Cypress, located at 1388 Locust St. in downtown Walnut Creek, opened on September 6, taking the place of Vesu, which closed rather quickly. The remodel on the outside that Vesu did originally is quite cool, and last night you could see a pianist playing right through the curved glass floor-to-ceiling windows. It was a packed and lively scene despite being a weekday.
For those who waited to sign up for the 2011 Gourmet Easy Bay event on Saturday, November 5, unfortunately it’s sold out. Although they mention it’s possible to get on the waitlist, it looks like that option is now gone as well.
It runs from 7 – 10 pm in Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek and features top restaurants from around the East Bay. From the sponsor’s website:
Thirty of the top restaurants throughout the East Bay will be featuring premier tastings; wineries from Livermore, Napa, and Lodi will feature tastes of great wines, premier spirits vendors will be pouring signature cocktails and more! We’re thrilled to announce this year’s entertainment will be provided by Northern California’s premier party band, Pop Fiction. From Donna Summer to Journey to Lady Gaga and everything in between, Pop Fiction delivers non-stop dance hits and packs dance floors wherever they go.
Remember Caffe delle Stella on the corner of N. Main and Lincoln, next to Prima’s? Well, I’ve been asking around and it looks like it’s being replaced by a new restaurant called, Cafe of the Stars. When I peeked through the black mesh covering I did see some nice butterfly doors similar to Prima’s so this could be a nice remodel.
Word on the street is the Mexican restaurant Taqueria Mexican Grill is being remodeled. Unfortunately it looks like they failed to get permits for both the awning removal and the interior. Without the green awning the building looks completely different. At first glance I thought it was a completely new building. I’m curious to see how this turns out. Da Lat, the Vietnamese restaurant next door has apparently closed.
Update: Taqueria Mexican Grill had a soft opening starting yesterday, so drop in and try one of their burritos. They moved the registers to the front, put in new countertops and flat screen TVs among other changes. According to the manager the official opening will probably be in early November as soon as the permits are approved.
The building that housed both Da Lat and Cinco de Mayo (formerly Taqueria Mexican Grill) is quite changed without the awning (more on that in another post), but word on the street is that Da Lat has closed. I’ve eaten there several times and thought it was pretty decent.
Update: I’ve confirmed that a Chinese restaurant is opening up at this location.
This is the side door of restaurant Sasa, possibly the coolest door in all of downtown Walnut Creek. The whole building is really quite beautiful.
Word on the street is the restaurant Harvest Market, next to Babalou’s and McCovey’s has closed. I took a look today and it was closed during lunchtime with no sign of construction going on.