Exploring the Bay Area

Helacio's Deli and Cafe Helacio's is a small cafe and deli on Sacramento Street that serves a wide variety of options. This includes pastries, breakfast burritos, sandwiches, salads, paninis, soup, coffee, fresh juice, smoothies, and ice cream. The entire menu is displayed either on the chalkboards on the wall behind the counter, on signs posted along the counter, or in the glass cases that make up part of the barrier between the kitchen and the rest of the restaurant.  You order and pay at the register at the counter. They accept credit card and contactless pay. Almost as soon as you place your order, they will begin preparing you food or beverage. The service is relatively quick, even when it's crowded. The environment is very comfy. The entire restaurant is painted in soothing shades of brown, ranging from a cute orangish brown to a light tan. They have some cute and funky decorations that add intrigue to their shop, including a Super Mario-themed knick-knack on top of ...

Cruz Creamery While I was stopping through Santa Cruz, I was craving something sweet. This led me to try Cruz Creamery on Ocean Street, which was a choice I did not regret. The first thing I noticed about Cruz Creamery was what a cozy and homey place it was to enjoy ice cream alone or with buddies. The restaurant's eating room resembled a nice lounge; it was painted in warm, neutral tones, and it was furnished with comfy chairs, some sofas, and attractive wooden tables. Despite being a small and cozy shop, there was a large variety of desserts available. Most namely, they had different flavors of ice cream, frozen yogurt, smoothies, and milk shakes. The service was very friendly. I was even offered samples to help me pick a flavor. I ended up choosing butter pecan ice cream and enjoying it very much. It was oh so sweet, and the texture of the ice cream was luxuriously luscious--incredibly sweet, soft and smooth! It made a wonderful contrast with the crunchy pecans that were mixed i...

Salt & Straw Salt & Straw is a business worth visiting on your trip to the Bay Area. It is a step up from your average ice cream shop. Its unique flavors of high-quality, gourmet ice cream are something you won't want to miss out on. Salt & Straw has multiple locations across Northern California, including shops in Burlingame, Los Gatos, Palo Alto, and Hayes Valley. Open from 11 am to 11 pm, these shops provide the ultimate ice cream experience with a rotating selection seasonal flavors on top of a menu of intricate, complex gourmet ice cream options.  There are so many interesting choices that it can be hard to pick, but not to worry, the chain offers unlimited free samples to customers who are deciding.