Tangelo Frozen Yogurt is opening this summer in Moraga in the Rheem Shopping Center, next to Lamorinda Pizza. From their website:
Bringing premium frozen yogurt to Lamorinda in a festive
and community-friendly environment where customers of
all ages can create their own yogurt masterpieces from
numerous yogurt flavor and topping options.
It’s a relief that Moraga is getting a frozen yogurt store this summer. Tangelo is located at 384 Park Street in Moraga.
It started with the French restaurant Chevalier in Lafayette. A picture of the Eiffel Tower, a picture of sunflowers. Then the restaurant TAO eventually incorporated it into their windows. Does anyone find this appealing? Or does this come off as a bit odd?
From the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce website:
What
A tour of Lafayette’s finest dining establishments and the opportunity to sample the signature cuisine of each restaurant.
When
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 – 5:30pm – 9:00pm
Wine Reception at Lafayette Plaza – 5:30pm – 6:30 pm
Tasting at participating restaurants – 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Coffee and Dessert at Lafayette Plaza – 8:30 pm – 9:30 pmWhere
The tour begins at Elam and Margaret Brown Plaza (corner of Moraga Road and Mt. Diablo Blvd.) From there, ticket holders will go at their own pace to any – or all – of the participating restaurants.
The evening wraps up back at the Plaza with dessert and coffee, more music, raffles, silent and live auction.
Special Features
Musical entertainment at selected locations
Raffle prizes
Auction
Benefits
Lafayette Community Foundation and the programs and services of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce.
Cost
$45 per person by mail to Chamber Office or fax to 925-284-3109 with completed registration form. Or register online.
Chef Chao, located at 343 Rheem Blvd. in Moraga, next to 24 Fitness, is one of two highly rated Chinese restaurants in Moraga, Asia Palace being the other. You can see their menu here.
I don’t know why but when I entered and looked around, I thought I had been transported back to the ’80s eating as a kid with my family in the suburbs. That being said, the decor is quite nice inside, and the food was really good. Are there any other fans of this place? Any must-order items? Chef Chao vs. Asia Palace? What do you prefer?
It’s been a while since I checked in on the new restaurant Citra Grill in downtown Walnut Creek across the street from the Century Movie Theater, at 1550 Olympic Boulevard. Yesterday I met with the owner to see how the progress was coming and found out that they expect to open in the beginning of June.
The vaulted ceilings really makes it feel spacious. Note the brand new kitchen equipment behind the counter.
At the other end of the counter are the cash registers:
An interesting component will be the combination of self and full service so you’ll order and pay at the counter but once seated, you’ll be able to order an extra dish from your table as well if you wish. The ingredients will be top quality and will serve fresh California cuisine. A private soft opening will be followed by a public opening in early June if all goes well.
With the weather getting nicer out, I want to ask about outdoor dining options. Va de Vi, pictured above, is one option. The recently opened Corners Tavern is another. Citra Grill, opening next month, will have outdoor seating with butterfly doors opening up the inside as well. The Counter, Lark Creek, and Pomegranate also come to mind. In Lafayette there’s Chow, Pizza Antica and Metro.
So for this week’s question of the day, where is your favorite restaurant patio in Walnut Creek, Lafayette or nearby? Any newly opened places have good outdoor spaces? What other ones are promising?
Fans of the Walnut Creek Baking Company will be excited to know that the owner, Denise Vickers, has recently published a cookbook, The Walnut Creek Baking Company Cookbook, which contains the actual recipes sold at the bakery, “filled with gorgeous photos and all the recipes for your favorites, plus notes, anecdotes and the story of how the bakery came to be.”
You can order the book online here, or drop by the bakery and pick up the cookbook directly. The price is $55. I glanced through a copy and thought it was really well put together with amazing photos throughout. As someone who has enjoyed eating the pastries for many years I think it’s great there is now a cookbook available with recipes and stories about the bakery itself.
What’s your favorite pastry? I enjoy eating almost everything here that I have a hard time choosing what I like best. The Chocolate Crackle cookie would rank highly though.
The French Bakery is a cute looking cafe and teahouse located next to Chow in downtown Lafayette offering lunch, tea and pastries as well as special occasion cakes. You can check out their lunch menu here, and tea/dessert menu here. From their website:
At The French Bakery you can enjoy lunch or afternoon tea in the relaxing ambiance of a quaint old house with three separate seating areas: the Morning Room, the Dining Alcove and the Library. You can also sit down and enjoy a scone and a pot of tea, or a dessert and a Cappuccino in our Bakery Parlour or outside on our patio. We also have our own awarding-winning bakery on site where everything is made from scratch, including our Clotted Cream. The only ingredient in our clotted cream is 100% real dairy cream.
We pride ourselves on our homemade luncheon items and our scrumptious afternoon tea fare. We have a very large tea selection of over 70 different super-premium black, green, red, and white teas for you to savor at our tea house or to take home, including 24 teas direct from Marriage Frères, Paris.We also have a wide selection of Tea Cups, Teapots, and Teapots for One, as well as other tea related gift items.
Check out the tea and pastry selection:
The French Bakery is located ta 71 Lafayette Circle in downtown Lafayette. Having eaten at a Chow many times I knew about the French Bakery but haven’t had a chance to eat there yet. Any fans of this place? What are the must-order items?
Go get your free ice cream cone at Haagen Daz in downtown Walnut Creek next to Macy’s. This is for today only, until 8pm.
Back in March I pointed out the bizarre bathroom situation at the newly remodeled Peet’s Coffee shop in downtown Walnut Creek. I recently had a chance to revisit, and am slightly amused that although the same bathroom lock is in place, the instructions are gone. If you look closely at the photo, there is just a red arrow pointing left. What this means is, to lock, do nothing. To open, turn left. Obvious, right?
I spoke to an employee there who laughed when I asked him about it. He said they’ve had “nothing but complaints” about it, and that “corporate is aware of the situation”. I wonder if anything will be done about this. Note that I think the token usage is reasonable. It’s the door locking mechanism that I find bizarre.