Goode Company Seafood, Houston

The Goode Company, or, The Goode Co, is a chain of restaurants in Texas, each with a unique focus.  The company has been around since 1977, started as a BBQ joint in Houston.  They now have multiple BBQ locations, and have expanded to other concepts now, including seafood focused (Goode Company Seafood and Goode Company Fish Camp), Mexican (Goode Co. Taqueria, and Goode Co. Kitchen & Cantina), and several soul food locations (Armadillo Palace, Yonderlust).  They also have a direct to home shipping business, where you can get some of the meats, rubs, and signature pecan pie shipped nationwide.

My "visits" were to one of the seafood establishments, Goode Company Seafood.  I say "visit", because I ordered delivery to my hotel room while staying in Houston, so I can't comment on the restaurant facilities themselves. 

"Fresh gulf seafood with a splash of creole." 

The menu features many classic Southern ingredients and dishes, but with slight twists.  Think shrimp empanadas with a creole shrimp filling, smoked redfish dip and crackers, shrimp or crab cocktail, but with pico de gallo, peppers, and avocado in it, gumbo, and of course, redfish beignets, hush puppies, and fried green tomatoes.  Lots of fried or grilled blackened seafood, po boys or platters, all the southern sides.  Classic desserts. 

Ordering online from any of their establishments is easy, and I ordered on Door Dash.  My orders were prepared in a reasonable amount of time, and came nicely packaged.  I was so pleased with my meal the first night, I ordered again the very next day, eager to try out more of the extensive menu.

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 ]

I really enjoyed my meals, even as delivery, and would love to visit in person sometime.

Snacks

Rather than traditional appetizers, the menu begins with "Snacks", fun little bites like redfish beignets (!), smoked seafood dip with homemade crackers, grilled oysters, and signature Mexican-style seafood cocktails.  More traditional items like oysters, seared tuna, chilled seafood towers, and crab cakes are also on offer.  Moving along, salads, crab bisque, and multiple styles of gumbo are also available to start your meal.

I tried several items from this section of the menu.

Jumbo Lump Crab Cake. $19.50.

"Oven-baked jumbo lump crab cake with lemon garlic cream sauce."

I love crab.  Yes, that is why my blog has a label devoted to it, after all.

And I was really craving crab cakes.  I think I went many years without having a crab cake, and then, a few months ago I was in Orlando and randomly got a lump crab cake from Ocean Prime (that actually wasn't very good, although everything else I had from there was glorious!), and since then, I was wanting crab cakes every few weeks.  I've been on a crab cake quest, and have been surprised by just how much variety there is, and, how there doesn't seem to be a set style I like best.  Lump crab cakes certainly have a more premium feel, but I've really enjoyed some with all shredded crab, and some with more filler than others, etc.  Anyway, I wanted a crab cake, and was fascinated to see how the slightly cajun take on it would be, and what that lemon garlic cream sauce would be like, as it sounded, well, like an odd choice.

Since the crab cake is part of the "snacks" menu, it is served as a single thick cake, with some mixed greens.  The greens were all quite fresh and crisp.  I was pleased that the cream sauce came on the side, even though I wasn't able to request it that way (they don't allow requests when you order online).  The sauce, which I had my doubts on, turned out to be fantastic.  Let me back up.  I mean, it is a cream sauce, with lemon and garlic, I loved the idea of that sauce in general, just, not with crab cakes, I thought.  My brain was calling for a more traditional remoulade, or cocktail sauce, or mustard aioli, something like that.  I'm so glad I took the chance and got this, slightly odd sounding sauce and all.

The sauce was hard to describe, but delicious.  A cream sauce, yes, but not too thick.  It went really well on the greens as well as the crab cake.  I think it would be fantastic with fresh steamed asparagus, or brussels sprouts, or broccoli ... or really, any green vegetable.  Neither lemon nor garlic were dominant, but it was quite flavorful.  ****+ sauce, really fantastic.

The crab cake was very good, even when delivered to my hotel and not direct from the kitchen.  It had a nice sear on it, was very moist inside.  Loaded with big chunks of lump crab meat, very little filler.  It was very well seasoned, and seemed to have a bit of blackening seasoning on it, the light creole touch there.  The crab had a nice flavor, not fishy, just, really fresh tasting.  It looks a bit small in this photo, but the cake was quite thick, nestled in the greens it just hid a bit.  It was a very satisfying dish.  **** for the cake, the best I've had in recent memory.

Goode Company Seafood also makes a signature pasta dish, fettuccine with this cream sauce and fresh lump crab meat, that gets great reviews.  I can see why, now that I've had the crab cake and sauce.  I think it would be magical as a pasta as well.

Overall, a wonderful crab cake, excellent sauce, and very good dish.  ****, maybe even ****+ overall.  I'd definitely get it again, and it inspired me to try more of the menu.  The $19.50 price was fine for such a quality and large crab cake.

Shrimp Empanda.

"Crispy pastries packed with our classic shrimp and creole vegetables."

When you mix Tex-Mex with Creole, you get this, a signature item at Goode Seafood Co: shrimp empanadas, filled with a shrimp and creole spiced veggies filling.  These are served with every seafood platter (grilled or fried), or are available as a starter as 3 for $10.

I had one with my seafood platter, and thought it was only ok.  I think it suffered a bit in delivery, as it wasn't very warm, and it was kinda moist and soft from being in a food container with steam escaping all around.  I suspect it would be better when hot and crispy.  

The filling though was quite tasty, and incredibly flavorful, as most creole food is.  Strong spicing, good chunks of seafood, creamy roux.  It reminded me a bit of the crawfish beignet I had from Brenda's in San Francisco a few weeks prior, although I think the crawfish beignet was more successful (review coming soon!).

Overall, a unique item, tasty inside, but not something I'd get again.  ***.

Mesquite-Grilled Entrees

"Basted with our signature marinade and grilled over mesquite. Served with an empanada, garlic bread, and a choice of side."

The second time I ordered, since I was getting delivery, I opted for mesquite-grilled, rather than fried, seafood.  Plus, the mesquite grill and marinade seemed more unique, and authentically Texas than fried seafood, which I can get anywhere.  I would have been happy with any of the options - red snapper, gulf shrimp, salmon, catfish, or a skewer with assorted seafood, but decided the catfish was the most interesting and unique, not what I get as much of in San Francisco.

Fried platters, and a slew of po boys, are other entree options, along with a few other signature dishes (the aforementioned crab cream fettuccine, shrimp etoufee, etc) and token chicken and steak options.

Catfish Platter.  $24.50.

My platter arrived nicely packaged in a 3-slot container (a plastic one! A seeming rarity in Houston where everything seemed to come in styrofoam, which was banned years ago in San Francisco, and felt crazy to me).  The main dish (fish) and two included sides came packaged with it, and the third side (one I was able to pick) came packaged separate.

Mesquite Grilled Catfish.

The catfish was the main attraction, and was a generous size filet.  It was marinated, blackened, really well seasoned.  It was extremely moist, and well prepared.  They clearly source quality seafood, and know how to cook it.  The catfish had barely any "murky" taste to it, which I can safely say this is the first time I've had non-fried catfish that I haven't tasted a bit of that before.  The grill flavor wasn't as strong as I was hoping, but it was there.

It came served with just a lemon to drizzle over, and since it was marinated and fairly flavorful on its own, not much more was needed, although I did sorta wish for a remoulade or tartar sauce.  All the grilled seafood is available with optional "toppers", but two of the three options have avocado which I'm allergic to (salsa rojo or verde), and the third, char lemon verde with lump crab did sound great, but I didn't want that much additional seafood.

Overall, I enjoyed my fish, was impressed with the cooking skill and fish quality, but found that it did get a bit one note, and the portion was larger than I really wanted in one sitting (particularly when served with the empanada, garlic bread, and my other side!).  Good value for the price though, no question. 

I actually ended up enjoying the leftovers of this even more the next day, when I served it with bbq sauce from Truth Barbecue (review coming soon!), as the smokey bbq and mesquite grilled flavors really worked remarkably well together, particularly when paired with my leftover corn pudding also from Truth.  It all re-heated up well in my portable travel oven, and I was glad I saved a portion.   ***+ the first night, **** the second.

Sides

For sides, the variety of options at Goode Seafood Company is huge - for carbs, there are french fries or seafood rice, or more interesting fried goodies like hush puppies, onion rings, or fried green tomatoes, or healthier vegetables like garlic spinach or grilled asparagus, or red beans, red beans & rice, or green beans & potatoes.  Really lots of choices, all available a la carte, or included in the base platter price if you get a platter (although asparagus had a $4 extra charge).  If I was dining in, the hush puppies, onion rings, or fried green tomatoes definitely would have been my pick, but I didn't think the fried items would do well for delivery.

Grilled Asparagus. $10 (or +$4 on a platter).

It was November, so I was a bit wary of ordering asparagus when I knew it would be out of season, but, given San Francisco's hyper seasonal menu focuses, I haven't seen asparagus on a menu in ages, and I love it.  I was already sick of winter squashes!  I also love grilled veggies, and hoped this would have the same great mesquite flavor people raved about from the seafood.

I was surprised when I opened the container to see it covered in melted cheese.  The menu didn't say anything about cheese, not on the Door Dash page, nor the restaurant's main menu.  I think I actually would have preferred it without, although it was fine sharp parmesan cheese.

The asparagus was good, nicely grilled as I hoped, reasonable grill flavor.  It didn't seem like it had been seasoned much, so I was glad I had salt and pepper in my hotel room, and also drizzled a little of the lemon from my platter over it.  It hit the spot, and I enjoyed my taste of spring, even in November.  I'd get it again if I was craving asparagus.

This side is $10 normally, the most expensive side, or an extra $4 fee if picked as your side choice on a platter (the only one with an extra fee).  The portion was fairly small for $10, or the upcharge, but it was a reasonable amount of asparagus for me to eat in one sitting, so I wasn't upset with the portion size.

***+.

Garlic Bread (included).

My platter also included a piece of garlic bread, that at first looked like just a piece of crusty french bread.  Once I opened it I saw the butter and herbs, and grilled interior.  It was fine, light garlic flavor, light herb flavor, buttery, warm.  Fairly average garlic bread, and not really what I wanted with my meal.  For some reason, I still only associate garlic bread with Italian food, and mostly with red sauce to dip it in ...  (plus, I had some leftover mashed potatoes in my hotel room I heated up to go with my meal, I think that went much better!).

Anyway, fine, average garlic bread, if you happened to want that with your meal.  Maybe this is just my upbringing of never having garlic bread other than with Italian food.  ***.

Homemade Desserts

If you know me, you know that even if a restaurant has a good menu, full of hits like crab, I might not be inclined to try it if it doesn't also promise to deliver on a great dessert.  I'm a sweet tooth, through and through.

All of the desserts are Goode Company locations are homemade, and one, the pecan pie, is fairly famous.  The lineup also includes heavy hitters like chocolate cream pie or Texas Chocolate Sheet cake for the chocolate lovers, or a "Margarita" pie, basically, a level up option for a key lime pie.

Brazos Bottom Pecan Pie. $7.50.

"This small slice of Texas was first perfected by our grandmother. Her recipe is the blissful batter we've been baking, sweet and slow, ever since we opened Goode Company Texas Barbeque back in 1977. Each pie is still handmade with farm fresh eggs and all-natural Texas pecans, because anything half-baked just isn't our style. "

Now *that* is what a slice of pie is supposed to look like!  My family always jokes about "Parent family slices" of pie, as in, what we consider normal but most people seem to think are colossal, and this may be the first pie slice I've ever gotten somewhere that actually lived up to my family's pie slices.  Texas gets pie portion size right!

This pie is a signature dish at the Goode Company establishments, on the menu since the BBQ joint started.  You can get a whole pie shipped to you anywhere in the US if you need your fix.  I was pretty excited to try it, given that I do love pecan pie - it is the one pie I still regularly request my mother make for me when I visit.

I found it interesting that there is no option to add whipped cream nor ice cream to the pie, it just comes as is, for both dine-in and takeout.  Of course, I was prepared, and had fresh whipped cream on hand.

It was a good pie.  The crust was traditional style, that almost looks mass produced rather than lovingly hand crafted, with very regular fluted edges, but it tasted quite fresh, good butter flavor.  The right kind of crust for this kind of pie, where you don't want a more dominant crust. ***+.

The pie was generously loaded with pecan halves on top, some overlaying each other, no skipping on this premium ingredient as so many do.  Mostly full sized halves, so every bite had quite a dominant amount of pecan in it.  Lightly toasted, not burnt.  The pecans are all from Brazos River, in Texas.  Slightly above average nuts, ***+.

And finally, the ooey gooey filling, which was the only element that wasn't quite as I expected.  The flavor was more sophisticated than your standard corn syrup based pie, and perhaps tasted a bit like honey.  But it was perfectly gooey, very very sweet, and a quite thick layer.  This pie slice was taller than average for pecan pie, and the filling was a big component of that.  I think I appreciated the slightly upscale taste to this, as it made it not just cloying sweet.  ***+.

So every element of this pie was good, above average.  Nothing here blew my mind, but, it was very good pie.  The elements all combined well to make it greater than the sum of its parts.  **** overall, although it really needed whipped cream for balance.   I served it with a generous amount of whipped cream, and fresh blackberries, both of which I thought added to the experience.  I think it would be even better warm with ice cream though, as that is how I tend to like my pecan pie, so the filling gets even gooier, and the ice cream balances out the sweet.  

The $7.50 price for such a huge slice of pie was quite reasonable, below what many restaurant desserts are.

Chocolate Cream Pie. $7.50.

Slightly less signature, but still a menu staple, is the chocolate cream pie, which I ordered my second visit, after the success of the pecan pie, and having seen photos of just how ridiculous this would be.  The portion size was slightly less wide of a slice than the pecan pie, but given the height, was still far bigger than one normal person eats in a sitting.

It was good, but not great.  The chocolate pudding was thick, smooth good consistency, but it was not as chocolately as I'd like.  The whipped cream was an equally thick layer, and near equal in consistency, not fluffy standard whipped cream, which makes sense to keep slices looking like this without the topping falling down.  It was average cream, I think a hint of vanilla or something would liven it up a bit.

The crust was a different style from the pecan pie, not fluted, and thicker, particularly in the back.  It was good crust, a harder, less flaky style, but flavorful, not stale, and not over-baked.  The crust was my favorite part.

Together it was all good, fine, but nothing set it apart from other decent enough chocolate cream pie.  I think a layer of banana, some flavor in the whipped cream, richer, deeper chocolate flavor, etc would go a long way.

Another great value for $7.50. ***.

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United Domestic Business Class, Round Trip SFO-IAH

Flight Details SFO-IAH

Flight: United Airlines Flight 242

Aircraft: Boeing 737-900 (twin-jet) (B739)
Departure: San Francisco SFO 2:43pm (local time)
Arrival: Houston IAH 8:24pm (local time)

Seat: 4B

Service

I was not greeted nor welcomed in any way when I boarded, nor when I settled into my seat.  A PDB was offered after the boarding process completed, but just plain water or "sparkling wine".  I did ask for sparkling water, and my FA obliged.  I really appreciated it.  No little water bottles waiting for us at our seats.  

We boarded exactly on time, pushed back 2 minutes before departure time, and had a reasonably short taxi before takeoff.  The flight was smooth.  We even landed early.  But alas, once we landed, no gate was available, we spent 30 minutes waiting for a gate to be free, etc.

My flight crew was actually wonderful.  I was beyond shocked, but they were totally on top of things, amazingly kind and thoughtful, and generally just made the experience actually pretty nice.  I take back all things I've previously said about United service ...

Seats.

The aircraft was rather old, and not equipped with much - no in seat entertainment, no USB ports, no real pocket for a phone or anything.  At least I had a power port. 

Cuisine

United is notorious for many things, and their meals are one of them ... because they are so incredibly bad.  And haven't changed in months.  I had the choice of 5 entrees for my meal because I pre-reserved, and honestly, all of them sounded pretty awful.  Also, strangely, 3 of the choices were vegetarian, I guess that is cheaper?  The lineup was a burger (with "bistro sauce"), vegan chili, or falafel bowl, or, if you did not pre-order, the options were the same as seemingly every other United flight in the past 6 months: chicken with orzo or Impossible meatballs, the same options I had on my flight from Washington, DC two months ago (which, was awful, really).  Given that I had no hope for the burger, and don't eat chicken, and hated the Impossible meatballs last time (which is too bad, Impossible meat can be good!), I was down to two choices: vegan chili, or a falafel bowl.  Now, I do sometimes appreciate chili, like, when I come in from skiing, and when loaded with cheese and sour cream, and usually with beef ... I don't really care for beans that much.  This was going to be bean heavy, and with some kind of soy protein crumbles.  It didn't really seem like what I was likely to want on my flight (and, to be honest, not what I wanted other people to be consuming either ... all those beans? Ahh!).  That said, it did have a polenta cake, so I was a bit tempted.  I went for the falafel bowl though, after reading many FlyerTalk reports that it was the best of the mediocre bunch.

Orders were taken (or confirmed if you had pre-ordered) quite soon once underway, along with drink orders.  The meal time was pretty awkward, as a 2:45pm flight meant a meal at about 3:30pm in SF (or 5:30pm at our destination).  I thought about asking for my meal to be delayed, but, I wasn't sure if they did that.  I was in row 4, so at least I was slightly later in the lineup.

Sparkling Aha, Red Wine.

I discovered the Sparkling Aha brand drinks on United, and really do quite like them.  On this flight, I enjoyed the orange grapefruit flavor, and the "red wine".  The wine was not awful.  It wasn't complex or interesting, but it wasn't bad. 

**** sparkling water, and I appreciated that they had 3 flavors available, and *** wine.

Tray.

Meals were delivered row by row on a tray, with everything at once (bread, starter, main, dessert), along with an empty glass (which was never offered to be filled), salt and pepper, butter, and an extra hand wipe.   Everything was piping hot.  The dessert and roll shared a plate.

The meal may have not made sense exactly, as everyone gets the same bread and starter no matter their entree pick, but, I was shocked by how decent it all was.

Warm Wheat Roll.

The rolls on United flights always surprise me.  They are served warm, and seem, well, fresh?  Most airlines have awful bread, even ones with good catering, and yet United, with generally poor catering, has decent bread.  No choice given, and I think it is always the same, a hearty wheat roll.  Nice chew to it, slight crust, soft inside, bits of texture from the grains.  Considerably better than most airline bread.  Served with a pat of butter, but I think it would go better with a little quality olive oil.  I should remember to bring that next time ...  ***+.

Mozzarella Salad. 

The starter, or side dish, finally changed in November on United flights, after months of being a fruit salad that at least had decent grapes and blueberries before.  Sadly, it didn't change to being an actual salad, no fresh greens, but rather, mozzarella.  The FA had to explain it to everyone.  The mozzarella side likely goes well with the Impossible meatballs and red sauce, and the standard chicken orzo, but seems a bit odd to have with my main dish choice, the falafel bowl.  Really not a pairing that makes any sense at all.  I think it would be likewise a bit odd with the chili, although I do always want cheese with my chili, just not generally mozzarella.

Anyway, the mozzarella was ... ok?  It was pretty average, certainly nothing like the quality burrata I've had on Delta (that was actually really quite good!) or JetBlue (which is mixed success, but always served as a giant bulb).  But it wasn't trying to be burrata, it was just mozzarella.  It came with sundried tomatoes on top, which paired well, but it screamed out for a drizzle of oil and balsamic.  If you are flying with United in the next, oh, 6 months or so, chances are high you'll have this starter, and so protip, bring some oil and balsamic along ...

I still would have preferred a green salad, or vegetables of some kind, but this wasn't bad.  ***.

Main: Falafel.

“Hearty grain bowl with Mediterranean vegetables and falafel.”

Now, I can't say I was excited for this dish.  Like I said, I wasn't really into any of the options, and came prepared with some supplementary food if necessary (and my portable oven of course).  I'm not really into grains, nor falafel.  But, I was curious about the veggies, and whatever sauce it may have, and like I said, people seemed to say this was decent.  I had my own hot sauces (from Oren's Hummus), my own garlic potato dip (from Sajj Mediterranean), and my own pita (also from Oren's), along with extra veggies, all of which I thought would go well with the meal.  And if it was truly awful, I had shepherd's pie that I could heat up in my oven.  Like I said, I was (over) prepared!

This dish was an adventure, really.  First, it looked, well, awful.  Really, awful.  But it wasn't.  For me, it was a mixed success, with some components that I actually enjoyed (!) and the rest mostly mediocre, but just not things I tend to like anyway.

The base was mixed grains.  Some had a nice chew to them, other sections were kinda mushy.  But they were hearty, flavorful grains, with some bits of herbs and veggies mixed in.  Not my thing, but, the portion was generous, and they were mostly decent.  **+.

Then, the "Mediterranean vegetables".  Ok, well, this is where things got interesting.  And looked a bit scary.  What *were* those vegetables?  I could tell there was cauliflower, that was pretty mushy, a bit gray in color, and had a rather sour taste to it, in a way that sorta seemed like it had gone bad, but I think was actually just some odd marinade or something they used?  Cauliflower, yeah, not good. *.  There was some pieces that I first thought were cauliflower, but I then realized might be potato cubes?  More mushy than other pieces, and cube shaped.  I didn't explore the cauliflower further, after a few bites, all of which were not good.  There was also pieces of bell pepper, that I didn't try, as I don't care for bell pepper.  And that seemed to be it for Mediterranean vegetables.  I certainly would have liked a more generous veggie component, but if the cauliflower had been palatable, it would have been fine.  The sundried tomatoes from the starter were good mixed in too.

Next up, the mystery components.  While the cauliflower looked (and tasted) a bit off, the rest of the dish really truly looked mysterious, and really truly looked bad.  There was what seemed to be a pink-ish soft crumble, tiny bits of pink ... something.   It was like a sauce that had curdled, or, something.  I had no idea what to make of it.  I tentatively took a bite, and it wasn't bad.  A bit, uh, bouncy?  Even better was the other crumbly substance, that one was white, and I thought it would be feta, but it didn't have the sharp taste of feta.  But it had a nice bouncey bite, and I enjoyed it.  There was also a tiny smear of something softer, which I think was supposed to be hummus.  Or it might have just been super mushy grains, but I think it was a distinct component.  There was literally less than a spoonful though.  So, although these elements were not identifiable, um, I did like them, and wished for more of both the bouncy ones.  ***.

And finally, the falafel.  Now, as I don't really care for chickpeas, I never really like falafel all that much.  But the falafel in particular is what people had said was surprisingly good.  And ... they were right.  I expected mush, chickpea flavored mush, but this was actually good.  The outside was lightly crisp, the inside soft but not mushy, with clear texture from the bits.  Sure, it wasn't freshly fried falafel, but it was far better than I imagined it could be.  Huh.  ***+.

Overall, this dish was so much better than I expected.  If you actually like Mediterranean food, and grains, I suspect this would be a real winner.  The portion was good, the elements all went well together.  Even though I do like the United wheat rolls, I did use a little of my own pita with it because it went so well with it, and I did use my own hot sauces as it didn't have anything like that, but, if you aren't a ridiculously over-prepared person, I think this would eat just fine as served.  Flyertalk folks were right on this one, and I'm glad I listened to their advice, and was willing to eat even the scary, unidentifiable elements.

Pie in the Sky: Chocolate Chip.

"Is there anything better than a warm chocolate chip cookie? Turns out, there is. Our incredible pastry chefs have whipped up the ultimate twist on an old classic, tucking decadent chocolate ganache inside a brown sugar chocolate chip cookie crust."

The dessert was the infamous "Pie in the Sky", which I've never had on a United flight before, but I know the product well - they are made by Eli's Cheesecake, and I used to order them for my work group all the time.  I dubbed them "cookie pies" back then, and really did enjoy all the varieties I tried.   I was eager to see what variety we had, and how they fared on board.  

Our pie of the day was chocolate chip, not a flavor I've had before, as Eli's doesn't have these on their normal foodservice menu (although you can buy them direct..  I'd only had apple, cherry, and pumpkin previously, all of which used a regular sugar cookie crust, this one had a chocolate chip crust, and chocolate filling.  The pie was served warm.

I've had a lot of these Eli's pies in other flavors before, and this was by far my least favorite.  It was much more like just a cookie, rather than a pie.  Basically, the crust was studded with tiny chocolate chips, making it like a chocolate chip cookie, but with less chocolate, and a very hard style rather than soft and gooey.  Eh.  It was filled with chocolate, so I did get my hit of chocolate, but again, it was basically just like a chocolate chip cookie. ***.

As always, I was prepared with my own whipped cream, which definitely added to the experience.  My FA was so amused by me, that she offered me an additional pie.  I did not say no.  She later brought me a Christie Cookie Company cookie from her own meal, because she saw I had a sweet tooth, and she said she'd had so many she was sick of them.  It was so thoughtful, and so, sweet (literally).  I know United generally isn't known for the service, but, this crew was fantastic.

Flight Details IAH - SFO

Flight: United Airlines Flight 598

Aircraft: Boeing 737-900 (twin-jet) (B739)
Departure: Houston IAH 4:47pm (local time) scheduled 5:18pm (actual)
Arrival: San Francisco SFO 7:08pm (local time)

Seat: 3E

Service

My return trip was on the same style of aircraft, although this particular one seemed even more beat up, but I think was a bit newer as it had tiny in-seat entertainment screens (although mine didn't work).  Boarding was started right on time, although we had far too many big bags, and drama ensued as so many needed to be gate checked.  No PDB was offered, and no little water bottles were at our seats.  I was parched!  We pushed back from the gate relatively on time, but, then sat to the side, and then had a looong taxi and wait, I think due to rain delays.  It was nearly 30 mins from pushback before we actually took off. 

Once underway, it took nearly 45 minutes before they came to take our beverage orders.  Even then, drinks weren't delivered until our meal trays were, so, more than an hour into the flight before I was able to get a sip of water, which after the lack of PDB made me fairly grumpy.  The flight attendants overall weren't particularly friendly nor proactive, and everything just felt delayed.

Cuisine

My menu options for the return trip were identical to the ones I had going to Houston.  Literally, the exact same.  Same entrees, same salad.  United ... not so good at the variety!  I pre-ordered again, given that the only onboard options were the same Impossible meatballs that were sadly not good, and a chicken dish.  For those who didn't pre-order, they ran out of the Impossible meatballs after row 2, which was surprising to me, given that all of row 1 just opted for snack boxes instead (from economy).  For everyone else, once they had chicken only, they did offer to get them the burger, salad shaker, or tapas box from economy.

I was actually tempted to get the falafel again, as the falafel itself really was good, but, I wanted to mix it up.  Plus, as always, I had backup, and enhancements, to go with my meal.  

Sparkling Aha, Red Wine.

My beverage selection was the same as my previous flight, given that it was a success: sparkling orange grapefruit Aha, and "red wine".  The Aha came with far too much ice this time, which made the liquid portion run out fast, but also, diluted it considerably as it melted.  The wine was fine, drinkable, but not great.

Meal.

As always, the meal came all at once, with the same exact mozzarella starter I had a week prior (no choice), the same wheat roll (that is always actually kinda good), and the same flavor of pie-in-the-sky.  Our drinks were finally delivered along with our meals.

I wish I could say this meal was as successful as the falafel, but, it wasn't.

Whole Wheat Roll.

The roll was served cold, even though alongside the warm pie.  Normally these are served warm ...

I heated mine in my oven, as I had it ready to go, and that worked well.  I do actually really like these rolls!  ***+.

Mozzarella Salad.

The mozzarella was just as lackluster this time as the last - not very soft, not very flavorful, and the dish really just felt like it needed seasoning and oil to drizzle over.  Meh.  **.

I was again amused by how many people seemed to not understand what this was ... I think the hard texture of the mozzarella throws people off.  

Vegetarian Chili and Polenta Cake.

"Vegetarian chili and polenta cake with ripened tomatoes, kidney beans, bell peppers, onion, chipotle peppers, and soy crumble."

I had to laugh at the portion when my entree was set in front of me ... a hearty bowl of chili this was not!  I'd consider this a polenta cake, with a little chili as garnish, really.  That said, I didn't mind, but if you wanted a substantial meal, definitely do not go for this option.

I was hesitant to order this dish because I don't really like chipotle, and although I like Impossible meat, this had "soy crumble" instead (the meatballs use Impossible meat), and I definitely was not excited for that.   I was right to be skeptical.  The chili had a few beans, and a little tomato, onion, and bell pepper, but was mostly the soy crumble.  It tasted like fake meat, the kind that gives fake meat a bad reputation, through and through.   And, it was lightly spiced, so there was some chipotle to it.  Meh.  I did not like the chili, at all.  I had my own cheese, and red pepper flakes, with me to jazz it up, but I couldn't escape the fake meat taste, and quickly gave up on it, and set about heating up my own shrimp and green beans to have with the polenta.

The polenta cake was fine - it was cheesy, creamy, good texture.  Entirely unseasoned, but, I had my own seasoning to add.  I wouldn't mind eating this again.  ***+.

In the end, the polenta cake, with my own flavorful green beans (leftover from Truth Barbecue, so good!), and my own shrimp, and my own sauce, I enjoyed my meal, but, uh, as served, definitely not.

Chocolate Chip Pie-in-the-Sky.

The cookie-pie was the exact same I had the week before, the chocolate chip version, basically just a hard chocolate chip cookie filled with a little more chocolate.  Not nearly as good as the other flavors Eli's makes, and I was sad that I didn't get a chance to try one of the cheesecakes, as I know United serves them on some routes.  ***.

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Wendy's

It had been many, many, many years since I went to a Wendy's.  In fact, it is quite possible that I had not had anything from Wendy's since 1999, the year I graduated from college.  Wendy's was a big part of my high school years - the place we went once my friends got their driver's licenses, where we'd always get items off the $1 menu: a Biggie fries, small chili with cheese, and a drink.  $3 total, and a totally satisfying meal.  It was our thing (and, novel to me, as my family never went to Wendy's growing up, which is odd, given that we did family fast food night every Saturday, and yet, it was never Wendy's ...).

Anyway, quite literally, I likely hadn't had anything from Wendy's in ... 24 years?  And yet, when I was at the Houston Airport, that is where I went.   Why?  Well, there was a sign advertising that they had the seasonal special ...  

Medium Peppermint Frosty (Seasonal).

The special was a limited edition flavor of the classic Frosty: peppermint.  If you aren't familiar, the Frosty is their version of a hybrid milkshake-soft serve ice cream.  While I love ice cream, and soft serve in particular, I've actually had very few Frostys in my life.  Like I said, my visits were for the $1 menu trifecta of fries, chili, drink, and, we lived in a town with good soft serve, so why would I get Frostys?  I think I probably have had fewer than 5 in my life, and generally they were gotten just so I could dip my fries in them.

I didn't really know if I'd like this or not, but, hey, I was in the airport, could use a snack, and they had the special flavor.  It seemed like a good use of 5 bored minutes.  I tried to order the smallest size, Junior, but I was told they didn't have Junior.   Ok, I'd just get a small.  Nor did they have small.  At the airport, everything was big, and pricey.  Ok, the medium it was, for nearly $4.  It was handed over quickly by the cashier, who dispensed it from the magic Frosty machine.

Peppermint Frosty.

The peppermint Frosty is literally just vanilla Frosty, with peppermint syrup added (including, red #40).  It was softer, more drinkable than I remember a Frosty being ... I thought part of the joy of a Frosty was the fact that it wasn't a milkshake, and was thicker, and thus, so great for dipping fries?  It was still amazingly light and fluffy, and a nice consistency, but, not quite the thickness I remembered.  

It was not particularly peppermint-y.  At least it wasn't a fake medicinal flavor, but, honestly, besides the pink color, I'm not sure I would have known it wasn't just a vanilla Frosty, albeit seemingly sweeter than what I remembered.

So, not minty, and not as thick as I thought a Frosty was supposed to be.  It was slightly novel, but, not particularly good, and definitely not worth $4.  I wouldn't get this again. **+.

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The Baked Bear

Ice cream.  Definitely one of my favorite things, and something I eat near daily.  I'm always excited to try new ice cream shops around town, which finally lead me to The Baked Bear, several years after it originally opened.

Our Mission: To spread joy and create memories, bringing a smile to every customer’s face, one ice cream sandwich at a time.

The main concept at The Baked Bear is custom ice cream sandwiches, where you select the cookies (or brownies) as the bases, then the ice cream, and then any additional things to coat it in, much like CREAM and Over the Moon.  I'll admit that it took me a while to venture in because the focus was on the novelty items, and I assumed that would mean lower quality actual ice cream.

Setting

The Baked Bear started in San Diego, but has franchised, with locations in a number of states.  In San Francisco, we have not one, but two locations, both near tourist areas (North Beach, Fisherman's Wharf).  I visited the former.

Storefront.

The North Beach location is right on Columbus Street, and offers one small table, and a few seats out on the sidewalk.  There just isn't space for more seating on that busy walkway.

The storefront is signature Baked Bear blue.

Interior.

Inside is the ordering and assembly counter, with a handful of tables, although it is still a small place, not tons of seating.  I imagine on warm days it could get busy and seating would be limited.

On my visit, there were only a few other patrons, although they clearly do a very busy delivery/takeout service, as the staff were prepping tons of orders coming in, in-between customers who were there in person.  Ice cream always strikes me as an odd thing to get delivered just due to the melting nature, but, they are listed on most of the major delivery services (and yes, I have been known to get ice cream delivered across the city ... ) .

Staff were friendly and efficient.

Menu.

The menu outlines the steps to take to form your custom ice cream sandwich.

But you can also opt for just cookies, just ice cream (cups, cones), or sundaes (in cookie bowls if you please!).   All categories have a decent lineup with plenty of options.

Fresh Baked Cookies & Brownies.

"Homemade from original recipes and hand-scooped on site, our cookies are made with the highest quality ingredients and baked from scratch daily. We pride ourselves on quality and will only serve you cookies fresh out of the oven today."

Cookies are located right at the counter, easy to view to select your preferred flavor.

I'm not really a cookie girl, but the cookies did look good, very soft and gooey.  When you make an ice cream sandwich, they'll offer to warm them up as well.

The lineup had 10 cookies, including a gluten-free option, and including a variety that switches out every month.  They take the cookies seriously.  Available as singles for $1.25, or by the dozen for $13.

Cookie and Brownie Bowls.

If you opt for a sundae, you can go all out with a cookie or brownie bowl as the base.  Warmed up, I imagine these are awesome.

Toppings include your standard lineup of sauces (hot fudge, caramel, etc), whipped cream, assorted nuts and candies.

Ice Cream.

Ice cream is available in 16 flavors, including a vegan soy option, and including a sorbet or two, with a rotating seasonal flavor as well.

The ice cream didn't look like anything special, to be honest.  Just ... ice cream.

I asked to sample the signature flavor (which I ended up getting) and the Birthday Cake (cake batter with sprinkles, which was fine but pretty boring, just a little sweet with texture), although I did want to try a few others, but the staff were so busy I didn't want to bother them too much.  They weren't exactly cheery about samples like some places.

One noteworthy thing is that the ice cream seemed to be kept softer than many shops - it didn't require heroics to scoop on the server's part, and, it was at a soft, enjoyable consistency right when handed over, no need to wait for it to melt enough.

Ice Cream

"Baked Bear super-premium, craft ice cream is churned with r-BGH-free cream, pure cane sugar, and all natural stabilizers. With a smooth texture, our unique and creamy flavors can be enjoyed on their own, or paired perfectly between your favorite cookies."

But they do make their own ice cream, and claim good quality.

Branded Cups.

Since The Baked Bear is a franchise with a decent number of locations at this point, they are all-in on the branding.  Custom blue cups with their bear logo (eating an ice cream sandwich) are only one example, the staff all wear branded logo shirts, and you can purchase shirts and whatnot yourself as well.

Single Scoop, Bear Batter.  $4.50. (2019).

"Blue cake batter with brownies & fudge."

Yes, their signature flavor is blue.  The base is cake batter.  This sounded like something made for Instagram, and trendy factor, not deliciousness.  Likely overly sweet.  I had no intention of getting this flavor, but wanted to try it at least.

But a tiny taste (they give very small samples!) revealed it had promise.  It tasted like one very familiar thing to me: the blue frosting from my precious Carvel cake (don't judge!  I know it isn't good, but I grew up with it as a special birthday thing, and, although I now understand that the ice cream is crazy low quality and want nothing to do with that part, I still adore the blue frosting and the cookie crunch!).  Was my brain playing tricks on me because it was blue?

Since the other sample I tried was lackluster, I decided to get this, to really explore it more, even though, still, not a flavor I'd normally get at all.

I did like the sweet base, creamy, smooth, and ... well, no way to describe it other than Carvel blue frosting!  The brownie smear and fudge chunks throughout were fine, but I think I'd rather have other things mixed in.  I'm just not into brownie smear in ice creams, really (which rules out a lot of Ben & Jerry's for me).   ***+.

I enjoyed my scoop, but wouldn't really seek it out again.  That said, the cookies look great, and if they warm them up ... I really should go for an ice cream sandwich sometime.

Pricing is certainly high, $4.50 for a single scoop, but it is quality ice cream.

Butter Brittle Cake.
Single Scoop: $4.95. (2022).

"Vanilla bean ice cream layered with crunchy butter brittle, almonds, vanilla cake, & a sea salt caramel ripple."

Oh, decisions.  I was tempted to get Bear Batter again, as I did love the Carvel-esque nature of it, but I wanted to try something different.  I was tempted by the Blackberry Crumble as it had pie crust pieces in it, but, was wary of the blackberry (seeds).  I was tempted by the gooey marshmallow oozing from the S'mores.  I was curious about the basic chocolate chip cookie dough, since they are a cookie shop too.  Decisions.  I asked the server if she had a recommendation and she said she liked the Butter Brittle Cake because it had toasted almonds.  So, on a whim, I said, "sure! I'll take your suggestion."

My first thought: wow, this was sweet!  The caramel and the brittle together added a ton of sweetness, even though it didn't necessarily look like it was loaded with goodies.  The pieces of cake were a unique touch, and I liked the textural element they added.

Overall, it was fine, but not great, and I wouldn't get it again, and at nearly $5 for a single scoop it was pretty pricey.  ***.

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Sushi from Okane

Update Review, 2022

About 4 years ago, I tried several items from Okane, the sister restaurant to the well known Omakase sushi restaurant.  I was underwhelmed, as you read in my original reviews.  I decided to give them another try when I was seriously craving uni one evening ...

I ordered on Door Dash, for delivery.  Ordering was easy, it took quite a while to arrive though (although within the time frame Door Dash quoted), just, longer than I expected given my small order, and how close by the restaurant is.

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 ]

I wasn't any more impressed this time.

Standard condiments + their house ginger/wasabi. $2.50 each.

All orders come with a standard bag of Okane branded chopsticks, and very generic packaged wasabi, ginger, and soy sauce.  I knew this, and opted to upgrade to their "house" ginger and wasabi, the same that they serve in the restaurant.  Each upgrade was a pricey $2.50 each, but, particularly for ginger loving me, this was a worthy splurge.  I enjoyed both of these.

**** upgrades, although pricey at $5!

Hokkaido Uni. $24.

I was going through a serious uni phase, and had some fabulous uni from Fenikkusu Tapas & Omakase (although everything else was meh) a few weeks prior, and a novel uni bruschetta from Sushi Shio (with both local and Japanese uni!) just days later (both reviews coming soon!), so, even though I had not really loved uni from Okane before, I decided to give it another try.  After all, this place, and its sister restaurant Omakase, obviously get such accolades.

The uni came served with shredded daikon and a shiso leaf.  I'm not sure if the pieces toppled over during transit, or if they were thoughtfully placed on their sides, as it seems unlikely that they would have fallen back to back like this?

Anyway, the uni was pretty average.  It wasn't bad, no funk, but it wasn't particularly great.  Same with the sushi rice, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.  The portion of uni was reasonable though, and I enjoyed my pieces, but, I wouldn't really go out of my way for this again.

***.

Original Review, 2018

This is a review that I know isn't particularly representative of the establishment.  But ... it is what I had, so, it is what you get.

Okane is the casual Japanese sister restaurant next to Michelin starred Omakase.  It features more low key dining style, lots of small share plates at dinner, bento boxes and rice bowls at lunch.  Plus all the high end nigiri and rolls sourced from the same markets as Omakase.

And yet, I haven't actually been there to eat.  Hence, my "not representative" statement.

Still, I've had food from there twice - once I ordered delivery (no sushi) and once I stopped by for takeout sushi (which I consumed immediately).  Obviously not the same as eating at a sushi counter.  So take my reviews with that in mind.

My impression though?  Eh, its fine.  But pricey.  Not special.

Setting

Okane is located on Townsend Street, across from Adobe, next to Omakase.

Sushi Counter.

It does have a working sushi counter with some high seats for the lucky few who get to eat right there.

Seating.

The rest of the relatively small restaurant is casual tables for mostly 4, wooden, nicely decorated.  The place feels comfortable, modern, clean, mid-range.  Certainly a great neighborhood place.

Order #1: Delivery, April 2018

My first experiment with Okane was via Caviar delivery.  It is a long story, but, I just needed a couple small side items to supplement another meal.  What I got was fine, but, obviously not anything they highlight.  On the plus side, delivery (via Caviar) was fast and easy?

Stewed Hijiki. $7.35.

"Carrot, shitake, and lotus root." 

I ordered this expecting a chilled seaweed salad.  Instead ... I think it was served warm.  The container was filled with steam and water droplets, and the lotus chips were soggy, both indicating a warm serving temp originally (although not by the time it reached me).

It was ... fine.  Fairly standard hijiki, a few chunks of kinda mushy carrot, a few slices of shitake.  I expected more flavor, more marinade, more something.  It was quite plain, and I added my own ponzu to give it flavor.

On top were mushy lotus chips, that I believe were intended to be crispy.

So, overall, fine.  More interesting than the standard seaweed salad you get at most sushi restaurants, but, not actually anything special, and the small portion seemed over priced at $7.35.

Fried Lotus Root Chips / Wasabi Mayo. $7.35.

Ok, these I got because I just love fried root vegetables.  Or really, any fried veggie chips besides basic potatoes.  Taro, yucca, plantains ... bring it on.  I couldn't resist ordering the side of lotus root chips too.

I think they may also have been served warm, perhaps freshly fried?  I only say this because they weren't particularly crisp. They were nicely seasoned though, with salt and some green herbs I didn't quite identify.

The wasabi mayo had kick to it from the wasabi, for sure.  And I love dipping fried things in mayo/aioli/etc.  But it actually was a bit too mayo forward to really feel like an appropriate dip for me.  I liked the idea of it inside of rolls, slathered on as a spread for a something, etc, but as a dip, it was just a bit to much like dunking into just mayo.

The lotus chips were tasty enough without the dip, and I gladly used it for other purposes the next day.

So overall, again, fine, but pricey at $7.35 as well.

Order #2: Takeout, April 2018

After my original delivery order of a couple sides from Okane, I decided to actually really test them on high end stuff, this time with takeout, because I just needed a small snack.  Except, I didn't just get a simple cucumber roll, nope, I went all in: crab and uni.  This girl knows what she likes.

Takeout Accompaniments.

My order came with basic wooden chop sticks, and packets of soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger.  I assume they use higher quality for dine in, but these did the job, and I was glad they were included.

Sushi Snack. $20.51.

1 nigiri.  1 hand roll.  >$20.

This was not a cheap snack.

Prices via Caviar, even for pickup rather than delivery, are 5% more than in the restaurant, not entirely sure why, as Caviar still charges additional tax and service fees on top of that, but every item is listed on Caviar with an upcharge already applied.  The restaurant can do this though, Caviar has no rules that they need to charge the same prices for the convenience, I just haven't seen it done before.

Uni Nigiri. $12.60.

Of course I got the uni.  And I consumed it immediately.  I knew better than to let this get old!

The portion was standard nigiri serving of 2 pieces.

It was ... fine.  Which is a sad way to describe uni.  The pieces were each generously filled, and the structures of rice and seaweed held integrity.  But it didn't really scream out "fresh amazing uni!".  It was just ... fine.

I did appreciate the little bit of daikon on the side, which filled the remaining space in my box.  Presentation matters!

The $12.60 price is fine for high end uni.

California Hand Roll. $6.30.

"Snow Crab and Avocado."

I also wanted my second favorite seafood, crab, but nigiri or sashimi didn't really make sense.  So I went for the California hand roll, just, no avocado because I'm allergic.

I was a bit sad when I saw its small size, but it turns out, this thing was *loaded* with crab.  Certainly the best value item I had from Okane.  There was a little rice (more here on top than throughout the rest actually, I honestly think it was 90% crab!), good texture and seasoning on the rice.

The crab was fresh snow crab.  Lump meat.  No shells detected.  Not fishy.  Very fresh.  Very good.  They also added tobiko for some pop.

I added the rest of my wasabi mayo from the lotus chips, which was great (creamy and zing!), but it wasn't necessary since the crab was such nice quality.

Overall a great item, and wonderful price for the ridiculous amount of crab I got.  Not sure how much they include in a normal roll with avocado, but, they clearly loaded me up.

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