Best Face-Lift…

Oakland Museum of California

Usually we leave face-lifts to our Southern California friends, but the re-opening of the Oakland Museum of California is one upgrade that we can get behind. After two years and close to $60 million of work, the museum reopened in May with the addition of more than 4,500 square feet of gallery space and a redesigned interactive approach. The Gallery of California History features some 2,500 artifacts that focus on the people, places, and stories unique to the Golden State and opportunities for visitors to add their mark to California’s legacy. Many of the large statues from the Gallery of California Art now reside outside to create room for a rotating lineup of local art that reflects civic and cultural awareness. One example, Pixar: 25 Years of Animation (July 31-January 9, 2011) reflects the large-scale traveling exhibits the museum can now accommodate. In addition, the face-lift isn’t over. In 2012, the Gallery of Natural Sciences will open with a focus on California’s habitats and the threats that they face.

1000 Oak St. (at 10th St.)
Oakland, CA 510-238-2200 MuseumCA.org

Best Place to Get the Shakes…

Livermore Shakespeare Festival

It’s a shame that William Shakespeare so often finds his way to classrooms and stuffy auditoriums where he’s dissected and lifelessly regurgitated. The Elizabethan tongue should flow unbridled through the air, and hey, if that air happens to be in a vineyard on a summer night, who’s to argue? In its tenth year this year, the festival at the Concannon Vineyard features two plays that celebrate the quirks of love. The uncontrolled passion of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (through August 7) fits nicely with the venue’s hot inland summer. While the Montague and Capulet families struggle with new love, The Real Thing (through July 31) by Tom Stoppard takes a stab at lasting love. The Tony Award-winning play within a play examines the role loyalty, betrayal, and crudités serve in keeping a couple together. With a pair of blankets and glasses of wine, you can enjoy the bard à la fresco — full of life, free of homework.

4590 Tesla Rd.
925-456-2505
livermoreshakes.org

Best Place to Get Dressed Up And Not Spend A Lot of Money…

Golden Gate Fields

Typically, the desire to get dressed up for a night on the town usually comes with a heavy price tag. But that’s not the case at the local racetrack, because when the horses hit the dirt on Sundays, Golden Gate Fields opens its doors for Dollar Days. Grab the three-piece white suits and flying-saucer-size hats and pretend that you’ve descended on the Kentucky Derby. There may not be mint juleps and box seats, but if you use your imagination, the $1 beers and bleachers can be nice stand-ins. Parking, admission, programs, hot dogs, snacks, and sodas are just a buck each so you can laze away a whole day playing make believe without spending more than $5. Place a couple of small bets and with a bit of luck you could even find yourself at the real Kentucky Derby next year.

1100 Eastshore Highway
Berkeley, CA
(510) 559-7300
goldengatefields.com

Best Place to Buy Mystery Groceries…

Korean Plaza

Looking for a cheap way to have fun on a slow weeknight? Pop by this Korean grocery store, wander the aisles, and let the packages and seafood overwhelm you. Then grab a few ingredients you’ve never seen before (packaged items without English writing are the best) and head home for research and a meal you’ve never tried. Along with aisles devoted to every kind of instant noodle dish you can imagine and dozens of chili sauces, you can pick up seasonal kimchi, aloe drinks, fish cakes, cuttlefish, or snails. Not feeling that adventurous? There’s an aisle full of cookies, candies, and cakes for hesitant palates, and for a sure-fire delight try instant chili soba noodles and mushroom-shaped chocolate-coated cookies reminiscent of Pocky. Of course, the fun is in the mystery. Remember, elsewhere in the world that bag of dried fish is a treasured snack for someone; maybe it’ll be your new favorite indulgence.

2370 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland, CA 510-986-1234 koreanaplaza.com/

Best Fusion Food Cart…

Seoul on Wheels

East Bay streets are home to a wide range of taco carts, but not many stray from the usual menu. When the lengua and tortas no longer do it for you, check out this Korean BBQ truck that offers familiar fare with an Asian twist. The stars of the show are Korean tacos — meat or tofu, crunchy lettuce, Korean chili sauce, and crema. The sweet and spicy mix wonderfully so your tongue dances back and forth between the flavors, guided by charbroiled bits of crispy meat that melt with natural fats and not added oils. Korritos (Korean burritos) mix gooey cheese, meat, rice, and kimchi for a new take on portable meals, but it’s the Daniel Burger that takes the prize for the biggest indulgence. With two thick patties that have the crunch and give only obtainable on a grill, cheese, spicy pork, kimchi, lettuce, chili sauce, and mayonnaise (not to mention the pile of salty fries), it’s fusion fun on a bun big enough to split with two or three people. Follow the proprietor, Julia Yoon, on Twitter for updates on where she’ll be satiating the masses every day.

415-336-0387,
SeoulOnWheels.com,
Twitter.com/SeoulOnWheels

Best Chicken for Chicken and Waffles…

900 Grayson

In many world cuisines, spicy and sweet are married on a regular basis, but Americans tend to separate the two as if they were mortal enemies. For this reason, chicken and waffles, particularly the use of hot sauce and syrup to adorn them, is an experience giggling gourmands whisper about amongst themselves. Syrup is a natural accompaniment to waffles, but adding hot sauce seems to trip many newcomers up. The Demon Lover at 900 Grayson takes care of that by bringing the heat not in the sauce but in the batter for the chicken. The chicken breast is soaked in buttermilk and then tossed in a mixture of flour and spices, so as the oil begins to crisp the batter it also lets out the heat. Juicy and crunchy, the chicken shows beginners how sweet and spicy play nicely with each other. Moreover, for chicken and waffle vets, it’s an extra kick to go along with the endless dashes of hot sauce that inevitably score the plate.

900 Grayson St.
Berkeley, CA 510-704-9900 900Grayson.com

Best Waffles for Chicken and Waffles…

Home of Chicken and Waffles

The most important part of a building is the foundation upon which everything else rests. For the South’s greatest construction, chicken and waffles, the same principle applies. Without a good waffle, the dish can just fall apart under scrutiny. Originally a Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles franchise, the Home of Chicken and Waffles understands that just because the waffle is a vessel for moist chicken and sticky syrup, doesn’t mean it should take second billing. Thin but sturdy, the base can hold up against a piece of meat in weight and texture. Like a supporting actor who makes the headliner shine, the waffles in Jack London Square are wrongfully appreciated as an afterthought. While people may immediately point their knife and fork toward the fried skyscrapers, the deep pockets filled with syrup and hot sauce will not let them down in their silent unsung culinary duty.

444 Embarcadero
Oakland, CA 510-836-4446
www.hcwchickenandwaffles.com

Best Beignet…

Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen

If there is a God and He created Man in his image, then He must have fashioned beignets after the pillows he rested on during the seventh day. To put it simply, these French doughnuts are heaven, and Angeline’s has cornered the market on doughy utopia. Fried to order, this dessert arrives at the table as fluffy, hot squares almost hidden in a massive pile of powdered sugar. What may seem like an obscene amount of sugar is actually a carefully planned construction. The heat from the doughnuts melts one layer to create a slight glaze and the top of the mountain crumbles in an avalanche at the first sign of a fork, ensuring sugar touches every bite. After a big dinner of gumbo and po’ boys, the light and airy dough will satiate your sweet tooth, so you can drift to sleep with a touch of the dessert’s divine intervention.

2261 Shattuck Ave.
Berkeley, CA 510-548-6900 AngelinesKitchen.com

Best Small Town Breakfast…

Ann’s Sunshine Cafe

Free range, organic, fair trade; these aren’t naughty words, but sometimes the only word you want to hear is “breakfast.” Stripped to its core, breakfast is comfort food loaded with fat and salt that will either keep you alive until you’re 110 or kill you by 45, depending on which propaganda you believe. Tucked into a strip mall in a residential area, Sunshine Café doesn’t guarantee a side of longevity with its simple fare, but since it has been in business for thirty years, maybe it should. Walk in as a stranger and two lovely words will greet you, “G’morning. Coffee?” Regulars rule the small space and they don’t order as much as confirm they’ll have the usual. Eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns, and pancakes are the norm, and with a cup of joe, you’ll easily ring in under $10. Everything arrives as if it were a Saturday Evening Post cover: no garnish or fancy presentation, just good, solid food like Grandma used to make. The toast always drips with butter, the bacon crispy, eggs delightfully runny, and the hashbrowns expertly grilled to be crunchy on the outside and moist inside. The service is familiar and friendly — a true sanctuary for fans of a better time and a better breakfast.

1908 Oak Park Blvd.
Pleasant Hill, CA
925-938-5180

Best Chawan-mushi…

Coach Sushi

Many people may connect this Lake Merritt sushi joint with the eccentric owner and his endless sake, but it also serves a Japanese delight that’s uncommon in East Bay eateries: chawan-mushi. Pronounced chow-won-moo-shee, the savory dish is part custard, part soup. The base of the stock is dashi (a mixture of water, kelp, and bonito available commercially in instant packets) mixed with eggs, soy sauce, mirin, and salt, which bakes into a semi-solid custard. When stirred with a spoon, the egg that has risen to the top breaks up and mixes with chicken, shrimp, bamboo, mushrooms, and kamaboko (processed fish cakes). It’s possible to serve as a dessert because the eggs add a touch of sweetness, but it usually appears as a soup course. If you’ve never had it, the cups hold a great surprise sure to defy your expectations. Aside from being delicious and intriguing, the custard is a great conversation starter that has proven to light up the eyes of friends and strangers who grew up in Japan.

532 Grand Ave.
Oakland, CA 510-834-7866
CoachSushi.com