San Diego Conference Center Catering

I recently attended a conference hosted at the San Diego Convention Center, a *huge* place, with a dedicated events team, including catering.  All our meals and snacks were provided by the in-house catering team, so I was able to experience a number of their offerings.  I was not ever there early enough for breakfast, so I cannot comment on those offerings, nor did our hosts select any plated meals, so this review is only for the snack, lunch, and evening reception choices, all buffet style.

I was impressed with the catering services.  They are clearly professionals, and although there were some misses, most was above average for buffet style catering, and some, particularly one dessert (!) were far above average.  I recommend, if you are ever attending or hosting an event there ...

Lunches 

For lunch, there are plated and boxed lunch options, but our hosts went for buffets for our event.  

The catering menu has a number of different buffet lunch options, ranging from the simple deli lunch with pasta salad, sandwich fixings, and cookies for a whopping $40.75 per person to many hot buffet options that are themed, starting at $46.50 per person up to $52 per person for more premium offerings like the "Little Italy" that has steak included.  All the hot buffets include two different salads (one green, one pasta), a starch (rice, roast potatoes, etc), a cooked veggie, two main dishes, two desserts, plus coffee/tea/soda.

The buffets were always ready right at the time they should be, but not too early, so items were hot.  They were well set up, with items in an order that made sense, toppings often on the side so you could garnish as you pleased, and everything reasonably well labelled.  The staff kept everything replenished (I'd almost say they kept it too replenished, removing trays that were still half full, which I hope wasn't getting tossed ...).  Clearly, this events team knows how to operate smoothly, and I was quite impressed with the quality of the cuisine.

Day One - Far East Buffet. $46.50/pp

Our first day lunch was the "Oriental" package, the cheapest hot buffet option.  Like all of the packages, it came with two salads (one green, one noodle), a starch (rice), veggies, two entrees (chicken, beef), and (kinda) two desserts.  The menu:

• Oriental Salad with Romaine Lettuce, Napa Cabbage, Snow Peas, Mandarin Oranges and Wonton Strips with Oriental Dressing
• Udon Noodle Salad with Asian Slaw
• Orange Chicken
• Broccoli Beef
• Steamed Jasmine Rice
• Stir Fry Vegetables
• Fortune Cookies
• Matcha Cheesecake with Tropical Fruit
  

I actually really enjoyed my meal, although a few parts were a letdown.  Still, the salad (and toppings!), orange chicken, and fantastic cheesecake made for a very satisfying meal, overall, ***+, above average for catering.  Vegetarians had rather limited choices however, no vegetarian protein was part of the meal.

Oriental Salad with Romaine Lettuce, Napa Cabbage, Snow Peas, Mandarin Oranges.

Our menu started with a themed salad, "oriental".

I mostly really enjoyed the salad.  The lettuce and cabbage were chopped up fairly finely, but were fresh and crisp.  Snow peas were also thinly sliced and crisp, and added a great crunch.  The mandarin oranges  I could do without, just not my thing, and they seemed like the canned kind.  Baby corn was soft and not great.

But, overall a nice base, and I appreciated something other than generic garden salad.

***+.

Oriental Salad Toppings: Wonton Strips, Chow Mein Noodles, Oriental Dressing
Udon Noodle Salad with Asian Slaw.

The salad line up was completed with the oriental dressing and wontons/chow mein noodles for the oriental salad on the side, and a chilled udon noodle salad.

I appreciated that the toppings were on the side rather than pre-mixed, so I could add as much dressing as I pleased, so the crispy toppings wouldn't get soggy, and, um, so I could take as much of those toppings as I wanted, which, for me, was more than average.  The wontons and crispy chow mein noodles were standard, but totally my thing, and I enjoyed them quite a bit.

The udon noodle salad was fine but not really my thing, I'm just not one for cold pasta salad (unless it is classic deli macaroni salad, laden in mayo ...).  The veggies in it were cooked and pretty soft, so the whole thing ate fairly mushy.

Still, for a salad lineup, this was above average, mostly due to the great toppings.

***+.

Stir Fry Veggies.

Vegetarians didn't have much to eat besides the salad.  Steamed white rice and stir fry veggies with no protein.  Lack of vegetarian protein option seems like a kinda big miss, particularly as its easy to have tofu for an Oriental menu.

Anyway, I actually wanted the veggies, but, they weren't good.  Super mushy.  The same broccoli and baby corn were in the salads too, so it was a lot of same-same in the meal.

Way too over cooked and mushy, no real flavor either.

*+.

Broccoli Beef / Orange Chicken.

Meat eaters though did have good options, probably the two most popular "oriental" mains out there.

The broccoli beef was meh (tough beef, more way too soggy broccoli, not much flavor in sauce), but the orange chicken was decent.  Battered, nicely coated pieces, reasonable sauce (not too sweet), and it seemed to be white meat chicken.  Far better than I was expecting, although, still no Panda Express!

*+ for the broccoli beef, *** for the chicken.

Dessert: Fortune Cookies, Matcha Cheesecake.

All the lunch buffet packages come with two desserts, which, dessert girl I am definitely makes me happy.  For the Oriental package, the second dessert was just fortune cookies, which I did think was a cute touch, but those don't really count as dessert for me.

The matcha cheesecake though I was thrilled to see.

Matcha Cheesecake with Tropical Fruit.

The cheesecake was attractive, with a base crust, no back crust, and little bit of whipped cream and crispearls on top.  The "Tropical Fruit" turned out to be papaya, reasonably fresh enough.

Matcha Cheesecake with Tropical Fruit.

The cheesecake was sliced into fairly small portions (in my mind), but I heard others saying they were too big.  The servers assured them it was ok not to eat it all.  But I was surprised how many attendees opted not to have cheesecake, making comments about the size of slice, or heaviness of cheesecake.  It made me sad, mostly.

I was more than happy to devour my tiny slice.  The crust was delicious.  Yes, me, the girl who regularly calls cheesecake crust "throwaway" as it is often soggy or mushy, and even if not, standard graham cracker crust just doesn't do it for me.  But this was glorious, super crispy, caramelized, more like a cookie, and I think it had coconut in it too.  Sugary deliciousness, and I was happy to see such a thick layer, once I tried it.

As for the cheesecake, the texture was good, very smooth, firm.  Light matcha flavor, sorta a mascarpone flavor as well.  Definitely above average in both texture and taste.

I would prefer it be served with a different fruit, but, overall, this was better than most frozen mass produced desserts, and I liked that it was themed with the meal.  The combo of above average cheesecake and very very good crust made this a total winner.

****+.

Day 2: Embarcadero Buffet. $52/pp.

The next day, our hosts splurged for the Embarcadero package, which also normally has two salads, a starch (mashed potatoes), a veggie, two entrees (chicken, beef), and two desserts, but, they did sub one of the main proteins for a veggie pasta, which didn't really go with the rest of the lineup, and may have been a course correction after so little vegetarian food available the previous day (both lunch and dinner).  The lineup:

• Endive Mixed Greens Pea Tendrils, Pickled Melons, and Dried Cherries, with Creamy Cucumber Dill Vinaigrette and Mint Verjus Vinaigrette
• Broccoli Salad with Cashews and Raisins
• Herb Grilled Chicken Breast with Mushroom Demi
• Smoked BBQ Beef Brisket with Tamarind BBQ Sauce --> Vegetarian Pasta
• Confit Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze and Fried Thyme
• Peach Cobbler Tart
• Amaretto Raspberry Ganache Cake

This meal was even better than the previous one.  I adored both salads, and, although I completely skipped the mains, I was happy to feast on garlic mashed potatoes and delicious brussels sprouts, and, both desserts, although neither was as good as the previous days.  Again though, above average for catering, and **** overall.

Endive Mixed Greens Pea Tendrils,
Pickled Melons, and Dried Cherries.

I was a bit worried when I saw melons, as I'm allergic, but luckily it was just honeydew/cantelope (I'm allergic, but not deathly, like watermelon), so I was able to pick around them.

I loved this salad.  The greens were all fresh and crisp, and I just adore endive and rarely have it, and the pea tendrils were a really nice change from standard salad greens.  It was rounded out by some other assorted mixed greens.  Really, this was a fantastic base.

I can't speak to the pickled melons, but the dried cherries were even tasty, not too hard, and the flavors all went really well together.

Far above average for a salad.

****.

Dressing, Broccoli Salad.

"Creamy Cucumber Dill Vinaigrette and Mint Verjus Vinaigrette."

The salad came with two dressings on the side, both of which I tried, and they both went well with the salad.  Although both vinaigrettes, they were creamy, and more to my liking.  That said, I didn't use much of the dressing because instead I mixed in the broccoli salad.

"Broccoli Salad with Cashews and Raisins."

Ok, this was awesome.  I am a HUGE fan of the broccoli crunch salad at Whole Foods, and every time I see a creamy broccoli salad, I want it to be like that.  This was different, but totally reminded me of it.

The broccoli was lightly cooked, not soft, great crunch to it.  There was tons of carrot, shredded and chunks, raw, more great crunch.  I didn't actually find any cashews (which, the Whole Foods one does have, and I always like, because they get a bit soft after being soaked in dressing forever).  It was overloaded with raisins (Whole Foods uses currants I think?), which would normally bother me, but, because I mixed this in with the salad base, worked well.  The whole foods one has harsh red onion to contrast the other elements, and, bacon, which I certainly enjoy, but didn't find this to really be lacking without either.

And then, the dressing.  Yup, it was totally drowning in mayo, sooo creamy, and since I mostly used this as salad dressing with the other salad, it didn't bother me how ridiculously dressed it was.

Anyway, this was considerably better than I even imagined it could be, and I liked it just as much as my precious Whole Foods version.  I wish I could purchase this somewhere!  And when combined with the other salad, just, a wonderful combination.  ****+.

Rolls.

I didn't try the rolls, but there was an assortment of white, wheat, and dark rolls, along with pats of butter on the side.

Confit Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

The mashed potatoes were good.  A very smooth, creamy style.  The garlic wasn't as strong as I wished, but was present.  They were a bit boring, but, well executed (no lumpy bits, not overloaded with butter and cream).  

Above average for a buffet, and perfectly tasty, just not something to rave about.

***+.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze and Fried Thyme.

I love brussels sprouts.  Yup, I'm one of "those people".  I know many people, including my mother, haven't discovered the glory of well prepared brussels, but, I certainly have.

Buffet brussels sprouts have sooo much potential to go poorly.   Like the previous days veggies, I kinda assumed they would be very mushy.  Or, as sometimes you can get, I thought they might be laden down with oil (when not cooked on high enough heat maybe? I'm not sure why, but sometimes they can be sooo greasy!).  But these were done really well.  Not mushy, but certainly not raw, just lightly al dente.  Perfect texture for me, and they even had a bit of char on them.

The balsamic glaze as minimal but added a nice flavor.  I didn' t find the fried thyme.

Overall, another well executed dish, and perfect with the mashed potatoes.

****.

Vegetarian Pasta.

The menu normally has Smoked BBQ Beef Brisket with Tamarind BBQ Sauce as the main dish, but our hosts must have gotten the memo that the vegetarians were feeling very left out, and they subbed in a pasta dish instead.

It was just penne with tomato sauce, parmesan cheese shards, and roasted tomatoes.  I stole some of the tomatoes, and they were quite flavorful.

Herb Grilled Chicken Breast with Mushroom Demi.

The other main dish was chicken, which I don't eat, but, the mushrooms and roasted onions called out, as did the demi.

More well cooked, not mushy, flavorful veggies, and they went really well with brussels and mash, and I drizzled the mash with the demi to great success.

I can't speak for the chicken, but, <3 the toppings.

****+.

 Amaretto Raspberry Ganache Cake.

After the really quite good matcha cheesecake the day before, I was actually looking forward to the desserts, not usually the area that catering shines.

First up was had a layer cake.  It said "Amaretto Raspberry Ganache Cake", but I really didn't taste any amaretto (presumably in the cake?) and I certainly didn't taste, nor see, any raspberries.  

Instead, it was basically just a basic cake, with fudge, er, ganache filling and topping.  It was nicely decorated, but otherwise was very average, not particularly dry nor moist, not particularly flavorful, just, it was what it was.

***.

Peach Cobbler Tart.

The second dessert sounded great - peach cobbler!, although, I was curious about the "tart" part.

This item was ... ok.  Definitely more standard mass produced frozen foodservice dessert quality.

The tart shell was pretty average (never the kind of thing I like very much), and the "cobbler" element seemed to be the crumb topping (not cobbles, and not biscuit-like a cobbler usually is), which was fine, but, not nearly as tasty as cobbles would be.  

The peaches were the oddest part of this.  Not that I expected fresh juicy peaches, but, these reminded me more of pears.  They weren't mushy, but instead were fairly al dente, and tasted like, well, canned pears with a slight peach flavor, if that makes any sense.

There was also perhaps a little custard in there, or perhaps that we just where the crumble topping was more moist, I couldn't quite tell.

Overall, highly average, and perhaps it would have been better warm and a la mode?

***.

Evening Receptions / Dinner

The evening packages are definitely more varied, of course there are formal plated dinners and more expensive buffets (these have a soup instead of two salads, and higher end main proteins like salmon, airline chicken, etc but otherwise follow the format of the lunch buffets), and then there are all sorts of hors d'oeuvres to pick from, both hot and cold, priced out by the 100 pieces.  From there, you can also opt for themed stations, like a nacho station, or "baja" station with shrimp cocktail, flautas, empanadas, tacos, chips & salsa, or carving stations with all different cuts of meats, all priced per person.

For our welcome reception, the hosts just opted for a few hors d'oeuvres, and definitely did not intend it to be a full dinner.  The other evening, the hosts combined a few stations and hors d'oeuvres, and basically made it a dinner, albeit one without any desserts (or really, any vegetables).  The unconventional formats I didn't think worked all that well, but, I don't blame the catering team for this, they have clear packages that make more sense as a cohesive meal.

Day 1:

The first night was a welcome reception, an optional event, before the conference got started.  The welcome reception was hosted by a different group from the main organizers, and, they intended this to be just a social few hours, not dinner, it seems (it ran from 5pm-7pm).  The offerings were just a few cold hors d'oeuvres, all finger foods, certainly not a meal.  Nothing was particularly good, this was basically the quality and style of catering that you kind of expect from a large event, and can cater equally well yourself from the grocery store deli department.

Bruschetta & Flat Bread Station: Bases. $14.50/pp.

"Served with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a Variety of Toasted Flat Breads."

First up, we had a build your own bruschetta or flat bread station.

There were two types of flat bread, I tried one with pesto and cheese.  It was ... kinda stale bread?  Not toasted.  You were supposed to make your own bruschetta with these and other toppings, but I don't think I saw anyone actually do that.

Bruschetta & Flat Bread Station: Toppings.

"Specialty Toppings".

To go on top we had the following "specialty toppings":

• Cauliflower, Artichoke and Kale Tapenade
• Kalamata Olive Tapenade
• Pesto Hummus
• Fresh Tomato, Basil and Garlic

The pesto hummus I hoped would be more pesto than hummus, but alas, it tasted like hummus to me, a miss for me, since I don't like hummus.  Meh.  I didn't try the kalamata olive tapanade, another flavor profile I don't really like.

The classic tomato/garlic/basil topping was fine, fresh enough, good garlic, but, since I didn't care for the flatbread, I didn't have much to do with it, and it was too oily to just eat on its own.  I wished there was a salad base, or mashed potatoes, or something to mix it with.

I did mix it with the cauliflower/artichoke/kale spread ... which was a mixed bag.  I'm not one for artichoke, but I didn't mind it here.  I liked the chunks of caulflower, and bits of torn kale.  But much like the tomato/garlic topping, it really was made to be a topping, very oily, and not that great to just eat on its own.

I tried to make a tomato/garlic/cauliflower/artichoke/kale dip salad like thing, and added roasted tomatoes and stuff from the other platters, but ... yeah.  not very good.

**+.

Imported and Domestic Cheese. $10/pp.

"Garnished with Seasonal Fruit, Sliced Baguettes and Assorted Crackers."

The cheeses I tried were highly average.  All hard cheeses, very run of the mill.

I did snag fresh strawberries and mediocre grapes, which was nice because the other fruit platter was full of melons and I had to avoid it entirely due to my allergy.  The fresh fruit was appreciated.

There were also dried cranberries (meh) and candied pecans, which I also liked for something sweet, but didn't go that great with anything else on the menu.

**+.

Ahi Poke. $675/100 pieces.

"Wakami Salad, Tobiko on a Wonton Chip."

Eh.  I do like poke, and I love wonton chips but ...

This was pretty mushy, the tuna didn't seem particularly fresh, and it was all mixed up with seaweed.  The wonton chips were greasy.

**+.

Mediteranean Chicken Kebab. $750/100 pieces.

"Figs and Roasted Tomatoes and Balsamic Glaze."

One of only two hot items.  Chicken kebabs.

I obviously didn't want chicken, but, the roasted figs, tomato, and balsamic sounded good, particularly when combined with the mediocre cheese from the other platter maybe?   The fig was just a dried fig I think, but, decent enough with the glaze and cheese, and chunk of a bran muffin I brought with me.  The tomato was more like a sundried tomato than roasted, very chewy, savory, and good with the bruschetta toppings.

But yeah, eh overall still.  **+.

Guava Cayenne Empanadas. $625/100 pieces.

These were almost ok.  

Flaky enough pastry.  The filling was confusing though - I didn't taste the cayenne they said it had, but it seemed to be guava and cheese?  Sorta sweet, but garnished with roast tomatoes and spring onions?  No dipping sauce, which it really needed (either sweet or savory would have worked).

Almost ok, but it wasn't quite a dessert, and was too sweet for a savory, and again, I wanted a sauce.

**+.

Day 2:

The next night was considerably better.  While still not a real dinner package, at least on the savory side, I was totally satisfied, and really enjoyed some elements.

Dinner-ish.

For our dinner reception, our hosts opted to make their own menu, rather than using any of the standard buffet or plated dinners.

They opted for one appetizer station (charcuterie and roast veggies), a carb station (pasta), and two carving stations (one meat, one seafood).

I felt a bit bad for vegetarians as the only veggies were intermingled on a platter with charcuterie, and they had no protein option, just, pasta + sauce + breadsticks, but it definitely would not have been nice to be a vegan.  The pasta didn't even have a vegan sauce they could opt for, and the breadsticks were cheesy.  They could, literally, have plain penne, no sauce, and some crackers?

Not the fault of the catering team, this was our host's choice, but, as one who used to cater a lot of group events, I noticed the oversight.

Overall though, this was reasonably tasty, in particular, the sauces were the highlights.

Grilled Marinated Vegetable and Charcuterie Board. $16.pp.

"A selection of Roasted Zucchini, Squash, Eggplant, Peppers, Salami, Prosciutto and Sopprasetta drizzled with Extra Virgin Olive Oil."

Served with Toasted Flat Breads and Gourmet Crackers.

This was a bit of an odd platter.  Normally they separate charucterie and veggies, rather than combine.  I heard several vegetarians express their displeasure, commenting that they really didn't want to pick out veggies that were touching the meat.  The vegetables were also all grilled, but cold, and not particularly tasty.  The baby eggplants were cute.

The charcuterie though was pretty good. I really enjoyed the proscuitto, particularly when I added pesto cream sauce to it.

**** for the proscuitto, ** for everything else.

Pasta Station: Pasta. $17.25/pp.

"Tri-Colored Cheese Tortellini and Penne Rigate."

Rather than one of the buffet dinners, our hosts opted to do a pasta station for dinner.  All pasta stations come with both penne and cheese tortellini.

I had the penne, it was fine, not clumped together, not too soft, pretty decent for a buffet I guess. ***.

Pasta Station: Sauces.

"Selection of two sauces: Pesto Sauce · Bolognese Sauce."

Pasta stations come with the host's selection of two sauces, ours were bolognese and pesto.  The other options are simple marinara and the one I secretly hoped they would pick, vodka cream.

The bolognese was not good at all.  Really just thin marinara with tiny ground bits of beef, no developed flavor at all.

The pesto sauce though was great.  I was expecting just a green pesto, and this was a cream sauce.  I'm a sucker for cream sauce, and I found this quite flavorful.  I made a wonderful pasta dish with penne, cream sauce, and proscuitto.  I think mixing in the salmon would have worked well too.

**** for the cream sauce though.

Pasta Station: Sides.

"Served with Soft Bread Sticks, Crushed Red Pepper and Parmesan Cheese."

The bread sticks were lofty, and lightly coated with cheese (yup, sorry vegans), and herbs.  They were decent, but not very warm.  Still, nice to dunk into the sauces.  **+.

Basic parmesan and red pepper flakes were on the side to jazz up your pasta.

Applewood Smoked Side Salmon (serves 30). $500.

"Served with Lemon Dill Crème Fraiche and Chimichurri, with a Large Ciabatta Croustade."

Our hosts selected two carving stations.  I was happy to see they opted for a seafood choice although the other seafood option, pistachio crusted sea bass, sounded a bit more fun.  

The salmon was decent.  I would prefer it more rare, and it wasn't particularly warm, but, it was decent.  I really enjoyed both the lemon dill creme fraiche and chimichurri though, the former thick and flavorful, the later quite vibrant.  

This was served with super thin crispy "ciabatta croustade", but I opted for crackers from the charcuterie/veg platter instead, and spreading the sauces on the crackers was really quite enjoyable.

***+.

Sirloin of Beef (serves 35). $650.

"Served with Chimichurri, and Horseradish Crème Fraiche and with Miniature Rolls."

Our other carving station was one of the beef station options.  I'll admit, it looked pretty good.  The catering menu has two other beef preparations available with different sauces, along with pork loin and turkey breast, none of which our hosts oped for.

The beef looked better than it tasted.  It was pretty chewy.  The crust looked flavorful, but I didn't get much flavor from it.  We all struggled to cut it with little plastic knives.

I also had roast onion and garlic garnishes, and neither were very flavorful, a big surprise, as, well, how do you make onion and garlic NOT flavorful?

The sauces however were again great.  The same chimichurri that we had with the salmon, and a different creme fraiche, this one horseradish.

So, again, great sauces, but meh to the beef.  This came with little rolls if you wanted to make sliders, which I didn't try.

*** sauces, **+ beef.

Snack Time

I wasn't there for snack breaks most days, but the catering depart has a wide range of options, ranging from boring (generic packaged granola bars, pretzels, or bags of chips, which, it sounds like my hosts had picked on day one), to freshly popped popcorn, to themed assortments, like the "Death by Chocolate" break package with chocolate s'mores bark, chocolate dipped strawberries, fudge brownies, and chocolate chip cookies.  I was definitely hoping for the "Ball Park' lineup with mini hot dogs and soft pretzels and cracker jacks, but, alas, we only got soft pretzel bites when I was around.

Sesame Seed Pretzel Bites.

For afternoon snack one day, we had the Bavarian pretzel bites package, which came with pretzels and mustard, $9.75/pp, with 3 allocated per person.

Our lineup had two kinds, including these sesame seed only versions, which I skipped.

Everything Pretzel Bites.

I went for the more interesting everything version.

They were ... fine.  Soft.  Lightly warmed.  Not stale.  Loaded with everything coating.  But I had just been in Munich two weeks prior, and consumed far too many soft pretzels, and these just didn't really stand a chance.

**.

Honey Mustard, Spicy Mustard.

The pretzels came with both spicy and honey mustard, neither of which were particularly flavorful.  Again, after being in Munich, land of all the mustards, this just didn't compare.

**.

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Spudsy Sweet Potato Puffs

"Spudsy Sweet Potato Puffs help you snack smarter. Choose these savory or sweet Spudsy snacks for a vegan, non-GMO, kosher and gluten-free alternative to chips and less-healthy snacks - and feel great about rescuing imperfect taters from a wasteful fate!"

As an avid snacker, I am always eager to try new snack foods.  I love chips alongside my lunch, but, the majority of my snacking is throughout the day, filled with every kind of flavored and coated popcorn imaginable, chex mixes, dried fruits and nuts, that sort of thing, so I'm always happy to try another product that is slightly less unhealthy to munch on all afternoon (or evening!) long.  "Snack smarter"?  Sure!

The Spudsy products are all vegan (even the cheesy varieties), gluten-free, kosher, free of major allergens, etc, etc too if any of those dimensions matter to you.

"Spudsy delivers guilt-free snacking that just might save the world. Discover the savory-sweet satisfaction of Spudsy Sweet Potato Puffs and Sweet Potato Fries made from upcycled sweet potatoes we've rescued from a wasteful fate!"

But Spudsy takes it up a notch from your basic mantra of healthier snacks, no bad crap in them, etc - the products are made from upcycled ingredients.  That is, produce (sweet potatoes) that were destined for the trash, but they use to make the sweet potato flour base for their snacks.  So now you are double doing good by snacking on their products.

Spudsy makes two product lines: puffs or fries, both made from the (upcycled) sweet potato base, both available in a variety of flavors, both sweet and savory. 

Sweet Potato Puffs

"Indulge your savory or sweet yearnings with vegan, gluten-free, kosher, non-GMO Sweet Potato Puffs. Spudsy transforms less-than-perfect taters into little bites of awesomeness that pair beautifully with sandwiches, snack time and sustainable practices." 

The Puffs come in 6 flavors, 5 savory (vegan cheesy cheddar, vegan sour cream & onion, bangin' bar-b-q, spicy buffalo, and vegan buffalo ranch), and one sweet (cinnamon churro).  All use the same "spudsy base blend" of rice flour, sweet potato flavor, pea protein isolate and tapioca starch, and are fried in sunflower oil.

Cinnamon Churro.

"Coated with sweet cinnamon sugar and made from upcycled sweet potatoes, our Cinnamon Churro Sweet Potato Puffs are the perfect blend of sweet and spice, for everyone nice. Perfect for everyday snacking or even as your favorite dessert topping, our Cinnamon Churro puffs are sure to bring a little extra sweetness to your life...without the guilt, of course. "

I started with the sweet ones, as an evening snack, just by the handful.

I liked them, almost loved them.  The form factor was great - super crispy, crunchy, definitely satisfying to grab and munch.  They were well coated in cinnamon sugar coating, and the sweet potato and cinnamon sugar flavors definitely combined well.  The coating on these is not just cinnamon and regular white sugar, but they also use brown sugar, a touch of sea salt, and of course, "natural flavors".

They were good.  Enjoyable.  But still not amazing.  I think the compact, crispy style wasn't quite for me - I wanted them puffier, which to me is more crave-worthy.  And there was a slight odd taste to them, they did taste, even under all the sweet coating, healthy.

I was inspired by the idea they suggest to use as a dessert topping, but also, they reminded me sooo much of Cinnamon Toast Crunch Churros cereal (which, by the way, I totally adored, particularly the chocolate version), and although the Spudsy marketing never suggests it, I was very tempted to have as cereal.  In a bowl.  With milk.  I had no idea how'd they stand up, as clearly not intended to be soaked in milk, but ... once I get an idea to potentially transform a product, I can't NOT try it.

It ... almost worked.  But, as I somewhat feared, the puffs really weren't designed to be submersed in liquid and got soggy nearly instantly.  Turns out, cereal likely is formulated very specifically, and even cereals that I think get soggy too fast still help up beautifully compared to this.

Alas.  Not great for cereal, but still an enjoyable ice cream topping.

***.

Spicy Vegan Buffalo Ranch.

"This take on a classic combo is sure to have your mouth watering! Spudsy’s Vegan Buffalo Ranch will be a new fan favorite among healthy snackers looking for a fun twist and a little HEAT."

Next I went savory, drawn in by the buffalo aspect of these, although wary of the ranch.  I don't particularly like ranch, and grew up with a sister who loved it, adding copious amounts to basically everything (like, everything.  Not just salads, veggies, pizza ... everything. Mac and cheese?  Dump on a cup of ranch!), and always had horribly smelly Cool Ranch Doritos around.  So I kinda shutter at the thought of ranch sometimes.

The sweet potato base worked better in the savory application, the hearty style matched the seasoning a bit better.  And I still liked the form factor. But, yeah, they tasted like ranch, and I just wans't into that.

**+.

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Ozumu, SF

Ozumo is a Japanese restaurant located right near my office that I've somehow walked by more times that I could possibly count (as, literally, my offices are located on either side of it, and I go back and forth between the buildings daily).  It has been open for ages (ok, since 2001, but, that is ages in the neighborhood!).  They have a sister establishment down in San Jose.  It has won awards.  It has a solid reputation.  And yet ... I never visited, until May and June 2022.  I honestly don't know why.  I think because I knew it was pretty pricy, and, although decent quality, not the best sushi in town?  And same with the wagyu - they definitely have premium cuts, but, Alexander's is still my goto for high end beef.  

Anyway, I finally visited, once just to get takeout, and once with a coworker for Happy Hour.  Happy Hour is a nice deal - modestly priced dishes, large happy hour menu, and walk-in seating at tables in the sizable lounge, at the bar, or outside.  Service was attentive, food and drinks were both ready quite quickly, and really it does seem like a solid, but $$, choice.

Drinks

Ozumo has a large drink selection, full of Japanese whiskies, sake, beer, etc, along with a number of special cocktails, and basic wine and spirits.  The Happy Hour menu has a decent selection of all of the above, but I opted for a cocktail from the full cocktail menu instead.

Yakuza. $17.

"Legent whiskey, amaro nonimo, cynar 70, muddled grape, candied grapefruit peel."

I was really craving a strong, whiskey cocktail.  And that is exactly what I got.  This was booze forward, with good bitters, and not really much sweetness.  Really, exactly what I wanted.  I'm not sure if there was actually muddled grape as I didn't taste it distinctly, but, my drink did come garnished with a grape.

Overall, a well balanced cocktail that entirely matched my mood.  I'd get it again if I was in the mood for a whiskey cocktail.

****.

Savory

The menu at Ozumo is broken down into distinct sections, featuring appetizers, sushi, vegetables, and entree style cooked seafood and high end beef.  We skipped the later, as our visit was during Happy Hour, and we mostly just were eating light.

Starters

As a Japanese restaurant, Ozumo has all the expected appetizers (miso soup, edamame, seaweed salad, agadashi tofu, gyoza, tempura), plus a few other more interesting items.  Some are available at a reduced price or portion size on the Happy Hour menu.

Our starter came very quickly after ordering.

TUNA TARTARE ($9 during Happy Hour).

"Spicy tuna tartare with taro chips." 

My dining companion wanted one of the spicy tuna options on the menu (there is this tartare, a version perched on top of crispy rice, and of course standard rolls).  I quickly voiced my vote for the tartare, not because I cared about the tuna, but, for the taro chips.  <3 taro chips!

The taro chips were exactly what I wanted them to be, crispy, well, taro chips.  Nice to scoop up the tartar, but also just tasty to eat on their own, or, as I did, with the sesame cream from the asparagus.  I don't think they were house made, but tasted fresh enough.

The tartare was a bit boring. It said "spicy tuna", but, this was not traditional spicy tuna laden with mayo and spicy sauce (which is fine) but I still am not quite sure where the spicy really was supposed to be.  It was really just ... tuna tartare?  Good knife cuts of little cubes of tuna, fresh tasting, but, certainly no element of spice that I found.  I liked the little pop from tobiko on top.

A version of this is available on the dinner menu as well, for $22, and it has an avocado layer.  Since I'm allergic, clearly the Happy Hour version was a better match for me.  The $9 price during Happy Hour was decent for the portion.

***.

Yasai (Vegetable)

The veggie section of the menu at Ozumu all sounds fantastic.  Roasted king trumpet mushrooms (my favorite kind of mushroom) with brown butter miso that people rave about.  Robata griled eggplant with great toppings.  Seasonal robata grilled asparagus (with furikake!!).  Even the potatoes with togarashi and nori pesto sound good, and people rave about.  So even though I was at a sushi plan, it was the vegetables that I was most eager to eat.

Several of these were available on the Happy Hour menu, so we took advantage of the reduced pricing.  These dishes arrived moments after the starter.

ASPARAGUS/ASUPARAGASU $14 ($8 during Happy Hour).

"Robata grilled asparagus with wadaman black sesame & furikake."

My first pick, seasonal asparagus.  Let's just say I was going through an asparagus phase.  It started right when asparagus came into season in San Francisco (like when I had it at Boulevard), and was furthered when I went to Munich and white asparagus was *everywhere* (like the version I had at Buffet Kull Bar).  I came back, still wanted all the asparagus, like a few days prior at One Market.  So when I saw this on the menu, it was a no brainer.

The asparagus was nicely grilled, quite visible grill marks.  Mostly only tips, which I thought was a bit sad ... where did the rest go?  I hope it was used in rolls or something ...  It was a thin style, fairly standard asparagus, not quite as glorious as the larger pieces highlighted at other places.

The black sesame cream on the side was quite tasty, very flavorful, and, well, creamy.  I didn't necessarily think it went all that well with the asparagus exactly, but it was very tasty, and I gladly used leftover taro chips to polish it off.  It was sprinkled quite generously with furikake, my all time favorite condiment, so, I was quite pleased with that.

Overall, the asparagus was fine but average, sesame sauce tasty, but not the most cohesive dish, I likely wouldn't get it again.

***+.

Kinoko. $14. ($7 during Happy Hour).

"Roasted king trumpet mushrooms with brown butter miso & chives."

Next up, perhaps the most raved about dish on the menu (besides the black cod).  Yup, the mushrooms.  Not just any mushrooms, large, earthy, king trumpets, which, I do love in general, but, what people love about these is the brown butter miso.

The mushrooms were cooked well, slightly chewy, quite savory and meaty.  And absolutely infused wiht the brown butter miso.  Soooo much flavor, and sooo much added fat from this sauce.  The mushrooms tasted decadent, which, I can honestly say is not something I've ever said about mushrooms before.  

They were tasty, absolutely, but I also found a bit odd as a standalone dish ... I, uh, wanted some mashed potatoes to go with them.  I know, odd craving, but it is what made sense in my head.

***+.

Sushi Bar

Of course, Ozumu is known for the sushi.  They have a pretty large range of traditional sushi available as nigiri or sashimi, classic rolls, and then a bunch of house special rolls with a slew of ingredients.

We ordered a few basic pieces.  These followed our other dishes by a few minutes, but all of our food arrived in a 10 minute time span.

Sashimi: Hamachi ($15) Wild Salmon ($14).

My dining companion opted for a few pieces of nigiri.  I think this was the hamachi and wild salmon (several types of salmon are available).  

It came very attractively presented, the salmon perched on top of a half an orange, and plentiful garnish.

He didn't seem into all the garnishes, which I gladly enjoyed - a little bit of assorted seaweed salad, lots of thinly spiraled diakon, fresh crisp shiso leaf, pickled radish.  I made a nice little salad out of the garnishes, and enjoyed with my nigiri.

Nigiri: Unagi $13, Local Uni $24, Ikura $12.

For my sushi, I opted for unagi and uni.  Both local uni and Japanese were available, the later more expensive of course.  My companion also ordered the ikura.

The nigiri was good.  Not particularly notable really.  The unagi lightly sauced, sadly not very warm.  Uni was 3 lobes per piece, no funk whatsoever to it, creamy.  Sushi rice well formed.  The only accompaniment on this platter was ginger and wasabi, but of which I utilized.

I enjoyed my pieces, but I can't say they were particularly better than any decent sushi restaurant.

***+.

Desserts

Ozumo has a fairly interesting dessert menu.  Of course they have some kind of crowd pleasing warm chocolate cake, and the requisite Japanese mochi ice cream, but they also have a chocolate fondue (with fruit, etc to dunk in), a posset (yay pudding! but, eh, mandarin), and, what I had my eyes on, a Japanese style cheesecake.  Yup, fluffy, light souffle cheesecake!

I didn't get this to dine in, as I got it during a different visit, and just got it as takeout.

Hakata Cheesecake. $12.

"Japanese souffle cheesecake with yuzu & strawberries."

While I did shay away slightly from the yuzu (just not a citrus dessert girl), I still couldn't resist, as I like cheesecake, but also, light and fluffy Japanese style cheesecake isn't as easy to come by.

My petite round cheesecake came topped with yuzu curd, fresh sliced strawberries, chiffon basil, and had a little container on the side (strawberry syrup?) to pour over.

The cheesecake was light and fluffy, just like a Japanese style cheesecake should be.  Very mild cream cheese flavor, definitely dominated by bright citrus notes.  The yuzu curd on top further accented the tangy citrus flavors.  For me, the citrus level was too high as I prefer other flavors, but, if you like citrus, I think this would be a delight.  The strawberry on top was fresh and flavorful, and a nice component to balance the richer cheesecake.

The cheesecake was crustless, and, although I don't love standard cheesecake crusts, I did find myself wanting for a bit of crunch or other texture.  A nut based crust perhaps?  Or a little crumble?  The syrup was sweet and fruity, and I appreciated to balance out the stronger citrus flavor.

Overall, a nicely made item, but not the flavor I'd go for normally.

This serving size was small (for a restaurant) but actually a perfect amount of one person to eat.  If you planned to share though, it might be a bit too small.  Price was a touch high, but also, appropriate for the quality of item.

***+.

Matcha Ice Cream $6.

Ozumo makes their own ice cream, and the day I went they had two flavors: whiskey banana and matcha.  While the former sounded interesting, I don't tend to love banana, so I went with the matcha.  It was served with a little chocolate "soil" in the cup.

The ice cream was good - very strong green tea flavor, reasonably creamy.  $6 for a small scoop felt a bit high, but, it did seem to be pretty legit in the matcha department.

***+.

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Tavernetta, Munich

When in Munich, go to an Italian restaurant?  Yup, for the meals that I picked on this trip, I was mostly not going to traditional Bavarian places, as all the meals I wasn't planning were bringing me to exactly those, and, well, this girl only wants so much beer, pretzels, meat, and potatoes (although, I'm more than happy to have all the kasiserschmarn!).

Anyway, after a ok-but-not-great meal at Buffet Kul Bar, we went to Tavernetta, an Italian place I read great reviews about.  Great Italian food I don't have often, and with the proximity to Italy, I hoped it might be better than what I'm used to.

It was a pretty lackluster experience.  Service wasn't particularly friendly, and was really, really, really slow.  The food was lower end mediocre.  After several hours of being there, we left before getting desserts, and opted to just go get kaiserschmarrn instead (at  Zum Dürnbräu - just as glorious as I remembered!).  German, heavy carb dessert may not make any sense after an Italian carby meal, but, hey, we were very ready to leave there.  I wouldn't go back.

Setting

Sidewalk Seating.

The restaurant is located down a side street, and has a few tables outside.  We had the choice to sit inside or out, and I wished we had picked out, but, the forecast was predicting rain, so we went in.

Indoor Dining.

Since there was a threat of rain, we chose to sit inside, where there were a few tables.  The one for 4 people (our group size) was occupied by a young teenager sprawled out with her tablet.  The host/server asked her to move, and she, um, didn't.  He asked her again, and again, and eventually she rolled her eyes, gave attitude, and moved.  It wasn't exactly the most welcoming environment.

We were the only ones inside for the first hour, which was nice, until a large party came in and joined us.

Bar.

Adjacent to the seating was the bar area, but it wasn't a bar where people sat at, and instead was just an area that waitstaff used.

Food

We were first presented with menus in Italian.  We asked for English menus, and were given a couple. I appreciated the authenticity of Italian first!

In addition to their regular menu, they have a truffle menu, and, a weekly menu, the later of which was only provided in Italian/German.  I had scoped out the menu in advance online, and had a good idea of exactly what I wanted to order, but, alas, the weekly menu, the one with the items I most wanted, was very out of date.  Doh.

Still, I picked it for the seasonal asparagus and there were still several choices featuring it, and, well, for what I hoped would be better Italian food than we have in most of the US.

Starters: Veal with tuna sauce and capers,
beef tartar with purple potatoes, crayfish with white asparagus.

We started with a trio of appetizers, one from the regular menu, and two specials.  I was pretty sad that the online specials menu was out of date, as I really wanted those, but, alas, I was happy enough with these choices.

Our starters came presented on one large platter, which was kinda fun.  There was also some mixed greens on the platter, which, given how few vegetables I tend to have when in Munich, I appreciated, and took most of.

I didn't have the beef tartar since that isn't really my thing (but did try the purple potato mush on top ... eh).  Everything else was fine, very average.

It took quite a while for this to arrive, which was surprising for all cold dishes and the restaurant was empty.

Special: Crayfish with white asparagus salad.

This was probably my favorite dish, but that isn't actually saying too much.  The crayfish was light and refreshing, not fishy, much like a slightly less flavorful crab.  I haven't had much crayfish, particularly chilled, so this was nice for something different.

The white asparagus was also nice, not too soft.  

It was all dressed in a viniagrette.

Overall, a fine dish, but, I thought it needed a touch of fresh acidity (lemon juice?) or a creamy component.

***.

Veal with tuna sauce and Pantelleria capers.

I remember the first (and only other!) time I had vitello tonnato.  My mind was blown.  Note: this was just a few years ago.  The idea of a tuna cream was just fascinating.  And, I think I'd only had veal maybe 2-3 times ever .  I loved the dish - I remember the veal being so tender, and, zomg, that tuna cream.  So when I saw this on the menu, it was a no brainer.  Behind the asparagus that I obviously wanted, this was my other must order.

It was ... underwelming, but, it would take a lot to live up to that memory.  The veal was sliced thin and tender, served cold, and, well, "fine".  I liked the big caperberries on top (and, one diner had never had them before, so that was fun for him).  

But the tuna sauce, the part I remember loving when I had it elsewhere, just didn't have much flavor.  Sadness.

Again, another dish that was "fine", nothing wrong with it, but nothing that made it stand out.

***.

Bread.

A bit after our starters, some bread showed up.  I didn't try it. I saw the server cut it with his hand on the bread and after touching many other things.  Also, just room temp, and, others thought it might be sourdough.

Special: Beef in parmesan crust with gratin white asparagus.

After another long wait, our main dishes arrived.

The others really wanted beef, and I wanted asparagus, so this was a natural choice.

The white asparagus was fine, not too soft, large pieces, with a bit of cheese baked on, which seemed a bit unnecessary, and masked really getting to taste the fresh asparagus.  

The beef, which we asked for medium-rare, was actually medium-rare, something we all appreciated.  Decent sear.  Decently done, but I like a sauce with my beef.

On top was i think mashed potato with parmesan, more cheese.  It was kinda gloopy.

Overall, yup, another dish that was "fine", but I really wanted the asparagus to shine more.  The others seemed happy enough with it.

**+.

Tavernetta Pizza. Tomato sauce, mozzarella, Parma ham, rocket, Parmesan flakes.

For our pizza, we picked the namesake one, which came with parma ham, fresh rocket and parmesan on top.

It actually was pretty good.  The crust had a good chew, was otherwise crispy, slight char.  The sauce was flavorful, the mozzarella cheese well distributed and perfectly melted.  The ham really did seem to be high quality, and I enjoyed it more than the other proteins in our meal.  The fresh rocket and parmesan just rounded it out nicely with freshness and salt.

I'm glad we got a pizza, definitely the best of the main dishes, and the only thing I'd really recommend.

***+.

Truffle Special: Tagliolini with truffle.

From the special truffle menu, I wanted something.  And it seemed like we should get a fresh pasta since Tavernetta is known for the fresh pasta.  Put two and two together, and, yup, we got the fresh pasta with truffle.

It was underwhelming.  Just, well, pasta in butter/oil with very mild white truffle shaved on top.  Just not much flavor going on here, and the pasta itself also didn't have any particular flavor.

No one was into this.

**+.

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RustiCucina, San Diego

I grew up eating a lot of Italian food.

Ok, correction, I grew up eating a lot of ... extremely American Italian food.  By which I mean, we ate a lot of pizza (my father's favorite food), and a lot of basic spaghetti & jarred red sauce, sometimes frozen ravioli in jarred sauce.  Baked ziti or lasagna when mom was really cooking.  And no, I'm not talking anything remotely authentic.  When we went out to dinner, it was either to 1) Subway, 2) Del Taco, or 3) Papa Ginos, Little Ceasars, or the local pizza place, so even then, I wasn't really exposed to much real Italian.  There was one decent restaurant in town, that was a real sit down place and thus not somewhere my family went, but it was place I sometimes got invited for birthday parties, and it had decent enough Italian, with an actual wood fired grill, fresh pasta, imported tomatoes from Italy, etc.  College meant dining halls, and more very basic pasta and sauce.  I certainly didn't have exposure growing up.  I've still never been to Italy.

Anyway.  During my recent trip to San Diego, I did a little restaurant research, and one place, RustiCucina kept popping up.  It seemed like a casual, neighborhood Italian place, reasonably authentic, well regarded.  In particular, they do a tableside pasta cooked in a cheese wheel, that you know people go nuts for.  Oh, and deep fried, breaded burrata.  

I didn't actually ever make it there, nor did I even get to try the savory cuisine, but one night in my hotel, after a lackluster dinner, I wanted a nice cocktail and I wanted a great dessert.  RustiCucina came to mind because I knew they delivered, and had a huge cocktail menu.  It is hard to find a good delivery cocktail!

And thus, DoorDash it was, for literally just a cocktail and dessert.  I can't tell you anything about the restaurant itself.

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

• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

My delivery was fairly fast, the food nicely packaged, my Dasher friendly.  

Cocktails

So, yeah.  The cocktails.  I really, really wanted a strong, whiskey cocktail.  I had a glass of red wine with dinner, and it was eh, and, well, I just wanted something with bit more ooph to it.  RustiCucina has an extensive cocktail menu for delivery, plus a slew of specialty cocktails.  It was exactly what I was looking for.

Il Fumoso. $16.

'Smoked bourbon, sweet vermouth, angostura bitters.' 

For my cocktail, I was tempted by many of the classics that I do like, such as a Negroni, Manhattan, or Old Fashioned, but, opted instead for one of their signature cocktails.

This was ... ok.  Very boozy, and bitter, just not really what I wanted it turned out.  I did greatly enjoy the boozy soaked cocktail cherries though.

i think it was a fine drink, just, not what I wanted in the end.  Oops.

***.

Dessert

Besides the cocktail, my main reason for ordering was to get dessert.  And, although alone, I doubled down.

The desert menu at RustiCucina is full of Italian classic: Cannoli. Tiramisu.  Limoncello Cake.  Creme Brulée. Pistachio Semifreddo.  Molten Lava Cake.  

Mostly all things I like, and seldom have.  This seemed like a good chance to indulge in classic Italian.  Reviews claim the tiramisu is the best folks have ever had.  I needed to try that, right?  The problem is, I don't have caffeine at night, so I couldn't actually eat it fresh, but hoped it would still be tasty the next day after lunch.  And, since I was saving that, I needed to pick another to eat right then.  Had I been dining in, the pistachio semifreddo likely would be my pick, but for delivery, I was a bit worried about a melty mess.

Tiramisu. $12.

I was impressed when I opened first box.  Even for takeout, they did garnish it fairly attractively with a chocolate sauce drizzle, whipped cream, and mint.

The tiramisu almost seemed like it was made to order, and was certainly a standalone individual item, not a slice from a layer pan.  I'm not sure I've seen it done this way?  It still had the classic components of ladyfingers lightly soaked in espresso, a thick rich cream, and lots of cocoa powder, but, the  ladyfingers were very nicely laid out, and the pastry cream in between layers was piped on it a pattern, not just a layer.  

Anyway, construction aside, it was ... underwhelming.  If it was freshly made, I think that detracted from it.  The ladyfingers didn't really have much soak or moisture, and were kinda dry.  The cream wasn't particularly mascarpone flavored.  Overall, it was just ... lower end mediocre.  I've had considerably better mass produced frozen versions before, and really, no tiramisu lives up to that from Tricolore Cafe.

The chocolate sauce mostly just served for looks, it was very thin, watery, I suspect just Hershey?  

But the whipped cream?  It was not fluffy whipped cream from a can, nor even housemade whipped cream.  Nope, it was the kind that comes on pre-made grocery store cakes, not really whipped cream, more like sweet stable fluffy frosting, and, um, I kinda loved it.  I'm a sucker for that stuff.  So, <3 the sweet whipped topping!  Definitely the best part of the dish.

**+.

Creme Brulée. $12.

People also rave about the creme brulée.  And, you know me, I love a good pudding, and adore a good creme brulée (there is a reason my blog has labels for each!).  Even though I knew it wouldn't be quite as awesome delivered (no hot top and cool base, if freshly bruléed to order), I hoped it would still work.

It too came with a drizzle of chocolate sauce in the box, whipped cream, and mint.  And, um, a real creme brulée dish.  Usually for takeout they use foil ones!  

It didn't look like the top was nicely caramelized, no layer to crack, but, actually it was.  Really decent caramelization.  The dish was pretty shallow, but the custard was rich, and this was plenty.  The texture was good, but it didn't have much flavor - no vanilla bean or anything like that.  

Also on top was what seemed to be blueberry compote?  Or at least, cooked down blueberries.  And there was sauce on it, that at first I thought was chocolate sauce (which did NOT please me as I avoid caffeine at night), but, I didn't actually taste chocolate.  I think actually that this was just the brulee top, sorta weepy, as it had a slight caramel taste to it.  It certainly didn't seem to be fruity or chocolate, both of which were my original guesses.

So, overall, it was a fine, but rather boring, creme brulée.  I would have liked more vanilla bean or flavor to the custard itself.  I loved the sweet whipped topping with this one too though.

***.

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