sweet adeline bakeshop in oakland.

although i tried to avoid the bay area trend of gentrification as best i could, sometimes, it's nice to find someplace near one's apartment that sells coffee, makes a decent latte, and doesn't give you the impulse to swiffer the floors. sweet adeline bakeshop was such a haven for me. located just off of alcatraz and adeline, right before it meets mlk for the second time, it was enough a part of the neighborhood to be unpretentious and whole-hearted, and discovering it meant i could stop buying styrofoam cups of folgers (the desperate do desperate things,) from la bayou, which is another story all together. anyway, sweet adeline made a mean soy latte, set soy milk out in a carafe and they were also, don't forget a BAKERY, which meant homemade, fresh foccacia, a different variety several times a week? beautifully decorated cakes, mexican wedding cookies, vegan cookies?! i may love coffee, but damn do i also love baked goods.


the best part? if it's a sunny day, get it to go and cross the street to sit by the 'here / there' statue, another bay area public art treasure.


fine print:

sweet adeline's website:
http://www.sweetadelinebakeshop.com/

photo downloaded from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oakland_HERE-THERE.jpg
and then re-uploaded to / hosted from my flickr for aesthetic, resizing purposes.

corner of third + howard, in soma.

i figure my kick-off post should start in the city, the first part of the bay area i called home. see, back when i was a contributing member of society, i had a job in san francisco. i would wake up at a decent hour every morning, and i point myself towards my favorite coffee shop for fuel (a 'favorite thing' all on it's own;) and hit the pavement to board public transit. i would disembark at powell station, and i always took the same route: head south down 4th, cut west on mission, wind through yerba buena gardens and end up on the corner of third + howard.

it is special for two reasons:

1. this is the location of a great hotel, the W, and their restaurant XYZ. this particular W has more than a few times hailed me a cab, directed me to a restaurant, and allowed me to sit in their outrageously comfortable deck chairs and smoke a cigarette. also their pool is on the roof, and they have that great sculpture of the woman, and XYZ happens to be a really great restaurant that has never let me down... what more could you ask for?

2. the keith haring sculpture diagonally across the street. complimenting the rather drab exterior of the moscone center, 'untitled's dancing figures never fail to please me. no matter how early i am going to work, i can smile and know that i live in a city that cares about the same kinds of art that i do. and, that, friends, is really awesome. also, the colors (coincidentally?) coincide with the title of a very good album by a band called born ruffians.

fine print:
image not owned by me, but found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ax2groin/

W hotel / XYZ reservations:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/index.html
http://www.xyz-sf.com/

born ruffians:
http://www.bornruffians.com/new/