Momofuku Noodle Bar, NYC

Ah, the Momofuku empire.  You've read about other experiences I have had with it, like at Momofuku Nishi last year for Korean Italian, with insanely tasty butter noodles.  And of course all the visits to  Milk Bar, the chain of bakeries featuring shockingly good cookies, amazing soft serve ice cream, and cakes and truffles.  I still haven't been to Fuku for the fried chicken, or Ko for an extensive multi course menu, or Ssäm Bar, or any of the locations outside New York.

But I'm slowly making my way through them all, mostly out of novelty.  I know there are better eats in New York, at any price point.  But each Momofuku restaurant is a very unique concept, and it certainly is not the case that if you've gone to one, you've gone to the others.  I'm rather fascinated by the "chain", but also, I do find something unique and flavorful in every visit.  So for this trip, we picked out Noodle Bar.

Noodle Bar does not accept reservations, but our group of 3 arrived around 6:30pm, and were seated immediately, although waits quickly formed by the door.  I think we were among the last to get seated without a wait.

Feast for 3.

Overall, it was an ok experience.  I'll admit that I was very stressed out with work and almost cancelled my plans, so I was certainly distracted.  The environment itself was not inviting nor comfortable, much like Nishi.

The food was good, interesting, but not amazing.  I did enjoy some unique, flavorful bites however (like the toppings on the chilled spicy noodles!)

Service fast and attentive.  I'd return if someone wanted to, but would not seek it out.

Setting

I complained in my review of Nishi about the uncomfortable seating.  Noodle Bar has the same setup.  It was freezing inside.  And loud.  We were not comfortable at any point during this meal.

Communal Tables.

There are 5 or 6 large communal tables with the same backless stools we sat on at Nishi.  No where to put your bags, no where to rest your back.  Seats were close together, and the phrase "rubbing elbows with your neighbor" took on new meaning.  Worse was the back to back tables, with barely any room between them, so as each party got seated or got up, or when servers came by, someone was hit in the back or on the head.  Constantly.

On the tables was chopsticks and napkins in holders spread out down the table.

Open Kitchen.

There is also counter seating, also backless stools, along the open kitchen.  Here you can watch the action of the cooks on the multiple planchas, and hear the clamor of a real working kitchen.

Back Kitchen.

Adjacent to that area is the back kitchen, also full of action.

Ssäm Ssauce.

"Ssäm Sauce is a spicy and tangy Korean chili sauce. Variations of Ssäm Sauce have been a staple in the pantry of the Momofuku kitchens throughout the years. Our Ssäm Sauce is made with gochujang, a traditional, umami-rich Korean chili paste, as well as miso, sake, soy sauce, and rice vinegar."

On each table, along with cheap wooden chopsticks that break and splinter easily, is the famous Momofuku Ssäm sauce.

That sauce is magic.  Just trust me.  Add it to anything and everything, and flavor just bursts forth.  For me, a surprising thing is that it didn't mask flavor, even though a very intense sauce on its own, it just seemed to enhance everything.  Loved it. 

Definitely use generously, particularly on noodles.  I resisted stealing the bottle (I'm joking, and you can buy several different versions directly from them of course).

Food & Drink

Just like Momofuku Nishi, all dishes are designed for sharing, and arrive as soon as ready.  Our first course arrived in just a few minutes, and others quickly followed.  We were provided with share plates and some share utensils (although not really what we needed to do the job).

Menu.

The food menu is one page, broken into categories of appetizers, bread, noodles, plates, snacks, and a single dessert.

We opted for one appetizer, 3 breads, and 2 noodles for 3 of us.  It was too much food, we had extra.

The single dessert option, miso soft serve, sounded good, and if the environment had been more comfortable, we would have stayed for it.

Drinks

Tap water was provided when we sat down, and glasses were kept full the entire time.

Drink Menu.

The drink menu has a few options for beer, cider, and wine, plus sake (only one kind), soju (two options, plus a slushie!), and some soft drinks and teas. And one item I was unfamiliar with: makkoli.

Makku 'Premium Makgeolli',  New York, NY. $9.

I decided to get it, out of novelty.  It delivered more novelty than I imagined.

For one, it is served in a can.  No glass provided.  And ... its upside down.  The can has instructions on it that you need to turn it, because of the natural sediment.

While I don't mind drinking out of a can, it was really strange to drink out of something with the writing upside down the whole time!  That said, I did enjoy it.  It reminded me a bit of unfiltered sake.  It was refreshing, flavorful, and went well with the food.

Appetizers

The appetizers section of the menu is all light offerings, mostly vegetables, or raw seafood.  From here, we selected one dish, mostly just to have some veggies.

Pea Shoots. $8.

"Asian pear, sesame, chili vinaigrette."

The moment this dish was placed in front of us, my companions both said, "Did we order this?"

"Uh, its the pea shoots?" I said, confused, because we clearly discussed ordering the pea shoots.  "But its lacking the peas?" was the response.  "It is pea shoots ..." I said.  The other followed with "Oh, I've only ever seen those cooked".  This theme of my companions being confused by the dishes we ordered and discussed would continue through the meal.  

Anyway, this was ... fine.  Just some pea shoots in a spicy vinaigrette.  The shoots were fresh, crisp, bright, but it was just a salad.  I appreciated that it was different though . A middle of the road pick for me, just based on uniqueness.

Bread

The entire next section of the menu is called "bread".  Normally, I'm not one to bother filling my stomach space with bread, but, it was the bread dishes I was most interested in.  The steamed buns are what Momofuku is really known for.

Bing Bread.

We started with the bing bread.

Warm, buttered bread, I think cooked on a plancha?  It was a bit like a buttery denser naan.  It was ... fine, but just bread.

However, it is not served plain, rather, it comes with your choice of dips, either carrot & butter, or chickpea hozon & eggplant.  We selected the later.

Dip: Chickpea Hozon & Eggplant. $8.

Do you need a refresh in chickpea hozon?  My companions did, even though they had it at Momofuku Nishi with me several months earlier.

"Hozon is a fermented, stone-ground seasoning made in the style of miso paste. Chickpeas provide a sweetness and lightness to this seasoning while also allowing for tremendous depth. Chickpea Hozon invites a wide variety of applications. Use it in every way you would a traditional miso paste or savory seasoning, as well as mixed with other umami-rich foods like vinegars, mushrooms, tomatoes, cheeses, and meats."

Now, I don't like chickpeas.  Or eggplant really.  But I remembered loving the chickpea hozon in the buttered noodles at Nishi, so, this was an easy pick.

Unfortunately, it was ... just eggplant dip (akin to babaganoush), topped with chickpea dip (like hummus), with crispy chickpeas on top.  I appreciated it for the texture, and the fried chickpeas were enjoyed by my companions, but as someone who doesn't want to taste chickpea, that is really all there was to this for me.

Hummus, babaganoush, and naan ... just not the dish for me.  Our overall least favorite. 

Shrimp Buns. $13

"Spicy mayo, pickled red onion, iceberg. "

Next up, buns.  Momofuku makes 3 kinds, the signature pork belly ones, a veggie version, and these, shrimp.  All come in pairs.

Since one companion doesn't eat pork, and the other and I tend to eat a lot of pork belly, we skipped those, since they just weren't that novel to us.  Plus, I had read great things about the shrimp version, even though one companion was skeptical.  I tried to explain that it wasn't just shrimp stuffed into a bun.  Still, both my companions were surprised when these arrived. 

The buns were good.  Soft, fluffy, warm bao.  Filled inside with tasty spicy mayo, a little bit of shredded iceberg, a pickled onion or two, and a huge shrimp patty.  The patty was a firm texture, mostly shrimp, not filler, juicy.  While I appreciate the big patty, it was a bit hard to eat, as it was much bigger than the bun itself.

Overall, this was fine, a generous portion, but I didn't find myself very excited by it.  Middle pick, just above the pea shoots.

Shiitake Buns. $13.

"Hoisin, scallion, cucumber."

We all preferred the vegetarian buns.  Yes, my companions were surprised by this item as well.

These buns were also overflowing with filling, this time, crispy bits of shiitake.  I loved the texture, similar to mushroom "bacon" I've had before.  Great chew.  We all loved the hoisin sauce in here, and I liked adding ssam sauce to these too.

The bun was the same, soft, fluff, fine, and the cucumber was a bit of freshness.  My second favorite dish, although I think it would be even better with the spicy mayo.  I love creamy sauces!

Noodles

We were at Momofuku Noodle Bar, after all, so we finally moved on to the noodles section of the menu.  From here however, we didn't order ramen.  As reviewers often note, there are better places to get ramen.  When we ordered our noodle selection, the server was sure to tell us that the didn't have broth, to make sure we knew what we were doing.

Ginger Scallion Noodles. $15.

"Pickled shiitakes, cucumber, nori."

First up, the sole vegetarian entree sized dish, ordered by our pescatarian guest.

I tried a few bites.  They were ... noodles.  Decent ginger flavor.  I liked the flavor in the marinated pickled shiitakes.  But overall boring.  Second to last pick.

Chilled Spicy Noodles. $16.

"Sichuan sausage, Thai basil, cashews."

My companions were very confused when this dish arrived, as they didn't really know what to expect (as in, they entirely missed the fact that we weren't getting soups, even though they had questioned me on getting chilled noodles).  "The form factor confuses me," said one.

I however knew to expect green noodles (more on that soon!), and a very, very generous layer of candied cashews.  Of course I was in it for the cashews.

And I loved those cashews.  They were warm, which I wasn't expecting, candied, coated in delicious sauce, and honestly the highlight of the meal.  And there were tons of them.  

Under the cashews was the sausage, decent sized chunks and little crumbles, decently spiced sausage, nice crust on it. It was hot, which warmed the noodles below it.  It was the style of "pizza sausage", if you know what I mean.  I liked it dunked in ssam sauce.

Chilled Spicy Noodles: Close Up.

And then, finally, the base of the bowl, the noodles.  Although listed as a "chilled" dish, they were were warm, perhaps just from the warm sausage and cashews on top?

Yes, the noodles were green.  Coated in a very herby thai basil sauce, with extra bits of torn basil mixed in.  I really liked the herby quality, it was very bright, but also, a bit bland at the same time.

Ssäm sauce to the rescue.  This dish was fine without it, but really, really enhanced with it.  Of all the dishes, this one benefits the most from the sauce.

My favorite dish of the night, not really for the noodles themselves, but for the toppings.  I wanted ot just buy a package of those cashews.

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Takeout from Din Tai Fung, Bellevue

When I travel for work, I often get exhausted with dining out, and I'm usually crazy busy actually doing my job.  By the time dinner rolls around, I just want to do something easy, solo, ideally back at my hotel, and then get back to work.  Did you think all my business travel was ... glamorous?

If I have a hotel with any sort of facilities for preparing food, I'll just go to the grocery store, particularly when I find a high quality one nearby.  Or I opt for a lot of takeout, poke being a recent highlight for me, as you've read about frequently.  But another fun one for me is takeout from Din Tai Fung, when there happens to be a location near me, like in Costa Mesa or Sydney.

I've still never visited a Din Tai Fung to dine in (seriously, 2 hours waits all the time!), and I don't live near one, so I've never been able to go with a group, which is how it makes the most sense, since everything is served family style, in large portions.  But the takeout experience is done well, and I continue to work my way, slowly, through the menu that way.

This particular visit was in Bellevue, WA, in a mall location adjacent to the hotel I was staying at.

Takeout Sesame Noodles.

I decided to try something that sounded almost similar to the spicy wontons I enjoyed so much before, this time, noodles with a sesame sauce.

It was a mixed success.

Full House!

As is normal at any Din Tai Fung, the place was packed, there were massive queues of people waiting out front, and the wait time was quoted in hours.

I was glad I had just ordered online, and planned to jet out of there as quickly as possible.

Signature Takeout Bag.

I got my takeout intending to eat it basically immediately, and didn't really need the signature Din Tai Fung bag, but, I did feel like I had a bit of a prize as I walked past all the crowds of waiting people, watching their eyes track my bag.

Nicely Packaged:  N9. Noodle with Sesame Sauce. $8.50.

As with my previous takeout experience from Din Tai Fung (in Costa Mesa), I was impressed with the packaging.  They do a really good job of delivering the highest quality takeout imaginable, with each component in its own container, and the potentially leaky element in sealed plastic bag as well.

My bag contained one bowl with the noodles, one with the sauce, and a little one with the crushed sticky nuts topping.  What it didn't have?  A bowl to mix them in, I think I was supposed to just pour the sauce onto the noodles, but, what if I didn't like it? What if I wanted less sauce?

Luckily, I tried every component individually first.

Sesame Sauce.

The sauce looked great, although I'd admit, it wasn't what I was expecting from "sesame sauce".  It certainly looked spicy, and loaded with green onion.  Where was the sesame?  I was expecting something thicker, more paste like, perhaps like tahini ... I'm not sure what I was expecting, really, but it wasn't this.

But still, it looked spicy and good, particularly since I had liked the spicy sauce so much last time on the wontons.  But this ... I did not like.  I tried it alone, I tried a portion with noodles that I mixed in a paper cup I had.  It didn't matter how I had it, I didn't like it.

It was spicy, just nothing like the spicy sauce I had previously enjoyed.  The flavor, whatever it was, just wasn't one I liked.  Kinda like sriracha.  I don't like sriracha generally :(  I never tasted, nor really saw, sesame.

It really was a let down, not what I was expecting, and I'm very, very glad that it was packaged separate, and that I didn't just dump it all on the noodles first.  

Noodles.

The noodles were ... noodles?  Shockingly hot actually, I couldn't believe how hot they were, and how hot they stayed for a while.  Very, very fresh noodles.  Plain, but that is intentional, as they are only used in dishes with sauces.

Since they were packaged separately, they did clump together pretty immediately though, which made eating them a bit hard.  That said, I'm glad they were packaged separately, because ... I did not like the sauce.

I salvaged the noodles, bringing them back to my hotel, and mixed them with a different mayo based sauce I had leftover back at the hotel, along with the crushed peanut topping that came with this, and some veggies I had on hand.  My creamy pasta salad was actually quite tasty, fresh noodles worked remarkably well in it.

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Luke's Lobster

Luke's Lobster is a fast casual chain known for its lobster (and other seafood) rolls.  They are known for working with fisherman directly (e.g. no middleman, saving costs and ensuring quality), and for very simple preparations, no filler or additives.

It started in New York in 2009 and has been spreading fast.  We don't (yet!) have one in San Francisco, although that is about to change.  It has been on my radar though because of the great reviews, and my love of seafood.

The Luke's menu is very limited.  This is not a place with "something for everyone", or really, something for most people.  3 rolls, all seafood. 2 chowders, both seafood.  3 very simple sides (chips, salad, slaw). 4 drinks (2 water, 2 soda).  The only other menu options are a side of lobster tail for $5 (!), or a salad.  In the winter they add a lobster mac and cheese.  That's it.

All rolls are served on hot buns, but with chilled seafood, very, very lightly dressed.  Simplicity.

City Kitchen Food Court.

The location we visited was near Time's Square, in the City Kitchen food court, a fairly interesting place, located on the second floor, away from the crazy, with big windows all around.  It features a handful of vendors, including a ramen shop, sushi counter, burger joint, mexican place, and donut shop.

Seating is fairly limited, stools along the windows (uncomfortable stools, at that!), and a few tables.  We had to wait and quickly snatch up a table once one became available.  Still, an interesting venue.

Ordering Counter.

The Luke's stand had good curb appeal, with wooden signage.  Orders were taken at the register, sides and drinks handed over when you order, and then you wait for number to be called for the rolls themselves.

It took longer that I expected for the rolls, during which time our hot chowder got cold.  Boo to that.

Underwhelming Meal.  $30.

We tried all three rolls, one chowder, one side, and one drink.  Nothing was great.  Some was really not enjoyable.  Even the drink (sparkling lemon water) wasn't great (too strong lemon!).

Safe to say, we have no reason to return.

Luke's Trio. $19.

"1/2 lobster roll, 1/2 crab roll, 1/2 shrimp roll."

Luke's offers 3 types of rolls: lobster, crab, or shrimp, all the same style on a split top bun with melted butter, mayo, and "secret" seasoning.  The shrimp is the cheapest at $9, the lobster the most expensive at $16.  Or, for those who want to try it all or just can't decide, there is the trio, featuring "1/2" of each roll.

We opted for the trio.  I was a little surprised when I saw the portions.  No segment actually looked like a full 1/2 a roll.  It didn't matter though, as we struggled to get through them (in fact, my companion didn't finish his pieces - yes, he didn't want his quarter of any).

I'll start with the positive.  The roll was quite good.  Warm, perfectly toasted with a crisp exterior and soft inside, and I loved how buttered it was.  I ate all the rolls when my companion pushed everything away.

Now, let's go negative.  The shrimp.  Tiny shrimp, a bit fishy, really cold, a bad contrast with the warm bun.  Essentially no mayo on this one, but tons of the "secret" seasoning, some green herb on top.  I disliked the seasoning.  My companion took a *tiny* bite of this one, and pushed the rest away.  I salvaged the buttered bun.

Next, the crab.  It was ... a bit better.  Still cold seafood, still lacking any mayo (tiny, tiny, tiny bit in the bottom of the bun), still with that seasoning I wasn't loving.  The crab didn't taste bad, but it wasn't particularly great, and, without mayo or spice or anything to jazz it up, it was just ... boring.  I desperately looked around the food court for somewhere that might have mayo, tartar sauce, aioli, anything, but failed.  My companion took a second bite of this before pushing away, and declaring he was getting other food.  I ended up adding the bread with butter and little mayo from the shrimp one to the crab to enhance it a little.  In retrospect, I should have just taken it with me and added mayo back at hotel (because, yes, I had some).

Finally, the lobster.  The lobster honestly wasn't bad.  Good texture, well cooked, decent portion, good variety of pieces.  But again, cold (which is fine, that is the style), but again, lacking mayo.  It mattered less for the lobster since it had more flavor and went well with the butter.  I did actually like this one.  Love?  Nah.  Do I think a full size roll of it is worth $16?  Of course not.  But for a fast casual lobster roll, that one really wasn't bad.  The rest though ...

You can get just the trio for $19, or for $28 upgrade to a combo with side of chowder (normally $7) and a drink (normally $3), so we did that, saving $1.

Lobster Corn Chowder. $7.

Luke's offers two soups: clam chowder, or lobster corn chowder, each available by the cup for $7, or bowl for $10.

We opted for the lobster corn chowder, as a small cup.

It was ... eh.  Honestly, the quality was no different from a canned soup or generic fast casual chain, mostly corn, in a creamy but somehow not rich tasting, broth.  We didn't find much lobster.

For $7 this was quite sad.

Poppyseed Slaw. $2.

The only sides, besides soup, that Luke's offers are bags of Cape Cod Chips, a side salad, or slaw.

As a slaw lover though, this was all I needed.  Slaw!

Except, this was not tasty.  I took a bite, and definitely made a face.  My companion took a bite, and pushed it away immediately, saying it was far too sour and vinegary.  There was nothing that either of us liked about this slaw, it was intensely acidic, and obviously not a creamy style as I prefer.

Discarded with one bite each.  Ooph.

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Eta Chips

Eta is a snack foods company based in New Zealand.  You know me and snacks, particularly when traveling and they have unique flavors.  I couldn't wait to try their goods.

They make a slew of different product lines, including different types of chips (Uppercuts - Deli Cut, Ripple Cut, Thick Cut, Uppercuts - Corn Tapas), specialty chips (Munchos, Cruncheese, Monster Munch, and Cheese Balls), crackers (known as Cravers), and nut mixes (both sweet and savory).  Some of the flavors are totally fascinating, like "Cheesy Bacon" or "Burger" Monster Munch, or Sweet Chili Relish Uppercuts Deli Cut.

Eta has a long history as a company, 80 years old, although the chips were only introduced in the 70s, the premium Uppercuts line not until 2004.

I tried only one item though, from the Ripple Cut line.

"ETA real decent chips since the 70's! Made with potatoes proudly grown locally in NZ. All we do is dig 'em up, scrub 'em, chop 'em and cook 'em, that's why our chips have a real, natural golden colour."

I loved them.  Next time I'm back in New Zealand, I must get my hands on more of their products!

Ripple Cut Chicken.

What makes up "chicken" flavor?  Well, "Chicken Flavour", duh?  Otherwise known as Sugar, Salt, Corn Maltodextrin, Onion Powder, Natural Flavours, Garlic Powder, Herbs, Hydrolysed Soy Protein, Milk Powder, Flavour Enhancer (635), Emulsifier (433).  Yum.

Except, they were actually yum.  Really yum.  I love these.

The ripple form factor was just right, they were thicker than traditional thin style non-ripple cut chips, full of good potato flavor, if that makes any sense.  Fried, not baked or trying to be healthy, and very satisfying.

And the flavor?  Ok, I didn't taste "chicken", but I really liked what I did taste.  Full of flavor.  So much flavor.  Great herb level.

I adored these, and downed the bag in an instant.

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La Diperie, Montreal

Soft serve ice cream.  It is what my summer dreams are made of.

Dreams, because in San Francisco, "summer" is a joke, and soft serve just isn't really a thing.  Hence why whenever I visit the east coast of the US, or Sydney, all I do is eat soft serve.  Such a rare treat for me.

I'm glad soft serve has continued to flourish there though, because the quality of soft serve shops just keeps going up.  My childhood haunts of Dairy Twirl and Ice Cream Fore-U just don't compare, not just to crazy Instagram sensational places (yes, I'm looking at you Aqua S and your cones with cotton candy wrapped around them), but even to traditional ice cream stands that have just really increased quality like King Kone, or ones with sourcing you can't beat, located on their own dairy farm with maple sugar shack, like Mac's Maple.

La Diperie isn't in my hometown, but rather, in Montreal, where I visited for a very quick 2 day business trip.  My list of desserts to try included 2 things: BeaverTails and soft serve dip.  Because, apparently, Montreal takes their soft serve dip very very seriously.  There are sections of town where every third store has soft serve with dips.  Seriously.  Most look fairly generic, but just my list of places with artisan dips and toppings was at least 10 long, in a few block radius of my hotel.

La Diperie is a chain in the area, started only in 2014, but already with 25 locations.  There were at least 4 within easy walking distance of my hotel.  I visited 2.  And returned to one of them within 10 minutes.  Uh, yeah.

I selected La Diperie for several reasons: large dip selection, full customization allowed (some places are pre-set combos of dips and toppings only), and a great range of sizes, including an adorable mini cone.

2 Visits ... in 10 Minutes.  Don't judge.

So I went.  Twice.  In one night.  Ok, twice in 10 minutes.  Please don't judge.  I recommend this move actually.

I went to walk around and eat my cone, and realized that the minis really were small enough I could get another.  I'm really glad I went with the mini actually, because 2 totally different ones was way more fun that 1 larger one.  My server told me this is actually really common, and they recommend it to people who can't make up their mind.

Both of my cones were quite successful, and so I decided to check out another location a day later.

Setting: Old Town

My first visit was to their location in Old Montreal, center of touristville, but, down a side street.

Store Front.

Curb appeal?  Yup!

This location was down a quiet side street, in a stone building with bright blue planters.

Interior.

Inside is small though, no seating at all, just a place to order and pay and get out.  No bathroom facilities.

Menu.

The menu was all in french. I struggled through it, but did ask a bunch of questions.

To start, you pick a cone or dish from 5 sizes: mini , petit, regular, grand, and waffle for a base price.  From there, you can add a dip for $1, from their extensive line up.  And then, toppings for $0.65, again, a decent line up.

I love the mini size because if you want just a snack, or a little treat after dinner, its a great size to feel like you had something, but not too much.  The next size up, "petite", is about the size of kiddie cone at most places, and then they have regular and large sizes too if you want a full treat.  I wish more places had something like this.

You can also opt for some pre-designed creations with specific dip and topping combos, build your own ice cream sandwiches (pick your cookies, pick your dip, pick your toppings), milkshakes, or, if you are vegan and got dragged here by someone, a vegan popsicle.

La Diperie has only vanilla soft serve, but it was perfectly creamy and rich, certainly good base soft serve.

Some locations also carry other desserts like lava cakes and profitteroles, and raw vegan cookie dough.

30 Types of Dip.

"More than 30 pure Belgian chocolate flavors to choose from.  Great classics such as milk, dark chocolate, caramel or surprising ones, like activated charcoal, ginger, lemonade, lavender, pistachios."

Now the hard part.  The dips.  Yes, literally, 30 of them.  Not made from wax and chemicals, but from white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or 70% dark chocolate, although none were labelled with what type of base they used, and I felt annoying asking.  Chocolats Favoris labels these nicely.

Flavors range from boozy bailey's, to classic dark chocolate with fleur de sel, to kid's favorite Oreo.  And yes, you can ask to try them first.

Since my visit was at night, I limited myself to the white chocolate based offerings.  I sampled a few before making my pick.  I was sad that they were sold out of the one I wanted though, a white chocolate based "Birthday Cake" flavor.

Toppings.

"More than 20 types of toppings. 20 original and classic toppings to put the finishing touch on your culinary creation!"

And then, toppings!  All types of nuts (almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, etc), candies (M&Ms, Skors, Kit Kat, etc), cereals (Rice Krispies, Lucky Charms, etc), cookies (Oreo, graham crackers, etc), and many many more.  They didn't actually have a full 20 toppings at this location though.

Setting:  St Catherine

My next visit was to their St Catherine location, 2 days later.  Don't worry, I had soft serve dip the next night too, I just decided to mix it up and go to Chocolats Favoris instead (review coming soon!).

The St. Catherine location was actually a very different experience, with a far bigger menu, dip, and topping selection.  This one did have the profiteroles, "Razzles", and other blended items.

Ordering Area.

This location has no interior, just a window on the walking plaza to order.   And a line, of course.

Seating.

It does have seating, an outside area on the walking mall closed off with a few tables.

White Chocolate Dips.

And a far bigger dip selection.  And this dip selection was arranged starting with white chocolate, then milk, then dark, then 70% dark.  So much easier.

They had all the same ones the previous location had, plus more that I was particularly excited to see, like the birthday cake that was sold out at the other location.

Milk, Dark, 70% Dark Dips.

And then, even more milk, dark, and 70% dips.  Since this visit was daytime, I opened up to hte possibilities of chocolate, and there were some amazing sounding choices.  Popcorn!

Toppings: Set 1.

They also have far far more toppings, two different sets of jars.  This set was mostly the same as the other location.

Toppings: Set 2.

But the other side had more fun things, like some unlabeled blue candy things I decided to get.

Here you can also see the cone line up.  They actually use different size cones for each size, and it was nice to see them side by side.  The mini cone is sooo cute.  A waffle cone or chocolate waffle cone are also available.

My Cones

At the first location, I got a mini ... and then another mini 10 minutes later as I wasn't quite satisfied (I did want a full size dessert, and, I didn't love my first dip).  At the second location, I actually had a full dessert prior (oops), but still wanted one last cone, so got another mini.  I loved the size.

I sampled a few dips over my three visits, besides the ones I got, including:

• White Chocolate Pistachio: a decent dip that I was worried would be "too much" after a while.
• White Chocolate Maple: A great sweet maple one that I just wasn't in the mood for.
• White Chocolate Anniversary Birthday Cake: Pretty color, but didn't taste like anything besides sweet.
• White Chocolate Popcorn: Didn't taste any popcorn.  Was hoping for sweet and salty and that didn't happen.
• Milk Chocolate Mint: This was good, minty, chocolately.  I would have gotten it but I wasn't quite in the mood for mint.

Dip Close Up.

A few things were consistent at all locations.

First, the base ice cream, only vanilla.  The ice cream was good, rich, creamy, and it melted nicely as I ate it.  Better than average soft serve really, and it isn't even the focus of the shop.

Second, the style of dip shell.  It isn't as thin as ice cream stands that use the commercial waxy chemical shells, but it isn't nearly as thick as other chocolate shops that feature dips.  Here you can see how thin the layer is.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Dip, Peanuts, Rainbow Sprinkles. Mini. $1.50 + $1 + $0.65 + $0.65.

For my first cone, I opted for peanut butter in the end without trying it, since I do always love peanut butter.  I dipped it in crushed peanuts and rainbow sprinkles.  This one was the prettiest, look how perfect it was!

The peanut butter I didn't love.  It was good, but actually just too intense.  Thick, sooo much peanut butter.  I did like the crunch of the nuts and the sprinkles on the outside though.

I think a thinner layer of dip would have worked fine, maybe a larger size with less surface area outside and more ice cream perhaps, or even something like chocolate ice cream to combat the strong peanut butter.  It was good, don't get me wrong, but even in the small size, I grew sick of it.

I was glad I got the mini size, since I didn't love the peanut butter after a while.

White Chocolate Cookie Dough Dip, Skor, Rainbow Sprinkles. Mini. $1.50 + $1 + $0.65 + $0.65.

For my second cone that day, I went for the cookie dough (also white chocolate base), since it was clear I was craving sweet.  And I added crushed Skor bars (toffee candy) and rainbow sprinkles again because I loved them on the first cone.

This one was made by the same person, but came out a fairly different shape.  More like a Christmas tree than a perfect cone.

The cookie dough dip was a great choice, not that it tasted like cookie dough, but it was sweet and satisfying.  Creamy from the white chocolate, and thick, but not intense in the way the peanut butter was.  If I lived here and came regularly, I'd get it again, but with limited time during a short stay, I'd rather explore more options.

The Skor candy bits though were not good, somehow kinda soft, which was entirely wrong.  Every bite I took with them had a really unpleasant soft chew to it.  I'm sure that if they were fresher they would be great, as the toffee was good.

I loved the rainbow sprinkles again, not just for the looks, but also the crunch.

70% Dark Chocolate Black Coal Dip, Blue Things, Rainbow Sprinkles. Mini. $1.50 + $1 + $0.65 + $0.65.

My final visit was daytime, so I went all out and got not just chocolate, not milk chocolate, not dark chocolate, but the 70% dark chocolate.  And went for the charcoal flavor, without trying it.

This cone was thinner and taller, and not quite so straight.  Mine was much better made than the others in front of me though, they also all had minis, and theirs were all seriously slanting!

I added the rainbow sprinkles because they were so good on the other cones, and, uh, randomly, the blue things that I couldn't identify.  The crunch from both was great, but they really were just sweet things.

The dip was ... ok?  It just really wasn't very intense chocolate.  Far more chocolately than your average ice cream shop waxy dip obviously, but certainly not as intense of chocolate as you get at the other dip shops around town that truly are real chocolate shops.

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JetBlue Mint 1415, JFK-SFO

Flight Details

Departure: JFK, 8:07pm (scheduled), ~8:40pm (actual).

Arrival: 11:57 pm (scheduled), (actual)
Seat: 3D
Class: Mint
Date: June 2018

So this is a sad story.  I'll spare you all the details, but, I missed my actual flight.  I was booked on the previous flight, at a nice reasonable 3:55pm departure time, and ... let's just say, everything people say about getting to JFK from Manhattan is unfortunately very, very true.  I doubled the time I thought I needed, and still missed my flight.  On *that* flight, I had the single suite.  On this flight ... no so much.  Anyway.  At least I was able to fly out that day, just, many hours at JFK later :(

Amenities

I've reviewed Mint extensively before, so, no full review this time around.  Not much has changed, as always, a wonderful experience, both hard product and soft.

I was seated in 3D, aisle seat at least, with a neighbor.  I'm always shocked by how different the experience is in the single suites vs having a neighbor.  It doesn't really matter how nice that person is, the lack of storage space really is just dramatically different.  Basically ... just the little pocket in seat in front of you, no place for bag during takeoff/landing, etc, compared to the huge cubbies in the suites.  Just a small shared place for drinks.  Etc.

But, it was still Mint, at least.

Dining

Dining on this flight was fine, but lacking any standouts.

Westbound Dinner, June 2018.

As always, menus were distributed as we settled into our seats, orders taken once underway.  The menu followed the familiar format - appetizer, choice of 3 of 5 small plates (2 chilled, 3 veggie, 1 seafood), and local ice cream.

WELCOME TASTE

• ARTICHOKE AVOCADO DIP WITH TARO CHIPS

DELISH DISHES
Choose three. Please note: The first two dishes listed below are chilled

• WHEATBERRY & SMOKED ALMOND COUSCOUS: cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives
• HOT & COLD SMOKED SALMON: baby beets, oranges, watercress, crème fraîche
• HEIRLOOM TOMATO GRATIN: fennel pollen, breadcrumbs
• CHICKEN TAGINE: pasta fregola, green olives, almonds*
• PORCHETTA: spicy peach ragout, arugula, radishes 

SWEET BITES

• ICE CREAM: Blue Marble Ice Cream, New York, NY.

WHEN YOU RE-TREAT

• COOKIE, milk bar, NYC and beyond

This was a pretty unexciting menu for me, the first time I think I've ever *not* been excited about the lineup.  Not a single dish was one I really wanted, and, I knew I was allergic to the starter dip that went with the amazing taro chips, which made me pretty sad, as I adore their dips!

Drink Menu.

And of course, a drink list with the usual beer, liquor, coffee, tea, and wine, the exact same lineup I had on my flight to the east coast.

• Sparkling: RAVENTOS I BLANC DE NIT BRUT ROSÉ, 2015, Penedès, Spain
• White: SANDHI CHARDONNAY, 2015, Sta. Rita Hills, California
• White: VON WINNING ESTATE DRY RIESLING, 2016, Pfalz, Germany
• Red: COUNTY LINE PINOT NOIR, 2016, Sonoma Coast, California
• Red: BROC VINE STARR ZINFANDEL, 2016, Sonoma County, California

Country Line Pinot Noir, 2016.

Pre-takeoff, as always, drinks were offered, and I decided to just move right to red wine.  It was one of those days.  The only red option on the ground was the pinot noir, which was fine with me, given that I had liked it before.

It was again fine, very drinkable.

Broc Vine Starr Zinfandel, 2016.

The pinto really was fine, but I decided to try the other red wine, a zin, just to mix it up.

It was a much bolder wine, a lot more bite, a lot more complex, but, not tanic, and I liked it.  The pinot was certainly more likely to be a crowd pleaser, light, drinkable, but this was much more interesting.

Welcome Taste: ARTICHOKE AVOCADO DIP WITH TARO CHIPS.

Our Welcome Taste was delivered once underway. Even though I'm allergic to avocado, I still wanted the taro chips, and, one little bit wouldn't hurt right?

I liked the taro chips as always, crunchy, satisfying.  As always, I found the serving way too small.  And, when I told my FA that I loved the taro chips, she offered without a beat to bring me more and more.

The dip was nicely plated up, topped with an artichoke heart and topped with some kind of spice.  I did try a bite of the dip, and it was creamy and flavorful, herby too, but, alas, I felt the effects of the avocado nearly immediately, so, I stopped.  And I didn't really want the artichoke heart anyway.

Dinner

For my meal, I went for the two chilled dishes, and the hot vegetarian dish, ruling out the chicken and porchetta.  My neighbor selected the same dishes, so, I didn't get to spy on the ones I didn't order.

Dinner.

My tray arrived with all three of my small plates.  This time I finally remembered to say that I didn't need a roll. 

WHEATBERRY & SMOKED ALMOND COUSCOUS (Chilled).

"Cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives."

First up, a chilled "salad"

If you like healthy grain based salads, this was a nicely done dish.

The wheatberries were cooked exactly as I prefer, still quite al dente, crispy, chewy.  Mixed in with the wheatberries was chopped almonds, more good texture and crunch.  Also in the mix was I think red peppers and feta cheese?  A little more color and pop, following the Mediterranean theme.  On top, slices of olives and cherry tomatoes, and mint and cilantro garnish.  It was very lightly dressed as well.

So, for what it was, a nicely done dish.  Good textures and flavors. Years ago, I would have loved this (I was on a healthy kick, and really into wheatberries in particular).  These days, it wasn't really what I wanted, but, I can recognize all the good aspects of it.  My second pick, but I wouldn't want it again.

HOT & COLD SMOKED SALMON (Chilled).

"Baby beets, oranges, watercress, crème fraîche."

Next I had another cold dish, the smoked salmon.  It was really beautifully presented, with the watercress on top, globs of crème fraîche, and colorful oranges and beets.

The oranges were even supremed.  They were juicy and fresh.  But I wasn't really into the orange and salmon combination, so I saved them for last, and just ate them as a refreshing palette cleanser before dessert.

The beets were raw, thin slices, pretty things, fresh, crisp.  Again, not quite sure about them with the oranges and salmon, but, a good component.  The watercress too was fresh and nice.

I adored the crème fraîche.  Super creamy, and plenty of it.

But this *was* a salmon dish, so, where was the salmon?

HOT & COLD SMOKED SALMON: Underneath.

The salmon was under all the other layers.

There was two styles, one hot smoked, one cold smoked.

The cold-smoked salmon was thinly sliced, oily, not fishy, slightly smoked, and kinda slimy.  Basically, kinda just like lox, exactly as expected, and the style that I don't generally care all that much for.

But the hot smoked was great, fully cooked, flaked, really smoky, not fishy, and in the very bottom of the dish.

So, overall, some components I didn't like, some elements that didn't combine great, but, some parts that I really did enjoy.  The smoky hot smoked salmon +  creamy crème fraîche + fresh crisp beet slices really were tasty.

My favorite dish, and I'd actually be happy to get again, just because the hot smoked salmon was so good!

HEIRLOOM TOMATO GRATIN.

"Fennel pollen, breadcrumbs."

My final choice was the hot vegetarian item, a tomato gratin.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this one, and I'm still not 100% certain I figured out everything that was in it.

I liked exactly one thing about it: gooey cheese!  Oh, and it was piping hot.  But otherwise ... it didn't do it for me.

So, what did we have?

Slices of colorful heirloom tomatoes, yellow, red, orange.  Soft but not mushy.  But also not very flavorful.  Within the layers was a bit of cheese, onions, and some kind of mild green pepper.  All ... fine but again, not very flavorful.

The real reason I wasn't into this though was the bread crumbs, generously topped, and within.  They weren't crisp, and just added a lot of mush to the dish.  So much mush.

As you can see, it also separated quite a bit, so, the gratin was sitting in a pool of oil, and the cheese was a bit congealed.  I never figured out what the cheese variety was (gruyere maybe?).

So ... flavorless tomatoes/onions, in oily congealed sauce, with lots of mushy crumbs?  Yeah.  Not great.  But the flavors of congealed cheese were good.

My least favorite dish.

Blue Marble Ice Cream: Raspberry Chip, Vanilla.

And ... dessert time!  As always, ice cream, served from a local ice cream maker from the port of departure.  For NY, this is Blue Marble.

Before takeoff, as customary (for me), I asked the FA what our flavor would be.  She laughed and noticeably perked up, telling me it was one of her favorites: raspberry chip!  Per JetBlue's standard, we received 2 scoops of the flavor of the day, and one scoop vanilla.

As always, I brought my own toppings.  I'm a pro!  This time, I cam prepared with white chocolate chips, graham cracker crumble, and rainbow sprinkles (from Milk Bar  no less).  I'm totally normal, really ...

It always, the ice cream was served way too hard, so I had to patiently wait for it to warm up.  It also didn't look great, a bit freezer burned looking.

But, once it did warm, it actually was fine.  The raspberry chip was indeed a hit, really fruity good raspberry flavor, large size dark chocolate chunks.  The vanilla was pretty boring, but, once I loaded on m toppings was fine.

Overall, an ok offering.  I would certainly prefer creamier ice cream, and other brands I've had on JetBlue have been better, but this flavor was a good one.

Parting Gift: Milk Confetti Cookie.

Our parting gift was again a cookie from Milk, this time, confetti.

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