ALX Gastropub

Alexander's Steakhouse.  A place that should require no introduction to my loyal blog readers, as you know it is my favorite restaurant in San Francisco (and restaurant group in general), so much so that I have an entire label on my blog for it.  There was a period of my life, around the foie gras ban in California, where I was quite the regular.

And thus, I was thrilled when the restaurant group announced a new venture, dubbed ALX Gastropub, just down the street from my house.  It was supposed to be a more casual establishment, but still with a high end beef focus, and very swanky setting.

The concept wasn't really a hit.  Maybe it was the location, maybe it was the branding - I think diners weren't quite expecting the price tag that came at the Gastropub, nor the more formal service (which, was still VERY scaled down from Alexander's Steakhouse).

After a few months, they rebranded as ALX by Alexander's Steakhouse, calling attention to the relationship with the mothership, and the steakhouse focus.  The head chef changed.  The menu changed.  Etc.  It still struggled, but got a re-birth during the pandemic as The Patio by Alexander's Steakhouse, when outdoor dining was required, and the formal space for Alexander's Steakhouse wasn't really pandemic friendly.

And then it closed, with some vague mentions of a new concept being developed.  I eagerly await more details.

Anyway, I did visit ALX Gastropub, and intended to visit another time before publishing a full review, but alas, I never did.  This visit was in the days of the ALX Gastropub branding, fairly early on in its life, November 2018.

Feast!

I visited with a party of 3, one weeknight evening when a friend was in town.  We sampled around the menu.

We all enjoyed our meal.  The food was good.  Every dish had a special touch, everything was well prepared, thoughtful dishes, flavorful, nicely presented.  Not a single dish was mediocre.

Service was good, the ambiance inviting.

Summary from one fellow diner?  "I really like this meal".  I concur.  We planned to be back.

Setting

Curb Appeal.

ALX is located on Folsom Street, near 3rd, slightly set back from the street.

This area was transformed into a patio for the Patio by Alexander's Steakhouse outdoor dining concept.

Interior.

The decor is upscale casual, all brand new, well designed, with a dark esthetic.

Lighting.

Lighting was a big focus, with candles on the tables, overhead lights, wall lights.

Group Seating.

Tables exist of all sizes, including this kinda cool round shaped one for a medium sized group.  There are private areas as well.

Open Kitchen.

We were seated right near the kitchen, with large windows overlooking, so I could peek in from time to time to watch the action.  I saw the exec chef there the whole night, mostly expediting, but on the line a few times.  Clearly keeping an eye on things.

At one point, the entire grill was loaded up with burgers and buns, clearly the top selling item.  The kitchen was busy, but not ever frantic.

Table Decor.

Each table is set with a decorative candle and succulent, a nice touch to have a live plant, and not a flower.

Drinks

As a gastropub, ALX takes the drinking aspects of the menu just as seriously as the food.  I had a cocktail, but it wasn't remarkable.

Cocktails, Beer, Wines by the Glass.

The entire backside of the menu is drinks, a generous beer selection (it is a gastropub after all), bottles, cans, and draft, more than a dozen cocktails (all named after places in San Francisco), and wine.

The wine line up looks legit, broken not into categories of red/white/sparkling, but also into "Approachable" ($12-18), "Lavish" ($19-26), and "Xtravagant" ($35-45, all Coravin preserved).

I went for a cocktail, but wish I had opted for wine.

No mocktails were offered, and an attempt to order one was met with lukewarm "I could ask about it".

Wine Bottle List.

A bottle list is also available.

Ocean Beach? $15. Dolores Park?

"Monkey Shoulder Scotch, Sweet Vermouth, Cherry, Blood Orange."

For my cocktail, I ordered the Ocean Beach.  I was told it was the most popular.

I was confused when I tasted it however.  It tasted ... like beets.  I told myself that it was my just my brain playing tricks on me due to the red color, which I decided must be from cherry and blood orange.  It also tasted floral.  Botanical.  Herby.  I really couldn't detect cherry or blood orange, and really, really didn't taste scotch.  It was a bit too sweet, unexpected from a scotch drink.

My confusion intensified when I found a slice of beet in it at at the end.  Um, what?  When our bill arrived, I checked, and it did say Ocean Beach.  I thought I was crazy at this point.

But later, when I re-read the menu, I decided this must have been the "Dolores Park", not the "Ocean Beach".  Yes, both San Francisco neighborhoods, but very different.  The ingredients in the Dolores Park?  Gin, beets, lavender, jasmine, orange blossom.  Yeah, something that *would* taste like beets and botanicals.  Sigh.

Minus a point for this mix-up.

Food

While I enjoy a nice glass of wine or cocktail, I was there for the food, obviously.  This is a dining club after all!

Dinner Menu.

The dinner menu is broken into 5 sections: to share (appetizers), salads, flatbreads, entrees, and sweets.  I appreciated that the dessert menu was provided up front, so I could plan how much "space" to save!  I often ask for dessert menus before ordering my main meal, and this saved me the effort.

Our group opted for one "to share", one salad, one entree, and two desserts, plus a bar snack gift from the kitchen, all to share.  It was the right amount of food for our not that hungry group of 3 (we weren't planning to go out that night, it just happened).

To any menu item, you can add truffle butter, black cod, chicken, steak, avocado, bacon, or egg.  Or you can opt for "Luxury Add-Ons", seared foie gras or several types of truffles.  Because, although this is a casual gastropub, it is still an Alexander's establishment after all!  If you want to go big, you certainly can.  Yes, you could totally add a hunk of seared foie to your ... salad.  Or your ... mac and cheese (hmmm ...).

To Share

The starters section of the menu is called "to share", which, I understand the naming, but, the flatbreads also look to share?  And, well, we shared everything.

This section has classic standards like oysters, cheese, and charcuterie and also some bar snacks, taken up a notch, like a fancy mac n cheese, ribs (served with tempting sounding slaw and cornbread), wings (house made hot sauce), and fried stuff - regular fries, sweet potato fries, and, their signature tots.  We went for the later.

Totes M'Goats Tots. $12.

"CHEVRE GOAT CHEESE, HOUSEMADE KETCHUP, PICKLE MAYO."

We started with the cutely named "Totes M'Goats Tots" to share.

So, the tots.  ALX seems to have two signature items.  One is the burger, although that one struggled, and the other, the tots.  The "Totes M'Goats Tots" that is.

Now, I was almost crazy excited about these.  Fresh crispy fried things, with housemade sauces, is exactly my style.  But ... GOAT CHEESE ALERT.  I hate goat cheese (yes, I've tried all kinds.  Yes, my sister even has goats, I had her goat milk, cheese, ice cream, etc.  I've had it fresh as can be.  I've had award winning goat cheese of all varieties, fresh, aged, etc.  I'm sorry, I don't like it).

We still ordered the tots, as the others like goat cheese, and I wanted to see if possibly I could ignore the goat cheese.

They arrived extremely quickly, before our drinks even.  Ridiculously hot and fresh from the fryer, but not oily.  The serving vessel, a little metal fry basket, was a cute touch (that we'd see again in the dessert round).

The texture of the tots was fantastic.  Super crispy exterior, and inside, was like mashed potato.  Well, oozing cheese mashed potato.  So fabulous ... almost.  It *was* goaty , so I just couldn't really like it.  I respected everything about the execution though, and the form factor, and wished more than anything that something other than goat cheese was used.  "I like how perfectly crisp the outside is", said one diner.

The house made ketchup I really liked.  A strange thing to call out, but it was quite flavorful, the spicing in it was lovely.  The pickle mayo was also good, creamy mayo, bits of pickle, but it was the ketchup that really shone.

I think these were a remarkable item, just not the cheese for me.  They were actually my favorite dish, just because I respected them and almost loved them so much.  Third pick of one other diner.  Please ALX, make a version with a different cheese ...

Scotch Egg (gift from kitchen).

As we indulged in our tots, a second dish appeared, a gift from the kitchen.  A ... scotch egg!  This wasn't on our dinner menu, but is available on the separate bar menu.  It came perched atop some nicely dressed greens.  My companions really enjoyed the greens and kept mentioning how well dressed they were, particularly once that egg yolk came oozing out and coated them.

So, about that egg (and yolk).  As you can see, it was pretty good egg porn, oozing out as I cut it in half.  Eggs aren't really my thing, so I don't have much to say about it, besides that it was a fine cooked egg with runny yolk.

The sausage based coating was fantastic.  I was surprised to find it packed some heat, just the right amount to keep you going back for more.  The sausage was really nicely seasoned, and that spice ... excellent.  "This is really perfectly spiced in my opinion," said my companion.  It was also perfectly crispy on the exterior, just like the tots.

A very well executed dish, the second favorite of the one diner who gave me his votes ("They just have this hint of something special", he said), but only my forth pick since I'm just not that into egg.

Salads

One area of the menu that seems to be constantly evolving is the salad lineup.  The menu had three available on our visit, and all sounded pretty interesting to me, which is quite rare.  I am not a big salad eater, and I certainly don't order them in restaurants, but each one had unique components, and all used interesting greens as the bases.  They sounded like all very thoughtful salads, full of colors and textures and flavors.

So, yes, we ordered a salad.

Marin Salad. $12.

"CASHEW KALE CHIPS, DRIED CHERRIES, BALSAMIC, YOGURT, PARMESAN."

This was a really good salad.  But yes, it was just a salad.  Next time, I'll throw some foie gras on top ... I'm only half joking.

The salad really was nicely done.

The kale chips were actually the part that made me want to order this, I do sometimes really love kale chips, particularly ones coated in things like nutritional yeast to make them "cheesy".  I wasn't sure how they'd work in a salad, and the answer was that they were kinda crushed up and used on top.  I liked them quite a bit, but they were easily lost, just a bit of crunch added.  I'd love to see these offered as a bar snack or alternative to fries, in a larger portion!

The real crunch in the salad came from sunflower seeds, not mentioned on the menu.  Not my top choice, but they went well with the salad, were more interesting than standard pecans or walnuts, and added that needed crunch.  Chew came from dried cherries, again, not my top choice, but slightly interesting, and a nice match with the sunflower seeds.  There was also shredded parmesan on top,  which I appreciated for the salt and strong aged flavor.

The base greens were the best part (besides the kale chips that is).  Fresh, crisp, assorted greens.  I appreciated the spicy greens in the mix, and non-standard offerings.  It is hard to be excited about greens, but, these really did put in a good showing.

It was lightly dressed in a decent enough balsamic vinaigrette, with an additional yogurt based dressing in the base of the bowl that you could mix in as desired (we didn't realize this initially, and all served from the top, missing it until we were halfway through the salad).  The yogurt dressing was quite tart, not really my thing.

Overall though, a nicely designed and composed salad, with unique ingredients.  My third favorite dish.

Entrees

We skipped the next portion of the menu, flatbreads, available in two sizes, and moved on to an entree: the signature foie gras wagyu burger.  

Our group split only one entree, not because the others didn't sound good, but because we all had been at a happy hour with food prior, and weren't that hungry and knew this burger was going to be quite heavy.  The other options included something in just about every major protein group: seafood (black cod!), poultry (beer can chicken), vegetarian (a fairly boring sounding risotto with sous vide egg), plus pork, ribeye, and a less decadent burger.  My second choice certainly would have been the black cod.

 Foie-Gyu Burger. $44.

"2 OZ FOIE GRAS, 15% WAGYU BEEF, TRUFFLED MUSHROOM DUXELLE, WHITE CHEDDAR, CRISPY SHALLOTS /W FRIES."

Well hello, burger!

I've long loved the burger served at Alexander's Steakhouse (bar only), and when ALX opened, this was touted as *the* signature item.  Perfectly fitting, for a gastropub spin-off of the steakhouse.  The only problem?  People didn't really like it.  Reviews were ... tepid.  I was still excited to try it, but I was even more thrilled when I learned that ALX has taken the feedback and already changed the burger entirely.

The previous version was slightly less expensive, but came with the foie gras integrated into the patty.  Now, it comes topped with a beautiful seared portion.  ZOMG.  It used to have a different cheese, and other toppings, but always had crispy shallots spilling out everywhere.  It looked (and was) very messy to eat, and was pretty busy, but I couldn't wait to dig in.  And yes, it was $44, although, adding the same 2 ounce portion of foie to any item costs $20 normally, so its really a $24 burger with foie added.  You could also opt for the regular burger, with cheddar and mayo, for only $15 if that is more your style.

The fries however were entirely forgettable.  Thin, crispy fries, they were ... fine, but highly highly uninteresting.  None of us finished them.  I'd recommend subbing out for at least the sweet potato fries.

House made ketchup was provided alongside the burger as well.

Foie-Gyu Burger (Medium-Rare): Closeup.

So, this burger.  As I said, it was quite a mess to eat, even worse because we were trying to split it.  But even if you weren't the fillings were so extensive that there was no way to do this cleanly.  Which isn't a bad thing, just don't wear a white top, and be on a first date?  It was quite satisfying to dig into in all its messy glory.

Starting with the bun.  They picked my favorite type of bun, a brioche bun, fluffy and light, well toasted on both sides, gleaming.  The inside was slathered with house made mayo.  I usually could care less about a bun, but this one was really quite good.  "I really, really like the bun," one of my companions said, and I entirely agreed.  Don't get a lettuce wrap.  You want this bun.

Then there is the burger patty.  We asked for medium-rare, and, a true medium rare it was.  Two of us lamented it was actually a bit more rare that we'd like, and that we would have enjoyed it more if it was more cooked.  That isn't to say the kitchen cooked it rare, it was medium-rare, but I think particularly for a patty that is so high fat content with the wagyu, it needed a bit more.  That said, the patty was juicy and fine, just not particularly remarkable.  I did wish for a harder sear on it however.

On top of the patty was perfectly melted white cheddar cheese, plenty of it.  It was decently sharp, so provided good flavor, and seriously, I've rarely seen cheese melted on just that well.  Then there was a mushroom duxelle with a bit of truffle in it, decent flavor, not too "truffle oil" tasting if you know what I mean.  I think I might prefer this without it actually, just to taste the other elements more, but it certainly enhanced the burger in some ways.

And then the best part.  The 2 ounce portion of foie gras perched on top.  Just as the cheese was perfectly melted,  this was perfectly executed too.  Great sear on it.  Decadent, perfectly prepared, fantastic.  The Alexander's restaurant group certainly knows how to do foie gras.

The crispy shallots spilling out everywhere were tasty and added nice crunch, and I didn't mind scooping them up from around the plate.  The very large fresh crisp lettuce provided a slight bit of freshness and crispness amongst the other heavy elements, quite necessary.  Its position above the bun base however made it so the juices from the burger didn't run into the bun, something I always like.

So, overall?  This was a well composed, well executed burger.  Every element had its place, although there was a lot going on.  The favorite dish of one companion, my second favorite just due to the foie and bun, they really shone.

I'd get this again, and try it medium, but I don't necessarily consider it a "must get" item, and I think, due to the richness, it is best split with others.

Sweets

As a dessert girl, I was fairly let down by the options.  The sweets lineup was not particularly inspiring, at least, for me.  

Housemade sorbets and ice cream (made using liquid nitrogen), a seasonal cobbler, chocolate cake (I don't have caffeine at night), a cookie platter served with milk (cute, but, no), churros, and profiteroles.

The ice cream flavors were actually fairly interesting, peanut butter or elderberry balsamic, but, just a scoop of ice cream?  Not a "real dessert" in my world, to me, ice cream is part of a sundae, or served alongside a warm baked dessert.  That said, they did have a seasonal cobbler served with ice cream, normally something I'd love, but, the seasonal fruit was smoked pear, which, eh.

So we settled on churros and profiteroles, a bit half-heartedly.  They didn't really deliver.

Profiterealz. $10.

"Crunchy top, sage honey caramel, blood orange cream." 

I never really like profiteroles, as I don't care for choux pastry much of the time (too eggy).   And I don't tend to like citrus desserts.  Let's just get that out there.  But these I liked less than normal, and it was due to the execution.

They game 4 to an order, nicely plated with the red fluid on the plate, which I think was blood orange?  It didn't taste like much, and there wasn't enough to actually dunk or even drag the profiteroles though.  Pretty, but lost.

I was intrigued by these due to the description with the "crunchy top".  That sounded unique.  Maybe like crunchy asian buns?  But, they ... didn't really have a crunchy top.  They weren't soggy or anything, but I certainly wouldn't describe as particularly crunchy.  The pastry itself wasn't eggy, usually what I dislike about choux pastry and thus profiteroles, but it also wasn't light and airy as it should be.  Maybe ... that was the crunchy part?

On top of the pastry though was the sage honey caramel, and that was fairly unique and fascinating.  "Oh, wow!", my notes read.  You truly could taste the honey and the sage, in a sweet caramel.  I appreciated the subtleties of it.  I also liked the candied bit of citrus rind on top.

Great toppings, but, the rest?  Eh.

Profiterealz: Inside.

Inside was the blood orange cream.  I love creams, but was a bit leery of the blood orange, just because I don't really like citrus desserts most of the time.  On the plus side, there wasn't too much citrus here for me.  But on the minus ... there also just wasn't much cream at all.  The cream that was there was very thin, and ran out as I bit into it.

These were not a winner for anyone in the group.  I ate one, one other diner ate one, and the other only took a single bite.  None of us wanted the final one.  We wouldn't get these again.

Baby Churros. $10.

"Chocolate sauce, dulce de leche."

The menu listed "baby" or "papi" churro options.  I inquired about these, to learn that "Papi" was a large taco shaped churro, filled with avocado ice cream scoops, and the "Baby" were small little churros.  All are made to order.

We opted for the baby churros, and they really were cute little things.  Served just like the tots, in a fry basket, with two dipping sauces on the side, this time, chocolate and dulce de leche.  And just like the tots, they were hot and fresh, made to order, clearly freshly delivered from the fryer.

The churro bites were ... fine.   Crispy.  Not oily.  Well coated in cinnamon and sugar.  The dulce de leche was also ... fine.  Sweet, standard.  I didn't try the chocolate, because, caffeine.

These just weren't inspiring.  There wasn't anything wrong with them, and the serving was cute, but we all commented on how we wanted to like them more than we did.  One person had two, and put down his fork, saying they weren't worth it.  I kept trying, because I really did want to like them, and I couldn't point at anything *wrong* with them.  My other companion just dunked them into more and more of the sauces, but even the dulce de leche wasn't really improving things for me.  I wanted something creamy perhaps.

When the staff asked what we though, I was honest, and mentioned that the profiteroles were lacking filling, and that I thought the churros would be better with whipped cream to dunk into.  Moments later, a little bowl of whipped cream arrived!  Fairly amazing, as, I don't think they have whipped cream to go with any of the other menu items?  If I thought they had it on hand, I actually would have asked for it ...

The whipped cream really did help, as my fellow diner noted, they were "way better!" this way, as they were just a bit too dry without it.

But even with the whipped cream, I wouldn't order these again.  Perhaps the taco version with a fun ice cream flavor would be better?

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Olive & Cocoa

Olive & Cocoa is ... a gift giving company.  Need a gift for any one, at any time, and they could be your answer.  Their gifts range from flowers, to household decorations, to, well you guessed it, food items.  They are also known for their gift baskets and corporate gifting, and hence, you may see where this story is going. 

"At Olive & Cocoa, we strive to make giving and receiving gifts a beautiful experience. From food crates, award-winning florals, inspired décor, and exquisitely presented gifts for every occasion. Our gifts always make a grand entrance."

My encounters with Olive & Cocoa were at my office, around the Christmas holidays, when a client gave big gift baskets to everyone they had worked with, and thus, there were many snacks and confections "up for grabs".  All came in large wooden crates, each item individually wrapped and tied with twine.

I of course was eager to try as many items as I could.

Savory

"Whether you're looking for a gift basket with a hint of sweet or salty, our savory gift crates are sure to satisfy everyone's cravings. Each crate is curated with flavor and quality in mind, hand-picked by the taste experts here at Olive & Cocoa. From decadent chocolate covered pretzels to artisan cheese and charcuterie, our gift baskets are designed to satisfy all of your gourmet snacking needs. Our mouth-watering gift baskets and crates range in selection and size, so you're sure to find the perfect tasty treat."

Olive & Cocoa has many savory options, including nuts, crackers, cured meats, and cheese, along with assorted dips and spreads, but for the most part, I ignored the savory lineup.

Jumbo Corn Nuts.

I was drawn in however by the massive corn nuts.  I'm pretty particular about corn nuts, and these turned out to be exactly the kind I love.

Huge size, super crispy, super salty.  Savory, satisfying, addicting.  Great to munch on, great to add into salads, just, great!

Sweet

"Satisfy their sweet tooth with an assortment of fine sweets from Olive & Cocoa. Crafted by world-class chocolatiers and confectioners, our sweet gift baskets are sure to treat the lucky recipient to an unforgettably delicious experience. Deliver a crate of delectable chocolates, gummy candies, English toffee treats, buttery cookies and more. Our impressive array of edible gift baskets and crates has something for everyone."

The sweets are of course where I had my sights set. Our boxes had a large variety of sweet items, ranging from healthier choices like dried fruits, to many chocolate covered confections, to of course, my favorite, popcorns.

Rocky Road Popcorn.

"Creamy and rich chocolate is drizzled atop popcorn, marshmallows and almonds."

This was great.  As you know, I'm an avid popcorn fiend, particularly sweet varieties.

I didn't actually find any almonds, but the popcorn was well popped, the chocolate added some texture as it was harder, and the marshmallow (which I thought was white chocolate actually) gave more sweetness.

Fine at room temperature, but, like most coated popcorns, better frozen.

Dusted Chocolate Toffee Almonds.

These were ... fine.

I didn't taste toffee exactly, but they were sweet and had a nice crunch to them.  Powdered sugar on the outside added to that (and, to the messy fingers effect!)

Malted Balls.

Another item that was ... fine.  Just, fine.

Basic milk chocolate, standard malt center.  No better nor worse than any other brand.

White Chocolate Gummy Bears.

These were almost good.

The white chocolate coating was fairly standard, sweet white chocolate

It was the gummy bears though I didn't care for, for a rather amusing reason: they were too ... fruity?  The flavors were quite intense, and even after trying each color (which I could make out faintly through the coating), I never found a color that appealed.  The green ones were the worst!

I passed them off to a friend who did enjoy them though, so, to each their own ...

Chocolate Cinnamon Bears.

The chocolate cinnamon bears were surprisingly more successful.  I say surprising because I truly thought the chocolate, cinnamon, and gummy candy combo would be horrible.

I loved the cinnamon bears themselves, huge size, perfect level of chew, great cinnamon flavor.  The milk chocolate coating was good, smooth, creamy, decent milk chocolate.  Both great components.  They went together like ... Mexican chocolate I suppose.

I can't say I want milk chocolate on my cinnamon gummy bears, and would prefer them separate, but I still enjoyed these quite a bit.

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Milk Chocolate Pretzels

The pretzels weren't anything special.  Standard twist shape, standard milk chocolate coating.  About the same as any other brand I've ever tried.

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Max's Bakery

Max's Bakery and Kitchen.  Max's Opera Cafe.   Max's Eatz and Fresh Bakery.  Max's World.  Whatever iteration you know it as, Max's is a Bay Area business that has really show it knows how to pivot and adapt to the time.  It is kinda impressive actually.

I don't know the full history of the Max's empire, but, they've had several restaurants over the years, and at some point started selling some of their signature desserts wholesale.  Many of the restaurants have closed, although Max's Opera Cafe near Civic Center in SF is still going strong, with a huge menu with seems to have every crowd pleaser imaginable.

"Max's Bakery team has years of large production experience.  Our bakery is well  equipped  to handle all kinds of baked goods. Max's also has it's own line of bakery products that are well known throughout the Bay Area. "

I've never been to any of the restaurants, but I've tried a slew of their desserts and baked goods, as my office got some items from them for a while.  While I'm not sure I'd consider them "well known", you may have also encountered their baked goods, or grab n go items, at the airport, as they stock many of the concessions at SFO, and the San Jose and Oakland airports.

"Our desserts are excessive because nothing succeeds like excess."

At the actual restaurant, Max's does serve rather large, many layer cakes, etc, but the items I had were all for catering setup, sheet cakes instead, so I wouldn't consider any of "excessive".

Most everything I tried was fine.  Better than average for wholesale baked goods perhaps, but not remarkable.  There were no real duds though, so that is saying something. 

 Ultimate Chocolate Cake.

"Layers of chocolate cake, bittersweet chocolate and fudge covered in chocolate ganache."

I believe this the most famous of Max's desserts, and I was eager to try it, even though chocolate based desserts are not my favorite by any means.

It was ... well, chocolate cake.  Fairly boring chocolate cake base, thicker layer of ganache, light fluffy frosting, drizzle on top.  Sure, it was chocolate cake, but, nothing particularly notable about it in any way.

Update: I've since had it again, as many of my co-workers routinely rave about it.  I still find the cake layer boring, but the chocolate frosting is decent, and a very generous layer.  I also realized it has a thick dark chocolate layer on the base that gives a bit of crunch, also a highlight.

New York Cheesecake.

"Creamy, smooth and rich real cream cheese filling in a thick graham cracker crust."

I call this ... the most mediocre cheesecake ever.

The cheesecake was ... fine.  There really isn't much more to say about it than that.  The texture was decent, firm, creamy.  The flavor was decent, you could taste the cream cheese.  The crust was buttery compressed graham crackers, not too thick, not to hard.

Everything about it was absolutely fine, and unremarkable in any way.  Not a cheesecake you'd ever crave, but also not one you'd ever complain about.  It was fine, really, but very boring.

Carrot Cake.

"Fluffy, spiced cake filled with raisins, pineapple, pecans and coconut layered and topped with creamy cream cheese icing."

I love carrot cake, but this I didn't care for.

The cream cheese icing on top tasted like lemon, it didn't really have cream cheese flavor to it, and it was not a very good texture.  I really disliked the coconut on top, as it was soggy and quite off putting.

The cake was somehow both dry and moist at the same time.  Moist from the plentiful plump raisins and chunks of pineapple, but the cake itself was quite dry.  I did like the crunch from the nuts.

The best element was actually the base, which you can't see here, THAT was white chocolate.  Crunchy, sweet, white chocolate on the bottom.  Why?  I can no idea.  But at least that part was good.

Chocolate Danish Roll.

This was a decent pastry.  In my world, more appropriate as a breakfast item or mid-afternoon coffee break snack than a full on dessert, but, I liked it more than any of the Max's cakes.

The dough was not croissant dough as I expected at first, but rather, more of a sweet bread.  It wasn't too dry, but wasn't particularly interesting.

In-between the rolls was dark chocolate, fairly flavorful, quasi-melted chips. 

Chocolate Danish Roll: Bottom.

The bottom is coated in dark chocolate, a thick layer.  I liked the coating, kinda the best part of the item for me.

Overall, this was ok, but not anything I'd get again, and most likely better warm.

Chocolate Danish Roll: October 2019.

Well, I had another.  They do always look so good.

This time I tried a bite at room temperature ("Meh, its fine, but not anything special"), and immediately set to warming it up, fetching some vanilla ice cream, and pulling out a can of whipped cream.  

It was marginally better warm, but still, even the a la mode and whip couldn't transform this into more than it was.  Meh.

Raspberry Rugelach.

The rugelach was fairly classic.

Rolled with a filling that contained both apricot and raspberry, and some chopped nuts.  The pastry was decently flaky, crispy, and I liked the larger pearl sugar on the outside, and the cinnamon spicing.

Overall, quite fine, although the raspberry + apricot + cinnamon element wasn't particularly compelling for me.

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The Argentum Project

6th & Mission.  6th & Market.  Not exactly a "destination" neighborhood for most, but, one day, early in the pandemic, it was my destination.  I was headed to The Argentum Project, located on 6th, right between Market & Mission.

“Greek-style coffee cafe.”

The Argentum Project was doing takeout only, with a reduced menu, so I didn't get to experience the "cafe" aspect really.  I also didn't get to experience the item that I sought out, the item that lead me there in the first place: their Greek soft serve frozen yogurt!  You know how much I enjoy good soft serve.

However, I was still able to enjoy a Greek pastry, somewhat different from my usual dessert lineup, and met the very friendly owner.

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

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

I ordered in advance, and ordered the soft serve greek yogurt, only to arrive and find they didn't have the machine set up (which, makes sense, given the low volume of pandemic days).

Setting

As I mentioned, the shop is located right on 6th street.

Covid Friendly Store Front.

Because my visit was early on in the pandemic, they had created a makeshift takeout only setup, by just blocking the front door with a table.  You could not enter at all.  To order, or pick up, you just kinda hollered around the corner inside.  The pastry display case was not visible from the street, sadly.

Menu.

They did have a menu posted in the window, but, it was the full regular menu, many items were not available.

The menu is full of savory lunch items like pita sandwiches, salads, and Greek platters with all their homemade dips.  You can also purchase the dips and spreads individually.  

But I had no interest in lunch, or savory food, as I was there for my dessert.  Greek yogurt is usually available 2 ways - as regular unsweetened greek yogurt, or, as soft serve, available in two flavors (original, no sugar, or vanilla).  Either way you can add honey syrup, sour cherry, baklava crumbles, fruit, or granola.   Alas, not available.

So I investigated the pastry lineup, which basically was different styles of phyllo dough wrapped around a filling, either sweet or savory.  Had I wanted slightly savory, the tyropita, filled with cheese and egg mixture sounded interesting.  But I honed in on the Bougatsa, a Greek variation of a börek, which came in both sweet and savory versions: semolina custard, cheese, or minced meat filling.

Boutgatsa Wrapped.

I was handed over my goodie, wrapped very well in paper.  Too bad I wanted to rip into it immediately ...

The serving style was odd to me, but perhaps this is common for Greek bakeries?

Sweet Custard Creme Bougatsa / Bougatsa me krema. $3.50. (Quarter)

"Flaky pastry filled with a sweet semolina custard and topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon."

Bougatsa is made in a large pan, and then cut into pieces.  I ordered just the quarter, a nice sized triangle.  It is normally served hot and fresh, but, since this was made in advance, it was cold, but she warmed it for me.

The pastry on top was just a thin layer, a bit soft, perhaps from the reheating method?  The piece on the bottom however was thicker, more layers, extremely crispy, but extremely greasy.  It wasn't a nice buttery pastry sort of grease, it just felt heavy and oily.  I'll admit I was a bit put off by the amount of grease clearly soaked up by that bottom layer.

When I reheated it later at home, I was able to get the top layer fairly crispy, and I did love how crispy the bottom stayed, but I needed to actually wipe down some of the grease to enjoy it.  I did love the texture the crispy pastry had though.

But of course, the pastry is only part of the treat.

Sweet Custard Cream Bougatsa: Side.

The inside was the sweet custard.  Thick, rich, slightly eggy.  Sorta like the filling of a Portuguese pastel de nata or a Chinese dim sum egg tart, but inside a flaky thin Greek pastry instead.  I believe it is semolina based in some way?

At room temperature, or fridge temperature, I wasn't that into the filling ... it seemed a bit too solid, a bit too much like a quiche, but when warmed up, it softened, loosened, and was quite tasty.  And the play of textures with the pastry was good.

I liked this best heated up, with a scoop of ice cream, but I realized that is entirely not how it is intended to be served.  I think I'd like to try it fresher perhaps, as it just seemed to fall a bit short, and I know that Argentum Project is known for having excellent pastries.

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EA Cafe

I've been eying EA Cafe since it opened in late 2020.

A new poke place, not horribly far from my house.  Even more exciting, at least to me, is that it is not just any poke place, but one that also has ... soft serve ice cream.  And not just any soft serve, they offer up Milk Cow, from Korea.  I'm familiar with the brand, and was overjoyed to see it nearby.  Oh be still my heart.

EA Cafe also is, uh, a cafe, with a line of espresso drinks, coffee, tea, slushies, smoothies (and milkshakes using the aforementioned soft serve!), and they have standard pastries and little cakes in the pastry case (purchased from local wholesale bakery, except for the Japanese cheesecake, which is the owner's speciality, and she makes herself). There is also a small sushi menu (basic rolls), a few appetizers, hot teriyaki rice bowls, and a few sides.  But in my mind, it is a poke and soft serve establishment - why get anything else?

"We have quickly become a favorite spot in the neighborhood as more and more people keep discovering our little shop. Our freshness and quality set us apart, so please come see for yourself and visit us at EA Cafe today!"

I was very, very worried that EA Cafe would not survive - brand new, starting right around COVID times.  Poke places, not exactly novel around here these days.  So many well established business were going under.

But somehow, EA made it through.  It helps that poke is really an idea takeout item, and, well, the quality at EA Cafe is high.  

I need to also give a shout out to the staff.  On every visit, the staff were incredibly friendly, and really truly created a welcoming, neighborhood vibe.  I believe the owners are the ones who run the entire place. 

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

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

I've ordered through Ritual (so easy!) and Seamless, but they are listed on several others as well, and you can also order in person.

Highly, highly recommend.

Curb Appeal.

EA Cafe is located at 3rd & King, right near the ballpark, an area that would normally be quite vibrant, with plenty of foot traffic ... if the stadium was operating, which it was not for the first ... year? of its existence.  The sidewalk sign, featuring the soft serve, quickly drew me in.

They have no seating (nor space for it), offering takeout only, which made the COVID imposed dining restrictions ideal for them.  Inside is quite tiny, just enough space for the pastry display case, the soft serve assembly station, and a small kitchen area out back.

Poke Bowls

"Treat yourself to a simple and delicious meal with one of EA Cafe's poke bowls. Prepared with fresh ingredients, our cafe presents a colorful array of bases, proteins, and toppings to choose from to custom build your bowl just the way you like it. We are quickly becoming a favorite within the neighborhood, so if you're in the area, please stop by and try one of our tasty poke bowls at EA Cafe today!"

My first visit, I was there for the poke.

For those who don't want to make decisions, the "Signature" lineup has already curated selections, but of course, highly opinionated Julie wanted to design her own.

Custom Poke Menu.

Custom bowls are available in 2 sizes, regular (2 proteins, $10.95) or large (3 proteins, $12.95).  Reviews, and friends who had visited before me, warned that the regular is massive, far more generous than most places.

The poke lineup is reasonably extensive - not the most extensive I've seen, for sure, but, plenty of options, including some upgrades. 

Bases are just sushi rice, brown rice, or mixed greens (alas, no kale, no chips options here, nor, uh, zoodles if those are your style).  Proteins are equally simple: classic salmon and tuna, along with tofu for the vegetarians, and two types of crab salad (regular or spicy).  Unagi is available for an extra fee.  I give +1 point for the spicy crab option, but -1 point for it being a protein, rather than a topping as is common.

Next up is the mix-ins, the ones that get integrated into your base, again, standard, basic, but decent lineup: edamame, red onion, cucumber, sweet corn, green onion.  

Only 3 sauces are available: standard poke sauce, creamy spicy mayo, and "sesame sauce".  Not extensive, but hitting every category.

Toppings, limited to only 4 for free (or all for $3 extra) include seaweed salad, ginger, pickled radish, cabbage, masago, wasabi, and furikake, along with extras like kimchee, avocado, and tamago for $1 each extra.  I was thrilled to see the masago and tamago.

The only area I really felt was lacking was the crunchy toppings ... there were ... none?  No crispy onions nor shallots, no renkon chips, etc.

Still, a reasonable lineup, and I was more than happy to craft a bowl.

Build Your Own Regular Poke Bowl.
Regular. $10.95 + Extras = $14.95.
Base: Mixed Salad.

So, yeah.  My glorious creation.  I asked to have my sauces on the side, rather than added on, so I could add them at my leisure, a request that was easily accommodated.  I also splurged on some upgrades, like unagi and tamago.

Digging into this was glorious, as it was really loaded up with goodies, so many more than what you can just see here.

For a base, not being a rice eater, I went for the only salad option, the mixed greens.  The greens were clearly crazy fresh, super crisp.  A nice mix of assorted baby lettuces, spinach, etc.  No complaints, although, yes, I prefer kale.  The portion was quite generous, although it didn't take away from all the other goodies loaded into my bowl.

Spoiler: This bowl was fabulous.  *****, would absolutely get again.

Toppings & Proteins:
 Spicy Crab / Unagi (+$3) / Tamago (+$1)
Ginger / Masago / Pickled Radish / Seaweed Salad

Picking proteins was easy.  I adore crab, I was drawn in by the unique unagi offering, and, well, I always get tamago at sushi restaurants as part of "dessert" ...

The proteins were all front and center on top, and they were fabulous.

The real attraction to this bowl, or at least the item I was particularly interested in as it is far more rare to find at a poke shop, was the unagi, which did cost me a $3 upgrade.  I'll admit of course that I was slightly skeptical, as this is not a very high volume place, not a sushi restaurant, etc, but my risk was rewarded with 4-5 slices of warm bbq unagi that I truly adored.  Beautifully soft, melt in my mouth, just, delicious, really, although quite sweet.  I'd gladly get this time and time again.  I wished I could order *just* unagi nigiri, actually ...

The sweet unagi was complimented nicely by my choice of spicy crab, a scoop of pretty standard shredded style crab (likely surimi?) mixed with spicy mayo.  It had a nice kick, no fishiness, again, seemed fresh.  I liked this too, would gladly get again.  It is also available as a side (as is the regular, non-spicy, version).

My $1 add-on for tamago got me 2 slices, and these were fairly generic.  I am not sure if they actually made in house (kinda guessing no), and they lacked a touch of the signature sweetness I love in a good tamago, but, $1 for two slices was pretty nice price, and I wasn't at a sushi restaurant, so still better than I'd expect.  I'd likely skip in the future, I had plenty of other protein with the unagi, crab, and edamame.

My toppings, again, limited to only 4 for free (boo!), were a bit harder, as I wanted them all, but, didn't really want to spend another $3 to make this a nearly $20 bowl ... so I just went prepared, brought my own wasabi and furikake, and, was tempted, really, to bring my own cabbage too ...

Anyway, the toppings were all fairly standard.  A small pile of generic seaweed salad (luckily, *not* the kind that got stuck in my teeth!).  A clump of standard sushi ginger.  Masago scattered throughout.  A pile of pickled radish, again, the pretty standard, scary yellow kind.  No complaints on any of these items, they all helped complete the bowl, I'll get them all again, no question, but there was nothing standout about them.

I was pretty pleased at this point.  And I kept digging ...

Mix-ins & Toppings: Closer Up.
Cucumbers / Edamame / Green Onion / Red Onion / Sweetcorn.

I opted for all the mix-ins: edamame, red onion, cucumber, sweet corn, and green onion.  

Like the base, I was impressed with the freshness of the veggies.  The cucumbers were not crisp exactly, as they were very thinly sliced, but I really liked them this way (I can be quite fickle on cucumbers!).  The red onion, almost shaved style really, adding just the needed hit of acid.  The chopped green onion was pretty easily lost in the mix, but it too added a bit of sharpness.  The edamame was a real standout, really, really fresh tasting.  I really don't think I've had edamame this good before ... anywhere.  It really shocked me.  The only mix-in that was kinda "eh" was the sweet corn, it seemed like it just likely came from a can?

The amount of mix-ins was extremely generous, particularly the cucumber, and the items were very well distributed throughout the bowl, down into the layers of greens.  I couldn't believe just how many mix-ins I kept finding!

Spicy Mayo / Sesame Sauce.

And lastly the sauces, which I had on the side, which I am glad I opted to do.  My bowl had soooo many great things going on that it didn't even really need additional sauces.  All the mix-ins and toppings (particularly seaweed salad) made it quite juicy, the spicy crab already had the spicy mayo in it, and the unagi was coated in sweet bbq glaze.  I added a little extra sauce, but, it truly didn't need much.

I was not sad to go home with near full containers of the sauces though, the spicy mayo was nicely done, yes, just creamy mayo, but it had some pretty decent kick.

The other sauce I believe was the "sesame sauce".  I ordered all three sauces (spicy mayo, sesame, and spicy poke), but only received two.  It was a slightly thick sauce, with, well, a sesame flavor to it.  Good to drizzle over everything, but, had I needed it, the poke sauce certainly would have been nice to have as well, as this didn't seem to have the balancing vinegar or soy I'd want in a basic poke sauce.

Side: Seaweed Salad. $5.

One day, I swung by just to pick up some seaweed salad to add to a poke bowl I planned to make at home.  I was thrilled to see it came with takuan as well, and a very generous sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Same standard seaweed salad I had previously in my poke bowl from EA Cafe, not house made, but, fresh, not too sweet, decent quality seaweed salad.  I was happy enough with it.

***+.

Desserts

As I mentioned, EA Cafe had more than just poke appeal to me.  It was also the promise of great desserts that lured me in.

"If you've got a sweet tooth, EA Cafe has the treats to satisfy your cravings. Already we are known for our Milk Cow ice cream, which we serve daily. You can also view our selection of pastries and cakes in our display case up front, featuring decadent delights such as tiramisu and mixed fruit tarts. Everything served here is of the utmost quality, so please visit us at EA Cafe and try one of our premium desserts today!"

Fruit Tarts.

Most of the desserts are not made in house, and look fairly generic, but the fruit tart really did look nice, clearly fresh fruit, not a frozen item.

Valentine's Day Dessert.

For Valentine's day, they even had special heart shaped cakes.  A nice thought on the owner's part to opt for something special.  But again, not made in house.

Cheesecake.

EA Cafe however does make one dessert item.  The Japanese cheesecake.  

I found this out when I mentioned to the staff member (owner ?) that I had a group of friends who had been talking about Japanese cheesecake, and have been looking for it locally.  She told me that she actually makes it, the one dessert item they make, because she loves it, and has one customer who has been buying it from her for years (before they had the cafe even).

I will try it sometime.

[ No Photo ]

Soft Serve

I somehow lost my photo of my soft serve.  I don't know how.  Was I too excited for it to snap a photo?  No way, I've long since trained myself to always snap first, even for rapidly melting ice cream!  I'll blame my phone :)

Anyway, the soft serve was everything I wanted it to be.  The flavor is just "milk", made by Milk Cow, and it reminded me so much of the milk soft serve in Japan, made from high quality Hokkaido milk (like the Cremia, from Silkream - the richest, creamiest soft serve I've ever had - or Coisof where the parfaits with milk soft serve base were showstoppers or many, many others).  This wasn't quite as creamy and dreamy as the product I had in Japan, and it is from Korea not Japan, but it was quite good.

I'll gladly get it again.

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