Editor Pick
San Francisco Street Bakery
It's a sunny spring morning, or maybe a rainy winter afternoon...you're in the mood for a something sweet, or perhaps something savory, whatever you're craving and whenever the mood strikes you, head to San Francisco Street Bakery.
Tucked up on the Eastside neighborhood of Olympia is the gem of all comfort foods, a gathering place for families, community activists, state senators, and anyone seeking out love in the form of a finely formed loaf of bread. San Francisco Street Bakery has been in business for over 25 years, and almost twelve of those under the present owners, Gene Otto & Judi Mendoza. Thriving in it's place up on the hill, San Francisco Street serves another of my Olympia favorites, Batdorf and Bronson coffee, a terrific selection of breads, bagels, and pastries, along with homemade soups, pizzas, and more.
All of their breads (except the challah), are made without eggs, oil, milk, or sweeteners; they also use organic ingredients whenever possible. The San Francisco Street site is just the beginning...the bakery opened Otto’s (which began as a bagel bakery and expanded to serve really good breakfasts in a warm & sunny space - ignore the sometimes surly service, the food's good) in downtown Olympia, and they have a regular spot at the Olympia Farmer's Market. You can also track down their breads and pastries at the local co-op or at both Ralph’s & Bayview markets.
When the sun arrives to stay for the summer season, the seating expands to include the community garden recently added in an old empty lot next to the bakery. The plot was built in conjunction with the Native Plant Salvage Project to serve as a demonstration garden. San Francisco Street Bakery is really a community center, the garden came together with the hard work of volunteers, donations from local schools & businesses. Throughout the summer the garden also doubles as a theater venue for free films.
So even if you visit just because you can't get the image of succulent marionberries nested in a cushion of a cream-cheese danish...you'll end up staying (& coming back) because you've stumbled across a piece of what makes Olympia such a wonderful community.
From journal It's the Water: Olympia, Washington