Hiatus

Fillies and gentlecolts,

It's almost zap apple jam time, and you know what that means... I'm going to have to go away for a little while to focus on some veeeery important (and delicious) work. I know this blog ain't so big and I don't got many readers, but I thought I'd extend y'all the courtesy of telling y'all I'll be away for about a month or so to hunker down. I'll be back with more healthy and scrumptious foods than ever.

Don't be a stranger, now.

~Nina

(food)Review: Sprinkles Cupcakes

Clockwise from left: vanilla, strawberry, red velvet, raspberry (seasonal)

Now these babies really don't need an introduction. Sprinkles is probably the most popular cupcake place in the Bay Area due to their size, taste, and founder's popularity. They're on my top 10 list for cupcakes (which only has maybe 6 stores on it, but I won't tell if you won't), and my number 1 for cupcakes in a drivable distance.

I like Sprinkles for two reasons: one, their sprinkled vanilla, and two, their frosting. Almost every other cupcake place in the area has frosting that's either too soft, melty, or messy. Sprinkles' frosting is firm, flavorful, and complements the cake perfectly. The only thing I don't like about them is their dot decoration on top, which is edible but tastes like a communion wafer made from Playdoh.

Their sprinkled vanilla is probably my most favorite cupcake ever -- it has all the textures you could possibly want and they don't clash at all. The sprinkles are pleasantly crunchy, the frosting is thick and delicious and the cake is firm but tender. Their other flavors are always pretty good as well, and each month they rotate with 2 seasonal flavors, though sometimes I think their red velvet is just a little too sweet and a little too red...

(No, I won't make a Pinkamena reference.)




Sprinkle's direct competitor in this area is Kara's, and for the life of me I cannot understand why. I have had Kara's Cupcakes twice, and twice I have been disappointed. Their frosting is nondescript, but their cake is disgusting, dry, and crumbly. I always see people in Kara's and I just wonder at how they can settle for less-than-average cupcakes, even if they're conveniently located in yuppie central-I mean, Santana Row. Hopefully I have convinced you, dear reader, not to settle for less.

Overall: 9/10 big cupcakes, big flavor, big love
Pinkie's rating: sleeping off a sugar high

Sprinkles Cupcakes official website

(food)Review: NewTree Love Chocolate collection

The catty guy in the back is by Andrew Yang of Stitchmind, a local SF artist

Finally, a review of something not from a subscription box! Yes, I do have a bit of a problem. I decided to get these on a whim because I needed to make $25 on my Amazon purchase, and I think we've all been there before. I'm not quite sure why I bought chocolate though, as I'm not a huge chocolate person...

I'm a fan of their cute names, though I wouldn't call ginger "Sexy". "Fiesty" maybe. "Rambunctious," even.

I'm, however, not a fan of this brand. My standard for organic chocolate is and may forever well be Dagoba, where even the really high cacao content chocolates are still smooth and chocolatey rather than gritty and bitter. This brand falls more in the latter category. The taste isn't that bitter, but it just doesn't have enough taste to make up for the lack of sugar. Even the ginger flavor isn't quite snappy and gingery enough, and sometimes it tastes like I'm eating plastic in chocolate form. The cherry was downright gross and didn't have nearly enough cherry flavor. I ended up throwing the rest of it away and had another jonboy caramel.

It might be because I bought these from Amazon so the wrappers were a bit faded and worn out, but the general design was still okay, if a bit uninspired. However, if I judged a book by its cover, I would be right this time.

2/10: blech! three hoofs down! learn2chocolate

NewTree official website

(box)Review: Love With Food

After I found out that Foodzie was no longer doing subscription boxes I was so. very. devastated. They were my first subscription box and I usually loved every single thing I got in those boxes. I know you can still buy them off Joyus, but if I have to actually go and buy them I'd rather just pick what I'd want at Whole Foods.

So when they announced that they stopped shipping boxes in August, I went on a quest to find another box to replace my beloved Foodzie. Out of the more popular and longer running boxes I was left to choose between Love With Food and Gotham Box. I went with LWF first and I'll probably end up trying GB later, just because they seem to have the same kind of local and artisan flavor that Foodzie had.

A pony background and a Rainbow Dash. Box is automagically 20% cooler.

At first glance, the box is definitely a lot smaller -- about half the size -- than the Foodzie box and not as nicely packed, but there's no padding or filler. Most of the products aren't full size and some of them aren't even "sample" sizes; they're just individual pieces taken from a bag. The cost is also much cheaper than the Foodzie box, though, so value-wise it's not that big of a deal.

Info card. Cute graphic.

The product quality really runs the gamut from gas station munches to health nut Vegan. I'm not too picky when it comes to what I snack on, but if I'm getting a curated box I kind of want something I've never seen before and actually want to try and keep buying, not convenience store fare. Of course, I'll be doing individual snack reviews later, too, so keep an eye out for those.

Write-ups for the snacks

I do, however, give them props for explaining each snack and actually giving good reasons for what they included, even if they might not have been the "best" choice. The card is nicely designed and easy to read, unlike Conscious Box's (though they have SO much in each box that I forgive them).

I will not do a value comparison for LWF because they donate a meal for every box that is bought, and I feel like that generosity (hi Rarity!) and charity is much more important than getting "my money's worth" out of this box.

Overall: 6/10 okay food for a good cause, but you can do better LWF

PS: Speaking of Rarity, would anyone like to donate a Rarity toy to me for my reviews? I have all of the ponies and most of them styled, but no Rarity, and I have some clothing subscription box reviews coming up that I know she wouldn't want to miss. Thanks readers <3

(restaurant)Review: Little Chef Counter Sunday Brunch

Loco Moco

I had first heard of Little Chef Counter during my foie gras expedition back in mid-July. They're located in the new and happening San Pedro Square in San Jose, one of the city's best kept secrets (ssh!). This was one of the only restaurants that had foie that wouldn't involve a big to-do and an even bigger dinner bill, so Bear and I went to check it out one Saturday night. Sadly, their foie wasn't all that great (probably B grade instead of A, so it was flavorful but kind of veiny) and their poutine just wasn't gravy enough, but we decided to come back for brunch on a later day because it's our favorite -- and because they offered fried chicken and waffles.

Unfortunately, I did not take photos of the first brunch we had at LCC, but it wasn't too great for me. I got the chicken and waffles, which comes in a waffle cone rather than a traditional American waffle. I give them props for originality, but again it just wasn't gravy enough so the combination of cone and chicken ended up being really dry and a bit lacking in taste. The chicken was also a bit overcooked, so all in all their C&W was a failure in my book. Oh well, the search for 900 Grayson-quality C&W continues...

Spam Hash

Our second trip yielded much better results, seen above. I got the Loco Moco and Bear got the Spam Hash like he did last time, and we were both pretty happy with the results. The LCC version of the Loco Moco is made with a fried risotto patty, to up the salty fried grease factor (and then double it). The hamburger patty was surprisingly phenomenal with a rich, grilled, beefy taste and the combination of the egg yolk and rice and gravy made this dish a must have.

The Spam Hash seems to be made with fry-cut potatoes, spam, red peppers, with a fried egg on top. From what I tried the flavors were great, but Bear thinks it could do with a little more gravy and one more egg.

and probably some Tabasco. What, it's good!

We also had Treatbot for dessert our first night and B2 coffee for brunch. I highly recommend B2, they're great coffee with an unpretentious vibe -- not speaking for the clientele, though -- and they even do latte art for you without you even having to ask. 6 hoofs!

LCC: 9/10 improve a bit and get to stardom.

Little Chef Counter official website

(food)Review: Tea Era .Boba. .Bubble. .Pearl. Tea

I'm not gonna lie, Tea Era in Mountain View makes my most favorite pearl tea ever, so this review is going to be plenty biased (but reviews are biased anyway, so...). Their two signature teas are the roasted oolong and the roasted barley, both of which are brewed in-house and not made from powders. As such, sometimes the flavors may be a bit lighter or stronger depending on when you go and how their batches turn out, but for the most part you won't be disappointed if you like either of those flavors. The roasted barley is a nice coffee substitute for when you don't want the caffeine, and you get a nice beauty and cooling benefit from the barley, too. Oops, is my Asian showing?

Strawberry flavor with real chunks of strawberry!

Tea Era does use powders for most of their other flavors and non-dairy/powder creamer for their milk, like most pearl tea cafes. They say it's because it gives a much nicer milky flavor than milk does, without drowning out the tea. However, where Tea Era really shines are the PEARLS! These pearls are the best -- I believe they soak them in honey or some sort of light syrup so that they're slightly sweet and stay firm and QQ (chewy). A lot of the other chain brands usually soak their pearls in water or keep them for too long, making them really mushy and sticky and inconsistent. The Verde just a few blocks away is guilty of this -- I once had a cup where the pearls were all mush, and my cousin's cup had undercooked pearls that were still hard in the middle. Gross.

Roasted oolong, large size.

Tea Era also sweetens their tea just right. A lot of other places I've been to have teas so sweet that I feel like I have to drink water after, but not Tea Era's. Of course, if your tastebuds are even more sensitive than mine, you can always ask for half sweet or not-sweet. They offer a LOT of flavors and I am not even close to trying them all yet. They also offer different chewies, like konjac jelly and pudding. There are some flavors that aren't as good as others (Thai Tea comes to mind, since I don't think they make theirs fresh), but for the most part you can't go wrong.

9/10

Tea Era's Yelp page
271 Castro St
Mountain View, CA 94041

(food)Review: Beecher's Flagship Cheese Crackers

Just like the peanut taffy I wrote about a few days ago, these Beecher's crackers are like an adult version of our favorite childhood snacks. This came from the July (and very last) Foodzie box, which was Seattle themed. They were a little crunched up from the ride, but it still tastes all the same.

The crackers taste like a more sophisticated Cheez-it, without the salt crystals, artificial coloring, and snack-guilt. I think the comparison, though, rather than demeaning it, actually helps because it is definitely a healthier alternative to Cheez-its. The texture is more like a wafer cracker than a flaky Cheez-it, and the size is about 4 times as big so you can put toppings on it or dip it in whatever you like.

These crackers are truly all-natural, with no "flavors" or colors. They're made with real cheese (their own cheese!) and it shows in the taste. These can belong anywhere from a gamer's desk to a high-society event. I highly recommend these as a snack or as part of an appetizer or cheese plate.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese