Mori "effin' genki" Y.'s Profile

They have vegetarian panini now!
Still a light selection of consumables, but what I've had here is delish. I stopped by one day and had the "chicken" pesto on sourdough... It was actually much more enjoyable than eating the standard dry meat chicken sandwiches coffee shops usually serve up. Moist, flavorful and filling.

Service here is great - a little slow but the folks here are so nice and have a calm reserve that only herbivores could maintain. What an oasis!

This recently went out over the Central Cinema mailing list:
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"Hello Movie Lovers,

The time has come for Central Cinema cease operations at its current location after we run our final show of Iron Man on June 30, 2008.  Many of you have urged us to stay open and to show more art and foreign films, even if we can't get as many family-oriented films as we have in the past.  I really appreciate the show of support, and the suggestions, but the economics of theater operation are complicated, and to be completely honest, the "art house" model just isn't economically viable at a venue as small as Central Cinema.

All of that said, we are still exploring the possibility of re-opening at another location in Alameda.  If that comes to fruition, as promised, I will let this email list know immediately.  So don't forget about us, and watch this space for further updates!

In the meantime, I want to say that I am proud of what this tiny theather has accomplished over the last few years, and proud of the community that has shown such support and has proved, beyond a doubt, that the small, neighborhood, single-screen theater does not have to be a thing of the past.  Thank you all for that.

So, for now anyway, it's...

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish."
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This saddens me - we discovered this little theater just walking around Alameda, and it was a joy to catch a few movies here. The experience was much like going over to a friend's house with a home theater, or watching movies at a sleepover when you were a kid. Imagine living in a tiny village in a developing country and a traveling projectionists runs shows for the locals that would congregate to enjoy the film - that's close to what the cinema experience at Central is. The assortment of dirty used furniture, the reasonably sized popcorn, the soda in a can, the lack of commercials - this is really a venue that distills the movie experience to it's basic elements.

In an age where multiplex IMAX screens and $6 concession items are after your wallet, Central Cinema was the one place where the movie experience was pure.

I'll miss it. (until it returns!)

The thing that I love about Alameda is that from the middle of the island you're within walking distance of just about all the restaurants, bars, and business districts that the Isle of Style has to offer. I was delighted to discover Otaez about a month or so back - it's about twice the distance to get there than to La Pinata 3, but in my opinion the difference in quality of food and experience is worth it.

Like others, I had written it off due to the El-torito-esque facade of the building, but having read the glowing reviews and history of the Otaez location on International Blvd, I knew I had to give this place a spin. This has since become my go-to sit down Mexican restaurant in the East Bay. It's nothing fancy and it won't blow your mind, but the food and service are consistent, the portions are ginormous and everything is CHEAP! A combination plate is large enough for two, and runs under $10. Quite a deal.

Plusses:
+ The salsa is really freakin' good. Why? It's actually hot. It's not some watered down tomato sauce, it has a deep chile flavor with an even and slow burn. The pico de gallo is refreshing, and also hot!
+ The menu is posted in Spanish first, then in English. Awesome!
+ Rice and beans are tasty; not amazing, but very satisfying.
+ Dishes aren't nearly as greasy as La Pinata or Juan's Place.
+ Chilaquiles Rojos served all day long!

Minuses:
- Servers are friendly, but a bit disorganized since the restaurant is so large. You may have to remind them about a side salad or flag them down if you're ready to pay the bill.
- Chips are a little oily, but only because they're the delicious cooked in lard style chip.
- Carnitas only on the weekends. (Although the carnitas omelette makes up for it).

I'll have to try out the location on International Blvd., if it's truly even better than the Alameda Otaez, I'll be hooked.

I've been wanting to go to Marti's for a while, and I think I walked in with high expectations, but I'm sorry to say that I walked away kind of disappointed.

First off, the atmosphere for this place is great. The collector's fruit labels on the wall, the old and kitschy coffee mugs on every table... I can see and I like the charm of Marti's.

However, the food didn't live up to all the glorious reviews. I ordered the Swedish Continental, and my girlfriend ordered the Hungry Swede. The eggs, bacon and fresh fresh fruit cup were standard. However, the swedish pancakes, the focal point of the menu.were a bit disappointing. They were dense, starchy, soggy, not very warm, and swimming in a pool of coagulating melted butter.

All in all a charming place, service was fantastic, but didn't find the food to be any better than Alameda's other breakfast joints.

I must confess - I was one of the yelpers that got to YBCA 30 min early and raided the food and drink tables before the Elite line got too long. I apologize, but it was fabulous! *neener neener*

Thank you Yelp staffers, Yelp volunteers, sponsors, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for putting together such a great party! I had a wonderful time in spite of the massive crowds. That rocked some serious shit.

It's hard to find the time for a hot meal these days, but the nice thing about Pepper Lunch is that it's super quick and your meal is going to be really hot. Really hot, like you could fuck yourself up pretty bad if you don't watch where that hot cast iron plate is with relation to your appendages.

The beef isn't anything to rave about, nor any of the other ingredients, but it's hot and there's a lot of it and it's really cheap for the amount of food you get. It's kind of bland food as well, tantamount to fried rice with no seasonings, and that little bottle of pepper lunch sauce that you cook the meat with only goes so far.

Came here for weekend brunch on a whim, just to check out some of the offerings to be had on Solano Ave. Little did I know that I would be leaving Sunny Side Cafe with a new favorite brunch stop!

First of all, the service is fantastic and personal. Warm, smiley greetings, great menu suggestions, and our food came out really quickly. The place was pretty crowded when I went (12 - 1 or so), but everything went like clockwork. Sat down, poured over all of the delicious options on the menu, and got a delicious iced tea straightaway.

We chose the Wildcat benedict - delicious! Garlic tomatoes and applewood bacon on a benedict? Brilliant! Also had one of the specials (catfish benedict), also excellent. Normally, I find that breakfast places try to make up for sorry ingredients with lots of butter, but not Sunny Side. The food was neither heavy nor greasy, yet still flavorful and fresh.

Maybe it's that they name their dishes after various Berkeley locales, but this place utterly charmed me. Will have to come back and check it out as Luna Dinner House one night.

Tea service at Julie's is top-notch. Whereas most coffee shops and tea houses will give you a tea bag or some loose leaf in a mug or teapot, the gals at Julie's know better. They just know you'll just screw it up if they let you steep your own brew. That's why they brew it for you, and bring your tea service out to you on a silver platter - clear, not cloudy, at the perfect temperature for the tea you chose, and with a nice dish of brown cane sugar.

Granted, this place is pretty feminine, but perfect tea and blazing fast wifi are hard to come by, so I can overlook that. The garden is very relaxing, and the decor (all of which is for sale. how enterprising!) give it a very lived in feeling. The only downside is that they aren't open very late, but whenever I have a morning or afternoon to kill on the island, this is my first stop.

I think out of all of the Houses of Curries in Berkeley, this one is the most convenient in terms of location as a late night eatery - not as dodgy as Durant and not as quiet as Solano. The ambiance is pretty funky, what with the blaring Indian pop music and nonchalant staff. The self service aspect of the place makes it great for either large groups or solo diners, but definitely not a place you'd go on a first date (unless that's just how you roll). The chicken biryani is hot hot hot the way I like it and I love their (cheap!) naan, but I found the chicken tikka masala and other curries a little disappointing. Plus, the whole serving  curry on a plate ups the difficulty of eating all of the sauce. A positive is the free chai with your entree, but like most other things here (cutlery, to-go boxes, napkins, water) you have to get up and get it yourself.

You know, whoever thought to put a pakistani restaurant in a halal market deserves a hug.

In spite of the sketchy looking taqueria-converted-into-a-pakistani-restaurant interior and furniture, the food here is really tasty, and certainly a good deal.  The combos, which come in at under $10, are large enough to feed two (with a side, or another naan.  mmm, garlic naan!)  The lamb curry is savory, and the chicken tikka masala was one of the best interpretations of that indo-british culinary invention I've yet to try.

Bonus star for being within stumbling distance from the Albatross Pub, which makes it a prime stop to carb up after some early evening beer darts.