Real Estate Juice » Food and Dining

Philz Coffee in Berkeley

Krista Miller — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:18:39 +0000

Philz Coffee in Berkeley is da bomb. Just sayin’.

http://www.philzcoffee.com/Customer-Service/Store-Locations

And for you Oakland peeps, did you know Philz is working on getting you a location by the end of the year?

Michelin Releases its 77 “Bib Gourmand” Picks for Bay Area Foodies

Krista Miller — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 05:18:25 +0000

On Tuesday Michelin released its “Bib Gourmand” picks for Bay Area foodies- the favorite cheap eats for Michelin eaters.

What constitutes a restaurant as worthy of a Bib Gourmand rating? A Bib Gourmand restaurant is a d-lish eatery somewhere between Los Gatos and Geyserville where you can enjoy two courses and a glass of wine for under $40 — ooh la la.

Below is the list. Those with a * next to it are new to the list.

A 16 – San Francisco
Artisan Bistro* – Lafayette
Bar Bambino* – San Francisco
Bar Tartine* – San Francisco
BarBersQ – Napa
Bay Wolf – Oakland
Bellanico – Oakland
Betelnut – San Francisco
Bistro 29 – Santa Rosa
Bistro Aix – San Francisco
Bistro Jeanty -Yountville
Boon Eat + Drink* – Guerneville
Bottega – Yountville
Burma Superstar – San Francisco
C Casa – Napa
Chapeau! – San Francisco
Chevalier – Lafayette
Chu – Oakland
Colibri – San Francisco
Contigo* – San Francisco
Cook St. Helena – St. Helena
Corso – Berkeley
Cotogna* – San Francisco
Crouching Tiger – Redwood City
Cucina Paradiso – Petaluma
Delarosa – San Francisco
Delfina – San Francisco
Domo – San Francisco
Dosa – San Francisco
eVe – Berkeley
Fish Story* – Napa
FIVE – Berkeley
flour + water – San Francisco
Fringale* – San Francisco
Gather – Berkeley
Hachi Ju Hachi – Saratoga
Hibiscus – Oakland
Hot Box Grill* – Sonoma
Incanto – San Francisco
Insalata’s – San Anselmo
Ippuku* – Berkeley
K & L Bistro – Sebastopol
Kabab & Curry’s- Santa Clara
Kappou Gomi* – San Francisco
Kitchen (The) – Saccramento
Kokkari Estiatorio – San Francisco
LaSalette* – Sonoma
Laurus – Danville
Le Charm – San Francisco
Le Garage* – Sausalito
Mamacita – San Francisco
Marinitas – San Anselmo
Monti’s Rotisserie – Santa Rosa
Namu* – San Francisco
Oenotri – Napa
Osteria Coppa* – San Mateo
Perbacco – San Francisco
Pican – Oakland
Plum* – Oakland
Risibisi – Petaluma
Rivoli – Berkeley
Sazon* – Santa Rosa
Scopa* – Healdsburg
Slanted Door (The) – San Francisco
Slow Club – San Francisco
Sociale – San Francisco
SPQR – San Francisco
Starbelly – San Francisco
Sumika – Los Altos
Sushi Ran – Sausalito
Thai House – Danville
the girl & the fig – Sonoma
Troya – San Francisco
Willi’s Wine Bar – Santa Rosa
Wood Tavern – Oakland
Yank Sing – San Francisco
Zero Zero* – San Francisco

The full guide will be available October 25th.

Elevation 66

Krista Miller — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 05:00:20 +0000

Elevation 66 is the newest talk on the block. It is the much-awaited new brew pub in El Cerrito near the Cerrito Theater. I went there with my girls and a colleague on opening day. We got there about 5:15, and the place was already packed. We only had to wait about 15 minutes to get seated, which was good because we were hungry! The atmosphere was pretty typical for a brewery and the decor was welcoming. The noise, however, was out-of-control. We actually couldn’t hear ourselves think. This was not good for my 4 year old daughter, she was complaining of a noise-related stomach ache. The food was ok, I suspect that once the kitchen gets rolling that this will improve. But the beer was GREAT!! Thank goodness since this is a brewery. A pint was $3.50- not sure if this was an opening day special or not. I ordered the light ale, my friend Eric ordered the IPA. Both beers were tasty, refreshing, and left us with a good taste in our mouths.

Why would I go on opening day? Because I want to see how this *hopeful* institution will progress. Will I go back? Yes, but probably not for the food anytime soon, and definitely not with my kids.

Spotted @ Off the Grid in Berkeley

Krista Miller — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:12:25 +0000

I love this! Only in Berkeley would you find a pimped-out walker. This was spotted at the official launch of Off-the-Grid in Berkeley.

(and yes! this time we were there early enough to get some tasty food truck grub)

Off the Grid Makes Berkeley Debut

Krista Miller — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:34:42 +0000

Last night was the debut of the East Bay Off the Grid, a mobile food truck extravaganza that debuted at the corner of Shattuck and Rose, in the same spot as the Farmer’s Market. As many of you know I am a food truck junkie (I follow many of them on Facebook) so this was an evening I have been looking forward to for weeks!

My guess is that the turnout was much bigger than expected. The event was supposed to go from 5-9 and most trucks sold out. My family arrived at 6:15 pm to find swarms and swarms of people. Cupkates sold out before 6pm, 510 Burger (which is what I wanted!) sold out and was only offering french fries by 6:30, Liba Falafel, Hapa SF and Brass Knuckle had lines that were over a half hour long. Apparently 3 trucks were a no-show. Trucking along with two hungry kids, there was no way we could wait in line for over 30 minutes. Despite my grumbles, we headed down Shattuck to look for something to eat.

Walking back towards the trucks just before 8pm, there were still people all around.

Next week 10 trucks are slated to show, which is the maximum the permit will allow. Rain was expected, so perhaps that is why they weren’t 100% prepared. Next week is the official grand opening, and you can count on seeing me there right at 5, probably in line at 510.

Doof-a-Palooza

Krista Miller — Mon, 23 May 2011 21:43:12 +0000

Doof-a-What?? Doof-a-Palooza, food spelled backwards, is why we live in such a cool place. Doof-a-Palooza is why kids who grow up here never want to leave. It’s probably why I won’t leave.

DooF-a-Palooza, the crazy, food-backwards, table-to-source, food educational experience for kids and adults of all ages took place at Jack London Square yesterday. It included contests, games, entertainment and fun hands-on activities with growers, chefs, purveyors, businesses, and cookbook authors all filmed and streamed live online.

It was a truly unique event.

Kids got to make butter with Organic Valley, toss pizza dough into the air at the Lanesplitter booth, make pasta dough with Chef Gino, go bowling with coconuts, design and create a custom cereal box with Nature’s Path cereal products, and even make a smoothie by pedaling a bike on a bike blender.

Where else can my 4 year old do something like this?

Only in the Bay Area.

Friday Fun Day: Hangar One Vodka – One Love

Krista Miller — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:32:10 +0000

Those of you who know me know that I love my Hangar One. Here is a recent recipe featuring the ever-so-luscious Pear Vodka. Good thing I have a whole bottle of this!

How to make a “One Love”:

2 oz Pear Hangar One Vodka
1 oz Organic Apple Juice
0.25 oz Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
0.25 oz Amaretto

Shake
Pour 4 oz Ginger Beer into a Collins glass
Top with mixture
Add a fresh Pear slice…

Ah, my one true love…

Timbao Tropical Restaurant and Bar in Albany

Krista Miller — Mon, 09 May 2011 19:07:17 +0000

As I was walking to the gym, I saw that Club Montero’s in Albany was no more. New signs were going up that said “Timbao Tropical Restaurant and Bar.” Out front was a woman wearing a chef jacket. Turns out it was Cindy, their head chef.

Cindy said that the owner of Montero’s decided it was time for something new. Nope, wasn’t anything wrong with business. Nothing wrong with the food. Nothing wrong with the location. It was simply time for a change.

I think she said the owner was Juan, so for the purpose of this blog entry let’s call him that. Juan owns several restaurants in the area and thought it was time to add a little kick to the menu and nightlife that Club Montero’s was known for. The bar now features latin-inspired, tropical-infused drinks, the menu is full of more tapas-like creations, and the club will now feature salsa night for all levels.

I stopped by yesterday (Mother’s Day) and the place was quite busy. The restaurant was featuring a nice Mother’s Day menu that consisted of some of the old menu and some of the new.

I love supporting local restaurants so I look forward to giving this one a proper whirl.

Wink Wink to the 2010 San Francisco Michelin Guide

Krista Miller — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:57:11 +0000

The annual Michelin Guide release for the San Francisco Bay Area always creates a stir. For those of you who know me know that I love good food. Good food, good wine, good company. (And good food doesn’t always mean a 4 course meal at a 4 star restaurant- I am just as happy eating a burger at Big Al’s in El Cerrito)

That being said, I was thrilled to see this years list. (N) means newly starred.

Three Michelin stars mean exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey. One always eats here extremely well, sometimes superbly. Distinctive dishes are precisely executed, using superlative ingredients.

The French Laundry
mean excellent cuisine, worth a detour. Skillfully and carefully crafted dishes of outstanding quality.

Two Michelin stars

Coi
Cyrus
Manresa
The restaurant at Meadowood

One Michelin star means a very good restaurant in its category. A place offering cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard.

Acquerello Luce (N)
Ame Madrona Manor
Auberge du Soleil Masa’s
Aziza (N) Michael Mina
Bouchon Murray Circle
Boulevard One Market
Chez Panisse Plumed Horse
Chex TJ Quince (N)
Commis (N) Range
The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton Redd
El Paseo (N) closed since the Guide has been printed Santé (N)
étoile (N) Solbar (N)
Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant Terra
Fifth Floor Trevese closed since the Guide has been printed
Fleur de Lys Ubuntu (N)
Gary Danko The Village Pub
La Folie
La Toque (N)

2010 MICHELIN Guide San Francisco Bib Gourmand Restaurants

Angèle Le Charm
Aperto Mamacita
A 16 Marinitas
BarBersQ Market
Bar Tartine Maykadeh
Bay Wolf Mirepoix
Bellanico Monti’s Rotisserie
Betelnut Pejiu Wu Nopa
Border (The) Perbacco
Brown Sugar Kitchen Picán
Burma Superstar Risibisi
Cafe Gibraltar rnm
Camino Sakae
Cena Luna Sakoon
Chevalier Sauce
Colibrí Slanted Door (The)
Cook St. Helena Slow Club
Corso Sociale
Crouching Tiger Tavern at Lark Creek
Cucina Paradiso the girl & the fig
Delfina Tokyo Go Go
Dosa Tommaso’s
Farina TWO
FIVE Universal Cafe
flour + water Vanessa’s Bistro
Henry’s Hunan Willi’s Wine Bar
Hong Kong Flower Lounge Xanh
Incanto Yank Sing
Insalata’s zazu
Junnoon
Kitchen (The)
K & L Bistro
Kokkari Estiatorio
Le Charm
Mamacita
Marinitas
Market
Maykadeh
Mirepoix
Monti’s Rotisserie
Nopa
Perbacco
Pican
Risibisi
rnm
Sakae
Sakoon
Sauce
Slanted Door (The)
Slow Club
Sociale
Tavern at Lark Creek
the girl & the fig
Tokyo Go Go
Tommaso’s
TWO
Universal Cafe
Vanessa’s Bistro
Willie’s Wine Bar
Yank Sing
Zazu

Want the entire 2010 San Francisco Michelin Guide? Email me for the entire report. krista@kristashouse.com

Bakesale Betty’s Opening in Downtown Oakland? OMG!

Krista Miller — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:19:06 +0000

Like many folks in the Bay Area I enjoy eating my way through life. Temescal, in North Oakland, has been dubbed the new Gourmet Ghetto. With fine restaurants like Koryo BBQ, Pizzaiolo, and my two FAVS, La Calaca Loca and Dona Tomas, this is a location not to be missed. But right on the corner of Telegraph and 51st is a joyful little bakery that sells some of the tastiest treats and delectable sandwiches around: Bakesale Betty. So when I heard that Mr. & Ms. Betty leased leased the old Broadway Grand sales office on Franklin Square across from Luka’s, I was jumping for joy!

The new Betty’s is scheduled to open this Spring. But in the meantime I will still enjoy my fried chicken salad at the Temescal locale and Sunday farmer’s market.