my favourite midweek brunch spots

12 February 2017

pizzaiolo-break the food is definitely one of the pros of living in berkeley, not surprisingly. it is very different from portugal, but there is so much choice, and i’m loving exploring our city and around. i find that in the bay area there’s a different lunch concept than what i’m used to, and i like it just fine – most restaurants don’t really do lunch, opening for dinner and some for breakfast/brunch.

i thought i would share my absolute favourite places for midweek late breakfast/quick lunch (in no particular order). i’m an avid reader of 7×7 and eater sf. also, have you heard of the new app spot – for all the best spots recommended by your friends :)

pizzaiolo – for the best avocado toast (when in season), their frittata is insane and so are their pastries and toasts. they make their bread in house and serve four barrel coffee, one of my favourites. pictured above their delicious cheese and chive biscuit and their ricotta, honey and almond toast :)

pizzaiolo pizzaiolo-frittata

bartavelle – for all day breakfast, right up my alley. i’m obsessed with their persian breakfast – sheepsmilk feta hidden under a bunch of greens and herbs, cucumbers, house made fig jam and za’atar (a middle easter spice blend i can’t get enough of).

bartavelle bartavelle-lebnhe-and-avo

sweetgreen – for the most delicious salads and grain bowls. each location works with local farmers, using seasonal ingredients. so lucky this fast casual chain recently opened in berkeley. i’m a creature of habit and always go for the kale caeser and sub the chicken for avocado.

fullsizerender sweetgreen

fournee bakery– i feel like this is berkeley’s best kept secret and i landed right on it – we stayed at the claremont for a month when we first arrived and would literally have breakfast here every day. for a month. i swear by everything they make, breads and pastries. they do sandwiches and pizzas by the slice too, from tuesday to saturday – oh the kale pizza!

fournee fournee-kale-pizza beauty’s bagel shop – montreal inspired wood fired bagels, i’m no bagel specialist but these are are out of this world and will fulfil your bestest bagel cravings. i go for the open faced classic, with lox, cream cheese, red onions and capers. and have yet to try their shakshuka :)

beautys-bagel beautys-bagel-salmon

also, i recently discovered standards fare, a spot focusing on take out, with a few seats and a menu that changes daily. they use some awesome ceramic take-home pots that you just slide in the microwave or oven. and if julia is off school, we will occasionally go to summer kitchen baker shop, they are super kid friendly and have a good wood fired pizza.

are there any places i am totally missing out in the east bay? i usually keep to berkeley and oakland but would love to explore further :)

ps – our first month in berkeley, almost 1 year ago, and my favourite coffee shop in san francisco

the mill sf

23 January 2017

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i’ve been going through a tough blog phase, trying to live life on a more personal way, truly enjoying spending time with my daughter and cherishing my moments alone (= binging on books lately), but the truth is sometimes i do miss blogging, for me, as my diary and my way to register my life… so i might be popping in and out around here :)

this year i’m determined to explore more of San Francisco – we live in Berkeley, which is about 14miles (22km) and there’s plenty to explore here but i’m on a mission to experience a few cool spots on the west bay too.

the mill was probably the first coffee shop i went to in SF, i couldn’t believe its simple yet brilliant concept, they brew amazing coffee and bake exceptionally good bread. their toasts are delicious and vary everyday – look at that ricotta and pesto one below. i have yet to try their pizza night too, on every monday and wednesday.

i keep coming back, i love the feeling of being in a place where no one knows me, and at the same time i feel at home there.

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our first month in berkeley

2 May 2016

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…or how we lived in an hotel for a month.

when we moved to new orleans we stayed at an airbnb for our first month, it worked just fine, but this time around we were lucky to stay at the claremont resort & spa, a fairmont hotel. whilst it was hard not to have our own home (and kitchen!), amongst other things, it was really nice not having to clean or cook for a month. and actually, we felt like we were on a long vacation in our new city.

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our new home in berkeley

19 March 2016

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new-berkeley-home-by-myseastory-5 it;s ovine weekend, finally, and i couldn’t be more excited about it. we’ve been living in an hotel for the past month or so. we’ve had a grew time and feel lucky about it, but believe me, the glamour of staying in an hotel fades away after the first few days.

finding a place in berkeley / oakland turned out to be way harder than i expected, there is a lot of demand, few places available and very few have updated looks. most places are small, have only one bathroom for two bedrooms (this is somewhat deal breaker for us) and many have shared laundry areas. i normally go for the house / apartment with character, walking distance to a park, grocery store and coffee shops. but often these places come with maintenance problems. so this time i’m trying a brand new apartment, not much character in it, but showering where no one’s ever showered before? that’s a good feeling :)

these are the 4 things i like about it – 1) the light that comes in to every room 2) the brand new kitchen, not as dark as most apartments we’ve seen 3) the bathroom tiles and floors 4) the two balconies where i can see myself chilling during julia’s naps. the common areas in the building are pretty cool too and the rooftop can be used for bbq’s, there’s lot’s of sofas and comfy pillows (will show you this some other time).

i managed to sneak in our apartment before all the boxes arrived, and snapped a few pictures if you would like to see.

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