Upper Crust is recognized as the best bakery in Davis for the third year in a row
By OLIVIA HOKR — city@theaggie.org
Over the past few years, Upper Crust Baking has earned the titles of Best Bakery and Best Pastries. They have once again been voted the Best Bakery in Davis for 2025.
Located at 634 G St., Upper Crust Baking has grown to become a Davis staple. The family-owned bakery prioritizes quality and authenticity in their menu items, as well as providing a space for the community to come together.
Lorin Kalisky, the owner and executive chef, took over the business from his parents in 2016. In its early years, the bakery was primarily a farmers market vendor. Kalisky wanted to expand to a physical location for customers to enjoy, which led him to open the Davis storefront in 2019.
“The bakery business is a hard business to be in — we work long hours, early hours, and no one is getting rich,” Kalisky said. “We do it because we love to bake, we love to feed people good food and we love to serve our community. It is very gratifying, and it makes it all worthwhile when we get compliments and accolades like this. We are proud of the work we do, and we are very grateful to the community for the recognition.”
The bakery offers a wide variety of goods. From fresh-baked loaves, baguettes and bagels to tarts, scones, croissants and cakes, Upper Crust has something for everyone. They also offer seasonal menus. This year’s April specials include Easter- and Passover-themed desserts.
Kalisky shared more about his favorite products and the effort they put into ensuring authenticity.
“I think we make really amazing French bread and pastry,” Kalisky said. “My wife is French, and I lived in Paris for 14 years, so we have high standards for quality and authenticity. We make a special baguette — a regional specialty from Bordeaux — that is made with spelt flour and sesame seeds, giving it a unique nutty flavor. It’s split at each end — people think it looks like it has rabbit ears — in order to resemble the trimmings from grape vines after the harvest. These trimmings are called sarments de vigne, and so the baguette is called a sarmentine baguette.”
Within the past year, the bakery expanded to provide an outdoor patio space for customers to enjoy. Kalinsky noted that there’s not much space inside the bakery, so the patio provides a space for the community to gather. Students also use the patio to study while snacking on a pastry.
Julia Ing, a fourth-year managerial economics major, frequents Upper Crust because of its welcoming environment and lattes.
“I really like the lattes,” Ing said. “I haven’t really had many of their pastries. I’ve had a savory scone. I liked it! They also have good chocolate croissants.”
Allison Merz, a graduate student in the School of Management and frequent customer, said the bakery reminds her of home.
“All of their lattes are incredible,” Merz said. “I’m from Oregon, and [the bakery] reminds me of central Oregon, so it has a very comfortable, homey feeling. And it smells so good.”
Upper Crust has also been selling at the Davis Farmers Market for nearly 40 years. Kalinsky shared that the farmers market has really supported the bakery’s ability to maintain its “farm-to-oven” approach. They try to source as many ingredients as possible from local farms and producers, ensuring fresh and quality baking.
The storefront is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sundays and sells at the Davis Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. If you haven’t yet, indulge in one of their freshly baked goods to understand why they are the consecutive winners of Davis’ Best Bakery.
Written by: Olivia Hokr — city@theaggie.org
