neither here nor there

So this one is a little bit of a cheat because I’ve been to Hudson Bay a bazillion times. It’s also known as Enrique’s* office because he spent most of his unempolyment doing job applications and nerdy web stuff here.

The music is good but not distracting, the tea isn’t Peets, but then again it’s significantly better than MightyLeaf. The pastries are good (same bakery as Peets) and they offer some tasty salads and sandwiches.

Best of all, Hudson Bay is located in my favorite Rockridge hot spot. Standing in front of Hudson Bay, I could spit on my favorite bookstore, yoga studio, and the aforementioned Bittersweet as well as the super awesome Rockridge Home.

Hudson Bay Coffee Company
College Avenue, Oakland (Rockridge)
Atmosphere: 4/5
Drinks: 4/5
Food: 4/5
Study Factor: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

*My husband (previously named Dale) is a giant cyber nerd. Yesterday he informed me that real bloggers don’t use the real names of anyone in their writing. I asked if this was for security reasons and he didn’t seem to think so. Apparently, he prefers blogs written more anonymously. I don’t feel like saying “my husband,” or “that guy I live with” so for now we shall call him Enrique.

Picture from Yelp

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I was headed towards Sacks on College for the second day in a row when I remembered that there is a new corner cafe in Rockridge.  Thus, Cafe Zoe became Coffee Shop #2.  While walking down a lovely residential street with 2 hour parking (I did move my car once to get 4 hours in), I found a little Rockridge single family cottage I plan on buying when I get my huge teacher raise this fall.  Then I can become a Zoe regular and sip my tea in my secret garden backyard.

Cafe Zoe is big, open and airy.  There is even a small walled off little nook with a bookshelf and a few smaller tables that look like a great place to study for a few hours.  Traveling with a larger load, I splayed my picture books, laptop and other teacher accessories over a nice table for four with a lovely view of the corner of College and my new address. 

It was definitely a day for tea but rather than my usual Jasmine standby, I went with Mountain Berry Black Tea (Fair Trade, Organic.)  It was served in a tea pot and oversized mug, which is always nice.  I later snacked on a toasted baguette with strawberry-lemon jam.  Cafe Zoe has only been open for a month and they plan on having more food options in the future, though to be honest I’m wary of cafes with full menus. 

The staff were super friendly, even offering to refill my empty tea pot and allowing me to move in for the better part of a cloudy Friday.  The downsides of Cafe Zoe are that they do not have wifi (yet?) and the large building is pretty loud and carries noise more than is ideal for a coffee shop.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and plan on visiting again.  Their big tables are begging for a larger group of coffeeshop goers (book groups, study partners, etc.)  At least Dale and I won’t have to fight over table space as we do at Peets (that is when we don’t just hog two tables.)

Cafe Zoe
College Avenue, Oakland (Rockridge)
Atmosphere: 3/5
Drinks: 4/5
Food: 4/5
Study Factor: 3/5
Overall: 4/5

Mountain Berry Black Tea

Excellent natural light

Snacks

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As a workaholic teacher, there are few summer days during which I do not work. I don’t so much mind the work I do over the summer, especially when it takes place in a nice, air conditioned coffee shop. While I am a former Starbucks barista, put in my time as a slave at privately owned Davis coffee shop, and have converted to become a loyal Peets regular a few years ago, I thought it might be time to get around. My goal is to go to a different coffee shop each day so that I can find some gems in my hood.
Today I packed my messenger bag with my brick of a work laptop, some Doug Lamov reading and a few other necessities such as a novel about people living in the slums of India (your average summer reading.) I had planned to walk about 30 minutes down College to Sacks Coffee in Berkeley, but as my hunk of junk computer weighed down my bag and gouged a groove in my shoulder, I wimped out and decided to hit up the much closer Bittersweet Cafe.

Bittersweet was wonderful. Nothing bittersweet about it except the chocolate, and perhaps the calorie intake. My usual is a black iced tea, but I thought that as a Bittersweet virgin, I should try one of their specialties. Upon the friendly barista’s advice, I ordered a chocolate thai iced tea. I must admit this did not sound particularly appetizing to me, but indeed it was other-worldly. I savored it over the next few hours as I sat at a heavy country-styled wooden table and read about improving the pacing of my lessons.

Had I not had delicious leftovers to enjoy for lunch courtesy of my wonderful house guest Amanda (check out her blog: Yumology) , I would have ordered a bowl of tortilla soup. Bittersweet also offers some of the most amazing looking pastries I’ve seen outside of an actual restaurant. I didn’t indulge, but another day.

When my foodie houseguest returned from her Science teacher training that brought her to the Bay, I raved about my café experience and she insisted we stop by. So after hauling our butts up the Claremont Canyon trail, we stopped by Bittersweet and Amanda enjoyed my new iced beverage of choice. As we walked down the sidewalk, she giggled with happiness. Yes, that is how good this drink is. It will make you giddy. “You take a sip of it and there is a burst of floral Jasmine tea flavor with a lingering chocolate taste, finished off with a sweet and delightful touch of condensed milk,” she described. We both decided it was one of those foods you had to consume slowly and “think about.” The night before we had to “think about” each bite of Ginger Crème Brule ice cream from Ici.

Well enough said. You’re convinced. Here’s my overall review:

Bittersweet: The Chocolate Café
College Avenue, Oakland (Rockridge)
Atmosphere: 4/5
Drinks: 5/5
Food: 5/5
Study Factor: 3/5*
Overall: 4/5

*I did get a few hours of work done at Bittersweet but seating is limited and there are no outlets to be had. It’s a better place for a coffee date or some reading. I felt self conscious about breaking out piles of work on my shared table.

Think Worthy Iced Tea

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I’ve recently discovered the disdain, rudeness and general raised eyebrow people feel compelled to cast upon vegetarians. Apparently telling someone you have stopped eating meat is akin to devil worship or child abuse. I sense that friends and family would be less disgusted if I instead shared that I’m a seasoned shoplifter or that I drink whiskey on the rocks every morning before work.

Perhaps I exaggerate, but never having cared that much about what other people put in their bodies, I was surprised to find just how judgmental people are about my recent choice to not eat meat. (I still have trouble using the word “vegetarian” but perhaps I should embrace the term to prove my comfort with the lifestyle.)

Where did the change in diet come from? It is not based in nutritional reasons though I am confident that my personal health will not suffer from this commitment. People suddenly feel concerned about my protein intake. They should put their fears to rest. There is protein in just about everything we eat. Before I became a vegetarian, I ate very little meat because it is both expensive and it takes more time to prepare. For me, giving up meat really just means not preparing shrimp, chicken and scallops at home and finding new Mexican entrée favorites. Aside from eating out, it is not a major change for me.

So again, you may wonder, why become a vegetarian? My husband recently read a book by Jonathan Safran Foer, entitled Eating Animals. The front flap has a review that reads as follows:

The everyday horrors of factory farming are evoked so vividly, and the case against the people who run the system is presented so convincingly, that anyone who, after reading Foer’s book, continues to consume the industry’s products must be without a heart, or impervious to reason, or both.

A past In-N-Out employee, Georgia born, lover of fried chicken, caritas and pulled pork sandwiches, my husband swore that reading this book would not turn him into a vegetarian. He was wrong. Seeing such a meat eater change his tune after reading one book, I was compelled to read Eating Animals as well.  It is interesting to note that the author did not set out to write a vegetarian’s manifesto; his research led him to his own personal conclusions. I will not provide you with a book report here, but the book did make the following facts very clear to me:

1) The vast majority (99%) of the meat we eat is the product of factory farming.
2) I cannot afford to regularly eat meat that is born, raised, and slaughtered in an acceptably humane fashion. I also do not have the time to research which rare businesses actually maintain these high standards.
3) The atrocities committed against animals in factory farming are so horrifically disgusting, disturbing and mind-blowing that even a non-animal lover such as myself cannot support such a system. And yes it is easy for many people to say that they know the system is flawed without really learning exactly how immoral the entire process is and then continue eating blindly.
4) My love for chicken tacos, enchiladas and tamales is not as great as my desire to not consume food that has been plumped up and soaked in feces and other waste. I also hate being sick and would not like to gain immunity against antibiotics as a result of eating meat that is injected with the same antibiotics. This is just the tip of the iceberg here as well. If you want to know more, read the book.
5) I can’t pat myself on the back for buying CFL light bulbs, using canvas grocery bags or driving a fuel-efficient car while also eating meat. Meat production is the number one cause of global warming and fishing for my favorites (the aforementioned shallots and shrimp) has driven oceans past the point where recovery was possible.
6) Finally, labels such as “free range,” “grain-fed” and “organic ” mean next to nothing and hold little veracity.

This little essay has become much peachier than I originally intended. My mission is not to disgust others or shame anyone into giving up meat. I encourage others to continue eating whatever they please. I would not recommend reading Foer’s book if you do want to continue eating meat. Ignorance is bliss after all. I simply would like people to stop rolling their eyes, sneering and passing snide comments about what I choose to consume. What I do or do not eat will directly affect anyone aside from myself.

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In answer to a friend’s question, “What is a Berkeley Bowl?” a photo essay:

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