San Francisco Bakery and Cafe

San Francisco Bakery

This weeks review takes me back to my days in school. I have been frequenting this family owned bakery since it originally opened in 1995 and have never been disappointed. From the breakfast sandwiches and coffee that I used to get before school, to the soups and pastries this bakery has always provided fresh and tasty food. The bakery itself is tucked in next to the Alamo Draft House Village and provides a great place to meet friends and enjoy some of the best danish in Austin. The Bakery also has the distinction to have received the "Best Clam Chowder" in Austin by Austin Monthly Magazine.

My wife Heidi, and I met up with fellow AFJ members Matt and David last Saturday, and once again indulged into the food that made up part of my childhood. I ordered my favorite sandwich- the Marinated Grilled Chicken. The chicken is moist and tender and served warm, padded nicely top and bottom with light and flavorful focaccia. Each sandwich comes with your choice of potato chips or veggie sticks (I went with the healthy choice and chose the chips). I also decided to have them add their marinated carrots to my sandwich. I kid you not, these carrots will change the way you view marinated vegetables. I spent most of my time in culinary school trying to duplicate these carrots but to no avail, so I order them with my sandwich and try to figure out what's in them.

Santa Clara

Heidi ordered the Santa Clara, a sandwich that comes loaded with turkey, avocado, bacon, sprouts, ranch dressing, and lettuce. Normally, this sandwich is on wheat bread but we subbed it out for their sourdough, one of the better ones that i have had in Austin I might add. The ingredients were fresh and crisp and the bread was moist and had a nice sour flavor that one would expect from a quality bakery.

Soup N' Sandwich

After much deliberation, Matt settled on the soup and sandwich combo. Unlike most places that only give you half of the sandwich you actually get the whole thing at SFB. The french onion soup that Matt had chosen as his sandwiches' counterpart came served in a traditional brown croc with a beautifully toasted layer of browned cheese and a crouton on top. The sandwich was roast beef cold cuts with provolone on sourdough. I have always loved a good deli sandwich, and this one was truly good. The sourdough is baked fresh and has just the right amount of tartness. The French onion soup was just right. The broth had a perfectly balanced flavor and was topped with a crouton and provolone cheese.

And lastly David, who in my opinion chose the best option of all. He chose to nosh on a couple of SFB's delectable pastries. He ordered two different flavors of Danish, plain cheese and apricot. The Danish itself is flaky and tender with a nice buttery flavor. The cheese spread is smooth, sweet, and just a bit tart, nice contrast of texture and flavor with the pastry itself. Dave thought the apricot spread was fantastic, sweet but not so sweet you couldn't taste the wonderful apricot flavor, very well balanced. These delightfully dainty danish pastries made a great start to the day.

AFJ Rating- Four Lone Star Points




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Hours:
Mon-Fri: 7:00am-6:00 pm
Sat: 7:00-3:00 pm