Consume: Our favorite food stuff this week
Eat
Baked “House Blend” Granola
$7 for a 12-ounce bag; Sur La Table and other retailers; www.bakednyc.com
Baked “House Blend” Granola comes from a small bakery in Brooklyn. Its simple ingredients – whole rolled oats, almonds, hazelnuts, dried cherries, organic golden raisins, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt – are impressively tasty and crunchy. A wonderful companion to your morning yogurt.
Try
DavePops
$3; various local farmers markets; www.davepops.com
Dave Feldpausch’s motto for his DavePops is “No fats, no drips, no dairy.” Made from coconut milk, soy milk, almond milk, whole fruits, juices, tea, sodas and spices, his frozen treats are sweetened with sugar or stevia. We tasted a couple of flavors – Cherry “Garsoya” (soy milk-based with cherries and chocolate bits) and turmeric-ginger-nutmeg-coconut. The bars were creamy, rich and loaded with flavor.
Order
McCormick & Schmick fish ’n’ chips
$17; 1194 Roseville Parkway, Roseville; mccormickandschmicks.com
Fans of this pub staple should give McCormick and Schmick’s version a go. Hefty chunks of fresh cod are dipped in batter that’s spiked with Blue Moon Ale, deep-fried and served steaming hot and crunchy. They arrive with tartar sauce spiked with poblano and chipotle peppers. The house-cut french fries are spritzed with malt vinegar and dashed with Old Bay seasoning.
Drink
INNA Shrub
$15 for a 12.7 ounce bottle; www.innajam.com
No, we’re not talking about bushes. This kind of shrub is a beverage mixer made from a base of sugar and white wine vinegar. While the vinegar part might sound like a tough swallow, the sweetness of plums, quince and other fruits cold-preserved in the liquid make it a soft, complex pairing for your favorite distilled spirit.
Spread
Gina Marie Cream Cheese
$5.49 for an 8-ounce roll; Raley’s; www.sierranevadacheese.com
There’s a good reason this cream cheese from Sierra Nevada Cheese Co. has a cult following. The light and fluffy spread contains just milk, cream and sea salt and hits the perfect balance of tart and creamy. Your bagel will thank you.
Bee staff
To suggest items for Consume, please send submissions to sacfeast@sacbee.com.
This story was originally published June 19, 2015 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Consume: Our favorite food stuff this week."