Volcano Tea House White peach oolong tea with boba: At 25% sweetness, this herbal oolong tea had a light and refreshing white peach flavor, though it did taste syrup-y. The boba was quite good-neither overly chewy or soft and just a tad sweet. Good enough that I would consider revisiting this Sawtelle-based bubble tea shop in the future. 3.0/5.0
recommended drinks bubbletea volcanoteahouse white peach oolong tea boba 3.0
Destroyer Lemon ginger tonic: At a restaurant where the menu is projected onto the wall and their business card is a tiny sliver with no actual information other than its name, Destroyer could be easily dismissed as pretentious style over substance. But this lemon ginger tonic was just a perfectly balanced, no frills version of that drink, with just the right levels of carbonation, sweetness, and sharpness. 4.0/5.0
recommended drinks la destroyer lemon ginger tonic 4.0
Destroyer Tarragon chocolate chip cookie: A cookie that has mass appeal, with its gooey, 80% baked texture and generously sized (mostly melted) chocolate morsels. A dusting of tarragon powder adds a pleasant amount of bitterness, elevating it beyond a classic but extremely well done chocolate chip cookie. 4.0/5.0
recommended la destroyer tarragon chocolate chip cookie 4.0
Mr. Holmes Bakehouse Apple and marscarpone cruffin: In LA on Larchmont, Mr. Holmes Bakehouse looks like just a regular pastry shop: no lines, a modest storefront, and a few nicely presented seasonal options. Both cruffin flavors (maple and beer and apple and marscarpone) were available, with seemingly no particular demand. We tried the apple and marscarpone muffin and donut hybrid, which stood tall and was dusted in sugar. The flavor of the apple filling was nicely spiced and textured like applesauce, and the exterior pastry struck me as more... (read more) 3.0/5.0
pastry donut muffin la mrholmesbakehouse apple marscarpone cruffin 3.0
Wallaby Organic Orange passion fruit yogurt: This citrus yogurt from Wallaby is one of the better flavors I’ve had from this American brand pretending to be an Australian brand. Australian style is essentially looser than most other yogurt, almost verging on kefir. Orange and passion fruit are not commonly seen together but maybe it should be. 3.0/5.0
organic wallabyorganic orange passion fruit yogurt 3.0
Saffron Road Bombay spice crunchy chickpeas: Fried chickpeas tossed with a dry savory spice mixture (it’s proprietary and thus not listed in the ingredients, but my best guess is garam masala, turmeric, cumin, ginger, and cinnamon). A bit awkward to eat because they coat your hands. The flavor was a bit too strong for me, so I never wanted to eat more than a handful. 3.0/5.0
wholefoods indian saffronroad bombay spice crunchy chickpeas 3.0