Tartine Bakery

          

           Cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract and pumpkin spice lingering in the air of this early Thanksgiving week, as I headed to the small bakery located at 600 Guerrero St. The store is located a block away from Bi-rite Market and Ice Creamery. During the weekends, people will line up as early as 10 am to get their breakfast croissants and freshly baked bread. The food, coffee and desserts they serve are great. I want to share with you how I discovered another wonderful bakery located near the Castro that an outsider will never know. The first thing you notice when you walk by the store is the signs on their window. Tartine Bakery doesn’t have a huge sign on their store. It has an aurora of being mysterious and this intrigued me for couple of months. This curiosity finally ended when I finally decided to try and check it out.  

            Before I went to the bakery, I saw a lot of people lining up outside the store before it opens. As I waited in line, I chatted with people to ask for recommendations and what food to order. The first thing I noticed, the store is very small and every space is used for shelving. Table and chairs are located both inside and outside. The bakery set up tables and chairs outside near the side walk for customers to sit and enjoy the sunny weather. In addition, the place can probably accommodate about 25 people inside and about 15 people outside. Waiting in line, I was amazed by the varieties of their menu. The menu is very exquisite; the bakery offers breakfast pastries, bread, hot pressed sandwiches, pastries and coffees. A friendly server approached me and took my order. I ordered the banana cream tart and passion fruit lime bavarian rectangle. I was so excited as I got my order however, it took me awhile to get an empty table to enjoy these heavenly desserts because the place is packed and more people are waiting in line. Let me say, it was totally worth it; the desserts were delicious. I especially like the passion fruit lime Bavarian rectangle because it is very moist and the blend of passion fruit and lime is a perfect combination. However the banana cream tart is also creamy but the crust is so hard. I have to use their metal spoon and fork in order to slice it. Plastic forks will not work, you will end up eating half of the crust and just the banana filling because it is very hard.  It was good but I will probably not order this again. On the other hand, the tart has good filling but if the crust was softer and flaky I might reconsider.   

            I enjoyed Tartine a lot and the portions of the pastries are generous but the price is high. In terms of atmosphere, Tartine has an attractive display of desserts. Parking in this neighborhood is very hard to find since it is a busy area.  You can find parking on the streets or ask your friend to park near somebody’s drive way while you wait in line or try circling around to find an empty parking spot during the weekend. I highly recommend Tartine and it is a must visit if you find yourself near the Mission or Castro.