May 9, 2006 - 10:20am
Good bakery in downtown SF?
I'm travelling for business to San Francisco and will be staying right around Embarcadero Center. The famous Boudin Bakery is walking distance to my hotel, so I thought I'd try their 150-year-old sourdough. But before I did, I thought I'd check in here to see if anyone had other suggestions. I won't have a car, and won't have much time, so it pretty much has to be within walking distance.
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... but it's a Monday night through Wednesday afternoon trip, alas.
Acme, definitely the high-end of big-production artisan bread in the Bay Area, has a shop in the Ferry Building that is open all week long. You should definitely check it out -- the loaves aren't remarkably individual, but they are extremely consistent and lovely.
Definitely go to Acme at the Ferry Building. Far better product than the "famous" sourdough companies. Try to get there in the morning for the full stock. Try their little pull-apart monkey bread thingy. It is an easy walk from Embarcadero center (indeed it is actually sort of connected).
And oh yeah, if you go to the Ferry Building, you can get bread at Acme and cheese from Cowgirl Creamery, then there are a few places that sell local wines...
When I was in SF last month, I visited two bakeries. Noe Valley Bakery, in the Castro District, was surprisingly a disappointment. Something was wrong with their starter, so they had no sourdough. The rye loaf I got was dry and ... well ... tasteless. The chocolate cherry loaf, however, was tasty. Ate it all up in a day. Well worth the tummyache.
Later, I visited Acme. Much better luck. Their sourdough was very nice, and thier loaves were absolutely gorgeous. I didn't try anything else, as I was on my way to the airport, but it had a that lovely tangy flavor I'd been searching for.
(At risk of sounding like a nativist though ... I like my sourdough better! :-))