Bakesale Betty

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Joanna Currier

Joined 8 years ago

Betty's fried chicken inspires a cult following in Oakland.. Aussie transplant, baker and local character Alison Barakat opened this Temescal storefront in 2005, bringing with her devotees from her stints at Chez Panisse Café and local farmer’s market stands. Donning a bright blue wig, “Betty” is often seen warmly greeting the cultish crowds who come for her pièce de resistance, a simple fried chicken sandwich that's inspired a movement. Now, the chicken starts cooking at 9:30 a.m., and legions of fans join the fast-moving line down the block to secure their heaping sandwich, crafted from a whole, split, buttermilk-battered breast, fried to a delicate and non-greasy crunch, piled with simply-dressed coleslaw with a dose of jalapeno and served on a soft roll. Fresh-squeezed lemon ice drinks provide tart complement, and baked goods such as strawberry shortcake and pies of all kinds sweeten up the experience.

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tulip333

Joined 7 years ago

Delicious pecan shorbread cookies!. Over the weekend, I made my way to Bakesale Betty for the first time. If you?re like me, you?ll be looking for a sign out front, which you won?t find. However, you?ll know you?re at the right place when you see the long line out the door. Plus, you can?t miss all the ironing boards that are set up along the sidewalk. Yes, ironing boards are used as tables. Great idea! For a first time customer, it?s a little intimidating to approach the counter when there isn?t a menu to be found except for a sheet of butcher paper on the front window listing the chicken sandwich and lemon ice. I highly recommend ordering one of each. I am usually not a fan of coleslaw, but the slaw used in the chicken sandwich was very good. You should also try some of the baked goods. Since I couldn?t pick just one, I ordered a brownie, oatmeal raisin cookie, pecan shortbread cookie, lemon scone, and a slice of apple pie. I couldn?t wait until I got home to taste the treats so I ate a bite of everything. Everything was good, but the pecan shortbread was the best. In hindsight, I wish I bought more of them. I will definitely be going back to Bakesale Betty. The only suggestion I have is for them to have a board listing all the goodies and prices.

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ava713

Joined 6 years ago

Pastries good! Fried chicken - not so much.. The strawberry shortcake was definitely good and so was the sticky bun. Unfortunately have to say that I really didn't find the fried chicken sandwich to live up to the hype. It was crunchy which I like but both the chicken and cole slaw that was served with it were bland; no flavor at all. Maybe mine was a bad batch. I'll give them another shot and hopefully won't be disappointed.

We got there at 11:45 and there was already a line. The nice thing is they pass out free goodies while you're waiting.Though they skipped over our group near the front of the line for some reason - that's not cool!

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Baker and pastry chef Alison Barakat hits Temescal's sweet spot and more with goodies fresh from the oven and local farms.. In Short
On nearly any weekday around noon, moms with strollers, hipsters, construction workers and tourists line up at from this vintage-inspired bakeshop. After picking up one of Betty's famed, fresh and spicy fried chicken sandwiches, customers lounge outside at ironing-board tables. After fingers are licked, it's on to the always delicious to-go stock of Australian sticky-date pudding, intense chocolate brownies and fresh fruit scones

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shaolinlfe

Joined 8 years ago

Awesome lunch spot and great friendly staff. their buttermilk fried chick sandwich is insanely awesome. they make fresh pot-pies everyday and i'm in love with their ironing board tables on the sidewalk. Besides all of their food and bakery items that makes them awesome, their friendly staff takes the cake (pun unfortunately intended)

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cricketfeet

Joined 10 years ago

Fun and funky!. Great sandwiches! I like the egg salad better than the fried chicken. The roll that they put it on is so good I could eat it by itself. My family loves the scones, but I haven't tried them yet... I'm sure they're great. I ordered five sandwiches for work and was in and out of the store in less than 5 minutes. The sandwiches were boxed and ready to go before the credit card machine finished putting my transaction through. Really fun vibe with the ironing boards!

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handydandy

Joined 6 years ago

bakery. Great place for baked stuff. They were extremely helpful in picking what was good and nothing disappointed. Didn't hurt they were giving out fresh baked chocolate chip cookies as we waited in line. The fried chicken sandwich is worth the trip/

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gyasin

Joined 6 years ago

Americana in Temescal. The staff is wonderful and thoughtful and the sandwiches are delicious. We asked if they had greens for a salad, and they did. It was perfect sitting on the corner out front using crates and buckets as table and chairs. Sip on some of their lemon ice.