What kind of half-baked fruitcake doesn't like a wad of dough? Not me. When I heard that there was a café that baked with top ingredients, It was Tar-time.

Atmosphere:
Sunny and casual with cool paintings on the walls. The clientele were youngish and localish. There are individual tables and a large communal table inside. There are café seats on the sidewalk for a sunny day of people watching.

Service:
You order at the counter and get a card on one of those metal stands to put on your table. They were packed when I went so the food took a million years to get to arrive (okay, maybe more like 20 minutes.) Folks were pushing aside spent plates to make room for themselves at crumb topped tables. To be fair, everyone who worked their was hauling ass, but maybe they need some more hands on deck.

Prosciutto and Provolone pressed sandwich ($7.75):
Crispy on the outside, hot and melty on the inside. This big sandwich (big even for me) comes on their crusty, chewy and delicious walnut bread. The rocket and vinaigrette wilt into the meat and cheese and form one of those cartoon scent hands that taps your nose and draws you closer. The carrots that are plated with the sandwich are pickled. I guess they are catering to their rabbit audience. I noticed that there were a total of 4 carrots that came with the sandwiches - subliminal message or coincidence?

Pastrami pressed sandwich ($8.00):
You are in San Francisco, not New York. This is a San Francisco sandwich - not a New York Pastrami. You do not need to unhinge your jaw like a great white shark to take a bite of this baby. They use Niman Ranch Pastrami (you know, the place where they kiss the cows to death?) The gruyere melts into the tangy mustard and horseradish to produce a delectable sandwich experience. The meat is lean and flavorful (which don't often coexist.) This was the same (large) size as the Prosciutto sandwich and came on the walnut bread. I would definitely order this one again.

Tartine uses organic and local dairy products blah, blah, blah, you know all that good stuff that the good places use. You don't need more detail than that. It's just really good.

If you've eaten at Delfina down the street, you've tasted Tartine's incredible bread. If you get to Delfina just as they open, the bread can be fresh enough that it is still warm. Mmmmmm.

Take a look at what I bought for the road in the (S)hopping List section.