indigirl's Profile
Looking for cafe near BART, Oakland, quiet for mid-afternoon meeting
So, we went to World Grounds & my main complaint was too noisy -- kinda cavernous space, the sound bounces around.
Does anybody know if Homeroom is quiet in mid-afternoon (I seem to recall so) & if they would mind a table of people mostly not ordering food?
Looking for cafe near BART, Oakland, quiet for mid-afternoon meeting
Oh dear, probably too late to change for this meeting... & the person who is on public transit agreed to it... looks like we'll probably change for the next meeting.
Keep the comments coming! Thank you!
Looking for cafe near BART, Oakland, quiet for mid-afternoon meeting
Thank you all! That gives me some good options. Meanwhile someone in my group came up with World Grounds at 3rd & Jackson, so we're trying that first...
Looking for cafe near BART, Oakland, quiet for mid-afternoon meeting
I know many such cafes must exist. I just can't think of them.
The following criteria have to be true on a weekday afternoon 3-5pm:
1) Within a few blocks of one of these BART stations: 12th, 19th, MacArthur, Rockridge, Lake Merritt.
2) Reasonably easy/cheap parking, preferably free street parking.
3) Quiet & uncrowded enough to have a meeting of 4-6 people, but at the same time
4) not so quiet that everyone else in the place would hear everything we say.
5) decent food, coffee, tea, so folks can either eat or just drink
I thought first of Crepevine upstairs, but don't know how quiet it is at that time of day.
Ideas?
Thanks in advance!
Sam Wo closing... help!!!! Where...
Oh wow! I can't believe it! I remember many a plate of chow fun there in the late 80s when I was working on a video project in Chinatown. We would lug our equipment up those stairs after we finished shooting -- big heavy cases in those days, we were shooting VHS :)
Sigh.
Pastries for the Lunar New Year at Masse's (Berkeley)
We went yesterday & got the chocolate dragon head, the firecracker, green tea opera & yuzu & green tea macarons. I liked the firecracker best, so light & fluffy w/ wonderful subtle flavor. Everything was delicious though. The dragon head was really fun to eat, with all the chocolate parts to pick off & nibble. Might need to get another yuzu macaron very soon, perhaps when we go back to try some of the other specials. All very festive & really gave me a proper New Year feeling! Thanks so much for the alert -- never woulda known about it otherwise!
Restaurant to celebrate after getting married at City Hall
We went to Paul K when we did that. Cozy & sweet.
CA hounds seeking suggestions near hwys 17 & 101, also 10 & 17
Thanks so much! Will check out Glendale! -- I always did want to know where the closest good-food neighborhood was from granny's :)
I looked at the Arrowhead Grill menu -- not quite what we are looking for since we don't really eat steak, & coming from West Coast it doesn't make sense to eat seafood in Phoenix. So, eagerly awaiting more northern tips....
CA hounds seeking suggestions near hwys 17 & 101, also 10 & 17
Hello Phoenix hounds,
Spousette & I will be coming into town (from Berkeley) to visit relatives, including cousins who live just northeast of the intersection of highways 17 & 101. We want to take them out to dinner but googling reveals only a zillion franchises. Their suggestion is Mellow Mushroom. Can we do better?
Parameters:
Nothing too adventurous -- we have some elders who rarely eat anything non-Chinese, & the cousins are not foodies.
Budget to moderate -- say under $20/entree.
We would prefer not to drive all over the place to dinner, but if there really is nothing in that neighborhood, we'd rather go a little bit out of the way for good food.
Also we are not big meat-eaters, so don't send us to a steakhouse or burger place ;)
Also, we will be staying w/ granny off Hwy 10, exit 139 (51st Av.) if you have any suggestions around there for general noshing apart from the above dinner.
Thanks in advance for any & all suggestions!
Camino or Marica?
I have liked every meal at Camino, but I will say that the last time I was there (in November) the service seemed a bit absent-minded. I just assumed our server was having an off night, & it certainly wouldn't keep me from going back. Haven't tried Marica so can't compare.
help me plan my tartine strategy
I have no trouble tearing into a whole loaf with my hands (& I have very weak hands) because I just can't resist. I never arrive home with an intact loaf... there's always an end missing!
You want to make sure you get some really good butter to go with that...
& while you're at Tartine you *must* have a slice of the lemon meringue cake!
where to get really good cake by the slice in the evening, Berkeley/Oakland?
Thanks for the suggestions... I ended up at A Cote because I remembered liking their desserts before. The lemon pound cake I got, although good (with mascarpone cream & huckleberries) , was not really what I was craving. Will try Boot & Shoe next time. Hopefully though, this craving will have the good sense to strike during Crixa hours! Sigh!
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A Cote
5478 College Ave, Oakland, CA 94618
where to get really good cake by the slice in the evening, Berkeley/Oakland?
Yeah, it has to be several notches better than Crepevine, which is why I'm assuming it'll be in a restaurant & not a cafe. A $9 slice, not a $4 slice....
where to get really good cake by the slice in the evening, Berkeley/Oakland?
I don't eat cake very often but right now (Sunday evening) have a severe jones for a really good slice of cake, & I don't want to cross a bridge to get it. I'm envisioning something slightly fussy & old-fashioned & light, with lots of little layers, maybe with berry flavors. Chocolate ok but there should be other flavors involved. In other words, I don't want a slab of flourless chocolate cake, or carrot cake... come to think of it perhaps a tiramisu might scratch the itch, but think I'd prefer something more fruity.
Any suggestions? I'm assuming it will be in a restaurant. Feel free to suggest places I could go on a different night, if it's closed on Sunday -- for future cake cravings ;)
(I do know where to go in the daytime: Crixa, Masse, Katrina Rozelle...)
Thanks in advance!
Best work-from-home cafes -- Oakland/Berkeley
Seems to me it's in part of the mysterious never-open rug shop south of the movie theater. Not the bigger rug shop space on the corner of Webster, but in a smaller space next to that.
Best work-from-home cafes -- Oakland/Berkeley
Your comfy couch place at Alcatraz & College was A Cuppa, which is moving a few blocks north to Elmwood (just walked by the new space being renovated). The old space is being turned into yet another Peet's, sigh.
Best work-from-home cafes -- Oakland/Berkeley
Have you tried Farley's East?
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Farley's East
33 Grand Ave, Oakland, CA
Anyplace to eat in Redding?
Reporting back... we ended up at Pho Saigon, which is tucked into the corner of a dull L-shaped mall (236 Hartnell) in a neighborhood surrounded by all the usual franchise suspects. It was pretty good. We both ordered bun. (Mine veggie, hers chicken & shrimp.) My only complaint is that the sauce was a little unbalanced, too much sweet & not enough acid, but I can say the same about many places (in other words, it might be just me).
Anyplace to eat in Redding?
Thanks for the options! Is this the same Cattleman's chain that has been in CA since at least the late 70s? When I was a kid we used to stop at one on the way to Tahoe... such memories!
Anyplace to eat in Redding?
Any more updated lunch suggestions? For people who don't eat beef? We are curious to see the sundial bridge, so food nearby would be preferable.
budget dinner near Santa Cruz boardwalk?
A belated report back: we went to Riva's & it was, sorry to say, pretty bad. Maybe we ordered the wrong things? Is this the kind of place where you should stick to things out of the fryer? We didn't get anything fried. I got trout, spousette got something with prawns. My trout was overcooked & bland, with a strangely sweet accompanying mushroom wine sauce. Spousette described the meal as "airplaney", which is one of the things I never want to have to say about food I'm eating. On the plus side, the view was great & the service fast, friendly & efficient.
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Riva Fish House
500 Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
budget dinner near Santa Cruz boardwalk?
Thanks so much for the tips, esp. the heads-up about cash only. Will report back...
budget dinner near Santa Cruz boardwalk?
I searched old threads for Santa Cruz & found mostly people looking for seafood or talking about Ristorante Avanti, pro & con.
I'm looking for a dinner place convenient to the Cocoanut Grove/boardwalk area, preferably for under $20/person total. We don't drink so that helps :) Also not big meat-eaters, so don't send us for burgers or BBQ. We like healthy, fresh, value. Willing to go over $20 for exceptional value.
By "convenient" I mean I'd prefer walking distance, or if driving, easy to get to -- not clear across town.
Thanks in advance for all suggestions!
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Ristorante Avanti
1711 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Oldest Chinese Restaurant in Bay Area
Those were probably my photos you saw -- the Mostly Mississippi show. Yes, CHSA is where it's at!
See also Jennifer 8 Lee's Fortune Cookie Chronicles http://www.fortunecookiechronicles.com/
Another good book about Chinese American history, though not specifically about restaurants/food, is Driven Out http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520256941
Oldest Chinese Restaurant in Bay Area
I'm curious to know why you're looking for this! Please share :)
Bakesale Betty- Fried chicken sandwich, am I missing something?
I will definitely try the Cafe 15 version as soon as I get a chance, thanks for the tip!
& definitely BB's chicken pot pie is where it's at!
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Cafe 15
597 15th St, Oakland, CA 94612
Suggestions for Sebastopol area? especially lunch
Reporting back on a lovely little trip:
1. Della Fattoria was the perfect way to start the vacation; we went for lunch on our way to Sebastopol. The space is beautiful & relaxing, very nice atmosphere, with lots of fresh flowers. Spousette got delicious biscuits & gravy, I got egg salad/sundried tomato tapenade/smoked salmon sandwich, which was definitely the richest egg salad sandwich I'd ever eaten. I probably shouldn't have finished it ;) Came w/ a side salad made of impeccably fresh lettuces, very impressive. Would definitely go back again at every chance.
2. Dinner that night at La Bodega wine club. This was mixed. Nice space but uncomfortable chairs. Odd combination of table service with help-yourself silverware & napkins, equally odd ordering procedure (you mark your choices on the xerox menu, then they write down what you wrote...) but it didn't bother us. Spousette got chicken with mushrooms in cream sauce -- sooooo good! This was definitely a hit. I ordered fava greens ravioli with peas & artichoke -- when it arrived, it turned out to be a tomato-based sauce, which together with the tart (marinated) artichoke hearts, basically shouted down any fava flavor the ravioli possessed. It seemed like a waste of really excellent ravioli. The peas were disappointing as well, kind of hard & starchy, a shame since fresh peas are so good right now. I might go back again to try other ravioli, being sure to ask many careful picky questions about the sauce before ordering.
3. Wildflour bakery -- so charming! We got a green onion asiago scone, which had good texture but had a bit of sweetness to it that seemed misplaced. Also a bell pepper 4-cheese bread that was deilcious but seemed slightly overpriced at $6.50 for a very small loaf. They have a really lovely garden though where you can sit & eat, so that's some added value :)
4. K&L had a slightly more formal atmosphere than we expected or were dressed for, but they treated us well & we had a good meal. Burger, Atlantic salmon with favas, peas, fingerlings, side of grilled asparagus. All straightforward & flawless, except for the asparagus, which was a bit oversalted, plus $6 for 6 spears of asparagus pushed my value buttons a bit.
5. We ended up at Willow wood Market Cafe in Graton for dinner on the last night. Steelhead w/ mashed taters & veggie mix, Market plate (polenta, spinach, roasted tomato, soft egg, cambozola toasts). The steelhead dish was flawless & the Market plate is a comfort-food fave of mine from years ago. Again a very good meal & almost $20 cheaper than the previous night's dinner: happy value queen!
6. Marshall Store: raw oysters thumbs up, crab roll not worth the price, clam chowder just ok.
We had brought some of our own food & also had leftovers from a couple of the dinners, so didn't end up eating lunch out as much.
Thanks everyone for the tips!
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Della Fattoria
141 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA 94952
Marshall Store
19225 Hwy 1, Marshall, CA 94940
Bakesale Betty- Fried chicken sandwich, am I missing something?
it may look "chaotic & inefficient" to you, but I'm always amazed how fast the line moves & how efficient & friendly (both! at the same time!) the service is.
& I've been eating that sandwich since the beginning & I still love it!
