C'est Gourmet Pastries

C'est Gourmet.

It sounds ... fancy.  And french.  And what is C'est Gourmet?  It is, uh, the slightly-French skewed product line of baked goods from Boston Gourmet Chefs, a wholesale speciality food distributor.  They produce fairly standard pastries: danishes, croissants, cinnamon rolls, etc, along with some savory appetizers like caramelized onion or fig brie en croute.  It was their turnovers and hand pies however that drew me in, slightly more unique offerings.

Turnovers

The turnovers are actually vegan, and are available in apple and cherry versions.

Vegan Cherry Turnover.

I started with a cherry turnover.  It was ... not very good.

The pastry was fine, it was flaky, it was not strange and "oh, that's vegan", if you know what I mean.  But, it wasn't anything special.

The insides are what ruined it though.

Cherry Turnover: Inside.

This is what lay inside.

Cherry ... gel.  There were no berries, no bits of berries, just, gel.  Goo.  Sometimes goo can be tasty, don't get me wrong.  When its a runnier style, I really do love cherry pie from a can filling, but, this ... was a solid mass of goo.  Really not good at all.

*+.

Hand Pies

Hand pies are made in classic apple, strawberry, and cinnamon varieties year round (the last two of which are glazed - and strawberry one is topped with little sprinkles, making them look exactly like gourmet pot tarts!).  They also make seasonal flavors like pumpkin.

Unlike the turnovers, these are not vegan.

Pumpkin.

The hand pies were fine.  Large size, fairly classic hand pie shape.  Golden brown exterior, garnished with pearl sugar.

The pastry was decent enough, flaky, but not remarkable.

Seasonal Pumpkin: Inside.

Inside was filled with a mashed pumpkin, which actually tasted more like sweet potato to me.  It is blended with cream cheese and evaporated milk, creating quite a creamy consistency, which was nice.  However, the seasoning was too strong on the "pumpkin spice" (nutmeg, clovers, ginger, cinnamon) for my taste, but, I have a particularly low tolerance for nutmeg.

It was well filled.

Overall, I found this "fine".  The pastry was fine, but not great, the filling was fine, and had its highlights and lowlights. I wasn't really tempted to have another, but I'd love to try the iced varieties.

***.

Pumpkin (November 2019).

When "pumpkin season" rolled around again the next year, I tried it again, actually forgetting that I had previously reviewed it.

My new review is nearly identical to before - decent pastry, flaky, fresh, but not particularly notable, and good amount of filling, more sweet potato like than pumpkin, but again, just too spiced for my preferences.

They seem like a quality product, just not the one for me.

***.

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Cafe Madeline

Cafe Madeline is a small cafe, with two locations in San Francisco in the Financial District, offering up a wide variety of pastries, cakes, cookies, and more.  They also serve a few breakfast and lunch items.  Open weekdays only.  Their display cases always look fabulous, and their staying power, open since 1999, proves that the locals agree.

"Our own line of French style pastries with American influences."

While some of the savory lunch food sounds good (burrata lasagna! Pot pies with quality pastry!), it is the baked goods that drew me in, well, that and their puddings, zomg, I adore pudding in general, and fancy puddings?  YES! 

Too Good To Go "Mystery" Bag
The Real Real Cafe Cafe. $3.99.

My first time trying Cafe Madeline however was not by visiting the cafe itself, but rather, by getting pastries from nearby The Real Real Cafe Cafe (no, not a type-o, that is its name), a small cafe on Maiden Lane, located inside a luxury consignment shop (The Real Real).  They carry a large assortment of pastries from Cafe Madeline, along with savory quiches and puddings.

I didn't actually purchase my items directly however, I got them using Too Good To Go, a service that lets you reserve a mystery bag for discounted price, to "rescue" food that may otherwise go to waste.  In this case, I paid $3.99, and was given the choice of any 4 pastries from the case that I desired (except the cookies) or a pre-made salad (normally $17, as it came with fresh grilled salmon or chicken on top).  It was no question, I was clearly going for the pastries.

I selected:

• Blueberry chocolate scone (normally $4.50)
• Ham & cheese roll (normally $4.75)
• Strawberry ricotta puff (normally $4.75)
• Raspberry pop tart (normally $5.50)

The bag value was $19.50, so paying only $3.99, and getting to pick the goodies myself, was a fabulous value!  I highly recommend TGTG if you like surprise treats (although, beware, look at the ratings, some places really are not a win - think: expired items, rotten produce, etc).

Anyway.  Back to The Real Real Cafe Cafe and Cafe Madeline.  This was most certainly a win!

Ham & Cheese Roll. $4.75.

"Zoe's honey ham with melted cheese, served in a flaky pastry puff."

I started with a savory item, to at least pretend to be responsible and not just eat a giant pile of sugar and carbs.  I brought it home to lightly warm up in my toaster oven, while I assembled a little side salad.  See, responsible!

The pastry looked fabulous, quite flaky, but I didn't find it particularly satisfying to eat - yes, it flaked all over the place, and it was buttery, but somehow, not as glorious as it looked.

Ham & Cheese Roll: Inside.

The roll was generously filled with a thick slice of ham and cheese.  I loved how my cheese got all melty when I warmed it.  The ham was ... ok.  I didn't really think it was particularly great, although I know Zoe's is well known.  It didn't taste like honey ham to me, just, ham.  I added honey mustard to jazz it up.

So, overall, it fell a bit flat.  The pedigree was there - flaky pastry, quality ham - but it was just "ok".

***.

Strawberry Ricotta Puff. $4.75.

"Strawberries, ricotta cheese, organic flour, organic butter, white sugar, wrapped in a light flaky pastry puff."

This strawberry ricotta puff made up for the ham & cheese roll, and then some.  My goodness this was good.

Beautiful flaky pastry, dusted with powdered sugar to amp up the sweetness, but not too much.  The pastry alone made me quite happy.

But it was the filling that just made this item shine.  And shine it did!

Strawberry Ricotta Puff: Inside.

The ricotta was lightly sweetened, and soo creamy.  Like a fluffier cheesecake almost.  And then the strawberry, full juicy berries, bursting with flavor and fruitiness.  So incredibly good.  

Every element of this item was fabulous on its own - beautiful laminated sweet flaky pastry, incredible cheesecake-like ricotta, and juicy berries - but combined?  MAGIC.

I warmed it up slightly and enjoyed even more.  I'd get another in a heartbeat.

****+.

Raspberry Pop Tart. $5.75.

"White sugar, organic butter, organic flour, baking powder, organic cream cheese, raw vanilla and fresh raspberry compote."

I adored the strawberry ricotta puff, but ... the Pop Tart gave it a run for its money.  It was this item that I was most excited by just looking at it, and it really lived up.

Perfect crust, this one pie crust style, rather than puff pastry like the previous items.  Thicker, more firm, less flaky.  Covered in pearl sugar AND drizzled with bit of ... something sweet?  This thing could have no filling and I'd still love it.  This is what pie crust dreams are made of.

Inside was the raspberry compote, and it, like the other items, was well stuffed.  Fruity, sweet, and tasty, but I preferred the juicy roast strawberries in the puff to this, just slightly.

Overall though, fabulous, basically a fruity hand pie, and I'd gladly get another.

****.

Blueberry Chocolate Scone. $4.50.

"Butter, flour, sugar, eggs, cream, vanilla, baking powder, salt, blueberries, chocolate chips."

And lastly, the scone, strategy on my part as I hoped to save it for breakfast the next day.  Really, how many pastries do you think I can eat in one sitting?  Particularly ones as large as these!

I of course tried it right away though.

It was a good scone, soft, not too crumbly.  Loaded with big juicy blueberries AND chocolate chips, which did clash a bit for me.  I like both these things, I like them both in scones even, but, together, they almost seemed to compete.  Chocolate muddling the fruity goodness, and fruit muddling the chocolately nature.

Still though, this is just a nit, it was a great scone, and I liked the slight tang to it, not sure where it came from as it doesn't use buttermilk, but I liked it.

***+.

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Terra Chips

Terra Chips sound exactly like a product I'd love.  I've been on a ridiculous chips craving fest for ... a year?  I don't even know how long.  Somehow, mid-pandemic, chips just became a staple of my life.  I eat them every day.  

"For over two decades, TERRA® chips has had a passion for creating top quality, delicious chips. 

Our chips are made from real whole vegetables. We source a diverse range of root vegetables to create each delicious TERRA® blend."

And Terra Chips makes more unique chips, not standard potato based, but rather, all sorts of root veggies.  They were certainly the first of their kind in most markets.  While my potato chip love is a bit newfound, I've adored taro, yucca, plantain, etc chips for years, so, again, these sound like something I'd love.

And yet ... I don't.  I never did.  I've tried them so many times, but somehow, they just always greatly disappoint. 

Exotic Chips

The main product line by Terra is their "exotic" chips, available in several blends, from their signature original mix (also available with Mediterranean spices), to several potato only blends (Terra Blues, Exotic Potato, or Heritage Blend), to other colorful collections like the stunning Stripes and Blues.

Original Terra Chips.

The original variety of Terra Chips, aptly named "original", is the most complex: it contains 6 types of chips!  Luckily, it came with a guide on the back as to what they all were.

The lineup?  Yuca, Taro, Sweet Potato, Batata, Parsnip, and "Ruby Dipped Vegetables".

I was most excited for the first two, obviously, as I adore both taro and yuca.

Distribution of Chips :(
Parsnip / Ruby Dipped Vegetables / Sweet Potato / Batata / Taro / Yuca (clockwise from top L)

I of course wanted to identify them all, and taste individually.  So I sorted them, and to my dismay, I found they were not very equally distributed in the bag.  At all.  And the ones I was most excited for?  Yeah.  2 tiny fragments each.

My disappointment continued as I tasted them all.  These are very greasy style chips.  They were crispy at least, but oh so greasy.  In not a pleasant way.

Parsnip
"A member of the same family as carrots, fennel, parsley, celery, celeriac and chervil."

I actually had only one of these (the other that I thought was parsnip was thin batata).  It was slightly sweet and almost soft it was so greasy.  I think this could be good, but, the one I had wasn't.

Ruby Dipped Vegetables
"Perhaps the most dramatic, these TERRA ®Chips are kissed with beet juice, resulting in their distinctive autumn red color."

The majority of the bag was ruby dipped.

Interestingly, most of the ruby dipped ones were taro, with a few that I think were just sweet potato.  There didn't seem to be any others represented.  They didn't really taste of beet, but they had some kind of different flavor, sorta.  Again so greasy.  The ruby coating definitely masked the taro flavor, which made me sad.

Sweet Potato
"Sweet potato, a root vegetable often called a yam, is not really a yam at all, but rather a distinct variety of the Ipomea Batata family. Cultivated for thousands of years in the Western Hemisphere, sweet potatoes have become an important part of traditional American cuisine."

Boring, greasy, just a potato chip.

Batata / (Boniato or Cuban Sweet Potato) 
"Light brown in color, yet darker than the Yuca. Batata has been savored in the Caribbean for centuries."

Boring, greasy, just a potato chip.

Taro (also known as Malanga and Dasheen)
"The white chip with the characteristic purplish-brown lines."

These were the ones I was most looking forward to.  They were ... fine.  Pretty greasy.  Slight taro flavor.  Mostly just tasted grease, not lovely taro.  Not high up there in the taro chips I've had, but not *bad* exactly.

Yuca / (Cassava)
"The lightest of color of the TERRA® Chips, pale yellow-white."

Definitely the best.  Super crispy.  Wish I had more than 2 fragments!

Of this assortment, the only ones I liked were yuca, and I was quite displeased with the distribution of chips.

Original: Bag #2.

A few days later, I opened another bag.

The difference in the distribution was shocking.  This one was considerably more balanced.

However, the chips still were ... eh.  I was glad to have nearly full size taro and yucca this time, but, they were still just so greasy.  

I would not get any of these again.

*+.

Sweet Potato

Although sweet potatoes are featured in some of the exotic chip blends, Terra also has an entire product range devoted to sweet potato chips, some are just a subset of the ones from the exotic mixes, like "Sweets & Beets", "Sweets & Blues", or "Red, White, & Blues" (yukon gold, sweet, and blue potatoes), all of which use the thin, crispy style of sweet potato chip found in the exotic mix.  But others add in a waved ruffled version, slightly thicker. Available plain, with sea salt, barbecued, or mixed with carrot chips.  A bunch of other varities of the thin ones are also available, chipotle, mixed with apples, etc, etc. 

I tried just the ruffled sweets, salted to get a sense if I'd like the different style perhaps, given I wasn't into the ones in the mix.

Sweet Potato with Sea Salt.

"Sweet potato, a root vegetable often called a yam, is not really a yam at all, but rather a distinct variety of the Ipomea Batata family. Cultivated for thousands of years in the Western Hemisphere, sweet potatoes have become an important part of traditional American cuisine."

They *did* look entirely different.

Larger, thicker, wavy.  Not nearly as greasy.

But ... still just sweet potato chips, not really my thing, besides crunching up and throwing on top of salad or something.

Meh. **+.

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Sweet Joanna's Cafe

Sweet Joanna's is a cafe located close to my home and office.  I've walked by it daily, literally, for years, without giving it at second glance.  Open during the week only, for breakfast (bagels, egg sandos, etc) and lunch (sandwiches), and is always shockingly busy.  But as my office provided me with breakfast and lunch, I never had a reason to visit a cafe during the week.  So I walked on by.

That is, until the year(s) of Covid.  Somehow, Sweet Joanna's made it through, one of few places in the neighborhood that opened back up.  I was glad to finally check it out.

I always ordered online using Allset, or Too Good To Go, and pickup was quite easy.

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One extra thing to note: the staff at Sweet Joanna's are wonderful.  You can tell they know their regulars, and are a real family business.  I see the owner (?) slide free pastries into the bags of regulars often.  It is the sort of place you feel good visiting, and want to succeed.

Sweet Joanna's has, hands down, the best selection of chips I have ever seen.  Seriously, they carry a huge variety of brands, no loyalty to one or another, and within each brand, they have all the classic but also really obscure flavors.  I've never seen such variety in chips, anywhere.  Not even the grocery store.

They also have an impressive bottled drinks lineup, again, just vast selection, so many brands, so many flavors.  Little things like this show how much thought the owner's put into creating a great experience for their customers.  Chances are high they'll have your favorite, even if radically different from your co-workers, and yes, they'll have theirs too.

Sweet Joanna's had outdoor seating on the sidewalk, and did even before Covid days.  Most people tend to grab their items and go, but, for those that stay, there are a decent number of tables outside, and a few inside.

Baked Goods

While Sweet Joanna's mostly is a lunch destination, always crazy busy with nearby workers coming in for a sandwich and bag of chips from their epic selection, the baked goods are not to be missed.  I'm a baked goods lover, and I was highly impressed with the quality.  I was told that Sweet Joanna's bakes all their own pastries in house, daily, which is fairly impressive for such a small cafe, but, um, I am fairly certain that at least most of the items come from California Smart Foods, a wholesale bakery here in San Francisco.

The baked goods lineup ranges from dessert items like cookies and brownies, to breakfast staples like muffins and scones, to very tempting looking donuts, croissants, buns, and more.  They are displayed right at the register, and look amazing.

Pastries

The pastry lineup is what always draws me in.  Several varieties of croissants, danishes, sweet buns, and more.

Morning Bun.  $2.75.

The first time I ordered, I ordered online, and selected a sticky bun.  Alas, when I arrived, they had no sticky buns left.  Only morning buns (among other goodies).

I accepted the morning bun instead, but walked away a bit sad and annoyed.  I was in the mood for a sickeningly sweet sticky bun!  Turns out though, I 'won'.  Maybe their sticky bun is amazing, but this was incredible.  I'm almost glad they didn't have the sticky bun, as it lead to me discovering the morning bun instead.

It was GLORIOUS.  So much more than meets the eye.

Perfectly crispy exterior, flaky, buttery, moist dough inside.  Coated in soooo much sugar and a touch of cinnamon.  And, then ... MARZIPAN!  The entire base was marzipan.  Glory.

I adored this, and would gladly get another.  ****.

Almond Bear Claw.  $2.75.

Next up was an item selected for me, the almond bear claw.

It had a great shine to it, and was covered in slivered almonds.  I couldn't wait to see what was inside.

I'll cut right to the chase though.  This was a highly, highly mediocre pastry.

Sure, it was fresh enough, the pastry was flaky, and it did have plenty of almonds on the exterior, but it really was quite boring, particularly when compared to the morning bun.  I expected a generous almond filling, and it had very little.  There was a smidge of almond paste inside, but barely enough to taste.  The result was a fairly dry pastry, one full of promise, but no delivery.

**+.

Update: It might sound odd, but I froze half of it, and realized I liked it far more frozen.  Like, direct from freezer.  Still not a great pastry, but I liked it more this way. ***.

Apple Turnover. $2.75.

This was another item selected for me, as part of a Too Good To Go bag, but I was fairly excited by it, as I was in a bit of a pie mood.  I wasn't sure what flavor it was, but it turned out to be apple.

The pastry was fairly average, a bit flaky, a bit stale (it was end of day).  I liked the pearl sugar on top, even though there was a comical amount.  Inside was apple filling, a rather mushy, applesauce like style with a few chunks.  Very little seasoning to the apple mix, which at least meant it wasn't aggressively over spiced, but also made it not very interesting.

I didn't hate this, but it certainly was not as good as the one I had the week before from Le Sandwich (made by Dianda's Italian bakery), which I'll review soon.

***, highly average.  Once heated, and stuffed with ice cream, it elevated to a ***+.

Plain Croissant. $2.75.

Another Too Good To Go selection, the massive plain croissant, clearly not a flaky french style.

It was really quite buttery, and had a nice flavor to it, but a flaky, messy, quality French pastry it was not.  Still, I did enjoy it, and I think it would work great as a vehicle for a breakfast sandwich, filled with runny egg and cheese.

***.

Scones

Sweet Joanna's carries two kinds of scones, blueberry or cranberry walnut.

Cranberry Walnut Scone.  $2.75.

My second visit to Sweet Joanna's fared no better.  I again ordered a sticky bun online, but they were out when I arrived.  And they were out of donuts.  Only a few danishes and scones remained.  I told the staff member to pick for me, and he selected this scone, cranberry walnut.

It was ... ok.  I didn't really like it at first, as I don't like cranberry that much.  It was very soft, cake style.  I liked the sugar on top.   The nuts were minimal but I did like the crunch they added.  But, the tart cranberry didn't really do it for me.

**, at first.

But I kept trying, unwilling to throw it out.  I turned it into "scone porridge" 2 days later.  Yes, scone porridge.  A new invention, heh.  I crumbled it up, removed the cranberries, added milk, and warmed it in microwave.  Then I added sprinkles and cinnamon.

It was like mushy thick oatmeal, and the nuts were great.  I certainly wouldn't seek this scone out, but, hey, it worked as porridge ...

***+, in my new form.

Muffins

Sweet Joanna's offers up three kinds of muffins: classic blueberry, healthy bran, and banana walnut.  All have a homemade look to them, and uh, often look slightly burnt.  You know, "homemade"!

Banana Walnut Muffin.  $2.75.

The first muffin I tried was banana walnut.  I loved how it had slices of banana visible on the outside, and they looked gloriously caramelized.

I love a crispy top on my muffins, so even though this looked a bit dark, I was excited by how crispy it looked.

It was a decent banana muffin, very, well, banana forward? You had to be in the mood for banana bread to enjoy it.  Fairly spiced.  Moist, well studded with bits of walnut for texture.  The banana slices were only on the outside, but I liked what they added.

Overall, a fine banana muffin, but again, you had to want a banana muffin, which isn't usually my thing.  It went nicely toasted with cream cheese slathered on.

***.

Banana Walnut Muffin. $2.75.

A month or so later, I got another.  This one was far lighter on top, and had even more slices of banana perched on top.

It was slightly less over baked, but otherwise was pretty much the same.  Good warm with cream cheese, but not something I'd seek out.

***.

Blueberry Muffin. $2.75.

The blueberry muffin was letdown.

The top was crisp, but without a sugar coating or anything, it just felt a bit burnt.  Inside was equally dry, not a moist muffin.  The texture sorta reminded me of what I'd expect from a gluten-free muffin, although it was not.

It was loaded with berries, generous berries all throughout, but, the base muffin just had no flavor.  No tang, no sweetness, just, nothing.  Incredibly boring.  Again, sorta reminded me of what you'd expect from a gluten-free baked good, it tasted a bit ... like cardboard.

Boring, dry, meh.

**.

Cookies

I've long eyed the massive cookies at Sweet Joanna's, but they never make it to the top of my priority list of items to try out.  I mean, really, how do you pick a cookie when there are so many decadent pastries sitting there!  They offer only chocolate chip cookies, available with or without a chocolate dip, and coconut macaroons.

I finally tried one.

Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Chip Cookie.  $2.75.

One day, I actually really was in the mood for a cookie AND was really in the mood for chocolate, so the chocolate dipped cookie sounded perfect.

It was a decent cookie, quite large, crisp, which isn't how I generally prefer my cookies, but made for a good "cookies and milk" cookie, if that makes sense.  The kind to dunk in milk.  It was loaded with little chips, and the chocolate coating really just sealed the deal.  It was precisely what I was looking for.

These are also available in a non-dipped form, if, for some reason, you prefer less chocolate.

***.

Other

I still have never had the main draw of Joanna's, the sandwiches, but one day my Too Good To Go bag contained sandwich filling.  They also have a daily soup, available with or without vegetables, that frequently winds up in Too Good To Go bags.

Egg Salad.

Sweet Joanna's makes their egg salad fresh daily.  

It was a mushy style, with no obvious seasoning nor mix ins, besides the expected egg and mayo.  However, the moment I tasted it, I knew there was at least one other thing in here: mustard.  So much mustard.  The dominant flavor, not egg, but, mustard.  It desperately lacked any other seasoning.

I imagine on a proper sandwich the veggies, bun, etc would balance it out perhaps,  but, as it was, this was just very, very mustard heavy and mushy.

Eh.  **+.

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belVita Breakfast Biscuits

I'm always on the lookout for tasty, easy, grab and go breakfasts.  Most days I get fabulous breakfasts at work, but when I'm travelling, or sometimes on weekends before heading to brunch, I just want something easy.

When I was in college I lived on Kellogg's Nutri-Grain bars, strawberry or apple cinnamon.  I think they are totally nasty now, I'm not sure why I was so into them then.  But I loved them.  I've also tried all sorts of other breakfast bars, many better than the Nutri-Grains, but none that I really want more of.  The "easy to grab breakfast bar that I like" slot has remained unfilled for a while.

I stumbled upon belVita while reading some reviews for something else.  Their products sounded intriguing: breakfast ... biscuits?  They proclaim to be "found in the cookie-cracker aisle".  Cookies, for breakfast?  Reviewers love them.  They are marketed as being a decent choice nutritionally, with a good amount of protein, whole grains, and not too much sugar.  Formulated to slowly release energy all morning long.  But, they are cookies (uh, biscuits), not bars made up of weird chemicals and soy protein isolate.  And they come in a variety of flavors: blueberry, apple cinnamon, cinnamon brown sugar, golden oat, and chocolate.

I had to seek these out, and I am quite glad I did.  They quickly turned into my favorite on-the-go breakfast item, and it seems I am not alone, as their product offerings expanded considerably since I first encountered them (and wrote this original post).

In the US, they now have four product lines, all featuring the breakfast biscuits, but in different styles: crunchy, soft, bite size, or even as sandwiches, with peanut butter or chocolate cream filling.  Yes, still considered healthy breakfast.

Internationally, they have also taken off, and I've found their products while traveling in the UK and in Australia.  Just like in the US, you can find them in nearly every convenience store, making for a very easy-to-grab breakfast on the go, precisely as marketed.

US Edition

Breakfast Biscuits / Crunch -> Crunchy

When belVita was introduced to the US, they had only one product line: breakfast biscuits. Now they have several, so the basic biscuits are now branded "belVita Crunch", and later "Crunchy" and they come in six flavors: golden oat, blueberry, apple cinnamon, cinnamon brown sugar, chocolate, and toasted coconut (er, in 2015 the apple cinnamon was replaced by cranberry orange). I never found the chocolate ones, but I tried the other varieties. All come 4 to a package.

I've tried many of these over the years, as they were the first product I was introduced to.

Blueberry Breakfast Biscuits.

"Our Blueberry crunchy Breakfast Biscuits are lightly sweet, crunchy biscuits made with high-quality and wholesome ingredients, like rolled oats and real blueberries."

For my first venture into belVita, I picked the blueberry flavor.  This somehow seemed the most breakfast-like.  I opened my package, not quite sure what to expect.  What was a breakfast biscuit, anyway?  The answer ... basically, a cookie.  But, in muffin flavors.  Thin, crispy-style.  Sorta a cross between a cookie and biscotti.  Normally, I really dislike crisp cookies and prefer soft ones, but in this case, it worked.

I've never had a blueberry cookie before though.  The blueberries made it "breakfast", but seemed strange in concept to have in a cookie.  The blueberries, while small dried bits, were incredibly flavorful.  I was shocked by the flavor.  They did indeed remind me a blueberry muffin!

Overall the  biscuits were sweet, but not too sweet.  And they went really well dunked in my cappuccino, just like a biscotti, since they were so thin and crispy.

Definitely an interesting product, and I'd have them again.

I gave Ojan a packet of these to try, since I know he likes blueberry muffins.  I had talked them up at this point, so I was worried I was over-selling.  He took a bite, and exclaimed, "That does taste like a blueberry muffin!"  He joyfully ate the whole package.  And then ordered another box.

Update: I've since had these plenty more times. I continue to love them. Seriously, cookie-biscotti-muffins!  The blueberry flavor is really incredible, and I stress, they go sooo perfectly dunked into a cappuccino   Love, love love these things.  And not just because I get to eat cookies for breakfast, although that is obviously a selling point!

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Biscuits.

"Apple Cinnamon crunchy Breakfast Biscuits are baked with real cinnamon and the delicious taste of apples, making them the perfect way to start the morning right."

Given the success of the blueberry flavor, I finally decided to branch out and try another.  I wanted to try the cinnamon brown sugar, but I couldn't find them at any of my local stores.  So, I settled for my third choice, apple cinnamon.

Unlike the blueberry, there were not large chunks of fruit visible in the cookie. The aroma however, was clearly apple and cinnamon.  They smelt amazing!

The style was quite similar to the blueberry, a crispy cookie.  The flavor wasn't quite as intense as the blueberry, but there were little chunks of dried apple that added fun chew to a few bites, and the cinnamon was quite strong.  As a plain biscuit, I felt these were a bit lacking, but once I dunked them into my coffee, I again loved them.  Just like a biscotti, they soften up when dunked, and create such a great pairing.

I think they probably would be quite good covered in peanut butter as well, in the same way that I love apple slices covered in peanut butter.  I'll try that with my next package.

Overall, still a success, although I liked the blueberry more.

Update: I've continued to really enjoy these, dunked into coffee.  Or tea.  The apple cinnamon goes slightly better with a cup of tea than coffee.  The dunking is key, as it softens up the cookie a bit.  They are great for breakfast, but also perfect for afternoon snack.

Golden Oat.

"Golden Oat crunchy Breakfast Biscuits are simple, crunchy biscuits made from wholesome, fine ingredients like rolled oats."

I wanted to try even more flavors, but alas, the cinnamon brown sugar that I really want to try has remained elusive, and chocolate, while obviously something I like, just didn't sound that interesting.  So, I went for the very basic: golden oat.  It sounded the simplest, and least likely to succeed, but I wanted to give it a try anyway.

And, I'm glad I did.  Yes, they were simple, more like a plain graham cracker.  Well, a sweetened graham cracker.  Same crispy texture as the others.  Still not great if you just eat them plain, but magically transformed when dunked into coffee.

Since they were so plain, I also tried topping them with peanut butter and jelly, but that just masked their yummy flavor, and they weren't exactly dunkable like that.

Golden Oat was my least favorite flavor, but I still enjoyed them, and would gladly dunk some more.

Cranberry Orange.

"A little sweet, a little tangy, belVita Cranberry Orange Breakfast Biscuits are a delicious blend of cranberry and orange flavors that are sure to complement any balanced breakfast."

This is not a flavor I would have ever selected since I don't really like cranberry nor orange, but, a friend brought it to me so I could try more flavors (thanks!).

I was really shocked when I bit into the first one.  Yes, it was a regular crunchy, hearty, oaty belVita biscuit.  But it tasted exactly like Apple Jacks.  Or Fruit Loops?  One of those breakfast cereals I haven't had in years.  The flavor was uncanny.  The first bite in, I immediately was struck by, "uh, I know this!  It is sweet and fruity and tastes like it is covered in sugar".  It took a few more minutes, and bites, to narrow in on the taste, but, wow.  And no, it wasn't covered in sugar coating, so I have no idea where that was coming from.

If I tried hard I could distinguish cranberry and orange flavors, but really, this was just sweet fruity breakfast nostalgia.  Woah.

Cinnamon Brown Sugar.

"Lightly sweet, and with a taste of cinnamon, belVita Cinnamon Brown Sugar Breakfast Biscuits are made with quality grains that help fuel your morning."

These sounded fairly boring, such a simple flavor, so I was rather shocked when I rather adored them.

Standard BelVita crispy, cookie-like texture, perfect to dunk into my cup of coffee.  Lightly sweet, enough to please me, but not make me feel too guilty eating cookies for breakfast.  Cinnamon, just enough to give it some interest, but not too spiced.

Really, simple, yes, but, perfect breakfast cookie-biscuits.  Really.  I loved them, and I think they'd be good used in a dessert too, layered with custard or whipped cream, or even stuffed with ice cream.  I just never got that far ...

Cinnamon Brown Sugar.

Even though I've had these several times before, and truly enjoyed them each time, it still shocks me somewhat when I have them.  The flavor looks, and sounds, so boring!

And it isn't anything crazy complex, yet, I really enjoy these.  I think the part of me that feels like I'm somewhat "breaking the rules" by eating "cookies" for breakfast just takes glee in them.  Lovely sweet flavor, but not too sweet to feel totally indulgent, great texture, perfect to hold up just slightly when dunking into coffee.  

I always plan to try using them as a dessert component, in particular, with cheesecake or mousse, but, I can't ever get past dunking them into my morning coffee.

I'll continue to get these.

****.

Soft Baked

Just when I thought I couldn't love belVita more, they introduced a new product line, in addition to the already existing biscuits: soft baked breakfast cookies!  The moment I heard about them, I eagerly sought them out.  Available in 4 regular flavors: cinnamon (discontinued), banana bread, oats & chocolate, banana peanut butter (discontinued, replaced with oats & peanut butter), and mixed berry with blueberries and raspberries and 2 higher protein flavors (blueberry almond and oats, honey & chocolate).

Soft Baked Oats & Chocolate.

"Our belVita Soft Baked Oats & Chocolate Breakfast Biscuits are not only a tasty morning treat, they’re also a nutritious way to start your day. Made with ingredients like rolled oats, rye and barley, we think we finally found a way to sneak chocolate into a wholesome breakfast!"

I brewed up a cup of coffee to pair with my treat, and excitedly opened my package.  I was expecting something sorta like a flat muffin perhaps, just based on the hard breakfast cookies, and the title soft baked.  I was a little disappointed when I opened the package.  It was soft compared to the regular breakfast biscuits yes, but it wasn't anything like a muffin.  And, as you can see, it had exactly three little bits of chocolate.  Upon closer examination, I saw that each of the three spots had 2-3 tiny chocolate chips.  But there weren't chips anywhere else in the bar.  Hmm.

Still, I knew the hard biscuits weren't much to look at either, so I still dug in.  I was pleasantly surprised.  It was basically a strangely shaped oatmeal cookie.  belVita did it again, serving me yet another cookie, and calling it breakfast.  If you like oatmeal cookies, you'll like this.  It also did taste sorta healthy.  Very hearty from all the oats and rye flakes.  They were sweetened, but in a way that didn't taste fake or too much, just a deep flavor from the molasses.  The bits of chocolate were a nice addition, and they were a quality semi-sweet chocolate, but honestly, just the oatmeal base would have been fine.

I'd really like to try these in just about any other flavor.  I think all of the flavors that they make the original breakfast biscuits in would work.  And that elusive mixed berry ... I must find it!

Highly recommend, for breakfast, or, even for a snack.  Pairs great with coffee.

Mixed Berry.

"Our belVita Soft Baked Mixed Berry Breakfast Biscuits are chewy and oh so delicious. Each wholesome biscuit is made with nutritious whole grains and tasty fruits like blueberries and raspberries."

When I first tried belVita Soft Bakes, I wasn't ever able to find the mixed berry flavor, and lamented about this on my blog.  A friend came to the rescue, showing up at my desk recently with several of the varieties I hadn't yet tried.

I'm glad he did.  I did make the mistake of throwing it my bag so it got a bit mushed, but it didn't matter.  It was really good.

It was soft, like the perfect soft baked oatmeal cookie.  It was sweet, such that I questioned if it was ok to have this for breakfast, when it seemed indulgent (in reality, 10 grams of sugar).  I loved the flavor bursts from the bits of dried berries (cranberries and blueberries).  It had a slightly gritty texture from the oats that I enjoyed.

I really enjoyed this, as a breakfast alongside my coffee, but it really reminded me of a fruit crisp, and I think I could be totally satisfied dunking it in whipped cream and pretending it was dessert.

Bites

Well, belVita has introduced another form factor for their breakfast biscuits: Bites!  Mini sized, crunchy like the originals.  Bites are available in only three varieties, mixed berry, chocolate, and cinnamon brown sugar.  These come packaged in individual bags.

These were the only product I wasn't quite able to figure out.

Chocolate.

"belVita Bites Chocolate Breakfast Biscuits offer a convenient way for you to get your four hours of nutritious, steady energy on the go."

I expected my bites to be mini compared to the full size regular biscuits, but, I wasn't expecting them to be this tiny!  They are about cereal sized, which is smaller than I expected, not really a "bite".  A handful created a "bite".  When I flipped the package over to see the serving size was 44 bites, well, that suddenly made sense.  

Once I got over my surprise at the size, it was time to dig in.  Crispy, crunchy, chocolate biscuits.  Slightly hearty healthy taste from the whole grains, nice tang, decent chocolate on the finish.  They almost reminded me of the cookie part of an Oreo.

They were good, but, I found myself wanting to do ... something with them.  So, thinking Oreo, I made tiny little cookie sandwiches with whipped cream in between two.  They were really too tiny for this, so then I just switched to dunking them in whipped cream, but I really wished I had frosting or icing (do you remember Dunkaroos?  Just like that!).

Then, thinking cereal, I put a few into a bowl of milk, let them soften a tiny bit, and ate them that way.  These methods were all fine, but still, it didn't feel right.  I could also imagine making a great crust out of them (a la graham crackers) or even something like rice crispy treats or ice cream toppings.  But just nibbling on them for breakfast wasn't quite right for me, even though I liked the flavor.

Nutritionally, these are exactly the same as a package of full size crunchy biscuits (230 calories, 8 grams fat, 4 grams protein, 19 grams whole grains, 4 grams fiber), so really, it just is a question of how you like to eat your biscuits.  Or maybe these are better for littler kids?  I might not be the target audience.

Sandwiches

In the US, belvita makes biscuit sandwiches in four tempting flavors: peanut butter, dark chocolate creme, strawberry yogurt cream, and vanilla yogurt cream.

Yes, they sound, and look, like cookies you should have for dessert, but are again, really are breakfast appropriate, in such a decadent, satisfying way.

Peanut Butter (Oops, I broke them).

"With a smooth creamy layer of peanut butter sandwiched between two wholesome breakfast biscuits, belVita Sandwich Peanut Butter Breakfast Biscuits offer a seriously delicious way to start your morning."

As a peanut butter lover, this was an easy pick.  What was not easy however, was protecting my biscuits in my bag.  Ooops.  Yes, this package was supposed to contain two sandwiches, aka, 4 biscuits stuffed with peanut butter, and instead contained a pile of rubble.  This is entirely my fault.  Don't just them.

Not that it mattered.  They were still delicious.  Same slightly sweet, slightly wholesome, crunchy biscuit-cookie on the outside, and a moderately thin layer of peanut butter inside.  The peanut butter wasn't as generous as I'd like, nor as creamy, but, for a healthy breakfast item, I can't really be upset that they didn't make them more indulgent.  These really can do double duty as a dessert, even like this.

The serving of 2 biscuit sandwiches is 230 calories and 4 grams of protein, just like a package of the original 4 biscuits, which seems a bit suspect to me.  4 biscuits plus some peanut butter should have different stats, shouldn't it?

UK & Australia Edition

Breakfast Biscuits

The UK and Australian product line also includes the hard style biscuits, but the flavors offered are different: chocolate, fruit & fibre (with figs), cranberry, honey & oat, crunchy oats, and milk & cereals.

Milk & Cereals.

"Biscuits made with wholegrain cereals, milk and added vitamins minerals."

It had been a while since I had belVita in the US when I had a package in London.  They also came 4 to a package, but I swear these were a different size, they seemed longer, and perhaps thinner?

I was intrigued by this flavor description.  How do you represent milk and cereal in a biscuit?  I figured they would be similar to the Golden Oat US variety, fairly plain.  The "cereals" used are wheat, oat, buckwheat, barley, rye, and spelt based, and there is both whole and skim milk powder as well.  And yes, indeed they add extra minerals, like magnesium and iron.

It is hard to describe what these tasted like.  They were slightly sweet.  Slightly buttery, although they don't include butter.  Again like a cookie, and crispy.  But there was a subtle nuttiness to them, which must have come from some combination of the grains in the cereal.

I anticipated that I'd want to slather them in peanut butter, but I found it unnecessary; the flavor was good enough on its own.  Like the american versions, they were also delicious when dunked into a foamy cappuccino.

I'm still a bit stumped by the entire concept of breakfast biscuits, but I love them every time!

Duo Crunch / Yogurt Crunch

The Duo Crunch / Yogurt Crunch line has not yet made it to the US, but in the UK and Australia, they make breakfast biscuits with a yogurt and fruit filling, almost like the sandwich cookies available in the US, but with healthier sounding fillings (the US breakfast sandwich cookies come with chocolate cream or peanut butter, not yogurt).

BelVita has long suggested pairing your breakfast cookies with yogurt and fruit, so, it only seems natural that they'd try to bake it all in to one easy to grab package.

 Strawberry & Live Yogurt.

"Biscuits Made with Wholegrain Cereals with a Live Yogurt Filling (13.5%) and a Strawberry Filling (13.5%) and Added Vitamins and Minerals."

Each package came with two sandwiches, so, 4 biscuits total.

The biscuits were the same standard BelVita biscuits, crunchy, slightly sweet, slightly healthy tasting, sorta like a graham cracker that doesn't crumble as easily.  A good base, but fairly plain.

Strawberry & Live Yogurt: Inside.

Inside was two lines of "live yogurt filling" and a line of strawberry filling.  Both were ... fine.  The yogurt was certainly sweetened and tasted a bit like the standard creme filling you'd find inside a sandwich cookie.  The strawberry was sweet goo, sorta identifiable as strawberry I guess.

Overall, these were perfectly fine, and went great dunked into a coffee, but they weren't nearly as exciting as I somehow thought they would be.  The fillings just didn't add much to the base product.

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Martha Stewart Kitchens

Do you like Martha Stewart, but not have time to make her recipes?  Do not fear, you can now find her in the ... frozen food section of your local grocery store!

Yes, Martha Steward Kitchens, a frozen goods line, launched during "The Pandemic", and I, a captive audience, drawn in by the branding, decided to give it a try.

"Martha's personal mission has been to teach and inspire people of all ages to make their homes and live more beautiful, more functional, and more meaningful. The Martha Stewart Kitchen mission is to bring delicious, yet convenient, gourmet foods items from your local grocery store to your table for entertaining or everyday use."

For retail distrbution, Martha has made 7 different product lines, although only 3 are currently available in stores.  I was able to find the Desserts and Appetizers, all of which looked fairly amazing, but none of the Side Dishes.  Still to come are Sauces & Marinades, Quiches & Tarts, Cookie Dough, and Spice Blends.

Each category is filled with heavy hitters.  Martha clearly knows what people like, what will be crowd pleasers, and yet still be unique.  All are, at least in theory, based on her well known recipes.  Most are fairly simple to prepare, just heat and serve (or even easier, thaw and serve), although a few have slight assembly required.  All include bonus tips from Martha on how to amp up the presentation a touch more.

Unfortunately, right now, they are only sold through 4 supermarket chains: Hannaford, Meijer, Jewel Osco, and HyVee, none of which are located where I live.  However ... I took advantage of a visit to my parent's house, where they do have a Hannaford, to try an item.  I was impressed, and would gladly try more.

Appetizers

"Let Martha Stewart Kitchen take the guess work out of your next hors d’oeuvres selection. Prepared favorites such as our Leek & Cheese Bread Pudding Bites,  Goat Cheese Hors D’oeuvres or Mini Spinach Quiche, are sure to impress. These delicious, yet easy appetizers are perfect served up for a mid-day snack or pair them together for your next event."

Martha's appetizers are incredibly appealing, with a baked brie en croute with brown sugar, apples, & pecans that would be perfect for a holiday spread, mini, grab-able bites like goat cheese and herb phyllo dough pastrys, leek and cheese bread pudding bites, tomato tartlets with roasted tomatoes and fontina, mini quiches, and of course, pigs in a blanket and mac and cheese bites, just to really round it all out.

Most are ready-to-bake, although some, like pigs in a blanket, are DIY kits, with slight assembly required.

Side Dishes

"Martha Stewart Kitchen has brought you a selection of elevated, yet simple to prepare, side dishes. Our offerings include an indulgent Four Cheese Macaroni & Cheese, fluffy Mashed Potatoes with Cream Cheese, and delectable Brown Sugar Brussels with Uncured Bacon. Ready in under 30 minutes, Martha takes the prep work out of your next meal."

I was sooo sad my store did not carry any side dishes, as these sound amazing too.  Some are slightly more boring (green beans, although even those come tossed with pecans and with a maple glaze or mixed grain pilaf), others are pretty standard (mashed potatoes - but with cream cheese for extra indulgence, mac and cheese - four cheese, yes breadcrumbs, scalloped potatoes), and others really called out to me (brown sugar brussels sprouts with bacon, "duo potatoes" featuring both mashed potatoes and sweet potato puree and fried onion topping, and creamed spinach with a legit sounding béchamel.

Given the quality of other items I tried, I'm fairly confident that these could pass off as really well homemade, or restaurant quality, and easily round out your dinner party/holiday party feast.

Desserts

"Martha Stewart Kitchen brings dessert to your table in a fraction of the time. Our offerings include a warm Apple Crisp, fudgy Double Chocolate Brownies, and a classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Whether enjoying yourself or sharing with a friend these prepared desserts are sure to keep you coming back for seconds."

I'm a dessert girl to the core, and I was *thrilled* by the dessert line up.  All were designed to be crowd pleasers, obviously, but also all are things I really do like: fruit crisps (apple, mixed fruit - with apples/rhubarb/blackberries/raspberries), fruit hand pies (apple, mixed fruit - this time with apples/strawberry/rhubarb/cherries, or peach & apple), carrot cake (of course with cream cheese frosting), and, the only one I could care less about, double chocolate brownies.  The carrot cake I really wanted to try, as it is the kind that has everything I love - nuts for crunch (pecans!), and pineapple for a bonus moisture, sweetness, and flavor.

Some are just thaw and serve, others require baking.

Apple Hand Pie Packaging.

I selected the apple hand pies as my first item to try.  The packaging did have a slightly upscale look about it.  Each box contains 2 individually wrapped hand pies.

Each is a single serving, they weren't really large enough to share a single one, even if you were serving a la mode. 

They were 370 calories, 20g fat, 15g sugar each, not too bad.  But again, they were fairly small.

The box was quite attractive, and honestly, the product really did live up to the packaging photos.

Apple Hand Pie: Frozen.

The pie honestly looked pretty good even frozen.  I was eager to get it heated up to eat it.

Cooking instructions are simple.  Do not thaw.  Do not microwave or toaster oven.  Use real oven. Bake at 350* for 20-23 minutes.  "Cool completely before serving".

I ... mostly followed the instructions, but did use a toaster oven (I have a very, very legit Breville "countertop oven", definitely not really a "toaster oven").

I also failed to comply with the "cool completely before serving", because, um, I wanted hot apple pie?

For bonus points, for each product, Martha includes a "tip" on how to amp up the product even further.  For this, the tip was: 

"Wrap in parchment and tie with baker's twine for an extra special presentation."

Yes, I skipped that too.

Apple Hand Pie: Baked.

"A classic combination of apples and sweet brown sugar, tucked in an all-butter crust and topped with sparkling sugar."

It baked up beautifully.

First impression?  It looked like it came from a local bakery.  Or perhaps homemade, if I was far more talented than I really am.  Really lovely looking product, with fluted edges that looked handmade, a sheen/glaze to it, and chunks of pearl sugar.

It tasted like it came from a local bakery too.  It did not, in any way, seem like a frozen, packaged, mass produced product.

The crust baked up *really* nicely.  It wasn't necessarily the butteriest, the flakiest, etc that I ever had, but definitely far, far above average, better than anything from a grocery store bakery department or frozen section, better than most bakeries around town really.  It wasn't soggy on the bottom, it didn't get burnt along the edges, it wasn't too dry ... it just baked up, well, perfectly.

Apple Hand Pie: Inside.

The inside was also good.

Thin sliced apples, not too soft, not too firm, just right.  No extra goo, not to apple-sauce like, just, real apples.  Again, way better quality than other packaged products.  Lightly spiced but nothing too strong, sweet but not too sweet.  Just, good.

I served it warm, a la mode, but I'm sure it would be fine cooled, with whipped cream, or just on its own.  

Overall, a very solid hand pie, I was pleased with it, but apple pie isn't really my favorite thing, so I wouldn't get it again unless really craving apple pie.

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20th Century Cafe: Honey Cake

20th Century Cafe, in San Francisco, is fairly "famous", particularly among those who like desserts.  So, obviously, it has been on my radar for years, but it wasn't until its closing was announced that I finally got to try it. 

I can't actually tell you much about the cafe (and bakery), besides that it features mostly Russian items, and is very well known for one item: their signature honey cake.  They are also known for being a "grand" cafe, serving dishes on lovely china at all times. 

But I never visited myself to see the decor and take it all in.  Instead, I was able to experience the signature item when one of my *amazing* co-workers brought me a slice, after I revealed that I'd never had it before.

I clearly missed out over the years.

Russian Honey Cake.

"Classic layered cake with honey frosting."

I'd never had *any* honey cake before, although I know it is a Russian dessert, and I was familiar with the concept - layers of cake and  honey cream.  20th Century Cafe's version features10 layers in total.  

I took my first bite, a bit tentatively, as, well, I really had no idea if this would be for me or not.  I like honey, but do often find honey based desserts to be "too much", just over the top sweet, or way too honey forward.  The honey was certainly present, but it was just a very pleasant sweetness, it reminded me of caramel almost.  It wasn't a cloying taste at all.  The cream seemed to be where the honey was concentrated. 

The cake layers were moist enough cake, and I loved how the layering meant that every bite had plenty of cream to go with the cake.  More labor intensive for the baker, for sure, but, what a better way to construct a cake!  Why limit the frosting to the top?

I found myself wishing I had fresh figs, or perhaps some berries, to serve alongside, but it was a pretty complete item, just on its own, and didn't really need embellishment.

I was so glad I got to try this, alas, it was my first, and last, time to do so.

***+.

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