Paris of the Pacific
SF's best croissants + a Giveaway!
I’m never not looking for the french connection… an undercurrent to most things I love, instinctively. It began in 1st grade when I asked for extra homework and peer judgement aside, was much obliged to report on Linnea in Monet's Garden—a story that sparked an early fire for French impressionism, age 6. Beyond Claude, my affinity expanded to include choice sensory pleasures not limited to:
provincial lavender honey
fromage, of formidable variety
sinuous Seine strolls
an omnipresence of Jasmine
dependable façade standards
Parisian seagull songs
Côte d’Azur* per work/life balance
Flâneur, as a concept
the Mediterranean, as a genre
the French “middle of nowhere” countryside, as an aspiration
Suffice it to say, core memories die hard.
Meanwhile moving to California has been an absolute layer cake of topical revelations. Just yesterday I discovered SF has been called the Paris of the Pacific since the late 19th century. This tickled me all shades of pink and surprised me 0%. In fact, savoring this overlap is my new favorite pastime to say nothing of the croissant r&d I’ve been conducting around SF. Behold…
Top 4 Croissants in SF
🧈Stamped for approval by a real-life french lover🧈
Arsicault Bakery: oui, it’s worth the wait/hype—take your treasures (almond croissant & pain au chocolat) on a pastry walk through the nearby Presidio for sweeping views of the Golden Gate.
The French Spot: get the kouign amann. just get it.
Le Marais Bakery: a dependable cross-croissant order… go for a glimpse of bakers at work in the open kitchen & get the cookie “for later” ;)
Juniper: melt in your mouth, slow-pull croissants here. Dream of them, I do.
🧈 I pinned these on a map for your safe-keeping & procurement—save & savor!
Back to serpentine coastlines. Golden soil. Drama relegated to cliff drops and dry summers… bookends historically enjoyed by California <> South of France commuters including Grace Kelly, John Lennon, Fitzgerald, and Nina Simone, to skim the foam. Call it the allure of *reclined luxury, a bicultural covet.
I get it. While apple-pressing in Sonoma last fall I was transported to Provence on lavender winds, drunk on sunshine. Beauty in the beast of my imagination. I’ve likewise stolen glimpses of the Mediterranean from Villefranche-sur-Mer that swung me straight back to a sail-boat sprinkled Sausalito. These shared ingredients bode well for resurrection. Bringing a summer on the Côte d’Azur to life on a rainy Feb day in SF is something magical and you can too.
*reclined luxury: noun (re•clined lux•u•ry)
an aesthetic, epitomized by coastal proximity, a boardwalk palate, 5pm aperitifs and 6€ aperol’s; reflects states of mental ease & malleable posture
A simple roast chicken. The meditation that is Tarte Citron. Earth-kissed olive tapenade. Joie de vivre within reach. Lately I’ve been slow sipping coffee to
’s Le Sud—a cookbook I’ve gifted loved ones 5x. I adore her aesthetic, table & otherwise. Her writing is a welcome drink to everything I cherish about the South of France, reclined luxury for the plate & palate.My b≈tter guides to the South of France & SF are still cooking, I’ll share ahead of next summer for all your pinning & plotting. In the meantime, we honor this french connection and celebrate the tiny, mighty milestone of hitting 100+ subscribers of avec du beurre with a cutie Giveaway ~ details below! 🎉
Life is cheeky in its timing. Little did I anticipate Monet’s oeuvre becoming my Madeleine de Proust but alas… I’m all grow up, splitting time between Paris and the Pacific, no less in love with the lilies that started it all.
🎉 GIVEAWAY 🎉 [Giveaway Closed]
🧈A summer-crisp copy of Le Sud is one lucky reader’s for the taking!
How to enter:
1️⃣ Subscribe to avec du beurre / follow @selsbree on IG
2️⃣ Like this post
3️⃣ Tag 2 friends in the comments
4️⃣ Bonus Entry: Share this post to your IG story and tag @selsbree
*Note: paid subscribers entries will count x2*
🧈WINNER selected at random & announced Saturday, Feb 22 (email/IG)
#Giveaway #Contest #Prize #CookbookGiveaway #SouthofFrance #SanFrancisco
Disclaimer: This giveaway is open only to U.S. residents aged 18+. No purchase necessary to enter or win. Any personal info provided will only be used for the purpose of administering the giveaway. It will not be shared with third parties unless required by law. Prize is non-transferable and cannot be redeemed for cash. This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram or Substack.
I love this post. I also love this cookbook, everything about it. I can't wait to try the chicken dish.