Fournee Bakery, via Sprig

My weekend mornings always start with a visit to a cafe.  I love to explore the city, so I always try to choose a different place every weekend to encourage me to venture outside my neighborhood.  I rarely sit at home on a Saturday or Sunday morning, but last week, I was stricken with the horrible cold that seemed to plaque the entire city, and I didn't have the will to leave my bed, let alone my apartment.  But I didn't know how to start my day without a delicious baked good!

I pondered the contents of my freezer, where of course I did have "emergency" pancakes, scones, and cinnamon rolls stored away, and settled on ice cream (I had a sore throat, it was totally legit, right?)  But an hour or so later, I realized I still wanted a baked good.  I was about to pull up delivery.com to see if somehow there was someone who would bring me a baked good, when I remembered that I had just read about how Sprig was doing brunch delivery on weekends.  Score.

If you aren't familiar with Sprig, it is another startup in the deliver-fresh-food-to-you business.  Ordering is not done in advance, it is on-demand only, and the app shows an estimate of how long it will take, usually 10-20 minutes.  The menu is small, only 3 items at a time, but they operate 7 days a week, lunch and dinner, plus brunch on weekends.  I mostly use Munchery for meal delivery, but Munchery *still* doesn't have lunch or weekend service, so it was time to check out Sprig.

Ordering via the app was easy, just a few clicks and my order was on its way.  I was a little confused if my order was actually confirmed though, as I did not receive an e-mail, and there was no order history in application.  20 minutes later, my meal showed up though, so it clearly worked.  Another interesting aspect of Sprig is that they do surge pricing for deliveries.  When I ordered, it was $2.75, but I've heard that it rises to $5 during peak times.

While I don't anticipate needing Sprig often, it was amazing to have brunch delivered to me, and I'll certainly keep this in mind again in the future.

Breakfast, delivered!

The brunch menu featured a frittata for the egg lovers, a breakfast burrito for the hungover, and ... for me, a baked good.  Yes!

My meal arrived without any additional packaging, I was expecting a bag, although I obviously didn't need one.

Fresh-squeezed organic orange juice. $5.

"Cold-pressed, unpastuerized, organic orange juice from our friends at Happy Moose Juice.”

Along with my baked good, I also splurged on an orange juice.  Vitamin C is good for colds, right?

It was fine, but, yes, just juice.  I prefer more pulp in my orange juice.  The glass bottle was cute, but $5 is still crazy to me for a single serving of juice (I clearly haven't embraced the juicing craze).

Morning Bun. $4.50

"Freshly baked morning bun with a hint of ceylon cinnamon from our friends at Fournée Bakery."

And the reason I ordered in the first place.  A morning bun!

While the rest of the food offered by Sprig is prepared by their own chefs, they do outsource the morning buns from Fournée Bakery in Berkeley.  I considered this a bonus - I got to try a new bakery too!

Now, a morning bun is never the most exciting breakfast baked good, and I rarely choose it given other options (well, unless we are talking about the famed Tartine morning bun).  In this case, I'm glad I didn't have a choice.  It was great!

The outside was super crispy, the inside moist.  It was flaky, with a good butter content.  Tons of sugar on top, slightly caramelized on the bottom.  The cinnamon was very subtle, and I was expecting more, although it did say a "hint".

Everything was in balance, and I enjoyed it far more than I expected.  Even though it was a large size, Ojan only got a single bite, which I begrudgingly gave up.  I'd definitely get another.

$4.50 may be a bit high for a morning bun, but it was delivered to me, and totally hit the spot, so it was worth it.

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Kameda Crisps

Snacks.  I love snacks.  I munch on things all day, and I'm always excited to try products other than classic chips and pretzels, so I was thrilled to discover Kameda Crisps.

Kameda Crisps come from a Japanese company, Kameda Seika Co, the largest rice cracker manufacturer in Japan.  There, they are sold under the name Kakinotane.  In the US, they sell two varieties of rice based snacks: savory rice snacks and a frosted sweet variety.  I know I tried the sweet variety, but lost my notes on them.  Doh!

The savory ones come in a few flavors including wasabi, bbq, black pepper, and sweet chili.  They come either as just the rice snacks, or mixed with roasted peanuts.  I've tried several flavors, and found them all to be quite snackable.  That's a word, right?

Since they are riced based, they are gluten-free, and also boast all the other buzzwords you may care about: non-GMO, no MSG, no trans fats, etc.  Oh, and did I mention, they are baked, not fried?

Sweet Chili Kameda Crisps.

"These light, crispy rice crackers have a savory flavor, with just a hint of sweetness. Enjoy the surprisingly delicious and tangy taste of sweet chili with every bite. Fresh roasted peanuts make each serving hearty and satisfying."

Given the name "sweet chili", I expected these to taste like ... well, sweet chili, in particular, sweet chili sauce, as I enjoyed so often with my wedges in Australia.  A bit of sweetness, a hint of spice.  I really didn't taste anything sweet chili about these.

They tasted like soy sauce, with a hint of chili.  Which, once I read the ingredients, I saw is exactly what they were (ok, they were made with tamari, not soy, because, gluten-free).  They also had mushroom extract and seaweed extract in them, a bit unexpected.

So, once my expectations were re-aligned, I enjoyed them, but they weren't quite what I wanted.  The rice crisps had a perfect crunch to them, and the peanuts were quite simple roasted nuts, but a good nutty contrast.

With this mix, and all the other flavors I tried, I enjoyed the mix, but wanted there to be more than just two components.  I made my own snack mixes with them, adding in corn nuts, wasabi peas, and other types of rice crackers, and then enjoyed them much more.  Just a bit too simple for me.

Wasabi with Roasted Peanuts.

"These light, crispy rice crackers have a savory flavor and a big kick of wasabi with every bite. Fresh roasted peanuts make each serving hearty and satisfying."

Next I decided to kick it up a notch, to the wasabi flavor.  The package said "Big Kick", and they weren't joking!

The mix was mostly the same, just rice crackers, with a few peanuts thrown in.  All crunchy and satisfying to munch on.  But the wasabi flavor ... wow!  Yes, it had a big kick.

I enjoyed this quite a bit, although perhaps there was just a tad bit too much wasabi for me.

Interestingly, the second bag of these I tried was far less wasabi flavored.  Not really sure why they were so dramatically different, but I could barely taste the wasabi in that batch.  I felt a bit like Goldilocks: one was too much, one was too little, and I wanted something right in the middle to be just right.

Definitely my favorite of the flavors I tried, although I'd love to try the BBQ sometime too.

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Delica

Delica is a Japanese deli, located inside the Ferry Building.  Since I live nearby, I've grabbed food there a number of times during the day, when it operates as a casual grab and go establishment.  Many items already pre-boxed in bento boxes, or you can create combos from the selection of pre-made salads, sushi rolls, fried deli items, soups, and donburi, although nothing is cooked to order.

In the evening, it transforms into a sit down restaurant, with a completely different menu, but I've never visited at night, so I'll focus only on the grab-n-goes here.

Everything at Delica is fairly tasty and unique, although I don't really feel compelled to go back frequently.  Service is friendly enough, but it is always so crowded and chaotic, and, I really do prefer my fried items fresh!

Deli

The deli section features mostly fried items, available individually or as part of a bento box.  They cook are cooked in small batches, so the items are always fairly fresh, but still, fried items are best when piping hot, not lukewarm.  If I see something coming out fresh, that is when I pounce!

Potato Croquette (vegetarian). $1.75.

"Delicately fried Russet and Yukon gold potato croquette with sautéed onions."

Every culture has its own version of fried potatoes cakes.  I've had potato croquettes from a variety of cuisines in my life, but never Japanese.

The is a patty made of mashed potato and onions, fried up, served classically with a packet of tonkatsu sauce.

It was quite tasty.  Sure, fried potatoes are generally tasty, and it was made even better by the super flavorful sautéed onions inside the patty.  It had a perfectly crispy exterior.  The tonkatsu sauce was also delicious, and I enjoyed smothering my patty in it.

I liked this quite a bit and would certainly get again.  $1.75 for a nice sized snack is reasonable.

Fried Shrimp Cake with Tartar Sauce.  $4.

"Made with white shrimp and coated in our freshly made panko breadcrumbs. Served with our house tartar sauce. "

After the success of the potato cake, I was interested in trying more of their fried deli items, an area I had previously avoided.  People on Yelp most commonly raved about the shrimp cake, so I went for it.

I was a little worried when I opened the box, as it smelt very fried.  I knew I was ordering a deep fried item of course, but all I could smell was oil.  But, I didn't need to be worried.  It didn't taste oily at all.

I loved the crust on the cake, really amazingly crispy, and not too thick.  It added crunch to each and every bite.

Inside the shrimp cake.

Inside the cake was shrimp.  I am not sure what other filler there was, if any.  It was loaded up with shrimp.  It didn't taste fishy at all.  And the shrimp were not rubbery.  It was well executed, except ... the shrimp were not cleaned.  I know it isn't necessary, and particularly with smaller shrimp it would be a ton of work, but one of them had such a large, dark intestinal track left in that it did gross me out a bit.  Please de-poop my shrimp!

The tartar sauce served alongside was quite good, tangy, with some herbs.  I did find the amount they provided a bit skimpy, I easily finished the whole thing.  I love tartar sauce, and I did think it went well, particularly the creamy sauce with the fried crust, but I think it would have been equally delicious with the tonkatsu sauce served with the potato croquette, or even with some sort of cocktail-ish sauce.

My only real issue is it was served lukewarm.  The deli items are all dishes you'd probably prefer hot and fresh, and they make them in continuous batches throughout the day, but unless you really luck out, you aren't getting one hot out of the fryer, and they aren't even kept under heat lamps.  Most of the items I think would probably be pretty good cold too, but they don't serve them that way intentionally.  When I picked up the potato croquette, I actually brought it home to eat later, and warmed it in the toaster oven at home, so the serving temperature didn't bother me, but the shrimp cake I ate right away, and it was in that in-between land of hot and cold, which left something to be desired.

I did enjoy it quite a bit, and I'd get another.  Perhaps I'd bring it home to warm it up, or only order one if I saw the cakes being placed out fresh.  I'd still really like them to devein the shrimp.  But still good.

$4 price for a good size snack, particularly with so much shrimp, was fine.

Crab Croquette with Tartar Sauce. $4.00.

"Seasonal Dungeness crabmeat blended with a creamy Béchamel sauce then lightly breaded and fried."

After the success with the other fried items, I had my eyes on the most interesting sounding of all: a crab croquette, as you know, I love crab.  I was a bit skeptical of the béchamel, not because I don't love béchamel, but, because it seemed like an odd fit with the crab.

Like the shrimp cake, it wasn't very warm, so I brought it home and popped it in the toaster oven.  It re-heated easily, particularly in that it got nice and crispy again.  The breading was good, although the whole thing was a bit oily for my taste.

The crab was better than the shrimp, but as I feared, totally lost in the creamy béchamel.  The béchamel was nice, don't get me wrong, but, it drowned out the crab.  The crab was all shredded, no lump meat.  

The tartar sauce was the same as with the shrimp cake, which I did like, but I also thought didn't really go with the béchamel.

$4 was again a fine price for a snack, but I wouldn't pick this one again.

Chicken Dumpling with Sweet Chili Sauce.  $2.

"Ground chicken, organic tofu, water chestnuts and shiitake mushrooms in a sweet chili sauce."

This is not something I'd normally ever go for.  Chicken?  Definitely not my thing.  And tofu?  Really not my thing.  But, I stopped in Delica a bit late, and they were out of the rice balls that I intended to get.  And these looked good.  I think it was the sweet chili sauce that I couldn't resist.

Shockingly, I liked it.  I think this is first item with chicken in it that I have actually, legitimately liked, in ... years.  It was basically a chicken meatball, with the chicken and tofu both ground up so you couldn't tell what was what.  It was incredibly moist, yet a bit crispy on the outside.  The little chunks of water chestnut inside were crisp and added a great crunch.

And ... it was slathered in sweet chili sauce, which is always delicious.

The only thing I did not like is that it was lukewarm when I got it.  I know that is the style of Delica, but I still wish they could keep the hot deli items hotter.

$2 price was fine for a small item, and, shockingly, yes, I'd get another.

[ Update: I got another.  It was just as delicious, although just as lukewarm.  I can't get over the sauce!  Ojan also enjoyed these several times, as he is a sweet chili sauce lover as well. ]

Tofu & Chicken Patty with Hijiki. $4.25.

Since I loved the chicken dumplings so much, I took a serious risk and ordered the Tofu & Chicken Patty with Hijiki on a subsequent visit.  Yes, more chicken and tofu, ingredients I generally hate.  And this one was even stranger, as it came from the cold deli case, rather than the hot section.  Cold chicken and tofu sounded far less appealing, but, I braved on.

The description read: "an all natural, hormone free chicken and organic tofu patty with hijiki seaweed and carrots. Served in a sweet soy sauce and topped with daikon radish and green onions."

It was quite large, easily the size of a burger.  It was clearly made from ground chicken, and the chicken flavor was stronger than in the dumpling since there were fewer mix-ins.   There was barely any tofu, which wasn't noticeable unless you dissected it, and found strange texture bits, which I'm assuming were the tofu.  The hijiki was visible, but didn't seem to add any taste or texture.  I didn't taste nor see carrots.  I greatly preferred the water chestnuts in the dumpling since they added a crispness and helped break up the chicken.

The sauce on top was a thick goo, which I guess was "sweet soy sauce".  It was fairly tasty, but no where near as delicious as the sweet chili sauce, and the consistency was fairly off putting.

The grated daikon on top added a bit of freshness, but I didn't like it, and found myself wishing it were more like the water chestnuts from the dumplings.

So overall, still better than most chicken and tofu preparations, but I found myself wanting it to be the dumplings the entire time.  I wouldn't get it again, and Ojan also didn't want a second bite of it, and he eats chicken.

$4.25 price tag was fine, particular since it was certainly far more than twice the size of the $2 dumplings.

Sweet & Spicy Chicken. $1.75.

"Sake marinated chicken, lightly fried, served with sweet & spicy sauce."

This was for Ojan, not me, as I obviously don't like chicken, so I'd never pick an item that was literally just chicken.  He really likes these, and gets them often.  I finally tried a bite, just to try it ... well, it was chicken :)  The sauce was tasty though, sorta like General Tso's, and I liked the sesame seeds on the outside too.

$1.75 is the price per piece, but I'd say 80% of the time, they give 2 pieces instead of just one.

Grab N' Go

On weekdays at lunch time, the lines for the deli get ridiculous.  When I can't deal with them, I just go for the Grab N' Go items, which is either just pre-portioned salads or rice balls.

In San Francisco, the only other place I've had onigiri is Onigilly, where I was not remotely satisfied, mostly due to their use of brown rice.  But when I was in Tokyo, I got a bit addicted to the onigiri, and even loved the version from the Japan Airlines lounge in San Francisco.  So, I decided to give Delica's versions a try.

Hijiki Rice Ball. $2.

"Our famous Hijiki salad base mixed with steamed rice."

Delica makes two varieties of the rice balls, salmon or hijiki.  I wanted to try the salmon offering, but alas, they were sold out, so I went for the vegetarian option.

Since the onigiri are already prepared, they are served at room temperature, a bit warmer than I'd prefer.  And since it is a street food item, there was no sauce to accompany it, although, I asked for soy sauce on the side.

The first thing I noticed is that it was not wrapped in seaweed, as it traditional.  Still triangle shaped, but just wrapped in saran wrap, with little bits of seaweed distributed throughout the rice.  I missed the crunch from the crispy seaweed wrapper, but since they weren't being made fresh to order, nor do they have a fancy packaging system, it makes sense that they wouldn't wrap in seaweed, since it would get soggy.

Also distributed throughout were soybeans and and small amount of daikon.  I don't care for soybeans, so I could have done without them, and I would have preferred that the hijiji just be in the center, as a flavorful burst of filling, like I experienced in Japan.  I appreciated the 3 kuko that topped it though.

The rice was ok, white rice, but not particularly sticky, nor sweet, nor vinegary.  Far better than the rice at Onigilly, but, it didn't compare to the sushi rice in Japan.  Because of the temperature, it was also a bit mushy.

Overall, this was a bit boring, but with some soy sauce added, I did easily finish it.  I would have liked more concentrated flavor.

The $2 price tag was totally reasonable, and if I needed to just grab a quick bite, I'd consider it again, but I'd rather continue to explore their menu.

Salmon and Sesame Rice Ball. $2.

"Cured and roasted wild salmon mixed with sesame seeds and steamed rice."

On another visit, they finally had salmon balls.  I can't even count how many visits it took me to attain one, it seems that they always run out before 12:30!

It was much like the hijiki, triangle shaped, without a nori wrapper (although it had a thin strip of nori on it, which, predictably, did get soggy).  And, served at room temperature, which on this day was quite warm, which is kinda strange when it is salmon.  This concerned me slightly, food safety wise ...

Mixed with the rice was sesame seeds and little tiny bits of salmon.  The salmon was such small chunks that I didn't really taste it though.  The rice was again fine, but a bit boring, not quite sticky or flavorful enough.

Overall, just kinda blah.  I added soy sauce, which definitely helped, but, I wouldn't get another of these.

$2 price is crazy reasonable though for a snack in the Ferry Building!

Salads

Delica offers a slew of different composed salads, of which I've tried most.  You can order them by the pound, or as part of a bento box.

Green Bean Salad.  $12.99/lb.

"Organic green beans and shredded carrots with a traditional creamy sesame dressing."

The green beans were nice and fresh, crispy.  The dressing is what makes this dish though, there is something about that sesame flavor that is just totally addicting.  I recall in the past that the dressing had more flavor though, I felt it was a bit lacking this time.  The shredded carrots don't seem like much, but they go really well with the dressing.

[ Previous notes: love the sesame dressing, nice crunch in green beans, not too al dente, not soggy. ]

Wasabi Potato Salad.

"Garlic potato salad with wasabi mayonnaise, edamame, snap peas, and romaine hearts". 

This is my favorite of the Delica salads.  Romaine hearts in potato salad is so strange, but I really like the freshness and crunch it brings to the salad.  The potatoes are nicely cooked, and it is nicely creamy, but not overdressed.  I like how it is creamy without feeling unhealthy, and I think the greens add to that.  The wasabi adds a fun extra flavor.  I most certainly could do without the edamame though.

[ Previous notes: decent, lettuce in potato salad is kinda weird, but it works, although again, not worth going out of way for but decent. ]

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• Asparagus:  "Asparagus and organic shredded carrots with a traditional sesame dressing" Tasting notes: This is the seasonal version of the green beans, available only in the summer.  I like this even more than green beans, and it is by far my favorite of their salads.  The dressing goes great with the asparagus and the asparagus goes great with the carrots.
• Eggplant: "Japanese eggplant blanched in rice bran oil with a “Piri Kara” sauce consisting of ground free range chicken, and bean thread noodles. Topped with cilantro and green onions."  Tasting notes: I didn't care for this.  The ground chicken was just strange cold, and even though I liked their ground chicken in other items, the flavor of the salad didn't mask the chicken flavor here, which I generally don't like.  The eggplant was nice enough.
• Hijiki and Soybean (vegan): "Hijiki seaweed mixed with dried soybeans, edamame, konnyaku (mountain yam), daikon, wild mizuna, fried tofu, and kuko (wolfberry) and cooked with soy sauce." Tasting notes: Again, decent but not worth going out of way for. [ Same impression, seaweed is flavorful but I don't really crave this.] [ Not very good.  Flavors not popping, just kinda meh. ]
• Spicy Burdock and Lotus Root (vegan): "A spicy mix of braised burdock and konnyaku (mountain potato) tossed with thin slices of white onion, celery, julienne carrots, and wild mizuna.".  Tasting notes: decent flavors, but not worth going out of way for. [ Meh, not very interesting ] [ I really don't get the "spicy" here, as it wasn't spicy at all. I did like the crisp chunks of lotus root. ]

Soups

Organic Tofu Miso Soup. $2.50.

"Miso soup with bonito dashi, organic tofu and wakame seaweed."

This was pretty standard miso soup, although loaded up with a generous serving of very large chunks of tofu, and plenty of wakame.  The green onion was added to the top fresh when I ordered it.

It was fine, but not really something I'd get again.  It was also lukewarm, sigh.

Soups are available in either cup or bowl size.  Even the cup size is quite large however, so this was a great deal for only $2.50.

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• Beef Curry: Nice and spicy, decent quality beef.
• Butternut Squash (seasonal): Flavorless, do not get this!
• Carrot and Ginger: "Organic carrots, ginger, and onions pureed with chicken broth."  Tasting notes: warm, refreshing, not too strong carrot nor ginger flavor, quite balanced.
• Salmon Chowder: "Wild Sockeye Salmon from Copper River, yellow onion, potato with chicken broth." Tasting notes: nice chunks of salmon, potato, celery, etc.  Broth kinda watery/oily though.  Decent but certainly not worth getting.

Desserts

Matcha Pudding with Homemade Anko (Sweet Red Bean). $3.50.

"Pureed Matcha pudding layered with homemade Anko (sweet red bean) topped with seasonal organic fruit and mint leaf."

This was beautiful!  They had a few in the display case without the toppings, so I wasn't quite sure what I was going to get when I ordered it.  When I asked for the pudding, the person taking my order went back behind and pulled out a bunch of extra components, and assembled it to order.  I'm pretty sure it is the only item on their menu that they prepare to order.

It wasn't quite what I was expecting.  The pudding wasn't a creamy style as I was hoping, but rather, was more like a panna cotta.  The matcha flavor wasn't super strong, but I could taste it.  It was fine, but I was in the mood for something creamy.

On top was their homemade sweet red bean.  It was absolutely delicious, and the red bean and matcha flavors went well together.  Then there was some whipped cream, fresh, and also tasty with the red bean.

Finally, there was a sliced strawberry.  I didn't expect anything of it, yet it turned out to be one of the most delicious strawberries I've ever had.  It was crazy sweet.  It almost seemed like it had been sweetened somehow, but, it seemed like just a fresh berry, so I don't think it was.

Overall, this was good, just not quite what I was in the mood for.  The red bean and berry were quite memorable though, so I'd consider getting it again.  The $3.50 price was remarkable for a dessert like this, even if it wasn't huge.

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North Street Grille, Boston

On my recent trip to Boston, I met up with a college friend for brunch.  She let me choose the venue, so I did my research, and eagerly settled on North Street Grill, in the North End of Boston.  I love brunch, and their brunch menu sounded amazing.  Protip: they serve brunch not only on Saturday and Sunday, but on Thursday and Friday too!

Anyway, back to that menu.  They have all the brunch classic egg dishes, including omelets of every variety and eggs benedict with smoked salmon, crab cakes, lobster, or even stuffed inside french toast.  But I had eyes for only one they: they offer pancakes and french toast in more flavors than you can possibly imagine.  Seriously.  To say I had issues picking a dish is an understatement.  How do you decide between "chocolate fantasy", peanut butter and chocolate, raspberry and cream cheese, strawberry and nutella, banana bourbon, peanut butter and fluff, strawberry shortcake, and even cinnamon roll french toast?  And then there are pancakes too!  And of course, lunch offerings of sandwiches and salads.  But who picks lunch items at brunch?

North Street Grille is also open for dinner, but my visit was obviously targeted for brunch.

North Street Grille is a fairly small establishment, with bar seating, a few booths, and mostly small tables for 2, once of which we were able to snag after a short wait.  The line to get in was long, but I had read the advice to call ahead to get on the waiting list, which I did as soon as I got off the T.

The service was generally ok, although I did have to ask several times for water and coffee refills.  I was amused at the end of the meal, when the bill was presented to me on an Android tablet.  This wouldn't have been too novel in the Bay Area, but I was surprised to see it in Boston.

Maple Waffle Martini. Blueberry Muffin Martini.  $10 each.

I wasn't intending to get a cocktail before noon, but the brunch cocktail list didn't just have standard bloody marys and mimosas.  The list was too tempting to resist, including ones named after breakfast items, like muffins and waffles.

Kristin went for the "Blueberry Muffin Martini", with cake vodka, muddled blueberries, and ginger ale.  The server told us it wasn't too sweet because of the ginger ale, but neither of us really tasted ginger ale in it.  I also didn't really taste blueberry or cake.  Just vodka.  It was a bit of a punch in the face for breakfast, and way too alcoholic tasting for me, so I'm glad it wasn't my selection.

I went for the "maple waffle martini", made with Bailey's, and topped with bacon.  Yes, bacon.  In my cocktail.  Go big or go home.

A gimmick?  Potentially, but in this case, actually, no.  It was insanely good.  The bacon was crazy crispy.  How on earth did they keep it crispy inside the drink?  I have no idea.  There was also a ton of bacon.  Some was floating on top, and there was plenty more throughout.  I kinda think there were several full slices of bacon inside my drink.  Protein to go with my sugar, right? 

Contrasting with the salty bacon was the sweet Bailey's, very creamy.  This was not a light drink, obviously, as it was full of cream and bacon, but man it was good.  The salty bacon prevented it from being too sweet.  I'd certainly get it again.

$10 each for fancy cocktails seemed a bit fitting.

I also enjoyed a cup of decaf coffee, advertised as bottomless.  While perhaps true, I had to ask for refills constantly, as no one seemed to notice my cup going empty.  It was fine decaf, not really interesting, and for $3.50, a bit high for generic, pre-brewed coffee.

Complimentary Banana Bread, Butter.

I read about how diners receive banana bread upon being seated, and was looking forward to it; however we did not.  I saw the banana bread being delivered to all the tables around us, distributed along with the menus.  But we had our menus, and no banana bread.  I thought that perhaps it would arrive with our drinks.  It did not.  I thought it would arrive after we ordered our main dishes.  It did not.  So finally, I asked about it.  Our server said she'd bring it right out.  She also said she'd refill my empty coffee.  Neither happened.

Finally, our main dishes arrived.  At that point, my coffee was refilled (when I asked yet again), and the banana bread was brought out.  I'm still confused why we received it so late, when literally every other table got it right when they sat down.

Anyway, the banana bread was crazy moist.  I'm not really one for banana bread, but I admit, this was good banana bread.  But since I had hot pancakes in front of me, I wasn't too excited for the banana bread at that point.  It would have been nice to munch on while we were waiting.

Single Cookie Dough Pancake, $5.

As I mentioned, North Street Grille offers pancakes and french toast in more varieties than you can possibly imagine.  Deciding between french toast or pancakes was my first hurdle, but after careful deliberation, I picked pancakes.  Then I had to narrow in on a flavor.  I ruled out all of the basic ones just with fruit (blueberry, banana, triple berry, strawberry), the slightly more interesting fruit ones (cranberry walnut, banana nut, apple cinnamon with apple butter), and those with chocolate (chocolate chip, chunky monkey).  Then I was left with the fun ones: cookie dough.  Cannoli.  Boston Cream.  Cinnamon Roll.  Oh my.

I asked for descriptions of each.  The cinnamon roll ones were topped with icing, which I thought might be a be too sweet for breakfast.  I wanted sweet pancakes, but perhaps I didn't need to go quite sooo overboard, even though the waitress told me they were amazing.  This concern of being just a bit too over the top also ruled out the Boston cream pancakes (a layered stack with Boston Cream filling between the layers, topped with chocolate ganache) and the cannoli pancakes (layered with cannoli filling, with crumbled cannoli shell).  Which left ... cookie dough pancakes.  I was inspired from my Dunkin' Donuts Cookie Dough iced coffee from the day before, so, I went for it.

The pancake was very large, hard to tell given the photo, but that was a normal size plate.  The base dough was fairly standard, buttermilk, but not particularly flavorful.  And ... yes, it had chunks of cookie dough baked in.

I know this doesn't sound like a great endorsement so far, but, it was a very well executed pancake.  The outside was absolutely perfectly crispy.  Golden on both sides.  And, it was served with real maple syrup of course.  I enjoyed my pancake, but I'd probably pick another kind next time, as there are far too many to explore.  North Street Grille has proven that they have the basic cooking technique down, which gives me great hope about all of the other varieties.

Specialty pancakes are available as a stack of 3 for $10-11, or as singles for $5 each.  Since I had already had a first breakfast before meeting my friend for brunch, I went for just a single.  I really liked that they allowed you to still get speciality pancakes as singles, many places only offer their speciality ones as full stacks, with only plain pancakes as singles.  $5 for a giant pancake seemed fine, although obviously the $10 price for 3 is a better deal, if you want a full stack.  If I was hungrier, I'd probably just pick two different kinds and mix and match.  Or one pancake and one french toast, so I could best of both worlds!

Next time!

Crab Cake Eggs Benedict / home fries with caramelized onions, roasted peppers and cheese.  $17.

My friend went for a savory option, not tempted by the decadent pancakes.  She ordered the crab cake benedict, normally served with a dijon hollandaise, but she opted for the regular hollandaise instead, as she doesn't like mustard.  The crab cakes benedict also normally comes with plain home fries, but our server casually asked if she would like cheese, peppers, and onions on top, which she gladly agreed to (because, who wouldn't?)  She didn't mention the $3 extra charge.

My friend generously offered to let me try everything.  The english muffins were nicely toasted, standard muffins.  The hollandaise also fairly standard, a bit thick.  The eggs were nicely poached.  Those parts were all well executed, but not anything out of the ordinary for a good brunch place.  The crab cakes were far more interesting than either of us expected, insanely zesty.

As for the home fries, the potatoes were crispy, but too oily for my taste.  The melted cheese and onions and peppers were a nice touch, but the cheese was kinda congealed by the time it reached our table.

Overall, good, but not my sort of dish.  When do I ever order eggs?

$17 seemed a bit high, but $3 of that was the upsell on the hash browns, and the crab cakes were each a decent size, so not unreasonable.

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Dunkin' Donuts - Seasonal Specials

Reviews of both iced and hot seasonal specials have been merged into my main Dunkin' Donuts drink review and baked goods review.

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Fisher's Popcorn

It is no secret that I like snacks.  I love to much on things, particularly popcorn.  Bonus points for sweet popcorn.

So while the rest of my office quickly tires of the tins of popcorn that show up from clients around the holidays, I am overjoyed, and eagerly devour the neglected tins.

1/2 Gallon Fisher's Popcorn. $12.

Fisher's is a small family business in Ocean City, MD.  They've been making popcorn, and specializing in caramel corn, since 1937.  They make a slew of other flavors, including a savory Old Bay flavor, and an Old Bay caramel corn, which I think sounds more fascinating than actually tasty.

Caramel Corn.

I tried the classic caramel corn.

It was super sticky, and many of the kernels stuck together in clumps or mini popcorn balls.  I don't consider this a bad thing necessarily, but it definitely made for sticky fingers.

The popcorn wasn't crispy, so it almost seemed a bit stale, but there was so much caramel that it didn't really matter.  I appreciated how well coated the kernels were.

Like most caramel corn, it got even better when I froze it, as it got crispier.  I'm still partial to the caramel corn I get from Munchery, but I did quite enjoy this, and would gladly consume more.

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Bamboo Asia

A while ago, I attended an event catered by Bamboo Asia.  The food was far better than I expected, so I decided to return to the physical store to give it another chance.  As I mentioned in my previous review, I've actually been before, but everything looked so unappealing that I left without trying anything.  But if Bamboo Asia can pull off decent catering, I decided perhaps looks were deceiving.

Bamboo Asia offers 3 cuisines: Vietnamese, Indian, and Japanese.   Each occupies its own distinct section of the store, in a layout that is a bit confusing at first, as they each has its own line to order and its own register.  I'm not sure what would happen if you wanted a Vietnamese spring roll and a Japanese mochi dessert ... would you have to go through both lines and pay separately?

At the catered event, I tried dishes from the Vietnamese and Indian parts of the menu, so this time, I went Japanese to start.  I still wasn't feeling brave enough to get the sushi, so I just went for sides and dessert ... because I'm willing to try dessert just about anywhere.

It turns out, I should have listened to my initial impressions and instincts.  The food wasn't good.  The staff was completely un-organized, rang people up for the wrong items, prepared orders for dine-in that were to-go, etc.  That said, the worker who prepared my little bowl of seaweed salad was very friendly, and even told me he gave me "a little extra".  Aww, thanks!  And, they accept PayPal mobile as payment, which is my new favorite way to pay on my phone these days.

But ... I don't think I'll be returning.

Seaweed Salad.  $2.95.

I was really craving seaweed salad.  When I ordered it, the guy fetched a big bag full out of the fridge, cut it open, and dished me up some.  Clearly, not something they make fresh in store, but I still had hope.

It wasn't good.  Yes, there were multiple types of seaweed.  There was light sauce.  There were sesame seeds.  But ... something just tasted quite off.  I can't put my finger on it, but it really just wasn't a good flavor.

$2.95 is a fine price for a small side salad, although places like Onigilly offer it for only $1.84, where it is actually good.

Red Bean Mochi.  $1.49.

I wanted to satisfy my sweet tooth too, so I grabbed a mochi at last minute, also from the Japanese area.  Some pieces were labelled with the flavor, some weren't.  I asked what kind this was, and the person behind the counter didn't know.  I hoped it was taro, based on the slightly purplish color, but alas, I think it was red bean.

It was unremarkable mochi.  Soft-ish, not much flavor.  I'm guessing they don't make their own mochi either.  Meh.

Anjou's Laddoo. $1.95.

I wanted another dessert, since I wasn't into the mochi.  This one came from the Indian section, the only other choice that day, labeled "Anjou's Laddo".

I'm not really sure who Anjou is.  And actually, I wasn't familiar with laddoo, but ... dessert!

Laddoo is apparently an Indian sweet, almost like a cookie.  I really wanted to like it.  The spicing was good, predominately cardamom.  But the item itself was basically just a dry ball of coconut.  Like a  macaroon, but not moist.  It offered nothing.  I wouldn't get again.

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