Outsider Tart

Wide leafy roads. Delicatessens. Hazy afternoon sun. Yummy mummys guarding their Mamas and Papas pram whilst indulging in skinny lattes and artisan croissants. It can only be Chiswick. Those who have been to Chiswick will know how appealing it's peaceful streets can be. Filled with quality shops, restaurants and a few good old gastropubs, Chiswick mixes London style perfectly with suburban heaven. Of course, you have to be disgustingly wealthy to have a nice house here, unless you fancy renting a pool-house cupboard for your entire months salary. 

That doesn't stop me dreamily wandering it's streets and staring through windows at things that I will never be able to afford. But food is a necessary expense. At all times. Let me introduce you to one such necessity. Outsider Tart is run by a couple of New Yorkers, living the Chiswick dream, and sharing the American love for a great piece of cake. Their menu never ceases to confound and amaze me. From brownies to cookies to the up and coming trend of whoopie pies, if you need an excuse to sit down for a brew then look no further.

We first discovered Outsider Tart at an international Southbank Food Festival. My eyes meeting with a delectable selection of brownies and whoopie pies across the crowded courtyard, there was no way I couldn't just have a look. Despite having sampled many of the great food on offer already, including a huge piece of Apple Strudel, a Maker's Mark brownie had found it's way into my hands for later and a whoopie pie had made it's way into Robs hands for immediate consumption. I've only previous tried supermarket whoopies, but this had no contention. The beautiful chocolate sponge with the marshmallow centre melted in my mouth and made me want to raid the rest of their stall. I needed all of the whoopies. 

I'm of the opinion that no brownie at all is better than an average brownie, and I have been questing to find that moment of brownie heaven for quite some time now. I like my brownies squidgy and rich with a crumbly outside and the closest I've come to that, surprisingly, is Pret's chocolate brownie. But that all changed the moment the Outsider Tart brownie hit my belly. I was in brownie heaven. Four times the size of the meagre Pret brownie, this was fudgy, crumbly and sickenenly good. I tried to savour it, I really did, but it was gone in a matter of minutes. I'm also a big bourbon fan, so the additional Makers Mark flavouring made it all the better.

Since that day, Rob and I had been obsessing of their website and the sweet memory of those treats. But last weekend, I finally had an excuse to visit the place itself! I could not contain my excitement. After a stroll and a bit of book shopping, we finally arrived at our tasty destination for the true American experience. Another great factor of Outsider Tart is their huge selection of teas. As a tea freak, I had serious trouble in deciding what to have. I settled on a Teapigs chilli chai whilst Rob went for a cream soda (of which there were 3 varieties to choose from!). The shop is full of US goodies, stocking a huge variety of peanut butters and other treats. 

There were so many delicious looking cakes to choose from. I opted for the Mile High Bar. Is it a brownie, is it a cake, is it a cookie? I have no idea, but it tasted beautiful. Chewy cranberrys, fudgy chocolate and crunchy biscuit made this an explosion of textures and flavours - a joy to eat. Rob sampled what appeared to be an oatmeal whoopie, although I couldn't tell you for sure. Full of dried fruits and nuts, his treat felt as though you were eating something remotely healthy. Balanced with the creamy centre, getting your mouth around this was an exciting feat. Our only problem this time was finishing our treats. We had to take a doggy bag home, although I think we managed to get about 10 minutes down the road before I was snuffling for the bag again.