87 Places
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Ivy’s 5-star review: One of my favorite places in the world to go to us Jack London Square. I just had to RSVP for this event. Beerwalk Empire to me meant 1920's and I had the perfect flapper girl dress to wear. I went all out. Seam line stockings, bobbed my hair and sported a real kimono. I was decked out.... On the Potomac!!! Get it?! (booooo!) My uncle Bruce was my designated driver and free food enjoyer. He had a great time. He ate, and grabbed all the free goodies for my son. We started in the big beer garden area. I sampled Guinness and another fig something or other beer. My favorite food samplings were the Grilled Cheese (grilled by brick). I wanted a whole sandwich after just having a small sample. The Sourdough girl who had a small basket of gluten free Sourdough samples. It tasted exactly how Sourdough should taste. The Artistic Bites booth had the most decadent "Mmm Cake" in chocolate. They also had these Salted Carmel Macaroons. That we went back for twice. The burlesque show was fun. The red lighting was strange but the music was fun. The booze of choice in this room was Bourbon and I had one drink but wasn't a fan. The Tiki Lounge was a great place to relax. The Malibu Rum dink there tasted like Hawaii. We sat for a while here and chatted it up with other yelpers. It took me until the very end of the event to find the Blue Angel Vodka vendor. How could I not say it was my favorite vendor? The cups were too small but I had them fill mine up quite a few times. The other nice thing was that they were happy to do so. The docents on The Potomac were really knowledgeable. I asked them all kinds of questions as I sipped my vodka. I didn't listen to the headphones. I wanted to talk and mingle with people. It wasn't until we were about to leave that I ran into my bestest yelper friends, Melissa B., my new friend Bernadette, Jenn & Steve N., Nique ( who was going to wash her hands in the marina water?) and of course the only other girl to dress up as much as I, Kim D. I love yelp events. You can never go wrong in my book. -
Ivy’s 5-star review: I have a dream. A dream that entails custom crafted cocktails, delicious food, baby friendly dining and wonderful service. Forget world peace, forget the economy, just dream with me if you will. Sorry, this isn't a dream. I really experienced this. We came in on a very, very rare Saturday outing. We never go out on Saturdays. For some reason my husband decided to not go to the garage to work on his cars and take this momma out. Lil' guy tagged along as well. Just from looking at this place from the outside you know its special. You can just tell! We were seated near the kitchen and service was attentive and friendly through our entire visit. We started with the Salty Dog. Its a Greyhound with Salt on the rim. The bartender was dress all old fashioned 1920's-ish. I loved it. You know me, I love a good costume. I went with the Burger and my husband had the Pork Belly Benedict. I really enjoyed my food. It was simple and well made. Not to flashy. My husband on the other hand really didn't know what to expect and the non traditional Benedict is not his thing. I actually wanted to order what he had but I thought we could mix it up. I liked what he had to. I'm a glutton, what can I say? Our second drink was our most favorite, the Side Car. It was probably one of the best I've ever had, and I've had them all over the world. My dream of finding a place that really knows how to make hand crafted cocktails has been found. Finishing up our wonderful experience was the S'mores dessert. It had a cube of Marshmallow on top. I took a photo of it. May I say that I would eat this morning noon and night. 500lbs here I come! I begged them to open up on Sundays because I would come here all the time. Guess what? My dream has come true! They are now open for Brunch on Sundays. The service was so personable and friendly. They even wanted to be open on Sundays. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that wanted them open for Sunday. Not to mention, extremely baby and kid friendly. All my Oakland dreams are really coming to fruition. I opened my review with talking about the economy because as we were finishing up right across the street from Flora lines of cops were forming and news vans were lining up. Occupy Oakland was choosing MY one Saturday to Occupy across the street. Oh hell no! We had to scarf the rest of our S'mores down and high tail it out of there before we got caught in a protest we didn't want anything to do with. Helicopters were hovering over the place. Admittedly exciting, but I'm the Cocktail Girl, nothing stands in my way of a good Cocktail. Love this place. I'm suddenly very thirsty. -
Ivy’s 5-star review: There are exceptions in life that you must make. One of those exceptions is..to go to lunch with the one, the only.....Betty H. Yes, add me to the list of devotee's that have had the pleasure of dinning with Betty H. She knows her food and she knows how to pick a really great restaurant. Of course knowing my love of cocktails, Wood Tavern was a natural choice for such an excursion into my culinary and cocktail adventures on Yelp. I made a reservation but Betty scored us a seat at the bar. The bartender was so nice and helpful. She explained all the yummy things very well. The cocktail of choice today was the Watermelon Martini, Ketel One, Vodka, Fresh Watermelon Nectar, Squeeze of Lime. Served Up. I don't drink during the week but if you have to imbibe on a Monday, this is the cocktail you should go with. You don't even know how bad I wanted one or two or three more. We split the Chopped Romaine Salad, Quinoa, English Peas, Cucumber, Crushed Hazelnuts, Valbreso Feta Cheese, Mint, Basil Vinaigrette. This was so good. A salad is a salad is a salad. This one takes the cake as they say. I could eat this salad everyday for the rest of the year. It was a hard sell between the Pan Roasted Half Chicken or the Pan Fried Rock Cod Sandwich. I went with the Pan Fried Rock Cod Sandwich, Romaine, Celery, Scallions, Brown Butter, Lemon Juice, Pickle-Caper Remoulade, La Farine Baguette. I'm a fish fan and how could I resist a different way to have Cod that you wont be able to get everyday. Rock Cod rocked my world. It was very delicious. For sandwich the bread was nice too. Its definitely not your everyday fish sandwich either. God it was good! I also got a few little bites of Betty's Pan Seared Chicken. Juicy and succulent. The herbs and spices were perfectly executed. It was a hard bargain to decide between the two. This just means Ill have to be back. Their cocktail menu looks amazing and something I could totally go for. I just wish I didn't have to go back to work that day otherwise I would have had them all. To bad they are closed on Sundays for lunch because I would drag my husband here in a New York minute. Lunch was wonderful, food and company both. I would come back again and again. -
Ivy’s 5-star review: Someone must have been very mad at me because one morning my husband went outside to find that some coward had thrown a Coke can through the back window of my truck. Not only is it an invasion of your personal space but it almost just makes you feel violated. Then to top it off that morning I was supposed to go fill in for manager at my company and I had no other vehicle to drive. There was no way I was going to drive down 680 with a gaping hole in my window. Yes the interior was splattered with sticky soda but fortunately my seats had boxes of gallons of paint on them and all of the broken glass and soda fell in to those boxes and missed my seats pretty much entirely. My insurance company gave me this company's name to call for the fix. I found a ride to work and a ride home and when I got home at 6:00pm there was the guy outside my house fixing my window. I knew it was short notice but I needed my truck and this company understands that. He was extremely fast and clean. Cleanliness is a virtue I look for in anyone who works on my vehicles. These guys are the best and out of all the reviews here they have a 5 star standing which is no joke. Plus I found out that some of my husbands classic car contacts only use these guys and that in itself is something to brag about. If you trust them with your $50,000 hot rod you can trust them with you commuter car too.
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Ivy’s 5-star review: Yay! This garage is under new management! Let me tell you about all the great reasons why I love this garage now. (I used to hate it!) Well, it's safe, underground and very clean. The girl working the day I parked there was so sweet and nice. And now for the best, best, best, best, best, (takes a breath), best part.... They finally take credit cards!!! Oh the joy that brings to my life. Oh the ease and simplicity is more than I can ever be thankful for. I can't wait to park here again! -
Ivy’s 5-star review: My love of Jack London square is encapsulated in this little replicated house dedicated to the man himself. I have not read Jack London novel since I was in 4th grade but I can still have appreciation. Leah E.'s review is so well written I feel like why should I even bother to write one myself. I would rather imagine Jack London throwing a few back in Heinhold's than being held up in this stuffy little cabin. My one thing I would like to convey with writing my review is to have respect for this tribute to one of our greatest literary people. People for some reason think its ok to throw pennies inside of it. On 4th of July I have even seen people climb on the roof to watch the fireworks. I was horribly appalled. Its such a self consuming "I'm the most important person in the world" thing to do. Come check it out. Its free and interesting and local. Its well worth it. -
Ivy’s 5-star review: Let me introduce you to something. It went by the name, "The Claw". It decided to show up the day I had my son in January. It stemmed the moment the horrible nurse at the hospital bashed the IV stem into the top of my hand because she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. Then from that moment on my hand would freeze into this crazy claw like thing. I would say, "Uh Oh! The Claw is here." It would happen when I would try and pick up my son. It would happen when trying to answer the phone. It would happen when trying to back into a parking spot spinning the steering wheel. It would happen when ever "The Claw" wanted. My only saving hope was that Dr. Martinet could fix me. I do love a wrist adjustment but these were particularly wonderful. He did a bunch of other checks on me including my hips. After having a child sit inside your hip area for a few months can put your whole alignment out of wack. I wasn't to bad in the hip and back departments thankfully. When I left my wrist and hand felt like it had woken up from a sleep. Like when you lay on your hand for to long and it gets all tingly. As of right now I don't need to go back to get it rechecked. I was afraid that it wouldn't last but its been a few weeks and "The Claw" has gone back to his lair. Dr. Martinet doesn't play games. If you have pain that goes by any other name come see him.
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Ivy’s 5-star review: I am very proud to be the first person to review this Endodontist. Lets start from the beginning. I put off getting my root canal for along time. I had an appointment for the following week but I awoke at 2 am on Sunday in more pain than I can imagine. I just so happened to talk to a family friend who has a friend who is a dentist who they then went out of their way to find me an appointment for the very next day. This all happened between 4:30 PM and 5:00 PM. The appointment I was able to get was here at 8:30 AM the next day. I could not be more appreciative or thankful to the staff here. I wanted to take them all out to dinner by the time I was done. My tooth is fine and I barley had to take the pain meds they gave me afterwards. Dr. Nesari was my doctor and he had great I guess you would call it "head side manor" for a dentist. I knew they were busy that morning too and the assistant was so sweet to me. There is something that everyone should know who goes there. In the building their in they are on the 10th floor. They are not the dentist office on the bottom floor in the corner of the building. When I first got there I thought that was the office and it was closed and I almost had a nervous break down combined with my throbbing tooth pain I totally lost it. Needless to say my crying moment when I finally got to the office didn't phase them at all. I was embarrassed but they didn't seem to mind and actually apologized to me for the confusion. Even though I was the obvious bumbling crying, rotten toothed ass. The entrance is on Broadway in a small hallway (elevators) to the side of the other dentist on the corner. Remember that. Thank you, thank you thank you to the staff of Endospecialists. -
Ivy’s 5-star review: I feel weird giving a cemetery, where some of my beloved family is lying in state, five stars. This place is gorgeous. My husband will bring his bike sometimes and ride it around which makes for a really good bike ride. Our family is near the front in one of the indoor out door mausoleums with the large pond in front of it. Its very beautiful there. Once we went and the pond wasn't filled up and I said that if I had to pay for my spot here near the pond and it didn't have water in it I would be pretty pissed off. Thankfully the day we had to lay our family member to rest it was filled up and was as beautiful as I thought it would be. I personally want fish in there but I have a feeling that its not that type of pond. My husband and I still don't know whether to be buried or cremated. If we were to be buried this would be a wonderful spot since we love Oakland and my husbands beloved family is resting here also. I have a feeling that in the future we will be looking into something like this place. -
Ivy’s 5-star review: We had a wonderful time here last night. Yelp really knows how to take care of their followers. We are such good followers that we took a strange pill without any questions. How ironic. The drink selections were above par and the service to go along with it couldn't be matched. Considering the only time I left the bar was to go to the bathroom, I would hope that they would treat us good. My husband used to work up the street and never knew this place was here. He wished he had because he would have already been going here. If he put the seal of approval on it then it must have been good. I finally go to meet many yelpers from the talk threads and made new friends too. This was so much fun I can't wait until the next one. -
Ivy’s 5-star review: It looks like someone took my suggestion of open seating in the bar area....... We took our bestest married friends out for her Birthday lunch here on a Sunday afternoon. They actually had open seating outside, and in the bar area! Our chosen seat was of course at the window with a view of Alameda across the way. The specials were amazing and so hard to choose from. I went with the King Crab stuffed Sole on a bed of fluffy rice, with a side of Grilled Vegetables. I have said it once and Ill say it again. The food here is so freaking fresh! I have never not had the freshest of food here. My Sole filled my pathetic Soul with warmth and glory. I also had a side of Mac N' Cheese. *It had bacon*(whispering) Amazing! For cocktails I started with the Watermelon Martini. It wasn't the best Watermelon Martini I've had, (to sweet). Next up was the Lychee Martini, not as sweet as I like, but still good. The Lavender Cosmo was my favorite out of the bunch. This is only the second time I have had this kind of drink and this was the best one. Last round was some type of Ginger Pear Martini. That's not the real name but I cant remember the real name and its not listed on the website. This one was OK, kind of tasted like hand soap. I could have kept working my way down the drink menu but my friends wanted to go to the First & Last. So I had to stop at 3. Boo Whoo! If I could I would come here every weekend for drinks and dinner. The food is of superb quality and I am always satisfied with my cocktail consumptions. -
Ivy’s 5-star review: Can you ever get enough of going to the zoo? Can you? Because I cant! Its one of my favorite things in the world to do! Get a map to walk around. It will keep you organized and you will know what you're looking at. The Sun Bear was up and playing around. The last time I was here it was snoozing. I don't like Monkeys. They are scary and creep me out. The Chimps were pretty calm this time. Last time I was here, last year, one was going crazy. It was screaming and banging on the cage walls. Its like some primal fear I have of primates. I cant stand them. Plus their asses are disgusting. The children's play area is really fun. Ive always wanted a photo on the lily pads but there's always to many annoying preschooler and day campers clamoring all over it. I saw a little girl almost fall in the pond. What I would have given to see her get soaked. Lemur's are so cool. Two of them were climbing around the rocks. They were rubbing and massaging the rocks. Almost like they had OCD or something. We didn't get to see the Otters. We did get to see a really close up view of an Alligator swimming around. The closest I have ever been an actual Alligator with out getting my arm ripped off. Every time I walk past the Pig area I say to them,"Hey you fat Pigs!" Its the only time its appropriate to say. They have a fun petting area that is very conscious of the personal space of the goats. If the goats want to be pet they get pet, if they don't there is areas for them to escape the hoards of little hands petting and grabbing them. You also cant feed them, you can brush them though. The Fruit Bats look just like my Wiener Dog with wings. I love them. Giraffes just chill out in their area. I think there were some medium baby ones there. One was trying to headbutt another one. The Camels are cool and you have to walk up a hill to get to them. They look so soft. For the first time ever we got to see both Lions actually walking around. It was apparently feeding time and they were walking around waiting. We didn't get to hear the male one roar though. That would have been cool. The Meerkats are freaking cute and if I could I would have a Meerkat habitat in my own back yard. I could stand there for hours and watch them just lounge around. Elephants are really cool to look at from afar. Once when I was in 6th grade, at Six Flags, they let us pet an elephant and my hand smelled like shit the entire day. I will never pet an elephant again. But stand around and watch them eat and poop. Ill sit there for hours. One of the Elephants was way up in the back of the exhibit. When we were walking away it came lumbering down at a fast pace. Fastest Ive ever seen an Elephant move in real life. It was really cool. A staff member was standing at the Hyena pen and was able to talk to the Hyena and it totally knew who she was and was listening to her like a pet dog. We were the only ones there and it was a cool moment. The sad thing was someone threw garbage in her pen and the Staff member was telling her no and to not eat it. She said that the Hyena always has paper in her tummy and she has stomach problems and also people always scream at her. The Hyena looked really old and tired. I felt bad for her and just wanted to lay her down and put a blanket on her so she could relax. There are 2 tigers and they usually are just lying around. One of them was pacing back and forth. I hate seeing that. My brother wanted to ride the train and go on the Sky Ride. I refused to ride either. Pregnant or not, I just cant ride those rides. I just cant do it. I don't trust those kinds of things. I love the zoo and wish I could come here every month. Yay Zoo!!!! -
Ivy’s 5-star review: I want to THANK, THANK, THANK, THANK, THANK the nice employee here who let me use their locked bathroom with no questions asked. The line was crazy long and I was doing the pee, pee dance on the verge of tears because of the pee pain. I'm pregnant so imagine yourself having to pee really bad times 100. A nice guy in line said, "This girls pregnant. Can she just get the code to unlock the bathroom?" She just blurted it out. And I ran as fast as I could to use it. THANK YOU!!!!!!! You saved me from an embarrassing wet pants episode in my life. All right before I was supposed to go meet a client. I love you guys! Oh and to prove I actually used this place other than peeing. They gave me change for the meter outside and I buy my Red Velvet Cupcakes here when they're in season. I'm still in love. -
Ivy’s 4-star review: The Oaklandish Tree symbol is a complete icon for the Bay Area. So how could I resist not buying some cute oufits for my Lil' John. Not only is my baby going to be cute but the most style'n in the Bay. He has a dark blue onsie with the Bay bridge scene and a dark green one with the iconic Oaklandish tree. Also, I bought an Oaklandish shirt for my dad once. He is the most style'n dad in upstate New York. Or should I say Grandpa?... My only complaint is I bought my things on line and when your order is done message says an email will be sent to you when your order ships. I never got that email. Then right after I placed my order I saw I inputted the wrong shipping zip code. I sent an email to customer service and didn't get a reply as to if it was changed. I had to write a second email asking if my original email was ever recieved. Someone got back to me and appologized for the delay and told me that my order "should" have shipped out that week. My package arrived very promptly to the correct address. Soon my baby will be rock'n his Oaklandish gear. -
Ivy’s 4-star review: My husband was hungry and found a nice parking spot right in front on Sunday. I didn't know if he wanted to come here or walk across the street to Luka's. I just started walking into this place because I remember seeing a feature done on TV about their Mac'N Cheese. Mac'N Cheese flashbacks always make you walk into places like a zombie. We were promptly sat at a table near the kitchen. My husband loved it because he could pretty much see everything that came out and then look at the menu to determine what he wanted. He got the Fried Chicken Benedict. Picán's signature buttermilk fried chicken with poached eggs, Creole mustard hollandaise and Picán hot sauce He loved it. His plate was totally clean. I think he even ate some of the green onions on top. He does not even like onions! I got the Andouille Sausage Gravy & Biscuits. Our made from scratch cream biscuits with cajun smoked sausage sawmill gravy and slow cooked collard greens. The Gravy was perfect. Absolutely perfect. My Kentucky born Great Grandmother would jump out of her grave and slap me if she could have tasted this Gravy. Biscuits were perfectly fluffy. I was so incredibly impressed with this dish. It also came with a little slice of Sausage. Very yummy and not spicy at all. A nice smoky cooked on the grill flavor. The Greens were a little spicy for my taste but the last greens I had out were so salty that these made up for my last lackluster Greens. I couldn't eat all of my food and took one Biscuits and most of the Greens home for dinner. Just as good later on as when we were sitting there. They have an amazing cocktail menu and I am so jealous that my husband got to partake when I didn't. He started with the Lavender Lemon Drop. Rain Lavender Vodka; rock candy syrup; fresh lemon juice; lavender syrup. (This is a note to Betty H. Get this drink if you ever come in here!) I only dipped my finger in it to taste and I just loved it. The last drink he had was the Pican Praline. Vanilla vodka; white crème de cacao; Picán house made Praline liqueur; grated chocolate garnish. Just look at the ingredients. Do I need to say anything ! I cant even talk about these cocktails anymore. I cant have any except the slightest little finger dip. We have set dinner in our sights for our next visit. This place has the ambiance, the comfort food and the drinks. Oh, they dont have Mac'N Cheese on their Brunch menu. Who cares, everything else is fantastic too!
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Ivy’s 4-star review: Its official. I lost my Chicken & Waffle virginity. I'm no longer the young supple virgin of my less clogged artery youth. And guess what? I loved it!! I had no idea what to expect. Driving into Jack London I saw this place and the big Happy Hour sign and the advertisement of having a "Bar". Um, I'm there?! We came in around 3:30pm. The bar didn't open till 4:00pm. I almost knocked down a star but the food was so good until that point its worth the wait. I got the Incredible Kelly, 1 thigh, 1 waffle and a side of grits. Instead of grits I got Mac-N-Cheese. The Mac-N-Cheese is actually the main reason why I wanted to eat here. I want to fill a swimming pool full of this Mac-N-Cheese and dive head first into it. I think that Home in San Francisco and this place are at a tie in the race for best Mac-N-Cheese. The thigh was good and juicy. The waffle was thin but I think the waffle is a side note to the aspect of the amazing Mac-N-Cheese and the juicy Chicken. A waffle is a waffle. I'm still not sure what some of the other reviewers are talking about how the waffles are bad. Waffles, to me, are usually a side note. I'm more of a protein fan rather than a carb fan though. My husband had the #22, 1 Breast, side of Mac-N-Cheese, side of Greens. The Greens were to salty. I love greens but these were to bitter. He said the breast was dry. I would expect that, that is why I went with the thigh. When you come here do not...I repeat DO NOT, forget the Red Velvet Cake. This cake was two giant tiers of Red Velvet wonderfulness. The cake was as big or bigger than my head! Mind you I have a giant head. I want to order one (whole cake) for my birthday next year. This cake was some of the most decadent, silky smooth Red Velvet that I have ever had in my life. Don't ask any questions just do it. Once we were done we paid our tab then went over to the bar on the other side and got to work on the cocktails. The bartenders here are the best! Ask them any question about the booze and they will give it to you straight. We started with the Dandy Delight. I prefer to call it Dandy Candy. Sweet Tea Vodka with lemonade and another Vodka. The type of drink that could get you into trouble if you had to many. Second drink was under the Happy Hour special. The special was any cocktail made with Ciroc. We had a Cosmo. Good but I have had better Cosmos in my life. Way to sour. Third drink was the Raspberry Drop. It tasted like medicine. I didn't like it and I don't usually go with Raspberry drinks but somehow I lost control. It wasn't good at all. Last libation was the Blueberry Martini. Excellent and I want everyone to try it. The coloring of the drink is so cool. Nothing like I have ever seen. I described it as Gun Metal Gray. Excellent beverage. To bad their Happy Hour has so many "rules." The Cosmo was the only drink covered under the Happy Hour selections and it wasn't even that good. I loved the food and drinks. One major suggestion, make a custom cocktail menu. The bartender was great at telling us the drinks but I would like to read them and mull over it for moment. Put that stuff on paper and your set. Food is great and they have a full bar. Love, love, loved it! -
Ivy’s 4-star review: The Fat Lady may be my future but for right now I'm pretty stable with my weight. We went for brunch today, and after eating the soft scrambled egg with smoked salmon on a croissant The Fat Lady may be closer to my butt than I thought. My husband had the grilled crab sandwich on rye. Not as good as my smoked salmon but it was pretty good. They also had the best fried zucchini I have had out. Perfect size too, sometimes restaurants serve the zucchini really thick cut these were in between shoe string and medium cut with a blue cheese sauce. Perfect. Then there is the drinks. My husband had the Bloody Mary, he said it was good but not the best. I had the Pomosa. Not as good as I thought. I love pomegranate juice and I even have a pomegranate tree in my yard and I make my own juice. Pomegranate juice freshly juiced is not sweet. I can tell they had natural pomegranate juice because combined with the champagne it was slightly bitter. I like that though, so it was good. My husband actually commented on how many I put down. I think 4 was the final total. We are planning on going back for dinner in the near future. There will be an update for that portion. -
Ivy’s 3-star review: We decided to come back here again, this time with the baby in tow. We were seated promptly and then everything kind of sucked after that. The Calamari we ordered to start was the best part of our meal. When the waitress came over to take our order the phone started to ring and she shays "Oh sorry". Then she just walks away while I was mid syllable with my order. Another woman came over to finish the order. I go the Reuben and my son got Scrambled Eggs with Cheese. My Reuben was so greasy and it just completely fell apart while I was trying to eat it. When my sons Eggs came up they were Cheeseless and she took them back. Which I never like doing but she insisted. The cocktail list they have is very good but I was so distracted with the bad/ackward service I cant remember them. It is a baby friendly restaurant but this just wasn't our day to be here. -
Ivy’s 4-star review: My husbands grandma passed away last week. It wasn't sudden and we were all prepared ( as well as we could be) for the day we would have to deal with missing her the most. Her services were held here on a Monday. The setting they provide is nice and makes for a kind of church like but very serene place to remember your loved ones. If say you didn't want it to be to church like this would be a great place. Their speaker system for playing music was very nice and we were able to incorporate some of her favorite songs into what the people talking about her were speaking. The parking is kind of tight though. Especially with all those old people driving around it was scary trying to get out of there. The rest of the building is spacious and clean and they had a really nice bathroom too. They provide plenty of tissues for your use. We needed them especially. -
Ivy’s 4-star review: I have never actually gone to the marina portion of the this marina. I have however used their facilities and for a public area in Oakland, this is the cleanest women's restroom you can ever use. Their bathrooms are so clean its ridiculous. I have never seen them not clean. Even when they used to have 4th of July at Jack London Square the bathrooms were clean. They have a great thing going and I hope they keep it up. -
Ivy’s 4-star review: I cant decide between 3 or 4 stars. Maybe 3.5 stars. The lines were ridiculous. I will say that everyone in line and walking around was really nice. We brought the wiener dog with us. I was worried that it would be closed off to dogs. There were a ton of dogs walking around the event. No one even minded when my tog dropped trough. Or they didn't say anything directly to me. We also got our photo taken at the Yelp booth. Wiener dog was also included in the photo shoot. Ligaya was a great greeter at the booth. Anyway, now to the food. Mostly expensive but everything I had was good. First off we split a Chocolate Cupcake from Kara's Cupcakes. Small for $3 dollars. It was very chocolaty, but small. Second offering we had was the Lobster Roll from Sam's Chowder Mobile. The line was sooooo loooooong. I got up there ordered two rolls and about five people after I ordered they ran out of Lobster. The rolls were so small that two would have been a great sandwich. We each had one for $10 total. They were the best thing I had at the entire place. I would go all the way out to Half Moon Bay just to have a bigger one. I bought a minuscule jar of Orange Blossom Honey for $3.95. I got a taste of it and it does have a faint essence of Orange in it. I also don't have very much cabinet space to buy a larger jar. My husband really wanted pizza and the one booth that had the best options for him ran out of dough. I could tell he was pissed off. As we were trying to leave, I saw the Pepito's Ice Cream. Watermelon ice pops. Tasted just like a frozen piece of Watermelon. My dog loved it to. It really helped to cool us off. Parking sucked. We parked on the street near the construction going on in the parking lot near a giant dumpster. Some asshole threw two giant black garbage bags into the back of our truck. That was nice and environmentally friendly. Next year we will be back earlier and without the wiener dog. -
Ivy’s 4-star review: I would have never thought there could have been room in here enough for a large group to meet. I went to a beer drinking event that was benefiting The Oakland Firefighters Random Acts Toy Dive. They recently added an extra room on the side of the original bar space. The new space is much bigger than the smaller bar and really makes for a cozy intimate setting for an event. The beer is really great. There is so much to choose from. I like dark beers. We started off with a round of the St. Bernardus Christmas Ale. It was very, very good. It kind of had a hint of Gingerbread to it. It was my favorite. The second round is Deschutes Abyss. Talk about dark. It was almost to dark for me even. What was nice was drinking this then going back to the Christmas Ale and how delicious that beer was. This was my first experience with a Belgian beer place. The ritual of getting the glass ready for the tap to be poured was neat to see. Its funny how humans love silly rituals connected to things. I would love to come back when its less busy and sit quietly with my husband and enjoy a beer or two. -
Ivy’s 4-star review: Even though I'm still bummed that I missed the Yelp Event here I still wanted to come and check it out. We came for dinner around 7pm. The place was practically empty yet they only had seating outside, at the bar, or at the bar overlooking the cooks. If you cant already tell we sat at the bar. They are calling this place "Pan-American" style dinning. Its Tapas or something close to Tapas. Its not a bad thing its just how I would describe it. We had a great bar tender who was so fun and we kept asking all kinds of silly questions and she really made our evening. Also, really made some incredible drinks. We started off with the Cucumber Gimlet. Mine was Tanqueray Gin my husband had Hangar One Vodka. This was my favorite drink out of the bunch that we had. I think I'm starting to like Cucumber beverages. Second drink was the Caipirinha. Exceptionally good, one of the best ones that I have ever had. Third drink I was kind of scared of at first but the bar tender let me taste one of the ingredients and I was sold. It was the Spicy Pisco Punch: Barsol Pisco, lime juice, orange juice, 5 spice syrup, fresh pineapple, bitters & ginger beer. I really cant describe it. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad. It was a very interesting to say the least. It was fun to try once, just to try. My other favorite part of here is the food. I was pleasantly surprised by our food selections. Fist up was the Halibut Ceviche-tomato, zucchini, cilantro & aji amarillo. The best, best Ceviche I have had out. This dish was so fresh and flavorful. The little Plantain Chips that come with it are a nice touch. Second up, Dungeness Crab Deviled Eggs--chipotle aioli. Who ever thought of these should win some type of award. If you served these at a party your guests would be astonished. Last up was the Braised Lamb--pasilla peppers & honey. The lamb was so juicy and tender. My husband said it was like slow cooked. The sauce was slightly spicier than I like but still good. It says something about Honey but I didn't detect any Honey. They should add a slice of Corn Bread to go with it. I'm still thinking about it that's how much I loved it. We loved our time here. I think to get the true ambiance of the place you should go at night. The decor, the lighting all just makes for a cool laid back dinning experience. I'm sure in the day its pretty nice but there is just something about being here at night. We will be putting this in our Oakland drinking and eating rotation. -
Ivy’s 4-star review: This place is located on one of the quaintest streets in Oakland. Its a breezy little street with that old Americana feel to it. My husband and I took a little stroll hand in hand to find something to have for lunch one day. It was late in the afternoon, our usual lunch time. Once I saw the sign out front and that had Cream of Chantrelle Mushroom Soup with Bacon on it that was my cue to enter and chow down. I was not disappointed with my soup. The mushrooms were so big you could almost be mistaken that they were big pieces of meat. Not to mention the creamy broth and bits of Bacon were quite the addition. Excellent Soup! I didn't drink any beer because I was driving (I can already see Tom R.'s disappointment) My husband enjoyed some beer that they had that was called Holiday something or other. He really liked it. For our main course I had the Crab Melt and the man had the Chicken Pesto Sandwich. Both sandwiches were served open faced with some of the best fries around. If you don't like Onions make sure to ask for your Crab Melt with out Onions, because it is loaded with them! I quite enjoyed it though. I critique Crab Melts quite hard and this one was quite delicious. The food was surprisingly good. The service was strange to say the least. It was not busy at all in there so to say the service was slow is an understatement. It was slower than expected but right when I was starting to get annoyed there was our server. The food was good and we enjoyed our time there. We actually really really liked our food and would love to make this a regular spot. -
Ivy’s 4-star review: I have heard of the Merritt Bakery for years! One of the first things my husband and I ever talked about was the Chicken & Waffles from here. The strange thing is, when we came here, I didn't want the Chicken & Waffles. I was craving a big juicy Burger. My husband got the Waffle with 2 Drumsticks. The Drumsticks seemed small. I did have a bite and they were very juicy. They looked suspiciously dry, but don't be fooled, they aren't. The Waffle was fluffy and rich tasting. Pile on that butter and you got yourself a delicious Waffle to scarf down. I got a Salad with my burger. Regular Salad with Ranch, nothing to fancy. My burger was so good though. Great bread, perfectly melted cheese and incredibly crisp crunchy onion, lettuce and tomato. A squirt of Ketchup and a dallup or two of mayo and I was in greasy, burger juice ecstasy. We got a giant piece of Red Velvet Cake to go. We wanted to savor it on the couch in our pajamas with some milk. Our late night meal was everything you could ask for and more. -
Ivy’s 5-star review: Lake Chalet has slowly but surely made its way up to the top of our list for Sunday Family Lunch Excursions. Service is always excellent. From everyone at the host stand when you walk in to the wait staff and especially the bar tenders. They have a constantly updated custom cocktail menu that is full of delicious, well thought out cocktails. Every time I come there's something new to try and I'm never disappointed. I can't say enough about their fish and chips. Crispy on the outside juicy in the middle. The fries were golden delights. They have a nice oyster selection as well. The Kumomoto and the Kaschi are my favorite. If you're not sure, ask your waiter. They are so friendly and helpful. Did I also say we love this place because of how kid friendly it is? It's soooo kid friendly. The kids are happy watching the water out the window and munching on their kids options. We get to sit back and have an enjoyable lunch with a nice adult beverage. It's a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Let's keep it up Lake Chalet because we are big, big fans. -
Ivy’s 4-star review: Still only four stars for me. Definitely more booths now that the farmers market was moved indoors. However not very many things different that I wanted from last year. My first must have stop was the Sam's Chowder Mobile. Lobster Roll all the way. The roll was much better than last year. Better, butterier bread and the Lobster was the perfect amount. Our friends one year old cried when all the sandwich was gone. If this was the first time I was eating a Lobster Roll and it was all gone, Id cry too. I tried getting a Grilled Corn on a stick but they gave me a dried disgusting one and so I was waiting for a new one but the guy making them just went over and gave me my money back. I didn't mind waiting but I guess thanks? The 4505 Chicharrones booth was off the hook. Our friends went back twice. The best Chicharrones I have ever had in my life. The perfect hint of spice and the fatty melt in your mouth goodness was more than any pregnant girl could ask for. My Pork Tamale with the Green Salsa really hit the spot. Homemade tasting and not to spicy. I just wished there was some sour cream. Then I got a half a BLT. Sorry don't remember the name of the booth. The sandwich was really for my husband who was standing the beer line for a 1/2 hour. He got the sandwich while I ate my Tamale. The BLT had a really good spicy mayo. Spicy like horseradish spicy. Which is one of the rare spicies that I like. Things I wanted to try but didn't, Red Velvet Short Bread, Any Kara's Cupcakes, Garlic Noodles, Seafood Paella. Hopefully they will be there next year. Also, next year I'm eating two Lobster rolls instead of one. They're that good. Lines seemed shorter probably because there were more booths. Please bring sunscreen or slather up before you come. I heard a guy complaining to his chick about his face burning and I made him take some of my sunscreen. They were shocked and kind of joking that I thought he needed it. I told them I don't play games when it comes to sunscreen. I even tote my baby umbrella to stave off any unnecessary rays. I don't play games with the sun! Bring your own beer and keg cups next year too. No one will know any different. Screw the beer line because they ran out of beer right as my husband got in front after a half hour of standing in line. We got our money back because we were so pissed off. I was really sad I didn't find the Yelp booth. Apparently they weren't there on Sunday? That sucks! Even though I'm not the most crowd friendly type person I'm totally coming back again next year. -
Ivy’s 4-star review: Jack London Square is one of those places that I actually get excited about visiting. When my husband and I were first dating we would come here to walk around. We would go eat at one of the restaurants and then go drink at First & Last. On nice spring or summer days the weather can be just perfect. Careful in heels though. The little stone way path can be dangerous. Luckily I fell into a sign that broke my fall. We come here for the Eat Real Festival and have also visited the Farmers Market a few times. Fourth of July is crazy down here and I cant stand when people come and literally tramp all over the Jack London Cabin's roof. Its so disrespectful. Come here in good or bad weather, be respectful of the history and you'll love it just as much as I do. -
Ivy’s 3-star review: We watched DDD (Diners Drive-Ins & Dives) one night and saw this place featured. You know if its on tv I'm going to eat there. I was going to be in Oakland that next morning and be done with my appointment in time for brunch. Boo yah! It seemed like every customer was sitting outside in the open patio area. I wanted to sit in side away from the sun. However, inside was a little dark for me. Inside was quiet and dark like I said. This must be an Oakland thing because it happens to me all of the time. I order water and its water in a glass. Does Oakland have an ordinance against ice that I don't know about? After watching DDD, I had to go with the Corned Beef Hash. They give you a bread option and mine was the Corn Bread. The butter was so cold I couldn't spread it on the Corn Bread. The Corn Bread was on the verge of being the best Ive ever had. If I had had that alone its five stars all the way. Service was also kind of slow. The whole place had that "lets just chill out maaaaan" vibe. I, a. have a day job, and b. wanted to be in and out. It was like they just expect every customer to just hang out. The Corned Beef Hash was well, bland. It was nothing to brag about. I wanted to come home and rub it in my husbands face that I got to eat here but I really didn't bring it up. I would have added salt to the dish if there was any on the table. This doesn't mean I wont be back. The Corn Bread alone would make anyone turn tricks for it. I also wanted to try the Grits and Shrimp but I think its spicy and I cant do spicy. If I come back Ill see if they'll make it not spicy. Grits and Corn Bread are what I'm coming back for. I'm always hungry. Maybe the weekend is the best time to come here. I came in mid week on a Tuesday. There may be difference. -
Ivy’s 3-star review: This place just isn't what it used to be. My husband has been coming here for over ten years. A lot of things can change in 10 years. My husband is even in "The Book" as "The Mai Tai King". If your a regular you will know what that means. Anyway, I think the history of the place is wonderful and its definitely one of a kind. With all of the new construction going on and the new deck that they built its loosing its luster for me. Its becoming more touristy and less hole in the wally. Its being swallowed up by the newness around it. As my husband put it, the outside seating area looks like an outdoor seating area that you would find at a hospital. We sat out on the new deck to drink our drinks and enjoy the weather and the smell of raw sewage kept wafting our way. My husband said that there is a sewer line near the bar and that it backs up all the time. It was time for someone to come and clean it out. Also, our favorite bartender left over a year ago and we really haven't wanted to come back because of that. We miss you Jim. Its just not the same without you.
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