♪♪ Sbrocco: Buttery, flaky French pastries in San Francisco... Chihil: Crunchy plus the sugar -- It was love at first bite.

Sbrocco: ...picante crispy fish tacos in Oakland... Brockl: It had, like, a perfect sear on the outside.

Sbrocco: ...and a gooey, cheesy wine country starter that's strictly for those in the know.

McNeal: I wish I ordered two of them, because that was absolutely outstanding.

Sbrocco: You gotta try this!

Hi.

I'm Leslie Sbrocco.

Welcome to "Check, Please!

Bay Area's" new spin-off, "You Gotta Try This!"

We have three guests.

Each one recommends the one dish they can't get enough of.

And the other two go check them out to see what they think.

Along the way, we take a deep dive into the stories behind the dishes, learning the special ingredients and techniques that make them so delicious.

Joining me virtually at the "Check, Please!"

table today are social media strategist Faith Chihil, diversity and equity director Chip McNeal, and law professor Rachel Brockl.

Hi, everybody.

Brockl: Hi.

Sbrocco: How you doing?

Alright, you have to be an early bird to grab Faith's favorite dish.

It's the kouign amann, a sweet French pastry from a bakery Bon Appétit magazine once crowned the Bakery of the Year.

In San Francisco, it's Arsicault.

♪♪ ♪♪ Lacayo: The bakery is called Arsicault.

That's the last name of my great-grandparents.

And they owned a bakery in France 100 years ago.

And there were two bakeries on that street.

And the one that used to be my great-grandfather's is still the better one.

So it's a very important name for us.

It's something I want to take care of.

And I made the jump six years ago and opened the bakery.

We were extremely lucky that Bon Appétit magazine decided we were the best new bakery in America in 2016.

And my life changed from that day on.

My grandparents used to take us to La Baule.

It's in Brittany.

And that's where, when we're 13 for the first time, I discovered the thing called the kouign amann.

And, you know, right away, I could tell this caramel is sweet and buttery.

I tried one, and it was quite a revelation.

The kouign amann, it's in the dialect of Brittany.

It means "butter cake."

Originally, the baker had some leftover bread dough, they'd say, "Well, you know, let me see what I can do by adding some butter and some sugar."

And the kouign amann was born.

Today, what we do is we use a croissant dough.

And a croissant dough has a reputation of being very flaky, and it is because we give the dough an extra turn.

So we have three times as many layers.

So we roll out the dough.

We spread some butter, melted butter.

Then we add some sugar.

We roll it.

We cut slices.

We take them, we dip them in butter and then sugar again and put them in the mold, which, of course, has been, you know, brushed with butter.

I'm very preoccupied with caramelization versus crystallization, so the baking process is very important.

Getting the right temperature and getting the right balance between sugar and butter.

I can tell people "This is a very balanced pastry.

There's a lot of sugar, but, you know, it's balanced with a lot of butter."

♪♪ So, you know, I think the best way to eat a kouign amann is make sure nobody is watching and, you know, go for it.

No shame.

A little messy, yes, but, you know, we don't apologize too much.

♪♪ Sbrocco: So, Faith, how did you find this absolutely delectable pastry?

Chihil: Oh, my gosh, I am having trouble thinking of a time I did not know or have this pastry in my life, but really I had heard about it from a co-worker who had been raving about the croissants at this place.

She said it was the best that she'd ever tried outside of France, and she is French, so I trusted her advice very much.

So I went in and the croissant looked good, but then I'd seen the kouign amann, and I was so excited to try it.

And it was love at first bite.

Just, like, the fluffy plus the crunchy plus the sugar, just all my favorite textures and flavors in one dish.

Sbrocco: And how do you eat it?

Chihil: It's hard to eat very daintily because of so many of the layers and the flakiness.

The other day, I was trying to sneakily eat one in the car, and it was not a great look.

Because it's in a swirl pattern, and I kind of like to pick a little bit of a spiral and try to savor it that way, but otherwise just a big old chomp.

Sbrocco: Well, I saw Chip laughing and shaking his head.

Did you enjoy the kouign amann?

McNeal: I did.

Sbrocco: How did you eat it?

McNeal: I am a flaker.

I like to flake it off and just see the beautiful layers sort of fall away and just look at the delicateness of it.

And it just -- You're amazed at how they make this wonderful flakiness happen.

It also makes it last longer.

Chihil: 100%.

Sbrocco: Right, so, Rachel, tell us about your experience.

Brockl: So I initially started biting into it and I thought, "Oh, this is just like a croissant, right?"

I went a little further and realized, not only is there caramelized croissant dough in there, but the center was a little more dense.

So I kind of coined a little term for it and kind of called it a dough-ssant, like a mix between a dough nut and a croissant.

So, you know, it wasn't too overpoweringly sweet.

So I thought it was good.

McNeal: It was really interesting because when I walked in, they had this beautiful case, very clear glass case laid in front of you, and the very first pastry was the kouign amann.

They know what their specialties are, and I'll tell you, I was so captivated by its golden crispiness I don't think I even noticed anything else.

So it just kind of called my name.

Sbrocco: And in terms of getting anything else, Rachel, did you indulge?

Brockl: Oh, yeah.

We did not mess around.

We did get -- It was an onion and bacon quiche, which was excellent.

Sbrocco: And do you have another favorite, Faith?

Chihil: Yes.

I mean, of course, the regular croissants is what made them famous.

I particularly love the almond croissant.

I think, that they do -- I think it's frangipane at the bottom.

That's just like -- it's so tasty.

They also have a morning bun.

Sometimes, you know, if it was going to be a particularly rough week, I would grab some pastries and then some, like, little cookies to share with my co-workers.

Sbrocco: Well, you're very nice because I don't know that I would share them.

So you're very nice.

Chihil: And I think for me, my stomping ground is usually the Arguello location off of Clement.

And I think parking is usually the biggest factor.

But then once you find it, the lines aren't too bad if you're there before noon.

Sbrocco: Mm-hmm.

Brockl: Yeah, So I went to the McAllister location, and we didn't have a line, luckily.

We got there about mid-morning.

And I actually got to meet Armando, and he was very excited to share with us how they cook everything, what's in the ingredients.

And so I was very impressed on his hospitality there as well.

Sbrocco: Alright.

You'll find the kouign amann and more at Arsicault, which has two locations in San Francisco.

The original is on Arguello Street, and the newest cafe is on McAllister Street.

Faith's pro-tip -- Grab a few croissants for the road too.

I have to say that Chip's dish takes the prize for the most fun to say out loud.

Ready for this?

It's the grilled pescado taco done crispy Calaca Loca especial style at Oakland's La Calaca Loca Taqueria.

♪♪ Schindler: To me, food should taste wonderful, and it should be fun.

Salut.

La Calaca Loca refers to the Day of the Dead.

"Calaca" is a skeleton, and "loca" is crazy, so it's almost a tongue twister in Mexico City, really.

And I couldn't even pronounce it in the beginning.

But it sounded like fun.

Because it's the Day of the Dead, it's also remembering family and friends that have passed.

But instead of mourning them, this is a celebration.

Chung: The grilled pescado taco especial is very unique to La Calaca Loca Taqueria only.

It starts with two tortillas, one of them that is fried on the griddle, and we wrap it with the second tortilla that's soft with cabbage, onions, cilantro, pico de gallo, great fish -- mahi-mahi.

It's sustainable.

It's line-caught, environmental friendly.

Gabriel has been cutting mahi for 15 years, at least, here.

And he has a feeling of what he's cutting.

Now he's gonna cut about a 2-ounce portion.

We dip the fish in quite a few spices -- black pepper, garlic granulated, light chili powder, dark chili powder, kosher salt, lime juice, and olive oil.

All the spices, the combination makes the taste feel very zesty.

A lot of flavor.

To make our tomatillo sauce, first, we start with grilling the tomatillo, the onions, the garlic.

And then we blend it all together with spices, salt, and pepper.

The secret to our amazing guacamole is you have to start with the freshest avocados, onions, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper, cumin seed.

It tastes awesome.

You got to try it.

♪♪ Sbrocco: Alright, Chip, this place, La Calaca Loca, really the ambiance is something special to start with.

McNeal: Right, this place is actually a wonderful, fun place to visit because when you walk into it, it's like walking into a restaurant that's in the heart of Mexico.

It reminds me of the colors you might see in Frida Kahlo's house with these deep orange and green, these wonderful colors.

And the decorations are fun and festive.

They remind me of Día de Los Muertos, and it's just colorful.

And of course, you add the smell of the food to that and you're in another world.

I love it.

Sbrocco: What is so amazing about it?

Because other than being a mouthful to say, it's clearly a mouthful of flavor.

So what makes it so special?

McNeal: Oh, my God, first of all, it's a bounty of food.

It is an incredible mix of flavors that come together so beautifully.

You've got this beautiful piece of fish, this mahi-mahi seasoned with the acid, the savoriness, the seasoning just perfect.

Now, when you get the especial, you also get a second taco and you think, "Why do I need a second taco?"

It's because of the texture and the flavor.

So this wonderful crispy taco now encases the regular taco with the guacamole, with this generous, beautiful portion of fish.

The flavors come together, the textures, the crispiness.

It is outstanding.

Sbrocco: You are making me hungry.

I just want you to know you are making me very, very hungry.

And I saw Faith shaking her head and smiling when you were describing that second taco wrap.

And tell me about your experience, Faith.

Chihil: The taco itself -- it's layers upon layers.

And having been to Mexico City and eaten tacos, I was thinking, "Oh, these might be some little dainty tacos.

I might as well get two or three."

And that was an interesting calculation on my part because the first thing I thought in my head when we receive the tacos was "Gigante."

Because they were so big with the fish and the guac and the pico and such an interesting and amazing and delicious texture flavor mix with the fresh and the hot and the cold.

100% would love to be back there eating these tacos and maybe even, like, a little bit longer seeing if I could finish all three.

Brockl: Yes, I 100% agree with what everyone said so far.

And what I liked about the fish taco was it had, like, a perfect grill, a perfect sear on the outside, but was tender on the inside.

And it did pair very, very well with all of the different fresh ingredients.

Like, they've got the guacamole.

And I'm very picky about guacamole, and I thought it was excellent.

And they wrap it in a nice little paper wrap for you with a little -- almost like a little handle because it can get a little messy, right?

You got all these juices and flavors and it might drip out the back, so they thought of everything.

It's ingenious.

And it was very hearty, very filling, and it was totally worth it.

Sbrocco: Okay, everybody say together with me -- La Calaca Loca.

Go.

Together: La Calaca Loca.

McNeal: Yes.

Sbrocco: So if you would like to try the pescado taco especial at La Calaca Loca, it's on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland.

And Chip's pro-tip -- Don't forget to order it crispy Calaca Loca especial style.

Next up, Rachel's go-to appetizer.

It's a strictly off-the-menu item that's gained quite a following with Napa Valley locals in the know.

Intrigued?

Just tell the waiter you want the hand-pulled mozzarella at Saint Helena's Brasswood Bar + Kitchen.

♪♪ Marquez: At the Brasswood Estate, I always want our guests to feel at home.

We are a winery vineyard estate that is about 53 acres, and we have 17,000 square foot of caves and production that we create our Brasswood wine.

Our executive chef, Chef David Nuño, has been cooking in the Valley for over 35 years.

What I love about his style of cooking is that our food is paired for wine.

He really has hit a home run with all the dishes, and they go with every wine that is produced out here.

We also have a working garden on our property right behind us that we grow all of our edible flowers, our rosemary, our artichokes, our peppers.

Anything that the chef or the pastry chef or even the bartender wants, we will grow it.

The beauty of the hand-pulled mozzarella is that it is a secret dish that is not on our menu, and everyone enjoys it.

Not only the guests that come in, the locals, but also us.

We probably have it at least twice a week.

It's an amazing dish that starts with the curd.

And once the chef gets the order from the table, that's when they start pulling it.

Nuño: One of the things very important on the mozzarella when you make it, you know, it's fresh, is something very simple.

It's also a little tricky.

If you overwork it, it's not gonna come up right.

You're gonna have like plastic.

So it's very simple, but it has its own mind.

Here we go.

Mozzarella is ready.

Marquez: The hand-pulled mozzarella is loved by so many people because of the freshness of it as it hits the table.

It has grilled bruschetta that it sits on, olive oil, rosemary, sea salt, and it just melts in your mouth.

I get so many calls of people wanting to come just for this dish.

Little did we know that everyone was gonna find out about it and we go through almost 500 pounds a week of curd.

And now we have secret cocktails.

We have secret wines and other secret fun bakery items.

It's pretty amazing.

Sbrocco: So, Rachel, this is a destination spot, certainly.

How did you discover it and how did you get in the know to find that off-menu item?

Brockl: When I kind of first moved out to Napa and my best friend, Lexie's, mother, she was living out there and she said, "Hey, you like food and wine?

Let's go catch a drink at the bar at Brasswood."

And so we go there.

We sit at the spacious bar that's there right as you walk in.

And while we were sitting there, she said, "You know, have you tried this off-menu item here of this pulled mozzarella?

It's over these little crostinis."

I said, "No, but who doesn't like cheese and bread?

So let's go ahead and order it," right?

And the bartender comes up and he's bringing all these plates and ingredients.

And I'm thinking, "I wonder what he's doing with this.

It's just bread and cheese, right?"

He brings out these four sliced pieces of a grilled French baguette.

It's already kind of got this spread of garlic on it.

And right in front of us, he takes this square piece of mozzarella warm cheese and pulls it apart, lays them on top of each piece of bread.

He's drizzling the olive oil, he's sprinkling the sea salt, he's cracking the pepper, and then he puts this little sprig of rosemary, you know, just for fun.

And I was just floored.

I was like, "Just for this appetizer?

This is wild."

Sbrocco: Yeah.

Brockl: And then the drink I really like, I always get it every time I go is the cucumber patch, and that's cucumber vodka.

It's got cucumber bitters, it's got lime, and then it's got soda water.

And it's one of those dangerous drinks where you can drink 10 of them and not really realize what's in it, right?

So I always tell people, just start with two or three and then see how you go, right?

Sbrocco: I like that.

Start with two or three.

Brockl: Yeah, yeah.

I mean, I guess I should say stop at two or three and then see how it goes.

Sbrocco: That's a better answer from an attorney.

Brockl: There you go.

Sbrocco: Chip, what was your experience when you went and you did the whisper to -- "I'm in the know.

I want the pulled mozzarella"?

McNeal: Well, we were about to order.

We had an array of appetizers.

And before I could move on to our entrees, the waiter said, "You know, I think you might like something."

And he said, "This is something that's off menu, but it's called the pulled mozzarella."

And I looked at him thinking, "That's exactly what I need to eat."

And so you don't have to be a cheese aficionado to love this dish.

Beautiful garlic bread, a fresh, beautiful, homemade piece of cheese and the olive oil, the seasoning.

I was amazed.

I wish I'd ordered two of them.

I really do, because that was absolutely outstanding.

Sbrocco: Faith, did you enjoy the mozzarella dish?

Chihil: I did.

I really loved the freshness of the cheese.

I loved that we bit in and you got that nice little, really satisfying tiny little squeak when you're eating it like you'd get from a really fresh cheese.

Sbrocco: And you have to eat them quickly.

These are not things that sit around and do well as you nibble throughout your meal.

You get your face in the cheese right there, don't you?

Brockl: Absolutely.

And I think it's definitely worth saying that you get all those flavors together and then you start looking back to the plate like, "So how many pieces am I getting?

Because I could eat this for my whole meal," you know?

Chihil: It was definitely a really delicious dish for me, especially because I'd kind of forgotten how far away Napa is from where I live.

So we were kind of running late and as we were driving and we're trying to get through all the traffic, I was like, "Got to get the cheese, got to get the cheese."

So overall, just, like, a really enjoyable experience.

Sbrocco: And this is also a destination, of course, for wine.

Brockl: Oh, yes.

So even that morning, when I went up to go try the food again, we went wine tasting right there on the property.

It was amazing.

They have a little bit of everything there.

Sbrocco: Did you have anything else?

Brockl: Yes, they have a butterscotch panna cotta, which for every birthday we've ever gone there for, we always would order it.

And it comes in sort of a martini-shaped glass and the panna cotta has between a yogurt and a custard kind of firmness.

And then they put this nice, thick layer of the butterscotch, almost like a caramel sauce on it, and they put a dollop of the crème fraîche and this black sea salt, so you get the sweet and the savory and it's all together.

It's just such a beautiful combination of flavors for your taste buds.

And so that's a definite recommendation from me, for sure.

Well, it sounds like you all enjoyed this spot, certainly, and the dishes.

So if you would like to try the pulled mozzarella and more at Brasswood Bar + Kitchen, it's located off Highway 29, just north of Saint Helena.

Rachel's insider tip, of course -- get the butterscotch panna cotta for dessert.

And now a little detour along the culinary road less traveled.

Producer Cecilia Phillips has found some more Bay Area dishes you've got to try.

♪♪ ♪♪ Phillips: We're here at the Alemany Farmers' Market.

Tell me what makes this particular market so special?

Ontiveros: Well, it's known as the people's market.

It's been around here for almost 80 years.

It's the oldest farmer's market in California.

It's a great place for people to come buy some fresh produce... Man: Thank you so much.

Woman: Take care.

Ontiveros: ...talk to the farmers, and do some outdoor dining.

Phillips: Cheers.

Thank you.

Woman #2: Yeah.

Phillips: So what do you have here?

What's going on?

Dawson: We sell bivalves, which are shellfish, mainly oysters.

Phillips: So is this the Miyagi?

Dawson: This is the small Miyagi.

Phillips: Cheers.

Dawson: Yeah, cheers.

Phillips: I do like raw oysters, so this should be good.

But not usually at 7:30 in the morning.

Cheers.

Dawson: Enjoy.

Pretty good.

Phillips: Wow.

That is so fresh.

Benzler: I've got fresh-spun honey.

The bees get a little bit dizzy, but it sure is yummy.

I love the market.

I've been coming here for 40 years.

I grew up in this market, and it was very common for people to be very expressive.

"We got peaches, nectarines, plums," and let people know what they had.

Phan: Hey, everyone, two for $1!

This is called pennywort.

In Chinese, they call it [Speaks Chinese] They use this to make juice or they can make soup with shrimp.

Phillips: So can you -- you can eat it raw?

Phan: You can eat it raw.

So it's helpful.

Diabetes, high blood pressure.

This kind of like an Asian medicine.

Phillips: So what makes your corn so special?

Why do people keep coming back?

Border: We've been growing corn since the '40s.

So we collect our own seeds.

Just really good.

Phillips: Ooh.

Oh, my gosh.

Well, look at this.

Doesn't get much fresher.

Okay.

Wow.

Border: It's amazing, huh?

Phillips: It's like dessert.

Border: It is.

Very good.

Phillips: This is the most interesting flavor I've ever had.

What's the name of this?

Shimek: Finger lime.

And you use your teeth, you squeeze out what's inside, and it's like the caviar of the lime world.

Phillips: Wow.

Shimek: Isn't that cool?

Real neat mouthfeel.

Phillips: Oh, my gosh.

Garrone: This one is a tree oyster.

Phillips: Tree oyster mushroom jerky.

Amazing.

Okay, so the texture immediately feels like jerky.

Looks like jerky.

Garrone: Yeah, yeah.

Phillips: Are you kidding me?

If you blindfolded me and didn't tell me -- This tastes like meat jerky.

Cruz: They have a beautiful name because it's a heirloom Cherokee.

Phillips: Heirloom Cherokee.

But I love how different they are.

Like, look at this.

Cruz: All the customers or people that come buy them and see them, they call them ugly tomatoes, because they are ugly.

Phillips: Ugly tomatoes.

Well, I think they're beautiful.

I have one last question for you.

This is a question that we're asking everybody today at the market.

So if you were randomly caught in a cafeteria-style food fight and you had access to any food, what food would you be fighting with?

Ontiveros: Wow.

I would say tomatoes.

Garrone: Oh, gosh, probably tomatoes.

Dawson: You could be, like, gentle with, like, a cherry tomato or aggressive with, like, an heirloom tomato.

Woman #3: It's got to be a tomato.

Benzler: Cooked spinach in a spoon and rocking it across to my target.

Man #2: Gravy or mashed potatoes, I guess.

Benzler: It's heavy, it's flexible, it's got some weight, and it gathers some velocity.

Man #2: And it's a lot of mess.

So, I mean, might as well, right?

If you're gonna be in, like, a food fight.

Girl: I think giant marshmallows, because you could throw them well, but they wouldn't hurt.

Shimek: Tapioca.

[ Laughs ] I'd probably eat a lot of it, too.

Girl #2: Spaghetti because it makes the most mess.

Woman #4: Tomatoes can get pretty squishy and gross.

Phillips: Tomato seems to be the overall answer today.

Woman #4: Yeah, it's a good one.

Garrone: It's gonna make a nice splat.

Sbrocco: So that's our show.

I have to say thanks to my wonderful guests.

I'm Leslie Sbrocco, and I'll see you next time on "Check, Please!

You Gotta Try This."

Cheers.

Chihil: Cheers.

Sbrocco: Cheers, guys.

McNeal: Cheers.

Sbrocco: Which of these dishes would you try?

Follow us on Instagram or like us on Facebook and let us know what you think.

♪♪ Man: Have a great day.

Man #2: Thanks.

Phillips: What do you marinate it in?

Woman: I marinate it with special sauce.

Phillips: Secret sauce.

Woman: Secret sauce, yes.

♪♪ Woman #2: This is the Purple Haze carrot.

It's purple on the outside and it's orange in the middle.

Ontiveros: Would you like to try one?

Phillips: Yes, thank you.

Thought you'd never ask.

♪♪ Phan: [ Shouts indistinctly ] ♪♪