SF or Oakland iso a neighborhood

I don’t know the whole system well, but most of the BART stations with which I’m familiar are not in areas I would consider ‘cute and walkable’. If you’re up for fun and funky, though, Oakland Chinatown is close to BART (Lake Merritt Station), and the Oakland Museum that @Lectroid previously recommended is only a stone’s throw away.

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I’d spend a day or half a day around UC Berkeley, besides botanical gardens there Berkeley Art Museum, library and campus tours and a bunch of eats from affordable student fare to gourmet ghetto (still dislike the name) and Chez Panisse ( lunch at cafe would be nice). Also Comal (elevated Mexican). The campus is quite nice, very nice actually.

If you’re into grocery tourism, Berkeley Bowl and Monterey Market as re exceptional. Also get done Acme bread.

On that note, here’s a nice read about returning to Berkeley, by Rachel Kushner. might be paywalled.

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I used to love riding the streetcars in SF to the various neighborhoods. West Portal, Church street, etc.

Did just that, yesterday.

Took a vintage F-line streetcar from the Fisherman’s Wharf terminus along the Embarcadero to Market Street. Transferred to the J to Church/10th.

Walked through GG Park. Passed the Aboretum, Academy of Sciences and down JFK Drive. Then down the Haight back to Market st. Beautiful day for a walk.

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[quote=“Sasha, post:13, topic:44138, full:true”]
We’ll have a car for the first part but I was going to return it and Bart around SF and Oakland. I’d need a compelling reason to hold onto it. Of your list what are the top 2-3 neighborhoods for cute walking, shopping, dining, iyo. That’s all we’d have time for…
[/quote]

If you don’t have a car, but have access to BART, get off at Rockridge BART station in Oakland. Altho 4th St./Berkeley is fun, it’s not as easy to get to unless you are staying very close in an Air B&B - but there’s always Lyft/Uber.

Rockridge BART is centered on mid-point of College Ave., which spans Berkeley/Oakland. Lots of stores, pubs, restaurants in Rockridge; easy walking (level ground). We suggest for food:

Kitty-corner from BART station: Enjoy Market Hall - several vendors offer fabulous gourmet shopping; note the cafe/restaurant (both named Acre) are okay but average. Walk south and take your choice:

Namastey Patio has excellent Nepalese food (insist upon HOT if you are serious about chilis!). Don’t miss the one fusion dish they have, well-spiced grilled Tandoori Asparagus Mushroom portobello cap. My carnivore husband said it was as good as a steak! Momos and curries are very good, also. It’s 1 block down, and across the street from Market Hall.
Address: 5500 College Ave, Oakland

The very best Milanese Italian food in the entire SFBA is Belotti Ristorante - same side as Market Hall, 2 long blocks down. Michele Belotti is a superb cook and his pasta dishes are outstanding. Don’t miss the Tortino di Spinaci - a spinach mini-souffle with an oozing quail egg yolk baked inside it. The two best pastas are the agnolotti di lidia made with a 3-day beef glace de viande and the tortelli di polenta, ravioli stuffed with polenta. Michele makes his pasta with extra eggs and the texture is supple and toothsome. All of his salads are superb. We usually just skip the entrees; they’re good but it’s his pastas that beat everyone else’s. Only the Locanda local mini-chain and A16 come close to Michele’s pasta dough. Note it’s VERY tiny; make reservations, especially for dinner. We usually go for lunch, same menu.

Belotti Ristorante
5403 College Avenue, Oakland
Belotti full menu, all day

Walking back to BART, go 1-1/2 blocks further for Starter Bakery, one of the best bakeries with excellent kouign amann:
5804 College Ave, Oakland

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The Thai restaurant Soi 4, also in rockridge, has excellent curries. Skip the noodles – if you want pad see ew, go instead up college Ave to Yimm.

There was that one time! But yeah; very is relative.

I am enjoying myself vicariously, about 30 miles inland which is “hella” hotter. :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

Not in Berkeley, but for gardens, does anyone recommend the Ruth Bancroft garden in Walnut Creek?

@Sasha , I’m curious too, but it seems like they’re almost always in bloom around here ( at least McKinley Rose Garden in Sacramento) !

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good question, you’re right the timing might be off

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September is usually pleasantly warm in Oakland. It’s near the end of our fire season (technically; altho these days fires are year-round) so you may still see roses blooming in some people’s yards. Mine bloom 3x/yr, depends on how warm the summer is.

I regret that I will disagree on Soi 4 on College Ave/Oakland. We found their food very, very sweet. A better choice (still sweet but less so) is in the Gourmet Ghetto near UC Berkeley: Farmhouse Kitchen. FYI it is always best to make reservations, even for lunch. One can always cancel (and if you can’t make it, PLEASE do call to cancel; it’s tough enough on restaurant owners these days and ghosting them is just not cool).

Re Monterey/Carmel by the Sea:
Visit Tor House, an amazing stone house hand-built by Robinson Jeffers, one of America’s greatest poets: https://www.torhouse.org/.

One of the finest French bakeries in Northern CA is in downtown Monterey: Parker Lusseau Bakery. Yann Lusseau is a master patissier and his croissants are as good as Arsicault and B. Patisserie in SF. His almond croissants are second to none, and I include Maison Benoit/Danville in that ranking. The pastries are divine, magnificent patisserie in true French style, no skimping on quality. Excellent little cafe for a light lunch, too, with sandwiches, savory pastries, and the requisite soup/quiches.

The hot new name in bakeries in Monterey is Ad Astra. Oddly, we liked the owner’s desserts (he does the desserts at Cella restaurant, across the street from his bakery) but we don’t care for the style of his bread, which unfortunately was used in almost every restaurant we visited in March. Very sour, thick hard crust, moist heavy center; it overwhelmed charcuterie plates and pates at a couple of restaurants we visited.

We visit Monterey once or twice a year, taking 3-5 weekdays trips. We were impressed/pleased with Mission Bistro/Carmel bt Sea, not so much with Chez Noir. Passionfish/Pacific Grove, with new owner/chef, has heavier, more substantial food than under previous famed chef Ted Walter. A better surprise was The Spotted Duck across the street from Passionfish, exceptional start to finish (don’t miss the lovely duck liver mousse, and any duck or seafood dish).

You didn’t mention if you’re into wine. If the coast is cold and foggy, drive 1 mile south to Carmel Valley and meander down through the wineries out there. The weather is ALWAYS better - warm and sunny, but not roasting hot unless there’s a “heat dome” weather spell.

Do note that like the PNW, many SF Bay Area and most Central Coast (Monterey/Carmel/PacGrove) restaurants/hotels lack air conditioning, especially if they’re in older buildings.

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Are you familiar with Stairway Walks in San Francisco? Great way to experience SF’s neighborhoods and epic views.

The 2 Bernal Heights walks are gorgeous this time of year and put you in proximity to Go Duck Yourself (Chinese roast meats), Bernal Bakery, El Buen Comer, Epicurean Trader & Avedanos for picnic provisions. Walk there from Bart avails you to Reems and plenty of Central American places too.

The Northbeach/Chinatown proximal walks are also easy to integrate with food stops, but maybe too close to your previous trips.

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Sept is nice in the Bay Area, but yeah…bring layers. FYI: SFO and OAK have venting machines with Uniqlo down jackets …$60 or so.

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Speaking of Starter Bakery.; Daughter ventured inland for the 4th, and brought tidings of great joy

From Starter bakery today

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I am not a fan of starter relative to a couple of other places nearby, but to each their own.

For patisserie, I much prefer fournee bakery, about 1-1.5 mi north off of claremont. Their sesame teff sourdough loaf is also excellent. I cannot speak to their kouign amann

For bread, I like forma bakery down telegraph in temescal. Their blue corn masa sourdough is excellent. The texture of the outside of their pastry is very good but I have found the fillings to be highly variable in quality.

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If there’s better kouign-amann, please don’t tell me! We have none of it where I live and I am about to lose my mind!

Well, there are better kouign amann around, but unless you were already planning to be in a specific city/neighborhood, you’d have to be willing to make a special stop. Fournee, for example, isn’t really near any place interesting or scenic, so best to have a car to visit.

When it comes to patisserie it’s always an individual choice. I like Fournee’s/Berkeley breads, but not as much on their laminated dough items, especially compared to Rotha/Berkeley or Maison Benoit/Danville. The latter, like Parker Lusseau, use top quality French cultured butter, and we find it does make a difference.

I didn’t list any boulangeries as I assumed (and I may be wrong!) since the OP is traveling, they probably can’t bring back bread with them, without it getting stale. Even when we visit Sonoma County, where artisanal bread baking is at its best and most easily available at a number of outstanding bakeries, we don’t often bring bread home, due to the logistics. Even at home, when I get great fresh bread, I freeze whatever we won’t be eating that day, as fast as possible.

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My daughter lives in Emeryville. I am quite happy with the kouign amann. she brought, but I will look up Fournee. I usually pass on just about anything “bakery” but kouign amann!

(ETA it’s at 2912 Domingo Ave, Berkeley, CA 947052912 Domingo Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705)

Ok, how to organize…

Non-food activities. Hikes, hikes, hikes, depending on how far you want to go. Redwood Park up on Skyline is probably one of my favorite east bay, but tilden and sibley (walk inside a volcano!) are also great. Best hike along the water would be Albany Bulb, def. a “locals only” kind of place.

Oh! and the cemetery, if you’d like a more urban walk. Basically go to “chapel of the chimes” and then head in and up the hill. When you’re done, you’re at the top of piedmont ave, which has a great number of good restaurants, even the east bay’s one true fine dining in Commis (you said more mom n pop, i know). You’ll find me down at Catos, a great little neighborhood spot. They have live music sunday afternoons, often local players with decades of experience in a casual setting. Dona is a good move, the newer larger incarnation of Dona Thomas, long time beloved “elevated” mexican. Fenton’s, popularized by the movie “Up” (pixar) is along piedmont.

Music. East bay has its own scene, depending on what you like. There has always been a strong electonic music (avant guard not dance) built somewhat around Mills College (RIP). Check the website “bayareaimprovser” for listings, most are very small places (eg, Wylefire lounge is new). If you don’t like your music that weird, there’s the ivy room, the stork, eli’s if they still have music (permitting issues), Sound Room, Oakland Fox, Yoshi’s, new parish, freight and salvage, maybe acappella. Of these, if you’re going to pick just one, it would be Yoshi’s. The typical move is to get a dinner reservation, and they work it so when you show up for dinner, you pick your seats in the main room. However, you may not want to spend a dinner there given all the great food in the area. Yoshi’s books a lot of interesting stuff, but has been a fixture forever (since the old days up near the berkeley border). It’s a beloved room, although their booking is a little R&B for my taste. Second choice would be the Sound Room, the owner is very enthusiastic, third is probably the Freight. Typically good shows at those places sell out about a week or so (at least 3 or 4 days) in advance. Sound Room tip: don’t eat there, but the music will be great! They have food but, er, it’s not the strong point.

Alameda day: alameda has a few nice things going for it. If you like hoppy beer and a great view, Faction and Almanac. Faction has this huge view of the bay and SF, from the old navy base, and the beer is absolutely tops if you like the hops. Add in the Hornet. Add Pacific Pinball (even if you don’t like pinball it’s great). Like tiki? Add forbidden island, is where all the bass players in my orchestra go after the concert, and you know bass players know. It’s fun to go to alameda by ferry, although then you have to get somewhere in alameda and have to get around (lyft? rental bikes?). in which case stopping by the Jack London house (shack) on the oakland side and poking your nose in Heinold’s (even if you don’t get a drink there, it has quite the patina). Oh, add fikscue to oakland? It’s much further down alameda but has such the buzz - you’ll want to look up the hours. Normally you’d find me at Lucky 13 (although if you’re going to Faction you’re already getting serious beer).

Grand Lake Theater. Oh, unfortunate. “Freaky Tales” is gone, Sinners in 70 mm will be gone in a few days. Probably not worth it, then. A walk around Lake Merrit, anchored by OCMA (oakland contemporary) could be a thing, I’d send you to Albany Bulb instead, though. The bulb is not easy to get to, OTOH.

There’s a great hidden gem in Point San Pablo Harbor yacht club. There is a cache of burning man art (the victrola, the crocodile, more). I don’t know if the food’s any good. You’d do that along with Albany Bulb, and probably need a car. If you do that, know that the freeway along there (80) congests horribly, so you want to time how you do it. A related-type nice experience is a walk in Chavez Park (berkeley marina), look for the Sky WIndow sculpture. I’d consider “take a picknick” but it’s always super windy and a picknick ends up unpleasant. Bars of note might include East Brother beer, the Up and Under bar in Pt Richmond (because Pt RIchmond is very cute), the Hotsy Totsy, and the old Trader Vic’s (because oakland is home of the mai tai), even though Vic’s is in emeryville). There are also a bunch of breweries along Solano ave (Trumer, gilman) and it looks like about 3 I’ve never even heard of! 4th st berkeley was mentioned - with Donkey and Goat. My favorite food along there is Iyasare. Berkeley co-ro (co-roasting) is where you want to head if you like coffee. I would skip the Takara Sake tour, the sake is mid at best.

Berkeley Campus - probably you should find some walking guide. Go up the capanile, see the free speech monument. Lots of buildings have little mini-museums related to their department, but I’m not quite hip enough to know what you should stop at. If you’re at all into Vinyl records, the OG amoeba on Telegraph (“south side”). There’s a little “theater district” on the west side of campus, I’d look at the listings of the Freight (and salvage), an extraordinary and much loved venue . I always end up at Comal or Revival for food. The most scene-y cafe would be Cafe Strada, grad student cafe, and the very interesting (but I haven’t eaten at) Cafe Ohlone across the street. Confusingly they seem to have relocated the Berkeley Art Museum / PFA, that was always worth a stop.

“Gourmet Ghetto”. While places like this are all over america now, the little cluster of The Cheese Board, Cheese Board Collective pizza, Saul’s, Gregoire, OG peet’s, clustered around Chez Panisse. Of course, if you want to try where California, thus (arguably) modern cuisine all started, edge your way upstairs at CP. If you don’t, the “must stop” is cheese board, interact with the cheesemongers and end up taking away a few cheeses you haven’t heard of.

Urban wineries? I was going to reel off about 5 in oakland, but I see Google telling me they are very gone? Maybe the moment passed? I see urban legend and building43 and Dashe in alamdea , rosenblum and brooklyn west in oakland. I’ve been to about half of those, Dashe and Rosenblum are OK. But my favorite is Donkey and Goat on 4th street in Berkeley. If you add wine and beer, the area around JLS is looking much better - Line 51, Original Pattern, Oakland United. Looks like there’s a Cellarmaker there (started in SF). Of those, I prefer Line 51. Oh! Wait! I see that Horn BBQ is right next to Sante Adarius, which looks to be in the old Trappist space which was always charming. Sante Adarius is from down near Santa Cruz somewhere and should absolutely be in consideration w/Horn.

Treasure Island? You can get there by bike from the east bay, which could be fun if you can rent bikes, there’s a fully separated bikeway across the eastern bridge of the bay bridge. Otherwise you’re taking a bus - I think there are AC transit expresses that go, or get yourself a Lyft. Panoramic Park is quite the view - not sure of anything else like it in the bay - but it is at the very tippy top of Yerba Buena and getting UP there will be a little taxing (unless you Lyft to there then walk down to Mersea). Lunch at Mersea, a great little mom n pop with astonishingly good SF / GG views. Get the fish sandwich if its on. There are great WPA murals inside the panam clipper terminal, which appears to be now listed as “treasure island museum” and is actually open a lot! It’s an interesting building in aviation history because it was the terminal for the pan am clipper, in the 30’s they had flights that island hopped all the way across the pacific in flying boats, they took off from there. There’s a ferry that runs back to san francisco / ferry building. If you want an “easy button” of good dim sum, you can do worse than Harborview in SF, which is right by the ferry building and has a pleasant patio. If you take the ferry back from SF to Oakland, and it’s a weekday afternoon, check in at the bar and see if they have “specials”. One day I did that and the guy mixed me a kick-ass caipirina. Enough people have a ferry happy hour drink that it’s a thing.

Fruitvale taco crawl! I don’t know the state of fruitvale tacos these days, there are certainly still a lot within 3 blocks of BART Fruitvale station (you can watch the movie for a good pre-roll of oakland, double-header with Freaky Tales), poke through the taquerias. I recommend picking one taco filling and style, and ordering nothing but that. Right now it’s all about birria, but not everywhere has it. My usual these days is Suadero if they have it, carnitas if they don’t. I only Al Pastor if the Trompo is clearly displayed (in which case it trumps).

IF (and only if) you have a car, a wildcard to consider is Port Costa. Bull Valley Roadhouse and The Warehouse, across from each other. Do both.

Notice I’m leaving off a lot of east bay eats. I have my sentimental favorites, like Mua which I consider very oakland, because I know there’s a lot of new stuff happening. The number of disappointing meals I’ve had in oakland is… like… one? You might try stalking Reddit’s /r/OaklandFood . Korean, Ethiopian, “californian”.

Favorite bar of the moment: Shiro.

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Favorite beer of the moment: hoi polloi.

Wow! I live in the East Bay, and just want to thank you for posting this!

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I realize i didn’t answer the actual question, neighborhood with walking and delish eats. The problem is the good walking areas of the east bay don’t have hotels. Staying in downtown oak has a lot of benefits. Look for chinatown, then find a hotel. Or there’s like the uptown area, i think the moxy is a place to start? There’s a couple of newer well maintained hotels. Or berkeley downtown, either southside (durant) or a couple to the west side. The benefit of the downtown marriot is you are right over 12th st bart which will take you in all directions. Berkeley bart is also central, but 12th (and 19th) are basically the hub of the system. But you are coming from monterey? Maybe you have a car?

But for a “nabe” vibe, you’ll want to airbnb. Temescal, Piedmont, rockridge, “gourmet ghetto”, grand lake. Oakland can get sketchy a few blocks in the wrong direction, so if you are airbnb ing, i certainly wouldn’t go south / east of city center, and stick to places with higher ratings.

The density of good cheap food in walking distance isnt high, except Chinatown. I would tend to send you to the best one or two places in every neighborhood. The berkeley campus area might have the highest density of good walkable eats, but the majority will be student eats. Oakland downtown you might have to talk a few miles or take some transit to get to a recommended standout. The other areas, there will be one or two good locals places.

( I am a little spoiled because i live on the peninsula near Stanford university. Its a slightly overlooked food area, but the old train system, now caltrain, forms these great little walkable towns. Palo alto downtown has over 100 restaurants in about 6 blovks. Redwood city has developed a bit. California ave, mountain view, menlo park. Nothing is cheap except maybe ramen nagai. We have new restaurants every week. Last night… Cardamomo pizza. Swiss guy. Special was a cherry pizza. I still prefer vesta, same block other side of the street, but it was good. I have a rez next week for proper omakase (naigai), and two weeks after that at the newer place, ren. I think we have 4 proper japanese 8 seat omakase places within a 10 minute drive. High end Indian really took root here, along with fast casual like zareens. Cal ave, and mt view, went in for a closed walking street, the rest have maybe a 1 or 2 block closed to cars walking area with lots of outdoor seating restaurants. Cal ave has distintly better food than mt view, although very much not cheap. Dropping 100 for lunch, no alcohol, at jin sho or kyosho, is pretty easy. )

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