Air New Zealand, NZ 101, AKL - SYD, Business Class

Update Review 2018 Flight

Class: Business Premium
Seat: 5K
Departure: 7am

I have reviewed Air New Zealand Business Premier many times now, and in fact, this exact flight (or its slightly differently timed sibling, NZ104), so I will keep this short.  The aircraft, seat, amenities were all as expected and consistent with my other short flights from Auckland to Sydney.

Staff on this route are often less knowledgeable than on the longer flights, less attentive, and far, far less friendly.  I'll cover only the food, breakfast service, since they are the only unique elements of this trip.

Mediocre Breakfast.

This was my 3rd breakfast of the morning, after a breakfast on my previous flight, and another in the Air New Zealand Business Lounge in Auckland, so perhaps I just wasn't into it.  Or maybe, it just wasn't very good.

Spoiler: it wasn't good.

Breakfast Menu.

The breakfast menu and service followed the same format as always.

Refreshment Drinks

• Get yourself started with an all natural strawberry and peach smoothie or your choice from the juice selection.

From the pantry:

• Fresh fruit salad
• Natural yoghurt or fruit yoghurt
• Fruit and grain muesli
• Toasted cereal

From the bakery

• Croissants and Danish
• Vogel’s or fruit toast with your choice of: marmalade, strawberry jam, Vegemite, Marmite

From the stove:

• Scrambled eggs with grilled streaky bacon, slow roasted tomato, kumara and onion rosti cake
• Cinnamon brioche French toast with creme fraiche and pineapple, mango and lychee salsa
• Warm sesame bagel filled with streaky bacon, fried egg, caramelized onions, tomato chipotle relish, and barbecue sauce

After takeoff, juice and smoothies were offered, which I declined.

I absolutely could not decide which "stove" item to get.  In the "real" world, I'd get the french toast.  No question.  But I have always gotten the french toast, pancakes, or waffles, and I have literally never liked them on ANZ flights (which isn't true for all airlines, I do like them on others!).

I didn't want the scrambled eggs, but, uh, the bagel called out.  Because my companion once had a great version of the bagel, and it kept bringing back memories.  Of course, that one had cheese, and this wouldn't, that one was catered out of SFO and not AKL, and when I did try the breakfast panini that sounded similar, I didn't like the "fried" egg nor the streaky bacon, so ... why would I want it?  Still, it was a hard choice for me.  I asked for advice from the FA, but she just said everyone likes the scrambled eggs, the one I wasn't considering.  Lol.

Horrible Coffee.

As always, once we had our juice/smoothies, the cart came through offering coffee and the "pantry".  I don't generally care for the cereal or yogurt offered, and the fruit salad had melons (I'm allergic), so I declined that entire section.  On these shorter flights, the yogurt is packaged in individual containers (Light N Tasty I think it said?), and the cereal likewise was packaged, a plain looking one, or a toasted muesli.

I did have coffee, because I had not really slept on my previous flight, and was desperately tired.  It was going to be a long day.  The coffee was bitter, yet watery, and full of grounds.  Really not good.  They usually have decent (regular) coffee on these flights, so I'm not really sure what happened here.

Bakery: Rhubarb Custard Danish.

Next, again as always, comes the "bakery" basket, with toast and spreads, croissants, and, the Danish of the day.  I generally try the danish, just for ... kicks?  They sometimes satisfy, in a strange way.

Which sums this up too.

I asked what kind it was, and the FA looked at me and said, "Looks like custard".  It clearly had a fruit component to it, and I had just voiced a fruit allergy, so this was a bit off putting.  I asked specifically, "So, a fruit that unknown, but certainly not melon?"  He said, "not melon", but offered no more.  Ok, then.

It turned out to be custard rhubarb.

A pretty standard Air New Zealand danish.  It was hot!  But it wasn't toasty on top, and it was strangely moist and soggy.  Yet it did pull apart in layers.  Just not, buttery layers.  But it wasn't spongy and oily ... exactly.  It is so hard to describe, really.

The pastry isn't good, but it somehow hits the spot ... for a couple bites, before the "eww, that is kinda gross" feeling sets in, sorta like after you eat a Starbucks pastry, if you know what I mean?

I did like the filling, there was a generous amount of creamy custard, and slightly tart fruit.  I think the only good part of the meal was the filling of this danish.

From the stove: Cinnamon brioche french toast.

"Cinnamon brioche French toast with creme fraiche and pineapple, mango and lychee salsa."

I went with the sweet option in the end.  I decided that I had the savory poached eggs dish as breakfast #1 of the day on the SFO-AKL flight, and the healhty muesli and yoghurts in the lounge in Auckland as breakfast #2, so, it was time for dessert?  Of course, I did also have a baked good in each location too ... a cinnamon roll on the flight, a chocolate croissant in the lounge, and the aforementioned rhubarb custard danish on this flight.  But, uh, time for "real" dessert?

It was ... eh.

The toast was soft, and it did seem enriched with egg, and did have a shiny brioche crust.  And it was cinnamon toast for sure, way too much cinnamon for my taste.  It was moist, not crisp, and really just boring and as you'd expect microwaved french toast to be, really.  Not sure why I thought it could be otherwise.

The toppings were tasty enough though - very melted creme fraiche, and a few chunks of pineapple that were in a mango puree, with one tiny, tiny, tiny sliver of lychee.  You know, "salsa".  It was very fruity.

I lapped up all my sauce, and called it a day.  By breakfast #3, I had breakfast fatigue anyway.

Original Review June 2015

The second leg of our most recent journey to Sydney was aboard NZ 101, from Aukland to Sydney.  The flight departed at 7am local time, arriving at 8:35am local time, for a total flight of 3 hour 35 minutes.  Our connection time in Auckland was ambitiously short, but luckily our first flight (NZ 7 from SFO to Aukland) was early, there was literally no line at security, and the international transfer process in Auckland was shockingly simple, so we were even able to sneak in about 40 minutes in the lounge, where I enjoyed my second breakfast of the day.  I'm glad I did, as the flight breakfast left something to be desired, as you'll read about momentarily.

Seat.

The seat was a fairly standard business class seat.

The controls were a bit primitive, but eventually I figured out how to recline slightly, and put out my foot rest.  I was comfortable enough, but wouldn’t want a long flight in this configuration.  Still, we were in actual business class, which is why we selected the flight, even though the connection time was risky.  No other Air New Zealand options between Aukland and Sydney offer full business class.

Provided at our seats was a blanket, pillow, and bottle of water.  The seat did have a pull out entertainment unit, which I never used, as I was busy writing up my trip reports!  It also had a usb port, which I thought would be great to continue charging my phone, but it didn’t work.  And a power plug, which also didn’t work.  When my battery ran out, I mentioned the power problems, and the FA offered to just reset the switch, which, actually worked.  Hurrah!  But ... it worked for all of 5 minutes before it stopped working.  Doh.

Welcome Drinks.

Prior to takeoff, we were offered standard orange juice, water, or sparkling wine, along with hot towels.  Newspapers and a really nice selection of magazines were then offered.  I was surprised to find trashy gossip magazines, but, I loved that they had something fun for me to read, which I did, cuz, what else did I have to do before turning on my laptop?

Sparkling Water.

Soon after takeoff, another round of drinks arrived, the "Refreshment drinks": juices, water, and mango and coconut smoothies.  If I wasn’t stuffed from full breakfast on my prior flight, and scarfing down tons of food in the lounge in my 40 min jaunt, I definitely would have gone for the smoothie, but I opted for simple water (sparkling of course).

Menu.

Menus were provided at our seats, and they listed both breakfast and lunch options.  Given our <4 hour flight time, and our 7am departure, I was a bit confused, so I asked.  No, we didn’t get both meals, just breakfast.  They just use the same menu for multiple flights.  I was a bit jealous, because I still wanted to try the ice cream that was on the lunch menu.  Ojan was sad because we'd already had breakfast on our previous flight and in the lounge, and he was ready for lunch food.

The breakfast menu was formatted exactly like the breakfast menu on our longer flight, starting with "Refreshing drinks" of juices and smoothies that I previously mentioned, followed by “From the pantry” items, then “From the bakery”, and finally “From the stove”.

The "Pantry" offered the same basic items: fresh fruit salad, natural yogurt or fruit yogurt, fruit and grain muesli, or toasted cereal.  Same with the "Bakery": croissants, fruit Danish, Vogel’s or fruit toast with marmalade, strawberry jam, Vegemite, Marmite.  The "Stove" had only 3 options this time (opposed to four before, reducing the egg dishes down to one):

• Corned beef croquettes with scrambled eggs, garlic roasted tomato, and horseradish cream
• Cinnamon Hotcakes with rhubarb compote and brown sugar sour cream
• Hot bacon roll - a warmed rolled, butter and filled with grilled bacon, offered with caramelized onion jam and barbecue sauce

As before, our main dish choices were taken in advance.

Breakfast Cart: "From the Pantry".

The first round, just like on our previous flight, came from a cart.  While the menu sounded nearly identical, it actually was served entirely differently.

This time, the yogurt came in individual sealed cartons rather than big vats, so I was able to see the brand.  It was Fresh 'n Fruity brand, and the choices were plain natural yogurt or apricot.

Likewise, the cereal was in individual packets (although poured into a bowl when served).  It was Serious Cereal brand (but packaged for Air New Zealand), and the choices were "Natural Muesli" or "Best Breakfast".

From the Pantry: Fruit, Muesli, Yogurt.

The fruit salad again contained melons so I skipped it, but Ojan got it.  Fresh enough looking fruit, although this time the strawberries were replaced with grapes and pineapple, so, less exciting.

The muesli was fine, full of nuts and seeds.  Served with a pitcher of milk on the side.  It sounds silly, but I really liked the milk.  I’m sure it was full cream milk, and it showed.  But also, I often find non-US milk tastier ... I wonder if it is any different?

The yogurt had a better texture and consistency than our previous flight, it was more creamy, but was still just basic low fat yogurt.  The little bits of apricot were nice enough.

From the Bakery: Danish.

A while later, a bread basket was passed around, with croissants and danishes, and two types of toast.  I’m wasn't sure what Vogel’s was, and I asked, and the reply was, “Vogel’s”.  I’m guessing this is a New Zealand brand that I should know?

I tried a danish, mostly out of boredom, as they certainly didn't look good.  The meal service was very slow and I was getting antsy.  Our tray tables were prepared really far in advance, and the seats were too cramped to use a laptop or do much with the tray table open.   I was eager to get on with other things.  I wasn’t hungry due to breakfast in the lounge and on the previous flight, so I planned to skip both the pantry and bakery courses, but the slow pace was kinda killing me.  So, more breakfast it was.

Anyway, the danish was soggy and as awful as it looked, but at least it was served warm?

Entree: Cinnamon Hotcakes.

“Cinnamon Hotcakes with rhubarb compote and brown sugar sour cream.”

Finally my entree arrived. Unlike our previous flight, they didn’t serve all of one entree, then all of another, then all of another, rather, they did it in more standard service order.  They started with the back of the plane, on the left hand aisle, moved up that aisle, and then went to the back of the right hand aisle, and up that side.  I was on the right hand side, row 2 (and no one was in row 1), so, last served.  Doh.

I again picked the sweet bready option, even though the french toast on my previous Air New Zealand flight was pretty bad.  I hoped this would make up for it.  It didn’t. 

The serving was 2 pancakes, each cut in half, so 4 slices total.  They were thin and flavorless, a bit spongy.  The pancakes on my similar Qantas flight were far more successful, at least texture wise, than these.

On top was tons of the rhubarb compote, with little chunks of rhubarb (that I would have never identified as rhubarb), plus some blueberries.  It was mushy and not tasty at all.  Qantas wins again here, with fresh raspberries.

The brown sugar sour cream was completely melted, but it was actually decent, a bit creamy, a bit sweet, although honestly it tasted more like cream than sour cream.  I didn’t detect much, if any, sour notes.

On the side was also a package of vanilla syrup.  I appreciated that they didn’t even try to pretend it was maple syrup, (or, perhaps vanilla syrup is a thing in New Zealand)?  It was sweet and sticky, but I’m not sure how I possibly could have used it, as my hotcakes were so entirely coated in compote and cream.  The Qantas pancakes came pre-drizzled with syrup, and not nearly enough, so, this was an improvement.

Overall, the breakfast was pretty bad, and I was very glad I had feasted in my quick lounge pit stop before.  The scrambled egg dish didn’t look much better, although the bacon roll may have been.  I’m not sure if this is the bacon roll that people rave about, since it was just butter and bacon, no cheese?

I also ordered decaf coffee.  Unlike my previous flight where I got a full size personal french press of decaf, this time I got a mug, likely instant, and really not good at all.  I had several more mugs full, loaded it up with sugar and milk, but still was never able to make it tasty.  Next time, I’d just give up on the coffee. 

Anyway, meal service was slow and not tasty.  I do not recommend breakfast on board their short haul business class.  The only thing that was really edible was the basic cereal.

Read More...

Morimoto, NYC

Remember a few weeks ago, when I published basically a photo-only view of our experience at Mira, in Toronto, because I lost my review notes, and the visit was in the midst of a business trip and I didn't have time to write it up right away?  Yeah, it turns out, this, uh, happens too me a bit too frequently.  I take the photos, I take copious notes, I'm far too busy with the actual reason I'm on the business trip to write it up then, I plan to write it up immediately once I get home and life calms down, then, life happens, and by the time I go to write it up ... those lovely notes are no where to be found.

Which brings us to this "review", of Morimoto in New York.

I was in town for a manager training week long extravaganza, and one night, they set us all up with curated groups for dining about at reasonably nice places.  The event had several hundred people, so to avoid doing massive group dining, they picked a variety of places, catering to all different cuisines and styles, within reasonable walking distance from the event venue, and let us sign up for our 1st/2nd/3rd picks.  Then, someone worked magic, and mostly managed to get us all our first or second choices.

One of my top picks was Morimoto, not just drawn in by Iron Chef fame, but, by the menu of the restaurant, and the fact that for this venue, they were not having us do a fixed menu, rather, we could just order what we wanted (within reason).

Awkward conversations with strangers aside, it was a great visit.  They handled our fairly large group astonishingly well given the free format of the ordering (I think we were nearly 30 people?), and I have fond memories of the food and drink, and the space, wow, the space was impressive.

And that, that is all I have.  Notes?  Nope, sorry, no more.

Setting

Even if you don't care about Morimoto the chef, the restaurant itself was a sight to behold.

Glass Entrance.

It looked fairly average from the street, but once you got inside ... it was massive.

Loooong Table.

Our group was all seated at one massively long table, in a semi-private area.  It worked better than I expected, except for when I did need to get up to use the bathroom, and was rather boxed in ...

Open Kitchen.

The space was huge, with high ceilings, including an open kitchen.  We were seated on this level, the middle of 3.

Upper Floor.

Another level above was quite open as well.

Glass Stairway.

Even the stairwell was interesting.

Lower Floor Bar.

The very bottom floor had a fairly stunning bar.

Bathrooms.

Bathrooms were down on that lowest level.

Bling.

Even that bathroom was interesting!

Drinks

Cocktail.

I remember liking the cocktails.  And the wine.

Dinner

Fantastic Meal.

My many course meal managed to hit basically all my favorites: uni, crab, foie gras ... fried stuff, excellent sauces, oh my.

Cold Appetizers

Most of us started with cold appetizers from the sushi bar.  All set the stage for the extraordinary meal that was to follow.

Sashimi.

Sashimi was fresh and clearly high quality.

Toro Tartar.

The presentation of the signature toro tartar (I think on the menu at all his establishments) was certainly a sight to behold, and I remember enjoying getting a perfect bite with all the elements.

"Yo-burrata" with black truffles 

"Dashi soy, fresh wasabi, grilled sourdough."

Mixed Greens Salad.

Yeah, someone got this ... not me.

Perfect little bites of oyster, foie gras, and uni ...

Hot Appetizers

The cold apps showed the clear high quality seafood, but the hot apps are where I focused.  I wanted nearly ALL of them.  Luckily, I had neighbors who felt the same, so we shared a pile of things.

Spicy King Crab.

"Roasted Alaskan king crab with tobiko, tobanjan aioli."

I love crab, and king crab is such a treat.  Paired with delicious spicy aioli ... yes!

Sauted foie gras & grilled eel.

 "Sake meyer lemon, asian pear, sansho pepper."

Oh be still my heart.  Foie gras and grilled eel in the same dish?  Always a fantastic combo, and this was all for me.

Rock Shrimp Tempura.

"Crispy rock shrimp tempura with gochujang, wasabi mayo and house made ranch."

A kinda fun dish, I wasn't expecting the two versions of tempura, one tossed with wasabi mayo and one with gochujang.  Both packed some heat, and the ranch was good to cool them down.

Pork Gyoza.

"Garlic chives, tomato, creme fraiche."

Even simple gyoza were impressive to see, with a perfect crust to break though.

Sushi

Uni.

High quality uni.  How could I resist?

Mains

Broiled Black Cod.

"Ginger soy reduction." 

A classic, done well.

Duck, Duck, Goose.

"Roasted & confit duck, tokyo scallion pancakes, gooseberry compote, pineapple hoisin, ginger scallion."

Not mine, but a rather cute dish.

Beef Sukiyaki.

"Wagyu beef, napa cabbage, tofu, shungiku, honshimeji, jidori egg."

Definitely not mine :)

Surf & Turf.

"Wagyu skirt steak, hamachi ribbons, okonomiyaki, crushed avocado, yuzu soy."

Such a fun play on a surf & turf!  I loved the inclusion of okonomiyaki.

Dessert

After such a feast, even I, dessert girl, was tempted to skip dessert. But ... others somehow still had space, so, dessert time it was.

More Noms.

Our table got a pile of things, I of course tried ... uh ... all of them?

Dessert Wine.

To get the dessert show started, I opted for a dessert wine, I think sauternes?

Shiro Choko. 

"Kinako dacquoise, white chocolate cream, passion fruit yuzu sorbet, marble meringue, sesame."

Kumo Beni.

"Okiniawa purple yam cheesecake, pineapple yuzu foam, coffee, kuromitsu powder, macadamia, coconut sorbet."

Hanabi Dama: after.

"Seasonal sorbet, dark chocolate, mascarpone cream, salted caramel ganache tart, rum."

This one was quite the show.  It arrived as a chocolate dome, but was set on fire at the table, so the shell melted and revealed the contents.

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Albanese Candy

Mmm, candy.  Gummy candy in particular I'm a fan of.  And thus, I've certainly heard of Albanese, a candy manufacturer known to have "the best" gummy bears.  Their claim to fame is that they invented a technology to allow for greater flavor release from gelatins, back in the 1980s, and it apparently makes all the difference?  While perhaps not quite as widely distributed as grocery and convenience store brands like Haribo, Albanese is all over the place, just, often without branding, e.g. in bulk candy shops.

Albanese makes a variety of gummy items, plus other confections, chocolates, and nuts.  The gummies sadly weren't winners for me, but I was quite pleased with some of the chocolate items I tried.

Gummies

I love gummy candy.  Yes, I'm an adult who takes gummy vitamins every morning, and does so with glee.  Sometimes I "sneak" a few real gummy candies alongside.  It doesn't grow old.  I love gummy candy.  And Albanese makes a LOT of gummy candy.  And they claim to be the best at it.

"If manufacturing gummies was an Olympic sport, then our World's Best Gummies would take home the gold every time; Soft texture, Intense Flavor, Gluten Free, and Fat Free."

Albanese offers much more than your standard worms and bears, or even fairly common peach rings and frogs ... they have butterflies, flowers, sharks, raspberries, and even "army guys" and fighter jets.  And that doesn't even get into the seasonal offerings like pumpkins, snow flakes, snow men, holiday trees, easter eggs, hearts, and more.

But it turns out, I have a type when it comes to gummy candy.

Albanese makes a particular style of gummy candy.  They make it in fun flavors, shapes, and sizes.  The flavors are good.  But ... unfortunately, the chew is not the style I like.

Spooktacular Gummies.
Fall Seasonal.

"Green broomsticks, purple cats, and orange jack-o-lanterns mix together to concoct this witchy brew. Festive, spooky, and tasty to boot, these fun gummies will have you cackling with delight!"

"A spooky assortment of bright, festive gummies in orange, grape, and green apple flavors."

The first kind I tried was a seasonal special, for halloween, the "Spooktacular" mix.  Fun colors and shapes, yes.

But not the candy for me, at all.  Exactly the type of chewy gummy candy I don't care for, no real flavor, and just too chewy.

**.

Gummi Snow Flurries.
Winter Seasonal.

"Keep your taste buds cool with watermelon, blue raspberry, and pineapple-flavored gummy snowflakes. Their chilly shape and fruity flavor makes them a treat for all seasons."

I moved on to a winter seasonal special next, the snow "flurries". 

I did not realize the flavors of these before I tried them.  But once I read the description I sorta panicked.    Watermelon!?  In blue or white gummies!  Danger, danger, and why make something blue or white watermelon colored!  Ah!  (I have severe watermelon allergy, and I'm usually on alert if things are pink or red ...  not that candy usually uses real watermelon ...).

Anyway, I tried a white one to start, excepting to not taste much, but I was overwhelmed with a blast of fruitiness, I guess, pineapple.  Very sweet, very fruity.  And luckily, NOT watermelon.

But it was the chew I really didn't care for.  Combined with the fruity intensity, it ate much more like a child's fruit snack than a gummy candy, at least, the type I like.

I didn't try the others out of caution for the watermelon.

**.

Red & Blue Raspberry Gummies.

"Our Red and Blue Raspberries bring together two incredible juicy flavors into one mix!!"

"A juicy medley of bright, bold red and blue raspberry gummies."

The last gummies I tried were not a special seasonal thing, just regular offerings, of blue and red raspberries.

The flavor of these was good, fruity, berry-like, but ... again, it was the chew that I didn't care for.  Again, more like a fruit snack than a gummy candy.

**.

Chocolates

So, the gummies were not a success for me, but I had hope for the next main category of offerings from Albanese: chocolate!

"Calling All Chocoholics! Do you love chocolate? I mean really LOVE chocolate. Well you've come to the right place. We invite you to try our fresh, beautiful chocolates made from the finest ingredients. We offer something for everyone. Favorites include Double-Dipped Peanuts, Milk Chocolate Raisins and Triple-Dipped Chocolate Malt Balls."

Much like the gummies, Albanese has a large variety of goodies, including a slew of seasonal items.  Milk, dark, and white chocolate coated malt balls, nuts, dried fruits, pretzels, etc, etc, etc.  Clusters, toffees, peanut butter cups, caramels, nougats, cookies, popcorn, animal crackers ...  they make it all. 

The chocolate items fared much better for me than the gummies.

Triple Dipped Chocolate Milk Malt Balls.

"Not one, not two, but three sumptuous layers of creamy milk chocolate envelop crunchy malted milk balls to create these distinctively toothsome treats."

I started with the very ambitious "Triple Dipped" malt balls, milk chocolate version.

These were, indeed, quite wonderful malt balls.

I did not find distinct layers of chocolate, but, the chocolate coating was smooth, creamy, rich milk chocolate, clearly a decent quality, not waxy.  It was thick, but since the chocolate was so good, this was a nice thing.  And inside, a classic malt ball, easily dissolved on my tongue.

I really enjoyed these, likely the best malt balls I've ever had.  Leagues above Whoppers ...

****+.

They also make a triple dipped malt ball in dark chocolate, or "skinny" versions (dipped only twice), along with yogurt or peanut butter coated.  I'd love to try any of those.

Milk Chocolate Filled Peanut Butter Pretzels.

"Rich peanut butter encased in a crisp, salty pretzel puff and drenched in milk chocolate."

Chocolate and peanut butter.  Enjoyable combination.  Peanut butter filled pretzels.  Definitely enjoyable.  Chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels?  Why have I never had these before?

These were good, each element very dominant, in its own way.  The milk chocolate coating was thicker than I expected, decent enough creamy milk chocolate.  The pretzel was crispy, salty, and the combo of salt and chocolate was a nice one.  And inside, a very very generous amount of peanut butter, thick, creamy, very, uh, peanut butter flavored?

If anything I think there might have been too much peanut butter, it made these very rich, like a mini peanut butter cup crossed with a pretzel, so it was hard to eat many in a sitting.  Although ... perhaps that is a good thing!

****.

Milk Chocolate Cappuccino Biscotti Bites.

"Crispy, crunchy biscotti, with a cappuccino flavor covered in real milk chocolate. A treat for coffee lovers."

"Bite-sized morsels of coffee-infused biscotti covered in a rich layer of milk chocolate."

These were ... ok.  Slight coffee flavor, slight crunch from the biscotti, decent enough milk chocolate coating.  But not really an exciting item to me, particularly compared to the other chocolate items I tried.

***.

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Choux French Bakery

As you know from reading this blog, I have a thing for desserts and baked goods, but ... choux pastry is not a favorite of mine.  And yet, I sought out a French bakery called Choux.

"CHOUX is a French bakery specializes in French Cream Puffs and other specialty like Meringues, Financiers, Brioches, Cannelés and more."

The lineup at Choux is VERY french, all the classics, and, generally fairly difficult to make items.  They even have a curated box of goodies called the "So French Box", so, clearly I am not alone in thinking their offerings are "so french".  The cannelés in particular look great, and I wish I'd been able to try one!

Anyway, Choux is located in SF, in the lower Haight, and was started by a French pastry chef, the "Cream Puff Queen".  She's been successful, in business since 2013.

Packaging: Raspberry Choux.

Choux does deliver on the visual appeal of the packaging.

I was impressed the moment I saw the both pretty, AND functional boxes.  So many pastry boxes I had in Paris were beautiful, but, totally annoying to actually interact with (e.g.  the box with no structural integrity from Pierre Hermé!). This one slide open easily.  They get a point for that.

And the cream puff was delightful looking, perfectly iced, sprinkle of red dust on top. 

Choux

"A Choux, pronounced ''shoo'' is a french of cream puff, a sweet French dessert, carefully crafted with flaky pastry dough, filled with a unique custard and adorned with delicate icing."

The main offering at Choux, as you might guess, is the choux buns.  Available in 6 flavors every week, usually hazelnut, lemon, raspberry, chocolate, salted caramel, and vanilla, along with a seasonal flavor, like pumpkin chai in the fall.

Raspberry Choux: Side View.

For my goodie, I went for the raspberry, since no other flavor really called out.

It was filled with a thick raspberry custard, not a light and fluffy mousse or cream.  The filling was fine, fruity, but I really prefer something lighter.

The choux pastry was very eggy, light, airy, exactly the style I don't like, but I think is actually what it is supposed to be like.

On top was a sweet raspberry icing.

I think this really was a well made item, it just wasn't the thing for me, which I expected, but, hey, I figured if I was going to like a choux pastry, it would be one from the Cream Puff Queen!

***.

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Dr. Praeger's Fish Nuggets & Sticks

The frozen food aisle.  Not a place I visited, besides for the ice cream, much at all, until ... the pandemic.  Gone were my free office lunches, my travels around the world eating out, and in their place ... me, at home, needing to feed myself.  After the "novelty" of needing to source groceries, meal plan, and cook for myself wore off, let's just say, that frozen foods aisle sure looked appealing!

It was in that aisle that I discovered Dr. Praeger's.

"Dr. Praeger’s Sensible Foods has delicious and convenient frozen food options for just about any type of lifestyle and families of all ages."

I'll admit, I only paid attention to Dr. Praeger's because many of their products, aimed at kids, were actually, uh, kinda fun?

Dr. Praeger's makes a number of frozen food product lines, including fairly boring items like a range of veggies burgers and hash browns, but also some more fun things like "puffs" - think tator tots, but made from veggies like "kale puffs", "cakes" - think crab cakes, but again, made from veggies like brussels sprouts cakes, "littles" - bite sized, usually cute shaped, finger foods/appetizers like dino shaped sweet potato bites, bear shaped chocolate oatmeal bites, star shaped brocoli bites, and more, and a range of seafood.  You know, fish sticks.  It is this later product line I focused on.

Seafood

The seafood lineup from Dr. Praeger's is fairly extensive.  You could opt for standard fish sticks, lightly (panko) breaded, or go for the gluten-free rice crusted version.  Prefer larger pieces?  Opt for the breaded (or rice crusted) fish filets.  Want some thing more fun?  Go for the fish shaped nuggets (again, available breaded or rice crusted).  Even more fun?  The bites, available in "fish taco" (tortilla coated, Mexican flavor infused) or "buffalo fish" (carrots, celery, and buffalo sauce included in them!).

All are made with Alaskan Pollock.

Lightly Breaded Fishies.

"Crispy, tasty, fish bites that kids love."

The first product I tried was the little fishie nuggets, panko breaded version, not the gluten-free.  They were adorable.

These were very kid friendly, obviously, not only in shape, but in contents.  The inside was minced Alaskan pollock combined with potatoes, not very fishy, mostly like mashed potatoes.  It was very midely spiced.

As an adult, I didn't care for all the filler, but I see how it would make these more appealing to children.

Baked Lightly Breaded Fishie.

The crust I did like though, and they crisped up perfectly in the toaster oven as instructed (bake at 450* degrees for 9 min, flip, another few minutes).  It was well seasoned breading with a bit of garlic and onion.  I'm not really sure why they call these "lightly breaded", as the breading level was perfect. 

Overall, a fine product, but not for me.  I really liked the texture and crunch of the breading, but just not the mushy potato-y interior.

***.

Rice Crusted Fish Sticks.

"Wild caught Pollock fillet sticks in a savory, crispy rice coating. Gluten Free Fish Sticks."

I moved on to actual fish sticks, made with small fillets rather than minced seafood.  No filler for these, literally, just stick shaped fillets of pollock.  Mild, flaky, decent white fish.

These were gluten-free however, with a rice based coating rather than the crispy seasoned panko.

Rice Crusted Fish Sticks: Inside.

The cooking instructions for the sticks was similar to the fishies, same temperature, but for longer.  However, they didn't cook quite as easily.

The instructions say to put on an ungreased pan, which I did, but mine stuck when I went to flip them.  Why not greased?  The instructions also add in the word "carefully" before "flip", so clearly, I am not unique in having flipping problems.  I was careful, but, alas, the breading came off.

Flipping issues aside, I really liked these.

The texture and flavor of the crust was very different, but there was something about the rice version that I really liked.  A subtle ... mochi-ness.  Like the other breading, it got perfectly crispy in the toaster oven, and I enjoyed the crunch.

I'll gladly eat more of these, obviously not a gourmet item, but, good little fish sticks, when you want something easy.

****.

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Morano Gelato, New Hampshire

Every once in a while, you discover a gem where you least expect it.

Morano Gelato, in Hanover, NH, is one of those discoveries.

It is no secret that I love ice cream, froyo, and other frozen desserts.  I eat them daily.  In my hometown of Lebanon, NH, I have my go-to place for ice cream: Dairy Twirl, as I adore soft serve ice cream, and soft serve is just not something we have much of on the west coast.  I've tried everywhere else around town, like the more economical soft serve at Ice Cream Fore-U or the froyo at Swirl & Pearl, but in the summer, Dairy Twirl is my common destination, and I only go elsewhere if I happen to really dislike the weekly flavors at Dairy Twirl, or I'm sick of the standards vanilla and black raspberry.

Well, all of this used to be true.  Until I discovered Morano Gelato.  It isn't in Lebanon, but is in the town next door, a bit of a trek from my parent's house.  Unlike the aforementioned soft serve shops, it is open year round.  And they don't have soft serve, rather, they serve house made gelato.

At this point, I know this still doesn't sound very interesting.  "Sure, you can get frozen dairy products in the winter if you drive 25 minutes, you can get those at the grocery store too!", is perhaps what you are thinking.

Let me cut the chase: Morano Gelato makes the best gelato I have ever had in the US (Sydney still has better gelato).

I remember the first time I visited my family, soon after Morano Gelato opened.  The hype all around the small town was huge.  I didn't believe it.  How would a little gelato shop in New Hampshire really even be worthy of consideration?  Sure, they have options like Nepalese (Basecamp Cafe) and Indian (Taj-E-India) too, that doesn't mean they are good.  The gelato would likely be no different: novel to the locals, but not actually very good.

And then I had Morano Gelato.

Seriously.  Best gelato.  Not that I'm a gelato expert, but, if you look it up, you'll find legit critics who are gelato connoisseurs, and they too will tell you this is the best gelato in the United States.  Yup, in Hanover, NH.

The story behind it?  The owner grew up in Hanover, moved to Italy, worked in gelaterias, and decided to move back and introduce us to real gelato.  She started by selling just at the local farmer's market, and, well, was more than successful.  Within 8 months, she had a storefront.  2 months later, she expanded.  The next year brought further expansion, more seating.  3 years later, she franchised, now with 2 other locations.  All this, since 2010.  Success, and for good reason.

Gelato and sorbet at Morano are made fresh every day, starting at 8am, 12 or so varieties, and they change daily.  Flavors are categorized into "Classics", "Chocolate", "Fruit", "Traditional", and "Nut", and they make over 200 flavors total.  You can find out what they are serving every day via social media.  If you arrive earlier in the day, not all options may be available.  Same if you arrive late, as they aim to sell out of all of it every day.  2pm is the sweet spot.

The menu also includes espresso drinks, but, gelato is what it is all about.

Small.

I do not have reviews of all the visits I made in the 7 years that Morano was open.  I took some brief notes, on some visits, but mostly didn't take extensive notes, nor did I plan on reviewing it.  But some aspect don't require notes.  They are just so memorable.

First, the texture of the gelato.  This is what sets Morano apart.

Just looking at the above photo, you can probably see how the consistency of the gelato is just amazing.  Soft, smooth, creamy, rich, light as air, perfect, really.  Served at the proper gelato temperature, warmer than ice cream.

The texture of this gelato really is a thing of wonder.  I had never experienced anything like it before my first visit to Morano, and, still haven't.

Second, the dark chocolate gelato.  I'm not a chocolate ice cream type, but, the dark chocolate at Morano is like the best chocolate mousse ... turned into soft perfect frozen dessert.  It is soo intense, so rich, and just amazing.  It is best served with another flavor, like, hazelnut or another nut flavor, and you can combine bites of pure magic.

I also dug up an e-mail I sent a local friend, when I went in December, 2011: "My mom and I went the other day, and ZOMG it is still amazing!"  I think that sums it up well.  Every single time I visited my family, Morano Gelato was on the "must do" list.  At least once.  Even in the depths of winter.  It was a place is worthy of a detour.

Outside Seating.

The space had seating inside and out, but when I first visited, inside seating was virtually non-existent.  It didn't matter, people were happy to stand on the sidewalk with their treats.

Catering: Cioccolato al Latte Gelato, Citrus Sorbet, Fior di Latte Gelato.

Sometimes, my job is "hard".  Like when I'm asked to do a recruiting event at Dartmouth, e.g., "go visit your home town, on us", and host an ice cream social, e.g. "go eat ice cream".  I wasn't even responsible for any logistics, I just had to get myself there, and attend.

The plan, per the organizer, was to pick up ice cream from the grocery store.  I quickly suggested that we get gelato from Morano instead, and, the host agreed to my suggestion (and, luckily, Morano does catering).

We were provided with 3 flavors (one of which was a sorbet to accommodate non-dairy), in big tubs.  These were not the flavors I would have picked, as they were all a bit ... boring.   Clearly, intended for mass appeal. But still, this is amazing gelato.

Cioccolato al Latte (Milk Chocolate) 
I'm not generally a fan of chocolate ice cream/froyo/gelato, so the milk chocolate wasn't a favorite for me.  It was creamy, smooth, nice mild milk chocolate, but not the flavor I'd ever pick.  (The dark chocolate on the other hand ... swoon.  More on that soon).  ***.

Citrus Sorbet
Sorbet is not my thing, but I tried the citrus sorbet, for completeness.  It was ... fine.  Creamy, good citrus flavor, but, still, sorbet, and citrus is not a flavor I actually like in my desserts. **+.

Fior di Latte (Sweet Milk)

Fior di Latte is at least more interesting than vanilla, but is still fairly plain.  The thing is, this gelato is so good it doesn't matter.  No toppings, plain flavor, and it is still amazing.  The texture.  I just can't get past how smooth and perfect it is, even when served as catering. ***+.

Classic Flavors 

• Crema Fiorentina (Vanilla Custard with Citrus):  very creamy, lovely texture, but the flavor was lacking, no depth nor distinguishing flavor.  ***.
• Tahitian vanilla: great flavors from rose and saffron, soft, great consistency. ***+.
• Salted Caramel: pretty good, both salty and sweet.  ***+.
• Malted milk: meh, just there, no real distinct flavor. ***.

Chocolate Flavors:

• Cioccolato al Latte (Milk Chocolate): creamy, ok chocolate flavor. ***.
• Cioccolato Fondente (Dark Chocolate): so intense!  This was incredible, in both flavor and texture, like rich, airy chocolate mousse.  My favorite.  Goes great paired with a nutty flavor like hazelnut. ****+.  [ Other notes: The dark chocolate and hazelnut are always winners, particularly if you get them together.  The dark chocolate is insanely intense on its own but it is fantastic with the hazelnut (if you like nutella sorta things). - Dec 2011 ] [ Dark chocolate one was still insane actually, so intense" - June 2012 ]
  

Fruit Flavors:

• Passionfruit: I don’t like passionfruit flavor!  I like passion fruit, the real fruit, but this, like many things passionfruit flavor, tasted fake.  **.
• Blueberry: great soft consistency, but flavor not very intense. **+.
• Raspberry: great soft consistency, very strong raspberry. Not my thing, but well made.  ***.

Traditional Flavors: 

• Zuppa Inglese (English Pudding with Sponge Cake): Boozy, creamy, pretty good.  ***+.
• Zabaione (Marsala Wine Custard): nice flavors, complex. ****.

Nut Flavors 

• Nocciola (Hazelnut): Very good, good hazelnut flavor.  Goes great with dark chocolate.  One of my favorites. ****.
• Mandorla (Almond): Good almond flavor, tiny chunks of nuts, really nice. ****.
• Pistachio (Sicilian Bronte Pistachio): chunks of pistachio, great flavor.  One of the more intense flavors, really truly tastes like pistachio.  One of my favorites. ****+.

Other:

• Maple: not nearly as maple flavored as I’d like, very sweet. ***.
• Coconut Cream: bits of coconut in it, very rich, almost too sweet though, but good mixed with chocolate. ***.

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