Gregoire Homemade granola with yogurt: One of the breakfast items offered at the excellent takeaway restaurant Gregoire in Berkeley is yogurt (Fage, I believe) served with homemade granola. Buttery, sweet, crunchy, and chewy, the granola contains a mix of toasted oats, nuts, seeds, and dried berries. It's very well balanced and something I wish I could make at home but probably would never take the time to do, which is why I especially appreciate it when others do it right! 4.0/5.0
recommended berkeley gregoire homemade granola yogurt 4.0
IKEA Tarta Mandel almond cake: As part of my free meal at IKEA, I got a slice of their almond cake, the most harmless looking dessert on display. It consists of two thin layers of cake with butter cream in between; sliced almonds are sprinkled on top. While the portion size was not very large, it was difficult to get through given the over-sweetend and gummy icing. The nuts offered neither texture nor flavor. It was free, but I would not choose to eat it for free again. 1.5/5.0
avoid ikea tarta mandel almond cake 1.5
IKEA Dryck Julmust: IKEA describes it as a "Swedish festive drink" (though it seems slightly out of season to be selling in October). The drink has a dark cola color and does taste a little similar but with a more nuanced spiced flavor (the ingredients include malt, and I got a bit of clove and cinnamon). It's also far less sweet than Coke or Pepsi. If I could pick a cola-like beverage to drink during the holidays, this would be it. (In my haste to buy furniture for my new place, I forgot to photograph the ... (read more) 4.0/5.0
drinks soda recommended sweedish ikea dryck julmust 4.0
i-Tea Honey Brown Rice Milk Tea with Basil Seeds and Agar Boba: From Taiwan, this bubble tea chain has all the signs of an authentic Taiwanese tea shop: its menu is ridiculously long; you can customize sweetness, ice, and toppings; it's cash only; there's absolutely no place to sit and chat (you purchase your drink and enjoy it elsewhere); and while there are lines out the door, service is fast. Drinks only come in one (large) size but are very reasonably priced. I ordered their honey brown rice milk tea at 30% sweetness, and the drink was one of the b... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional drink boba itea honey brown rice milk tea basil seeds agar 4.5 bubbletea
Alta Palla Sparkling blood orange soda: Having never seen this California-based brand, I purchased this can from my local Andronico's. Unfortunately, while it's an organic product, it tastes strikingly similar to Sunkist and is unnecessarily sweet. The one good thing I can say about is that the amount of carbonation was spot on. 2.5/5.0
drinks organic altapalla sparkling blood orange soda 2.5