Pacific Puffs
Our first meeting with Pacific Puffs was quite serendipitous… One day after work Joshua and I decided to head over to Cow Hollow so we could talk to Alex at Bike Nut. As we walked down Fillmore and approached Union Street I noticed the paint job on the corner store had changed, it was a refreshingly clean white and blue. This location had once been a cigar and tobacco store named the Humidor. Today 2201 Union Street sells cream puffs, and with all the anti-smoking laws and legislation passed in the last 10 years, today it seems official, smoking is out and cream puffs are in! We decided to confirm this theory by walking in and ordering a few mini puffs from Megan (one of the co-owners), who was very friendly and genuine. They were sweet, delicate bliss and at that moment we knew we needed to tell people about this!Pacific Puffs is a locally owned and family run bakery opened by brothers Trent and Rhys Carvolth along with Trent’s wife Megan. The Carvolth brothers are a couple of local boys. Having grown up in the same North Bay town as Levi Leipheimer, Santa Rosa, they now live here in San Francisco. The brothers always knew it was a special occasion when they saw mom making her famous cream puffs, which today is sold in their store as the “Classic”. She worked on perfecting this recipe for years, picking and choosing different things from other recipes until she developed her own signature product. “She’s been making these since before I was born She’s kinda famous for these within our small circle of family and friends.” Trent reminisces.
Armed with a secret family recipe, the trio decided to take on San Francisco. In the middle of a recession a logical person would take pause, and they did, but realized that now was the only time they could do it as having no kids or mortgage allowed them the ability to self-fund their dream (with the help of their family who all believed in the vision). These culinary “newbies” got it right. With a white and baby blue interior that just screams simplicity, this well lit and clean space draws your focus to what is important, the cream puffs.
Using only the best ingredients such as Nielsen and Massy vanilla extract, Clover Stornetta Farms organic dairy, C&H sugar (located in Crockett, Ca), and the farmers market for fresh local fruit, these guys keep it local. My personal favorite puff is the Classic. It’s a sheet of pastry dough wrapped around tasty vanilla custard topped lovingly with their homemade chocolate sauce… a true delight! They offer six different puffs year-round and one seasonal special.
My favorite thing to go with a pastry is coffee. Pacific Puffs offers a unique and local brew to complement their prized puffs: Taylor Maid organic coffee of Sebastopol, Ca. This was my first time having this particular coffee and I found it to be very clean and aromatic which made it a perfect pairing of bitter and sweet. If you find yourself in Cow Hollow, you should definitely stop by Pacific Puffs and get yourself a little bit of happiness.
Pacific Puffs
2201 Union Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 440 – PUFF (7833)
- Kevin M. Eisele
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