Newman's Own Organics Newman's Special Decaf - this was
incredibly good-tasting considering it was decaf, a
medium roast full of the flavor I remember from my
childhood. A little more acidy than usual, which was not
displeasing and was really nice with a spot of cream and
sugar. A surprisingly first-rate product.

Brigham's vanilla ice cream - I was never fond of this
brand, which was always Breyersish (and I believe was at
one time contract made by Kraft, makers of Breyer's, Sealtest,
and others. But the extortion store across the street, where
old people go when they are snowed in or it's cold and windy
or they're indisposed in any number of ways, sells only one
brand of ice cream at a time, and this week it was Brigham's.
So the lame and halt can't be choosers. Well, it's still
Breyersish, milkier rather than creamy, but the texture is
somewhat improved from last time; probably the kind of filler
they use is a better class of gum or something. Pleasant mild
vanilla flavor. Fairly quick melt. It ws okay.

Theo chocolate for baking 85% - hard melt, pleasantly
bittersweet with an acid back, almost lemony and complementing
the bitterness. Coffee and lemon peel on the palate, quite
pleasant though. Okay for snacking; gave me a bit of a buzz.

Moonstruck Chocolates, Japanese Garden collection:

matcha green tea truffle - others really liked this; I
found it a little chemically and not my idea of green
tea at all. Smooth with a tiny bit of granularity. Not
unpleasant, just a little weird;

sakura cherry blossom truffle - pretty much ditto, with
a florality combining with that almondy cyanidey taste
that is not awful but rather disquieting in cherry and
pistachio flavors;

roasted black sesame truffle - a good expression of the
flavor of the seed, the least smooth and most peanut
buttery textured of the lot. I liked this one.

Echo Falls Alaska smoked salmon - bar none the worst of its
kind I'd ever had, mushy and fishy and more like spoiled fish
than a deli product, deluded rather than delicious. This is
the first smoked salmon that I have ever thrown away, it was
that bad, because I thought it might be hazardous.

This went appropriately with Philadelphia cream cheese, which
I haven't had in a while, opting for Daisy or some other more
natural product. If my mouth reads right, this has become
incredibly gummy and nasty since I last had it. Ugh.
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