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
tzurit@tattebakery.com
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
