Exploring the Bay Area

La Mission La Mission is a popular small restaurant in Berkeley that sticks to authentic and delicious Mexican cooking. La Mission keeps the food affordable without sacrificing authenticity or quality. This restaurant is no secret. Crowds come back again and again to dine in or get takeout.  The menu is made up of elaborate, traditional Mexican recipes that they can whip up in a jiffy. They serve a variety of appetizers, burritos, tacos, enchiladas, sandwiches, other entrees, soups, salads, and desserts.  We have been here more than once and have sampled several of the items. Below, I will describe some of our favorites, but honestly, it's hard to go wrong.  First of all, the spicy chile colorado burrito with chicken is a real hit. It is very spicy but very good! The spices from the chile de arbol and the chile colorado mix beautifully to make an intriguing flavor of their own. It makes for a satisfying and filling meal. Next, the ceviche is always light and summery. It ...

Cesar Chavez Park Cesar Chavez Park is a wonderful place to walk or hang out in Berkeley! Built on a former landfill, this park provides a rare view of the Berkeley Marina.  There are many great places to hang out with friends. The park has many picnic tables and barbecue grills that anyone can use. It's a wonderful place to gather. The grassy meadows are a great place to fly a kite or let your dog run free. (Visitors are asked to clean up after their dogs.) There are several hiking and walking trails throughout the park, including a paved, wheelchair-accessible trail that weaves through the park along the edge of the land. This trail provides, by turns, beautiful views of the city of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin County, and the East Bay as you progress along the loop that traces the water. It is frequented by walkers, joggers, bikers, nature enthusiasts, and those who love to admire cityscapes along the water. I love to walk on this trail because I really enjoy bei...

The Curiosity Shop The Curiosity Shop, in many ways, embodies the personality of Berkeley. It is unique, accepting, vintage,  eccentric, proud to be different, and full of options. Berkeley natives come here often and embrace it for all of the reasons that make it unique.  It is a small building on Martin Luther King that is filled to the brim with an eclectic selection of things for sale. There are so many knick-knacks that the building feels very cramped, and visitors are likely to feel a bit overwhelmed, at least at first.  Honestly, despite being only a few rooms deep, there is too much to see in just one visit. You can come back again as often as you like to check on the selection of goodies.  The store, whose door reads, "100,000 THINGS YOU DON'T NEED," is a great place to look for cheap fashion jewelry. Some of it is vintage; some of it appears more modern. They have rings, necklaces, earrings, key chains, and even plastic tiaras if you are interested.  ...

MJ Sushi MJ Sushi is an attractively designed restaurant that has a modern and sleek appearance-- and a modern and sleek take on Japanese culinary tradition!  You can order your favorite Japanese appetizers like edamame (soybeans), gyoza (Japanese dumplings), chicken karaage (fried chicken), tokoyaki (deep-fried octopus). They also carry miso soup, seaweed salad, and a house green salad.  I strongly recommend starting with some of their miso soup. It is warm and perfectly seasoned with salty dashi, tofu, and seaweed. I find it to be both hearty and light at once; hefty enough to take the edge off my hunger, but light enough not to spoil my appetite.  Its savory flavor is wonderful for getting my palate ready for the main course. For the main course, they offer beef, chicken, and salmon teriyaki meals, which have Japanese barbecue sauce and are served over a bed of rice. These are viable alternatives for those who do not care for fish or raw fish. They are filling and tas...

Berkeley Espresso Berkeley Espresso is a nice place to stay for a while. The coffee shop is painted in warm, soothing tones. The windows let sunlight in and allow visitors to watch the normal action outside in downtown Berkeley. The speakers play comforting classical favorites at a low volume. They even have free wifi and half-price refills. Berkeley Espresso provides quite a few options when it comes to espresso drinks. They have lattes, white and regular mochas, cafe au laits, capuccinos, americanos, and espressos. All of these can be made with your choice of milk or sweetening syrup.  I have personally tried a vanilla syrup latte, a mocha, and a white mocha. Each time, I found myself very satisfied with the flavor. The underlying coffee flavor was only a tad intense, not too intense but certainly not bland. The added flavoring gave the drink character and intrigue.  The menu doesn't stop there. It also has other coffee and tea beverages. There is also an organic house blen...

Nijiya Market Nijiya Market is a chain of grocery stores that specialize in Japanese groceries. They have lots of things that are from Japan and are hard to come by in this country.  Their frozen section is full of ready-made Japanese foods, like yakisoba and gyoza. Everything is authentically Japanese because the store only features Japanese brands of Japanese food. They have an ample selection of Japanese breads and pastries. This includes milk bread and anpan (bean-paste stuffed bread), among other things. All the baked goods are arranged in an appetizing fashion, and there is an impressive number of them. They also carry Japanese mochi.  They have all types of Japanese sauces and condiments, mostly from Japanese imported brands. For example, they have Japanese soy sauce, ponzu sauce, and teriyaki sauce. These flavors are hard to come by in these parts, so it is very nice to find them here in California.  They sell specific cuts of meat for Japanese cooking, like suki...

Crave Subs Crave Subs is a fun, pop culture-themed sub sandwich shop! It is enjoyable to walk into because it is bright, colorful, and lively. On the walls, you will see old comic books, and on the menu, you will see that the sandwiches are named after pop culture icons like Bart Simpson, SpongeBob, Shrek, and Tom & Jerry. In the background, you can hear the speakers playing upbeat music. It really comes off as a cute place to grab a bite! When you walk in, the first thing you see is their extensive ice cream, gelato, waffle, and crepe bar to the side (see my post on Scoop N Chill ). On the other side, you will see a row of silver metal tables with red chairs that give off a somewhat festive vibe. Finally, you will reach the counter where you can place your customized order and pay with contactless payment. The menu offers a variety of meat subs, veggie subs, and vegan subs, all with fun pop culture names. All the subs are served with their delectable crave sauce, lettuce, and tom...