Cheeseboard Chocolate Things: Representative of the ingredient-focus mindset of California cuisine more generally, this lightly sweetened roll is rich and buttery in flavor but also fluffy and light in texture. Good quality chocolate chunks throughout. Very classic and delicious - I can easily imagine it any patisserie in Paris. A great value at just $3. Purchased from the iconic Cheeseboard bakery on Berkeley. 4.0/5.0
recommended bread bakery berkeley brioche cheeseboard chocolate things 4.0
FK Frozen Custard Black Sesame and Matcha White Chocolate Ice Cream: The last time I had ice cream from FK Frozen Custard, the brand was still named "Frozen Kuhsterd," and they were a food-truck-only business. Now they have a brick and mortar in the Lower Haight in SF, still offering a mix of classic flavors and asian-inspired options like black sesame, milk tea, and ube. I ordered one scoop with two flavors, which was generously sized and easily sharable – though I had the entire scoop for myself. (: My previous experience with Frozen Kuhsterd involved an ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream sf blacksesame matcha fkfrozencustard black sesame white chocolate ice cream 3.0 sanfrancisco
Lotus Foods Sriracha Arare Rice Crackers: I sometimes feel guilty when I purchase the Western version of classic asian snacks, made with likely responsibly sourced ingredients and marketed with minimalist, sans-serif packaging. But having had Lotus Food’s Arare rice crackers in the past, I had a sense that the difference in quality would be worthwhile, and it was. Black, red, and yellow rice crackers in a variety of shapes, from stars to squares, have a clear sheen from a chili-flavored glaze. They’re satisfying crunchy, and the hea... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended berkeleybowl asian ricecrackers lotusfoods sriracha arare rice crackers 4.0
Mandy’s Zesty Lemon Cookie Thins: Similar in diameter to Ritz crackers but just a few millimeters thick, like Anna’s Swedish Cookies, these lemon cookies from Mandy’s have a good balance of sweet and tart. The have a prominent citrus flavor than most lemon cookies I’ve had from a grocery store. Packaged in a well-designed tin. Not sure why it has exactly 42 cookies - the owners must be nerds. 3.5/5.0
recommended berkeleybowl cookies mandys zesty lemon cookie thins 3.5
Saffron Road White cheddar chickpea crisps: Chips with an irregular texture reminiscent of Popcorners, with muted confetti-colored “splotches” indicative of the vegetables used to flavor it (green for peas, orange for sweet potatoes, and red for lentils). While I liked the sharp cheddar powdered flavoring that coats the chips, the combination of vegetable with cheese is a little odd and doesn’t quite come together. Purchased from Whole Foods. 3.0/5.0
chips veggie wholefoods saffronrose white cheddar chickpea crisps 3.0
Brothers Freeze-dried fruit crisps Fuji apples with cinnamon: Freeze dried fruit is a modern-day convenience, a space-age snack that has trickled down to everyday consumption. I find that certain types of fruit benefit from the resulting crispy and brittle texture more than others; soft berries seem to lose their sweetness while their tartness levels receive a boost, but fruits like mangoes are transformed into portable, snackable spears with a condensed tropical flavor. These Fuji apple crisps from Brothers are an example of a successful freeze-dried ... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended fruit freezedried brothers freeze-dried crisps fuji apples cinnamon 4.0