I would say I was just wandering around the Mission, but seriously, I live here and the Mission is one of those neighborhoods that you go to for a reason, not just to wander around, trust me. I was there for LitQuake and they have this thing called a LitCrawl--a series of literary related events at off beat places. One such stop was at Craftsman and Wolves, a bakery/patisserie on Valencia that I'd heard about, so I decided to go a little early so I could try the food before the event. (By now I don't have to tell you how the place is decorated)
It's not a large place with a thin seating counter down one side, the food and order counter down the other and a mostly communal table at the front windows. Sweets and other baked goods can change daily, but they do have a core of sandwiches and other things continually. I was only moderately hungry so after careful consideration of the menu choices I went with.....
...the pulled roast chicken with celery root, leaf and stalk, lettuce and bacon served on a buttermilk biscuit and a Valrhona chocolate chip cookie for dessert. Yes, again this is a $9 sandwich, and part of me wanted to hate it solely for that reason, but alas, my tastebuds wouldn't let me. It's like a riff on a chicken salad sandwich but the mayo is minimal, the chicken tender and not dry, the bacon crispy and the celery crunchy adding nice texture. The biscuit was made in house and while it's not a traditional Southern flaky one it is soft, spongy, bready and quite tasty, I quite enjoyed it. The only thing that could have made this whole thing spectacular is if the biscuit had been warm or at least heated up, but at least it wasn't dry. The side pickle was crunchy mostly sweet with just back hint of sour, a perfect addition.
As for the cookie, I loved it. Ooey, gooey goodness. A nice crust on the outside and slightly cookie chewy doughy inside. And it was a nice touch to sprinkle some sea salt on top, salty sweet is always a plus for me.
All in all this lunch for dinner was enjoyable and worth the stroll down Valencia Street. I look forward to going back to try any number of their other sweet treats.
