: cookies.  The space certainly could accommodate a more extensive menu, as Prima Cafe offered a full breakfast and lunch lineup, along with froyo, and a full coffee bar with espresso drinks, etc, all in that same space, but so far, they are focusing only on cookies.  Hopefully soon they offer drinks too?

"Hungry Crumbs is a  a unique cookie concept that combines classic and contemporary flavors. The menu includes unique selections such as Ube Cookies and Balava Dough Cookies, tailored to appeal to both traditionalists and adventurous eaters."

Anyway, I don't know much about the business, as they have a very minimal webpage.

Displays.

The cookies are all attractively arranged under display domes. All are priced the same, $6.50. The day I visited had 8 regular flavors available. The lineup was: 

• Ube Crinkle
• Hot Chocolate (chocolate based cookie with mini marshmallows)
• Banana Biscoff
• Lemon Curd
• Cherry White Chocolate
• Pecan Dulce de Leche
• Strawberry Cheesecake
• Chocolate Chip

They are larger than your average cookie, and most (all?) are stuffed.

I had a very, very hard time narrowing down my pick, as the strawberry cheesecake sounded very unique and had visible gobs of strawberry cheesecake in it, I do adore ube anything (hence the label on my blog), and the staff member serving me recommended the banana Biscoff as a unique one, and said he loved the lemon curd too.

Oatmeal Raisin (GF, V)

They also offer one gluten-free and vegan offering (that I think changes) for those with dietary restrictions.  It is priced the same as all regular cookies at $6.50, no upcharge.

Racks of Cookies.

Cookies aren't actually plucked from the display domes to sell to you, rather, they are stashed on racks behind the counter.  They are served room temperature, not warm like most other trendy cookie shops these days.

Pecan Dulce de Leche. $6.50.

"Indulge in the rich, nutty flavor of pecans complemented by creamy Dulce De Leche caramel."

After an agonizing decision making process, I went for the pecan dulce de leche.  Something about the pecan perched perfectly in the center just really drew me in.

The base cookie was somewhat a textbook standard for what a good cookie should be - it was soft, yet it had a pleasant chewiness to it.  It tasted freshly made.  The base flavor was fairly average in terms of sweetness level and butteriness.  Baked evenly, with no too crispy burnt edges.  Do I prefer a more gooey, lightly underbaked cookie?  Yes.  But there was absolutely nothing to criticize on the bake on this.  

I knew it was a pecan cookie, but I was surprised by the actual taste of the cookie base, as I recognized it instantly: while it might look like a more common chocolate chip or whatever generic base, it tasted exactly like a pecan sandie, which, I suppose, is the only real pecan cookie I know.  There were bits of nut studded throughout, and it was a very nut forward cookie, which I wouldn't have guessed from inspection alone.

Pecan Dulce de Leche: Inside.

The pecan cookie alone was a pretty good cookie, but this had more to give, in the form of the dulce de leche filling.  Here you can see the cross-section.  It had a thin layer of the dulce de leche right in the center, that extended through most of the cookie.  It isn't a puffy, mega-stuffed cookie, but, you do get some filling in every bite.  It is, predictably, very sweet.  It was fairly thick and rich, it didn't really ooze out at all.  

At room temperature, as served, I consider it a fairly unique, very well baked, cookie, but not one I'd likely find myself really craving.  ***+.

Of course, I wanted to try it warm too, and a la mode, since that is where magic often happens.  The cookie softened up a bit, and as I had hoped, the dulce de leche got a bit more oozy.  It still didn't ooze much, but a bit more.  It did pair nicely with ice cream.  ***+.

I'm not sure which way I preferred this though, room temp with some whipped cream, or warm with ice cream.  Both were fine.  I'd try another flavor next before getting this again, unless really craving pecans.

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Dianne's Fine Desserts

Dianne's Fine Desserts is a bakery you may have experienced, but not realized it before.  Although they've been around since 1976, you probably haven't heard of Dianne's Fine Desserts by name, even if you've enjoyed their products, as they distribute entirely to foodservice and wholesale customers, no consumer retail sales.

"A leading provider of premium frozen thaw-and-serve desserts to the foodservice industry, Dianne’s Fine Desserts® has been serving up inspiring, mouth-watering and memorable desserts for over 40 years. The Company’s product line includes cheesecakes, layer cakes, pies and tarts, brownies/bars, individual minis and specialty desserts; all created at two state-of-the art GFSI-certified manufacturing facilities. Dianne’s Fine Desserts has strong core markets, an established customer base and product lines that anticipate consumer demand and support customer initiatives and goals."

Their product line includes pies, cakes, tortes, cheesecakes, dessert bars, brownies, and minis.  I only tried (at least knowingly) only the minis.

Assorted Cheesecakes.

"A five flavor collection of mini cheesecakes perfectly sized and packaged for any occasion – 7 pieces each of Vanilla, Chocolate, Lemon Crème, Strawberry and Salted Caramel with Candied Hazelnuts."

Our assortment had 5 flavors, 2 caffeinated, 2 fruity, 1 plain.  I tried all but the strawberry.  The vanilla, strawberry, salted caramel, and lemon all used the same basic graham style crust, the chocolate had a chocolate one.  

Vanilla.

I started with the most simple flavor: vanilla.  Note that it is explicitly vanilla, not "classic NY" or plain or anything like that.  That said, I didn't actually taste vanilla.  It just tasted like a lightly sweet basic cheesecake, and not a particularly good one.  It was really, really dense, and not really creamy, so a letdown from the texture standpoint too.

Vanilla cheesecake base? Low 2/5.

Then there is the crumble on top, which seemed to be soft cake crumbs?  An odd thing to have on top.  It was fine I guess?

Vanilla: crust.

And then there is the "crust".  Which, really was more of a base than an actual crust.

First, I have to address the poorly constructed cheesecake aspect of it.  You may have noticed in the first vanilla cheesecake photo you didn't actually see a crust.  Because, on that side of the cheesecake, there was no crust.  Spin it around a bit, and then you get this section here, with 50%+ crust.  This is a single cheesecake, just, rotated.  So they lose points for such poor quality control.

And then they lose every other possible point for the actual execution of the crust.  It crumbled into sand moments after this photo was taken.  It tasted like sawdust.  It was truly awful on all dimensions.  Zero stars.

Lemon Crème.

And from the boring vanilla, we suddenly get very fancy.  This is not just lemon cheesecake, but a lemon *crème*.  I expected/hoped that maybe it would mean this one would be a bit more creamy?

Alas, the crème did not seem to help the texture.  Again, just very very dense.  It did have mild lemon flavor, but again the base cheesecake wasn't particularly good.  Meh.  1/5.

It had the same crumble topping and totally poorly assembled crust as the vanilla, as you can see here, this side has basically no crust.

Lemon Crème: crust.

And yes, spin it around, and you can get plenty of sawdust crust falling out immediately.

Salted Caramel.

The salted caramel had little bits of candied hazelnut on top.  They were a bit soft, but tasty enough.  

This one had a really enjoyable, sweet but not cloying, fairly developed, caramel flavor.  Hands down the most successful of the flavors.  It too was fairly dense and I didn't love the texture, and it didn't really taste like a cheesecake exactly, but, for a thick, dense, sweet bite, it was good enough.

The crust was again horrible, and poorly distributed.  

The best of the four I tried, by a lot.  Very low 3/5, as the crust was still awful, and it wasn't really what I think of as a cheesecake.

Chocolate.

The chocolate one came topped with a Oreo style crumb on top, which also seemed to be what made up the very crumbly base.  This base was slightly better than the others, but only slightly, and it still just crumbled apart immediately.

The base cheesecake was again just soo dense that it made it not enjoyable.  Mild chocolate flavor, mild cheesecake flavor.  I guess my second favorite, but I didn't really want it. 2/5.

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Lenny and Larry’s

Update Review, 2025

A few years ago, I discovered Lenny & Larry's healthy "Complete Cookies" and was shocked by how much I liked them.  Since I'm always looking for ways to incorporate more protein into my diet, I was happy to discover another product from the brand, particularly as it was a snack food (their only non-cookie/bar product), and I'm an avid snacker.  This time, I went in with high hopes given the success of the cookies.

Fitzels

"What are FITZELS™? Simple. Fitness + Pretzels =  FITZELS™. It’s a snack. It’s a meal. FITZELS™ is a protein pretzel that is the first of its kind (well..at least for us it is)."

Ah, yes, what is a "fitzel"?  Well, clearly, a pretzel for fitness.  Fitzel.  The Fitzels have a whopping 20 grams of protein per serving due to the addition of pea protein to the otherwise standard wheat pretzel base.  These are not gluten-free, but they are vegan.

Fitzels are available in a slew of fun flavors, including a sweet cinnamon bun flavor, a kid-friendly "pizzapalooza", and many more.  They are all a slightly different shape than your standard pretzel twists or rods, opting instead for lattice shapes.  I tried only one, the "boujie mustard"

Fitzels: Boujie Mustard.

"Get fancy with our peppery mustard seasoning that’s deliciously savory. Pinky’s Up!"

I liked these at first.  The pretzels had a nice shine, good snap.  The honey mustard style seasoning was strong and tasty.  But ... then the mouthfeel got strange fast as they kinda disintegrated into sawdust, and there was an aftertaste that I wasn't into.  The pea protein definitely came into play too strongly here.

Good for a single bite, but not something I wanted more of, sadly.  2/5.

Update Review: I had a whole box of these, so I tried them again.  I went into it thinking of them like gluten-free pretzels, and liked them considerably more.  They do definitely have a strange mouthfeel, and they do definitely seem like they are trying to be healthy or something, but I didn't hate them this time.  I liked the flavor, and appreciated the protein. Very very very low 3/5.

The Complete Cookie®

Chocolate Chip.

Hmmm.  I loved this before, but really was unimpressed this time.  

Small chips, and not many of them.  Base tasted too healthy.  Nice and soft though?  2.5/5.

Original Review, 2020

Lenny and Larry make ... healthy cookies.  Basically, nutrition bars, but as cookies.  I assumed, that like most nutrition bars, I'd dislike them, greatly.

And then I tried one.  And I was blown away.

But let's rewind.  Who are Lenny and Larry?  And why are they making these cookies?

"Two gym rats named Benny and Barry get tired of eating the same boring things to get their protein."

Well there you go.  They started their company in 1993 making protein muffins, got involved with Whole Foods and Gold's Gym just a year later, and, well, evolved (including Benny leaving the company in 2001, and coming back in 2007).  In 2013 they reached real success and fame when they introduced the The Complete Cookie®, and things really took off.  You can now find them nationwide, in places like 7 Eleven and Walmart even. 

The product line now focuses on cookies, and in addition to the signature Complete Cookie, also includes a crunchy cookie line, "creme" filled line, and, keto version.  I've only tried the Complete Cookie, but honestly, would love to try more.

The Complete Cookie®

"The cookie just got upgraded, BIG time! With up to 16g of plant-based proteins and 10g of fiber, our dairy-free, no egg, vegan and NGP Verified cookie will not only satisfy your tummy and sweet tooth but also your peace of mind. No excuses needed for this non-cheat treat with incredible taste and none of the things you don’t want! 

With tantalizing flavors like chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, PB chocolate chip, and more, you're sure to find a cookie you love. Throw away those inedible protein bars you can't stand and try the Complete Cookie instead. Satisfy your protein and fiber needs while enjoying a delicious treat -without the usual stomach ache you get from other protein bars."

Yeah, ok, healthy cookies.  Vegan.  Loaded with protein.  Yeah, right.  I'm never that into cookies to begin with, and certainly had no hope for a vegan one.  I assumed the protein came from all sorts of isolates, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't.  I was also happy to see they actually use real sugar, and don't try to use dates or something like that to sweeten.  Still.  I had no hope for these.

The flavor lineup does sound great: "chocolate donut", salted caramel, birthday cake, apple pie, white chocolate macadamia, peanut butter chocolate chip, among many others (yup, and even a seasonal pumpkin spice).  But you know what?  Many nutrition bars have great sounding flavors, and leave me very, very disappointed.

Again, zero expectations of goodness.

Chocolate Chip.

"When you hear the word “cookie”, what’s the first flavor to pop up in your head? Since 1936, chocolate chip has become the most iconic cookie flavor in America, thrilling both kids and adults alike.

At Lenny and Larry’s, The Chocolate Chip Complete Cookie has been a crowd-pleaser since the day we set up shop. Satisfyingly firm and chewy, our delectable plant-based protein chocolate chip cookie is lovingly sprinkled with sizeable semi-sweet morsels of chocolate throughout. Keep with tradition by pairing your vegan cookie with a tall glass of ice cold milk."

I honestly don't remember where I picked this up, but I wound up with one in my stash.  I pulled it out, kinda half-hearted.  Meh, a cookie, meh a healthy cookie.  And if I had picked a flavor, chocolate chip wouldn't have been it (I mean, its fine, but so many better options).

The cookie is ... kinda huge.  The package says 2 servings per cookie, which, I kinda understand.  It is large in diameter, it is thick, and it is heavy.  It is a very, very hearty cookie.  And considering the protein load, it probably should be 2 servings, but, I didn't realize that when I tried it.  My cookie had been a bit crushed somewhere along the way, but I still had reasonable size chunks.

I took my first bite.  Well, huh.  It wasn't anything like I was expecting.  The texture was great, soft, slightly crumbly in a good way.  The flavor?  Not a classic cookie flavor for sure, and it had a hint of something interesting going on, but, it certainly wasn't a bad, funky thing.  It was, honestly, just kinda enjoyable.  It tasted a lot like peanut butter to me, and that was only a good thing.

It was sweet in a normal way, again, because they used real sugar.  The chocolate chips were great, and nicely distributed, but I would have loved even more of them.

It really was, simply, good.  And strangely addicting.  I finished the two serving cookie, even though I tried to stop at about 70% done.  It was just too good.  It left me uncomfortably full though, after a regular sized lunch, and, unexpected bonus plethora of protein.

So what was it made of?  Obviously not milk, butter, and eggs.  It still uses wheat flour as the base, hence, the fairly normal texture I think.  No gluten-free sacrifices here.  The protein content, as I mentioned, doesn't come from isolates, nor whey protein that bothers my stomach, but rather pea protein and rice protein. Well, huh.  I think the slightly nutty flavor I detected was pea protein, which I often really do like (Ripple milk is my favorite non-dairy milk, made from pea protein).

I'd gladly get another (and only eat half!), and I'd really like to try other flavors, including the real peanut butter chocolate chip one, which I'm sure tastes more like peanut butter than this one ... 3.5/5.

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Win Son Bakery

Another day, another excellent New York bakery for me to rave about.  Yep.  New Yorkers sacrifice many things (e.g. space, reasonable priced apartments, privacy, etc) but they sure make it up for it in density of incredible bakeries (and ice cream shops, or ok, just, fantastic food in general).  And as a lover of baked goods in particular, this brings me great joy when I visit.

One place, Win Son, hit my radar when they opened a second location in the east village this past year (their original location is over in Brooklyn, in Williamsburg).  It is a Taiwanese-American bakery, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily (they also have an actual full service restaurant, but I'm talking only about their bakery-cafe in this review).  They serve a full lineup of barista made espresso and coffee drinks, but also beer, wine, and cocktails.  In addition to the pastries and baked goods that caught my eye, they are very well known for their scallion pancakes (filled with egg, cheese, and other yummies), and they have sandwiches, small bites, and even fascinating sounding salads.  Taiwanese flair all around.

Even though it was on my radar, and pretty high up on my list given both the rave reviews from the masses in general but also good friends of mine, I didn't actually visit myself - yet.  But rather, I was treated to some goodies that a friend brought to the office and shared with me.  

Spoiler: the treats far surpassed my expectations.  I cannot wait to visit myself sometime.

Twice Baked Almond Red Bean Bolo Bao. $8.

Oh, wow. 

So imagine a twice-baked almond croissant, but rather than croissant, make it like a Asian bolo bao. A red bean bolo bao that is.  But still use laminated dough like a croissant.  Add in some deep caramelization like a kouign amann too.  And that is what you have here.  Basically the love child of a twice baked almond croissant, kouign amann, and red bean bao.  And wow, is it good.  

The outside was super crispy, coated with a thin layer of almond frangipane and tons of slivered almonds, just like a twice-baked almond croissant.  Soo much texture and crunch.  The almonds had just the right level of toastiness.  Very good.

The pastry shattered beautifully, making a mess, in the way a great croissant dose.  The base was lightly caramelized, like a kouign amann, making it that much more decadent.  A quality foundation, and an exceptional pastry just from those elements.  But this had so much more to give.

(And yes, this is just a hunk of the full size, large, item).

Twice Baked Almond Red Bean Bolo Bao: Inside.

Inside, stuffed with the expected almond frangipane, plenty of it, well distributed, but also ... there was lightly sweetened red bean!  It added a softer texture, a different kind of slight sweetness and savoriness, more depth, and real Asian vibes to really transform it from being just a differently shaped French pastry.

Unique, absolutely, but also just downright delicious.  4.5/5.  Win Son also makes these in other flavors like chocolate and chocolate peanut butter.  I'd gladly try any.

Seasonal Nian Gao. $8.
(GF).

I think this was likely my first ever nian gao.  If you are unfamiliar, as I was, it is a dessert usually consumed for Chinese New Year, and isn't usually full of toppings like this.  It is made with glutinous rice flour, water, and sugar, and is usually steamed (although it can be fried, and I think Win Son bakes theirs) and served as a round sweet dessert cake (although there are savory versions that are sliced and stir fried too).  It is usually quite plain, the only mildly interesting (to me) versions have red bean paste inside.  Not an item that has really hit my radar before.  Naturally gluten-free, since they use rice flour.

However Win Son has made it interesting, and offers them throughout the year, with seasonal toppings (and I think sometimes fillings).  In August, it had mixed berries and streusel, definitely far from traditional, and, at first glance, it looked more like a mini berry tart or pie.  In fact, the person who gave me this referred to it as a "berry tart".  It also completely confused him, and he wasn't into it, saying "the bottom of the berry tart was very unusual, chewy like string cheese or uncooked dough".

And indeed, the base *was* unusual - if you aren't familiar with Asian desserts and heavy use of rice flour.  It was familiar to me immediately, very mochi adjacent.  If you've had a mochi muffin, it was like that.  It was soft, bouncy, stretchy, chewy.  I really liked it, but I can totally understand how if you thought you were getting a berry tart, or if you were unfamiliar with mochi, this could easily seem just wrong.  It was good at room temp, but even better warmed up.  The base was lightly sweet, but fairly simple and plain, as nian gao normally is I think.  4/5.  

But this too had much more to give ...

Nian Gao: profile.

The berry topping was exceptional.  It was a mix of berries (at least blackberries and blueberries, and I think maybe cherries?), all cooked down, but not sweetened.  The berries were super tart, and that tartness just made everything about this pop.  Think sour cherry pie, that style.  There was just enough goo to make sure all bites had a lot of berry flavor.  Really shockingly good, and it immediately made me grumpy at the multiple mediocre sour cherry and blueberry pies I had the previous two weeks (from Bubby's and Petee's Pies).  5/5 fruit topping.

And then a streusel like crumble, which honestly wasn't even necessary as everything else was just so good, but it did add nice sweetness and very contrasting texture.  It made it eat much more like a fruit pie/tart as well.  4/5 streusel.

All together a unique and very enjoyable dessert.  I liked it best warm, and think it would be insane with a bit of ice cream on top too.  4.5/5.

In the fall, I saw they did one featuring figs, both in the base and fresh on top, that had a malted cream and candied orange zest component too.  They seem to really just use nian gao as a fun base to play with, and I'm all for that.

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