We’ve tried Benoit and enjoyed it, altho not everything was good (their fruit tart was poorly conceived, we felt). The plain croissants are excellent although a bit larger than our gold standard, Parker-Lusseau. I was surprised to learn Arsicault did not apparently participate? They weren’t mentioned, except for being ‘dethroned’ from last year’s competition.
Benoit also makes almond croissants but we were unable to try them. They will not allow pre-orders and apparently only make 1 tray per day; it sells out consistently within an hour’s time from opening, according to the sales clerks. The chocolate croissants are very good, have a very generous amount of sweet dark chocolate in them.
This is the full list of 2025 winners:
Palmarès Best Croissant 2025
People’s Choice Award
The Midwife and the Baker
Best Original Creation
Le Carousel
Grand Prix
1st place: Maison Benoit
2nd place: Backhaus
3rd place: Maison Nico
Pho Hanoi in San Jose, Larkin Restaurant in San Francisco, and Me Va Con in Oakland.
Luke Tsai and Thien Pham watch late night karaoke at Swingin Door in San Mateo along with eating fish 'n chips
Excerpt:
But the main reason to make a special trip to The Swingin’ Door, if you’re there for the food, is for those fish and chips, which is about as good a version as I’ve had in the Bay. Actually, what we ordered was the seafood platter for two — a low-key bargain at $30 for a whole mess of fried seafood: fat, briny little oysters, breaded scallops and shrimp, and a big pile of pleasantly chewy clam strips, in addition to two hefty pieces of batter-fried fish. The chips were thick steak fries and not especially memorable, but that fish? It blew away everything else on the plate, the audible crunch of its beer batter giving way to white flesh that was shockingly juicy and tender. I would have happily eaten a double order of just the fish.
Useless side note:
Phil and mate lived a few berths down from my sister and BIL at Gate 5. Shel Silversteinnlived down towards the end but I never saw or met him.
Re coastal EBay KFC from Oaklandside:
Happy to see Pyeong Chang/Berkeley (we’ve eaten at both, but Berkeley is a lot easier to park) KFC rates well; we’re fond of it.
Haven’t tried Gangnam Tofu/El Cerrito in a while. I didn’t care for how they cut up their chicken; I found it rather odd.
Would agree Mugunghwa/El Cerrito tends towards slightly milder/sweeter than the others, but the decor is gorgeous, the presentation is lovely, and the banchan more varied and exceptional in quality than its peers (but you are paying for that; portions are moderate and prices are on the higher side). I enjoyed their dolsot bibimbop stone bowl very much, as the bowls are quite a bit shallower than traditional. The serving is modest but high quality, and the shallow depth allows the rice to cool down to safe eating temperature faster.
From Google AI, video from NBC Bay Area , and ABC7 News Bay Area:
The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank is closing all of its pop-up pantries across San Francisco and Marin County by June 6, 2025. These pantries, established in response to the pandemic, provided emergency food assistance to residents. The closures are due to the end of pandemic funding and a transition back to the pre-pandemic model of food distribution through a network of neighborhood pantries.
I know that budgets are tight for folks, but if at all possible I would urge you to go to your local food bank’s website and become a monthly donor. You don’t need to be a big spender - even a $10 or $15 per month makes a HUGE difference.
Food banks can multiply every dollar you give by a factor of 6-10x more. Think of it as gathering good karma
From Alix Wall in the jweekly, a tour of San Francisco’s ‘Little Russia’ on Geary between 18th and 21st Avenues in the Outer Richmond:
In the freezer case, we gazed at rows upon rows of dumplings, such as pelmeni , Russian round meat dumplings; varenyky , Ukrainian dumplings filled with anything from meat to dairy to fruit; and manti , ground meat dumplings that are originally Turkish but are consumed in Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan. Also in the freezer case were many items not found in American grocery stores, from frozen wild mushrooms to wild rosehips to dogwood fruit (a prickly red fruit with an edible interior) and sea buckthorn, a type of tart berry that can be eaten or used medicinally.
Bex Michelson points out an entire section for horseradish during her tour of post-Soviet food at Royal Market Food & Bakery in San Francisco, May, 18, 2025. (Alix Wall)
There will be more tours in July and early August. To contact them, email sovietfoodtours@gmail.com.
More from Alix Wall:
On June 11 One Market Restaurant is closing after 32 years.
In announcing the closure via newsletter, the One Market team noted that the original founder is turning 80 (Dellar, who opened the place with chef Bradley Ogden in 1993) and pointed to the awards and accolades over the years. The message closed with: “We may be moving on, but we truly are leaving our hearts in San Francisco.”
Supreme Dumpling in Stonestown Galleria is drawing crowds; also serves chocolate XLB
Food writer John Birdsall is back in town. Will be at Omnivore Books on Sunday June 22 at 3 pm and on radio KQED Forum on Friday June 13 at 9 am, repeated at 8 pm. Birdsall has 2 James Beard awards, lived in Oakland, and wrote for East Bay Express, East Bay Times.
Baby Cafe has departed the Emeryville Public Market, per the E’Ville Eye. The Hong Kong-style cafe was a fast-casual spot for milk teas and lunch plates like Hainan chicken rice and curry beef stew. Its San Leandro location is still open. Baby Cafe was located at 5959 Shellmound St. in Emeryville.
Luke Tsai in KQED -
This year’s Hella Juneteenth Festival will take place at the Oakland Museum of California (1000 Oak St., Oakland) on June 19, 12–5 p.m. Tickets areavailable online; guests can also pre-purchase their Cookout Plate ($30), since they’re likely to sell out over the course of the event.
A plate of smoked ribs, chicken, Mac and cheese and black-eyed pea salad was served at the Hella Juneteenth “Cookout” at the Oakland Museum of California’s Garden on June 19, 2024. The menu for this year’s event will again feature food from Black Bay Area chefs and Black-owned restaurants. (Gina Castro/KQED)
The Emeryville Eye has more details about Rotten City. They’re trying to organize an employee takeover. I think their walk-in traffic really died down when the stopped selling slices–the smallest you could get was 1/4 pie. The slices were large, and one was plenty for lunch.
El Mono Peruvian in El Cerrito at 11720 San Pablo Av. They have recently opened a second location in Berkeley at 1300 Fourth St in the old Gilman Grill spot.
