Best SF Bay breakfasts?

[alexhills]

the food at boogaloos, on 22nd and valencia is fine to good-ish I think, nothing amazing, but watching the seas of hipsters wearing their $200 charity store designer trucker caps is hilarious.

[ludja]

Where do you go besides Tartine for croissants/pain au chocolat?

Bay Bread Boulangerie on Pine St at Fillmore. Excellent French pastries, bread and cookies

[JAZ]

Where do you go besides Tartine for croissants/pain au chocolat?

If you're in the Glen Park area, stop by Destinations, on Chenery at Castro. They make incredible cinnamon rolls and really good individual tarts, too.

[JAZ]

I'm crushed. I was going to write, "What, no mention of Sears?"

Then I did a search to find the address and came across this. 

I am truly crushed. This was our mecca everytime we came down for a visit.

Uncrush yourself.

Good news for Sears fans

I just talked to the new chef there (who happens to be a friend of mine); they're planning to do some test runs in early August (when, of course, I will be out of town and unable to act as guinea pig). Assuming all goes well, they'll be open mid- August.

[chezcherie]

Where do you go besides Tartine for croissants/pain au chocolat?

Bay Bread Boulangerie on Pine St at Fillmore. Excellent French pastries, bread and cookies

ludja, you make me weep. will be up there so briefly this weekend, and won't have a moment to head over for a croque monsieur, let alone a macaron. *sob*

[juniper_joyce]

Where do you go besides Tartine for croissants/pain au chocolat?

Bay Bread Boulangerie on Pine St at Fillmore. Excellent French pastries, bread and cookies

Bay Bread is great, and there is a larger one where you can sit and read the paper, eat a pastry and watch the world go by.

Boulangerie de Polk

2310 Polk Street (at Green)

San Francisco

Not a destination place, but if you are in the Sunset District I really like Art's Cafe. It's a counter restaurant that is pretty small and inexpensive. I enjoy their hashbrowns (though by no means am a good judge of the ultimate hashbrowns -- his seem to be very good to my taste), and often call in and order a english muffin sandwich with ham, cheese, and egg.

Art's Cafe

747 Irving St. (at 9th)

San Francisco

(415) 665-7440

My ultimate SF favorite is Desiree Cafe in the Presidio. It's in the San Francisco Film Center building, and is just really spot-on with it's execution of local flavors. Though this place has a casual feel, there is nothing casual about the breakfast preparation there -- small menu with eggs dishes, granola, breakfast pastries. I actually just wrote a piece about this place in my blog (I am fairly new here, so if there is something improper about linking to my blog please let me know!). Desiree Cafe

Desiree Cafe

in the San Francisco Film Centre, Presidio

39 Mesa Street

San Francisco

(415) 561-2336

PLEASE NOTE: LIMITED HOURS - 8-4 MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

[Squeat Mungry]

Great review, Juniper, thanks! I had totally forgotten that that was what Annie Gingrass was doing these days. I've got to get out there, but it's difficult to get anywhere in the Presidio if you don't drive. Sounds like it might be worth the cab fare, though.

And welcome to eGullet! From what I can tell it's entirely appropriate to link to your blog. Many folks have such links in their sig lines.

Cheers,

Squeat

[Squeat Mungry]

and tartine has wonderful bakery goods, in the croissant vein. its on the corner of 18th and is it valencia?

Close. It's 18th/Guerrero, and I second the recommendation.

I really enjoyed Tartine when I was there a couple of weeks ago, although their croissants were a little on the burnt side. Seems like a common problem in this area.

Tartine: A Cautionary Tale for the Very Stupid

Imagine for a moment that you are as stupid as I am. Even though you are very, very stupid, you are looking forward to spending the day with your old friend at her house in the Mission. Talk has been had of BLT's for lunch. There will be good bacon from the butcher, and just-picked tomatoes from your friend's father's garden. It occurs to your extremely feeble brain that, since Tartine is on the way, and you have never tried their highly-praised country bread, it might actually be worth standing in what you know will be a very long line to pick up a loaf to enjoy with the tomatoes and bacon. You don't mind. You have your book. You join the queue that is out the door and around the corner.

As you wait, you occasionally gaze up from your book to muse upon the sea of twenty-something wannabe hipsters from the Valencia corridor that surrounds you. You ponder the fact that those twenty-something wannabe hipsters from the Valencia corridor who are not waiting in this line are waiting in the equally ridiculous line at Boogaloo's. As you ponder, your eyes wander over to the sign in the window which, in very small print, after listing the tantalizing treats available for brunch, presents the announcement "Bread: Out of the Ovens -- 3:30 pm". Because you are an idiot, you find this announcement vague and puzzling and are not sure of its meaning, but you don't give it much thought. Because you are an imbecile and have double-checked Tartine's website to ascertain that bread is indeed available on Sundays (since you have heard it is not available every day) it does not occur to you that to anyone less stupid than you the crystal clear meaning of this announcement is "OUR BREAD IS NOT AVAILABLE BEFORE 3:30 PM ON ANY OF THE DAYS THAT WE BOTHER TO BAKE IT".

Because of the profundity of your mental deficiency, it has never occurred to you that a bread bakery would not have bread available on a weekend morning when their website has assured you of the availability of bread on that weekend day and MADE NO MENTION of the fact that it is NOT AVAILABLE UNTIL 3:30 IN THE AFTERNOON. (Later, your friend will tell you that she has read that several bakeries have either adopted this policy or are considering it because people find it more convenient to buy bread after work than before. You have never heard of this, but even your imbecilic mind can understand this as a weekday policy, but because you are so very, very, very stupid you still cannot understand why this would be the case on weekends.)

So, with the infinite patience that accompanies complete boobery, you have now stood on line for 30 minutes to be informed that there is of course no bread available. It is available at 3:30 on Sundays, and Saturdays as well, because who the hell would want freshly-baked bread on a weekend morning? What moron would expect a bakery to have such a thing? In fact, had you been even slightly less stupid, you may have forced your way around the line and marched up to squint at the small sign by the cash register where it clearly STATES that the bread is not AVAILABLE until 3:30 pm. They even use the word "AVAILABLE" on this sign near the cash register at the END of the very long line! Although the phrase "Out of the Ovens" on the sign in the window clearly conveys the same thing, at least to those of average mental ability.

Because of the paucity of your mental acumen, you decide to at least get a croissant and a cup of coffee to go, so the half-hour will not have been a total waste. Again because you are an idiot you find it hard to figure out why the policy is to give those who purchase pastry and also want coffee (there is a separate line for coffee only) an empty cup at the cash register, requiring them to cut back through the pastry-waiting line not once but twice: once to wait in yet another line to fill their cup and once again to exit the bakery. You give up. You finally leave knowing that you do not have what it takes brainwise to shop at Tartine. You will stick with Acme, who for some unknown reason have fresh bread available in the mornings, even on weekends! Acme: the Bread of Morons!!

On your way to your friends house at last, you discover that your croissant is BURNT ON THE BOTTOM AND DOUGHY IN THE MIDDLE. Idiot.

Moral: Beware. An experience like this can totally ruin part of a weekend morning for the very stupid.

Cheers,

Squeat

[ludja]

Sorry for your ordeal Squeat (but--if Acme is what you have to "settle" for; it's not all bad... ). Picked up a loaf of their buckwheat raisin for the first time yesterday at the Ferry Building and it is great for breakfast!

Also; after a fun excursion thru the market in the early am, we headed over to Red's Java House (on the Embarcadero) for the first time. We had some great home made corned beef hash with two eggs over easy and coffee. Very fun and relaxing.

[tanabutler]

Oh, Squeat, you made me laugh. Sorry for your pain. You are hilarious, even if you are so stupid that, if brains were made of cotton, you wouldn't have enough to make a Tampax for an ant.

[jschyun]

Tartine: A Cautionary Tale for the Very Stupid

Squeat is being modest. Obviously, the bakery owners are the idiots, not him. What a crazy world we live in.

My theory is that in the Mission, the bakers are too tired from a night of poetry reading, or maybe rallying for some cause. Therefore, it stands to reason that they have manufactured a story so that they don't have to get up early in the morning and knead bread...or something.

--edited to clean up quote

Edited August 2, 2004 by jschyun (log)

[Squeat Mungry]

Thanks for the sympathies, everyone -- and for letting me vent! I did feel really dumb, though.

Squeat

[pim]

Bravo Squeat!

This is hilarious. Fellow denizens of the cubeland I inhabit are now wondering what could have amused me so on a Monday afternoon.

You made my day, my dear Squeat.

Back on the subject of Tartine's croissants. The Melkors will remember my usual complaint about how Tartine murders their croissants in the oven. They are almost always over-baked to the point of being burnt, sometimes to a crisp.

I will never understand why croissants around here are so overbaked. It's not only Tartine that is guilty, even my favorite, Citizen Cake, more often than not, is guilty of that as well.

What is so hard about getting them croissants out of the oven like 3-4 minutes earlier?

Edited August 2, 2004 by pim (log)

[Squeat Mungry]

Also; after a fun excursion thru the market in the early am, we headed over to Red's Java House (on the Embarcadero) for the first time.  We had some great home made corned beef hash with two eggs over easy and coffee.  Very fun and relaxing.

Yeah, Red's is great fun. Been there for practically ever, and while breakfast there is just dandy, ya gotta go back sometime for a burger and a beer for the true Red's Java House experience!

Squeat

[Squeat Mungry]

Bravo Squeat!

This is hilarious.  Fellow denizens of the cubeland I inhabit are now wondering what could have amused me so on a Monday afternoon.

You made my day, my dear Squeat.

Glad to give you a chuckle, Pim! I just wanted to add that, once I had thrown the offending croissant away, the day took a decided turn for the better, and the BLT's were awesome on the sourdough bread at my friend's house! (The lettuce was fantastic, too, plucked a la minute from her garden.)

Squeat

[tanabutler]

I hope someone sends a heads up (hint: info@tartinebakery.com) to the bakery. They need to read that. Better yet, someone should print it and distribute it to Acme and other bakeries for display.

Good thing Squeat uses an alias.

[pim]

I hope someone sends a heads up (hint: info@tartinebakery.com) to the bakery.

I complain bitterly every time I am there. Plus, I always ask them to search the pile for the lightest one possible for me. Sadly I don't think they care.

And it's really sad because the croissants there can be delicious. They've got it mostly right but for the over-baking issue.

When I was in Manhattan two weeks ago, I had a wonderful croissant at Fauchon. Light, buttery, and blonde, not brunette.

[shocker]

from what i understand the theory behind tartine's late day bake-off is that if, like 98.7% of other bakeries, the bread is produced at the crack of dawn by the time din-din rolls around said bread is practically stale.

me, i'd rather stroll in at 3:45 in the afternoon and pick up a still-hot loaf to relish with my evening comestibles.

plus, i know if i were a baker not only would this approach set me apart from my peers, i would have the added benefit of working a 'normal' workday.

any others not rubbed the wrong way by this approach?

on the hipster tip, i get much more of a moneyed SUV owner and/or mousy foodie vibe from tartine's crowd than the one that populates boogaloo's.

Edited August 2, 2004 by shocker (log)

[Squeat Mungry]

me, i'd rather stroll in at 3:45 in the afternoon and pick up a still-hot loaf to relish with my evening comestibles.

plus, i know if i were a baker not only would this approach set me apart from my peers, i would have the added benefit of working a 'normal' workday.

any others not rubbed the wrong way by this approach?

For the record, I am not necessarily "rubbed the wrong way" by the approach, I just would have liked to have known about it before I spent 30 minutes in line waiting for non-existant bread. The only sign I saw visible from the outside was the very inconspicuous "Out of the Oven -- 3:30" one which I guess I had trouble interpreting correctly before my morning coffee. For all I know I really am the only one stupid and inobservant enough to have made this mistake. Their website makes it clear that there is no bread on Monday or Tuesday -- it does not mention what time bread becomes available on the other days.

Anyway, now I know. If I want fresh bread in the morning, I will go to Acme. If I want fresh bread at 3:30 pm, I may go back to Tartine. For what it's worth, aside from that croissant, I've never had anything from Tartine that I didn't think was absolutely top quality.

Cheers,

Squeat

[jschyun]

Anyway, now I know. If I want fresh bread in the morning, I will go to Acme. If I want fresh bread at 3:30 pm, I may go back to Tartine. For what it's worth, aside from that croissant, I've never had anything from Tartine that I didn't think was absolutely top quality.

So I guess this is a good thing then. We now know where to get fresh bread morning and afternoon. (Taking notes)

[shocker]

i second the accolades for Desiree. it's my favorite breakfast spot in the city, too. best on off-hours like between 9:30 and 10:30 after the office drones have made their way to their desks.

and, Squeat, you can save money on cab fare cuz it's wicked easy to get to by muni. the 43 Masonic goes all the way up through the Presidio. disembark as it rounds the corner off Lincoln. Desiree's just a 5-10 minute walk from there.

they've also recently added wine and cheese hours from 4-7 thursdays and fridays, if memory serves.

[Squeat Mungry]

i second the accolades for Desiree. it's my favorite breakfast spot in the city, too. best on off-hours like between 9:30 and 10:30 after the office drones have made their way to their desks.

and, Squeat, you can save money on cab fare cuz it's wicked easy to get to by muni. the 43 Masonic goes all the way up through the Presidio. disembark as it rounds the corner off Lincoln. Desiree's just a 5-10 minute walk from there.

shocker, this is good news. Thanks! Now if I can only finagle a weekday morning to get over there...

Squeat

Edit: Most sentences require subjects.

Edited August 3, 2004 by Squeat Mungry (log)

[shocker]

one extra bread@tartine note: it's always a good idea to call ahead to reserve some. that way you can stroll in and not be worried about them running out. which happens. a lot.

or best of all, come in the morning (or the day before) and pre pay. then you can bypass the line and scoop up your reserved loaf.

tricks of the trade.

[megc]

I also had many lovely breakfasts at La Note. My goodbye lunch from my old job was there out back in the garden. Very, very nice. What is in the place of the Jazz School now?

My favorite breakfast, though, is at the Homemade Cafe on Sacramento @ Dwight in Berkeley. Consistenly great food with terrific coffee. Their coffee cakes are excellent. I used to live a block away, and I often miss being able to eat there on a regular basis. When I come back to the Bay Area, I make a point of having breakfast there.

Westside Bakery Cafe (Berkeley) on 9th near Hollis is also good. It's an especially good place for large groups. I organized many a breakfast there for 10-15 people. I love their omelettes. They are across the street from esteemed harpsichord builder John Phillips, which is a plus for me.

In SF, the brunch at Greens is fantastic. I love everything I've ever had there. Beautiful views, too.

Officially homesick,

Meg

[lalala]

I'm a big fan of cafe 817 next to Rattos in Oakland (washington st?). We plan our trips around the Oakland Friday market and poached eggs and hobbs bacon at cafe 817.

I also like Cafe Fanny. I have no idea why other than they make some killer soups and beignets. It can be a bear to get a table and the location leaves something to be desired on the ambience meter, but it suits us just fine.

lalala