annec's Profile
Report: Newish Alameda Breakfasts
Thanks for the tip - I will add it to my list. Yum.
Report: Newish Alameda Breakfasts
I love breakfast and I love Alameda. Recently three new breakfast places have opened there.
Cafe Jolie - Webster at Santa Clara
One visit so far, right after they opened. I think we were caught up in the frenchiness feel of the place, and were surprised at more conventional menu options. It was fine but not memorable. Beignets were a little more fried/greasy when I was hoping for delicate decadence, that type of thing. Everything sounded better on the menu than as it actually appeared. I'd like to try again in while to see if they have worked out service kinks or tweaked the menu. Their takeout section in the back was full of potential deliciousness, I might try that next.
Cafe Q - Encinal at Park
http://www.cafeqfoodanddrinks.com/
I love this place. They push their high quality eggs and rightly so. They truly are delicious. French toast has a hint of orange zest. Waffles are very vanilla-y, possibly with a whisper of nutmeg, and a lovely syrup. They care about their coffee, which I always appreciate.
Red Onion - Park Street
This is the place to go for any breakfast possible to think up, and giant mounds of it. Hash browns or home fries, you can choose either. Omelets or scramble, you can choose either. Big pancakes, little pancakes. It isn't a diner like Jim's or Ole's, and it isn't a cafe like Jolie or Q. It is just...there.
Next up for me is to try the breakfast options I saw on the Julie's coffeehouse menu, across the street from Red Onion, and next to Boogie Woogie Bagel, which I prefer to House of Bagels, on a bagel day.
Nick's Pizza: Made in Oakland, Opening on Tuesday (5/8)
Agreed - there is nothing interesting or especially delicious about Red Boy Pizza.
Flavor Brigade, Oakland
Still learning etiquette here, search threads had old ones so I hope it is OK to start a new one.
I went to Flavor Brigade last week. Their space is about the same, their signage improved. I got regular ice cream, my kid chose "2nd Street" which is a parfait looking arrangement of frozen custard and italian ice, which I tasted as the portions as generous. I agreed with the family near us who had the same concoction when they said "It tastes like a cold Jolly Rancher."
I don't know much about italian ice or frozen custard, or how I feel about them combined. But their regular, Strauss milk ice cream is lovely.
http://flavorbrigade.com/menu.html
Grocery Outlet-April 2012
Was the Vermont Pie in Oakland? I loved their frozen (empty) pie crusts. Whole Foods used to carry them but stopped.
Grocery Outlet-April 2012
Went to Oakland today on the tip about Hellmann's squeeze bottle, alas it was all labeled Best Foods that I could see. I know they are the same product, the labels are identical except for the name, and yet....I guess the placebo effect is strong with me.
Trying Hellmann's Olive Oil light mayo , or some such thing 1.99. Also Best Foods limited edition Garlic and Herbs mayo, .99 - both of those in the usual mayonnaise spot.
Choco Dream white chocolate spread over by the nutella/peanut butter/regular Best Foods mayo for $2.49. Bought it because it looked like mayonnaise and I was feeling sorry for myself about no Hellmanns. A little goes a long way.
Wholesome brand sugars, cane light, dark, and powdered, are $2.99 above the freezer case. Regular price is listed as $5.49 and I can verify that is true as I saw the same product at Whole Foods a few blocks away at the higher price. This seems like a great deal for high quality, fair trade sugar.
No good wines that I could find.
Grand Lake (Oakland): What to Eat and Where?
Was at Lin Jia again recently, I love the braised egg tofu - have never had anything like it before and will keep an eye out for it to compare at other places.
Grocery Outlet March, 2012
At Oakland on the weekend : Boulder olive oil potato chips - I really liked these. Picked up the Michel-Schlumberger Red recommended here but have not tried it yet. Oakland had my treasured Hellman's Mayo but in giant vats - it looked like catering size to me - wouldn't even fit in our fridge. I love it but I can't eat that much.
Looking for Delitia Butter of Parma / Parmigiano Reggiano Butter
You could call Rainbow Grocery in SF. I have seen it at Berkeley Bowl in the east bay fairly recently, but that may be too far for you.
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Berkeley Bowl
2020 Oregon St, Berkeley, CA 94703
Rainbow Grocery
1745 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Cupcakes
Frosting Bake Shop? I tried it a few months ago It was not my favorite. They had novelty flavors but the cake seemed dry and the frosting was sweet. I do like CupKates - I am a frosting fan and I like theirs, though it is piled so high I can't always get a properly balanced bite, for lack of a better term.
http://www.frostingbakeshop.com/frosting/home.html
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Frosting Bakeshop
7 E Blithedale Avenue, Mill Valley, CA
Kitchen on Fire - knife skills class?
I took a knife skills class at KOF - not sure if they have different levels. I had zero knife skills. We learned knife care, the "claw", different cuts for vegetables and herbs. We practiced while the teacher and assistant walked through for corrections.
Report: Lin Jia Asian Kitchen
Lin Jia Asian Kitchen replaced L'Amyx Tea Bar on Lakeshore Ave in Oakland. I went with a friend last night and really enjoyed it. Everything was very fresh. Service was extremely attentive.
Fried Sweet Potato - breaded, fried deliciousness with garlic. Served with ketchup, like french fries, but I skipped the condiment.
Papaya Salad - julienned fruit with chopped peanut on top and an herby dressing. It got a little bit watery towards the end but mostly had a clean crisp bite.
Imperial Glass noodles - mixed with tofu. I often avoid glass noodles because they can be gummy, these were borderline but addictive.
Buddha Curry - had a pleasant after-kick. Basically a vegetable mix with heavy emphasis on eggplant and potato, with a green or red pepper here and there. Menu said tofu but it was scarce, not a big deal as there was plenty in the Glass Noodle dish. I am wimpy when it comes to spicy-hot in food, and what I liked about this dish was that after the yummy veg flavors were tasted, the spice gently burned as a secondary taste.
http://www.linjiakitchen.com/
my first taste of Oakland's Flavor Brigade -- amazing ice cream
There is lots of new, clear signage as well. Much easier to see when driving down Fruitvale.
Duke's Mayonnaise - where to find it in the Bay Area?
Thanks for the tip. By the time I got there (yesterday), Oakland had only Light left in Hellmann's. I was in a rush, and didn't do a full GO inspection, though I did notice Mozzerella Fresca products that I usually see at Whole Foods.
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Fresca Restaurant
2114 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115
Duke's Mayonnaise - where to find it in the Bay Area?
I think it was discontinued at Cost Plus. I just went to find it yesterday at JLS - somehow the only person not at EatReal - and it wasn't anywhere, not even in clearance. If it pops up at another Cost Plus in the area, I would love to know, otherwise I am back to stalking Grocery Outlet for Hellmann's.
Is anything nice open for lunch anymore in Berkeley or Oakland?
I like Levende East.
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Levende East
827 Washington St., Oakland, CA 94607
new blue bottle location
I was dragged to Zachary's on College Ave in Oakland the other day, and noticed a giant Blue Bottle logo in the window of what I believe was the old 22 Shoes store.
I also noticed eating Zachary's on location is marginally better than taking it to go, though it still isn't my taste.
Sketch Ice Cream v3
They seem to be ramping up - now they have ice cream flavors on offer, changing flavors. Hooray!
Sad about east bay chocolate
Thanks, I will try Chocolatier Blue and Berkeley Bowl West. If I find myself Solano way I will try Xocolate but that is a bit north of my usual stomping grounds. I have tried Michael Mischer, yummy but not a favorite. I agree about Cosmic, it is not my taste.
Charles Chocolate chocolate almonds are phenomenal. I have found no others that compare. Piedmont Grocery supposedly still carries them though I have yet to confirm it personally.
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Charles Chocolates
6529 Hollis St, Emeryville, CA 94608
The Xocolate Bar
1709 Solano Ave, Berkeley, CA 94707
Chocolatier Blue
1964 University Ave, Berkeley, CA 94701
Berkeley Bowl West
920 Heinz Ave, Berkeley, CA
Sad about east bay chocolate
I am a little late on these but I am sad that Charles Chocolates and XOX Truffles have left the East Bay and moved to San Francisco. I never took to Bittersweet, they have so much....everything. Any recommendations on where I can look? Is the place that took over Sketch's site on 4th Street, Berkeley worth trying? Thanks.
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XOX Truffles
754 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133
Charles Chocolates
6529 Hollis St, Emeryville, CA 94608
Organic Produce Delivery
I don't think you are far off. We have been dealing with that with Riverdog too. We do have way less tomato quality/variety than last year. Their prices went up this year too. We used to get their eggs, but they discontinued the CSA egg program in favor of selling only at farmers market. I can't make it over to Berkeley FM.
That said, I continue with Riverdog because I mostly enjoy what I get, surprises and all, and use lots of it. I love the CSA philosophy and support it. I like that they exchange with other farms to provide variety in the box.
I think it is inherent for any CSA to have a packing day prior to delivery days. They can't be picked and packed same morning, imagine the inefficiency of logistics.
Report: Tale of Two Glenview Brunches
I recently had brunches at Bellanico and at Marzano, both on Park Blvd in Oakland. Both are italian places, though Marzano centers on pizza and Bellanico is more generalist.
Both served bombolini - little round italian donuts. Bellanico serves with a vanilla custard sauce, Marzano served with a chocolate sauce and house-made strawberry jam. If I could dip the Bellanico bombolini into the Marzano chocolate sauce, culinary nirvana would be achieved.
Both served french toast, which our 6 year old ordered. Marzano serves on brioche with a strawberry sauce, which was different from the jam according to the server. It was slightly dry. We drizzled more chocolate sauce on it to compensate. Bellanico serves on country bread with syrup, so Bellanico won here.
I love eggs. I ordered poached at Bellanico, and they were exquisite. Perfectly prepared, just heavenly. The house potatoes were also perfectly cooked, soft enough and flavorful but not overwhelmingly spicy, so they complemented the eggs.
At Marzano, I ordered a breakfast pizza, since that is what they do there, and it gets a big egg in the middle. It was great to have a Marzano pizza with egg.
My husband ordered frittata at both restaurants. He greatly preferred Bellanico. While they couldn't be compared directly as they had different ingredients, he found the Bellanico more flavorful. At Marzano, we had to order the potatoes as a side. They were fine - not terribly exciting.
Service was top-notch at both locations - attentive and friendly, very accommodating to our child. Our Marzano bill was a bit of sticker shock, however. Looking at the menus side by side online, Marzano averages about $2 more per entree. Since it is hard for us to get out to brunch, we would choose Bellanico again in a heartbeat, but would be hard-pressed to return to Marzano for brunch. For pizza dinner, if we can get in, absolutely.
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Bellanico
4238 Park Blvd, Oakland, CA 94602
Marzano
4214 Park Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94602
Berkeley Bowl West - The promised land ... west of Eden
Did you by chance bring your own bag? I brought a bag and they filled it, then pulled another bag for the rest of my groceries. I saw green bags at the neighboring checkout stands.
The cafe looked open to me though I didn't stay. There was a giant line at the deli. I had to forego buying one item because while on the shelf, it was not priced there or scanning in their computer system. They were apologetic about it.
I rarely went to the original location for the typical reasons, but I love this new store. It had many delicious items I wanted to bring home. Fellow shoppers were happy and nice, which has not been my experience in the other store.
Red Boy pizza comments?
i agree with this comment. Cornmeal/sourdough crusts are not my taste. We live near the Leimert location and order salads and pasta from Red Boy - delivery pizza we rely on Rustica Montclair. Redboy's house salad has a delicious dressing - green and garlicky.
cake flour & baking supplies in the bay area?
Spun Sugar did not carry self-rising flour when I went there and asked. So they don't have absolutely everything....
Help me satisfy my night-time sweet tooth: chocolate cake to go in the East Bay?
Whole Foods Oakland didn't have much by the slice when I was looking. I did not look at whole cakes. Whole Foods Berkeley sells a cake - called tuxedo I think - that I love. As one might expect from the name the cake is chocolate but the frosting and ganache are white - not necessarily vanilla.
Prepared Pie Crusts - Where can I find the best?
I found this post very helpful this weekend, wanted to contribute an update from the grocery store angle.
Trader joes pie crust was in the freezer section, not refrigerated. It had palm oil in it, I skipped it.
Whole Foods had frenchpicnic in the freezer section for $11.99. Their website was defunct when I tried it. There were the aforementioned whole wheat and spelt crusts. There was also Vermont Mystic Pie Company crust, on sale for $8.99 - flour, butter, water. This is what I went with.
There were not a lot of baking tips on the box, when I got home I went to their website and learned that the crusts must be baked frozen to bake correctly. If they were going to be used for a two layer pie, it was recommended to half-thaw the second crust, fill the first then add the rolled, pliable second crust to the top to seal, then refreeze overnight before baking. I did not want to do that so I cheated and baked it with the half-frozen top. The pie came out fine.
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Vermont Mystic Pie Co
127 Marshall Ln, Waterbury Center, VT
Marzano coming to Glenview
Down the street from Bellanico on Park Blvd in Oakland there is going to be another new restaurant. This is my neighborhood so I'm pretty excited about how the options are looking up.
I looked in the posting guidelines about quoting other sources, I hope this is OK.
"More East Bay: John Hurley, founder of Home in San Francisco and co-owner of Garibaldis in San Francisco and Oakland, is about to fulfill a dream and open a small Italian restaurant. Come November, he and partners Justin Hafen and Scott Sasaki will throw open the doors to Marzano at 4214 Park Blvd. (near Wellington) in Oakland's Glenview neighborhood."
Taken from this SFGate column - halfway down, there are more details in the text.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/25/FD1T11CK7S.DTL
Need Delivered Lunch for 25 in Moraga
I heard good things about this place but I haven't tried it myself yet.
http://www.stellanonna.com/
