Darling readers, I neglected to inform you that I had a new Localwise post go up a couple of weeks ago! I guess that’s what happens when you’re traveling the majority of October…oops. This one is all about the retail businesses now opened and opening soon at Oakland’s newest redesigned city block, the Hive. I
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On the northeastern border of the Mission and the Castro, after having spent an afternoon tasting wines from Bliss Imports, I came across what looked like an oasis for my crustacean-loving heart. The sunny restaurant gave me the impression it would soon fill up, though I was walking by at only 5 pm. Not only
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In case you missed it, my next post is now live at the Localwise community blog! This one is on cheese shops in the Elmwood, Temescal, and Rockridge neighborhoods, which just so happen to be the closest neighborhoods to me…okay, they are conveniently the closest neighborhoods to me. I am blessed with amazing cheese options
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Friend #1, whom I’ve known since the 5th grade though I hadn’t seen her since high school, has long enticed me with pictures of the Central Coast’s restaurant scene, where we both grew up. Excepting San Luis Obispo and steakhouses, the Central Coast has lagged in fine dining in the past, especially fine dining for
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I had passed this cute little beer garden in Berkeley a couple of times while walking the Ohlone Parkway. Having spent my formative years in Santa Maria, CA, you can bet what drew my eye was not the incredibly appealing outdoor set-up with sculpted gardens— —but the signs just visible above the fence line that
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  Grocery Café has been receiving a lot of press lately, so I was thrilled when one of my Meetup groups announced a lunch meeting there. It’s a Burmese restaurant tucked away on a corner in the Clinton neighborhood of Oakland. First thing you notice coming in is a giant bush of Carolina reaper peppers—
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It’s been a year since I undertook my quest to try all the mac & cheeses on 7×7’s list of the best in the Bay Area. I haven’t regretted a moment of this carb-slurping, dish-sharing, cheese-inhaling adventure. My friends, and long-suffering husband, who’ve joined me for most of these nights out, may hold different opinions… …Naw. Who
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I began my mission to conquer 7×7’s list of the best Bay Area macaroni and cheeses just over a year ago at Mission Cheese. This, right here, is my final review in this series, and I will soon crown my winner. Happily, our last mac & cheese night did not disappoint—the Blue Plate’s (3218 Mission
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Christina of East Bay Dish invited me out on this media lunch to try Farm Burger in Berkeley. Obligatory disclaimer: Our meal was comped. Non-obligatory disclaimer: Our eyes may have been bigger than our stomachs as we pretty much tried two or more items from every section of their menu. Farm Burger is a small
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It’s been three weeks since I was invited to brunch at the Cavalier in downtown San Francisco, hosted by Tablehopper Marcia Gagliardi and the Food Should Taste Good (FSTG) snack food brand. It’s never too late to write about great food, right? The brunch was part of FSTG’s national promotional tour that’s been challenging star
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