amy l.'s Profile

Best! Best!  it is the best!  former Vik's chaat manager started this new place up and it is AMAZING.  if you ever trekked in Nepal, i think this is the closest you can get to the authentic taste.  their service is amazing and unlike Vik's, it's open for dinner!  and not much more expensive either....great prices. so good i barely want people to find out about it...

PLEASE OPEN UP ON THE WEEKEND or for dinner!!

why only only Mon-Fri 10-3?? i have been wanting to try the vegan food here for YEARS but only recently was in downtown oakland during a weekday.  it was SUPER YUMMY!

such an excellent vegan blackberry shake i might just add several miles to my bike commute to get one.  if it were open evenings or weekends i would eat here a LOT.

pretty much the only good restaurant in west oakland (those down by the bart station are ....sketch) and indeed the food is pretty excellent.  

however, unless you are either first or last to be seated on a weekend, expect to WAIT.  if it's a sunny day you can grab a cup of coffee and  then sit on the median grassway of mandela pkwy while you wait, but i don't have patience when i'm hungry so although it's a football field away from my loft i rarely go here.

that's not their fault - good for them that they are so busy, but like i said, i can't wait when i'm hungry.

gorgeous one of a kind dresses and flirtatious pants and tops in luxurious fabrics - all hand made in Berkeley!

Silver makes the most amazing sexy comfy stretchy printed dresses and jumpsuits!  if you want unique maxi dresses (not another H&M that all your friends have too), contact her.  she makes them custom or always has some available off the rack!

I made a reservation through Open Table for tonight for 7:30 pm.  We got there and the restaurant was closed.  Not sure if it's closed for good - there was no sign on the door or anything.

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED.  I just called - March 4, 2010 - and it is now another restaurant.

full bar
fancy drinks
small plates, but delicious
high ceilings
local/graffiti art
DJs playing music that doesn't suck
live music too
big tables, small tables, standing room
a mezzanine
leather couches
dual-sex private bathrooms
a laid back, diverse clientele
cafe-like on the weekdays
fun houseparty-like on the weekends.

as long as you have the cash, what's not to like?
(i see almost all of the one-star reviews are people who tried to have large groups/private parties here.  i'll keep that in mind.)

We went to Stillwater Cove Ranch for belated-anniversary/valentines/presidents day weekend trip. my boss recommended this place, a small family farm that was homesteaded in the 1860s on the coast between Jenner and Gualala. *rustic*. they converted some of the old farm buildings into sleeping quarters. no restaurant, no hot tub, no TVs, no services. but i knew it was perfect when we turned off highway 1 and tried to pull into the driveway and couldn't because it was being blocked by LAMBS! and then peacocks! and all other sorts of cute animals. i was pretty excited. we stayed in the cook's cabin, which had a fireplace and a sort of view of the ocean, past the main original farmhouse.

we poked around the farm for a while until it got dark, talking to the farmers and cuddling the baby animals with our eyes, and then we drove up to gualala sunday night for dinner, ate at the "roadhouse", where i admit i felt like a weirdo for ordering a vegi burger in a place that specializes in ribs and other smoked/BBQ'd meats.

monday we slept in late, checked out, and then went across the road to check out the dangerous Stillwater Cove Beach. it was a bit cold and misty, but still really beautiful and full of kelp. the cove is also the mouth of a small river/large stream, which was overflowing and causing erosion on the beach that we could watch! little mini landslides everywhere. i wandered back to where the river came out, between highway 1, a redwood stand, and the ocean, and for a few minutes i thought i was in the most beautiful place in the world. and then i decided that i needed to CROSS that river, and climb the bank on the other side back up to the car, instead of take the somewhat-precarious hairpin coastal road with no room for pedestrians that we came down on. so we debated the best route for a while and then did it and only got a little bit wet and muddy. we forged that river! and then climbed the somewhat slippery and very steep bank back up through the redwood trees.

check out photos here: http://www.flickr.com/...

i'm not one for long lines and waiting around outside with my cup of Peet's with all the berkeleyite foodies to try out some little nook and cranny place where you wait forever for service.  generally, whenever anyone has suggested we go to La Note, that has been the experience, and thus, i had never been inside.

until Thanksgiving weekend!  a ha!  everyone was out of town, including students, and suddenly there was no line, and half of the tables were empty.  oh how nice it is to be a local.

we sat in the back corner of the sunny patio and took our sweet hungover time.  we ordered various rounds of caffeinated and alcoholic drinks.  i had the blueberry oatmeal;  it was divine. others had the egg dishes, and they looked savory and well-designed.  our waitress seemed relaxed and didn't push us at all.  it was lovely.

thus, yes, i recommend this place, but unless you LIKE doing the crowded restaurant with a huge line thing, go at a time when everyone else is at work or out of town.  the place is designed to be cozy, and the kind of restaurant you definitely want to be able to hang out in, not feel like the line-pressure outside is affecting your service.