Flour & Branch

New bakeries are not particularly common in San Francisco, at least, not these days.  There are plenty of established classics (Tartine, Jane, b. Patisserie, etc), and of course there was a wave of places like Craftsman & Wolves that offered up innovative new items a few years ago, but, particularly in the setting of the pandemic, new bakeries aren't exactly cropping up.  So you can be sure that when one does, given my love of baked goods, I'm very, very interested.

"Flour & Branch delivers joyful bakes that will bring delight to every day and accompany your most treasured moments. Our treats transport you back to some of your best, most comforting memories of food, while giving you a new taste experience that stays with you."

Flour & Branch started in 2020, I think as delivery only (including Nationwide on Goldbelly), and quickly became known for the comforting nostalgic treats, but, with a spin.  Think PB&J, but as a stuffed soft cookie.  Think innovative stuffed french toasts.  S'mores transformed into cookies.  And so on.

"Flour & Branch strives to evoke those perfect childhood memories and combine them with grown-up sensibilities, refined techniques, and carefully selected ingredients to deliver unique and delicious experiences right to your door. "

And while these are treats and baked goods after all, the baker does care about quality and ingredient integrity, using natural, organic, etc ingredients when possible.  Reviews were very strong, and even though I'm not a general cookie person, these large, stuffed, soft cookies with fascinating fillings and topping most certainly caught my attention.

However, this is a story of woe, as my first visit was a major disappointment.   I reserved a Mystery Bag from Too Good To Go, an app the helps prevent food waste by allowing businesses to sell products that would often go to waste (usually at the end of the day) at a discounted price.  I've had some incredible success with the app - preventing waste, trying new places, meeting lovely merchants, getting delicious food, and saving money in the process (you can read some of my reviews here).  I was thrilled, thrilled, thrilled when I saw Flour & Branch join the program, with bags offered every day in the last 15 mins they were open.  Reddit users shared their bags of cookies.  I was in, but it took several weeks before I "scored" a bag - desirable ones like this go fast!

I eagerly went to claim my bag, sold as a "baked goods" bag (businesses can list "meals", "baked goods", "groceries", etc), which cost me $3.99, and was supposed to be valued at at least $12.99.  Most people seemed to get 3-4 cookies in their bags (usually $4 each).  I was excited and looking forward to the surprise treats.  And ... well, I didn't get cookies.  Nor any baked goods of any kind.  I got a $10 sandwich.  My bag also did not meet the $12.99 value as advertised.  Sadness.  I'm glad to help prevent food waste (pre-made sandwich still sitting around at 4pm was clearly headed to the trash), and I do know it is always a gamble and I'm getting a "mystery bag" after all, but ... I felt pretty duped, and the pastry case was still full of baked goods, yet I was told none were an option (even after I explained that I reserved a "baked goods" bag, it should be >$10, and ... I was allergic to avocado, they key element of the sandwich).

Setting

After about a year and half of delivery only service, Flour & Branch was able to finally open a retail storefront on 3rd Street, near South Park.

Storefront.

Flour & Branch is located on 3rd Street, and given its brand new status, had plentiful signage out front welcoming us in.

Seating.

Inside has a small, very cute, seating area.  I loved the touches like real flowers on the tables.  It was light filled and really just a lovely setting.

Espresso Machine.

On one side of the counter is the espresso machine, which really matched the vibe well.

Pastries.

The rest of the counter has pastries on display, with savory ham & cheese croissants and some killer looking kouign amann (stuffed versions available!).

More Goodies.

The savory lineup also had a sandwich of the day, breads, and a savory bread pudding (!).  And then there were gorgeous morning buns totally covered in cinnamon sugar and ... zomg, the stuffed french toast, two versions.

Cookies.

The cookies however are what Flour & Branch is most known for, soft baked cookies, most filled with something.

4 of the regular menu cookies were available, along with a brand new addition, the Lemon Thyme Papi.

Drinks, Salad.

A ceasar salad and canned/bottled drinks fill the cold case.

Monster Mallows.

These were so aptly named, giant giant rice krispie-style treats, but made with different cereals (fruity pebbles, captain crunch, cocoa crisps) and other mixins.

Monster, indeed.

Savory

Garden Sandwich: Avocado + Slaw.  $10.

"House made ciabatta with avocado, tomato, cucumber, & mushroom slaw, garlic chickpea spread, and jalapeno cream cheese."

Sandwiches are pre-made.  There are only 2 on the menu, one vegetarian, one with meat.  This was the vegetarian one.

So, I clearly would never order this.  First, sandwiches, not my thing, even if on house made bread.  But second, I'm allergic to avocado.  And yet ... here I am.

Yup, I ordered a mystery bag from the bakery known for amazing cookies.  And I got ... a sandwich.  With avocado.  And I'm allergic.

I can't evaluate this in any way, but, here ya go, a sandwich.  I did peak inside and the avocado was already quite brown and the other ingredients wilted, which, makes sense if it was made before the lunch time crowd, and my pickup was at 4pm when they closed.

Again, sadness.

Off Menu Test: Pizza.

The staff member felt bad for me when I told her I was allergic to avocado, and offered me some of a test item they were working on: pizza.  It had a little artichoke, lots of salami, and ham.  A little cheese, not really much sauce.

It was loaded with toppings, but I didn't really care for the salami.  On the plus side, the crust had a nice chew to it.

Sadness, again.

Sweet

Cookies

"We bet our cookies are unlike anything you’ve ever had. They’re thick and crumbly, with that almost under-done type texture on the inside and made with organic and natural ingredients: Kerrygold grass-fed butter, artisan flour, farm-fresh eggs, the finest sugars and vanilla, and so much care. "

Ok, so, the cookies.  For years, I've never been much of one for cookies, considering them "lesser" desserts.  I mean, nothing wrong with a cookie, but why would I have "just" a cookie when I could have a slice of pie a la mode?  To me, for years, a cookie was only an extreme fallback, or, perhaps a component in another dessert (e.g. the cookie for an ice cream sandwich).  And then, the pandemic.  Somehow in the depths of pandemic I learned to appreciate a good cookie.  And Flour & Branch is most known for the cookies.  I was very excited to try one.

Flour & Branch makes 8 kinds of cookies, all super thick (and so heavy!), most filled, and many with interesting toppings.  The rainbow sprinkle topped stuffed pb&j "Stuffy" is of course a fun play on a classic pairing (think gooey peanut butter and jam inside!), Nutella lovers will go for the other "Stuffy", filled with, yup, plenty of Nutella.  I was most drawn in by the Birthday Cake, which, doesn't have expected sprinkles on it (those are on the pb&j), but instead comes topped with a candy coated gummy bear, and the sprinkles are inside, along with white chocolate chunks.  The Nutty Butter also called out to me, another with white chocolate chunks, but also a fascinating combo of rum, macadamia nuts, and peanut butter.  Or the The Salty Sombitch (yes, real name), which has butterscotch chips, and is topped with toffee and sea salt.  Oh, chocolate fiends would most likely go for the brownie like Brookie (which also has peanut butter chips) or the Chipper, a play on a classic chocolate chip that includes ground espresso, rice crisps, and ... a marshmallow on top.

All cookies are $4 each, and they recommend heating them up.

The Salty Sombitch. $4.

"Crisp and chewy, this rich, buttery cookie is bursting with Guittard butterscotch chips and topped with chocolate coated toffee and a dash of Maldon sea salt. Perfect for dunking in cold milk or hot coffee."

I would have had a hard time picking my top choice of cookie, but the Salty Sombitch was in my likely top 3, so I was glad to not have to pick and to get one in my next TGTG bag.

I knew these were thick cookies, but I was still shocked when I picked up the bag containing the cookie.  It was so heavy I expected multiple cookies, but, nope, just one!  

It really was a fabulous cookie.  Rich and buttery, just as described.  Wow, what a decadent tasting base.  And yes, lightly crisp around the edges, slightly chewy, and really quite soft.  Texture, nailed.  It was quite sweet, butterscotch after all is very sweet, but the butter and sugar balanced each other well.  

The only slight miss to me was the toffee component.  The toffee element was just the bit you see here on top, a little dark chocolate toffee almond brittle, and it was easily lost amongst the rest of the cookie.  Most bites did not include it, and, when they did, it wasn't necessarily a pairing that made sense ... butterscotch and toffee?  Nothing wrong with it, but, not what I'd pick.

Anyway, it still was a fantastic cookie, normally $4, which seems entirely appropriate for such a large and high quality item.  I'll gladly try more cookies from Flour & Branch!

This cookie was great at room temp, and fabulous when warmed up.  Truly an incredible cookie.

****+.

Other

In addition to the pastries, Flour & Branch has two "Monster Mallows", basically, huge Rice Krispie style treats, made with Captain Crunch instead, and either Fruity Pebbles or Cocoa Crisps, and a drizzle on top.

Captain Fruity Monster Mallow. $10.

"The treat that never ends. The softest, butteriest, stickiest marshmallow treat, filled with Fruity Pebbles, Captain Crunch, and whole mini marshmallows. "

Well, I don't care for rice krispie treats.  I don't care for Fruity Pebbles.  But, this was picked for me in my second TGTG bag, and hey, I was willing to give it a try.  It was, as named, a Monster, no question.  It was marked with a date 22 days prior, so, clearly this was not fresh, as expected from TGTG, but older than I really thought it should be.

It was ... um, wow, sweet.  Cloying sweet.  All I tasted was sweet.  Ok, yes, fruity too.  Basically, well, it tasted like Fruity Pebbles bound together with marshmallows, exactly what it was.  I liked the texture, it was soft and easy to rip apart, but, wow, sweet.  Again though, krispie treats aren't really my thing, nor are Fruity Pebbles.

These are sold for $10 normally, which seemed really quite high.  Yes, it was big, but, $10?  Not sure I understand that, particularly as this isn't a case of expensive ingredients (no high end Guittard in here), nor labor intensive ... 

**+ I guess?  I dunno, not my thing, but well made for a treat like this?