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Food & Drink
Leña arrives in Alameda
When Yesenia Chavez and her family were creating the menu for Leña, their first restaurant, they decided not to feature tacos as entrées. Chavez told me they wanted to make Mexican dishes that aren’t routinely served. “Both...
Richmond’s Les Lunes elevates grapes with natural ascent
Shaunt Oungoulian and Diego Roig have come a long way since shoveling grapes through a basement window in Orinda. Walking into the Les Lunes cellar in Richmond makes that clear. High ceilings and climate-controlled storage rooms house...
Wolfsbane whimsically showcases California’s bounty
Wolfsbane is an herb and a poison. It’s also the name of Rupert and Carrie Blease’s new restaurant. When I spoke with Rupert Blease, the chef explained why he, his wife and their co-founder, Tommy Halvorson, chose...
Ollie’s celebrates seasonal cheeses
Alyssa Gilbert likes the taste of a funky cheese. As the executive director of the California Artisan Cheese Guild and the owner of Ollie’s American Cheese and Provisions, Gilbert recommends Tulip Tree Creamery’s double-cream cow’s milk Foxglove....
Nudi Blue brings afternoon tea to Berkeley
The first Bay Area high tea service I experienced was at a downtown San Francisco hotel. A friend of mine at the time was crazy about drinking tea with petit fours. When she wasn’t making them at...
Grégoire grows beyond Berkeley
In the culinary world, the term “franchise” invariably connotes fast, unhealthy food. The idea of opening one is suspect and implies the owner lacks originality. Or that they’re reaping the benefits of an established brand not by...
Evergreen Café settles into San Pablo Ave.
Nine months after opening, Evergreen Café is comfortably settling into its identity as a community hub. Alongside colorful photos of crowded toasts, cookies and giant jars of preserved citrus, co-owners Stacie Frederick and Sara Rahimian post regular...
