Bette Jane's Ginger beer: Created in San Francisco, this bottled soda had a good level of potent ginger spice but also has a slight diluted taste overall. Level of sweetness and fizz is appropriate. 3.0/5.0
drinks soda gingerbeer bettejanes ginger beer 3.0
Mr. Wish Black milk tea with boba: While I found the boba to be a bit too chewy, I otherwise found this classic beverage, which was not too sweet (I specified 25% sweetness) to be good. It is unfortunately too common to purchase black milk tea that doesn't actually have any herbal taste; this one fortunately avoids that pitfall. 3.0/5.0
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Ferdinando's Focacceria Manhattan Special: I spent some time in NYC before leaving the East Coast, and during a lunch with some old friends, I was informed that the restaurant had a special soda called the Manhattan Special on tap. Given the amount of time I've spent in Manhattan over my entire lifetime (and my love of sodas), I was surprised to have never come across this drink before. The cola-colored carbonated beverage is a mix of espresso and sweetened soda water and has a deep coffee flavor. It's hard to imagine it pairing part... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks soda coffee espresso ferdinandosfocacceria manhattan special 3.0
Whole Foods Wild Kratts Organic Creature Crackers: I know nothing about the Wild Kratts television series but decided to purchase this set of 6 individually wrapped snack packages of animal graham crackers. The characters are not the cutest, but the flavor of the honey graham crackers is decent. 3.0/5.0
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Meisum Bakery Asian Pastries: I previously reviewed this bakery's mochi peanut dessert, which remains my favorite product. During my last visit to this small Chinatown bakery, I tried the egg tart and pineapple bun, both of which were fairly standard as far as Asian bakeries go. The egg tart was firm and cold, a sign that it had been sitting out for some time. Still, the flavor was not bad but ordinary. The pineapple bun was a bit better, with a nice crispy crumble that was just the right level of sweetness. Overall... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Beatnik Chia seed pudding with homemade raspberry jam: A cup of chia seed pudding sets you back a little over $6 post-tax at Will Gilson's juice bar, located in the Kendall Square food court outside of the Google offices. The pudding comes in two options: one with jam and one without. I opted for the vividly colored raspberry jam, which had a fantastic texture and nice flavor in small quantities, but mixed with the pudding, it was overwhelmingly sweet and masked any of the lightly sweetened but creamy chia seed pudding. While the pudding is e... (read more) 3.0/5.0
cambridge beatnik chia seed pudding homemade raspberry jam 3.0