Burlingame Produce

Apparently, the owner prefers not to pay his bills

Looking for blue bottle coffee, Unilocal sent me here the other day and I didn’t regret driving up from San Mateo.
Today however (Sunday), I came back to a different barista who didn’t seem to know his way around the coffee machine or how to froth milk. He was struggling to serve all of 2 customers in the shop and ruined my cappuccinos.
Such a shame and other reviewers have reported similar things. Whoever the owner of Burlingame Produce is, listen to your customers.
I don’t know how to work a Marzocco machine and putting me or any other clueless chap behind the counter does not make us baristas.

Most people have good days and bad days. Me? lets just say I have skinny days and fat days. With sincere apologies to my (consistently fit) boyfriend, I tend to lean towards more to fat than skinny. I’m tall and am big boned and I love my happy hour snacks, you’re going to just have to deal.
Now getting off my huffy bike and stepping inside Burlingame Produce for a healthy snack and a strong cup of coffee.
This is one mean store filled with healthy alternatives that you might find at Safeway. Organic produce, locally made and produced cheese, freshly baked breads (oh no, CARBS!) and grass fed beef you can find it all at this small market. There currently is some major construction in the area, but they have a private parking lot reserved for their customers so don’t let the demolishing of Burlingame spook you away.
I really want to snack on some tater tots right now, time to size up!

Shout out to the newer barista, Emily! Thank you for making us lots of coffees and doing it with style!
I am such a fan of this place. A Blue Bottle Coffee bar, a fresh and local grocery/​produce area, and a sweet little deli. This place rocks!
Hint: park on the north side of the building for unmetered spaces and TIP your barista!

I used to be a big fan and would regularly come in for the espresso, but all the old (good) baristas are gone and the new ones are clueless. I kept trying to give them a chance over the last few months, but it’s steadily going down hill. My last Latte was undrinkable and scorching hot.
Just head down the street to Starbucks or Pete’s, you are guaranteed to get a far superior espresso. I’m sad to say that I’ve given up, and won’t be returning.

Note to new ownership: Tough love time — Please do better so I can come back regularly again. I would like to give you my money!
It’s a real bummer what’s happened to this place. I’ve spent a year grateful to have it right around the corner from my office, so I could always get fresh and organic produce and healthy foods for lunch. I used to get the same salad twice a week — it never got old. I often just went in to grab a coffee and say hello to the staff.
Now, the old staff are gone (I miss their smiling faces!) and the new people are not adequately trained. The prepared food isn’t the same, and when I ask them to make the salad I always get, it’s as if they’re preparing it for the first time. So, the last two times I went, they didn’t have all the 6 ingredients to make my salad. After a few weeks, I returned again and they made it but forgot two key ingredients. Still I paid $ 8.99 for it. I hope the owner reads this, because I don’t know how to tell him in person.
This place will not succeed if proper attention is not paid to the staff. Train them. Pay them adequately. Don’t give them feedback (and, moreover, don’t EVER yell at them) in front of patrons. If the staff are moderately happy and aware of how to perform their jobs properly, you’ll see more return patrons. You can’t build a business out of expensive products alone. Not only that but once you chase away all the local patrons, your new juice bar or BBQ or whatever else you’re adding to the mix will not bring us back.
The good news is that you should be able to right this ship!
Oh, and also — try to cross stuff out on the chalk board that you’re out of and PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL around the store. I see things that are slightly off all over the place. If I wait in line for 10 minutes only to be told you’re out of what I want, I’m going to be pretty PO’ed, and I’m going to walk down the street to the Plant Café where I can pay slightly higher prices for exceptionally better product and service.

This review could just say Blue Bottle and earn it’s 5 stars. YUUMMMM! Hands down, the best coffee spot in the area. I come in almost daily for my BB fix and have recently tried a few of the deli sandwiches, which were delicious! I love that the market carries and offers «cleaner» foods; they carry a nice selection of organic produce and the meats used at the deli are hormone/​nitrate free. Oh! And I recently sampled the jambalaya, which was a tasty as I remember it being in New Orleans.
But the 5 stars is also very well earned and deserved for their warm and friendly customer service. I practically get the «Norm» welcome (from Cheers for all you young whipper-​snappers), and honestly, who doesn’t love that? :) I really like the recent changes that have been made to the market since new owner (additional seating, internet access, and albeit a smaller selection of produce — what they do offer is organic). Oh! and a parking lot! Hello!
It is ALLLLLLL good here!

This is a review for the quality of Blue Bottle (BB) latte/​mocha from the new baristas they recently hire. It’s gone bad. I would always drive all the way here to get a nicely crafted BB latte, and I would always find comfort when I see Eric who is an excellent barista and a nice guy.
The last couple times I came here, I saw some new faces, so I asked if he can make a leaf on my mocha if I order it. «Sure.» the cashier said, and then the barista handed me the mocha after he STIRED it with a metal spoon. Then he insisted that that’s how they do it as a matter of fact. I’m sorry that I sound so snobbish, but a customer came in because she recognizes the «Blue Bottle» sign shouldn’t be expecting anything less right? I paid almost $ 5 for a so called BB Mocha, made with puddle of blob.
If you can’t deliver the BB experience, don’t put up a sign for that. This happens a few times already and I’m losing my patience. Next time, I’d rather drive up to the city to get a real BB latte. I’m so disappointed!

Things have turned at B’Game Pro and not in a good way.
The quality has declined steadily in the last year or so and that’s a shame. They used to have a fridge loaded with fresh cheese, «sushi», salami and other sweet gems. Now that fridge is shut off and they have bags of chips stacked in there!
The coffee is still solid but the produce, which used to be the star of the show, is somewhat of an afterthought these days.
I was told they are opening a juice bar soon, so maybe that will peak the interest of folks in town.

Yay Blue Bottle! (:
Automatic 4 stars for having Blue Bottle espresso within a few miles of where I live. Granted, it’s not quite the same as going to the Ferry Building (I find these drinks are a bit weaker), but it’ll make do. They sell their beans here, which saves me a trip to the city! The people who work here are awesome too (:

They serve Blue Bottle coffee here!!! :D
New Orleans Iced Coffee is quite addictive.

This is the only place in San Mateo County that serves Blue Bottle Coffee. I would drink Blue Bottle Coffee over Starbucks any day!
The barista was super friendly and described each bean to me. I decided on the Giant Steps for my drip coffee. When you see the barista prepare the drip coffee, you already know it’s going to be good. He adds some water, lets it drip. Adds more water, lets it drip. This repeats until you get a full cup to enjoy. The coffee has a fairly full body, strong flavor, and loaded with the caffeine you crave.
I enjoyed my cup of java to the last drop.

I gotta be honest, Ive never shopped for anything here. I go straight to the Blue Bottle coffee. Hey it looks good and all but they have my beloved New Orleans Iced. I may stray to a Macchiato once in a while but the NOIC is where it’s at.

One of the best sandwiches EVER…
Try the Vietnamese Pork sandwich if you like a little spice. It was filled with fresh veggies and perfectly cooked pork

Decided to try out the sandwiches and the Blue Bottle coffee. Friendly baristas at the Blue Bottle counter. Great latte — thanks!
Had the NY pastrami at the deli counter. Not bad, expected more meat like a traditional NY pastrami. Oh well, maybe too much hype from my fellow Unilocalers giving this place 5 stars?
2 stars for the deli and 4 stars for the Blue Bottle barista. Averages to a 3 stars.

Try their ready-​made sandwiches! So good! For about $ 8 – 9, you get a very large portion sliced in half. Enough for two people.
We tried the Vietnamese Pork and it was absolutely delicious. Couldn’t even wait to take it home so we ate right outside on their little patio area in front of the store. Paired with some salt and vinegar chips, along with a pineapple soda and you have a happy little lady right here.
Prices are similar to Mollie Stone’s down the way, but the quality is so much better! And everyone there is quite cool, young, hip as well as helpful. Quite possibly my new favorite hangout in Burlingame.

I wandered back in to attempt the sandwich again… after verifying it was a diff guy working the sandwich area…
Cuban sandwich. was FREAKING amazing (especially on clean bread!)
I’m not slowly working my way through their list of sandwiches… I attempted the NY Pastrami on Rye and that was as good.
They provide free parking on the side which is a nice plus when I’m on a time crunch and need to grab a quick and yummy sandwich.

Oh Burlingame Produce… you had me at Blue Bottle. Just the thought of that rich coffee being ever so close to me on the peninsula makes me swoon. And then to tease me, you carry lots of local produce and groceries to play at my locavore heart strings.
Just another reason to make me spend my time in the suburbs. Thanks for being you Burlingame Produce. See you real soon!

Only place in Burlingame to carry Blue Bottle Coffee. (
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I like how they have all sorts of interesting, organic, and locally sourced fruits I typically don’t see at other grocery stores. Dragon-​fruit, prickly pears, fern fronds, rambutons, even white raspberries and starfruit. Just add some white wine and I bet I could make a pretty awesome, «one of a kind» sangria or fruit punch. (
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I haven’t been here for lunch yet but they have a grass-​fed wagyu beef sandwich with cheddar and grilled onions that looks good. Either that or their pork banh mi. (
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This gourmet produce market is not your ordinary produce market. The store also carry many local groceries and produce items (organic and non) i.e. Blue Bottle Coffee.
When I was on Lorton Avenue, I saw the huge Blue Bottle logo posted on the window. I know for damn sure that this definitely will be my go-​to place for my cup of Joe and other espresso drinks in the Peninsula. Logo:
For $ 4.25, I ordered the tasty Mocha. Brewed one cup at a time, the mocha has Scarffenberger Cocoa and Straus Creamery for the foamy milk topping. The combine mixture along with Blue Bottle coffee beans forms one of the best tasting mocha in Burlingame.
I also added a Blueberry & Lemon Scone for $ 2.75. The scone was very moist and paired well with my mocha.
My treat:
Despite being an outsider, the workers treated me like a part of the family. I had to hide my «THUG-​like» image and behavior here.
Just by the friendly approach upon my arrival, this will be my place for coffee and hopefully I can try the produce and lunch here too.