Good eats around Hayward/Castro Valley?

Regional Dining Discussions SF Bay Area, NorCal, Tahoe
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I live in Santa Clara County and will drive up to near Castro Valley BART station to view a model home. I seldom drive along HWY 880 beyond Milpitas and therefore need some advice for great food. One person cannot eat spicy food and so Mexican food is out of the question.

So far, in Google Maps, I have found Cecil’s Famous Burgers in Hayward and Classic Burger in San Lorenzo. We are not confined to burgers, however. Due to Covid, we will eat in the car and therefore something too elaborate isn’t appropriate. We are looking for lunch ideas. Thank you.

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In the Castro Valley Marketplace they have Oculto which has outdoor dinning. Sf Chronicle called it the “best roast chicken”. I haven’t been.

88 Bao Boa is supposed to be good as well. The Dublin outpost is my friend’s favorite - they say it is closest to what they ate in China.

The most famous burger place in Hayward is Val’s but I don’t think they do to go.

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Thank you. Too bad that Oculto serves only dinner.

BTW, the prices in Alameda County are far more reasonable than in Santa Clara County. How refreshing!

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For omelette and breakfast food, Norman’s Grill was pretty good.

We enjoyed Top Thai.

Casper’s Hot Dogs in Hayward.

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I’m pretty sure Val’s have to go. They did pre-pandemic so I would think they still do.

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Pampas Cafe near the Castro Valley Bart has good empanadas, very easy food to eat in the car.

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Unless they’ve changed (doubtful), they have outstanding burgers. Note that according to their Yelp page they’re currently only open Fridays and Saturdays, 11 to 5.

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Pho Auntie 7 and Pho Play are good. I am sure you can get a banh mi to go.

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Sorry did not realize that they were dinner only. I heard good things about Cannery Kitchen and Tap as well. If you do stop by be sure to grab some bread from 7 hills bakery.

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Their milkshakes were what did it for me. They give you the glass and the tin mixing up with the leftovers as well - which was amazing to me as a child.

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La Victoria Taqueria is on my list, to get the orange sauce and some tacos. Never been but they have one in Hayward.

The other place on my list in Hayward is Habibi’s Birria, Mex-Med halal. Tacos and kabobs…in a gas station. Never been but curious. Gets good reviews.

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I live in Hayward near the CV border and am always going to CV, both to take BART and to do my shopping. Here are my picks for places along Castro Valley Boulevard if you want to eat in the car:

–In the Castro Valley Marketplace: Cannery Kitchen has good sandwiches, and you can order online. There’s also a sushi stand in the marketplace, and the grocery has lots of prepared food
–For burgers, there’s Boulevard Burgers and good ol’ Nation’s Giant
–Southern Comfort Kitchen for po’ boys
–In the Villages shopping center: Habit Burger and Nick the Greek. There’s also a dim sum place. Loard’s for ice cream, or Knudsen’s ice cream across the Boulevard.
–I second Pho Auntie 7 for Vietnamese food

Habibi’s Birreria is all that, but it’s the opposite direction from CV.

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Thank you again. I did go to Val’s. Great burgers and I did not taste any fillers in the meat.

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Glad you enjoyed it. Haven’t been in a long time but good to hear they still make a good burger.

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My daughter passes Val’s daily. Sounds like they are actually open for business now. For the past couple of years (obviously due to Covid) they were closed a lot and then open on a ‘catch us if you can’ basis. The local feeling seemed to be that they didn’t need to keep the business going, but what their longer term plan might be was a mystery. Their current Yelp info has them open only Friday and Saturday.