Eat Your Tart Out @ Smooch Tartshop

When I asked my Aunt what flavor birthday treat (cupcake) she wanted for her birthday and when she said lemon I thought I'd be hard pressed to find a lemon anything in September. I warned her that lemon is more of a Springtime and Summertime flavor...luckily chocolate was her second choice because that flavor is year round. I was super excited to see that Susie Cakes has lemon cupcakes on their menu but low and behold, when I got to the sidewalk outside of the store (yay COVID times!) lemon cupcakes were not on the limited COVID menu (yay COVID times!). So I got her one of their flourless chocolate cupcakes and she loved it (flourless chocolate cake is the best kind of chocolate cake). 

Smooth Tartshop @ The San Francisco Ferry Building 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The very next day after getting tested for COVID (again) I decided to walk through the Ferry Building on my way home to see if there were any treats that tickled my fancy because that shit is stressful (yay COVID times!). I had to stop at Smooch Tartshop because: 1) it was open and 2) tarts!

Lemon Ginger Meringue from Smooch Tartshop 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The two gentleman behind the counter were very friendly and helpful. They had on matching masks with Smooch tarts all over them, really cute, COVID compliant, low-key marketing! One of them started telling me about the tarts which were all on display in a little case. As I looked at all the mini tarts on display as he went into detail but I knew which tart I wanted right away. The one that most resembled a cupcake, naturally. As my luck would have it, that was the Lemon Ginger Meringue. LEMON! 

Each tart is $6.50 or there's a sample pack that comes with 4 bite-sized mini tarts for $10. I was very tempted to go with the 4 pack so that I could try more flavors, but I stuck to my guns. The tart fit perfectly into the individually sized box they put it in and sealed it with a smooch sticker. 

Tart to-go from Smooch Tartshop
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The lightly toasted meringue was still picture perfect by the time I got back home and I let it sit out over night to enjoy it in the morning with a cup of coffee. 

Lemon Ginger Meringue from Smooch Tartshop 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

 

It only felt appropriate to eat the tart by cutting little bite sized slices of it rather than take bites out of it, so that's what I did. I was a little worried that keeping it out over night might have ruined the consistency but the lemon curd was nice and thick as I sliced through it, the meringue hadn't melted and the crust didn't crumble one bit. 

The lemon curd filling is everything you would want from a lemon curd filling, it's tartness hitting that tingly spot right behind your ears. The lemon overpowered the ginger, or maybe the ginger enhanced the lemon, either way I didn't taste any of the ginger kick but it was still delicious!

Lemon Ginger Meringue from Smooch Tartshop 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

In my brain meringue is made of marshmallows: it's fluffy, white and made out of sugar but meringue is not made of marshmallows. Even as I cut through it, I was worried it'd stick to the knife but it's not a tacky texture, it's a whipped one. As I sliced through it mess-free, I was surprised to see that the filling stuck to the knife more than the meringue on top of it did. It was light and sweet: the perfect counterpart to the rich lemon curd filling, it's sweetness waltzing with the sour as they melted together in my mouth. 

While all three components of the tart had a noticeable freshness, the crust took the cake. It wasn't flakey or crumbly or dry, even after leaving it out over night! It's buttery goodness made me wish there was more of it, it was quite delectable.

Lemon Meringue Tart from Smooth Tartshop 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

By itself, the lemon curd filling isn't rich but paired this with the sweet meringue and buttery crust, the whole mini tart in one sitting was almost too much, even for me. 

Almost. 

Treat yourself to a tart from Smooch Tartshop at the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero in San Francisco on Saturdays starting at 9am until supplies run out. They're also open for pick-up and delivery. All of their tarts are vegetarian and they offer some gluten-free options with custom orders, too. Organic ingredients are used as much as possible which is a quality you can really taste.

 

Now you know where to go for your lemony treats Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall!

                                                            

Remembering The Uptown Night Club in Oakland

Two weeks ago the announcement came that The Uptown Night Club in Oakland was closing for good. Like all other live music venues, the Uptown, which is located across the street from The Fox Theater on Telegraph Avenue, closed in March due to the novel Corona virus and it's ensuing pandemic. On September 4th the owners made the announcement the nightclub's website that it would not be reopening. Siting the fact that there's "no date in sight when live entertainment will be safe" and the cost of rent, in addition to other expenses, with no income now or in the foreseeable future, the sad decision was made. 

The Uptown Nightclub marquee 

In the 15 years since it opened in 2005 I didn't see many shows at The Uptown. I always saw flyers and posters in their windows for upcoming shows when I was en-route to usher a show at The Fox. I missed when Oakland natives Green Day played there in 2009/2010. I wasn't there for  Oakland Raiders fan Ice Cube either, that day had to have been a good day. Though I missed those two, huge acts at the 300 max capacity night club in downtown Oakland (which is referred to as Uptown not down town) I did see a couple of small shows by bands who would go on to be big.

I was there for two separate private performances from Alabama Shakes and Tame Impala. The year was 2013: Tame was really starting to make a splash with their smash hit single "Elephant" off of 2012's Lonerism while new kids on the block Alabama Shakes were already shaking things up right out the gates with their debut single "Hold On". This was before each band would go on to play sold-out tours and spend Summers playing festival circuits (Tame Impala would go on to headline Coachella in 2019 and was slated to headline Outside Lands in 2020). 

Alabama Shakes @ The Uptown Nightclub 2013
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Alabama Shakes @ The Uptown Nightclub 2013 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Both shows were hosted by then local radio station LIVE105 (now known as ALT 105.3).Both intimate shows were during the day but it was so dark in The Uptown, thanks to it's mahogany paneling, that you couldn't tell the difference from inside. Neither performance felt phoned in and I remember being blown away by Brittany Howard's voice and the fact that Kevin Parker was barefoot at a divey venue in Oakland. So, while I might not have seen too many shows at The Uptown, the two shows I did see there were special ones. 

The announcement of the permanent closure of this small yet beloved music venue is a hard hit because you can't help but wonder how many other venues will not be re-opening? There is no telling when live music can and will return even as things slowly start to re-open here in California and everywhere.This is a sad realization for fans and scary fact to facing all music industry workers, from stage hands to show runners and everyone in between who make shows (not just concerts) happen.

Tame Impala @ The Uptown Nightclub 2013
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Thank you for the memories Uptown nightclub, even if I don't have many myself I know that many others do. 

If you haven't and if you have, keep sending emails to your senators and representatives to save our stages.