I ♥ The East Bay Postcard

photo by Howard Ignatius

The more I get to know it and live here, I really do ♥ The East Bay. AOakland is having a renaissance, with new venues downtown, new restaurants, and a general sense of 'yeah!'  

Out and about last weekend, we happened on some new favorites:

 

Easy Creole: We noticed Easy, a Creole food place on Alcatraz near MLK, after a vintage shopping expedition to Empress Vintage. Easy boasts a NOLA inspired menu of soups, stews and chiles, catering equally to vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters. Everything comes with rice, the cornbread is GF and the row of community tables amply supplied with hot sauces of every stripe. Good grub, big portions, affordable, hip vibe...easy. Empress Vintage is  small but carefully curated collection of 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s dresses, skirts, shirts and pants for men and women. Plus jewelry a few fun items from Homestead Apothecary, an oasis of herbal medicine, botanical inspired art, class and more in the uber hip Temescal Alley.
And if you feel like celebrating the East Bay, you might check out the Eastlake Music Festival this weekend at the revamped Lake Merritt Blvd Ampitheater. All day, all ages, free. Check out the lineup HERE.