TANYA "Tanyabug the Nonwimpy Yelper" P.'s Profile

Extra star for its community reach-out and supporting the local events and organizations.

No time to cook? Sit down for fresh breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Like to cook from scratch? Flour, grain, cereal, nut & spice bins are separated to minimize allergen exposure. Extensive vegan and gluten-free options in nearly every category. Their private label items are reliable staples to keep on hand.

On a budget? Minimize the Whole Paycheck tendencies by requesting only the amounts you need (novel idea) when at the seafood, meats, artisan cheese counters.

Overwhelmed by the several variations of one ingredient? Ask staff for recommendations or provide your ingredient list for detailed support...it's one of those places where you can start to describe what you need and the folks can guess what you're making.

Oh, not that shopping mall with the horrendous parking lot! If it weren't for Whole Foods moving in that lot may have never been updated.

They get it. Service, variety and quality in line with its pricing.

Can't make it over there? Try Chow (local, organic) or Diablo Foods produce as well.

A lovely corner anchor to an eclectic block of businesses.

The well-thought, tiny spot has just enough interior space for a few customers to place and sugar up their orders. We enjoy their teas and sweets/pastries (apple turnover, filled croissants) but regulars swear by their cappuccino and latte assortments. It's the only place of its kind in the immediate area. They maintain a stock of cold, bottled beverages such as Honest Tea types of drinks as there's no room for a freezer and making items dependent on ice cubes.

Among their neighbors are barber shops and hair stylists, the SF library donation center (check out their $1 sidewalk literary selections), a cat adoption group, a design house, bicycle repair shop, tattoo artist, and a cool casting agency.

Enjoy the sidewalk "patio" lounge feature. Fantastic for people-watching and even better for reading that $1 book you just purchased or further discussing adopting a cat. The friendly customers are always fun to chat with as well!

Christmas morning and the little guy is tearing through packages before we can see what goes where. The dog strolls past with two big squishy cubes in his mouth that we assume are the hosting house's cat toys.

Sure enough we discover the giant dice belong to our new Sturdy Birdy Game from Fat Brain Toys. With the dice chewed up, we could only stand on one foot with our arms out. We contacted the Fat Brain Customer Desk for spare parts and received a replacement set a couple of days later!

One of the coolest toy companies around. Their little guy learning games are much appreciated. It's a great source for unusual toys, activities, family tools including lines such as Think Fun, Klutz, and Melissa & Doug. They do the digging for you!

Thank you, Teri for sending out new dice and understanding our plight. We've increased our sense of balance at least ; )

Drop off books then browse through their $1 rack out front. A favorite stop on this block of Treat. Pairs nicely with an edible treat from corner stop Kaffe 99.

Mark their sales on your calendar. If we're able to replace our Griffin & Sabine set and score a brand new Bananagrams book just from their sidewalk cart, imagine their sale offerings!

And friendly staff as always!

Boohoo whiners. This is literally one of the most unique and charming locally-owned businesses you are going to find in this corridor. It's similar to a little family tasting room in Sonoma Valley, or a tiny cafe you might find in a small village in Europe. It's so tiny, you can walk from end to end in a handful of paces.

Post Farmer's Market we peek our heads in to see what was on their menu, quickly mentioning we'd come back since our Wonder-Twin mini-me's were in tow. Castro looks around and asks the two tables of salt & pepper patrons if they'd mind a young family dining with them. After a resounding. "We're all grandparents here..." we were promptly seated...and yes, given recommendations by the owner.

Simple pastas for the children, cioppino for me and a pomodoro for the SO. And since we were on foot, a sip of the house red. They also keep zin from a certain No Wimpy Winery on hand and have a nice variety for folks to choose from. A couple of tables out front. Fantastic Basque / Euro-Latin foods.

"You a get a sitter and come back again for a romantic date!"

It's a gem, and we'll take Castro's advice and be back for sure.

A reinvention of the original Flipper Burger. The family project has added inexpensive home-style Japanese Ramen, Bento and Donburri to their original breakfast and burger lineup. Open from 8am until late! A little bit of everything represented on the menu. Lunch starts at 11am.

The Flipper formula items are consistent and reliable. The Japanese menu items are more inexpensive homestyle...so yes, expect sticky rice rather than sushi rice. Fresh seaweed, bamboo shoot, fish cake look like what grandpa picks up at the local Asian market and adds to his broth. As most of the ethnic cuisine in the Lamorinda corridor, menu stays to the mainstream; was genuinely surprised by the fresh seaweed.

Between all of the tables, every category from breakfast and flipper burger to ramen and bento was represented. We shared Tonkotsu Ramen (noodles, egg and seaweed, fish cake great...but meat was off), Salmon Donburi (great Salmon and sides...but rice ranged from just right to pasty). Strawberry Ramune and Green Tea to drink.

The interior has grown up with better use of space. Gone are the diner booths and frozen yogurt area replaced with a casual but modern Asian-inspired environment. (I'm guessing this has helped neutralize the previous afternoon scene of middle school kids using it as a free meeting spot until parent pickup.) The corner shopping pocket has its own tiny lot, but it can be challenging to enter and exit.

For the reviewer commenting on how the fat is removed from the broth -- it's probably skimmed...like how any broth in any culture in any grade of restaurant is skimmed?

CLOSED - 16 years of business.

Can only imagine the casting request:
Seeking baritone & mezzo sopranos comfortable around open flames. Sick Apple 1st Gen Bondi Blue iMac OS programming skills highly desired. Defined abs a plus.

A great location and interesting event. While Oakland is only the opening to the rest of the East Bay, it's wonderful an unusual arts nonprofit (in a neighborhood that doesn't necessarily get positive press) is a featured event.

Would have been great if more discussion of how the shows benefit the organization -- profits go towards funding their youth camps.

A pleasant surprise with stunning photography on the walls.

Noticed a certain Yelper with amazingly refreshed eyes sans makeup, only to find out she had eyelash extensions at Ajuda. Very tastefully and precisely done.

The location is a charming hole in the wall in a vibrant neighborhood similar to Bernal Heights. At first glance you think it's a tiny salon. The magic continues into the back of the property!

Indoor, outdoor, for players big or small this is the soccer gear (and rugby) place for the region. All field positions plus ref, coach and training items. Plan ahead for uniform name lines!

Make sure to check out their new expanded location down the road.