Urban Foods Wild blueberry and honey superfood bites: I like these grain and fruit bites from Urban Foods, which are crunchier than energy chews, falling somewhere in between a chew and a crunchy granola bar in texture. They contain a mix of quinoa, flaxseed, and chia seeds. They’re just sweet enough, with a pleasant honey flavor that doesn’t dominate. If you’re into granola bars but wish they were a bit more snackable, give these a try. Purchased from Berkeley Bowl. 3.5/5.0
recommended quinoa chia flaxseed urbanfoods wild blueberry honey superfood bites 3.5
Cheeseboard Bialy: I’m tying to reduce my carb intake (which has drastically reduced snacking). But one morning, I woke up to find I didn’t have running water in my apartment and, giving up on low-carb life for a bit, I went to Cheeseboard for breakfast. I always find the savory breads at this Berkeley institution are better than their sweet baked goods. This bialy was especially satisfying after not having any bread for a while. Tasting strongly of garlic and sprinkled with poppy seeds, the round bread has a ... (read more) 4.0/5.0
bread berkeley onion bakery baked cheeseboard bialy 4.0 recommended
Go Raw Raisin Crunch Sprouted Bar: I've been especially conscious of the amount of carbs in snacks I'm eating lately, and with 32g of carbs, this bar alone exceeds most low-carb diets. That could be ok, if the snack is excellent, but this bar fails on multiple levels. It verges on no flavor, with a bland combination of seeds (sesame, flaxseed, and sunflower). Ground together and bound with dried dates and raisins, the entire bar tastes strongly of health food with no character. The texture is strangely tough; pieces are di... (read more) 1.5/5.0
avoid raisin crunch sprouted bar 1.5 goraw organic
Arctic Ocean Orange soda: Arctic Ocean is a Chinese orange soda that has a neon-yellow color similar to Lemon Gatorade. It’s slightly less sweet than Sunkist or Fanta but has a similar underlying citrus flavor, though milder. It tastes more like tangerine to me than your typical orange soda. As you may expect, its ingredients are just high fructose corn syrup, orange juice, sugar, and water. A decent level of carbonation, with smaller bubbles than Coke soft drinks. Overall, not anything particularly out of the ordinary. 3.0/5.0
drinks chinese citrus arcticocean orange soda 3.0
Gjusta Lemon Cake: This slice of lemon cake from Gjusta in LA is thickly sliced and has a decently tart flavor. Texturally, though, it eats a bit dry. In the landscape of lemon desserts, this one falls somewhere in the middle - not bad, but not particularly notable. 3.0/5.0
losangeles pastry dessert gjusta lemon cake 3.0
Gjusta Miso date cookie: Gjusta, the sister bakery of Gjelina in Venice, LA, is apparently popular enough to not need any signage. It’s unlabeled storefront conceals a narrow counter and dining area, where patrons wait for a variety of pastries (cakes, cookies, croissants) and hot and cold prepared items (pizza, salads, pâtés). Luckily, their express line was relatively short, which meant purchasing this miso date cookie took just a few minutes. The sizable cookie contains a single date at its center. Its texture is... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended pastry sweets la losangeles venice gjusta miso date cookie 4.0 dessert