Smitten Ice Cream + local food

Monday evening several dozen Bay Area foodies joined Savor Oakland for a special sneak peek of Smitten Ice Cream that just opened Tuesday on College Avenue in Rockridge.

Smitten is small, local chain of ice cream stores that started in San Francisco. One of the things that makes Smitten unique is that they make the ice cream on demand. That's right, they start with cream and other fresh ingredients, chill it with patented technology, and minutes later produce really fresh, creamy ice cream. I only got a chance to taste two of the six flavors, but the salted caramel ice cream was awesome, and the fresh mint chip (thanks, @eastbaydish!) was astoundingly fresh. And I generally don't even like mint ice creams that much. (If I've got to limit my frozen dairy intake, I'll generally go for chocolate, coffee, or combinations thereof.)

I suspect that the Smitten Ice Cream on College will do very, very well. While there is a Dreyer's Ice Cream Shop in the College Avenue side of Dreyer's headquarters a short distance away, they're not in the same league. Smitten has a limited number of flavors (maximum of 6; 5 fixed plus 1 seasonal flavor), but the ice cream that they make is super smooth and creamy, and extremely fresh-tasting since they make it on demand. And I think kids, foodies and others will enjoy the process: you order the ice cream, then watch as the ingredients are combined, not unlike watching a chef in a restaurant kitchen. And while Dreyer's may have started in Oakland, they're owned by mega-corp Nestle's now, and definitely don't feel local by any stretch.

Besides the sneak peek of Smitten Ice Cream, Carlo of Savor Oakland had also arranged for some tastes from other local food creators. We heard from The Cookie Department which makes great, "fully functional cookies", Chunky Pig, which makes (what I'm told is) a tasty bacon caramel corn, and Sugar Knife artisan sweets, which make great booze-flavored marshmellows.

More pictures from the event:

signs: Smitten Ice Cream

The newest sign in my photo collection is for Smitten Ice Cream, which opens today (no foolin'). The ice cream is made to order, using liquid nitrogen to freeze the cream and other fresh ingredients.

signs: Pearl of Siam

Last night as we were leaving the Oakland Heritage Alliance awards ceremony, I noticed that this sign isn't there any more. I didn't catch the name of the Thai restaurant that's there now, but a mention on Yelp says Pearl of Siam closed June 30, 2013, after 25 years in business. Not a bad run!

Saint Mary's Cemetery 150th Anniversary

The other week, Saint Mary's Cemetery marked its 150th anniversary with a special ceremony and the unveiling of several new features. The day began with a mass led by Bishop Michael Barber of the Oakland diocese, who re-consecrated the cemetery grounds.

Following the mass, a beautiful new statue of the Virgin Mary was unveiled. Currently it's near the chapel in the center of the cemetery, but will be moved to near the front gate. Also unveiled was a new grave marker for the last governor of Alta California, Juan Bautista Valentin Alvarado, and his wife, Maria Martina Castro de Alvarado. Some of the most famous of St. Mary's residents, their grave was unmarked until local historian Alfred Janske re-discovered their burial location. He worked with St. Mary's Cemetery, the San Pablo Historical Society, and other groups to have a marker added.

Afterwards I talked with Janske, and learned that the first burial in St. Mary's was Mary Riley, who died December 13, 1863. Her grave is currently unmarked, but he's hoping to get a marker added. Given how far back in local history that is, and her relatively common name, finding out more about Mary's story has been difficult.

More pictures from the 150th anniversary:

a bite of Oakland food news

Just a quick bite of food news. I got a press release that the new restaurant replacing Hudson on College Avenue in Rockridge is opening this month. A16 (named for a scenic highway in Italy) will be under the direction of Executive Chef Rocky Maselli. It will have pasta, pizza, and "a focus on dishes from Italy’s Puglia region, a destination known for its seafood." They'll serve Linden Street Brewery beers, and co-owner/wine director Shelley Lindgren is an award-winning sommelier so they should have a great wine list.

This news is so fresh, their website, www.A16Rockridge.com isn't even up yet. I was in the area yesterday, but didn't know to look for any activity. Anyone seen signs of the opening yet?

Go In Peace - CD Release Concert

An upcoming event I'm particularly excited about is the CD release concert for my wife's first album, Go in Peace. The concert is this Saturday, May 18th at 7pm at College Avenue Presbyterian Church and admission is free. Katarina will be performing with our friends Tess Evans Clark and Bobby Medcalf, plus one or two other special guests. CAPC is generously providing the space and snacks.

The album features ten songs, all written and performed by Katarina, with Bobby on drums and percussion. The creation of the album has been a labor of love; I did the engineering on the album and designed the artwork, and we've both put in ridiculous amounts of time over the past year to make it happen. For samples of the songs, album notes, and more, check out Katarina's website, Sleep on the Hearth. Hope to see you there on Saturday!

food+drink: Toast wine bar

The other weekend K and I needed to eat an early dinner before helping at an event, so we decided to try Toast wine bar on College. As you might guess from the name, they have a sizable wine list, and even have two red wines on tap. But they also have a selection of cocktails and beers, including ones from locals Oakland Brewing Company and Trumer Pils.

I had an arugula salad with mushrooms, almonds and a garlic vinaigrette, and a delicious red lentil and sweet pepper soup. K had petrale sole with brussels sprouts and potatoes. Everything was delicious and the service was great. And dessert? Mmm...chocolate. We'll definitely check it out again for a fuller wining and dining experience.

food: Old Brooklyn Bagels & Deli

Ifirst wrote about Old Brooklyn Bagels & Deli replacing Cafe Zoe back in July, but haven't had a chance to check it out until more recently.

The cafe is named for the former town of Brooklyn, which is now part of Oakland. The town wasn't named for the city in New York, but for a ship which brought Mormon settlers to California in 1846. To emphasize the local meaning, there are historic photos on the walls, and an old map of Oakland and Brooklyn across the front of the counter.

As with the predecessor, the space is light and airy, with windows on both the College Avenue and Harwood Avenue sides. And as with Cafe Zoe, they have outdoor seating on the Harwood Avenue side, which seems particularly popular with dog owners.

The first time K and I went, I had a toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese which was OK, and very tasty salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, and feta cheese. K had a tasty tuna salad sandwich. The second time I went, I had a toasted everything bagel with schmear, before heading off to compare to other bagels in Oakland. They don't have much space, so the bagels are made at sister restaurant Emery Bay Cafe in Emeryville. Other items are made fresh on site.

In short, I'd go back for coffee or lunch, but the bagels weren't anything special. They weren't bad, they just weren't anything special, especially given all the other bagel options that have started up in Oakland. Jweekly.com agrees, at least as far as the bagels are concerned.

More pictures:

signs: Miam Miam

Not a great sign, but looks pretty good lit up. And notable because it will go away at some point, as the Miam Miam gelato and frozen yogurt shop closed recently, as reported in the most recent Oakland Food News post.

signs: Pharmaca

Anew sign, but a nice design and interesting because it uses green, which is a less common color for neon. This Pharmaca is on College Avenue next to the Trader Joe's, but there are other Pharmaca branches around the bay. They also have a nice open sign and window-mounted Rx sign.

The Rx symbol is an abbreviation from the Latin "recipere", and means "take...". Or it's a form of the Eye of Horus, an Egyptian god, and which was worn on amulets to help ensure good health. Either way, the symbol has long been associated with prescriptions.

Oakland Urban Paths: Rock and Walk

Saturday morning there was a great turnout for the Oakland Urban Paths "Rock and Walk", led by Oakland geologist and blogger Andrew Alden. Forty people (and two dogs) gathered to learn about four former quarries in Oakland and Piedmont over the course of a 5 mile walk.

To begin the walk we met at the first quarry, which is now the Rockridge Shopping Center. It was the former Bilger quarry, which produced crushed stone for use in construction. One interesting thing is that the neighboring Treadwell estate didn't sell their land to the quarry, but later sold it to the California College of the Arts, which explains why there's an unusually steep hill between the campus at one level and the shopping center below. Another nearby estate became the Claremont Country Club. The Rockridge branch of Glen Echo Creek traverses the country club, and brings most of the water that fills the quarry pit. Read more about the quarry in Andrew's post from a couple years ago.

From there, we walked around the end of Mountain View Cemetery into Piedmont for quarry #2. It's now Dracena Quarry Park, which is tucked away in a man-made canyon between Moraga Avenue and Oakland Avenue. It also was used to produce crushed stone and aggregate for construction. It's a beautiful little park, surrounded with large redwoods and with play structures for kids. But the hillsides have been left in a somewhat unstable condition—fences around the edge keep park users away from the fallen rock at the base of hills. Read more about Dracena Park in Andrew's post.

Then it was a winding walk over to quarry #3, Davie Tennis Stadium. Unfortunately the park was closed because of a furlough day, but Andrew told us some of the history and geology. The Davie Recreation Stadium was a "gift of the Davie family to the children of Oakland and the East Bay" in 1931. John Davie was a five term mayor of Oakland, first in 1895 then again from 1915-1931. William Davie was a treasurer, and Fred Davie a secretary to the mayor. The quarry provided aggregate for the Alameda Macadam Company and later the Piedmont Paving Company for road paving. You can see an aerial photo of the tennis courts at the park in Google maps.

Morcom Rose Garden

From there we walked across Grand Avenue over to quarry #4, the Morcom Rose Garden. Unlike the other three, Andrew hasn't yet found a record of its history as a quarry, but the geological / topographical features strongly indicate that it was. The land was acquired by the city around 1911-1915, but the first rose wasn't planted until 1933, by then former Mayor Frank Morcom.

We cut back across part of Piedmont, crossed Piedmont Avenue, and returned to our starting point. By this point a few people had dropped out (5 miles is a long walk if you're not used to it), but a few of the remaining folks joined Andrew for a brief walk around the shipping center to view the rocks of quarry #1. Another great urban paths walk, with some stairways that were new to me, and some interesting history and geology to learn about along the way.

Lots more pictures:


For more about Saturday's walk, check out Andrew's post about the walk.

more links:

• Oakland Urban Paths website
• Google map of our route
• Oakland Geology blog
• Oakland Sidewalk Stamps blog
• About.com Geology website

• Dracena Quarry Park
• Davie Tennis Stadium
• Morcom Rose Garden
• Morcom Dedicated Dead Headers

signs: Alcatraz Shade Shop

Alcatraz Shade Shop

Alcatraz Shade Shop sits on the not-quite-square corner of Telegraph and Alcatraz. The signage for the name of the shop is nothing special, but they've got a lovely neon-bordered clock advertising their wares.

You may have noticed several vintage neon-bordered clocks from my visit to Neon Works with the Oakland Heritage Alliance in January. I've also seen a number of them around Oakland before, but this was the first I've seen lit.

happy winter solstice

Happy winter solstice. On this longest night of the year, we welcome the return of the sun, the light in the darkness. May there be peace on earth and the light of wisdom for all.

strange days indeed

Some days just don't go as planned. I had lots of Oakland-y goodness planned for today, starting with a ride down the hill to church at College Avenue Presbyterian, a short ride down to the East Bay Mini Maker Faire to volunteer with the East Bay Bike Coalition and check out the fair, then over to Peralta Hacienda for a walk and lecture made possible by Oakland Urban Paths and the National Park Service. All sounds like good stuff, no?

I hopped on the e-bike and headed to Lake Temescal, as the bike path around it is one of the quicker, more pleasant routes over to Rockridge for me. I was surprised to find an OPD motorcycle cop on the path who signaled me to stop. He said I couldn't go on the path, couldn't go through the park either, and couldn't say why it was closed, just that it was "for another agency." Another agency? The Girl Scouts, the fire department or Homeland Security? There's a lot of different possible reasons there. In any event, I rode back to Broadway Terrace, and down to Rockridge that way. The fact I saw two police cars on my way (which is two more police cars than I normally see on a Sunday) did nothing to assuage my concerns.

I arrived at church a bit later than planned, and noticed that Monte's video display was, well, a bit skewed -- the projector was showing the control screen, and his new laptop was showing the presentation. I checked in with him and quickly fixed it, but it was a further discombobulation for the morning. After the service including another great sermon by Monte, I rushed off towards the Maker Faire, again running a little bit later than I'd planned.

I arrived at Opal and 42nd, the designated place for bike parking for the Maker Faire, and saw...no bikes. After peering around for a bit, someone pointed me down the block to the next gate. I arrived to see the available space full of bikes. Apparently last year, they'd had maybe 40 bikes or so, so the Maker Faire gave EBBC that much space. Well, last year it rained, so a lot of people didn't ride (and probably some didn't go at all). This year, it was warm (and a little humid -- what's up with that?) and sunny, and the space was filled to overflowing. To complicate matters, normally EBBC gets an enclosed space to park bikes in, with one entrance to control access. This space was along the driveway used for musicians and makers to bring in their gear, so we had the back access to worry about, a steady stream of non-bike people going through, and we had to keep the driveway clear. Shortly after I arrived we had to start with a one-out, one-in policy, as we didn't have room for any more bikes until some left.

So when the end of my shift was approaching at 2pm, I asked Max if they'd had any volunteers sign up for the 2pm to closing shift. Given the day so far, I was completely unsurprised to hear that they hadn't. Given the extra challenges, I decided to stay and keep helping. During a bathroom break I checked out a few of the makers nearby, but didn't really get to spend much time there. The Crucible had some cool exhibits, including a truck with a fire calliope sort of thing that kids could trigger from a control panel. There was also a place where kids could make and decorate cardboard rockets, then have them launched into the air from a compressor-powered rig. There were a lot of happy kids I saw, so I'd say the event was a big success even if it wasn't the best organized.

All in all, it wasn't a bad day. Just different than I'd planned.

Rockridge Out and About

Other commitments meant I couldn't spend nearly as long as I wanted at this year's Rockridge Out and About, but what K and I did see was great. Tons of people (and dogs!) having fun, eating local food, hearing music and just hanging out. We saw @TinaTamale and @dto510, but we didn't even have time to walk the full length of the festival along College Ave., from Manila up to Alcatraz.



Lots more pictures:


More coverage at Oakland North.

neighborhood videos

Afun set of videos for downtown and some of the north Oakland neighborhoods. They're done by Red Oak Realty, which had a booth at the Temescal Street Fair the other week. It'd be nice to see videos like this for all the neighborhoods of Oakland.

Downtown Oakland from Red Oak Realty on Vimeo.

Montclair from Red Oak Realty on Vimeo.

Rockridge from Red Oak Realty on Vimeo.

Temescal from Red Oak Realty on Vimeo.

books: Secret Stairs East Bay

Shop Indie Bookstores

I'm excited to be reviewing a new book, Secret Stairs East Bay: A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Berkeley and Oakland. I first heard about it through Oakland Urban Paths. The author, Charles Fleming, wrote a book about walks on historic staircases in Los Angeles, and was looking for people to test his walks in Oakland and Berkeley for a similar book on the East Bay. I happily tested a couple of walks, and K gamely joined me. But I only got to read the rough drafts of those walks, so I was happy when the completed book arrived.

The book isn't just a bunch of maps showing where to walk, it's got bits of history, architecture and local color as well. It was inspired by "pub walk" books in England and Ireland, where each tour begins and ends with a meal or drink. True to form, Fleming points out places to eat or drink on many of the walks.

Secret Stairs includes walks in Oakland and Berkeley, and a few in Albany, El Cerrito and Kensington. Each walk is designed to be between 30 and 90 minutes, is rated for difficulty from 1 (casual) to 5 (rigorous) and includes a stair count.

lovely stairs

And a feature I love, it also includes bus and BART info, so you can do walking tours outside your neighborhood without driving to them. There are tons of paved paths and stairways (over 400 in Oakland and Berkeley), so the book isn't meant to be an exhaustive guide. Besides some history and architecture, the walks also includes detailed directions and a map. The directions are very useful -- some of the stairways can be hard to find without them.

Walking urban paths and staircases can be a great way to explore an area. Although I know our area fairly well, walk #32 (Montclair) showed me a couple of new stairways, and #33 (Merriewood) was almost all new to me, and caused me to notice some interesting houses I hadn't seen before.

To review the finished book, I took one of the walks I didn't know. I selected #30 (Upper Rockridge West) because I had some errands to run in Rockridge. Secret Stairs lists it as 1 hour, 30 minutes, 3.2 miles, 593 steps, and a difficulty of 4, so I knew I had a pretty good hike ahead of me.

gate to Upper Rockridge

The walk starts near Rockridge BART, then heads east towards Upper Rockridge. All along the way, the book points out things to notice: a Craftsman home here, an interesting concrete stamp there. Interspersed with the sights, Fleming gives some history of the area. In the case of Upper Rockridge, it's known for losing a lot of houses in the 1991 Oakland hills firestorm. The architecture reflects that, as some of the houses are old, while others are very clearly newer.

The walk winds its way around the streets and stairways in Upper Rockridge. It makes no attempt to be efficient, but does its best to explore the area. As a result, it includes such gems as:

Then climb a sharp 48 steps, under a giant palm tree, to land on Margarido again. Did we walk down just to walk up? Yes, we did. This a stair book! That's why we're here!

I faithfully followed the directions, and stopped and took lots of pictures along the way. And to test the complete experience, I stopped and Ben 'n Nicks along College at the end of my walk for a cold pint.

I love the book, but it's not perfect. The area map in the introduction has some of the numbered marks in the wrong place, for example. #30 (Upper Rockridge West) is shown near #29 (Upper Piedmont Park), when it should over by highway 24 and #31 (Upper Rockridge East). And this is matter of choice, but how could walk #20 (Broadway and Oak Glen Park) not start and end at Commonwealth Cafe and Pub? Since the book is inspired by pub walks, what better place to start and end than an English-style pub? It would add less than a half mile of level walking.

But the flaws are minor; the detailed directions are accurate and the descriptions are fun to read, and overall it's a wonderful book. It would make a great gift for a friend or neighbor who's into walking, or into Oakland or Berkeley history.

Lots more photos from the walk:

secret stairs: upper Rockridge west

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Although Charles Fleming is based in LA, he'll be in town for a book launch party, Friday, August 5, at Pegasus Books on Solano, in Berkeley. If you want to buy the book ahead of time, get it from your local independent book seller.

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I received no compensation for this review (other than the review copy.) If you purchase the book through the above link, I get an affiliate fee. Regardless of whether you use the link or not, buy your copy from a local, independent bookstore. Shop local!

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Update:
The book event at Pegasus Books was a lot of fun, and there was a huge turnout. This morning Charles led us on walk #1, Claremont: the Uplands, in Berkeley. Some pictures here:

secret stairs

Lake Temescal

early morning swimmers

One of Oakland's gems is Lake Temescal, located near highways 13 and 24. It's a man-made lake straddling the Hayward fault, and was originally created as a reservoir. Now it's used for swimming, picnicking, fishing, or just enjoying a bit of nature. There are short hiking trails around the lake, and a bikeway at the east side of the park that I ride frequently to and from Rockridge and the Temescal district.

Despite many visits, I'd never been there for swimming. The Fourth of July promised to be a hot day, so K and I made an early visit to Lake Temescal to cool off. We got there before 10AM, and most of the picnic spots were already claimed and the parking lots were filling up. The EBRPD guy collecting the beach fees said there'd been 1500+ people through on Sunday, and today promised to have even more. By the time we left a couple hours later, the beach was starting to fill up, and the BBQs at were going full blast.

Despite being in one of the wealthiest, least diverse Oakland neighborhoods, the Fourth had a beautiful cross section of Oakland enjoying the lake. I stopped by later in the afternoon, and the park was packed with happy people. Besides swimming at the beach, there were people eating, laughing, playing soccer, hiking, fishing and just hanging out to celebrate Independence Day.

A Bit of History
According to the park brochure, Franciscan missionaries named the creek "Temescal" from two Aztec words: Tema (to bathe) and cali (a house). The lake and the neighborhood (which the creek flows through, albeit mostly underground these days) were named for the creek. The reservoir was originally built in 1868 by Anthony Chabot's Contra Costa Water Co. to provide drinking water, and the story has it that wild mustangs were run back and forth across the dam to compact it during construction. Most of the manual labor to build the dam was done by Chinese immigrants.

c.1915, The Comet, from Oakland Hills

Besides its history as a reservoir, Lake Temescal is also connected with the railroads that used to run through the area. The Sacramento Northern (which my grandfather worked for) had tracks which ran where the bikeway is now. A historical panel in the park shows pictures. (These are the same tracks that continued through what is now Montclair Village and up Shepherd Canyon; the shallow grade is part of what makes it ideal for cycling.) At the time, an electric train called the Comet also ran directly over the lake on a trestle.

c.1950, from Selections from the
Oakland Tribune Archives

The area was converted to one of the first three East Bay regional parks and opened to the public in 1936. The lovely stone beach house was built by the WPA in 1940. The beach house can be rented for special events, and behind it there's a lovely patio and garden area.

In more recent history, Lake Temescal has again been used as a reservoir. Not for drinking water, but to provide water for fighting fires. In 1991, helicopters used it for water to fight the Oakland firestorm. As recently as 2009 it's been used for firefighting as well.

See also the Wikipedia entry on Lake Temescal. For more pictures and reading, visit the Oakland history room at the main library, and check out Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series, including:

• Images of America: Oakland Hills by Erika Mailman
• Images of America: Selections from the Oakland Tribune Archives by Annalee Allen

Available at your favorite neighborhood Oakland bookstore.

photo journey 5: how green is my city

Green is a familiar color to most Oaklanders. It's one of the colors of the city flag, the A's logo, Oakland street signs, the AC Transit logo and numerous other things we see every day. Even now in summer, when there's no rain (well, until Tuesday, when there's a chance of thunderstorms!?), there are lots of green trees and plants around Oakland. And of course Oakland is going 'green' in the sense of making environmentally-friendlier changes. So it wasn't hard at all to find green things to photograph on my way home from church this afternoon.

bits and pieces

Today's post is a full of bits and pieces that didn't make it into other posts for whatever reason.


late addition: