[jasonjei]

Have you tried Tartine, Josey Baker, ACME, Craftsman and Wolves, or Arsicault for bread in San Francisco when you were in the west coast? San Francisco is considered one of the best bread cities in the world, especially when it comes to natural starters and sourdough...

Bi-Rite Market's bread section has a really nice selection. I'm assuming none of those were to your satisfaction? Some French people have told me that Tartine's baguette is better if not equal to French baguettes, so I'm curious to know why it is so distant to European quality in your perspective.

[davewongillies]

I get that those places you've mentioned have really great bread but outside of the US you don't have to go out of your way to a specialist bakery just to get a reasonable loaf of bread. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the bar for a standard, everyday loaf of bread in the US is really, really low compared to other countries.

[jasonjei]

You don't have to go really far for good bread in San Francisco or any of the coastal areas of California. Most restaurants in SF, even dingy hole in the walls, serve ACME bread of Berkeley. Whole Foods here carries ACME.

I think the US is large, and to generalize and pigeonhole the US as a whole is unfair to cities like LA, SF, and NYC, because there really is a rich baking scene. I mean, do we expect Oklahoma to have great artisanal breads when the state is suffering on several levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

[noja]

> San Francisco is considered one of the best bread cities in the world...

I've never heard this before. By who?

[Mz]

They are actually famous for good sourdough bread.

French bakers brought sourdough techniques to Northern California during the California Gold Rush, and it remains a part of the culture of San Francisco today. The nickname remains in "Sourdough Sam", the mascot of the San Francisco 49ers. Sourdough has long been associated with the 1849 gold prospectors, though they were more likely to make bread with commercial yeast or baking soda.[7] The "celebrated"[1] San Francisco sourdough is a white bread characterized by a pronounced sourness, and indeed the strain of lactobacillus in sourdough starters is named Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis, alongside the sourdough yeast Candida milleri found in the same cultures.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sourdough

[jasonjei]

By Serious Eats[0], founded by former New York Times food editor Ed Levine. Also by the BBC[1]. Arsicault Bakery in SF was named the best bakery in America by Bon Appetit. Tartine Bakery is a James Beard winner.

[0] http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/08/taste-test-the-best-sourd...

[1] http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20131121-flour-power-in-san-...

[davewongillies]

This is seriously not meant to be a snark at all but I've only ever heard it from people in SF.