Max's Bakery

Max's Bakery and Kitchen.  Max's Opera Cafe.   Max's Eatz and Fresh Bakery.  Max's World.  Whatever iteration you know it as, Max's is a Bay Area business that has really show it knows how to pivot and adapt to the time.  It is kinda impressive actually.

I don't know the full history of the Max's empire, but, they've had several restaurants over the years, and at some point started selling some of their signature desserts wholesale.  Many of the restaurants have closed, although Max's Opera Cafe near Civic Center in SF is still going strong, with a huge menu with seems to have every crowd pleaser imaginable.

"Max's Bakery team has years of large production experience.  Our bakery is well  equipped  to handle all kinds of baked goods. Max's also has it's own line of bakery products that are well known throughout the Bay Area. "

I've never been to any of the restaurants, but I've tried a slew of their desserts and baked goods, as my office got some items from them for a while.  While I'm not sure I'd consider them "well known", you may have also encountered their baked goods, or grab n go items, at the airport, as they stock many of the concessions at SFO, and the San Jose and Oakland airports.

"Our desserts are excessive because nothing succeeds like excess."

At the actual restaurant, Max's does serve rather large, many layer cakes, etc, but the items I had were all for catering setup, sheet cakes instead, so I wouldn't consider any of "excessive".

Most everything I tried was fine.  Better than average for wholesale baked goods perhaps, but not remarkable.  There were no real duds though, so that is saying something. 

 Ultimate Chocolate Cake.

"Layers of chocolate cake, bittersweet chocolate and fudge covered in chocolate ganache."

I believe this the most famous of Max's desserts, and I was eager to try it, even though chocolate based desserts are not my favorite by any means.

It was ... well, chocolate cake.  Fairly boring chocolate cake base, thicker layer of ganache, light fluffy frosting, drizzle on top.  Sure, it was chocolate cake, but, nothing particularly notable about it in any way.

Update: I've since had it again, as many of my co-workers routinely rave about it.  I still find the cake layer boring, but the chocolate frosting is decent, and a very generous layer.  I also realized it has a thick dark chocolate layer on the base that gives a bit of crunch, also a highlight.

New York Cheesecake.

"Creamy, smooth and rich real cream cheese filling in a thick graham cracker crust."

I call this ... the most mediocre cheesecake ever.

The cheesecake was ... fine.  There really isn't much more to say about it than that.  The texture was decent, firm, creamy.  The flavor was decent, you could taste the cream cheese.  The crust was buttery compressed graham crackers, not too thick, not to hard.

Everything about it was absolutely fine, and unremarkable in any way.  Not a cheesecake you'd ever crave, but also not one you'd ever complain about.  It was fine, really, but very boring.

Carrot Cake.

"Fluffy, spiced cake filled with raisins, pineapple, pecans and coconut layered and topped with creamy cream cheese icing."

I love carrot cake, but this I didn't care for.

The cream cheese icing on top tasted like lemon, it didn't really have cream cheese flavor to it, and it was not a very good texture.  I really disliked the coconut on top, as it was soggy and quite off putting.

The cake was somehow both dry and moist at the same time.  Moist from the plentiful plump raisins and chunks of pineapple, but the cake itself was quite dry.  I did like the crunch from the nuts.

The best element was actually the base, which you can't see here, THAT was white chocolate.  Crunchy, sweet, white chocolate on the bottom.  Why?  I can no idea.  But at least that part was good.

Chocolate Danish Roll.

This was a decent pastry.  In my world, more appropriate as a breakfast item or mid-afternoon coffee break snack than a full on dessert, but, I liked it more than any of the Max's cakes.

The dough was not croissant dough as I expected at first, but rather, more of a sweet bread.  It wasn't too dry, but wasn't particularly interesting.

In-between the rolls was dark chocolate, fairly flavorful, quasi-melted chips. 

Chocolate Danish Roll: Bottom.

The bottom is coated in dark chocolate, a thick layer.  I liked the coating, kinda the best part of the item for me.

Overall, this was ok, but not anything I'd get again, and most likely better warm.

Chocolate Danish Roll: October 2019.

Well, I had another.  They do always look so good.

This time I tried a bite at room temperature ("Meh, its fine, but not anything special"), and immediately set to warming it up, fetching some vanilla ice cream, and pulling out a can of whipped cream.  

It was marginally better warm, but still, even the a la mode and whip couldn't transform this into more than it was.  Meh.

Raspberry Rugelach.

The rugelach was fairly classic.

Rolled with a filling that contained both apricot and raspberry, and some chopped nuts.  The pastry was decently flaky, crispy, and I liked the larger pearl sugar on the outside, and the cinnamon spicing.

Overall, quite fine, although the raspberry + apricot + cinnamon element wasn't particularly compelling for me.

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The Argentum Project

6th & Mission.  6th & Market.  Not exactly a "destination" neighborhood for most, but, one day, early in the pandemic, it was my destination.  I was headed to The Argentum Project, located on 6th, right between Market & Mission.

“Greek-style coffee cafe.”

The Argentum Project was doing takeout only, with a reduced menu, so I didn't get to experience the "cafe" aspect really.  I also didn't get to experience the item that I sought out, the item that lead me there in the first place: their Greek soft serve frozen yogurt!  You know how much I enjoy good soft serve.

However, I was still able to enjoy a Greek pastry, somewhat different from my usual dessert lineup, and met the very friendly owner.

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

• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• 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 ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

I ordered in advance, and ordered the soft serve greek yogurt, only to arrive and find they didn't have the machine set up (which, makes sense, given the low volume of pandemic days).

Setting

As I mentioned, the shop is located right on 6th street.

Covid Friendly Store Front.

Because my visit was early on in the pandemic, they had created a makeshift takeout only setup, by just blocking the front door with a table.  You could not enter at all.  To order, or pick up, you just kinda hollered around the corner inside.  The pastry display case was not visible from the street, sadly.

Menu.

They did have a menu posted in the window, but, it was the full regular menu, many items were not available.

The menu is full of savory lunch items like pita sandwiches, salads, and Greek platters with all their homemade dips.  You can also purchase the dips and spreads individually.  

But I had no interest in lunch, or savory food, as I was there for my dessert.  Greek yogurt is usually available 2 ways - as regular unsweetened greek yogurt, or, as soft serve, available in two flavors (original, no sugar, or vanilla).  Either way you can add honey syrup, sour cherry, baklava crumbles, fruit, or granola.   Alas, not available.

So I investigated the pastry lineup, which basically was different styles of phyllo dough wrapped around a filling, either sweet or savory.  Had I wanted slightly savory, the tyropita, filled with cheese and egg mixture sounded interesting.  But I honed in on the Bougatsa, a Greek variation of a börek, which came in both sweet and savory versions: semolina custard, cheese, or minced meat filling.

Boutgatsa Wrapped.

I was handed over my goodie, wrapped very well in paper.  Too bad I wanted to rip into it immediately ...

The serving style was odd to me, but perhaps this is common for Greek bakeries?

Sweet Custard Creme Bougatsa / Bougatsa me krema. $3.50. (Quarter)

"Flaky pastry filled with a sweet semolina custard and topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon."

Bougatsa is made in a large pan, and then cut into pieces.  I ordered just the quarter, a nice sized triangle.  It is normally served hot and fresh, but, since this was made in advance, it was cold, but she warmed it for me.

The pastry on top was just a thin layer, a bit soft, perhaps from the reheating method?  The piece on the bottom however was thicker, more layers, extremely crispy, but extremely greasy.  It wasn't a nice buttery pastry sort of grease, it just felt heavy and oily.  I'll admit I was a bit put off by the amount of grease clearly soaked up by that bottom layer.

When I reheated it later at home, I was able to get the top layer fairly crispy, and I did love how crispy the bottom stayed, but I needed to actually wipe down some of the grease to enjoy it.  I did love the texture the crispy pastry had though.

But of course, the pastry is only part of the treat.

Sweet Custard Cream Bougatsa: Side.

The inside was the sweet custard.  Thick, rich, slightly eggy.  Sorta like the filling of a Portuguese pastel de nata or a Chinese dim sum egg tart, but inside a flaky thin Greek pastry instead.  I believe it is semolina based in some way?

At room temperature, or fridge temperature, I wasn't that into the filling ... it seemed a bit too solid, a bit too much like a quiche, but when warmed up, it softened, loosened, and was quite tasty.  And the play of textures with the pastry was good.

I liked this best heated up, with a scoop of ice cream, but I realized that is entirely not how it is intended to be served.  I think I'd like to try it fresher perhaps, as it just seemed to fall a bit short, and I know that Argentum Project is known for having excellent pastries.

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EA Cafe

I've been eying EA Cafe since it opened in late 2020.

A new poke place, not horribly far from my house.  Even more exciting, at least to me, is that it is not just any poke place, but one that also has ... soft serve ice cream.  And not just any soft serve, they offer up Milk Cow, from Korea.  I'm familiar with the brand, and was overjoyed to see it nearby.  Oh be still my heart.

EA Cafe also is, uh, a cafe, with a line of espresso drinks, coffee, tea, slushies, smoothies (and milkshakes using the aforementioned soft serve!), and they have standard pastries and little cakes in the pastry case (purchased from local wholesale bakery, except for the Japanese cheesecake, which is the owner's speciality, and she makes herself). There is also a small sushi menu (basic rolls), a few appetizers, hot teriyaki rice bowls, and a few sides.  But in my mind, it is a poke and soft serve establishment - why get anything else?

"We have quickly become a favorite spot in the neighborhood as more and more people keep discovering our little shop. Our freshness and quality set us apart, so please come see for yourself and visit us at EA Cafe today!"

I was very, very worried that EA Cafe would not survive - brand new, starting right around COVID times.  Poke places, not exactly novel around here these days.  So many well established business were going under.

But somehow, EA made it through.  It helps that poke is really an idea takeout item, and, well, the quality at EA Cafe is high.  

I need to also give a shout out to the staff.  On every visit, the staff were incredibly friendly, and really truly created a welcoming, neighborhood vibe.  I believe the owners are the ones who run the entire place. 

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

• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• 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 ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

I've ordered through Ritual (so easy!) and Seamless, but they are listed on several others as well, and you can also order in person.

Highly, highly recommend.

Curb Appeal.

EA Cafe is located at 3rd & King, right near the ballpark, an area that would normally be quite vibrant, with plenty of foot traffic ... if the stadium was operating, which it was not for the first ... year? of its existence.  The sidewalk sign, featuring the soft serve, quickly drew me in.

They have no seating (nor space for it), offering takeout only, which made the COVID imposed dining restrictions ideal for them.  Inside is quite tiny, just enough space for the pastry display case, the soft serve assembly station, and a small kitchen area out back.

Poke Bowls

"Treat yourself to a simple and delicious meal with one of EA Cafe's poke bowls. Prepared with fresh ingredients, our cafe presents a colorful array of bases, proteins, and toppings to choose from to custom build your bowl just the way you like it. We are quickly becoming a favorite within the neighborhood, so if you're in the area, please stop by and try one of our tasty poke bowls at EA Cafe today!"

My first visit, I was there for the poke.

For those who don't want to make decisions, the "Signature" lineup has already curated selections, but of course, highly opinionated Julie wanted to design her own.

Custom Poke Menu.

Custom bowls are available in 2 sizes, regular (2 proteins, $10.95) or large (3 proteins, $12.95).  Reviews, and friends who had visited before me, warned that the regular is massive, far more generous than most places.

The poke lineup is reasonably extensive - not the most extensive I've seen, for sure, but, plenty of options, including some upgrades. 

Bases are just sushi rice, brown rice, or mixed greens (alas, no kale, no chips options here, nor, uh, zoodles if those are your style).  Proteins are equally simple: classic salmon and tuna, along with tofu for the vegetarians, and two types of crab salad (regular or spicy).  Unagi is available for an extra fee.  I give +1 point for the spicy crab option, but -1 point for it being a protein, rather than a topping as is common.

Next up is the mix-ins, the ones that get integrated into your base, again, standard, basic, but decent lineup: edamame, red onion, cucumber, sweet corn, green onion.  

Only 3 sauces are available: standard poke sauce, creamy spicy mayo, and "sesame sauce".  Not extensive, but hitting every category.

Toppings, limited to only 4 for free (or all for $3 extra) include seaweed salad, ginger, pickled radish, cabbage, masago, wasabi, and furikake, along with extras like kimchee, avocado, and tamago for $1 each extra.  I was thrilled to see the masago and tamago.

The only area I really felt was lacking was the crunchy toppings ... there were ... none?  No crispy onions nor shallots, no renkon chips, etc.

Still, a reasonable lineup, and I was more than happy to craft a bowl.

Build Your Own Regular Poke Bowl.
Regular. $10.95 + Extras = $14.95.
Base: Mixed Salad.

So, yeah.  My glorious creation.  I asked to have my sauces on the side, rather than added on, so I could add them at my leisure, a request that was easily accommodated.  I also splurged on some upgrades, like unagi and tamago.

Digging into this was glorious, as it was really loaded up with goodies, so many more than what you can just see here.

For a base, not being a rice eater, I went for the only salad option, the mixed greens.  The greens were clearly crazy fresh, super crisp.  A nice mix of assorted baby lettuces, spinach, etc.  No complaints, although, yes, I prefer kale.  The portion was quite generous, although it didn't take away from all the other goodies loaded into my bowl.

Spoiler: This bowl was fabulous.  *****, would absolutely get again.

Toppings & Proteins:
 Spicy Crab / Unagi (+$3) / Tamago (+$1)
Ginger / Masago / Pickled Radish / Seaweed Salad

Picking proteins was easy.  I adore crab, I was drawn in by the unique unagi offering, and, well, I always get tamago at sushi restaurants as part of "dessert" ...

The proteins were all front and center on top, and they were fabulous.

The real attraction to this bowl, or at least the item I was particularly interested in as it is far more rare to find at a poke shop, was the unagi, which did cost me a $3 upgrade.  I'll admit of course that I was slightly skeptical, as this is not a very high volume place, not a sushi restaurant, etc, but my risk was rewarded with 4-5 slices of warm bbq unagi that I truly adored.  Beautifully soft, melt in my mouth, just, delicious, really, although quite sweet.  I'd gladly get this time and time again.  I wished I could order *just* unagi nigiri, actually ...

The sweet unagi was complimented nicely by my choice of spicy crab, a scoop of pretty standard shredded style crab (likely surimi?) mixed with spicy mayo.  It had a nice kick, no fishiness, again, seemed fresh.  I liked this too, would gladly get again.  It is also available as a side (as is the regular, non-spicy, version).

My $1 add-on for tamago got me 2 slices, and these were fairly generic.  I am not sure if they actually made in house (kinda guessing no), and they lacked a touch of the signature sweetness I love in a good tamago, but, $1 for two slices was pretty nice price, and I wasn't at a sushi restaurant, so still better than I'd expect.  I'd likely skip in the future, I had plenty of other protein with the unagi, crab, and edamame.

My toppings, again, limited to only 4 for free (boo!), were a bit harder, as I wanted them all, but, didn't really want to spend another $3 to make this a nearly $20 bowl ... so I just went prepared, brought my own wasabi and furikake, and, was tempted, really, to bring my own cabbage too ...

Anyway, the toppings were all fairly standard.  A small pile of generic seaweed salad (luckily, *not* the kind that got stuck in my teeth!).  A clump of standard sushi ginger.  Masago scattered throughout.  A pile of pickled radish, again, the pretty standard, scary yellow kind.  No complaints on any of these items, they all helped complete the bowl, I'll get them all again, no question, but there was nothing standout about them.

I was pretty pleased at this point.  And I kept digging ...

Mix-ins & Toppings: Closer Up.
Cucumbers / Edamame / Green Onion / Red Onion / Sweetcorn.

I opted for all the mix-ins: edamame, red onion, cucumber, sweet corn, and green onion.  

Like the base, I was impressed with the freshness of the veggies.  The cucumbers were not crisp exactly, as they were very thinly sliced, but I really liked them this way (I can be quite fickle on cucumbers!).  The red onion, almost shaved style really, adding just the needed hit of acid.  The chopped green onion was pretty easily lost in the mix, but it too added a bit of sharpness.  The edamame was a real standout, really, really fresh tasting.  I really don't think I've had edamame this good before ... anywhere.  It really shocked me.  The only mix-in that was kinda "eh" was the sweet corn, it seemed like it just likely came from a can?

The amount of mix-ins was extremely generous, particularly the cucumber, and the items were very well distributed throughout the bowl, down into the layers of greens.  I couldn't believe just how many mix-ins I kept finding!

Spicy Mayo / Sesame Sauce.

And lastly the sauces, which I had on the side, which I am glad I opted to do.  My bowl had soooo many great things going on that it didn't even really need additional sauces.  All the mix-ins and toppings (particularly seaweed salad) made it quite juicy, the spicy crab already had the spicy mayo in it, and the unagi was coated in sweet bbq glaze.  I added a little extra sauce, but, it truly didn't need much.

I was not sad to go home with near full containers of the sauces though, the spicy mayo was nicely done, yes, just creamy mayo, but it had some pretty decent kick.

The other sauce I believe was the "sesame sauce".  I ordered all three sauces (spicy mayo, sesame, and spicy poke), but only received two.  It was a slightly thick sauce, with, well, a sesame flavor to it.  Good to drizzle over everything, but, had I needed it, the poke sauce certainly would have been nice to have as well, as this didn't seem to have the balancing vinegar or soy I'd want in a basic poke sauce.

Side: Seaweed Salad. $5.

One day, I swung by just to pick up some seaweed salad to add to a poke bowl I planned to make at home.  I was thrilled to see it came with takuan as well, and a very generous sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Same standard seaweed salad I had previously in my poke bowl from EA Cafe, not house made, but, fresh, not too sweet, decent quality seaweed salad.  I was happy enough with it.

***+.

Desserts

As I mentioned, EA Cafe had more than just poke appeal to me.  It was also the promise of great desserts that lured me in.

"If you've got a sweet tooth, EA Cafe has the treats to satisfy your cravings. Already we are known for our Milk Cow ice cream, which we serve daily. You can also view our selection of pastries and cakes in our display case up front, featuring decadent delights such as tiramisu and mixed fruit tarts. Everything served here is of the utmost quality, so please visit us at EA Cafe and try one of our premium desserts today!"

Fruit Tarts.

Most of the desserts are not made in house, and look fairly generic, but the fruit tart really did look nice, clearly fresh fruit, not a frozen item.

Valentine's Day Dessert.

For Valentine's day, they even had special heart shaped cakes.  A nice thought on the owner's part to opt for something special.  But again, not made in house.

Cheesecake.

EA Cafe however does make one dessert item.  The Japanese cheesecake.  

I found this out when I mentioned to the staff member (owner ?) that I had a group of friends who had been talking about Japanese cheesecake, and have been looking for it locally.  She told me that she actually makes it, the one dessert item they make, because she loves it, and has one customer who has been buying it from her for years (before they had the cafe even).

I will try it sometime.

[ No Photo ]

Soft Serve

I somehow lost my photo of my soft serve.  I don't know how.  Was I too excited for it to snap a photo?  No way, I've long since trained myself to always snap first, even for rapidly melting ice cream!  I'll blame my phone :)

Anyway, the soft serve was everything I wanted it to be.  The flavor is just "milk", made by Milk Cow, and it reminded me so much of the milk soft serve in Japan, made from high quality Hokkaido milk (like the Cremia, from Silkream - the richest, creamiest soft serve I've ever had - or Coisof where the parfaits with milk soft serve base were showstoppers or many, many others).  This wasn't quite as creamy and dreamy as the product I had in Japan, and it is from Korea not Japan, but it was quite good.

I'll gladly get it again.

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Opera Patisserie

Opera Patisserie.  It sounds, uh, French perhaps.  And like it should have a fancy storefront.  But no, Opera Patisserie is a wholesale bakery, specializing in mostly cakes, along with savory quiches, for the hospitality industry, with no physical retail store.  They are based in Southern California.

"Since 2002 Opera Patisserie has been creating desserts for the hospitality setting that are innovative and exciting as well as beautifully presented and delicious. The ingredients are some of the finest available such as chocolate from Belgium, fruit purees from France as well as the best local California products such as almonds flour and dairy items. Many of the items are Gluten Free."

That said, they do promise quality sourcing, chocolate from Belgium, fruit puree from France, yadda yadda, and they do actually offer a large number of gluten-free or vegan items.  My distributor offered most of their product line, so I was eager to try out items from across the menu, and happy that I'd be able to offer desserts to my gluten-free diners.

But alas, nearly everything we tried was ... really quite bad.  And we tried quite a few.  All awful, except one, single item.

Tartlets

Opera Patisserie makes tartlets in 8 flavors: Pistachio, Lemon Meringue, Key Lime, Chocolate, Coconut, Red Berry, Apple Crumble, and Salted Caramel.  They are all bite sized, use the same tart shells, and arrive frozen.  I've tried several, and they are all awful.

Apple Crumble.

The first tartlet I tried looked ok.  A cute little apple crumble.

But the tart shell was pretty horrible.  I don't like tart shells in general, but this was soggy, broke apart, and wasn't buttery or redeeming in any way.

The filling was cubes of apple (mixed with high fructose corn syrup of course), overly spiced with cinnamon/nutmeg, and was very mushy.

The crumble on top?  Also mushy/soggy.

Nothing good about this, clearly not an item that did well with defrosting.

Pistachio.

Next I went for pistachio, drawn in by the (clearly, fake) color, and creamy, pudding-like look of it.

It was no better.  And the ingredients in this?  Not so wholesome:

Cream (Milk, Carrageenan, Mono, And Diglycerides, Polysorbete 80), Food Color Green (Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Glycerine, Sugar, Modified Food Starch, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Vegetable Gums, Citric Acid And E 102, E133, Blue 1, Yellow 5), Almond Essence (Water, Emulsifier: Mono-And Diglyceride From Fatty Acids, Thickener: Xanthar (0.2%), Preservative: Potassium Sorbate (0.1%), Flavors), Unbleached Flour: Unbleached Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Pistachio Paste (Pistachios, Sugar, Canola Oil, Natural Flavor), Confectioner Sugar (Cornstarch), Pate A Glacer Ivoire (Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Fat (Coconut, Palm Kernel), Skimmed Milk Powder, Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin), Butter (Pasteurized Cream, Milk), Egg Yolk, Granulated Sugar, Egg Whole, Almond Flour, Vanilla Paste (Water, Alcohol, Sugar, Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Beans And Gun Tragacanth (Natural Thickener)), Water, Gelatin Sheets, Baking Powder (Baking Soda (For Leavening), Cornstarch, Sodium Aluminum Sulfate (For Leavening) Calcium Sulfate, Monocalcium Phosphate (For Leavening)), Chocolate White 30% (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Whole Milk Powder, Skimmed Milk Powder, Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavor), Canola Oil, Cocoa Butter Chips.

I mean, really?

Anyway, this one was just as bad as the apple.

Soggy, soft tart shell.  Strange flavored filling that was medicinal in nature.  It didn't taste like pistachio, but seriously, how could it, given how much other junk was inside?

Chocolate.

The chocolate one was equally bad.

The tart shell this time was different - mushy chocolate, sorta like a mushy brownie.  The chocolate frosting offered nothing.

Cakes

The cakes, available round or in sheet cake form, sadly, are just as bad.  I'll give a few credits for at least attempting to have decent gluten free options?

GF Tiramisu.

"Gluten Free Lady Fingers, Mascarpone Mousse, Espresso Creme Brulee, Gluten Free Crumble." 

I started with the tiramisu, always a crowd pleaser, and general kinda hard to screw up.  Enough cream, mascarpone, and espresso soak and things generally work out, right?

But ... this was ... awful.  Served as round "individual" cakes, but our cafe cut them in half to be reasonable portions.

I'm glad they did, as I felt bad wasting even what I did.

The crust? Sawdust.  Above that, a brown layer (espresso?) that was a horrible gelatinous texture.  Cardboard ladyfinger in the middle.  Ok-ish creme on top.  Bitter crumble.

Not.  Good.

GF Red Berry Opera.

"Gluten Free Vanilla Cake, Vanilla Buttercream, Red Berry Compote."

I still kept trying, as the items often looked ok ...

This one suffered from me putting it in a togo container, but I assure you, that is not why it was awful.  It was just ... awful.

Dry cake.  Mediocre "buttercream".  And the strawberry compote?  Soooo bad.  Gummy.

GF Mango Cake.

"Vanilla Cake, Vanilla Buttercream, and Mango Compote."

What about ... mango?  Nope, this was horrible too.

Mushy, mushy cake.  The cream was not interesting.  The fruity layer cloying.  Not for me, at all.

Mini Assorted Cupcakes: Vanilla, Chocolate, Red Velvet.

And then there were cupcakes.

Yup,  awful cupcakes.  The cakes were stale and dry.  Really not tasty, at all.  The vanilla didn't taste vanilla, just plain.  The red velvet tasted identical, it was just red.  Chocolate cake not very intense.  But so dry and just not good, at all.

The vanilla and red velvet were frosted with what seemed to be the same frosting ... no signature cream cheese frosting for the red velvet.  Honestly, it was just a pink version of the "vanilla" one.  Both, just plain.  The frosting was sweet and fluffy, fine really.  I liked the random nuts and chocolate on top.

The chocolate frosting was the best, really thick and fudgey.

So, frostings decent, cakes horrible.  Sigh.

Red Velvet Cake.

"Red velvet cake with cheesecake mousse and red chocolate glaze." - GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake / Cheesecake Mousse / Chocolate Glaze / Chocolate Crumble." - Opera Patisserie

This might be called red velvet cake, but it certainly doesn't look like any traditional red velvet cake.  Instead of cream cheese icing on top, it had a "red chocolate glaze".  It was nicely decorated at least.

And ... that is about all I have to say positive about this item.

It tasted ... odd.  Really, really ... odd.  I don't have a better word for it.  It had a funk to it that I did not appreciate.

Red Velvet: Side View.

For the side, you can see further that this is definitely not your standard red velvet cake.  It was a layered cake, with layers of red velvet cake and cheesecake mouse, rather than cream cheese frosting.  But that is not what was wrong with it.

The cake layers were mush.  Soggy mush.  Sawdust like mush.  The cake was awful, exactly the style of cake that gives gluten-free a bad reputation.  I hated the cake.

But, cheesecake mousse had promise right?  Wrong.  It was a strange texture, tasted *nothing* like cheesecake, no cream cheese flavor at all, and had a horrible aftertaste.

And the red chocolate glaze?  I think that was the worst part.  The funk was most prevalent in that glaze.

This was just horrible all around.  Bad texture, no red velvet flavor, and an aftertaste that was hard to get away from.  Do not eat this.

Individual Desserts

The last category of offerings from Opera Patisserie is "Individual Desserts", a slightly amusing categorization as aren't the tartlets and cupcakes, um, individuals too?

This category also turned out to be the only decent items I had from Opera Patisserie.

Chocolate Dome.

"Crunchy parline base, chocolate mousse, and vanilla creme brulee and cherry in brandy." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Crunch Praline Base Chocolate Mousse with Vanilla Crème Brulee and  Cherry in Brandy." -- Opera Patisserie

Um, this was good.  Really, really good.  And yes, you are still reading about Opera Patisserie.

I'll start with the chocolate mousse, certainly the defining element.  It was ... really wonderful chocolate mousse, deep chocolate flavor (58% dark chocolate is used), creamy and rich, yet somehow light in texture.  A decadent mousse you felt a bit guilty eating, but loved every moment.  I would have been happy with *just* the mousse.

And it looked like just a chocolate mousse dome, but there was much more inside, exactly as described.

Chocolate Dome: Inside.

Yes, inside really was so much more.

The base was a thin crispy layer of chocolate mixed with some kind of crunchy praline, I think perhaps hazelnut, and it added just the right amount of texture.  Any thicker and it would distract, but this mixed in quite nicely.  I liked even the base, and it went so well with the mousse.

And then the middle, "vanilla creme brûlée".  Ok, it was not really creme brûlée, there wasn't a brûlée element here obviously, but there was a nicely set, rich and creamy, vanilla custard.  You know how I feel about creme brûlée, so I was thrilled by this component too.  Just like the chocolate mousse, it was really well done.  It helped cut the intense chocolate level quite a bit, but certainly didn't lighten the item up any, as custard isn't exactly a light offering.

And finally, yup, pieces of branded cherries, juicy and a bit boozy.  I did enjoy the chocolate and cherry pairing.

Put this all together, and you had texture and crunch, fabulous mousse, intense chocolate, and a bit of booziness ... really, what more does a dessert need?  I actually added a little whipped cream to lighten it up, but I decided that it wasn't really necessary.

I really enjoyed this, would happily get another.

Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Mousse.

"Vegan chocolate mousse and gluten free chocolate cake."

These come as squares, but our caterer cut them all in half.

Which was plenty.  This wasn't a great item.  But it wasn't awful.  Just, mediocre.

The cake wasn't dry exactly, but it was ... well, what you expect from gluten-free.  The mousse was fluffy, but not very strong in the chocolate department.

If you are vegan and gluten-free though, this could be exciting perhaps? It fared better than most of the offerings.

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Hinodeya Downtown

Hinodeya Downtown is, you guessed it, the "downtown" location of Hinodeya, a Ramen Bar.  The main (US) location is in Japantown in SF, but both SF locations are the first US based sites of a very long running ramen family from Japan.

"I LOVE “DASHI”

 Their tagline, simple, and to the point.  The key component of their ramen: quality dashi.

“DASHI” is a traditional stock of bonito skipjack tuna (katsuo) and konbu seaweed, making a broth brimming with umami, the savory fifth taste sensation. Enjoy a cultural taste of Japan through Ramen."

I'm not a ramen fan really, but this restaurant gets such stellar reviews, and was open with takeout during the COVID days, so, I finally went to check it out.

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

• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• 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 ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

I ordered via Seamless (e.g. Grubhub), and the first time, my order was ready, literally, *exactly* at the time I specified.  I literally watched it come from kitchen to window, at 1:29pm, it was packaged up, and ready at 1:30pm.  Wowzer.  And the staff?  Really friendly, even a nod from the kitchen.  My second visit was no different, order ready promptly, friendly staff.  Same thing the third time.  This establishment has nailed takeout.

Setting

I don't know anything about the Japantown location, but the "downtown" location is indeed downtown, on the edge of Chinatown.  Open every day, lunch and dinner.

Storefront.

The street really was a bit sad during early COVID shelter in place, with most businesses closed (it *was* also Sunday), but Hinodeya had a nice curb appeal, the actual light up sign in Japanese, and more signage down on the street to draw you in.  

Since indoor seating was closed, I cannot comment on that, but, the takeout setup was well managed, a table to get your order from, etc.

Outdoor Seating.

The first time I visited, outdoor dining was also still closed.  I took my food literally across the street, to Washington Square park, to sit in the sun and enjoy the glorious afternoon.

The second time however, outdoor dining was open, and they had tables set up on the sidewalk.

Outdoor Tables.

Tables all had a QR code on them to scan to order, contactless.

I ordered in advance via Grubhub, as I was expecting to just go back over to the park, but since the tables were all vacant, I was offered a seat there, which I gladly accepted.  My order was packaged togo, but had I ordered there (via QR code or register) it would have been served normal dine-in style.

Decor was cute, the little lamps on each table.  They are making the outdoor dining thing work.

Food

The main attraction at Hinodeya is the ramen, definitely the signature dish, although the menu is rounded out by curry & rice dishes, sides (mostly deep fried items, like fried oysters, fried calamari, veggie or shrimp tempura, crispy chicken kara-age, different gyoza), plus "small bites", items like edamame (regular or spicy), takoyaki, marinated octopus, and more.

It is the small bites menu that drew me in.

Shishito Peppers. $5.

"Lightly fried and tossed in a savory soy glaze. 1 in 10 shishito can be extra spicy! Vagan." (sic)

The peppers were clearly extremely freshly prepared.  Hot and fresh.  Lightly fried and blistered.  Perfectly executed.

The glaze wasn't too sweet, but it had a sweetness to compliment the peppers (and, likely, would go well if any were spicy!), and not too much soy.  Balanced quite nicely.  Loaded with sesame seeds, and I loved the nutty notes and crunch they added.

Overall, just a really, really well executed dish, one of the best preps of fried shishitos I've ever had actually.

Since it was just me eating them, I got a touch sick of them and split into a second serving, but I can see munching on these with friends, while drinking sake and waiting for ramen, being the ideal eating experience.

***+.

Agadashi Tofu. $5.

"Age Dashi Tofu is a dish of tofu lightly dusted with starch, then deep fried , and served in Dashi -based sauce seasoning with soy sauce. It is one of the side dishes that has long been popular in japan."

I may not be a ramen girl in general, but I do appreciate good dashi (I do love sauces and flavor complexity after all!), and, actually, sometimes love agadashi tofu ... even though I generally don't care for tofu, either.  I'm glad that a chef I really respect made me try it once, and introduced me to it.  Deep fried, flavorful starchy shell, creamy smooth tofu in delicious broth?  Now that I can get behind (and soft tofu is really the only kind I like, it is basically ... savory pudding after all, and you know how I feel about pudding ...).

My order came loaded up with goodies: plentiful bonito flakes dancing on top, a nice handful of sliced green onions, and, a sole shishito pepper, which I was thrilled to see.  Beneath all this was the tofu. The dashi was packaged separate for takeout.

The toppings were great.  Fresh harsh green onion, standard bonito, and the shishito was even juicier than when I had them as a side dish before.  They certainly completed the dish.

And the tofu?  Quite good.  It was really lightly coated and fried, less of a shell on it that I am used to, but still nice.  The tofu was soooo smooth and creamy, it really is a shame that tofu gets such a bad rep (even by me!) as the other styles just don't compare.

Basically, all nicely done, ***+, a well executed and composed dish.  But of course, the dashi is key ...

Dashi.

I really appreciated that the dashi was packaged up separately, as it most certainly would have gotten the rest of the dish soggy pretty immediately.

I had high hopes for the dashi, given the restaurant's seeming focus on dashi perfection, and, well, it delivered.  It was complex, flavorful, and completed the dish perfectly.

My only complaint?  Not really enough of it.  I wanted to slurp up more of that incredible flavor!  Maybe I really *should* get ramen sometime ... hmmm ...

**** dish overall.  I'd get it again.

Spicy Edamame. $5.

"Tossed in hot sauce with garlic and dashi sauce,spicy and savory."

This was a fairly random order on my part.  I'm not quite sure what I was expecting since I don't really like edamame that much (not sure why, I used to ...), but the allure of the sauce, and every positive Yelp reviews of this dish in particular, drew me in.

I also grabbed an extra crispy garlic topping "just in case", as they were stocked at the pickup area.

The edamame was, well, edamame?   Steamed, warm, fine.  But I wasn't really there for that, after all.

I did really like the sauce, it was complex, and yes, sorta spicy, and it coated the edamame well.  Intense garlic too.  It made sucking on the pods that much more fun.    That sauce ... I think it could do great things on other dishes too.

***+, as I am rarely going to want edamame, but the sauce was interesting to try.

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Ramen Kobo WARAKU

Ramen.  Not really something I eat much of ... just not really my thing.  But I do like other dishes often served at ramen restaurants (e.g. casual Japanese appetizers), which lead me to discover Ramen Kobo Karaku.

""Ramen D2C"- Your Favorite Ramen, Straight From the Kitchen!"

Honestly, I'm not sure what this catch phrase means.  But as I learned about the establishment, I became enamored with their story.

The owner hails from Japan, moved here 5 years ago, has background in all types of Japanese casual restaurants (izakayas, udon restaurants, ramen).  He lost his job when COVID hit, met a ramen chef who was looking for work too, and was inspired by what he saw going on all around - a city full of people struggling to make simple food, trying not to order too much delivery due to the expense.  And thus the concept of Ramen Kobu Waraku was born, with a desire to have quality ramen and casual Japanese cuisine, delivered across the city.

"We wanted our ramen to be more affordable, heartier, and tastier than ramen dining, and to top it all off, we wanted to have our ramen delivered quickly to people, which is why we decided to run with a "cloud kitchen". We don't directly serve any customers, and our kitchen is too small for us to have a diversified menu however, we can assured you that you’ll be blown away by our signature Tantan Spicy Miso Ramen or Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen."

And the way to achieve this was by *not* getting a storefront, and working out of a cloud kitchen, at the big 60 Morris Street complex, alongside a slew of other businesses and virtual restaurants.

While I've had, uh, mixed success with the 60 Morris businesses, Ramen Kobu Waraku is a shining star. Clearly a quality establishment, and I really hope they thrive.

And if you wonder about the name ... I learned that "WA(和)" means "Japan" or "relax", "RAKU(楽）means "fan" or "enjoy", and "Kobo" is like a lab.  So ... a relaxing, enjoyable, ramen lab.  I'll take it.

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

• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• 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 ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

My order was via Seamless (or Grub Hub), and was ready quickly (also, when I visited, Ramen Kobo Waraku was offering $5 off your first order! Score!).  I choose to pick up at 60 Morris myself, and just ate immediately nearby outside, but you can also opt for delivery.

My First Visit: Sublime Takoyaki!

The first time I ordered, I went straight for the takoyaki.  Sure, I was a little tempted by other things on the menu, which of course had ramen (pork, chicken, or even a version with ground Impossible meat), rice bowls, and a bunch of other appetizers (including several flavors of karaage, steamed edamame, deep fried shisitos, chili bean sprouts, some very tempting gyoza, and seared pork belly ...), and even cheese foam boba drinks.  But I wanted fried deliciousness with tasty sauces.

And fried deliciousness with tasty sauces is *exactly* what I got.  I was blown away, even compared to takoyaki I had in Japan (sorry, Gindaco, I know you are popular, but, no comparison!).

Takoyaki. $4.95.

"5pcs deep fried Takoyaki topped with Takoyaki Sauce, Mayonaise, Aonori, Bonito Flakes. (sic)" 

The takoyaki were glorious.  Piping hot when I got them, I was glad I decided to just stay and eat right outside.

They came topped with the expected toppings, just like okinomiyaki, of bonito flakes and aonori, and came with a small pile of pickled shredded ginger as well.  The toppings were all standard, but good for completing a "perfect bite".

I asked for my sauces on the side, so they were packaged separately.

Now, as for the takoyaki themselves.  They were well prepared.  Crisp on the outside, oily and greasy, but not in a gross way.  Maybe I was craving this sort of thing.  Plus, smother it in sauce and mayo, and it helps cut the greasiness, heh.

Takoyaki: Inside.

But of course, it is what is inside the takoyaki that matters too.  Sooo often takoyaki are filled with chewy octopus.  Or negligible octopus.  Or are under cooked and doughy.  These suffered none of those common problems.  These were perfect inside.

The inside was creamy, gooey, but cooked through, filled with good sized hunks of octopus, not chewy.  I was really, really impressed with inside these balls.  The filling was simple, no additional flavoring inside, but it was just really really well done, and once you had a bite with the toppings and sauce, it was just glorious.

****+ for the execution on the takoyaki, definitely the best I've ever had.  At ~$5 for 5, the price was fine.

And about those sauces ...

Mayonnaise & Takoyaki Sauce.

The mayo sauce I believe was just mayo, Japanese mayo though, which to me is always a bit less tangy, thicker, richer, and definitely tastier.  It added the right creaminess when added to the takoyaki.  And the "takoyaki sauce"?  DELICIOUS.  Wow.  Such complex flavor, sweet and salty, I think there was some miso in it, sooooo much umami.  If you have ever wondered what umami tastes like, it is this!

The sauces together were the perfect finishing touch.

Perfect *****, all around

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