u/superlative_eats

I'm looking for some inspiration for signature coffee menu items..the banana milk lattes with cookie butter drizzle type of stuff. Coffee roast quality is a + but not a dealbreaker, just looking for really great examples of coffee beverage with inclusions that really comes together as greater than the sum its parts.

I drink a lot of these and have found that often the additional thing gets lost in the sauce or it's some off the shelf product and it feels like I paid an extra +$2-2.50 for a sweeter latte with some sugar cookie crumbles on it or a "coconut latte" thats just a regular iced latte but with 2 pumps of torani coconut syrup.

Great example of an exceptional specialty coffe bev would be the Andytown Snowy Plover. What are your favorites? Hot or Iced but preferably iced.

Am I trippin or is Vinai pretty mid? I was so stoked to get the Hilltribe Grilled Chicken because I'm a fiend for woodfire/charcoal grilled meats but you could tell it was steam cooked to doneness first then just barely kissed on the grill. You couldn't even taste it was cooked on the hearth. Felt like we were eating hotel-catered wedding chicken and it was incredibly underseasoned. Sauce was vaguely coconutty and also underseasoned.

Laab carpaccio was yummy but fairly straightforward herb set + crispy shallot/garlic.

Sardines thing tasted like sardines and a couple green onions/herbs in there. I've literally made this exact set as a lazy meal at home...Trader Joe's tinned fish + herbs + serranos + chili crisp.

Purple sticky rice fell flat for me..it was lukewarm and slightly under.

Crabby fried rice tasted like...homespun fried rice. I feel like I was expecting something more to it; I hate it when people say that but then again here I am left wanting more value. Also, it had the same slaw garnish as the chicken. At a QSR/fast casual level..sure, I wouldn't mind a little cross utilization but at a JB nominated restaurant? Cmon man.

Charred cabbage was undercooked and one note from the super smokey smoked carrot puree. It was a little dried out too, probably because they sandbagged it and stored it in hotel pans on top of the grill.

I get why they would operationalize the cook time by sandbagging the cabbage or pre-cooking the chicken but quite unusual at this level of restaurant/price point. Such a let down.

I'm visiting from San Francisco and I'm a fiend for charcoal grilled meats..anything will do: kebabs, carne asada, pollo asado, xinjiang lamb skewers, burgers etc. Specifically does not include long smoked American style bbq like bbq brisket.

So far all I have is Holy Land and last night stumbled upon Soul Lao where they do a couple charcoal grilled dishes like laab seen which was stellar.

EDIT: Holy Land kebabs just okay, rotisserie chicken was gangsta.

https://preview.redd.it/1g0wqq582a6h1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8272b4ca17379598837dadd8e3b2b87a24f395c0