May 01, 2005
A Favorite Nabe: Euclid Street, North of Hearst
There are many classic neighborhood strips in the East Bay -- Telegraph near Campus, Shattuck in the Gourmet Ghetto, Piedmont Ave in Oakland, College going through Rockridge (I prefer south of BART).
But, when I get on my bike on the weekends, and want a restorative and engaging afternoon away from home, I typically head to Euclid Street, just north of Hearst.
Why Euclid? There are four reasons.
1. Brewed Awakening. A coffeehouse, though I never go for the coffee. I go for the smoothies, which are good, and cheaper than Jamba Juice. I also love the wide open interior:
And there's plenty of free wi-fi, and many outlets to plug in.
2. Then a hop across the street to Signal Books. It's a very small independent bookstore that's always worth a browse. They have a great collection of, well, smart books, and also an appreciation for comix and graphic novels. Oh, and good magazines, and an extensive international newspaper selection. And their logo was drawn by Dan Clowes.
3. And then, when I want coffee, wander down the sidewalk to Caffe Nefeli, serving up the what's probably the best cappuccino in the East Bay. All I know is that when I get a double cap, I don't have to tell them to go light on the milk -- most places make what is essentially a latte. Nefeli has a few tables outside that provide a comfortable reading space for nice days.
4. Not photographed, and probably not widely appreciated, but Laval's Northside, the pizzeria, always has a pinball machine in pretty good working order. Today it took $2 from me as I tried to stave off an Attack From Mars.
Do you have a favorite neighborhood that's a bit off the path? Tell us in the comments...
Posted by peterme at May 1, 2005 06:20 AMOther folks have tried to submit comments, but this site has been preventing them from going through. Scott R wrote an email to the Beast Blog administrator about a favorite neighborhood:
Lower Solano ave in Albany. It's like a trip through the Wayback Machine. Time stands still! I don't know how these tiny retail operations pay their rents, but I am grateful for the flashback to my Queens, N.Y. childhood.
Posted by: peterme at May 10, 2005 07:50 AMSomeone else asked after Signal Books, because she knew it had been up for sale.
Signal is in good hands, and the current owner has pretty much kept it as the original owner left it.
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