Flaky, golden brown laminated pastries; scones studded with fruit and nuts; muffins perfectly risen, domed and dusted generously with a cloud of powdered sugar — surely a tempting sight at your typical cafe or bakery.
But by the end of the day, these perfectly delicious treats remain in their case, uneaten but not unwanted. That’s where Too Good To Go steps in.
From bags of bakery items to prepared foods items at local restaurants and grocery stores, the To Good To Go app offers discounts on foods left over each day from local bakeries, cafes and restaurants. What’s not to love about scoring a good deal while contributing to sustainability goals?
Westwood is home to a good number of Too Good To Go partners, and as a student who’s always on the lookout for a good deal, I couldn’t resist trying out this app on a few spots within walking distance from campus.
The Ordering Process:
On the app, pre-order slots listed tend to be available for pickup the next day. Ranging from the typical pastry and pre-made foods bag to more unusual (and some extremely questionable) listings such as salad dressings, unpelted wheat sprouts and a variety of “surprise” drinks, the options for Too Good To Go bags certainly were diverse.
Over the course of a few days, I selected, preordered and picked up a selection of bakery food recovery bags from a variety of Westwood spots in walking distance from campus (decidedly, I stayed away from those rather unconventional food bags): Pret A Manger, Paris Bakery, Alfred Coffee and Whole Foods Market.
My Criteria:
When ranking these Too Good To Go bags, I considered taste, price point and distance from campus for a total of four bags from different spots around Westwood Village.
On to the Ranking:
4) Paris Bakery
At number four on my list, the Paris Bakery surprise bag left much to be desired. Containing an almond bear claw, poppy seed roll, spinach and cheese croissant and sticky bun, this bag was one of the cheapest on my rankings at $6.99. Unfortunately, the quality of these goods didn’t hold up when compared to the baked goods from other bags within this ranking. All pastries were stale, dry and lacked much flavor, vaguely reminiscent of prepackaged pantry stable baked goods. Additionally, the walk from campus was quite a bit further than the other bags I picked up, at around a 40-minute walk from Bruin Plaza.
3) Whole Foods
The plethora of items in the Whole Foods bakery bag left me hopeful for a solid ranking on this list. At $6.99, this bag contained much more than I expected: half of a cherry pie, four cherry turnovers and a loaf of Abe’s cornbread. In terms of quality, these items tasted as expected. Pastry quality was not unlike the baked goods sold at the ASUCLA coffee shops on campus, a decent option for something quick and cheap. The cornbread, a prepackaged baked good, was better than expected: moist and flavorful, with sufficient texture from the cornmeal. All under $10, it’s undeniable that this bakery bag was quite a good deal. The distance from campus was relatively close too — around a 20-minute walk.
2) Alfred Coffee
Alfred Coffee’s bakery bag was definitely the cheapest on this ranking, coming in at $4.99. Considering the fact that I received three pastries, the price was definitely reasonable for the quality of goods inside. Upon examining the bag’s contents, I discovered a beautifully flaky golden brown croissant, a savory scone and a blueberry muffin. Further research led me to discover that Alfred sources its pastries from Artelice Patisserie, a local bakery and French patisserie that has a location in the Sawtelle area. The quality of these pastries were without a doubt the highest when compared to all of the other bakery bags and the location of this shop was not too far a distance from campus; it took me around 20 minutes to walk there.
1) Pret A Manger
While scrolling on the app, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Pret A Manger, a classic Westwood study spot, offered a meal and bakery bag. Upon opening, this bag contained a blackened salmon, avocado and quinoa bowl, almond croissant and fruit cup containing a variety of mixed berries. At $11.99, this bag was the most expensive of all the spots on this list — largely due to the fact that this order contained a meal and a pastry. But the salad did not disappoint. The salmon was well-cooked and seasoned, and the leafy greens tasted fresh. Paired with the quinoa, avocado, roasted corn, tomatoes and vinaigrette dressing, this salad provided a balanced meal, leaving me satisfied. Both the pastry and fruit cup were nothing to write home about, a sufficient accompaniment to the meal. Distance-wise, Pret was about a 12 minute walk from campus, the closest pick-up spot on this list.
Overall, my experience with the Too Good To Go app in Westwood was a generally great experience. While the one bag left me disappointed, the others were definitely hits that offered great prices for items that I would be happy to try again.
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Featured Image Photographed by Siena Hunt/BruinLife
