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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I headed out to Albany for the first time to check another café off my East Bay Indie Coffee Passport. I met up with a new friend and fellow UCSC alum who was excited to show me around her neck of the woods, which means you’ll be getting another Albany review from me soon. Four
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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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Fat Angel’s menu is focused on nibbles to go with their exceptionally long list of beers, wines, and meads, including after-dinner selections for all of their beverage categories. As usually happens, that leads to meat and cheese boards, nuts and olives, and in their case, a selection of fancy butter schmears served with Firebrand breads.
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I have fulfilled another entry on my foodie bucket list. Okay, I’m lying. I am way too lazy to have made a foodie bucket list, but if I had, Pink’s Hot Dogs would assuredly be on it. Since 1939, the Pink family has been perfecting the hot dog, and as all good Californians know, perfecting
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Neumanali is one of Hayward’s few fine dining restaurants. Bijou, just a few blocks up B Street, is the only other one that immediately comes to mind. Neumanali is tucked away by the downtown Hayward BART station in a beautiful Victorian that most people don’t even realize is a restaurant as they walk past. I’ve
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The next stop on my Burger Joints of Hayward tour is Cecil’s Famous Burgers, found due to its Yelp rivalry with Val’s Burgers, the most iconic Hayward burger joint I can think of. Being as I’m not that enthused with Val’s (still planning a return visit for a review), I was rather intrigued by this
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For my sixth Mac and Cheese Night, the husband and I went a little upscale, heading to Paragon right outside AT&T Park. That picture reminds me that I wish we’d sat outside, but I had suspected it would get chilly so outside seemed the less desirable option. But it never did get chilly, and inside,
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