Vive La Tarte
Almond Croissant
Banana Ginger Croissant
Turmeric Monkey Bread
Butter Cookie Donut
Belgium Chocolate and Sea Salt Cake
Founded by Julie Vandersmeech and Arnaud Goethals in 2015, the Howard Street location soon spawning an outpost at the Ferry Building and recently Noe Valley, it was shortly after 9:00am on a Tuesday that Vive La Tarte was found bustling, the sizable workspace filled by folks on their laptops or meeting over Coffee while a team of at least eight worked diligently throughout the immense kitchen.
Belgian-inspired but infused with fun, artisan touches such as milling Flour on-site balanced by items such as the Instagram-friendly “Tacro,” it is at a distance that guests can see staff focused on tasks including rolling, folding and piping, the fact that each location offers something different each month virtually guaranteeing a following that will soon spread to Los Angeles.
Clever enough to lure in both “influencers” and traditionalists, no small task in a city with outlandish real-estate and lots of competition, it is moving left to right that guests will find items both sweet and savory, a total of one dozen choices far from the shotgun approach seen elsewhere while additional items are made-to-order.
Opting for a mix of traditional and modern, the five items selected tallying just under $30 after tax and tip, it was on bad footing that the experience commenced, the Almond Croissant frankly inedible thanks to what seemed like Frangipane with even more Sugar than usual while the follow-up thankfully fared far better thanks to thick Banana Pudding that somehow left most of the Viennoiserie still crunchy and awash with Ginger.
Told not to miss the Monkey Bread by a trusted source, Vive La Tarte’s choice to use individually laminated cubes bound by Butter yielding a texturally splendid specimen beneath granulated Sugar and bright with Turmeric, it was next Bombolini piped with Butter Cookies and Cream performed beautifully before finishing with an intense slice of Belgian Chocolate Cake flecked by Sea Salt.
www.vivelatarte.com
