I came across T55 while randomly scrolling through bakeries. We decided to drop by on a Sunday, and wow, I have to say this place is popular. We got there right when they opened and there was a line out the door and down the block. It took over 30 minutes to finally make it in and place our order. One of the workers was speeding up the process by taking drink orders in line and delivering them - any bit helps with the wait!
Black Truffle Goat Cheese Focaccia ($6.25) - The entire bakery smelled like truffle as we walked in and that enticed us to order this. I appreciate that they asked what type of slice I wanted - center, edge, or corner. I went with the edge. When I opened the box, I was surprised to see two pieces of focaccia - perhaps an order usually comes with two pieces? And then I reviewed my receipt, where I saw them charge for two pieces. Honest mistake I guess. At any rate, again, the smell of truffle filled the car as we drove home. We dug in as soon as we were able to unpack all the bread.
This focaccia is excellent. The crumb is light and airy, chewy without being dense. There's a nicely developed crust on the sides, giving a good crunch and fresh baked flavor, without becoming too oily. The toppings are superb - a couple of caramelized crumbles of goat cheese, pungent and goaty without being waterlogged, a bit of truffle oil, earthy with a different kind of pungency, and a sweet honey glaze. Given the strong truffle smell, at first I thought that it would completely over saturate the bread, not to mention the goat cheese also being overpowering! There are a lot of strong flavors here, but T55 adds everything in such perfect amounts that all the flavors meld together to create something very delicious rather than one flavor dominating everything else. The only thing I haven't mentioned yet is the bottom crust, which is a bit wan and soft, and holds in a more of the oil than is typical. That's really the only nitpick I have with this focaccia. Oh and that the entire house starts smelling like truffle, which does get tiring after a while! (4.5/5)
BBQ Chicken Khachapuri ($13.95) - I'm not a huge fan of BBQ chicken pizza, but this looked interesting enough to try. At first glance it looks almost like cross between a pizza and an okonomiyaki, being circular in shape with an almost indistinguishable cornicione and a pleasing brown and white zigzag drizzle on top. On first bite, there's a very strong bbq sauce flavor, sweet and tangy, only tempered a bit by what I assume is a kewpie mayo drizzle. There's a couple of inches of crust, topped by a bit of melted and solidified cheese, before the pastry transitions to a saucer/depression chock full of ingredients. There are a couple of pieces of chopped white meat chicken, some onion, a bit of a green cruciferous vegetable, which I thought was kale at first glance, but tastes more like collard greens, a lemony citrus element that I can only assume is lemon pulp or rind, and an egg, cooked until the white is still soft, and the yolk runny in some parts, jammy in others. The base dough, denser than the foccacia, holds up well to the wealth of ingredients and doesn't collapse. (4/5)
Pineapple Sable Breton Tart ($9.50) - Very interesting tart. First is a swiss meringue-ish cream attractively piped on top that tastes of caramel and cinnamon. Underneath is a pineapple marmalade - with the pineapple fibers not fully cooked down, leaving some texture. It's not too sweet, fruity, and honestly, combined with the cinnamon, almost is kind of like apple pie filling. The bottom is a buttery, crumbly shortcake crust that holds up well against the pineapple filling. (4.5/5)
Valrhona Triple Chocolate Chip Brioche ($6.95) - Woah, chocolate on top of chocolate. They don't add much sugar so it's barely sweet and doesn't cover or enhance the chocolate flavor in any way. I especially love the crunchy, toasty cocoa nibs on top. Inside there's an almost caramel-like (in texture not in taste) chocolate pudding/pastry cream. The brioche basically has no sugar added and has some small, solidified chocolate chunks embedded, making each bite a delight. It's not a traditional brioche texture, but works well. Thanks to the cocao nibs and the absence of sugar, a bit of bitterness plays in every bite. I was imagining a sweet treat when originally purchasing this pastry, but was delightfully surprised at the actual execution. (5/5)
I have to say I was very impressed with the pastries I bought. T55 has weekly menu changes, so that makes it interesting enough to come back for repeat visits!
Bathrooms - One unisex room read more