The Hub Restaurant & Lounge - Dessert Review

Restaurant: The Hub Restaurant & Lounge - Dessert review

Cuisine: American/Pub food
Last visited: December 1, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC (Yaletown/Downtown)
1165 Mainland Street
Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Chocolate Chip Pazookie: 6
Service: n/a
Ambiance: 3

This review is only for the Chocolate Chip Pazookie because it was that good. Simple recipe, but the execution is what made it 6/6.

The idea was adapted, I think from the UK, but The Hub could be first to introduce the “Pazookie” to Vancouver. I’m so glad that they did because it’s brilliant. I will come here just for this, and in the last week since having it I’ve dreamt about it at least 6X’s and brought it up randomly because I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s rich, it’s indulgent, it’s comfort/go-to/break-up/reliable dessert that all ages would enjoy. It’s a cookie that’s so soft you eat it with a spoon.

For my full review on The Hub

On the table:

• **Chocolate Chip Pazookie 6/6
• Served piping hot in a cast iron pan, vanilla gelato $7

• Seriously…a dessert you’ll moan over…replacement for a...ok I’ll stop there. One of the best cookies/inventions. It’s a giant chocolate chip cookie, probably 6 inches in diameter that is freshly baked in house and upon order.

• What’s so different and great about this cookie is that it’s baked right in an iron skillet. The whole skillet goes into the oven and because it’s an iron skillet it retains heat. Therefore you get a cookie right out of the oven and it keeps tasting like it’s right out of the because of the skillet.
• It tastes like a half baked cookie…it’s a cross between a cookie and a brownie. It’s chewy, tender, VERY soft and moist and melt in your mouth delicious. I want it now…seriously. The cookie dough itself tastes like those English Bay chocolate chip cookies...it actually could be, but I don't know...
• To top off this cookie they put a scoop of vanilla gelato on top! It’s PERFECT! Who doesn’t like ice cream with their cookies?!? It was like a cookie/brownie/ice cream sandwich all in one. What more could you ask for?!?...except for maybe another order.

For my full review on The Hub

Society - Dessert: Junk Food Platter

Restaurant: Society - Dessert Junk Food Platter

Cuisine: American
Last visited: November 18, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC (Yaletown/Downtown)
1257 Hamilton Street
Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Junk Food Platter: 4
Savoury Food: 2
Service: 3.5
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 2.5
Additional comments:

• Comfort food with a twist
• Executive Chef Brandon Thordarson
• Attracts trendy crowd - Glowbal feel
• Great decor/playful and contemporary ambiance
• Better for drinks/desserts
• Part of the Glowbal Group family
• Heated patio, outdoor seating
• Open 11:30am-12am
• Open 4:30pm Sat/Sun

**Recommendation: Junk food platter

This review is focused on Society's dessert: The Junk Food Platter

There was too much to review on this huge platter so I had to split it up. The menu says it serves 2, but really it can serve between 4-6. Everything comes in 2, but you'll be pretty full if you ate everything. It's pretty big. For $18 I would order it again - however some things were better than others. I think the ice cream sandwiches were the best.

The platter is full of old-fashioned/circus/carnival desserts or "junk food": cotton candy, caramel corn, chocolate cupcakes, ice cream sandwiches, Oreo milkshake, doughnut holes, cookies and rice crispy squares. Overall it's a fun/playful idea, very well-presented and suits the restaurant and what they aim to do.

For my review on the savoury dishes: http://tinyurl.com/yg3ok8k

On the table:

• Junk Food Platter 4/6
• Cotton candy, caramel corn, chocolate cupcakes, ice cream sandwiches, Oreo milkshake, doughnut holes, cookies and rice crispy squares $18
• Cotton Candy 4/6
• The cotton candy is fresh and really good. It's really fun and never really been done at a restaurant. Better than the stuff you get an carnivals. You get quite a bit, but it's just spun sugar so it doesn't cost much to make.
• Caramel Corn 1/6
• This was found in the cup that was holding the cotton candy up.
• They burnt the caramel so the caramel corn was bitter and hard. It was really crunchy and they were in clumps, so it was more like brittle than it was caramel corn. This was better at carnivals.
• Doughnut Holes 2.5/6
  
• I think they make a version of these at Trattoria too. You can order these separately for $8.
• They taste really good, except they're filled with a cream anglaise that is much too sweet. On top, they're covered with white icing sugar so it makes them very sweet. They're served warm though so I liked that.
• It come with this pink "white chocolate" dip - which was not good at all. It was flavourless. It looks like Pepto-Bismol and I tried it on it's own. It tastes like pure sugar watered down and dyed pink. I enjoyed the doughnuts better without the dip.
• Ice Cream Sandwiches 4/6
• These were fantastic! Gone first. It was homemade.
• The cookie part tasted like chocolate brownies more than they did cookies. It wasn't the best brownie ever or anything, but it was still good. It was really fresh, soft and chewy. There's vanilla ice cream in the middle, which is not homemade I'm pretty sure. But overall the whole thing is yummy. I wish you could order them separately.
• Rice Crispies 3/6
  
• These were just your regular rice crispy squares. Not too buttery, not to sweet. a little harder than I'd like. I like them soft and chewy.
• Chocolate Cupcakes 3/6
• These reminded me of gourmet Ding Dongs. They were chocolate cupcakes filled with marshmallow cream and covered in chocolate ganache. These were nice and moist - a very decadent chocolatey treat.
• Oreo Milkshake 3/6
  
• This tasted great (how an Oreo milkshake would taste), but it wasn't a thick milkshake. It was definitely more milk based than ice cream based. I wonder if their other milkshakes are as thin as this one was...?
• They top it off with whipped cream and chocolate cookie crumbs. I wish they used Oreo cookie crumbs instead. They could easily make that switch with the help of a food processor.
• Cookies 2/6
• There were 2 mini chocolate chip cookies inside the mini white doggy bag.
• I have a feeling they started off warm, soft and chewy...but because I got to them last they were hard and not chewy. It was really too bad. Just because a cookie cools down it doesn't mean it has to be hard - but it happened to these ones which was disappointing.
  

Grandma's Mountain Cookies

Restaurant: Grandma's Mountain Cookies

Cuisine: Bakery/Desserts
Last visited: Oct. 10, 09
Area: Estes Park, Colorado
217 W Elkhorn Ave
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3
Service: 2
Ambiance: 3

Overall: 3
Additional comments:

• Since 1998
• Specializes in really soft 1/4 pound cookies
• Baked daily fresh from the oven
• Sandwich cookies available
• Very limited seating - eat it, maybe 1 table and a few chairs
  
• Online ordering available
• An expensive cookie

** Recommendation: Muffins...you were expecting me to say cookies? I thought the muffins were better. If you want to try a cookie just depends on what you like.

Put the words "Grandma" in your restaurant name and I'm half way sold! With the name "Grandma's Mountain Cookies" and it's cottage like exterior and homey interior it was impossible not to try it out. It's on a touristy strip in Estes Park where there's tons of cute candy stores surrounding it - the word grandma and cookies...couldn't resist.

On the table:

• **Macadamia Mango Muffins 5/6
• I know what you're thinking...who goes into a COOKIE store and buys a muffin? It didn't even look that appealing. It was very home baked, wrapped in plastic wrap and sitting on the shelf.
• The reason I went for the muffin is because I've never heard/seen/tasted a Macadamia Mango Muffin! It's so exotic and unusual I just had to try it...where else am I going to find this? Except for maybe in Hawaii?
• Well let me just say I'm glad I got it because this was delicious!! The texture of this muffin is just insane. It tastes and feels like cookie dough! It's the softest muffin I've ever had! It was so moist...perfectly baked! Nice and fluffy...I have no idea how 'grandma' makes them this soft! Just holding it, my hand was sinking into it!
• The negative is that it didn't taste like mango at all. I think they used a mango syrup, but there were no pieces of mango at all. It just had the colour of mango. There was lots of pieces of Macadamia in it though which was nice. It also had giant crunchy sugar crystals on top. Nice and nutty but not too sweet, the sugar crystals I could do without though.
• 
• Mocha Chocolate Cookie 2.5/6
  
• I must say I was kind of disappointed. This 1/4 pound cookie cost $2.25USD and to be honest those English Bay cookies you get from the vending machine are bigger and better.
• YES it was incredibly soft - just like the muffins. It was -6 degrees and I bought this cookie from their display case set up outside and it was still warm and gooey!
  
• The points go to it being soft, because the flavour wasn't great.
  
• 
• It's an odd colour, kind of green/blackish because they use actual espresso or coffee grounds. It was more espresso than mocha tasting. It gave it an odd texture...it was so soft already that the grounds made it extra delicate and crumbly. They should have added a shot of espresso to the batter. The grounds made it distracting and overpowered the chocolate instead of enhancing it.
• They also added too much salt to the batter...to the point where the cookie actually tasted salty.
• Overpriced at $2.25 too...and 1/4 pound isn't actually that big although it sounds big.
  

Vancouver Bakers Market - Review for Say See Bon Macaroons

Event: Vancouver Bakers Market - Review for Say See Bon Patisserie Macaroons
Last visited: October 3, 09

Area: Vancouver, BC
118-408 East Kent Ave South
Price Range: $1.50 cupcakes $3-5 pastries

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

**Recommendation: Matcha Macaroons

It's about time we've had a market dedicated to bakers and pastry chefs! This is Vancouver's first Bakers Market and I made it a point to attend the grand opening day. I need to be honest - I do personally know the people organizing the event, so I'm going to try my best and stay non-biased.

To my surprise the set up for this market is relatively small. I was expecting to see something to the degree of the Portobello fashion market, so I actually dedicated a couple hours to explore it. It took me about an hour to complete it and that's because I took my time revisiting each vendor, taking pictures and talking to people etc. It would take most people probably 20-30min tops to finish the whole thing so there's no need to make a day out of it. The style in which it was ran was more of a baker's fair, and baked goods ranged from professional macaroons to home baked cupcakes.

On the whole it is a great concept and I can't wait until the word spreads so it can grow faster. It's a great event to support local bakers and talent. It's on every Saturday for the month of October so if you have a couple hours on Saturday I recommend you to check it out. Heads up though, they sold out of baked goods by 2pm on the first Saturday it opened - so try to go earlier.

This blog is dedicated to my personal favourite at the market: Say See Bon Patisserie - Parisian Macaroons!!! I'd go again just for these!

On the table:

• **Matcha Macaroons 6/6
• It really depends on what you like - I prefer the Matcha macaroons over the chocolate ones...just because it's something different and new.
• This is so freaking good! It's a hand made Parisian macaroon. It's not the American coconut macaroon that you may have tried before. These ones are different, and I'd chose these over coconut ones.
• The Matcha macaroons have this creamy, matcha, white chocolate, caramel-like filling sandwiched between this almond/matcha flavoured meringue cookie. That was a mouthful and so are these! The meringue is made with quality ingredients so it doesn't taste like pure sugar or have a gritty texture as it dissolves. It's not a hard macaroon, but one that is lightly baked to perfection.
  
• 
• Just look at that texture! This macaroon/cookie is really light - it has a very thin and delicate crispy outer shell and then the inside is all chewy and delicious. There's no preservatives and it's made with organic egg whites and no flour so these macaroons are really airy and tender. When you take a bite your teeth sinks right into it and then it just melts away in your mouth. The middle is nice and soft and also chewy! Very cookie like. It has this nutty taste from the ground almonds/extract and yet it is still quite sweet from the white chocolate and sugar. It all balances out with the strong matcha flavour. The combination is just to die for! Truly amazing.
  
• 
• Chocolate Macaroons 5.5/6
• This is just as good as the matcha ones, but I appreciate the creativity of those ones more, so that's why I gave this one a 5.5 instead of a 6.
  
• It's made with a good quality 70% cocoa/chocolate, which is the perfect percent for this macaroon. It's not too sweet or rich and it's not bitter either. It's a gourmet chocolaty treat!
  

• Price
  
• 2 for $4
• 6 for $11
• 12 for $22 (which doesn't make sense to me...?)