REVIEW: Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Oreo

September 18, 2017October 31, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

In 2014 Oreo joined the pumpkin spice party and I lost my shit. Autumn is the pinnacle party time for the tastebuds of señor cinnaslut (me) and the limited Oreo’s at the time had seen no spicy love, and were mostly a wash of weird fruit and ice cream flavors. I bought a package at first sighting and devoured them happily amid the glow of my three-wick Bath and Body Works Leaves candle. I was in my zone, and I loved them, but for whatever reason, I haven’t repurchased them the last couple of years. Being that this blog didn’t exist until last year I felt it was only fitting to give it another go, and shed some skillet light on the fourth season return of the Pumpkin Spice Oreo.

The prominent cookie-nose on these pumpkin cookies is the very familiar scent of Golden Oreo’s – sweet and vanilla-y, with just a hint of cinnamon rounding it out. The combination of the golden wafer with the soft spice notes reminds me of graham, and I wonder how a graham wafer would change the profile – likely for the better.

As a boy who loves him a healthy dose of spice, these Pumpkin-O’s are simply too subtle. The flavor starts just like the initial smell implies – almost identical to a Golden Oreo. It’s noticeably less sweet, being tamed by the artificial addition of spice flavoring, and only towards the end does it finish with a bit of cinnamon flair.

Isolating the creme on its own reveals a bit more cinnamon depth, but still no tingle or real autumn intrigue is brought to the table. Although there’s a touch of cinnamon, the rest of the pumpkin spice gang – nutmeg, cloves, and ginger – are nowhere to be found. The cookie is actually less spicy and complex than the stellar Cinnamon Bun Oreo, which is a shame since it has “spice” in its name. It’s still a good tasting Oreo but it doesn’t bring anything particularly exciting to the table that makes me want to eat more, and I now remember why I passed on picking them up the last couple of years.

Rating: 7.5/10
Found at: Target ($2.99)

REVIEW: Three Twins’ Banana Nut Confetti

August 30, 2017September 13, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

Apparently I really like banana ice cream. Or maybe I’m just drawn to the less-commonly flavored base that still packs a big sweet punch and doesn’t drown out the elements it’s paired with like chocolate can do. Either way, I was surprised as I was dipping into my cream-stash that this was my fourth banana review in four months. Impressive.

Cali-proud organic churners Three Twins celebrated their 10 year anniversary in 2015 with two ice creams going right for the throat of Ben & Jerry’s – recreating some of their signature flavors with all natural organic ingredients. Banana Nut Confetti combines banana ice cream with walnuts and dark chocolate “confetti” flecks.

The banana flavor in this ice cream is present but relatively mild. It reminds me of a fruit that is almost perfectly ripe but could still use a day or two to fully bloom. You know, it’s not green but it’s pretty firm and there are zero spots to be found. Texturally it’s a bit on the thin and icy side without any dominant creamy mouthfeel or dairy slick. It isn’t awful but it’s pretty underwhelming, and is definitely my least favorite banana ice cream I’ve had this year.

The pieces of walnut are small to medium sized and similarly bland. They’re roasted but not salted and aren’t big enough to translate their unique fatty nut flavor to the spoon. There are hints of that wonderful walnut earthiness but they pop and fade so quickly it’s barely noticeable. I like walnuts in ice cream quite a bit, but they’re so mild here that I wish they were bigger and gave more depth to the pint.

Similarly, the chocolate confetti is in such small pieces there’s no real chocolate presence either. I usually like this kind of flaked chocolate, and it works well in other TT Confetti flavors, but here the pieces add almost nothing to the equation, especially in a situation where the base needs some help. Again, there’s nothing “bad” tasting about the flakes, they’re just incredibly boring.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had Chunky Monkey, and I don’t remember being too impressed by it, but I feel like it has got to be better than this. As admirable as it is to try and show how organic ingredients can be used to make quality ice cream, I think Three Twins should stick to creating their own flavors. The only other time I’ve been this let down by Three Twins was when they put their own spin on Cherry Garcia with Cherry Chocolate Chunk – and that was a disappointing snooze-fest as well.

Rating: 6/10
Found at: Safeway ($4.99)
Quick Nutrition: 1/2 cup (85g) – 180 cal – 11g fat – 6g sat fat – 30mg sodium – 19g carb – 1g fiber – 18g sugar – 1g protein

REVIEW: Krispy Kreme’s Eclipse Chocolate Glazed Doughnut

August 21, 2017August 21, 2017 / seansskillet / 2 Comments

Today is the first total eclipse of my lifetime. For the lucky, small percent of those within the path of totality in the U.S., the sky will go temporarily dark during the middle of the day, and for the rest of us, it will go semi-dark. Stars will appear, the temperature will drop, and the animals will be confused as all hell. That’s pretty cool, but to be honest, I didn’t do so great in Astronomy class, and I can’t see a damn thing through this San Francisco fog anyway, so fortunately for me, today also marks the first time in HISTORY that something else is seeing the dark side – the Krispy Kreme waterfall of glaze. To celebrate North America’s moon party, today only (and for two soft evenings this past weekend when I snuck in) the “Hot Doughnuts Now” sign will mean super fresh, melty, yeast doughnuts shimmering with black chocolate instead of the usual opaque tan sugar glaze.

I’ve gotta give Krispy Kreme some credit for their hype-o-meter skills. Rolling up at 6:30 PM on Saturday was the most poppin’ and clustered I’ve seen the shop since their big rollout and notorious over expansion in the 90’s. There wasn’t a line out the door, but the parking lot was full and the conveyor belt of doughy dreams was stopped and nearly empty – the first batch had already sold out! No worries, though, about ten minutes later the flour power was restored and the drooling group of people filming through the glass like an animal was giving birth at the zoo (myself included) simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

The doughnut is the same in size, shape, and flavor as the KK original glazed, except for the glaze. It has almost the same light, airy, “I-could-eat-about-six-of-these” texture that I know and love, and is incredibly soft and delectable, but feels a little heavier and ever so slightly denser than its big bro; probably from the cocoa powder. The chocolate glaze actually makes a pretty significant change to the overall experience as it is much less sweet, with slightly bitter cocoa notes taking place of the usually sharp and bright sugary flourish. It isn’t a dark chocolate by any means, but compared to what is usually offered it is a notably more subdued and less intense version of the circular splendor.

The other major difference is that the oily fried flavor comes through stronger with the chocolate, as there isn’t that huge wallop of sugar to cover it up. It isn’t greasy, it just has that golden flavor much like smaller french fries that get extra crispy, and it could be a good or bad thing depending on what you enjoy. I like crispy fried fries and a golden crunch on the outside of an old fashioned cake doughnut, but I’m not sure how much I love the flavor being so pronounced here.

This is a solid doughnut, but not nearly as incredible as the original. When I have a Krispy Kreme glazed that’s been made within the last couple of hours, I marvel at its simplistic beauty as I’m taken over by its sugary perfection, and the chocolate version, while good, simply can’t eclipse it.

Rating: 7.5/10
Found at: Krispy Kreme ($1.39)

FOOD FIND: Third Culture Bakery’s Mochi Muffin

July 27, 2017July 26, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

Third Culture Bakery are a Berkeley-based company specializing in East meets West baked goods with no designated brick and mortar location but distribution to a number of cafes and eateries in the Bay Area, including the popular Boba Guys in San Francisco. I got wind of their inventive Mochi Muffin and had to try one. I was fortunate to find a cool small shop near me called Chapter Two Coffee that gets deliveries from Third Culture a couple times a week.

The outside has a firm muffin-esque crust that gives way to a perfect squishy mochi interior. It’s soft and dense yet pillowy and just slightly sweet. Initially I thought it was kind of odd, and then I realized it’s absolutely delicious.

The flavor as a whole reminds me of the crispy caramelized exterior of a chocolate chip cookie with all of its beautiful buttery brown sugar nuances. The black and white sesame seeds on top add a nice subtle crunch and pop of savoriness that ties the unique nature of the experience together wonderfully. All the fun dense-yet-soft feeling of mochi with the heartiness of a muffin – such a delightful treat with a strong cup of coffee or espresso.

REVIEW: Salt & Straw’s The Roxie Road

June 21, 2017June 20, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

Popcorn is one of my favorite foods. It’s a volume snack I can put back with light crunchy ease that tastes fantastic AND actually has some fiber and protein to go along with its deliciousness. Whether its the straight ahead low fat sea salt bagged variety, or the naughty oil drenched stuff in a dark movie theater, or a crunchy drizzled sugary treat, popcorn is a mainstay in my diet and I love it. As popular as it is, it rarely finds itself incorporated in my, and America’s, favorite dessert – ice cream. While it may sound kind of strange, the roasty, buttery, sweet and salty potential of popcorn is actually an amazing mashup for making a wonderful ice cream, and for the June Rescued Food series Salt & Straw did just that. Utilizing leftover popcorn from the Roxie Theater, S&S created a popcorn ice cream base and mixed it with their house caramel and a coffee-flour cookie crumble to create The Roxie Road.

The popcorn flavor in the base is fairly subtle, but comes across in initial bites when I search for it. Beneath the layers of silky smooth high quality dairy are gentle corn notes that finish with a slightly roasted butter flavor. Much more apparent than a straight ahead popcorn flavor is an overall butteriness that aids in the texture and makes it feel and taste like an elevated corny sweet cream. The execution and overall effectiveness of the popcorn experience would have been greatly amplified by a saltier presence, which we know Salt & Straw can do extremely well in their Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons and countless other stellar releases. Even though it’s lacking some salty pop there’s no doubt this isn’t vanilla and it’s a really tasty ice cream.

The caramel in this pint is the same fantastic S&S caramel that I know and love – thick and rich with an impressively dark burnt flavor that is my absolute favorite caramel in any ice cream. It isn’t particularly salty but does reset my tastebuds to be able to taste the popcorn flavor in the base more prominently, and is a wonderful compliment to pretty much anything it touches.

The surprise factor in this flavor, and my favorite element, are the coffee-flour cookie crumbles. There are some smaller “crumbles” sprinkled throughout, but also big hunkin’ chunks that explode with a gritty cookie texture and robust coffee flavor that are unexpectedly delicious. The chunks are hard, almost like a piece of toffee, and are equal parts intense coffee grounds and bitter chocolate notes. It’s almost like a super coffee-forward shortbread, crumbling beneath my teeth, and the bitter coffee flavor is very welcome in the sea of sweet creaminess.

I was ecstatic when S&S announced they were doing a popcorn-infused base, and while it is a fantastic ice cream, I wish it was a bit more popcorn-y. The best popcorn base I’ve ever had was in a Humphry Slocombe seasonal last year called Peaches and Popcorn, and I feel as though I will be forever chasing that buttery salty memory. Regardless of any small flavor preferences, if you like buttery ice cream with sensational caramel and bursts of bitter coffee and are fortunate enough to live in the Bay Area this one is definitely worth at least a scoop, and probably a pint to boot.
Rating: 8.5/10
Found at: Salt & Straw (San Francisco)

REVIEW: Salt & Straw’s Food Runners’ Banana Bread Pudding

June 14, 2017June 13, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

Salt & Straw’s June Rescued Food line of ice creams is one of the most interesting and engaging things I’ve seen a craft company do, and San Francisco got blessed with some seriously amazing flavors. Joining forces with SF based Food Runners, they took all of the unused pastries from bay area startup meetings and put them to good use, instead of in the trash can. While Food Runners usually take these baked goodies and deliver them to people in need, this month S&S bought them from the company and turned them into the fantastic Food Runners’ Banana Bread Pudding, which combines a spiced banana ice cream with chunks of bread pudding and a sesame caramel swirl.

This is not your standard banana ice cream. Immediately the distinct flavor of squishy over ripened bananas smacks me in the face, with a taste that is so different and much sharper than what many banana bases offer. There’s a cutting, almost syrupy sweetness to hyper-ripe bananas that comes through beautifully and is balanced out and complimented by the high quality dairy. Rounding out the profile is a healthy dose of nutmeg, and with the use of that spice the banana base BECOMES banana bread ice cream, as the unique strong banana flavor mingling with spices and sweet honey notes is instantly recognizable as one of the most beloved quick breads in the game.

For the actual bread part of the bread pudding equation, S&S made a cinnamon-spiked custard and tossed all of those destined-to-be-garbage pastries into it to create one big mismatched wheel of flavor. This is one of the most interesting elements of the flavor, as every pint, and likely every scoop, is going to be slightly different. I had a massive chunk of what felt like layers of crunchy filo dough or some kind of pie crust, and a bite with raisins, and another bite that tasted like cinnamon roll streusel. It’s a lot of fun. The element of surprise makes digging into this ice cream pure enjoyment, and the undercurrent of the cinnamon flavor drives the banana bread essence even farther.

The final piece to this bread pudding puzzle is the sesame caramel, which, like most S&S swirls, is executed with skill and finesse. When eaten in conjunction with the other components the caramel adds the sweetness and gooey-ness you’d expect, but is a lot less dark and burnt tasting than the standard S&S caramel. The caramel helps marry the other two elements together in ooey-harmony, but when you taste it on its own it absolutely bursts with sesame flavor. The unmistakable earthy flavor that drives tahini is very present in the sweet swirl and adds a deep savory quality to the experience that brings the rescued food theme home.

Simply put, this is Salt & Straw at their absolute finest – mixing delicious decadent flavors with innovation and purpose in ways that not many brands can accomplish. There’s plenty of intense decadence out there without the creativity, and plenty of elevated ice cream churners without the whimsy, but S&S manage to achieve both simultaneously and this is a glowing example of what makes them some of the absolute best in the expanding world of gourmet ice cream.

Rating: 9/10

Found at: Salt & Straw (San Francisco)

VIDEO: Sean’s appearance on KQED’s Check Please, Bay Area!

June 10, 2017June 10, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to shoot an episode of one of my favorite local TV shows – Check Please, Bay Area, which airs on KQED/PBS. I had the opportunity to highlight one of my favorite burger spots ever – Jack’s Prime – and try some other amazing dishes along the way. This is my first time doing food-related work on television and it was a blast. Check out the full episode below!

REVIEW: Humphry Slocombe Hong Kong Milk Tea (Northern CA Whole Foods Exclusive)

April 24, 2017April 22, 2017 / seansskillet / 3 Comments

On May 5 Humphry Slocombe will launch a Whole Foods exclusive flavor that can only be purchased in person at Northern California stores. While on the surface this might not seem like that big of a deal, it’s important to remember that exclusive releases are generally reserved for brands like Ben & Jerry’s at stores like Walmart and Target; and this merging of a smaller craft ice cream brand with Whole Foods is a significant leap for the gourmet company. The flavor, Hong Kong Milk Tea, is inspired by the sweet caffeinated beverage that keeps Hong Kong (and the bay area) hustling. The ice cream is a fusion of Numi organic tea, sweetened condensed milk, and almond cookies, and arrives as the creamy brain-child of Slocombe’s Jake Godby and Whole Foods Market Chef Ambassador Melissa King. The awesome folks at Humphry Slocombe sent over a pint so I could get an advance tasting of their latest creation and I’m eager to scoop into it.

When I think of milk tea I think of boba tea, and imagine a syrupy sweet beverage with chewy tapioca balls and silly colored wide straws. I know that that type drink is much newer and less traditional than the Hong Kong variety, but I have more experience with it, and luckily this ice cream is almost nothing like that. The sweetness is incredibly subdued, with a wonderful melty mouthfeel and smooth malty black tea finish that is genuine and refined. The flavor of the Numi tea coats my tongue with the dairy and tastes like a perfectly steeped cup of tea with a generous helping of sweetened condensed milk.

The most impressive aspect of this great tea base is the lingering aftertaste, which even after a minute or more of not eating has left a nice sharp tea flavor that is pleasant and not bitter in the least. This is a perfect frozen rendition of a drink usually served warm and preserves all the tannin-y nuances of tea balanced out by repeated licking sweetness.

The almond cookies in place of tapioca balls (in my boba-mind) also elevate this to a more “adult” version of the milky beverage, adding small bursts of almond-y chew that add just a touch more sweetness but not too much additional flavor. The cookies remind me more of softened, soggy cereal in milk than they do snappy cookies, and I wish the pieces were bigger and/or caramelized in the way that HS does in their fantastic flagship flavor Secret Breakfast. As the lone mix in I don’t get a ton of crunch or almond taste from the cookies, which seems like a bit of a missed opportunity considering how simple and delicate the base is. The idea makes sense, having an almond cookie with a cup of milk tea, there just needs to be something else done to make it all really click.

Full disclosure: I’m not the biggest fan of tea-based ice cream, or coffee for that matter. I like drinking my coffee and tea straight and my ice cream to be caramel-y and chocolate-y and salty sweet peanut butter pretzel-y intense. That being said, if you like tea in your ice cream bases (like my girlfriend), you will undoubtedly love this pint. It has a tremendous balance of flavor that captures the simple magic of Hong Kong milk tea.

Rating: 7.5/10

If you’re in the bay area and want to sample Hong Kong Milk Tea, they will be giving away free scoops at a public preview on April 29 from 12 PM to 3 PM at Whole Foods Market Oakland, where there will also be $1 off pint coupons, Numi tea samples, a lion dancer, and tons of happy ice cream enthusiasts.

REVIEW: Señor Sisig Tacos (Pork and Chicken)

February 27, 2017February 26, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

The Bay Area has a very rich food truck scene. Largely thanks to organized events like Off the Grid and Moveable Feast, trucks that could easily go overlooked have a place to meet and mingle and show off their culinary expertise on wheels. One of the best trucks I’ve come across in exploring these options is Filipino-Mexican fusion experts Señor Sisig, whose expertly marinated meats and thoughtful ingredients earn their multiple trucks hour long lines wherever they go. While they’re largely heralded for their expertly stuffed regular and California burritos, this time I opted to try my favorite way for consuming traditional Mexican food – the street taco.

Sisig is an aggressively seasoned Filipino dish that is usually made with the leftover or less desirable parts of the animal, like the head and liver, using the cuts of meat as a generic backdrop for a spicy and sweet marinade lead by chili peppers and calamansi (a tart citrus related to the kumquat). Señor Sisig take the premise of the base seasoning and apply it to higher quality meat, like pork shoulder, chicken thigh, and for the vegetarians out there, tofu.

The Señor Sisig taco combines your choice of protein with a corn tortilla, onions, jalapeños, iceberg lettuce, and their signature cilantro cream sauce. The pork taco is salty and sweet, with succulent slightly fatty pieces of shoulder that explode with robust flavor against the the spicy crispness of the jalapeños and onions. There’s a beautiful char on the outside of the pork that feels fresh and slightly crunchy like the meat went straight from the grill onto the tortilla and into my mouth.

Eating this taco is very reminiscent of the most perfect al pastor, with its balance of sweet and heat being one of the most delicious things you could ever put inside of a tortilla. The cilantro cream sauce reminds me a lot of Mexican crema – thinner and more runny than standard sour cream with a slight cilantro and limey kick that offsets and mellows the spice running throughout.

The chicken is a little bit leaner and sweeter, with a salty presence and significantly less heat; although you still get a good burst of spice from the ample diced jalapeño on top. There is less char on the outside of the meat and the sweet/sour notes really sing on the firmer thigh meat. While the pork taco didn’t need any modification at all, this one gets taken to new heights with the addition of the provided Sriracha sauce. The heat and garlic that the sauce adds to the flavor makes up for the lack of depth that comes with the lower fat content and is deliciously spicy in a way that you never want to end.

Ratings:
Sisig Pork Taco: 10/10
Sisig Chicken Taco: 8.5/10

REVIEW: Doughbar Doughnuts (feat. Junk Banter Variety Pack)

February 3, 2017January 31, 2018 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

Doughbar Doughnuts are a Bay Area based company cranking out made to order protein packed baked donuts with a slew of fun and limited offering toppings and variety packs shipped straight to your door. Their goal is to offer a macro-friendly alternative to the often frowned upon fried treat that is versatile, healthy, and delicious all at the same time. The un-dressed donuts, including the hole, clock in at 150 calories, 4 grams of fat, 16 grams of carbs, 3 grams of sugar, and 11 grams of protein. You can order the donuts with no toppings, or, more commonly, with toppings packaged individually that you put on yourself in whatever fashion you’d like. For my first run with Doughbar I ordered the Junk Banter variety pack, which included four donuts and toppings for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Cookie Monster (Chips Ahoy/Oreo), Cinnamon with Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Nutella with Kit Kat pieces.

The naked base flavor of a Doughbar Doughnut is relatively plain with a yeasty whole wheat bounce, slight sweetness, and a hint of cinnamon. The texture is more like a bagel than a donut, with an eggy dense inside that is neither super delicious or offensive. Since they are baked and not fried there is no outside crisp or greasiness, and as with most donuts, “real” or otherwise, most of the flavor comes from the toppings. The success of the doughnuts themselves varied based not only on the toppings but the actual bake itself. Since they’re all individually made I found some of them to be a little bit thinner and darker with a tougher, less-dount-y texture, and some of them to be fluffier and lighter in color, which much more closely resembled a true donut.

The experience of putting the doughnuts together is pretty damn fun. They arrive in a nostalgia-laden pink box with each component clearly labeled and packaged so you can truly choose your own destiny. All of the toppings have their own nutritional information provided, and while the icing containers looked really small to me at first, they actually do provide enough to piece together a pretty tasty breakfast treat.

I enjoyed all of the doughnuts that I got but by far my favorite was the Nutella with Kit Kat crumbles. I’m not sure if it was the slight nuttiness in the glaze or the luck of the fluff on that particular ‘nut but it gave me the most satisfying donut fix of them all. My least favorite was very surprisingly the Reese’s-inspired peanut butter one, because I felt it just didn’t have enough authentic peanut butter flavor. Luckily, I had a couple of extra naked donuts and put together my own decadent masterpiece using their classic doughnut glaze, crunchy peanut butter, and banana.

PB Banana Doughnut: 320 Cals/10g Fat/11g Sugar/30g Carbs/15g Protein

All in all, are Doughbar Doughnuts better than one from your local shop or Krispy Kreme? Nah. But are they a fun switch up from a protein bar or shake or carb-heavy weekend breakfast? Most certainly. The ability to customize and switch things up on the go is definitely a plus and I look forward to ordering again when time and money will allow. Hopefully this small creative company can get wider distribution and/or a brick and mortar location so we can all “eat more hole foods” on the regular.

Rating: 8/10

Sean's Skillet

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