Teaspoon, SF

Teaspoon is a small chain of bubble tea shops, based in California.  The menu has all the classics, including some signature drinks like their version of the "taro lover" and a fairly stunning layered "Strawberry Matcha Royale".  They also have a slew of fairly unique drinks, like the "Mango on Fire" which has chamoy and taijin in it, and even a sangria inspired drink.  They also have a few "Snows", a newer addition to the lineup.

I visited the San Francisco location, with a friend, one sunny afternoon.

Taro Milk Tea & Snows!

Everything we ordered was high quality and pretty.

The shop was fairly busy, and the wait took longer than I'd expect.  Staff were friendly though, and I'll gladly return.

Setting

We visited the San Francisco location, one of 20 (!) stores in California.

Storefront.

Teaspoon is located on Polk Street, along a busy section of shops, right next to a poke place.  (Yup, all the trends, in one little block.  The poke place used to be a froyo shop, and this was a bakery with fancy cupcakes.  #soTrendy).

They have a single bench out front, and only a small number of tables inside.  I recommend getting your treat to go, and taking a walk.

Menu.

The menu is digital, with a fixed screen on the left with the options to create your own tea, and special snows. The one on the right cycled through different specialty drinks.

Since it was dynamic, it was a bit hard to follow, and I wished they had a print one to look through.  Am I old fashioned?

Toppings.

Toppings are listed on the menu board, but you can also peek at them at the counter, where each employee scoops them from.

Drinks & Desserts

Teaspoon offers two things: tea and snow.  They don't try to over-stretch with the likes of popcorn chicken (hi, Quickly!), or slush/smoothie/etc options.  Tea - hot or ice, and snow.  No more.

Tea

Tea is the main attraction (it isn't called "Teaspoon" by accident ...).  They have pre-defined specials, or you can make your own.  If you make your own, you have all the standard choices.  Hot or cold. Sweetness level (0/25/50/75/100%). Non-dairy classic cream or organic house cream. A slew of toppings (jellies in all flavors and shapes, a variety of boba, puddings, aloe, red beans, chia seeds, taro chunks, etc, etc). These selections alone are fairly impressive, but it is the tea lineup itself that really sets Teaspoon apart.  5 black teas, 3 green teas, 7 (!) oolong teas, and rooibos can all form your base tea.  They are not pre-brewed, but instead are brewed to order in a machine that looks much like an espresso machine, but, isn't.

Noticeably missing from the menu is a big lineup of fruity flavored things, or other items clearly made with powders.  The only drink that isn't based on fresh brewed tea is the single taro milk.

Taro Lover, Iced, plus Coconut Jellies + Almond Pudding. $4.75 + $0.50 + 0.50.

"Taro milk with slow cooked taro chunks. Lactose free and no caffeine."

For my drink, I skipped all the actual teas, which is what Teaspoon is actually known for.  When a place has taro milk on the menu ... I can't resist.

The "Taro Lover" was available hot or iced, but that was the only choice I had, unlike the other drinks where you specify sweetness level, and if you want cream.  This one came pre-made as taro milk, with non-dairy creamer only, of the sweetness they decided to make it.  This made me slightly concerned, thinking it might be crazy sweet, as, at most bubble tea shops, I find myself going for 25% sweet options.  But it also made me optimistic that perhaps it wasn't just a taro powder?  I opted for iced.

I'm still not sure what made up the taro milk, to be honest.  It was purple, in the way taro powder is.  It was sweet.  I would prefer a bit less sweet, but, the slow cooked taro chunks they added helped balance it a bit.  Still, overall, good taro flavor, creamy, good taro milk.

To my taro lover, I added two toppings: coconut jelly and almond pudding.  I knew it already had the taro chunks mixed in, but I was inspired to try something like the pudding I had in my taro tea at Sharetea, and picked almond pudding over egg custard thinking the almond flavor might be nice.  I added the coconut jellies wanting to add a touch of sweetness, in case the taro milk wasn't very sweet (which is often the case if it is real taro milk, and since I couldn't specify sweetness, I thought this might be the case).

Thus, I wound up with a cup that was like 40% mix-ins.  I'm not sure this was a bad thing, but it was a bit silly perhaps, if a "drink" is what you are going for.  But who are we kidding, this was a dessert.

Still, I'm glad I did the mix-ins.  The coconut jelly was pretty standard bubble tea shop calibre, slippery rectangular pieces of firm jelly, that sucked up easily in my straw.  They didn't taste very distinctly of coconut, but were sweet and did mix nicely with the taro milk.  They filled the entire bottom portion of my cup, really at least double what I was expecting, which worked great, as I could suck from the top if I didn't want any, and push my straw down if I did.

Next, the almond pudding.  I hoped this would be like the "almond tofu" that I just absolutely adore at Sushi Sam's.  It basically was.  Very large chunks (I hesitate to even call them chunks, as they were huge scoops really), of the pudding.  Again, not particularly almond flavored, but, great texture and nice match for taro.  I found that I preferred to not suck this up in the straw, and ate it with a spoon after, just like pudding, now infused with taro.  This worked amazingly well, as there was soooo much of it, and it all rested on top of the jellies.  I'm really stunned by the quantity of the toppings they provide.

And last, the slow cooked taro chunks that are part of the original drink.  This isn't the best looking topping, a rather brownish ugly color.  And it wasn't really "chunks", I was expecting cubes, and it was not.  But that would be hard to suck up right?  Instead, it was more of a chunky puree?  Regardless, it was actually very good.  Great taro flavor, and the texture worked very well for sucking up.  Probably the best taro mix-in I've ever had in a bubble tea.

So, overall, this was a winner.  Sweet, non-dairy taro milk that I enjoyed with sweet sips of coconut jelly or more savory taro mash, which I then followed up with a second dessert of taro steeped almond pudding with a bit of coconut jelly and taro mash.  Two in one!

I enjoyed this, and I'd gladly get another, although I'd leave out the pudding next time.  The $0.50 each toppings were worth it, given just how generously they were added.

Snow

The other product, besides teas, that Teaspoon makes is snows, in assorted flavors, with a reduced set of standard toppings, although fully customizable.

I happened to visit on a day where they had a promotion for two new snows, so I got to try them out.

The texture of the snow was fascinating.  Seriously fascinating. So light. So fluffy.  Amazing, really.

If I were picking any snow, I'd most certainly go for the "Nutty Taro", with taro based snow, mochi, coconut flakes, almond flakes, and condensed milk.  But since this was part of a promotion, I had a limited selection, and together with a friend split both of the options available.

Neither was quite for me, but, the snow concept, and their execution of it, was great.  I just need to go for one I actually want next time!

Lemon Tart Snow.

"Lemon kumquat snow, with rainbow mochi, mint, and mojito sauce."

I don't like lemon desserts, in general.  But still, we gave this one a try.

It was quite tart, as advertised.  Intense lemon and kumquat flavor.  Somehow too sweet for me at the same time, although, yes, very tart.  Perhaps the "mojito sauce" was really sweet?

I liked the soft, pliable, very fresh rainbow mochi.

I loved the texture of the snow, I loved the concept, but, clearly not the flavor for me.

Donkey Kong Snow.

"Banana snow with rainbow mochi, almond flakes, and nutella sauce."

This one had a bit more going on.  More toppings.

The snow was again such an incredible fluffy texture.  And ... banana flavored.  Uh, not my thing either.

On top was the same quality soft mochi, standard almond flakes, and a drizzle of very thick "nutella sauce".  The mochi and almond flakes provided great contrasting soft and crunchy texture.  The "sauce" was far too thick to really be a sauce, and didn't really taste like nutella, but, was otherwise fine.

So again, great concept, quality components, just not the mix for me.

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Takeout from Lui Lui, New Hampshire

Lui Lui.  If, by-chance, you are from the Lebanon, NH area, this place needs no introduction.  But since I'm going to assume most of you are not familiar, I'll start with the basics.

Lui Lui is one of the most well known restaurants in the area.  The first real Italian-ish restaurant (sorry, Papa Ginos, you don't count!).  It was a core piece of my growing up, from celebrating large group birthday parties or field hockey team dinners there, to more intimate "grownup" Express Lunch dates with my friends, once we could drive ourselves there.  The place was always busy, every day, every time of day.  You never just walked in and got seated, instead, you knew to expect a wait, and were given a buzzer (pretty sure it was the first place in the area to introduce this concept!), so you could stroll around the nearby Powerhouse Mall as you waited ... as long as you didn't venture too far out of range.

"Our famous freshly baked rolls (up to 1,000 per day) and dipping oil have brought generations of people back to Lui Lui again and again."

The reason we were all always willing to wait so long?  Yup, those rolls.  The "famous" Lui Lui rolls and dipping oil.  The food at Lui Lui was always fine, but it was the rolls, served in unlimited amounts, hot and fresh out of the oven, with their signature seasoned oil dipping sauce, that brought us back time and time again.  Oh those rolls.  

Anyway, once I moved away, Lui Lui somehow stayed open, although my family never visited.  It wasn't ever their place, it was my thing, with my friends, not theirs.  I returned once a few years ago, for Express Lunch (which, is actually an amazing deal - you get a half salad or soup, and choice of limited entrees, for a really good price!), and remember being kinda let down.  My parents mentioned that they had gone once and it was not very good.  But I had so many fond memories.

Forward ahead to the summer of Covid, 2020.  I went to stay with my parents for a few months to escape the city lockdown, and at some point, kinda demanded that we order Lui Lui takeout (we still were not dining in there).  Let's just say ... it was not a success.  And yet, we did it again, several months later, which I'm glad we did, as it was much better.  And then this year, summer of 2021, I was visiting again, and got it again, and it was ... lackluster.  Really, such a mixed bag.  I suspect that they are having staffing issues, like seemingly everywhere in the area.

Visit #1: Family Takeout Night. October 2020.

For that first takeout experience, I wish I could say Lui Lui lived up to even a fraction of my memories.  But, it truly did not.

The signature rolls & oil were still great, and I tried desserts for the first time (I never had room before!) that were good, but otherwise, this was mostly disappointing, to everyone, and pricey.  Tiny salads, overcooked pizza, etc, etc.

Visit #2: Family Takeout Night. December 2020.

We gave Lui Lui another try a month or so later, my last week in town, because, well, I was craving the rolls and caesar.  I'm *so* glad we did.  Wow, what a difference a visit makes ...

The pizza this time was perfectly cooked. I loved my caesar.  And mom's pasta stole the show!  Desserts I picked this time were less stellar, but overall, wow.  Again I say, what a difference a visit makes ....

Visit #3: Family Takeout Night. September 2021.

When I visited my family again at the end of the next summer, we again did family takeout night, with my sister and her kids, and Lui Lui was an easy choice to please everyone.

It was ... ok.  Nothing was horribly wrong, our order was accurate, but, most everything was kinda "eh", and not as good as previous visits.  Our food was also packaged up with hot pasta adjacent to cold creme brûlée and salads, so, that left us with some mixed results temperature-wise.

I was pleased that the caesar salad remains solid, and the rolls and oil were as good as ever.

Appetizers

There is one, very memorable, part of every Lui Lui meal for me.  The bread and oil to dip into.  It is given to every table once you sit down, the rolls are baked in the wood fired oven, and, well, we always just loved it.  You can even purchase retail bottles of the oil.  Its soooo good.  I have memories of so many parties there, and at one, there was a girl who was stuffing her jacket pockets with rolls to bring home, so they'd keep bringing us more while we were there.  Such memories.  And no meal at Lui Lui's could be imagined without them (they do gluten-free ones now too apparently?)

Lui Lui also has a very large appetizer menu, fun things like crispy risotto balls, roasted ravioli, calamari, spinach & artichoke dip, etc, etc, but I'm pretty sure I've never tried anything from the appetizer menu.  Maybe the bruschetta?  But when the rolls and oil are that good ... you really just don't need anything else.

Visit #1: Rolls & Oil.

I was soooo excited to get the rolls in our takeout order, even though I feared that perhaps they would not live up to my memories.  I kept in mind that even if they let me down, at least I had found the rolls & oil at Ziggy's, and although everything else at Ziggy's was pretty standard, their oil and rolls were really fantastic, as I raved about before.

I made sure to ask that plentiful rolls and oil were provided.  I was told that given our order, we'd get 8, and could add 6 more for $1.50.  I stuck with the 8, as there were only 3 of us, but did ask for an extra oil.

As I remembered, rolls all came baked two stuck together.

Visit #1: Rolls.

The rolls were still very good.  Crusty exterior.  It really is a toss up for me if I prefer these or Ziggy's - the Ziggy's rolls were softer, but I did like the crusty nature of Lui Lui too.

*****, still would get again.

I felt the same way my second visit, glad to order some extras to stash in the freezer.  #protip.

Update: And yes, my third visit, broken record, I really like these rolls.  Soft inside, great chew, nice flavor.  And of course, fantastic dipping oil. ****.

Visit #1: Dipping Oil.

And yes, the oil is still great, lovely amount of garlic, some herbs.  Again a toss up between these and Ziggy's - both oils were great with the garlic and herbs.  

*****, still would get again.

Bottle of oil. $7.50.

And if you love the oil as much as I do ... yes, you can buy a bottle from their "retail" section for $7.50.  To go with your freezer stashed rolls ... (or, you know, to bring back across the country with you, heh).

#protip.

Soups & Salads

When I dine out, soups & salads are the part of the menu I normally blow right by, but, that would be the wrong move at Lui Lui.  Their ceasar salad is #famous, for good reason, really.  I adored it, I think the first caesar I ever had made with *real anchovy paste*, and high quality parmesan cheese.  And once I discovered a "hack", I forget who, but someone else did this and recommended it, where you can add on a scoop of the marinated roma tomatoes that they use for the bruschetta ... oh, man.  No meal at Lui Lui, much like the rolls, is complete without this salad.  You can make it an entree with blackened grilled chicken, which I do have fond memories of doing from time to time too, back when I used to like chicken ... 

Several of the salads are available in half or full size, appropriate for pairing with a main dish, and of course the caesar is one of those.  If you go at lunch, your choice of soup or salad is also included with every meal, and that is the time of day I always visited as a teenager, frugal gals we were.  They had a "Express" pasta I loved (Cavatappi Primavera, no longer on the menu), that I always subbed in a creamy rosa sauce for, the aforementioned caesar and rolls and oil ... and, it was bliss.  So many great days spent on the outside patio with my high school friends (including for years later whenever we all visited home), with that lineup.

Entree salads abound as well, some quite innovative and tasty sounding, but, the caesar I was never able to get past.  One of my friends adored the Insalata though, I remember her always getting it as her meal.

I never once had soup at Lui Lui, nor saw anyone else get it, but they have an Italian sausage and chicken chowder always on the menu, along with a soup of the day.  I actually ordered one for takeout, as I wasn't feeling particularly great, and somehow chowder sounded good.

Visit #1: Full Insalata. $7.99.

"Crisp lettuce, fresh green peppers, mushrooms, roasted black olives, tomatoes and red onions with our house Italian dressing and a sprinkle of mozzarella.'

My parents went for the classic Insalata, which I was quite familiar with, like I said, one friend growing up loved this, and it was certainly always on the table at every birthday party or gathering.

I didn't have any, but it looked different from my memories.  Didn't it used to have huge shreds of lovely cheese?  This cheese was laughably small bits.

My parents were saddened by the lack of actual greens in the full size, large salad ... very meager portion.  Got a solid meh from them. 

** for the ridiculous portion size too.

Visit #1: Caesar. Half. Toppings on side. $6.99.
+ Marinated Tomatoes. $2.50.

"with fresh croutons and sharp cheese."

I of course went for the caesar, and asked to have the croutons on the side so they wouldn't get soggy, and ordered extra dressing (+$0.50) ... hoping it would live up to my memories, and be something I could use for a few days on my own salads.  And of course I asked for my side of marinated roma tomatoes, explaining that I wanted the ones they use on the bruschetta, a big scoop to add on to my salad (but also on the side, so not soggy).

The portion of the salad was even more laughable than my parent's Insalata.  Yes, it was a half size, the starter salad, but, um, their half size salad certainly used to be bigger than this.  Seriously, the amount of romaine ... what??!!!

The lettuce was ... fine? Fresh enough? Romaine as it should be in a caesar salad.

The crouton portion was normal, but given the meager lettuce, um, ratio was a bit off.  I do like the croutons though, they make them in house, from the same dough as the delicious rolls.  Parmesan cheese was just shredded thin, I thought it used to be larger shreds?  But at least these were still normal size shreds of cheese, unlike in my parent's salad.

For $6.99, but $2.50 for the addition of the tomatoes, um, value not there.  Again, **.

Visit #2: Half Caesar + Anchovies + Marinated Tomatoes.
Toppings on the side, add extra dressing.  $6.99 + $0.99.

My caesar salad was better on visit #2 as well - more lettuce, better mix of breads in croutons, but otherwise the same.  I had everything on side as I requested, no problems.

I added anchovies for extra punch, and kinda wanted more than just 2, but, was glad to have them.  They really did amp up the fishy nature.

The dressing seemed a bit thicker, more flavorful too.

This time I was charged only +$0.99 extra, for both the anchovies and marinated tomatoes, which should be the cost of the anchovies.  I think they didn't know how to charge for tomatoes?

Anyway, overall better, more anchovy all around, still love adding the marinated tomatoes.  <3.

****, my fav caesar.

Visit #3: Half Caesar + Anchovies + Marinated Tomatoes.
Toppings on the side, add extra dressing.  $6.99 + $0.99 +$0.99 +$0.50.

"with fresh croutons and sharp cheese."

Third visit, as always I got my caesar salad, with extra dressing ($0.50), and I added anchovies ($0.99) and the marinated tomatoes ($0.99).

This time it came in a full size salad container, but was less full.  I asked for toppings on the side, and the dressing, tomatoes, and croutons were on the side, but the cheese was mixed in and anchovies perched on top.  Oh well.

It was a good caesar, as I have come to expect from Lui Lui.  Nice size chunks of fresh enough romaine, sharp flavorful cheese, and swoon, I love their dressing.  The anchovies give it all the extra umami flavor I desire.  Their crouton are made in-house, and are well seasoned.  The marinated tomatoes however ... was not what I wanted (nor had gotten in the past).  I asked for the marinated roma tomatoes, the same ones that come on the bruschetta, as always, and instead got a few soft cherry tomatoes, like those that came with the seasonal roasted tomato salad (more on that soon).  They weren't particularly flavorful, and certainly weren't the delicious diced marinated tomatoes I wanted.

Besides the tomatoes though, overall this was exactly what I expected, and I liked it quite a bit.

****.

Caesar Dressing.

The dressing of course is a key component.

It was ... fine.  It did not have the real, legit, intense anchovy flavor I remembered, but was the thicker style I prefer, very unhealthy, and decent enough. 

Solid ****.

Visit #1: Marinated Tomatoes. $2.50.

The part I was second most excited for, of course, my marinated tomatoes!  Back when I used to get this, they gave me a huge scoop, but, keeping in theme with the day, this was just a tiny little dressing container full.  I also remember bigger chunks of tomato, but again, theme of day, smaller bits now.

The tomatoes however were still great, very flavorful, well marinated.  I'm sure the bruschetta is great with this, but why have bruschetta, when you can feast on the rolls and oil (and add this even?), or add the flavorful tomatoes to your salad?  

I'm glad I ordered this, but again, lol at the portion size.  And seriously, $2.50 for this? 

****.

Visit #1: Add Grilled Shrimp (8).  $7.99.

I also asked for the addition of grilled shrimp (choices are grilled shrimp, grilled, blackened, or crispy chicken, salmon, or steak tips).  The blackened chicken I do remember being good, but as I don't care for chicken anymore, I tried out the shrimp.

The shrimp were decent, strangely different sizes though, 4 large, 4 smaller. The smaller were really smoky with lovely grill flavor, the others more succulent.  Some of them did not have the poop trail removed though, and were visibly kinda gross.  I loved the smoky flavor of the smoky ones though.

Fresh and warm, which wasn't awesome on top of a salad, so I'm glad I had left on the side else they would have wilted the lettuce.

Overall though, a good item, solid ***+.

Visit #2: Side of 8 Grilled Shrimp. $7.99.

The shrimp, decent before, were wonderful this time.  All the same medium size, perfectly grilled, well cleaned.

Really succulent, amazing grill flavor.  

Best shrimp I've had in ages.  Will get time and time again. ****+.

Visit #3: Side of 8 Grilled Shrimp. $7.99.

And .... the next time, the shrimp were fine, succulent enough, and I liked the char bits on them, a sign that they did come off a grill.  These were properly cleaned.  And my order of 8 had 9.  Score!

***+.

Visit #3: Asparagus Balsamic Tomato Salad. (Seasonal). $11.99.

"Grilled asparagus and balsamic roasted tomato salad with red onion, tomato's, cucumber, goat cheese, and  grilled asparagus with a balsamic glaze."

This was a pretty random order on my part, given that I hate goat cheese, and I'm "meh" on cucumber, but I loved the sound of the grilled asparagus and balsamic roasted tomatoes, a summer special.

The salad was ... not at all what I was expecting.  The diced onion was as expected, but, um, there were just a few tiny halves of kinda soft cherry tomato.  Not what I expected from "roasted tomato".   And ... the grilled asparagus, the real draw for me?  It existed, but only 4 stalks.  For a "Asparagus" and "Balsamic Tomato" salad, it was sadly lacking in those departments.  I also thought it was going to be tomato and asparagus dominant, NOT a lettuce salad, but this was a romaine base, not mentioned in the description.  The cucumber was very large slices of flavorless product, far more dominant than any other ingredient, besides the goat cheese, which I was hoping to avoid, but alas, was spread all about.  And finally, the balsamic glaze really seemed like standard balsamic vinaigrette.

So ... yeah.  I was expecting a "salad" of tons of grilled asparagus and bursting with juicy roasted tomatoes, and I got a pile of lettuce, with large boring cucumber, lots of goat cheese, and average dressing.  Not what I wanted.

**.

Visit #1: Vegetable Chicken Chowder. Cup. $4.50.

A cup of soup was super strange order on my part ("souper strange", heh!), especially chicken soup, but I wasn't feeling well, and I figured I could eat around the chicken.  A bowl is available too, but I went for the small cup.

This was ... um ... underwhelming.  Not really sure why it is a menu staple.

My portion had exactly two chunks of chicken (which of course I didn't mind), 2 chunks of broccoli, a single small chunk of potato, and, some cubes of carrot and peas.  It was creamy I guess, and a decent thickness, but not particularly flavorful, and honestly seemed like some frozen mixed veggies thrown into a mediocre sauce.

It was kinda what I was in the mood for, but, yeah, not very good. **.

Visit #2: Soup of the Day: Chicken and Dumplings. Cup. $4.50.

Ok, so I was craving dumplings, and so, the next time we ordered, even though the soup of the day was chicken, and I hadn't been impressed with their soup before, I still got it.

It was ... ok.

The dumplings were good, soft, decent flavor.  But the base of the "soup" was really thick, yes, like pot pie filling, and just kinda ... gummy.  Carrots very soft. Flavor overall not great, and loaded with kinda boring chicken.

**+, definitely not for me.

Pizza

Pizza is definitely not really my thing, but my family always does a pizza night, and thus, that is what they wanted, even though I really was hoping people would want pasta (and we could share!).  Lui Lui is known for their wood burning oven, a huge centerpiece of the restaurant after all, so I had hope that it would be good.  I think I probably had it from time to time growing up at parties, but, pasta was always my focus.

Lui Lui makes their own dough, offers a gluten-free version too, and all are cooked in the aforementioned 800* wood burning oven.  They have a slew of specialty pizzas, including some fun ones like a caesar salad topped one ... or you can design your own.  They also make calzones and flatbreads.

Visit #1: Large Margarita. $22.50.

"Fresh tomato, basil, romano and asiago cheese, chopped garlic, olive oil and fresh mozzarella."

I would never pick a margarita pizza, but, alas, pizza was for my parents anyway, so, boring Margarita it was.  They went for the large.

As I expected, it was not a legit margarita, featuring marinated chopped tomatoes (same as my salad add-on, same as bruschetta) and perhaps balls of fresh mozzarella, but lots of other cheese, and it was all very melted on.  The crust was extremely crisp.

My parents weren't impressed with this either.  I liked the tomatoes of course, but yeah, this is not good pizza.  And rather pricey.

**.

Visit #2: Small 2 Topping Pizza, Green Pepper & Onion. $12.99.

Ok, wow.  What a difference a visit makes.  My dad opted to try pizza again, making his own, just a small with onions and green peppers.

It was *radically* different from last time.

The sauce was well applied, flavorful, tangy, the kind I like.

Generous amount of cheese, perfectly melted.

Crust was perfectly cooked, crisp, slight char.

Green peppers and onions were crispy and flavorful.

Overall, really the style of pizza I like, when I want pizza (which is rare), and totally and completely different from last time.

***+ just cuz pizza isn't my thing, but the best I've had in town.

Visit #3: Large 2 Topping (Green Peppers and Onions).  $20.59.

Our next visit, my father and sister both got pizzas (I didn't get a picture of my sister's before she dug in), but both went the way of the first time we ordered Lui Lui pizza.  Cooked more than I like, cheese kinda hard and not nicely melty.

The sauce still had a nice tang, and I do like the way they keep the onion and peppers soft, but, meh.

**.

Pasta

Pasta is the other focus of the Lui Lui menu, and the offerings are extensive.  The linguine, fettuccine, ravioli and tortellini are all made fresh by The Matarazzo Family, the rest are imported from Italy. 

In addition to the slew of well composed pasta dishes, you can customize any of them, swapping out the sauce, adding or removing veggies or proteins, or subbing the pasta for any other (including gnocchi or gluten-free pasta too).

Visit #2: Baked Tortelloni Gratinate. $17.75. 
Add spinach, add mushrooms. + $0.99 each addition.

"Cheese filled jumbo tortelloni tossed with grilled chicken, diced prosciutto and chopped marinated tomatoes in our asiago cream sauce, fresh basil garnish."

My mom decided to try pasta on our second visit, and, wow, she "wins".  This was fantastic!!  I really approve of her modifications as well.  They kinda made the dish.

The asiago cream sauce was a great base, far more flavorful than their alfredo.  

Marinated tomatoes added tons of flavor, there was a substantial amount of tasty prosciutto, and her added spinach and mushrooms just rounded it all out quite nicely.

The pasta was large cheese tortelloni, and the dish was baked so it had some cheese melted on top too, and the pasta was decently al dente.  Not really my thing, but seemed good quality.  I didn't try the chicken, but it looked to be tender slices of all white meat grilled chicken.

**** for me, just for the sauce, veggies, and prosciutto!  I stole, um, a lot of this :)

Visit #3: Baked Tortelloni Gratinate Sub Cavatappi.  $18.75
Add Shrimp ($7.99), Spinach ($0.99), Mushrooms ($0.99).

"Cheese filled jumbo tortelloni tossed with grilled chicken, diced prosciutto and chopped marinated tomatoes in our asiago cream sauce, fresh basil garnish."

After the success of my mom's order of this last time, we were pretty excited to re-create it, and turn it even more into something we wanted.  We added the spinach and mushrooms again, and this time added shrimp too (8 of them), and subbed in cavatappi for the tortelloni, since none of us really care for tortelloni.  I was pretty excited for this, but ... it was nothing the same.

The sauce was thinner and more watery than I remembered, and seemed to have little flavor.  There was very, very little mushroom added, and even less spinach.  One bite of each.  The shrimp were juicy and succulent, but not cleaned, poop trails all still quite visible.  And no cheese on top.

I liked the idea of this dish still, and appreciated the shreds of prosciutto, but ... everything about this was a let down.  The pasta was nicely cooked though, and I liked the corkscrew shape.

**+.

Kid's

Children, er, "Bambinos", can opt to create their own pasta, from a lineup of all the 8 pastas available, along with a sauce (marinara, alfredo, butter, meat sauce, or ... mac n' cheese!), and add in proteins like grilled chicken, meatballs, or shrimp.  They also have a few entrees, smaller portions of chicken parmesan or lasagna, mini pizzas, and chicken tenders, all served with choice of broccoli, fruit, or potatoes. 

Visit #1: Kid's Chicken Tenders / Garlic Broccoli. $7.50.

For my niece, she wanted chicken nuggets, so, tenders it was, my mom telling her they were just "big chicken nuggets", and then cutting them up.  Normally served with ketchup, but she wanted bbq.  My mom picked the broccoli for her, given the choice of broccoli, fruit, or potatoes.

Of course I stole a bite of everything ...

The chicken tenders were not good.  Crispy, yes, but they tasted like old fried oil.

The children's broccoli is normally plain, but I asked for garlic broccoli, like adults have.  It was, um, just broccoli with garlic.  Fine, but just steamed broccoli.  I smothered it in alfredo sauce.

My niece took a single bite of everything, spit it all out, and demanded something else.  She declared all this "gross" and "yucky", and honestly, I don't disagree.

*.

Sauces

As a sauce lover, of course I added sauces on to several of our dishes, to try, and to use in my own ways the following days.

Visit #1: House Buffalo.

Buffalo sauce isn't really normally an option to add on to anything, but the regular menu has spicy tuscan tenders as an appetizer, made with their house buffalo sauce, and I really wanted to try it, so I asked for a side with my shrimp skewer.

It was good, spicy buffalo sauce, classic buffalo wing flavor, likely blended with butter.  Solid, standard execution of buffalo sauce. 

***+.

Visit #1: BBQ.

My very opinionated 2 year old niece demanded bbq instead of ketchup for her chicken nuggets, but then promptly rejected it and asked for ketchup.  Luckily we had this in the fridge at home.

The bbq sauce was just standard bbq sauce, but a nice bold one.  Nothing much more to say. The lid was melted since they packaged in with the chicken fingers.

That said, I did like it, and used it myself.

***.

Visit #1: Alfredo. Side. $3.99.

If I was feeling better, I would have ordered pasta.  I almost still did. I wanted creamy comforting pasta ... sorta.  I don't think the alfredo was ever something I got at Lui Lui, again, always going for the rosa sauce, or sometimes the signature Lui Lui with lemon cream sauce (noticing a theme?  Yup, rich, creamy sauces, that is how I roll), but I know people like the alfredo.

When I saw it available as a side (or, pint, quarter, etc in the "Retail" section of the takeout menu), I added it on, knowing I could dunk my roll in it if for some reason I disliked the oil, I could smother broccoli in it, and, I had some great cauliflower gnocchi and assorted raviolis from Trader Joe's in my freezer that would be awesome with it.

It was ... fine alfredo.  Thick.  Rich.  But not really special in any way.  And seriously lacking pepper.  Slightly better than a jarred alfredo sauce?  I liked how thick it was. ***.

Dessert

I am fairly certain I never ordered dessert at Lui Lui before, in all my years of visiting regularly.  Which is fairly remarkable, given what a huge dessert girl I am.  I was always stuffed full of bread, pasta, and salad, and have no memory of ever getting dessert (although I do remember the dessert platter, they always came around the dining room presenting a tray with all the desserts on it, to really draw you in!).  All desserts allow you to add on caramel, chocolate sauce, chocolate chips, whipped cream, and a candle for free, or a scoop of ice cream for $0.99.

The menu is fairly extensive, with all the Italian classics: tiramisu, cannoli, etc, plus some general crowd pleasers like warm chocolate lava cake with ice cream or brownie sundaes, innovative spins like "cannoli chips and dip", with, well, cannoli chips to dip in a cannoli filling dip (and optionally, a "salted caramel sidecar" too).  But it was the Sicilian chocolate mousse that really caught my eye when ordering takeout, as I knew it would travel well, and they say the recipe hasn't changed in 25 years!  Plus, the person taking my order said it was her favorite item, recommending it with the chocolate chips added.  I had to get it, even though I avoid chocolate in the evenings, I knew I'd gladly indulge the next day.  I also couldn't resist a creme brûlée, because, um, creme brûlée has a label dedicated to it on my blog for a reason! (although I was a bit sad it wasn't their well known white chocolate version, but rather a seasonal pumpkin one).  Yes, I love custards and puddings (again, I have a label for pudding for a reason!).  Both were quite successful, highlights of the meal.

The next time, I mixed it up, even though I was very, very tempted to get the mousse, and now the regular creme brûlée (no longer pumpkin spice season! yes!), but, I made myself try two new items.  They were fine, but not great, sadly.

Visit #1: Sicilian Chocolate Mousse. $5.99.

"The recipe hasn't changed for 25 years!"

First up, the chocolate mousse, which I tried just a tiny bite of (licking the lid, actually, as it was covered in mousse!), since I avoid chocolate at night.  I was a bit sad that our order it did *not* include the chocolate chips, nor the whipped cream, that I ordered.

It was good mousse.  Thick, rich, fluffy.  Definitely solid execution, good mousse, but really quite sweet.  I think the best I've had in the area is actually from BG's Market in Hartland, right next to the Hartland Diner (home of some very memorable, epic pancakes!), but that is a thicker style.  Made in house, and they claim the same recipe since they opened 25 years ago.  Clearly a crowd pleaser, and signature dish.

I really did like this, and enjoyed it greatly the next day, adding my own whipped cream (necessary to cut the sweetness and richness!), cocoa nibs (for crunch and a bit of bitter, again to cut the sweet), and fresh chopped strawberries to lighten it a touch.  But very solid mousse, ***+

Visit #1: Creme Brûlée: Pumpkin (Seasonal). $6.49.

Next up, the creme brûlée, usually a signature white chocolate version, but a seasonal pumpkin one this time (it was October, after all).

It was ... good, but not really a creme brûlée.  Yes, it can be good without being a good creme brûlée!

So what makes a good creme brûlée?  It starts with the top: it should be well caramelized, and pass the 'tap test', where it takes a bit of effort to break through, but certainly not too much, you don't want the layer too thick either.  This was soft on top, although clearly had been brûléed previously.  Since it was takeout, I forgave them for this, perhaps it was better freshly brûléed.

Next, the pudding, usually a thicker custard.  I love it when the top is hot but underneath is beautifully cold, although again, takeout, so this was just all room temp, not their fault.  But the pudding part really is normally quite thick, a rich custard, and this was lighter, not as fluffy as the mousse exactly, but not as thick as creme brûlée normally is.  Perhaps that is the pumpkin?  Again, not actually a bad thing, it was a nice pumpkin pudding, light pumpkin flavor, spiced but not too spiced, but, not really the custard I was expecting.  It too was very very sweet though, sweeter than I really wanted.  I needed to add whipped cream and nuts (spiced walnuts were a great compliment!) to cut the sweet.

So overall, a decent dessert, and I enjoyed it. ***+. But a proper, legit creme brûlée it was not.

Visit #2: Cannoli Chips & Dip.
Caramel & Whipped Cream.  $6.50.

The cannoli chips & dip was a really random order on my part.  I don't really like cannoli, well, the shells usually, but ... this sounded fun.  

I asked if it was made in house, and was told it was, but the person taking my order really didn't seem all that confident, and I do kinda doubt her actually.  Or at least, I suspect the chips come from Golden Cannoli (https://shop.goldencannoli.com/collections/cannoli-chips/products/chips-foodservice-powdered-sugar ...).

Anyway.  I was asked if I'd like caramel or chocolate sauce, and since evening, and I was avoiding caffeine, I went for caramel.  It was just sweet syrup, the kind from a squeeze bottle used in drinks, garnishing dessert plates, etc.  Meh.  

I was also asked if I'd like chocolate chips or whipped cream.  I accepted the later.  It was ... pretty much melted and deflated when it got to me, so, yeah, clearly from a can.  Oh well.  Tasty cream at least!

As for the chips, they were ... ok.  Triangle shaped, kinda tasted like cannoli shell but not really ... dusted in powered sugar.  I liked the idea of having the chips to dip in things, but these weren't particularly special.

And the mascarpone, sweetened thick mascarpone, not particularly "mascarpone forward" if you know what I mean, not much flavor going on.  Eh.

Overall, a fun concept, but, meh.

**+.

Visit #2: Tiramisu. $6.50.

"An Italian classic!"

Yes, an Italian classic, and one I do *sometimes* like.  

It was ... ok.  House made at least.  Classic 3 layer tiramisu.

The best part was the cake, very well soaked, I appreciated how moist it was.  The mascarpone cream layer was too sweet for my taste though, and, well, didn't taste like mascarpone?  Just a lot of sweet.

The cake layer was good though, and the portion *massive*.  I had a slice, and my mom had two separate slices from it, and neither of us felt our pieces were too small.  Seriously, #massive.

*** overall, just too sweet for me, not complex enough mascarpone.  Maybe it needed to be had alongside an espresso?

Visit 3: Creme Brulee. $6.75.

The last time we had Lui Lui, it was the fall, and thus, the classic creme brûlée was pumpkin.  Sigh, pumpkin spice season.  While it was good enough, I'm not that into pumpkin spice all the things.  I was happy to have caught it in the "regular" form, just, classic creme brûlée.

This was a decent enough creme brûlée.  Obviously not freshly brûléed, so, I didn't get the warm top and cool bottom differential I love (particularly as it was packaged with both hot pasta and cold salad ...), and it didn't have as thick of a candied top as I prefer (failed the tap test!), but, the custard was well set, it had a decent vanilla bean flavor to it, and it was satisfying.

A fine creme brûlée, not amazing, but not bad.  I'd get it again if I were craving such a treat.

***+.

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Ozery Bakery

Morning rounds.  Did you know these were a thing?  I did not, until I discovered Ozery Bakery products in the grocery store.  Morning Rounds as their signature creation, a way to mix up your morning carb choice.

"Two brothers, one big idea. Since 1996, the Ozery family has been inventing alternatives to traditional bread products that are made from hearty whole grains, fruits, and seeds. Everything we make is intended to help you eat well and feel good."

But let me back up.  Ozery Bakery is a Canadian company, on a mission, like so many, to offer healthier for you options, in their case, incorporating whole grains, fruits, and seeds.  In addition to the aforementioned Morning Rounds, their original product, they now offer a smaller "snacking rounds" version, several types of buns, pitas, and brioche for sandwiches, and now even crackers and a granola-like crumble.

I've only ever tried the breakfast offerings of Morning Rounds and Snacking Rounds, both available in a variety of flavors.

Morning Rounds: Toastable Fruit and Grain Buns

"Start your day off right with Morning Rounds, the fruit and grain bun that will make you want to ditch those unhealthy doughnuts, muffins and pastries. We only put in what's delicious, like pieces of real apples, whole oats and seeds. With Morning Rounds, breakfast and snacks are a no-brainer—the hardest part is choosing one out of our four delicious flavors."

Ha, get me to ditch my regular decadent morning baked goods?  We'll see about that.  Still, I was interested in the idea of the morning rounds ...

These are somewhat hard to describe.  They are sorta like thick pita bread.  Maybe pita bread crossed with a bagel?  But loaded with seeds, fruits, and seasonings.  Really a unique product.  Any topping you'd put on toast, bagels, english muffins, or the like works with them: butter, jam, cream cheese, peanut butter, uh, nutella ...

The package recommends the freezer for storage.  We tried heating them directly from frozen and they easily got soft and fresh after just a couple minutes in the toaster oven at 400 degrees.  They also suggest that you can just leave them out to thaw overnight.  Either works, and they really are convenient to have on hand in the freezer.

The Morning Rounds are available in five flavors: muesli, apple cinnamon, cranberry orange, multigrain, and blueberry.  Two flavors, date & chia and cinnamon raisin, have been discontinued.

Muesli.

"Toastable, portable breakfast buns full of sweet sulfite-free apples, plump raisins and a mix of oats, flax seeds, sunflower seeds and other nutritious grains. It’s all the ingredients you need to fuel your day."

I started with the muesli, drawn in by the name, having just returned from Australia where I ate muesli every day.  Such a thing there.

I simply warmed my round in the toaster oven, from frozen, for a few minutes, at 400 degrees.  I was shocked at how fresh it seemed coming out of the toaster oven.  Soft, steamy, like a fresh baked pita-bagel!  These are a remarkable product in this sense alone.

The base of the muesli flavor, besides flour, sugar, and other basics, is a bunch of seeds (flax, sunflower), dried fruits (raisins, apples), and a "multigrain mix" of cracked wheat, cracked rye, crushed flax seeds, millet, cracked triticale, barley grits, sunflower seeds, and rolled oats.  So much stuff going on.

While I loved the form, and I loved the freshness, I didn't really care for this variety.  The seed mix just wasn't for me.  Too bitter, and not a mix that I liked.

I added some cream cheese and treated it like a hearty bagel, but certainly not a flavor I wanted again.  This could totally work well for egg and cheese sandwiches though, or even a lunch sandwich ... if you like seeds and healthy things.

***.

Snacking Rounds: Fruit and Grain Snacks.

Snacking Rounds as basically mini Morning Rounds.  They are available in only two varieties, apple cinnamon and cinnamon raisin.  Several others Cranberry Orange, Muesli, Banana Cocoa, and Cherry Cocoa) have been discontinued.

Muesli.

"Muesli Snacking Rounds are the perfect fruit & grain-filled bite. Muesli Snacking Rounds are so full of flavor we eat them plain, but they're also great topped with low-fat cream cheese! "

The muesli snacking rounds, as expected, were exactly like the morning rounds, just, mini. 

Again I thought they were a great product, fresh, so easily warmed in toaster oven, but this wasn't the right flavor for me.  I did like the mini size, much better for, well, a snack, or just easier portion control.  Or to make a mini egg sando?

***+, because I liked the form even more.

Apple Cinnamon Snacking Rounds.

"Apple Cinnamon Snacking Rounds would be a great addition to school lunchboxes. Filled with juicy dried apples and a hint of cinnamon, they make wonderful mini peanut butter sandwiches."

Next, I tried apple cinnamon, again not a flavor I was excited for, but picked by my partner.

The apple cinnamon too have a sourdough and whole wheat base, with the expected apples and cinnamon, plus some bonus raisins.

They also warmed up beautifully.  The distribution of apples and raisins was perfect, just right to add chew, but not too much.  Cinnamon was evident but not dominating. 

My mother, and partner, both loved these.  "Better than cinnamon raisin toast!", my mom proclaimed.  "Much better than a cinnamon raisin bagel", he said.  I am just not into raisins, or this flavor profile really, so while I appreciated the product, I wasn't as thrilled as they.

These were best slathered with some butter, which melted in perfectly.

****.

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Cranberry Orange. 

"Cranberry Orange Snacking Rounds are full of dried fresh cranberries and fresh oranges. The perfect bite-size substitute for an unhealthy muffin or breakfast pasty. Great with your morning coffee or tea!"

Finally, I moved on to another variety, not one I was particularly excited for though: cranberry orange.  My mother selected these, as she loves cranberry and orange, but those are never my top choice.

The cranberry orange have a totally different base, whole wheat and sourdough, without any of the seeds and other goodies.  As you'd guess from the name, they have cranberries and oranges two ways (crushed and pureed).

And ... yup, they too were far better than I expected.  They warmed up well, the cranberries were nicely distributed just like the raisins, and the orange accented it well.  Again, not my first choice of flavor, but these were quite good for what they were.

Also best slathered with butter.

***+.

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Devine Delights

As you know by now, desserts, and baked goods in general, are pretty much my favorite things to review. And by "review", you know I mean "eat".  For "research". While I certainly love local small bakeries, for my group at work, we are required to order through foodservice distributors, so I've had my share of wholesale items, like, Divine Delights.

"Divine Delights is the premium source for handmade petits fours, cakes, brownies, and shortbread cookies in the US."

The Divine Delights portfolio spans several areas, but I've only tried the petits fours.
  

Petits Fours

“Each Petits Four is a miniature multi-layered almond butter cake filled with velvety smooth truffle creams, intriguing fruit fillings, and exotic butter creams, enrobed in a rainbow of specialty chocolates for a perfect finish and to seal in the freshness.”

While Devine Delights does make other products, the petits fours are certainly their signature item.  They change seasonally, always decorated quite festively, although I've only tried the Valentine's day ones. 

Valentine's Petit Fours.

“Buzz your Valentine with our special demitasse petit four gram. 36 moist bite-sized layer cakes adorned with a rainbow of chocolate hearts and a hint of amour. Presented within this elegantly gift boxed assortment we have included: Raspberry Creme, Bittersweet Chocolate Cherry, Very Berry Strawberry, and Triple Truffle."

We had the Valentine's assortment, 4 different flavors, each decorated with hearts for the holiday. I was not sure what any particular "package" was, so I had to guess which was which.

Strawberry Vanilla? Raspberry Vanilla? Raspberry Creme? Very Berry Strawberry?

I started with the white one, not knowing which it was.   I ... still don't know which it was.  The description implies it should be Strawberry Vanilla or Raspberry Vanilla if I believe the supplier, or Raspberry Creme or Very Berry Strawberry if I believe the manufacturer.  If you were to ask me, um, I'd call it coconut almond ... berry.

The shell was very boring white chocolate, no flavor to it at all.

It had a slight hint of berry, red goo really, between the layers, but so little of it that it barely counts.  I certainly couldn't determine if it was strawberry or raspberry.  It tasted vaguely ... cherry, if I really had to claim something.

The cake was just white cake, not actually "vanilla" flavored, but, I'll go with that.  It was dry and not moist in any way.

Something tasted very strongly almond extract flavored.  I still can't tell if it was the cake, the white chocolate coating, the spread between the layers, or all of it.  But I really tasted almond extract.  Which makes sense, given that all the petit fours are made with "almond butter cake" I guess, but it overwhelmed everything.

There was an unexpected coconut flavor too, and a gritty quality like comes from coconut.  This is mentioned no where, so I'm not sure what I was tasting.

Anyway, it wasn't good, as I didn't care for the coconut almond flavor, the dry cake, nor the gritty texture.

Next I had the pink coated one, which was the other of the "Strawberry Vanilla? Raspberry Vanilla? Raspberry Creme? Very Berry Strawberry?" group.  Again, I couldn't tell.

It tasted very much the same, and I disliked it equally.

Yes, the outside coating was pink instead of white, and this one didn't have any goo filling, instead it was just a pink cream, but otherwise, it was just dry cake, and tasted like almond.  Did not like.

Chocolate Cherry Vanilla / Bittersweet Chocolate Cherry.

Then I went for a chocolate covered one, drizzled with red stripes.

I'm going to guess this is the one known as Chocolate Cherry Vanilla or Bittersweet Chocolate Cherry, although it could be the  Truffle Chocolate / Triple Truffle.

The shell was chocolate, a decent chocolate, nice snap to it.

Chocolate Cherry Vanilla / Bittersweet Chocolate Cherry: Inside.

The cake was better in this one, a bit less dry (although certainly not moist), and less strong in the almond department.

The filling between the layers was perhaps a bit thicker, but still pretty hard to taste.  I tasted more chocolate than fruit in this one, but perhaps I was just tasting the stronger chocolate shell, compared to the white chocolate before?

This was certainly better than the first one I tried, but, for me, a girl who is all about frosting to cake ratios ... um ... this was just not at all what I go for.

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Steep Creamery & Tea

I was pretty excited when Steep first opened several years ago, in my neighborhood.  First, as an ice cream lover, I was obviously going to pay attention to a creamery, but Steep not only has ice cream, but rolled ice cream.  Oh, and bubble tea!  Two fabulous trends, both of which Steep Creamery & Tea specializes in. 

The bubble tea lineup has no surprises, but a decent variety of options, average mix-ins, etc.  Same with the rolled ice cream.

Steep's menu has changed some over the years, and they now offer regular ice cream pints in addition to the rolled ice cream, but these come in Asian flavors like White Rabbit, Yakult, black sesame, even durian & cream!  

I haven't visited in person, so sadly couldn't get a rolled ice cream, but I had some co-workers bring me back a drink when they took a little field trip one day.  Sadly, I wasn't a fan.  I'd love to return, post-pandemic, for ice cream ...

Taro Smoothie, 0% Sweet, with red bean, agar boba, lychee jelly. $5.50 + $1.50.

I had read that Steep makes the taro drinks with real taro.  That was a big appeal to me.  I wanted real taro paste, real chunks of taro.  I got it 0% sweet, wanting to taste that amazing taro flavor.

But, those comments seem, well, entirely untrue these days, just by visual inspection, if nothing else.  My drink was a brilliant color of purple, which just doesn't happen with real taro.   There were also no bits of taro found.

The taro flavor was strong.  I did like that.  But ... it was very, very, very sweet.  I requested 0% sweetness, but if they use a taro  powder, which they likely did, it was a sweetened one, and this was an incredibly sweet drink, which was not what I was aiming for at all.

Sigh.  

Now, I know that reviewers were actually grumpy about the fact that they used real taro, and the drinks weren't as sweet and taro flavored as people who are accustomed to taro powder are used to, but I was pretty disappointed that Steep seems to have given in to the powder style.

The drink was well blended, a nice texture for a smoothie.  One point for that.

**.

Mix-ins: Red bean / agar boba / lychee jellies.

The mix-ins were all fairly average, they didn't seem house made, and there was nothing remarkable about any of them.

Standard red beans, not too mushy.  Not much to say there.  I do like the red bean and taro flavor combinations, so I was glad I added them.

Standard lychee jelly, very sweet, and sweeter than what I wanted.  I added them intentionally as I had specified 0% sweetness in the drink, and I wanted the jellies for a little bit of sweetness, but given how sweet the base was (grrr), these served to make everything too sweet.

The agar boba were the weakest mix-in, a bit too chewy.

Overall, the mix-ins let me down, mostly because I was expecting higher quality, and, well, a non-sweet base drink.

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