SusieCakes Opening in Dowtown Lafayette this Fall

August 6, 2012 11:30 am

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!

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Tangelo Frozen Yogurt Opening this Saturday Aug. 4th in Moraga

August 3, 2012 11:30 am

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.

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Lottie’s Creamery Opening this Fall in Downtown Walnut Creek

August 2, 2012 11:30 am

Back in July I noted about a new ice cream store opening at the former Erawan Thai location on N. Main St. in downtown Walnut Creek, and now there is a sign up with the name, Lottie’s Creamery. You can check their Facebook page here.

I received an email from co-owner Deb Phillips who wrote:

We will be making super-premium ice cream from organic straus dairy – like Ici. However, our product will be unique among the artisan ice creameries in the Bay Area because we will be pasteurizing our own ice cream base entirely from scratch, rather than buying a pre-made mix as they do at the other artisan shops in the area (Tara’s, Ici, Bi-Rite, etc.) This will allow me an incredible amount of flexibility when designing my flavors.

We will focus on making amazing mostly-traditional flavors with high quality ingredients.

Check out the pasteurizer:

Photo courtesy of Lottie’s Creamery

Diablo Dish notes that Phillips worked at Ici in Berkeley for a couple of years. Ici makes some of the best ice cream I’ve ever eaten, and others would agree as they always have lines out the door waiting to try one of their creative flavors. You can check out today’s flavors here. If Lottie’s turns out to be as good as Ici that would be awesome! I can’t wait to try this place out.

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Sichuan House Opens in Countrywood Shopping Center in Walnut Creek

August 1, 2012 11:30 am

About a month ago, Sichuan House, a new Chinese restaurant owned by a partner at the well-regarded Sichuan Fortune House in Pleasant Hill, has opened in the Countrywood Shopping Center in Walnut Creek. I ate at Sichuan Fortune House recently and thought it quite good, especially the claypot chicken, so I’m really looking forward to checking this place out. When I entered just to check it out, one person, without any prodding started raving about how good it was after deciding to come here instead of nearby Sorrento Italian restaurant. Has anyone eaten here yet? What are the must-have dishes?

Sichuan House is located at 2064 H Treat Blvd. in the Countrywood Shopping Center in Walnut Creek.

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Buying on Credit at the Farmers Market in Moraga

July 31, 2012 11:30 am

My favorite strawberry vendor at the Moraga farmers market now accepts credit cards thanks to Square. They swipe your credit card through the Square attachment on their iPhone, you sign with your finger, enter your email if you want a receipt, and you’re done, it’s that simple. Amazing where you can use a credit card these days.

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Citra Grill Opening Today, July 30th in Walnut Creek

July 30, 2012 11:30 am

After several delays, the long awaited Citra Grill is finally opening today in downtown Walnut Creek across the street from the Century movie theater at the corner of Olympic Blvd. and Locust St. I had a chance to stop by during the soft opening on the weekend and tried some of the dishes which were excellent. You can check out their menu here.

When I checked them out I tried the grilled shrimp with cabbage and cucumbers and tomatoes. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and tasted great, as did the cabbage.

I also had the baby arugula salad with a vegetable skewer side. The salad came with dried cherries and lime roasted almonds which tasted amazing. You may have noticed 2 truffles at the upper left of the photo. They are from Barlovento Chocolates and are out of this world delicious. I consider the food here to be quite refreshing, light and healthy.

More photos including the bread oven after the jump…

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Friday Question of the Day – Will you Boycott Chick-fil-A in Walnut Creek?

July 27, 2012 8:30 am

Photo by Flickr user Link576

Earlier this week I noted that Chick-fil-A is opening up a new restaurant in Walnut Creek at the old concrete plant on N. Main St, and there was a lot of discussion about refusing to eat there due to the comments made by the president of Chick-fil-A, Dan Cathy, who does not support gay marriage and has supported anti-gay groups. The New York Times published an article last year about the dilemma some people have eating there or not, and just a few days ago published another article noting that The Jim Henson Company will no longer supply toys for the chain, and some cities are stopping approval for new restaurants, while other, such as the former governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, are lining up in support of Chick-fil-A.

When Chick-fil-A opens in Walnut Creek, will you boycott and refuse to eat there? Or will it be business as usual and you’ll check it out?

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Hamachi Opening July 28th in Downtown Walnut Creek

July 26, 2012 11:30 am

Shiro, the site of a massive fight in January where a Walnut Creek police officer was punched in the face has closed, and in its place, a new restaurant called Hamachi will be opening this Saturday, July 28th beginning 6pm until 1:30am.

From a poster:

Featuring asian tapas, an extended sushi menu and a full martini bar.

Live entertainment from 6:30pm to 1:00am featuring dualing pianos starting at 10:30pm.

I believe this may be the only restaurant with dueling pianos in Walnut Creek. Sounds interesting. According to the owner, they will be playing every Friday and Saturday night with a focus on Jazz. The original chef from Sushi Groove (the restaurant before Shiro) will be working there.

Check out part of the restaurant below:

Hamachi is located at 1523 Giammona Drive in downtown Walnut Creek.

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Coco Swirl Now Offering Bubble Tea in Walnut Creek

July 25, 2012 11:30 am

The frozen yogurt shop Coco Swirl is now offering bubble tea in tea, milk tea and yogurt freeze concoctions. Some of their flavors include taro, lychee, passion fruit, jasmine and more. They offer the tea and milk tea with a “regular or less sweet” option. Check out the lychee tea “less sweet” option below (which I still thought was very sweet, but good, especially on a hot summer day!).

Coco Swirl is located next to the Century Movie Theater in downtown Walnut Creek.

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Judging New Restaurants – Opa!

July 24, 2012 11:30 am

After months of anticipation, the Greek restaurant Opa! has finally opened. You can check out their menus here. Anyone have a chance to check this place out yet? How is it? How does it compare to nearby Silk Road or Pomegranate?

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