Blue Chair Fruit Jams

On Saturday morning, I picked up a friend and met a few more over in Oakland for breakfast. Our destination? Pizzaiolo.

But...but...they're not open for breakfast!

Yes they are! Since March, Rachel Saunders, the force behind Blue Chair Fruit jams, has been serving simple jam-and-toast breakfasts 6 mornings a week. Each day, Rachel offers a different selection of fresh-made jams. All are made in teeny-tiny batches from sustainably raised -- and often unusual -- local fruits. The captivating flavors are incredibly bright and well-balanced.

This Saturday we chose from Santa Rosa plum, strawberry, and rosemary jam; apricot-rose jam; Flavorella plumcot jam with plumcot noyaux; dark plum jam with bay laurel; quince marmalade; Seville orange marmalade; and tayberry jam (a cross between a raspberry and a loganberry). The bread was sweet Italian or levain from Acme, the coffee Blue Bottle, the grapefruit juice tart and freshly squeezed.

The sun streamed in as we enjoyed a leisurely brekky at the bar -- along with the Bay Area's very best mocha, swimming with bittersweet chocolate carved from big bricks of the stuff. Lip-licking good.

(pssst...thanks to Shuna for turning me on to Rachel's jams!)

Pizzaiolo 5008 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland. Jam-and-toast breakfast, M-Sat 8a - 12p, $4 for breakfast, $8.50 per jar retail.

Comments

[sam]

I am glad you posted this. I wanted to mention the jams, but I didn't want to beat you to the punch.

[The Cooking Ninja]

Home made fruit jams are the best. My PIL makes blackberries jam every year.Sometimes they also make cherry jams from their garden.

[Catherine]

Sam -- can't wait to read what you have to say. If you want your photos back holler at me.

Ninja -- I agree. My sister made a lot of strawberry jam last year, and it tasted so fresh, fresh in a way that even small-batch jams just don't. It is probably the best jam I have ever had.

[alison]

you're making me hungry - sounds delicious!

[shuna fish lydon]

Between me, you, and now Sam, we will make this gal fameuse yet! Thanks for the head's up about the new flavors...I am sending a recruit to pick some Tayberry up in my absence.

Now if we could only get someone to help her out with a website...

[Noodle Princess]

Fresh fruit jams seem like such an obvious breakfast item and yet so difficult to get other than those little pots of industrial jam, which for me is basically useful in case of a nuclear incident.. These look amazing!