This Peach Toast Is San Francisco's Sweetest Summer Dish

Eater

3 days ago

Many dishes could be called 'peak San Francisco,' but its most infamous one is likely 'figs on a plate.' Indeed, Chez Panisse's most notorious dish is a fruit bowl, a nod to California's bountiful produce and culinary ethos that believes good ingredients should just speak for themselves. The peaches served at SoMa's bakery and cafe, the Nosh Box, are not served as-is. Yet the sweet summer fruit makes a critical addition to what might be the San Francisco dish of the summer.
An essential watering hole in the heart of SoMa, the Nosh Box attracts young professionals and leather queens alike. You'll find some of the city's best pastries here, made from scratch in a lofty kitchen (literally in a loft), but to experience the California ethos they embody at its best, ordering their peach toast is an absolute must. It's served on a toasted square slice of house-made bread made with malted rye and red wheat that has been cold fermented overnight. Underneath them is a thick layer of mascarpone from Petaluma's Bellwether Farms, and drizzled on top is a spicy zhug oil, an olive oil saturated in dried Middle Eastern chiles and spices.
The mascarpone amplifies the oil's richness and serves to spotlight the peach itself, the star of the show. Nosh Box co-owner, baker, and muscle bear daddy Stephen Wade has sourced these yellow peaches of the Gold Dust variety from Matsumoto Family Farms down in Bakersfield. He expertly slices each one to order, collecting their poisonous pits for later processing. (Perfectly ripe, they slide right down the gullet if you're not careful.) They have a hint of mango and are exceedingly sweet.
Of course, you don't have to get the peach toast if you visit the Nosh Box. You might be there for their delectable scones, or on Thursday nights for queer-centric events (where you could also eat their delectable scones). You can totally order a coffee with your peach toast, but, gratefully, Nosh Box serves natural wine. I'd recommend a local Pet Nat; it's brunch-o'-clock somewhere, and it will be the best deconstructed Bellini you've ever had.
But their take on peach toast is San Francisco in a nutshell. Co-owners Stephen and Edwin Stoodly have decades of combined work in hospitality, running the gamut from Union Square Cafe to pre-Starbucks ownership La Boulange, and their take on peach toast is an homage to the Bay Area chefs and bakers whose cookbooks they proudly display for guests' perusal – from Alice Waters to Samin Nosrat to Michelle Polzine of the late 20th Century Cafe. It's a showpiece for the Matsumoto family, the result of their labor that yields their special fruit.
And it's a symbol of California cuisine's relentless staying power. Peaches, tomatoes, or melons are complete dishes in and of themselves. They are, at least, in summertime. You'd be a fool not to take part in the quarterly glory. The Nosh Box is a lovely place to start off your day, whether alone with your laptop or for brunch with your besties (they, too, have a killer breakfast sandwich). On Thursdays, when they're open until 9 p.m., it's a great place to bring a date, perhaps before heading to one of the nearby bars that may just have a darker interior. It is on Folsom, after all.
The Nosh Box (1116 Folsom Street) is open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, or SoMa Nights, and is closed Sunday and Monday.