**** An updated post on ASA Bakery can be found here.
So, the Missus on Her forays thru social media asked me if I knew about the new Japanese Bakery that opened in the East Village. Well, I'd seen the sign for ASA Bakery while taking a walk and waiting for our takeout order from Sovereign and I'd read the post on Eater. So yes, I knew about the place being opened by the owners of BeShock Ramen, they also opened a speakeasy type establishment and a omakase only sushi bar discreetly hidden on the premises. Now, in spite of my love of croissants, I was going to wait this out a bit as I figured the opening hype machine was in full swing. But since I had a weekday off, the Missus wanted me to check the place out. So, I figured I'd at least get a croissant out of it, right? Seeing that they opened at 9, I headed on down to East Village, found some parking and arrived at 920, only to see the line. On a weekday!
Sigh…… You know, we love lines in Taiwan, but our experiences here….well, not so much. But I'd already found parking and had walked on over…..so I guess I was (or should have been) committed.
Well, along with lines, I found that ASA likes their signs. Like the one above that states only 3 pastries per person. Good thing I didn't promise anyone else some goodies from here right?
The line moved rather slowly, though folks seemed quite excited about the place which I took to be a good sign. The gentleman to the right in the photo seemed to be a regular because he knew the employee checking the line and they had a nice chat while waiting.
And more signs……
Wow, they open at 8 and pastries are only available until 1030. Well, according to this "sign" they had opened at 9am on this day.
Well, that's some demand I guess. Speaking of demand, the clock had nearly hit 950 when I got my turn to order and take a look at what's available!
Whoa…it was barely 930 and there were only four items left. On a weekday.
I think the back kitchen must be pretty small to only be able to make small batches; for such a large space? And sigh…..no croissants aux buerre. I ended up getting my allocated three items and walked out at 940. Check out the line as I left. I'm wondering if these folks were just getting coffee or drinks because, ahem, according to the signs other stuff wasn't available until 1130?
On the way to the car I did get to check out some interesting machinery on display along 14th street.
After doing a bit of "Googling", I came to find out these are "Industrial Artifacts" from the Sinclair Collection, in case you're interested.
I drove home and the Missus opened things up.
Since there were only four bakery items left, I got three. One of the items was the chocolate-macadamia "baguette".
This is baguette in name only and absolutely does not have any attributes of bread. It was hard as rock….hope you have good teeth if you get this. You basically didn't tear this; you cracked it into pieces. The chocolate was fine, not too sweet, but since whole macadamia nuts were used, the distribution was haphazard and you'd only occasionally find one.
I also got the Custard Choco Crunch and the Chocolate Danish.
The Missus had a bite of each, made a face and put them back in the carton. She was going to throw it away; but I told Her "I spent over forty minutes in line for this, so you're going to have to finish them." She told me to have a taste of the Chocolate Danish. The chocolate on top was fine, but the pastry was hard and dry, like cardboard. Wow. I left the carton on the dining table and it "mysteriously disappeared" a few hours later. Hmmm…….
Man, this was so disappointing. We'd been to our share of Japanese style bakeries in Japan, here in the states, and other countries as well and never had anything close to this. Perhaps there was a reason these were the only items left? Though folks before me seemed to be buying them up? Oh well, after this and our visit to Jiou Chu Dumplings, if the Missus wants to check a place out and mentions Instagram, I may just run away. As for ASA, well, unless folks tell me their croissants or if any other items here are outstanding, I'm just going to stick with Izola Bakery when I'm in the area.
ASA Cafe & Bakery
634 14th St. Suite 110
San Diego, CA 92101
(They seem to keep changing hours so I'm not going to be listing any)