Winter Holidays 2024-25

  “It’s a moment we’ll remember that we survived,” said my friend as we waited at the neighborhood soft-serve truck on the last day that Brown Cap would be open in this troubling election year of 2024. And darned if that sweet “mini” cone full of chocolate and vanilla swirl didn’t make the moment look…

By Cheryl Angelina Koehler | Photos by Stacy Ventura     Bakeries, by nature, are halls of fantasy. But there was something more to the vibe at One House Bakery in Benicia. It sparked a distant memory of stepping into the great hall at New York’s Port Authority to find a huge Rube Goldberg–type installation.…

Meet the growers and makers By Mary Orlin   Of all the world’s wine grapes, few inspire more passion than pinot noir. Called the heartbreak grape for its finicky, mercurial nature and susceptibility to disease, it makes true pinotphiles of those who persevere to grow and vinify it. Pinot noir thrives in climates where cooler…

a community of local makers Each year as winter approaches, Edible East Bay looks forward to the start of the California olive harvest. This is a celebratory time in traditional olive-growing regions, where growers, millers, and cooks alike share an intimate appreciation for how the vibrant flavors of newly milled extra virgin olive oils enhance…

Ohana Floral Sweets Story and photos by Anna Mindess       Should you find yourself in front of a table filled with sweets strikingly adorned with handcrafted carnations, sunflowers, cherry blossoms, cosmos, hydrangeas, and other blooms, you may have happened upon an Ohana Floral Sweets pop-up. The business was started in 2023 by Berkeley-based mother…

A visit to Gregory’s Gourmet Desserts Story and photos by Anna Mindess   It might be Oakland’s most deeply loved bakery, but it’s been tucked away in an underground space on an unlikely street for 25 years. The shop at 285 23rd Street is so small that only one, maybe two people can enter at…

By M. Molloy Basso | Photos by Clara Rice     Craft. Crust. Culture: Those three simple words in the slogan at San Leandro’s revered As Kneaded Bakery have meanings as layered as a flaky croissant. Ask the bakery’s founder, owner, and head baker, Iliana Berkowitz, what the slogan entails, and you’ll get a baker’s…

  It’s a mere 1.2 miles from the intersection of Russell and College in Berkeley to 5427 College Avenue in Oakland, but along that sweet stretch (and around a few corners) you’ll find at least 10 bakeries that will be cranking out the stuff of children’s dreams throughout the late fall and winter holidays. Grab…

Recipe by Chef Amy Murray | Photos by Stacy Ventura     Chef Trinidad “Trinny” Jimenez is Revival Bar + Kitchen Chef-Owner Amy Murray’s secret pizza superpower. “We introduced Trinny into our kitchen in 2020 when the world was shutting down,” she says. “He started making our pizza dough, and it was just so impressive…

Rolling Dough Into a Paycheck The Bread Project opens doors to employment By Rachel Trachten     Rebeca Rangel often noticed a delicious aroma of baking bread or sometimes a whiff of chocolate in the air outside her Central Berkeley home. Following the scent, she came to a sign that read “The Bread Project” painted…

  By Anna Mindess Taya Marroquin grew up in Bakersfield with a Mexican father and a Salvadoran mother. She fondly remembers trips to Los Angeles, where her grandmother would take her to the local panaderías. Enchanted by the cookies covered in a rainbow of sprinkles, she soon found her way to the kitchen. “I started…

  Alameda Dragon Rouge Waterfront Vietnamese eatery offers exciting, inventive, delicious, locally sourced cuisine and a lively bar scene with a wide selection of spirits. Newly renovated, and available for private parties up to 120 people! 2337 Blanding Ave, Alameda 510. 521.1800 | dragonrougebythebay.com   Mosley’s Café Join us in the Grand Marina for a…