Flour Bakery

Flour Bakery has many Best of Boston votes, not to mention winning the Throwdown with Bobby Flay on sticky buns. We had to check it out. We went to the one in Fort Point Channel, which was the original location. The place was spacious like a warehouse. It had some communal tables inside and extra seating outside. I felt like this place could belong in New York (and would do very well there), on a side street in Tribeca, Soho or near Jacque Torres' Chocolate Factory.

Their menu ranged from baked goods to light lunches at reasonable price points. Everything looked good at the counter and I wanted everything, but I went there with a mission. So I ordered a sticky bun and coffee cake. My eyes were drawn to this interesting looking muffin top, so I threw that in there too. We also ordered some tea from their rather nice selection of black, green and white loose tea. Sadly, Flour, like many other places, used too much tea leaves in a cup of tea.

So what do I think of their sticky buns? Sticky, indeed. Stickier though if they were warm (and messier too of course). I didn't expect the caramel on top to be that thick, but it worked. It was so very rich and buttery though that it should be shared (and we did). Other than the caramel, the rest of the bun had a very nice soft texture. I enjoyed the pecans sprinkled on top and scattered within the bun. Overall, it was very well done.

Above, Sticky Buns (please excuse the poor photography - I did the best I could in a moving car)

Next up, coffee cake. I'm not crazy about coffee cakes, but I had to try it. Word had it that they made a really nice traditional version. I thought the traditional version had a thicker crumb topping than Flour's...Anyways, Flour's version was very light in texture. It wasn't overwhelmingly sweet & rich, which I thought was perfect. It was a lot more delicate than I expected.

Above, Coffee Cake

Third and finally, the blueberry muffin top...When I think of muffin tops, I think back to that Seinfeld episode where they just chop off the top of the muffins and dump out the rest. Flour's version wasn't that at all - it was a very flat muffin. It was packed with blueberries, which I love, and the top was finished with sprinkles of sugar for crunch. I saw nothing wrong with the muffin. It was perfect, but I am not a fanatic of muffin tops, so I'd much rather have a muffin. Nevertheless, it was a very interesting take.

Above, Blueberry Muffin Top

I wished Flour had more locations in convenient locations in Boston, but that would make it less special, no?