Rosalind Bakery — Restaurant in Pacifica

The best bakery for sourdough bread in Pacifica and Daly City.

I came across Rosalind 3 days ago through an article that listed Rosalind Bakery in their top 10 list in the entire Bay Area. A bakery in my backyard and I had no clue about it, this I had to investigate.

I placed an online order for their 60/40 sourdough, followed by their soup of the day, a vegan lemongrass sweet potato soup that comes with a side of, you know, what else, but some sourdough.

The order was ready within 15 minutes, and parking in the outdoor strip mall complex is plenty. I was greeted with a warm smile by Nick Gonzalez, who made the experience 5 stars.

While picking up, I started chatting with him about pizza - and yes they have pizza available with a focaccia base on weekends. Note to self - go there on a weekend to try their pizza.

Nick mentioned his favorite is the Coastside sourdough that his family loves (this is your classic sourdough loaf), and his ultimate go-to is the Rye Sesame (12% pumpernickel rye flour sourdough with toasted sesame seeds, not just outside, but on the inside as well!). I left my wallet in the car, so Nick offered me half a loaf at no cost. Who does that? So grateful I got to try it.

Both the loaves (or is it loafs) are crunchy on the outside and super soft on the inside. I asked Nick about the 'sweetness' in the description and he confirmed there is no sugar added. Any sweetness is natural. TBH I couldn't taste any sweetness.

I really like the bread. It's rich, decadent, you feel like a French royal, who was fortunate enough to get the best pain a la sourdough. This has the promise to beat Tartine. I preferred my bread toasted, with a dip of simply high quality astringent cold-pressed greek single estate olive oil. And on some bites, add a little extra sharp cheddar.

The soup was flavorful and a perfect dip for the sourdough slices that accompany it. With carrots, and a luscious emulsion of lemongrass creamy goodness (the creaminess from sweet potatoes). Spiced just right, to let the subtle flavors dance on your palette.

Rosalind checks all the boxes to become my go-to bakery. They sell out soon, so head there in the AM. And if you meet the wonderful Nick, say hello and get a taste of what every bakery should...

Oh man, I'm broken, I'm split, I'm divided, I'm crushed, I'm polarized. What's not to like about a bakery that's a 15 minute walk along the Pacifica cliffs? A beautiful way to start your day, that it is, my friend. A place where friendly waiters with heart framed glasses await your order and shower you with friendly ease as you make eye contact. A resting spot that exudes the industrialism of your local baker is a gentle reminder that while you were sleeping, squinting your eyes open for another gorgeous day on the Coast, here the busy workers were getting ready to get you ready. I recently moved to the area and came to buy bread on a Sunday: a microdough, considering there's only one stomach at my new place. Some comments here complain that the crust was burnt and hard, and the inside lacked sourdough-ness. I beg to disagree. My crust was perfect as pictured. And it's true the flavor was not overflowing with sour notes, and that worked for me. My eye caught a lonesome kouign-amann next to the cash register. I'm a sucker for kouign-amann, which also makes me a bit of a connoisseur. I was hesitant because of the yellowish dot but figured that maybe it's just an adventurous spin on the real thing. Oh how my heart sank! Sacrilege! This is no adventure, this is bringing the honorable kouign-amann down to donut hell! Cream filling! Oh my ... Please rename the "thing" or have a real, true to its origin, kouign-amann in addition. But this ... Non, mais alors quel gâchis ! Last word: it's...

Well well....where should I start.... Let's start with the "positive" Esthetically the breads look decent....that's it.

HOWEVER. Taste and texture is 999999999 miles away from what good bread and pastries should be. I'm tired of bakers fooling the public (that doesn't actually know what a good bread and pastry is) with their products that are below standard and charge 3 arms and 2.5 leg each. I've eaten breads all my life in France, the sour kind, salty kind, sweet kind, neutral kind, the crunchy kind, soft kind, some with nuts and seeds. And I've eaten croissants all my life too... Their baguettes felt like I was chewing on a thin brick dipped in lemon juice. Yeah....it was really hard and tough....not the right kind of crunchy crispy ever-so-slightly hard bread with puffy airy inside. It felt more to me like the bread I got was from 4 days ago and past its prime time to consume....and the baguette was $7??! More than a simple burger? The croissant I tasted (not even finished) was sour? It was airless tough and extremely dry to swallow....and it was $5?! Maybe I can buy breads and croissants from safeway and stage them in a fancy storefront and use fancy French words and charge even more....maybe I'll make some money too....what is sad is that Lot's of people who don't what quality baked things should taste like are believing and becoming hyped and leave rave reviews to bakeries that produce below...