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The East Bay & Treasure Island
That's right, I divided the Mission into 4 sub-neighborhoods, but the East Bay is all one big blob to me. Someday I will move here and give it the attention it deserves. But for now, my visits are pretty infrequent.
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12 Places
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Wes’s 5-star review: Thanks to its breadth, the Livermore Valley doesn't look like much from the 580, but get up close to those hills and the whole perspective changes (not to mention the sense of scale). Even the drive in to Del Valle (you have to cross over the ridge from the neighboring valley) is a study in sweeping scenery. And gazing south into the heart of the Hamilton range, on an epically blue and bright spring day with majestic clouds in the distance, you could almost believe this was the gateway to a national park. Incidentally, there are 2 great trips into this wilderness that start from Del Valle: Mines Rd all the way to Mt Hamilton and out to San Jose (or, alternately, Patterson on I-5), and the 30-mile Ohlone Trail out to Sunol Park and on to Mission Peak in Fremont. But what of Del Valle itself? I visited on Easter Sunday and the main park complex was swarming with more picnic parties than I've seen this side of Golden Gate Park. Yet the facilities (and more importantly, the parking lots) were obviously built with this kind of popularity in mind, so it doesn't feel overrun. The lake itself is quite long--it's a 7-mile walk to Arroyo Road at the far end, and even the dozens of boats on the lake had plenty of space to themselves (note to self: come back for a boat ride on a hot summer day). For our walk we simply followed the lake trail all the way to the far end of Swallow Bay and back, though I would've like to try the Ridgeline trail as well. -
Wes’s 5-star review: I don't know if Warm Springs merits a BART extension, but they sure do have a nice mountainside in their backyard. I entered the park from the south on the Mission-to-Monument trail, and after a pleasant stroll across the deserted, Wizard-of-Oz-esque valley behind Mt Allison, we came over a rise to see the solitary and striking outline of Mission Peak, the last great sentinel before the Sunol valley. Throw in the abundance of rock outcroppings and you have a scene as reminiscent of Ireland (at least in spring) as the typical Bay Area rolling hill country. We were a bit shocked by the number of people we encountered on the summit, seeing as we had the entire hike almost to ourselves up to this point. But it quickly became apparent that the grueling 6-mile climb from Stanford Ave to the summit and back is *the* outdoor activity of choice in the Fremont area (even in the late afternoon--I wonder how many come up here to watch the sunset). Anyway, I recommend you start in Ed Levin and do the full 12-mile point-to-point trek--the top of Mission Peak makes a great climax (and the knee-killing descent an unnecessarily long coda:) -
Wes’s 5-star review: Coyote Hills must be quite a boon for Newark/Fremont residents--it's pretty much the only place south of the city where you've got hills right on the edge of the bay. It's especially striking how one minute you're in suburbia and then suddenly you're out in this green open country. So enjoy the easy hiking or biking and get some great views (depending on the haze, of course), and also check out the boardwalk through the marsh and the impressive educational displays in the visitor center (mostly focusing on the ecosystems and the Ohlone Indians, naturally). Be prepared for some serious wind though. -
Wes’s 3-star review: Figured it was only fitting to review this place as I have to go there every week. It's interesting to get to see the (lack of) progress on the construction as the weeks go by. My number one complaint of course is that I have to go over a bridge to get there, but that's actually SFO's fault for not having flights to Burbank. Here's what the construction has yielded so far: Cool new security area in terminal 2 with faster lines Cool new baggage claim area in terminal 2 Gates 28-32, very bright and fresh Spiffy looking ground transport area, though still incomplete Everything else is either under construction or seriously ought to be, including the access road and parking lot. -
Wes’s 5-star review: Came back for 2008 and happy to say it wasn't a victim of its own popularity (unlike a certain SoCal concert I know...). Highlight (which corresponded, entirely coincidentally, to my own personal *high* point of the day, IYKWIM) was definitely the Fleet Foxes playing a song (whose name I have been unable to discover) that sounded like Dvorak's New World Symphony by way of Neil Young. Epic, man. -
Wes’s 4-star review: After a sun-roasted picnic at the Albany bulb, the girls were feeling thirsty...and "thirsty" as well. Jora J recommended Trader Vic's for drinks. I felt underdressed, but then I remembered that I was in the East Bay, so hey, I could slum it. When I walked in here I was instantly transported to an earlier time in my life when these big kitschy marina-side restaurants were the height of cool for me and my boat-loving family. Then I was transported to the college years when finding ourselves in a large, half-empty chain restaurant in the middle of sunday afternoon was the norm. These days, though, coming to a place like this is a pretty rare experience. I wasn't expecting much out of it...until I saw the drink menu. Damn! Pages and pages of the most exotic nautical and/or tropical drinks. For a rum addict like me, this was heaven. I wanted something with more booze than sugar, so I tried the Samoan Fog Cutter. It was stiff all right, and the perfect way to cool down after a day in the sun. I hear there's a Trader Vic's in the city too, but I don't think you can beat the waterfront location this one has. If you want to totally jettison your hip, city-centric mindset for a night, you could do a lot worse than hopping over the bridge and getting your drink on here. Bring some friends and try the rum keg! -
Wes’s 4-star review: Man have I heard a lot about this place. How famous is it? My friend who lives in Pasadena has a Zachary's T-shirt. Now, as I live in the city I don't normally deign to make a trip to the East Bay for food, but it was clear that a visit to Zachary's was going to have to happen sooner or later, so we swung by here on our way back from Oakland Airport. First off, I know this place is popular, but I was still surprised by a 45-minute wait on a Tuesday night. Nevertheless, my SF pride wouldn't let me turn back, so we pre-ordered a Zachary's Special Deep Dish and waited it out. Pizza was good, but I don't think it really could have lived up to such crazy hype. I will definitely come back sometime, but I'll get one of their half-baked pizzas to go, as there's nothing special about eating it there. -
Wes’s 4-star review: Same deal here as the Union Square location. It was a useful spot to grab something before a concert at the Greek Theatre. Keep in mind no tables, just a few counters, and a lot of people just take their slice and walk with it. Pizza itself is par...of course, par for pizza is nummy, so no problems there. -
Wes’s 5-star review: Who needs the Hollywood Bowl when we've got the Greek Theatre? I came here for a Death Cab concert and it was everything you could want. Will definitely try to make this an annual tradition, like the Stern Grove Concerts. Plus if you're here it's a great chance to check out the Berkeley campus. Though skinny people should definitely bring cushions unless they want some serious soreness. -
Wes’s 5-star review: My East Bay excursions are rare and brief enough that I take something of a touristy, "see the sights" approach. And the legendary Cheeseboard, pillar of the Gourmet Ghetto, certainly qualifies. For some reason, though, I didn't realize this place was going to be 90% cheese. Guess I was expecting more of an Arizmendi thing. Also, the inside is rather chaotic, but once I could distinguish the cheese-buyers from the bread-buyers, I was able to make a beeline for the delicious carbs, and they certainly didn't disappoint. The cheese rolls are a must, of course, and the cherry-corn scones prove once again that corn is a woefully underrated grain for sweet goods. Take a bag for a walk up to Indian Rock Park, for a bucolic setting worthy of Berkeley's idyllically idealistic food -
Wes’s 5-star review: I have yet to be wowed by any of Berkeley's commercial districts (who knew the Gourmet Ghetto would look just like any other (admittedly mature) suburban strip?), but the winding, leafy streets of the North Berkeley Hills...now that's a siren call to leave the heady rush of SF for an only slightly less overpriced existence sipping tea in your million-dollar faux-cottage amongst the redwoods, maybe raising some organic zero-carbon kids while you're at it. So if you find yourself strolling around up here and contemplating your future lifestyle, make sure to swing by Indian Rock Park for a classic view of San Francisco and the bay. And ask yourself: if I break up with SF, will it be awkward to still be seeing each other like this all the time? Or should I just make a clean break and head for Portland? Decisions, decisions. -
Wes’s 5-star review: Another entry in my incredibly sporadic East Bay list. I was invited to a picnic out on the bulb. I knew East Bay = more heat and more sun, so I actually put shorts on, and it's a good thing I did. What I didn't reckon on was how blindingly bright the sun was here. Especially as the picnic was held at the little bunker thing which is painted bright white. Some of the party wound up retiring to inside the bunker, but I think that kind of defeats the purpose of a picnic. The more sun-tolerant folks went down to the rocky strand for some extreme croquet. I didn't realize till I read the Yelp reviews that this place is famous for its trash-art. Guess I wasn't looking around enough. Even without that, though, it's still a great park with beautiful views of the city and the golden gate.
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