Craftsman & Wolves - February 8, 2016
Sometimes discoveries happen through the combined lenses of hobby and technology. I was baking, a lot, getting pretty good at it, at least according to some that got to enjoy the goods. My friends in San Francisco would see my posts on Facebook or Instagram and comment how they wish they were local. We’d laugh about it a bit, I’d try sending some cookies out that I thought would keep and weather the shipping process, fun. Then they mentioned me in a comment on an Instagram picture from a bakery that was getting really popular in the Bay Area. So I followed the bakery, figuring that I liked pictures of various baked goods, and I could always use inspiration.
Now, I’d been to Tartine. I really like Tartine, I’ve got their cookbooks, I enjoy making their bread. Whenever I’m near Mission in San Francisco, I always make sure to stop. While Tartine is a great, it’s a bread bakery. Don’t get me wrong I love bread, but sometimes, I crave something, well, not bread.
In Minneapolis, the closest analog to the situation I’m describing is probably Rustica vs. Patisserie 46. Rustica is a boulangerie, like Tartine, great breads, some baked goods like cookies (that Bittersweet Chocolate), quiche, etc. Patisserie 46 is, well, a patisserie, which is bread too, but it’s also pastries, primarily pastries, great pastries.
Craftsman and Wolves is the Patisserie 46 to Tartine’s Rustica.
The Rebel Within - imagine a biscuit that has sausage and cheese inside of it, add a little sour cream or creme fraiche, add a little scallion, got it? Now put a soft cooked egg inside of it. This put CAW on my San Francisco must list.
I was on vacation, and this was more bread-y than the patisserie experience I was seeking, so I continued sampling.
Stone: Coffee, Yuzu, and Coconut Gianduja - A great combination of flavors and textures. Amazing.
Pistachio, Bariani Honey, and Kumquat Marmalade Eclair - with a touch of Maldon-ish sea salt to really focus the sweetness? So good.
I may, or may not, have gone back the next day.