Breakfast at Tartine Bakery

In a day of low-carb diets and protein shake-sporting Instagram photos, the role of the neighborhood bakery has greatly diminished in many parts of the United States. One of the things I remember most about my time abroad in Europe, was walking to the neighborhood bakery in the morning for fresh croissants. Sure, I could stop by a Whole Foods that has a sizable bakery operation, but it just isn't the same. It's the charm of a neighborhood operation, and the heart and soul that the bakery imbues into every kneaded loaf.

Tartine Bakery, located on the corner of 18th and Guerrero in San Francisco's
Mission district, will have a line forming at least thirty minutes before opening

Those in San Francisco's Mission district are fortunate to have their own little slice of bread and croissant heaven in the form of Tartine Bakery. Started by the husband-wife team of baker Chad Robertson, and pastry chef Elisabeth Prueitt, the two got their start at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. After traveling and training in France, the two opened up a bakery in Point Reyes Station. Their rustic wood fire-baked wares garnered them considerable attention, including being mentioned in celebrated chef Alain Ducasse's book 'Harvesting Excellence.' After 6 years in Marin County, the duo relocated their operation to the corner of 18th and Guerrero in San Francisco's mission district, where they remain today.

Upon approaching the bakery, one is greeted with the delightful smells of fresh bread, pastries, and cakes emanating from the establishment. As they open the doors to their patrons waiting dutifuly in line, the aromas pour like freshly mixed batter. In that moment, all doubt of the desire to wait in line is swiftly relieved. On waiting in line, I recommend arriving no later than 15 minutes to open for maybe a 5 - 10 minute wait. The latest I have ever arrived is 30 minutes after opening, resulting in another 30 minute wait. Still, in my eyes, totally worth it.

This blog post is going to work a little different than others I have posted, in the sense that I am going to frequently add to it with each additional visit. Tartine offers a daily quiche, and other seasonal offerings in addition to their incredible static menu. What I have below are experiences from various visits, and will add additional items as I try them in the future. With that, let's dive into some food notes!

April 22nd, 2017

Ham and chard quiche
2017 Tartine Bakery. San Francisco, CA

Today's quiche of the day was ham and chard, served piping hot after a quick heating in the oven. Chard was used for the top of the quiche, which crisped in the oven, and offered nice spinach notes without overtly being a spinach quiche. Nice chunks of ham were throughout the dish, which provided needed savory elements. The egg layer itself was incredibly lightly and fluffy. The crust on the bottom was perfectly toasted, yielding nice flavors. Finally, the rear crust was sublime, offering buttery pastry crust notes that really rounded out the quiche. Simply divine!

Pain au Jambon
2017 Tartine Bakery. San Francisco, CA

Also sampled today was Tartine's Pain au Jambon (ham and cheese croissant), featuring smoked ham and gruyère cheese. The croissant itself was incredibly light and flaky, practically dripping of the butter that provides it with a sublime richness. Ham offered salty notes, which are nice on to themselves, while also providing a nice seasoning to the butter and cheese elements. Gruyère cheese lends complimentary earthy flavors from the medium-to-full bodied cheese. This is further enhanced as one starts biting into the end where the cheese escapes the croissant and begins to toast. That toasted cheese flavor kicks the flavor profile up to a whole new level.

May 6th, 2017 Update

Ham and green garlic quiche
2017 Tartine Bakery. San Francisco, CA

Today's quiche of the day featured ham and green garlic. The egg filling was incredibly light and fluffy, which is a nice change of pace from the usually dense and sometimes slightly liquid fillings found in lesser quiche. The filling was teaming with ham, offering its nice salty notes. Green garlic provided a nice fresh element that worked well with the ham and eggs. Finally, the crust was to be expected: toasted perfectly on the bottom, while buttery and flavorful on the rear. This quiche definitely vanquishes the phrase, "real men don't eat quiche." Wunderbar!

Gougère
2017 Tartine Bakery. San Francisco, CA

A gougère is a French savory choux pastry, meaning it utilizes a light pastry dough containing eggs, water, flour and butter. To provide savory flavors, gruyère, black pepper and thyme are added to the dough, and the resulting mixture is baked into a dome. Biting into the pastry, I was shocked to see the interior for the most part is hollow. The gruyère and dough combined to offer a rich, earthy and buttery flavor. This was complimented by the black pepper and thyme elements, which really balanced out the various flavor elements of the pastry.

Savory scone
2017 Tartine Bakery. San Francisco, CA

Today's final selection was their savory scone, which contained bacon, gruyère, and fromage blanc. The first thing I noticed after the first bite was that the scone itself had more buttermilk biscuit-like flavors than a traditional English scone. The bacon offered rich, savory flavors, while its natural saltiness really helped the other flavors to pop on the palette. Gruyère lends and earthy undertone that pairs nicely with the bacon. Furthermore, a bit of the cheese in the batter on the bottom of the scone toasted perfectly while being baked, thereby offering toasted elements that further diversified the flavor profile. An interesting take on a scone - almost like a buttermilk biscuit - but incredibly satisfying.

May 27th, 2017 Update

Croque monsieur
2017 Tartine Bakery. San Francisco, CA

Today's main breakfast selection was a croque monsieur with ham. This featured country bread, béchamel, gruyère, pepper and asparagus as the seasonal produce. Essentially, it's a piece of bread piled high with béchamel, cheese, ham and topped with asparagus. Ham offered nice salty notes, with smokey undertones. The béchamel was rich and creamy, and combined with the gruyère, made for a decadent breakfast. Thankfully, the richness was tempered by the fresh asparagus flavors, bringing the dish into balance. I also caught a hint of mustard, which furthered the flavor profile of the dish. Just excellent.

Pain au Jambon with jalapeño
2017 Tartine Bakery. San Francisco, CA

The other offering this morning was a spicy twist to their ham and cheese croissant with the inclusion of jalapeño. The croissant was what I expected: rich, buttery, and flaking apart with every bite. This paired nicely with the ham, which offered its salty and subtle smokey flavors. Enter the jalapeño, which offered a nice foil to the richness with its savory flavors. The more overt smokey tones also paired nicely with the ham in the croissant. Overall a nice twist to a classic dish.