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Dec 7, 2022
Last Minute Gifts
A festive guide to ethically sourced retailers in OaklandÂ
Holiday season is here. *Bells jingle softly in the distance; steam rises off a cup of hot chocolate.* A miraculous and much-needed week or two of rain, nippy temperature...
Nov 9, 2022
Presents Moment
Go for the outside-the-gift-box with East Bay local treasures
Ring-a-ding-ding! Get your shopping chops warmed up, because the holidays are upon us. Buying locally, as we know, supports local businesses, is better for the environment, is more fun—and...
May 25, 2022
Critical Viewing: Essential documentaries to watch this summer
The documentary art form has evolved into an everyday tool to learn about and understand the world.
True, sometimes people just need to take a load off and melt their brains with a streaming bonanza of light summer...
May 11, 2022
Korean Superette Is Simply Super: Go for the imported snacks and banchan or sit...
Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman is a favorite recent read of mine. In the novel, a woman comes to the conclusion that she is the soul of the convenience store in which she works. Her identity isn’t...
May 11, 2022
Souley Vegan: Tamearra Dyson expands her menu and her business
The tragic and blessed life story of Tamearra Dyson is baked into every Southern Staples Bowl served up daily at Souley Vegan, her downtown Oakland restaurant.
The signature bowl, an intriguing, multi-textured blend of crunchy fried tofu, buttered...
Mar 16, 2022
A New Beginning at Nuevo Sol: Chef Gilberto Monroy can poach a perfect egg...
My keen sense of déjà vu kicked in this weekend while I was eating brunch at Gilberto Monroy’s Nuevo Sol. The plate of lemon ricotta pancakes I ordered looked exactly — and I mean exactly — like...
Mar 16, 2022
Tech and Terroir: Fern Stroud’s diverse talents grow Black Vines
The Black Vines Festival celebrated a jubilant, yet carefully safe, return to a live event late last month. The 11th annual festival hosted 400 sippers, noshers, art-lovers and networkers—half of capacity at Berkeley’s CIEL Creative Space.
“The energy...
