Dessert Quest Boston part 1 of 2
I remember a skinny quiet girl walking in the hall of my dorm during freshman year at University of Miami. Fast forward and that skinny quiet girl became my less than quiet roommate sophomore year and one of my best friends for life.
Jane will always be one of my go-to people!
Jane Mitchell is one of my go-to people. Fortunately for me, Jane and her husband Michael spend time in Naples, Florida so I get to see them during the season. This summer, however, I had the pleasure of visiting them at their home in New Hampshire. Naturally, if I was going to be that close to Boston, we simply HAD to do a Dessert Quest Boston.
No surprise that Jane has friends whom I would adore, as well. Five of us piled into one car and headed down to Boston for a day of fun and eating. Here’s a recap of half of our stops. The other half will be posted in part 2 of the Dessert Quest Boston.
Clear Flour Bread turned out to be the perfect place to begin. They specialize in making authentic breads of Italy and France using simple basic ingredients from scratch. The breads are magnificent. They look like they should be in a museum and taste equally wonderful. The chocolate chip cookie, linzer bar and chocolate coconut macaroon were, also, all out of this world and if I closed my eyes while eating the chocolate croissant, I would swear I was in France. Owners/bakers Abe Faber and Christy Timon’s small shop packs a wallop of a punch of heavenly goodness.
Walking up to Tatte Bakery and Café brought serious conflict for several of us. The breakfast menu was calling our names but they stopped serving breakfast literally two minutes before we arrived. Fortunately, the others were able to order lunch. I was happy to discover that their nut boxes were available all day long. The nut boxes are perfectly packaged mini nut tarts bursting with nuts that are nestled in a buttery crust. Tatte’s owner Tzurit Or brings a flair from her Israeli upbringing with her chocolate crunch sandwich cookie filled with whipped halvah. The crunch is thanks to decadent cacao nibs in the chocolate cookie.
Chef Joanne Chang’s Flour was our venture into the downtown area of Boston, replete with traffic and tall buildings and friendly people. I can’t remember being in a busier bakery and yet everything and everyone moved along like a well-oiled machine. The hardest part was deciding which goodies to try. Ultimately, while the others opted for more traditional lunch items, I tasted brioche French toast, cinnamon bun, lemon meringue cupcake, molasses cookie, chocolate sandwich cookie, oatmeal raisin cookie and linzer bar. Not sure which I loved the most but if I had to order only three things I would get the molasses cookie, chocolate sandwich cookie and cinnamon bun.
So thrilled that Jules could meet me at Blackbird Doughnuts!
I was thrilled that my cousin Jackie’s friend Jules could meet us at Blackbird Doughnuts. By this time, the New Hampshire friends were barely able to eat but I knew if Jules said this doughnut shop was one I had to try, then who was I to argue? There were a lot of tempting flavors such as Salted Toffee, Vanilla Glaze, Blackberry Lavender and Blueberry Coconut but I was looking for a more traditional flavor. The triple chocolate cake doughnut had a lovely cake consistency and who doesn’t love chocolate jimmies on top?
Many thanks to Jane, Trish, Kim and Lauren for making this day so very special!
Dessert Quest Boston was a huge success. Time with an old friend and many new ones combined with fresh baked desserts is a recipe for a winning day. Can’t wait until the next time I get to explore Boston.
The following is a list of the stops from part 1 of the Dessert Quest Boston:
Clear Flour
178 Thorndike St
Brookline, MA 02446
(617) 739-0060
http://www.clearflourbread.com
Tatte
1003 Beacon St
Brookline, MA 02446
(617) 232-2200
[email protected]
Flour
131 Clarendon St
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 437-7700
http://flourbakery.com
Blackbird Doughnuts
492 Tremont St
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 482-9000
http://www.blackbirddoughnuts.com
I think I gained a couple of pounds just reading about all the decadence of Boston! YUM.
That makes me feel GREAT, KC! Thank you. 🙂
I love your virtual tours of these amazing food boutiques! I think you have WAY too much fun Betsy. One of these days I’m going to stop over from Washington state and say “Let’s go” . HaHa. You just gave me our list of places! Very fun!
Thanks so much, Diane. I LOVE this. I may have to do a Dessert Quest in Washington!!
There is nothing like a city foods tour. All of these breads and desserts look so amazing! I would have to do a lot of walking to burn of everything I’d eat on this tour
That’s part of the beauty of the Dessert Quests, Nicky. There is plenty of walking to accompany all of the decadent eating!
Ohh, what fun! Those mini tarts with nuts look so interesting! I would love to try those!
The nut boxes at Tatte Bakery are amazing, Sandra. They are worth a trip to Boston!
I studied in NH and I used to get down to Boston for lunch or dinner! You brought so many beautiful memories to my mind!
This makes me so happy to read, Katerina! Thank you. 🙂
All of these places looks so good, I actually live in the suburbs of Boston, so will have to check them out when I’m next in the city, especially Clear Flour Bread, those breads look amazing!
Joy,
I am so jealous that you have all of these delicious places just around the corner! The breads at Clear Flour Bread ARE amazing.
Betsy, I had so much fun on the great quest. My favorite was Clear Flour. I can still taste the fabulous chocolate croissant and that bread was a beautiful thing to wake up to in the morning! As usual, I had an exciting time with a great friend.
Jane,
I loved that you were with me on this Dessert Quest. You may not have been able to keep up eating wise, but your personality sure did!! I miss the chocolate croissant and bread, too!