Sweet Jesus, Toronto

I adore soft serve ice cream.  I grew up in the land of soft serve cones in the summer, and I just don't understand why San Francisco does not really have this.  I miss it.  There is nothing like licking even a simple vanilla soft serve cone, with rainbow sprinkles, in the sun.

When I visit my hometown in New Hampshire, it is a daily requirement that we get soft serve, at Dairy Twirl or Ice Cream Fore-U.  There are still few other places that have this simple soft serve that I love.  And then I visited Montreal, and learned that soft serve culture was alive and well there, with a focus on quality dips and toppings, like Chocolats Favoris or the even better La Diperie.  I was hopeful that Toronto would prove similar, cuz, you know, another city in Canada ...

My research quickly brought me to Sweet Jesus

"Sweet Jesus was born out of a love for experimentation. As leaders in the confectionery game, the goal is to combine conceptual thinking with high-quality ingredients and products, in an effort to make something that tastes and looks, unlike anything you’ve ever seen and had before. Toronto born and globally grown; Sweet Jesus is the little ice cream shop that wouldn't quit. "

Sweet Jesus is a moderate size chain with locations in Canada, 2 of which were within a 5 minute walk of my hotel or office in Toronto.  I visited my first, and last, days, even though it was *not* ice cream weather.

I had a mixed experience at Sweet Jesus.  The staff ... certainly not the best.  They clearly were bored with their jobs, didn't really like customers or talking to people, and generally would prefer if no one entered the shop.  But they did their jobs.

The ice cream was fabulous, exactly the kind of soft serve I love.  The creations? A mixed bag, one I adored, one I really disliked.

Still, I'd go back.  I just wish they had more flavors (only vanilla or chocolate base), or custom options.

Just follow the cones.

You can tell that Sweet Jesus doesn't offer "average" ice cream, the moment you see the signs out front.

Exterior Bench.

The storefront is otherwise nondescript, with a turquoise bench out front, which turns out to be the only seating, and a color I'd see a lot of.

Interior.

The shop I visited is tiny, basically just an ordering counter, space for 1 staff member to move around, and little else.  Not really any seating, which is a bit unfortunate in the winter when I visited.

They do still try to make it attractive, with plants, and everything following the turquoise color scheme, including the straws and spoons.

Offerings

The main attraction at Sweet Jesus is the "Pimped Out Soft Serve", ridiculously designed ice cream creations, using vanilla or chocolate soft serve, or vegan coconut soft serve, as the base with some very, very interesting toppings, 4-6 on each one.

The menu is rounded out with some equally elaborate hot chocolate (something to keep them in business in the winter?), coffee drinks, shakes, and packaged cookies made by another vendor.

Counter & Menu.

Sweet Jesus is ... an opinionated ice cream shop. You cannot create your own. You can opt for one of their pre-designed creations, or you can get it plain. Two sizes available, "Kids" or "Regular", cake cone, sugar cone, or dish (or upgrade to waffle cone), and that is it.

I sampled the vegan coconut ice cream out of curiosity, but I'm glad I didn't order it, it was far too ... coconuty for me.

The regular ice cream however, both the vanilla and chocolate, were quite good, very creamy, just, great soft serve.

O'Hungry. Kid's Size. Cone.

"Vanilla soft serve, peanut butter sauce, caramel sauce, chocolate peanut crumble, chocolate sauce."

My first visit I went for my top choice, no question.  The O'Hungry.

It used vanilla ice cream as the base, and it was perfectly creamy, just plain vanilla, sorta like McDonald's soft serve vanilla, but I mean that in a good way.  It melted nicely, it was creamy, but it really was there just to be a base anyway.

A base for ... such incredible toppings.  Yes, I know this looked ridiculous (as did I attempting to eat it, I'm sure), but it tasted amazing.  And yes, it was a bit difficult to eat.  My addition of the caramel corn certainly didn't help matters!

The peanut butter sauce, caramel sauce, and chocolate sauce were exactly what you'd imagine.  Perfect combo of sweet, chocolatey, and peanut buttery.  They dripped all over, and infused every bite, in great combination.  I loved the sauces on here.

And but before the sauces were added, the whole thing was rolled in chocolate peanut crumble, and that was amazing.  It added texture, crunch, and, well, tons more chocolate and peanut flavors.  My caramel corn was entirely unnecessary, but I still welcomed it, and I'm glad they let me add it, even though its against their policies.

I normally don't eat ice cream cones (they just taste like Styrofoam, are often stale, etc), but I love licking cones, so I always get them, but this was an exception.  The cone was actually tasty, more like a wafer cookie than dry stale standard cone.  I surprised myself by eating it all.

I enjoyed every last messy bit of this.  I really appreciate the catcher around the cone, so all the bits that fell off weren't wasted.  So much love for this cone.  I'd get another in an instant.

Birthday Cake. Kid's Size. Cone. Sub Vanilla/Chocolate Twist.

"Vanilla soft serve, cream cheese icing, birthday cake bits, rainbow sprinkles."

So I returned my last day in Toronto, when the temperature went back above freezing (I'm not joking, it got so cold!).

This time I opted for an even more ridiculous looking one: Birthday Cake.  I was fascinated by the thought of cream cheese icing on a ice cream cone, and I just love rainbow sprinkles.  I did NOT realize it would actually come with a birthday candle, lit, on top!  I turned around to pick up my ice cream and was quite surprised.  The staff are clearly bored with people's reaction to this though.

I blew out the random candle, threw it out, and felt wasteful.  But I'll admit, it was a little fun.

For this one, I actually had them use the chocolate and vanilla swirl, after sampling the chocolate and liking it quite a bit.  Again, the ice cream was really wonderful, both flavors the perfect texture, so creamy, and the chocolate a mild chocolate in a nice way.  Wonderful base.

But then ... my toppings.  The O'Hungry was a huge success on the topping front, but this was not.

I never found any cream cheese icing.  I'm not sure where it was.  What I did find was a ton of the birthday cake bits.  Why I thought I'd like this is a mystery to me, really.  They were ... just chunks, in various sizes of stale dry birthday cake.  I hated the texture.  I hated the dryness.  I hated it.  The sprinkles (and likely the cream cheese icing?) were lost in it.

I knocked off all the big chunks, and pulled out my emergency backup toppings (sprinkles, heath bar bits, chocolate chips), which of course I had in my bag.

I still loved the ice cream, but sadly, the toppings on this was just not winners.  The cone also tasted kinda stale.

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Mira, Toronto

Today's review is going to be a first. You see, I visited Mira, a Peruvian restaurant in Toronto, with a group, during a business trip. I tried a slew of dishes. I took copious notes. I took mediocre photos. And then ... I got busy with the rest of the conference, flew back home, and ... somehow lost those precious notes.

Usually I just discard content when I have this happen (it does happen, fairly frequently, when I'm traveling for work and don't have time to write up posts).  But this time, instead, you'll just get a pictorial view.

Peruvian Feast.

I dined with a group of ... 7? or so.  Everything was served family style, so we got to try a variety of the menu.

Is Toronto known for its Peruvian food?  Um, no.  But we were able to make a large group reservation with short notice, it did get great reviews, and I was drawn in by the menu.  So, Peruvian feast it was.

I remember being quite fond of the many sauces, and textural elements on the dishes, and eating far more than my share of the desserts.  I think that means a successful meal?

Setting

Hard to find entrance.

One thing I don't require notes to remember ... how hard it was to find the entrance!  My group circled around the neighborhood unable to find it, until we finally discovered the back entrance.

Seating.

"The bar, with its smoky mirrors and dim lights sets the tone for a unique pisco cocktail list that stays true to its Latin American roots while providing familiarity through a classic cocktail lens. A true feast for the senses. Escape to Mira for the evening, tucked away in the heart of Toronto’s King West."

My group was seated at this vantage point, looking down over the rest of the dining room.  We were a fairly last minute reservation, and thus ... clearly got the worst seat in the house, located up a level from everyone else, adjacent to the door that was constantly opening with guests coming and going.  It was not warm outside, and the constant gusts of cold air were not exactly pleasant.

Open Kitchen.

We did have a decent view of the open kitchen, located on the same level as us.

Artwork.

The stairwell to get inside was dimly lit, but at least it had cool artwork?

Bathrooms.

I liked the ambiance on the bathroom level.

Food & Drink

"Mira finds its inspiration from the bold flavours of Peru’s culinary culture. The menu offers a creative and contemporary take on authentic dishes with wide selections of the freshest seafood and meats made into a variety of ceviches, tiraditos and anticuchos."

Menu.

The menu was broken down into Aperitivos, Ceviches, Antichuchos, Carne & Mar, and Acompanamientos.  We selected from most categories, but for those who don't want to make choices, a tasting menu is also available.

While I don't eat peruvian food often, I was pretty drawn in by many ingredients on the menu: purple corn.  octopus.  mango.  fluke.  yuzu kosho.  truffle. rocoto.  furikake. cassava.  plantains.  huitlacoche. And much much more, all ingredients I am fond of.  Many of my dining companions had no idea how to interpret the menu, being unfamiliar with most of it, so I ordered for us.

Complimentary Snack.

Once our orders were taken, a complimentary snack was brought out, seasoned crispy corn nuts.  I was pleased.

El Manana.

"Bourbon + amaro + grapefruit + lime juice + honey syrup + mint + grapefruit + angostura bitters."

To pair with what seemed like a bar snack, I went all in, opting for a bourbon based drink.

CEVICHES & TIRADITOS

Mira Ceviche. $19.

"Fluke + sweet potato + leche de tigre + criollo + cancha corn."

Tiradito Hiramasa. $22.

"Kampachi + jalapeño tigers milk + rocoto jam."

APERITIVOS

Pulpo.$22.

"Spanish octopus + red and yellow ají + purple potato."

Jalea Mixto. $22.

"Market fish + squid + scallop + pickled aji + criollo + yuzu ponzu."

CARNE & MAR

Pollo Inchacapi. $28.

"Cornish hen + aji panca marinade + peanut uchucuta + tamarind glaze."

Sudado de Pescado. $28.

"Branzino + chupe sauce + criollo + amarillo causa + plantain."

ANTICUCHOS

Salmon Teriyaki. $21.

"Ginger + green onion + yuzu kosho + soy beurre blanc."

ACOMPAÑAMIENTOS

Yucca Fries. $11.

"Lime huancaina + jalapeño huacatay."

DESSERT

Port.

Amor con Coco. $13.00.

"Three ways of peruvian chocolate + vanilla ice cream + candy stevia + amaranth crunch."

Mousse de Lúcuma. $13.

"Lúcuma mousse + passion fruit ice cream + caramel + coco nib + mango."

Cachangas Peruanas. $11.

"Crispy pastry + coconut ice cream + lulo sorbet + goose berry sorbet + candied papaya + dragon fruit."

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Rolltation, Toronto

When I travel, I've taken to ordering delivery or takeout poke.  It is kinda my travel thing, ideal for when I just need an easy option on evenings when I'm too worn out to even imagine going out to another fancy meal, and when I want something fairly reliable, moderately healthy, but fun.

And thus, my first night in Toronto, I ordered poke delivery ... while still in a cab from the airport.  It arrived right when I did.  Perfect.

My venue of choice was a chain, Rolltation, with locations all over Toronto.  Home of sushi burritos, plus the bowls I was after.  Not exactly known for plentiful quality sushi options, but every category of the menu had something that really appealed to me, and Yelp reviews were solid, so, it was an easy pick.

Ordering online was easy, I had many options, and went with Uber Eats.  It was delivered even ahead of estimate, no troubles there.

But the actual product ... was just fine.  I wouldn't really order again.

Menu

Rolltation basically just makes made to order burritos/rice bowls/salads, with a few pre-set options, or "Roll your own" style.

All creations come as your choice of sushi burrito, poke bowl (with white or brown rice), or salad (with kale or lettuce).  I was pleased to see the kale option.

Next, protein. Vegetarians can go for tofu, seafood lovers have two shrimp options, either just boiled or tempura, and those who actually want raw fish can pick between salmon or tuna. Your carnivorous non-seafood eating friends can select chicken or beef.  Again, I was pleased to see things like tempura shrimp, as I haven't been into raw fish as much these days.

Then it is time for "veggies", only 3 are included, with options that are fairly standard raw ingredients (cucumbers, onion, carrot, cabbage, tomato, red pepper, kale, lettuce, jicama, jalapeno), plus a few cooked vegetables (purple potato, asparagus, edamame).  You can add 2 more for $0.50 each, but no more.  Again, I was happy enough to see things like jicama and asparagus on the lineup. 

The next category though was odd, just called "toppings", and only 3 included.  This section spanned everything from cheese (?), to kimchi or kidney beans (??), to more standard poke additions like mango, pickled ginger, pickled radish, avocado, two kinds of tobiko, green onion, corn, and seaweed salad or kani salad (for $1 extra each), and then more wildcards like tangerine and even pork floss (yes!).  Many carried a supplemental fee of $0.50-$1.50.  If you wanted more, again, only 2 more were allowed, no matter how much you are willing to pay.  I loved the sounds of so many things here, and wanted far more than 5 I could order.

Then sauce.  A huge lineup of sauces, including 5 types of mayonnaise (sriracha, wasabi, teriyaki, spicy sesame, or plain), fun things like green curry, katsu, and teriyaki, and standards like unagi, sriracha, and even, uh, mango sauce.  Here you could select 2 and no more.  I did like that you can specify regular, extra, slim, or on the side, and I loved the lineup, I just wanted to pick more.

And last but not least, my favorite category: CRUNCH!  But again, limitations!  Only two allowed, no matter how much you pay.  I wanted lotus chips AND tempura bits AND furikake AND garlic crisps, and I had no way to do it.

Roll Your Own: Salmon Burrito. $12.79.

My companion went burrito style, and seemed pleased enough with his selection, salmon base, with cucumbers, kale, red peppers, seaweed salad, pickled ginger, light sauces (teriyaki mayo and unagi), and tempura bits and furikake.

It was a generous size, well stuffed.

He did mention that he prefers Sushirrito, in SF, though.

Roll Your Own: Tempura Shrimp.

 $11.99

I went for a bowl, which came nicely packaged up.  It did seem smaller than many other places, but the size was fine for me.

I opted for a kale base, and cabbage, jicama, and asparagus as my three veggies.  The kale was fine, curly kale, but a fairly small portion.  Again fine, but, if you were expecting a generous salad, this was not it.  The shredded cabbage (red and green) and shredded jicama were also fine, fairly crispy, and in nearly as much quantity as the kale itself.  I liked the base they formed all together, lots of good crunch.

The asparagus was more boring than I expected, and I admit, I ordered this in March, in Toronto, having just left San Francisco where asparagus season started a week or two before, and I had been eating incredible grilled asparagus daily.  This ... was just steamed asparagus.  4-5 half pieces.  It was tender enough, not woody, but quite boring.

So my base was fine, and I liked having a salad option that wasn't mixed greens, but nothing extraordinary here. 

Top Layer: Pickled radish, kani salad, wasabi tobiko, garlic crisps.

On top I could see some of the ingredients I was most excited for, but laughed that I couldn't actually see my signature protein nor half the other toppings.

Starting with what you can see, two of my toppings, wasabi tobiko (+$0.50 for the wasabi version) and pickled radish.  The tobiko definitely wasn't worthy of one of my 3 slots, nor the upcharge, just a tiny, tiny, tiny scoop of green tobiko, that was completely lost in here.  I didn't taste any wasabi at all.

I adore daikon (pickled radish), so I was trilled to see the three large yellow slices right on top, but they lacked any flavor, didn't seem pickled at all, and were thin ... not a style I've seen before.

I used up one of my two extra slots for kani salad (+$1.00), since I love crab, particularly fake crab, and I was pleased with this choice.  Definitely the best element in my bowl.  A decent sized scoop, just shredded fake crab, in mayo.  I would gladly take more and more of it.

And finally, crunch.  I selected my top two crunch as the two I could select (lotus chips, tempura bits), but they were nowhere to be seen.  In the notes, I said I'd love to have furikake and garlic crisps too.  The furikake was also no where to be seen, but I could see garlic crisps right on top.  They were ... uh, garlic-y?  I wasn't particularly pleased with the flavor combo, but that is my own bad choice.  There was a generous amount of them, not just right on top.

So overall, fairly lackluster layer, but the kani salad was the star.

A few more ingredients ... tamago, meat floss, tempura shrimp.

Digging under that layer I finally found ... most of the rest of the ingredients I selected.

My final "topping" was tamago, and I uncovered it to find 3 slices.  The tamago was ... fine?  It wasn't the sweet awesome "dessert" style I get at a sushi restaurant, but it wasn't too eggy/omelet-y, if that makes any sense.  I wouldn't get it again though.

My final extra slot went to the meat floss (+$0.50, so rare to find!), but sadly there wasn't particularly a lot of it.  I also wanted bigger clumps, but it was still a fun thing to get the chance to add.

And finally, the protein choice I went for: tempura shrimp.  You can see two of them here, once I unburied them, on top.  The tempura shrimp was ... not good.  At all.  Three pieces, every single one limp and soggy.  Uh, not what I look for in my tempura.  Two were pale blonde, one darker.  At least they were not soggy, and added some protein?  Not that I needed the protein, with the tamago and kani in there too.

The crunch elements I really wanted, and had picked, the lotus chips and tempura bits, and the additional furikake were never found.  Sad, sad, sad.

So overall, not much exciting here, even though the ingredients *sounded* so different and appealing.

Sauces: Teriyaki Mayonnaise, Katsu, Unagi, Spicy Sesame.

And finally, sauces!  I asked for my two included ones on the side, and asked for two more too.  It was hard enough just picking 4, I kinda wanted them all.  Unlike the crunch toppings, at least I did get these.

The sauces ... were ... interesting.

Top left is the teriyaki mayonnaise, I think, as it was fairly sweet.  Creamy, sweet, ok, and I dunked several things into it.

Top right was ... THE WORST.  I think this was the katsu.  It just tasted ... bad.  I can't even really describe it.  It just had a funk, not a good one.  I did not like it at all.

Then, bottom right, unagi.  I think.  This was very sweet, tasted a lot like teriyaki.  They do have a teriyaki sauce too though, so I'm not convinced this is what I ordered either.

And last, spicy sesame.  This one was actually good, a creamy style, that certainly seemed like mayo, but perhaps was just rich from sesame seeds?  I thought this might be a spicy thin sesame oil / soy sauce type dressing with sesame seeds, and it most certainly wasn't.  I liked the creaminess, the flavor, slight spice.  I dunked nearly everything in this, and mixed it into my salad base.

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Kid Lee, Toronto

When I travel, one thing I love is to check out establishments of the local celebrity chefs.  As I researched Toronto for my short business trip, one name did show up several times: Susur Lee.  The local celebrity chef.

Susur Lee has a fairly fascinating background (from Hong Kong, worked at teh Peninsula Hotel, is wife was killed on a flight destroyed by a Soviet fighter jet ...), but his celebrity status comes from being on Top Chef: Masters, and doing quite well, and since making appearances on other food TV shows.  His restaurant group has a number of establishments around Toronto (and one in Singapore), including a fairly recent casual addition: Kid Lee, all fusion cuisine.

A very famous slaw.

I went for one thing: a very, very famous slaw.

My slaw was a mixed success.  Some parts were just not very good.  But others, so good, that nothing else mattered.  I'd get it again, actually.

Setting

Kid Lee is a departure from the other restaurants, a fast casual place, in a food court, open only for lunch, only during the week.  If you are looking for it, go to the second floor dining area of First Canadian Place.

It was on my radar because it features Chef Lee's most famous dish, the "Singapore Slaw", his take on a Lo Hei salad, a Chinese new year dish I didn't actually know anything about, but gets such great reviews that I just had to seek it out.  Oh, and did I mention, its vegan and gluten-free?

Signage.

It took me a while to spot it, tucked in the corner, because I never saw a sign that actually said "Kid Lee", and I only barely noticed the cursive "by Susar Lee" signage here.

I visited during the off hours, but I am told it gets crazy during lunch.

Hot Foods.

Kid Lee serves much more than just the salad, and the majority of the menu is hot proteins and sides, which you combine to make combos or bowls with healthy bases.  Assembly line style.  None of these items, besides the other signature dish, cheeseburger spring rolls, really called out to me though.

Salad Making.

I'm clearly not alone, as there is an entire separate counter, and entire separate ordering line, just for the salads.  Yes, really.  And people really do say at lunch it gets packed.  For a vegan, gluten-free, *salad*

Salads are tossed to order, and handed over in big bowls.

Grab + Go.

If you want your salad even *faster*, you can opt for it from the grab and go section, which has just the salads, pre-packaged up in separate compartments, for you to mix at your leisure, and drinks.  Nothing else is available at this side counter.  And it too is packed.

Salads!

This section literally is *just* the salads.  Nothing else.  I tell you, these are the main attraction.  I was beyond curious.

Food

Since Kid Lee is open only during the week, and only during lunch and afternoon, my chances to try it were limited.  I decided to swing by late one afternoon to get a salad to go to bring back to the hotel to have later that evening, as I did some work from the hotel.  I was burnt out on dining out.

I ordered in advance, on Ritual, and was given the choice of having it "Save it for Later", which I opted for.  I thought that I'd still get a freshly made one, just with dressing on the side.  I asked for extra taro, thinking I was getting a real made to order salad.  Turns out ... I wasn't.

Signature Slaw: Packaging.

My salad looked exactly like every other one in the grab and go station, and I'm fairly certain it had no extra taro.  Oh well.

I was really impressed with the packaging though.  Not only was the dressing separate, but the crispy components were in their own container AND the veggie components were compartmentalized in the bigger packaging.  Major credit for this packaging.  All 19 ingredients ...

Signature Slaw: Instructions.

Clear instructions were on top: add dressing, add dry ingredients, mix.  Easy peasy!

Of course, I didn't follow them, opting to try things individually first, and make my own perfect creation.

Chef Susur Lee’s Singaporean Slaw. $13.

"Chef Susur Lee's Signature slaw is made with 19 ingredients. Fresh veg, Japanese plum & ginger dressing with a mix of herbs, topped with crispy shallots, taro & peanuts. Gluten free & vegan."

Here you can see it all a bit better.

In the big container, is the base slaw: cucumber, carrot, jicama, all julienned, plus the dressing in its own little container.  The slaw I actually really didn't care for, and I'm not sure why.  It wasn't really crisp, it was kinda soft, and the flavor was ... just off.  I think sorta pickled, but it just kinda seemed old.  I used a little, but mostly discarded this.

On top, in three separate compartments was tomato slices, a mix of herbs (purple basil, coriander, daikon sprouts, edible flower petals, and green onions.), and pickled red onion and ginger.  The tomato was very sad, clearly not ripe, out of season, and I quickly tossed it.  The herbs though were all fresh enough, and added a lot of unique flavors.  The pickled stuff was also fine.

The base was pretty forgettable and not great, and I was glad I had some leftover base from my poke bowl from Rolltation the night before to use instead (just kale and cabbage), but it worked well with all the herbs and pickled stuff.

I was feeling kinda down on this salad, except, the good stuff was still to come.  On the side, in a fairly large container, is all the crunch.

Crispy Ingredients: 

In the smaller, but still sizable, container was the crispy ingredients: rice vermicelli, shredded fried taro root, roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, fried shallots.


I'm all about crunchy components in my salad, and I adore taro chips, so ... yes, I was excited for this. Still, it was better than I even imagined.

So much texture, from the light rice vermicelli, the string-like salty taro shreds, the chunky peanuts, the crazy flavorful fried shallots, and lots of sesame seeds.  All crispy in their own way.  All flavor powerhouses.  All incredible.

Honestly, I'd purchase this mix as a side if I could.  It makes a great snack food.  You can sprinkle it on any salad.  But it was even better when combined with the killer dressing it was intended to pair wtih.

Salted plum and ginger ume dressing.

Because, wow, the dressing was incredible.  The color was amazing too.

The ginger was powerful, but in a vibrant way.  Overpowering, almost, but somehow not.  The plum, fruity and salty, and a punch in the face, in a good way.  I couldn't get over how amazing this dressing was.

Full of umami I guess, sweet, salty, savory, fascinating.

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Wahlburgers, Boston Logan Airport, Toronto Pearson Airport

Wahlburgers is a moderately sized chain based in Massachusetts, run by the Wahlberg brothers: Paul, Donnie, and Mark.  Yes, the later two are actors.  And yes they had a reality TV show about it.  They have mostly casual sit down restaurants, bar and burger focused, but also have airport locations, like the one I visited at Logan Airport, inside security, Terminal C, and in the Toronto Pearson Airport, Terminal 1, US side.  I haven't been to one of the formal restaurants yet.

Menu.

Wahlburgers is a burger place, yes, but there are a ton of other options, many of which really appealed to me.  I'l admit that I was even tempted to get a burger.  Regular burgers are angus blend of brisket, short rib, and chunk, and come simple or as elaborately designed Specialty Burgers, with fun toppings, and even better sauces and spreads. And also, they serve the Impossible Burger!  Gluten-free diners should be happen as well, as they do have gluten-free buns available, and even make gluten-free croutons for the salads.

Speaking of salads, another big section of the menu is Wahlbowls, basically, salads, but, you can basically get a burger made into a chopped salad, lettuce, pickles, cheese, and all.  They have more standard salads as well (Cobb, Caesar, Arugula, etc), and even all the bowls sounded pretty good, again, fun toppings and housemade dressings.

I was also eying the fancy sloppy joe (finished with crispy onions, Wahl sauce, and cheese sauce? Yes!), or the panko crusted fried Haddock sandwich (balsamic tartar sauce!), and basically all the sides ... crispy onion rings! Sweet potato tots!  Skin on fries!  Imagine these with the amazing sauces?!  Yes!  They also are known for the macaroni salad, their grandmother's famous recipe.

The menu is rounded with with shakes, frappes, and ice cream.  Oh yes.

Visit #1, August 2018, Boston Logan Airport

Wahlburgers broke my heart.

And not in the way you likely expect.  They broke my heart by being essentially closed.

I was really excited to get a chance to check out Wahlburgers when I arrived in Boston, and had looked up closing times of everything in the airport before my arrival.  "30 minutes before last departure" was the stated closing time, so I then looked that up, and saw that our 8:30pm arrival would be fine.  Or so I thought.  We were delayed, not arriving until 9:30pm, but I still thought it would be fine.  It was not.

So, after a long flight, I kinda wanted it all.  Fried and salty rings and tots.  All the dipping sauces.  My first Boston fried haddock of the trip.  That macaroni salad.

I had a plan.  I'd pick one side, and settled on sweet potato tots, with a reasonable # of sauces on the side ... I'd limit myself to 3 (trying hard to not just ask for all of them ... I think they make like 15 total, all house made!).   I'd get a Wahlbowl with the fried haddock, and ask for the dressing to be on the side, the crispy onion strings to be on the side (see what I did there? I didn't pick just one side, lol), and add tartar sauce on the side (yup, I picked a 4th sauce, shh).  And I'd get a small macaroni salad.  I'd devour half the tots, the onion strings topping, and the fried fish on the spot, trying out all the dipping sauces.  I'd bring the salad home for later, and it would keep fine a few hours since not dressed.  I'd keep the macaroni salad for the next day, along with the rest of the tots to reheat in the toaster oven.  And I'd have all my sauces to keep using if I loved them.

Such a good plan, right?

Full Service Restaurant.

The airport location has a full service restaurant on one side, and a quick takeout option on the other.

To Go Counter.

I eagerly rushed up to the ordering window for the takeout area, and my heart sank when I saw the reduced menu posted there (from what I had seen online), as it was missing the panko crusted haddock and the Wahlbowl I wanted to order.  I hoped it was still an option, as I wasn't able to go sit in the sit down restaurant because I did actually have checked bags, and I didn't want them abandoned in baggage claim.

But I never got to find out, because, as we walked up, the cashier said, "Because it is so late, we only have the top two burgers, fries, and tots."  I asked if the full restaurant would have more, and she said no.  Kitchen was basically closed.  Fryers shut down.  Doh.  I pressed on, "What about macaroni salad?"  They would have that right, since it doesn't require prep?  NO.  Only the two burgers, only the two sides.  "So, uh, no onion strings?"  NO.  "And no salads at all?" NO.

Well, ok then.  I was heartbroken, hastily ordered just the sweet potato tots and sauces, and asked my travel companion to text me when the food was ready, as I was going to frantically find somewhere else that was open to get more (side note: uh, everywhere was basically shut down.  Very slim pickings at 9:30pm at Logan Terminal C!)

Our next visit to terminal was when we departed a week later to return to San Francisco, and I was determined to get that macaroni salad, just to take on the flight with me.  I was happy they were open, it was mid-day, and ... yup, they were out of it.  What?!  At 2:45pm?  Boo, hiss.

Sweet Potato Tots (and 1 regular tot!)

So, the tots.

They were ... ok.  Clearly not freshly fried, which makes sense, given the fryer was shut down.  Soft and a bit soggy.  Lukewarm.  But I loved the sweet potato flavor, and the texture was good.  It was pretty clear that if they were fresh, they would be fairly amazing, creamy sweet potato inside, crispy, very fried (in a good way), very salty (in a good way) exterior.  Perfect thing for dealing with post-flight blahs, right?

And they were awesome with my assorted sauces.

I also stole a regular tot from my companion, who went for a burger and regular tots.  He said the burger was a bit of a disaster and really poorly made.  Clearly the kitchen was ready to be done.  The tot was fine, also not very crispy but it was clear that it normally is, and it was funny to see it side by side with my sweet potato tots, as it was double the size of the sweet tots!  Crispy, very fried, and satisfying enough.

I did save half my portion, and brought them home to heat up later in a toaster oven.  Best. Move. Ever.

They were insanely good reheated.  The toaster oven crisped up the exterior, the inside was soooo creamy, and I just adored the flavor to these, even without sauce (although, better with of course).

I really want to try these fresh sometime.

Caesar Salad - Croutons + Chicken. $10.30.

"Fresh romaine, housemade croutons & Parmesan cheese served with housemade Caesar dressing."

On our next visit, my gluten-free companion ordered the Caesar salad, but had to leave off the housemade croutons.  He added chicken on top to make it an entree.  I certainly would have gone for the crispy fried haddock instead, but, alas, gluten on that.

It was ... Caesar salad.  Crispy enough romaine, nicely sized chunks.  A shake of grated Parmesan on top, no shredded cheese.  The Caesar dressing was fine, creamy, but not remarkable.  I generally prefer a stronger anchovy or garlic taste, something more interesting.

I didn't try the chicken, but it looked decently prepared, herbed and grilled.

Overall, fine, boring, not something I would have ordered.  I was glad I got to try the Caesar though?

Visit 1: Wahl Sauce, Mustard Sauce, Balsamic Tartar Sauce.

Wahlburgers makes all their own sauces, and there are lots of choices.  Mostly designed for the burgers and salads, but, who doesn't want fun sauces for dipping fries and tots?

Offerings include common things like bbq and buffalo sauce, creamy options like chipotle mayo, mustard sauce (that is actually mayo based), honey-garlic mayo, balsamic tartar sauce, and several cheese sauces, and even fun things like a orange-cranberry sauce for the Thanksgiving turkey burger or housemade salsa for the Fiesta Burger.

My first visit, I tried to pick only 3 to be reasonable.  I obviously had to try the Wahl sauce, as it is their signature sauce after all.  I also really wanted to try the tartar sauce, even though I wasn't getting the haddock.  And I wanted something aioli like.  I really did want to try the buffalo sauce too, and really, any of them, but, I had to be a normal person right?  So three it was.

The three I got wasn't quite the three I ordered, but turned out to be fine, perhaps better, options.

Starting with the signature Wahl sauce, the orange one.  Fairly classic "special sauce", creamy, tangy, a bit of texture, likely great on a burger.  It was a better pairing for the regular tot, probably good with fries too.  A secret recipe of course.  Solid.  I saved what I had left and used it with tomatoes and fresh green beans as a dip, and both were good pairings.

Next, the yellow one, which ended up being the "Mustard Sauce", a mustard-y mayo spread.  I was intending to get the honey-garlic mayo, but, oops.  This was a good sauce though, creamy, not too harsh or dijon-y from the mustard, and, well, honey mustard and sweet potato fries is a classic pairing, so creamy mustard sauce and sweet potato tots was in the same vein.  It was the best of the trio with the sweet potato tots, so, thank you for that, server.  I do still wish I had been able to try the honey-garlic mayo, as I was going for the honey and sweet potato pairing ... next time.

Interestingly, I got it another visit too, and found it far more mustard forward.  I wanted it in a McDonald's burger, but not with my onion rings (which is what I got it to pair with).

The final one was the balsamic tartar sauce, an odd pick perhaps, but I really wanted to try it even if I wasn't trying the haddock.  It was a good tartar sauce, creamy, and like the Wahl sauce had texture from some bits in it.  I didn't really taste balsamic, but, it was still good tartar sauce.  Fine with the tots.  I brought it home to use with fish sticks or something, but never ended up getting them, and instead just used it on a wrap as a spread.  When I got it another time, I used it with onion rings, and it worked well for those too.

I'd gladly eat any of these sauces again.

Visit #2: Buffalo Sauce.

Another visit, another chance to try some more sauces!

The buffalo sauce was ... well, buffalo sauce.  Not sure what I expected, I think I expected a creamy sauce since so many other sauces they offer are creamy.  Or something that reminded me of Frank's, as I love Frank's.  This was ... just buffalo sauce?  Fine, but not interesting.

Wahl Dressing.

The Wahl dressing is different from the "Wahl sauce", as it is thinner, and intended for a salad rather than a burger.

The flavor isn't nearly as intense in the "special sauce" direction, and it seems to be more acidic.  Kinda tangy.  Likely quite fitting for the Wahlbowl it is designed to go with (burger one), but I was trying to use it with another salad since I didn't like the dressing that came with, and it wasn't a good match.

Visit #2, April 2019, Toronto Pearson Airport

My next visit was when traveling through Toronto, where I was excited to finally get to try the macaroni salad, although I was quite full at the time.  I waited until just before boarding, to grab it to bring on board, and had a bag of ice with me to keep it chilled.  I was prepared.

I may have also ordered some sauces, saying, "I'd also like to get a couple sauces,", and the cashier enthusiastically said, "The Wahlsauce right? What others?".  Heh, she got me.  No strange reaction to ordering the sauces, and she was excited I was doing so.  She said she loves them and stocks up too, they do make them in house every day, even in the airport location.

From Scratch Alma's Macaroni. Side. $4.95.

Finally!  I was able to get the macaroni.

I opted for the side size, for $4.95, although a "full size" portion is also available for $7.95.  It was a generous size, so I think the full must be *very* large.

Alma's Macaroni. $4.95.

"Elbow macaroni, red onion, sweet peppers, celery, parsley & mom’s favorite mayo."

I'll admit, this definitely didn't look like particularly interesting macaroni salad.  And far less creamy than I was expecting, given the mayo ingredient.

And ... it wasn't particularly exciting.  Not sure why this gets such recognition ... I think I have liked grocery store macaroni far more.

It wasn't bad, the pasta wasn't mushy, but ... it just wasn't interesting.  I also don't really care for bell peppers, and there were what seemed like a far too generous portion of both red and green peppers.  Very lightly dressed.

No real reason to get this, sadly.  Maybe I need to add some Wahlsauce to it next time ...

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