Gisele MacKenzie, album from the 50s (?). Check out the video of “The Song from Moulin Rouge”.
Gisele MacKenzie, album from the 50s (?). Check out the video of “The Song from Moulin Rouge”.
A few weeks ago at this downtown corner in Walnut Creek I was waiting for the light to turn green with some other people including an older, well-dressed couple in their 60s. While waiting a street solicitor repeatedly asked the older man for a donation, referring to the color of his shirt to single him out. As I observed this the man mentioned to his wife how uncomfortable he felt.
So for the Friday question of the day, does street soliciting bother you? Are these legitimate charities?
Heather Farm Park
1540 Marchbanks Dr, Walnut Creek
Saturday, June 8th, 2013
9:00am | FreeThis is a walk between two of Walnut Creek’s amazing non-profit gardens, the Gardens at Heather Farm and the Ruth Bancroft Garden.
The Gardens at Heather Farm is dedicated to inspiring and educating the community about gardening and stewardship practices that preserve and protect the environment. The Gardens at Heather Farm features six acres of gardens used in education programs for people of all ages. In addition, the GHF provides a serene environment for strolling, resting or picnicking with family and friends. One of the highlights are the roses, which come into bloom in May and continue throughout the summer.
The Ruth Bancroft Garden features a world-class collection of succulents, cacti, and other drought-tolerant plants as well as California natives. A highlight each summer is Sculpture in the Garden, where the Ruth Bancroft Garden provides a spectacular backdrop for artists to display their works. On Saturday, June 8, artists will be busy installing their works for the event, which opens Friday, June 14.DETAILS: Meet at 9 a.m. at the Gardens at Heather Farm, 1540 Marchbanks Dr. Park in the parking lot. (Do not park in the Diablo Hills Golf Course lot)
Participants will tour the Gardens at Heather Farm, then walk to the Ruth Bancroft Garden (approximately 1 mile), then tour the Ruth Bancroft Garden. Participants must walk back to their cars at the Gardens at Heather Farm.
Wear a hat and sturdy walking shoes. Don’t forget suncreen and water!Check in at the front door of the Howard Center, which is adjacent to the Gardens at Heather Farm parking lot.
Photo courtesy of Lafayette Juniors
Last week I made the first kitchen of the day post from one of the homes featured on the Lafayette Juniors Kitchen Tour. This Lafayette kitchen was also featured at the Lafayette Juniors Tour this year and features an Ina Garten “Barefoot Contessa” inspired farmhouse kitchen. The kitchen tour supports several non-profit beneficiaries including CoachArt and is held every year in May.
This kitchen features a huge Casa Esmeralda granite island with stools that slide completely under the island when not in use. The design choices all come together really well here. My favorite aspects of this kitchen are the natural lighting and soapstone countertops on the sides. The vaulted ceiling combined with white cabinetry and french doors at right makes the kitchen feel really open and airy throughout.
The kitchen is expansive:
Photo courtesy of Lafayette Juniors
Outdoor dining area right outside the kitchen:
Photo courtesy of Lafayette Juniors
As you can see from the above photo the hillside views are incredible! Note the tennis court in the background. Thanks to designer Kathleen Burke for answering questions during the tour.
If anyone would like to see their kitchen or remodel featured on Beyond the Creek email me a photo at btcreek(at)beyondthecreek(dot)com with location, details and I’ll get back to you.
Last month I noted that Residual Sugar would be expanding next door with a separate pizzeria but now Diablo Dish is reporting that these plans have been canceled due to, “too many building code and fire requirements and regulations for the project to make sense financially”. This is really unfortunate as downtown Walnut Creek needs a nice pizzeria. Downtown Lafayette has Pizza Antica and Patxi’s so why can’t downtown Walnut Creek get a nice pizzeria?
Last month I noted that Mancini’s Sleepworld would be moving a few blocks from their Locust St. location to N. Main St. where the baby store Giggle used to be and the signs are now up. According to a Mancini’s employee I spoke with they’re planning for a mid to late June opening.
Yesterday Diablo Style mentioned that the men’s clothing store JoS. A. Banks would be opening up in this location but as you can see by the sign Mancini’s is definitely opening here. I would have thought a clothing store would have worked well here but that’s not going to happen now.
From the Walnut Creek Police Department:
On Wednesday, May 29, 2013, at approximately 8:50 PM, a female left Nordstrom and entered the second story parking garage. When she approached the door to her vehicle the suspect came up from behind and grabbed her. He then grabbed onto her purse. The victim struggled with the suspect to keep her purse. The suspect was scared off when another women approached. The suspect fled south through the parking garage and down a stairway. The victim was not injured and her purse was not stolen. The suspect was later caught on video surveillance (see attached photo).
If you recognize the subject in the attached photo or have any information please call the Walnut Creek Police Department at (925) 943-5844.
Suspect(s): Hispanic Male Adult, approximately 18 years of age, 5ft 4in tall, short dark hair, wearing a baseball cap and a black and white zip up hooded sweatshirt.
Bruns Amphitheater
100 California Shakespeare Theater Way
Thursday, May 30th, 2013
8:00pm | $35Hailed as a “boisterous, rollicking, surreal…journey into American history” by the Mail Tribune during its sold-out run at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, American Night brings the groundbreaking work of San Francisco’s iconic Culture Clash to Cal Shakes for the very first time. Drawing equally from pop culture and Shakespeare to mint a new kind of history play, writer Richard Montoya has crafted a theatrically deft, story-rich exploration of the immigrant experience that is as heartrending as it is heartbreakingly hilarious.
Barlovento Chocolates espresso truffle
The popular chocolatier Barlovento Chocolates is planning on opening a retail location in downtown Walnut Creek according to someone involved in the search I spoke with recently. They currently have a store in Jack London Square in Oakland as well as stands at the Oakland, Marin and Palo Alto farmers’ markets. I tried their truffles at Citra Grill in downtown Walnut Creek which were delicious so I really hope they open in Walnut Creek.
Check out their truffle menu here. Read about their story here. From their website:
Barlovento Chocolates is an artisan chocolatier with a Farmers Market ethic. We apply the “Fresh and Local” creed of our Farmers Market to every truffle we make. We use 100% Venezuelan single source chocolate, so all the cacao beans come from the Carenero region east of Caracas. Venezuela is known world wide to have the finest cacao. We combine the chocolate with fresh cream and butter to make our truffles. Our flavor ingredients include fresh spearmint, fresh tarragon, herbs and spices and fruit. These hand crafted truffles are made in small batches to ensure you receive them at their peak of freshness. Enjoy!
Over the weekend as I walked towards the Walnut Creek Target entrance (see photo above), I passed by a mother and her children who looked like they were gypsies. At that moment, I saw the mother leap up really high and grab a huge branch from the tree. I did a double take wondering what on earth was going on when I noticed one of her kids climbing the tree. Upon closer look I saw that they were picking what to me looked like unripe plums. I was staring at this scene for a while wondering why they would care about unripe plums when I decided to go up to them and ask. The mother told me it was good and gave me one to try. Indeed they were good. I looked closer and asked her whether they were cherries. No, not cherries but she didn’t know what they were called in English. So I asked her what she calls them and she said in Romanian they are called corcodushe.
It turns out that they are mirabelle plums according to this page. The only inconsistency is that mirabelles are generally yellowish in appearance. Maybe this is a different variety. Or maybe these really are unripe plums? From the wikipedia page:
They are known for being sweet and full of flavour. The fruit is primarily used in jams and pies, and its juice is commonly fermented forwine or distilled into plum brandy. Ninety percent of mirabelle plums grown commercially are made into either jam (70%) or eau-de-vie (20%). The plums are also excellent when eaten fresh.
In Romania, mirabelles are usually eaten before they are ripe. This is when they are sour and hard, but they are still enjoyed all over the country. It is arguable whether or not the fruit is better when ripe.
Maybe Target should can them and sell local Mirabelle plum jam? The next time you’re at the Walnut Creek Target take a close look at these purple trees and see if these are unripe plums or mirabelles. If you see one hanging low enough try it out, they’re quite good.
Can you spot the (mirabelle) plum?
Behold the (mirabelle) plum:
