9 Fresh Specials to Celebrate Spring and Eat Well This Easter
Let the creamy quiche, cozy lamb pie, and chocolate bunnies hop to your neighborhood.
Easter springs back fresh this year, and it’s wide open this season — after two pandemic springs plagued with lockdowns and restrictions, we’re free to gather with friends and family in the Bay Area. Refreshing, right? But wait, so what are you nibbling? Well, brunch is back in a big way, so it might be satisfying to set out a decadent quiche, and eat an egg or two before anyone starts pawing through baskets of candy. Or the holiday could be an opportunity to slow down for a leisurely Sunday supper, starring a cozy lamb pie or crispy roasted duck. And kids and grownups alike may delight in a cute box of chocolate bunnies or an oversized egg that smashes to reveal lots of little confections.
From a few of our favorite small and local food makers across the Bay Area, here are some highlights to celebrate spring and eat well this Easter. But as always, there are so many treats to be found on the site, so go hunting for more.
Quiche with Bacon & Onion Confit from Arsicault
That’s right, the award-winning bakery doesn’t just make outrageously buttery croissants, it also has an incredibly creamy quiche. Pastel friends, family, and quiche insiders are obsessed with this seriously underrated menu item. And what better way to eat your Easter eggs than a luxurious custard set in a crisp crust.
Related: Okay, But Have You Had the Incredibly Creamy Quiche from Arsicault Yet
Tamago Sando from Stonemill Matcha
Look, there are egg sandwiches, and there are egg sandwiches. And Stonemill is not messing around with this pillowy soft milk bread, gently smashed around a mayo-rich egg salad, with nary a crust in sight. It’s excellent paired with a bright green matcha latte, and it’s easy to munch while standing in a garden, while other people hunt for eggs.
Lamb Shepherd’s Pie from Pie Society
Award-winning pastry chef Angela Pinkerton is into grandma-style pies, of both the sweet and savory persuasion, and this spring that means lamb. Her shepherd’s pie comes in small or large sizes, but either way, it’s a buttery crust, filled with stew, and never least, topped with mashed potatoes. Reheated until piping hot and golden at the edges, it’s such an easy and cozy supper.
Roast-at-Home Duck from the Morris
Sure, you could have spring chicken, but why not make it a little more special with duck? Specifically a chubby duck from wine country, which the Morris smokes until succulent, so all you have to do is pop that bird in the oven and let it get crackly. This legendary duck dish is available by the half bird with root veggies and noodles to round it out for a full feast. Plus, you know somm and owner Paul Einbund will be suggesting the perfect wine pairings, whether you’re into Chard or mourvèdre.
Chamomile & Honey Exposé Cake from Butter&
In signature style, this Butter& cake is elegant and minimalist. But for this variation, pastry chef Kim Conroy (formerly of fine dining stars Lazy Bear and Petit Crenn) took inspiration from wildflower season in California. It's buzzing with golden brown sugar cake layers, whipped buttermilk infused with chamomile tea, and silky buttercream flavored with local honey that’s been caramelized to concentrate the floral notes.
Meyer Lemon Tart from Tarts de Feybesse
Oh yes, the Instagram famous tarts are striking back with a fresh combo for spring. Current Top Chef contestant Monique and Paul Feybesse are spinning a tart with a toasty almond crust, sweet-tart lemon curd, and that mesmerizing spiral of meringue, with bright lemon zest showered over the top for a color pop.
Honey-Lavender Ice Cream from Bi-Rite
Long before artisan ice cream seemed to be everywhere across San Francisco, Bi-Rite set the trend with this springy flavor combo, and it’s still an unexpected treat. The ladies start with that milky fresh Straus ice cream base, lightly sweeten it with local honey, and give it a floral lift with never-too-much dried lavender. It’s lovely with pound cake or farmers’ market strawberries, and it’s perfection on its own.
Raspberry Malt Ball Eggs from Petite LaFleur
Suzanne LaFleur is a pastry pro who’s worked across San Francisco restaurants and tech cafeterias, but during the pandemic she started digging into confections with crushable flavor and texture. These chocolate eggs are both pretty and tasty, made with glossy Valrhona chocolate, and also malt balls for crunch, popping big raspberry flavor. And they’re packaged up cute with paper grass and a pastel ribbon.
Spring Boxes & Smash Eggs from Formosa Chocolates
If you could still shake off some winter blues, the chocolate therapist will see you now. (No seriously, Kimberly Yang used to be a psychiatrist.) These spring boxes nestle in golden baby bunnies, speckled blue robin’s eggs, and peeping yellow chicks, and they come in a range of sizes, whether you want to give someone a duo or a dozen. Or for an oversized spectacle, a smash egg comes with a hammer to crack through the chocolate shell, revealing candied orange peels, raspberry pâte de fruit, passionfruit white chocolate eggs, spiced hazelnut almonds, and a peanut butter bunny or crispy rice hen.
Hungry for more? These are only the highlights — there are so many more seasonal specials to hunt down on the site.