Downtown Bakery

Update Review, July 2020

After a 6 year hiatus (!), I finally tried things from Downtown Bakery again.  To be honest, I knew I had tried one item before (their donut muffin), and I thought that was it.  I didn't realize I had reviewed, otherwise I would have looked it up, and, taken my own advice and gone elsewhere.  Oops.

I'll be honest: I still don't understand the lines here, nor the hype.  I got three very different items, all were lackluster fresh.  One (the sticky bun) was actually *very good* once warmed up, one was mediocre, and one we didn't like at all.  I don't think I'll return, unless I'm really craving that sticky bun ...

Scones: Blueberry, Chedder + Thyme, Whole Wheat Currant + Orange Zest. $2.50.

I've been really craving scones lately, but, a particular style of scone: the hard (but not rock solid!) style, crumbly, ideally with a great buttermilk tang.  The kind you can easily turn into a shortcake, or at least enjoy with some whipped cream.  Or warmed up with clotted cream.  Mmmm.

I asked about the scones, really craving one, and was told they were the softer, cakey, almost muffin style, not crumbly, which is what I was craving.

Of the lineup, the whole wheat/currant/orange was calling out to me actually, just for a totally different thing, but, my partner wanted blueberry, so I got it for him.

 Blueberry Scone. $2.50.

I could tell immediately it wasn't what I wanted in a fruit scone.

I thought I might like it as a cake or muffin, as I do like those things too, just, not thinking of it as a scone.

Blueberry Scone: Inside.

 I of course tried a fresh bite.

It was ... well, cakey?  Yup, a cake.  As I expected, no buttermilk tang.  Not really my style at all.

It was loaded with juicy blueberries though.

I brought it home, warmed it up, added fresh blueberries, and topped it with whipped cream nonetheless.  I wanted it shortcake style!

I still found it pretty lackluster, but again, I knew this wasn't my style of scone. I wouldn't get again obviously.

Nor would my partner, he said, simply, "I would have preferred a muffin.  Or a cake.  Not that."

Baby Galettes: Peach, Apricot Cherry, Plum Raspberry. $5.50 each.

The galettes didn't look particularly good, but, I was craving a fruit pie type item.

Plum and Raspberry Baby Galette. $5.50.

I was debating between the filled puff pastry and the galettes, and the baker told me he recommended the galettes since they are fresh fruit (and the puff is a housemade jam).  I was more in the mood for pie anyway, and this is pie dough, vs croissant.  It didn't look particularly compelling, but, I trusted his judgement.

To pick from, I had the choice of plum and raspberry, apricot and cherry, or peach.  Sine I haven't been into peaches or apricot lately, that was my easy pick.

I tried a bite the moment I got it, but intended to bring it home, and have it a la mode, after dinner.

I was pretty disappointed when I tried it fresh though.  The crust wasn't as buttery or flaky as many others out there.  And it wasn't sweetened, no pearl sugar on the outside, it was just ... crust.  It was there, but it wasn't taking a strong role at all.  It was dry.  When I re-read my old review of their pecan pie, well, yeah, I wasn't into the crust there either.

Inside was plums that were mushy, and raspberries that were seedy, and it was all very sweet.  I had asked how sweet these were, and the vendor told me they didn't add much sugar and weren't to sweet, but ... yeah, the filling was sweet in a way I didn't care for.

So, fresh and room temp, I had a boring crust, mushy sweet fruit, and, I wasn't pleased.

Still, I heated it up later, and luckily it was significantly better warm. And al la mode.

The crust got crispy, the soft filling worked better with the crispier crust, and with the ice cream to balance out the sweetness, it actually was enjoyable.

I wouldn't want this again, or likely any of their galettes, but it was better warm, and with the ice cream to compliment it, and make it not as sweet, I had no problem finishing it of course.

Donut Muffins. $2.50 Sticky Buns. $3.

These are their famous, signature items.

Donut Muffin

I've had the donut muffin before, and, well, I wasn't particularly impressed.

2014 Review:

Probably their most famous item.  Donut dough baked not fried, covered in cinnamon sugar.  Looks like a muffin.  It tasted exactly as you'd expect ... there is a reason donuts are normally fried.  While famous, this was nothing special.

The price has risen from $1.75 back then to $2.50 now.

Sticky Bun

I did always want to try this back in the day, but it was literally always sold out.  For once they had it.

 Downtown Bakery Sticky Bun. $3.

Behold, the sticky bun.

This is their most famous item.  People who visit the bakery in person rave about it, the seller raved about it, and they usually sell out quite early in the day.

To be honest, it didn't look like a particularly good sticky bun to me.  It looked dried out, not soft and fluffy, not gooey ...

But I still got it.

 Sticky Bun: Bottom View.

From the bottom, it just looked crispy, but not in a kouign amann sort of way.  It certainly did not look moist.

Sticky Bun: Side View.

Here you can see the side, some sticky stuff on top, but still not very moist looking.

But my partner wanted to try it, and it *is* their famous item, so, I got one.

I tried a bite from the edge, and, yeah, it was dry and ... lackluster.  I was confused why people adored these.

I brought the rest home, to share, and of course, I planned to try stealing another chunk, to heat up, and pair with ice cream.

Once I heated it up though, all need for ice cream disappeared immediately.

This thing transformed.  Wow, it *was* magical!!  It was slightly crispy on the outside, moist enough inside, and was sticky, not overly sweet at all, just, pleasantly sticky.  The cinnamon throughout was great for flavor but wasn't intense.

I really, really liked it.  I may have taken more from him than I intended.  It was remarkable to me how much it transformed, but also, how the simple, more muted style (e.g. not smothered in caramel, sticky sauce, etc, not loaded with spicing, no nuts, etc), just ... worked.  Sure, I *could* add some ice cream or whipped cream, but it truly didn't need it.

It made a lovely mid-afternoon treat, and I can see it being great for breakfast, or for dessert, anytime.  I'd get it again, no question.

Original Review, December 2014

When I first moved to San Francisco and discovered the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings I was, like most others, drawn in by the amazing fruits and vegetables on display.  Once this abundance of produce became "normal" to me, I finally started paying attention to the other merchants.  While most of the prepared foods still never jumped out, the bakeries of course did.  This girl cannot resist her baked goods.

The one with the longest lines is always Downtown Bakery.  Their full bakery and cafe is located in Healdsburg, and has been around since 1987.  Their products always look great, but the lines deterred me for quite a while.  One day I discovered that they make "donut muffins" and I finally had to break down and try it.  I tried a few other items too, including a mini pecan pie for Thanksgiving a few years ago, but sadly, I never really liked anything I tried, and stopped after a few items.

The lines are much shorter these days, but I barely give them a second glance as I stroll past, generally making a beeline for the tastiest stone fruits, persimmons, or other seasonally appropriate item of the day.

Mini Pecan Pie.

Pecan pie is a classic for me.  My mom always makes the classic Karo syrup version, and I love it (although yes, Flour & Co makes a brown sugar nut pie that puts all other nut pies to shame, my mom's included, sorry mom!).  So when Thanksgiving rolled around, I knew I needed a pecan pie.  And a pumpkin pie (more on that later).  But I was planning to cook the entire meal myself for Ojan and I.  I decided to not take a risk with making pies (plus I thought that the two of us shouldn't really have a full pumpkin and full pecan pie to eat just ourselves ... ), so I decided to leave it up to the experts.

They held a special farmer's market on Wed before Thanksgiving, and I was happy to see Downtown Bakery present, with a bunch of pies, and even better, mini pies.  This way, I could have both my pumpkin and pecan pies, and not have a ridiculous amount of leftovers!

But it really was not good.  There was no sweetness in the filling.  No flavor in the filling.  It was just there, and there was very little of the expected gooey sweet layer.  It was however loaded with pecans, as it was 3 layers deep of pecans.  The pecans were all left whole, so it was a bit hard to eat.  They were also toasted and a little burnt even.  It was the inverse problems of the awful pecan pie we had at The Flying Goose.

The crust was also flavorless.  Disappointing, but also s actually pretty gross, and we didn't bother finish it.

[ Not Pictured ]

• English Muffins ($1.75) : Big huge fluffy muffins, but we got a pack for use with egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, and they were just too much.  Very thick and overpowering.  Not their fault exactly, and they were nice just toasted with jam.  Somewhere closer to a crumpet than what we think of as english muffin.
• Donut Muffin ($1.75): Probably their most famous item.  Donut dough baked not fried, covered in cinnamon sugar.  Looks like a muffin.  It tasted exactly as you'd expect ... there is a reason donuts are normally fried.  While famous, this was nothing special.
• Chocolate Chip and Macadamia Cookie ($1): Thin, crunchy, totally generic, no reason to ever eat.