Tart and Tangy

    By Tricia on July 23rd, 2008

Tart’s Treats

Originally uploaded by tb222

While on my way to have some lunch at Pok Pok, I noticed that the spaces being remodeled around SE Division & 22nd had been finished, and there was a new sign hanging that said “Tart.” The only other part I saw while riding by was “Frozen Custard,” and having only eaten a piece of fruit for breakfast and starving, I vowed to stop in on my way back to work. And thank goodness I did.

You see, I love frozen desserts. Of ANY kind. And their custard is damn good. The owner promptly brought out samples of all of their flavors (chocolate & vanilla custard, plus green tea and “tart” fro-yo), and what a great hostess she was. She told us that she went to NYC a year ago, and had frozen custard every single day she was there, then came back to Portland missing it. A few scribbles on a notepad later, and here she is.

I was undecided on a flavor/topping combo, so she suggested Tart with shredded coconut, blackberries and a squeeze of honey. Yum!

I can see this will be a place I frequent often.

OurPDX Network

Food • Hottest cool treat? It isn’t ice cream

There’s nothing similarly proclaimed about the health benefits of the frozen yogurt at Tart (2128 S.E. Division St., 503-233-4333, but it certainly tastes healthy. Co-owner Ryan Spencer says it’s her favorite.

“The nonfat frozen yogurt is totally a home run with moms,” she says, “it’s super-refreshing on these hot days.” It doesn’t have the peculiar, tongue-coating viscosity associated with many soft-serve desserts. Plain, it’s simple and tangy. Spencer prefers to sweeten it up with honey and berries from her many tubs of yogurt toppings.

Spencer, who opened Tart on June 15 with her husband, artist Stuart Spencer, also is part owner of the breakfast and lunch diner Juniors (1742 S.E. 12th Ave.). While she’s little involved with the day-to-day operations there, she says, “it made me realize that I wanted a little place of my own. It was really fun being there with all the people.”

She started thinking about what might work. “I have a notorious sweet tooth so I really wanted a treat shop,” she says. A trip to New York introduced her to frozen custard, which she offers at Tart along with the yogurt. “It’s really popular with kids and dads,” she says, of the creamy, sweet and rich soft-serve.

So far the custard has been the biggest challenge to prepare. “It’s like hollandaise sauce. It will separate if you don’t get it right,” she says. It’s been perfect every time I’ve tried it.

The shop, located just off the seven-cornered heart of the Southeast neighborhood, reflects the Spencers’ devotion to the area. They’ve lived nearby for 15 years, now with their children, ages 6, 7 and 8. “I’m just making the place that I wanted to walk to with my kids,” Spencer says.

When the weather cools, Spencer plans to add high-end hot chocolates: Aztec with cinnamon and chile; white chocolate with lemon and lavender; and the Parisian, truly decadent hot chocolate.

Try the yogurt or custard Saturday, July 26, during the Division/Clinton Street Fair and children will have the opportunity to paint their hand prints on the walls.

Noon to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Tart Website

Portland Tribune

Openings, closings and dishy gossip

HOLY CUSTARD: Coincidentally, husband-and-wife team Stuart and Ryan Spencer plan on opening Tart , a frozen-custard and yogurt shop in the same Southeast 21st Avenue and Division Street building that will house new wine cafe Avignon (the prior home to ousted Red & Black Cafe). The Spencers are planning to open the kid-friendly space in late April, making white and Mexican hot chocolate for the wee ones as well as ground-to-order Stumptown coffee on their fancy Clover machine. Ryan Stewart—a part-owner of nearby Junior’s Cafe—says the rich, velvety custard will be available in traditional chocolate and vanilla flavors. Nonfat yogurt will also be served, but over here at WW, we’re stoked to find someone’s looking away from the nonfat-yogurt craze, even if only slightly. Diet schmiet. Because everybody knows fat equals fabulous flavor, baby.

Wweek

Tart Website

REVIEW: Tart and Two Tarts - New PDX Sweets Boutiques on the Ascendant

October 28th, 2008 at 10:08 am by Stephen Marc Beaudoin

Portland Mercury

What was life like before the immaculate fleur de sel chocolate chip cookie, or the fresh pumpkin frozen yogurt with a dark chocolate dipped honey graham? I’m having a hard time recalling…

The sugar-induced haze I’ve been in since Sunday is all thanks to the efforts of two new-ish sweet shops in Portland, straddling both sides of the Willamette: Northwest 23rd’s boutique cookie bakery, Two Tarts, and Southeast Division’s frozen custard and yogurt heaven, Tart.

Start with the soft-serve frozen treats at Tart, in their lovely storefront home at SE Division and 22nd. A highlight among their frozen yogurt choices is the lip-pucker tangy “tart” ($3.00 for 6 ounces), but their seasonal pumpkin flavor (available through November) is the real scene-stealer. Add a dark chocolate dipped honey graham from - wouldn’t you know it? - Two Tarts bakery for a buck more and spoon up some nummy autumn comfort sweetness.

Two Tarts has long been the darling of the Portland indie bakery scene, making big waves from a tiny outpost at the Saturday Market and appearances on stores and menus across the area. Their new digs just off NW 23rd are the company’s first effort at a storefront presence.

The charm of Two Tarts is two-fold: the size of the cookie (about two bites, natch) and the inventive flavor combinations (explosive). Of the six cookie types I tried on repeat visits, my favorites were the incredibly rich not-so-thin mint bar; the near-famous fleur de sel chocolate chip cookie, with a dusting of crunchy fleur de sel salt atop a chip-loaded cookie; and the exquisite cappuccino cream (there they are, in the photo above right), a burst of cinnamon buttercream between two firm but not tough espresso shortbreads, which just knocks it out of the park. Arguably the best part of Two Tarts? - the price. Each flavor-shot cookie only sets you back 75 cents if you buy directly from the store. Sweet.

Tart, 2128 SE Division, is open Mon-Thurs, 3-9 pm; Fri-Sat, 12-10 pm; Sun 12-9 pm; 503-233-4333. Two Tarts, 2309 NW Kearney, is open Tues-Sat, 11 am-7 pm; Sun 12-5 pm;503-312-9522

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