SFoodie's 92: Croissants from La Farine

J. Birdsall

Butter you grok in your sinuses.

Number 70: Croissants from La Farine

Croissants have been debased for so long we hardly notice anymore. Squat and shapeless as walked-out loafers, weirdly sweet, and with an interior texture like damp mattress batting: It's as if American bakers were engaged in some unspoken conspiracy to gradually turn the extravagantly leaved yeast rolls into hamburger bun cognates. And even in croissants where the texture is vaguely right, the flavor is almost always blank, obliquely buttery at best. That's what makes La Farine's croissants such a marvel ― they're super buttery. Not greasy-finger buttery, but invisibly so, brittle exoskeletons giving way to pliant whorls of pale-yellow crumb, with a butter flavor you taste in your sinuses. Remarkable.

La Farine 6323 College (at Alcatraz), Oakland, (510) 654-1025; 3411 Fruitvale (at MacArthur), Oakland(510) 531-7750; 1820 Solano (at Colusa), Berkeley, (510) 528-2208

Hungry for more? The dishes in our countdown thus far are linked below:

No. 92: Cracked Half Dungeness from Swan Oyster Depot
No. 91: Pastrami Sandwich from Orson
No. 90: Coconut Bun from Out the Door on Bush
No. 89: Brown Sugar-Black Pepper Biscuits from Little Skillet
No. 87: Indian Pizza from Zante
No. 86: Tamales from All-Star
No. 85: Chilaquiles from Nopalito
No. 84: Poc Chuc from Poc-Chuc
No. 83: Chocolate Beignet from Arlequin Cafe
No. 82: Scallop Crêpe from Ti Couz
No. 81: Gin and Tonic from Pizzaiolo/Boot and Shoe Service
No. 80: Quesadilla from Rico Pan
No. 79: Turkey Kati Rolls from Kasa
No. 78: Emperor's Pancake from Suppenkuche
No. 77: Lasagna from Zuppa
No. 76: Chicharrones from 4505 Meats
No. 75: Langka Ice Cream from Mitchell's
No. 74: Bacon Potato Chips from Who's Your Daddy
No. 73: Lamb Dumplings from Kingdom of Dumpling
No. 72: Chile-Braised Carnitas Sandwich from Bento 415
No. 71: Chili from Mission Burger