Another Reason We All Want To Live In Berkeley
Posted on | July 21, 2010 | No Comments
One of the reasons Berkeley is so wonderfully livable is the pedestrian-scale of its streets and neighborhoods. No matter where you might live, you are most likely a few blocks to a great shopping district, or maybe it’s just a stand-alone neighborhood market, but at minimum you are close to public transportation. How did we get so lucky? The simple answer is the fact that the city developed as a classic “street car suburb.”
Can you imagine all the major thoroughfares dominated by street car traffic, with only the occasional car? Here is a way to see it: take a ride along Oxford Street, then head east up Hearst Avenue, circa 1906. Just as the street car makes it to the University, the conductors have to strong-arm a fellow who won’t get out of the way–an early protester, perhaps?
NORTH OAKLAND
Posted on | July 8, 2010 | No Comments
Whatever you’re looking for, chances are you’ll find it not too far away in North Oakland!
One of Oakland’s oldest neighborhoods, North Oakland is waking up. Recently there has been an exciting influx of new residents and entrepreneurs who are creating a vibrant food and retail scene centered along Telegraph Avenue. This area, called the Temescal, with its global cuisine and one-of-a-kind retail, has caught the attention of the media, including The Wall Street Journal, which recently dubbed it “A New Gourmet Ghetto”.
Things started to take off in about 2005 with the opening of Bakesale Betty and Pizzaiolo by Chez Panisse alumni. There are always lines, but either of these is sure to please. They joined old standbys Asmara and Red Sea Ethiopian, LaCalaca Loca Taqueria, Doña Tomas, Genova Delicatessen, and Lanesplitter Pizza & Pub. The new kid on the block is Barlata Tapas Bar with outdoor tables and happy hour. The Temescal Farmer’s Market (Sundays year round) is also a popular destination for neighbors including crowds of 30 something couples looking for a nosh and the best of the local ingredients for cooking at home.
You’re about five minutes by car to the heart of Rockridge along College Avenue, too. Lined with restaurants, cafes, boutiques, antique stores, flower stands and independently owned bookstores, you can easily spend the entire afternoon sampling the bounty this one street alone offers.
You’ll see lots of skateboards, fixed gear bikes and jogging strollers in North Oakland, but it also has great access to transportation and freeways. It’s a short hop to either the Rockridge or MacArthur BART stations, which makes for an easy commute into San Francisco.
Don’t miss the Temescal Branch Library’s tool-lending library with over 2000 tools available for borrow and the fabulous urban greenbelt which stretches just east of Claremont Avenue with playgrounds and a dog park. If you’re more ambitious, this neighborhood is super convenient to Lake Temescal as well as fabulous hiking in the East Bay parks.
There is the annual Temescal Street Fair in June, followed by the Temescal Street Cinema with free outdoor movies running for six weeks, and a Taste of Temescal in September. Stay connected with all that is happening at www.temescaldistrict.org.
In short, this neighborhood is as diverse as its population giving residents and visitors alike an abundance of choices.
Come home to North Oakland—you’ll be glad you did!
Berkeley’s Claremont District
Posted on | June 16, 2010 | No Comments
With unparalleled views of the San Francisco Bay and skyline, stately residences and impeccably manicured gardens, the Berkeley’s Claremont district is a wonderful place to live! Nestled in beautifully wooded hills just 12 miles from San Francisco, this historic area is dotted with pretty parks, elegant streets, hidden stairways and winding walking pathways. Now a rare opportunity beckons to own a spacious Prairie School home in this distinguished neighborhood: 155 Alvarado Road.
The celebrated homes and mansions of Claremont represent an amazing a range of architectural styles. English cottages, Prairie homes, and shingled cottages are side-by-side custom-designed residences in contemporary styles, not to mention magnificent examples of Italian and Spanish period revival. Make no mistake, these are grand homes and, on average, some of the largest homes you will find in Berkeley. Yes, every turn of the picturesque roads reveal an area with pedigree.
What really put this area on the map was Read more
Troubadour Reunion Tour
Posted on | May 26, 2010 | No Comments
I recently had the opportunity to go to the James Taylor and Carole King Troubadour Reunion Tour at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. My BFF won tickets and invited me to go with her (but that’s not why she is my BFF).
It’s always wonderful to see James Taylor and though I have some of Carole King’s music, I forgot how vast and varied it is. Incredible! She was a dynamo on the stage—dancing, laughing and clearly enjoying herself. James Taylor seemed more relaxed—I know, is that possible?—than I’ve ever seen him on stage.
This tour featured the three band members who also played with them on the original 1970 tour and it seemed like old friends just playing together—lovin’ it—so did the rest of us!
Click on the link below to access the review and, if you can, I’d highly encourage you to get tickets for the newly added tour in Oakland in July.
Be well!
Link to review:
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15068377?nclick_check=1
Provence in Berkeley
Posted on | May 26, 2010 | No Comments
Socca
My friend Blanche is spending the year in Provence. She’ll meet her family in Paris for the holidays, but basically she’s staying in Provence and reports that it is very hard work to obtain the visa for a year in France. It involves standing in long lines for many, many hours in Nice. That made me remember the long lines in the Cours Saleya (the big Nice market) in front of the Socca stand because a Socca is just the right snack to get you through the morning, especially if you are shopping for the week’s fruits, vegetables, and flowers, a coveted antique, or even just souvenirs.
What is Socca, you ask? It is the most delicious thin pancake made of chickpea flour and cooked on a huge flat griddle until it is crispy on the edges with a slight pull and chewiness.
I never thought of trying to make Socca at home until I read Mark Bittman’s column in the New York Times. He calls them Tortillitas, and says they originated in Andalusia, but in my book a pancake featuring chickpea flour is pretty much a Socca. Here’s Bittman’s recipe. He uses shrimp, Read more
