Hawaiian Host Chocolates

Hawaiian Host is a confectioner from Hawaii, specializing in products using macadamia nuts.  They sell plain nuts, but most of their products involve chocolate in some form or another.  

"Hawaii residents voted Hawaiian Host the best tasting chocolate covered macadamia nuts in the island."

When co-workers return from Hawaii, they frequently bring the macadamias, plain and chocolate coated.  I have never really cared for them.  But, Hawaiian Host is "World Famous" and has been around since 1927, so when I saw them at L & H Hawaiian BBQ in San Francisco, I couldn't resist picking up a few treats, since I love trying new chocolates.  Sadly, I didn't like them any more than the low quality macaroni salad from L & H either ...

More years, more co-workers going to Hawaii, so whenever they show up on our shared snack tables, I always try new ones, hoping, believing, that this brand must be popular for some reason.

I still don't like them.  At all.

Maui Caramacs®.

"One of the most popular island treats with a twist! Our smooth, soft caramel is united with delicate dry-roasted Macadamia nuts and smothered in rich milk chocolate. "

Hawaiian Host makes a large number of Caramacs®, all featuring roasted macadamias, caramel, and chocolate.  Additional varieties like the Kona Caramacs® add Kona coffee to the caramel, and Coconut Caramacs® infuse the caramel with coconut and are dusted in additional coconut, but I had the originals, Maui Caramacs®.

I really didn't like them.  The caramel was too chewy, the macadamias bitter, and the chocolate unremarkable.

MacNut Crunch.

"Dry-roasted macadamia nuts and crisped rice covered in rich milk chocolate."

I moved on to the MacNut Crunch.

I also didn't like these.  The nuts were again bitter, and the rice was crispy, but not enjoyable.  Same mediocre chocolate.

Whole Macadamia Covered in Premium Dark Chocolate.

"For the more sophisticated palate, we’ve created a luxurious taste sensation just for you. Premium whole macadamias are dry roasted and covered in our signature dark chocolate. It’s simple, sweet perfection that delivers our desired note of chocolate flavor!"

"Premium", eh?

I wasn't impressed.  The dark chocolate was just sweet and not complex.  It took over the entire product, not allowing me to taste the macadamia really.

Meh.

Selected Whole and Halves Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts.

"Selected Macadamias whole and halves covered with Hawaiian Host’s special blend of rich and creamy chocolate. "

The milk chocolate ones weren't good either.

The low quality milk chocolate ruined them.  I liked the form, with lots of crunchy nut, like a turtle, but, the chocolate was just sweet and generic and overwhelmed.  What's the point if you can't taste the "Selected" nuts?

Read More...

Neighbor Bakehouse

Neighbor Bakehouse is a bakery cafe in the Dogpatch.  I still haven't actually visited the cafe itself, but I've had, and greatly enjoyed, their baked goods before.  They also supply other area coffee shops, like Red Door, where I really enjoyed the Smoked Ham & Gruyere Morning Bun once.

The bakehouse menu is full of temping items, but their croissant dough is certainly one of their signature items, used to make not only standard croissants (that are considered best in the city by many), but also a pistachio blackberry version that folks go pretty crazy for, and several savory ones.

So, without visiting in person, how did I get to try more Neighbor Bakehouse items this time?  A co-worker brought me a treat as a thank you, sending me a note in advance that there would be something amazing waiting for me when I got in.

And amazing it was.

Cinnamon Almond Bostock. $4.50.

She picked the cinnamon almond bostock for me.

If you aren't familiar, I've heard of bostock described as french toast meets an almond croissant.  Which ... I guess kinda is true?  It is usually a thick slice of rich bread, soaked in something sweet, and topped with almond frangipane.

This one was fantastic - well executed, the perfect level of sweetness and great play of textures.  I'd gladly have another.

Cinnamon Almond Bostock: Top View.

The crispy slivered almonds on top added extra crunch, and the powdered sugar extra sweetness, not that either was really necessary.  These were on top of the signature generous almond frangipane layer.

Cinnamon Almond Bostock: Side View.

From the side, you can see the amazingness of the frangipane.  Just look at the almond frangipane coating that dripped down the side.   It was sweet, crunchy from being twice baked, and totally delicious.

The base was a very thick slice of rich yet airy brioche, that has been soaked in something to make it incredibly moist.  The texture was amazing, it stayed soooo soft, even though twice-baked.

If I had to give this a slight criticism, I did note that the edge of the bread itself was a bit burnt, and, I could taste that.

Cinnamon Almond Bostock: Inside View.

Here you can see the inside, how moist and rich and fluffy it was, all at once.  They used a laminated brioche, basically, croissant dough made into a loaf of bread, sliced thick, soaked in something magic, coated with the frangipane.

It was amazing at room temperature, and even better when I warmed some up after lunch.

Pistachio Blackberry Twice-Baked Croissant. $4.95.

Another day, I found Neighbor Bakehouse goods at a nearby cafe, and instantly swooped one up.

One thing I love about Neighbor Bakehouse is the unique flavor combinations in their treats.  And the twice-baked croissant line up is no exception: raspberry violet, raspberry caramel hazelnut, and, their signature, pistachio blackberry.

I'm not a fan of blackberry, but I discovered that La Fromagerie (which, by the way, makes an excellent smoked duck salad!), just 2 blocks from my house, carries Neighbor Bakehouse products, and alas, this is the only twice-baked croissant they offer.  So, I had to try it.

The croissant was huge, and absolutely coated in powdered sugar.  I too, quickly became coated in powdered sugar.  The pastry was flaky, crispy, and quite messy.  Which, again, I too quickly was.  It had the kinda signature almost burnt taste on top of a twice baked croissant, spread with a bit of what I imagine was pistachio frangipane on top.

All fine, good, but not remarkable.

Pistachio Blackberry Twice-Baked Croissant: Inside.

Inside is where I knew to expect the unique aspect of the croissant.  Filled with a fruity blackberry jam and ground pistachio paste.  I expected to taste far more clear pistachio flavor than I did however.  I knew there was a paste with texture, but, I am not sure I could have told you it was pistachio if I didn't know.

The fruity blackberry jam was actually really nice though, which I never expected to hear myself say.

I found the whole thing just "ok" at room temperature, but I liked it considerably more once I warmed it up a bit, and the filling became softer.

I wouldn't get this again however.

Read More...

Napa Farms Market @ SFO

If you've ever flown out of Terminal 2 in SFO, you've likely grown to hate basically every other terminal in every other airport.  Shiny, clean, and new, with water ports to refill your water bottles everywhere, and an actual decent selection of places to get food.  Not a McDonald's nor Starbucks in sight.  There are chains, but they are things like Pinkberry and Peet's, both of which are actually, well, excellent, particularly if you are a captive audience and froyo or caffeine strike your fancy.  There is a Cat Cora restaurant (where I did unfortunately dislike the grilled octopus), a candy store (ALWAYS a must stop!), and, Napa Farms Market.

Napa Farms Market is a glorious place to stock up on snacks (or meals) for your flight, self-described as an "Artisan Marketplace and Café".  Usually I just cruise through to grab some snacks (they have a fantastic selection of every sort of high-end, local, organic munchy you can imagine).  They have an incredible cheese selection from Cowgirl Creamery and they sell Acme Bread (yes, is is rather like a mini-Ferry Building!).  The coffee is from Equator Coffee.  They sell Kara's Cupcakes (which I've reviewed before too).  The chocolate selection is incredible.  So is the wine.  Really, just a well curated selection.

Napa Farms Market also operates a cafe, Tyler Florence Fresh.  At breakfast there is a bagel bar (with everything ranging from cream cheese to bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel), a yogurt bar, a granola bar, and an oatmeal bar, to construct your perfect parfait.  At lunch, the cuisine changes to sandwiches (mostly with rotisserie meats), hand-tossed salads, soups, pizzas, and more.  They also have plentiful prepared salads and sandwiches.

These aren't really the sort of food I go for though, so, besides the snacks, coffee, and treats, I've generally never paid that much attention to the "real food" lineup.  But a traveling companion got a salad one time, and has been hooked since.  After multiple trips with him raving about the quality of the pre-made salads and sandwiches, I finally decided to try.

Greek Chicken Salad. $13.95.

"Mary’s Chicken, tomato, cucumber, herbed feta, mediterranean olives, shaved red onion, red bell peppers and an aged sherry vinaigrette, over organic greens."

Ok, so salad? Chicken?  Greek salad?  Obviously, this was not for me, it was my traveling companions.  But after so much raving, I decided to try some.  Also, he keeps telling me how huge the salads are, and, while they look big, I didn't quite grasp it.  Until I opened it up.

Wowzer.  They pack more into the salad than you could possibly realize.  It doesn't necessarily look it, but, its jammed in there.  Sooo many greens, all somehow ridiculously fresh and crispy.  And not just generic spring mix, there were more types of greens and baby lettuces in there than I could enumerate.  I still don't understand how it was so crisp and fresh, when, it wasn't made to order.

There were also decent sized chunks of tomato, not amazing, but, it was December, so what could you expect?  One corner was filled with fresh, juicy and crispy slices of cucumber.  Lots of sliced black olives and thinly shaved red onion added some zing.  Plentiful herbed feta and a ridiculously huge portion of chicken from Mary's Chicken, a local, organic farm.  And then, the dressing.  Swoon.  I couldn't believe how delicious it was.  While the greens were impressive in their freshness, it is the dressing that blew me away.  Creamy, flavorful, and ridiculously delicious.

This was totally not a salad I'd ever pick, as I don't like nor really care for pretty much any of it, but I couldn't get over how delicious the dressing was, and was happy to use up whatever lettuce and extra veggies my companion didn't get to.

Is $13.95 expensive for a salad?  Sure, but this is in an airport.  And, it is massive.  And, well, the quality is crazy high.  Totally reasonable, actually.

Field of Greens Salad. $10.95.

"Organic mixed greens with asiago cheese, grapes, sundried tomato, legumes, Italian vinaigrette."

Every single time we have flown out of Terminal 2 for the past ... several years, my companion has opted to pick up a salad from Napa Farms to take on the flight.  And every single time he picks that Greek salad.  He loved it so much the first time that he hasn't been able to bring himself to try something else, no matter how much I encourage it.

Finally, after years of this, he agreed to try a new one.  I was so excited.  And then he picked the "Field of Greens", another salad mostly consisting of ingredients I don't care for.  Sigh.

Still, of course I tried it.  The base was much like the Greek salad, a ridiculous amount of greens that somehow stayed perfectly fresh and crispy, really quite impressive.

I tried some sundried tomatoes, and well, they were sundried tomatoes.  I didn't try the grapes or beans.  I'm not a vinaigrette lover, but, I tried the vinaigrette anyway.  And ... it was great!  Seriously, they make such ridiculously good dressings.

He ate more than half early on in the flight, but couldn't finish it, even though he had dressed it all.  He left it, and had more a few hours later.  He loved it even more.  “This dressing is just really good.  It is super soaked into everything now!”  So, even though a bit soggy, he enjoyed it even more.  Swoon, that dressing.

So, again, not a salad I'd pick, but, quality ingredients, huge size, very fresh, tasty dressing.  He enjoyed it and said that now he isn't sure which he likes more, this or the Greek.

Romaine & Kale Caesar Salad.$7.95.

Caesar salad has become my goto salad from places at SFO it seems, and I was thrilled to see Napa Farms had one, with both kale and romaine base.  I looked forward to it.

Unfortunately, and surprisingly considering how great the others were, it was one of the worst caesar salads I've had in recent memory, and certainly the worst I've had at the airport (the Kale Caesar from Yankee Pier remains my favorite - fantastic real anchovy based dressing, and well seasoned croutons, and the Kale Caesar from The Giants Clubhouse is a good option too - really fresh crispy chunks of kale, and also real anchovy dressing).

This one just ... kinda failed at every element.  I also dub it the "croutons and parmesan" salad ... as they were far more prominent the romaine and kale.  The balance of ingredients was all off.

The base of romaine and kale, what there was of it, wasn't very fresh.  The lettuce was soft, wilty, and browning.  Not crisp at all.  I can't say I *wanted* more, but, the amount of greens didn't really seem appropriate.

The shredded parmesan cheese was fine, but ... there was a comical amount of it.  Literally, a cup of cheese, if not more.  Cheese must be more expensive than lettuce, so its not like they were saving costs here.  I liked the shredded style, but ... it was actually just ridiculous quantity.

Next, the croutons.  Much like the cheese, I felt there was far too many for the amount of salad base, but it wasn't quite as extreme as the cheese.  They were fairly soft (which, kinda makes sense, a pre-made item, with them sitting on top of lettuce), and decently seasoned I guess, but certainly not the kind of crouton that inspired me in any way.

And finally ... the dressing.  Sadly, not the style I like.  No anchovy, too tangy.  And loaded with ... yup, more parmesan cheese.  It tasted more like a thick parmesan vinaigrette than Caesar to me.

Overall, this was just not a winner, and I would clearly not get again.  It is also available as a larger salad with a chicken breast on top.

Roasted Corn and Poblano Dip. $4.95.

I'm not entirely sure why I got this.

I mean, I do know that I love dips, and I had just had several days of attending events with lots of yummy dips, so I guess dips were on my mind?  But I had no practical plan for this, I didn't even have anything to put it on ...

The dip was a mix of cream cheese, Monterey jack, and aioli, with roasted corn, chives, garlic, and poblanos.

It was ... creamy.  It tasted like, well, cream cheese mixed with mayo and a cheese I don't care for (I didn't realize there was Monterey jack in it until after I bought it, I'm not a fan).  The roasted corn was nice enough, but I barely detected any poblanos.

Meh.  And $4.95?!

Strange impulse buy, not one I'd get again.

[ No Photo ]

Mac and Local Cheese. $5.

Napa Farms Market also has a hot foods section, and it is always very popular.  One day I decided to try the mac and cheese.  It looked pretty good, nicely creamy, crispy on top, tons of cheese, orecchiette pasta.  Warm comfort food sounded great.  I knew they gave samples, so I asked to try it first.

I didn't care for it at all, and I'm really glad I asked to try it first.

The pasta was mushy.  It somehow didn't taste cheesy.  As the guy who gave me the sample said, "Yeah, it's really greasy, I don't know why people like it."  That wasn't entirely my problem, but, yeah.  Not good.

[ No Photo ]

Creamed Corn. $5.

Another time I got the creamed corn.  Or, what they called creamed corn.  It was more like ... milked corn?

This was the most watery creamed corn I've ever experienced.  It was not rich nor creamy, just, watery milk and corn.

SKIP.

[ No Photo ]

Clam Chowder.

Another day, another comfort food craving.  This time, clam chowder.  It sounded comforting and light but satisfying at the same time.  Just what my travel confused body needed.

But again ... meh.  Creamy, thick, but not particularly well seasoned, and really not many clams at all.

==================

Dosa @ Napa Farms

On my recent trip through SFO, I discovered that Napa Farms is now carrying items by Dosa, the popular Indian restaurant in San Francisco, that I've visited and reviewed before.  Dosa also went through a phase of partnering with Munchery (which I also reviewed), so this was interesting to see them doing another packaged product offering

They had a bunch of different entree salads, and naan based wraps (called Frankies), which Napa Farms would heat up for you over at the grill station.

Brussels Sprout, Butternut Squash & Paneer Salad. $13.95.

"Chickpea, toasted walnut, kale, baby spinach, romaine, sweet cilantro dressing." 

I was very tempted by the paneer wrap, but decided on the salad with paneer instead.  I was fairly fascinated by the description, calling it a "brussels sprout,  butternut squash, & paneer salad", but I saw no brussels sprouts and no butternut squash, and yet there was tons of chickpeas (something I hate).

But I was in it for the paneer and the dressing that sounded tasty, and although the paneer wasn't the form I was expecting (not cubes), it still looked interesting enough to try.

It was quite pricey, as are most things at Napa Farms (nearly $15 for a salad), but it was large, and, according to the nutrition facts on the back, 3 servings (lol).

Brussels Sprout, Butternut Squash, & Paneer Salad: Contents.

"Poriyal is the Tamil word for vegetable dish and this healthy Indian salad features roasted butternut squash and Brussels sprout poriyal, rich in color, nutrients, and flavor, served over kale, spinach and romaine, drizzled wtih sweet cilantro dressing."

Once I took off the lid, I found the namesake ingredients.

Well, kinda.

There was exactly one half of one brussels sprout.  Literally.  Not entirely sure why the name of the salad, and the first ingredient listed, as brussels sprouts!  I felt a bit cheated.

The sole brussels sprout was in a pile with 5 cubes of butternut squash, top center.  All were cooked nicely, not too soft, and slightly seasoned, including a few visible mustard seeds.

To the left was the chickpea mix, another small pile.  This was a significant component, and not included in the dish title, the short description on the top, nor the longer one on the side.  Not sure why they didn't think it was worth mentioning ...  As expected, I didn't want this, but it was a nice way to turn this into a real entree with additional protein.  It too was spiced, with plenty of Indian spices: coriander, turmeric, ginger, mustard seed, cumin, fennel seed, garam masala, star anise, cinnamon, cloves ... I think there was coconut flakes in here too.

To the right was a small pile that was the paneer.  As I mentioned, it wasn't cubes, or batons, or any style of paneer I've seen before.  Instead it was kinda shredded, and it too was mixed with similar Indian seasonings, and I think tomato paste.

All of this was served over a bed of baby spinach, romaine, and kale, with a few shreds of carrot and red cabbage, and exactly 3 slices of radish.  The greens were all fresh and crisp, and I really liked the crispy slices of radish.  I was clearly raving vegetables.

One little container inside contained walnuts, just toasted walnuts.  Nothing particularly interesting about them, but nice to add more crunch, and perhaps some protein.  I found myself wishing they were pumpkin seeds instead though.

And finally, the dressing.  I somewhat liked it, and I somewhat hated it.  It was described as "sweet cilantro", and it reminded me a bit of cilantro chutney, just slightly less thick.  And sweet.  Very, very, very sweet.  I like sweet, and I like chutney, but, this was just too sweet.  It almost worked as a salad dressing, and I liked the idea behind it, but, alas, it was too sweet.

I was really into the idea of Indian entree salads though, even if this didn't quite do it for me.  I love Indian flavors and ingredients, but salad form isn't how I normally have them.  This salad was thoughtfully composed, with good balance of protein and textures, and I think they are onto something.

Read More...

IHOP, 2020 & 2021

This year, 2020, my birthday pancakes were a very, very different experience.  Summer of 2020, the year of COVID.  Dining in and feasting on pancakes was not in order, and IHOP relaxed the conditions of their coupons to allow for takeout, something I've long wished for.  Thus, my first IHOP takeout review.

But as you know, IHOP is home of what were once (can still have potential to be) my favorite pancakes.  If you'd like to catch up on past reviews, see 2012 and 2013 where I got combos with Harvest Grain N' Nut or Whole Wheat Pancakes, more Harvest Grain N' Nut pancakes in 2014, Raspberry White Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Chip in 2015, Red Velvet and Double Blueberry in 2016, Cinn-a-Stack and more Double Blueberry in 2017, Mexican Tres Leches and MORE double blueberry in 2018, and Italian Cannoli in 2019.

August 2020

Takeout was not the only difference this time around.  I also was in ... New Hampshire.  Not San Francisco.  I haven't visited an IHOP not in San Francisco since I was in grad school, in Virginia, where I originally learned about IHOP.  I was amazed they even had a few in New Hampshire, although none were remotely near where I grew up and where my parents live.

The summer of COVID I went to stay with my parents for a few weeks, er, months, to get away from the full lockdown of San Francisco, take advantage of the unique opportunity to be able to work remotely, and enjoy some real summer, some fresh air, and, you know, to see my family.

When my free birthday pancakes coupon cake, I assumed I would miss out, but then mom and I planned a trip to Southern NH, about 1.5 hours away, to visit Trader Joes (and a few other errands, like, you know, mandatory ice cream at King Kone, and IHOP was literally 1 mile from Trader Joe's, on the same road, on the way to/from the highway.  I had no choice but to stop and pick up some pancakes right?  Sure, it was late afternoon, we had a full lunch and had literally just come from ice cream, but I went to get my free pancakes, bring them home, and freeze them, as I know they freeze beautifully, and I'd really appreciate having IHOP goodness on hand.

The experience was generally a delight.  I called in my order when we were checking out of Trader Joe's, and was quoted 10-15 mins, perfect to allow us to actually finish checking out, load up our multiple grocery carts full of bounty (!!), and get to IHOP.  It was ready when I arrived, the staff were *insanely* friendly, wishing me happy birthday, etc.  Oh, and they let me order a split stack, rather than full stack of all the same kind, when I wanted to "take a risk" and try the new limited special (Crème Brûlée) but also wanted my classic favorites (Double Blueberry).  SF locations used to allow this, but stopped long again.

Only flaw is that I asked for toppings all on the side, intending to freeze them, and one stack came slathered in topping, kinda ruining that plan.  And neither stack came with the whipped cream it should.  But, overall, a very, very successful trip, and I was thrilled that I had decided to stop.

Limited Edition FRENCH CRÈME BRÛLÉE PANCAKES 1/2 Stack. $5.99.

"Two buttermilk pancakes layered with vanilla Crème Brûlée custard cream, caramelized sugar crystals & crowned with whipped topping."

Crème Brûlée.  Oh yes.  One of my favorite things, hence the label on my blog dedicated to it.  How would that translate into pancakes?  Well, I was skeptical, particularly as the only reviews I could find were about how awful it was, but hey, I did a split stack, I could take the risk.

I opened my box and ... was quite annoyed.  I asked for the toppings on the side, very intentionally, so that I could just freeze the buttermilk pancakes, and because I was about to drive 1.5 hours, and wanted to put the custard into my cooler.  The top had the visible custard you can see here, but also, between the pancakes, was tons of custard.  Doh.

The caramelized sugar crystals *were* on the side, and the whipped topping?  Missing.  Sigh.  

Anyway.  I had no choice but to eat them, right then, even though I had literally just come from getting a massive ice cream cone at King Kone (the BEST soft serve ... ever!).

Did these really remind me of crème brûlée?  Um, no.  Did the custard remotely resemble crème brûlée?  Uh, not really.  It was thick, gloopy, very fake, very heavy, custard, rather indistinguishable from a high fat store bought pudding.  I like pudding though, so not a bad thing entirely.  The consistency was absolutely not like that of a real crème brûlée.  It had no particular flavor, but was not too sweet at least (but definitely sweet).  No vanilla or depth to it, but not bad.  And it obviously had no crisp top, although I believe that is what the caramelized sugar crystals were supposed to represent (which were just rock solid in my container, not sure what happened there, but they were a solid lump mass, not individual crystals).  

Pudding on top of pancakes was just a bit ... odd.  I can't say this dish was successful as a pancake concept, but I did kinda like the topping as just pudding in a strange way, and ended up scraping it all off, and using it with fruit and whipped cream at home for a pudding cup.

The pancakes were fine, regular IHOP buttermilk pancakes, seemed better at this location than in San Francisco actually, although were a bit soggy from being in the takeout container.  And I really wanted some syrup with them (which, IHOP provided of course).

So overall, I was still glad I tried this variety, I got some basic pancakes and a pudding to use for a dessert out of it.  I wouldn't get again, can't endorse as anything really like crème brûlée, and wouldn't call high quality in any way.

The full stack comes with 4, is 940 calories, 42 g of fat, and 55g sugar!!! Even the 1/2 stack clocks in 500 calories, less than half of which is the pancakes themselves.  Those toppings add up!

Double Blueberry Pancakes. Half-Stack. $5.99.

"Double the blueberries, double the taste! Two fluffy buttermilk pancakes filled with blueberries & topped with blueberry compote."

For these, the blueberry compote did come on the side, so, one point for that.  As always, I loved it ... as sweet blueberry goo to use on ice cream later.  And like the other stack, the whipped cream was missing (it usually is included, even though not listed in the description.

But the pancakes were still a delight, loaded with blueberries, well dispersed.  

Very classic IHOP for me, my regular favorites, and I will keep getting them over and over.  Definite success.

Syrups!

When I asked if my order included syrups, they let me know that regular syrup was already in the bag (along with cutlery), but asked if I'd like any others, and rattled off the lineup (which I'm quite familiar with).  I said "yes!" and they laughed and said "all of them?" And I said "yup!  If that is ok?" And they laughed again and said of course it was, returning with another small bag, which contained 6 containers.  None were labelled, so, I had to kinda guess which was which.  The classic syrup I was originally provided came in sealed packages with a label, and my bag had 4 of those.

So here we had Strawberry, Blueberry, Butter Pecan, 2 each, none of the Old Fashioned that is normally on the tables (presumably that is the same as the packaged one).

The syrups always somewhat delight me, and somewhat repulse me, and this was no different.  They all have their place in life, at certain times, and I'm happy to have them in my fridge now to drizzle on things.

May 2021

For National Pancake Day in 2021, IHOP got creative, rather than one day only, dine-in only, as in the past, they offered all rewards members a stack sometime in the month of April, and both dine-in and takeout were options (or delivery, although delivery fees applied).  The free stack was limited to just the original buttermilk pancakes, short stack only, unlike other promos where you can apply the value of said short stack to another product, and just pay the difference.  

I obviously adore IHOP pancakes, given my copious previous reviews, even the plain buttermilk ones, so I was excited to get my freebies.  I ordered my pancakes in advance, at the end of April to catch the freebie, for the first weekend in May.

IHOP Original Buttermilk Pancakes - (Short Stack). $10.59.

"A true breakfast classic that started it all. Get three of our fluffy, world-famous buttermilk pancakes topped with whipped real butter."

The short stack at IHOP is 3 pancakes (combos meals come with 2, full stack is 5).  The pancakes are quite large, easily 2x the size of the kind of pancakes most people make at home.

Unlike my usual orders of extravagantly topped/filled pancakes, these ones came quite simply: just, well, a stack of pancakes.  And since I ordered takeout, they came with generic packets of butter and IHOP branded syrup.  Very different from the dine-in experience with fluffy whipped copious amounts of butter, and the signature syrup caddy filled with flavored syrups (I wonder if they still have that during COVID times?).

Plain as they were, my pancakes were everything I wanted them to be.  Fluffy.  Perfectly cooked, moist inside, not burnt, not over nor under done.  Just, well, perfect, classic IHOP execution.  I loved the slight buttermilk tang.

Basic pancakes, yes, but so nicely done.  Sorry folks, I know they are a big chain restaurant, but I really truly like these pancakes.

****, and I'll continue to get these (although I do prefer the blueberry ones, and do enjoy trying their ridiculous toppings).

A short stack is a bit pricey at $10.59 normally, but only because it seems like a "mini" meal ... when in reality, it is plenty of pancake.  Regular buttermilk pancakes are also available as a full stack, 5 pancakes, for only $1.20 more, or as part of a combo, as most IHOP meals are, with hash browns, eggs, etc, etc.

Read More...

Shakedown Ice Cream

Back in the day, I was a very spoiled girl.  As were all my co-workers.  You see, we worked for a tech company, that fed us lunch daily, and this included desserts.  Not just any desserts though, all were made in-house by an extremely talented pastry team, lead by Chef Amy.  Our daily offerings included some cult favorite chocolate chip cookies, multiple plated treats (cakes, puddings, etc, etc), and, house made ice cream and sorbet, multiple flavors, each made daily.  Like I said, spoiled.  Of course we didn't realize it at the time, and the same goes for the daily sushi, regular Dungeness crab fests, and the like.

Approaching the dessert stand daily was always an exciting moment, and trying to pick just ... two items (please, who can pick just one?) was always agonizing, particularly when the ice cream flavors were always so fun. I knew Chef Amy had a magic touch, and when she left after some number of years, the impact she had made was even more obvious.  So I was thrilled when I found out that she left to follow a passion that centered around ... ice cream.  She went to open her own ice cream shop.  I couldn't wait to check it out.

Unfortunately, Shakedown didn't last that long, but I did manage to visit once for ice cream, and once to have Chef Amy craft an incredible ice cream cake for a team party.  I can't wait to see where she pops up next ...

The Space

Shakedown was located in the Tenderloin, not a neighborhood I sought out, and not the sort of area you necessarily wanted to hang around, but in some ways, this was part of the appeal.  I had to make a mission out of going to Shakedown.

Register and  Pints.

Shakedown did not have a large space.

Inside was the counter with a single bay of ice cream, a little area behind for prep, minimal seating on the side, and the end counter where you pay.  This area did double-duty with a couple seats too and houses a small freezer with pre-packaged pints (in glass mason jars!).

What it lacks in space though it does make up for in being nicely designed: check out the purple walls, the artwork, and the live plants.  Plus, that counter is stunning!  It seemed almost out of place given the nearby surroundings.

Seating.

And here you can see the entirely of the seating section.  As I said, small, and minimal seating.  The only available seats are counter seats along the window, I think 5 total, plus the two at the register.  I was able to easily get a seat, but I'm curious what this is like when they get busy, as the street outside isn't exactly nice for loitering around and enjoying ice cream ...

Ice Cream Counter.

The counter displays all 10 flavors of ice cream available in a given day.  Yup, only 10.  I believe they always have a few staples (vanilla, coffee, and Pennsyl-tucky), since those are required for the signature shakes, and always have one non-dairy, but besides that, the flavors rotated all the time.

Prep Station.

On the side is the assembly area for shakes and sundaes.  This area houses blenders, toppings, and a station for bruleeing bananas (!).  While I was there, another customer ordered a shake that had bruleed bananas (uh, yeah, these aren't normal shakes), and I watched the staff member grab a banana, slice it, top it with sugar, and pull out the blow torch.  So much work goes into the shakes in particular, but wow, they looked amazing.

Special Ice Cream Cake

Every year, we have a tradition of sending our summer interns off with an ice cream cake.  The year before, one of my co-workers arranged for a pretty amazing cake from Mitchell's (review soon!).  But in 2017, it was my turn to get the ice cream cake.

My first thought was Carvel, which I realize sounds ridiculous, but, is totally the cake I grew up with, and always had for my birthday.  Is the ice cream good quality?  Of course not.  But I adore the crunchies inside.  I pondered going a few steps up and getting Baskin-Robbins, Ben & Jerry's , or even another Mitchell's cake.  But I knew I could do better.  Good ice cream cake starts with good ice cream, right?

I approached Chef Amy to ask if she made ice cream cakes, even though I didn't see them listed on the Shakedown website.  She said that they don't generally make cakes, but, she does for special orders on occasion.  I quickly asked for more details.  She said to pick a cake (vanilla or chocolate) and a flavor of ice cream, and then to decide if I wanted it coated in buttercream or meringue.  This sounded great, except I had a few issues.

The first?  Well, I couldn't pick one flavor of ice cream.  I narrowed it down to about 10, and even that was hard.  The second?  I didn't really want a cake layer.  I wanted it to be Carvel-style, with two types of ice cream, separated by something crunchy.

So, I asked for exactly that.  I also asked Amy to pick my flavors, to choose two that would be complimentary from my giant list, since I couldn't possibly decide myself.  The only thing I did pick was the meringue on the outside, since that sounded like more fun than buttercream.

So my first encounter with Shakedown was not with just getting a scoop at the shop, but rather, with getting a custom, off-menu, ice cream cake.

Custom Ice Cream Cake. $100.

My other request was to have a goodbye message for the interns on top, which she was happy to do in chocolate.

I brought a co-worker with me to pick up the cake.  He, uh, certainly questioned where I was leading him at one point.

I expected the cake to look stunning, but, even so, I was just as blown away as he was.  It was gorgeous.  This photo was taken after I transported it back to the office, so it was slightly worse for the wear, but I assure you, it was awesome.  Toasted fluffy meringue on the outside, crispy Cocoa Nib Florentines sticking out, and a double decker.  It was *very* hard waiting until the next day to break into it.

Toasted Meringue Coating, Butter Brickle Ice Cream, Cinnamon Toast Brunch Ice Cream, Cocoa Nib Florentine.

It was also very hard to slice such a massive cake!  I'm not sure the others really appreciated what a fine job I did.  The cake was two tiers of two layers each, separated by the cocoa nib florentine crunch between the layers (but not between the tiers).  I didn't quite realize the makeup of the cake when I started slicing.  If I had, I probably would have opted to slice just the top tier, aka, a layer of each ice cream and crunchies, rather than trying to slice through the entire thing and manage to slip these ridiculously tall slices onto plates.  I did a noble job.

So, how was it?  The meringue on the outside was fluffy and sweet, quite tasty, although it did deflate a little in the day I had it in the freezer before serving.  Certainly not the chef's fault though, and the toasted merinque was beautiful.

I loved the cocoa nib florentine in the middle, super crunchy, but, I actually wanted a thicker layer, as you can see here, the cake is mostly just ice cream (which is of course basically what I asked for, since I didn't want any cake cake).  Plus, I still had Carvel in mind, and, Carvel nicely loads up the crunchies in the middle.  The use of nibs was a good choice not only for the crunch, but for the bitterness, given that the rest of the cake was just sweet ice cream.

And then of course, there was the ice cream.  Chef Amy picked two flavors for us, Butter Brickle, described as "Toffee Ice Cream with Crushed Butter Toffee", which was the top layer of both tiers, and Cinnamon Toast Brunch, described as "Cinnamon Toast Infused Ice Cream".

Cinnamon Toast Brunch is one of Shakedown's signature flavors, offered normally on Sundays only at the shop.  Why so exclusive?  Well, taking the practice of making everything in house, they actually make the bread, to make into cinnamon toast, to soak into the ice cream base, to make into the ice cream.  It sounds like quite the process, and they only do it as a special to honor the biggest brunch day of the week, Sunday.

To be honest, I think the Cinnamon Toast Brunch was a bit lost on me.  I appreciated the creativity behind it, and the crazy work that goes into making something starting with baking the bread, but, I didn't really taste the cinnamon, or anything toasty about it.  It really tasted like plain, albeit sweet, ice cream, particularly when combined with the other elements of the cake.

The Butter Brickle was my favorite, an even sweeter choice due to the toffee base, and I liked the little bits of toffee studded throughout.  Just like the florentine though, I found myself wanting more of the crunchy element, bigger chunks.

Both of the ice creams were clearly high quality, super rich, super creamy.

My co-workers loved this cake.  I was having a hard time cutting reasonable sized slices from the cake, and was a bit worried I was giving people way too much.  I had nothing to fear.  They cleaned their plates.  And then, slowly, one by one, started sheepishly asking for a second slice.  Some asked for a third.  There was a small amount of the cake left, that I promised to save for a few people who weren't able to attend the party, so I put the slices into containers and put them in the freezer.  The slices didn't last a day, as my co-workers somehow found where I stashed them, and took more, without asking!  Doh.  It suffices to say this was a pretty big hit.

Ice Cream

After that ice cream cake extravaganza, I obviously had to return to try the regular ice cream.  The menu is what you'd expect: ice cream, sundaes, and shakes.  Not much more.

Ice cream is available in 3 sizes to eat there (a cute, actually reasonably sized junior scoop, a single scoop, that is actually quite large and can be made up of two flavors, and the "biggie"), plus 1/2 pints and pints to take home.  Scoops are available in a cup, or for $1 more, you can add a housemade buckwheat waffle cone or bowl.

If you want to spice it up, go for a sundae, available in 3 sizes (1 scoop + 2 toppings, 2 scoops + 3 toppings, or 3 scoops + 4 toppings, all served in their buckwheat cone bowls, and all include whipped cream (aka, it doesn't count against your toppings).  Toppings are numerous, and, you guessed it, all housemade.  For sauces, you can opt for hot fudge or hot butterscotch, regular chocolate sauce, marshmallow topping, or two types of caramel (salted caramel or whiskey caramel).  For crunch, go for candied pecans, peanuts, coconut flakes, or crumbled "Oreo-style" cookies.  Go crazy and add brulee bananas.  And don't forget the housemade sprinkles, available in rainbow or chocolate.  The whipped cream most certainly does not come from a can.

And finally, the shakes.  The shakes are a labor of love, and, priced accordingly ($10-12).  While you could just get a chocolate shake, the shakes I saw being made all were far more elaborate.  For a single shake, I watched multiple types of ice cream (5 scoops total?), plus a slice of cake, go into the blender.  And the results were stunning, the clear cups had drizzles of syrup around the edges, the shakes were thick and loaded with stuffs, and the toppings were even more spectacular, with whipped cream, more sauces, and, uh, chunks of pie on top.  I watched two different shakes being made during my first visit, and each took nearly 5 minutes.  But wow they looked incredible.  And, um, awful for you.

As I mentioned, they only serve 10 flavors a day, which actually, for me, is a good thing.  I struggle with narrowing down my ice cream choices, and I always want to try all of them, so, this at least limited me.  And yes, they do let you sample, and have bins for sample spoons right on the counter.

On my first visit, I was able to easily rule out two flavors because they had coffee in them, one because it was sorbet, one because I had it previously in my ice cream cake, and the simple vanilla.  Which left me with 5.  I sampled 4 of them (technically, I got Ojan to sample two, and I sampled two, but, uh, I tried all 4).  Sampling didn't really help, in that I liked all of them.  So I made Ojan pick.  I was grateful that I was allowed to pick two flavors to make up a "single" scoop. 

Single Scoop Sundae: Purple Reign and PB&J, Hot Fudge, Candied Pecans, Whipped Cream, Rainbow Sprinkles. $7.

I decided to go big, and get a sundae.  This way I could try the ice cream AND a bunch of toppings.  I went for the smallest sundae, which comes with 2 toppings (not including whipped cream), and is served in a buckwheat waffle cone bowl.  Or, at least, it usually is.  When I arrived, they had no waffle cones, nor bowls, which was heartbreaking, since I had read so many positive reviews of the cones.  To make up for it, I was offered an additional topping for free.

For toppings, I went for one sauce (hot fudge), one crunchy element (candied pecans), and sprinkles, because I adore sprinkles, and I couldn't wait to see what their homemade sprinkles were like.  The sundae was just as beautiful as the shakes I saw, and again, made with such care.  The nuts were evenly distributed, the hot fudge and whipped cream applied generously, and just look at those sprinkles!

The hot fudge was thick, good hot fudge, but honestly, it wasn't anything particularly special.  If you like hot fudge, by all means, get it, and I appreciated that it was actually hot and thick, but, uh, I am in love with the hot fudge from JP Licks in Boston, and this wasn't nearly as magical.  I'd skip it next time.

The candied pecans were super candied, really crunchy, absolutely coated in sugar.  I liked having some crunch, but, like the fudge, I found them actually unnecessary.

The whipped cream was standard homemade whipped cream, aka, not just from a can.  Light, fluffy, sweet.  And plenty of it.  Too much perhaps?

The sprinkles I loved.  Loved, loved, loved.  I had the choice of chocolate or rainbow, and went for rainbow.  They were obviously larger than commercial sprinkles, which made them actually noticeable when you ate them, a bit of crunch, and bit sweet.  I'd certainly get these again.

As for the ice cream, while I got a "single", I was able to get two flavors, and went for PB & J and Purple Reign.

PB & J:

"Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Concord Grape Jellies."

I wish I had a photo where you could see this flavor.  I assure you, it was unlike any other PB & J ice cream ever.  It didn't just have a jam swirl, instead, it had actual jellies, like, cubes similar to a pate de fruit, studded throughout.  It was incredible.  The peanut butter was rich, the ice cream was creamy, and the concentrated cubes of jelly were incredibly flavorful.  This is one of the best peanut butter ice creams I have ever had, and I love peanut butter.

Purple Reign:

This was a special not on the regular menu, in honor of Prince, served on the anniversary of his death.  It was made with ube (purple potato) and marshmallow fluff.  I adore ube and I adore fluff, and this was a good combination, the sweet fluff a nice compliment to the less sweet ube.  I appreciated that you could actually taste ube in it too, and they didn't shy away from letting the potato shine.  It was also a stunning purple flavor.

That said, I didn't love it nearly as much as the PB & J.

Overall, this was a good sundae, and I was very happy.  However, I made a note to myself that, as awesome as the toppings were, they just weren't necessary here.  The ice cream is just good enough on its own.  I recommend the sprinkles though, because those are just too amazing, and I still want to try the waffle bowl.

[ No Photo ]

Other flavors

Jacker Crack:

"Popcorn Infused Ice Cream with Swirls of Dulce De Leche and Crushed Peanut Brittle."

This flavor had my name all over it.  I love popcorn and I love caramel corn even more.  Add in some peanut brittle too?  Um, yes!  Sweet and salt, yes please!  I tried a sample on my first visit.  It was delicious, very sweet though, the dulce de leche was very, very sweet.  I didn't quite taste popcorn though.  I really did like it, and loved the crunch from the brittle, but ultimately picked another flavor.  I'd still be happy to try a real scoop sometime.

Pennsyl-tucky:

"Pieces of Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie Swirled into Bourbon Ice Cream."

This might be their most famous flavor.  Through in some bourbon, and the masses go crazy, right?  For good reason.  I tried a sample of this one too, and I loved the boozy bourbon element.  I may have picked it, but since I was sharing with Ojan, and he couldn't have alcohol, I ruled it out.

Read More...

Brickhouse Cafe

Brickhouse Cafe is a restaurant in South Beach open all day, that morphs throughout the day and throughout the week.  Although "cafe" is in the name, it most certainly isn't a traditional "cafe" at all.

For weekday breakfast, it is a very casual establishment.  You order at the register near the bar, and most people get their food to go, although there is seating.  They offer many different egg dishes, including a slew of variations on egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, along with pastries and coffee drinks.  Plenty of folks just stop in for a coffee, which I guess does make it rather cafe like?

Lunch is a sit-down affair with full table service, mostly featuring their extensive burger lineup.  Throughout the afternoon they stay open with a fairly expansive bar menu, including Happy Hour specials, and a slew of signature drinks.

Finally, there is dinner, which adds in more classic hearty entrees such as steak, salmon, and pork chops.  On the weekends, the first meal of the day is brunch, a hybrid of the breakfast and lunch menus, again with regular table service.  

The cafe has been in operation for as long as I've lived in the area, although never a place that gets a lot of fanfare, it clearly has staying power.

Update Review, 2021 Visits

My last visit to Brickhouse Cafe was in 2015 (see my original review!)  But 2021 was the year of COVID, and in my case, far more time spent in SF than I have in years, and, considerably more takeout.  And thus, one day, my desire to get out of the house a little lead me back.

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

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 ]

Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]

Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]

Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

I placed my order on delivery.com, and it was ready when I arrived, no issues encountered.

Nice Packaging.

To start, I just want to give a shout out to Brickhouse for nicely packaging with their logo stickers on the box sealing it.

Mixed Green Salad. $5.
Add Grilled Gulf Prawns.

"Simple mixed greens with radish, parmesan & extra virgin olive oil."

Not the most exciting order, but all I needed was a salad to go with some other leftovers I had at home.

To a salad, you can add grilled or fried chicken, ahi tuna, grilled prawns, bacon, or avocado for a fee.  I opted for the grilled gulf prawns, which turned out to be a serving of 4, freshly grilled (still warm when I picked up).

This was, as described, a simple salad, but nicely done.

Fresh mixed greens, juicy slices of radish.  I asked for parmesan and dressing on the side, both of which were easily honored.  I was happy to see the cheese was large shreds of parmesan.

The dressing was simple balsamic and oil oil, no option to change it, so I actually just used my own dressing at home as I wanted something more flavorful.

The grilled gulf prawns were certainly the star of the salad, and I'm glad I added them.  You never know what you'll get when you add on prawns, will they be tiny?  Tail on? Chewy? Properly cleaned? Seasoned in any way? Rubbery?

The answers for the grilled gulf prawns at Brickhouse are luckily all positive: larger size, nicely cleaned, tailed on, and well seasoned.  They were juicy, succulent, not chewy, although perhaps a tad underdone.

Overall, yes, just a simple salad, but ingredients were all quality.

***+.

Original Review, September 2015

Brickhouse Cafe has been around for a while, and I live nearby, but I hadn't ever visited until recently, when I saw that they accept payment via the Paypal app, and I was enjoying seeking out places with Paypal offers.

I only ever visited during the mornings, but I loved the biscuits enough to want to return for another meal service sometime.  In particular, I'm interested in their burgers, as the beef is sourced from the owner's own cattle ranch in Washington.  He also goes on annual salmon fishing expeditions and personally catches some of the seafood they serve.

The Space

Bar Area.

As I mentioned, they are open for continuous service all day long, so the bar I'm sure is a feature later in the day.  It was well stocked, and probably a great place for a happy hour drink and bite, but I've only visited in the morning when it was desserted

Seating.

Seating is varied and casual.  The entire space is bright, open, and airy, with a rustic feel due to all the wood.  Very comfortable and inviting.

The center of the room contains a huge communal table with high stools.  Booths and small tables make up the sides.  I didn't venture upstairs, but there is an open loft area with additional seating.

Beverages

Coffee Condiment Station.

The self-serve condiment station has all the classic sweeteners, including many types of non-sugar and sugar cubes, plus milk, but lacked any cinnamon or cocoa, which I always like to add in.

Decaf Coffee.  $3.

Coffee when you dine in is served in a huge metal mug.  It looked strange to me at first, but I quickly grew to love it.  I appreciated the heft of it, and the way it felt in my hand.

The coffee was fine, although it bad a bit of a strange sweetness to it, that I attribute to being rather stale decaf.  I'm guessing this is not a high volume item for them.

$3 for a cup of pre-brewed drip coffee was a bit high, even though the cup was large.  Interestingly, if you get it to go, it is only $2.50.  I would only get this again to compliment a meal, I certainly wouldn't seek it out.

Peppermint Mocha. $4.

Espresso beverages are also offered, but not in decaf.  So I "splurged", and went for the caffeine.  Since I was going all out, I made it a mocha.  And not just any mocha, a peppermint mocha.  Oh, and one topped with a fancy peppermint marshmallow.  Decadence.

Now, to step back, you probably know that I generally just drink black coffee or Americanos.  Milk and sugar are things I only add when the coffee tastes bad.  This style of milky drink, with extra flavors and sugars isn't really my style.  But it was cold out, and I wanted comfort, and decadence, in a cup.

It totally hit the spot.  I appreciated the generous amount of foam, although the bubbles were rather large, not exactly velvety smooth microfoam.  The drink was crazy sweet, and it would have been better with half as much peppermint and chocolate.  So the mocha itself ... not amazing, but I grew to appreciate it.

What was amazing however was the marshmallow.  I saw the barista pull it out, so I knew it was a Whole Foods brand peppermint marshmallow.  I've seen these by the registers at Whole Foods all winter, and I'm glad I got to try one.  Sweet, fluffy, and crazy minty.  I loved the marshmallow plain, but I really loved how it softened into the drink.

That said, I probably wouldn't get another of these, or if I did, I'd ask for it half sweet.  But really, I'd just ask for the Peppermint Mocha special, hold the mocha, just give me a cup of peppermint marshmallows.  Or I guess I could go buy them at Whole Foods myself.

$4 was a fine price for such a fancy drink.

Pastries

Breakfast pastries (croissants, scones, morning buns) are displayed near the register.  They are not house-made, but I wasn't able to determine where they came from.

Morning Bun.  $2.50.

I wanted a breakfast pastry to go with my coffee.  My choices were  sad looking croissants, a single scone, or a morning bun.  The morning bun immediately caught my eye.

Sadly, it was awful.  The exterior was crunchy, but not a pleasant crispy, it was just dry.  As was the inside, not moist, even in the very center, where a great morning bun is often soft and doughy.  There was some cinnamon between the folds, but not nearly enough.  The dusting of sugar on the outside also did not save it.

It was not offered to have it warmed up, the only other way I could imagine salvaging it.  Sadly, I didn't bother finishing this.

All pastries are $2.50, which is a fine price, and they also sell day olds for only $1.  But, I wouldn't even pay $0.50 for this!

Breakfast

Granola & Greek Yogurt with Fresh Fruit. $7.

Ojan stopped by Brickhouse one day to grab a snack, and of course, I demanded a bite, even though yogurt, fruit, and granola parfait was perhaps the most boring thing he possibly could have picked.

The granola on top was just toasted oats, no clumps, no nuts, no seeds, no dried fruit.  Pretty boring.  The yogurt was standard greek yogurt.  The "fresh fruit" was cantaloupe and honeydew cubes, plus chunks of pineapple, and raspberries, all fresh enough.

Quite boring and uninspired, but, I would have never ordered this.  $7 price was fine for a large parfait.

Side Dish: Buttermillk Biscuits $2.

The breakfast and brunch menus feature biscuits with sausage gravy and eggs.  I've been addicted to biscuits and gravy lately, and if I was getting a full breakfast, I certainly would have gone for that.

But I stopped by for another reason.  I had some leftover really delicious cheese sauce at home that I wanted to smother something with (it originally was used with gnocchi, and reminded me a bit of cheesy gravy, if that makes any sense).  Somehow, smothering a biscuit in this cheese sauce, along with some sauteed spinach, seemed like a great idea.  So I ordered a side of biscuit to bring home and use later.

I was a little surprised that it took a while for my biscuit to be ready.  It turned out, they serve the biscuits warm (unlike the morning bun, grrr).  Whoops.  Since I wasn't intending to eat it right away, I didn't need it warm.  But when I opened my box I was even more surprised.  Two whole biscuits!  Score!

Since I had two biscuits, I decided to try one right away.  After all, it was warm!  It was warm and fresh, sliced in half, and a bit toasty on the outside.  I liked the bit of crispness to the toasted exterior, but it was still perfectly moist inside and not at all dried out.  The winning element however was the buttermilk tang.  Such a great tang.  It crumbled nicely too.

The woman who gave me the biscuits told me she doesn't even think they need gravy or anything, she loves them just with butter, and I can totally see why.  These are just great biscuits!  I choose to use some jam on the one I ate on the spot, like with an English scone, but, they only have Smucker's basic strawberry jam and grape jelly at Brickhouse, neither of which did the biscuits any justice.

I think these biscuits would be great warm with some of my mom's strawberry jam and a little clotted cream.  And I think they'd be great with butter.  Or smothered in the sausage gravy as Brickhouse serves them.  They were also delicious with my cheesey-gravy sauce too, and I'll definitely consider getting this again.

$2 for a side of two biscuits was crazy reasonable.  $1 each?  Unreal.

Read More...