Pastel de Nata Throwdown is underway. Which bakery will come out on top?
FALL RIVER — Ready for a food fight — one that involves a quest to eat tons of sweet treats?
If so, you're in luck. The Pastel de Nata Throwdown kicked off this week, pitting bakeries in the sister cities of Fall River and New Bedford against each other in a battle to be crowned best nata maker.
The event is a collaboration between New Bedford Food Tours, Destination New Bedford, and Viva Fall River.
Throughout the month of February, local foodies are tasked with taste-testing Portuguese custard cups at nine participating bakeries.
Battle of the bakeries:Pastel de Nata Throwdown coming to New Bedford, Fall River
The ultimate mission, organizers say, is to help spread awareness of all the great bakeries, cafes, and markets both cities have to offer and help drum up business during the tourism off-season.
At each participating bakery and select locations, you will find a postcard to get stamped when you visit each new shop. In Fall River, cards will be available at the Viva Fall River Pop-Up Shop at 333 S Main St., City Hall, and the Fall River Public Library.
A trophy goes to the bakery with the top pastel de nata, and anyone who makes it to all bakeries and gets stamped can mail in their card for the chance to win a prize package that includes a New Bedford Food Tour ticket (valued at $80), a $50 gift card to the Viva Fall River Pop Up Shop, and a one-month membership from SouthCoast YMCA.
Voting will be available online at nbfoodtours.com/throwdown and via the mail-in postcard.
In Fall River, you can pop in at Barcelos Bakery (695 Bedford St.), Europa Pastries & Coffee Shop (65 Columbia St.), Leddy's Bakery (1481 S Main St.), Modern Bakery (351 Alden St.), Portugalia Marketplace (489 Bedford St.) and United Liberty (1173 Stafford Road).
In New Bedford, there's Goulart Square (413 Rivet St.), Economy Bakery (1685 Acushnet Ave.), and Sunrise Bakery (506 Bolton St.).
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An interactive Google map to each location can be found at www.nbfoodtours.com/throwdown.
You can also get a taste of what bakeries are dishing out at Viva Fall River Pop-Up Shop. On Feb. 15 they'll host a free Pasteis De Nata tasting event where guests can sample custard tarts from the Fall River shops vying for the nata crown. Find more information at https://www.vivafallriver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Pastel de Nata: Which Fall River, New Bedford bakery does it best?
