Tartine Bakery

I have a love/hate relationship with Tartine. I love the pastries, cakes, breads, sandwiches...you get the idea. Tartine is the best bakery in San Francisco. Mark Bittman of the NY Times called Tartine, "My favorite bakery in the United States."

It's always crowded at Tartine, but I think some things are worth the wait. What I really hate is the pissy attitude of the wait staff. They may have the best croissant outside of France. But seriously dude, it's a croissant. In order to get anything, you also have to put up with some total bullshit attitude. Which is why I can only stand to go there about once a year. It seems that the wait staff turns over pretty frequently and I don't have to deal with the same disaffected wanker behind the counter again. I just have to deal with a different pissy bakery employee.

Eclairs and genoise and croque madames, oh my!

Croissants and Pain au Chocolat
Sweet, sweet, buttery sweet

Coconut Cream PieThe pie has a pate feuilletee crust lined with chocolate and caramel, then filled with coconut cream.

Tartine Bakery
600 Guerrero St.
San Francisco, CA

Hank's Oyster Bar

It was unseasonably warm in DC. I didn't get to see much of the city. Certainly there as been a lot of changes since the last time I went to DC.

Under new management
I was in DC for a quick trip. One of my friends suggested Hank's Oyster Bar as a place to try. She said that they served the world's best mac & cheese. The topic of what is the world's best mac & cheese will have to be discussed in another post. However, I do feel that I make a very good mac & cheese, which makes me a good judge of that dish.

Things are just a bit different in DC. The concierge at the hotel said that it would be a long walk to the restaurant and there was a bit of a hill. Where I come from, hills look like this or this. It was a 15 minute walk and the route was completely flat.

Fried oysters, Old Bay seasoned fries, coleslaw and tartar sauceI was too late for the $1 oyster happy hour. Instead, I had the fried oyster dinner.

Mac & CheesyThere seemed to be some smoked gouda and cheddar in the sauce. Is it the world's best mac & cheese? Well, I thought it was very good. But I am still very happy with my version.

Hank's Oyster Bar
1624 Q Street NW
Washington DC