Dean & Deluca Snack Baskets

Dean & DeLuca is a chain of fancyish grocery stores.  I associate the brand with New York, although the store I have actually been into is in Tokyo, and I fondly remember their ice cream served on a Japan airlines flight (which, I've reviewed before).  

"For over 40 years it has been our mission to find and provide to you the world’s best epicurean treats for cooking, eating and entertaining. Our team of International food experts are committed to a quest for excellence. We work persistently to curate a food-forward assortment of the best and newest food products from around the globe."

Dean & Deluca offers a curated shopping experience, hence, the premium branding. They also operate a mail order business, perfect for gift baskets around the holidays, or sending to corporate clients, which is how I encountered a large variety of their goodies.  I don't understand why my co-workers don't devour their gift baskets, particularly when the items are high quality like this, but, their loss, my gain, right?

Snacks on the Run. $75.

"Time is tight, so these tins full of chocolates, mixes, candies, and nuts are an easy, delicious choice."

For the holidays, my co-workers received several "Snack on the Run" assortments.  The "Snacks on the Run" series is available in 3/6/12/18 packs, all different, unless you custom order a set with exactly what you want in it.

Ours were 12 packs, mostly chocolates, with a few other candies in the mix.  Interestingly, it contained no plain nuts, and only one dried fruit option.

I tried everything except the milk chocolate covered raisins, as, well, I just don't like them, and didn't see a reason to waste.  For $75, this was a good variety, and seemingly decent value for quality items.

Chocolate Covered

Our package consisted of majority chocolate covered things, 8 total, including 4 types of caramels (one sugar free), one type of covered nut, and one dried fruit.

Dark Chocolate Rum Cordials.

"Dark Chocolate and Rum, a match made in confectionary heaven. Our Dean & DeLuca Chocolate Rum Cordials are a lovely and affordable gift with the same style and good taste you expect from Dean & DeLuca."

OMG, OMG, OMG.  That is all I have to say about these.

This was not my first encounter with these rum balls, er, cordials, I just hadn't written about them previously.  I remember discovering these before, and, well, adoring them.  In particular, of course I remember the rum.

Because, beware.  These are filled with liquid.  Boozy liquid.  Do not bite in half and expect not to make a mess.  Pop the whole thing in your mouth, bite, and enjoy the booze.

The dark chocolate is necessary to hold up against the rum, and the rest ... well, its rum!

White Mint Lentils.

"Pure white and minty fresh, these dark chocolate disks made with real oil of peppermint are the perfect refresher."

Heh.  I thought these were just after dinner mints.  Bo-ring.  They looked like just mints.  And, what are "lentils", of the confection variety, anyway?  A: It turns out, this is a "standard" name for this type of confection.  Huh.  Strange, they ... are like oversized lentils I guess?  Or smooshed M&Ms?

But it turned out, these were chocolate.

At first, they seemed just like any other chocolate disk, like an M&M.  But then ... the mint kicked in.  And it wasn't entirely pleasant.  Such a strange aftertaste.

I was not a fan.

Triple Chocolate Toffees.

"Premium almond toffee in luxurious milk, dark and marbled dark and white chocolates."

These looked pretty interesting, assorted colors and sizes.  But, all tasted basically the same: sweet toffee, crisp, coated in sweet creamy chocolate.  Absolutely fine, but they looked more interesting than they were in practice.

Milk Chocolate Peanuts.

Our single chocolate covered nut offering was a milk chocolate peanut, not as exciting as many of the others like dark chocolate sea salt hazelnuts.  But, an easy crowd pleaser.

I tried them, and they were fine.  Decent enough milk chocolate coating, not too much of it, creamy.  Standard peanut inside.

Nothing remarkable, nothing bad.

Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels.

"Our creamy caramels lavished in rich dark chocolate with a hint of sea salt."

These had a nice dark chocolate on them, but I wasn't quite into the chewy caramel center, just personal preference.

Tiramisu Caramels.

"Semi-soft caramel dipped in our famous milk chocolate with tiramisu flavor, then rolled in dark cocoa powder." 

These I really didn't like.

Again, the soft caramel chew just didn't do it for me, at all.  I did not taste tiramisu in any way either.

Pass.

English Toffee Caramels.

"Toffee caramels in a generous layer of creamy milk chocolate."

I know I tried these, but alas, I don't seem to have notes on them.  Sorry!

Sugar Free Milk Chocolate Caramels.

"If sugar-free is what you crave these are the chocolate covered caramels for you. Exclusive to Dean & DeLuca our Sugar-Free Milk Chocolate Caramels are premium Sugar-Free caramels covered in Sugar-Free chocolate coating. Dean & DeLuca Sugar-Free Milk Chocolate Caramels are a lovely and affordable gift with the same style and good taste you expect from Dean & DeLuca."

 I found it a bit funny to include a sugar free offering in a box of all sugary treats, but, perhaps they envision this to be a shared box, in which case, having an inclusive offering for those who need lower sugar is a great thing?

Anyway, these were fine, larger than the regular caramels, and the milk chocolate was smooth and good.  I still wasn't a huge fan of the caramel though.

Confections

We had only two "confections", chewy sugary things, in our basket.

Gourmet Assorted Jelly Beans.

The image on the container of the jelly beans showed what looked large larger size jelly beans, the type I like.  But inside I found ... what looked exactly like Jelly Belly, smaller size beans.  I'm not particularly fond of Jelly Belly, besides the buttered popcorn, which I have actually grown to love, so really should update my review.

I don't think these were actually Jelly Belly brand, but they were a fairly similar product, sweet sugar, no more, no less.  

Sanded Starfish.

"Gummy sugarcoated starfish in six fruity flavors."

These were a crowd favorite, so I was only able to try one flavor: blue.

They were good, nice chew, and I liked the "sanded" sugar coating on them.  Better than your average gummy candy.

Fruits & Nuts

Our assortment did not have any plain nuts, nor really many dried fruits (besides the chocolate covered raisins), although Dean & Deluca does offer plenty of these items.

I was not upset though, as these are some of the least interesting of the lineup.  We did have one mix.

Island Mix.

The "island mix" featured bits of dried pineapple, papaya, and banana, plus raisins and macadamias.

I tried everything in here except the raisins (eww, raisins!), and all were fairly generic and standard.  Not much to say about this one, it was dried fruit and bits of nuts.

Read More...

Silverland Bakery

Time for another wholesale bakery review, this time, a specialist in bars, and in particular brownies.  Not the baked goods  nor desserts I gravitate towards generally, but ... yeah, these are some great brownies!

Silverland is claims to be a pioneer in the commercial baked goods industry, started in 1983.  The business started with brownies, and expanded to include other types of baked bars, cookies, and eventually raw/gluten-free/keto items.  It was started by a woman who was pregnant, craving things like chocolately goodness, and looking for a new job going forward, and ... apparently, baked goods were her calling.

"If you're looking for a treat, you've come to the right place. The entire baking process, from melting to mixing to scooping our decadent treats, is still done by hand in small batches. We use the most natural and pure ingredients possible, from melted 100% dark chocolate in our brownies, to real fruits and nuts in our crumble bars." 

While primarily a wholesale distributor, they still make the products in small batches, and take pride in the ingredients.  You can also now order Silverland goodies as a home consumer as well.

Brownies 

"Silverland was the first commercial baker of brownies still around to talk about it today. The entire baking process from melting to mixing to scooping our decadent treats is still done by hand in small batches."

The brownie lineup is certainly Silverland's claim to fame, and one I endorse.  The range covers everything from a simple double chocolate or with walnuts version, to crowd pleasers like the decadent caramel turtle or "Cocoa Cow", swirled with cheesecake.  They also make keto, vegan, and gluten-free versions.

Le Sal Brownie.

"A rich chocolate brownie base with chocolate liqueur disks and pure vanilla, dusted with a whisper of the finest sea salt-perfectly sweet and salty." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Our rich, all-natural Double Chocolate Brownie topped with a whisper of sea salt – so decadent and delicious." -- Silverland 

The first I tried was the simple "Le Sal".  It looked ... like any generic brownie.

But, oh wow.  This was a good brownie.  And, I'm not a brownie girl.

This brownie impressed.  It was seriously, seriously fudge-y.  Rich.  Not a cake-like brownie though, if that is your thing. Fudgey.

The salt on top was the perfect touch to make it pop.

Best when served warm a la mode, but great at room temp as well.  Just very rich, so having something cream based to cut it was helpful.  Even just a little whipped cream ...

****.

Update: I've since had many more of these, and love their dense fudgeyness every time.  Perfect warm with a scoop of ice cream on top.  So perfect.

Caramel Chocolate.

"Rich chocolate brownie batter topped with caramel and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Years of research went into retaining the gooey caramel on the top of our signature brownie."

Next I stepped it up to the caramel chocolate. Another impressive brownie.

Just like the Le Sal, this was deep, rich, fudgey, not cakey.  I really liked this brownie, and again, I'm not a brownie girl.

The caramel was very chewy, sweet, good, but not quite the consistency I was expecting.

The chocolate chips scattered on top seemed extraneous actually, I liked the crunch, but would have preferred them integrated into the brownie itself.

***+, I preferred the simpler Le Sal.

Pecan Chocolate Caramel.

"A moist torte chocolate base with melted caramel, layered with chocolate drops and pecan pieces." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Dark chocolate brownie hand drizzled with thick, buttery caramel, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and pecan halves and pieces." -- Silverland Sell Sheet

But, it was time to get more decadent.  To the previous brownie, they added ... pecans!

It was the same incredible brownie base.  Seriously, so decadent, so fudgey.  I again thought the caramel was a bit too chewy though.  I appreciated the addition of pecans, more crunch, even better.

***+, better than the one without pecans, still not quite as good as the simple Le Sal ...

Double Chocolate with Walnuts.

"A chocolate lovers dream.  This double chocolate brownie is topped with chunky walnuts." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Dense chocolate batter with the texture of whole chocolate chips hand topped with large walnut pieces." -- Silverland Sell Sheet

"A perfect combination of walnuts and rich chocolate make our "original brownie" a chocolate and nut lover's delight. " -- Silverland Website

And then I went for one that looked simple, but really delivered.  These brownies just get better and better.  This was my favorite, no question.

Same rich, fudgey base, but studded with chocolate chips for additional chocolate-yness and texture.  And walnuts for crunch.  And, uh, protein, to make it healthy?

I wanted to heat this up and have it a la mode, but when I tried a bite at room temp it was too good to have patience to do so.  Great at room temp, even better when dunked into whipped cream to balance the richness.

****+.

Vegan Brownie.

"Deep rich vegan chocolate brownie topped with semisweet chocolate chips with the added hardy texture and chewiness of ground flaxseed." -- Silverland Sell Sheet

Ok, now I was getting skeptical, and curious.  A vegan brownie?  I've never loved brownies to begin with, but a vegan one?  With, ew, flaxseed?

And ... yeah.  The chocolate chips on top were good, and it was rich, dense, and fudgy much like their other products, but it did have a bit of a strange flavor to it, kinda ... "healthy" tasting, which I imagine was the flaxseed.

It was better than expected, honestly, but still, not what I'd go for.

**+.

Peppermint Brownie (Seasonal).

"Moist chocolate brownie studded on top with crushed red and white peppermint candies for a chocolate mint sensation." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"The award winning double chocolate brownie topped with crunchy mini peppermint candy canes—crunchy mint chocolate holiday cheer." -- Silverland Bakery

For the winter season, they have a peppermint version, with limited availability.  Of course I ordered it for my group.  They looked quite festive, yes, candy canes on top ...

These were good brownies.  Again, such rich, deep chocolate fudge base.  Good at room temp, amazing warm a la mode.

The peppermint candy on top was fine, but didn't enhance the brownies, and really seemed a bit like what any home baker would chop up (irregularly) and throw on top.  I think I prefer them without.

***+.

Sugar Free Double Chocolate.

"Flavorful, chocolaty and moist, our sugar free brownie with mini sugar free chocolate morsels fulfills the need for a decadent dessert without the sugar. "

I know, sugar free dessert?  But Silverland makes such great stuff, I was willing to give it a try.

There was nothing that tasted odd about these in any way.  They were rich, chocolately, dense, sweet in a way that didn't taste fake.

I liked the chips on top for a bit of texture, and even more additional chocolate boost.

They were fine just as is, but better warmed up a la mode.  But they weren't as good as the other ones, in a way I can't quite pinpoint.  Just not as indulgent?

***.

Other Bars

Besides the brownies, Silverland makes a host of other bars, ranging from tart lemon or key lime, to nutty pecan pie, to fruity raspberry or blueberry crumbles, plus a slew of blondies and layered bars.  And yes, keto versions are available of some of these too.

Blondie.

"A hearty oatmeal flavor with brown sugar complemented with walnuts and chocolate morsels for a unique nutty taste." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Hearty all natural oatmeal cookie batter complemented with white chocolate chunks, walnuts and chocolate morsels for a unique, nutty taste." -- Silverland

The blondie I actually ordered with glee.  To me, a blondie is always better than a cookie - thicker, sweeter, softer - and generally better than a brownie - more textures.

This was a good, solid blondie.  Moist yet dense in a decadent way, buttery, sweet.  The highlight was how loaded with goodies it was - plenty of large chunks of chocolate and nuts.

It wasn't mind-blowing, but, a good version for sure.  Better than your average bakesale.

I enjoyed it at room temp, but it was even better warmed up and topped with ice cream.  Like, well, most baked goods.

***+.

English Toffee.

"Brimming with walnuts, dark chocolate chips, English Toffee bits all held together with a buttery vanilla filling." --GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Brimming with walnuts, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and English Toffee bits all held together with a buttery vanilla filling, it will make any toffee lover’s day. " -- Silverland

Perhaps better than the blondie?  The english toffee bar.  These were good. 

Rich buttery sugary base, topped with crunchy nuts, sweet toffee bits, and chocolate chips.

The toppings stole the show, I really love english toffee and the sweetness from it was fantastic, and I loved all the different textures the nuts/chips/toffee brought out.  The base was a bit boring, but, I didn't mind too much.

I never got around to trying it warmed up.  And yes, I may have stolen a bunch of toffee off unclaimed bars ...

***+.

7 Layer Bar.

"A flaky graham cracker crust piled high with fresh coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch morsels and walnuts." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Graham cracker crust, sweet milk, coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch drops, and walnuts, all hand layered in for crunchy melty goodness. " -- Silverland

The brownies are crazy successful.  Blondies solid.  This, a bake sale classic, ... was not.

Meh.

Lots of great ingredients, but didn't add up to greatness.

Dry graham cracker crust.  Shredded coconut with a poor mouthfeel.  Just some generic nuts, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips plunked on.

It seemed like something you'd find at any bake sale, made by ... anyone.

**.

Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar.

"Topped with a rich, smooth dark chocolate ganache. Truly, a serious chocolate sensation!" -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"If you like pure dark chocolate truffles, you will love our Chocolate Truffle brownie. A
rich, smooth dark chocolate hand frosted ganache adds dimension to our richest brownie, 100% natural. " -- Silverland Bakery

I know I have this in the "not brownies" section.  This might kinda look like a brownie, but, it isn't.  They do describe this fairly well.   It wasn't a brownie.  It was like ... a chocolate truffle, made into a bar, and topped with more ganache.  It is just ... rich chocolate.  Two different textures, the slightly firmer base and the creamy top, but, it is just chocolate.  Very intense.

And strangely, not very enjoyable at room temperature.  At least, not on its own.  I'd need to experiment with warming it up, or adding ice cream/whipped cream to temper it.

***.

Natural Foods Bars

"These all-natural bars are handcrafted with simple, whole foods such as fruits, nuts and seeds flavored with natural ingredients like ginger, turmeric, and cocoa. A satisfying snack that curbs hunger while providing a beneficial combination of whole foods and superfoods.

Our no-bake Natural Food Bars are minimally processed using 100% vegan and wheat-free ingredients."

Clearly, at some point, Silverland Bakery took stock of what niche consumers wanted, and launched a Natural Foods line, all vegan, all gluten-free, and raw to boot. 

Yes, I even tried some of these, ordering to be inclusive of my large group, but ... hard pass.

 Cherry (Super Fruit).

"This antioxidant rich bar is just dates, oats, walnuts, and cherries. A delicious and

fruity break between meals, or as a meal to go."

I don't generally go for raw, vegan bars made just of fruit/nuts/oats, but, these were served at an event I was at, and I do like Silverland Bakery, so, I gave them a try.

The ingredient list was simple: dates, oats, walnuts, cherries.

And ... well, they tasted like you'd expect.  Strange mushy texture, bitter from the walnuts.  I don't like the taste of dates.  Kudos for the big dried cherries inside.

Not for me.

**.

Spiced Ginger (Detox).

"Ginger aids in digestion and this bar is a great way to get a mini detox, 100% natural. "

Ok, trying another variety, a totally different recipe, no oats, but still dates and walnuts as the base, now joined by almonds, the namesake ginger, and spices (cinnamon, clove).

These were worse.  Super mushy, strange flavor all around.  Did not like.

*+.

Read More...

Cafe Dolci

Cafe Dolci is a tiny, and I mean tiny, little cafe (really, just a window) on Market St in San Francisco.  I probably walked by it 100+ times before ever noticing it.  Open only during the week, and it closes by 1:30pm every day, so, just not really on my radar.

In the morning, they sell coffee drinks, a few pastries, and mostly bagels.  At lunchtime, they offer one thing: banh mi.

I finally noticed the place a couple months ago when I saw the pastries, and my interest was furthered when I saw them listed on Too Good to Go - a new app in San Francisco that allows you to reserve "Mystery Bags" at merchants for a discounted price, with pickup times near the end of their hours.  Customers get a great deal, merchants are able to sell items at a lower profit that would often get thrown out.   Win-win.  Plus, um, its really fun to imagine all the possibilities of what will be in the mystery bag!

Cafe Dolci is one of the best merchants I have found on Too Good To Go, and others clearly agree - they sell out literally the moment they become available.  Not only did I help with food waste, and get a great deal, I'm fairly certain I'll return to Cafe Dolci as a "regular" customer, so, win-win-win.

Storefront

Cafe Dolci is located right on Market street.

Signage.

I strode up to Cafe Dolci at 1pm on the dot, the start of my collection period, which was 1pm - 1:30pm, the last 30 minutes of their service.  

The chalkboard sign out front let me know I was in the right place, as there is little other signage.

Bagel & Banh Mi Menu.

The menu is tiny, really, just bagels in the morning, banh mi for lunch.

Display Case: Visit #1.

A single display case is in front, with the assorted bagels, plus their top selling item (besides the banh mi): pork buns.  This display also had hot dog buns, a few muffins, butter cake, and ham & egg buns.  No prices were listed.

It is this case that the merchant plucked my "mystery" items from on my first visit.

Display Case: Visit #2.

The next time I arrived for pickup a few weeks later, the assortment of items in the pastry case were quite different.  There were no croissants nor cake slices, and two kinds of muffins this time (they look rather like Costco brand ... which, uh, I do like).

The next row down, "asian buns" section was different too: no bbq pork buns (instead, chicken "deluxe" buns), no hot dog buns (instead, a twisted hot dog and onion bun), no ham & egg cocktail bun.  This section looked pretty empty, so likely the others had just run out.

And finally, bagels, 8 varieties remained: plain, whole wheat, cinnamon, sesame, cheese, jalapeño, garlic, and really seedy.

Food

I did not get to pick my items on either visit, nor did I get a bahn mi, so this review is only of the mystery baked goods I received, most of which I really, really enjoyed.

Mystery Bag.  $4.99.
June 2021.

Cafe Dolci offers a mystery bag for $4.99, which is required to have a minimum value of $15.  I wasn't offered the opportunity to pick any items, but got a nice spread of a bagel with cream cheese, a hot dog cocktail bun, a ham & egg cocktail bun, a massive croissant, and a slice of cake.

The hot dog bun is the only item I would have picked myself, so this was an interesting assortment for me.  I still really wished she'd picked a pork bun!

Mystery Bag.  $4.99.
July 2021.

The next month, my bag was ready when I arrived, so I again had no choice.  But, I was quite pleased with the contents, entirely different from last time - not a single repeat!

Inside I found a bagel with ham, egg, and cheese, a bagel with nutella, a bun, and ... a lemonade.  

I liked this bag even more than the first.

Asian Baked Goods

I'm not sure where Cafe Dolci gets the asian baked goods from, but it is somewhere local, likely in Chinatown?  The offerings change daily, but usually include some kind of filled cocktail buns, massive steamed buns, and ... something with hotdogs, be it a bun or other pastry.

Ham & Egg Bun.

First up for me from this section was a breakfast item, a ham & egg bun, asian style on a cocktail bun.

It was a nice, soft, fluffy, clearly fresh bun.  The fillings however let me down.

Ham & Egg Bun: Inside.

Inside was half a fried egg, and two thin slices of mediocre ham.  The egg was extremely greasy.

No cheese, no condiments.  And obviously, not served warm.

Since these are not made to order, they are never warm, and I am not sure if mustard or something is ever offered.  It felt a bit plain to me, but I brought it home, warmed it, added condiments, and enjoyed it, but the egg really was far too greasy for my taste.

Hot Dog Bun.

Now, this was an item I'd pick!  Little secret: I LOVE HOT DOGS!

The hot dog was inside similar soft fluffy bread as the ham & egg bun, and again, no condiments, and served room temp.

I brought it home, heated it up, and got my favorite honey mustard and ketchup ready.

It was ... ok.  The bun was so soft and fluffy, lightly sweet.  That part I really liked.  The hot dog however was a bit below average.  I'm not sure if it was beef, turkey, or a mix of something.  Definitely not a hot dog I'd ever want on its own.  Dunked in my ketchup-mustard mix, and with the soft sweet bread though, it was satisfying.

***.

Chicken Deluxe Bun.

I was thrilled, thrilled to see a bun in my bag.  I hoped it was the bbq pork bun that everyone raves about.

It ... was not, more on this soon, but, I adored it.

The bun itself was soft, fluffy, slightly sweet, just a perfect home for the ridiculous goodness that lay inside ...

Deluxe Chicken Bun: Inside.

I cut it in half to reveal ... well, not a bbq pork bun as I had hoped.  "This must be the Deluxe Chicken Bun!", I thought.

At first glance, "deluxe" meant chicken thigh, hunks of mushroom, and ... hard boiled egg.

All was flavorful, and I liked the chew to the meaty mushroom and flavorful dark meat chicken.  The hard boiled egg was a bit odd, but I know that is a thing.

But this bun had much, much more to it ...

Deluxe Chicken Bun: A ... Sausage?!

As I quickly discovered, there was so much more inside.  A ... sausage.  Yes, a sausage, casing and all.  Very flavorful, well seasoned sausage.  And ... meatball, again, really well seasoned, plenty of herbs.  There were chives too.

A sausage, meatballs, egg, chicken thigh, mushrooms ... wowzer.  This thing was loaded.  "Deluxe" indeed.

The flavors, the textures, they all just *totally* popped.  It was so crazy good.

I adored this, devoured in seconds, even though it was quite a heafty item.

****+, and I'd gladly get this again.  I'd love to try the bbq pork bun still, but, wow, this was good.

Bagels

Cafe Dolci serves the best bagels I've had in SF.  No question.  After getting one in my first Mystery Bag, I asked the next time I was there where they came from.  The answer?   Bagelry, on Polk Street.  They are just my perfect style, great chew, good toppings.  

Cafe Docli always has a large selection of bagels (at least 8 kinds), available with butter, jam, cream cheese, peanut butter, etc, or as breakfast sandwiches with egg, ham, sausage, and the like.

They toast them to order, perfectly, load them with goodies, and just really, serve some ridiculous good bagels.  Yes, simple bagels can be ridiculously good!

Cheese Bagel with Cream Cheese. $4.25.

The bagel lineup the first day I visited included plain, sesame, "really seedy", jalapeño, cinnamon, and cheese, but it was clear that they normally have 2 other varieties as well given the empty slots in the display.

If I were picking a bagel, I likely would have gone for the "really seedy" or perhaps cinnamon to save for breakfast, but alas, the merchant selected the cheese bagel.

It was an above average bagel, nice chew to it, a good crust.  Generous amount of cheese baked into it.

Bagels are available simply with butter for $3.75, or with other spreads like peanut butter & jam or nutella, or filled with egg, cheese, bacon, ham, sausage, etc.  For my mystery bag, she added cream cheese, a rather odd pairing in my mind for a cheese bagel ... but then again, I've never had a cheese bagels besides when turning it into pizza bagels.  She added a generous amount of cream cheese.

Overall, a good bagel, but, not what I would order, and pricey (I think? I don't order bagels out so maybe I just don't know if this is the going rate?), normally $4.25.

***+.

Blueberry Bagel with Nutella.

The next time, I got this.  I was pleased to see a blueberry bagel, but a bit weirded out when I saw what was inside ...

It was a strange combo.  I do like Nutella, and I love blueberry bagels, but I haven't ever put them together, and, well, I see why.  I like my blueberry bagel just toasted with butter (and a sprinkle of sugar!), or perhaps fruity or plain cream cheese, but nutella??  It muddled the lovely blueberry flavor.

I liked the bagel though, perfect chew.  ***+ for the bagel itself.

Nutella Bagel: Inside.

I'll give Cafe Dolci credit though, it was *loaded* with Nutella, and melty Nutella really is delicious.  Just, uh, not what I wanted with my blueberry bagel!  ***+ for generous, melty Nutella.

*** for the overall item, was less good than the individual parts.  I didn't see these on the menu, but likely about the same price as cream cheese bagel, ~$4.25?

Everything Bagel with Ham, Egg, and Cheese. $6.75.

I was pretty thrilled to get an everything bagel, and the bagel was everything I wanted it to be (pun intended!).  Perfect chew, good flavor from the seeds and garlic.  Yes, yes, yes.

****+ for the bagel itself.

Ham, Egg, and Cheese Bagel: Inside.

Inside was a very thick slab of decent enough ham, a fried egg, and plenty of melty cheese.  Kudos to Cafe Dolci for cheese on *both* sides, and it was perfectly melty.

The ham was an entirely different kind of ham than the cocktail bun version, much thicker, not deli meat style.  It was good, not remarkable as I prefer smokier, more flavorful ham, but, it was fine.  I suspect this is a product Cafe Dolci gets to make the breakfast bagels themselves, rather than the asian buns that perhaps come with the ham in them.

The fried egg was good, not as greasy as before, not rubbery, very satisfying with the cheese.  There was plenty of salt and pepper too, really well seasoned.  Definitely better fillings than the cocktail buns.

Overall though, the bagel and melty cheese alone made this insanely delicious and satisfying.

Normally $6.75, so a great item to wind up in my bag!

****.

Other

The rest of the pastry case offers a few muffins (they look like Costco!), croissants (MASSIVE!), and loaf cakes, depending on the day.  I was glad I didn't ever get a muffin, as they just didn't look great. 

Croissant.

The first time, I got a croissant.  A MASSIVE croissant.  As in, comically large, actually.

It was a bready style croissant, light and airy, rather than a flaky french croissant.  It had a buttery essence to it, but not in the decadent flaky way, it was more like a ... brioche?  Buttery but not flaky, hard to describe, but this was the case.

It was too massive to really imagine just eating alongside a coffee as a morning pastry, and likely could be great to use for a sandwich, although, it was so large that it was even too large to really think of for a sandwich.

*** for the style it was, ** as a croissant though.

Butter Cake.

Well, this one was totally lost on me.

I'm not one for pound cakes, and certainly would never, ever pick this.  It was dense, I guess it was buttery, but, it tasted kinda generic, stale, and like it should have come out of a plastic wrapper.  And cake without frosting ... just, why?

I can't really fairly evaluate this, as it just isn't an item I ever want.

*.

Drinks

Cafe Dolci *is* a "cafe" after all, and although I didn't see people getting them, as it was afternoon, they offer a standard lineup of coffee, tea, and espresso drinks, along with Vietnamese iced coffee, keeping in theme.

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade.

The lemonade was the first real lemonade I've had in many, many years.  I just don't really ever go for lemonade.  It was good though, very tart, and loaded with hunks of lemon.  Quality fresh squeezed juice, and, a totally random addition to my bag!

***+ for what it was, but I wouldn't get another.

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Earl of Sandwich, Boston

Earl of Sandwich is ... um, a chain of sandwich shops in the US, that was, indeed, founded by ... a descendant of the Earl of Sandwich.   The original location is at Disney.  Can't make this stuff up.  Anyway, they now have franchises all around the US, including the on I visited, in Boston.

Setting

Earl of Sandwich is located right inside Boston Commons, fairly central, in a stone building off on its own.  Open every day, mostly for lunch (they close at 6pm).

The Storefront.

Ordering is done up at one window, with pickup on the other side.  Condiments are self-serve at the pickup window.

Seating.

There are plenty of tables to sit and enjoy your sandwich right there, or obviously you can take it anywhere else in the park (or, elsewhere for that matter).

Food

As you can probably guess, the sandwiches are the main attraction at Earl of Sandwich, but they also have pizzas (made on their bread dough), soups, and some other sides like mac and cheese. Decent looking cookies are the dessert option.

Potato Salad. $2.79.

This was decent potato salad.  Nice sized hunks of potato, not too mushy nor under cooked, decently creamy.  No additions like egg or celery, but there were some herbs.

I don't personally like red skinned potatoes as much as others, and these had some skin on, so that was a slight deterrent for me, but otherwise, this was a good enough potato salad.

***.

Clam Chowder (Cup). $3.49.

Most Earl's locations have a standard soup lineup, with tomato soup, broccoli & cheese,chicken noodle or chicken tortilla, but in Boston, they also have chowder.  Clam chowder.  Because, Boston.

And, Earl's does the clam chowder justice.  Thick, rich, loaded with hunks of perfectly chewy clams.  I wanted a bit more seasoning, but some pepper (available at condiment station) was perfect.

I really enjoyed it.  All soups are available with your choice of croutons (which makes sense for tomato soup) or oyster crackers, which I opted for, perfect to sprinkle in.

****.

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Truly Good Foods Snacks

Truly Good Foods is a snack food manufacturer, that makes a vast array of mostly savory snack foods, ranging from nuts or dried fruits to sesame sticks, bagel chips, corn nuts, veggie chips, pretzels, soy beans, edamame, and tons, and tons, of mixes.

"We have been manufacturing fresh, high-quality snack mixes for 40 years. With over 60 unique blends that are blended fresh daily, there is a perfect snack mix for every business."

60 different blends?!  Yeah, that's a lot of snack mixes.  I clearly haven't tried them all, but, I tried a decent assortment.  And, these are good products.

They also have a retail line, distributed mostly in convenience stores, but every time I've had them, it has been in bulk.

Sweet

While the majority of Truly Good Foods items are savory, a number of the mixes will call out to the sweet tooth, with chocolate, marshmallows, sweet coatings, and dried fruits making a number of appearances.

Campside Crunch Mix.

"One taste of this snack mix and you’re transported to your childhood by the campfire.

A blend of honey graham toasters, chocolate chunks,  mini marshmallows and dried strawberries."

Honey graham crackers + bittersweet chocolate + white chocolate coated mini marshmallows + dried strawberries.  Oh yes. This stuff is totally addicting.

Mini marshmallows, coated in white chocolate.  Sweet, gooey, and my favorite component.  But wait, then there are chunks of bittersweet chocolate, good quality.  Great to alternate (or combine!) with the white chocolate marshmallows.  Second favorite component, or, wait, no, sometimes my favorite.  And then, just to add some chew, no, not awful raisins nor dried cranberries, but dried strawberries, bigger, chewier, fruitier.  Also my favorites.  The chocolate covered strawberry thing goes into full effect when you combine the strawberries and chocolate.  Plus, then you are having fruit right?

The only component I could do without is the honey graham crackers, basically cereal, but that is because I don't like cereal, nor graham crackers, so, this was never going to be something I wanted.

Overall, a wonderful mix, and very dangerous to have around.  Great to munch on, or use as a topping on ice cream or frozen yogurt.  I also later discovered that adding soy milk to it makes for a fabulous bowl of totally totally unhealthy cereal ... (in which case, I do appreciate the grahams in it at least?).

They also make a version of this called "S’mores and More", which has all of the same ingredients, plus peanuts (which we didn't have because, allergies). That sounds fantastic too.

This is one of my absolute favorites.

Sweet Caroline® (No Peanuts).

"What makes this mix so delicious? Just like the song (So Good! So Good!), this is a wicked good snack mix. Sweet Caroline® is a crunchy mix that makes the perfect sweet treat. It has honey roasted sesame sticks, butter toasted peanuts, honey roasted almonds, honey roasted peanuts, and banana chips."

This mix normally has peanuts, but, our version does not, sadly (I feel for the folks with allergies, I do, but, ... I love peanuts and wanted butter toasted AND honey roasted peanuts!).

It was ... fine.  But it really did feel like it was missing something - the sesame sticks were quite sweet (as you'd expect, honey roasted), the banana chips I mostly picked around as they aren't my thing, and the honey roasted almonds were fine, but, were also quite sweet, and I wanted them to be a more interesting nut.

It felt a bit one note to me, but was nice to sprinkle into salad (yeah, yeah, sweets and salads, not necessarily what you think of as a good combo ...).

Neopolitan Mix (mislabeled, clearly)

"Like the classic ice cream flavor, you get the best of all worlds.

Neapolitan Mix tastes like your favorite chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavors.  The snack mix consists of strawberry yogurt raisins, chocolate brownie bites and yogurt pretzels balls."

I'm a bit obsessed with this mix.  I first discovered it at The Lounge, Boston Logan Airport, Terminal C, of all places.  It looked like any other snack mix, likely filled with hard raisins (meh!), and flavorless yogurt coatings, but, it was so much more.  I later discovered that it is made by Truly Good Snacks Foods, so, including a review here as well, for completeness.

The white things are not yogurt covered raisins or peanuts, as I expected, but rather ... pretzels!  I loved them, crunchy inside and creamy coating, although not particularly "vanilla" flavored.  The pretzel ball inside is salted, so this burst of salt comes through once you bite in, which makes for a magic sweet and salty bite when combined with the sweet white yogurt coating.

The brown ones are *also* not just peanuts or raisins, but instead, chocolate covered brownie bites!  They were awesome combined with the pretzels, and pretty great on their own too.

The pink ones however *are* yogurt covered raisins, and they did not taste like strawberry as promised.  Meh to those.

Overall though, a winner, and I found it way too easy to devour handfuls of the non-raisins.  The perfect thing to munch on alongside your coffee in the morning.  Or for an afternoon pick-me-up.

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PB&J

"This mix brings back nostalgic memories of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

PB&J Mix® encapsulates that flavor with an added crunch. One bite and you’ll be hooked. PB&J Mix® includes PB&J flavored peanuts, cherry flavored cranberries, and peanut butter drops."

I really like the peanut butter chips in this, and kinda even like the cherry flavored cranberries, but strangely, the peanuts I don't like.  They are just ... plain.

But still, totally worth having around, just to pick out the peanut butter chips if nothing else.

Savory & Savory Mixes

But most of the 60+ mixes are savory, some even try to sound healthy.

Snacks!

Chia ReCharged Stix Mix (leftmost above)
"Chia is one of the hottest superfoods right now and this mix is a tasty way to get the health benefits.  Chia ReCharged Stix Mix™ is part of our ReCharge® line of natural snack mixes that contain antioxidant benefits. It’s a savory and sweet mix with chia sticks, cranberries, roasted and salted almonds, dark chocolate chunks, yogurt raisins, low sugar, no sulfur pineapple and white cocoa chips."

This was actually really good - despite the chia focus in the name, which I'll admit almost scared me away.

The almonds were nicely roasted and salted, above average, and had a nice flavor to them.  The chia sticks were extremely satisfying, crunchy, salty, and the chia flavor didn't bother me at all.  The dried pineapple and cranberries I even enjoyed for a bit of chew and sweetness.  The dark chocolate chunks were tiny but felt like "winning" a prize every time I got one, clearly good quality dark chocolate, and I adored the little white chocolate chips, pleasantly sweet, and I was thrilled they were white chocolate, not yogurt.

This blend really had it all - sweet, savory, crunchy, chewy, and I found it far, far, far too craveable and munchworthy.  The kind of snack you *don't* want to have around your house, for your own good.  Because ... it is perfect any time of day.  Early morning?  "Oh hey, it has fruit, totally legit pre-breakfast".  Mid-afternoon?  "Look, I'm responsible, I just need a little protein, it has almonds.".  In a slump?  "I just need a little sugar/chocolate boost ...".  Yup, it happens.

Dark Chocolate Energy Boost (middle above)
"Dark Chocolate Energy Boost™ is part of our ReCharge® line of snack mixes that contain antioxidant benefits. It’s the perfect midday pick-me-up with almonds, cranberries, low sugar, no sulfur pineapple, dark chocolate raisins, dark chocolate espresso beans, dark chocolate probiotic cranberries, and dark chocolate chunks."

Next up, a similar mix to the Chia ReCharged, another ReCharge line product, the "Dark Chocolate Energy Boost".  Much more chocolate forward, as you'd expect.

It contains the same well roasted flavorful almonds, sweet and chewy and not-too-dried out cranberries and pineapple bits, and slightly indulgent but tiny dark chocolate chunks.  But in place of the white chocolate chips and chia sticks, more chocolate components are added instead - dark chocolate raisins, dark chocolate espresso beans, and dark chocolate cranberries.

I could have done without the dark chocolate raisins and cranberries, as they just aren't really ever my thing, but the dark chocolate was good quality, and the slight chew the dried fruit inside added was pleasant.  I did enjoy the dark chocolate espresso beans quite a bit - amazing crunch from the espresso bean, and again, quality dark chocolate.

I prefer the Chia ReCharge, but, this was a satisfying mix as well.

Mustard Pretzels (rightmost above)
"A crunchy pretzel with a delicious, tangy mustard seasoning. A great anytime snack."Great coating, but, I'm not really a pretzel girl.

Update Review:

I loved these savory mustard pretzels in the airport lounge when I landed in Boston, perfect after a long flight.  Nice seasoning, good flavor, so salty, and apparently, what I was craving.  I didn't like them quite as much when I was leaving Boston, but, they were still flavorful and good.

Another Update Review:
For me, these are perfect near the end of a long flight, or, when arriving as I noted above. Somehow my body craves simple carbs, something to munch on, and salt.  I highly recommend getting these somewhere for your upcoming flights - I recently did, and about 6 hours into a flight I found them to be just the perfect thing to satisfy every craving I was having.

Wasabi Peas.
"These green peas definitely have a kick of bold flavor. They’re a great crunchy snack for a large crowd looking to be adventurous in their snacking."

Ok, wow, these had some serious kick.   I've had a lot of wasabi peas in my days, but these are among the most intense I've ever had.  I liked them, but I definitely encourage caution before you grab a huge handful.

Bartender's Blend.

"One taste of this snack mix and you can picture yourself sitting at your favorite bar stool, watching your home team.

Bartender’s Blend™ has something for everyone and feels as familiar as your favorite bar. A blend of roasted and salted peanuts, pretzels, rye chips, sesame and plain breadsticks, this crunchy and flavorful snack is the perfect choice for a bar or sporting event."

I almost sorta like this.  It has a bunch of things I like: rye chips, sesame breadsticks, good seasoning ... but trends a bit too plain, with the peanuts, pretzels, and plain breadsticks dominating in the end.

Honey Roasted Sesame Sticks.

"Honey roasted sesame sticks are crunchy and delicious with a touch of buttery sweetness. They’re the perfect mix of sweet and salty."

Average sesame sticks, crunchy, slightly sweet, not remarkable otherwise.

Giant Toasted Corn.

"These giant toasted corn nuts take snacking to the next level. The extra large size allows for more flavor and crispness that everyone will want to reach for."

Standard corn nuts.  Crunchy, savory, salted, but not remarkable in any way.

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