Beyond the Creek

Clay Arts Guild Spring Sale Last Day – Sunday, April 29th (Walnut Creek)

April 28, 2012 10:15 pm

The semi-annual Clay Arts Guild is holding a pottery sale (as well as pottery demonstrations) through Sunday, April 29th, at the ceramic studio at 1313 Civic Drive in Civic Park (next to the Walnut Creek downtown library). Take a look at some of the pottery for sale:

The artists are local and normally use the space to make pottery when not displaying their artwork. When I dropped by on Saturday someone was doing a pottery demonstration which was fun to see, and I thought the overall quality was really high. So if you plan on checking out the last day of the sidewalk sale in downtown Walnut Creek, I recommend dropping by this pottery sale in Civic Park, a short walk away.

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Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society Public Showing Tonight 8 – 10pm

April 27, 2012 4:45 pm

The Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society is holding a public viewing session tonight from 8pm – 10pm. They are located at 2751 Buena Vista Avenue and you can check out their schedule here. Tickets are $3 per adult, children under 6 free. From their website:

The Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society (WCMRS) operates the Diablo Valley Lines (DVL) model railroad, one of the most mountainous and one of the largest exclusively HO scale model railroads in the United States. This model railroad features standard gauge, narrow gauge, and interurban (overhead electric) freight and trolley lines.

At our public shows we invite you to view our permanent 34’x56′ [1,904² ft] layout. The DVL is comprised of approximately 4,300 feet of hand laid track on more than 175,000 individual ties with over 240 turnouts. The model railroad is contained in a purpose-built building designed and constructed by the club members. Diablo Valley Lines is viewable from the 160′ perimeter that includes multiple elevated viewing platforms.

The photo above doesn’t do justice to how large the mountain actually is. It’s HUGE. This is one of the coolest things to check out in Walnut Creek and East Bay. Outside of Christmas showings they only have public showings once per month so now is your chance to check this out this treasure for yourself.

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Opening Today – Elegant Living Furniture

April 27, 2012 11:30 am

In March I noted that U Threads was closing in Broadway Plaza, and it didn’t take long to find a new tenant. The furniture store Elegant Living Furniture will be opening today at 48 Broadway Lane. Check out some of what they have to offer:

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The Case of the Reappearing Police Parking Spot – Walnut Creek Target

April 27, 2012 8:30 am

A couple of weeks ago I noted that one of the police parking spots at the Walnut Creek Target had been removed. Looks like that was just a temporary anomaly as the other one is back now. I wonder what the back story to these parking spots are? They are almost never used yet they take up the closest spots to Target which could be used by customers. Why not put them a couple of rows back? It would still be very close to the entrance. Why have them at all? If there’s an emergency can’t police cars just park directly in front of Target anyway? Can anyone shed some light on this?

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The 5pm Post – Moraga Triathlon on April 28th

April 26, 2012 5:00 pm

photo by Flickr user mkamp

The Moraga Triathlon starts this Saturday, April 28th at 6am and although pre-registration has closed, there will be a limited number of same-day registrations available according to their website. This triathlon will have a 400 meter swim, followed by a 14 mile bike ride, finishing up with a 3.1 mile run. More information is available here. There are also easier 5-7 and 8-11 youth divisions.

A map of the race is available here. For those concerned about the traffic, the Moraga Polic Departement issued this statement:

Next Saturday morning hundreds of bicyclists and runners will be impacting traffic in Moraga. The area around Campolindo High School will be congested with parking and Moraga and Canyon Roads will be used as the bicycle route out to the Canyon Post Office. Camino Pablo will also be impacted as part of the race route. The residential area streets in the Campolindo area will be impacted with runners.

Please mark your calendars and try to adjust your schedules to avoid these areas. Roads will be impacted so please drive slow, heed traffic control monitors, and be safe.

Is anyone planning on doing this triathlon? If so, good luck!

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Corners Tavern to Begin Lunch Service & Outdoor Dining May 1st

April 26, 2012 11:30 am

photo by Stacy Ventura

Corners Tavern recently opened in downtown Walnut Creek in March and will begin serving lunch with an all new lunch menu as well as offer outdoor dining on May 1st. Lunch will be available from 11:30am – 2pm, with a mid-day menu available afterwards until dinner. Check out the lunch menu here. I can’t wait to try the barbecue pork sandwich, pickled peppers, grilled peach salad as well as the Corners burger and house made sausage.

From an email:

Corners Tavern will begin serving lunch on Tuesday, May 1. Open Monday – Friday from 11:30am – 2pm, the menu will feature the same big, bold flavors found on the dinner menu. New lunch favorites will include charred yellowtail fish tacos with green cabbage and avocado cucumber salad; a barbecue pork sandwich with pickled peppers and grilled peach salad; andgrilled skirt steak with spicy butter, grilled green onions and fries.

Corners Tavern will remain open after lunch service with a mid-day menu featuring a limited number of items including salads, the newly added smoked chicken wings, house-made charcuterie, the Corners burger and a variety of light snacks such as the smoked and spiced almonds and duck fat roasted potatoes. The mid-day menu will be a perfect respite for Walnut Creek shoppers looking for a small bite between meals accompanied by a nice, cold beverage. In addition to the new hours, Corners Tavern will open up the outdoor patio for additional seating and (weather permitting) will have the large garage doors at the front of the restaurant open, creating an open-air vibe.

Corners Tavern is located at 1342 Broadway Plaza next to Macy’s and La Boulange Bakery in downtown Walnut Creek. Anyone check this place out yet? You can see the dinner menu here. For the fans, any must order items?

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Recently Opened – Tiny Feet in Orinda

April 26, 2012 8:30 am

Tiny Feet, a new children’s shoe store in the Orinda Theatre Square, opened last December, and is I believe the only children’s shoe store in all of Lamorinda. There is a little play area in one corner and is nicely decorated throughout. Check out the interior below:

If you’re in the market for high quality children’s shoes I would definitely check this place out.

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Vegetable Gardening – The Lasagna Method at Ruth Bancroft Garden

April 25, 2012 4:30 pm

photo by Flickr user faroutflora

The Ruth Bancroft Garden, located at 1552 Bancroft Road in Walnut Creek, is offering a class on vegetable gardening this Saturday, April 28th at 10am.

From their website:

Great layering technique for well fed veggies – no digging, less weeding and less watering!

Cost: $20 General Admission, $12 for Members

To be held at The Ruth Bancroft Garden

For General Admission, purchase tickets here.

Members, please call the office for your tickets.

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Behold – The Neiman Marcus Popover

April 25, 2012 11:30 am

Ever since the Neiman Marcus Cafe opened up in the new Neiman Marcus department store in downtown Walnut Creek last month, I had been hearing about these delicious Neiman Marcus popovers. And when I read that Neiman Marcus would be participating in Restaurant Week which happened last week, I knew I had to go there. If you look at the photo you might think, so what, it’s just a bread roll, but they are made with eggs to give a totally different taste. To top it off, they offer it with strawberry butter, and it’s not even part of the menu, it’s just included with the meal!

The scallop dish below was delicious:

as was the dessert:

What do all three photos have in common? Yes, the irresistible Neiman Marcus popover. Mmmm, yummy! Has anyone been here yet? Any recommended dishes?

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Walnut Creek Resident Charged with False Reporting of a Crime

April 25, 2012 9:30 am

From a Moraga Police Department press release:

On 02-28-12 at approximately 6:55 PM, Moraga Police responded to the parking lot of the Rheem Valley Shopping Center to investigate an armed robbery report. Officers met Yang Chen, a 25 year old Walnut Creek resident, who reported that he had just been robbed at knifepoint by a black male in his 30’s, reportedly wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. Chen reported that the suspect had brandished a large knife, and demanded Chen’s money. Chen said he handed the suspect $200 in cash and the suspect was last seen running north towards the intersection of Moraga Road and Rheem Blvd. Officers from Moraga, Lafayette, and Orinda Police departments responded immediately and conducted an intense, but unsuccessful, search for the suspect.

After a thorough investigation, including the creation and dissemination of a composite sketch of the suspect to all police agencies in Contra Costa, Alameda, and Solano Counties, inconsistencies in Chen’s report led Moraga PD investigators to re-interview and challenge Chen’s account. Chen eventually admitted the event was entirely fictitious, and stated that he had concocted the story to observe how police react to an armed robbery.

The initial response by three police agencies, Moraga PD’s investigative time, and the cost of a sketch artist represents a significant and unnecessary use of public funds. Additionally, the sketch of the fictitious black suspect unnecessarily caused local law enforcement to focus on any look-alike as a potential armed suspect. The false report also caused safety concerns for local citizens and, as a result, may have negatively impacted the retailers in the shopping center.

The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office has filed a misdemeanor charge of violating section 148.5 of the Penal Code (False Reporting of a Crime) against Chen, with an initial court appearance scheduled on May 7th at 8:30 a.m. in Walnut Creek Superior Court.

I suppose it wouldn’t be appropriate to have a horse’s ass award on this site, but if it were, surely this would warrant it.

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