Finally, on Potrero Hill of all places, a croissant worth eating. An organic croissant. Potruvians (Potrero Hillians? Hillites?) are waxing rhapsodic over Petite Patisserie, a new-since-September bakery that's smaller than many walk-in closets and not a few bathrooms, producing the closest thing to a croissant from a good bakery in France as you'll find in San Francisco. Not sweet, with the faint sourness of cultured butter and sea salt, the perfect vehicle for preserves and cafe-au-lait. And in their own style: fragile, golden and smaller than the ginormous deeply caramelized zeppelins we buy at Tartine.
Downhill, more or less, in Dogpatch, the long awaited Piccino may open this week. A very soft opening. Co-owner Sheryl Rogat was spotted last week at Blue Bottle Coffee in Hayes Valley getting a tutorial on making individual cups of drip. Piccino won't ovetake the hegemony of Just For You across the street, but now at least there will be decent coffee while you wait to get in. And what's up with the rumored Dogpatch collaboration of Joe and Mary Manzare (Globe) and architect Stanley Saitowitz?
· Petite Patisserie [Petite Patisserie]
· Five Hundred feet of Food [Curbed SF]