San Francisco can be a pretty nice place.
50-degree days in August notwithstanding.
But an undeniable sign of niceness: Tartine, with its pastries the size of your head and bread good enough to make fully functioning adults weep tears of carbohydrate-induced joy.
So grab a tissue or an absorbent bagel and ready yourself for Tartine Manufactory. It’s the massive, long-awaited sequel to the Guerrero Street bakery, and it’s now open for breakfast, lunch and between-meal snacks (dinner’s coming soon). Go on, take a look.
The bright warehouse space is all whites and golden-brown woods, with pops of color from the ceramic tiles and dishes. And it’s where you’ll now be able to buy armfuls of bread, thanks to the imposing bakery inside. You’ll see it when you enter off 18th Street to spend your free time watching with wide eyes as burnished loaves emerge from the oven.
Bread is just one part of the operation, though. There are sweet and savory tarts and pastries. Flatbread sandwiches and salads. And porchetta. Definitely eat some porchetta.
Then there’s the coffee bar. And the regular bar serving low-proof cocktails, beer, wine and housemade sodas and shrubs. Soon, there will be pizza, and don’t forget the forthcoming ice cream counter with soft-serve, gelato and ice cream sandwiches.
Because there just wasn’t enough happening here already.
