CIOCCOLATA DI VINO 1801 Shattuck Avenue, Suite C Berkeley, CA 94709 510-898-1392 www.cioccolatadivino.com Open just a few months now, I’ve been eager to try this dessert-focused spot, ever wishing there were more options for post-dinner imbibements. Berkeley’s Cioccolata di Vino does have a Savory antipasti menu with some pleasing-looking Italian plates, but I’m not going for that… I want the… Read more →
(Upon discovering champagne): “Come quickly! For I am drinking in the stars.”– Dom Perignon Let’s go ahead and give the whole spread at Pican’s Kentucky Derby Party in Oakland a nod. Hard-pressed to pick from the all-you-can-eat (and drink – Mint Juleps) menu: it might be Louisiana Crawfish Toasts, signature Buttermilk Fried Chicken (in wing form), super-smoky Ham Biscuits with… Read more →
Eating is highly subjective, and the man who accepts say-so in youth will wind up in bad and overtouted restaurants in middle age, ordering what the maitre d’hotel suggests.”– A.J. Liebling, “Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris”, 1962 I can barely keep up with all the amazing tastes this month. So, narrowing it down… BREAKFAST • Nothing like Chicken &… Read more →
BREAKFAST Since the Meetinghouse closed years ago, I’ve been a sad girl – not only because it was a supreme SF brunch spot, but because Joanna Karlinsky’s biscuits are about the best I’ve ever put in my mouth (and that includes my visits to the South!) Thank you, Joanna, for bringing your buttery biscuits to us at one more location besides the… Read more →
La Cocina is a neighborhood food endeavor you should know about. Located on a residential Mission block of Folsom (between 25th and 26th), it’s a non-descript building housing over twenty young food businesses in our fair city from gourmet catering to specialty food products to farmers market ventures. They have a lovely commercial kitchen space and offer technical assistance to… Read more →
Though there’s never a reason not to have ice cream/gelato in my book, a great (if secondary) alternative is frozen yogurt. Not regular frozen yogurt, which I’ve always found bland and boring comparatively, but the ever-trendy tart, plain “froyo” (hate the term), healthy with cultures and probiotics… a guilt-free dessert. Southern California’s widespread Pinkberry chain may have started it all, but many SF… Read more →
A morning excursion across the Bay Bridge provides many pleasures… here are merely a couple of my favorite non-restaurant food stops in Oaktown: Bakesale Betty 5098 Telegraph Avenue (at 51st Street) Oakland, CA 94609 510-985-1213 www.bakesalebetty.us Hours Monday: 7am-3pm Tuesday-Saturday: 7am-7pm Yes, we San Franciscans have a wealth of bakery options, including near legendary Tartine, which I am thrilled to… Read more →