Breakfast of Champions

. . . and newly discovered parents-to-be

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Shortly after learning that news, Ray and I spent two days in the city as a mini-vacation. We walked the Embarcardero, visited the Ferry Building several times, and braved the crowds at the new California Academy of Sciences. We spent an evening (our second visit time) at Teatro Zinzanni, a spectacular evening of dinner theater with great food and entertainment. But my best food memory on our stay was breakfast the morning after.

Hello Tartine Bakery.

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This was early April, and at that time I was ill. I won't gross you out with the details, and many women have it much worse than I did. I was able to eat and avoid any unpleasant upchucking, but was kind of limited on what sounded appealing. The only time I didn't feel achingly nauseous was when I was shoveling food in my mouth. Combine that with a stomach for starchy carbs and I put on a good few pounds my first 12 weeks! No specific numbers here, since I'm hoping in years to come I will forget them. :-)

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This is not to say that I didn't enjoy our trip immensely; we had a great time despite my slow pace and finicky tummy. I had been wanting to visit Tartine for a while so I had it bookmarked for breakfast. We hopped on the BART train and walked the half dozen blocks to the teeny tiny cafe. I mean teeny tiny- we were very lucky to get a table after only a few minutes.

~:::~

Enough chattering, this post is really about the food porn that was our breakfast. I knew exactly what I wanted when we arrived, and I had a pretty good idea what Ray would like too. We both ordered cafe au lait of course, served in big bowls Parisian-style.

Glug glug glug :)

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My suspicions about Ray were confirmed: he ordered a crispy pain au chocolat, buttery and oozing with sweet milk chocolate.

Tartine is famous for their morning buns, but as I peered through the glass cafe of pastries my second choice called to me so strongly I couldn't resist: the frangipane croissant.

Buttery and flakey with a bit of frangipane (similar to almond paste, maybe a bit creamier) in the center, dusted with toasted almonds and powdered sugar.

Normally I'm very conscientious about what I eat for breakfast- I want it to be healthy for that fact alone but also because it's the meal that sets the tone for the rest of the day. But that day, #1 I was on vacation, and more importantly #2, I was pregnant and hungry.

I ate the whole thing.

And continue to dream of my next visit to Tartine Bakery to try their morning bun.

And another frangipane croissant.

~:::~