change it up
It’s been a while and the days are all blending together aren’t they? Somehow I went over a month without sending you anything to eat, see or do and for that, I apologize. I’d love to have some sort of excuse. But, nah. I got nothing.
It’s time to change things up and try something new before August slips away like a bottle of wine, as Taylor Swift recently said…though the way things have been going it feels like the summer will actually slip away more like a tug-o-war rope in grade school - splintering painfully through your hands, as you find yourself alone on your butt.
There are only so many ways to break the monotony when you’re respecting the health code - and I’ll start by telling you the simplest solution I came up with had me feeling like one of those self-help moms on pinterest - but it actually worked - I just drew a calendar on brightly colored paper. I make up holidays for every week and for whatever reason feel spiritually fulfilled knowing that in two days I’m going to have tacos or next week I’m going on a hike or watching some movie I read about. We used to have pizza on Fridays but now have a newly created holiday called “Pizza Wednesday” which makes the week much more bearable. And if you need pizza in the east bay, I’d start with Pizziaolo, Benchmark or Nobolom.
Here are some other ideas to build some novelty and excitement into your life:
Get some fun new cocktails:
It’s hot out here. Friends and Family bar in uptown Oakland is offering tempting cocktails to-go including grown-up slushies, plus you can dine outside or take out ready to shuck oysters, crispy chicken sandwich, their allegedly addicting crispy “potato things”, take home meal kits and slices of cake!
Temescal Brewing is also taking a creative approach to the socially distanced imbibing by offering a walk-up, socially responsible “BEER-O-MAT”. As the Chronicle first reported, the owner Sam Gilbert wanted to “add a little bit of whimsy” to the beer garden experience. So change it up and check it out.
And of course, Tiki bars. You can find a past editions of East Bae with some tiki tips here.
Get some new home snacks. If you work in the Bay Area you likely have benefitted from the in-office perk of plentiful snack bounty, which you may not even have realized you missed. But I ordered some new snacks and found myself irrationally excited to have them. I’ve been wondering about all those workplace snack supplier companies - are they doing ok? Will they adapt? And I’ve been wondering what people are snacking on at home. Are you snacking? What are you eating? What should I be eating? Here are some new ideas I recently came across:
Jhorts Jerky - local bartender Kevin Swanberg (you may know him from his past roles at Starline Social Club, Ramen Shop, Kronnerburger) started his own jerky company. Kevin told us he got his start when he purchased a dehydrator for the bar he was working at so could dehydrate citrus and other things for the cocktails, which quickly led to him drying out meat. He says he’s inspired by Mexican and Asian flavors and likes his jerky a little “toothsome”. Check out his Instagram and try to get your hands on some.
🌮 - Jusla Eats is a Black-owned cajun taco pop-up and they’re hosting a seafood extravaganza tonight at Palmetto in Uptown. And beloved, underground quissabirria taco spot El Garage finally has a brick and mortar location in the Richmond. I first wrote about their driveway-based pop-up last August and sounds like they’re just as buzzy this summer.
Despite being a millennial, I never got on the sparkling water bandwagon, but I’m now completely hooked on this Japanese brand Kimino which makes sparkling waters and juices. While they are not based in the Bay area, they are “distributed in san francisco”, so I’ll take it? If you’ve been reading this newsletter for sometime, you know i’m an admirer of Japanese culture and cuisine and this brand captures the essence of what I’m always seeking. The simple, but beautifully designed packaging, friendly copy “Made in Japan. Made for you.” and specificity “contains the juice of three hand picked Ume" make it a real treat. Ships anywhere in the Bay within a few days.
Speaking of Japan - try to get your hands on a Basuku cheesecake, first discovered by Soleil Ho in the Chronicle and then instagrammed by my pal Jen which drew my immediate attention and envy. This Japanese style basque cheesecake is baked out of a west oakland apartment and looks like a must-have.
While we’re on the topic of cheese, I will say, the other thing I’ve been doing to pass the days is pretending I’m on a european summer vacation and eating fruit, cheese and charcuterie for lunch. It doesn’t take much imagination to look outside at the Bay Area’s rolling hills and see Italy or the south of France. Plus cheese contains caseins which allegedly trigger your opioid receptors and can make you feel nice. There are some wonderful cheese shops here in the East Bay - Cheeseboard in Berkeley, Markethall in Rockridge, Raxakoul Coffee & Cheese in Berkeley and Kensington and Farmstead Cheese and Wine in Alameda and Montclair Village.
And if you want to go full faux euro vacay in the east bay - you can pick up lunch from Chez Panisse - now offering a much more robust offering of soups, salads and sandwiches to go.
📺Things to do and see
In addition to the Solano drive-in there’s now a pop up theater in Alameda playing the hits with Back to the Future showing this weekend.
If you’re lucky enough to have AC and want to stay home, two east bay stars to watch:
Hamilton on Disney+ features Bay Area born and raised Daveed Diggs who absolutely steals the show. Somehow I was the last person on the planet to see Hamilton but now I get it.
And East Bay native Zendaya was just nominated for an Emmy for her work on HBO’s Euphoria. This is a trippy show that made me feel old and worried about the youth of America but also strangely reassured.
📰In other news:
Contrary to some outdated perspectives - the “suburban wives” of the east bay seem to be largely on team YIMBY and are thoughtfully pushing to bring more affordable housing into their neighborhoods. The “What’s Up Downtown Orinda” committee continues to help move the city planning conversation forward by supporting efforts to bring in multi-family housing and new retail to sleepy Orinda. And Lafayette similarly held a meeting to approve multi-family housing, but those plans, unfortunately have been delayed (again) but the discussion will continue on August 24. If you live in these areas, make your voice heard.
The Chronicle recently featured a long-read on ‘What it’s Like to Raise a Black Athlete” where seven Cal parents share their stories.
Dan Stone, the owner of the charming North Light in Temescal talks about “What it Takes to Keep a Bar Open During the Pandemic” with California Sunday magazine.
🎒Lastly - I found this super cute, outdoor forest school in the East Bay for kids 18 months+, which seems like the safest and sanest way to go about educating children these days.
What are you doing to keep your wits about you? Browsing unattainable houses in Lake Como? Online shopping for fancy new hand soaps? Hiking when its not 100+ degrees out? Tell me everything.