Jason "Mmm, delicious Kool-Aid (TM)" G.'s Profile

It's a serviceable sushi place in downtown Oakland. I've had better elsewhere, but I guess I've had worse, too.

Service has generally been good, considering how busy they usually are.

The miso is good.

I had one bad experience with one piece of sashimi there. On subsequent visits, I took a friend's advice to order the chirashi bowl, and that has been a good value and reliably good every time.

The first time I went there, the rolls were okay. California rolls, standard sushi filler, were middling. The Oakland roll was okay, but the unagi sauce completely overwhelmed the cream cheese.

Last time I was there my tablemate devoured the Rock and Roll, so it must have been pretty good.

Deborah C: TWO strikes? What is this, softball? And, yeah, if you're on the phone at the counter, you deserve to be ignored. Put the phone away, then order. Even if there isn't a little sign to that effect. What is wrong with people?

Um, yeah, so I like the Breakroom, even though I'm a dedicated omnivore.

This place is excellent -- a great addition to the downtown lunch spots. I don't know who Rico is, but the lady at the counter is really nice.

One example of why this place is so great: She explained to me and my co-worker that the fish on the fish sandwich is freshly breaded there. It's a generous serving on an amazing, soft, perfectly grilled torpedo roll. Absolutely recommended.

The menu is interesting -- tons of great comfort food made fresh, and an extensive vegan and vegetarian menu for those who want it.

A bit pricey, perhaps, but it's in line with other restaurants downtown, and it's worth it for the quality and service. The license plates up on the wall are kinda neat too.

They're always packed at lunch. A wide variety of choices on the menu and food is generally of good quality and very consistent, which makes it a good choice for business lunches (it's become default at my workplace for that).

Service can be inconsistent, but it's generally good, and they're pretty nice, if overworked, and a little slow.

I wish they had bottles of ketchup instead of little cups, because you always have to ask for more (especially when you get a burger and fries), and it always takes them forever to get that.

Is it a historical figure? Is it a failed savings and loan? No, it's Crisis Hopkins, up-and-coming Bay Area improv troupe.

Without question they're the best I've seen in the Bay Area. I can't really compare them to anyone except Problem Jenkins and Opportunity Jones (of whom you've undoubtedly never heard).These four very different performers -- John, Paul, George, and Ringo, I think -- coalesce into a very amusing and surprising whole.

Surprising? Yes, surprising. I didn't think I'd like the rap thing, but it was cute and funny. See them next time you get the chance.

Edited: Their lineup has changed a little since I first wrote this review, and if it were possible for them to get cuter and funnier, they would have.

Thursday (a little less than 3 years ago), I showed up to work on time. At 2:45 it became clear I wouldn't accomplish anything else without eating. Leaving work, I walked down Broadway and turned right down 13th. I was heading towards a reasonably priced sandwich from the always dependable Big Apple Deli.

Approaching the parking lot underneath a building on the north side of the street, I was unpleasantly surprised by a monstrous black SUV (with a license plate that read "something something something ESQ") whose driver hurriedly usurped my right of way. She hit the gas and never seemed to consider that someone might be on the sidewalk, though it's a very crowded area during the day. I heard the roar of the massive engine before I ever saw the vehicle of mass consumption and stopped in my tracks. I was pissed off, so I tapped the car lightly with my right hand as it passed a foot in front of me at a dangerous speed.

The woman driving stopped as she reached 13th, leaned out the window and asked, mildly indignant, "Did you just hit my car?" Trumping her indignance with fiery self-righteousness (fueled by fear-of-crushing-death adrenaline), I pointed at her and blurted, "You were supposed to stop for me. You were supposed to stop." In a tacit admission of being in the wrong, she rolled up her window and drove away, having nothing else to say.

Somewhat shaken, I sought refuge in the Big Apple Deli. Having eaten nothing so far that day, I ordered a turkey, avocado, and Jack on a dutch crunch roll, a small order of red potato salad, and a very generous portion of fruit salad. When it came to just $6.95, I said (with real conviction) to Khalil, the deli's owner, "That's a good deal."

"Thank you," he replied, humble but pleased. "I haven't raised my prices in years." (Since then he has raised his prices, but it's still a good deal.)

On my way back to work, I stopped into the parking lot and informed the attendants that one of their customers displayed little respect for the life of this lowly pedestrian. I did so firmly but politely, acknowledging the incident was in no way their fault.

"She really should have stopped," I said. "I can't believe she was so rude."

The middle-aged guy who worked there asserted, "You mean she was an arrogant bitch. She was an arrogant bitch."

"Hey," I replied with a relieved kind of chuckle, "I'm not going to disagree with you."

It was okay, but the dressing on the salad was REALLY vinegary. I wonder what "Rico's Cafe" is going to be.

Nature's Best dropped out of the sky and into my heart -- or maybe more accurately, my stomach.

I was stunned that a grocery store opened up barely two blocks from my apartment that sold fresh organic produce and a wide variety of other necessities. It makes sense for them to be there, though, considering the condos that may someday (?) open up on the corner of 14th and Jackson will probably bring a whole new base of well-off customers.

Their selection, though it varies, is excellent considering the store's size, and they make an effort to stock customer requests. Plenty of fresh organic fruits and veggies, lots of different organic "convenience foods" and frozen meats, a pretty good dairy case with sandwiches and other quick foods as well as the seemingly now ubiquitous Suruki's sushi.

One of my co-workers pretty regularly walks here on breaks from our office on 12th and Broadway, because you can't get organic food anywhere closer than that.

Last but not least, Abdul is probably the friendliest grocery store employee I've ever met.

This unassuming coffee shop took a while to materialize, but it's since become a neighborhood staple.

The important facts are these: Good News Cafe serves tasty, organic, fair-trade coffee, and their other menu items are solid as well. AND it's an independent, locally-owned small business -- absolutely something to encourage in downtown Oakland.

It also happens to be right around the corner from my apartment, which is a bonus for me. I now stop by after work for a veggie sandwich or an Italian deli sandwich (really good), or on the weekends when I can't be bothered to go more than half a block for food. I'm a fan of the cinnamon rolls in particular -- they're dense and chewy (in a good way).

Everyone who works there is nice, which is something too easily taken for granted.

The interior is somewhere between "cozy" and "claustrophobic," depending on your point of view. It seats about 4 (technically 6, but there's no way 6 people would all sit in there at once), and the only reason it's possible to sit inside at all is that the front of the store is all window. But the outside patio is nice on a sunny, lazy Sunday morning.

As for the coffee -- I personally like the coffee to be a little less hot than scalding, which is the way they serve it most of the time. I like to be able to drink it on my way out. They will steam it up for you if you want it hotter (I've actually had to ask a barista not to do that once, though, because I wanted to drink it right away).

Good job, Good News. Keep it up.