Norte 54

I had read about Norte 54 online and mentioned it to my SO so he surprised me with a few goodies over the weekend. We tried a blueberry concha, rhubarb-jamaica garibaldi, and the polvorones (cookies). Let me tell you, it's extremely hard to pick a favorite. Everything is delicious. The concha was soft and airy with the lightest, most flavorful, fine sugar blueberry topping. The garibaldi was moist and delicous and the fruit was fresh and tangy. And finally, the polvorones were flaky, light, nutty and delicately spiced. These delightful treats are elegant and refined and absolutely delicious. Do stop by and try them or order a delivery box on the website. You will not be disappointed.

I'm always a fan of having more sweets options at the Ferry Building Farmers Market. This stand seems to mainly be around on Tuesdays, when there isn't much other competition for desserts. It seems like pastries from a Mexican bakery that got a really fancy culinary arts spin to them. Definitely a fan!White Guava Garibaldi: Really enjoyed this one. A very dense and sticky guava frosting on top of an almond cupcake. I'm a huge fan of fruit in my pastries, so loved the guava overload.Mandoquat Mantecada: More like a muffin than a cupcake. A bit bland by itself, but pairs well with coffee. Enjoyed the candied citrus on top, but kinda wish there were more candied pieces baked into it.Frangipane & Pear Ocho: This is really fun. Not only do you get pear slices baked on top, but underneath the pear slices are delicious pools of almond cream. Really livens up all the rest of the pastry!Ojo de Buey: This had fun dueling textures. The outer ring was dry and crusty and flaky. The inner cake was moist and fluffy and had a nice orange peel aroma going on. More pastries should come with multiple distinct textures!Choconilla Concha: A bit dry by itself, both the interior pastry and the caked on flavored sugar. But when paired with warm coffee, it's actually quite magical.Passionfruit Garibaldi: A lot like the white guava garibaldi, but with passionfruit jam on top. Now I saw the passionfruit seeds, but it actually tasted a lot like pink guava too. Maybe a mixture?

Love, love, love the yummy treats that are collected for Norte 54 with the granola being a part of my daily breakfast routine. You'll be hard pressed to find fault with any of the products that are offered. Cookies and pastries are simply amazing and during the holidays these gems of culinary goodness garnered more than a few compliments.Highly recommend.

Another new entry to the Ferry Farmers Market for Tuesdays. They were listed in CUESA's weekly email that they were joining the market roster last week. I didn't see them Saturday so, in seeing them last Tuesday, it was a no brainer stopping here. Their self description of their offerings is modern Mexican baked goods.There is quite a variety of choices so it was a bit difficult to decide what to get. Soooo, why not get one of each!Proving the Chinese adage about our eyes being bigger than our stomachs, I wisely didn't try to eat them all in one time.That night, I started with the polvorones (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=y3vrUe4wbCWwfNvIaa4nVA&userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q), basically a shortbread cookie; it was buttery but perfect sweetness wise. The next morning, I tried the corbata (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=HoVj9RZ6BGWR0V-UvBLcSQ&userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q); the texture was interesting with a slightly chewy skin and airy inside, again perfect sweetness wise. Later that evening, I saved room for dessert and tried the Garibaldi de quince & cranberry (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=4RhKd8vj1HmpFicWEcy4LA&userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q); this one was different in being the only fruit flavored one. The slightly tart jam on top was a nice change of pace with the cake bottom. It rolled off my backseat so some of the quince stuck to the inside of the bag. The next morning, I tried the vanilla concha (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=pz9sFcIQVmC_XNj1sV-wHg&userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q) which was the most interesting visually and taste wise; my first bite reminded me of the Chinese pineapple bun with the crumbly top and the airy bottom. After lunch, I dug into one of theabueta chocolate chip (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=4F6V-vwOBan3W1kAjdWDPw&userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q), basically a multi ingredient cookie; I'm guessing that there was some fried fruit and oatmeal in it but I'll need to ask on my next visit. The granola was gluten free so I bought a bag for my friend who I haven't spoken with yet.Another new business gives me an opportunity to try something different and leaving me less sugar guilty... though not sure how eating five pastries in four days is healthy. I'm sure the four items lost some freshness in my quest not to overindulge. I suggest eating them in a shorter time span to better enjoy them as presented.

Absolutely everything I've tried from Norte 54 has been delicious. All the ingredients are super fresh and the pastries are balanced and not too sweet. They feature a lot of things that I've never seen before, or are updated twists on classic Mexican pastries. Highly recommend.