Let's Eat All the Desserts in San Francisco in One Big Fat Weekend!
____For the past decade, ____ I’ve been going to San Francisco to throw myself into the cult of perfect produce, world-class food, and trendsetting coffee. (I’ve heard the museums are good too, but I’ve never been.)
Many of these trips have begun—and ended—in line at Tartine Bakery. That line seems to have inspired today’s new generation of pastry chefs (or at least given them time to think): In the past year or so, bright young bakers from some of the Bay Area’s best restaurants have spun off to open sweet spots that are worth a long weekend to explore. Whether these cafés are refining—or reviving—a classic or creating something super-delicious and new, they’ve got even Parisians paying attention.
Here’s my all-butter, all-the-time tour de pâtisserie, with plenty of coffee stops thrown in for good measure—because, it turns out, the new roaster-driven coffee bars carry great pastries, some from the bakeries below, others from start-ups who’ll likely be drawing crowds at places of their own before long.
See you in line.
Erin Kunkel1/9All Hail the Kouign!
B. Patisserie pastry chef Belinda Leong taught the Bay Area to pronounce *kouign-*amann (queen-a-MAHN), the flaky, buttery confection that croissants wish they could be. Sure, there are many other addictions to be formed at this bakery in posh Pacific Heights, but you may never get to them.
Erin Kunkel2/9Get Conceptual
There is some seriously avant-garde stuff going down at Craftsman and Wolves, the bakery-as-boutique in the Mission District. The chocolate croissant stack provides four crispy points of entry. And even savory treats like “The Rebel Within”—an egg baked in pastry until barely set—hit the (sweet) spot.
Erin Kunkel3/9Go East
At the Viennese-inspired 20th Century Cafe in Hayes Valley, the Eastern European standards are given a seasonal update, like a translucent strudel filled with, say, rhubarb, and pierogi paired with plum preserves. Pro tip: At 11:30, late breakfast rolls into early lunch with dishes like green garlic soup and wild boar sausage.
Erin Kunkel4/9Stop + Shop
You’ve seen Heath Ceramics’ homespun plates everywhere from Chez Panisse to the pages of BA. Now you can shop the entire line in the new Mission factory, alongside well-curated home goods, from David Mellor flatware to trays by Ladies & Gentlemen Studio.
Erin Kunkel5/9Make a Pastry Pilgrimage
Even after 12 years, the lines at Tartine Bakery—one in the morning for pastries, another in the afternoon for bread—are still as legendary as what’s in the cases. When you’ve checked the morning bun, the chocolate croissant, and the *croque-*monsieur off your list, look on top of the counter and hope they have a spelt-Valrhona brownie for you.
6/9Snack on Trend
Bread guy Josey Baker—yes, that’s his real name—opened The Mill with local coffee heroes Four Barrel. It’s a stay-all-day hipster café-bakery hang where you can try his many freshly made loaves, including thick slices topped with homemade “Nutella” and the classic cinnamon-sugar. Pro tip: On Mondays, guard your seat till pizza night starts at six.
Erin Kunkel7/9Wait for Waffles
Blue Bottle Coffee’s Ferry Building location might always have a line, but it’s worth it—and not just for the take-out espresso: Between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m., order a caramelized Belgian waffle.
Erin Kunkel8/9Caffé Nation
Fight that carb coma with a jolt of caffeine. In addition to Blue Bottle and Four Barrel, these four new spots keep me fueled.
Sightglass Coffee 20th Street (pictured) Everything from the vinyl-geek stereo to the redwood ceiling triggers pangs of West Coast–lifestyle envy (click here for more on contemporary coffee-shop design).
Saint Frank Try a coffee tonic, espresso with tonic water over ice, in this minimal space.
Linea Caffe and Lt. Waffle If your idea of a good time is a perfect espresso and a potato waffle with pastrami and sauerkraut, you’ve found your people.
Ritual Coffee at Flora Grubb Gardens With a car and a good map, you can find this roaster’s outpost inside a glorious garden center.
Erin Kunkel9/9Bonus! Dandelion Chocolates
Visit the bean-to-bar factory in the Mission for crazy pastries like smoky s’mores made with Papua New Guinea chocolate, plus intense drinking chocolates.
