Mr. Food Musings' Morning Ritual

Mr. Food Musings and I are nothing alike. Where I am organized, he is scattered. Where I work on high speed, he works on slow. Where I like to get up and get Saturday and Sunday going, he likes to follow one particular routine. Here it is, straight from Mr. FM himself.

Every weekend I have a ritual, and I try to follow it both Saturday and Sunday. I get up, dress in whatever’s handy — usually a mixture of what I wore the night before and a sweatshirt of some kind, although not always a very clean one — slip on my flip flops and head out into the normally cool, sometimes windy and usually overcast morning to get a cup of coffee and a pastry of some kind. Before I leave, I always ask Ms. Food Musings if she’d like anything, but she, not being a coffee addict like myself, usually says no.

And because this is a ritual, and something I truly like to do, I care deeply about the quality of my pastry and my coffee. Luckily, when it comes to coffee shops and cafés, San Francisco’s cup overfloweth. In fact, within a three-block radius of foodmusings.com, we have one Martha & Bros., two Starbucks, one Tully’s (which is really just Starbucks in disguise), one Peet’s, one Royal Grounds, one Noah’s (not technically a coffee shop, I admit, but pretty close) and one Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Of course, we also have assorted cafés and restaurants, including a fine creperie and a place called The Grove, but they are establishments where one is meant to sit and sip, whereas I tend to enjoy my coffee and pastry at home.

Here’s the thing though: on most weekend mornings, my ritual does not lead me to any of these choices, fine though some may be. No, I head just a bit farther, 3 and 1/2 blocks to be precise, to a place that offers, in my humble opinion, the very best coffee and pastries in the City. It’s called Boulangerie Bay Bread and it’s located on Pine Street, just off of Fillmore. There are other outlets of the same operation in SF — there’s one on Polk Street and one on Cole — but I’ve tried them and they’re just not as good (plus, they’re not really in walking distance).

The Boulangerie has a bounty of temptations, from fresh breads to cakes and tartes, but I always go for one of three croissants, depending on my mood: chocolate, when I’m really hung over; almond, when I’m only mildly hung over; and plain, when I’m feeling healthy, which I like to think is more often than not. My coffee drink never varies: drip, black, no additives or dilutions. (Quick note: unlike most other coffee places these days, the Boulangerie doesn’t mess around with the fancy stuff. There are only two choices: regular or decaf. Both are organic and served from simple pump-action thermoses. Sugar, fake sugar, cream and milk are available, if you go for that sort of thing. I don’t.)

Now, I know what you’re thinking: you’re thinking, “Any true coffee lover, especially one who follows The Path of the Drip, knows that Peet’s coffee is the only true coffee. This Mr. Food Musings character is most assuredly either a fraud or outfitted with faulty taste buds.” But I would disagree. Peet’s coffee is great (in fact, it’s my second choice on weekends and often my first choice on weekdays) but the brew of the Boulangerie is preferable. It’s smoky, smooth and full-flavored like Peet’s, but without the borderline burned flavor Peet’s can tilt toward.

The croissants are great for all the reasons you know so well from the countless descriptions already written in homage to proper French pastries. They’re flaky, they’re obscenely buttery, the bread is never spongy and they’re not too big. One of the great sins of America’s interpretation of the croissant is that it should be BIG. Super size it! Well, as much as I like to point out what’s wrong with the French, when it comes to croissants, they know what they’re doing.

Once home, I usually grab the morning paper, lean back on the couch and happily cover myself in flaky fallout as I munch my croissant, sip my coffee and comment occasionally to Ms. Food Musings about either the perfect food before me or the imperfect nature of the world we live in, as reported by the SF Chronicle. It’s a ritual I’ve grown to truly love and if somehow the day keeps me from it, I am cranky for at least an hour. Possibly two.

Comments

[Millicent]

There is much to be said in favor of rituals, & yours sounds like a good one to continue! Especially when there's a morning walk & a chocolate croissant involved!

[Chef 'em Out]

Are you sure you are not a Private Investigator conducting surveillance on me? This is almost exactly like one of my rituals!I could swear you've been spying on me.