Bakesale Betty Review, Oakland

Reviewer: Foodnut.com Bakesale Betty 5098 Telegraph Ave. (51st St) Oakland, CA 94609 510-985-1213 Bakesale Betty Website

Love this unique spot!

The Line

Even EMT’s Eat Here

Bakesale Betty is more of a bakery than a casual restaurant, but this place has some great food so we decided to try them. There is almost always a line out the door of the nameless corner spot, and sometimes around the block. The line moves fast though. Look for Betty in her blue wig, she is a Chez Panisse alum.  This hard to park spot still attracts a ton of folks including us.

They kindly hand out cookies when the line gets long. Our latest visit was in the Spring of 2024, and reaffirmed Bakesale Betty’s awesomeness.  A counter outside the door takes order and items are brough out to you.

• Pandemic changes: No tables outside, cashier stand on the sidewalk, contactless payments, socially distant long line.

Their fried chicken sandwich has been licensed for sale in San Francisco’s Chase Center. It is not the same!

Bakesale Betty has their legendary Fried chicken sandwich, Fried chicken salad. They have a daily changing variety of cookies, scones, pies, brownies. Bakesale Betty also serves Lemon ice, coffee and other drinks. Prices have remained steady for many years.

Decor, Vibe -Bakesale Betty is tiny but clean, and full of delicious food. They have old ironing boards that you can use to eat on, outside on the sidewalk. There were many people in line, mostly people in their 20’s and 30’s grabbing lunch. In 2024 the wait was almost 30 minutes.

Bakesale Betty Picks:

Buttermilk Fried chicken sandwich ($13.60) is a messy combination of one large buttermilk no egg battered and deep fried white meat chicken breasts with some spicy jalapeno zest, topped with a slightly spicy kick, tart, crunchy vinegary, spicy mayo-less coleslaw crammed into an Acme Bakery bun. Awesome stuff, crunchy and deliciously artery clogging but well worth it. Pretty spicy. Messy as it is large, the cole slaw gets all over the place. 8.5/10

Some ask for coleslaw on the side or just avoid it. We like to get it without jalapenos.  On our last visit, they even cut it in half. Tofu also available.

Salad version ($12.50) has cut up chicken patty on a bed of the cole slaw.

Strawberry Shortcake ($7.75) was sweet juicy sliced strawberries on top of a piece of dense Sweet shortbread (No eggs), topped with lots of whipped cream. Very fresh, very tasty. Balanced, and not too sweet, the cake was slightly firm and the cream was just right. Use the fork to get a little whipped cream, shortbread, and then a slice of strawberry -> repeat! This is a must get and simply stellar. This shortcake usually starts appearing around March. 10/10

Chicken pot pie ($9.50 individual, $40 large) is frozen and ready to bake at home.  They have a larger size too. It was just fair. 7/10

New in 2021 was Betty’s Cinnamon Rolls ($4.50) for a huge eggless roll generously topped with lots of cinnamon cream.  As expected, very well done. Not overly sweet, baked just right.

Betty’s Pies ($6.75 slice, $35 whole) Strawberry Rhubarb was a beautiful eggless pie. Just too sweet, nice balance of flavors. It’s topped with their decadent whipped cream. 7.5/10 – Also available: Apple pie, banana cream pie, strawberry brown butter crumble.

Scones ($3.50) pear ginger scone, lemon raisin, and Apricot scone are delicious, eggless, and buttery. Huge, chunks of fresh fruit, and very fresh stuff. Lots of sugar on top. Some of the best in the SF Bay Area region.

The eggless chocolate chip shortbread ($2.75) and ginger molasses cookies were top notch. Bakesale Betty also has Chocolate chip, Chocolate Chip Walnut, Ginger Molasses, and Oatmeal raisin. 9/10 Pecan shortbread is eggless but not as good as the others.

Food OK:
None

Food Pans:
None

Expect lines, we had to wait only a couple minutes to get into Bakesale Betty, around 11am one time, but any wait was well worth it. They have gotten pretty efficient at serving the crowds.. It is worth making the trek to Bakesale Betty, to experience this excellent but cultish place. We saw EMT’s eating here, so if you fall ill, you’ll be in good hands! Pizzaiolo is just down the block, so make it a pilgrimage.

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