Arsicault Bakery in San Francisco

Chocolate Croissant at Arsicault Bakery in San Francisco, California.

Standing in line this morning for the first time ever at Arsicault Bakery. Not that long around 9am on a Saturday.

Everything looks so good. I was very tempted to get hot chocolate.

Above and below: the best Almond Croissant I've ever had, very very generous with the almond paste, which is more like marzipan mixed with a sort of custard, in case you've never had an almond croissant before. But likely if you're a fellow American, you've probably never had a croissant like the ones they make here, though chances are much higher if you've been to France, but that's certainly no guarantee that you've experienced something quite this exalted.

Above, and two below: Arsicault's Chocolate Croissant. I've only ever had one this good, and that was also still warm, like this one, on the streets of Paris, downtown, shortly after an inebriated Frenchman asked me if I had the money earlier that day to buy myself a cup of coffee, and I answered him yes, I bought a double espresso at a cafe on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées that was superb: an oily dark roast with bold chocolate and tobacco flavors with a long finish, that complemented the Cohiba I was smoking. Thank you sir, thank you. He had a puzzled look on his face, doubtless because I was mixing Spanish and Italian with my very feeble French, but moments later I bought this sublime Pain au Chocolate that was just like this one. The croissant dough was buttery, slightly crisp, and soft and delicate like angel's hair, and the dark chocolate was like the double espresso I described previously, bold and bitter.

A golden spiral.

Above & two below: Ham & Cheese (Gruyere) Croissant from Arsicault, also superb. Never had one as good as this. Eating it made me think of the first time I had one, at a cafe near the University of Texas, where the head pastry chef was from the south of France, and he made fabulous pastries. I remember eating one of those while someone was complaining about all the students at other tables, with maps out, talking about where they were going to travel in Europe that summer. "What's wrong with staying here? There's plenty to see in the United States."

Above and below: Kouign-amann. Fantastic, especially with the caramlized top. Completely different style, but I like the ones at B. Patisserie slightly better.

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