Peerless Coffee, Oakland CA

I tried to stop by Peerless Coffee Company (260 Oak Street Oakland, CA) for lunch,  but found that they didn’t serve food except for the candies in their gift shop.  It’s a neat building and they have a gift shop that holds various tea and coffee accessories as well as candies and books.  There’s industrial-scale roasting equipment in the rear that you can catch a glimpse of while browsing the gift shop.

I ordered a shot of espresso.  The girl behind the counter said it’d be a ristretto, but once I got the coffee, it reminded me more of a “double” that you can buy at Starbucks.  The espresso wasn’t very enjoyable but it was drinkable and contained caffeine that I needed for the afternoon.  There wasn’t much crema.

peerless coffee: espresso

Oddly, there was an Oji brewing machine in their tasting room (which was closed when I visited)

peerless coffee: oji brewer

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Eating About Beer 2010

this past weekend, about 32 of us were treated to an eight-course beer-paired culinary adventure: eating about beer 2010.  More extensive descriptions of the event will be written by the makers in the near future, so for now just I’ll share a few pictures:

sopressata, cured at home

“a selection of seasonal pickled vegetables” arranged symmetrically

homebrews in fancy packaging

buckwheat soba noodle making

homebrews on ice

soba going through the pasta maker

topping for the sicilian chickpea fritters

pickled vegetables cut up for serving

marzen model

soba with cale, shredded daikon and dipping broth

peruvian ceviche

ratatoullie with cheese scraping

pork chop

prost!

adding wheatberries to the salad

mustard, in nugget dipping containers

nuggets, with dipping containers, in serving boxes

fancy napkins for the nuggets

tapioca with a hazelnut and coffee shortbread cookie

the eab crew at the end of the night

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Protected: amber and roger’s wedding

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Espresso at Woody’s Cafe – Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

Woody’s cafe (1841 Park Blvd Oakland, CA) located across from the Parkway Theater and next to Woody’s laundromat.

I had an espresso and a turkey panini:

espresso at woody's cafe

The espresso was drinkable but I can’t say that I enjoyed it.  It tasted a little weak and burnt with hints of acidity (I might have liked it a bit stronger) and it also tasted a bit stale.  but it was drinkable, and I needed the caffeine.

turkey panini at woody's cafe

The turkey panini was pretty tasty.  The people working there were really nice and there’s currently a lot of interesting photography on the walls of signs found in oakland.  during the lunch hour, the crowd seemed to be mostly people hanging out on their computers.  I wouldn’t come back here just for the coffee but it’s not a bad place to visit.

the parkway theater:

parkway theater

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cafe 504 – Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

cafe 504 (504 Wesley Ave Oakland, CA 94606) is a pretty sweet spot to chill.  I had lunch and an espresso here:

504

super friendly barista pulled shots of ritual‘s lloyd dobler from a la marzocco machine.  It was quite bright.  I don’t taste the same fruity tones as indicated in ritual’s description, but it was bright, light-bodied and pleasant.   served in a bodum polka-dotted demitasse.

espresso

I also had a salad and a sandwich.  I wasn’t too impressed with the salad (though this didn’t matter too much to me) and the sandwich was good.  the space inside was neat – a small kind of dark space with blue walls with a kitchen that reminded me of a cabin.

there was also a dog patiently waiting outside.  I really enjoyed relaxing outside and enjoying a beautiful day in oakland.

dog

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