Alexander's Patisserie

Update Review, April 2018 Visit

Setting

I finally got to visit Alexander's Patisserie in Mountain View while open!

I had been in the space for their pre-opening party, but I haven't returned since (not because I didn't want to, just because I'm never in Mountain View).  I was finally able to return in April 2018 (yes, this review is dated, and somehow I never published it before).

Exterior.

The shop bears the familiar Alexander's ALL CAPS print, with big windows to easily spy in to see all the goodies.

Interior.

The furnishings are grand, as you would expect from the Alexander's restaurant group.  This is not a simple little corner bakery.

Dark wooden floors, mirrors, chandeliers  ... yup.  Very clean, very classy.

The majority of the seats are tables for two, one diner in a chair, the other on the white leather upholstered bench running along the wall.

Tables.

The biggest tables are round white marble beauties, with white leather chairs, wooden legs.  Real plants, in very fascinating holders, were placed on each table.

Our group of 5 was lucky to get one of these, and as the evening drew on, the place quickly filled up, with no seating even for singles.  I imagine earlier in the day has times just as busy too.  So, be warned.

Counter Seating.

Smaller parties can opt instead to pull up an equally nice high chair to the bar, overlooking Castro Street, where they can enjoy some people watching ... or just make passers-by enviouss of their goodies.

Box.

Items packaged to go come in black boxes emblazoned with a gold logo, put into beautiful bags with fabric handles.  My bag was pastel, I think from Easter, which was just the week before.

The Goodies

Our Loot!

During this single visit, I managed to try ...

• 2 pastries
• 2 tarts
• 2 mousse cakes
• 1 pudding
• 1 cake
• 3 take home confections

Everything was gorgeous.  Most of it was tasty, some of it fantastic.  And none of it simple, of course.

Dessert for Four People.  Oops.

We ... wanted to try everything.  This was only *some* of the bounty we tried.  Yes, there were only 5 of us, and actually, only 4 who were eating dessert.  So, yes we ordered 7 full sized desserts.

To be fair, I didn't realize only 4 of us would be eating desserts (even though the 5th told me, I didn't really think she'd opt out entirely!), and, another diner went rouge and added on two extra desserts after I placed the group order.  So, my plan was a more reasonable 5 items for 5 people, which is still a bit extravagant at a place like this, but, not quite as insane.

We also threw on some drinks (espresso drinks, tea, hot chocolate) as well, and settled in to enjoy.

I cut everything into 6 pieces, thinking all 5 of us would have a piece, and whoever liked an item the best could have the extra piece.  Since we had only 4 people eating though, and some people didn't try everything (!!??  who are these people!!), that didn't quite work out.

We did a decent job though, and finished all but three of the pictured items, two which we just didn't really like, and one which I took home and ate the next day.

Breakfast Pastries / Baked Goods

Our visit was in the evening, post 7pm, so breakfast pastries weren't really what we should have been picking for freshness, but, I wanted to sample everything Alexander's Pastisserie had to offer.  Plus, one diner, who had been in the morning many times, said the pastries and baked goods were amazing.

Danishes, Muffins.

Since it was long past morning hours, the selection was a bit limited.  This case had two types of danish, 2 types of muffin, and a single flavor of kouign amann.  Normally it is filled with more varieties of all of the above.

However, I wanted to try a pastry item, so selected one from here.  And ... so did my fellow rouge diner.

Croissants.

The second morning pastries case was just as empty, only containing plain croissants, pan au chocolate, and a single matcha croissant, and a sole monkey bread.

Normally this area houses the chocolate almond banana croissants folks rave about, and almond croissants.

I was tempted by the monkey bread, but wanted to pick between monkey bread and bread pudding, and, bread pudding won out.

Chocolate Dulce de Leche Kouign Amann. $5.50.

My first pick: the mighty kouign amann.  The best of all the morning pastries.  I had to get this, even though it wasn't really kouign amann appropriate time, and even though the one flavor they had left was pretty much the last I'd pick, particularly in the evening, since I don't eat chocolate (or caffeine) in the evening.  But I'd make an exception.

I was a bit concerned by how dark it looked (burnt?!), but then I realized that was just the chocolate nature, it actually used a chocolate dough, and chocolate bits between the folds, for the chocolate component.  And in the middle, the dulce de leche, just on top.

Chocolate Dulce de Leche Kouign Amann: Inside.

This one I only cut into 4 pieces, once I realized the 5th person really wasn't interested in anything, and once one other person said he wasn't having any chocolate.  Plus, it was certainly the hardest of the items to cut without destroying it!

At a glance, it looked like a pretty great kouign amann.  Soooo many layers.  Flaky.  But ... I didn't like it.

It was lacking the signature caramelization on the exterior I expected from a kouign amann.  It was crispy, yes, but not necessarily in a good way.  And while it was dark, and clearly had chocolate in the batter, you couldn't really taste that.  The little bits between the layers was more prevalent, but still, this was far less chocolate forward than I expected (which was fine, actually, since I didn't want chocolate at night, but still ...).

The dulce de leche was fine, but just sweet thick caramel-like fairly standard dulce de leche in the middle, not integrated in.  Which is also fine, and how flavored kouign amann are usually done, but, just not very interesting.

Overall, it just missed the mark for me.  Kinda boring.  Not caramelized.  Maybe better earlier in the day?

Luckily, it was one of only two misses, my second to last favorite.  No one else cared for this either, one chunk went unfinished.

**+.

Red Berry Danish. $5.

As much as I like danishes, I wasn't at all tempted by the danish selection, two flavors, red berry or cherry, both in totally different forms.  They just aren't at all what I wanted in the evening, and I knew they'd be far past their prime.  A good danish is good, but not worth trying by the evening (and to be fair, I had an excellent danish that morning from another patisserie, so, danish cravings I had not).

No one else voiced wanting any morning treats, so I picked the kouign amann only.  But then ... someone threw this onto our order.  He said the danishes are really good, and he hadn't tried this one yet.   Uh ok?  

This one I also cut into only 4 chunks, as I wasn't planning to have one.  I'd save my stomach space for the slew of other treats.

But ... some bits of the flaky pastry remained on the plate afterward, and I tried a bit.  Just to try.

Ok, wow, that was good!  Really flaky, buttery, crispy ... excellent.  Even hours after it was baked.

So I tried some filling too.  Cream cheese and red berry jam.  Creamy, fruity, nice compliments to each other, and to the pastry.

I admit this was pretty good, and I'd gladly come back in the morning to have one at a more appropriate hour!  My third favorite item, actually, and the others all gladly consumed it all, the first treat to disappear completely.

***+.

Bread Pudding. $5.

As a bread pudding affectionado, I had to try the bread pudding, right?  Even though I could see that it wasn't the style I like (e.g. it was a dense mass without distinct chunks, no custard visible, certainly no moist interior and crispy top), and even though it was served cold, unadorned (bread pudding should be hot! With ice cream or at least whipped cream!).

So, I did what any reasonable person would do.  I got it to go, so I could have it *my* way, the next day.

But of course I tried it cold, the next morning, for breakfast first.  It *was* made from breakfast pastries, after all.  And if I wasn't adding the ice cream, that basically made it breakfast, right?

It was ... ok.  As I could tell from looking at it, very dense, not the style I like.  It seemed to be majority made from the chocolate kouign amann dough that I didn't care for, with just a bit of plain in the mix.  It wasn't dry, but it certainly wasn't a moist custard.  The top was not distinct, besides a bit of powdered sugar on it.

Next, I heated it up in the toaster oven.  This was clearly much better, but, still, just a dense item.  Adding plentiful whipped cream, or ice cream to melt in, helped transform it a bit, and I did enjoy it, just more once I thought of it like croissant-bread, or perhaps cake, rather than bread pudding.

Overall, fine I guess, and just a different style than I prefer.  I wouldn't get again, and wished I had picked the monkey bread instead.  Overall, my fifth pick.  **.

(To understand what I prefer, specifically for croissant bread pudding, see my review of the one from Chaya ... that truly was the best ... ever.  Or the very very good warm custardy danish bread pudding served the breakfast buffet at Le First, at the Westin in Paris.  Or the inconsistently good one from the breakfast buffet at the Prince Gallery in Tokyo.  I really do eat a lot of bread pudding, even for breakfast it seems ...).

Desserts

The majority of the display cases are filled with more evening, or afternoon, appropriate items, real desserts.  Little tarts.  Mousse cakes.  Each stunning and elaborate.

Cases of beautiful treats!

Picking just a few items was hard, as the selection was beautiful, and extensive.

Individual Tarts

First, we went for two tarts, both vanilla based.  I'm not normally a tart girl, for sure, but, I had had the tart trio before at an event , and was impressed then.  We went for all vanilla mostly because I don't like lemon desserts, and the others have caffeine, that I was trying to avoid.  Plus, I knew their vanilla could be great!  Spoiler: it was.

This was not "vanilla" vanilla!

Tahitian Vanilla Bean Tart.$9.50.

"Vanilla mascarpone cream, soft caramel, vanilla bean ganache."

First up, the vanilla bean tart, the larger format of the mini vanilla bean tart I tried, and loved, previously at an event.  Oh, with caramel added.

I was very excited to dive into this one.

Tahitian Vanilla Bean Tart: Inside.

The base was a shortbread cookie-like, decent enough base (but when do you ever get a tart for the shell?)

On top of that was a thin layer of caramel, an element that wasn't present in the mini form, and did serve to make it a bit more interesting than just vanilla (although really, it wasn't necessary!).  The tart shell and caramel together reminded me a bit of banoffee pie (made with crumbled digestive biscuits and toffee).

The layer above that was thick and rich, intensely vanilla flavored, and reminded me of crème brûlée.  And then a lighter, also vanilla'ed layer on top.

Just like last time, I felt the components all worked together really well, rich, creamy, and somehow just sooo delightful, even though simple vanilla.  Two of us rated this our #2 pick, because, the next one was even better.

****.

Little Tahiti. $11.

"Vanilla mascarpone mousse, Vanilla cremeux, Vanilla sable."

The other "simple vanilla" item was called Little Tahiti, and I wasn't really sure how they'd be different, besides looks obviously, but still ordered both.

This one looked a bit more involved, with a glossy exterior and different piping on top.  The extra piped on stuff on top didn't really add much to the overall item, if anything, it detracted, as it wasn't as vanilla forward.  It added to visual appeal though I guess.

Little Tahiti: Inside.

The base of this was a vanilla sable, which tasted about the same as the tart shells used in the tarts, just, without rounded edges holding in the contents.  Again, fine, but the version with the caramel above it was slightly better.

Above that, more beautiful vanilla mascarpone mousse, fantastic vanilla flavor.  Surrounding that was the vanilla cremeux, which I kinda thought of like ... Fluff.  Just, well, 10000x more amazing.  It was super sweet and fluffy, and again, intensely vanilla flavored.  I loved it.

So while this sounds fairly similar to the vanilla tart, e.g. layers of vanilla mousse/cremeux/ganache/cream/etc on a cookie-like base, they really were quite different.  This one was far more intense in its vanilla flavoring, and, the fluffy layer really won it for me.  I loved that.

My top pick, third place for one other. ****+.

"Individual Pastries"

I'm not quite sure why these are known as "pastries".  I think I must not quite understand the term.  Anyway, this selection included many phenomenal looking chocolate based items, of which we picked one.

Chocolate Pillow. $10.

"Caramelized rice crispy / dark chocolate mousse / praline crunch / chocolate cremeux."

Our chocolate pick was the "chocolate pillow".  I personally would have picked the Bailey's Bar (!!!), but, the others thought this one was too cute to resist, and since they'd be eating most of it (chocolate! caffeine! night!), I didn't really voice my preference much.

It was quite the sight, the most stunning of an array of stunning desserts, a base of chocolate coated rice crispies, a glossy chocolate covered log, with a thin chocolate wafer on top.

We didn't quite know what to expect inside.

Chocolate Pillow: Inside.

I cut into it, to find basically a chocolate mousse.  But, a log shape.  With praline crunch layers.

The chocolate rice crispy base I really didn't care for, as I just don't like that texture.  I don't like rice crispies in .... anything really.

The chocolate mousse was fine, but I found myself thinking that it was just that.  Fine.  Chocolate mousse shouldn't be just fine.  It should be rich, creamy, amazing.  This wasn't.

I did kinda like the crunch the praline added, but at the same time, it also seemed a bit soggy inside.

The chocolate cremeux coating *looked* amazing, so dark, so glossy, but, much like the chocolate mousse, it just didn't taste extraordinary.  I kept wanting it to be richer, deeper.

The thin milk chocolate slice on top was great though, very smooth creamy quality chocolate.

So overall, this entire thing looked much better than it tasted.  It didn't taste bad, and it was clearly elaborate and showcased a lot of technique, but, if you are looking for a real chocolately dessert, this wasn't it.  My forth pick, and the dividing line that started the list of items I wouldn't bother try again.

***.

Mandarin Pannacotta. $9.

"Gelee of kumquat confit / vanilla mascarpone mousse / shortbread."

This was another item that I wouldn't have ordered, but, our rogue diner added onto the mix.  Much like lemon and lime desserts, I had no interest in mandarin (sorry citrus!).  My interest in this one lay only in the fact that it was called a "pannacotta", which struck me for two reasons: why was it one word, and also, um, it didn't look like a pudding ...

It was a shiny orange dome, with a dot of something on top, wrapped with a thin milk chocolate, much like the one from on top of the pillow (again, really quite excellent!).  It made me really wish I had purchased some chocolates to take home (they have a HUGE selection of chocolates, and we entirely skipped that section).  It too was just stunning to admire.

Mandarin Pannacotta: Inside.

We really had no idea what to expect with this one.

I cut into it to find basically a mousse, an orange center, and a crust much like the tarts.  But this was a "pastry" not a "tart" ...

Anyway, it is a bit hard for me to evaluate this since I don't care for citrus desserts.  The crust was fine, a shortbread.  The mousse was fine.  The center and top were ... citrus-y.

It reminded me of a Creamsicle actually, orange and cream.  Which I never really liked, and always considered the worst of the assorted ice cream novelties.  But if creamsicles were your thing, perhaps this would appeal.

My sixth pick, but two others rated it their favorite. **+.

Other

And last, a singleton of an item: a pudding.

Coconut Tapioca.

"Lemongrass & Mango."

I couldn't resist ordering this one.  I knew it wasn't very sharable.  I knew Alexander's is known for pastries, tarts, mousses, chocolates, macaroons, etc, and not ... pudding.

But, I adore pudding.  I like tapioca.  How could I not order it it?

Except ... I didn't like it.  At all.  No layer of it was great.

The bottom was lemongrass flavored gel (I think), only a little bit, and very difficult to get in the same scoop as anything else, since at the very base and in a small cup.

The coconut tapioca layer was, much like my critique of the chocolate pillow, just "fine".  Nothing special.  The tapioca weren't too hard, or too mushy, or anything, but, it was kinda plain, and not as creamy as I'd like.

On top was a fruit compote that none of us could identify.  I originally thought mango, but, it just didn't taste like mango at all.  It was heavily spiced with flavors we also couldn't identify.  One person was convinced it was pear somehow, just, orange colored.  Another said peach.  Another was "100% certain" it was apricot.  The guesses were all over the place.  None of us liked the flavor, but we kept tasting and tasting, trying to figure it out.  It was mango, I guess, or so said the sign (which one person smartly went up to look at).

On top was a dollop of what seemed like simple cream, no real flavor.  And a cute edible flower, that had a bit of I think lemongrass as the stem.

This made me sad in so many ways, my least favorite item. **.

Drinks

A few in the group also ordered beverages, mostly espresso drinks, which were clearly out for me given the caffiene.

Small Hot Chocolate. $4.

One diner enjoyed the hot chocolate, served much like a cappuchino.

Peppermint Tea. $5.

I opted for peppermint tea, boring, but I wanted a warm beverage, and didn't even want the caffeine in decaf coffee.

Take Home Goodies

Retail Shop.

In case all the cases of pastries, desserts, macaroons, and chocolates aren't enough for you, the patisserie also has a retail area with packaged confections.  I of course couldn't resist grabbing a few things to take home.

Marshmallows: Blueberry, Raspberry, Vanilla, Lemon. $8.

Ah, yes.  Fancy marshmallows.  The trend I've been talking about for years.  I rolled my eyes, but also quickly grabbed a tube to take home.  Not only were they fancy marshmallows, they were flavored!

They were not as exciting as I was hoping.  

The texture of the marshmallows was fine.  The size was fine.  They were ... fine.

Some of the flavors were more pronounced than others.  The vanilla was quite plain, which you might expect from vanilla, but, Alexander's vanilla pastries were so great that I expected more.  The pink one honestly had no flavor, I couldn't detect even a trace of raspberry.

Blue was a bit better, some flavor to it, although I wouldn't have known it was blueberry.  

The best was yellow, actually quite distinctly lemon.  I'm not generally a lemon sweets fan, but I appreciated the flavor.

Overall, just, well, marshmallows, and certainly not $1.14 each marshmallows!

**+.

Chocolate Covered Caramelized Popcorn.

Another impulse grab on my part as I headed to checkout.  You know how much I love popcorn, particularly coated popcorn!

The little plastic container was really quite small though for the price, I kinda gulped at the price tag and fact that I could see ... 10 kernels?

Chocolate Covered Caramelized Popcorn: Close Up.

I plucked a few out and examined them.

Hmm.  Yellow coating, hard, shiny.  I assumed it was white chocolate?

Chocolate Covered Caramelized Popcorn: Cross Section.

I broke into one.

Double hmm.  There was a thin chocolate shell, the pale yellow shell, and the actual piece of popcorn.

The chocolate was milk chocolate, not remarkable.  I'm still not sure what the yellow layer was, I guess just white chocolate, it was slightly sweet.

I'm also not really sure where the "caramelized" element was supposed to be.  I didn't really detect anything caramelized.  I thought the popcorn itself would be caramel corn then wrapped in chocolate, but, it certainly didn't seem to be.

The popcorn kernel itself was ... fine?  Well popped?

There wasn't anything wrong with this item, but it certainly didn't turn into anything even equal to the sum of its parts.  Just, some chocolate and a piece of popcorn.  Too much coating to appreciate the crunch of the popcorn.  Not craveworthy.

***.

Chocolate Pop.

And last, we call this an impulse buy, no question.  Above the cases of beautiful house made chocolates were a couple pre-packaged chocolate based items.  I grabbed one, the only one I saw using dark chocolate, "for later".  I couldn't resist.  I didn't know what was in it, I hadn't read reviews on it, but, I suddenly needed it.

It was a very random choice on my part.

Chocolate Pop: Inside.

It seemed to be filled with hazelnut based cream. It was covered in Valrhona Dark Chocolate Crunchy Pearls.

I don't particularly love hazelnut (sorry Nutella fans!).  But ... I wanted to try Alexander's chocolate, and didn't want to place an order or agonizingly select one from the large assortment of options on display in the chocolate case.  I also kinda thought it was a cake pop, to be honest.

It was fine.  Good quality Valrhona dark chocolate, crunch (that I didn't like, but that is just me) from the pearls, hazelnut filling.  Not the item for me, and not what I ever should have picked, really.  Oops.

***.

Original Review, April 2017

It has been a long time since I've written about the Alexander's family of restaurants.

Going to the Alexander's Steakhouses, in Cupertino and Mountain View really is what turned me into a bit of a foodie (and, ok, a bit of a monster for a while during the foie gras ban days).  "Alexander's" was one of the first labels I added to my blog, which I added explicitly because I was writing about the same place so often.   

I still visit the San Francisco Alexander's Steakhouse a couple times of year, although now I reserve it for special occasions.  Since I last wrote though, the restaurant group has radically expanded.  The original location in Cupertino moved.  They opened more steakhouses; in Pasadena, Tokyo, and Taipei (!).  They introduced a seafood focused restaurant, The Sea, in Palo Alto (which makes so much since given how often I rave about the seafood dishes at the steakhouse!).

And ... they opened a patisserie (ok, two now, one in Mountain View and one in Cupertino).  Oh, be still my heart!  Yes, my favorite restaurant group opened a pastry focused establishment.  They brought in a very accomplished pastry chef from Belgium, who worked at the famed Pierre Herme in Paris (which of course I've reviewed), and Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas.  Let's just say I was excited to try it, particularly after the accolades started rolling in.

In October 2014, I was invited to the pre-opening event for Alexander's Patisserie in Mountain View.  To say I was excited was beyond an understatement.  At the time, Alexander's was my absolute favorite restaurant, which I clearly visited way too frequently, and you know me, baked goods are always my favorite, so, this was a dream come true for me.  However, they weren't able to be fully operational at the time (read on for more!)

I still haven't actually been to the store while in operation, but I've tried their treats on several occasions.  I now know, definitively, that I need to go to the store.  I *need* to try their kouign amann, and I need to try their banana chocolate croissant. This place, as expected, has quality products.

Pre-Opening Event, October 2014

I gleefully accepted an invite to the pre-opening, even though it was in Mountain View.

But ... quasi-disaster stuck.  I went all the way down to Mountain View to find that ... their final permit did not come in in time.  They couldn't use the kitchens yet.  Doh.

They served coffee and macarons, and showed off the space, but, they weren't able to offer anything else.  The coffee was fine, and the macarons were all decent (good cookies with slight give to them and proper chew), but, macarons are really not my thing, and I'll admit, I was pretty sad.

Decaf Coffee. $2.75.

They served Equator Coffee at the time, but have since moved to Stumptown.  I had decaf.  It was strong, dark, and particularly good for decaf.

Coffee Macaron. $2.25.

I started with the coffee macaron, filled with coffee ganache.

This macaron somehow made coffee taste delicate.  It was clearly coffee flavored, but in a really light way.  My third favorite variety.

Pistachio Macaron. $2.25.

Next I had a pistachio macaron, filled with toasted pistachio ganache.

It was a beautiful green color, with decent pistachio flavor throughout.  My forth favorite.

Chocolate Macaron. $2.25.

Next came a chocolate ganache filled macaron, with in it nibs too.

I loved the rich, dark chocolate ganache filling.  The cookie was slightly chocolate flavored.  My second favorite, and I really just wanted to eat a big bowl of the filling.

Vanilla Macaron. $2.25.

And finally, simple vanilla, with Tahitian vanilla bean ganache inside.

It was my absolute favorite.  Super sweet filling, it reminded me of frosting, but I really did like the sweetness.  The thick filling was balanced by delicate cookies.

[ No Photos ]

Lavender:
Lavender is a flavor I don't generally like, so I didn't take one myself, nor take a photo.  But I couldn't help myself from stealing a bite of Ojan's when he had one in his hand, it was such a beautiful light purple color.  I don't generally like lavender flavors, and this was no exception, but, if you like floral desserts, the flavor was nice, and fairly subtle.  Second to last favorite though.

Passionfruit:
Another flavor I don't tend to like is passionfruit (although I love the real fruit!) so I only took a bite of Ojan's, hence no photo.  Very strong quasi fake passionfruit flavor, which, predictably, I didn't like.  Least favorite.

Tarts, April 2017

In April, I was invited to a pre-opening event for Total Wines & More, in Mountain View.

I was there to admire the store and sip on wine, and, let's be honest, I was excited to check out the food.  Savory bites were provided catered by places ranging from Michelin starred Chez TJ to casual Pokéworks, but my eyes were on the Alexander's Patisserie table from the moment I walked in.  It took a lot of restraint to wait to go for the sweets until after I had some savories first.

Easter Themed Display.

They easily had the best looking display, decorated for Easter, with tactful, not plastic, "grass", chocolate eggs, and bunnies (and yes they made all the larger chocolate creations too!)

Tarts!

Their offering was mini tarts, beautifully presented perched on top of a "soil" of cocoa nibs, in clear glass "planters".  It might sound tacky, but really, it wasn't.

The crew did an impressive job of keeping the display perfectly stocked throughout the event.   While other tables ran low, they never did.

I guess I expect no less from an Alexander's establishment, but they were true professionals, and, I believe the head pastry chef himself was there at the event.

I have a confession though - just like I don't really like macarons, tarts aren't really my favorite either.  I like pie crust, I like puff pastry, I like many other vessels for fillings, but, tart shells?  Meh!  So, I wasn't thrilled to see tarts as their item offered.

The tart shells were about as good as a tart shell is going to be.  Buttery, nice texture, a bit crumbly, not too hard.  And at least they tasted like something.  As Ojan put it, "you don't need to just eat the insides out of them".  But let's talk about those insides.  Spoiler: swoon!

Chocolate, Vanilla, Lemon Tarts.

On my first round, I tried all three.  Yes, all three.  And yes, I said my first round.  I'm sorry, I like my sweets!  In my defense, I *did* ask if it was ok when I went back for seconds.  The tarts were too good to listen to social norms about acceptable levels of consumption.

Chocolate Tart: cocoa nib praline / 66% dark chocolate ganache.

Those who have been reading my blog for a while might notice something here.  Chocolate.  I don't eat chocolate at night (caffeine).  I rarely make exceptions.  I don't even really care for chocolate desserts that much (but, I *always* have dark chocolate in the morning alongside my coffee).  So, I wasn't excited for the chocolate one, really.  Still, I knew my opportunities to try Alexander's Patisserie were limited, and I wanted to make the most of it.

It was glorious, just like the chocolate filling in the macaron.  The base layer had cocoa nibs in it, a surprise to me, wonderful bits of crunch.  On top of that was dark, thick, decadent chocolate ganache.  I'd say that I'd love to eat a whole bowl as pudding, but actually, it was too rich to want to do that.  Maybe a *small* bowl, with some whipped cream on top?

Anyway, the amount here was just right, and it was a fantastic bite.  It had a cap of more dark chocolate and a touch of edible gold leaf for some bling.  My second favorite.

Vanilla Tart: Tahitian vanilla ganache / vanilla mascarpone cream.

This. Was. Amazing.

I had zero expectation for this.  "Vanilla", aka, bo-ring, right?  No way.  (Side note: I wished I had re-read my notes from the macarons to remember that they made an amazing vanilla ganache, and perhaps I would have been more excited!)

Anyway, the vanilla ganache was a thing of wonder.  It was thick, sweet, and intensely vanilla flavored.  I'll be honest ... I didn't think vanilla *could* taste this good.  It was incredibly rich, even more than the chocolate.  There is no way you could have a bigger bite of this.

On top was vanilla mascarpone cream, also glorious.  Also wonderfully vanilla flavored, also sweet and rich, and somehow complimentary to the ganache.  How does one rich sweet vanilla element compliment another rich sweet vanilla component?  I don't know, but, it did.

One could take three bites to eat each of these, if he or she had restraint.  And I did, the first time, as I didn't know it would be so wonderful.  But when I went back for another, it was all I could do not to eat it in a single bite.  I settled for two wondrous bites, knowing I'd actually appreciate it more that way.

Seriously, fantastic.

Lemon: lemon cream / lemon zest / lemon segments.

And finally, lemon.  I almost didn't take this one, and really, I shouldn't have.  I do not like lemon desserts.

And this ... well, it was a lemon dessert.  The lemon cream tasted like lemons.  I did not like that.

However, the meringue on top was excellent, sweet, fluffy, light, airy.  And I give them kudos for the perfect execution of the toasting of each and every one, and the fact that these delicate treats were not damaged at all in their display!  Still, I wouldn't want another of these.