Best Bread in Los angles: discuss

[grooverider]

So where does one find really good bread in LA. Sourdough, rye, french loafs. Whatever. Discuss.

[Jwsel]

The bacon bread and the basil brioche at Melisse. The bacon bread was so outrageously good that my mother, who never eats pork, had multiple pieces.

[foodiemahoodie]

Yeah, I like all of their breads.

And if you like that - have a meal at Joel Robuchon at The Mansion in at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. They bring over a bread cart. The whole thing is filled with a variety of great breads. The little baby epis! Crunchy and chewy and perfect. I swear, I could eat there and just the bread cart, some wine and butter. I'd be happy. And fat.

I love the sourdough bread at Kate Mantilini's.

-----
Kate Mantilini Restaurants
9101 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Las Vegas Bar
2343 S Bristol St, Santa Ana, CA 92704

[WildSwede]

I feel the same way at Spago. Their wonderful breads, with that delicious butter, could be a meal for me!!

-----
Spago
176 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[WildSwede]

The bread that they serve at Scarantino's Italian in Glendale is phenomenal - anyone know where they get it from? Also, Europane has been mentioned, but I love their baguettes as well as the Rosemary and sourdough rolls. I got a really good round loaf of something that had the word German in it at Pavillion's last weekend. I also like the baguettes and jalapeno bagels from the guy at the Pasadena Saturday Farmer's Market (not the guy at the front near the street, but the other guy on the last row in the north corner).

-----
Scarantino's
2055 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA

[WildSwede]

Okay, I found out where Scarantino's gets their breads - Eagle Rock Bakery! Yup, the Italian bakery on Colorado right across the street from Tommy's. I can't wait til I can make it there when they are open!!

-----
Scarantino's
2055 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA

[BlackTruckCatering]

I love the bread at Mastro's Steakhouse. Their bread basket has this pretzel bread that is out of this world!

I also love the french bread from the French inspired Champagne restaurant.

[orythedog]

La Brea...I like their whole wheat, sunflower seed, sandwich bread that has poppy seeds on top. $8.50 and it is a big loaf

[jaymor]

how about in the south bay area preferably in the torrance/vicinity area....san pedro to el segundo would be ok too.......any suggestions highly welcomed....hoagie rolls, french bread (not french baguette), kaiser rolls....etc.

[annapurna7]

St Moritz Bakery in Lomita is good for bread and pastries.

When I want a good loaf of toasting/sandwich bread, I always find myself heading back to Hamada-ya Bakery in the Mitsuwa Marketplace,Torrance. Those huge slices of bread are really addicting.

[mstinawu]

What kind of bread? Pillowy and soft? Or rustic with giant gaping holes?

[annapurna7]

St. Mortiz has more rustic; artisan bread.
Hamada-ya bread I was talking about above is a a dense, pillow-y white bread, but they also do baguettes.

[ristretto]

I like the standard white/wheat loaves at MamMoth Bakery in the Torrance Marukai (also in Gardena's Pacific Marukai)...dense, yet soft texture.

[buttermarblepopcorn]

I second that request for South Bay bread suggestions -- but for me, specifically *baguettes* and not for soft and/or sandwich breads, which are a dime a dozen. I've suffered through Trader Joe's baguettes (both finished and par-baked, both pretty awful) but will settle for Whole Foods' in-house baguettes. It just doesn't seem like there are any real bakeries here!! It's maddening, reading about the handful of really fantastic French bakeries all over West LA, Pasadena, et al, but I simply don't venture out there often enough. I suspect there's nothing, as I've Googled the heck out of it already.

Oh yeah, and I've already tried Costco's La Brea baguettes and they were positively horrendous (thick and very heavy). Money straight down the drain.

[ristretto]

Costco's baguettes are likely par-baked as well.
Have you tried the baguettes from Spoon House in Gardena? They bake their own (the wider kind) and serve them along with their Japanese-Italian pastas as well as sell the loaves individually out front. Crunchy crust, soft and spongy interior. Admittedly not saying much, but it's probably one of the best baguettes in the South Bay.

-----
Spoon House
1601 W Redondo Beach Blvd, Gardena, CA 90247

[buttermarblepopcorn]

Oh, interesting, never been there but it's definitely close enough for a realistic drive-by. Thank you for the suggestion, ristretto.

[bulavinaka]

I think because the prevailing culture often drives the type of bread that's available, the South Bay in general will be a hard pressed place to find good crusty breads, sourdough, rye, etc. I'm Asian, and my parents detest sourdough and rye, and they find crusty breads hard on their mouths in general. Although artisan bakers who make these types of breads are making inroads in Japan, this is the exception. Japanese, Koreans and Chinese populate the South Bay and in general like soft breads - big billowy breads that can be used as pillows. But I have had really good baguettes (or are they a Spanish version?) from La Espanola in Harbor City, which leads me to think you might have better luck in that general direction. The San Pedro area has a strong Italian community (largest in SoCal) as well as other European groups (Greeks, Croatians and Portuguese). I know this area has lots of bakeries but I don't know the area nearly well enough to even make any recs. Maybe in this case, Yelp is a good starting point to give you lists and pix of potential places to try. Of course, Hounds who know Pedro would be best.

[Servorg]

If you should ever find yourself at the little Brentwood Farmer's Market over on Gretna Green and San Vicente some Sunday morning look for the Great Harvest Bread Company's booth and pick up a loaf of their country whole grain wheat and see what you think.

http://www.greatharvest.com/

[buttermarblepopcorn]

I'm Asian (American) too, and grew up in the South Bay, but despite the presence of many East Asian communities here, I wouldn't exactly lay all the "blame" on them (I know you're not "blaming" them/us) (and yes, my mom is the same exact way about loving soft soft breads and hating hard crusty ones) -- I mean, Torrance and the beach cities are still pretty darn white, and having grown up here, I'd suggest that perhaps it's the majority white community of the South Bay that isn't *as* into going out and spending enough money on gourmet dining and shopping to keep those markets alive and attract more shops of the same kind as, say, the white community on the Westside, Pasadena, the Hollywoods. Yes, I'm making a giant sweeping generalization here, and I apologize in advance for offending any European Americans in the South Bay who do have great desires for great food and fine groceries, but isn't it the customers who drive the market? The proof is in the dearth of European-style bread bakeries in the South Bay.

Anyhow, I could go on but I won't because I'm happy you pointed out La Espanola; I've been meaning to go there to try their vaunted paella, not having any idea they baked bread as well. Now I have one more reason to go! Thanks!

[bulavinaka]

As you know, the South Bay is pretty mixed, but is full of small to large ethnic enclaves. Yes, there are a lot of European Americans, but I think the makeup of the European descendants in the Torrance/main part of the South Bay area is pretty Amercanized in general. I worked with many while I was working in the South Bay area back in the 80s. They were brought up on a lot of chain-type places or basic Americanized food and these same types of places still rule around much of these areas, i.e., Hawthorne Blvd. That is why I urge you to seek out bakeries around the Pedro area. The European immigrant communities still hold on to their cultures there. some of it may be geographical - Pedro is somewhat isolated and more difficult to get to.

Not sure if La Espanola bakes their own bread - always forget to ask (too many other questions this Spanish cuisine novice has) but should. Their paella is really good - don't know how it rates on a paella-phile's scale, but it is worth going for. You may or may not get shut out today by showing up and asking for it. Sometimes they have extra so it's worth asking. They have a fair amount of samples out - try them all. You'd be surprised at how many of those things you normally wouldn't consider worth trying actually are really good. And if they are out of paella, get one (or more - they'll keep for at least a few hours) of their really delish sandwiches. Honestly, they are all good - all three kinds. :)

[mstinawu]

I think buttermarblepopcorn was talking baguettes and not the french bread-ish stuff they serve at Spoon House. Spoon House bread is fine and dandy and good with what they serve (Japanese/Italian pasta), but it seems out of place to eat with anything else. When I think of Spoon House I think of their very Japaese pasta complimentary bread!

-----
Spoon House
1601 W Redondo Beach Blvd, Gardena, CA 90247

[PomsMoms]

It's a chain, but have you tried the Le Pain Quotidien at Manhattan Beach's Metlox?

[buttermarblepopcorn]

Ah, no, did not know about a LPQ in MB; thank you PomsMoms for this additional suggestion!

[PomsMoms]

It's not "artisan bread," but the original Giuliano's in Gardena has a good selection of in-house baked rolls/breads.....pretty decent and dirt cheap, too, which is always a plus.

[maxzook]

* Rosemary currant bread from EuroPane;
* La Brea's rustic French and harvest grain loaves (bought at the La Brea store, not what they ship to supermarkets);
* Pain de mie and baguettes from Breadbar;
* Organic brioche from Figaro Bistrot on Vermont in Los Feliz.

-----
Breadbar Century City
10250 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90067

Euro Pane Bakery
950 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91106

Figaro Cafe Restaurant
1802 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

BreadBar
8718 W 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048

La Brea Bakery
624 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036

[maxzook]

And how could I have forgotten the wonderful Cuban bread and whole wheat loaves at Porto's?

-----
Porto's Bakery
315 N Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91203

Porto's Bakery
3614 W Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505

[smiling ed]

Fairytale Bakery on Saticoy and Lindley in SFV Russian owned has very good black bread
and seven grain rye at very reasonable prices available at Jon`s too. I also like La Brea
Sour dough but find it a little salty and the Wolfgang Rye at whole foods is also
ok but I only buy the Fairytale bread now.

[a_and_w]

Pan de mie at Amandine. Dense, crusty, slightly sweet, and all around delicious.

[la2tokyo]

+1

All the bread I've had at Amandine has been really nice. I don't know if I'd drive across the city for it, but I'm very happy to have it in my neighborhood

[Dommy]

My favorite is the rosemary Epi at Maison du Pain. My favorite part of the bread is the "butt' and with en epi, it's a loaf full of of them, so every piece has that crunchy nibbly bit...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dommichu...

--Dommy!

[handlertaper]

Pretzel bread from Cut. Also agree with everyone else re Huckleberry's.

[Foodandwine]

I like the Cibatta ( Slipper ) loaf at Il Fornaio. You can bake in in the oven a few more minutes and crisps up wonderfully.

[annapurna7]

My favorite French bread is from Banh Mi & Che Cali Bakery in Westminster. It's perfect.

[a_and_w]

Interesting... do they make it Vietnamese style with some rice flour?

[annapurna7]

YES! It make the baguette really light and crisp. Plus the baguettes are $1 each, so it's a great deal. :)

[a_and_w]

Totally agree -- thanks for the tip!

[Mr Taster]

Hm, I had no idea that Vietnamese baguettes use rice flour-- (I'm an amateur home bread baker). Fascinating! I'll need to give that a shot.

http://momofukufor2.com/2010/02/vietn...

Mr Taster

[lad1818]

I have fallen hard for a bread that I get at Jons Market. I can't recall (or pronounce, probably) the name of it but it's an Armenian bread - big, flat, puffy with horizontal lines cut across the top. Pop it in the oven for a few minutes, get some butter and you've died and gone to heaven. All for a whopping $1.39.

[sku]

For sourdough, I like Village Bakery on Los Feliz, which is also available at some farmers markets.

[wienermobile]

I love those little hot soft cheese rolls at Fogo de Chao.

[Mr Taster]

You can get them for a lot cheaper than FdC's $50 at the Brazilian place in the Farmer's Market (or Picanha in Burbank)

Mr Taster

[sku]

Or the similar Colombian version (pan de bono) at La Fonda Anteoqueno.

[schrutefarms]

Totally.

[ChinoWayne]

The sour dough at Arroyo Chop House.

[taiwanesesmalleats]

I have yet to find a rye bread better than the one Langer's puts out.

[Mr Taster]

See my post, above. Change "sourdough" to "rye" :)

P.S. Langer's doesn't bake their own bread. They used to get it from Fred's bakery on Robertson, but they changed bakeries some years ago... I'm sure someone here knows where they get it from now.

Mr Taster

[lad1818]

Langer's gets their rye from Bea's Bakery in Tarzana.

[taiwanesesmalleats]

Yes, I know. Don't they also bake it once more once they receive the bread?

[ozhead]

Yes. You can buy a loaf from Langer's, and it won't be crisp on the outside because it will not have been re-baked.

[PurpleTeeth]

Wholefood for Life
3070 Los Feliz Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90039-1521
[phone]

This is NOT a whole foods. It's a Russian Armenian Store. Their Russian baker puts out the best french loafs & Baguettes I have had. They are a little denser that many I have had around LA.

[chowingdown1]

I also think Huckleberry has the best bread, if you haven't gotten it I highly recommend trying it out!

[mollyomormon]

I know there have been other threads on this, but I think the bread at Huckleberry is outstanding. I just used a boule of their rustic bread to make the Zuni Cafe roast chicken with bread salad this weekend and it was amazing. I also love their multigrain bread.

I think if you're able to get a warm loaf of Breadbar's alpine bread, it's delicious, although I wouldn't bother otherwise.

[CCDiner]

I love the bread at Bay Cities. I think it comes out of the oven hourly. You can almost always get a warm loaf.

[wienermobile]

I agree 100% with Bay Cities.

[foodiemahoodie]

Me too. The biggest problem I have with their bread is that if it's warm (and it usually is) and it's in the car, I can't get home without picking that poor loaf to death. I have learned; get two, one for the drive home...

[bulavinaka]

Whatever you do, don't put it in the trunk. The smell of fresh bread wills your car to the curb. :) Even worse, don't put it in your back seat (if you have one) because you will get in an accident from constantly looking back and reaching for it. :)

[sillygoosedown]

This is where we get our bread usually. We also really like the bread-guy at the east end of the Santa Monica farmers market on Arizona on Saturdays.

[sweetTooth]

Yup, love the bread guy - especially for his giant 24oz loaf of ciabatta for only $4.50. His baguette and almond croissant are not too shabby either.

[bulavinaka]

I've tried several of his breads in the past and have almost always been disappointed. Any recs on what types of breads? TIA

[sillygoosedown]

We always get the rustic white loaf -- haven't tried anything else. Sorry if it's a crap recommendation, but we've been impressed with that particular bread.

[bulavinaka]

>>Sorry if it's a crap recommendation, but we've been impressed with that particular bread.<<

No need to pre-apologize. It's been a few months since I last visited this FM so I can't comment on their recent quality. The next time I go, I give them another try if something or the rustic white looks appealing. Thanks for the tip...

[a_and_w]

I have to strongly disagree with the bread guy at the east end of the Santa Monica Farmer's Market. I've had nothing but dry, crumbly baked goods from him.

[Dommy]

They also make a cheesy tomato bread that is my favorite bread ever....

--Dommy!

[prainer]

Huckleberry is the best in LA, hands down - I do love the Cibatta from Il Fornaio

[bulavinaka]

I just had a ciabatta from Huckleberry and truly enjoyed it. I was initially turned off by the whole wheat flour when I cut open the loaf, but upon tasting it, the bread grew on my with each bite. It took all of my strength to walk in an order only a couple of loafs of bread though...