Tartine Manufactory
Manufactory Cold Brew Coffee
House Sourdough Bread, Salted Butter, Apple Butter
Tres Leches Cake
House Yogurt, Seasonal Fruit, Bee Pollen, Granola
Morning Bun
Banana Nut Muffin
Pain au Chocolat
Raspberry Jam Bun
Chocolate Marble Pound Cake
Over a decade since the first, and only, visit to Tartine Bakery much has changed, Chefs Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt having since opened and closed a Restaurant while fame and finance led to the opening of Tartine Manufactory, a stunning production in terms of scope with prices to match.
Technically part of The Mission, an August 2016 opening at 595 Alabama Street filling space next to a tile factory with limited parking, it was shortly after 9:00am that the Manufactory was approached on foot, the Restaurant at least half-full from carry-out to the main dining room decorated with suspended bubbles.
Industrial-chic to match the name, exposed ceilings and chairs like one might find at a school lining a room with several machines to produce Tartine’s recipes in bulk, it was opting for seating that a young man approached with menus, $12 Porridge and $16 Toast aggressive even for San Francisco though apparently agreeable enough to guests that they recently added a Los Angeles location.
Not surprised to see the tireless Robertson working, automatic feeding of an oven able to bake dozens of Loaves at a time both fascinating and equally worrisome for the future of Artisans everywhere, it was opting for bold Cold Brew to start that eight items were requested, the $8 Bread plate that arrived first mostly justified by stretchy Sourdough surrounded by a robust Crust plus ample amounts of locally-sourced Butter and silky Cinnamon Apples.
Next brought $9 Yogurt with Granola, both made on-site and offered in a sharable portion that sees sweet and sour well-balanced, it was henceforth that Pastry took center-stage, the seasonal Banana Nut Muffin a bit dry compared to many but still well-flavored while Chocolate Marble Pound Cake fared much better thanks to plenty of bittersweet Cocoa swirled into the Batter.
Unable to resist an iconic Morning Bun, the Croissant Dough spanning several pages of Tartine Cookbook Volume 1 presented tightly wound with plenty of Citrus, Butter and Granulated Sugar, it was surprisingly Robertson’s Pain au Chocolat that proved even better, the core still warm and layers of lamination shattering to the tooth before drifting down to table, lap and floor.
Finishing with what best resembled Dessert, springy Broche nestling Custard and Raspberry Preserves quickly dispatched and a second Bun briefly debated, it was instead a slice of Tres Leches Cake that ended the morning, a lack of sogginess welcomed by those who typically consider the dish too “wet” though the traditional flavor remains intact with the sponge a dainty Chiffon and Pastry Cream lightly perfumed by Vanilla dividing the layers.
www.tartinebakery.com/san-francisco/manufactory
