These two stores are located right in downtown Lafayette on Lafayette Circle. Reminds me of what downtown would be like in the 1950s, during a quiet, simpler time. Anyone remember the 50s? Was this what it was like? Or is this closer to the 60s-70s?
These two stores are located right in downtown Lafayette on Lafayette Circle. Reminds me of what downtown would be like in the 1950s, during a quiet, simpler time. Anyone remember the 50s? Was this what it was like? Or is this closer to the 60s-70s?
Last week I noted on the closing of Handlebar Toys in Happy Valley Plaza in Lafayette, and now Lava Pit Fire Grill, located next to Trader Joe’s in the same strip mall has closed as well. The one in Orinda is still open for business based on the sign in the window. Were there any fans of this place?
From the Lafayette Town Hall Theatre Company:
Doors @ 6PM
Music @ 7PM
$40 In Advance
$45 At the DoorFeaturing:
Stevie Coyle – Founding Member of The Waybacks
Pat Nevins & Friends
Drew Harrison – of The Sun Kings
Kiki Stack of Dream Posse
Dan Durkin of Petty Theft
Katy & Dell of Dream Posse with John Jordan
Gary Peare’s Ukulele Express
PLUS Young Performers from Town Hall Education’s Pirates of Penzance, Jr. and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown!More Acts to be Announced!
Handlebar Toys in Lafayette has closed. A sign posted in the store window says:
After 42 Historic Years, HANDLEBAR TOYS has closed its doors. Thank you to all our loyal customers over the years…
Lamorinda Weekly has an article about the closing here.
Photo by Flickr user starwarsblog
The Lafayette Library and Learning Center is hosting a Star Wars party for elementary and middle school kids tomorrow, May 1st from 3pm – 4:30pm. From their website:
Hang out with Star Wars reenactors, eat Cheetos (don’t be a Hog!), dance the Twist, and have fun like it’s the PTA Fun Night at McQuarrie Middle School. Celebrate finishing “The Strange Case of Origami Yoda”! For 4th-6th graders.
Metro, located in a parking lot across from Whole Foods is not in the prettiest area in Lafayette, but the California-French food and ambiance is upscale. You can see their lunch menu here, and dinner menu here. From their website:
The menu features an eclectic mix of California-French dishes including Tiradito of Hamachi with papaya, carrots, blood orange, chili & ponzu; Roasted Butternut Squash Tortelloni with sage-brown butter; Spicy raw Tuna Poke with sesame rice crackers; Gnocchi Parisienne with winter vegetables & Reggiano cream sauce; and Misoyaki Black Cod with cilantro steamed rice, sauteed spinach & yuzu-ginger sauce.
Metro Lafayette is located ta 3524 Mt. Diablo Blvd. Any must order items?
A few months ago Traction Bikes moved from Pleasant Hill to downtown Lafayette, at 3568 Mt. Diablo Blvd, right next to the Milosport snowboarding store. They are an independent bike shop run by owner Mike Brain who ran the first mobile bike repair business in Contra Costa County way back in 1982.
Check out the inside:
They offer bikes for both serious and casual riders, as well as children. Their Facebook page is here. Lafayette now has downtown 3 bike shops, Traction Bikes, Sharp Bicycle and Hank & Frank Bicycles.
Lafayette’s 7th annual Earth Day celebration will be held at the Lafayette Library & Learning Center in Lafayette this Sunday, April 22nd. From their website:
Sustainable Lafayette, the Lafayette Library and Learning Center, the City of Lafayette, and the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce invite you to Lafayette’s 7th annual Earth Day Picnic & Celebration! For over 40 years, Earth Day has inspired and mobilized individuals and organizations worldwide to demonstrated their commitment to environment protection and sustainability. In Lafayette we will be celebrating our efforts to protect our environment with a community celebration at the beautiful Lafayette Library.
Fresh, Organic Food
- Enjoy a great organic lunch el fresco from a variety of wonderful food providers and food trucks: Whole Foods, Fist of Flour, Nature’s Bounty, and Bookmark Cafe.
Family Entertainment
- Listen to live music from local musical bands at the outside library ampitheater (near the book statue). The Gypsy Chix will perform 11am – 12:30pm. Dream Posse will perform 1pm-3pm.
- Stop by the Arts and Sciences Center for special kids crafts, face painting and interactive activities by Lindsay Wildlife Museum and Lawrence Hall of Science.
Back to the Table Cooking School will be opening in July in Lafayette next to Queen Bee at 271 Lafayette Circle. In addition to cooking classes they will also offer space for local, home-based business that need extra space and equipment. From their website:
We are excited for our grand opening of Back to the Table, planned for July 2012. Sisters Leslie Pease and Lisa Evaristo had the concept of a cooking school and production kitchen space in Lafayette. Seeing a need to bring cooking and family meals back, they then discovered a need in our community for‘home based’ businesses to have the proper space and equipment to work. The brand new Cooking school and Production kitchen will provide that proper space for your culinary creations with “state of the art” and new professional equipment.
Check out the equipment they have available in their 2 story building:
The equipment that is available on the first floor cooking school:
- 2 Double gas ovens
- 6 burner gas range
- Industrial refrigerator
- Industrial freezer
- Microwave
- Food Processor
- KitchenAid mixer
The equipment that is available on the second floor production kitchen:
- 4 Full size convection/conventional gas ovens
- 6 burner gas range
- 10 –ft x 10-ft walk in refrigerator
- 8-ft x 8-ft walk in freezer
- Microwave
- 60 quart mixer
- Two 8 feet work tables
- Cooling racks
- Food Processor
- Scale
- Private 2 x 5 work stations available.
- Space available for packaging and staging product
- Internet connection
Since the Viking store (and cooking classrooms) closed in Walnut Creek, it looks like this will be a great addition to the neighborhood for cooking classes. I look forward to seeing what kind of classes will be offered.
SFGate’s top 100 Bay Area Restaurants list came out this month and the only restaurant to be listed in Walnut Creek is Va de Vi. Lafayette garnered none. In fact Va de Vi was the only restaurant listed in all of Contra Costa county. What about Ottavio in downtown Walnut Creek? Or Pizza Antica in Lafayette? What Walnut Creek/Lafayette restaurants should have been included?
When people wrote in to complain about lack of Walnut Creek and east bay restaurants, this is what the critic, Michael Bauer had to say:
The simple answer is that the restaurants are better in San Francisco and Napa Valley.
…I realize that it often boils down to location, and people will accept a slightly inferior experience to avoid the hassle of fighting the traffic, paying tolls, avoiding the homeless and everything else that goes with living in an urban center.
Not everyone agrees with some of the selections, but I don’t see how most people would argue that restaurants in Livermore, Berkeley or Mill Valley could compete with what’s in the city.
Is Bauer correct in his thinking here?