A Saturday afternoon lunch date with my girlfriend led us to Lesly Bernard's latest venture, The Village Tart- a bakery, cafe, and wine bar. Acclaimed pastry master Pichet Ong, who recently opened the dessert bar "Spot", is The Village Tart's consulting chef and, according to its website, is "responsible for developing the overall culinary experience of the restaurant." The Village Tart's somewhat limited bakery menu was unveiled earlier this week while its café menu is set to debut February 1.
After watching two seemingly confused workers struggle to help the three people ahead of us (everything on the bakery's current menu is pre-made and is either put into an oven or directly onto a plate- so I hope this, and the fact that I was given the wrong change twice, was a result of opening week jitters), my friend and I ordered two pizzetas and sat in the adjacent café where the marble topped tables and sweetheart chairs flooded me with memories of my favorite hometown ice cream parlor. Although the pumpkin ricotta pizzeta (topped with pumpkin puree, generous dollops of ricotta, grated parmesan, tiny pieces of asparagus, and white beans) was a tad too dry, its crust was superb- salty with a hint of fresh rosemary. I skipped the bacon onion jam pizzeta (spread with béchamel, thinly sliced scallions, crumbles of bacon, and caramelized onions), but my friend gave it rave reviews saying it was the perfect combination of salty and sweet.
On our way out we picked up a Valhrona triple chocolate chip cookie (it ranks as one of the most outstanding oversized cookies I have ever tasted) and a tangy meyer lemon tart (speckled with vanilla beans and topped with a bruleed marshmallow crème). I am looking forward to making a return visit to The Village Tart when its full menu is available, but hope the behind-the-counter kinks will be worked out before Feb 1.
The café's full menu (much more lunch friendly than the bakery menu) will become available Feb. 1
Pumpkin ricotta pizzeta - needs something to help its dryness
Bacon onion jam pizzeta - I decided to skip this and avoid a Saturday afternoon of onion breath
The Valhrona triple chocolate chip cookie was crunchy and chewy at the same time
The state of the meyer lemon tart when I opened the box at home- apparently it didn't set long enough
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