Hey San Diegans.
I'm on a quest. I've eaten a bunch of delicious food from exotic ethnicities here. Despite my being a strict vegetarian, I feel like I've gotten a lot out of the cuisine of San Diego. However, meat-eaters and carnivores both have a deep and profound love for one of food's most basic elements: bread.
I've eaten some yummy sandwiches (Capriotti's) here in San Diego and I've had some great donuts and bagels (Sunny Donuts and Big City Bagels) but I have yet to find a really great, affordable, non-chain bakery that produces loaves of bread. There's a couple decent chains: Panera and St. Tropez, and okay, St. Tropez is barely a chain since there's only 4 locations and they're all in San Diego...but I find them to be a bit too frou-frou, personally.
Even the big stores (Henry's, Whole Foods, Vons, etc.) have some decent breads, but they're just not what I'm looking for.
What I really want is a place buried somewhere that is family owned (ideally) that makes great, simple bread. Doesn't have to be "artisan" per se, but should be substantial and have a good value. They need to have a bread that's great for a sub sandwich (as I have my frozen mock smoked turkey now and I need something to put it on that will do it justice) and they need to have a decent focaccia or similar bread that I can toast with some cheese on it.
So let me know what bakeries you've tried and what your experience has been. Here's a list of ones that I'll be looking into (some of them seem to be catering or supply for larger markets only):
Arely's French Bakery
City Bakery
Rita's Bakery (possibly mexican bakery)
New York Bakery (seems like a supplier)
Paris Bakery
Timby's Bakery
Deniss Bakery
Camau Bakery Deli
National Bakery
Bread & Cie (a little too well known already and too busy for me)
Cafe in the Park
A La Francaise
Baked by Etta
Bread on Market
Sadie Rose Baking Company
Solunto Baking Company (supplier, I think)
Bakery & Cafe - Big Joy Family, Incorporated
There's a place up in Del Mar next to a Jimbo's (name escapes me at the moment) that is great but a pit pricey and too far up the 5. I'd like to find something more central to San Diego.
So far, just by looking at websites, I think the Big Joy Family has a very good chance of being what I'm looking for. It's up in Kearny Mesa (Convoy) which is nice and off the beaten path of where one would expect to find a fantastic little bakery.
I'll be reporting back in a couple weeks with the results of my survey of local bakeries to let you know what I find. Send me your suggestions!
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6 comments:
K sandwich has a bakery inside- makes fresh croissants ($1) as well as baguettes ($1) and more sub-sized rolls (3/$1) and small rolls (5/$1) Linda Vista at Mesa College Drive. Arely is gret though... (Nice site BTW)
You might also want to try also Con Pane in Point Loma. It's sort of like Bread & Cie but not as well known.
Yeah,
Cathy's right - K Sandwiches bread is a bargain and surprisingly authentic. Big Joy Family is also fantastic, although a bit rich for everyday. Paris Bakery is down from Saigon, and a similar bargain. The older Vietnamese ladies often close up early, though, since the schoolkids from across the street sometimes give them a hard time.
The Pacific Bakery in Oceanside bakes the healthiest bread on the plant. Their not a deli but sell their breads to Jimbo's, Trader Joe's and several other healthy outlets. As far as cutting no corners Chuck the owner is a fanatic, he makes several different types. Several wheat alternatives, great for toast with anything on it...like almond butter, avocado, peanut butter, or turkey sandwich...whatever.
Ron
Is this blog dead?
Paris Bakery is great. They have authentic bread, baguette & fresh croissants everyday. Now serving the Vietnamese sandwiches too. You should give them a try. I love the French coffee & the sandwich for the morning.
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