Page 5 of 5
1. Sesame bread from Tartine Bakery, 600 Guerrero, 487-2600.
Chad Robertson's artisanal breads, which come out of the oven Tuesday through Sunday at 5 p.m. and are usually reserved days ahead, are some of the finest on the West Coast, if not the country. Naturally leavened, they have a faint, stinging tartness, just enough to set the deeper, grassier flavors of the bread in relief. The edges shatter and flake every time you press them, and the interior of the loaf is so filled with holes that you wonder why it doesn't deflate. And while SFoodie would eat any of Tartine's breads anytime, the sesame bread -- roasted seeds clinging to the edges of the bubbles -- is so nutty and distinctive that we can't pass the bakery without pulling out our phones to calendar a bread run.
