Much has been made of The Mill and it's $4 toast since that notorious post went up last year. But here we are over a year later and The Mill is going gang-busters, serving up coffee and loaves of bread to folks along the Divisadero corridor. A street that has not only gotten a makeover but has become a place to venture to get a decent bite to eat. From Ragazza to Nopa to Bar Crudo and so on. The street and neighborhood have become gentrified over the last few years and it's sort of a Noe Valley meets Marina hood where mommies push strollers wearing yoga pants and ponytails. All while hipsters stand around and drink their coffee in too tight peg leg pants and flannel--when it's near 70 degrees outside. Be that as it may, I finally decided to venture over and try this famed toast since I figured the hubbub had died down enough so that I could get in and out without much fuss. Herewith then folks is my journey to The Mill.
It's an industrious space with high ceilings and mostly communal seating with some cafe tables scattered about. To the left is a giant bookcase with knick-knacks and things. Minimalist.
Space is space, I'm just here for the famed bread so I mosey up to the counter and they have a list of 5 toast choices on a small chalkboard, alas, or just as well, they are out of 3 of the choices so I get the other two. By the way, they are actually $3.75 each, a small quibble, but still. Anyway, here they are.
The whole wheat sesame poppy with butter and honey. These are not your average thin slices of Wonder Bread here, they are more like inch thick slabs of Texas toast. Each is made to order and comes out toasty warm and ready to eat. The whole wheat has a hearty, earthy flavor that tastes and feels like you are eating something filling and wholesome. The crusts on here are also pretty substantial and come very crunchy, something I was on the fence about. But inside the edges is soft warm bread drizzled in a pleasant but not overly sweet honey and spread with butter that has melted into each crevice. Of course being the butter junkie I am, it's the one thing I wish there was more of. It's a personal taste thing I'm sure but I really thought it could have used just a smear smidge more. Otherwise, I actually liked it and savored each honey buttered bite.
Next up was the country with butter and house made apple butter. Again another ample slab toasted perfectly with crunchy crust and soft middle. The country is kind of a cross between sourdough and white wheat--that's what it tasted like to me. Again, I'm going with needs more butter--I know, that's my lifes refrain--I should get it on a t-shirt. The apple butter was not the brown sugared up morass I'm familiar with as a kid but more a tangy, tart spread with chunks of apple and hints of sugar. I liked the alternative, though it could have used just a tad more sugar since the bread was of the sourdough-ish variety. Again I'm gonna say personal taste on that, still, as a whole, it was another slice I liked.
And just for good measure here's a side view of the giant slice they are serving up at The Mill.
What can I say, I've succumbed to the masses and joined the folks spending dough to chow down on high end toast with butter and jelly. I mean if they are selling out then people must be liking it right? And I'll have to put myself in that category also--sans the coffee, tight pants and flannel--no wait, I do have some flannel--but it gets chilly in San Francisco and I've been wearing it for years so no judgements! As for the bread, you should really try it, it was kind of worth it, as painful as that is for me to say considering the cheapskate b**stard I can be about food/cost ratio sometimes. And if they could up the butter quotient for me then I'd probably love it. Till then, I just like it a lot and suggest if you are over in the Divisadero and Grove/Fulton Street area, stop in, grab a slice, have a sit and be the foodie snob you always wanted to be.
