Coffee and Carb at San Francisco's La Boulange

I am introducing this new sub-series to Unorthodox Foodie called Coffee and Carb in celebration of those times when we travel for work and are outside our regular regimen and on the hunt for a good strong cup and a carb-laden treat to jump start a long and unfamiliar day. I am one of those people who MUST have a cup of coffee in the morning before I am revived from zombie status to living human but I usually drink it with my mother as we watch the morning news and smack about the paper's morning content. I hardly ever eat carbs but if I do it's for breakfast, and I am one of those people who has to watch my carbs so much that I don't normally waste a dive into carb heaven unless it's something special. When I am out of town, I change. My morning ritual becomes all about finding the new caffeine shack and eating something that smacks of homemade and slow food. This recent week in San Francisco I discovered La Boulange and fell in love. Not only is the coffee cheap and loaded with jolt, the glass counters are filled daily with pastry and frittata-esque tarts and criossants laden with whatever luscious fruits, vegetables and herbs are currently in season. The latest object of my desire was this root vegetable tart that was simply the most sinful vegetable breakfast I have had: flakiest, softest phyllo dough crust smeared with a subtle ricotta cheese spread and laden with chunks of perfectly cooked carrots and turnips and mild white onions which combined to make the definition of the word sweet. I am going to dream about this thing, I know it....massive cup of joe and this tart = only $5.00.