I Must Have Died And Gone To Croissant Heaven

It's Monday morning 8:30AM, I had a couple of hours to spare before my flight. Monday's can be hard sometimes, they hit you like a sledgehammer on the head and leave you spinning till noon. I wasn't too hungry, but a light breakfast would be perfect to cushion the start of the day. A walk around the block brought me to Tartine bakery, one of the better known pastry institutions in San Francisco. It's sister establishment, which I raved about last year over a weekend brunch, serves most of its breads and cakes from Tartine Bakery. The reason why the line snaked around the block of this corner cafe would soon be obvious to me. I ordered the vegetable quiche and an almond croissant to go with my latte. I've had many croissants in the past few years, in fact it's one of my favorite breakfast pastries despite the amount of butter that is used in the baking, but the almond croissant holds a special place in my heart because of the richness of the almond flavored filling, the toasted almond flakes on top sprinkled with icing powder and toasted to perfection. When I sank my teeth into Tartine's version, which on first impression looked a little bit on the burnt side, I knew this was a significant moment in my quest for the perfect pastry. Not too oily, very crunchy on the outside, and moist on the inside, just the right sweetness, with almond flakes drizzled with syrup and toasted around its edges. Unbelievably delicious, and well worth the $3.75.

I would have ordered a second had I not already ordered the quiche, which turned out to be equally delicious, wonderfully smooth and flavorful. French pastries and cafe fodder tend to be on the heavy side, but Tartine's versions were simply deceptively light, something which I thought was not possible until now. Obviously, this goes against my diet rules, but since I was going to embark on a 14hr trans-pacific flight in a matter of hours, this was the perfect excuse to mitigate the airplane food I was going to have to put up with. More about the airplane food later, if I have time. I'm not quite looking forward to it, but United's new menu should be a big improvement over their poor showing in the past few years I've flown with them.

By 9:00AM, the crowds started strolling in and a line was forming all the way out the door. Young families, couples on vacation, businessmen on the way to work picking up a quick fix, the neighborhood came alive with a buzz and fervent activity at the pastry counter as the bakery staff stepped up their pace to keep the patrons happy. What I scene, I felt I was sitting in a movie set watching the day's drama unfold before my eyes. I loved this city, but it was time to go.
Tartine Bakery is located at 600 Guerrero St, San Francisco, CA 94110. Tel: (415) 487-2600