March 2012 – Page 7 – Beyond the Creek

Judging Cafes – Walnut Creek Neiman Marcus Cafe

March 8, 2012 11:30 am

Last week I wrote about the new Neiman Marcus Cafe in downtown Walnut Creek, aka NM Cafe, and yesterday I finally had a chance to see it in person. It looks nice, although it’s rather small. Take a look at the prices in the menu after the jump and it starts to make sense why. They offer mostly soups, salads, and sandwiches, but also have filet mignon Chimichurri and salmon main courses, in addition to a kids menu. They won’t be taking reservations until March 24, but they offer pagers so you can walk around while waiting for your table.

This is a view of the cafe to show that it’s next to a window, although it’s obscured, as it might get too much sunlight.

Check out the menu and closeup photo of a table after the jump

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Judging Dressing Rooms – Walnut Creek Neiman Marcus

March 8, 2012 8:30 am

As part of the press tour yesterday at the new Walnut Creek Neiman Marcus store, I was able to take some photos inside the men’s and women’s dressing rooms. Above is the entrance to the women’s dressing room. Note the artwork over the bench and the wall decor behind the dresses. It’s quite exquisite.

This is right inside the men’s dressing room. Note the cocktail shaker and Martini glasses on top of the custom made dresser.

Check out more photos of the dressing areas after the jump

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First Look – Walnut Creek Neiman Marcus

March 7, 2012 5:30 pm

The Walnut Creek Neiman Marcus will finally be open to the public on Friday March 9, and I was fortunate to be able to get a sneak peak. As far as stores go, it’s pretty incredible, with plenty of attention to detail. There is artwork throughout the store displayed by local artists which I’ll cover in a future post. The photo above is on the first floor in the center of the store. Notice the Gucci shop in the back. There is also a Chanel shop, exclusively available in the East Bay.

As you enter the main entrance you will encounter the, “Fashion Runway“, as noted by the VP of store development Ignaz Gorischek, which changes every week or so with the latest fashion setup by the store’s fulltime stylist. It’s not on a raised platform so as to be accessible to people who can check out the merchandise up close.

Check out more photos after the jump

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Walnut Creek Yacht Club Offering “Oysters 101” Class March 24th

March 7, 2012 11:30 am

Photo by Flickr user pelican

The Walnut Creek Yacht Club restaurant is offering an Oysters 101 class on Saturday, March 24th from 2pm – 4pm. Cost is $30, call to reserve your spot. From an email:

Do you like oysters? Did you ever think that you’d like to learn more about those beautiful bivalves that you slurp down with such satisfaction here at WCYC?

If so, then join Chef Kevin Saturday March 24 on the Aft Deck from 2-4pm when he’ll explain all things virginicas, gigas, and what the deal is about months without an R in them.

You will taste several different kinds of oysters, and will sample a number of different beverages (adult), and decide which is your favorite pairing. You will even learn how to open those stubborn bad boys if you so desire. At the end of the class Chef Kevin will issue you your own “Expert in all things Oyster” certificate, suitable for framing.

$30/person

Space is very limited for this class. Call now for your place.

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Question of the Day: Should Safeway be Allowed to Build at Shadelands?

March 7, 2012 8:30 am

There is a proposed plan where Safeway would turn a 25 acre plot they own into a giant 55,000 Safeway store with a pharmacy. This plot currently houses Safeway offices and is next to the Shadelands Business Park at Ygnacio Valley Road and Oak Grove. To do so, the zoning would need to be converted from commercial to retail and some Walnut Creek residents would not like to see this project go forward. Some of the reasons given against building are:

too much competition for the Citrus Circle shopping center and Encina Grande center
destroy the open space with trees and animals
Shadelands Business Park will shed professional jobs as new businesses decide to go elsewhere

You can read more about the latest committee hearing on this Safeway plan here. Check out the official Shadelands Gateway Plan here.

So should Safeway be allowed to build a giant Safeway at this location? Do any of these reasons hold water? Does that part of Walnut Creek even need another Safeway considering there is already a Safeway across the street? Maybe the Encina Grande Safeway is too small to remodel possibly.

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The Art of Walnut Creek Neiman Marcus

March 6, 2012 4:34 pm

I spotted this window display a couple of weeks ago and it turns out this is actually part of the Neiman Marcus Walnut Creek art collection. Titled, “Second Nature”, it was designed by Esther Traugot in 2012 using hand-dyed cotton thread and wood sticks. The Neiman Marcus post notes that it’s located in the Men’s Furnishings section, which, judging from the outside, we know is at the corner of Mt. Diablo Blvd. and N. Main St. Walnut Creek Patch also has a post on the Neiman Marcus art at Walnut Creek.

More information from the Neiman Marcus post:

The Walnut Creek store has 85,000 sq. ft of retail space on two floors plus a third level for administrative offices. There are approximately 160 artworks comprised of paintings, sculpture, works on paper and limited edition prints from 30 Bay Area artists, in addition to the site-specific, kinetic sculpture by Ned Kahn commissioned for the exterior of the building. Half of the interior works are commissions and half were existing pieces. Some artists are represented by more than one work.

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Sign of the Day – Grammar Edition

March 6, 2012 11:30 am

Can you spot the error? When a reader mentioned a sign at a downtown Walnut Creek restaurant last week I thought it was going to be a small hand-written sign, but this sign is HUGE. The apostrophe in “it’s” indicates a contraction of “it is” or “it has”, so in this case it should be, “SOUL FOOD AT ITS BEST”.

I don’t get it because I thought this was a chain restaurant, so maybe there is some history to this usage?

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Judging Stores – Little Tibet Gift Shop

March 6, 2012 8:35 am

The Little Tibet Gift Shop is located in the same passageway that the new drawing studio A Colorful Mind and Norf London is located, at 1341 N. Main St. in downtown Walnut Creek. As you’re walking down N. Main St. towards Neiman Marcus, turn right right before the Rochester Big & Tall clothing store in the covered passageway and it will be on your right, a few stores down.

They have been in this location for over 5 years, and also have a shop in Berkeley, one of the oldest Tibetan stores in the Bay Area. They offer handcrafted Tibetan-Himalayan goods including clothing jewelry, bags scarves, home decor and more. Check out the inside below.

When I was there I picked up a flier that mentioned 15% off everything in the store so keep that in mind if you decide to check it out.

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Sign of the Day – The Original Hot Dog Place

March 5, 2012 4:30 pm

Spotted on the side of The Stadium Pub at 1420 Lincoln Ave in downtown Walnut Creek, the sign says:

THE ORIGINAL HOT DOG PLACE
Est. 1976
Dedicated to Hot Dog
Lovers Everywhere By The
California Hot Dog Historical Society

Does anyone know the story behind this? I understand this used to be a restaurant called “The Original Hot Dog Place”, but surely the California Hot Dog Historical Society is a joke?

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Walnut Creek Library Cafe Opening this Summer

March 5, 2012 11:30 am

The new downtown Walnut Creek library will finally be getting its own cafe serving sandwiches and Peet’s Coffee among other things, to be run by Cafe Pica Deli in Concord. They have operated cafes and restaurants for over 30 years according to a Walnut Creek city agenda report. The agenda goes into quite a bit of detail. For instance, rent will start at $1,250 per month, and the lease will generate $15,000 per year for the city. You can see the entrance to the cafe behind the Walnut Creek Library sign below, located at the corner of N. Broadway and Lincoln Ave. across the street from Maria Maria restaurant.

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