Arsicault: French Bakery (San Francisco)

Arsicault

This is the first time a bakery is making the "Greatest Hits" list (a register of my favorite restaurants of all time). One of my favorite people introduced me to Arsicault recently and created a monster. Yup, you know who you are and I blame you (in a good way) for my obsession with this place. Each time I think I have tasted the best thing that Arsicault has to offer, another pastry or savory item challenges me to reconsider. Everything is just that good!

Arsicault Boulangerie opened in France in the 1900s. More than 120 years later, Armando Lacayo, a descendant of the original owners, brought this bakery to San Francisco. The first location opened in San Francisco in 2016, in the Inner Richmond. If you visit that location, you will see a photo of Lacayo's family, taken in 1907, as well as one of the boulangerie's original delivery carts.

Generally speaking, no matter which of the three San Francisco locations you visit, you will find a significant wait, with lines sometimes extending a block. What else would you expect from a bakery that Bon Appétit magazine named the "best new bakery in the country"? Yelp is also a fan and placed Arsicault at number five on its list of the top 30 bakeries in the United States and Canada a few years ago.

(Incidentally, all five of Yelp's top spots that year went to California bakeries, though California establishments did not appear anywhere else on the list. Hmmm...? Yelp later acknowledged that they limited the state to only five spots, concerned that California would otherwise dominate the entire list. Let's go Cali!)

What makes Arsicault so special? I would say it is the painstaking care and attention that Lacayo and his team pay to each item, tenderly handcrafting it.

Kouign Amann

The quality of the finished product is remarkable. Take this kouign amann, a pastry that originated in Brittany, France and translates to "butter cake."

Each layer of the laminated dough is layered with sugar and butter. Somehow the bottom is caramelized, the top is flaky and the inside is pillowy, soft.

Blackberry, Almond, Hazelnut Croissant

Another speciality at Arsicault is their blackberry, almond, hazelnut croissant. This is a genius combination that brings together nuttiness, fruitiness, butteriness and a very balanced sweetness, achieved by using a low-sugar, flavor-packed, blackberry jam. Yes, this croissant has a lot going on.

Almond Croissant

If you're more of a purist, try the almond croissant. The one at Arsicault is the best I have ever had. It has all of the flaky, airy, soft characteristics of a croissant, but then there is this brûléed aspect that gives you an unexpected crunch, similar to the bottom of Arsicault's kouign amann.

Inside, there is a slightly gooey, almond and vanilla filling that is all about depth of flavor instead of overwhelming sweetness. There's sweetness of course, but just a bit, also known as a perfect, balanced amount.

Chocolate Croissant

The chocolate croissant is made with Valrhona chocolate. Valrhona is a French chocolatier that has been producing this gourmet chocolate in the small town of Tain L’Hermitage, France since 1922. So obsessed with quality are these chocolate artisans that they also grow their own beans on land that is carefully selected for the ideal terroir for cocoa production.

Chocolate Almond Croissant

If you can't decide between the last two croissants, try this one, which combines the dark Valrohna used in the chocolate croissant, with the vanilla bean-speckled almond filling in the almond croissant. The chocolate almond croissant is a must try. Simply put, Arsicault has mastered croissants.

Ham and Cheese Croissant

They make every type of croissant exceptionally well. So delicate is the outside, that one, tender touch sends flakes fluttering about. So moist, yet airy is the inside, that separating a portion feels like pulling apart cotton candy. And so delicious is the entire croissant, that you will want another.

I certainly did. I will admit that on one visit, I ate a ham and cheese croissant for lunch and a small part of an almond croissant for dessert. Who says you can't make an entire meal out of croissants?

At Arsicault, it's easy. Their ham and cheese croissant is crazy good by the way. The quality, well-marbled ham and the creamy cheese are proportioned perfectly. In fact, I think this may be my favorite Arsicault croissant. Not surprising since I have a penchant for savory over sweet.

The Parisian

If you are like me, don't miss out on Arsicault's savory options including various sandwiches. I most recently ordered the Parisian. In France, this sandwich is known as the iconic Jambon-Beurre, or ham and butter sandwich, always made with high quality ham and butter and placed in a freshly baked French baguette.

At Arsicault, the Parisian is true to tradition, made with the best butter, ham, a sprinkle of sea salt and the option of adding aged, Comté, a special French cheese from the Jura Mountains. This sandwich is so simple and so good. When you have quality components, you don't need to bombard a dish with a multiplicity of ingredients.

I hope you will visit Arsicault in San Francisco and that when you do, you love it as much as I do. Merci beacoup, Arsicault. We shall meet again when I am next in the Bay Area.