CalNaturale Drinks

I haven't reviewed many, but I went through a phase where I drank lots of protein shakes and smoothies.  I was always on a quest to find some that satisfied, but I honestly still don't have a brand I'd recommend highly.

CalNaturale is part of California Natural Products, a natural foods company.  The CalNaturale label makes two product lines: Svelte Protein Shakes and ... Wine.  I've never tried their wine.

The shakes are all dairy-free and gluten-free, soy based, and fairly low sugar, sweetened with Stevia.  When I was on a liquids diet, I tried out many, many brands of protein drinks, and these were some of my favorites.  I wouldn't really pick one up now, as I kinda want nothing to do with smoothies and shakes after months of being required to only have liquids, but if I needed to again, I'd probably start with these. Not a strong recommendation, but decent.

• "Enjoy Yourself", aka, Cappuccino.  Tasting notes: Subtle coffee flavor.  Very sweet, with fake sweetener taste.  Don’t taste much soy.  Meh.  [ Too fake tasting, the fake sweetener just rules the flavor. Even when diluted with plain soy milk, not very good.  Least favorite, by far, will not try again. ]
• "Hello Beautiful", aka, Chocolate.  Tasting notes: Kinda thick and too much on its own.  Better when diluted with almond milk, as the chocolate and almond are a nice combo.  Slightly too fake sweet tasting. [ On its own, it was a bit too think, and very, very sweet, in a fake way.  It mixed very well with almond milk again, about 60% Svelte and 40% almond milk was a good combination, chocolatey and almondy, thinner, and not as well.  Best served super chilled. ] [ Next, I blended it up with frozen banana and almond milk.  It was way too sweet for me that way.  So I added regular milk.  And coconut, since who doesn't like coconut and chocolate.  And then ... peanut butter!  At that point, it turned into a delicious banana-chocolate-peanut butter-coconut shake.  Which I topped with whipped cream.  Totally not what this drink is intended for, but I liked it this way :) ]
• "Just Your Style", aka, Spiced Chai.  Tasting notes: This was by far my favorite.  Nice spicing, it almost reminded me of a pumpkin pie spiced drink.  Maybe October is just getting to me :)  It also wasn't too sweet, and didn't have the fake taste to it that other varieties did.  Would get this again.
• "Looking Good", aka French Vanilla.  Tasting notes: This was pretty good.  Mostly like yummy vanilla flavored soy milk but had added protein to make more complete meal. [ Way too sweet, way too fake tasting. ]  [ Way, way too sweet. Not sure how I ever tolerated this! ]

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Baked Goods ... from Walgreens

You may have noticed that I really like baked goods.  I tend to have fairly high standards, and generally only consume baked goods that are baked fresh, considering even day old pastries to be useless.  So why on earth would I try the pre-packaged baked goods from Walgreens?

Well, before Google Shopping Express launched, I was helping test the service.  I was tasked with making lots of small orders from the then fairly limited number of merchants.  Walgreens was one.  After I got my fill of dishwasher detergent, hand soap, shampoo, lotion, and other responsible household items, I decided to have more fun.  I saw they offered baked goods, so I figured they were worth trying out.  I'm sure if I had seen them in person at the store I would have never picked them up.  But online, they looked ... decent?

Looks can be deceiving :) There really is no reason to get any of these, but I did enjoy the fact that I could order a donut online and have it delivered to my doorstep just a few hours later!  While I don't recommend Walgreens baked goods, if you live in the Bay Area, I do really recommend Google Shopping Express, particularly now that they have expanded the merchant selection.  It has made me consider 2 day Amazon Prime way, way too slow!

Blueberry Blast Muffin.

The description was pretty simple: "blasting with blueberry goodness."

Well, this was about what you'd expect from a packaged muffin with a long shelf life.  Since it was in a wrapper it was kinda gummy on top.  It was moist, but not in a fresh way.

The most stand out thing about the muffin was how very sweet it was.  It was much more of a blueberry cake than a muffin.  I'm all for sweets in the morning, but this was indistinguishable from a sweet pound cake, just shaped like a muffin.  Besides being sweet, the base had nothing going on.  No tang, no spicing, nothing.  I wasn't entirely surprised when I looked at the ingredients to see sugar as the first ingredient, even before flour.

It was indeed loaded with blueberries; I was impressed with how many, but they were little tiny wild blueberries, which I never prefer. It reminded me a bit of the Panera blueberry muffin in that way.

The nutrition stats were pretty standard for this sort of baked good - 400 calories, 30g sugar, 22g fat.  Of course, the recommended serving size is 1/2 muffin, which always makes me laugh, because who eats half a muffin?

It was better once I heated it up, and got it a bit crispy, which removed the strange gummy aspect to it.  I also then slathered it in butter.  Salvageable, but certainly not something I'd ever get again.

Jumbo Glazed Honey Bun.

I randomly really crave donuts.  It always makes me laugh when it happens, because I'll go months without thinking about donuts at all, and then suddenly, I need one, stat!

This time, the craving came a day after trying a cronut.  The cronut did not change my world, and instead, just left me craving a simple, glazed donut.  I've tried many from assorted places around town, but really haven't found any that I love.  So, when I had the chance to get the one from Walgreens, I figured it was worth a try.

They make two versions of the "jumbo" honey buns, glazed or iced.  I went for the glazed since it more resembled a classic donut.

It looked even worse than the muffin, super gummy.  I tried a bite at room temperature, and was met with immediate dismay.  It was pretty gross.  Indeed very gummy, kinda soggy, absolutely nothing good about it.

I am notorious for serving most of my baked goods warm, but it has never occurred to me to warm up a donut, even though I love them hot and fresh.  Interestingly, even Walgreens recommend that you serve this heated up.  The packaging is filled with statements like "tastes great warm!" and "microwave for 5-10 seconds!"

So I did, not expecting much change.  Well, technically, I put it in the toaster oven for a few minutes instead of the microwave, because, ew, microwaves.

And ... it transformed! I was shocked.  Sure, I'm a huge advocate of warming things up, and my co-workers are endlessly amused by the fact that I warm up desserts, oatmeal bars, etc, all day long.  I know warm baked goods are better than cold.  But this was a magic transformation, very similar to the cinnamon roll from 7-Eleven (which I totally recommend!).

It was soft, the glaze melted a bit, and it was a warm, sugary, delight.  Was it a fresh baked donut?  No.  Was it downright awful for you?  Um, yes.  It had a crazy long shelf life.  It had a slew of preservatives.  It was horrible for you, in just about every way.  This honey bun clocks in at ... 600 calories! 35 grams of fat.  27 grams sugar.  ZOMG.

I can't say that I recommend this exactly, but I did quite honestly enjoy it once I had it warm.  If there was another one, I'd eat it.  That's all I'm sayin'.

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Toma

I was really excited when I heard about Toma, a Mexican restaurant in the Marina that opened this past year.  I really do enjoy mexican cuisine, but most casual places use lower end meats and products than I'm really comfortable consuming.  But Toma boasts that all of their meats come from Golden Gate Meats.  Everything is free range, no hormones, etc.  The recipes have been handed down from their grandparents.  The tortillas are even made to order!  They have multiple vegetarian choices, and even gluten-free options.  It sounded very promising, although Yelp! reviews were quite mixed.

I eagerly stopped in one afternoon when I saw that they were offering a $5 credit if you paid with Paypal.  It was a hot afternoon, and I really wanted a refreshing horchata, a taco, and some salty chips!  Unfortunately, they did not have any horchata, even though the menu listed it, instead, a single agua fresca was available (along with standard canned and bottled drinks).  Strike one, but understandable.

The space is tiny, with a couple counter seats along the window, and two small tables outside.  A small salsa bar completes the space.  Most people seem to take their food to go.

The staff weren't exactly friendly.  They kinda glared at me while I decided what to order.  Paying with Paypal worked like a charm though, I really am loving it.  No awkward scanning of QR codes like LevelUp.  I'm very curious to see how their adoption goes, as it is only available in a handful of places in SF so far.

Anyway, the food sadly wasn't very good.  I won't be going back to Toma.

Championes Taco.  $2.95.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't really care for chicken, pork, or beef,  so I was excited to see that they had two different veggie options.  I went for the championes, a mix of "grilled mushrooms, roasted chile poblano, and onions", since the roasted poblanos sounded fantastic (my other choice was grilled yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and onions, which also sounded good), topped with pico de gallo.

My taco was delivered to me a few minutes later.  It looked a bit difficult to eat, so I grabbed a fork to try out the filling first.

The filling was almost entirely mushrooms.  I was surprised by what they were.  Since the menu said grilled mushrooms, so I expected perhaps grilled portabellos.  Or, um, at least something grilled.  These were small mushrooms, super slimy, and honestly seemed like they came out of a jar.  Like pizza topping mushrooms.  I'm guessing they had just been cooked down extensively.  Unremarkable, no flavor, and certainly not grilled.

As for the poblanos that I was excited for, my entire taco contained exactly two small pieces.  Again, "roasted"?  I don't think so.  There was also a small amount of cooked down onion.  But mostly, it was just a very large pile of mushroom.  Very, very, watery mushroom.  There was a pool of liquid in my box within the first moment I picked it up.  Impossible to eat.

The wateriness completely ruined the tortilla.  It might have indeed been a fresh, made-to-order tortilla.  It did have a nice corn flavor.  But, it was a very soggy mess.  Not remotely crisp, and it really didn't seem like it had been griddled long enough, as it was kinda doughy.  But maybe that was just all the liquid.

It was topped with a simple pico de gallo, tomatoes/onions/cilantro.  Not particularly interesting nor flavorful.  Served with a slice of lime.

I didn't even want more than a few bites of this taco.

As I mentioned, there was a salsa bar, with four different salsas, more chunks of lime, and an onion/cilantro mix.

I tried all four salsas, and all were incredibly watery.  I guess that is the theme here.  The most mild one honestly seemed just like watered down tomato sauce.  One had a bit of heat.  None were labelled, so you had to try all of them in order to figure out which were spicy.  Incredibly boring salsas.  I brought home some chips and salsa for Ojan, who loves chips and salsas, but he didn't want any of these either.

At $2.95, the price for the taco was fine, and would be considered quite good for a meat one (they are all the same price), but meh, not even worth that.

Side of chips.  $1.

Since the tacos do not come with chips, I splurged for a side of chips.  They came in a cute little paper bag.  They were cold.  Very standard chips.  I was expecting something more freshly made since that seemed to be the idea they were going for at Toma, but these could have been from any bag in a grocery store.

Good portion for $1, but not really worth getting, particularly given that the salsas were so weak that there was nothing to do with them.

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Pretzel Crisps

A few years ago, I somehow got my hands on a bag of Pretzel Crisps.  They are basically like flattened out pretzels.  You get the joy of the crunch of eating something like chips, but they are baked and healthier, and make for excellent vessels for dipping, or topping.  The reason I remember these pretzels is because one night, in a random act of snackiness, I made an amazing creation: pretzel crisps, coated with my absolute favorite mustard (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Mustard, zomg, so good, makes everything amazing), then topped with the pickles and onions from my mom's bread and butter pickle mix.  The next night, I amped it up by melting cheese onto them too (Raclette was the best!).  Don't judge.  It sounds crazy, but it was insanely delicious.

But then I forgot about Pretzel Crisps.  Until last holiday season, when Whole Foods was sampling the seasonal varieties, the "Holiday Indulgents" line: pretzel thins dipped in chocolate and covered with peppermint candy chunks!  The desserty ones were awesome, and reminded me about the whole product line, so I decided to try them out again, particularly as I've been craving snack foods these days.  Pretzel Crisps come in a slew of flavors, ranging from simply salted, to chipotle cheddar, and everything in-between (literally, tee-hee, they make an everything flavor!).

Original, Deli Style Pretzel Crisps.

The original version is just simply salted.  These were the ones I used to make my magical mustard-pickle-cheese snacks on that first occasion.  I've since done this many times.  They also a good conduit for just about any topping.  When I'm really lazy I just use them with the amazing mustard, but mustard + relish or pickles + melted cheese really is the winning mix!

Buffalo Wing, Deli Style Pretzel Crisps.

I was very excited to try out this flavor, as it sounded zesty and fun.  Unfortunately, the flavor just didn't work.  I tried dipping them in a number of things, but they just weren't for me.  I still loved the form factor though.

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• Dark Chocolate & Peppermint: These were their classic salty pretzels, coated in high quality dark chocolate,  and little bits bit of peppermint.  It was a great mix of sweet and salty.  NOMS. 
• White Chocolate & Peppermint: Like the dark chocolate, but with white chocolate coating.  They were sweeter, and good, but I liked the dark chocolate better.

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Peninsula Catering

My apartment complex throws a number of parties every year, all with catered food.  Sometimes it is amazing, sometimes very lackluster.  Our last winter solstice party was a big disappointment, catered by J. Jardine, and wasn't good at all.  It was a huge letdown, because the prior year's event was amazing (I wish I knew who had catered that one).  Then we had an Oscar's viewing party catered by Delessio, that was good.  Not amazing, but solid.  And more recently we had a decent brunch catered by La Boulange.  So I had no idea what to expect this time around.

The catering this year was by Peninsula Catering.  Sadly, it went the way of the winter solstice party ... nothing was good.  It was also really pricy.  I would not recommend this caterer.

Scorpion Prawns.  $5.95 for 2.

"Fisherman’s Daughter’s Prawns, a sustainable prawns option, butterflied and roasted, filled with artichoke, crab, cheese, breadcrumbs and a hint of chipotle."

These were not good.  Even though served in a chafing dish, they were cold.  The shrimp was rubbery.  The filling was somehow entirely flavorless, even though it was apparently made of artichoke, crab, cheese, breadcrumbs, and even chipotle.  The filling was basically a solid cold mass in the middle.

Least favorite of the appetizers.

Potato Blinis. $4.95 for 2.

"Petit blinis (1.5”), topped with crème fraîche and cured salmon."

These were mostly just unremarkable.  The potato blini was a bit chewy and also cold, but this time intentionally.  The salmon wasn't bad, but also wasn't very flavorful.  No nice smokey flavor, but at least it wasn't stringy or fishy, not offensive.  Tiny dot of crème fraîche was too small to taste.

Sadly, my favorite of the apps.

Petit Beef Wellingtons. $4.95 for 2.

"Delicate filet mignon cuts coated in pâté and duxelles, wrapped in puff pastry."

This was the appetizer I was most excited for, since I recalled a previous event where we had remarkable filet.  It clearly was a different caterer.

These were kinda awful, and I got a totally "fresh" batch.  The puff pastry was soggy.  Limp and wet.  The filet inside was way overcooked, certainly not "delicate" as described.  I didn't find any pâté nor duxelles in mine.

Serious disappointment.  Not quite as bad as the prawns, but a runner up for second worst.

French Stuffed Mushrooms.  $3.95 for 2.

"Stuffed with fennel, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, basil, Camembert & parmesan."

I didn't really expect to like these, but I tried them anyway.  Camembert and sun-dried tomatoes could be good, right?  Wrong.

The mushrooms were super slimy, and not fully cooked.  I didn't taste sun-dried tomatoes, nor Camembert.  And again, cold.  Really off-putting.  Tied with the petit beef wellingtons for second worst.

Pear and Brie Pouches.  $4.25 for 2.

"With almonds, in phyllo pouches. "

After the fail with the wellingtons, I'm not even sure why I tried yet another puff pastry dish.  I guess because like brie!

These were unremarkable.  The pastry wasn't as bad as the wellingtons, but it certainly wasn't crispy.  I didn't find any pears nor almonds in mine, but a touch of cheese was present.  Not offensive, but nothing redeeming.  Second favorite, but only because everything else was sooo bad.

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There were a few other assorted platters, but given how disappointing the other things were, I mostly skipped these just by seeing how poor they looked visually:

• House Cheese Tray, $75: "Provolone cheese, smoked gouda, sliced brie log, and herb-crusted goat cheese, served with stuffed Spanish olives and gluten-free crackers".  This was the most uninspired cheese tray I've seen.  It seriously could have come from Walmart.  I tried the gouda only, and it had no smoky flavor at all.  Meh.
• Crudite Batonettes, $4.95 per pair: "Seasonal vegetable batonettes with roasted chipotle hummus on compostable bamboo cones".  The veggies looked so dried out and limp that I didn't bother try these.
• Bruschetta, $85 platter: "Make your own bruschetta, with chopped roasted tomatoes with garlic, olive tapenade, marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, chopped portabella mushrooms & gluten-free crackers".  The crackers were actually tasty, but were just store-bought.  The olive tapanade was too strongly flavored, not balanced.

There were also some other hot selections, designed for the kids, but plenty of adults were going for them.  They looked even worse than everything else, so I gave up at this point and moved on to dessert

• Assorted Pizzeta, $3.50 each: Mini pizzas, cheese, pepperoni.  The cheese looked congealed, the crust rubbery.
• Mini Quiche, $3.95 each: I don't like quiche in the first place, so I certainly didn't try this.
• Mini Quesadillas, $4 each: Chicken, beef, or veggie, with guac, sour cream, pico de gallo. Again, at this point, I was so down on their food that I didn't bother with these, as they aren't the sort of thing I'd normally like that much anyway.

Fresh Fruit Tartlettes, Opera Squares.  $42 for 24.

Ok, on to desserts, normally a highlight for me.  Would Peninsula Catering redeem themselves?  Almost.

I started with the Fresh Fruit Tartlettes: "Short dough shell, pastry cream filling and colorful assortment of seasonal glazed fruit (mango, kiwi, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry)".

The tart shell was stale and a bit soggy.  No flavor, no butteryness, nothing to it.  The pastry cream filling was ok.  The fruit, cute, nice presentation, but unremarkable.  Not offensive, but not good.  Least favorite dessert.

Opera Squares: "White cake soaked in coffee syrup, filled with coffee butter cream and dark chocolate mousse,  finished in dark chocolate ganache, garnished with a touch of gold leaf."

These were actually good.  The cake was moist from the coffee syrup.  The butter cream was creamy, as was the mousse.  Lots of flavors and textures here.  The ganache was nicely chocolatey.  By far the tastiest thing all night.

Assorted Macarons.  $3.75 for 2.

I only tried a coconut macaron, as the rest were all gone when I looped back by the table.

It was ok.  The cookie part had a decent lightness to it, the filling creamy.  Shredded coconut on top.  I never love macarons, but these weren't bad.

Whoopie Pies.

I didn't try one, but they had an assortment of whoopie pies, filled with either chocolate or vanilla cream.   Ojan had one and seemed to enjoy it.

Cake Pops.

Two varieties of cake pop: chocolate cake with chocolate coating, or vanilla cake with white chocolate coating.  I went for the vanilla/white, since I was trying not to have too much caffeine.

The cake inside was incredibly dry.  No flavor whatsoever, certainly not vanilla.  The layer of white chocolate on the outside was very thick, waxy, not all that sweet.  And then white chocolate shavings around that.  The shavings added some texture, but overall, this was not very good.

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Freshly Wild Super Foods

I love to snack and munch on things, particularly chips.  But sometimes, I want the satisfying crunch, without feeling quite as guilty.  I usually go for popcorn, although I never pick the simple healthy kind, so it sorta defeats the purpose.  Occasionally, I also try out kale chips.  I found some along time ago that I've really liked - super crunchy, fully of cheesy flavor (not from real cheese, but nutritional yeast, as they were vegan), but I haven't been able to find them again.  I've resorted to making my own whenever I wind up with extra kale, and enjoy experimenting with different flavors, salty, spicy, etc.  But, I still am never all that satisfied, so I continue trying new ones whenever I get the chance.

So I discovered Freshly Wild Super Foods.  They  make two product lines: kale chips (er, "Kale Joy") and onion chips (you guessed it, "Onion Joy").  Both are dehydrated and come in a bunch of different flavors.  The onion joy actually sounds really tasty, but I've only seen their kale chips around town.

Original Recipe Kale Joy.

The original recipe is "lemon juice, nuts, seeds, and a touch of salt", where "nuts" is cashews and walnuts.

This seasoning mix wasn't super interesting, but it did have some flavor.   My favorite kale chips use nutritional yeast to make them a bit "cheesy".  These did have nutritional yeast, but somehow weren't that cheesy.

The bag contained just over an ounce, and was a whopping $5.99 at Whole Foods.  It was enough for a single snack.  Way too pricy.

The chips were well coated, and had a decent crunch.  There was a mix of large chunks and broken up bits.

But overall, just not remarkable.  I didn't dislike them like the Brad's Raw Kale Chips, but I wouldn't buy them again, particularly given the price.

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More breakfast from Rosa Mexicano.

A few days ago, I went to try out the new weekday breakfast buffet at Rosa Mexicano.  I was very impressed with their offerings, although disappointed that the buffet didn't include the french toast from their brunch menu that I'd heard so much about.  The chef let me know that the french toast would be on the buffet another day, so I rushed in to try it out the next time I had a chance.

Since I reviewed the concept and all the other dishes in my last review, I'll skip that this time, and focus just on what was different this time.

I confirmed a few details on this visit.  San Francisco is the first Rosa Mexicano location to try out the breakfast buffet.  The other locations offer weekend brunch, but not breakfast.  Given the location right on the edge of the Financial District, it makes sense.  There are a slew of hungry office workers walking right by, who would love something besides a muffin for breakfast.

Rosa Mexicano will likely be doing the buffet only togo-box style, rather than also offering a plate option, although you can still stay and eat there in the bar area if you choose.  So you'll go to the register at the bar, pay, get your box for $11.99, and then fill it up as full as you want.  Drinks (coffee, tea, water, orange juice) are also included for the price.

The menu will be changing daily-ish, rotating through a bunch of different entrees, always featuring about 3 different entrees, 4-5 sides, and fruit.  Most of the dishes come from their weekend brunch menu, although adapted for the buffet setting.

I was again impressed, both by the quality of the buffet, and by the friendliness of the staff.  It was an incredibly welcoming environment, a really delightful way to start my day.  Was it as good as fresh food? Obviously not, but for a buffet, a breakfast buffet at that, it was very well done.  If you work in the area, and like a little flavor in your morning, I recommend.

A jumble of mexican breakfast: chilaquiles, black beans, potatoes, soft corn tamal, french toast, bacon.

The buffet was very similar on this visit, featuring the same side dishes, but swapping out the mexican scrambled eggs for the french toast.  They also altered the serving style of some of the dishes slightly.

The first time, the buffet line started with the entrees, this time, with the sides.  I'm not sure if it was intentional, or just what people started doing.

They again had fresh cut fruit, including watermelon, which I skipped due to allergy.  Along with the fruit was Activa flavored yogurts, but again, no granola, and no plain yogurt.

The sides offered were all exactly the same as my previous visit: refried black beans, breakfast potatoes with onions, bacon, and soft corn tamal.

I was shocked by how good the black beans were on my first visit, and enjoyed them again, so creamy and flavorful.  They were topped with a bit of queso fresco too. The soft corn tamal was again about the same, creamy, with a bit of kick of jalapeño, a nice texture from the grind of the corn, and delicious bits of bacon.  The potatoes were again pretty boring, albeit with tasty caramelized onions.

This time, I also tried the final side, the bacon, which I had skipped on my previous visit.  I do like bacon, but it didn't look particularly good last time, but then I read that it wasn't just bacon, it was piloncillo bacon, aka, candied bacon.  So I had to try it this time.  Unfortunately, I was correct the first time to skip it.  There were some pieces that were very soggy and flabby.  The fat hadn't really been rendered out.  There were others that were too cooked, very crisp, and actually tasted a bit burnt.  But it all just tasted like oil.  I didn't get any candied flavor at all.  My least favorite dish of all visits, and I wouldn't try it again.

This time, along with the sides, were two different salsas, a red and a green.  I mentioned last time that there were no condiments and that something like this was needed, so  I was very glad to see them, and added some of each to my tamal and beans.  Both were ok, but not nearly as good as the sauce on the chilaquiles.

Speaking of the chilaquiles, which I fell in love with the first time, they were arranged slightly differently in the serving dish this time.  The first time, the tortillas were on the bottom, smothered in sauce, topped with scrambled eggs, topped with ham.  I was worried that they'd get soggy this way (although, they didn't when I had it).  This time, the eggs/ham occupied the front half of the serving platter, the smothered tortillas the back half.  I didn't really notice any difference in the taste of the dish with this alternate serving style, although it was easier to compose my plate the way I wanted - more delicious smothered tortillas, less ham.

The chilaquiles were again amazingly delicious.  The tortillas were crisp, the smokey tomatillo cream sauce was just downright incredible, and the scrambled eggs, which I kinda ignored last time, were actually some of the best buffet scrambled eggs I've ever had.  When are buffet scrambled eggs ever good?  They are usually cold, tough, and totally useless.  These were somehow fluffy, creamy, and honestly quite good.  I loved this dish.  I wish I'd taken more.  I wish it was all-you-can-eat style so I could have gone back for more :)

I again skipped the breakfast burrito.  I heard many people happily commenting about it, so I think if you wanted a healthy whole wheat burrito with egg whites and veggies, it was probably good.  But my eyes were on the french toast.

As I mentioned in my last french toast review, I adore good french toast.  But I often find it so boring.  It continues to amaze me how much variance there is in french toast.  Is it just plain white bread, barely dipped in egg batter, not really spiced, and served with fake maple syrup?  Or is it thick sliced brioche, crusted in nuts, topped with a fruit compote, and amazing flavored whipped cream?  Or somewhere in between?  So many options!

The brunch menu boasts an incredible sounding french toast: "cinnamon-cascabel chile crusted brioche bread, stuffed with Mascarpone cheese, topped with caramelized plantains".  It sounded like all the elements of success: good spicing. Brioche, a great base for french toast.  Not just whipped cream, but Mascarpone, stuffed in it. And to top it off, caramelized plantains, which I totally love.

The buffet adaptation was a bit different.  There was no mascarpone, not as stuffing, nor as a side.  The chef said that he didn't think it would work well in the buffet.  It was just the french toast in a serving platter, no stuffing, no topping.  In a pitcher on the side was plantain piloncillo syrup.

The french toast was pretty standard buffet french toast, although made from a really nice brioche.  It was unfortunately a bit soggy.  I didn't taste the cascabel chile at all.  Some slices were much darker than others.  Some were a bit dry, but I had one slice that was super moist and custardy.  That one was really kinda amazing.

The syrup was very sweet, and tasted almost like it had some citrus in it.  The flavor on the finish was definitely plantain.  It was loaded with slices of fried plantain, that were unfortunately not that good.  They were just fried, and cold, so not that successful.

The french toast was a slight let down, but I'm still very curious what it is like on the brunch menu, when prepared fresh.  I don't really blame them for the french toast, it was a buffet after all.

One issue I had was that you just had the big box to put everything in.  My food got all jumbled together, as the surface area of the bottom of the box was significantly smaller than the plate I used the first time.  It was taller obviously, but it meant that to try most things, I had to stack the last item I got (chilaquiles) on top of my beans and tomal.  Perhaps I just wasn't supposed to take so much :)

Jumbled food aside, it was also a bit awkward to eat out of, since the sides were so high.  Makes sense if you are taking to go, less sense if you are eating in.

But my bigger issue was the sauces.  I added the salsas on top of my beans and tamal, but they got mushed into everything else.  Not a huge deal, as salsa did go well with everything.  But the syrup from the french toast was a bit of a disaster.  It got everywhere.  Every single item in my box was covered in the syrup, even though I thought I carefully just drizzled it on the french toast, and only walked a few feet away to a table.  Sweet syrup on the tamal was actually good, but I didn't really want my beans soaked in it.  They should definitely add little cups to put the sauces/syrups in.

So, overall, still quite good.  The chilaquiles were again the serious winner.  That sauce is just incredible.  I'd buy bottles of it if I could!  The sides were mostly good, flavorful, added some additional textures, and helped round out the meal. The french toast was a bit of a letdown, but I'd still get it again.  They are clearly still working out some kinks with figuring out how to best offer the breakfast buffet, but for $11.99, particularly if you load up your box, it is a pretty solid deal.

Coffee!

As I mentioned last time, the buffet includes a drink station, with several types of tea (mint, green, english), and both regular and decaf tea.  I again had the decaf, and it was again good.  I honestly don't understand how their decaf is so good.  Decaf is never good!  I double checked this time that it was indeed decaf, and they said it was.  Some of the best decaf I've ever had.

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