Citra Grill opened just last week and based on customer feedback they have already lowered prices on many of their menu items.
The left-hand column includes one skewer, and the right-hand column includes two skewers, almost 50% less expensive than the original price:
Soups and salads are less expensive as well:
It’s good to see Citra Grill responding to feedback to improve the new restaurant.
From the parking lot that brought you reserved parking for Adults with Children, comes Hybrid Parking Only parking spots. Sorry Nissan Leaf and Tesla owners, your cars are not welcome at these spots.
Photo by Flickr user thepartycow
The Walnut Creek Police Association is reporting a larger than normal spike in home robberies in Walnut Creek, including those where residents are at home at the time of robbery, which is pretty disconcerting to say the least.
From their Facebook page:
We are seeing a fairly significant spike in residential burglaries around town. We are on track to surpass last year’s numbers and this does not even account for increases we traditionally see toward the end of the year. Most frightening is the number of burglaries occurring when residents are home. In the past few weeks there have been multiple incidents of “interrupted” burglaries where property owners come home and find one or more people inside their house. In some cases the residents have been physically confronted by the burglar but thankfully there have been no serious injuries. Last week we also had a case of a suspect breaking into a home to steal property as the residents slept. Most burglaries occur during daytime hours when residents are away so these trends are disturbing. Please remember to lock your doors and windows. Also remember one of the best defenses against a break-in is a close-knit neighborhood where people watch out for each other and call us when they see suspicious activity.
Props to the Walnut Creek Police Association for keeping us up-to-date on crime issues around town as well as providing crime-prevention tips. What would you do if you encountered a robber in your home? I’d call 911 ASAP and try to escape if possible.
Va de Vi in Walnut Creek is hosting a dinner for the Lindsay Wildlife Museum to raise money for rehabilitation and educational programs on September 9th at 5pm. The dinner reservation is $75 and can be reserved here. From their website:
Mark your calendar for a delightful evening at Va de Vi Bistro & Wine Bar in Walnut Creek, recognized for the eighth year running as a Top 100 Bay Area Restaurant by the San Francisco Chronicle. Proceeds will help fund the rehabilitation and education programs at the museum. Nan and John Walz and the partners of Va de Vi look forward to seeing you there.
Back in May I noted that Loot Antiques was closing in Lafayette, and also mentioned that a cupcake chain would be possibly moving in. Well, this has now been confirmed thanks to an email from a reader. SusieCakes will be opening up shop sometime in the Fall at the old Loot Antiques store at 3598 Mt. Diablo Blvd, next to Pizza Antica in Lafayette.
SusieCakes started out in Southern California and currently has 3 Northern California locations, one in Marin, one in San Francisco, and one in Menlo Park, so an East Bay location seems well thought-out. It will not be a franchise, but rather owned directly by SusieCakes.
From their website:
SusieCakes is an all-American bakery offering home-style dessert favorites baked entirely from scratch. Our classic treats are made daily by in-house bakers, using the freshest & finest ingredients. Come visit us for delicious, sentimental sweets and a friendly, old-fashioned neighborhood experience.
This interview with SusieCakes founder Susan Sarich by Forbes has quite a bit of information about the founder as well as the bakery. It looks like they will offer plenty of custom cakes for all kinds of celebrations, baked on-site with natural ingredients.
Although I’m not a big cake eater, I look forward to checking out SusieCakes to try a cookie every now and then. Yum!
A new belly dancing studio has opened in Lafayette called Shimmy Dreams, and is owned by Lafayette resident Dawn Morrison, AKA Samira Dawn. Located at 1018 Almanor Ln, right off Mt. Diablo Blvd, the studio shares space with Rhythm Room Dance and other dance studios.
Dawn has been a belly dancing professional for 14 years, and in the past was on the US National Synchronized Swimming Team with the Walnut Creek Aquanuts. She has also taught various fitness classes such as Yoga and Pilates.
From the Shimmy Dreams website:
Within a year of doing group classes and private lessons I took my first dive into professional dancing at restaurants, private parties and corporate events. The El Morrocco in Pleasant Hill, Kasba in San Rafael, Marrakech in San Francisco, Tanjias in Oakland, Bijan in Walnut Creek, Plaza Mediterranean in Blackhawk, and India for U in Antioch, all have been fabulous restaurants to dance at over the years. I have taught regular belly dance and exercise classes at 10 facilities. From 2007-2009 I was fortunate enough to co-direct Dansoleil Belly Dance in Brentwood California with the fabulous- Talia Soleil.
Shimmy Dreams offers a cardio belly dance class, as well as beginning and advanced classes, and plans on forming a belly dancing troupe to perform at nearby festivals. Check out the complete schedule here. I believe Shimmy Dreams is the only belly dancing studio in the Lafayette/Lamorinda area, so if interested drop by since the first class is free.
From the City of Walnut Creek website:
Mayor Bob Simmons will lead a walk in Rossmoor on Saturday, Aug. 11 as part of his “Walnut Creek Walks” initiative.
While Rossmoor is a gated community, this Second Saturday Walk is open to the general public.
The walk begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Tice Valley Gymnasium parking lot, and will cover slightly more than 4 miles and 450 feet of elevation. Participants should be in good physical condition and able to hike on uneven terrain as walkers venture into the open space.
Walkers will go from the Tice Valley gym through the Rossmoor gate, and then go up the steps just inside the gate until they reach the rock on which the initials “JWT 1855” are etched into the rock. ‘JWT’ are the initials of James William Tice.
The hike will continue on the trails in the open space on the northeast side of Rossmoor, ultimately leaving the open space and walking down to the Creekside Complex before returning to the Tice Valley gym.
There is no need to register in advance. Walkers should wear sunscreen and a hat, and bring water. Departure time is firm, so please don’t be late!
To learn more about Walnut Creek Walks, visit www.walnut-creek.org/walks.
Back in May I noted that Tangelo Frozen Yogurt was ‘coming soon’ to the Rheem Shopping Center in Moraga, and if everything goes as planned it looks like it’ll be opening up this Saturday, August 4th. Check out their Facebook page here which has photos of the progress inside. When I took a peek yesterday they were trying the frozen yogurt in the back of the store (if you look closely you can see them in the above photo). Walnut Creek has plenty of frozen yogurt options inlcuding Coco Swirl, Blush and Yogurtland in Walnut Creek, but this will be the only frozen yogurt shop in Moraga. Tangelo Frozen Yogurt is located at 384 Park St. next to Lamorinda Pizza in Moraga.
Check out the new signage at Zebra Tatoo & Body Piercings in Walnut Creek. Look closely and you can see the sign itself has a piercing and is sporting a ‘sign’ ring, while above it is a hand-held tattoo machine used to create tattoos. How cool is that? Apparently this sign almost wasn’t approved by the city but the sign maker had some influence and so here it is.
Photo by Flickr user ▲ e-basak
Being that we’re right in the midst of the 2012 London Summer Olympics, I have been watching a lot of the Olympics thanks to Tivo. Based on the number of swimming clubs and swim meets that take place around here I imagine swimming is one of the most popular sports to watch, although having taken up running this past year I’m looking forward to track and field starting today. I wish NBC would broadcast less popular sports occasionally as I wouldn’t mind seeing archery, track cycling and judo. What is your favorite Olympic sport to watch?