Cafe 15 (Part II), Oakland

I'm having a love affair with Downtown Oakland and Cafe 15 is what started it. This is my new favorite lunch spot--so much so that I've gone back 3 times in the past 4 days and still want to go back again tomorrow.

Every time the food has been consistently fresh, tasty, creative, affordable, and filling. I'm usually hesitant to give out rave reviews to any restaurant, so it's the service that truly puts Cafe 15 over the top. Everyone who works there is so nice despite how crowded it gets, and they seem to truly appreciate their customers.

So far the best things on the menu in my opinion are the oyster po' boy and the rustic potato hash with eggs. The spicy pulled pork sandwich with a green tangy salsa served with a fresh slaw and Cafe 15 burger (with mixed in bacon and onions!), though, are also delicious, as is the fried chicken sandwich. The fried chicken sandwich is *different* from Bette's, so I'm not even going to compare them.

I'm always too full to order dessert, but today I was offered a free sample of their chocolate eclairs. I'll make room for dessert tomorrow.

Cafe 15, Oakland

Wow, what a find!

I haven't been so excited about a new restaurant in a while. Cafe 15 is a super cute little spot behind the courthouse in downtown Oakland. There is very limited seating but the space is cozy and gets plenty of sunlight. Despite it being crowded, we were immediately greeted by the woman at the register who was happy to chat and answer any questions we had. She also offered us a frequent buyer card. They give you a stamp for every $5 you spend, and after 15 stamps you get a free meal.

In addition to a very tempting menu (think Bakesale Betty type food with a lot more options--yes, I just made that comparison), there are a bunch of daily specials written on the board. I went with the blood orange lemonade and the oyster po' boy with cabbage slaw. My friend had the eggs and potato/fennel sausage hash with toast. While the lemonade was a little too tart for our taste, the food was spectacular.

The potatoes in the hash were soft and perfectly cooked. The fennel sausage was flavorful and melded everything together into a filling, delicious meal. My oyster po-boy had three gigantic fried oysters on a soft, buttery roll and came with a crunchy, fresh cabbage slaw.

It's obvious that the people at Cafe 15 truly care about the food they are serving. The service is impeccable, and when you dine in the cooks will actually bring you your food. I loved everything about my dining experience here and cannot wait to go back.

Cafe 15 is located at 597 15th Street in Downtown Oakland, between Clay and Jefferson.

They are open Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Bette's Oceanview Diner, Berkeley

This place has come to be one of my favorite breakfast places in the area. Rachel and I used to always go across the street (from Nolo) to the Westside Bakery and Cafe, and every single time we went, we'd swear to never go again because the food is terrible, the service is terrible, and they are really really really slow. Now that we've found Bette's, we are never going back to Westside.

Bette's is located on Fourth Street in Berkeley, across the street from Eccolo. It is a very small and cute place that serves both breakfast and lunch in and old-time style diner. The service there has been very fast and friendly each time that I've gone there, but make sure to note that they are always very busy--there is usually at least a 15 minute wait each time.

The first time I went to Bette's, I ordered the Maryland Breakfast, which consists of corned beef hash, two poached eggs and toast. The thing I love about their corned beef is that it's fresh and made from scratch. They also cook it well so that it has a nice crispy top to it, but not so it's overcooked--the meat is very tender and the potatoes melt in your mouth. The poached eggs on top are perfectly runny and kind of bring everything together.

My other favorite breakfast at Bette's is the California Breakfast--you get home fries, roasted tomatoes, and toast topped with ham and two poached eggs, covered in a lemon-herb butter sauce. With sourdough toast, this meal is to die for. I sometimes find myself dreaming about the California Breakfast at about 4 a.m. It's very filling, but I never feel heavy after eating it, I think because all of the ingredients are fresh. The eggs are cooked perfectly and the lemon-herb butter has real fresh chives in it. The homefries at Bette's are also pretty exceptional. Unlike most places, they really use a lot of onions and cook the potatoes so that they are crispy and full of flavor. I recommend this meal to anyone.

The beauty of Bette's is that it's a pretty unassuming place in the middle of 4th Street--and all of the meals are at or below $10, which is a really great deal in that area. Go here if you are in the area or just want a really good breakfast.

Bette's is located at 1807 Fourth Street, in Berkeley.
They do not take reservations, but if you want to call them for take-out, they can be reached at (510) 644-3230.

They are open Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Saturday through Sunday, 6:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

They also have a website with the menu and information on the take-out store: http://www.worldpantry.com/bettes/home.html

Crixa Cakes, Berkeley

I had a dream two nights ago that I bought a chocolate cake and ate the entire thing. Unfortunately the dream didn't fulfil my hunger, and I woke up craving cake. Yelp.com is my new reference for food recommendations, so during an as usual busy day at work, I typed "chocolate cake" into their search engine. Crixa Cakes, on Adeline, the first to show up. It was also the first place in Berkeley I had ever seen listed with five stars.

The menu made me crave chocolate cake even more, so immediately after work, I attempted to drive up there. Crixa Cakes is a very cute, small bakery across from that triangle parking lot across from Kirala. Confused? So was I. It didn't help that as soon as I turned on to Adeline from Ashby, there was some sort of crime committed in front of Kirala. Twenty cop cars (including two meter maids!), a fire engine and two ambulances all rushed to the scene, preventing me from continuing down Adeline. After driving in circles for a very long time and trying to figure out what was going on, I reverted back to my original mission. I think the easiest way to find parking for Crixa Cakes is to either park in that mystery triangle lot (is it for Kirala? The mountaineering place?) or to do what I did--I turned down Carleton, made a left, and then made a left Derby and parked along the Volvo dealership wall (not the side of the Co-Op, you need a permit). I'm not sure if this makes sense on a day that 20 cop cars aren't parked on Adeline, but it worked yesterday.

So anyway, this place is very cute. It's tiny, and hard to miss if you aren't walking right in front. They have both outdoor and indoor seating. Online, the Yelp.commers had all raved about the Carmella Cake ($4.75 for a mini cake), so I had to get one:

"Moist chocolate chiffon cake with vanilla whipped cream, bittersweet chocolate mousse, and butterscotch caramel."

And the Cherry Chocolate Mousse Cake sounded amazing as well ($4.95 per slice) so I got a slice of that too:

"Chocolate sponge cake with a light soak of dark rum, tart cherries and creamy bittersweet chocolate mousse."

The New Orleans Bourbon Cake also looked beautiful and chocolatey, but after seeing how huge the slice of Cherry Chocolate Mousse Cake was, I decided to call it quits. Plus, when I asked the woman at the counter which she preferred, she said that the Bourbon one was a little too strong for her. My Asian side cannot handle liquor and the last thing I need is to get drunk off of a cake. Carmella and Cherry Mousse it is.

I got my two cakes to go, but it looked like the place would be fun to hang around in as well--they have a good selection of teas up on the board.

I took the cakes home and after seeing them, Andy immediately got two forks and two giant glasses of milk. These cakes are gorgeous, but they also look very very rich.

We started on the Cherry Chocolate Mousse cake first. I'm trying to be somewhat intellectual with this food blog but honestly, it was just soooooo goooooooood. The bottom layer was a chocolate sponge cake. On top of that was a layer of mousse with cherries and rum, and on top of that, another layer of the sponge cake. It was topped off with bittersweet chocolate mousse. Normally when I've had cakes claiming to have mousse, they've just been frosted with a really rich, thick sugary chocolate layer. No more. This cake was rich but not unbearably rich. The sponge cake was smooth, not too sweet, and very...spongy? The cherries were, as promised, tart and went perfectly with the cake. No, the rum did not get me drunk, there was just a light flavor that complemented everything well. The mousse was the highlight, though--someone at Crixa Cakes really knows how to make a mousse. It was light, almost airy, to go along with the sponge cake. All in all, it was amazing. Even Andy liked it--that says a lot.

We then ate the Carmella. The Carmella was also a taste of perfection. The cake again was light and airy. In the middle, there was some fresh (not too sweet!) whipped cream, and the top was covered in caramel and bittersweet chocolate mousse. Rich, but not heavy, so I definitely kept wanting more. The caramel was not the overwhelming flavor of caramel I usually expect. Everything contained a wonderful buttery and smooth taste. Andy liked this one too, but he said he preferred the Cherry one. When it comes down to it, I'd probably crave the Carmella more.

Go here. Please, go here. It is worth a trip. If you get it to go, make sure you have plenty of milk on hand. As far as portion sizes, I'd say that splitting one Carmella between two people would be pretty satisfactory but I guarantee you'll want more. Crixa Cakes also sells goods that are not of the chocolate cake variety, such as apple cake, pie, and all kinds of other things.

Crixa Cakes:
Tuesday through Thursday: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

2748 Adeline Street
Berkeley, CA 94703
(510) 548-0421

You can check out their website: www.crixacakes.com
Or the reviews on Yelp.com: www.yelp.com/biz/TS07BQsyZqwcEgraAbiMbw