The newest burger joint in Hayward is Red Rocket Char Grill, right in the heart of the downtown strip (1057 B Street). This qualifies as the second echelon of burger joints, the ones classed up enough that you don’t worry about whether your chair will collapse beneath you or if you’ll pick up splinters from
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I am conquering the burger joints of Hayward…slowly. A girl can only eat so many patties, shakes, and fries at a time. You can find out what I think makes a great burger by reading the first post in this series, right here. The second joint I’ve hit is… Best Burger 251 A Street An
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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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The husband and I ended up at Afghan Village after a quick Yelp search from the freeway when our hunger post-wine-tasting had reached critical levels. So that hunger may have influenced my opinion of the establishment, but honestly, I think Afghan Village just plain has amazing food despite mixed Yelp reviews. It’s located in a
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I’m slowly digging my way into the foodie world here on the east side of the San Francisco Bay, and as always, Meet Up has proven a good resource for meeting like-minded lovers of food and wine. In particular, I’m enjoying the Tri-Valley Foodies group run by Miggi Demeyer, a local chef and sommelier with
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The Orchard Manhattan Bijou, Hayward $11 The Orchard Manhattan is an original twist on the classic manhattan cocktail, though I’d say it’s closer to an old-fashioned, actually. It’s made with bourbon, apricot and walnut liqueurs, and black walnut and autumn-spiced bitters. I can’t tell you what the autumn spices are, but I can tell you
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The Wildfire Firehouse 37, San Ramon $10 This cocktail’s made with Templeton rye, Giffard vanilla liqueur, and bitters, a pretty straightforward combination. Cocktail shaking provides a lovely top layer of icy foam. The vanilla liqueur takes the edge off the rye whiskey, yet the cocktail avoids being overly sweet, which is a good thing. The
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I have found it at last, a coffee shop with a relaxed vibe, good drinks, and hours past sundown a walkable distance from my apartment! If Café 4 were a mile closer, it’d win for local coffee shop options, but Café Rumi is a very acceptable runner-up, plus it stays open an hour later. Super
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My husband and I celebrated the sale of our North Carolina home with a prix fixe meal at this modern, French-inflected New American restaurant on Hayward’s downtown stretch. Using an Amazon Local deal, we dined on three courses each for only $40 including a glass of champagne. It was the second time I’d been to
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