Specialty's Cafe & Bakery

When I moved to San Francisco, I was not familiar with the Specialty's bakery chain.  It didn't take long for Specialty's to get on my radar though, as their shops are located all over town.  There is one area of the Financial District where they seem nearly as common as Starbucks, and all have rows of baked goods lining the display cases.  You know how much I love baked goods.  The real kicker though, is whenever you walk by, the most delightful smelling aroma wafts out, drawing you in.  Impossible to resist.  And they really do bake fresh in the shops daily, making the "bakery" part of the name accurate.

Workday Revival Kit!

My first impression of Specialty's?  ZOMG everything is huge!  Seriously.  The cookies, muffins, and scones are all monstrously large.  They are basically meals (and, with cookies clocking in at 500 calories each, scones and muffins at 600 each, they kinda are).  Oh, and the pecan sticky bun? 770 calories!  The actual meals, sandwiches, can be 1000+ calories too.  Wowzer.  They go big here.

Anyway.  Specialty's is a chain mostly with locations in California, but they have a few in Seattle and Chicago.  In addition to the enormous baked goods (muffins, scones, croissants, coffee cake, danishes, cookies, brownies, bundt cakes, mini pies), they also make sandwiches, soups, and salads, standard cafe fare.  They seem to do a huge catering business, along with serving the needs of office workers nearby.  Some of the shops have seating, but, for the most part, this is somewhere people grab a sandwich or treat, and go.  No ambiance, not a destination to spend time in.

Over the years, I've tried a number of items from Specialty's, some that I picked out and purchased, others at events where they catered.  My overall impression is that Specialty's is ... good.  Above average, particularly for a chain bakery.  And some items are particularly special (like the Zucchini Bran Muffin, which is totally incredible, but they no longer make it).  I won't usually seek Specialty's out, as it doesn't compare to a smaller, independent bakery, but their goods are better than what most cafes sell.

Cookies ($2.89 each)

As I mentioned, the cookies are insanely large, and, insanely bad for you.  Not that a cookie is usually a healthy treat, but, 500 calories in a single cookie?  Crazypants.

Anyway, as you know, cookies are not usually my treat of choice, but, they are also the item folks tend to bring in to the office the most, so, they have a habit of finding their way to me.

Specialty's has an amazing feature: the warm cookie radar.  You can, from the website, search for the warmest cookie nearby.  Or, find out how many minutes it has been since your cookie of choice was pulled out of the oven at all the shops in town.  And, if you want to replicate the cookies fresh out of your own oven, they sell some baking mixes.

Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie. 

"Every bite of our fresh-baked classic chocolate chip cookie is filled with smooth and creamy Guittard® milk chocolate chips."

This is probably their most famous cookie.  A total monster, very thick, somewhat cakey, soft.  The chocolate chunks are huge, and the milk chocolate very creamy.  If you like creamy milk chocolate, you'll love this.  The cookie itself is sweet and buttery.

A fairly good version of a chocolate chip cookie, but, not mind blowing.  Ojan was a fan.  The shape is a little funny, not quite round, not square.

I also tried the Semisweet Chocolate Chunk, the same style, just with Guittard® chocolate chunks rather than milk chips.  It was again, a very thick cookie.  I only had small piece but it seemed like decent cookie.

Black and White Cookie. 

"Our unique take on this cookie combines creamy white chocolate and dark Guittard® chocolate chunks in a rich, dark cocoa cookie dough to fulfill a chocolate-lover’s dream."

This was another very heafty cookie.  It weighed a ton.

It was a very dense cookie, with a rich chocolate flavor from the Guittard® dark chocolate.  The thickness and the rich flavor made it almost like a brownie.  It was loaded with huge white chocolate chunks, super sweet and creamy, and a nice contrast with the deep rich chocolate.   This variety was crisper than some of the other cookies, not quite as soft.

My turned out to be my favorite of the cookies; I loved how chocolatey it was, and although quite generic, the sweet white chocolate was tasty.

Peanut Butter.

"Our rich peanut butter cookie brings tons of peanut flavor with chopped peanuts and pure Jif® peanut butter. You’ll clamor for milk."

This one looked like it had potential, tons of little chunks of peanuts inside.  Yet the peanut flavor somehow wasn't very pronounced, and it was hard and oily.  Also, Jif®  seemed like a funny choice of ingredient quality, particularly compared to Guittard®.

I really didn't like this one, but Ojan did.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie. 

"Our soft, fresh-baked cookie is rich with roasted peanut flavor from Jif® peanut butter and loaded up with smooth Guittard® semisweet chocolate chunks and chopped peanuts."

And, putting together the previous cookies, you get the peanut butter chocolate chunk.

It was another large cookie.  Just like the peanut butter, there were lots of peanut chunks, but no real peanut flavor.  The chocolate chunks were the same as in other cookies.

So, basically exactly what you'd expect from mixing the above cookies, but a missed opportunity, since chocolate and peanut butter are such a great combination!

Oatmeal Raisin. (2014),

"We load these moist and chewy fresh-baked oatmeal cookies with plump raisins to produce an old family favorite."

This was a different style than all of their other cookies, square shaped rather than round-square.  It was still thick and heafty though.

It was very spiced, far more than I expected, which was kinda nice, a bolder cookie.   I didn't love the flavor though, nor the raisins, nor the oats.  I did appreciate the heartiness.  But ... meh, who really wants oatmeal raisin?

Oatmeal Raisin. (2018)

"We load these moist and chewy fresh-baked oatmeal cookies with plump raisins and aromatic spices to produce an old family favorite."

I've had this cookie before, but always when I wanted dessert, and it didn't quite satisfy me.  This time, I treated it as ... breakfast.  Like a scone.  Or like a nice hearty bowl of oatmeal.  (Totally legit, right?)

And I liked it.  Hearty, lots of spicing, great with a cup of coffee.  Yay, breakfast cookies!

Update Review: I've had these more times, and sometimes, they really do appeal.  It turns out, I don't *always* want decadent sweets, and the hearty oat based nature of this can be nice.

Snickerdoodle.

"This irresistible sugar cookie puffs up as it bakes and provides a tender center with a crisp exterior finished with crackled cinnamon sugar."

And yet another huge, thick, cakey cookie.  It was far more round than the others.

It was sweet and buttery, with lots of cinnamon and sugar on top.  I don't really like snickerdoodles though, so this was pretty meh to me.

Snickerdoodle (July 2017).

I didn't love the snickerdoodle the first time, but, I had slim pickings when I made it to the cookie box one afternoon, when a co-worker brought in cookies.  Plus, it looked better this time.

It was better in some ways, very soft, a nice texture.  But really just a plain sugar cookie, that really lacked a homemade taste.  It also had much less cinnamon and sugar on it this time around.

Ginger Molasses Cookie. (Seasonal)

"A traditional New England holiday favorite. We combine rich blackstrap molasses and ginger and bake this cookie to sugar-crackled perfection."

This was even softer than the others, almost gooey inside.  It had a strong ginger flavor.   And tons of sugar on top.

My second favorite Specialty's cookie, I really liked how soft it was, and the flavor popped.  I could do without all the extra sugar on top though, it didn't highlight the flavors in any way.

Pecan Tea Cookie (Seasonal)

"Incredibly tender tea cookies are loaded with finely ground toasted pecans then dusted with powdered sugar in this crunchy, sweet and satisfying classic."

This was a huge shortbread, with bits of pecan in it, covered in glaze, and covered in powdered sugar.  Another monster, like all of their cookies.  The size seemed even more crazy for a tea cookie, it was very heavy, very dense.

I almost liked this one.  It was crumbly and softer than all of the other Specialty's cookies, which I liked.  But it wasn't buttery enough for me.  The pecans added a nice crunch, and the powdered sugar made the whole thing nicely sweet.

Overall, just not as flavorful as I'd like.  It would pair nicely with tea though, hence the name I guess.  I think it was basically a Mexican wedding cookie.

Oatmeal Wheatgerm Chocolate Chip.

"The classic combination of chewy oatmeal and creamy Guittard® milk chocolate chips is joined by the positive health benefits of wheat germ. The result is a delicious and wholesome fresh-baked cookie." 

Hearty from oats and wheatgerm. I really liked how hearty it was, yet rich too. Buttery and decadent, yet healthy tasting? Who knew that was possible! Much better than the other hearty choice, the oatmeal raisin. 

White Chocolate Macadamia (Seasonal).

"Some flavors just naturally go together. We take crunchy macadamia nuts and surround them with creamy white chocolate chunks for one of our most popular fresh baked cookies. We are bringing back this seasonal favorite for a limited time."

I liked the sweet white chocolate, and the crunchy nuts, but the base cookie was fairly boring.

Scones ($2.69 each)

If you thought the cookies were huge, wait until you meet the scones.

The scone lineup has changed over the years.  The first time I reviewed them, they had 4 varieties: blueberry, cranberry, almond, and cappuccino.  They were seriously huge, cakey style scones, real beasts, clocking in at 600 calories.  I wasn't impressed.

But the lineup has changed.  Now they still have 4 varieties, but they are Blueberry  Lemon, Raspberry Almond, Cranberry Flaxseed, and a seasonal Pumpkin Cardamom.  The Pumpkin Cardamom still clocks in at 640 calories, but the others are a more reasonable (?) 470. All but the Cranberry Flaxseed are glazed, the Pumpkin one actually entirely covered in glaze, the others just drizzled.  They are no longer a cakey style.  In fact, I find it hard to consider them scones really.  

But that doesn't mean they aren't tasty.

Raspberry Almond. $3.09.

"A tender cream scone filled with rich and ruby fresh raspberries and baked in a traditional triangle shape. It’s topped with crunchy toasted almonds and almond glaze. Its taste is well balanced with a touch of sweetness."

When I selected this treat from the platter, I honestly didn't realize it was a "scone".  I thought it was a danish!  It does, as described, have a "traditional triangle shape", but besides that, it didn't quite resemble a scone.

I took a chunk off, and was overwhelmed with sweetness.  Wow.  This ... is not a breakfast pastry.  I'm all for sweets for breakfast, but this trended very far in the dessert direction.  I decided to save it for later, and go grab a muffin instead.

When I came back to it later though, I was pleased.  Just, as long as I didn't think "scone".  The scone was a stuffed style, generously stuffed with raspberry filling.  It wasn't really a jam, it wasn't really a compote, but it also wasn't really just fresh berries.  Somewhere in-between?  Clearly lots of fruit involved and not much goo, but it was all mashed and mushy.  Sweet and fruity.  Seedy, which is how raspberries are, but not something I like.  A decent enough filling.  

The scone cakes, top and bottom, were soft and sweet.  Not hard style, not crumbly, but more like ... I don't know.   Not cake, not moist and airy like that.  Maybe ... biscuit like?  But sweet?  A sweet biscuit.  This thing was hard to define.  Soft, sweet, decent.

And then the topping.  Sooo much icing, even if it doesn't look like much, I assure you, this was very sweet.  And had a pleasant almond flavor to it.  A nice glaze actually.  Finally, slivered almonds for some crunch.

So a scone?  Nah.  Breakfast pastry?  Nah.  But sweet tasty dessert?  Sure.

Cranberry Flaxseed. $3.09.

"A tender cream scone made with heart-healthy flaxseed. It is filled with fresh cranberries and golden raisins which add just the right amount of sweetness to the crunch of the flaxseeds. The scone is lightly washed in honey and cream."

Cranberries, raisins, and flaxseed?  Yeah, not my favorite things.  At all.  I always mention how raisins and cranberries are hard little pellets, and flaxseed is bitter and like the worst part of berries (seeds) without any deliciousness.

So I tried just a tiny chunk.  The dried fruit, as expected, was chewy and hard.  The flaxseeds got stuck between my teeth.  I hated these things, as much, if not more, than I expected.

But the scone base really was good.  It had a nice tang and texture, and it wasn't dried out at all.  But obviously, this is not my flavor.

Blueberry Lemon (chunk). $3.09.

"A tender cream scone bountifully mixed with fresh blueberries and baked in a traditional triangle shape. It has a sweet, light flavor and is topped with a lemon glaze."

I also snagged a chunk of the Blueberry Lemon to try.  Same style, sweet base, lots of glaze (this time lemon accented).  

I liked it slightly more since I don't care for the raspberry seeds, but it isn't a particularly special item.

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2016 Reviews - Old Style

• Wild Blueberry: "We mix delicious blueberries into our handcrafted tender butter scone and bake it to a golden brown before finishing it with a turbinado sugar crown." Tasting notes: Huge, huge, huge baked good.  I wish I had a photo with something else in it so you could see how large this thing was.  It was more cakey that I'm used to in a scone, almost like a muffin, just a bit harder, and flatter?  Topped with a generous amount of large sugar crystals, which I did like.  The base was not very flavorful though, and even the blueberries didn't provide much flavor pop.
• Cranberry:  "We mix tangy Craisins® into our handcrafted tender butter scone, bake it to a golden glow and then finish it with turbinado sugar"  Tasting notes: Hard scone, with some tart cranberries, big sugar crystals on outside.  The scone itself doesn't have any particularly good flavor, kinda crumbly, meh.  Also .. Craisins?  really?

Muffins ($2.69 each)

The muffin line up from Specialty's has also changed many times over the years. The current lineup includes a classic blueberry (but with crumble top!), a dessert-y black bottom, and some heartier options like carrot raisin bran, oatmeal banana, and pumpkin walnut.

Like many items from Specialty's, I find that I like these more than I expect I will.

Oatmeal Banana. $2.89.

"Have your oatmeal on the go. Served fresh from our ovens, this tender muffin is loaded with enough oatmeal and fresh banana to make your heart happy."

I really, really liked this muffin.  Which shocked me.  Since I don't generally like banana treats, nor, oats really.

The base was hearty, dense, and moist, with texture from the oatmeal.  It was sweet though.  I didn't taste much banana, I almost thought I tasted something more like carrot or pumpkin, as it was a subtle sweetness.

Crisp top, moist inside, hearty, health tasting ... really enjoyable alongside my coffee.

So when we had another delivery from Specialty's, I actually sought it out.  I was slightly less enamored this time, but still really did enjoy it more than likely any other banana muffin or bread.

Pumpkin Walnut. $2.89.

"Satisfy your pumpkin cravings year-round with our tender spiced pumpkin muffin loaded with crunchy toasted walnuts."

I took a chunk of this not knowing what kind it was.  But once I cut into it, the "pumpkin spice" aroma quickly took over, and I had no doubt.  Oops, a pumpkin muffin, unlikely to be something I liked.

It was ... yup, pumpkin bread.  Moist enough, decent flavor I guess, I liked the crunch of the walnuts, but not my thing at all.

If you are a pumpkin fan, you'll be delighted to know this is available year round.

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• Carrot Raisin Bran: "A hearty morning muffin starts your day right with a mixture of fresh grated carrots, plump raisins, Dole pineapple, thick oats and bran. " Tasting notes: 
• I only had a small chunk of this, but seemed pretty good. 
• The most impressive thing about this muffin is just how moist it is, and how loaded with shredded carrot it is.  Really a fantastic carrot muffin.
• Zucchini Bran: Tasting notes: Delicious!  Great hearty flavor and texture from the bran. It doesn't look appetizing, but is really tasty.  I really, really like this, and it is my favorite of all their products.  If only they still carried it.
• Yogurt Blueberry:  Tasting notes: Loaded up with tons of moist blueberries.  I didn't really taste the yogurt, but it had some strange spicing to it.  Couldn't really decide if I liked it or not.  This was replaced by a blueberry crumble muffin, with a crumble top, and no yogurt.

Mini Bundt Cakes ($2.39 each)

Specialty's makes 3 varieties of reasonable sized mini bundt cakes.  Unlike nearly every other product, they really are individual sized.  I've tried them all.

Red Velvet. 

"Deep red and velvety tender, our treat-sized chocolaty cake is drizzled with a rich and creamy vanilla icing." 

I thought this would be my favorite of the bundt cakes, but I really didn't like it.

The cake was kinda dry and dense, the flavor not particularly interesting.

The icing was just plain sweet icing ... red velvet should have cream cheese icing! My least favorite, by far.

Triple Chocolate. 

"Incredibly moist and tender chocolate sponge cake topped with a smooth, buttery and fudgy icing. The perfect treat-sized dessert."

Chocolate desserts aren't generally my thing, but this was actually pretty good.  The cake was very moist and deeply chocolately.  The icing was sweet and tasty.

My favorite of the bundt cakes, and one that was good enough on its own, but I bet would be great warm with ice cream.

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Orange Poppyseed Bundt Cake.

 "Our treat-sized, delicate vanilla cake infused with real orange zest and poppy seeds and finished with our classic creamy vanilla icing."  

Good crunch from the poppy seeds, nice citrus flavor, glaze tasty.  Had it a day old after it had been sitting out so it certainly wasn't fresh, but it was not bad.

Sweet Rolls and Buns

The "Sweet Rolls and Buns" category is certainly the most decadent looking of the bunch.  Cinnamon rolls (with lots of icing), morning buns (including a chocolate almond version), and sticky buns (topped with pecans galore!).

I haven't tried the whole line up, but the ones I have are fine, but not really special.

 Cinnamon Roll with Cream Cheese Frosting ($2.79).

"Thick, soft layers of sweet bread, with lots of cinnamon and rich cream cheese frosting." 

The first time I tried this, I only had a small chunk but didn't seem particularly good.

A few months later, I tried it again.  I felt no differently.  The base just wasn't particularly fluffy, doughy, or sweet.  It wasn't very moist.

I did really love the sweet cream cheese frosting though.  That was delicious, and very generously applied!

But not worth it.

Cinnamon Sugar Morning Bun. $2.79.

"The delicious combination of buttery croissant, cinnamon spice and sugar create a soft, layered pastry with an outside crunch in every bite."

Next I tried the cinnamon sugar morning bun, because it is made with croissant dough, and I liked that in the past.

The dough was buttery and sweet, moist, good.  Tons of cinnamon and sugar on the outside and inside.  Basically, like a croissant + sugar donut all rolled into one.  Which is a good thing.  I think I'd like to try another.

Croissants

Specialty's makes a large range of croissants, starting with a basic butter croissant, but also a slew of filled rolled style savory croissants (bacon/cheddar/egg, veggie/cheese/egg, ham/cheddar, spinach/cheese, turkey/swiss) and sweet danish style items they call croissants (blueberry or cranberry cream cheese filled and iced!).

It took me a long time to ever try the croissants, as I kinda assumed they'd be generic mass produced large bakery croissants.  They didn't look like anything special.  I was pleasantly surprised.

$2.89.

"Our pastry chefs roll each croissant to create dozens of airy, buttery layers and then bake them to a crispy nut brown. Delicious on their own, these are also highly receptive to butter, cream cheese and jelly."

Well huh.  This was a good croissant.

The exterior was perfectly crispy.  Inside was moist and ooooh so buttery.  Sooo buttery.  Great layers.

It made a big mess in all the ways a good flaky croissant should.

Blueberry Cream Cheese. $2.99.

 "Bursting with juicy blueberries nestled into our delicious cream cheese filling, our tender and flaky handcrafted croissant is baked golden and completed with swirls of smooth almond icing."

After the successful plain croissant, I was eager to try a more decadent version.  It too was shockingly good.  The pastry not flaky exactly, but laminated, buttery, and enjoyable.

The filling is generous, soft sweetened cream cheese, like cheesecake really, inside a pastry.  Topped with juicy, not-so-fresh berries.  And then sweet slightly almond flavored icing drizzled on top

This all came together nicely, albeit sweetly.  I enjoyed it far more than expected, and would gladly have another.  (Of course, it is 460 calories, so perhaps more of a dessert than a reasonable morning option ...)

Cranberry Cream Cheese. $2.99.

"We top our tender and flaky handcrafted croissant dough with a generous portion of cream cheese filling and cranberries, bake it to a delicious nut brown and complete it with swirls of almond icing."

Next I went for the cranberry version, one I didn't really expect to like very much (because, why ever pick cranberries?), but I tried it for completeness, when I was in the holiday mood.

The pastry, cream cheese filling, and icing drizzle were the same as the blueberry.  I enjoyed them.  And the berries, soft, juicy, and a bit tart, which was actually welcome with the other sweetness.  

I prefer the blueberry just because I like blueberries more, but, this was also tasty, and I'd eat it again.

Coffee Cake ($2.79 each)

The coffee cakes are round, topped with glaze, and available in four flavors (blueberry, fuji apple, peach, and cranberry.  The cakes themselves aren't awesome, but, the streusel toppings were great.

• Fuji Apple: "We top our fresh-baked, spiced coffee cake with buttery cinnamon streusel crumble and sweet Fuji apple slices and then finish it with a swirl of almond icing."  Tasting Notes: The base to this wasn't very interesting, just kinda plain cake.  It was soft enough though, even though I had it a bit old.  On top were some slices of cooked down apple, spiced I believe.  They were mushy and just apples, so, not really my thing.  A drizzle of decent icing was over the top of everything.  Overall, meh.  Except ... for the streusel!  I loved that, good cinnamon flavor, sweet, crumbly.  Who needs the cake part?
• Blueberry: "Our signature tender coffee cake is baked fresh and topped with buttery spiced brown sugar streusel crumble and juicy blueberries and finished with a swirl of almond icing." Tasting notes: Coffee cake, drizzled with icing. The cake was very soft and moist.   It reminded me of standard birthday cake though, not a coffee cake, as it didn't have any tang or other defining characteristic to it.   The blueberries were plentiful, very plump, and juicy, and very flavorful.  Strange how different the blueberries here are than in the scone.  I liked the drizzle of icing on top for sweetness.  But, the best part was the streusel topping!  Cinnamon-y, crumbly, crunchy, sweet, very good!

Other Baked Goods

• Orange Cranberry Breakfast Bread ($2.39):  Tasting notes: I don't like cranberry very much, and it was very pronounced in here.  Lots of icing on top too.  Seemed strange to call this a "bread"(or even a breakfast item), as it seemed more like a sugary dessert.

Ciabatta + Cream Cheese

For breakfast, in addition to all the baked goods, Specialty's also offers oatmeal, yogurt, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, quiche, and ciabatta.

The ciabatta is rather fascinating, basically, their offering rather than bagels.  The egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, and many of their lunch sandwiches, come on the ciabatta, but they are also sold with cream cheese, exactly like a bagel.  They come in two varieties, "country" or poppy seed.

For catering, you can even order the "Better Than Bagels Platter", with ciabatta and cream cheese.

Poppyseed Ciabatta.

"A single serving of our fresh-baked, handcrafted country ciabatta topped with black poppy seeds."

This was really fascinating.  It really was almost like a bagel, sans the hole.

It had a slight crust on the outside, yet was soft inside like a bagel, and had tons of seeds on top like a bagel would.  It had a nice flavor from the plentiful coating of seeds.  The ciabatta was a bit buttery, almost reminding me of a focaccia, clearly tastier than standard bagel dough.  It was quite good, and I'd actually pick it over a bagel any day.

It was pretty good just room temp with cream cheese, but it was even better when toasted.  I added cream cheese, smoked salmon, red onion, and capers and I must say it was pretty incredible.  It probably does make a nice breakfast sandwich with eggs and cheese too.

After a few bites I decided it really was better than a bagel.  It also kept fine for a day.

I also tried the more basic Country version, no seeds.  It was a basic ciabatta, but still good.  Slightly crusty, but soft inside.  Nice flavor to it, I think from lots of butter.  Again, a winner.

As for their cream cheese, it is pretty standard cream cheese, but I appreciated that it is whipped.  Fluffy cream cheese is so much better.  I also tried the basil pesto whipped cream cheese, equally fluffy, with a nice flavor from the pesto.  Went really well with the poppyseed ciabatta.

Catering 

Sandwiches and Platters

I haven't had much from the regular food section of the menu, but they make a variety of salads (entree sized or sides like cole slaw), soup, and sandwiches.  Sandwiches are available on a variety of sliced breads (or ciabatta), and some come toasted.  But, not being a sandwich lover, I haven't ever sought these out.

Then, one day I was at an event, and, Specialty's did the catering, so I was able to try a few of the sandwiches, served on platters as finger sandwiches.

• Veggie Finger Sandwich: "Swiss and provolone with fresh lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, italian vinaigrette and black pepper, avocado, mushrooms, bell peppers, cucumber, pepperoncini, sprouts, stone ground mustard, ranch and mayo on toasted thyme focaccia. " Tasting notes: The focaccia was really tasty, good herbs on the outside, nice and buttery.  Filled with lots of veggies, which seemed fresh enough, but were not really flavorful.  The veggie mix was a little strange ... sliced mushrooms and pepperoncini in a sandwich?  The cheese was very generic, sliced, not very flavorful.  There was tons of ranch and mayo, totally dominating the other flavors.  This didn't come together at all, it was like a sandwich that someone would throw together by putting everything they could find in their fridge of into a single sandwich.  Meh.
• The Chairman Finger Sandwich: "Oven-roasted turkey breast and swiss with fresh lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, italian vinaigrette and black pepper, avocado, cucumber, sprouts, ranch, stone ground mustard and mayo on toasted thyme focaccia."  Tasting notes: Again, I liked the focaccia, but that was about it.  There was way too much lettuce in here.  The turkey wasn't great. And tons of mayo.
• Crudite Platter: "Sliced cucumbers, red and green bell pepper, carrots, cherry tomatoes and house-made buttermilk ranch dressing."  Tasting notes: Very mediocre crudite platter.  Veggies weren't limp or anything, but didn't really have flavor.  Ranch dressing was also flavorless.

Chinese Chicken Salad (Catering).

Another day, I went to a summer BBQ.  Most of the food came from Costco (potato salad, veggie and fruit platters, chips, etc), but someone brought a salad from Specialty's (next to Kettle chips), the Chinese Chicken Salad.

"Vibrant Asian-inspired flavors and crunch! Our signature Asian salad blend of fresh cabbage, grated carrots, green onions and cilantro is topped with natural oven-roasted chicken breast, hand-sliced red bell pepper, red onion, crispy wonton strips and black sesame seeds. Enjoy with our sweet-tangy Pan-Asian dressing on the side. "

The host actually forgot the dressing and wontons, so I tried it without.  Fresh, crispy cabbage and carrots formed the base, and I enjoyed it.  I avoided the little chunks of chicken and the red bell peppers, but appreciated the additional zing the green onions added, and the sesame seeds gave a bit of extra crunch.  Once the dressing was found, I had another salad, this time with dressing.  Interestingly, I liked it less.  The dressing was just too sweet for me, and masked all flavor in the fresh veggies.  Overall though, a decent salad.

Breakfast

Steel-Cut Oatmeal (Group). $32.99.

"Soaked overnight in the old world style. Served with brown sugar, craisins and raisins."

Oatmeal is available in two sizes on the regular menu, but also as big buckets for catering, which is how I had it.

It was ... oatmeal?  Fine.  Not too gloopy.  Nice texture from the steel cut oats.  But yeah, oatmeal.

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Pop! Gourmet Foods

Update Review 2020

Sriracha is generally a polarizing condiment.  Some people slather it on everything.  Others kinda hate it.  I'm somewhere in the middle, I find it useful sometimes, but I certainly don't get excited about it.

But I do get excited about new favors of popcorn, so when I saw Pop! had a sriracha flavor, of course I had to try it, as I've enjoyed their popcorn before.  I just assumed the very mixed reviews were the haters vs the lovers.

Sriracha.

 "Through a unique process, Sriracha’s intensely flavorful and wildly loved blend of sun ripened chili peppers and garlic adds the perfect hot and spicy seasoning to POP’s premium golden popcorn. Every kernel is infused with the “most amazing condiment on the planet”."

It ... um ... underdelivered to say the least.

Yes, it is made with Huy Fong Foods Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce.  But the heat level?  Basically not there.  At all.  I saw a little red coating on it, yes, but it really, really as not spicy.

Sadness, as this turned out to just be a boring plain popcorn with the tiniest bit of heat.

Update Review, September 2019

I got to try more Pop! Gourmet flavors of popcorn, and found more I like.  I really need to get my hands on some of the more crazy flavours though ... Tajin, Huy Fong Sriracha, Black Truffle ... um, Kale Ceasar ...

Almond Roca.

"Artisinal butter toffee popcorn made with Almond Roca Buttercrunch and roasted almonds. Truly a delight and a flavor created exclusively for POP! Gourmet. It's hard to pinpoint why ALMOND ROCA Buttercrunch is so popular. It could be the attractive pink tin, or the fancy gold foil that surrounds each confection. Chances are, though, it's Almond Roca's rich flavor, a combination of ingredients that blend together so well it's like they were made for each other. They start with a buttercrunch center made with real vanilla and butter created especially for Brown & Haley. Since they don't add salt or water to their buttercrunch, the texture is crunchy, but with a soft bite. Next, the center is coated with the rich flavor of chocolate made with cocoa beans from around the world, then topped with fresh almonds - not roasted - for a softer, more delicate flavor. The result A creamy, crunchy confection that almost melts in your mouth!"

Take the most decadent caramel corn you can imagine and then ... make it even more decadent.  That is what steps lead you to this creation, "Almond Roca" popcorn.

Perfectly coated, very rich, very sweet, very buttery, popcorn.  Quite crisp, due to the generous coating.

I really would never have identified this as almond roca though.  Sweet, caramely, buttery, sure, but, almond roca?  Nope.  If they wanted this to be more almond roca obvious, they should include little chunks of the candy?  I certainly didn't detect any of the chocolate.  It did have some bitterness though, perhaps from almond?

It was ok, but crazy intense.  I have a serious sweet tooth, and even I could only handle a few bites at a time of this.  I didn't find myself ever craving it, and of course I tried freezing it too to see if that increased the appeal (it did not).

As you may expect, this is not a light item.  Even I was shocked at its nutrition panel though.  The bag looks like a single serving, not even half full, however, it is listed at ... 3.5 servings!  Of 320 calories each!  Yes, this little bag of popcorn, easily finished in a sitting, clocks in at ~1000 calories. Ooph. Tread lightly.

Cascade Mix.

I've had this one before, and enjoyed it.

And ... I still enjoy it.  I particularly liked the mild white cheddar popcorn, and it seemed to have more powder this time.  My fingers wound up extremely coated in white powder.  I was not upset.

I mostly find myself separating out the popcorn, eating all the white cheddar when I'm in the mood for savory, and then the caramel when I want sweet.  I like this though, just like I like digging through Chex mix for the bits I want at that particular moment.  And yes, sometimes I like a bite of both, but usually ... I really do prefer one or the other.

Hidden Valley Ranch.

"Hidden Valley® Ranch seasoned popcorn by Pop! Gourmet brings the classic blend of buttermilk flavor, garlic, onion, herbs, and spices to this delicious popcorn recipe. Feed the fun on your next outdoor adventure or family gathering. Every bite of this delicious popcorn is seasoned with the Hidden Valley® Ranch flavor you love. Enjoy! Make sure to try Hidden Valley® Ranch Seasoning found in the Dressing aisle!"

I have a strange relationship with ranch.

I liked it at some point in my life, as a dressing, on salad.  And then my little sister got very obsessed with it, and put it on ... everything.  Chicken nuggets, dunked in ranch.  Pizza, dunked in ranch.  Every vegetable ... dunked in ranch.  I ended up hating the mere smell of it as a result.  I can't really explain it, but when I moved out for college, I think I avoided ranch for like 15 years.  

I've since moved on from my trauma, and found that I enjoy some ranch dressings again.  But I still approached this one with apprehension.  

Luckily, it was awesome.  The kernels were well coated, zesty, and actually, kinda tasted ... cheesy?  I wouldn't necessarily call it "ranch" but it was zesty and herby.  The garlic and onion were at least identifiable.  I think the "cheesy" nature came from buttermilk and sour cream?

I liked this one enough at room temperature, that I didn't even find the need to freeze it (gasp!)  I way too quickly devoured the single serving bag ... 240 calories of it, so not the lightest popcorn out there ... gulp.

Original Review, March 2018

I love snacks. I love popcorn.  I love crazy flavors of popcorn.

So, I was excited to discover Pop!, as, well, they make crazy flavors of popcorn (and chips). They love to Sriracha and Tajin all the things.

Sadly, the varieties I tried were a bit more pedestrian.

White Cheddar Jalapeno Fire Corn.

"A fiery mix of popcorn and crispy jalapeno slices tossed with white cheddar cheese."

Um, wow.

"Fire Corn" is actually a fitting name for this product.

I took my first bite as a handful.  I kinda regretted it.  Seriously spicy.

I did like the spice, once I was ready for it, but, it stuck with you, and it burned.  This is a product for serious heat lovers.

The white cheddar coating helped temper it a bit, but only a bit.  The kernels were well coated in the white cheddar powder.

This was also not a light popcorn.  The bag contained only an ounce of popcorn, and it was 200 calories.  For barely more than a handful.

White Cheddar Jalapeno (Update 2018).

I tried it again a year or so later, forgetting that I had tried it before.

It wasn't nearly as spicy this time.  This time, the dominant flavor was the cheddar cheese, and also, seemingly way too much butter?  They just felt heavy, coated in too much stuff.  And not really firey.

Hmm.  Not sure what changed, me, or the batch?

Cascade Mix.

"A delicious blend of tender Northwest white cheddar cheese popcorn and premium caramel corn. A mouthwatering twist on a classic."

The cheese and caramel popcorn combo is still one that I'm learning to appreciate.  Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it totally doesn't.

This one worked, but mostly because the cheddar popcorn was very, very mild.  It was white cheddar, so no scary fake orange color, no cheesy colored fingers after eating it, and subtle cheese flavor.  I liked it, but I did wish for more.

The caramel was very sweet, as expected.  It reminded me more of toffee than caramel, but, I liked it, particularly when frozen.  It got a great crunch to it.  The kernels were well coated.

Overall, a decent popcorn, but another heavy hitter, 200 calories in a very small portion.

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Arizmendi Bakery

Arizmendi is a different sort of a bakery, a co-op, owned by the bakers.  They have several locations in San Francisco, along with their sister operation, the Cheeseboard Collective, in Berkeley.

I attended a number of event with treats provided by Arizmendi Bakery.  They are a common source of pastries with my friends living in the Mission, not only because of the location, but also, because they offer decent vegan and gluten-free items, so they are a good option for serving groups with dietary constraints.

I didn't find the cookies very remarkable, but their muffins and scones are some of the better ones I've had.

Cookies / Shortbreads

I'm not generally a cookie person, but my friends love these.  I didn't find them remarkable.

Spicy Chocolate Shortbread.

Wow, this packed some heat!  I know it said spicy chocolate, but I didn't expect it to have SOOO much intensity.

Anyway, it was a classic shortbread, with crunchy chocolate bits, and uh, something spicy.  Like Mexican chocolate, but in a shortbread.  I really enjoyed it paired with my coffee.

Cinnamon Anise Shortbread.

This is the one I expected to have the more intense flavor, as it featured both cinnamon and anise.  The top was brushed with cinnamon, and there were little bites of anise in it.  The flavors were subtle though, which was fine, just not what I expected.  Or maybe my taste buds were just blown from the spicy chocolate!  I appreciated the crunch from the anise bits.

Lemon Rosemary / Espresso Shortbreads.

I'm guessing the flavors here, as a friend brought these to a party.

The darker colored one most certainly had espresso in it, super strong coffee flavor, bit of texture from the grounds.  Once I realized it was caffeinated however I didn't have more, as I was avoiding caffeine late in the day.

The other was perhaps lemon rosemary?  It certainly had herbs and a strong citrus flavor.  A decent enough basic shortbread.

Chocolate Chocolate Cookie.  $2.

A hard style cookie, fudgy chocolate base, with chocolate chips.  Pretty intense chocolate flavor.  Not really my style of cookie, as I prefer soft ones.  A bit small for a $2 cookie, but I didn't actually want it to be any bigger.

Ginger Cookie.  $2.

Again, hard style which I don't care for, but good ginger flavor.  Not particularly complex.  Fairly small for $2.  Unremarkable.

Rolls / Loafs

Arizmendi has quite the lineup of assorted bread rolls and loafs, both sweet and savory.  I've tried many.

Sweet

Double Chocolate Tea Cake.  $5.50 per loaf.

This was probably my least favorite item. It was dry, and somehow didn't have any flavor.   Even though it had chocolate chips in it, and it was chocolate bread, it wasn't chocolatey.  I had a single slice out of a small loaf, normally $5.50, which seems pricy for the size.

Gingerbread Tea Loaf.

Tea loafs are not ever that exciting to me, but I still tried a slice.  For what it was, it was good.  Very moist, amazing ginger flavor.  But still, just a slice of gingerbread, and not particularly interesting to me.

Chocolate Thing. $3.25.

"Sweet broiche with chocolate chunks".

"Our popular brioche dough studded with dark chocolate chunks."

Yes, "chocolate thing" is its real name.

It was a moist, good sweet bread, with dark chocolate chunks.  Yum!!!  (Note: It did not freeze and reheat well at all.)

Update review: Good quality dark chocolate, in large chunks, but it was otherwise dry and uninteresting.  We speculated that it would be better warm.

Update 2019: I again really did sorta like this.  The dark chocolate is such high quality, and the chunks large.  I like the sweet brioche base, but it always trends a bit dry for me.  I really need to take the time to warm it sometime ...

Pecan Roll. $3.

"A roll topped with pecans and gooey brown sugar."

This was very lackluster.  Not moist, not gooey.  Very disappointing.

Cinnamon Roll.

"Another classic swirled with cinnamon sugar, raisins, with a sweet icing."

Some friends brought these to a party, and dubbed them cinnamon rolls.  This doesn't really match what I thought Arizmendi's cinnamon rolls are like though, so I'm not really sure what these were.  They also sorta sound like the brioche knots, just, not shaped as knots.

I tried a chunk of one, but didn't really care for it. It was very dry, more like a scone than a roll.  It wasn't very cinnamon-y, but I'm not sure if it was supposed to be?  It had tons of raisins, both golden and regular (meh!).  It had no glaze or icing on top, but did have a little bit of sticky something.  I liked the sticky bits, but there wasn't much of that.

I'm really not sure what this was trying to be, but, it wasn't for me.

Cinnamon Roll (2019).

And then, another party, another box of treats, and I failed to read my notes.  Of course I grabbed the cinnamon roll looking thing, although my joy depleted a little as I saw the raisins, but I already had my hand on it.

It was better than my notes above imply, but still not great, a fairly dry item, the dough was like a brioche sorta, and there wasn't much cinnamon flavor, and only a slight glaze.  And of course, meh to those raisins.

It was ok for a lighter item, likely best warm, but not really my thing at all.

Brioche Knot.

"A classic sweet brioche dough twisted with cinnamon sugar and raisins."

Ok, *this* was the brioche knot, so my earlier guess about the other item is clearly incorrect.  I still don't entirely know what that one was, then.

Blueberry Snail (2019).

"Blueberries and butter cream rolled up and dusted with powdered sugar."
I finally got my hands on a blueberry snail, a limited Fri and Sat only item.

I liked it a lot more than the cinnamon roll, although it looked fairly similar.  The bread was again brioche like, the more dense style, and it was loaded with blueberry filling between the rolls.  Slightly glazed.

It was really a nice item for something not very decadent, but I bet would be even better warmed and topped with whipped cream.  A nice alternative to a blueberry muffin.

[ Not Pictured ]

• Wolverine: "Sourdough roll loaded with pecans, cherries, raisins, apricots."  $2.50.  Tasting notes:  This was ok, but I don't love sourdough.   Best toasted with butter.
• Sweet Brioche, filled with cinnamon and raisins.  $2.50. Tasting notes: Very moist, nice cinnamon flavor, juicy and plump raisins added a nice moisture.  But it dried out pretty fast, better once re-warmed. [ Really delicious, even when frozen and re-heated.  Moist, cinnamon flavor, juicy raisins, sweet, nice dough. ]

Savory

Cheese Roll. $2.75. (2019)

"Asiago and swiss cheese rolled up in our classic whole wheat sourdough." 

I rarely go for the savory pastries, but, it was later in the day, and I was planning to finish off a lovely crab salad and a grilled asparagus and kale salad from Trailblazer Tavern , and thought that a savory carb would perfectly complete my meal.

So, cheese roll it was.

I was a bit surprised as I tried to cut into it with a metal butter knife.  Impossible!  I needed something serrated, as it was sooo dense and loaded with cheese that the butter knife just literally didn't cut it (see what I did there? I'm lol'ing, anyway).

The cheese was awesome (gruyere?) and yes, tons of it.  But the bread under it all ... was ... chewy ... SOURDOUGH.  Those who read my blog regularly know how I feel about sourdough.  

The cheese was so intense that I didn't spit this out immediately, but ... I very quickly passed it on.  I just can't sourdough!

It turns out, I should have just read my previous review, which said ...

"Tasting notes (2014): Very cheesy! But sourdough, which I don't like."

Scones

Over the years, I've tried several different scones from Arizmendi.  The Corn Cherry Scone remains one of the best scones I've ever had.  

Daily Fruit Scone. $3.50 (2014)

Some friends brought these to my house for a party, and they didn't know what kind they were, just, the daily fruit scone.  They seemed to be ... blueberry pear perhaps?

I didn't care for them.  The scones were very dry and crumbly, with no interesting flavor in the base.  No tang at all.  The fruit was there, but, overall, these were just dry and flavorless.

Scone of the Day: Blackberry. $3.50. (2014)

Another day, a co-worker brought some scones in to the office.

I didn't manage to get a photo before people cut them into chunks.  This was the scone of the day, featuring one of my least favorite fruits: blackberry (well, most of the time.  If blackberries have little seeds, I can love them, but most blackberries drive me crazy, I just can't stand the seeds).

The scone itself was great, soft, doughy, nice flavor in the base.  I liked how it was slightly crumbly, and the sugar coating on top.  It was moist, and the fruit added even more moistness.  So, all good.  Except, well, except for that whole blackberry thing.  The seeds were gritty and awful, in the way blackberry seeds are to me.

I wanted to love this scone, and if it had any other fruit, I would have.  It also would make a nice biscuit base for shortcake, with some whipped cream.

Update (2019): This time the scone of the day featured mango, and I enjoyed it much more.  Decent crumbly base, and the dried/cooked mango was certainly a fruit I prefer.

Daily Fruit Scone: Strawberry. $3. (May 2019)

Someone else got to this first, but, I was thrilled to see a berry looking daily fruit scone, as I enjoyed them in the past.

I liked this one again - great crumble, good texture with the crispy top, decent flavor to the base with a slight tang, bits of strawberry inside.

I'd gladly have again.  Also works well as a fruit shortcake biscuit base, warmed up and topped with assorted berries and whipped cream!

Daily Scone: Banana Blackberry? $3. (May 3029)

I eagerly grabbed the other full size scone, thinking it was another fruit scone, but ... I took one bite and was a bit confused.

Banana!  I was tasting banana bread.  Not my favorite.  This scone was also much softer inside, likely due to that banana?  The banana flavor was quite strong.

There was also visible dark purple, or blue, bits, but I could really find any whole fruit.  I think it was blackberry?

This scone had a decent crumb to it as well, but, the banana flavor, the softer texture, just not for me.

Currant Scone. $3.25.  (2014)

"A traditional and mildly sweet buttery scone."

I also tried the currant scone, again, I failed to get a photo before it was broken into.  I don't normally go for currant scones, but, since I liked the base of the other, I figured it was worth the gamble.  I broke off just a small chunk, and immediately returned for the rest.

I really liked this scone.  It was soft, moist, and crumbly in all the right ways.  I loved the buttermilk tang to it.  It had lots of little currants, which, granted, aren't the most interesting dried fruit, but, they weren't bad.

On top was cinnamon sugar rather than just sugar like the fruit scone.  Currant and cinnamon aren't a natural pairing to me, but, I liked the sweet top, so, I went with it.

I liked this, and would gladly have another.

Currant Scone. $2.75. (May 2019).

Currant isn't ever my favorite scone as I don't generally care for currants, but I've had this before and always liked it.

It was again good, boosted by the pearl sugar on top, great crumble, and slight tang.

But still, it was a currant scone, not exactly high on my list.

Corn Cherry Scone.  $2.75. 

"Our popular cornmeal scone with sweet, tart cherries."

This was really freaking good.  Bursting with flavor from the dried cherries. I love corn muffins/corn bread, and this took the wonderful flavors of corn and put them into a scone … genius!

Seriously, tasty.  One of the best scones I've ever had.
Update (2019): I had another, and I again loved it.  The gritty nature of the cornmeal, the pleasant tang to the base, and the large chunks of dried cherry made it a total winner.  Hands down favorite item.

Muffins

Arizmendi makes a variety of muffins, including gluten-free and vegan varieties.

Gluten-Free Carrot Walnut. $3.

"A hearty muffin stuffed with shredded carrot, raisins, and walnuts based in brown rice flour."

This was a decent muffin.  Certainly a hearty, healthy tasting style though, absolutely loaded up with shredded carrots, plentiful plump juicy raisins, and bits of walnut for crunch.  It was well spiced.

Not really the type of muffin I like (unless I added lots of cream cheese frosting!)

I didn't know this was gluten-free when I tried it, and I wouldn't have known.

Update 2019: I had this again, and again enjoyed it, really loaded up with goodies, an excellent loaded carrot muffin.

Blueberry Millet Muffin.  $2.

More flavorful than the cranberry muffin since it has millet to add a nice earthiness.   Again, moist inside and out.  I really liked this, it reminded me a corn muffin and a blueberry muffin crossed into one.  Good quantity of blueberries and nice crunch from the millet.  A great price for a large muffin too.

Corn Blueberry Muffin. $2.75. (May 2019).

I've had the blueberry muffin before, and enjoyed it, but it used to have millet as the base, not cornmeal.

Like the millet though, I thought the corn flavor and texture were a good compliment to the berries, but lamented that it wasn't very blueberry forward, just a few small, not very juicy berries.

That said, I did like it more as a corn muffin, just not a blueberry muffin.

[ Not Pictured ]

• Cranberry & Apricot Muffin. $2. Tasting notes: Very moist on the inside and outside. All flavor comes from the cranberries and apricots as the batter itself pretty boring and plain. This froze and reheated fine too. 
• GF Blackberry Muffin. Tasting Notes: really quite moist, tons of flavor and moisture from the big juicy berries.

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Mrs. Sullivan's ® Pecan Pie

I Love Pie.

That is the slogan of Mrs. Sullivan's, a Tennessee based snack pie business.  You know how much I love dessert, and pies in particular, so, trying these was a no brainer.

But first, quick company history: Mrs. Sullivan made pies at home in Tennessee during the 1930's, they smelt good, neighbors liked them, one neighbor asked to distribute them, she bought a bigger oven and installed it on her pack porch, yadda yadda, eventually opened a pie business.

Now distributed nationwide, 10,000+ stores, packaged little pies.

Ok, not little pies.  Mini pies.  Truly, mini pies.  Real single servings.  That is what these are.  The pies come as singles (sold on their website for $1, I'm sure you can snag them for less), or packs of 4 or 12.

Mrs. Sullivan makes a somewhat random selection of pies: pecan, coconut, chocolate, apple crumb, and cherry crumb.  All classics at some level of course, but the inclusion of coconut when only 5 pies are offered seemed unique.  The chocolate is not a chocolate cream pie obviously, since these are packaged shelf-stable pies, rather, more like a brownie in a pie crust.  But I digress.

Mrs. Sullivan also makes turnovers, distributed under the "Armstrong's" brand: apple, cherry, peach, chocolate, coconut, bavarian cream, lemon, raspberry.  I'm not sure why a different brand name.  These are sold as singles, $1.

I only got a chance to try one pie.

Boxed Pie.

Yes, it came in a box.  With a bar code, an advertisement for their website, nutrition stats.  Not exactly high end packaging, no real appeal to it.  Very generic.  No indication of expiration date.

The box *was* adorable though.  You can't see scale here, but since it was a single serve pie, only 3 ounces, the box was sized appropriately.

Cellophane Wrapped.

Inside?  Cellophane wrapped pie.

In a little pie tin.  Again, fancy packaging?  Nah.  Adorable?  Absolutely!

Still, no indication of expiration date, which, was a bit confusing to be honest.  I guess I had to eat it right then.

Pecan Pie.

"Our delicious Mrs. Sullivan's ® Pecan pie!" -- Mrs. Sullivan's

"Life's too short to wait for pie to bake! Mrs. Sullivan brings pecan pie that's so tasty you'd swear it's fresh out of the oven! Each pie has a perfectly crisp crust, sweet pecan filling, and is perfectly sized for the pie fiend on the go!" -- Distributor

I'll admit that I did not expect to want more than a bite of my mini pie, hence cutting out my little slice (plus, isn't it fun to cut tiny slices?).  I planned to give it to someone else, and didn't mangle it, intentionally.

I tried my bite, room temp, no topping.  My expectations were so low that I didn't bother heat it up as I often do with pecan pie, nor even pull out some whipped cream or ice cream, which is basically unheard of for me.  I had backup dessert ready.

But ... I didn't mind it. I wanted more, in fact.

Now, this was clearly not a homemade pie.  Nothing like my mom's, nothing like you'd get from a bakery, a diner, a restaurant.  It *is* a packaged product with a long shelf life.  Set your expectations accordingly.

The crust was not a flaky buttery pie dough, instead it was a crumbly style, not really pie crust at all, but hard to describe, not really a tart shell either, not a cookie.  It was rich though, sweet, and the crumble to it worked.  Made with shortening, of course.  The weakest element of the pie, but, not a deterrent.  I finished even the little crusts.

Resting above that crust was a layer of sweet filling, and then a layer of chopped nuts.

The filling was sweet, not super gooey but not too thick.  It tasted like corn syrup, because, well, it was made from corn syrup.  Like most pecan pie, and again, not something I shy away from (the classic Karo syrup pecan pie has a special place in my heart!).

The topping was the least traditional element, chopped up nuts, no bits bigger than a few specs.  The ingredient list curiously said "pecan and/or walnut", so they certainly seem to sneak some cheaper nuts in there ... at least sometimes?  But it didn't matter, it tasted like fairly standard chopped nuts to me, too small to really taste much, probably not roasted to bring more flavor, etc.  Just little nuts for texture, and a compliment to the sweet layer.  It worked.  Just go with it.

So yes, no element was stunning, no flaky pie crust, no ooey gooey complex sweet filling, no depth of flavor from luxury nuts.  It was what it was.  Shortening, corn syrup, and some questionable nuts.

But you know what?  I liked it.  I liked it at room temperature.  I never bothered heat any of it up.  I added whipped cream for completeness sake, but, it really was fine without it.  A great quick dessert item, really, just as easy as a cookie.  And much, much better ...

I'd have another.  I'd try my flavors.  If I could find them, that is.

Read More...

House of Thai

As you may recall, I've never been thrilled with the Thai food options in San Francisco, particularly after spending significant time in Sydney, where the Thai food is amazing, but ... the Shelter in Place due to Covid-19 changed many things.  And one of them was my willingness to get takeout.

House of Thai has been on my list for a while, as Yelp reviews are strong, and they have two locations (one on Haight, one on Larkin), so they must be doing something right.

I only had one dish, but, I was not particularly pleased, and will not return.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of pickup and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]

I ordered pickup via delivery.com, and that part of the experience was fine - my order was ready right after I arrived, no issues acknowledging the order quickly, and a fork was provided in the bag.  House of Thai is listed on several of the other platforms as well.

Larkin Location.

I visited the Larkin Street location, right on the corner of Larkin & Geary, deep in the Tenderloin.  

Clearly not the best neighborhood, but in the area of many Thai restaurants (including Lapats which I actually liked - fried taro! durian sticky rice!, and Modern Thai, which I tried many times and never really liked,  and SF darling Lers Ros Thai where I had a mediocre experience).

Shelter In Plate Times: Takeout only!

Since my visit was during the shelter in place, the only option was takeout (or delivery), and orders were being taken/picked up at a makeshift little window on the sidewalk, no customers were allowed inside the restaurant (which had all the tables totally removed).

Pickup was easy, I just approached, rang the bell as instructed, and my order was handed over soon after.

I went to House of Thai with one goal: to get a fried catfish salad.  Yup, not a curry, and ... catfish?  This was a super random craving on my part, but House of Thai gets great reviews for their fried catfish salads, and their larb in general.  I've actually never had larb before (!), given that it is usually chicken or minced pork, and just not my thing, but House of Thai offered both a duck and catfish version.  For some reason, this just sounded great to me.  

I was also tempted by the "Crispy Catfish Salad", with the same crispy fried minced catfish, with ice berg, green apple, cashews, onion, and spicy lime cilantro dressing, but the larb really called out.

Crispy Catfish Larb. $15. "Spicy"

"Prepared with lime dressing, chili flakes, onion, parched rice powder and mints.  Choice of minced chicken, pork, roasted duck or crystal."

Even though I've never had larb before (or at least, not from a real Thai restaurant), I still knew what to expect: minced meat, a huge wedge of cabbage or lettuce to wrap the meat in, and a complex flavor profile of salty, sour, spicy and sweet.

The dish *looked* pretty much as expected (although the portion much smaller!), but ... it certainly didn't taste how I expected.

I'll cut right to the chase: it was sweet.  *Really* sweet.  It wasn't just not Thai spicy, it was sweet.  Just sweet.  Way too sweet.  I tasted zero heat, again, not just not the expected Thai spicy heat, but, none.  I saw no chilis nor the mentioned chili flakes.  There was nothing to balance the sweet.  Not only the missing spice, but also, no sourness - where was the lime dressing?  Where was the balance that Thai cuisine is all about?  Sadness.

More sad because the fried catfish was actually quite good.  Coated in cornmeal, fried, crispy, all different size chunks, not murky or fishy.  I liked it quite a bit.  But ... super sweet catfish with nothing to balance it was just not great - I wanted spice, or I even wanted some aioli or something.  Just ... something.

I tried desperately to get some good flavors going on, and sought out the red onion hoping for some acidity, harshness, and bite, but even the red onion was mild.  I dislike red bell peppers, so they offered nothing, and also, um, they were sweet bells.  The sliced green onion at least had a bit of flavor to it, and I guess the parsley tasted like parsley (and there was tons of it), but neither were enough to really save this.  I found no mint either.

The larb was on top of a leaf of green lettuce that soaked up all the sweet juices, and a fairly small wedge of green cabbage was on the side.  The cabbage was crisp and fresh, but still wasn't enough to balance the sweet.

Overall, this just ... well, wasn't good.  Unbalanced sweetness, and fairly difficult to eat given how cloying that sweetness was.  It honestly seemed like they forgot to add the lime juice, and certainly didn't add chilis.  I ordered it spicy (choices were mild, medium, spicy, very spicy).  Sad, as that catfish really had potential.

I saved some, since I really just couldn't stomach it, and used it the next day - I grilled up the catfish in my Griddler, served it on top of a cabbage based salad, and added, well, SPICE, and soy, and lime aioli.  The result was actually quite delicious - again, that catfish had potential, but I needed to transform it entirely.

The basic proteins (chicken/pork/beef) versions of the larb are $13, premium ingredients like roasted duck or catfish ('crystal?') were $2 more, $15.  Taste aside, the portion was really quite meager for the price, and not worth it at all (the takeout container was quite shallow, and not particularly full).

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Rocky Mountain Popcorn / Fully Loaded Popcorn

Update Review - March 2020: Fully Loaded Popcorn

I recently discovered what I thought was a new brand of popcorn: Fully Loaded Popcorn.  I was confused though, because it seemed *very* familiar.  The flavors, the shape of the kernels ... the parent company name ("Open Road Snacks") ...

"Flavor doesn't mean junk.

Our naturally delicious, high-quality snacks are cooked up with a dash of Americana and the spirit of the open road."

And then I realized it was indeed a product I knew, I just knew it as "Rocky Mountain Popcorn", which I reviewed a few years ago.  Not sure why they rebranded, but the product is still all about the big huge kernels of popcorn which really continues to be a unique aspect.  Those kernels are now trademarked as FluffyCrunchy™ kernels.

Classic Butter.

"Fully Loaded Classic Butter does your standard bucket of movie popcorn one better."

I didn't realize this was Rocky Mountain Popcorn when I tried the first flavor in my stash: classic butter.

I was impressed with the kernels, which I know doesn't sound interesting, but I promise you, they make really really fluffy/puffy/large size kernels that really are better than most.

Butter popcorn is rarely my flavor of choice, but this was actually very good "butter flavored" popcorn, in the very rich, decadent, movie theater popcorn sense.  Nothing subtle about it.  Loaded (uh, fully) in butter ... well, ok, in oil and "natural flavor".  It truly was like having a bucket of movie theater popcorn, just from a bag.  And very salty too.

Not the flavor I normally crave, but when I crave buttery ridiculous popcorn, this one is among the best I've ever had.  Would go great paired with a movie, and, a ridiculous large foundation drink to combat the butter/salt ...

White Cheddar.

"Savory white cheddar combined with masterful attention to perfectly popped, FluffyCrunchy™ kernels."

The white cheddar was ... boring.  The kernels were still big and fluffy and great of course, but the flavor was quite minimal.

Not bad, but, just not much going on.

Jalapeño Cheddar

.

"Our Jalapeño Cheddar Popcorn packs a punch that lands right in between “ooooh, yeah” and “hey, that’s got a little pep!”

This was the one that surprised me last time, as it used to simply be called "Jalapeño", and I found the cheesiness unexpected.  This time I knew what to expect, and, I liked it.

Again, great big kernels, slightly cheesy flavor, some kick to it.  I wouldn't really want it as a snack, but I did like it alongside a meal, appropriately paired.

My favorite of their lineup.

Caramel Crunch.

"Our Fully Loaded Caramel Crunch popcorn is pure taste nirvana. Tear open a bag and get a taste. Right now."

The final variety, the only sweet one, I expected to love.  Caramel crunch!  I love sweet popcorns, and caramel corn is definitely high up on my favorite indulgences list.

But alas, this was just "ok".  Sure, it was better than Cracker Jacks, but, it was that style of caramel corn.  A decadent style, but without the buttery backdrop that makes Harry & David Moose Munch caramel corn so addicting, but not quite the sweet bomb of Pop! Gourmet Popcorn.

It was well coated, as always, huge kernels, and did have a nice crunch as the coating was so thick, but, it didn't particularly wow me.

Original Review - July 2019: Rocky Mountain Popcorn

Snacks. Popcorn.  Trying regional items when I travel.  These are some of my favorite things.  So when I visited our Boulder, CO office, I was of course eager to try out the local products, like, Rocky Mountain Popcorn.

Popcorn Bag.

"Rocky Mountain Popcorn® is wholesome kernels as FLUFFY as high-country clouds. A crunch as LIGHT as the mountain air. Now that’s taking your snack to new heights! Taste HUGE.™ "

Uh, ok?  Fluffy, light, and huge.  Got it.

The popcorn is available in 6 fairly standard flavors: "naked", butter, white cheddar, kettle, caramel, and jalapeno.  Nothing particularly novel here.  They do make a product size intended to fit in cup holders, for snacking on the road, which I thought was kinda cute (except, really, is that a problem? A popcorn bag fits quite nicely in my lap thank you very much!)

The parent company, Open Road Snacks, also has a healthier line, called "Sinfully Thin" of lighter popcorn flavors.  "No longer will you be trapped in popcorn purgatory when you unleash the naughty nibbler within," they say.

I tried the simple Rocky Mountain line, as it was all that was available.

I started with the "Naked".  The most basic flavor of all, just popcorn and canola oil.  I tried it just to understand the foundation of their goods, not because plain popcorn is remotely interesting to me.  It was ... popcorn.  No unique aspects, there just isn't much to say.

Butter.

"Crunchy and salty, exploding with buttery flavor. Just like you're at the movies. Need we say more."

I moved on to the butter popcorn.

Movie theater popcorn.  That is how I'd sum this up.  It looked exactly like movie theater popcorn, with an extreme, unnatural looking, orange hue.  Except, from a sealed bag, and not actually dripping in warm melted butter.  Not nearly as fun as real movie theater popcorn.

The kernels were indeed large, all well popped, and evenly coated in "butter flavor" (and, corn oil).  A nicely made product.  But it was also boring.  The butter flavor wasn't the decadence you get from real, fresh butter.

It also was not a light popcorn.  I was amazed that the single serving bag was 260 calories.

Meh, not worth it.

Cheddar Bacon.

"Light and airy popcorn kernels with the taste of cheddar and bacon."

I was pretty weary of this one.  I've seen the bacon fad come (and, thankfully, mostly go by now), where "bacon makes everything better" is the mantra, and, although I like bacon, I find it often really isn't the answer I'm looking for.  And I'm fairly particular about my savory cheesy popcorn.

One bite in though, my fears dissipated.  I loved it.

Did it taste like actual bacon?  Not at all.  But the taste was unmistakable.  It tasted like bacon bits.  The fake, shaker bottle kind.  That I adore.  That I never had in my house growing up, but my friends did, and I remember, in particular, loving shaking them all over the english muffin pizzas my best friend's mom made (seriously, so good.  She oiled and toasted the english muffins in advance, and what a world of difference it makes!). I was transplanted back immediately.  Fakin' bacon.  Yes.

And the cheese?  Also fake, in the great way.  I expected orange fingers from fake cheese, and I didn't care.

This was a winner, nostalgia, and such familiar tastes, just in a different form.  The popcorn too was high quality, huge nicely popped pieces.

I'd get this again.

Jalapeño.

"Dressed in the perfect amount of spice that anyone can appreciate, this popcorn is packed with the authentic, bold, zest of jalapeño flavor. Try it (we dare you), and join the fan club."

Another good popcorn from Rocky Mountain.  The signature large, airy kernels were like all the other varieties I tried.  Perfectly popped.

I was confused when I tasted it at first though.  I expected ... heat.  And likely salt.  But I tasted ... cheese?  It turns out, the third ingredient, after popcorn and canola oil is ... "cheese blend".  No wonder I tasted cheese!  These really should be called "cheesy jalapeño" ...  I liked the cheese powder, don't get me wrong, just, wasn't what I was expecting.

And then, as I was pondering the cheese, the jalapeño hit.  Ah, yes.  There was the hit.  It took a moment for it to come on, but once it did, very obvious.  Nice kick to it.

This was a good flavor, not necessarily one I would normally go for, but I enjoyed trying it, and it was different to mix up my regular savory popcorn lineup.  The spice made it a bit harder to pair with my meals though!

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