Bica Coffehouse (5701 College Ave, Oakland)  just opened today across the street from Rockridge BART.  It replaces Cafe Lyon, which closed last May.  I had an espresso made with coffee from De La Paz’s 14th St. Espresso blend.  It was nice and brewed well on their La Marzocco Linea.  A bit bright, citrusy and a little sweet.

(Pardon the less-nice iphone photos)

de la paz 14th st espresso via bica coffeehouse

They plan on rotating their coffees between Flying Goat, Ritual, De La Paz, Verve and Barefoot about every 2 weeks.  In addition to coffee, they also offer teas and a few different types of pastries from Bisbane Bakery.

saw this on the way home:

I heart zombies

“I heart zombies”

Cafe Gabriela (988 Broadway Oakland, CA) is located downtown right off of Broadway.  The California Bar exam was being administered the day that I went and I got in just before a rush of test-takers came in for a break.

The Blue Bottle espresso was pretty good, but didn’t have the same combination of flavors that I’ve come to expect.  I feel that I’m terrible at describing nuances and undertones in coffee flavor, but here I tasted a buttery ristretto with a bit of tang, a prevailing smoky flavor with a bit of marshmallow.  I didn’t enjoy the coffee as much as the shots that come from the blue bottle people themselves.

blue bottle espresso at cafe gabriela

I also purchased a pork adobo sandwich which was predictably salty and pretty good.  They’d originally given away my sandwich by mistake – I think one of the bar takers picked up my sandwich instead of waiting for their own.

pork adobo sandwich at cafe gabriela

nuovo point demitasse double ristretto

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

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

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

I recently checked out Local 123 (2049 San Pablo Avenue Berkeley, CA) and Farley’s East (33 Grand Avenue Oakland, CA).  I also finally got around to visiting the blue bottle cafe near jack london square (300 Webster St Oakland, CA)

blue bottle cafe

espresso with blue bottle

the ristretto was predictably enjoyable – bright and with a bit of sweetness that lingered.  I also had a sandwich with meat from boccalone and some cookie to go with.  the space is nice – well-lit with natural light but pretty small  – there’s a cupping area and then more space in the back for bags and bags of coffee bean storage and roasting.

local 123

Local 123 is just south of University Ave on San Pablo – near Lanesplitter and Acme.

pretty rosetta

espresso in the patio

(apologies for the iphone photos)

local 123 brews flying goat coffee and they made a tasty ristretto.   I don’t remember details of the taste other than the fact that I really enjoyed it.  the two people working there who we interacted with were super friendly and the barista offered another shot if this one wasn’t to my liking.  the space is nice, with big prints of tasteful and uncheesy square-formatted naturey photos and a nice outdoor seating area.

farley’s east

they pull bottomless shots here from a la marzocco.  The espresso was not bad, but not as good as I’d enjoyed from local 123 and blue bottle.  compared to the two shots above, this one tasted a little staler and darker.  still not bad though.  they use beans roasted by sunrise coffee in san leandro.

espresso from farley's east

I liked their interior and the magazine selection and the friendly person at the counter who took my order.  I got a cold turkey sandwich – it was good.  there’s fun art on the walls and deception by blackalicious was playing as I picked up my sandwich.

it was a monday and the bakesale betty nearby was closed for the day.  I wonder how much more business area cafes receive on mondays and if there’s a correlation.  the windows of the subway next door were still broken as a result of the opportunistic rioting that took place after the mehserle verdict was announced.

subway window, broken

I saw quite a few windows being repaired in Oakland today:

window repair