What a lovely evening in The Creek. How different it is there than i the streets I more…read morecustomarily travel. So pale. So placid. Not in a bad way. A passel of patriots plied the portals of perfection for a handful of hours last night, passing from place to place, pleasing our palate with the plenty poured ... Stop. Sorry. It was a lot of fun. A dozen or so eateries and shops and a piano store to visit, each with a small sample of their fare or something they brought to get us in the door. The crowd wasn't huge, the beneficiary of the gate a lovely organization about which I'd like to learn more. I think I liked those little sausages in a taco proffered at Stelle Bistro the best of all. While my big hands made the sausages look so small once I wrapped my lips around them there was no turning back. I had two. They were so good. Nique, Jayzee, 'Nessa and I tripped those lights fantastically. The evening's end on the couches at Residual Sugar sipping the bubbles thank you very much for the bubbles, my dear, was as pleasant a group together as I've had in a very long time. We didn't Gallop. We strolled. We're from Oakland, after all.

Now this was one nice little fun walking adventure I must say! A self-paced guided tour of Walnut…read moreCreek, in which it was created to raise funds and help students of the Diablo Ballet. I can't say I've ever been to an actual ballet performance, but after meeting the staff and supporters that put this event together; I wouldn't mind checking out one of their shows in the future. Just to show my support. The great thing about this event was that it began at one of my favorite places, Massimo! We checked in, started out with a serving of Cesar salad, pasta, and garlic bread. A good starting location, as you explored that map and scheduled your adventure. I've already done over half of the places listed, like: Massimo, Walnut Creek Yacht Club, Lark Creek, Hamachi, SF Creamery Company, Lottie's Creamery, Silk Road, The Counter, and Peet's Coffee. But I would have to highlight where I stopped: ~Massimo's soft penne pasta bolognese! Perfect! ~WC Yacht Club's watermelon gazpacho with shrimp and pine nuts! Delish! ~Lottie's served up some floats! Loved the root beer and orange flavored soda! ~Silk Road had some fresh hummus and flatbread with chicken pomegranate. This was some serious stuff! I should've asked for a second serving. ~The Counter: Sweet potato, onion strings, and parmesan garlic fries. Ok, but not a fan. Highlights of new places I've never stepped foot in, until now: ~Steinway Piano Gallery - Served up some wine from Las Positas Vineyards. Sorry, didn't like the wine, but loved the background music from the pianist. ~SkinSpirit - Serving Laughing Glass Cocktails and L'Artisan Gourmet Parisian Macarons. Unfortunately I gave up drinking, but gave the drink a sip and knew it was too good for me to finish. As for the macarons, they were OK only a little too soft for me. ~54 Mint Forno - Wow, my third favorite stop. A new WC bakery discovery. Loved the samples, but recommend everyone to take home one of their quiche's. Egg buttery goodness! ~Opa! - My second favorite stop. Why? Because everyone should try their spanakopita. Super flaky and made just right. As was their dolmas. It wasn't overly lemony like most places make it. Damn near perfect! ~We Olive - MY FAV! Enjoyed the ladies that helped me out. I sampled everything and very much plan to come back. This place gets its own personal highlights because of the variety of balsamic and olive oils. Ellen displaying her Chubtastic Wine Bottle Art as well. I wish I knew of this place long ago. Oh, and the brownie/wine combo...mmm!!! Overall, if you haven't really explored Walnut Creek, then this would have been a great opportunity to do so. And also a great way of showing your support for the hard working ballet students. If this continues next year, I shall plan to gallop once again. My only negative star would be because, I didn't see fellow yelpers flaunting any Elite name badges :(

When we'd have a swim meet in Vallejo I'd feel defeated before we got there: Close by- definitely a…read moreplus- but facilities run down from the early/mid 1960s. The town feels the same way. Uneven pavement that'll rattle your teeth on some streets; ranch houses for hard working people living by paycheck; higher than average crime; car sideshows. But such modest beginnings often incubate amazing talent. Native born residents include Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin, Grammy and Oscar winning artist H.E.R. and familial roots for Zendaya whose father is from Vallejo though she grew up in neighboring Oakland. Vallejo's motto should be: "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow."

New and improved Transit buses. They are beautiful. My bus connection have been to SolTrans ,The…read moreVine of Napa,Amtrak and Greyhound. I hope to take the Ferry sometime to San Francisco Ferry Terminal. This is a fun City, never a dull moment.

This mural is on the end side of a long commercial building. The front end of the mural is blocked…read moreby a parked vehicle, preventing a video to be taken accurately. It was drawn over a period of years by various students, individuals. The style of same intimates the artists are talented amateurs, not professionals.. Creators: Clayton Valley Charter High School A. P. Art students, Mr. Hughes, Emma P, Kate A, Alessandra

We wanted to try a new plans decided on this place. We found this place on yelp. It's in a shopping…read morecenter so there's plenty of parking. It's a small place but there is a good amount of seating. As soon as you walk in you can see the menu. You can also see the refrigerator with all the fresh food. The man who helped us was very nice and helpful. I like that you can create your own sandwich place. I also loved that they had pepperchinis. The Dutch crunch bread was delicious. The portions are generous and they put a lot of meat. It is a little pricey but they definitely make up for it in the size of the sandwich. It was very filling I ate on half for lunch and the other for dinner. Definitely worth checking out sandwiches are delicious!

One of the best softball leagues in the East bay. Played here for many years in both mens and coed…read moreleagues. League is super well run and maybe too much of a stickler for the rules but overall a fun place to play. The best thing was hanging out after and having beers - sometimes till late in the evening. The league had dwindling quite a bit over the last few years simply because the city of Walnut Creek has raised the prices and priced themselves out of lots of teams. My last team ended up moving to the Concord league becuase it was way cheaper and had more games but I do miss playing in Walnut Creek a lot. The prices they charge now are outragoues and it's not the people running the league's fault, it's the city of Walnut Creek who thinks everyone playing is rich. There's a team fee, a player fee and then even an add fee. So you end up forking out 1300-1400 for one 14 game season which is super high compared to the other leagues around. Val, the last person to run things when I was out there was awesome. I still get asked by friends to come out and play and I will at some point as a fill in, if anything, just have to the little after game parties that were so fun.

So I'm not a big sports fan. Not a big baseball/softball fan…read more Color me surprised when I came here to support my BF and his coworkers as they played in the Engineering league. It's a bit of a drive if you're coming from San Jose (like me) but not that far if you live in the East Bay. It took me a while to figure out the layout of this place but once I did, it was super easy. It's a two lane road so be careful of where you turn in for parking and where you exit. The fields are nice, clean, and well groomed. The umpire and the officials keeping score are friendly and well-organized. Once it gets dark, the lights go on and they're really bright! The bleachers could use an update as some are beginning to warp but they are stable. Bring blankets or something to sit on or to wrap yourself in as the nights get a bit chilly. Sadly, the league kept getting rained out on Tuesdays for most of May and so the games were efficiently rescheduled and disseminated. Everyone knew when and where they had to play. There's a small snack stand past Field 4 that offers candy, ice cream, and hot dogs. I know one team did a bbq and brought all their own things which made all of us envious! It's a great time to tailgate! But for now, I'll keep bringing some sandwiches (banh mi!) for my BF and cheer his team on. Go team!

Ha! I'm glad that someone added this to yelp. I hate that all these "hipsters" sit on the median…read more"in defiance" of the sign that clearly says do not. As if sitting in the middle of a bunch of car exhaust while eating pizza is somehow going to enhance the flavor... Its even more sad when they all stand around the median blocking traffic so they can pose with the sign whilst holding their greasy slab of pizza up and doing that peace sign thing for photos for their cyworlds or myspace or facebook or what have you... Grow up. It's dangerous, gross, annoying and most of all EMBARRASSING!

The day when people stop eating Cheeseboard on the median is the day I mourn the a great…read morecooperative-owned pizzeria and everything it stands for. It's a testament to how good the pizza is--as if the line down the street didn't already say enough. It's a testament to how good food can create impromptu community spaces, even if there's a sign that says it's not allowed. When the sun is out, the patches of shade on the grassy median are ideal, and even sometimes preferred over the tight space that the restaurant has to offer. You can still here the live music that they have at lunch and dinnertime. Just--pay attention when crossing the street. And if you're driving, beware jaywalkers with slices of pizza in their hands!

***GRAND OPENING*** for 'Off the Grid' in Pittsburg, California…read more Got off work and battled traffic on hwy 4 to get home and enjoy a beautiful Friday afternoon in my town. The excitement of something fun and cool finally gracing downtown Pittsburg with it's presence was overwhelming! Parking was tough, everyone in Pittsburg turned out for the event. I would suggest carpooling with friends in the future. The weather was perfect, the people were in great spirits, the music was on par, low riders, motorcyclists, show cars, ***the works***. !!! There's no place like home !!! There were four food trucks and a small trailer for beer. The lines were tremendous at each truck. Off the Grid truly failed to plan for this event. I can understand that many of my favorite OTG trucks would not make the journey out and sit in traffic for this event. However, if Off the Grid promises to deliver...they should do just that. I chose to stand in line for 39 minutes at the taco truck because I spotted the small, square, green sign indicating gluten free options. They had one gluten free taco to offer and I'm certain cross contamination was present (I had a reaction after consuming the delicious taco - dang Celiac!). The ice cream/fruit freeze truck may have had something gluten free, but due to tremendous wait times, boredom in line, and frustration I didn't check them out. I wish there were more vendors/trucks, it would've made the experience so much better. The lines would not have been as long, people around us wouldn't have been so frustrated, and I would have stayed longer (and spent more $$$). Most of the people were bunched together in the same area creating congestion and making it difficult to explore and wiggle through to the other trucks. Perhaps they should spread out more so people can disperse and comfortably make use of the large open space provided. My friends and I left disappointed but hopeful things would improve with future event. It would be very exciting if Curry Up Now made the journey out (please please please come!) To conclude: Downtown Pittsburg is the perfect chill location for off the Grid events. Unfortunately the first one fell short of expectations.

When you dim sum, go to Chinatown!…read more The oldest and largest Chinatown in America is in San Fran and it offers plenty of Chinese street food classics and of course a wide selection of baked, fried or steamed dim sum. Most shops open at 7 or 8 so get there before the lunch rush as some of the popular ones get sold out. After devouring all the dim sum, explore and walk around. Another must stop is the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory which is a family run shop hand folding cookies since 1962. Watch the ladies fold, pack these iconic cookies and pick up a bag or two to take back home to your friends and family. Places we ate at: GOOG MONK KOK BAKERY WING SING DIM SUM DELICIOUS DIMSUM HOUSE OF DIM SUM GOLDEN GATE FORTUNE COOKIE

A special place in SF…read more Love how many dim sum spots there are, grab and go. Lots of Chinese restaurants too And takeout spots. Really happy about the new businesses opening up here! Yes bring the energy and charm! Parking can be hard so park at Portsmouth Square garage

In the 70's, when I was in the service, stationed in Sacramento, I often drove down to San…read moreFrancisco for the weekend, staying for about $10 per night in the Montgomery Street Barracks which are set alongside the parade grounds, which have since been converted to The Lodge at the Presidio. I spent many of those days in North Beach, regularly visiting City Lights, where the staff taught me how to choose from amidst the mass of books they offered. RIP founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who managed to squeeze charm and pleasantness into the few minutes we spoke, the one time we met. I'd pick one or two books, then head over to Caffe Trieste, where, in my late teens, I tasted my first espresso and first heard operatic music performed live. I'd spend hours, reading and watching people. Later, when I'd get hungry, I'd walk down to Mario's Cigar Shop for a sandwich, or to Stella Pastry for a sfogliatella or (well, plus) a slice of sacripantina cake. Other times, I'd wander the city, learning about architecture and Chinese food and latter-day hippie culture, but when I was on Columbus Avenue, I stayed put. It was home base, and, for me, a comfort zone.

Met here for a networking dinner. Staff was welcoming and polite. Food was delicious and…read moresatisfying. Yummy Gorgonzola and pear salad. Handmade raviolis with amazing bolognese sauce. The waiter said the chef is known for his sauce! The entire entree was superb