Oogie’s Gourmet Popcorn

I really get munchy in the evenings, and popcorn is one of my favorite snacks.  Well, in particular, I always crave the kettle corn that I can only find in my hometown.  I've been on a quest to find something even remotely as good in San Francisco, but alas, my quests have come up empty.  I've found some pretty good caramel corn, and Ojan has a fondness for basic microwave popcorn, but still, nothing competes with the kettle corn from Lebanon, NH.  I'm not joking.

Anyway, I also sometimes try packaged popcorn.  Oogie's makes a slews of flavors, mostly savory, including interesting sounding varieties like Cracked Pepper & Asiago, Spicy Chipotle & Lime, Smoked Gouda, and Hatch Chilli con Queso. 

Oogie's popcorns are all gluten-free, non-GMO,  no trans-fat, all-natural, kosher, etc, etc.   I only have tried some of the more standard offerings.  I also saw on their website that they do indeed make a kettle corn, although I haven't encountered it.  I'm keeping my eyes open!

White Cheddar.

The first flavor I tried was white cheddar.  The popcorn itself was fine, large kernels, but it didn't taste like white cheddar at all to me.  Sure, there was a savory coating, but I didn't taste the desired cheesiness.  Meh.

I gave it to Ojan, who easily finished the bag, but said he didn't love it.

Movie Lovers Butter Popcorn.

After the disappointing white cheddar, I had no expectations for the Movie Lovers Butter Popcorn.  I assumed I'd try a few bites, take my notes, and hand it over to Ojan.

Instead, HE got only a few bites, and I got the majority of the bag.

The popcorn itself was clearly bagged popcorn, not as good as fresh, not as crisp, but not stale tasting either.

The remarkable part was the flavoring.  Movie Lovers was the right name for it.  It reminded me exactly of movie theater popcorn.  So crazy buttery.  In that not-actual-butter sort of way, clearly fake "essence" of butter.  And very salty.

The cheddar variety didn't have much flavor, but this most certainly did.  I felt a bit sick after eating it, but, I really enjoyed it.  Exactly like the movies!

Sun-Dried Tomato & Parmesan.

And finally, sun-dried tomato and parmesan.  Like the white cheddar, I just didn't care for it.  It did taste sun-dried tomato and perhaps slightly cheesy, but the savory flavor combination just didn't do it for me.

Again, nicely popped popcorn, large size kernels.

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La Maison du Chocolat, Tokyo

During my recent trip to Tokyo, one of my co-workers purchased treats for everyone from a pâtisserie/chocolate shop in the mall attached to our office building.  These were not traditional Japanese treats however, instead, he went to a French chocolate shop, La Maison du Chocolat.  The shop began in Paris in 1977, but now has a worldwide presence, including London, Hong Kong, Dubai, Tokyo, and New York.

Anyway, instead of chocolates, our coworker got his favorites: eclairs, available in chocolate, caramel, or coffee varieties.  Besides chocolates and eclairs, they also carry macarons and a few types of tarts and cakes.

The eclairs are apparently one of their most famous and popular items, but I wasn't particularly impressed.

 L'éclair au chocolat.

"Chocolate and pastry cream nestled in a delicate choux pastry dressed with chocolate fondant."

The choux pastry was pretty standard, a big soggy, not remarkable.  I also thought it was too thin, hard to tell in this photo, but it just barely held in the cream.  This treat was much more about the filling than the pastry itself.

The filling was a creamy, mild chocolate filling.  Not as intensely chocolatey as you'd expect from a chocolate shop.

The chocolate ganache on top was good.

Overall, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly remarkable.

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IHOP, 2014

Every year, I go to IHOP.  I go twice.  So here you have it.  My two reviews of IHOP from 2014.

Visit #1, Beach Street.

I know, I know, IHOP.  Yes, that IHOP.  I'm sorry, I have a connection with the place, which you can read all about in my first review of the place, back in 2012.

I'm sure you know IHOP too, so I'm not going to discuss any generic details again, you can read about those in that first review, or in my subsequent review the next year.

This year, I again visited the Beach Street location in San Francisco, right near Fisherman's Wharf.  I went on a Sunday at 11am, so I was of course greeted by a waiting area loaded with people.  The place is seriously, seriously packed on weekend mornings, I assumed mostly by tourists, but as I later discovered in chatting with others at the counter, they were all locals.  Since I was alone, I was able to easily get a seat at the counter, which was empty when I arrived, save one diner.  (Well, it was devoid of patrons, but full of dirty dishes.  It took a good 10 minutes for any seats to get cleared so the swarm of us counter diners could get seated)

Once seated, I was immediately greeted, given a menu, and my drink order was taken.  I knew exactly what I wanted already, so tried to order, but the server taking my drink order said she'd send my real server over.  5 minutes elapsed.  Then 10.  When the original server cruised back by and saw me still with a menu in front of me she said, "he hasn't come yet?" and I said no.  She quickly rushed off to make someone else come take my order.  Besides being generally slow, service was friendly, non-invasive.

The pass and garnish station.

I really enjoy sitting at the counter because you get a prime seat to watch all the chaos.  Yes, the chaos.  IHOP somehow manages to function, but it is not a well oiled machine.  I described it in an earlier review, but the pace of the place, and the seeming disarray is so shocking that it seems worth mentioning again.  Half the staff are constantly rushing around, totally frantic.  The other half seem to move slow as molasses and look like they could care less.

Dishes come out of one side of the kitchen to the pass above.  I was again shocked at how long dishes sat there.  It seemed like no one was even trying to time the orders so full tables would come together at the same time.  I watched one plate of pancakes sit for 13 minutes.  13 minutes!  Most seemed to average 6-8 minutes, sitting there under the heat lamps.  But then it gets worse.  The slowest moving guy would come pull a bunch of plates down from under the heat lamps onto the counter to garnish them.  It is here that the butter, whipped cream, etc are applied.  (Side note: the butter comes in a giant bucket, and is served with a ice cream scoop.  Watching the massive scoops of butter get added to dishes amused me the entire service).  But back to the slow guy.  Once he pulled dishes out from under the lamps, they would sit there while he pondered them without doing a thing, occasionally wiping the plates, finally adding the butter, and eventually bringing them to tables.  I'm pretty sure most plates were more than 10 minutes old by the time they reached patrons.

This might explain why it takes so long to get your food at IHOP.  Just like I mentioned on my past visits, it took almost 45 minutes for me to get pancakes.  The man next to me got up and complained that he'd been waiting over an hour for his burger.

I also saw a ton of plates get sent back.  Several orders of pancakes were returned, with the server asking the kitchen to warm them back up, as diners complained they were cold.  No wonder.  Many other orders were sent back because they were just wrong, "she didn't want whipped cream on this", or, they had all the wrong side dishes.

Previously I somewhat felt like the staff put on an impressive show, but this time around, it just seemed like it was all falling apart.  I plan to visit the other SF location next time.

Place setting, including syrups.

As always, the counter was stocked with their 4 signature syrups.  And as always, the pitchers were sticky to the touch.  And as always, I couldn't resist trying all 4, even though I thought I knew what to expect.

The blueberry was my least favorite, it tasted sweet and fruity-ish, but the actual flavor was indistinguishable.  There were little bits in the syrup, which looked like they might be blueberry skin, so I think there might have been some real fruit in there.  Amusingly, on the first visit I wrote about, I liked the blueberry the best.  Preferences change it turns out.

Speaking of fruit, the strawberry was much better, very strawberry tasting, although not exactly like fresh fruit.  It was a very thin goo, or, perhaps thick syrup.  The flavor was actually decent, but strawberry syrup is just a strange concept to me.  Amusingly, on the second visit I wrote about, I thought it was fake tasting and my least favorite.  Maybe it does make sense to try them all each time!

My favorite was the Butter Pecan, which was very thick, and had a somewhat interesting buttery flavor.

Old Fashioned rounded out the bunch, again fairly thick, and tasted exactly like what it was, fake maple flavored corn syrup.

I also tried the Sugar Free syrup, which came in a squeeze bottle, and hadn't even been opened.  I tried to squeeze it on, and was surprised when nothing came out, until I discovered the seal still on.  It was a thinner style, which I somewhat preferred.

The best mix I came up with was the SF syrup mixed with butter pecan, it created a buttery flavor and a good consistency.  I'm sure next time around I'll have a new set of favorites.

Harvest Grain 'N Nut Pancakes.  $8.99.

But I wasn't there for the syrups, I was there for my favorite pancakes: Harvest Grain 'N Nut, which I've gotten almost every time I've visited an IHOP (except the time I went rogue and ordered the Whole Wheat).

I asked for my butter on the side, since I learned from previous experience that when the pancakes sit on the counter forever, the scoop of butter melts in way too fast, and your top pancake winds up drenched in butter (not a bad thing), but you don't ever have enough left for the rest of the stack, even though an entire ice cream scoop full was added.

Do you remember me praising the butter before for being soft, whipped, and fluffy?  It was not so this time.  Hard as a rock.  And since my pancakes were lukewarm when they arrived, it didn't melt at all.  Doh.

So far, not so good.  Barely warm pancakes, hard butter.

Now, the other thing to note is the size of the pancakes relative to the size of my plate.  No, IHOP did not get bigger plates.  These pancakes were absolutely tiny compared to what I've previously had, both in diameter and thickness.

Pancakes, 2012.

Just for reference, here are the pancakes from my first visit, literally, twice as big.  This is the same size plate.

Thin Pancakes.

Now, I don't necessarily want monster diameter pancakes, so that aspect wasn't a big deal to me.  But what was a big deal is that they were incredibly thin.  What I love about IHOP pancakes is how moist and fluffy they are.  These were not fluffy.  They were not moist.  Just look at how thin they were!  I was describing them to Ojan, and actually said the phrase, "you don't understand, they were as thin as pancakes!"  Uh ... whoops?  I guess that phrase is normally meant to describe pancakes, but IHOP pancakes are supposed to be huge and fluffy.

Anyway.  Thin, not fluffy, not moist, fairly tough.  They weren't burnt, which is about the only good thing I can say about them.  If I were anywhere else, I would have complained.  It also made me mad because I was sitting there watching all the other orders of pancakes sitting in the pass, and they were all huge and fluffy.  Why weren't mine?  Why can't IHOP get pancake size consistent, isn't this what they are known for?

Grumble.  So, my pancakes weren't good.  I did still like the heartiness to them, the bits of oats and nuts, but otherwise, they just weren't good.  Very poor execution.  I will not be going back to this location, but the flavor was still good, so I'm not giving up on IHOP completely ...

Visit #2, Lombard Street Location

Several months ago I made my annual birthday pilgrimage to IHOP.  As you read about then, I was highly disappointed, and decided that I was never returning to the big IHOP in San Francisco on Beach Street.  But I still had so many memories of delicious IHOP pancakes, that I decided to give the smaller location on Lombard Street a try.  I'm not really sure why I'd always gone to the Beach Street location before anyway.

The Lombard Street location was a standard IHOP.  You can read all the general details about IHOP in my past reviews.  I'll focus this review only on the comparison with the other SF location.

First, it is smaller.  Much, much smaller.  Definitely less than half the size in terms of tables, plus no additional counter area.

It was still just as crowded as any IHOP.  I arrived at 10am, and the entire waiting area, and the outside sidewalk, were filled with people.  At the Beach Street location I can usually skip all of this and sit at the counter since I'm dining alone, or with one other person, but that was not an option here.  I put my name down ("July", I was called, and didn't bother correct), and waited about 15 minutes.

Since I wasn't going to be seated at a counter overlooking the kitchen, I used the waiting time as an opportunity to watch the front of house.  They seemed much more calm than Beach Street.  No one was rushing around like crazy.  Food didn't seem to sit in the window as long.  Decent signs.

My favorite part of the experience was people watching.  Normally I sit at the counter and entertain myself watching the chaos in the Beach Street kitchen, so this time I had the other patrons to amuse me instead.  The demographics of the clientele at IHOP are so shockingly different from what I encounter in my normal life.  Most were much older, including cute elderly couples out for their special breakfast together.  Many others wore baseball caps, T-shirts bearing the emblems of sports teams, and boots.  And by boots, I don't mean trendy women in leather boots, I mean 55 year old men in dirty, heavy work boots with thick treads.  Honestly, it was rather refreshing to see an entirely different subset of society.

The best people watching was the lady who was seated next to me, about 10 minutes after me.  I've always thought that IHOP's portions are ridiculous, particularly some of their combo meals that easily include enough food for 2-3 people.  Or, so I thought.  I never imagined any one person would finish a full single one themselves, let alone order multiple meals.  But ... this woman did.  She ordered: a Big Steak omelette (1260 calories), a short stack of 3 pancakes (470 calories, not including the mound of butter or syrup), AND strawberries and cream crepes (960 calories).  Her mounds of food arrived all at once, and she systematically worked through it all.  Starting with the crepes.  All 4 of them.  Followed by the huge omelette.  When I left, she was finishing off the stack of pancakes.  (I thought she consumed them in a strange order, I personally would start with the savory omelette, pair it with the pancakes, and save the crepes as my sweet finish.  And I'd ask to have the crepes arrive last so they wouldn't get cold.  There is no way her pancakes were still remotely warm by the time she got to them.  But, the order in which she ate them, or the methodical manner in which she did so, were really the least of the crazy things about watching that ordeal.)  Wow.

Standard IHOP Tables.

After about 10 minutes, my name, "July", was called out, and I was lead to my table.  Standard IHOP decor.  Everything was cleaner than the Beach Street location.

The host and cashier were both friendly, but my server was basically non-existent and didn't really speak to me.  She probably said fewer than 10 words to me the entire time I was there.  "Drink?" was all she said when she first stopped by to take my drink order.  When she returned with my drink, all I got was "Ready?" and a head tilt indicating that I should order, and  "Anything else?" once I'd ordered.  She said nothing when bringing my order to me, never checked in on me, and took a very, very long time to bring me the bill after I was clearly done eating.  I think she did say "Thank you" then.  She wasn't a bad server, just not very attentive.  Not that I needed anything.

Standard Syrups.

Speaking of cleanliness, the most shocking thing to me was when I picked up the syrups.  They weren't sticky!  What!??!

Sadly, this time, I didn't end up liking any of the syrups.  You may recall from my past reviews that I tend to like different syrups every time, but this time, I wasn't into any of them.

The blueberry was just sweet goo, the Old Fashioned tasted like corn syrup, and the Butter Pecan was too ... buttery?  Just a few weeks prior, I said I liked the butteriness to the Butter Pecan, and deemed it my favorite.  Do my tastes really change this much from week to week, or, are the IHOP syrups inconsistent?  The strawberry syrup was the only one I really liked, even though it clearly isn't maple syrup, the strawberry flavor really is quite good.

I also tried the sugar free syrup, and hated it.  It was bitter, and way too sticky and thick.

Harvest Grain 'N Nut Pancakes.  $8.99.

I went for my classic order: Harvest Grain 'N Nut pancakes.

As I've learned from past experience, I asked for the butter on the side.  I still use plenty of it, but prefer for it not to all soak in to the very center of the top pancake before they arrive.

My pancakes were sadly not really any better than my birthday visit at Beach Street a few weeks prior.  They were again small in diameter, and thin.  They arrived lukewarm.  They were kinda gummy, not at all fluffy.  What I love about IHOP pancakes is that they are usually huge, super fluffy, super moist inside, and crispy on the outside.  These lacked all of the defining characteristics.

I did still like the heartiness from the oats and the crunch from the walnuts and almonds, but, they weren't anything like they used to be.  As you read in my last review, I have pictures of the ones I got just a year prior, and they were radically different.  This isn't just my memory, I have photographic evidence!  But ... if both SF locations have changed the form of the pancakes, I wonder if that is a franchise-wide thing?  If so ... BOO!

The price of $8.99 was fine, and the same as the other location.

Overall, I found this IHOP to be a bit more on top of things and less insane, but, I have no reason to return there either.  Sadness.

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House Of Bagels

House of Bagels is a Jewish deli and bakery located in the Inner Richmond.  They've been around since 1962!  As you can guess from the name, they make bagels, but they also make assorted bread (challah, rye, pumpernickel), plus cookies, tarts, muffins, scones, and other baked goods.  The deli area features bagel sandwiches (with cream cheese and lox of course), plus all your classic sandwiches, including pastrami and a slew of different reuben's.  You can also get latkes, kugel, or matzo ball soup, to round out the proper Jewish deli experience.  But bagels are where they shine, and they offer 27 different varieties.  The bagels are true NY style, boiled.

But ... I haven't ever actually been to their retail store, although I've had their bagels a zillion times.  They are one of the major bagel suppliers for all the cafes in San Francisco, so chances are, you've had their bagels too, even if you don't know it.

The bagels I've had have all been pretty good.  Soft, shiny exterior, good chew, and they toast up better than any other bagels I've ever encountered.

Plain Bagel.

I actually never tried this one.  See, I like bagels, but, I don't like plain ones.  I consider even sesame, poppy, etc generally too plain as well, unless I'm turning them into pizza bagels or perhaps egg and cheese sandwiches.  If I'm having a bagel with cream cheese, I need either the bagel, or the cream cheese, to be more interesting.

But Ojan eats these all the time.  They are soft, have a good shine on the outside, and I guess are good for plain bagels.

Whole Wheat Bagel.

I also don't tend to go for whole wheat, as they are also a bit too plain for me, but Ojan gets these all the time too, and after having a really enjoyable whole grain bagel from Panera, I decided to give one a shot.

I liked it far more than I expected.  Like all of their bagels, it was soft, had a nice shine, and toasted up nicely.  I know that all bagels should toast about the same, but they don't.  House of Bagels bagels get a nice crust on the exterior but stay soft inside.  Pretty much perfect every time.  Not sure what they do differently!

It had a heartiness to it from the whole wheat that I appreciated.  I paired it with some Noah's blueberry cream cheese I had leftover, and that combo worked really well.  I'd definitely have another, if I had flavored cream cheese to go with.  Or perhaps butter and honey?

Since I liked this before, I tried another one on another occasion, when I had some leftover whipped raspberry vanilla cream cheese.  Again, it toasted up nicely, I loved the heartiness, and it made the very sweet decadent cream cheese feel almost healthy.  A nice combination.

Pumpernickel Bagel.

Classic pumpernickel rye bagel.  Like all the bagels, it had a nice shine on it, was fairly moist, toasted up nicely.  Good with cream cheese, smoked salmon, and accompaniments.

Previous notes:  I really love how their bagels toast up.  I feel like a broken record, but they get this amazing slight crust on them, yet stay perfectly fluffy inside.  The pumpernickel isn't my favorite flavor, it is a bit strong for me, but if you like pumpernickel, this is surely a winner.  Currently Ojan's favorite.

Sesame Bagel.

Another decent, although slightly boring, bagel.  Good chew, toasts nicely.

Previous reviews:  Solid bagel.  Soft, good chew, toasts up well.  Sesame seeds have good flavor and crunch. A fairly boring bagel variety, but well done.  Goes nicely with smoked salmon and herb cream cheese. [ I think this is my favorite.  Always soft, and toasts really nicely. Also good with blueberry cream cheese. ]

Poppy Seed Bagel.

Very decent!  Good chew, nice amount of poppy seeds.  Good with egg and cheese.

Everything Seed Bagel.

I think would have been good but I over-toasted it.  It had poppy seeds inside the bagel too, which was a fun touch, then poppy, sesame, onion?, garlic? on the outside.  I need to try again when I watch my toaster oven better!

Pumpkin Bagel (seasonal).

One time, I was faced with a large assortment of bagels.  I knew somewhere in the mix were pumpkin, but I wasn't quite sure which were the pumpkin bagels.  None were orange-ish.  This one was darker than the whole wheat, but lighter than the pumpernickel, so I couldn't figure out which kind it was, thus I guessed it was pumpkin.

The moment I smelt it, I knew I was correct.  The "pumpkin spice" aroma was strong.  Made with pumpkin puree and spices (nutmeg, clove, ginger, cinnamon).  Sadly, it smelt better than it tasted.  I didn't get any pumpkin flavor at all, just the spices, which were quite strong.  I wanted to taste pumpkin though, so this wasn't a winner for me.

Blueberry Bagel.

Blueberry is one flavor of bagel that I always think can sand on its own, with plain cream cheese, simple butter, or, as I often do, butter and sugar.

This was a fairly standard blueberry bagel.  It had a nice blue color, some pieces of blueberry throughout.  The bagel was like their others, decent chew, crust toasted nicely.  It didn't have a ton of flavor though, which left me a bit disappointed, as I do really love blueberry bagels!

I liked it best toasted with butter and sugar on top, but I wouldn't really pick this flavor again.

Cranberry Bagel (seasonal).

Another seasonal offering, cranberry.  Made with dried cranberries, but unlike the blueberry or cinnamon raisin, the dried fruit was not in bits, but rather was incorporated into the mix, making it a lovely pink color.  The cranberry flavor was decent, but I felt myself wishing for something more.  I think I also just wasn't in the mood for a bagel, at all.

On another day, I went for the cranberry again.  The color just drew me in.  Like all of their bagels, it toasted up just perfectly, but I didn't taste tons of cranberry, which was fine, because I had a lovely whipped berry cream cheese to pair with it.

Cinnamon Raisin.

Like the blueberry, this one surprised me in how much it disappointed, as I expected it to be one of the best. Didn't have good flavor, and wouldn't get again.

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Chile Pies (Sweet & Savory): The Savory

I've been to the various Chile Pies establishments a few different times, but somehow, the signature dessert pies have never really done it for me.  I swung in one hot afternoon, not to get pie, but instead intending to get ice cream, since they also offer Three Twins ice cream.  Imagine my surprise when I entered to find that the ice cream bar had been replaced by a mini tacqueria, offering tacos, enchiladas, chips and salsa ... certainly not ice cream.  I knew that Chile Pies is a sister establishment to Green Chile Kitchen, a regular Mexican restaurant, but I had no idea they had expanded into a tacqueria too (called, Green Chilette, how cute).

Anyway, rather than leaving empty handed, I decided to grab a savory hand pie to bring home for later.  Even though I hadn't liked the regular dessert pies, savory options are an entirely different thing, so I wanted to give them another chance.  They also had larger pot pies, but the cute little hand pies looked far more interesting.

Red Chile Con Carne Tamale Hand Pie.  $4.00.

Hand pies were available in 3 varieties: red chile with chicken, red chile con carne, or green chile with pork.  Since I dislike pork and chicken, there was only one option.

The hand pie didn't look great, as it was kinda falling apart and its insides were showing, even when I first received it.  I was asked if I wanted it warmed up, but since I was taking it home, I opted to heat it myself.

I tried one bite cold first, but that was clearly not how it was meant to be eaten, so I heated it up in my toaster oven.  As it warmed up, it fell apart even more.

The crust I really liked, it was a hearty cornmeal base, which I think is why they call it a "tamale hand pie".  Inside was beans, ground beef, and cheese, along with red chile sauce.  I dislike beans, so I really wished they weren't there, although Ojan liked them.  The ground beef was well spiced.  The cheese melted perfectly.  There was some sauce inside, with onions and chiles.

Nothing was wrong with this exactly, but I didn't really like it much, as it just isn't my style of food.  I'd want no beans, and some veggies instead, perhaps corn.  And, I'd want some sour cream or something on top.

If they made a vegetarian version I'd try it, but since I don't like chicken or pork, I don't see myself trying another one of these.  The $4 price was fine for the size.

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La Boutique de Joël Robuchon

As you know, I recently spent time in Tokyo on a business trip.  It was there that I first experienced the greatness of Joël Robuchon.  It turns out, there is a reason he has more Michelin stars than any other chef!  Our dinners at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and La Table de Joël Robuchon, both 2 stars, were the highlights of my trip.

But, before I went to either of the restaurants for dinner, I stumbled into La Boutique de Joël Robuchon, a simple pâtisserie & boulangerie, located in the mall attached to the hotel I was staying at in Roppongi Hills.  There are other La Boutiques in Marunouchi Brick Square and Yebisu Garden Place as well, but I didn't visit them.  I knew nothing about the pâtisserie, but I figured that since it was attached to Joël Robuchon's name, it was worth a try, and somehow wound up there within just a few hours of my arrival, seeking treats.

Petit canelé. ¥231.

I had my first canelé a couple years ago at Keiko a Nob Hill.  It was the perfect end to a downright phenomenal meal.  Since then, I haven't really been able to get canelés out of my mind.  When done properly, they can be a wondrous treat.  Few places even dare to try making them.  It had been ages since I had one.

So, when I saw it on the menu at La Boutique de Joël Robuchon, I had to try it.  It didn't matter that I did not have coffee, or a after dinner drink, to pair with it.  There were canelés, at a fancy bakery, and I had to try one, right then and there!

Unfortunately, I didn't like it.  The crust was very crispy, as desired, but it tasted more burnt than caramelized.  I know that is a hard line to walk, but I think they went too far in the burnt direction.  The inside, moist, custardy, but too eggy for me.  And the whole thing was a bit soggy.  It missed the mark on pretty much all the essential aspects of the pastry.

They were offered in two sizes, the petit size for ¥231 or full size for ¥336.  Since I wanted to try several treats, I went for the petit version.  The price for either was totally reasonable, but since I didn't like it, I wouldn't get another.

Chausson au Marron. ¥378.

The selection of treats was fairly picked over since I arrived near closing time.  But I couldn't settle on just one item.  I needed to get adventurous.

I had no idea what a "chausson au marron" was.  But almost everything else looked savory, and I wanted a sweet.  It seemed to have powdered sugar on top, so I figured it must be sweet.

It turned out to be a chestnut based pastry.  The pastry dough was flaky, with a decent butter content, but was a bit more doughy than expected.  Inside was a chestnut paste and a full, soft, roasted chestnut.  The whole thing was lightly sweetened, but more savory than I was hoping for.

I don't dislike chestnut, but it is certainly not something I'd ever pick.  I was intrigued by it the whole time, as it was unlike anything else I've ever had, but I wouldn't get another.  I could imagine it being a decent breakfast item perhaps?  But it wasn't quite the dessert I was looking for.

 ¥378 was a fine price for a fresh baked good.

“Croc” foie gras et pomme. ¥598.

On my first visit, I spied a thing of wonder.  I was just minutes off a plane from California, the land of banned foie gras, and this little bakery had foie gras sandwiches!

I did not get it that first night, since I was just stopping in for a dessert, but I couldn't get it off my mind.  So, a few nights later, I stopped in to get one for a snack.

I didn't quite know what to expect, besides that it seemed to be topped with potato strings, and promised to have foie inside.  The two slices of bread were clearly brioche.

I first took a bite of it, at room temperature, as served.  I bit into it like a sandwich, since it was a sandwich, but that was quite awkward, and the toppings came sliding off.  The bread was a bit soggy, and made a mess of my hands.  The potatoes on top were a bit mushy, like hashbrowns.  But, I could taste foie.  I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but I was determined to do better.

It seemed to be a play on a croque monsieur, which is normally served warm, so I carried it up to my office toaster oven, and heated it up.  And, I got silverware.

This improved things a bit.  The hashbrowns on top crisped up. The bread slices did as well, the bottom slice a little too much.  Whoops.  I'm not quite sure how you were supposed to heat this, if you were supposed to at all.

Along with the potato sticks on top were whole and cracked pink peppercorns.  More mild than black pepper, but intensely flavorful, a bit floral.  They dominated everything else, but I did like them.

The top slice was soggy at room temperature, and was still just too buttery and moist when heated up.  I love decadent brioche with my foie, but this was too much, particularly as it made it all mushy.

Interior Shot.

As I took my next couple bites, my happiness with tasting foie was replaced by something else.  I thought the inside filling was going to be all foie, a pate, a mousse, I wasn't sure what, but I wasn't expecting other meat.  And, what I found instead, seemed to be pulled pork.  It might have been shredded duck meat, which could make sense, but I'm pretty sure it was pulled pork.  Pork does play along with the croque monsieur idea somewhat.  But I don't like pork, or duck, really.  I tried a few more bites, but it was all I could taste.  Undeterred, I removed the offending meat, and continued on my way.

The remainder of the filling was indeed a foie mousse.  It was creamy, flavorful, and plentiful.  There was also some sort of fruit component providing a sweetness.  I originally thought they were grapes, but by the end I decided them must be chunks of stewed apple.  When I tried to look this creation up, I saw that "pomme" means apple, so, I think I was right there.  I had assumed that "pomme" was referring to the potato sticks on top, since one of the very few French terms I know is of course "pomme frites", aka, "fried potatoes" or "french fries".  Does "pomme" mean both?

Overall, this was certainly interesting, but it failed to come together for me.  I still don't know if it was supposed to be warm, it seems like not, since they didn't heat anything up there, but it seemed far too soggy to serve cold.  The brioche, foie, and fruit all went together well, but the pork (?) and peppercorn overtook everything else, and masked the more delicate flavors.  And, the ratio of bread to everything else was off, far too much bread.  I think it would work better open-faced, and the sandwich form factor certainly wasn't useful for picking up like a sandwich, due to the potato on top, and the sogginess.

All criticisms aside, I'm glad I tried it, and ¥598 for a foie gras based sandwich was beyond reasonable, but I won't be getting another.

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David's Chocolate

David's is a Belgian confection maker, specializing in assorted types of chocolate confections.  For the holidays, they make chocolate bunnies and eggs for Easter, a large assortment of goodies for Christmas, and of course, assorted filled hearts for Valentine's.  During the rest of the year, they make assorted truffles, chocolate bars, and barks, along with chocolate covered ... everything: dried fruit, cookies, pretzels, popcorn, sponge toffee, even potato chips.  Oh, and peanut butter & jam bites that sound totally amazing.  They also make licorice, the only non-chocolate offering.

I wish I had a chance to try some of the chocolate covered offerings, but so far, I've only managed to find their products once around town, and I don't remember where it was.  Doh!

Mélange à Trois

I had the Mélange à Trois bar: "a delightful blending of our fabulous sponge toffee and pretzel bits with Belgian dark chocolate."

It was a very firm, thick, sturdy bar, hard to break off just a piece.  Rich, quality dark chocolate.  The pretzel and toffee both provided a nice crunch, although the toffee was a spongy style, like sugar honeycomb, so it was a bit tacky, and got stuck easily in my teeth, making the experience of eating it a bit odd.  The pretzel gave a bit of additional salt, which is always nice in a chocolate bar, and the toffee gave a little sweetness to balance out the darker chocolate.  Well thought out ingredients, even if I didn't care for the toffee texture.

Overall, it was quite tasty, and I didn't share it with my sampling club ... sorry!

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