Sara Lee Bakery / Chef Pierre

Update Review, 2025

A year ago, I published my review of a slew of frozen pies from Sara Lee (some I found shockingly good, most were acceptably average), along with muffin reviews from their sister brand, Chef Pierre.  I thought I was done with Sara Lee, but then I stumbled upon their more upscale "bistro collection" ... which turned out to be another win.

Bistro Collection

"Bistro Collection® Gourmet Desserts are baked in small batches and decorated by hand to wow guests."

The Bistro Collection has some ho-hum items like dessert bars, but I was drawn to their individual size round desserts, although some of the layer cakes looked pretty enticing too.  The individual desserts are available in 4 varieties: chocolate peanut butter cream pie or key lime cream pie, or the two I tried, red velvet or tiramisu layer cakes.  I truly enjoyed them.

Individual Dessert Tiramisu Layer Cake (April 2025).

"Made with the finest ingredients, the Bistro Collection Tiramisu is a yummy, gourmet dessert option. This frozen cake has a flavorsome blend of mascarpone mousse, whipped cream, and cocoa."

"Light and airy sponge cake layered with espresso-flavored mascarpone mousse, whipped cream and cocoa."

Ok, so I have some mixed feedback on this.  Calling it "tiramisu" did set my expectations slightly, although they did call it a "layer cake", so perhaps that should have signaled more strongly to me that this wasn't really a tiramisu.  And yes, reading the description clearly says it has a sponge cake involved.  But, anyway, I went into it expecting, well, tiramisu.  That is, classic ladyfingers, an espresso soak, and rich thick mascarpone component.  This had none of those.

But it actually was quite good.  Just, not really tiramisu.

The base (about 1/3) of the dessert is a moist yellow cake.  It had a good crumb structure, was well baked, good basic cake flavor.  No real qualms with it, besides that it was cake, not the expected ladyfingers.  It also didn't have an espresso soak.  But it was perfectly fine cake. Higher end of 3/5.

Above that was the "espresso-flavored mascarpone mousse", which to me was really just a coffee mousse.  It had a decent coffee flavor, and great consistency.  However, I tasted zero mascarpone, although it is listed as an ingredient.  But tasty coffee mousse?   Absolutely.  4/5 even.

And finally, the topping, which to me tasted like a fluffy marshmallow frosting, but they call whipped cream.  It was incredibly sweet, in a marshmallow like way.  It was absolutely delicious, but very very sweet, and if you got a spoonful of just that, it was like eating a slightly more whipped form of Fluff.  I think dunking strawberries in it would be delightful.  3.5/5.

So put it all together, and you have a good cake, a tasty mousse, and enjoyable topping.  Is it tiramisu?  Absolutely not.  Do I even think it goes together all that well?  Eh, not sure.  But I did really enjoy the individual components, was happy to deconstruct another and use as 3 different desserts (cake with ice cream, mousse with fruit and whipped cream, and after snack fluffy topping with berries).  I'd gladly have another.  

Also, only 240 calories per serving, for a pretty large individual size.

Individual Dessert Tiramisu Layer Cake (May 2025).

A month later I had it again, and this time, I knew what to expect.

It was again quite good - the base cake was moist and not too airy, the coffee mousse was lovely consistency (although I'd love even stronger coffee flavor!), and the topping insanely fluffy and sweet.  Each layer enjoyable, easy to deconstruct into different desserts.  3.5/5.

Red Velvet Layer Cake (June 2025).

"Red velvet cake topped with cream cheese mousse, whipped cream and red velvet cake crumbs."

The Bistro Collection individual desserts layer cake line also features a quite similar looking red velvet cake, just with red components instead of brown.  Same fluffy white topping.  And it was equally good.

Moist red velvet cake, not particularly strong cocoa tang, but decent.  The layer above that was a thick cream cheese mousse, sweet but not too sweet, nice richness.  And the same fluffy very sweet whipped topping.  All layers were good, and much like the tiramisu cake, could be extracted to combine into other desserts, or consumed together as intended (personally, I really liked just warming up the red velvet cake and serving a la mode with vanilla ice cream, then spreading the cream cheese mousse on strawberries for a little snack, and using the fluffy whip on another dessert later, but that's just me being overly ridiculous).

Overall, 4/5, and it too is only 220 calories per serving, which again slightly surprised me.

Red Velvet Layer Cake (Oct 2025)

I gleefully snagged another of these when I saw them being served at an event a few months later.  They did have a slightly different look with even more red velvet crumbs on top.

The cake this time let me down a bit.  It was fine, not dried out, but just didn't have much flavor, and the crumb structure was a bit tight.  Again, fine, but not something I was particularly into.  I did again love hte sweet fluffy cream cheese mousse though, very light and airy, super sweet but in a way I was in the mood for, great tang.  So, 4/5 topping, very low 3/5 cake, kinda 3/5 overall really this time around.

Original Review, 2023-2024

You may start laughing now.  Yes, I'm reviewing Sara Lee.  Yes, that Sara Lee.  The Sara Lee that had that jingle that you probably thought said ".... nobody does it like Sara Lee", but it really said "Everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't like Sara Lee"?  The Sara Lee that did really start as a bakery chain named after the founder's daughter, but grew into a huge corporation that sold tainted meat that caused deaths, and at one point included an apparel business among many other ventures, but then split back down into smaller companies to re-focus on their primary market.  The Sara Lee corporation still owns many food and beverage brands, a few of which I found interesting, including Ball Park Franks, Jimmy Dean sausages, Hillshire Farms deli meats ... yeah.  Dig into Wikipedia if you want to read all about the drama.   It is a fairly interesting story, of brands you likely know.

Nowadays, Sara Lee label itself is used for bakery items and frozen sweets.  Which is where I got interested.  Desserts? Baked goods? Who cares if they are frozen and low-quality? Who cares what drama the company has been through?  I love to try anything and everything in the dessert department.

The Sara Lee product line span a few categories: pound cakes, cheesecakes, cakes, pies, and breakfast sweets, but the pies and muffins are the only items I have tried.  If I could pick another product to try though, it would definitely be the streusel topped coffee cake or the cinnamon rolls.

Chef Pierre vs Sara Lee

"Chef Pierre has been baking fresh and delicious baked goods for commercial restaurants and diners for decades. The company is dedicated to remaining true to their original values and flavors, so they use time-tested recipes and real ingredients. Today, you can find Chef Pierre bakery products in restaurants, diners, grocery stores, and retail markets all over the United States.

If you’re looking to serve items like pie, croissants, cornbread, and other baked goods that feature traditional flavors, Chef Pierre bakery goods are the ideal choice. In recent years, Chef Pierre decided to remove artificial sweeteners and partially hydrogenated oils from their baked goods, which has resulted in better-tasting and more nutritious products. Additionally, Chef Pierre bakery products are all made with local ingredients when possible, which helps give them a fresh and premium flavor." 

It turns out, it is even more complicated than my brief history lesson above.  There is another player in the Sara Lee space, Chef Pierre.  The best I can tell, Chef Pierre was originally a sister company that distributed Sara Lee pies, and has actually been the producer of Sara Lee pies since 1979. They were originally marketed in the Midwest as Chef Pierre, and elsewhere under the Sara Lee brand.  You'll see both brands used now, although Chef Pierre tends to be for foodservice distribution, and Sara Lee a bit more consumer facing.  

Desserts

For desserts, the brands offer a variety of cakes, pies, and cheesecakes.  I've only had the pies.

Pies

For foodservice, Chef Pierre makes both fully baked and bake-and-serve varieties, in 8" and 10" varieties, available pre-sliced or not, depending on what you want for your operation and amount of effort you put in.  The Sara Lee branded retail versions are all fully baked and sliced.  The Chef Pierre range also has far more variety.

There are 3 categories of pies: Crème Pies, Fruit Pies, and Seasonal Pies.  The pies are all sold frozen.  I've tried nearly all of them.

Fruit Pies

"Sara Lee® Fruit Pies feature flaky, golden crusts filled with the finest fruit." -- Sara Lee 

For grocery retail, the fruit pies are all named "Oven Fresh", aka, "Oven Fresh Apple Pie", "Oven Fresh Blueberry Pie", etc, etc.  They make two types of apple (dutch or double crust), blueberry, cherry, raspberry, and peach. All but the Dutch Apple feature the signature double crust. The fruit pies are all frozen, and fully cooked, but designed to be warmed in your oven before serving, hence the Oven Fresh name I suppose.

"Traditional double crust pie crafted with carefully sourced ingredients. A high ratio of fresh, whole fruit slices to bits/pieces creates an ideal profile and eating experience." -- Chef Pierre

For foodservice, the range expands to include lattice tops (available with apple, cherry, or peach filling), a slew more double crust varieties (apple cranberry, apple "razzberry", blackberry, peach berry, caramel apple, caramel apple nut, rhubarb, strawberry rhubarb, "Wild Berry Blast with Zesty Lemon", "Fruits of the Forest"), no sugar added varieties of many, and a few in the "Krunch" lineup with crumble topping (apple, cherry, blueberry).

I've tried many from both brands, although mostly Chef Pierre.  And, well, I like them.  My stack ranking (best to worst): Blueberry Krunch, apple, blueberry, peach, cherry.  I'd gladly eat any again actually, but, the first three are dramatically ahead of the others.

Pumpkin and Apple Pies, November 2016.

The first time I had Sara Lee pie was at my office, when I walked by a conference room with tons of pie, whipped cream, and, rapidly melting ice cream sitting in it, unattended and unloved.  There clearly had been some kind of celebration, but the attendees did not do a good job of eating their pie!

I quickly took a photo, and sent a message out to the "extra food" mailing list in the office, so people could come enjoy pie.

It was only then that I tried a bite of each of the pies, which were apple and pumpkin.  The pies didn't look particularly good, so I just took small slivers, and started to walk away.

But ... I really liked the pies.  Both of them.  This was surprising in particular as I don't generally like apple pie (too much nutmeg).  I didn't get good photos, since I wasn't expecting to like them nor write this post, but, I remember turning right back around, going back into the room, and grabbing an entire pie pan full of a "Frakenpie", made up of both types, and then running away with it before anyone could judge me.  Finders keepers?

Apple, Blueberry, Cherry Pies (March 2017).

The next time I encountered the pies was Pi Day in my office, and we had an assortment of fruit pies.  This time I knew they were worth trying!

These pies all look the same at first glance, but, are actually three different kinds.  The nearest ones are apple, blueberry in the middle, and cherry on the end.

They are all good in a really strange way.  The defining element is certainly the crust.  There is a lot of crust on these pies, full double crusts, no lattice work, just, lots of crust.

The crust is a texture unlike any other pie I've had ... it isn't flaky and buttery.  It is a bit crumbly and crispy.  It is kinda ... chalky.  But I like it.  In a strange way.  I particularly like it when warm, with ice cream or whipped cream.

I know that makes no sense.  I don't know how to better describe these.  It is strange crust, but if you don't care that it isn't standard, actually bakery fresh crust, it is good in its own way.

Cherry Pie (November 2017).

"Brimming with juicy Montmorency cherries picked at the peak of freshness."

"Made with only our finest ingredients, Sara Lee Cherry Pie features a light and flaky crust filled with plump, juicy cherries picked at the peak of freshness." -- Sara Lee Retail Version

I first went for the cherry (because it was Pi Day, and I already had Blueberry Crumble and Classic Apple from Three Babes  earlier in the day, so I wanted something different).

Cherry Pie: Cross Section.

The cherry filling was simple, classic, sweet cherry goo. It wasn't trying to be anything more.  It had no complex flavor, no extra magic ingredient to make it pop.  I doubt the fruit was fresh.

And yet I liked the pie.  Sometimes, a simple cherry pie just has its place.  Particularly with whipped cream to balance the sweet. ***+.

Interestingly, when I had it several months later, I didn't care for it at all at room temperature.  It was just ... generic cherry goo (although, that crust I do like).

I tried warming it up to see how that would change things.  And it certainly did.  Warm, gooey, cherry ... uh, goo, with a tasty crust.  But I only really liked it when combined with equal parts ice cream or whipped cream (or both!).  It really had to be as much ice cream/whip as pie per bite to work, to balance the sweet.  ***.

Cherry Pie (November 2020).

"Our classic cherry pie filled with tart Michigan cherries between 2 golden tender flaky pie crust layers." -- Chef Pierre Version

I didn't have it for more than a year, never opting to get that pie, given where it fell in the "goodness" lineup compared to the others.

My reviews this time are very mixed.

The first time I had it this year, I was pleased enough.  Yup, sweet, generic style.  That I do like.  Soo much cherry goo.  I didn't have whipped cream nor ice cream when I had it though, so not quite glorious.  **+.

The next day I warmed up another slice.  I didn't like it warm, the fruit tasted odd.  It had a strange ... funk to it.  It was better cold with whip.  I wasn't very happy with it either way.  **.

Cherry Pie (December 2020).

A month later though, time for more cherry pie.  I guess places like to offer cherry pie around the holidays?  Cherry was never a pie my family really had, so it is still a bit novel to me to see it so commonly available.

This time it didn't have the strange funk to it.  It was ok cold with whip, I did want it warm a la mode.  I kinda liked the top crust on this one, but not the back.  Still just **+ though.

Cherry Pie (December 2020).

I didn't seek it out again later that month, but it came to me. So of course I had it.

Conclusion? Yeah, this isn't very good. It didn't have the "funk", but just isn't good.  Crust is very ... pasty, at least the top crust.  I liked the back crust more this time.

*+.

Apple Pie (November 2017).

"Made with only our finest ingredients, Sara Lee Apple Pie features a light and flaky crust filled with hand-picked, sun-ripened apples tossed with cinnamon."

"Filled with hand-picked, sun-ripened, fresh apples tossed with cinnamon and sugar."

Back to the first cherry pie encounter, 2017.  When I saw there was still plenty leftover, I also took a slice of apple, to bring home and enjoy later.  And enjoy I did.

Again, same strange crust that I actually like.  The filling is sliced apples, soft but not mushy.  The apples are surrounded by sweet spiced goo, with plenty of cinnamon, but not too much.  No other seasoning.  Simple, classic, and again, it has its place.  Don't judge.  It was excellent warmed up with a little bit of ice cream and whipped cream. ***+.

Sara Lee actually makes two different apple pies, this one, the "Oven Fresh Apple Pie" which is just like the other fruit pies with the double crust, and a "Oven Fresh Dutch Apple Pie" with a streusel topping.  Even though I do like the strange crust, I'd love to try the other style sometime too, because, who am I to say no to streusel?

Apple and Cherry Pies (June 2018)

I had the apple again the next year, when we had it for Thanksgiving.  I skipped it alongside the feast (we had 11 pies to choose from, so, apple wasn't at the top of my list), but saved a slice for breakfast the next day.

I really liked it for breakfast, both cold (I couldn't wait!) and warm, sans whipped cream even.  Don't judge.  ****.

Apple Pie (2019).

The same was true later in the summer, when we had it yet again.  Great cold for breakfast.  Good warm with ice cream or whip.  It is just a winner.  Yes, we keep requesting it!  ****.

Update review: we had it again as part of our holiday pie lineup in 2019, and, although it wasn't the pie I choose to eat alongside my feast, you know I saved a slice for breakfast, and again just loved it cold in the morning.  The apples have the right "bite" the spicing is good and I do like the crust.   ****.

Peach Pie (August 2018).

"A golden filling of luscious, orchard-grown peaches fill our tender, flaky crust."

The peach pie was the last that I tried, never a top priority for me for some reason.

It looked identical to all the other fruit pies, double crusted, same crust that is just odd, but strangely good.

Peach Pie (August 2018).

I, uh, plated it up all real nice for myself, in the pie pan of one that had been depleted.  Don't judge.  Its way more fun to eat this way.  I promise.

The filling was definitely "peaches from a can quality".  They were cut the same size, were the same color on all surfaces, were soft but not too mushy, and were in a very, very sweet goo.  Very clearly not made by hand, not with peaches of assorted ripeness, just no real character to it at all.  And wow, so sweet.

It was what it was, matching the style of all the other pies, really, but this time I didn't love it.  I liked it, but, it wasn't amazing.  And needed *lots* of whipped cream to balance the sweetness!  ***.

Blueberry Pie (November 2018).

"Bursting with plump, summer-sweet, wild blueberries."

The blueberry pie was exactly like the other fruit pies.  Double crusted, tons of crust, strange crust, but I didn't mind it when dunked in copious whipped cream.

The filling is average sized blueberries (e.g. not small Maine blueberries, not large juicy ones), in a sweet goo.  Not fresh amazing fruit, no question, but, I still like it.

This was good cold with whipped cream.  It was better warm with vanilla ice cream.

This was a winner, and one I'd gladly order again.  Of the fruit pies, second only to the apple (for breakfast). ****.

Blueberry Krunch (November 2020).

"The All-American blueberry pie filled with ripe northern Michigan blueberries, finished with a rich and crunchy streusel topping."

I finally got to try a Krunch version, with a lovely crunchy streusel on top.  It was even better than the double crust version, and my hand's down favorite of every fruit pie I had.  Far better than I ever expected.

Great blueberry filling, sweet but not cloying (but yes very sweet), soooo gooey.  It was very nice warm with ice cream, just, classic and good.

And the crumble!  Buttery and sweet, huge chunks.  I really liked it.  So much better than double crust.

As for the rest of the crust (back/bottom), it was fine, a more crumbly texture than the other versions.  Not great, not awful.

The warm pie and topping, minus the back crust crust, with ice cream ****.  A better crust would have made this ****+.

Didn't try it cold with whip but I think that would be great too.

Seasonal Pies / Nut Pies

"Sara Lee® Seasonal Pies deliver the traditional tastes that have become synonymous with certain times of the year. Celebrate these seasons with the pies that are sure to please." 

The seasonal Sara Lee pie lineup is the most exciting to me, with pumpkin, southern sweet potato, southern pecan, and mince, all also dubbed "Oven Fresh".  The pecan is suggested to just thaw and serve, and the others should be baked, including helpful instructions like "The key to pumpkin pie is not to overcook it."

The Chef Pierre lineup has all of the same as Sara Lee (although their pecan pie is just "pecan", not "Southern pecan"), plus a few other nut pies (turtle - pecan and chocolate, "dream bar" - coconut, pecans, chocolate, and cinnamon walnut whiskey).

As a seasonal pie lover, this category really made me happy, although I wasn't able to try the mince ... yet.

Pumpkin Pie (2016).

"A traditional favorite with rich, smooth pumpkin and our special blend of cinnamon and spices."

Pumpkin pie has been part of my life as long as I can remember.  My mom always makes pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  She also makes about 10 other pies, and we always have TONS leftover to enjoy over the next few days, but since it has one of the shortest shelf lives (compared to fruit pies and nut pies), we always make a point of eating it first.  And for me, uh, sometimes that means for breakfast.  Really though, of all the holiday pies, pumpkin really is the healthiest!

Anyway, my mom always made the classic Libby's pie.  Not the one made with "pumpkin pie filling", but the one made with canned Libby's pumpkin, and the recipe on the back of the can.  She tried many other recipes over the years, many far more complicated, roast-your-own-pumpkin recipes, but always kept coming back to Libby's, and has determined it is the best.  So, for me, pumpkin pie is a pretty simple classic.

And this pie was very much like that.  Smooth, creamy pumpkin, with the usual spices.  I could taste the expected cinnamon and nutmeg, and the spices were fairly strong, but not too dominant.  There really was just nothing offensive about this pie.  Simple, and classic.

Well, ok, there is something offensive.  The ingredients.  Most pumpkin pie recipes call for pumpkin and spices obviously, and white sugar, eggs, and evaporated milk.  This though?  The second ingredient is whey.  The third is high fructose corn syrup.  There is also regular corn syrup and dextrose.  Clearly, a commercial product.

But still, I enjoyed this pie, more than I really want to admit.  ***+.

Pumpkin Pie (2017).

"Made with only our finest ingredients, Sara Lee Pumpkin Pie features a light and flaky crust filled with rich, smooth pumpkin and our special blend of cinnamon and spices."

Another year, more pie.

I liked this less this year, as I found the spicing a bit too aggressive.  It wasn't bad, just, very, very spiced.

The pumpkin was still creamy though, and the consistency was good.

Mediocre slightly cardboard like crust. ***.

Update Review (2018): I had it again the next year, and again wasn't quite sure how I felt about it.  The texture, the creaminess, those were perfect.  But it was a bit more spiced than I wanted, really, I think I was just over "pumpkin spice" at the time. ***-.

Pumpkin Pie (2019).

Another year, another pumpkin pie.  I again just was not into it as much as the other pie options.  Again, too spiced.  And this one seemed a bit over cooked, a firmer texture. **+.

Sweet Potato.

"Made with only our finest ingredients, Sara Lee Sweet Potato Pie features a light and flaky crust filled with tender sweet potatoes and a blend of nutmeg and cinammon."

The sweet potato is a lighter color than the pumpkin, but similar good creamy consistency.  Very mildly spiced compared to the pumpkin, with a slightly different set of spices.

The sweet potato was a more mild flavor in general too, more like, well, mashed sweet potatoes than squash.

At room temperature, I didn't really care for this that much (cold sweet potatoes is just ... strange), but once I warmed it up, it was a satisfying, slightly savory (but still quite sweet), not so decadent, treat.  Like pumpkin pie, it took whipped cream well.

I thought it was fine, but I think I preferred the pumpkin. ***.

Southern Pecan.

"Made with only our finest ingredients, Sara Lee Southern Pecan Pie features a delicious flaky crust filled with Southern-style rich filling and loaded with crunchy, toasted pecans." -- Sara Lee Retail

And then ... pecan.

I loved the pecan pie.  Pecan is usually one of my favorite pies, and this was exactly the style of pecan pie I like - super sweet, loaded with gooey filling, topped with full pecan halves.  Did I mention, crazy sweet?

It is all about the corn syrup sometimes, and this one delivers in that department.

It is also a pie that *needs* whipped cream or ice cream.  You have to balance the sweet with something, so, sorry, this pie, notorious for being one of the highest calorie pies you can eat, needs more.  It is glorious warm with vanilla ice cream melting in to it.

If you prefer your pecan pie room temp/chilled, or just don't want to take the time to warm it, it also works that way fine too, but in that case, I always pick whipped cream, as for me, it is all about the hot and cold combo with my pie and ice cream.  But that is just my way.  You do you. ****.

Southern Pecan (2019)

I've had this several more times, and all times enjoyed, but do always find it quite sweet, and needing ice cream or whipped cream to pair with it.  Warm with ice cream is definitely my favorite way.  ****.

Pecan (November 2020).

"A tender golden flaky crust is filled with naturally sweet filling, topped wall-to-wall with delicious pecan halves." -- Chef Pierre

Um.  Um.  This is *not* a slice of pie!!!  This is a nibble.  I know pecan pie is high calorie, and people like to take small slices, but, um ... nibble!  A nibble!  (I purchased this from a store, not my slicing job).

Anyway.  Again, a decent enough pecan pie, classic, gooey and sweet.  The crust was a little bit over cooked, and it is the hard style, I still liked it. 

There is nothing remarkable about this pie, but pretty solid standard execution. I will gladly eat more of it.

***+.

Pecan (December 2020).

Luckily, the next time I got a slice, from the same place, it was a proper size.

I again really did enjoy it.  Sweet, definitely needs some whipped cream alongside, but, I really truly enjoy it.  The filling is soft, classic pecan pie filling, gooey and sweet, and the crust, not remarkable, not flaky, but somehow I do kinda like it sometimes.

Enjoyable, but, you need the whip, and need to take it slow.  Side note: also goes great with red wine!

***+.

Cream Pies

"Whether it is ready-to-serve or thaw and serve, it doesn’t get any easier than Sara Lee® Crème Pies. Enjoy these favorites, perfect for any season!"

For creme pies, Sara Lee makes banana, chocolate, coconut, key lime, lemon meringue, and "turtle" with caramel and pecans.  I can't help but laugh at the crème vs cream distinction.  No simple banana cream pie here, nope, these are banana crème pies!  The crème pies are made to be served either frozen or thawed in the fridge before serving.  They are basically pudding pies, e.g. no real banana slices in the banana cream, and all have whipped cream on top.

Chef Pierre on the other hand is where the fun begins.  And I really do mean that.  This line up actually seems entirely different, even where there is overlap (e.g. banana cream), the topping style is different.  The offer banana, lemon, coconut, strawberry, and chocolate, all under the "Classic" style.  And some meringue versions (lemon, chocolate, coconut, key lime), and some no sugar added.  But it is the layered pies that caught my eye as more interesting, with a chocolate cream layer pie with 3 different chocolate layers and a cookie crust, or, um, the chocolate mint cream with chocolate cookie crust, chocolate layer, mint layer, and cream layer ... or the Gourmet Silk chocolate peanut butter ...

Then there is the lofter, fluffier, "Crème de la Cream" line, again with banana, chocolate, and coconut varieties (but now actually featuring more actual banana, etc), plus some stunners - like the cookies & cream or Fruit de la Cream Strawberries & Cream.  

From both brands, all are thaw and serve.

I haven't tried any of the Sara Lee offerings, but, omg, the Chef Pierre ones are extraordinary.

Fruit de la Cream Strawberries & Cream.

"We start with a graham crust, a decadent layer of strawberry cream with real strawberry chunk, finished with real dairy whipped cream."

One bite and I was sold on Chef Pierre cream pies.  

This is good.  Really good.

Crumbly sweet crust.  It didn't hold together but who cares.  Fruity creamy strawberry pudding with real bits of strawberry throughout.  Ridiculous sweet fluffy whipped cream.  Looked homemade even.

I liked this.  Really liked it.  Needed no embellishment.  Just, great as it was.

****.

Chocolate Mint Cream.

"We start with a chocolate cookie crust piled with chocolate and mint fillings, finished with chocolate whipped cream and topped with chocolate shavings."

I saved the best for last.

This was good.  Very good.

Crumbly chocolate crust, thick chocolate pudding, mint pudding, fluffy milk chocolate whipped cream, shards of chocolate.

The chocolate crust was mostly like crushed Oreo-like, not what I go for normally, but it went well in this context.  I liked to mix it in with the creamy layers for some texture.

The chocolate pudding layer was quite thin, which is a bit unfortunate, as I wanted more chocolate (although there were plenty of other chocolate components too obviously).  It was thick and chocolately, rich pudding, and I liked it quite a bit.

The mint layer was the standout, really great mint flavor, thick pudding style, and even though dominated by so many chocolate layers, this one actually really did come through.  I adored the minty flavor.  A shame this layer too was fairly thin, but also didn't extend as far back.  But so good.

And finally, the fluffy chocolate whipped cream, super sweet, but it it was sooo light and really completed the whole thing.  As did the chocolate shards.

This pie really just came together beautifully. It reminded me of dirt cake in many ways, but just so much better, and I loved the mint aspect.

Summary? So freaking good.  Minty, chocolately, delicious.  Best super chilled.

****+.

Cobbler

Chef Pierre also offers cobblers and dumplings, for a break from pies.  Cobblers come in a large assortment (apple, blackberry, blueberry, peach, cherry, strawberry), while dumplings only come in apple form.

The pies were glorious.  But the cobbler on the other hand ... not so much.  Although to be fair, the peach pie was my least favorite too, and the only kind of cobbler I tried.

Peach Cobbler.

"Ripe sweet peaches in a rich slurry, sit below a tender flaky pie crust layer, giving this cobbler a sweet homemade appeal."

This was pretty meh. 

Much like the pie, the peaches were kind of seemed like from a can, and the topping didn't have much flavor to it.

I didn't hate it, but it certainly wasn't very good.  Shockingly, it was even worse warm.

**+

Peach Cobbler: The Peaches.

Here you can see the peaches, and way too much cobble.

Meh I say.

Breakfast Baked Goods

Then there are the breakfast baked goods, including muffins, cinnamon rolls, and danishes.

Muffins

The muffins are all distributed under the "Chef Pierre" brand.   Muffins are available in a smaller 2 ounce size or larger 4 ounce full size, individually wrapped or not.  All are fully baked, just ready to thaw-n-serve.  They make all the classic flavors: blueberry, banana, banana nut, bran, carrot nut, lemon poppyseed, corn, apple cinnamon, along with fun ones like chocolate chip, double chocolate, cheese streusel, cinnamon pecan, and cookie dough.  Some in streusel topped varieties, others with whole wheat base options.  There are about 40 options total.  I've tried an assortment.  I'd gladly try more (like the carrot nut, cheese streusel, and cookie dough!)

Assorted Muffins.

These muffins are a staple of foodservice vendors, I've frequently seen them at hotels, cafes, and gas stations.  Honestly, they aren't bad.

Apple Cinnamon, Large 4 Ounce.

"Few things in life are more tempting than a soft, fresh-baked muffin. Our apple cinnamon muffin is filled with the perfect amount of delicious Michigan Rome apples topped with crumbly butter oat streusel for a sweet crunchy taste."

When I took this one, it came individually wrapped by the hotel in plastic wrap, so I was not sure what kind it was.  I expected something like banana nut, but it turned out to be ...  apple cinnamon, with a slight streusel top.

It was a decent enough muffin, quite moist.  I love a fresh baked muffin with a crispy top, and this had a soft, slightly mushy top instead, but it worked for the style.

The top obviously was um, *not* generously coated in streusel, just a slight scattering of oats and a few flecks of crumb.

Inside however is where it got interesting.

Apple Cinnamon: Inside.

Yes, inside I found that it actually was two types of muffin dough, swirled together.  Both seemed to be the same flavor, but I think the dark one was supposed to be cinnamon.  The cinnamon flavor was not very strong.

And the apple?  Instead of just little chunks throughout, it was actually *filled* with apple pie goo!  Sometimes a goo/filling like this can be extremely generic and off-putting, but this was actually quite good.  Soft but not mushy apple, well spiced.  I kinda liked just eating it with a spoon with some whipped cream.

Overall, a better than average muffin, and I liked it best warm, with butter.  ***+.

Banana Nut. 4 Ounce.

"Made with real bananas for a moist treat, topped with crunchy walnuts."

The banana nut muffin was ... well, a banana nut muffin.  Better than average hotel buffet?  It was quite moist.  Good banana flavor, present but not overwhelming.  Tasted like real banana.  Sweet but not too sweet.  Nothing tasted fake nor too processed.  Slight crunch from some nuts (pecans and walnuts), although I'd like more.

Was it a fresh made muffin?  Nah.  But it really was a petty good version of a classic, and I think anyone would be convinced it was baked on-site, that is, if they didn't have them sitting out in the wrappers like this.  ***+.

I noted that it didn't taste processed, but, reality is, these *are* mass produced highly processed muffins.  Vegetable oil, high fructose corn syrup, all sorts of gums and ingredients I can't make sense of *do* abound, at least in small quantities.  That said, it is certainly no worse for you than a baked good from any chain coffee shop or bakery (e.g. Starbucks, Panera), lower calorie and about half the fat.

Bran Muffin.  4 Ounce.

"A moist bran muffin base, sprinkled with natural oats for a made-from-scratch appearance."

And next, bran.  This really did look sorta homemade, with the oats strewn about the top.  

It was a reasonably average bran muffin.  No surprises like raisins, no particular depth of flavor from molasses, but, a solid, reasonable, muffin.  ***+.

[ No Photo ]

Small Muffin Blueberry. 2 Ounce.

"Sweet, juicy wild blueberries packed inside each muffin, providing intense flavor and superior moistness."

The blueberry muffin I somehow failed to get a photo of, but it was one of the mini size, and came streusel topped.  Before I found out about the other individually wrapped ones, I actually *did* believe it was baked in house at the hotel I was staying at, so, good on ya, Chef Pierre!

It too was a fine muffin.  Moist.  Juicy little berries.  I liked the bit of streusel on top, although there wasn't much.  I liked to dunk this one in sugar, how I always had my blueberry muffins as a child for some reason.

A decent muffin. ***+.

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Dominique Ansel Workshop

Update Review, August 2025 Visit

For the Workshop location's 4th anniversary, they celebrated by bringing back 6 fan favorites for one weekend only.  Of course I was interested in this, because, exclusive! And likely to be great, after all, fan favorites don't happen by chance ... right?

I'll admit that I was slightly let down by my order.  Don't get me wrong, it was good, but it wasn't exceptional, and in particular, the *pastry*, the part I expected to shine, was the let down (particularly compared to Petit Chou, which I had a few days prior).  I did still enjoy my order, but, didn't feel quite the charm I have in the past.

Mango & Rice Pudding Danish. $10.50.

"Fresh-sliced mangos, vanilla bean riz au lait (rice pudding), lime almond cream, laminated brioche, lime zest."

I couldn't resist the mango and rice pudding danish, even though my brain was a little confused about rice pudding inside of a danish.

It was good, but not exceptional. The pastry is actually the part that let me down which was a real surprise. It did have incredible buttery flavor, and was well laminated, but it was soft, almost spongy, as if not fresh or if it had been refrigerated. No flaky qualities to it. The depth of flavor in the butter was fantastic, but it did let me down overall.  Pastry: 2/5 if that in terms of texture, 4/5 flavor.

Mango & Rice Pudding Danish: Cross Section.

However, the fillings were amazing. 

The mango in particular was perfectly ripe and juicy, honestly better than any mango I've had in the US in years. It instantly transported me to Southeast Asia. And obviously it was beautifully arranged on top.  This alone was a showstopper.  I'm still thinking about that mango two weeks later.

The rice pudding was good, thick and rich.  The rice was well cooked, not too mushy, not too al dente.  The lime almond cream had an amazing brightness to it from the zest, but I did find it a bit weird texturally to have the rice pudding, and the thick almond paste, and the danish itself all together.

Fillings, 4/5, maybe just 3.5/5.

So overall, lackluster pastry, tasty fillings that I would have rather had in just some other application.

Original Review, August 2024

One of my first visits to New York, I visited Domnique Ansel Kitchen on my last day, not to try the oh-so-famous cronut, but rather, the DKA.  I was going through a kouign amann discovery phase at the time, and *needed* to try that famous version.  I enjoyed it, and the rest of the lineup looked great, but it never made it back to the top of my list during subsequent trips to NY.

Then, I spent 5 weeks in New York in the summer of 2023, and even with that longer stay, somehow visiting any of the locations (the bakery, the workshop) just never reached the top of my list.  So when I returned in October, I was determined to give it another shot.  This time, I visited the "Workshop".  It was so great I returned again in August 2024 when I spent another month in NY.

"Our newest shop is a celebration of croissants,  located right inside of our pastry production kitchens here in Flatiron, NYC, just a block up from Madison Square Park. Stop in for a taste of all different types of croissants and breakfast viennoiserie, stroll to the park, and enjoy!"

The Workshop really is that - it is their massive baking facility, with just a tiny little side area for those who want to stop by in person.  The menu is entirely different from the other locations (besides croissants and cookies), and they do NOT carry the cronut.  They offer a few savory items as well, but I focused on sweet.  

I really enjoyed my goodies, and several were particularly mind blowing.  Next time I'm in New York, I *will* return!

Pain au Chocolate. $7.70.

"Double chocolate croissant with three batons of chocolate."

I like chocolate.  I like croissants.  And yet chocolate croissants / pain au chocolate are rarely what I gravitate towards.  But I was drawn in by this as it wasn't a standard offering with chocolate only inside, but rather, chocolate in the dough as well (but it did have three big batons of chocolate within as well).

The pastry was exceptional, as expected.  Ridiculously flaky exterior that shattered in a beautifully messy way.  It did have a bit of chocolate flavor to it, but it wasn't dramatic.  The chocolate batons within were deep and dark, clearly high quality chocolate, definitely where the majority of the chocolate aspect came from.  The bakery likes to point out that they throw in an additional baton instead of the usual 2.

This still wouldn't be my top choice of croissant flavor, but, it was a high quality, textbook execution, of a pain au chocolate with a touch of extra chocolate.  3.5/5. 

Almond Croissant. $7.25.

"with extra homemade almond frangipane, crunchy toasted almonds, and confectioners sugar."

Oh, wow.  Um.  Wow.  This was truly fabulous.  I don't think I've had a better almond croissant, anywhere.  

Where to start ... it was stuffed full of very flavorful frangipane, that almost tasted like it had a boozy aspect to it, in a good way.  Plenty of it.  A+ filling.

And the pastry itself, top notch, well laminated, crispy, buttery, flaky, yadda yadda.  

And then, what pushed it far above and beyond other very good almond croissants: the topping.  It was absolutely coated in the slivered almonds, that had a deep toasty flavor, phenomenal crunch, and lots of caramelization.  Exceptional.

There is nothing that I'd change about this.  Flawless.  Perfect 5/5.

Croissants. $5.50 Classic / $6 Olive Oil.

"Classic Croissant made with Beurre d’Isigny French butter and Les Grands Moulins des Paris flour."

"Olive Oil Croissant made with cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and a hint of rosemary, confit garlic, and coarse sea salt."

I think the larger ones here are the regular classic croissants, and the thinner the olive oil?

I tried a hunk of the olive oil croissant, mostly out of complete curiosity.  It really was interesting!  It was an excellent croissant, but, far more savory.  My brain somewhat tasted focaccia, with the oil/rosemary/salt (I didn't detect the garlic), but ... it was a croissant.  I think this would make a totally incredible breakfast sandwich (which, I realized after I wrote this, they do offer).  3.5/5.

Brown Sugar DKA. $6.50.

“Dominique’s Kouign Amann”: similar to a caramelized croissant, with tender flaky layers

inside and a caramelized crunchy crust outside. Our best-seller!!"

"Best described as a “caramelized croissant,” our classic DKA (short for “Dominique’s Kouign Amann”) is a Breton pastry that features a crispy, caramelized crust on the outside with a flaky and tender crumb within, and a bit of gooeyness in the center. It's no wonder these flaky golden pastries are our #1 best-seller here at the Bakery! "

And of course, I had to get a DKA.  I had this once before, my first ever visit to any Dominique Ansel location (Dominique Ansel Kitchen), and did find it to be one of the best kouign amann's I'd ever had.

It remains exceptionally well done.  Everything you want in a kouign amann: very crispy caramelized exterior, flaky layers, SOOO much butter and sugar flavor.  And their kinda signature touch of a slightly gooey caramel center.  

Sugar. Butter.  Crispness.  Decadence.  Yup.  4.5/5.

Chocolate Caramelia Triangle. $7.50.
(2023).

"Filled with silky Valrhona Caramelia (caramelized milk chocolate) pastry cream."

My first selection of more interesting items was inspired by the memory of a couple different cream filled flaky pastries I had during my stay in New York in August: the insanely delicious lobster tail from  Mia's Bakery in Brooklyn, and the chocolate cream version from Veniero's.  I was craving quality flaky pastry and delicious cream filling.

When I picked this up, I was shocked.  First, it was considerably bigger than I was expecting.  Much like most lobster tail pastries, it was a monster compared to the size of a standard danish or croissant.  But even though it was physically large, the weight still surprised me.  This thing was hefty.  Seriously, it weighed a ton.

The pastry was fairly standard laminated dough, like you'd get with any filled croissant.  Reasonably buttery, reasonably flaky, definitely not stale.  Not particularly great, but certainly better than an average bakery.  It had a few lines of a darker color through it, that might have been chocolate, but I didn't taste a difference in that area.  The pastry was a couple layers thick. 3.5/5.  (Don't mind the slight caramel glaze on top here, that actually came from my second item, that was packaged in the same bag as it).

Chocolate Caramelia Triangle: Inside.

Inside is where it got interesting.  It was absolutely loaded with the pastry cream.  This is where all the weight came from.  Light fluffy chocolate whipped cream this was not.  It was very thick custard style cream, with intense caramelia flavor.  If you are unfamiliar, caramelia is one of Valrhona's signature milk chocolates (36%), that has remarkably strong buttery caramel tones (it does have butter in it, after all).  This tasted like if you melted down a caramello bar (or any other sweet buttery caramel filled bar of your choice) and then made it into rich pastry cream.  Intense, intense, intense.  The pastry helped cut it a bit, but, wow, this was quite rich, and a little went a long way.  3.5/5.

If you are a caramel and chocolate lover, this is definitely worth a try.  I enjoyed it, but found it too heavy and rich to eat more than 1/3, maybe 1/2 of in one sitting, so I recommend sharing with someone.  I had the second half later with vanilla ice cream, which was a nice pairing, and helped cut the richness a bit.  

Sea Salt Hazelnut Praliné Flan. $7.75.
(2023).

"A French-style flan with hazelnut pastry cream baked in a laminated brioche nest, hazelnut praliné, and Maldon sea salt."

Next up, the incredibly fascinating flan pastry.  Yes, this was a laminated brioche "nest" (basically, a croissant shell), filled with thick rich flan, topped with hazelnut pastry cream, topped with hazelnut praliné (which, was basically like hazelnut butter), and some hazelnut pieces.  If I thought the previous item was rich, this was another notch.  It was also incredible.

The pastry itself was remarkable.  Much like the triangle pastry, it was well laminated, had beautiful layers, was reasonably crisp, but not particularly decadent, no noteworthy flavor.  Better than average, but not amazing.  3.5/5.

The pastry nest was very well formed, and thicker than the triangle pastry, as was needed to hold the marvelous contents.

Sea Salt Hazelnut Praliné Flan: Cross Section.

And here you can see those contents.

Filling the cup was the flan.  Well set, thick, rich, good flan.  Not too sweet,  This alone would be a good flan.  4/5.  Together, the laminated nest and the flan filling sorta gave off the vibes of a Chinese egg custard tart or Portuguese pastel de nata, but, with a French spin.

But then ... the hazelnut praliné.  OMG.  It was one of the tastiest things I've had in a while, and, I say that eating lots of tasty things regularly.  It was sweet.  It was nutty.  It was gritty.  It was salty.  It was like the best cookie butter, but, amplified.  Truly, I think it is ground candied hazelnuts.  They should sell this by the jar.  I'd spread it on anything, including, my finger, direct in the jar.  This was bonkers good.  Perfectly ooey gooey too.  5/5.  Flawless.

Add in some hazelnut halves for even more crunch, and more hazelnut flavor, and, well, this was just a truly wonderful treat to eat.  Every component could easily be enjoyed on its own - quality pastry, rich thick flan, insane-o hazelnut praliné.  But put it all together?  And it totally worked.

Glorious.  I'd get another with no hesitation.  4/5.

Strawberries & Cream Pistachio Roll. $10.
(2024).

"Fresh strawberry compote, vanilla Chantilly, pistachio ganache, laminated brioche."

Oh, man.  Another one that may look the size of a normal filled croissant in this photo, but I assure you, it was not.  It was really quite large, easily splittable by 2-3 people.  The super-size of the pastries from the Workshop always surprises me, but it does make the now $10 price more reasonable.  

Anyway, what we had here was a laminated brioche, with bi-color layers of strawberry and regular pastry, with an attractive pattern on top, accented by strawberry white chocolate paint.  The ends were dunked in more of the white chocolate and covered in pistachio bits.

The pastry was good, clearly fresh, crispy.  It reminded me of croissant pastry, but a bit crispier, less big pockets of air, and a bit more rich.  You could really taste the butter, in a good way.  I guess, now I know what "laminated brioche" really is.  It was a good vehicle for what was to come.  4/5 pastry.

Strawberries & Cream Pistachio Roll: Chantilly.

I cut into it to reveal the fillings.  At first I was confused: why did I see only the white vanilla chantilly?  Where was the pistachio ganache? The fresh strawberry compote?  It turned out, the end with the pistachios decorating it was also filled about 1/4 of the way with pistachio ganache, and the strawberry compote was primarily concentrated in the top half as well.  So, don't just cut in half and hand one half off to a friend (unless you slice the other way or want one of you to not get all the great fillings).

The vanilla chantilly was pretty incredible.  I've never had such a light, fluffy cream in my life. It tasted so purely of cream, like, intense cream flavor, but, fluffy.  Remarkable.  4.5/5 cream.  Like something you'd get in Japan.

My slight complaint is that there really was not much of the strawberry compote, there was some in the folds of the pastry as you can see here, but that was about it.  It was sweet, fruity, light, and really went well with everything else, but I wanted more of it.  

Strawberry & Pistachio Roll: Pistachio Ganache.

And finally, the pistachio ganache, from the end with the pistachio bits on it.  It was thicker than the chantilly, a pretty light green color.  It was very rich, and mildly sweet, in a white chocolate sweet way.  I actually thought it didn't taste all that strongly of pistachio, but it was enjoyable anyway.  ***, because it didn't quite deliver in the pistachio department.  The pistachio bits on the end certainly did, and they also added nice crunch.

I did find the choice of concentrating the ganache on the end less than ideal.  It made those bites really almost too rich.  I liked the ganache, don't get me wrong, but I wanted more of the lighter cream to cut it, particularly given the richness of the laminated brioche.

If I sound critical, that is only because this is at the top echelon of baking perfection.  It was a very, very, very good pastry.  Most bakeries only dream of achieving this level of quality.  The pastry, the fillings, everything was truly textbook, which I mean in a perfection sense, not boring.  Overall, 4/5, and I'd certainly get it again, and can't wait to try more of their offerings.

Caramelia Feuilletine Clusters. $18.
(2023).

"These deliciously decadent clusters are made crunchy wafer crisps covered in rich Valrhona Caramelia (caramelized milk chocolate). Bet you can’t eat just one!"

And finally, since I was getting delivery one time, and couldn't resist just adding on one more item to take home with me, the caramelia feuilletine clusters, which feature one of my favorite things: feuilletine.  Take feuilletine and cover it in quality milk chocolate, and make it even more snackable by forming clusters?  Um, yes.

These were pretty much exactly the sum of their parts.  Feuilletine, super crispy, formed into clusters, smothered in very rich creamy Caramelia chocolate (the same used in the triangle pastry).  Crunchy, chocolatey, caramely, rich.  Very tasty, but I found that one cluster was enough at at ime.  I liked to pair with coffee, or top with whipped cream, to balance out a bit.

Very enjoyable, but I don't think I'd get another batch.  3.5/5.

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Crumbl Cookies

Update Review, August 2025 Visit

My second ever visit to Crumbl.  We don't have a location in SF surprisingly, so I've only ever visited while traveling.  Even my hometown in NH has one now, so I find it a bit puzzling that they haven't opened any in SF yet ... but anyway, on to the review!

Display Cookies.

The week I visited, Crumbl had a fairly boring (to me) lineup of 7 primary cookies, along with one trendy Dubai Chocolate Brownie, plus the minis.  From the 7, two of the cookies featured Oreos (one golden, one regular) and I dislike Oreos, so those were out.  One was just the basic chocolate chip, which is just boring.  The Kit Kat, S'mores, and chocolate peanut butter just really didn't call out to me.  I was striking out.  But the final one, strawberry pretzel pie, was at least vaguely interesting.  Still, not a week that excited me, but I still picked up a cookie.

As always, the cookies were showcased in a display when you enter.

Strawberry Pretzel Pie Cookie.
(Chilled). $5.29.

"A buttery pie-inspired cookie rolled in pretzel pieces, adorned with whipped cream cheese topping, house-made strawberry jam, and more crunchy pretzel pieces."

My choice was easy, the only interesting (to me) one: strawberry pretzel pie.  Inspired by strawberry pretzel salad/pie, if you are familiar with that sorta retro Southern 1960s dessert with strawberry Jello, Cool Whip, and cream cheese, usually on a pretzel crust base as a bar, or made into a pie crust shell.  The Crumbl spin on it of course was a cookie.  This is one of the chilled offerings.

It was assembled to order, with the whipped cream cheese topping, jam, and pretzel garnish added to order.  It was presented to me for my approval, and handed over.  I immediately plucked off the pretzel from the top, dragged it through the jam and whipped topping, and plopped it into my mouth.

I was let down but also quite happy, all at once.  Let down because the pretzel was soft, soggy, kinda stale ... even though assembled to order and consumed literally on the spot.  This confused me.  Clearly the pretzels in the assembly station weren't exactly the freshest.  So, -1 point for the "more crunchy pretzel pieces" being well, not that.

But the jam!  Oh the jam.  The jam was incredible.  It looked a bit ho-hum, and I know people really like it and that it is house-made, and, yeah, it is rave worthy.  Intensely fruity, concentrated berry flavor.  It was far from generic strawberry jam you'd find at a diner.  They make it in-house at the individual stores.  Excellent jam, although it was very sweet.  4/5.

Then, the whipped topping.  This sorta reminded me of slightly cream cheese-y Cool Whip.  Far lighter and more like a mousse than cheesecake, but with some of those flavors in there.  It went great with the jam, just like it would go great with the strawberry jello in the classic pretzel pie, but it too was really fairly sweet, particularly alongside the jam, I found myself wanting it to have the sweetness toned down a bit, and the cheesiness amped up.  Probably 4/5 for that too, isolated, but maybe 3.5 in this application due to sweetness. (Oh, wow, I looked up the ingredients, and yes, it actually *is* Cool Whip and cream cheese, lol).

And then of course, there is the fact that this is a cookie after all.  The cookie base was quite interesting.  A thick, soft cookie.  Buttery, sweet but not too sweet, sorta like a softer shortbread almost with the high buttery flavor.  But also it was studded with candied pretzel pieces, so many pretzel pieces, baked inside and then it was rolled in them.  They added a lot of texture, flavor, and salt.  It was a fairly decadent tasting base cookie. 3.5/5 base.

Put it all together, and you have sweet, fruity, creamy, salty, yep, yep, yep.  But it still trended too sweet for me overall, fine in small pieces, or with black coffee or red wine, but hard to really devour on its own (not that you should necessary try to take this down in one sitting anyway. T his is actually one of their more modest desserts, only 620 calories (the rest of the lineup was more in the 800 range, or even over 1000 for the Dubai chocolate brownie), but still, an undertaking (it is also available in mini form).

I enjoyed trying this, but I wouldn't get it again. High 3.5/5.

Original Review, January 2024

I spent many years not really being into cookies, mostly considering them a snack, and not worthy of a full fledged dessert slot.  Sure, a cookie could be an element of a dessert, but you'd never find me eating just a cookie and calling that dessert.

Sometime during the covid lockdown, I got a bit more, let's say, adaptable, and settled on eating cookies more.  Yes, I did still normally warm them up and serve them with ice cream sandwiched in-between, or I'd dunk into whipped cream and sprinkles, but, I finally started eating more cookies, and even, gasp, craving them from time to time.

This past summer, when I was in New York for my birthday, I of course did my annual birthday freebie crawl, and was delighted to have so many more venues to hit up.  One of those was Crumbl, a fairly popular nationwide cookie chain, that somehow doesn't have a location in SF.

Crumbl is a relatively new chain, started only in 2017.  They have more than 800 stores in the US now, and some internationally.  Rapid expansion, for sure.

They started out with serving literally just chocolate chip cookies, but quickly expanded the menu too.  The concept now is actually fairly unique, with 6 cookies offered every week, the same 6 at every Crumbl location, and they change weekly on Mondays.  Seasonal offerings abound.  This gives a consistent experience across locations, but, a constant sense of missing out and thus needing to visit, stat.   They have a decent loyalty program, and, yes, a free cookie on your birthday.  I'll gladly return, and wish they'd open in SF.

Daily Offerings.

Every week features a new rotation of 5 cookies (I think chocolate chip is always offered), which run Mon-Sat (they are closed on Sun, nationwide), and every store can do a "mystery cookie" of their choice, which changes throughout the week.  The lineup includes a mix of both warm and chilled cookies.  They are all quite large, bigger than average cookies (I later looked it up, and saw the serving size is 1/4 of a cookie ... doh).  They do also make some mini (e.g. normal size) cookies.

The week I visited, the lineup was: semi-sweet chocolate chunk (warm), caramel pumpkin cake (warm), chocolate peanut butter ft. Oreo (warm), key lime pie (chilled), chocolate toffee cake (warm), and the mystery flavor was another chocolate one (also warm).

Box.

Cookies are prepared to order, so, warm ones are warmed up, and *then* toppings are applied as needed (which makes sense, as the toppings would melt as the cookies are warmed, and most have some kind of frosting/whipped cream/etc on top).

Since mine was a chilled cookie, I didn't realize it too would be prepared to order, but it was filled and topped to order, and then put in a box, perfectly sized to fit the (very large) cookie.  Again, these are not normal size cookies.

Key Lime Pie.

"Our refreshing classic key lime pie rendition includes a chilled buttered graham crust, zesty lime filling, whipped cream, graham cracker crumbs, and a fresh lime wedge to squeeze on top."

If you read my blog much, you'll realize what an odd order this is for me.  I don't tend to like citrus based desserts.  But ...  I didn't want something with chocolate (as it was evening and I avoid caffeine), so, that left with me with the choice of the pumpkin cake one, or this.  As it was just barely the start of September, and 95* out (!!!), I certainly was not ready to delve into pumpkin spice themes, I was in full on summer mode still.  Thus, key lime pie it was.

I was very pleased with this "cookie".  Calling it a cookie is a bit odd, but, I guess, at the heart, the base *is* a cookie.  It was a fascinating graham cookie, not anything like a graham cracker, more, well, like a sweet sugar cookie, perfectly soft and sweet, but ... it tasted exactly like graham cracker.  Also not like a graham crust you'd find in a normal key lime pie either, it was not crumbly and dusty like that.  Really unique and interesting.  Far better than any graham cracker I've ever had, or any graham cracker crust, which I generally really do not care for.  Very thick, yet so soft.  **** cookie base.

And then, the key lime filling.  This was a little bit more runny than what you'd find in a well set key lime pie, but, it was smooth, creamy, tangy, lightly sweet.  Not a curd, which I appreciated, as I don't tend to like citrus curds.  Nice lime flavor.  Also quite good.  ****.

The little dot of whipped cream, the sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs, and the half a thin slice of lime really elevated the presentation dramatically, even if they were fairly easily lost in the end creation.

Overall, soft, sweet, tangy, unique, and definitely one of the most interesting cookies I've had in a long time.  I'd get it again, but now really want to try more of their offerings!  **** overall.

I was a bit thrown off by the fact that the sign said "180 calories" for the cookie ... that just didn't make sense, given the size, and decadent taste and fillings.  When I looked in more detail on the website, I found the reason why: the serving size is 1/4 of a cookie.  Aha.  If I was to eat the whole cookie, it clocks in at 720 calories!  Which definitely makes more sense, but also is far more than I expected.

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Atlas Protein Bars

Another day, another protein bar review?  Yep.  Bars are something I keep stocked in my pantry, and in my bag, pretty much all the time.   I'm frequently on the go, so I utilize them when I need a mid-afternoon snack, and for some styles of bars, I also enjoy them with my breakfast (I like to dunk them in yogurt and top with fruit and cocoa nibs ...).  I'm always trying new brands of bars of all styles, which led me to Atlas Bars.

"There's nothing special about Atlas Bars. They're made with ingredients so simple you could make them at home."

The marketing for the brand is about how simple they are: real, clean ingredients, no seed oils, no artificial sweeteners, no additives.  The bars boast 15-20g of protein each, mostly due to a combo of whey and milk protein isolates (and to a lesser extend, nuts).  I'm not really sure I consider whey protein isolate an ingredient I'd have at home, but I understand their point.  All are gluten-free, but not vegan.  They come in only 4 flavors: almond or peanut butter chocolate chip, dark chocolate almond, and salted peanut butter.  One size, one format, no other adjacent styles of product.

As my body doesn't generally tolerate whey protein isolates, I had to start small to make sure I wouldn't have a reaction to the bar - but also, the moment I opened it and it had that classic old school protein bar look (you know what I mean, the ones that look like they'll be dry and chalky and taste awful), I assumed this would not be a problem.  I only tried one flavor, but it was far better than I anticipated.

Almond Chocolate Chip.

This looked like a protein bar.  No masking it, no adding a chocolate coating, no adding oats/nuts/seeds to make it interesting ... nope, it was a smooth, dense, chalky protein bar.  I assumed I'd take a nibble, and ditch it.

But ... it really wasn't bad.  Now, it wasn't good exactly, but it reminded me of a cookie dough flavor, a real surprise given that they didn't market it that way at all, and rather, called this "almond chocolate chip".  It did have chocolate chips, large size actually, melty, decent quality, and reasonably well distributed.  The almond I didn't notice nor taste at all.  I expected chunks of almond, but there were none, it was all almond butter mixed with the isolates.  Although sweetened with monk fruit, it didn't have a strange aftertaste or sweetness to it.

So, yeah, it was a dense, soft, old school protein bar texture, but, it reminded me of cookie dough, didn't have strange aftertaste, and had nice chocolate gems.  3/5.

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Pie from Ikeda's California Country Market

Update Review, 2024-2025

Back in 2016 I discovered Ikeda's California Country Market.  Well, not quite true, I had heard about Ikeda's for years, a common stop for folks when they drove to/from Tahoe, but not a stop I'd ever made.  And I still haven't.  Back then, a co-worker treated us to one of Ikeda's apple pies for breakfast one morning, and I declared it perhaps the best apple pie I'd ever had.  I was determined to try more of their pies, but ... I didn't really want to drive all the way to Auburn to do so.  And thus, I ordered online.

Ikeda's ships most of their pies (and muffins, granola, and a few other things) overnight on ice.  Note that this is just on ice (yes, big ice packs, and yes, in foil lined packaging, but NOT with dry ice as some places do, so if you aren't shipping within California, you might not want to get the cream pies for example).  Anyway, over the past few years, I've ordered quite a selection of pies, both fresh and frozen (thaw and serve).

Packaging

Safety First!

The packaging of the pies was honestly a bit excessive.  The individual pie boxes were all inside a bigger shipping box with ice packs.  The pies left Auburn in the evening, and reached me by the next night.  Strangely, they packaged ones that were supposed to be frozen, and ones that were supposed to be fresh, in the same box, with some ice packs that were fairly soft on arrival.  The frozen pies certainly didn't stay frozen in transit, even for <23 hour shipping time.

And then, inside each individual pie box, was each pie, bubble wrapped and taped up, which took some effort to remove.   

And then plastic wrapped!

... and then, under all the bubble wrap, the pies were plastic wrapped in several layers.  So, wrapped within wrapping in a box within a box.  So. Much. Effort.

The fresh pies stopped at that layer, but the frozen ones had an additional layer under all of that (a bag).

Each layer had its purpose: the plastic wrap to seal it from freezer burn, the bubble wrap from getting bumped around in transit, the box to protect, etc, but, wow, it took a bit of labor to actually reach the pies.

Clear Labeling.

The Ikedas website doesn't really have much information about the pies, no ingredients listed, or even descriptions.  "Tripleberry" is all it says for this one, not revealing what the three berries are.  Same with "razzleberry", no details.  Nor explaining the differences in the French and Dutch apple, just both kinds listed by name.  Luckily, the pies themselves do come nicely labelled with ingredients, so I was able to uncover the answers (although not nutrition info, which is probably for the best!).

Fresh Baked

For delivery, Ikedas has 10 varieties of fresh baked pie available - 2 different apple pie variations (both streusel topped), pecan, and a slew of different berry options (all double crust).  All are 9". Interestingly, their popuular cobbler topped options aren't available fresh, only frozen.  If you visit in person, they have all of these, plus all the of the frozen ones available fresh, and plenty of others that aren't available for delivery at all (e.g. banana cream).

"Pies are pre-baked and can be enjoyed upon delivery up to three days at room temperature! Tip - Preheat Oven to 350F and reheat pie for 15 min to make crust crispy!"

I had a really, really hard time picking one variety of fresh pie.  I love a good blueberry pie.  Or a cherry pie. Or pecan.  And although I don't love blackberry, marionberry, with its smaller seeds, was definitely appealing.  And then there was the "razzleberry" or "tripleberry", and I wasn't quite sure what the different berries in each of these were.  Honestly, the only one not tempting me was the strawberry rhubarb, just due to childhood dislike of rhubarb always "ruining" my mom's homemade strawberry jam.

Tripleberry Pie. $29.99.

I settled on Tripleberry. I wasn't sure what was included in the tripleberry when I picked it, it was mostly an act of indecision.  It turns out, the triple berries are marion berries, raspberries, and blueberries.  This sounded like a good mix to me, so I wasn't unhappy to learn this fact.

Like the apple pie I had from Ikeda's before, this is a double crust pie.  I wasn't impressed with the crust when I had the pie back in 2016, but I was still excited for it this time.  I do love great crust.  Unfortunately, I don't really consider this great crust.  It again just wasn't particularly flaky, wasn't particularly buttery.  It tasted fresh enough, but was just barely a notch about grocery store crust.  It really let me down flavor and texture wise, but it was a well constructed pie, nicely sealed, and sorta looked like maybe a machine did the "crimping"?  So sadly, crust, 2.5/5.  If it matters to you they use vegetable shortening and butter in their crust (and I think a dash of vinegar and egg, as those are the last ingredients in the pie too).

Tripleberry: Cross section.

The filling is where my first Ikedas pie shined.  I was eager for the filling of this too.  I tried it both room temperature, and warmed in a 350* oven, as instructed.  The filling was ... ok.  It was fairly thick.  Nice mix of berries.  It was however really a sweet pie.  I appreciated that they didn't add any odd spicing, no citrus, but it was really too sweet to eat without equal parts ice cream and whipped cream.   The warm filling, with big scoop of vanilla ice cream (or even tart frozen yogurt), was slightly enjoyable, but, really, just too sweet for me.  Good consistency, too much added sugar for my tastes. 3/5 filling.

Overall, this pie let me down.  Yes, it was better than a generic grocery store pie, but certainly not rave worthy, and not what I expected given the accolades Ikedas gets.  I certainly finished my portion (sans some of the lackluster crust, plus extra ice cream), but didn't really want more.  Low 3/5 overall.

Frozen / Thaw & Serve

If you prefer to have your pie shipped frozen, there are three styles of pie available, either "thaw & serve", "thaw in fridge", or "take and bake".  The "thaw in fridge" range is the cream/custard pies, the "thaw & serve" is cobbler/streusel topped, and "take & bake" is the double crust fruit pies that require you to actually bake them.  Clear instructions are provided for each style.  I didn't order any of the take & bake pies, out of laziness.

Fruit Pies - Thaw & Serve

The thaw & serve fruit pies are all cobbler or streusel (in the case of the apple option) topped.  I'm not sure why they don't offer the double crust in a frozen thaw & serve varieties.  The thaw & serve pies just need to be thawed overnight*, and are ready to serve.  They include full instructions in case you want to get more complicated:

"Cobbler has already been pre-baked! All is needed is to thaw on the counter until it reaches room temperature (Approximately Overnight). We do not recommend it but if you must reheat a cobbler (MUST BE FULLY THAWED), carefully remove and save as much topping as possible in a separate container. Reheat cobbler at 350 for 15 min then "re-top" with the saved cobbler. This is to ensure the cobble does not get soft and gooey. Cobblers will last up to three days at room temperature!"

From this category, I was tempted by all the berry options again, but I couldn't resist the cherry cobbler.  I also ordered both apple options, given how good the other style of apple (double crust) I had tried previously was (which they either no longer make, or don't do for delivery?).  I was very curious to see how the "dutch" and "french" versions compared.

* I say they "just need to be thawed", but, really, the, uh, extensive packaging makes it a bit more work than that.  They come bubble wrapped and taped up,  and then plastic wrapped with multiple layers of plastic wrap (like the fresh pies), and then in a bag.  It takes several minutes to reach your bounty, but I'll admit, the packaging is effective, the pies looked relatively unscathed.

French Apple. $27.99.

"White sugar crumb top."

The first one I tried was the French apple.  This one is topped with a white sugar crumb topping (as opposed to the Dutch, which has brown sugar, I soon learned).  The crumble topping was incredibly generous, quite a thick layer, and I loved that there were little balls that broke off - I got to take an early taste test!

The topping was indeed delicious.  Sweet and simple, again no spicing, just flour/sugar/butter, but I really enjoyed it.  Delicious topping.  4.5/5.

French Apple: Cross Section.

The filling too I quite enjoyed.  And again, I think it was the simplicity that worked here.  No additional spicing, not even cinnamon, let alone other warming spices.  Just apples, sugar, food starch inside.  The apples were nice size chunks, no skins left on, lightly al dente, just the right amount of bite.  The filling was sweet but not overly so, and when combined with the sweet topping, it all just worked in harmony.  4.5/5 filling too.

The bottom crust was substantially better than the crust from the fresh triple berry pie, which really surprised me.  It was a light blond style, soft, and flavorful.  3.5/5 crust.

This is a high 4.5/5 overall, and again, one of the best apple pies I've had.  

Even though they say not to warm it, I did warm up some the next day, and served it with vanilla ice cream, and thought it was even more glorious.  Don't get me wrong, it was pretty much perfect room temperature too, but it was fantastic warmed up as well.

Dutch Apple: Wrapped.

Next I went for the Dutch apple, that looked ... totally identical, although it had a clear "D/A" on it, so, I'm assuming they got this right ...

Dutch Apple. $27.99.

"Brown sugar crumb top."

I wish I had saved a piece of the French apple to do a side by side comparison.  Because, truly, these looked, very very similar.  I did expect to see a much darker crumble topping, or taste more of the depth from the brown sugar compared to the white.  I guess it is light brown sugar?  But hey, I loved the French Apple, so this is not a complaint.

The pie tasted much the same as the French apple, as you'd expect.  The apples had a nice to bite them, and I liked the big hunks, no apple goo here.  Mild spicing (not even cinnamon?), no other players like nutmeg that can so easily overwhelm.  I think this is why I like Ikedas apple pies so much, they just allow the apples to shine.  4.5/5 filling.

The crumble top was again good, but perhaps not as magical as I had remembered from the French apple.  I liked how much crumble there was, and the sweetness it added, but it didn't totally blow me away.  The crust was again fine, a blond style, but not otherwise notable.  3.5/5.

So overall, a fantastic apple pie, but I did prefer the French apple (and maybe the double crust?).  Still, the filling alone makes this the best apple pie I know of, and nets it a strong 4/5 overall.

Cherry Cobbler. $27.99.

Next up, the cherry cobbler, which is really crumble.  I'll give them one slight demerit for calling it a cobbler when its really a crumble ...

It did look slightly worse for the wear once I defrosted it, but I wasn't particularly worried.  The cherry cobbler I believe uses the same crumble topping as the French apple (white sugar crumb topped).  It did have less topping than the apple (or maybe so much absorbed the juices it was harder to detect it).

To start, yup, that topping.  ZOMG, love it.  Sweet for sure, but simplicity done well.  Sugar, flour, butter, check!  Another delicious topping, I wish it had more bigger hunks of rubble.  4/5.

Cherry Cobbler: Inside.

Next, the filling.  Again not much besides the cherries in there (and a bit of cornstarch to thicken).  No spicing.  It was however very sweetened.  Borderline cloying sweet really.  I love the sweet crumble top, but that combined with this sweet filling was really overwhelming.   It really required at least equal parts ice cream or whipped cream (or, yogurt if stealing a slice for breakfast!) to pie.  The cherries were super juicy, I liked how much liquid was in it too, even if it made it messy.  If they had just added less sugar, this really would be a fantastic filling.  I have to knock it down a star though, just because, wow, it was sweet.  3/5.

The bottom crust was also fairly "eh".  It was soft and soggy.  Definitely a victim of the "thaw and serve" format, and the very juicy nature of this pie.  2/5 bottom crust.

So, overall, as served, 3/5, but if I did pair it with enough ice cream/whipped cream/frozen yogurt/yogurt I truly did enjoy it, 4/5 that way.

Thaw in Fridge / Cream Pies

Cream pie options are coconut, chocolate, or key lime.  Sadly, their banana cream is not available for delivery, only fresh in their store.

"Thaw in refrigerator over night or until completely defrosted. Pie is now ready to be served! Store in refrigerator. Cream Pies will last up to three days in the refrigerator!"

I love cream pies (although not generally key lime or other citrus), so I got one of each of the others.  These have very easy instructions, just, thaw in fridge overnight.

Dark Chocolate Truffle Cream Pie. $29.99.

Well, this one was a mess when I got it!

It was packaged nicely, in a protective plastic shell, but cream had oozed out all over inside the plastic holder, had crust broken off, and really just looked like a disaster.  I was sure it would still taste great, and I didn't care exactly, but I was planning to serve at an event, and couldn't quite bring myself to attempt to put it on a platter and somehow make it look presentable without an apology to the group.  Luckily, it still tasted good!

Dark Chocolate Truffle Cream Pie: Inside.

The chocolate pudding was the star of the show.  It was extremely thick, extremely rich, and indeed quite chocolately.  Not a bitter chocolate, but not overly sweetened.  It was decadent, and a little went a looooong way.  It made up the majority of the pie.  

The whipped cream on top was rich, tasted fresh, and was just lightly sweetened.  It was absolutely necessary to offset the richness of the chocolate pudding below.  The ratio was right for a normal cream pie, but I almost really needed this to be 50/50 pudding to cream given how rich it was, so I found myself using extra whipped cream in order to finish a slice.

The crust was a pale shortcrust style, not a buttery flaky pastry crust like you'd use with a fruit pie, or a graham or cookie crust as is sometimes used for a cream pie.  I liked it, and it went well with the deep, rich chocolate filling as something a bit more neutral.

Overall, looks aside, this was a very good pie, and I didn't mind using extra whipped cream to round it out.  I think I would prefer to have some dark chocolate shavings or chips, or perhaps some nuts sprinkled on top, but, that's just if I wanted it absolutely perfect, it was quite good as it was.  4/5.

This is the only pie that wasn't $27.99.  I'm not sure why chocolate is more expensive than fresh fruit?  We served 8 people comfortably, with just about 1/4 of the pie left.  It was excellent overall, but, wow, even for me, eating a proper "Parent family slice" would be impossible, so you can definitely get 10+ servings out of this.

Coconut Cream (Thaw in Fridge). $27.99.

Next up, coconut cream. 

Another one that was a total mess when it arrived.  Again, packaged nicely, but just totally a disaster in looks, with broken crust, cream leaking out everywhere, etc.  Again, it still tasted great, but, wow.

Coconut Cream ... uh ...

"Filled with coconut pudding and topped with homemade whipped cream, coconut flakes and placed into our homemade graham cracker crust!"

There aren't really words for this.  I couldn't tell the top from the bottom, the crust was that lost.  It seemed to have a graham cracker crust rather than the blond crust of the dark chocolate truffle one, although it definitely was not a crust at that point, as it was entirely mixed in.

Could I serve this as a pie?  Absolutely not.  But did I just scoop it out into nice clear cups and tell folks I got "coconut cream pie pudding parfaits"?  Yep.  Again, if it tastes good, no problem right?  But, wow.  

Anyway, it really was tasty.  Strong coconut flavor in the pudding, much more of a traditional pudding rather than the thick nature of the chocolate one.  Lots of cream that tasted fresh enough.  Little bits of soggy graham throughout that added some pleasant soft texture.  One guest actually thought that was a cake layer.  It was all sweet, very sweet, but not cloying.  I liked it best with blueberries and chocolate chips added to cut the sweetness a bit.

Overall, tasty to eat, amusing to look at, and I'd get it again.  Low 4/5.

Original Review, 2016

When I first moved to the Bay Area, one early lesson I learned was about rituals different folks have for driving to/from Tahoe in the winter.  And by rituals, I mostly mean coping mechanisms.  For many, the answer seems to be a stop at Ikeda's California Country Market (with locations in Davis and Auburn).

Ikeda's is a "country market"with gourmet food products including all the snacks you may need to survive the journey, plus a bakery, and a restaurant.  While all aspects of the business are well regarded, it is the bakery that people swoon over.  And, in particular the pies.  The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and serves basics like burgers, sandwiches, and shakes.  Plus, the pie.  Oh the pie.

Ikeda's has 17 different pies on the menu, mostly fruit pies (with a pumpkin thrown in there too).   Most of the pies are available with full top crusts or with crumble tops, which they call "cobbler pie" e.g., cherry pie or cherry cobbler pie.  Apple pies get special treatment, with 3 different varieties: regular, dutch, or french (do you know the difference of all of these?)

Ikeda's has been on my radar of places to visit when driving to/from Tahoe for years, but, I haven't actually done that trip in a long time, so somehow I still haven't ever made it, even though for dessert loving me, this was high on my list.  But, this season, one of my co-workers stopped on their way home one Sunday afternoon, and brought us a pie Monday morning.  For breakfast.  I didn't object.

Apple Pie.

"Fresh Granny Smith and Golden Delicious Apples picked from our own orchard a mile away from our Auburn location.  They are peeled, sliced, and baked to perfection in our in house bakery."

As I mentioned, Ikeda's has three varieties of apple pie, and it is the classic that my co-worker selected.

I'll be honest, apple pie is one of my least favorite pies.  I don’t really like apples.  And I’ll be honest, usually if my only option is apple pie, I’ll get the pie, and mostly eat just the crust.  I rarely bother finish the filling, as soggy apples just aren't my thing.

Enter Ikeda's apple pie.  The filling was clearly the appeal, sky high.  I started with the crust though, double crust.  It was … fine, but not remarkable.  Not particularly flaky or anything.

But the filling?  That WAS remarkable.  The apples were thinly sliced, and perfectly cooked, still a bit crisp.  I think the mushy quality of most apple pies is one of the reasons I rarely like it.  And the apples were still tart, granny smith was a great choice of apple for this pie.  The tart apples  complimented the sweet sauce they were in perfectly.  Now let’s talk about that sauce.  Sweet and cinnamon-y.  Thick and a bit gooey.  It totally coated the apples and was really, really tasty.

All together, this was a fabulous pie, and probably the best apple pie I've ever had.  I'd love to try another one of their pies, ideally, a variety that I would actually pick!

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