Flour Bakery, Boston

Update Review, Summer 2025

Another year, another few visits to Flour Bakery when I was in Boston for a few days.  This time I branched out and got a salad for lunch (so good!), along with some pastries of course.  I can't wait to return!

Ceasar Salad (add House Smoked Salmon).
$12 (+$9 salmon).

"Pickled red onion, fried capers, baby kale, romaine, garlic croutons, parmesan."

To a salad, you can add bacon, two styles of chicken, marinated shrimp, or smoked salmon.  I opted for the later.  At first I thought my order was incorrect, as this looked like regular cooked salmon (which, I don't generally care for).  I was delighted when I tasted it though, it was lovely hot smoked salmon, moist, flavorful, not fishy. 

The salad itself was very enjoyable - I liked the base of baby kale and romaine for the mix of slightly bitter and light and juicy, the fried capers were glorious pops of salt and crunch, and wow, the croutons were fantastic.  I'm not normally a croutons person, but, these were very good - not too crunchy but just crisp enough, fresh tasting (if that makes any sense!), and sooo flavorful.  So much garlic.  Loved them.

And the dressing?  Also really good!  A thick style caesar, pretty sure it had anchovies, as it had some great umami too it.  Put it all together and you get an excellent salad I'd be happy to have again.  ****.

Banana Bread. $4.30.

"Moist and full of bananas and walnuts."

Wow, just as they said, this was soooo moist!  That was my first reaction when I took a bite, and I only later went back to read the description to see they claimed the same.  Incredibly moist.  A great thick slice.  Loaded with nuts.  Good banana flavor.  Light spicing.

I am not generally excited for banana bread, but, toasted, with a little butter or cream cheese, this was very good indeed. 3.5/5.

Parmesan and Chive Scone. $4.50.

I got the savory scone for my mother, as I had done in the past.  Of course I snuck a bite.

It was a good scone, nice texture, moist and not too crumbly.  Very savory, strong herb and cheese flavors.  Not really my thing, but good for it was.  ***.

Update Review, Summer 2024

No intro needed, you know how it goes: a visit to Boston/Cambridge, of course more visits to Flour Bakery.  I visited once for breakfast, once for lunch, and once for dinner, and of course, got some treats too.

Breakfast

Breakfast Egg Sandwich. $10.
w/ sausage, no tomato, on multi grain toasted.

"Breakfast egg sandwich, ham/bacon, cheddar, arugula, tomato, dijonnaise, focaccia roll (w/o nuts)."

This is a very well constructed breakfast sandwich that eats well, and is shockingly flavorful.

For my sandwich, I chose sausage, omitted the tomato as I don't really like it warm in a sandwich like this, and selected multi grain bread.  

The bread was very hearty, full of seeds, quite flavorful.  Very fresh quality bread.  A bit too healthy tasting for me, and I'd pick something else in the future, but really nice bread. ***+.

Egg & Sausage.

The egg is a patty style, fairly thick.  It was fine.  The cheese nicely melted.  The arugula added great freshness, a bit of crispness, and a slightly bitter/peppery component. ***.

The highlights for me were the sausage patty and the dijonnaise.  Man, that dijoinnaise is delicious.  So flavorful, great zing, so creamy.  It really is what makes this sandwich.  ****.

The sausage was a thin patty, spicy, really well seasoned,  classic breakfast sausage style.  It was fairly greasy tasting, and I found it delicious, but, definitely on the guilty feeling side.  ****.

Overall, I enjoyed all the flavors, components, and textures, although I can't imagine eating this whole thing for breakfast, even half was easily a full meal for me.  ***+, although if I got it without the egg, it would be a ****.

Lunch / Dinner

Dan Dan Noodle Bowl. $12.

"Peanuts, spicy dan dan sauce, pineapple, roasted broccoli, salted cucumber, cilantro (df, contains nuts) (bowl sold as is)."

I'm not quite sure why I was sorta craving noodles, but I was, and this was a new summer menu item (I think?).  I wish I'd read the description more closely though, as I assumed it would have spicy pork like most dan dan, and definitely wouldn't have ordered if I had seen a photo - I was thinking it would be a different style of noodle as well (and, later, when I looked at the online image, it did have a different style of noodle ...).  Note that this is a chilled bowl, and comes pre-assembled, no modifications available.

Still, I had it, so I tried it.  I was pretty underwhelmed by all components.

The noodles were just white (rice?) noodles, flat ones.  I wanted chewier, bouncier, rounder wheat noodles.  They were fine, not clumped together, but not my style of noodles.

The cucumber was fresh and crisp, strong cucumber flavor (and I didn't taste the salted component).  The pineapple was hunks of pineapple no different from what comes in a can, and I don't generally want in any setting (amusingly, Hawaiian pizza is one place I do tolerate it ...).  I appreciated the slices of chile to give it some kick.   I liked the crunch the bits of peanut added.  Cilantro garnish made it have a "fresh" appeal.  All pretty standard components.

The roasted broccoli was too mushy for my taste, and had a sightly sour taste. 

The dressing/sauce was good, peanut sauce, something I do always enjoy.  I definitely didn't find it spicy as described (so the slices of chili in the bowl were very welcome!).  

Overall, for me, this was a big meh.  Everything was fine, but, just not what I was expecting, and not really what I wanted.  I also still don't really see the dan dan nature ... more just like a peanut noodle bowl. **.

Also available with shrimp for $4 more.

Grilled Cauliflower Melt. $12.75.

"Oaxaca cheese, smoked poblano relish, pumpkin seed butter (veg, w/o nuts)*please note grilled sandwiches are assembled in the morning and cannot be modified*"

I'm not a sandwich girl in general, but they are such a big thing at Flour, and their breakfast sandwiches have been pretty good. Plus, I really do love cooked cauliflower, so this sounded too fascinating not to try (plus had my mom to share with in case I didn't like it).  Since Flour makes all their sandwiches in the morning (for faster throughput?) you cannot modify it, not even change the bread.  It came with their housemade sliced white focaccia I think.

The sandwich was grilled to order, and got lovely grill marks on it.  The bread was simple but nicely done, as you'd expect -  soft inside, and nicely toasted.

Grilled Cauliflower Melt: Inside.

Inside of course is where it was interesting.

It had hunks of roasted cauliflower, some melty Oaxaca cheese (although not as much as you might expect from a dish named a "melt"), and tons of the spreads.  I couldn't quite distinguish between the smoked poblano relish and the pumpkin seed butter.  The cauliflower was soft and warm and quite inviting, the cheese had a good pull to it, and the spreads were remarkably flavorful. Smoky, slightly spicy, herby, savory ... so much going on in those.  

Overall, this was a very unique flavorful sandwich, a great pick for a vegetarian option that is just, well, different.  ***+.

Treats

Lemon Strawberry Cupcake. $5.25.
(Seasonal Special).

"Our lemon cupcake with strawberry buttercream, garnished with half of a fresh strawberry (veg, w/o nuts)."

Flour has a lemon raspberry cake on their menu (I think year round?) that I've had a few times when parties at my office got it.  I didn't ever really love it because of the lemon curd, but this cupcake was just lemon case base, no curd, and had a strawberry buttercream, instead of crushed berries like the cake has.  I gave it a try, drawn in by the strawberry, and hopeful I'd overlook the lemon flavor in the cake.  

It was a fine cupcake.  Fairly minimal lemon flavor, fairly average cake, not particularly moist nor dry.  Just, fairly average overall.  The buttercream was also fairly average - not too sweet, not the fake sugar cloying style, light strawberry flavor, fairly fluffy.  I did appreciate the generous amount of buttercream, and the fresh strawberry on top was a nice touch.  I kinda wished it had a filled center though, or something to make it  a bit more interesting.

Better than a grocery store cupcake, but not as special as I had hoped.  ***.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. $3.50.

"Chewy oats with raisins and a hint of cinnamon- made with oat flour (veg, w/o nuts)."

I got this for my mother, but of course I snuck a bite.  It was a big, soft, nicely chewy cookie.  Perfectly baked.  But, yes, just an oatmeal raisin cookie, not really my thing at all.  On the sweeter side.  ***.

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake. $6.30.

"Milk, dark, and white chocolate mousse between flourless chocolate cake layers, finished with chocolate ganache, and fresh seasonal fruit."

Oooh, now this sounded, and looked, great.  So many layers of delicious things.

The result of so many layers of great things though wasn't all that compelling.  The chocolate cake layers between each layer of mousse made it eat kinda dry, and they weren't particularly moist or great cake (it is flourless fwiw).  The chocolate mousses were fine, but no better nor worse than many others.  The white chocolate mousse was sorta too sweet and had a strange aftertaste (and I really love white chocolate).  The texture of the mousses though was great, very light and creamy.  The chocolate ganache on top was fairly standard.

So overall, each component was fine, but not remarkable in any way, and the chocolate cake layers really dragged it down.  Low ***.

Available by the slice or as a 6"/8"/10" whole cake.

Update Review, June/July 2023

Another year, another Boston visit, more goodies from Flour Bakery!

Chunky Lola Cookie. $3.30.

"Customer favorite with oats, chocolate, coconut, and toasted pecans."

I really wanted to like this cookie.  It has mostly all things I really like.  The dark chocolate in it was good.  But, I just wasn't into the texture from all the coconut and oats.  I think this is really just personal preference though, as it was a nicely loaded up cookie, soft, and had a nice chew.  **+.

Double Chocolate Cookie. $3.30.

"Dark rich chocolate cookie and chocolate chunks and walnuts."

I remember loving this cookie the last time I had it.  I was a bit nervous getting it again, with such high expectations.  But one bite in, my fears subsided.  It was soft.  It was chewy.  It was so intensely deep chocolatey.  It was like a brownie.  But a cookie.  And then it had nuts.  I loved it.  

A great cookie to eat just as a cookie, also fabulous warmed up with ice cream, just, truly, a top notch cookie.  ****+.

Seasonal Poptart (Blueberry).  $4.75.

I forgot that I'd had a Flour poptart once before, years ago, when it was raspberry flavored.  My review then (see below) was that it was "fine", but not great, and really just too sweet, and not worth getting again.  Granted, this was years later, and a different seasonal offering (now blueberry), but, it didn't fare much better.

The pastry was reasonably flaky.  Obviously better than a packaged kind.  But it was smothered in icing (as you can see), which I'd normally be excited for, but it was really just crazy sweet.   The filling was also just really quite sweet.  Blueberry flavor was decent.

Overall, yes, quite different than a packaged Poptart, clearly fresh pastry, but, too sweet and kinda lackluster, at least at room temp (and they don't heat them up there).

*** as served I guess, really more like **+, but, it is a decent pastry, just not one I enjoyed all that much.

Yogurt Parfait. $6.75.

"Honey sweetened labne with housemade granola and seasonal fruit."

I can't believe this was my first time trying the labne or granola from Flour.  I love both these things, and I've had them from my other favorite Boston bakery, Tatte, many times, but for some reason, I always go for baked goods at Flour.  But one morning, in addition to my treat, I picked up a parfait for the next day.

Side note: interesting that they call it "yogurt" in the dish title, but, it is really labne.  I wonder if they do that so people don't skim over it if unfamiliar with labne?  

Anyway, the labne was great - clearly full fat, so very rich and creamy.  I'm not sure if they make their own or not, but, it was good.  Lightly sweetened.

The "seasonal fruit" was just blueberries, smaller size, and fine.  Not much to say about them.

Finally, their granola, which was a darker style, no real clumps.  It was nicely crunchy though, even though on top of the labne.  I liked the shards of almonds for extra crunch, but could do without the chewy cranberries, just, not my thing.  I'm not sure what else it had in it, but clearly some other seeds (sesame for sure), and I think maybe another kind of nut.  Anyway, it was good, not outstanding but good.

Overall, a good granola and labne parfait, and I'm curious how they change out the fruit seasonally.  ***+.

Update Review, July 2022

The first time I went to Flour Bakery, it was to seek out the "famous" sticky sticky bun, and as you may recall, I wasn't particularly impressed (see original review).  Since then however, I've returned a few times, and found some real hits (the donuts!), so when I was in Boston in the summer of July 2022, it was time to try more.

Spoiler: While the Sticky Sticky Bun was a miss for me, the Brown Butter Cinnamon Roll was everything I could possibly want from such an item.  Flour has been redeemed!

Brown Butter Cinnamon Roll. $5.

"Brioche rolled with brown butter cinnamon swirl and topped with tangy cream frosting."

Flour has always (as long as I've known), had two desserts masquerading as roll-liked acceptable breakfast - the aforementioned sticky sticky bun, and the brown butter cinnamon roll.  This time, I opted for the cinnamon roll, even though in general, I'm more of a sticky bun person (plus, I love the nuts!).

This was ... well, a perfect cinnamon roll?  Simply put.  Just, perfect.

The base was soft, fluffy, clearly ridiculously fresh brioche, which you could tell was enriched with plenty of egg.  Textbook great brioche.  It doesn't get better than this.  Between the folds was cinnamon swirl, and although I didn't necessarily detect the nuttiness I'd expect from brown butter, it was quite good, just the right amount, slightly gooey.  And then, of course, the frosting, because, who doesn't want frosting for breakfast?  Cream cheese frosting, which actually tasted like cream cheese, and was so smooth and creamy.  Again, textbook.

Honestly, there was nothing to fault with this item.  It was just perfectly executed, everything in balance, and delicious.  Sure, I wished it had nuts on top, but for a cinnamon roll, it doesn't get better than this.

****+.

Update Reviews, August & December 2021

Another year, another stop in Boston en route to see my family in NH, and thus, another visit to Flour Bakery, my second favorite bakery cafe chain in town (behind Tatte, far behind at that, as Flour I often want to like more than I do).   My mom really enjoys the sandwiches (both breakfast and lunch versions), so I always get her something when she comes to pick me up in Boston, lunch waiting for her before we get back on the road.

Breakfast

The savory breakfast menu at Flour is fairly limited to a classic breakfast sandwich and of course avocado toast, but of course there are plenty of baked goods that count as breakfast: muffins, scones, banana bread, coffee cake, croissants, um, homemade pop tarts (which yes, I've had before, see my earlier review) ...

Breakfast Egg Sandwich (bacon). On Multigrain. $8.50.

"Breakfast egg sandwich, ham/bacon, cheddar, arugula, tomato, dijonnaise, focaccia roll."

The next time I got the sandwich for my mom, I got her the bacon version, and, because she liked it so much before, opted for the multigrain bread instead of the regular focaccia roll.

And of course I snuck a bite.

It matched my memory: big fluffy egg patty with plenty of melty flavorful cheddar, slightly wilty arugula, etc, and I really did like the seeded, hearty, multigrain bread (which I think would make excellent toast).  It was nicely grilled, warm, and wrapped in foil to keep it that way.

The bacon was the only change up here, and it was plentiful.  Crispy.  But very greasy bacon, which made the whole thing eat a bit heavy, at least in my mind.  I wouldn't get the bacon again, and my mom commented that it was just too much.

** from me, *** from her.

Breakfast Egg Sandwich. $8.50.

"Cheddar, arugula, tomato, dijonaise, guacamole."

The breakfast sandwich normally comes with ham or bacon, but for my mom, then next time, I got the vegetarian version, which subs in guacamole, as I know she don't love ham nor bacon.  I also got it on the multigrain bread instead of roll, since she had liked it previously that way.  It is normally toasted, but for some reason, wasn't this time (which was fine, since she was heating it up later).

Breakfast Egg Sandwich: Inside.

I did of course try a bite.  The tomatoes were fine but not remarkable, the arugula added a good peppery bite, and I did really like the creamy dijonaise.  The scrambled egg patty was, well, a scrambled egg patty, not my thing at all, but the cheddar was nicely melted on top.  The guac was spread on one side, I avoided that, as I'm allergic to avocado.

Not my thing, but my mom really likes this sandwich, and requested it another time.  ** for me, **** for her.

Lunch

Smoked Turkey Sandwich. $10.50.

"Zucchini relish, black pepper pecorino mayo, red gem lettuce, multigrain."

I don't really like sandwiches, and don't like turkey, so this was not for me, but rather, for my mom.  Still, I tried a bite.

The bread was fresh, soft, loaded with seeds, same as I got her with her breakfast sandwiches.  It had a slight sourdough-like taste to it, so I wasn't a fan overall.  It had a good chew and crust though.

The turkey was quality meat, nicely smoky.  Little gem lettuce fresh and crisp.  Slathered in the black pepper pecorino mayo, which was creamy and tasty.  Also, slathered in the homemade zucchini relish, which is what I was excited to try, but sadly let me down.  It had hunks of zucchini, and red pepper, but it was just too tart and had a flavor I wasn't into.

Not my thing (**), but mom enjoyed it, in particular, that relish I didn't like (****).  

Baked Goods

Baked goods are the reason I really visit Flour Bakery.  Although the signature sticky bun wasn't a winner for me on my first visit, and the cakes are always "ok", I still couldn't resist picking up a few things to take home with me.

Tcho Chocolate Chip.  $3.

"The best chocolate chip cookie you'll ever eat- made with THREE different chocolates."

The chocolate chip cookies didn't really look my style - crispy and thin, rather than soft and plump, so I mostly got these for my dad.  I also kinda laughed at the Tcho chocolate part - Tcho is "everyday" chocolate to me, as they are based in SF, and I toured their factory way back when they weren't owned by a mega-corp, we used to have their chocolates in our micro kitchens at work, etc.  But I think that to others, particularly on the other coast, Tcho might be fancy?

Anyway.  I'm not certain what the 3 kinds of chocolate were - likely milk, dark, and ... 

It was ... a fine cookie.  Nicely buttery and sweet, but, nothing particularly special about it.  I was willing to share with my dad ...

***.

Double Chocolate Chip. $3.

"Dark rich chocolate cookie and chocolate chunks and walnuts and rye flour."

The double chocolate was entirely different, smaller in diameter, loftier.  It looked more my style, except that chocolate cookies are rarely my thing.

It was glorious.  Rich chocolately flavor, soft and almost brownie-like, with big hunks of melty chocolate and crunch from walnuts.  I really enjoyed these cookies.

****.

Parmesan Chive Scone. $4.

"Savory flaky scone filled with fresh chives and grated parmesan."

I had a lovely salmon chowder waiting for my mom when she came to pick me up, and I wanted something to pair with it for her.  Thus, a savory scone, not the sort of thing I normally order, but I knew she'd like.  Or I hoped she would, anyway.

It was a good scone, nice crumble, very very savory with all the cheese.  The herbs were slightly lost, but it was very cheesy, and I think was a nice match to pair with a soup.

***.

Update Reviews - August 2018 - July 2020

You may recall that I was really excited to visit Flour Bakery, in Boston, a few years ago, but found the goodies fairly underwhelming.  I've since had a few more items over the years (basically, every summer when I visit), and again, have been fairly underwhelmed by nearly everything.  Except ... it turns out, the donuts.  Yes, Flour makes fabulous donuts.

August 2018

Another day, another "Come eat my thing" style of message on our mailing list at my Boston office, although this one was a bit unique.  The message was "I helped throw a wedding this weekend and my house is overflowing with extra cake, from Flour Bakery."  

I clearly went running.  It turns out I didn't need to rush, as they had a *ton* of extra cake!

Lemon Raspberry Cake.

"Lemon cake brushed with lemon syrup, filled with lemon curd, crushed raspberries, buttercream."

I don't like lemon desserts, but I couldn't resist the chance to try another Flour item.

It was ... fine?  But clearly not the sort of thing I ever like.

The cake was a bit dry and pretty bland.  The buttercream frosting was just sweet buttercream, no flavor to it.  The raspberry filling was nice, sweet, and it moistened up the cake.  But ... the lemon curd.  I just don't like lemon curd.  

I'm sure this was a fine cake if you like lemon curd and if you like cake, but since I don't, it just wasn't for me.  I was hoping for more flavorful raspberry and tasty frosting to save it for me, but, it didn't.

July 2019

The next year, visiting the same office, and ... yup, more cakes from Flour!

Lemon Raspberry Cake.

"Lemon cake brushed with lemon syrup, filled with lemon curd, crushed raspberries, buttercream."

First up, sadly, the one I had before, and didn't care for, due to the lemon curd.  This was the standard bakery offering, not for a wedding, so wasn't elaborately decorated.

I still tried a little, and ... yeah.  Not good cake.  Boring dry cake, mushy crushed seedy raspberries, mediocre buttercream, and lemon tang on top.

Definitely not for me.

Midnight Chocolate Cake?

"Deep, dark devil’s food cake filled with a silky milk chocolate buttercream and finished with bittersweet chocolate ganache."

Flour makes a slew of chocolate cakes, including a Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake with white, dark, and milk chocolate mousse that sounds fabulous, a questionable sounding low fat vegan chocolate cake, and a Midnight Chocolate Cake, which I think this was.

I found it highly unremarkable.  The cake was chocolate, but ... it was kinda dry and just not rich chocolate.  The buttercream, equally uninteresting.  Just there.  Not very chocolately.

I'm a little confused as people rave about these cakes so much, but there was just nothing special here for me at all.

July 2020

The next summer, well, no visiting the office, as this was the days of COVID, and offices were closed.  Still, I spent 1 day (ok, 1.5 days) in Boston, and of course I stocked up on baked goods.  I visited Flour twice, almost not going the second day, I had decided I was over it, but I am *so* glad I did.

I discovered something epic.

Love the bag!

I'll admit, the Flour bags made me smile.

Poptart with Raspberry Jam. $4.

"Flaky as can be and filled with raspberry jam and topped with raspberry glaze."

My first visit, the first day I was there, early afternoon, post mediocre takeout lunch from Legal Seafood (review coming soon!).  I intended to get the cinnamon roll, but alas, by 2pm ... sold out.  Sadness.  I fell back on my second choice: a homemade pop tart.  I had read good things about this.

It was ... fine.

Yes, lots of icing, yes buttery enough flaky enough dough, yes, enough filling.  But nothing popped.  Flavors were just sweet.

I ate about half, and was just kinda sad, and realize it was likely far better warmed up, and, uh, paired with ice cream.  So I brought the other half back to my hotel, put it into my mini portable oven later that night, warmed it, and added vanilla ice cream, and, yup, it was much better.  Basically just warm fruity pie at that point, with just as much ice cream and pop tart.  I enjoyed it this way considerably more.

Really, it was solidly "fine" but not remarkable, not worth getting again.

Day 2: Victory!

The next morning, I was going to go to my *favorite* bakery in the Boston area (Tatte), but decided, given time constraints, to just go to Flour again instead, as it was literally 1.2 blocks from my hotel.

This visit was a morning visit, so I got breakfast, both sweet and savory (mostly intending to give this to my mom as a gift for coming to pick me up), and, uh, went slightly overboard (I set out just to get an almond croissant, something I was craving, and really, really wanted from Tatte), but then there were donuts ...

Spoiler: best. move. ever.

Flour Bakery is solidly back on the list.

Donuts! Raspberry and Vanilla Filled. $4 each.

Um, wow.  Wow, wow, wow.

I eat a lot of donuts, but these were, hands down, no question, among the best I've ever had.  Both of them.  Wowzer.

I had no idea Flour made donuts even, but they do, weekends only.  They also make a Boston Cream Pie version, but I didn't see it.  But I saw these, and they looked insanely good.  I knew I was getting too much, but I also knew that I could either 1) freeze some - yes, jelly donuts freeze great!, 2) grill/waffle some at my parent's house the next day if I had leftovers (believe me, magic, magic, magic for day old donuts!), or 3) if I didn't like them, or felt super generous, share with my parents of course.

Yeah, let's just say, they never stood a chance of trying them.  #sorrynotsorry.

The donuts were *fabulous*.  Truly, truly, truly fabulous.  

Both were quite large, super fried, like classic boardwalk or fair fried dough, but with no taste of bad oil, and no greasy residue on your hands.  The exterior was perfectly crunchy, and also rolled in way too much (which, was just the right amount, really) of sugar.  Now *that* did get all over my hands.

And the fillings?  Um, as generous as the donut serving sizes themselves.  And delicious too.

Seriously, very, very, very good donuts, very akin to fried dough.

Raspberry filled donut. $4.

First up, the jelly donut.

Jelly donuts were never ones I remember being into as a younger person, but in the last few years in particular, I've gotten really, really into them.  Good ones, at least.

And yes, this was a good one.  A better than good one.  Like I said, honestly, one of the best I've ever had.  I hesitate to say "best", but I can't think of one I have enjoyed more, to be honest.

So what did we have?

Well, the perfect base donut, as already described.  Crispy fried dough, so much sugar coating, and then, the filling, which, like the poptart, was their raspberry jam.  Let's just say, they stuffed this donut (which, if the filling wasn't great, would be a problem of course).

Raspberry Filled Donut: Inside.

I mean, really.  Just look at how over stuffed it was!

Sooo much jam, but it was good jam - not too sweet but certainly sweet, fruity, and, although it had seeds (because jam not jelly) they didn't bother me too much.

It doesn't *look* balanced, but it really, really was.  I adored it.

It was absolutely perfect just to eat like this, but I did also take leftover with me, and I grilled it the next day (it didn't really hold up for normal consumption, as expected).  It grilled up perfectly, the sugar coating perfectly caramelized on the outside, the jam oozed out and got all, uh, jammy, and I dunked it in whipped cream, and was very, very happy.

Vanilla Donut. $4.

Next up, the vanilla donut, the same crunchy, sugary, perfectly fried base donut, this time, stuffed with  vanilla cream.

The cream was a bit hard to describe, not really a classic pastry cream, but certainly thicker than whipped cream.  Definitely not a custard.  Rich, not too sweet, and a nice compliment to the donut.

Vanilla Donut: Cream Filling.

It wasn't quite as generously stuffed as the jelly donut, but there was still plenty of filling.

This one was best just as is, room temp, and didn't grill up as well (which, I expected).

Almond croissant. $4.50.

"Our famous croissant baked a second time, filled with frangipane (almond pastry cream), brushed with almond syrup, and topped with sliced almonds."

What I really wanted?  The "famous" almond croissant from Tatte, not Flour, which I've nearly tried oh so many times (or the pistachio one!).  But, I was trying to be efficient, and thus settled for the one at Flour, even though, to be honest, it did not look all that great.

And ... it wasn't.  It had all the right pedigree: dusted with powdered sugar, topped with crunchy sliced almonds, and even brushed with almond syrup for more almond flavor.  It was decently crisp on top.

Inside, a decent amount of frangipane, well distributed.

Like most items at Flour, there was nothing *wrong* with it, but it just wasn't particularly good.  The croissant wasn't all that flaky, nor buttery, and nothing popped in any way.  Honestly, it was no better than a generic almond croissant from ... well, nearly anywhere.

I certainly wouldn't get again.

Egg breakfast sandwich. $8.50.

"Breakfast egg sandwich, ham/bacon, cheddar, arugula, tomato, dijonnaise, focaccia roll."

An egg breakfast sandwich?  For me?  Ha, yeah, no.  I got this for my mother, who was coming to pick me up.  She *loves* savory breakfast, and eggs, and I knew that this would actually heat back up absolutely fine for her.  I appreciated that they wrapped it in foil to keep it hot though.

Of course I did try a little.

The roll was just a focaccia roll, not toasted, but warmed.  Soft.  It was ... well, to me, bread.  Her review? "You were right! That bakery was good!  The roll was wonderful!".

Breakfast Sandwich: Inside.

Both sides of the bread were slathered with creamy dijonnaise, which I actually of course loved (mmm, creamy sauces).  Mom agreed just a touch of that was all that was necessary.

The slices of tomato were reasonably fresh but clearly just out-of-season slicer tomatoes, the arugula added a peppery bite (that she really, really appreciated!), the cheddar was decently melted, and the egg was a scrambled/souffled egg patty sorta thing, kind like a chunk of fritatta?

My mom really liked it, I could tell it was a decently made item, just, not my style of thing.

Make-at-home Balsamic Strawberry Shortcake Kit. $15.

"This kit has almost everything you'll need to make Joanne Chang's balsamic strawberry shortcake."

This I got for us to make at home later, as my whole family adores strawberry shortcake, and, although they swear by the Bisquick recipe for shortcake (ahem, the Smitten Kitchen one some of us agree is much better!), I thought it would be fun to try the Flour version.  The idea of the balsamic strawberries was certainly crazy to them, but hey, my mom at least would have some fun with this.

The kit included the shortcake base mix, the marinade for the balsamic strawberries, and even a liquid sugar and vanilla solution to add to the whipped cream (that of course you make).

It even came with parchment paper.

We supplied eggs, butter, heavy cream, and berries.

Shortcakes.

The shortcakes were a flatter, denser, more scone-like cake than I prefer (I like more loft!), but they baked nicely, and the pearl sugar to sprinkle on top was a nice touch.

They were just plain shortcakes though, I wanted some buttermilk tang, or more crumble, and, alas, there was none.

Luckily, adding copious amount of berry juices helped them out.

Balsamic Marinated Strawberries.

The marinade for the berries was balsamic vinegar, lemon zest, and sugar.

Definitely a touch more interesting than your standard shortcake berries, the acid provided complexity, and my family was amazed by the whole thing (pairing balsamic and strawberries was incredible novel to them!).

Plated?

I failed to get a photo of my creation, but this was my mom's.   Let's just say, my ratios were very different ... 

The whipped cream we whipped, but Flour provided vanilla paste and sugar, which was a nice touch.   I didn't find the vanilla flavor nearly as strong as I expected, but it was still more interesting than regular whipped cream.  It was also sweeter than I really like, but perhaps that was just combined with the berries that were definitely sweeter than I prefer.

Overall, the kit was fine, fun to try something different, and more unique for my family, but again, not really my favorite type of shortcake biscuit, and not really that compelling overall.

Original Review, June 2018

Flour Bakery has been on my list of bakeries to try in the Boston area for ages.  When locals find out I am coming to town, and they know my love for baked goods and sweets, they always mention it, and in particular, the sticky buns.

Flour is a mini chain at this point, with eight locations in the Boston area.  They produce morning pastries of all kinds (scones, muffins, breads, croissants, yadda, yadda), plus cakes, tarts, cookies, pies, etc, etc.  On the savory side, they have sandwiches on their own bread, grain bowls and salads, quiches, and the like.

I've actually stopped in several times, always aiming to try those sticky buns, but alas, they sell out quickly.  My eyes were also on the bread pudding, as, well, I adore bread pudding, and they make it ... from the sticky buns!

I finally got to try a bun.  I was ... underwhelmed?

So Many Treats.

One night, I stopped by at 7pm just to see what they had left, hoping for some of the bread pudding perhaps, and was shocked to see sticky buns.  I had no choice but order it.

The Setting

I visited the Back Bay location, likely one of the least popular, but, convenient to where I was passing by.  My previous stop ins were to the Cambridge locations, much more inviting.

Interior.

The space at the Back Bay Flour Bakery location isn't particularly large nor charming, a narrow place, with a counter up front to order and retrieve your food, counter seating with stools along the window, and just a handful of tables (maybe 2?).

Hallway Seating.

There was additional seating for 3 more people at a counter along the hallway to the bathroom.  Again, not very charming, but, at least when I visited, most people were by themselves, and so this worked well.

The Treats

Flour Bakery does serve savory food.  They have salads, sandwiches, quiches, and more.  But I was there just for dessert, as I wanted my baked goods!

Cookies & More ...

The lineup, even at 7pm, was fairly extensive.  Tons of cookies (easily ruled out since I don't like cookies), breads, and cupcakes.

Although I'm not one for quickbreads, I've heard great things about the coffee cake and the apple snacking cake, so those were both on my list to check out.  But better things lay ahead ...

More Tempting Treats ...

The next section captured my eye instantly.

Not pictured (whoops) is a strawberry rhubarb slab pie that looked excellent (just to the right of the chocolate brioche).  The chocolate brioche looked good too.  As did the homemade poptarts.  Even some of the bars looked good.

But ... the famous sticky buns somehow still remained.  I didn't have a choice, did I?

Refrigerated Tempting Treats ...

The refrigerated case however caused me some grief.  They had ... sticky bun bread pudding.  Incredible looking cream pies (coconut, lemon, and chocolate).  Moster slices of Boston cream pie (and I *was* in Boston after all!).  Trifle.

If there is something I love even more than sticky buns, it is bread pudding.  Um, and bread pudding made from sticky buns??!!!

However, it is served cold, and I like mine warm.  It isn't served with whipped cream or ice cream.  Just the bread pudding.  In the end, I asked the person taking my order which he'd pick, and he said he hadn't tried either yet, but, that it seemed to make sense to start with the basic sticky bun.  Which I suppose makes sense (although, how could I trust someone who worked there and hadn't tried their most famous item?!).  Plus, I wanted to save the bread pudding for a time when I could take it home and heat it up, and add the requisite whipped cream.

Boxed Up!

I placed my order, paid, and gave my name.

Several minutes later, a (large) box came out with my name on it.  I wasn't asked if I wanted it for there or to go, and, I actually intended to eat it there.  Luckily, they had plates and real silverware available in a self-serve area, so I just moved it to a real plate.

Sticky Sticky Bun. $3.75.

"Dark, sticky caramel and toasted pecans."

My sticky bun was ... massive.  I didn't think that box size was needed at first for *just* a sticky bun, but, well, it was.

On top was a very sweet sauce, sticky, yes.  It seemed rather honey based though?  The sweetness wasn't one I actually was particularly fond of.

There were plentiful chopped pecans, always appreciated on a sticky bun.

The dough was a bit dry.  A sweet dough, kinda dense.  Very heavy.  Very bready.  Some cinnamon between the layers.

This sticky bun was fine.  But it wasn't particularly good.  I rather suspect that part of my problem is that I had it at 7pm.  Freshness matters for sticky buns, and, the dryness in particular I think was likely attributable to that.

I guess I need to try again, earlier in the day ...

Read More...

Starbucks: the Pastries!

Update Review, late 2024-2025 Tastings

Everyone's Favorite - Bantam Bagels 2-Pack.

"An Everything Bagel stuffed with chopped vegetable cream cheese. A flavorful twist on a classic bound to reawaken your taste buds."

I know that when they first came out, Bantam Bagels were a very big deal.  One I totally didn't care about.  Yes, I like a good bagel, and yes, I like cream cheese, but, I'm fairly particular about the ratio of cream cheese to bagel, etc and I didn't really see the point.  The convenience win of having it all ready to go in one bite-ish just wasn't one I really wanted in my life.

But I eventually tried them.

They were ... fine?  The bagel was a fairly average bagel.  Soft inside, lightly crisp outside.  Minimal everything seasoning.  Basically grocery store bagel quality.  Not memorable, but not offensive.

Inside was the cream cheese, veggie flavored.  It too was "fine".  Some bits of chopped veg, decently veggie flavored, decently creamy.  Not a lot of it though, definitely not for you if you are a high cream cheese to bagel ratio type.  It was a bit odd to have the warm cream cheese in the center.

It *was* convenient to eat, and I see the appeal as a grab and dash item, but not one I generally need in my life.  I'm glad to try it, and I'd eat another, but wouldn't seek them out.  3/5.

Pineapple Cloud Cake.
(Seasonal Special).

"An airy cake filled with layers of pineapple cream, pineapple spread and whole fruit pieces with a sweet drizzle topping."

Tropical fruity desserts like this aren't really my thing generally, but I was craving cake, and the cream filling inside drew me in. It was ... ok.

The flavors definitely were tropical, and it reminded me of pineapple upside down cake. The pineapple spread on top was sweet and obviously pineapple forward, little bits of chopped pineapple. The cake itself was quite boring, a bit dry, and just not really my style of cake. The cream filling was definitely my favorite element (no surprise really), and there was a decent amount of it. But overall, eh, not my thing.

I passed it off to my mother who liked it more than I did, although she too thought the cake was dry, and she wanted whipped cream to top it off. 2.5/5.

Blueberry Streusel Muffin. $3.75.

"A golden-brown muffin with juicy blueberries and notes of vanilla, finished with a cinnamon-streusel topping."

I had some Starbucks stars expiring, and decided to use the opportunity to try a new baked good.  Most of the pastries looked pretty sad, but the blueberry muffin somehow called out.  My research also showed that people seem to like it (although it was changed a year or so ago, which of course means there are plenty of people outraged by the change).  I also asked the cashier if she liked it, and she said it was one of her favorite items.

I got it not heated up, and stashed it for breakfast the next day.

At room temperature, it was a fairly average, pretty processed, pretty sweet, moist enough, muffin.  Which I expected.  The streusel on top was minimal and soft.  The berries inside were large, juicy, plump, and really quite wonderful bursts of flavor, but they had sunk to the bottom.  Basically, average.  Not what you'd want from a real bakery, better than a hotel buffet.  3/5.

I heated it in the toaster oven a bit, and it was much better.  The flavors just popped a bit more, the texture improved a bit. 3.5/5.

I enjoyed the muffin, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it again.  It is a smaller size (non-jumbo, more normal), and clocks in 370 calories, 27g sugar, 18g fat.  Definitely veers into cake or cupcake territory with the sugar level.

Cinnamon Coffee Cake (Frozen). $3.95.

"Buttery, moist, coffee cake swirled with a cinnamon-sugar blend and finished with a crunchy streusel topping."

Apologies for the photo as this was frozen when I took the photo (I asked for it still frozen so I could take hit home and have it a while later).

I wasn't very into this.  It was fairly moist, but I found it just way too sweet.  The base cake was sweet (and fairly processed tasting) and the cinnamon-sugar swirl throughout was just sooo sweet (and sooo cinnamony).  The streusel top was even more sweet (and cinnamon).  So, just over the top sweet for me, even when I served it warm and topped with ice cream and blackberries, I couldn't get past how sweet (and too strong cinnamon, really) it was.  Eh.  Not for me.  2/5.

Cheese Danish (unheated). 3.95.

"Flaky, butter croissant dough with soft, warm cheese in the center."

Wow.  This was a really cheesy danish.  I was surprised by just how dominant the cheese element was, and how much flavor it added.  The cheese in question is neufchatel (e.g. fancy cream cheese).   It was really tangy, and just pretty intense. It didn't look like there was tons of it, but it was plenty.  I actually think this may be the most flavorful (cheese-wise) danish I've ever had. So, make sure you are craving cheesecake vibes in danish form if you get this.

I brought this home to heat up later, so I got it unheated.  The danish pastry itself was unremarkable.  It got nicely crisp, and tasted fresh enough, a bit surprising given that it is a mass produced and frozen item.  Not on par with local bakery fresh obviously, but not bad at all.

For a real bakery, I'd call this a 3/5, highly average, but for a place like Starbucks, it really deserves a bit higher of a rating.

Unicorn Cake Pop.
(Seasonal).

"The Starbucks Unicorn Cake Pop is a limited-edition treat featuring vanilla cake with confetti sprinkles, coated in white chocolate icing, and topped with a tiny unicorn horn. It's a whimsical, bite-sized dessert designed to appeal to fans of the unicorn trend. "

I've had mixed success with Starbucks cake pops in the past, really quite enjoying the chocolate one, and extremely disliking the birthday cake one.  The unicorn seemed more likely to go the way of the birthday one (both vanilla cake base and white chocolate coating), but hey, it was cute and fun so I gave it a try.

It was indeed much like the birthday cake one, however, it actually, in my opinion, was considerably more birthday appropriate (the regular birthday one is just a vanilla cake pop with some sprinkles on the outside, this one had funfetti cake as the base cake, so there were sprinkles inside too).  In terms of flavor, it was definitely just vanilla and sweet, particularly with the sweet white coating on it too.  Not quite cloying sweet, but, getting there.  Definitely best paired with a black coffee, I can't imagine having it alongside any kind of sugary drink.  

The texture was about the same as other Starbucks cake pops, very dense, very moist, a bit odd, but, I knew to expect it.  It wasn't greasy/oily inside like the birthday one, which is much of what I had disliked with that one.

So, overall, definitely not one I'd seek out like the chocolate one, but I didn't mind finishing it, but again, definitely needed a black coffee alongside.  3.5/5.

Update Review, 2022-2024 Tastings

I don't generally seek them out, but sometimes I encounter baked goods from Starbucks (usually because I have some stars to spend that are expiring!).  While my previous encounters have mostly been fairly "meh", I found a few items in the past two years that I've actually enjoyed.

Blueberry Scone. $2.95.

"A traditional scone with blueberries, buttermilk and lemon lovingly handmade to remind you of everything wholesome."

Seriously meh.  This is not really a scone.

I certainly didn't taste the buttermilk tang.  It was crumbly, but not in a good way.  Blueberries were hard.

*+.

Chocolate Cake Pop. $2.75.

"Chocolate cake mixed with chocolate buttercream, dipped in chocolatey coating and topped with sugar sprinkles create this wonderfully reimagined dessert on a stick."

Ok, so I generally don't like cake pops.  I *want* to like cake pops, I mean, I like cake, I like buttercream, I like chocolate or white chocolate coating, but ... they always let me down, no matter how fresh, no matter how nice of a bakery they come from.  Just usually so strangely moist-gummy inside, and just not that pleasing to eat.  I generally resort to dunking them in milk, like you might a cookie, and reminding myself that I don't like cake pops.  Sometimes I warm them up, so the chocolate coating melts in, and it just becomes a warm gooey chocolate cake, and then I serve a la mode.  But at that point, it is far from the intended easy to grab and eat cake pop form!

But this ... this I liked.  It was crazy rich, very sweet, and intensely chocolately.  The coating was dark chocolate, a sweet style, but dark, and really satisfied my chocolate craving.  The inside was moist, cookie-dough like texture, but somehow it didn't bother me like cake pops often do.  It was super chocolately and sweet too.  I loved the crunch from the few sprinkles on the outside.

It paired remarkably well with a black coffee, alternating small bites and a sip of coffee to counterbalance the sweet rich overload.  I think it would go great with a glass of milk, or dunked into whipped cream too.

I was shocked that I liked it as much as I did, maybe I was just in the mood (which, to be fair, I really was!), but, I'd gladly get these again.

****.

Birthday Cake Pop. $2.75.

"Vanilla cake and icing, dipped in a pink chocolaty coating with white sprinkles—a celebratory confetti of birthday joyfulness.'

After loving the chocolate cake pops so much, I next went for the birthday cake ones.  I forgot I had tried these before, long ago, when the price was more than $1 less! I didn't particularly like it then, and found it too sweet.

But given how much I adore the chocolate ones, I was still excited to try the birthday one again.

And ... yeah, I didn't care for it. The sweetness wasn't really the issue, I liked the sweet white chocolate coating quite a bit, but, the inside is what I didn't enjoy.  It was dense, a bit oily almost, and not cake-like, nor gooey, and strangely moist.  I didn't like the texture, and didn't like the taste, it was pretty plain.  Coating, good, inside, meh, and kinda the reason why I have historically not really enjoyed cake pops.

*.

Cookies & Cream. $2.95.

"Chocolate cake blended with creamy, sandwich-cookie buttercream and cookie bits, dipped in white-chocolaty coating and finished with dark-chocolaty cookie crumb."

Next up, I went back in the chocolate direction, with the cookies & cream.  Now, I don't generally like Oreo-adjacent items (nor Oreos themselves), but, they were out of the chocolate ones when I visited, and I still wanted to get my chocolate fix.

This one was ok.  The inside was not quite as moist as the others, although still quite rich.  Good chocolate flavor, but, it did also indeed taste like Oreo, due to the style of buttercream mixed in, which just isn't a compelling flavor for me.  The white chocolate coating was a good thickness, creamy, sweet, and yes, fairly rich too.  It wasn't quite as overpowering here as with the vanilla cake, as the chocolate helped balance it.

Overall, for me it was an average item, ***, but if you like cookies and cream, I suspect you'd enjoy this more.

Chocolate Chip Cookie. $2.45.

"This scrumptious, satisfying cookie love will uplift your day—sweet chocolate chips embedded in a thick, chewy goodness of our favorite dough make this an absolute must-have."

Who thinks of cookies when they think of Starbucks?  No one, right?  And certainly not me, the girl who generally doesn't care for cookies all that much.  But ... every once in a while I really crave one, generally either cold/frozen and dunked in milk or coffee, or warm and topped with ice cream or whipped cream.  And when I do want a cookie, it doesn't need to be fancy.  I like it a softer style, and a sweet style, and I want nice big chunks of quality chocolate, but, it certainly doesn't need to be homemade. Sometimes the overly sweet processed kind have a charm to them.

This cookie entirely met my expectations.  It wasn't wholesome tasting, but actually, it didn't have anything too crazy in it.  I liked the sweetness from brown sugar in addition to the regular white sugar, and the use of both milk chocolate chunks and semi sweet chips.  It was reasonably soft, and the chocolate was reasonably well distributed.  I'd prefer bigger chunks, but, this was pretty standard.  A great cookie?  Nah.  One to go buy again?  Probably not.  But it was fine, and even better warm.  ***.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin.  $3.25.
(Seasonal).

"This moist perfectly spiced pumpkin muffin—topped with sweet cream cheese filling and a sprinkling of chopped, spiced pepitas—offers a delightful balance of salty and sweet."

Pumpkin spice season.  I tend to hate it.  Sure, I appreciate a pumpkin pie, but pumpkin spice all the things ... yeah, not really for me, particularly as nutmeg I tend to only like in small doses.

But one day, while craving carrot cake or something similar, I saw the pumpkin muffin and it just jumped out.  Plus, the slightly rustic look with the bits of pepitas on top almost made it look less processed and packaged than it was ...

The muffin was decently moist, although clearly not freshly baked, and the crumb structure was fairly closed.  It tasted subtly of pumpkin, some slight spicing, but nothing aggressive.  The cream cheese filling was really just a dot on top, as it said, "topped with", not "stuffed with" or "filled with", so if you were expecting something closer to a cupcake, this was certainly not it.

Basically, pretty generic, non-offensive, but not particularly good, at room temp.  **+.

But I brought it home, heated it, added a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel and ... that transformed it.  Warm pumpkin spice cake, a la mode, sweetened with the caramel?  Really quite satisfying. ***+.

Pumpkin Loaf Cake (Seasonal). $3.45.

"A gently spiced bread with pumpkin flavors and pepitas gives you a tasty way to celebrate a seasonal favorite."

I picked this one day after really craving pumpkin cake, not really something I knew could happen, but, my mom was going to make her pumpkin roll cake, got busy, and failed to do it.  My brain was fixed on pumpkin cake.  I knew the pumpkin cream cheese muffins were pretty good, but decided to mix it up a bit and try this, having forgotten that I did indeed try it as a sample once years ago.  My plan was perhaps to eat it as a morning item, or, do as dessert warm a la mode if necessary.

This item entirely met expectations.  That is to say, it was a bit stodgy, had a highly preserved taste, and the seasonal spices were a bit too strong for me early in the morning (which, is when I was having it, alongside my morning coffee).  It also was fairly sweet, sugar is literally the first ingredient, and that pushed pretty far in the "cake" department rather than morning bread, but, at the same time, it had no icing, frosting, etc.  I did like the little bit of crunch from pepitas on the top.  Warming it up brought out the spices more in some ways, but also kinda softened them.

I saved half and heated it up later for dessert, and served it a la mode and with fresh blackberries.  As a warm cake I liked it more, and the ice cream balanced the spices, but this still isn't an item I particularly want more of.

Somehow, this pretty small slice of cake has more calories than the larger pumpkin cream cheese muffin, which certainly seemed more decadent to me.  

***.

Cranberry Bliss Bar. (Seasonal). $16.25 tray or $3.25 each.

"A blondie cake with dried cranberries, finished with a layer of cream-cheese icing flecked with orange zest and a sprinkle of dried cranberries—a holiday extravaganza of undeniable yum."

I got these mostly for my mom, as they sounded like something she'd really enjoy - cranberries and orange are her thing!  

I got a full tray, so I was able to try one as well.

It was good, for what it was.  The blondie was moist, it did have pops of cranberry studding it, and the lightly orange cream cheese icing complimented it well.  The icing was sweet, but it didn't overpower, as the layer of icing was thinner than the blondie base.  The dried cranberries on top made it look pretty and added a touch of chew.

Overall, a good item, it made me wish I liked cranberry and orange flavors more.  My mother, and aunt, both enjoyed them.

***+, but a **+ given my tastes.

Sugar Plum Cheese Danish (Seasonal). $3.65.

"Cream-cheese filling surrounded by a fluffy danish, topped with a spiced sugar plum spread—a dreamy combination of flavors that will inspire visions of this holiday delight long after your last bite."

Ah, the sugar plum cheese danish.  An item I'd never pick, although I've seen so many people rave about it.  My skepticism was quite high, given that I wasn't particularly fond of the regular cheese danish, and it didn't look particularly good.  I mean, after all, it is a mass produced frozen and thawed danish ...

But the masses, and in particular those who actually *work* at Starbucks insist this thing is fantastic.  I opted to not have it heated up, since I wanted to take it home to have for dessert later.

I tried a bite before warming, and wasn't particularly impressed.  It was much like a danish from an airline, the pastry soft and not flaky, clearly not fresh.   It seemed to have some sugar on the exterior, that was slightly melty and sticky from being wrapped in plastic.  The plum spread was flavorful, and there was plenty of it, but, unless I was a captive audience on a flight ... this pastry is just not something I'd care for.

But heating it made all the difference, which I suspected (the sbux folks are pretty clear that you need to heat it, and they even recommend 500* convection oven at home for 2 minutes to make it just like they do in cafe - I went for 450* convection for more like 3-4 minutes and it seemed like the right temp/time).  The top got crispy, nearly caramelized from the aforementioned sugar goo, making it have a slight resemblance to a kouign amann.  Is this intentional from the sugar sweat?  I have no idea, but it really worked.  It still wasn't fresh, buttery, flakey pastry of course, but the slightly doughy-dense buttery warm pastry with crispy caramelized exterior worked.

The filling was really quite generous, both the cream cheese and the plum spread.  The cream cheese filling was creamy, smooth, rich, and complimented the sweet, fruity plum spread well.  I wouldn't necessarily say, "oh, that's sugar plum!", but, it was a clear fruit flavor different from a generic berry goo, slightly reminding me of apricot.  It is made with plum puree, along with plenty of sugar and corn syrup of course, and light seasonal spices (nutmeg, clove).

Overall, once warm, yup, this was really a nice item, a shocker for a packaged thawed frozen item.  I paired it with ice cream, but it wasn't really necessary.

****.

Update Review, November 2020

As I've mentioned before (reviews below), I have a strange relationship with pastries from Starbucks - I get them very rarely, maybe once a year honestly, and have some items I really do love, but most leave me feeling gross.  And yet, I do still keep trying things, or getting those damn scones again, because, well, I love baked goods too much, and they are always right there on display.  #marketingWorks. 

But this review isn't for something that I sought out, it came to me (for reals!).

Old Fashioned Glazed Doughnut.

"A doughnut glazed with delicious sweet icing."

Ok, who goes to Starbucks for donuts?  Basically, no one.  I've seen them in the case for years and always thought they were kinda hilarious.  Donuts need to be ... fresh-ish at least.  And I know all Starbucks pastries are frozen.

So I've never opted for one, despite being fond of donuts.

And then a co-worker brought them to the office.  If it was being *brought* to me, *placed* in front of me, I couldn't say no right?

Ugh, I should have.

It was actually even ... worse than I imagined.  Heavy, dense, strangely moist on the outside, strangely dry and stale inside. I tried to at least like the "delicious sweet icing", but to no avail.  This was horrible.  The least fresh tasting donut I've probably ever had in my life. *.

Even more amazing? It was is a totally normal size simple donut, and is somehow 480 calories.  How do they even do that?  Mmm, oil.

Update Review, November 2015

Starbucks is known for many things, but quality pastries, even after the La Boulange integration, is not really it. Yet, as you may recall from my earlier review, I'm strangely fascinated by them. I know they aren't high quality. I know they arrive at Starbucks frozen. But ... I enjoy the scones, even though they leave me feeling totally gross.

So, I gambled, and tried another item. I moved out of the comfort zone of scones, past the quickbreads and cake pops I never liked, and zeroed in on the croissant style items. Regular croissants, chocolate croissants, morning buns, and cheese danishes were my options. And honestly, they all looked awful. Flat as pancakes, not flaky. But for some reason, I still went for it. And, just the scones, I'm glad I did. I don't get it.

Cheese Danish.

“A flaky pastry folded around reduced-fat cream cheese.”

It didn't remotely live up to the description of a “flaky pastry”, as the dough wasn’t remotely flaky nor laminated nor layered, but, it wasn’t awful. If you think of it more like a donut, it works. It had that slight cloying oiliness about a donut that makes your gut hurt a little just thinking about it, but it wasn’t too bad. And as long as you didn’t expect light, flaky croissant dough, it wasn’t offensive. Although, it was flat as a pancake.

The cheese filling was creamy, generous, and moist. Overall, truly not awful.

I got it to bring home, so at first I had it cold, so I can’t comment on how it transforms warmed up by their magic machine. Then I moved it to my own toaster oven, again, not a true reflection of how it would come served at Starbucks. My toasting wasn't a great move - the top got crispy, perhaps a bit flaky, but not really. The filling got creamier, which was nice, but, overall, it was the wrong move, and I actually liked it more cold.  Low ***.

Original Review, September 2014

I know Starbucks isn't novel to anyone.  I'm sure you've been there.  Most likely however, it has been for the drinks, which I've reviewed before.  Perhaps for a frappuccino, which I've also reviewed before.  Or, maybe for one of their famous seasonal offerings, which I've also reviewed.

But have you been to Starbucks for ... the food?  Yes, Starbucks isn't known for their food, but when they purchased La Boulange a while ago, they revamped all of the food offerings, trying to turn more into a "bakery".  Except, you know, a bakery where all the baked goods are mass produced in off-site baking centers and shipped to the stores.  When they first introduced the items to stores, they required that you have them warmed up.  You can read all about the reasons why ... but I don't recommend it if you ever want to eat any of these things.

Anyway, you know I've never really been impressed with the La Boulange bakeries themselves, nor their breakfast catering, so what chance did I have to like the even more mass produced items?  Little chance for sure, but you know me, curiosity finally got the best of me.  I can't resist baked goods.

Scones

Starbucks now carries only three scones, two are regular size creations from the new La Boulange line, but the tiny little vanilla scones still remain from their original lineup.  I have of course tried, and compared, all three.

Petit Vanilla Scone. $0.95.

"Our moist, fluffy petite scone is made with real vanilla beans and natural vanilla extract. It's a bite-sized treat that’s big on flavor."

Back when I commuted regularly, I rode a shuttle from the Civic Center Muni station.  On the very rare days that I wasn't frantically dashing to catch my bus, I'd hit up to Starbucks to grab a coffee, and sometimes, a treat.  I always went for the cute little petit vanilla scones.  I remember really liking them.

I recently ventured into Starbucks and wanted something sweet to accompany my drink.  I saw that even though most of the baked goods had been replaced by the La Boulange offerings, the petit vanilla scones remained untouched.  Yes!

Described as, "a moist, bite-sized scone flavored with natural vanilla extract and real vanilla beans."

The scone looked exactly the same as I remembered, and I see no indication online that the recipe has changed at all, but ... I didn't like it.  Maybe I changed.

First, it wasn't really a scone.  It was strangely soft and fluffy.  A scone shouldn't be a brick obviously, but it also shouldn't be a cake.  The flavor of the cake itself was completely boring.  It did have visible little black flecks, which I guess were vanilla bean, but I didn't taste vanilla.  At least it wasn't burnt?

On top was vanilla icing, very sweet.  Too sweet.

This scone offered nothing, other than its reasonable $0.95 price.  I sorta wish I hadn't tried it, and let it stay in my memory as the great treat it once was. *+.

La Boulange Blueberry Scone.  $2.45.

"A traditional scone with blueberries, buttermilk and lemon."

After the disappointing vanilla scone, I decided to try one of the updated scones from La Boulange.  This was an interesting choice on my part, since I haven't really liked any baked goods from the real La Boulange bakeries, so why would I like the less fresh ones at Starbucks?

Answer: I really was craving a scone.

I also forgot that they heat up all of the La Boulange offerings, without asking.  I was planning to get it to go, and eat it later, but once it was warm, I had to try it right then.

I was amazed when I opened the bag, as the aroma coming out of it was pure blueberry.  It was incredible.

Because it was heated up, it was really moist, and not hard, like a scone normally is.  This threw me off a bit at first, it seemed far more like a cake or muffin than a scone really.  But once I tasted it, I stopped caring about the fact that it wasn't really a "scone".

While I didn't taste the lemon that was supposed to be there, the buttermilk was fantastic.  It had such a great tang to it.  The blueberries were fairly plump and moist, and added a lot of flavor, however, they weren't very well distributed throughout the scone, and many bites did not have any.  But the buttermilk really made it a winner.  I also appreciated the large sugar crystals on top for additional sweetness and crunch.  It was also well cooked, not burnt anywhere.

What would have made this really amazing would be some jam to spread on it.  One thing I always really appreciate at La Boulange is that they have housemade jams available at the condiment station to jazz up any of their offerings.  I can't imagine Starbucks incorporating this into their stores, but it really would work well with this scone.

$2.45 was a pretty standard price for a scone, and it was a large size.  I liked this far more than I ever expected to, and would actually get another.  ***+.

La Boulange Cranberry Orange Scone. $2.45.

"A traditional scone with cranberries, orange zest and cranberry spread."

After the shocking success of the blueberry scone, on my next visit, I decided to branch out and try the other variety of La Boulange scone: cranberry orange.

In the case, it looked hard and not very appetizing, but, the blueberry one surprised me before, so I still tried this one.  This time, I was asked if I'd like it warmed up, and since I was planning to consume it right there I said yes.  Starbucks really has worked some magic with their heating machines, as it was handed over to me in what seemed like only 30 seconds, totally nice and warm.

It was also totally and completely gross, but in an almost ok sort of way.  Let me attempt to explain this one.

Since it was warmed up, it was very moist and doughy.  The center was almost raw even.  How was this possible, when moments earlier it was a solid lump?

It was loaded up with cranberries, which were very tart.  I'm not really sure why I even thought I'd like this, since I don't like tart cranberries. Mine didn't seem to have any of the cranberry spread in the description or photos from Starbucks, which I think is for the best, since I wasn't loving the cranberry.  It did also have a touch of orange to it, again, not something I really like, so I'm not sure why I choose this.

The scone was consistently cooked, no burnt or dried out edges, but the base flavor was quite boring.  No tang like the blueberry one.  It did have nice large sugar crystals on top for some crunch.

This thing was really quite fascinating.  The bottom and the sides were quite boring, not very flavorful, and kinda cakey, not at all what I think of as a scone.  The whole thing seemed not fresh and loaded with preservatives.  But that gooey inside was actually really addicting, even though it was sorta like raw muffin batter.  I devoured it. ***+.

And then, I felt ridiculously sick afterwards.  I can't say for sure it was the scone, but ... it sure seems like it.  I won't be getting another, gooey center or not!

Quickbreads

Besides the scones, the rest of the La Boulange baked goods at Starbucks look really unappealing.  The muffins always look soggy.  The croissants and danishes look worse than what you see in a generic grocery store.  The rest of the "breakfast" menu is rounded out by a few coffee cakes and quickbreads.  The coffee cakes were turned into mini loafs, rather than slices, as part of the La Boulange re-vamp, which apparently has outraged fans of the old style.  The quickbreads, pumpkin or banana, remain slices.

Pumpkin Bread.

"A gently spiced bread with pumpkin flavors and pepitas."

I am never a fan of quickbreads, no mater where from, but Starbucks had samples out, trying to entice customers to give the new La Boulange items a chance.  Of course I had to try.

It was just a basic pumpkin bread, with crushed pumpkin seeds on the crust.  The pumpkin flavor was not very strong.  It was pretty dry.  It was however, very spiced.  Too spiced.  Too much nutmeg perhaps?  I did not like, and would never purchase. *.

Desserts

And finally, my favorite category: desserts!  Not that Starbucks has a lot to offer here, just a couple cookies, a rice crispie treat, and pound cake.  Then again, I consider a majority of their "drinks" desserts anyway, so it isn't like it is hard to satisfy your sweet tooth at Starbucks.

Birthday Cake Pop.  $1.50.

Sometime in the past year or so, I had a cake pop that I really loved.  But for the life of me, I can't remember where it was from.  The most cake pops I've had have been from Sweet Lauren, but I haven't ever really liked those.  I really want to like cake pops though, as eating desserts on sticks just seems way too fun.  Let me know if you have recommendations for any!

Anyway, while I did research on Starbucks baked goods selection, I kept finding mentions of their cake pops.  People seemed to legitimately like them, which is more than I can say for most of their other food offerings.  In particularly people mentioned the chocolate ones, but I haven't been able to find those anywhere.

So I went for the one I could find, the "Birthday Cake Pop", described as "vanilla cake and icing, dipped in a pink chocolaty coating with white sprinkles."

It was a pretty standard cake pop.  The pink colored white chocolate shell was far too thick, resulting in one-note sweetness.  A little of this would have gone a long way, and it was exactly the type of white chocolate that gives white chocolate a bad rep, just so, so sweet.  I liked the crunch from the sprinkles it was dipped in, and wished there were more of them.

Inside was the cake, in classic cake-pop form, it had the icing mixed into the cake, creating a very dense, moist interior.  It wasn't particularly vanilla flavored.

So overall, not a winner, and far too sweet.  It would have probably paired nicely with a strong, bitter black coffee, but that isn't exactly what Starbucks is known for either.  If they added some actual vanilla flavor to the cake, thinned out the shell layer, and dunked it in more sprinkles, perhaps it would be a decent pick.  The idea is right, the execution just wasn't stellar. *+.

$1.50 price was fine for the small treat.

Madeleine.

Starbucks doesn't offer these anymore, but I tried one at some point.  I'm really not sure why.

This was totally unremarkable, although, I'm not sure what would make a good madeleine, they just aren't interesting in general.

It was fairly flavorless.  Kinda oily.  Obviously baked a long time ago, individually wrapped to last a while.  Meh. *.

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