Amazing coffee shop in Berkeley's Southside. 1951 is a coffee shop that has a focus on supporting…read morerefugees and serves delicious drinks + pastries! They carry out their mission as a non-profit specialty coffee org by providing job training and employment to refugees (more details about their mission are found on their website)! My favorite drinks from 1951 are their Strawberry Lychee Matcha Latte and their Honey Lavendar Latte. It's a good study cafe in my opinion with free wifi, a few outlets, and a good amount of seats. The service is fast - I usually order ahead of time on Snackpass and pick up my order once I get to the store. Highly recommend anyone in the area to check this cafe out!

I wanted to try a new coffee shop, so I ventured a bit further from campus to try 1951 Coffee…read moreCompany. Even with dozens of boba and coffee shops nearby, 1951 Coffee Company was still packed with students around weekend lunchtime. I need a mid-day pick-me-up, and the honey lavender latte was calling my name. I noticed that I was charged an extra $0.25 for the to-go cup, which I suppose is good for minimizing waste but still came as a bit of a surprise on top of the nearly $8 latte. The latte was prepared within minutes, and I took my drink to-go. Sweet and creamy, the latte nicely balanced subtle lavender flavor with a hint of sweetness - without tasting overly floral. Hopefully I won't be in as much of a hurry on my next visit and can enjoy my coffee in the cute cafe.

A Disneyland for cat lovers and cats. A beautiful space with the best volunteers and workers one…read morecould imagine. Only warning is you might fall in love - I know I did. You are important. Yes, you the reader of this right now. You are important to the successful operation of this cat cafe. An important part of this cafe is to socialize the cats with visitors so they become more friendly. Friendly cats get adopted. I found a friendly cat. He came right to the door to sniff me. Then as I entered from one door he was guided to his little stool - very obedient - so well trained I was in awe. His more shy brother always in the background - he would protect him and check me out first to make sure I was ok. The little guy had only interest in my - none of his toys. I gently got closer with some affectionate love pats and scratches. It is a love story of him and his brother and what landed them here. I fell in love with how they were so bonded and took care of each other. My heart melted as they snuggled up together in their little box as I left. If you are curious they are two brothers by the name of some sweet frozen desserts. A cute bonded pair that I spent all my time with there. There are so many other great ones here. I was blown away with the variety of colors and good movie star looks they had. I will be back.

I recently lost my cat after 15 years and have been considering adoption. I found this awesome…read moreplace and decided to check it out. Cat Town's Mission "At Cat Town, our mission is cats. Together, we save the lives of at-risk cats, find them loving homes, and advocate for a future where every cat is valued." The site has a lot of good information about the program, It's history and adoption and foster processes. You can visit the cat Café for 50 minutes with a small entry fee by reserving a space online as well. Lindsey went over the do's and don'ts before taking us inside. The set up is really nice with plenty of toys, food/water bowls and litter boxes. There is a separate area with cats in studios. The color coded signs let you know if you can walk in and visit, if you need to ask a team member or if it's just not a good time for a visit. I enjoyed my time here and met some cute furry friends. Belle answered all of my questions and all staff was super pleasant, I'll be filling out an adoption inquiry soon. The way to enter Cat town is through the souvenir Café next-door. You can grab a coffee, tea or other beverage and a pastry to enjoy before entering the Cat play area or after as there are tables and chairs.

Going, going, gone. I've been coming to this place over the span of a couple years to remove my…read moretattoo and I had my last session today. Rosalind did such a great job, taking consideration for my skin tone and safe and effective removal. The price was very affordable and I've always been seen promptly. I would highly recommend coming here for your services.

Affordable and quick tattoo removal You do have a small…read morewindow o get on the schedule for the month but the with the rates they offer I really don't mind

OK, so there was this event in Jack London Square where they had all these bakeries and candy…read moremakers showing off their goodies, and you know what was off the hook? The chocolate bark with cranberries from the Bread Project. Turns out that they also have a little cafe in the school where they turn out some pretty awesome eats, that are freshly prepared. They purchase their produce in the area. In addition to being a classroom. If you are in the area, stop by, pick up a sandwich or some muffins or the fresh made soup. Also, they cater. Planning a wedding or birthday party? They make cupcakes for $1 each! Whooo whheeee, that's what I'm talking about. Sustainability Education Fresh Eats Easy on the wallet **Support your local nonprofit**

Bought a small summer fruit pie for $5 at their stand in the Emeryville Farmer's Market. First of…read moreall, I haven't seen a pie priced so reasonably for at least 10 years. Second, the crumble on top was sweet crunchy heaven, the crust was perfection and the fruit not overly sweet or loaded with slimy cornstarch. I also tried the generously portioned brownie which was straight from mom's kitchen: cakey, not fudgy. Yum, I'm hooked.

Just updating my previous review. The fridge has since been replaced with a better one, so I'd…read moreraise my rating from 1 to 4.

I added some food to the Free food Fridge on 44th and Telegraph today. It's stocked! I noticed a…read morefresh ready-made salad and some veggies. What a great place to "take what you need, leave what you can." The fridge is actually cold, so people can leave perishables. Such a great idea!

Quick and free, what is there not to love about that? Easy to pull through, in and out in minutes.read more

Mom's microwave started dying but the El Cerrito Recycling Center does not accept microwaves. After…read moresome searching online I found the E-Waste Collective which is a non-profit organization located in Berkeley. (I guess they must have changed their name plus they also have offices and/or location in Novato.) Their website says they do pickups in Berkeley but I called to make sure. I was given another phone number to call and spoke to Adam to schedule a day. Adam was super nice and got Mom's address. They also accepted a broken toaster oven. About 2 hours later I was talking to Mom's neighbor and he asked if he could add his old microwave for pickup. I called Adam back and he was very agreeable and said no problem. He gave me a time between 10-11 am. 2 guys in a van came by a couple of days later at 10:10 am. I went out and spoke to them. Super friendly people too. They try to repurpose parts so it's much better than the entire appliance going to landfill. Definitely would call them again if needed.

I felt as if SSJE tricked me. In the beginning they made it sound like I was lucky to have them,…read morethat everyone was trying to hire them. I was told Gautam Jagannath (the founder) would be representing me, he was who I met with when I first went there, it sounded like a good situation. Until the carpet got pulled from under me: I ended up being set up with a lady working remotely from out of state, who was supposed to then attempt to help me, with extremely limited experience, who had never represented another client with the same kind of case... I ended up dropping them because of this, even after paying them in full in the beginning. I made an attempt to get reimbursement, or even a partial reimbursement, with no response from SSJE. I suggest if you sign a contract with them, you make it extremely clear on what services you will get from them, AND WHO WILL REPRESENT YOU. Don't trust the "...or any other SSJE representative" line, because you may end up screwed like I did. They told me they needed payment in full before accepting me as a client because some people "ended up not paying them" - I wouldn't be surprised if some of those people not paying, experienced something similar to what I experienced. Spend a little more, get someone else who doesn't give you the runaround.

The Lawyers at SJC are really nice, they are very prompt at getting back to you, they are very…read morehonest, which is really hard to find nowadays. Their prices are WAY below market and they have lots of experience. Thanks for helping me and if I need help again I will call you guys. Thanks.

Chapter 510's workspaces are as suitable as any in all of Oakland to hold literary group meetings…read moreand literary events. Their staff is experienced, knowledgeable and incredibly helpful

If you seek whimsy; if your house crest shines bright in a thousand shades of Bic-pen ink; if you…read morefear neither lava floor tiles nor sand in your boots, seek out Oakland's Department of Make Believe! I visited the brand-spanking-new and super-cool space on December's First Friday, and it was poppin'. A local band jammed on the pulpit-turned-stage; guests milled and chatted and sketched on huge slices of paper spread out on the tables; the organization's founders buzzed and zipped around, offering plastic bubbles with paper slips inside, fortune-cookie style - prompts to capture conversations with fellow make-believers. (There were also enchiladas and rice and beans, but I don't think that's an always-thing.) The nonprofit takes cues from like-minded writing centers like 826 and NaNoWriMo, but is by no means cookie-cutter. With inspirational merchandise whose packaging is a meld of 1960s cereal boxes and high-tech spy gear, an ACTUAL CHALKBOARD WALL that covers the entire east side of the ginormous writing room, and a sandbox populated by superheroes and smallish plastic animals, the atmosphere is of the "I'm-never-leaving" kind. And that's not even taking into account the stellar staff and what they do there. The org's mission is to help Oaklandish youths unleash their creativity, and their aesthetic hits the nail on the head: whimsical, engaging, a little tongue-in-cheek, it's sure to draw in scads of writers looking to express themselves through zany mediums like sassed-up waiting room forms, collective collages, and story prompts popped out of gumball machines. Basically: mount your steed/your Huffy/the 72M bus and GET THERE! (Appointments frowned upon and poked hard with a stick.)

I started out at the sheds on 27th. Great staff and awesome food. Only problem with this…read moreorganization and place is person named Ginger!! She has the worst attitude and will make everything for you as hard as she can. Not a good fit for Operation Dignity or the homeless she speaks or deals with. Great organization terrible person. I have spoken to people that have moved from here because of her. Great place to start your journey off the street. I still miss the food.

Just made a donation to help!!…read more Seem like very friendly people!! Glad to be a part in whatever way!!

David has been a phenomenal resource as I have embarked on building an Executive Coaching business…read more Lots of very positive energy, helpful suggestions and strategic framing on business development and marketing. I highly recommend David for support in framing out a new business idea and ensuring that you are focusing on the right things at the start. Five stars all the way!

I called David today, after going through a rough patch yesterday when my small business was…read moretemporarily banned from Mailchimp. I realized it was time for some outside assistance. I can't rely 100% on my own limited experience. David Mitroff (the man in the picture) was extremely generous with his time over the phone. I told him abt a potentially risky sales contract I was considering. He took at least 20 minutes to go over with me how I can mitigate that risk and what I should do to prepare for negotiation. He did not have to do that. But he wanted to make sure I didn't get scr3w3d over. He didn't want to see me fail. For that reason, Piedmont Avenue will be the first place I come to once I'm ready for a deeper strategic conversation and more hands-on assistance. Will update once I have more to say. Thanks David!