Food & Drink Artisans
Favorite Scoops of Summer
Illustrations by Margo Rivera-Weiss | Story by Cheryl Angelina Koehler What’s hot with ice cream this summer? Well first, let’s talk about what’s eternal, since a key ingredient in any icy summer delight is nostalgia. Here in the East Bay, we tip our cones to vintage businesses like Fentons (est. 1894), Dreyer’s (1928), Loard’s (1950),…
Read MoreVisionary in a Livermore Valley Vineyard
Gloria’s son Aaron (right), husband Bob (center), and daughter-in-law Salome Garau-Taylor toss the ball for Shadow on the tasting room green. Behind them is one of their certified-organic vineyards. Owls living in the owl box at left help keep rodent pests at bay. Photo by Scott Peterson Family connection and organic growing at Retzlaff Vineyards…
Read MoreLast Bite
Urban Sketchers at Picante Urban sketchers Cathy Raingarden, Vivian Aldridge, and Margo Rivera-Weiss have all spent time drawing and painting at the popular West Berkeley taqueria Picante. It’s easy to become inspired by the colorful papel picado (cut paper art) created by Enrique Martinez. We photographed him one rainy winter’s evening when his studio doors…
Read MoreStep into Albany’s Ivy Room
THERE’S NO POISON AT THE IVY Albany’s Ivy Room is a Safe Haven for Fun, Refreshment, and Indie Music By Mary Tilson | Illustrations by Margo Rivera-Weiss You’ve probably driven by it. The Ivy Room has been a fixture on San Pablo Avenue in Albany since 1940. Rust-colored bricks, windows covered with band posters, black…
Read MoreIndigenous Food at Café Ohlone
First Flavors of the East Bay Café Ohlone Offers Indigenous Foods for All to Share By Anna Mindess | Photos by Cynthia Matzger Vincent Medina’s ancestors have long gathered shellfish, salt, and pickleweed in the salt marsh along this east shore stretch of their homeland on the San Francisco Bay. Louis Trevino (left) holds sprigs…
Read MoreChicken Curry Day
By Prerna Singh My brother: He is Mummy’s favorite kid. She never admits to it and always gives me that what-on-earth-are-you-talking-about look every time I say this to her, but I know. He is the gentler of us two (at least on the outside), doesn’t leave any trail of his crimes, and he…
Read MoreGood Food Awards
Kudos to Local Food Crafters Chicken Liver Mousse by Picnic in Albany If you’re on the hunt for outstanding new foods and flavors and you value responsible business practices, you’ll want to sample the products honored with a 2019 Good Food Award. This annual national contest rewards producers in 16 categories, ranging from…
Read MoreFollow the Blue Bottle Coffee Cart
Ramblings of the Blue Bottle Coffee Cart How it rolled here, there, and back to where it started at the Temescal Farmers’ Market By Cheryl Angelina Koehler Summer 2006: Rockridge and Temescal residents are in a swoon as Urban Village Farmers’ Market Association brings them their own neighborhood farmers’ market. There in Oakland’s DMV…
Read MoreMap of Favorite Fish Tacos of the East Bay
Benchmark Pizzeria Opens in Oakland
Melissa Swanson, Jennifer Moffitt, and Peter Swanson take charge of Benchmark’s new restaurant on the corner of Washington and Ninth in Old Oakland. A Pizza Nerd Makes His Mark Peter Swanson’s Benchmark Pizzeria spawns a second location By Alix Wall | Photos by Kala Minko Peter Swanson is a self-described pizza nerd. Through seven years…
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