YOUR WEEKLY DIGESTION OF FOOD NEWS TO CONSUME....AND CHOCOLATE CROISSANT STACK!

I recently had relatives in town for a visit and took down the Valencia Street stroll, and Mission, to get a taste of the old and new that was going on in the neighborhood. While on the walk we hit up a few food places to snack along the way and keep our energy up. They wanted something sweet so Craftsman and Wolves came to mind as a little different variation on a bakery to try. I hadn't been here in awhile and was interested to see what's new since they had seemingly taken off since my initial review of them back in 2012! First up was something of the relatives choosing that looked unique--the chocolate croissant stack. Flaky layers of buttery dough with intermittent layers of chocolate. Yes, basically a square chocolate croissant. The got the chocolatey flavor going on quite well and you do get it in pretty much every bite. It's not too sweet either, even with that dusting of powdered sugar. I think the one drawback for us was it erred on the side of dry. Flaky croissant pastry dough does run that fine line of being seemingly dry yet not so much that the buttery-ness of it all compensates for it. Here it seemed they just stepped over that line and the butter and chocolate couldn't quite make up for it. It's possible this particular batch was slightly overcooked, who knows. Either way, we were not over impressed with this effort. The square shape seems to be the only thing really unique about this. The rest was just kind of everyday and crumbly. Maybe that's why the suggest some latte with it. Like an upsell and a cover up to off set the dry. Oh well, while Craftsmen didn't impress the relatives much with this, I still think they do some tasty treats and next week I'll offer up something I did have and enjoy there. 

• Things must be working out at Smokestack as Chef Lee is now working on the menu at Magnolia in the Haight. 
• Nojo has new owners in Hayes Valley. It will close and reopen as---Nojo! What ever changes on the menu remains to be seen.
• Wow! A tech start-up that expanded too rapidly! That never happens! Good Eggs decides shrinking is better than outright closing.
• The Pier 70 San Francisco Street Food festival keeps expanding. Much like what will happen to your waistline when you go.
• Because a Safeway isn't always convenient, 7x7 highlights some small neighborhood grocery stores.
• Castro Fountain, the Ice Cream Bar spin-off, has gotten Castro Merchant approval to move in. Looks like we have some ice cream lovers
• It's Fumi Curry and it's open in Bernal Heights. Yeah, that's a little close to furry for me.
• Circa is now The Dorian. Let's hope the food isn't grey! Get it?! Ugh....food humor.
• Team behind high end Mexican restaurant Comal is ready to open it's sequel, The Advocate. Looks like it will be high end Mediterranean. How much more will we have to pay for a gyro?
• And finally, since it's been a little on the warmish side in The City, here's 21 ice cream shops around town you can try to cool off in.