Flour Bakery South End

Working my way through the various bakeries that folks recommended a while back.

Have hit the Flour bakery in the South End a couple of times recently.

Had their Boston Cream and Dacquoise. Both were very good, but not quite worth a specific trip.

In all fairness, everything there seems fresh, well made, and tasty.

If I lived nearby I would probably be a regular, but neither item would be something I would have a craving for. Rosie's, Hi-Rise, and Modern would be my choice by a hair before I would make a specific trip to Flour.

Next on the list is Sel de La Terre.

[BoDubya]

Oooof - I just paid $7.61 for an ice coffee and a ham and chesse pocket at Flour. The friggin' South End is killing me. Are there any bargains anywhere in this part of town?

[ChickenBrocandZiti]

While there are many great things at Flour, the donut and sandwiches among them, I have recently added Flour to my banned until further notice list. A few sundays I waited 45 minutes for a roast beef sandwich! That was after waiting in the line to order it, 45 minutes plus for a cold sandwich just isn't worth it.
They have some serious efficiancy problems at the Washington St. location and until those problems are fixed I will not be returning, shame too as it is around the corner from home.

[pamplemouse]

I am also a huge fan of the BLT at Flour. The bacon is thick and smoky and the roasted plum tomatoes have a great flavor; so much better than those mealy watery slices that come on most of the sandwiches i've had recently..

[divinebella]

I recently have been going to Flour Bakery and tried a variety of their bakery items. I enjoy their bread the best. It is fresh and flavorful. The Raisin-Pecan Rolls are my favorite. See my site with photos and some more info my experience at http://divinebella.blogspot.com/2008/...

Someone said that Flour was hit or miss for them. I agree. I had a brioche that was very, very salty and extremely yeasty. Yuck. Another time I had a coffee cake that had a wonderful crumb, slightly bland with a hint of cinnamon. Closer to yum, yet... It may just be me, but I think a lot of the pastries there look haphazardly made. Lopsided, unevenly browned, deflated-looking. Unappetizing. I wouldn't make a special trip.

Haven't tried the sandwiches.

The sandwiches are generally excellent. Especially the BLT.

I just tried the BLT today and oh my! it was wonderful! The bread was substantial and chewy and I loved the light grilling. The bacon was so flavorful that it permeated every bite. The bacon was a little chewy for my taste, but the flavor was worth it. It had a good amount of very decent tomatoes, just a bit of baby lettuce and the right amount of mayonnaise. It was the best $5.95 I've spent on a sandwich that I can remember.

Seems like the general consensus jibed with my own experience at Flour.

By the by, the "Boston Cream" I had there was a pastry as was the Dacquoise. The BC was layers of white cake, pastry cream, and whipped cream with a chocolatey top. It was nice, but a bit plain.

Maybe us hounds should get together and open a Viennese/Parisian style pastry shop in Boston to soothe our own sweet toothes ;-).

Don't miss Sel de la Terre's Ham and Cheese Croissant - an interesting version, well worth the effort!

folks, i just have to say that this is one of my favorite morning stops. but like most other places, you just have to pick the right things. flour's 'sticky sticky buns' are outrageous and a definite reason for a drive into the city in the morning. plus, i've found that they make one of the best iced lattes i've had in the city. another great hit are their sandwiches. i had this melt-in-your-mouth breakfast sandwich a couple of sundays ago (they only serve breakfast sandwiches on sundays). although i haven't been . . . . . i hear their lunch sandwiches are very good.

had an excellent brioche there. Kind of overpriced tho, I thought.

"Have hit the Flour bakery in the South End .... Had their Boston Cream and Dacquoise. Both were very good, but not quite worth a specific trip."

Not sure what you mean by Boston Cream (?donut ?cake), but Flour does a fresh-cream & Jam-filled donut that's super light, nongreasy yet rich, and, IMHO, well worth making the trip for. I've not had anything like it (been meaning to try Butler's Colonial Donuts' version but haven't made it down there yet - maybe this winter).

Are you also trying baguettes, in addition to sweet pastries? I hear excellent things about the baguette at Flour.... through the grapevine. In fact, someone (you know who you are) used the word "profound" to describe it. Opinions?

yumyum
"sucky bread sucks"

Yeah, the more homestyle baked goods are where it's at I think. Plus the sandwiches looked amazing, must try soon.

just ate a delicious grilled/smoked ham w/ arugula carmelized onions and brie. amazing. i think their sandwiches are worthy! oh, it was pressed too! for dessert a waffle type sandwich cookie w/ delicious caramel in the middle and dusted w/ powdered sugar.

Flour is hit and miss for me. It's next door to my doctor's office, so I get there fairly often. (After you read this list, you'll probably assume I'm being treated for morbid obesity and/or uncontrolled diabetes. )

Most of their baked goods look better than they taste. The molasses clove cookies are too crumbly and bland. The vanilla pound cake was a slab of heavy, greasy white cake with no vanilla flavor. I didn't like the apple coffee cake much either.

The only yeast bread I've tried so far is the cranberry walnut loaf. It's dense and chewy with a thick crust. I think it might have rye flour in it as well as whole wheat. It's delicious, but $5 is a lot for a loaf of bread.

The sandwiches are indeed amazing. The BLT is just about perfect -- one time I had it they used purslane instead of lettuce, which sounds a little fussy and cheffy, but turns out to be inspired, because the purslane is a little lemony and more succulent than lettuce. It's great when they do it with lettuce too (I think they use purslane only when it's in season). The whole sandwich gets grilled/pressed, which does great things for that sandwich bread they make. Also had a chicken sandwich with, I think, avocado and jicama. (I think I posted about it back in April) Much more than the sum of its parts.