bgbc's Profile
Looking for cafe near BART, Oakland, quiet for mid-afternoon meeting
Off the top of my head -- you'll want to check opening hours, etc. --
Bittersweet (Rockridge)
Cactus (Rockridge). Will get noisy after 5.
Hudson Bay Cafe (Rockridge)
Tayberries?
Swanton Berry Farms near Pescadero grows them. They're right next to the olallieberry u-pick. Pretty sure they don't have a tayberry u-pick but you could call and ask them where/when they sell them.
From their website, http://www.swantonberryfarm.com/
Swanton Coastways Ranch U-Pick
640 Highway 1 Pescadero, CA 94060
ISO Custom Birthday Cakes
Depending on how precisely lobsterlike you want it, you could try Noe Valley Bakery. Cakes are perfectly adequate and they've done custom size and decorations for us in the past. (Not sure they would have a lobster cake form, though.)
What's your budget for "reasonable"?
Can't get links to work -- here's their site URL: http://www.noevalleybakery.com/
Chinese red dates?
Munched these for snacks as a kid and found them easily at grocery stores. But can't find them now, decades later... I'd actually like to use them quasi-medicinally in a ginseng chicken soup I'm making.
Admittedly, I've only tried Whole Foods, Rainbow, and Berkeley Bowl, but I was surprised at the completely blank looks "Chinese red dates" drew. On googling I see they are also apparently known as jujubes, which I wasn't asking for. I'm avoiding Chinatown (SF or Oakland) b/c of parking hell and wouldn't know where to go anyway, but if anyone has a specific store name...
Any tips?
Thanks so much!
Showstopper cakes Oakland/Berkeley/Albany
Thanks everyone! Good to know Crixa can glam it up if asked.
Showstopper cakes Oakland/Berkeley/Albany
Would love recommendations -- I'm looking for somewhere in the East Bay to buy a couple of spectacular-looking cakes that aren't fondant-coated confections and which taste delicious -- something along the lines of Delessio's cakes.
Crixa meets yumminess factor but I'd love even more drama in a cake...
Thanks!
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Delessio Market & Bakery
1695 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Crixa Cakes
2748 Adeline St, Berkeley, CA 94703
Please DON’T recommend a restaurant for 35 people…
No idea on the pricing, but at a smallish work party (~50 ppl) last October, someone set up a picnic in GGPark with a taco truck and an ice-cream cart. And you can't say food carts aren't very SF...
Best places to take a 7 year old
Ice-cream: Humphry Slocombe and Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous for unusual flavors and very SF locations/settings.
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Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream
2790 Harrison St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous
699 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94107
SF Trip with Three Children - Looking for Thoughts on my Itinerary
Great suggestions from others; I'll fill in gaps based on my experiences with my kids and what we've done recently.
Saturday: Westfield has some great choices, but I'd avoid the Korean, Thai and Mexican (Andale) places unless you just want to fill up fast on bulk. None is particularly authentic IMHO; the Thai would be the "best" filling dinner choice of the three. Better bets are Bistro Burger or the San Francisco Soup Co., both at the Bloomingdales end of the food court. If you don't have Beard Papa (cream puffs and cheesecake sticks) in MN, it's a fun treat for the kids if they like sweet things. Out the Door is, I believe, still closed but is generally great; outside, on Mission Street toward Fifth Street, we like 'Wichcraft (it's an NYC transplant) for grilled sandwiches and soups. They do a kids' grilled cheese combo that's a nice deal. However, they also close around 6 p.m.
Sunday: I love La Boulange but would go for Honey Honey unless you want a very light breakfast. LB pastries are fab and the brewed coffee is better than HH, but the only substantial breakfast thing I recall is a huge and delicious -- to me -- tub of yogurt with fruit, granola and honey. My then-six-year-old couldn't finish it when he had it; too rich and thick. Honey Honey has great sweet crepes as well as savory options and filling sides. Fresh juices are nice, and the coffee is passable. (If you're into coffee, then that's a whole other thread! The Bay Area has some pretty great local roasters worth trying.)
I'm not a fan of Fisherman's Wharf food options, but the In-and-Out is great for kids. Why not just have a California fast food experience there...? It suits the setting, too ;)
Monday: I know the Ferry Building is a breakfast destination, but I have to mention the delicious Prather Ranch hot dogs. Boccalone might have non-sweet (salumi) breakfast options, too. Blue Bottle coffee is in the FB but lines (and wait to make the coffee) can be excruciating.
(Hint: another Blue Bottle cafe, at Mint Plaza (Fifth Street at Mission), is a great lightish (a limited but lovely menu that includes pastries, waffles, eggs, oatmeal) breakfast spot but either early (7ish) or late (after 9:30) as it's a destination for many local area workers.)
Yank Sing is a great experience, but if you decide to stay longer in the YBG/SFMOMA area, you should know that the SFMOMA cafe is also very solid -- notably, there's also an upstairs (museum admission required) rooftop cafe with a small selection of sweet treats as well as coffee, etc. that's a nice break from the crowds, if decide you want quiet time. See if the kids can spot the rooftop "Where's Waldo" figure if you head up here ;)
I personally think Tadich is a little stuffy but wonderful, but last I was there was with an astonishingly well-behaved 18-month-old, not older, potentially more fidgety kids. However, it's not that quiet, so if the kids are happy to sit still enough and keep themselves occupied I don't see you being uncomfortable there.
Tuesday: I agree with Tardigrade about the Haight. It's pretty blah for young kids and adults and more of a place for older teenagers and college age kids than younger kids -- lots of vintage clothes, hippish (and hippieish, too) boutiques, record shops, etc., and plenty of street kids with their annoying dogs, etc.
GGP museum restaurants are, as pamf said, surprisingly good. The Cal Academy restaurant is the better choice (than the De Young) for quality, range and price.
Wednesday: Tartine is awesome but be prepared to circle for parking (tip: Dolores Street a block west is often the best bet; you can park in white zones for the various churches and businesses in the Tartine perimeter if they are not open). Lines can be long but you'll generally always find a table.
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Wichcraft
868 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Prather Ranch
1 Ferry Bldg # 32, San Francisco, CA
Blue Bottle Cafe
66 Mint St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Beard Papa Sweets Cafe
845 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Blue Bottle Coffee in Ferry Building
One Ferry Building, 200 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94111
Bistro Burger
845 Market St Ste Fe10, San Francisco, CA 94103
San Francisco Soup Company
845 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Flipside - handcrafted, half-pound, ground-in-house burgers and bodacious beer-battered onion rings ... vegetarian friendly [Lakeshore, Oakland]
Ate there earlier this week--
Sweet potato fries were crispy and spicy -- thinner than Barney's and punchier. I didn't drench them in ranch the way I usually do and, while on the thin side, they were still moist enough to eat by the handful.
Curly fries were tender, moist and slightly sweet (in a good way) with a delicate crust.
The onion rings are delicious -- I had them on top of my Cowboy burger and even partially soaked in BBQ sauce they were crispy on the outside and meltingly soft on the inside. But they're also pretty rich and I can't imagine eating a whole side order (the burger came with four and that was plenty).
Bacon on the burger was also fresh tasting, meaty (rather than predominantly fatty and crisped up) and evenly cooked and didn't overpower the meat. Meat was medium as ordered and the HUGE classic bun soaked up most but not all of the juices.
B&W malted was sufficiently malty but I'll always take more malt. I also wish they had a plain vanilla malt on the menu (I didn't try to order off-menu). The shake was a little thick for my taste and the straw wasn't wide enough to compensate so I had to let the shake sit and soften for a while.
Boniere Bakery - hot cross buns and malasadas from heaven [Oakland]
Just picked up some malasadas as well as hot cross buns. They are crispy on the outside and tender inside, and I thought I could taste something other than cinnamon -- coriander or cardamom? Priced at 75c each, which seems criminally inexpensive. Hot cross buns are $1 each.
I would describe each more but that would involve me eating what I bought for the rest of my family :)
We went by yesterday for malasadas and they were out -- at least, they were out until my four-year-old started wailing (yes, I was horrified!) in disappointment. I obviously talked them up too much. The women at the counter gave us some day-olds from the fridge, which was incredibly kind of them. But obviously cold day-olds have none of the spring or texture contrast of fresh baked.
Breakfast pastries at Boot and Shoe Service [Oakland]
Sightglass -- thanks for that remark. I had no idea it was the coffee and not the barista (or me). Had it just once, on Seventh Street before their bigger space was open and it was horribly burnt and acidic tasting. And I like a range of coffee, not just the fruity light roasts.
Cesar Latino (Oakland branch renamed)
Do you know if the owners are the same? A friend who waited tables there in the pre-Cesar Latino days said the drive for $ above quality by one of the owners was a big part of the problem.
New Oakland food truck spot - Grand Ave
Chairman's Twitter feed doesn't seem to list any recent Oakland stops: https://twitter.com/#!/chairmantruck
New Oakland food truck spot - Grand Ave
Last I had Chairman (Bao) in SF it was also around $7 for two buns. Delicious, fresh, spicy and filling.
Suet in the East bay?
That's so kind, thank you! I ended up going back today and they ground some more for me. I also bought a bit extra just in case I have it in me to make mince pies (the mince for which really should be aged, but oh well...). 10/10 for TLBS too. They were so genuinely friendly and helpful both times.
Suet in the East bay?
Adding Prather Ranch in the Ferry Bdg: suet is a special order.
Any ideas for a big piece of petrified parmesan/Parmigiano-Reggiano?
Act soon! I saved my parmesan heels for so long they became, uh, kind of rancid and I had to toss them. So sad.
Any ideas for a big piece of petrified parmesan/Parmigiano-Reggiano?
I've always wanted to make this risotto: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Truffled-Red-Wine-Risotto-with-Parmesan-Broth-235854
40 pounds of grapefruit
Candied grapefruit peel is delicious. Lots of different ways to do it, but leaving some pith on makes for a candy-sweet and soft-centered (halved?) treat. It's a good idea to keep it in the freezer for freshness.
Preparing raw suet
Answering my own question: http://hailbritannia.com/2008/12/15/the-mincemeat-chronicles-pt-1-preparing-the-suet/
Thankfully I didn't decide to just chop and add to the fruit!
Suggestions for premium chocolate gelato?
I actually really, really love Three Twins chocolate ice cream. It's creamy AND very very chocolately, and better than the dense bricks of gelato in some more expensive pint packs. It's at Whole Foods and probably other markets, too.
Preparing raw suet
Embarking on a traditional pudding (yes, yes, I know it's Dec. 21!) pudding this year with suet versus my usual butter. Suet's apparently a scarce resource and I've been piecing together half a pound from a couple of vendors.
Now I'm wondering how to prepare raw suet -- in addition to extruded (?) cleaned suet (it looks like white bird food pellets) that's ready for cooking, I have a big lump of more-or-less but not entirely cleaned suet. It's softer than the pellets. Do I just trim off any remaining plumbing, red meat, and membrane and chop it into dice? Darina Allen's "Lost Skills" book has rough instructions, but I'd love to get tips from anyone else who's done this!
Thanks!
Suet in the East bay?
Thanks, everyone. I usually make a pudding with butter, so pudding with suet is new to me. (Last year I did make mincemeat pies (filling) successfully with rendered beef fat, however. Not too greasy.)
For anyone else looking, here's my run down:
- Avedano's: caul fat only
- Bryan's: "Suet? What?"
- Drewe's: Weren't picking up when I called
- Marin Sun @ Rockridge Market Hall: First counter person: "What's suet?" Second, rather disgruntled counter person found it for me, although it's not completely cleaned/trimmed and is rather softer than the stuff TLBS had. It was packaged as "miscellaneous fat." I guess it's suet...
Didn't try TLBS again, but will order from them next year. The suet I have is deliciously fresh and clean smelling.
Suet in the East bay?
Also desperate. I found a third of a pound at TLBS today but need more. Screw aging the pudding -- I just want to make one at this point!
Over the weekend Verbrugge promised suet, then didn't come through. Anyone try Marin Sun Farms or Piedmont Grocery? I'm not sure where else to try. At this point I'm also willing to trek around SF when I'm over there tomorrow. Anyone have any likely sources there?
Conversely, anyone ever made pudding with leaf lard....?
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Verbrugge Meat-Fish Poultry
6321 College Ave, Oakland, CA
Marin Sun Farms Butcher Shop
Rockridge Market Hall, Oakland, CA 94618
The Local Butcher Shop
1600 Shattuck Ave #120, Berkeley, CA 94709
traditional English christmas ingredients
Agreed on Piedmont Grocery. Right now they have mince pies (raisin "mince" but the history of these includes beef), Bird's custard, golden syrup and treacle and various other British items.
If you can't find a pudding you can make one (yes, really it's not hard) with butter instead of suet and nobody will know. I do it every year. With it you serve hard sauce, which is just butter and booze, no need to buy, just Google a recipe for proportions. The custard is good to have as an accompaniment too.
Verbrugge sold me a little plastic container of suet a couple of years back. I had to call ahead for it.
You should also make (Google a recipe -- it's easy) Yorkshire pudding.
Nobody has mentioned cold ham, but that's another traditional dish. I've actually never figured out what the whole ham equivalent in the U.S. is, but I think it's more or less a Virginia ham or country ham. Someone can leap in and correct me and maybe suggest a source for us both :)
Have fun with it all!
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Verbrugge Meat-Fish Poultry
6321 College Ave, Oakland, CA
Piedmont Grocery Company
4038 Piedmont Ave, Oakland, CA
Berkeley: Christmas at Gaumenkitzel - Stollen warm from the oven and German Nürnberger Market Glühwein
This all sounds so good, especially in this cold(ish) weather. Thanks to both of you for the additional detail!
Berkeley: Christmas at Gaumenkitzel - Stollen warm from the oven and German Nürnberger Market Glühwein
This sounds lovely. I ended up ordering a stollen from Crixa; hadn't thought of this place. In a thread a while back some people mentioned small portions for the price. How were portion sizes (and prices) for you on this trip?
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/744244
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Crixa Cakes
2748 Adeline St, Berkeley, CA 94703
