Dunkin' Donuts: The "Bakery".

Update Review: July 2022

Cornbread & Old Fashioned Munchkins. $0.75 each.

I know inflation is real, and *everything* is pretty expensive these days, but, I was blown away that a single Munchkin is now $0.75.  They used to be $0.25!  (Then again, gas was <$1 when I started driving ...).

Anyway, I was excited to try the new cornbread donut (summer 2022 special), but didn't want to commit to a full donut in case I didn't care for it, so, pricey Munchkin it was.  I also got an Old Fashioned, as I realized I had never had a Dunkin' Donuts Old Fashioned before!

Old Fashioned: 

I started with the old fashioned.  I was highly underwhelmed.  It was basically no different than a plain cake donut.  I think some of the essence of an old fashioned is really lost when translating into Munchkin form, as it loses the jaggy edges.  But also, it wasn't even a good cake donut - it just tasted like grease, like it was fried in old oil, and not well drained, if you know what I mean.  Maybe ok if you dunk it in coffee?  But, not one I wanted even a second bite of.  *.

Cornbread: 

"Unique sweet and savory corn-cake base."

Cornbread donuts/Munchkins were limited time summer 2022 items, and I was pretty excited for it.  I love cornbread, corn muffins, and the like, and it was easy to see how this could translate into a sweet donut form.  

It was good - it did indeed have some grit to it from the cornmeal, and it tasted like, well, cornbread?  The glaze worked well too, adding sweetness to make it more of a standalone item than just plain cornbread.  I do think they could have done better using a honey glaze (honey butter & cornbread are such an ideal pairing!), and I think it could be amped up by adding blueberries, but, this was still a successful item, and I'd consider trying the full size one.

I enjoyed it lightly warmed up, and served with ice cream and blueberries - a perfect bite! ***+.

Update Reviews: July - August 2020

Another year, another trip to the east coast, and a chance to try out more goodies from Dunkin' Donuts, which, at this point, I pretty much write off as a place of glory ... in my memories.  And yes, it really *has* changed, no longer making donuts fresh in each store, etc, etc.

But anyway.  I usually spend just a week or two in the summer, and the same at Christmas, visiting family and friends, in the land of Dunks.  But this year ... #covidhappened.  And I was there for 6 months.  6 ... months.  During which time I decided to give precious Dunks more and more changes.  I'm glad I did.  I actually found some surprise, real, legit hits from their, uh, "bakery".

Yeast

"Yeast Donuts are soft, tender with a slight fermented flavor and sweet to the taste. After the product has cooled, it is sponge-like and tender to the touch. Yeast Donuts make up our glazed rings, iced rings, filled shells and fancies (Coffee Rolls, Bismarks, Bow Ties) which is about 65% of our donut mix. It is a three-hour process from start to finish and worth every minute!"

The most commonly sold type of donut, and majority of the Dunkin' lineup, are yeast donuts.  These are the ones that I've always previously said just aren't fresh, taste stale, and taste strangely oily/fried.  You'd think I'd give up on this category by now, but, I was drawn in at least by trying a different filling.

Vanilla Creme. $1.29.

This was another fairly random pick from me, on a day where they did not have any of the donuts I intended to purchase.  Doh.  

But I remembered the wonderful creme filling from a special seasonal donut I had tried years before, the : Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme Donut, with an addicting vanilla buttercream inside.  Or so I remembered.

So, I went random, and got this, as I knew it had a vanilla cream filling (NOT the Boston cream bavarian style filling).

The donut itself was as meh as any other Dunkin' Donut: kinda dry and stale, although the powdered sugar masked that a bit.  But still, not a good donut.

The cream filling was, well, sweet buttercream-ish.  Made from very "wholesome" ingredients: sugar, vegetable shortening, high fructose corn syrup.  It was good enough, very very sweet, better than much canned buttercream, but I wouldn't call it remarkable or worth going out of my way for.

As a donut, this just felt strange to me ... powdered sugar, seemed like it should be a jelly or custard filled thing, loaded with vanilla buttercream ... I dunno, it didn't quite work for me.  I'll give credit for generously stuffing the donut though.

**, for good-ish filling?

Cake

"The Cake Donut is a symmetrical, round donut that is golden brown in color, with a center hole that is about the size of a dime. Our Cake Donut has a crisp outer edge with a tender inside. However, cake donuts can vary in taste slightly depending on the flavor (Chocolate, Old Fashioned, Blueberry, Sour Cream). For example, the Old Fashioned Cake Donut has a mild vanilla flavor with a slight nutmeg finish. These donuts take about 12-15 minutes to create from start to finish."

Next up is the cake donuts, totally different style, which of course has its fans.  Dunks only offers a few of this style, and they are never my goto really, but wanting to give them a chance, I went for the Munchkin version at least.

(Seasonal) Pumpkin Munchkins. $0.25 each.

"Enjoy the flavors of fall with glazed pumpkin cake Munchkins."

I forgot that I had tried these before, and was tempted by the special fall seasonal special pumpkin Munchkins.  Just like the full size seasonal pumpkin donut, it is a pumpkin spiced cake base, glazed.

These were ... fine.  Classic cake donut.  Dense.  Sweeter style.  Abundant spicing, definitely pumpkin spice, but not crazy strong in any particular spice.  They didn't exactly taste pumpkin itself, although the ingredients do claim to have pumpkin powder in them.

These seemed less stale and less oily than many other Dunkin' Donuts I've tried, perhaps the cake style keeps better?

**+ for not being stale.

Other: Specialty Donuts

And finally, the "other" donuts, the specialty ones, the ones that cost more than the rest.  Here you'll find the big names, you know, cinnamon rolls and fritters (among others)!.

And it is here that the hits were.  I can't believe it took me so long to discover these.

Coffee Roll. $1.95.

On a recent visit to Dunkin' Donuts, I decided to try something totally different.  After all, if I hadn't ever really loved the donuts, why not try something else?  Plus, I had really been craving a cinnamon roll.  I spied the "coffee roll", which looked a lot like a cinnamon roll ... maybe?  Or maybe it was just a standard raised donut, in a coil, with standard glaze, not icing?  Did it have coffee? It was a "coffee roll" after all.  It came from the "Specialty" section of the "Other Bakery" part of the menu, and is listed out differently on the menu, which gave me some hope too.

I asked the cashier, "Is the coffee roll the same as a regular glazed donut? Like same base?" and she looked at me like I was crazy and was like, "I wouldn't know."  And that was that.  I also was slightly worried it had caffeine, which I didn't want since it was later in the day, so I asked if it had coffee in it.  She glared, and muttered, "No?"  I had zero faith in her answer, but, I still got it.  I hoped it had cinnamon, and I hoped it was a bit different from their standard donut base.

I took a bite of my treat immediately.  Well, it sure tasted like a standard raised, glazed donut from Dunks.  The glaze was slightly crusty in a not-fresh way, it was sweet, and it was well coated.  Lots of glaze, lots of sweet.  Which, after all, is what I was going for.

The dough was lofty, airy, yeasted donut, that, like the glaze, had a kinda "not fresh" taste to it, but it wasn't stale.  It was better than my recent memory of any of their donuts to be honest, although quite plain.  

If that is all there was to it, just the same donut in a different shape, I'd still call this better than their basic donuts, as the rolled nature gave it some interesting contrasts, fluffy bits and more crisp bits.  And of course, it was considerably bigger than the regular donuts too.

But between the rolls there *was* cinnamon.  Not much, and not a cinnamon sugar and butter mix like you find an actual cinnamon roll, but, there was some cinnamon.  I liked the touch it added.

Overall, though, I was pleased enough.  I enjoyed some of it right away, but mostly waited until I got home, knowing it would be even better warmed up, a la mode.  The $1.95 price is higher than regular donuts, but, it is bigger, and I guess more work to make, so, it makes sense.  

I'd get this again, actually, if craving something like it, but, it certainly isn't a real cinnamon roll - no icing, no cinnamon-sugar-butter elements, and no sour cream, cream cheese, or anything like that.

Coffee Roll Ingredients: Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Palm Oil, Yeast Donut Concentrate [Soy Flour, Pregelatinized Wheat Starch, Salt, Whey (Milk), Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Nonfat Milk, Gum Blend (Cellulose, Guar, Acacia, Carrageenan, Xanthan), Sodium Caseinate (Milk), Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Eggs, Soybean Oil, Annatto (Color), Natural and Artificial Flavor, Soy Lecithin, Turmeric (Color)], Dextrose, Soybean Oil, Cinnamon, Yeast, Mono and Diglycerides; Glaze: Sugar, Water, Maltodextrin, Contains 2% or less of: Propylene Glycol, Mono and Diglycerides (Emulsifier), Cellulose Gum, Agar, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Vanillin (an Artificial Flavor).

When I got home, I looked up the ingredients, and compared side by side to the glazed donut.  My suspicions were confirmed: yes, the ingredients were *identical*, except this one had one extra ingredient: cinnamon.

The ingredients also explained why it wasn't exactly wholesome tasting.  Um, yeah.  It is a mass produced donut after all, so I wasn't expecting something different, but it did make me laugh a bit.

Update Review: I had another, and ... I really liked it.  Like, *really* liked it.  But not when "fresh" and room temperature.

I liked it once I brought it home and warmed it up.  I wrapped in foil, with a touch of water added, and threw in my convection toaster oven at 400* for a few minutes.  The water steamed it slightly, it was soft and doughy, the cinnamon seemed even more pronounced this time, and the glaze got warm and melty.

I was kinda embarrassed by how quickly I scarfed it down, and by how much I liked it.  Trust me, heat these up and they transform!

****.  Hidden gem.

Apple Fritter. $1.95.

Ok, so, the apple fritter.  Or as I generally refer to it: the "king" of donuts.  I had never had one from Dunkin' before, but, a fritter is often my absolute favorite donut, even at a lower end donut shop (side note: best fritter? I think the one from Donut Savant may be my top, but Johnny Doughnuts definitely gets an honorable mention).

An apple fritter follows the same formula at donut shops nationwide.  Or at least, normally.  I thought I knew what I was getting: standard yeasted donut that is mixed with bits of cooked spiced apple chunks with cinnamon between the chunks, fried, glazed.   Bigger than regular donuts.  No hole.  Usually a crispy exterior.  But not at Dunkin' Donuts (and, it turns out, they make two totally different styles of apple fritter, it just depends on which kind of location you visit, one that finishes donuts on site, one that bakes them on site, or one that gets them fully finished).  But more on this all soon.

It looked like any standard apple fritter.  Yup, bigger than all the other donuts, yup, glazed, yup more fried.

The dough is the basic Dunkin' Recipe: "enriched wheat flour", oil, water, and "yeast donut concentrate".  Much like the Coffee Roll it also has cinnamon added, and of course, the glaze.

I ripped off the edge.  It tasted like ... well, a Dunkin' Donuts donut ... kinda stale, kinda bad oil, and just not very good.  Sure it was nicely raised and fluffy.  Basically like nearly every other yeasted donut I have ever had from Dunks (still not sure why the Coffee Roll was the exception!).  Yes, there was some cinnamon between the folds, and that added some flavor, and yes there was glaze, although it wasn't nearly as thick or crusty as I'd like.  I like my fritters as decadent as can be.

I did not find any chunks of apple, as much as I looked, but I could taste apple, which was quite confusing.

Undeterred, I brought it home.  I know many donuts transform magically when you heat them up (and add ice cream on top!).  Sadly, this did not help our fritter friend.  Still tasted old and stale and like bad oil.

But when I cut off another chunk, I found a surprise.

Apple Fritter: Filled?!

Yeah, in the center of the donut was ... apple filling.  Like, it was stuffed with apple pie filling.

I have had many, many apple fritters in my life, but I have never found one that had a filling like this.  (Side note: it turns out, that any Dunkin' Donuts location that finishes the donuts on-site fills them like this.  But if you visit a location that gets them pre-made, they are the traditional style.  Who knew?!).

Anyway, the filling.  It tasted like applesauce.  I don't care for applesauce.  It did have little chunks of apple, and they were soft but not mushy, but the taste was very, very applesauce.  And I like "canned pie filling goo", but this was not that.  It was just, well, applesauce-y.  Looking at the ingredients, I think it was likely the use of evaporated apples that causes this?  I'm not sure.  Anyway, even though I like fake apple pie filling sometimes, this I certainly did not care for.  It was also very spiced.

So, a stale bad-oil tasting donut, filled with a filling a dislike, and not enough glaze?  Yeah, no saving this one.  Warming it did not help, a la mode did not help.  I will not be getting another.

Oh, one final note, the ingredients actually list out two different "apple filling" ingredients, one of which has corn syrup and sugar and nutmeg, and one doesn't, so I believe the former is used for chunked mixed in with the dough, the later is the applesauce style filling.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, it clocks in much higher than the regular donuts, although that makes sense since it is so much larger, 510 calories (double the basic donuts), and nearly 3x the fat and 2x the sugar than even heavily frosted items, for this very lackluster item.

**, really nothing to highlight here.

French Cruller

But Dunkin' also does have one donut, one item only, that falls outside all other categories.

"A French Cruller has a soft, airy texture with a pleasant light “egg-like” flavor. The center of the French Cruller is wet with a crunchy exterior. The shape of a proper French Cruller should resemble a golden brown pinwheel. It is customarily glazed prior to being enjoyed, which adds a slight sweetness to this deliciousness. This process takes about 12-15 minutes to make from beginning to end."

Yes, Dunkin' offers up the French Cruller, which surprises me, just because it uses a completely different dough base, and no others utilize it. 

French Cruller. $1.35.

I finally tried it.

I was reasonably impressed.  

It really did have proper shape, and was lofty.  Inside was airy, as it should be, yet eggy and moist, also as it should be.  Not quite as light as it really should be though.  Honestly, they do a decent job with this.  Moist, eggy, yup, that's a cruller.

It was also very heavily glazed, quite sweet.  I've had french crullers many other places, and they are usually lightly glazed, but this one really did suffer a bit from being too sweet - one thing I appreciate about French Crullers is that they can be a lighter option.

***, far better than most of the donuts, but I don't necessarily want another.

Update Review, July 2019

Uh ... in my adult years, I've literally never liked a donut from Dunkin' (as you know from my past reviews).  Until now.

Specialty Donut: Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme Donut. (July 2019 Special). $1.75.

"Real Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme crumbles on top of a chocolate frosted square donut filled with vanilla flavored butterream."

Dunkin' Donuts always has two classes of donuts, "Classic" and "Specialty", the later of which cost more ($1.75 as opposed to $1.45, at the location I visited).  These are generally more elaborately topped, and offered for a short time, like this, the Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme donut.

This was a special collaboration with Hersey's, where Dunkin' Donuts introduced a slew of candy inspired beverages, and, one donut, topped with bits of Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme bar.  The square shape was also fairly unique.

I'll cut right to the chase.  This thing is delicious.  If you like sweet of course.  But if you do, um, yeah, get this.

The donut itself is fairly standard, generic Dunkin' Donuts, but, it actually tasted fresher than normal, wasn't greasy or anything, and, well, fried dough is fried dough. 

The chocolate on top was likely the same as the Boston Cream donut, but it was a thick layer, fudgy, and went great with the candy pieces on top (and with the donut, of course).  The chunks of candy bar were small, but the size worked well, little bits of texture, plenty of sweetness, and complimentary flavors.

So, good base donut, good chocolate frosting, great toppings.  And then, inside ...

Vanilla Buttercream Filling.

People sometimes criticize Dunkin' Donuts for not generously filling their donuts, but, mine was very, very generously filled.  I think the square shape helped.

The filling was ... well, yup, vanilla buttercream.  So very very sweet.  Basically, the sweetest frosting I could imagine, and the same consistency of the kind you get in a can.  Fluffy.

It was complete sugar overload, really, this donut was ... not a donut, so not breakfast appropriate in any way, as it was basically a fried dough with the sweetest frosting ever, plus all the chocolate, but, um, it was good in that way.  But, yes, so very very sweet.

There was nothing wholesome about this, no way to pretend it wasn't awful for me, but, it had its place.  I will admit tat I really enjoyed it.

450 calories (33 grams sugar) though is a bit much for, um, a donut?  I'm glad it is short time offering, since I don't need to decide NOT to get another ... as I'm not sure I'd be capable.

Original Reviews, 2014-2016

I grew up on the East Coast, in the part of America that actually "Runs on Dunkin'".  I've consumed my fair share of Dunkin' Donuts coffee (generally iced) and sweet treats (generally Coolattas).  I've reviewed all that stuff before, as well as talked about my nostalgia for Dunks.

Strangely, even though I'm obviously totally a sweets girl, when I think of Dunkin' Donuts, I don't think of the donuts.  Sure, I attended plenty of birthday parties when I was growing up that featured a box of Munchkins, and I had my cheap days in college where I used to order just one Munchkin before they could figure out how to charge for it, but, I was never into the donuts.  And now ... Dunkin' Donuts doesn't just make donuts, they have a huge variety of items from the "Bakery".

Just like the coffee though, standards have changed.  The baked good are no longer baked fresh at every store every morning like they used to be.  I still haven't ventured out to try many of the newer baked goods (bagels, danishes, croissants, even cookies), nor any of the sandwiches (the breakfast sandwiches sorta make sense, but I still can't wrap my head around Dunkin' Donuts selling things like chicken salad sandwiches!)

Anyway, I digress.  Onto the baked goods reviews we go! Spoiler: Um, these are not the things my memories are made of.

Donuts

So obviously, the signature item at Dunkin' Donuts is, well, the donuts.  They are available in a slew of varieties, raised or cake, and generally topped or filled with stuff.  They carry all the classic flavors you'd expect, and are constantly introducing seasonal specials.  Over the years, I've tried a bunch, but still haven't ever found one that I'd actually like to get another of.

Boston Cream Donut w/ Sprinkles. $1.09.

I'm  over donuts from Dunkin' Donuts, but the same does not apply to Ojan.  Whenever we visit the east coast, he must visit, at least once, for a donut.

On one recent trip, we failed to visit Dunkin' Donuts during the trip, so we had to stop at the Boston Logan airport to pick one up before we left.  Prices were higher there, $1.09 for a single donut, which seems crazy for a Dunkin' Donut, but, Ojan needed his fix.

I asked what kind he wanted, and he looked at me like I was crazy.  There is one, and only one, kind of donut one gets at Dunks: the Boston Cream.

While I could care less about their donuts, I still couldn't resist trying a bite, could I?  Of course not.

It was ... exactly what I expected.  A raised donut, not really awesome, but fluffy enough, kinda stale tasting.  Covered in tons of mediocre chocolate glaze, slightly crusty.  And sprinkles for some reason, not generally part of the standard offering.

I took the first bite, and got no cream, so I had to keep going.  I took a second bite, and a third.  Still no cream.  Isn't the creme filling what this donut is all about?  Ojan glared at me, knowing I don't even like these donuts, yet I was eating his whole donut.

I handed it over, never able to get to the cream.  He then grumbled about how there was no cream inside, although he eventually found a little.  He wasn't pleased with the cream to donut ratio.  He even threw out most of the donut once the cream had been depleted.

Worth the $1.09?  Nah.  But Ojan got his moment ... sorta.

[ Update, 2016: Ojan, as always when visiting the Boston area, got a few Boston Cream donuts.  Eventually, I tried another bite.  It was exactly as I remembered.  The donut was kinda oily and stale tasting.  The cream and chocolate were ok, but, you can't fix a donut that begins with a low quality base.  ]

Blueberry Cobbler Donut.  $0.95. June 2015 Special.

"Yeast shell donut with blueberry filling, finished with white icing and coffee cake streusel topping".

This was available for a limited time only, a seasonal special, and it sounded pretty enticing.

The crumble on top was cinnamon streusel, which was good with black coffee, just like coffee cake.  It had a nice cinnamon flavor, but it was a bit soggy, not crispy like you'd expect.

The icing was very sweet, and flavorless, and there was way too much of it on top.

The donut itself was just a basic fried donut.  The blueberry jelly filling was basically ... slime.  It really made me want a classic jelly donut instead.

I almost threw it out.  But then, it totally grew on me.  There is something about the classic Dunkin' Donuts fried dough that I just can't resist, at least when it isn't totally stale tasting.  I wouldn't get this again, since I didn't like the blueberry filling and thought the icing was too heavy, but in the end, I enjoyed it.

Sugar Jelly Donut. $0.99.

On one visit, I had a coupon for 2 donuts for $0.99.  A single donut usually costs $0.99.  So, even though I didn't want a donut, Ojan of course wanted a Boston cream, so, I got one too, because, well, it was free.  How do you resist freebies?

I opted for a jelly donut.  I'm not sure I've ever had a full size Dunkin' Donuts jelly donut, although I've had the Munchkin.  I was just really craving the amazing jelly donut I had a few days prior from Ohlin's Bakery 

It was ... slightly better than expected?

The outside had a small dusting of sugar, standard, small crystals.  It was slightly crispy on the outside, in a somewhat stale sort of way.  Light, fluffy, raised dough, a bit sweet, not particularly remarkable, and again, slightly stale tasting, slightly too fried tasting.  I'm really selling this, right?

Sugar Jelly: Inside.

Inside was the part I was most eager for: the jelly!

It was very generic red goo, with no distinct berries, no real indication of which fruit when into the making of the jelly.  It completed the donut in the way that the jelly should, but, really it was unremarkable.

So, overall, yup, a Dunkin' Donut, no more, no less.  I don't need or want another, but, at least I tried it again?

[ Update, 2016: But of course I got another.  I mean, jelly donut!  It was crazy stale.  I should have known better when there was only one remaining on the shelf that they weren't fresh.  But somehow the jelly jumped out, even though everything else looked fresher.  It was really hard on the outside. In some ways, it wasn't awful, but it was clearly dried out and stale.  The filling, again, just goo.  Really sweet goo.  The generous sweet goo inside, and the sugar coating on the outside, combined to be just too much sweet for me.  Sweet on sweet on sweet.  Meh. ]

Reese’s® Peanut Butter Square.  $1.49. September 2015 Special.

"Chocolate frosting and Reese’s® Peanut Butter buttercreme, is there anything better?"

On a trip to Los Angeles, the one part of California where they have Dunkin' Donuts, Ojan wanted a donut.  But we were stuffed from our excellent lunch at Father's Office, so he wanted to split one with me.  He asked what I'd want.  I'm not really a fan of their donuts, but, given the lineup, one was the clear frontrunner: the new Reese’s® Peanut Butter Square.  I love peanut butter and chocolate.  He wanted his Boston Cream, but was willing to try this one.

It was ... ok.  Like all their donuts, I just don't like the donut itself.  Kinda stale, kinda oily, not very good.  The chocolate on top was good enough.  The peanut butter filling was pretty good though, creamy, nice peanut flavor.  Hard to really go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter.

Ojan took one bite, and didn't like it.  He just wanted his Boston Cream.  He immediately said it was all mine.  And I didn't like the donut dough itself.  So ... I ripped it open, and just sucked all the tasty peanut butter cream out.

I wouldn't get this again, obviously.  At $1.49, it was also priced higher than all other donuts.

Assorted Donuts.

I attended a holiday party where my sister works.  The sweets table was a bit amusing.  Half of it was homemade goods, such as my mom's pumpkin pie, the owner's famous gingerbread cookies, fantastic peanut butter fudge made by the mailman, sticky, decadent baklava from a client, all clearly made with love and care.  The other half was store bought goodies, generally from the basic grocery store or Trader Joes.  And, a box of Dunkin' Donuts.  Hey, at least people contributed?

I was clearly far more into the home baked goods, but, I could resist a try of a donut.  Or two.

Strawberry Frosted Sprinkle Donut:

Yes, I was the person who cut out a wedge from the pink frosted with sprinkles.  It was the same as all the other donuts I've tried: raised, stale, oily dough.  Not very good.  The icing didn't really have much flavor, but I'm pretty sure it supposed to be strawberry.  Either that, or this was vanilla frosted, and was just pinkish for the holidays, as it had red and green sprinkles too.  Anyway, it was not very good.

Maple Frosted Donut:

So I tried the maple frosted, thinking the maple glaze would be better.  The donut was just as bad, the icing just sweet.

Chocolate Frosted Cake Donut:

Ok, third time's the charm, right?  I went for something else entirely, the chocolate cake donut, glazed.  I figured that if I didn't like the raised donuts, perhaps I just wanted a cake one?  It was no better, not rich chocolate flavor, and just as stale tasting.  I went back to just get more baklava :)

Munchkins

If you have never been to a child's party where Dunkin' Donuts is, perhaps you don't know what Munchins are.  You just know them as donut holes.  These are a strong memory of mine, always purchased by the box, and always pulled out by the mothers who weren't like mine, and baked everything from scratch for their kid's parties.

I'm a little heartbroken.  I took careful notes on all of the different munchkins I tried, but I have absolutely no idea what happened to them.  I don't have the detailed notes anymore, but I do remember that they all tasted fairly stale, just like oil, and weren't very good.

They've also finally figured out how to charge for just one munchkin.  Back in the day, I'd order my coffee and a single munchkin.  Since munchkins are normally sold in giant boxes, they never knew how to ring it up, and generally didn't care enough to figure it out, so I'd get my munchkin for free.  When I was in college and grad school, I thought I was so clever, and this was a big deal!  Now, they know how to charge me the 25 cents.

Jelly Munchkin. $0.25.

The jelly munchkin had a disappointingly small amount of jelly inside.  This was very sad, because I really used to love these things.  Didn't I?

Pumpkin Munchkin.  $0.25.

I'm really not sure why I ordered this.  I know I don't really care about the donuts at Dunkin' Donuts.  I'm there for the coffee drinks.  But, I saw that they had pumpkin and blueberry munchkins, instead of just the regular glazed, chocolate glazed, and jelly filled offerings, and I couldn't resist the urge to try something new.  Damn seasonal specials tempting me unexpectedly!

It was ... a basic Dunkin' Donuts munchkin.  Not very fresh tasting.  Lots of sweet glaze on the outside.  But, it was decently "pumpkin" spiced I guess.  And it was orange inside, even though I didn't taste pumpkin.  Maybe worth the 25 cents :)

Specialty

And then ... Dunkin' Donuts joined the cronut craze.  Yes, yes, they went there.

Croissant Donut.

"Flaky layers of croissant glazed like a donut."

The famed croissant donut.  I actually wasn't even planning to get one of these, as I didn't think it would possibly be good.  But when I was visiting my family, my mom showed up with one.  I obviously had to try it.

It was exactly what I expected.  It tasted oily.  Stale.  Meh.

The layers were lighter and fluffier than a standard Dunkin' Donuts donut.  But, not flaky and buttery like a croissant.  And no crispy exterior like it should have.  Sorry Dunkin' Donuts, you can't recreate an item like the cronut in a mass produced way like this ...

Muffins

The one bakery item, besides donuts, that Dunkin' Donuts had when I was growing up was muffins.  I actually used to love these.  When I drove to and from college, there was a Dunkin' Donuts right at the halfway point, and I'd always stop to get a muffin.  I loved the corn muffins and banana nut most of all.  I've opted not to try them again, as I don't want to ruin the memory.  But maybe they still are good?

[ No Photo ]

Blueberry Muffin

One time when I was with my sister, we stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for a little sister date.  (I know, aren't we cute?)  She opted for a muffin, blueberry.  She begrudgingly shared a bite with me.

The muffin had large sugar crystals on top, and it was a bit crispy on top like I like.  The inside was moist and loaded with berries.  Overall decent flavor.  I only had a bite of my sister's muffin, but I was impressed.

Read More...

Doisy & Dam

Update Review

After the non very successful maca dark chocolate Doisy & Dam bar, I'm not really sure why I tried another, except that I think it was likely again on an airplane to/from the UK, and thus, a captive audiance.

Date & Himalayan Sea Salt.

"Think salted caramel… but healthier….. and more delicious. Our Deglet Noir dates are combined with Himalayan pink salt (the most badass salt on the planet), and mixed with our smoothest organic Dominican 39% milk chocolate."

This bar wasn't any better than the previous one I had tried, although it was very different, milk chocolate base this time, with, uh dates blended in.  Side note: If I had realized this bar had dates, I likely would not have tried it, as I generally really dislike them (they ruin so many snack bars!), but, I didn't see that part until after I tasted it.

Anyway, the chocolate did not remind me of salted caramel as they proclaimed.  It wasn't smooth, sweet, buttery, caramel-y.  It just had a strange taste to it, an odd sweetness, which I suspect was the dates.  I didn't taste salt either, the other promised signature aspect of this bar.

It was a smooth chocolate at least, but for me, definitely not a winner. **.

Original Review, October 2017

Doisy & Dam is a UK based chocolate maker.  Their tag line is that they make "superdelish" chocolate, that is, chocolate that is healthy, with minimum 8% superfoods, but also tasty.  The company is named after two scientists who won a Nobel prize in 1943 and studied health and nutrition.  The bars are all organic, gluten-free, soy free, etc.

I believe I discovered their goods on a flight, perhaps Virgin Atlantic?  I didn't seek them out, but, once I had a new chocolate in front of me, I obviously had to try it.

The list of chocolate bars Doisy & Dam makes does not read like any other chocolate selections.  Goji & orange.  Mulberries, black sesame, & spirulina. Quinoa, smoked tea, & vanilla. Coconut & lucuma.  The list goes on and on, with hemp seed, poppy seeds, sprouted buckwheat, dates and many other healthy foods in the mix.  Some are 74% dark (and vegan), others 39% milk, and one is white chocolate.

The bar I picked was the least crazy sounding of all their varieties though - maca, vanilla, & cocoa nib.  Maca obviously isn't standard, but, the others seemed fitting for a chocolate bar.

Maca, vanilla, & cocoa nibs.

"This vegan chocolate perfectly balances the bitter chocolatey crunch of cacao nibs with the sweet vanilla, finished off with a kick of maca root to give you an extra boost! Doisy and Dam are taking the yawn out of the phrase ‘healthy chocolate’, creating indulgent vegan chocolate bars which will more than satisfy your cravings."

The packaging was a bit different, a bar-shaped box that you needed to open, and then the bar itself was wrapped in foil.  Once unpackaged, I found a shiny dark chocolate bar made of 8 distinct chunks.

I broke one chunk off.  It did not have a nice snap to it.  I tasted it.  The texture was rather chalky.  The flavor was ok, very ... fudgey, like a rich brownie perhaps.  I did like the crunch from nibs.  But for me, the texture ruined it.  ***.

I shared some with co-workers to hear their reports.  The verdicts?

• "It was chocolate, it was good."
• "Not smooth."
• "Thumbs in the middle, it is fine."

Read More...

Friendly's Ice Cream

Update Review, July 2022

As you may recall from prior reviews, I grew up in a household that always had ice cream cake for birthdays.  Not because my mother didn't want to make our cakes herself (she *really* did, and often made a cake in addition to the ice cream cake), but because we demanded ice cream cake.  And not just any ice cream cake, we *needed* Carvel.  To me, Carvel was the gold standard.  Granted, we had a Carvel store in our hometown, so we had custom made fresh ice cream cakes, and part of the joy of the whole thing was going to the Carvel store and pouring through photos of all the different cakes to pick from (and, getting ice cream while we were there of course).  Eventually the store closed, but we still kept the Carvel tradition alive, albeit with store bought cakes, which I've reviewed before.

So even though I clearly moved on from Carvel cake, and, was basically disappointed by it every time I've had it in the past few years, sometimes when I visit my family, and we are having a party, my past self comes out and demands Carvel cake.

And such was the case in July 2022, when I was visiting my family, and my mom hosted a 4th of July party.  Yup, she wanted to make desserts (and still did), but my sister and I demanded Carvel cake.  But this was the summer of continued supply chain issues, and she went to literally every grocery store in town, and came up short.  No Carvel cakes.  So she got a Friendly's cake instead (which, of course, we let her know was NOT the same, and she did end up getting my cousin to pick up a Carvel cake from 40 minutes away, etc).  So then we had two cakes.  I did a side by side comparison.

Here's the truth.  Well, Friendly's is just better (which I almost had concluded last time I had it too, see prior review).  Gulp.  Sorry mom ...

Celebration Cake.

"Every big (and little) celebration deserves ice cream cake! Lovingly handmade layers of premium chocolate and vanilla ice cream, separated by chocolaty crunchies, are topped with freshly whipped ice cream and decorations. Find one in the frozen or bakery section of your local grocery store!"

The construction of the Friendly's cake is much like that of the classic Carvel cake: vanilla and chocolate layers, separated by chocolate crunchies, whipped icing topping.  

But the Friendly's ice cream is just clearly higher quality.  The chocolate ice cream has more flavor,  creamy milk chocolate.  Both the vanilla and chocolate from Friendly's melt better, are creamier, are just, well, better.  The frosting is about the same, sweet, light, fluffy.  I always like the blue stuff the best, and yes, both have the blue stuff to leave your mouth corners blue.

And then those crunchies.  Those are the signature thing from Carvel, the thing I remember always loving the most (I was a center piece type, to maximize crunchies!).  I did always think Carvel won on this dimension, but, the past few years the Carvel ones haven't been anything like I remembered.  The Friendly's ones really just taste like Oreo crumble, which to me is a bit boring.  Carvel still takes a slight edge here.

So, put that all together, and the Friendly's cake is the clear winner, as the ice cream is actually good, and the rest just adds to the classic ice cream cake experience.  When I want ice cream cake in the future, this is clearly the one I need to get.

***+.

Update Review, December 2019

As I mentioned in my previous review, Friendly's is known for signature ice cream sundaes.  Many diners visit Friendly's just as a dessert destination, particularly as most of their sundaes clock in at 1200+ calories.  Don't even look at the Caramel Fudge Brownie Sundae (1910 calories!).  We rarely went for just ice cream, but sundaes were always a requisite part of a meal there for me growing up, particularly because they offer not only the ridiculous jumbo sizes, but also, a "Happy Ending" smaller size (which, to be fair, is still multiple scoops with toppings, it isn't exactly tiny).

Friendly's has long produced retail versions of its signature ice cream sundaes, individual packaged Sundae Cups, you can find in your grocery store freezer section, which I've reviewed before.  They still catch my eye every time I walk by when I visit my parents, the nostalgia for those sundaes is strong (and we don't have Friendly's on West Coast).

During my recent visit, something else caught my eye however.  Not just ice cream sundae cups, but dessert cups.

Dessert Cups

Dessert cups are a newer offering from Friendly's, retail only.  I was intrigued when I saw the varieties offered, 6 different options, and none seemed based on Friendly's ice cream sundaes.  Rather than just a base of ice cream topped with sauces, candy toppings, and sometimes whipped cream like the Sundae Cups, these are layered creations featuring classic dessert components like pie crust, crumble, and cake.  Think Red Velvet Cake, Strawberry Shortcake, and Pecan Praline.  

I *really* wanted the Blackberry Peach Pie (pie crust pieces, peach pie filling,vanilla ice cream, blackberry sauce, whipped topping, streusel crumble), as this sounded like exactly my sort of thing (except that I'd want the pie components warm ...), but alas, my grocery store had all varieties but that one.  Deciding between the remaining 5 was hard enough. 

Dessert Cup Packaging.

The packaging certainly drew me in, with a clear domed lid with visible whipped cream and toppings underneath.   While the sundae cups often contain a dollop of whipped cream on top, these clearly made whipped cream a primary element.  There was tons.

Banana Cream Pie.

"Layers of vanilla wafer crumbles, banana cream pie filling and french vanilla ice cream topped with marshmallow sauce, whipped topping, and more vanilla wafer crumbles."

I finally decided on the Banana Cream Pie, wondering what banana cream pie filling would be like, and definitely curious about the marshmallow sauce.

On top was vanilla wafer crumble, which only appeared here, not layered throughout, as the description said.  The crumble was fine, basically just like Nilla wafers traditionally used in Banana Cream Pudding.  I appreciated the crunch, and variety of crumb sizes, but the wafers are the least interesting part of banana cream pudding, and I like it better when just made in pie crust anyway ... which the name "banana cream pie" sorta implied ... not "banana cream pudding" ...

Below the crumble was sweet, fluffy, topping.  The description indicated that there would be both marshmallow sauce and whipped topping, but this seemed to be neither, and there was only one layer above the ice cream.  Instead, it was more like a marshmallow whipped topping.  It was very, very, very sweet, but certainly not a "sauce".  I loved the fluffy texture, and at first I loved the sweetness, but after a few spoonfuls, even when integrated in with the other ingredients, it was just too much.  Speaking of too much, there was a lot of that topping, as much topping as ice cream.

Banana Cream Pie: Layers.

Here you can see a bit more of the layers, it took digging to reach the ice cream.  The ice cream was simple vanilla ice cream, fine quality, and necessary to balance out the sweet topping.  That topping really was just too much.

So what about the "banana" element?  That was at the very bottom, the thin layer you can kinda see, "banana cream pie filling".  To me, a banana cream pie is filled with banana pudding and layers of fresh banana, so I expected basically a pudding, perhaps some chunks of banana.  This "filling" was not pudding-like, which I guess is understandable given that it is frozen, and also did not contain any chunks of banana.  Rather, it was more like a ... banana sauce, but not a syrup style, a consistency more like thick caramel.  It is made from banana puree, no bits, not even a touch of texture, from bananas.  It did taste like bananas, no question, and like sugar, but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for.

Together this layered creation was a fun idea, and I liked the sounds of it, but it suffered from just being far too sweet - with more than half the creation crazy sweet, there was no balance.  How many grams of sugar did it have?  61 grams!  In the fairly reasonable size portion.  Yeah.  No wonder I tasted way too much sweet.

Original Review, December 2017

I grew up in a town with few restaurants, but we had a Friendly's.  We didn't go out to eat that often, but when we did, and particularly when we were going for a treat, Friendly's was on the list.

Why?  For the ice cream sundaes.  I honestly don't remember the food at all.  I know we got meals, but, I have zero recollection of what I ever had there.  What I do remember?  The peg games on the table, and, the ice cream sundaes.  While many of my friends always talked about the Fribbles (milkshakes), I had eyes only for the sundaes.  But not the one that all the other kids went for, the signature "Cone Head" sundae with a sugar cone upside down on top like a hat and a face, no, I went for the Reese's® Peanut Butter Cup Sundae.  Every single time.  It just used vanilla ice cream as a base (although I often swapped that out), but it was smothered in warm peanut butter sauce and hot fudge, topped with a mount of whipped cream, and garnished with sprinkles, a cherry, and of course, a peanut butter cup.  On really rare occasions I'd mix it up and get the Reese's Pieces version instead, with, well, pieces instead of pb cups, but this was my constant goto.  I just loved the chocolate and peanut butter.  The sundaes are huge, but, you could add a reasonably size "Happy Ending" one on to any meal, which was always my move.

Friendly's has long been in the ice cream business, a featured part of their menu for 80+ years.  Sadly for me, the restaurant shut down in the town long ago, and no where I have lived since has one.  Since then I know they expanded, offering soft serve, Friend-z (mix-in versions),   But they do make ice cream (gallons and novelties) sold in grocery stores everywhere, so, I finally got inspired to try them out, and see if they measured up.

Sundae Cups

I see this in grocery stores everywhere in New England.  The stores sell them 10 for $10, as in, literally, $1 each, which is a bit mind blowing to me.

"Our Sundae Cups come in a perfect personal size for when you just need a sundae all to yourself."

Friendy's individual sized sundae cups come in basically every variety of sundae they serve at the restaurants, and then some.  Which means, they do have a peanut butter cup sundae.  One really unique offering they make is an ice cream cake sundae cup, literally the layers of vanilla and chocolate ice cream they use in the ice cream cakes, layered with the same chocolate crunchies, and topped with the whipped topping and confetti sprinkles.  If you like their ice cream cake, but don't have an occasion to celebrate, just get the sundae!

But back to the peanut butter cup sundae.  The sundae cup version uses peanut butter ice cream, and the fudge and peanut butter sauces on top are obviously not warm.  And no whipped cream.  Same with the Reese's pieces version.  This just didn't feel right to me, so I went for something different.

Crayola™ Color Me Sundae Cup.

 "Enjoy an ice cream masterpiece of green vanilla flavored ice cream topped with a layer of yellow vanilla flavored ice cream, topped with blue marshmallow, whipped topping and primary colored sprinkles—all in a perfectly personal size sundae cup!"

So yeah.  I went for the ridiculous Crayola™ Color Me Sundae Cup, clearly designed for kids.  The reason was fairly simple, I was having it in the evening, and so I had to rule out all the chocolate based ones.  Every single option, besides a strawberry one, had chocolate, either in the fudge sauce on top, or chips in the ice cream.  So, this was it.  It sounded a lot like the ice cream cake, just minus the chocolate layers.

I did laugh when I opened the lid.  They weren't joking about the colors.

Bright blue marshmallow topping.  Colorful sprinkles.  Yellow ice cream poking out.

I dug in.

The whipped cream was pretty standard, as were the sprinkles.  The blue marshmallow topping was sweet and fluffy, just like on their ice cream cakes.  I liked it.

Crayola™ Color Me Sundae Cup: Inside.

Under that all was, well, yellow and green ice cream.

It was a bit confusing to the brain to eat yellow and green ice cream, and have them taste like vanilla.  They didn't taste distinct.  They really were vanilla.  They just looked like Playdoh.

Overall, this was clearly fairly simple, but, I liked it.  The ice cream was decent, the marshmallow topping and whipped cream exactly what I remembered from their ice cream cakes.

I don't think I'd get this again, as it was a bit too simple, but, I enjoyed it.  Next time, I'd get the ice cream cake one, or maybe try the peanut butter one, knowing it is nothing like the beloved version served in restaurants.

Ice Cream Cake.

"Bring this Friendly’s favorite anywhere! Our Ice Cream Cake Sundae Cup is made with premium vanilla ice cream layered with chocolaty crunchies, chocolate ice cream, whipped topping & confetti."

When I was visiting my parents one time, I ... really started craving Carvel cake.  Clearly a result of being conditioned than when I'm at their house, there should be ice cream cake in the freezer.  And there wasn't.  Given that my mom hates it in principle (she's a firm believer in home made cake for birthdays!), and my dad hates it for ... other reasons (he doesn't like crispies or frosting?!), I couldn't quite justify going to buy an entire ice cream cake just for me.

So when we were at the grocery store, I made a swift impulse purchase: the Friendly's ice cream cake sundae cup.  Basically, a "single serving" of ice cream cake ... I hoped?

I opened it up to reveal more decoration that I expected.  Confetti sprinkles!  And the entire top was coated evenly in fluffy, sweet, whipped topping.  I was quite pleased.

Ice Cream Cake: Inside.

I dug in, and was further pleased.  

The only real surprise here was the ordering of the elements - the crunchies, rather than being in the middle of the two ice cream layers as is traditional with a real cake, were in the base.  But there was tons of crunchies, and although they weren't quite as good as Carvel, slightly softer, slightly less chocolatey, I liked them.  Both the vanilla and chocolate ice cream were fine, decent quality, creamy, not icy.

Put it all together and ... yup, basically, the same as an ice cream cake, but with more reliable distribution of all the components.  I liked the sweet fluffy topping, I appreciated the decent ice cream,, and loved digging for the crunchies.  It was also an item that ate well, like a good sundae.

I'd get this again if craving ice cream cake!

****.

Original Fudge Sundae.

"Vanilla ice cream topped with fudge, whipped topping & chocolate chips."

This is a classic ice cream sundae, just as promised.  Decent enough vanilla ice cream, lots of thick, rich fudge, fluffy sweet whipped topping, and a few chocolate chunks.

For a packaged pre-made sundae, this was very good.  Sure, the fudge would be better hot, and I wanted fresh strawberries or at least a cherry on top, but, overall, good.  Maybe some nuts?

***+.

Ice Cream Cake

I grew up in an ice cream cake family.  Every birthday.  Every year.  Without fail.  However, Friendly's was not our ice cream cake maker.  It was Carvel.  Always.

When I was younger, Carvel had a store in the town, and we had custom made cakes.  It closed when I was probably 8 or 10 years old, forever ago, but luckily, grocery stores still carry Carvel cakes.  Until one year, when my Mom couldn't find them anywhere.  I think she looked in nearly every store to no avail.  She sent my dad on a last minute job to try a final store, and he came back with something that sure looked like a Carvel cake, except ... it was Friendly's.

It wasn't the same.  But, that doesn't mean it was bad.

Celebration Ice Cream Cake.

"Friendly's ice cream cakes are lovingly handmade to transform any occasion into a happy occasion!"

Friendly's ice cream cakes are much like the Carvel ones - layers of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, chocolate crunchies in-between, fluffier whipped forsting on the outside. Available in different shapes and sizes.with the classic one having blue frosting border and some confetti sprinkles. They also make a Oreo version (Oreo ice cream layers, crushed Oreos in the center, fudge and Oreo topping), a Reese's version (peanut butter ice cream layers, chopped pb cups in the center, chocolate truffle frosting), and now, a trendy Salted Caramel Truffle one (salted caramel ice cream, caramel chocolate truffles, caramel sauce, fudge, etc).

But we had the classic.

Leftover Celebration Cake.

"Every big (and little) celebration deserves ice cream cake! Lovingly handmade layers of premium chocolate and vanilla ice cream, separated by chocolaty crunchies, are topped with freshly whipped ice cream and decorations. "

Of course, we all immediately compared this to Carvel.  Most of the family refused to even consider that it might be better in some ways.  But it was.

The ice cream was higher quality.  Sorry, Carvel.  Friendly's was creamier, less icy.  Just, better.  The ice cream was in reverse order from Carvel: chocolate on top, vanilla on bottom.

The crispies weren't as good though, they were softer, not as crunchy, not quite the same magic.

The whipped topping was sweet, fluffy, and good.

Overall, it was a fine replacement for a Carvel cake, and, if you actually care about the ice cream, a better choice.

Read More...

Cafe Paci, Sydney

Newtown.  Not an area of Sydney I necessarily venture to often (although, I do think the Cuckoo Callay there is better than the Surry Hills one for brunch).  Finnish food.  Definitely not a cuisine I seek out often (um, ever?  Not that I'm opposed but, it just hasn't ever really come up ...).  And yet, for one of the more significant dates of the year, my birthday, I did just that.  I ventured to Newtown, for Finnish cuisine at Cafe Paci.

Intrigued?  You should be.  Intriguing basically sums up every element of dining there.  The decor, the menu, the dishes themselves, are all, well, interesting.  This is not a place to be bored.  

Birthday Dinner.

I visited Cafe Paci on my birthday, with one other guest.  He had visited twice before, and highly recommended it.  Reservations are required a bit in advance, for basically all nights, all times, all party sizes, so, plan accordingly.

We had a nice meal - it was certainly some of the most unique food I've had in a long time, and was quite good.  Definitely a place for foodies, as much as I hate that term, because the food is, well, interesting.

Service was also good, which is not something I say often about Sydney.  Water glasses were kept reasonably full (house sparkling water is free!), new beverages offered when wine glasses/cocktails ran low, serving utensils brought for each share plate, new dishes provided between courses, and the staff were friendly but not invasive.  The meal was well paced out.

I think the menu changes fairly frequently, and I'd be happy to return to try more of this gem.

Setting

Cafe Paci is located right on the main strip in Newtown, in a busy, bustling area.

Street Front.

Cafe Paci looks like pretty much every other establishment of this section of Newtown: bright, fairly generic sign, no outdoor seating, just an entrance and a few windows to the street.

Bar.

But once you step inside, the charm is immediate.  Exposed brick, real wood furniture, quirky art.

A long bar surrounds the mostly open kitchen, with plentiful seating all along.  For a group of two, I think the bar seating would likely be nice, particularly if you want to watch the action in the kitchen.

Table Seating.

Tables are along the other side of the fairly narrow room, all tables for 2 that can be joined together to create configurations of different group sizes easily.

I liked the comfortable bench seating along the wall, and the esthetic of the lamps.

Place Setting.

I found the place setting a bit simple, given the slightly quirky interior and the menu.  Basic white plate, basic cutlery, basic water glasses.  With so many other interesting focal points, this felt a bit like a lost opportunity.

Food & Drink

Don't be afraid!

The wine list has very reasonably priced wines (by the glass or bottle), featuring a large number of orange and rose wines, in addition to standard white/reds.  The list draws from all over - Italian, French, Spanish, Australian, really, a large variety.

I thought this note in the wine menu was cute, as it made the somewhat eclectic wine list more approachable.  And I'll admit, I took a look, and felt pretty lost, not recognizing much of anything.

I had a decent red from Italy later in the meal, 2019 Alice Bonaccorsi Diecidiciletri, a varietal I had never heard of before, nerello mascalese.  It wasn't the most complex wine out there, but it was an easy drinker, nothing offensive about it, and priced quite reasonably at $17/glass.

Old Fashioned. $20.

"Scotch, honey, caraway."

To get started though, I went for a cocktail, perhaps a bit boring, particularly as their cocktail menu is fairly limited, but, I still had a bit of a sore throat, and scotch really is what I wanted.  Hence, an old fashioned.

It was a fine old fashioned, served in a pleasingly heavy glass. Not much to say about it. My companion had a similarly boring negroni.  

Menu

I didn't need the drinks to be interesting though, as the food offerings more than make up for it.

The food menu, much like the wine list, is kinda all over the place.  Pinpointing exactly what the style of cuisine is is quite difficult.  After all, there are items like deviled eggs (hmm, where do those come from?  I think they are British?), and calzones (Italian?), and basics like oysters, but then ... well, it is just so hard to describe.  For example, there is a taco ... but its a rye taco and has ox tongue and sauerkraut.  That certainly isn't Mexican.  There is gnocchi ... but, with an XO sauce, making it, uh, Asian-Italian?  And classic steak frites with sauce Diane for those intimidated by the rest of the menu, bringing in a touch of France and England.  It is a hard menu to really reason about, but it all sounded very, very interesting.  And I guess, uh, Finnish?

In addition to the printed menu, there were a handful of specials, including a few raw seafood options, a salad, market fish of the day, and a couple truffle pasta specials.

The dishes are intended to be shared, except for the first few items that are priced per piece.  We were encouraged to order about 5 different dishes and share them all, but as my companion is vegetarian, and I was drawn in by many of the seafood options, we opted to share a few as starters, and have our own mains.  Our selection of 3 starters and 2 mains (plus 2 desserts!) was just right, but definitely a filling meal, and we easily could have done a bit less.

I appreciated that the dessert menu was included on the main menu, so I could plan accordingly.

Potato and molasses bread with butter. $4.50/each.

Ok, so, if you know me, you know that I generally don't bother eat much bread with meals.  I'm definitely not carb adverse (believe me, put a bread pudding in front of me, or any breakfast carbs, or pile of mashed potatoes, etc, and you'll see), but, bread isn't that exciting to me, and I usually want so many other things.  And I definitely do not go out of my way to order bread at a place that charges for it.

And yet, I gladly ordered the bread here.  I had seen photos, and read reviews, plus had my dining companion's glowing recommendation of it, and, well, yup, I was interested in the bread.  The bread!

My interest was rewarded with some pretty awesome bread.  It was super moist and fluffy due to the potato base, really a unique texture, and had a fairly strong malty flavor from the molasses, and, swoon, the crust.  The crust was sticky, sticky, sticky, and basically, well, candy.  It was impossible to tear this bread with your fingers and not get sticky fingers, but, a bite or two in, you quickly stop caring.  The butter I think may have also had some molasses in it, and it was whipped and fluffy, and the type of butter that you spread on way too thick because its just downright delicious and who cares.

This dish, the simple bread and butter, the optional, paid, bread and butter, set the tone for the rest of the meal.  If it could be that unique and special, well, I knew I was in for a treat.

****+, really, some of the best bread I've probably ever had.  My second favorite dish I think, and it was great to save a little to soak up sauces later on.  I'd certainly get this again.

Mushroom Salad Special. $26.

Next up we opted for the salad special, a fascinating mushroom and comte cheese based dish.  We were told there would be raw mushrooms, crispy fried mushrooms, comte custard, and more.  Given my love of mushrooms, of crispy things, of comte, and of custards, this was a no brainer.

It was a fascinating dish.  The base was crazy thin sliced raw baby mushrooms.  Shockingly thin slices.  Think sorta like mushroom carpacchio I guess.  They were earthy and slimy, and you definitely have to like legit mushrooms (e.g. not plain white or brown table mushrooms) to like this.  On top was tons of the crispy fried little mushrooms.  Sooo much texture.  I liked them the best.  There was also shaved comte that kinda got lost amongst the strong mushrooms flavors, and I guess some comte custard in there, but I can't say I really found that.  

This was kinda fun to eat, and I liked the textures and strong flavors, but, I didn't particularly want more than a few spoonfuls of it.  Interesting to try, but not really the sort of dish you return to.  We didn't finish it, not because it was bad really, it just wasn't that good.  My least favorite dish.

***.

Radicchio, gorgonzola, anchovy, blackberry. $24.
(Anchovy on the side).

Next up, another salad.  Now, this one I was excited for, because I quite like radicchio and love anchovies.  Not quite sure when I last had anchovies, and they sounded perfect.  As my dining companion is vegetarian, the staff offered to put them on the side, which worked great.

I really enjoyed this dish.  The radicchio was served as full leaves, dressed well with at least olive oil (and I think some balsamic?).  Yes, it was a pain to eat as you needed to cut it up yourself, but, it was crisp as could be.  Under the radicchio was a few blackberries, gorgonzola cream and gorgonzola hunks, more olive oil (and again, I think balsamic?).  The gorgonzola cream, blackberries, and radicchio were a killer combination in my book, with the bitter base, the sweet and acidic fruit, and the creamy and funky cheese, really a fantastic play of flavors and quite balanced.  And then of course, my precious anchovies.  Yes, just anchovies, but, I love their funk, and they went quite well with the other ingredients.  I think the salad would be "fine" without them, but I suspect they added quite a bit.  They were soaked in high quality olive oil too.

Overall, well, I loved this.  Yup, a salad.  With essentially only 4 components.  But such beautiful balance.  I used extra bread to lap up the olive oil/balsamic/gorgonzola cream after my salad components were gone, and was pretty thrilled.

****+, my favorite of the dishes.

Potato dumpling with XO trout. $28.

I actually was fairly satisfied with the meal at this point, and would have gladly polished off the rest of the bread, dunking it in any remaining sauces, and moved on to dessert.  But ... we had more substantial dishes ahead, ordered individually as I wasn't interested in the vegetarian pasta.

I could have opted for a seafood forward dish, my standard, but, instead I went for the fascinating sounding potato dumplings.  I had seen photos so I knew this would be gnocchi, but with an Asian style XO sauce.  Fascinating.

It was a good dish.  The dumplings were soft pillows, not gummy, nicely done.  I do sometimes like gnocchi with a bit of sear, or bit of chew to it, and these were just a very soft style, but, they were good.

The XO sauce of course was where the interesting bits were here.  I didn't really taste, nor see, trout, but, there was definitely fermented funk to it, a bit of spice, and well, it was just unlike any other gnocchi I've had before, for sure.  Asian gnocchi ... it works.

I liked this, and I was glad to try something so unique, but I found that I got sick of it after a few bites.  Maybe I was just full and so pleased with the previous dishes?  I probably wouldn't get it again.  My third pick.  ***+.

Sourdough pasta with pear and pecorino. $26.

For his more substantial dish, my companion opted for the vegetarian pasta (the other option was an eggplant dish, which actually sounded pretty good).

As this featured sourdough prominently, I didn't ask to try it.  He did say it was sour.  In retrospect, I do kinda wish I had asked to try it.  I would love to discover some kind of sourdough item I can tolerate, or even, gasp, enjoy ...

Carrot sorbet with yoghurt and licorice. $15.

And then, it was time for dessert.  The menu had three options, in addition to a cheese course, and all sounded pretty fascinating.  Any other day, I probably would have gone for the passionfruit pain perdu with salted caramel and ice cream, as I love warm, carby desserts, sweet sauces, and cool ice cream pairings, but, I had been feasting on epic bread pudding from Saga Bakery for two days straight, and, well, I actually wasn't craving that style of dessert.  And I really am not normally into sorbet but ... this sounded fascinating, and I adore licorice.

My companion had visited before and had this then, and wanted it again.  And he didn't want to share.  Thus, two of the same it was.  Because he had told them it was my birthday, mine came with a candle, and luckily, no singing or embarrassing attention, which I appreciated.  And, I'm not going to lie, it was nice to blow out a candle on my birthday, as silly as it is. 

This was easily the most unique and memorable dessert I have had in years.  It also was quite good.

The base was a licorice cake.  Real licorice, like, black licorice, not the red candy stuff that is popular in the US.  It was incredibly light, and the licorice flavor was fairly intense.  I think my mother would hate this, but, I adore this style of licorice, so I was quite pleased.

Above that, a scoop of carrot sorbet.  Perfectly soft, refreshing, lightly sweet, and yes, it tasted somewhat like carrot.  Before you think that is weird though, um, think about carrot cake?  Carrots have a natural sweetness and are used in dessert applications all the time.  It worked, really.

And then then, the yoghurt, which was sooooooo light and fluffy, definitely aerated, mousse.  It too was lightly sweet, but still plenty tangy, and the texture was fantastic.

I'm honestly not sure which component I liked the best.  They were all very nicely executed, and together, the flavors and textures truly worked well.  This isn't a very sweet dessert, if you want sweet, likely the passionfruit pain perdu is for you, but it was refreshing, and a fantastic end to the meal.

I'd certainly consider getting this again, but also would like to try others.  The creativity level here is off the charts, and it makes you just want to explore more, even if you like a dish.  If I were to try to refine this dish more, I'd like to see some kind of crunchy element added and perhaps a salty element.  Part of what I love about black licorice is the salt, and I think that could work here in moderation, perhaps as part of the yogurt element?

Anyway, a very unique, interesting, and tasty dessert, very in-theme with the whole meal.  ****.

Read More...