United's Bistro on Board's chicken and swiss focaccia: In a moment of weakness and extreme hunger (and after an hour delay on a ~6 hour flight) I gave into paying almost $10 for an in-flight meal. What I received was surprisingly edible. The focaccia had a strong tomato flavor, not too dissimilar from a hot pocket, and the chicken was actually not that dry. The bread sticks to the back of your teeth like most frozen meals. The sandwich came scalding hot, probably straight from the microwave. Definitely an overpriced, (likely) frozen meal, but p... (read more) 2.5/5.0
united sandwich focaccia chicken uniteds bistro on board's swiss 2.5
Utopia Bagels Mini Everything Bagel with Lox Spread: I never once had a decent bagel when I lived in the Bay Area, so I'm relieved to now have an abundance of options back in NYC. One popular bagel shop I had yet to try was Utopia Bagels, located all the way in Whitestone Queens. Arriving at around 11:30am, the queue to order snaked around the entryway, and for a New York institution, the pace was extremely slow; from getting in line to leaving with food in-hand took about 45 minutes. Not being too hungry, I ordered their snackable mini bag... (read more) 2.5/5.0
bagels nyc bread lox creamcheese queens utopiabagels mini everything bagel spread 2.5
Van Leeuwen Passion fruit ice cream: I ginormous scoop of ice cream so large that it took multiple tries to balance it on a cone. What struck me about this ice cream shop was the strong buttery smell upon entering. I personally prefer lighter, more subtle flavors and found the richness of the passion fruit ice cream to be somewhat overwhelming. Mixed in with the ice cream were oddly dry pieces of cake - what they had to do with passion fruit ice cream I’ll never know. Expensive at almost $6 a scoop. They also don’t mix two flav... (read more) 2.5/5.0
nyc icecream dessert vanleeuwen passion fruit ice cream 2.5
Vegan Rob's Probiotic Cauliflower Puffs: I purchased this vegan snack from my local Key Foods supermarket. I didn't inspect the packaging very carefully before buying, so I missed the probiotic part and was merely attracted to the idea of having a cauliflower-based snack (and trying a brand I hadn't seen before). Looking at the ingredients list now, I see the inclusion of inulin and Bacillus Goagulans, both used to support digestion and otherwise help you poop. I can't say that I noticed much of a difference in my bowel movement,... (read more) 2.5/5.0
keyfoods veganrobs probiotic cauliflower puffs 2.5
VerMints Wintergreen mints: You may guess that these mints are from Vermont, but they're actually from Massachusetts by way of Canada. The organic mints are pleasant but not very potent. It's certainly not up to the task of cleansing bad breath, which, for me, is pretty much the only reason I purchase mints in the first place. For flavor, it's decent, but for its actual function, it's lackluster. 2.5/5.0
vermints mints organic wintergreen 2.5
Vermont Sweetwater Bottling Co Sparkling Maple Seltzer: This bottle of soda was purchased from a small cafe in upstate New York (Palenville). Extracted from maple trees, the maple water is weakly carbonated and has a faint sweetness, identifiable as maple, but otherwise largely absent of flavor. Contains no artificial color (the liquid is clear) or artificial flavors - very simply exactly what it states itself to be (maple water). 2.5/5.0
drinks vermont soda vermontsweetwaterbottlingco sparkling maple seltzer 2.5