It’s only a few days until Mac & Cheese Night #4, and I’m just now getting the write-up done for Night #3—it’s been that sort of month, y’all. You’d think I’d be tiring of all that pasta, cheese, and sauce by now, but frankly, I want more comfort food bliss. Night #3 was our biggest
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Michael’s Sourdough is a small chain in Marin and Sonoma counties that specializes in giant sandwiches featuring their signature, fresh-baked sourdough rolls. Most of their meats are also hand-roasted, which is a huge undertaking for a sandwich shop in a small space, so applause! I’m guessing they have a central kitchen somewhere to pull that
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Driving through the streets of Hayward, many small burger joints entice me with their siren’s call. You know the one: “Try me! I’ll deliver all the drippy, cheesy, beefy goodness you remember from that shack down the block growing up.” For me, these tempters recall the Charlie’s King Falafel in Old Orcutt, just outside Santa
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About a block off the central Park strip in Alameda, you’ll find this Mediterranean-focused, upscale dining spot. By Mediterranean, I mean all over the Sea with a menu featuring pasta, sour cherries, artichoke, hummus, and so on and so on. Whatever region you want of the Mediterranean, you’ll probably find something that qualifies. And if
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Last Thursday, I was a guest in a beautiful apartment on Telegraph Hill for dinner. Situated right near the top of the Vallejo Steps, the home was full of art painted by our host’s girlfriend. Kristie. You can see a few of those paintings behind fellow guest and food writer, Marcia Gagliardi, the mastermind behind
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A few months ago, I came across 7×7’s list of the best macaroni and cheeses in the Bay Area. I’d been looking for a good excuse to try a new restaurant each month with friends, and what better excuse is there than sampling mac & cheese? I dare you to come up with one…and if
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Today on the blog, I’m talking about Cozymeal, a new Bay Area startup that got me super excited when I talked with one of the founders, Samad Nasserian, about the company. Why did it get me that excited? Let me count the reasons why: 1. Intimate meals you won’t find elsewhere. Cozymeal puts on dinners
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This rapidly expanding Bay Area chain of sandwich shops got its start in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco, and its devoted following has multiplied phenomenally in the seven years of its existence, enough to  support 13 stores in all. I was glad to bypass the legendary lines at the original location and accepted a
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At Christmas, my husband bought us passports from the Santa Cruz Mountain Wine Growers Association (SCMWGA). These passports, filled with over 50 participating wineries, entitle the bearers to one free tasting at each spot during normal operating hours or the SCMWGA special Passport Days, which happen four times a year and are the best opportunity
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Because it blends in so well with its surroundings, Chop Bar is easy to miss in Oakland’s Warehouse district, just a few short blocks from Jack London Square.  Its sage green exterior and distinctive awnings paint it as something special, though, and my brunch experience definitely confirmed that. I love that sourcing ingredients locally and
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