Food news and nosh plus sugar and butter pastry!!

raspberry amandine $7.80

I would most definitely classify baked goods and pastries as comfort food, at least in my world. I do drift towards these types of things more than savory when feeling the blues. Plus, I'm still on my Les Gourmands Bakery kick and serving up their raspberry amandine this time. In the true spirit of baked goods I like, this one is full of heft, not to mention butter and sugar. The outside is a crumbly crust with flakes of roasted almond slices while the inside is a soft and moist cake like texture with raspberry filling and all the taste of butter and sugar one can stand. Yep, that's right up my dessert alley. It was even better heated up a bit, as many pastry things usually are. It is definitely sweet so this won't necessarily be for everyone, but then you can just split it up and share with a few folks. I know these are all freshly made by hand in French bakery traditions and all but my only knock would be cost, something which seems to affect all their offerings. I know! I'm a cheap a** sometimes, maybe when I'm gainfully employed again I'll be different, no promises though. Otherwise, if you are looking for a sweet treat to eat, this would work. It also comes in an apricot version if you are not into raspberry. Now time to enjoy the rest with a little food news. 

• Hey look! Leslie Sbrocco knows about more than wine as she works the line at Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters. 
• Hmmmm, looks like Mission Chinese's NY outpost is a hotbed of racial discrimination and other stuff. 
• The other shoes are dropping for Four Barrel as they layoff staff as business declines. 
• Get ready people! The Tamale Lady returneth!
• There was such a thing as hippie food and seems it spread across the nation. 
• Here is an inside look at that giant new arcade bar place now open on Divisadero. 
• So looks like that huge restaurant space on the Embarcadero is getting another Italian restaurant to try it out. So far Slanted Door has been the only one to really take off there, we'll see how this works out. 
• Speaking of which, seems Chef Phan has opened up a spot on the campus of UC Berkeley?
• Not everyone is totally excited about Shake Shack taking over this space in the Marina/Cow Hollow neighborhood. 
• This place just opened in SF and seems it is part of a super popular ramen chain around the world. Was wondering as I saw a ginormous line outside it the other day. 
• And since Oakland is part of the Bay Area, which I don't cover enough of, here is some news on new spots and stuff happening there. 
• See how Patty Unterman of Hayes Street Grill keeps up her food enthusiasm after 38 years!! And here I thought how me blogging about food for the last seven years was tough. 
• Looks like International Smoke is getting in on the lunch business, since they are by all those downtown offices after all.

Also note, me and the SO managed to get by there for dinner recently so that review is soon to come so stayed tuned!