Say what you will about the great bakeries of New York and New Orleans, but this reporter’s favorites lie out by the San Francisco Bay.
Memories are made of this: a loaf of Boudin bread and a wedge of cheese under the Eucalyptus trees in Golden Gate Park, the scent of the leaves mingling with the smell of the fresh-bought sourdough – all of it suspended in the surrealistic fog of a Sunday morning.
Boudin is still there, one of the most popular brands of bread in as intensely-competitive a culinary market as there is. Fly on out and try some.
Others vie for a proper place on your palate too. Aside from the Acme Bread Company’s original Berkeley location, the Ferry Building Marketplace lays claim to being the only place in the Bay Area that offers the full array of this extraordinary bakery’s products. Acme is passionate about its bread, working with farmers to get the grains just right, and using only organic flour. Salivating already? Good. But don’t give the cashier plastic. Cash only.
Scattered throughout the Bay Area are La Boulange locations, nestled right there in the neighborhoods. You can smell their breads and pastries from half-a-block away. Recipes hale from the French countryside, and the coffees and espresso that accompany their fare are purely organic.
John Campbell’s Irish Bakery is in the Richmond District, and the man who runs the place is no amateur. Campbell is a journeyman baker from Belfast and he holds the Order of the Master Baker from the same city. If you love scones – light and perfectly prepared – John Campbell’s shop is a port in the storm. He also serves up Potato Bread, Irish Crusty Bread, Brown Bread and Soda Bread. A local favorite is his Guinness Bread, full of cranberries and walnuts.
All of this bread is the basis for a beautiful picnic of your own making. Peruse one of San Francisco’s wine shops, pair a bottle with some cheese and bring on the bread. Slow down, and can the fast food.
(Image: oxfordian.world)
