I love to pass on great tips. Go to
www.diablomag.com/offers to get coupons for the best the East Bay has to offer. The offer change monthly are range from home products, to restaurants and spas. Have fun shopping!
Great links to know about if you find yourself wondering how you are going to make your house payments.
Mortgage Workout Programs for Homeowners: To learn which lenders are recasting or offering workout arrangements, visit http://www.car.org/economics/
Avoiding Foreclosure in California: www.hud.gov/local/ca/homeownership/foreclosure.cfm
Consumer Home Mortgage Information: www.yourhome.ca.gov/mortgage-help.shtml
Before making plans to move, call the County Assessor's Office in the county you are moving to and request the most recent information concerning Proposition 60, 90 and 101. Here's a snapshot of how the law works. Proposition 60 allowed for base value transfers to qualified replacement dwellings of "equal or lesser value" within the same county and became effective November 6, 1986. Proposition 90 extended the Prop 60 benefits to qualified homeowners transferring their base year values from other counties and became effective July 13, 1989 in Alameda County. Proposition 110 extended the benefits to qualified disabled homeowners of any age and became effective for replacement dwellings purchased or newly constructed on or after June 6, 1990. Senate Bill 1692 effective September 25, 1996 allowed qualified persons who had prior claims based on age 55 to have a second claim based on disability. The full text of the law can be found in the State of California Property Taxes Law Guide, Volume 1. Any person age 55 or older or severely and permanently disabled can transfer the base year value of their original property to a replacement dwelling of "equal or lesser value" that is purchased or newly constructed within two years of the sale of the original property. The replacement residence must be located in the same country as the property being sold OR mus be located in one of the counties which have voted to pass Propstion 90 in order for the real property tax base to be transferred from the former resience to the replacement residence. TELEPHONE NUMBERS - ASSESSOR'S DEPARTMENT General Information Assessee Services ...................................510 / 272-3787 Base Value Transfers .............................510 / 272-3787 (Age 55 / Disabled / Disaster Relief / Eminent Domain) Exclusions ..............................................510 / 272-3800 (Parent-Child / Grandparent-Grandchild) Change in Ownership Information .........510 / 272-3800 Homeowner's Exemption .......................510 / 272-3770 Business Personal Property General Information ...............................510 / 272-3836 Boats and Aircraft ..................................510 / 272-3838 South County Toll Free .......................800 / 660-7725 Web Site: www.acgov.org/assessor RELATED COUNTY OFFICES Clerk, Assessment Appeals Board Assessment Appeals Information ........510 / 272-6352 Tax Collector Tax payment information including 24 Hour Automated System .................510 / 272-6800 Auditor Property Tax Rates ...............................510 / 272-6564 Recorder Deed Recording Information ...............510 / 272-6363 |
A very dear friend of mine, Holly LeDu is the Culinary Coordinator at Bloomingdale's San Francisco. Take a look at the line up for March from Holly's e-Newsletter. Her contact information is below if you want to sign up to be on her auto email list of upcoming monthly events.
March means Spring, which means fashion week is coming up, and the key word is visionary! We have an amazing line-up of 15 (that's right- a new record!)of the Bay Area's most visionary chefs starting this Sunday March 1st at 2:00pm with Bryant Terry, author of Vegan Soul Food who has turned the idea that soul food is fattening and bad for you on it's head! Check out his philosophy and books at www.bryant-terry.com
Next up on Thursday evening March 5th at 6:00pm is a returning friend of ours, Chef Mark Gordon from Terzo, who always has a delicious interpretation of Mediterranean food. You can look at the menus online at www.terzosf.com
On Saturday the 7th Chef Waka from Bushie-tei will be returning with his sublime rendition of Japanese food seen through a California lens. www.bushie-tei.com
On Wednesday evening March 11th, one of our neighbors- Chef David Bazirgan from the deliciously sexy, and oh so European Chez Papa Resto comes in again at 6:00pm.
Take a peek at his menu and restaurant! http://chezpapasf.com
The following evening, March 12th, is Chef and Dean Linda Carucci from The International Culinary Schools at the Art Institute. Former Dean at the CCA, Inaugural Curator for Copia, she has done it all. Not sure if you want a culinary career? Come and see Chef Carucci and ask her all of the questions you wanted to know. http://www.artinstitutes.edu
On March 13th at 6:00pm, Chef Tanya Holland of Oakland's popular Brown Sugar Kitchen shows us soul food with a French twist. (her Cornmeal Ratatouille Crepes she made at the last demo were heavenly...) www.brownsugarkitchen.com
Saturday the 14th at 2:00pm is our monthly cooktech demo with All-Clad, and this month CUESA chef Sarah Henkin will be joining us and showing us how easy it is to stay seasonal in cooking and have delicious food all year round.
www.cuesa.org and www.all-clad.com will give you more information.
On Sunday the 15th at 2:00pm, Chef Rachelle Boucher, who has cooked with some of the greatest chefs in our country, returns with her company Savor the Moment to show us some great tricks in cooking. www.savorthemoment.net
Our next demo is on Wednesday March 18th at 6:00pm with Chef/Adventurer/Enterpreneur Ari Derfal from Back to Earth Catering and the Brower Center. Ari is living proof that you can have it all if you just know how to stay goal oriented. http://www.organiccatering.com
On Thursday March 19th at 6:00pm, we have a fun class planned with former Top Chef contestant Chef Marisa Churchill, who will be cooking up some hot and tasty panini's with Mezzetta Foods.
Check her out at www.marisachurchill.com
On Friday March 20th at 6:00pm, mr cool- chef adam jones from the Market Street Grill, will be coming back in to show us why his restaurant is a favorite pre-theater destination! www.marketstreetgrillsf.com
On Saturday March 21st at 2:00pm, a great chef who has served as a model for many other chefs in his uncompromising insistence on perfection in food and his stellar business acumen, Chef Roland Passot of La Folie. We are very privileged to have him here as our visiting chef and featured in our Spring catalogue.
www.lafolie.com
On Sunday March 22nd at 2:00pm, Chef Mark Ainsworth from restaurant/patisserie Shokolaat in Palo Alto will be driving up to do a wonderful demonstration with us.
www.shokolaat.com
Joining us again on Thursday evening March 26th, will be Chef Ola Fendert of Oola, an old favorite of 10 years, and his newer restaurant Local Kitchen and Wine Bar. Both restaurants are very cool- Oola being more intimate and Local Kitchen more chic and lively. Check them both out! www.oola-sf.com and www.sf-local.com
On Friday at 2:00pm, I will be trying out a new, really cool and modern looking cookware called Demeyere that we just received in the store. It's made in Belgium and designed by an architect so I'm very excited to be able to try it out.
www.demeyere-cookware.com
On Saturday, 2:00pm March 22nd, last in the month but not least by any means, is Chef Scott Peterson of Bocadillos, a cool little tapas bar on the edge of North Beach, serving delicious food under his watchful eye. www.bocasf.com
So we have a full line up for the month! If you want to reserve a seat for any of the chefs I mentioned, please email me and I will make sure you will have a place.
If you would like to keep on top of the restaurant scene, as well as get cool little notices about which restaurants have specials on drinks and food, and special invitation only events, check out these favorite newsletters of mine that do a wonderful job of keeping me informed as well as a lot of other people.
"the Yummy letter" newsletter@yummyletter.com this is by GraceAnne Walden, who knows everybody and everything
"The City Dish" kevin@sfcitydish.com by Kevin Bloom, the cool guy sporting a fedora seen at all of THE places to be
"The Tablehopper" marcia@tablehopper.com by Marcia Gagliardi, who makes us all feel she is letting us in on all of the secret places we need to know about
"Eater SF" email@eater.com which also has a great tap on the pulse of the city.
And so my friends, this concludes my monthly email. I would like to apologize that tomorrow's demo on the food processor has been cancelled but we will still have our final chef of the month, Chef Eddie Blyden on Saturday at 2:00pm.
Cook happy and eat healthy!
Chef Holly Le Du
Culinary Coordinator
Bloomingdale's SF
hollinda.ledu@bloomingdales.com
415-856-5363
Or, Join the Kitchen at Bloomingdale's San Francisco Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55505443773#/group.php?gid=55505443773&ref=mf
Join in an evening of fundraising and enjoy fabulous appetizers, music, and a bar at the Claremont Midlle School PTA's fundraiser. You might have seen the even advertised in the RockridgeNews February issue.
The silent auction is at the Thelma Harris Gallery located at 5940 College Ave Saturday February 21st from 6 p.m. - 11 p.m.
By supporting this event, amongst other programs, you are you supporting arts, music and garden programs in the school. Mark your calender, and meet others like you in your community!
BACH (Bay Area Classical Harmonies) believes the language of music crosses all barriers. Well, don't we all share in that belief? If you do, then don't forget to mark your calendar and attend the last Friday of every month's concert series held at ProArts in Jack London Square. The 2009 schedule can be found at http://www.bayareabach.org/12.html. Please check back often as artists are added throughout the year.
Remember BACH is the perfect example of why we chose to live in the bay area. Yes, the weather is perfect, the views are breathtaking, and the food is to die for, but the talented people that live in the bay area is priceless.
Don't stay indoors another Friday night watching television- support local musicians and explore the greatness our city has to offer by attending at least one of the venues before the year is over. You will be glad you did.
Throught Crush on College Ave in Oakland, and various other locations throughout the bay area, the Princess Project, a bay area non-profit, is collecting new and barely used gowns and accessories.Just think- wtih your generous support, local girls can go to prom this year in style! The non-profit will host a dress giveaway event in March and the high school girls can pick out their prom dress at no cost.
Crush
5550 College Avenue (between Forest St & Lawton Ave) Oakland, CA 94618
Days/Times: Feb.8-14, 11am-7pm
For more donation drop-offs, go to www.princessproject.org. Your donations are tax deductible.
Drop off dates are Between February 8-14th, 2009
I have created a report, entitled "How to Sell Your Home in a Buyer's Market (and Get the Best Price Faster Than Anyone Else Around)."
This report provides insightful strategies industry professionals use to bring out the best in a home and get it marketed to the right target audience. You can't control the prevailing market conditions, but you can make sure your home is marketed to attract the right buyers-critical to getting your home sold fast and for top dollar.
Before you sell your home in the current market, be sure to get your copy of this FREE and informative special report.
There is no obligation, just email me at elisa@rockridgedigs.com to request your free copy of this report and I will send it to you via email.
During a recent shopping trip at Whole Foods, I had a chance to taste Weaver’s coffee and it was delicious!
Apparently, after close to thirty years of being the Master Roaster at Peet’s Coffee and Tea, John Weaver, featured below, left Peet’s to start his own company with two partners, Michael and Bryce and it is right here in Emeryville, California.
John learned how to roast and sat at the tasting table with Alfred Peet, when he was in his early 20's -imagine that! You can read more about the beginning of John's career online at http://archive.supermarketguru.com/page.cfm/38851
If 100% certified organic and fair trade certified coffee is your style, I highly recommend you try their coffee the next time you are at Whole Foods, or at one of the other retailers listed on their website: http://www.weaverscoffee.com/atretail.html
Maybe you recognize the logo above and not the name? Farmestead has two locations, one in Alameda, and their latest store opened in Montclair Village. Their Motto: "Relax, It's Just Food"Alameda Marketplace 1650 Park St Alameda CA 94501
Montclair Village 6218 La Salle Ave Oakland CA 94611
510 864 WINE (9463) Fax 510 868 8381
info@farmsteadcheesesandwines.com
www.farmsteadcheesesandwines.com
blog: www.farmsteadcheesesandwines.com/wordpress
I love meeting friends for their Friday night tastings and would highly recommend you try it if you are wanting to try new wines before you buy. Besides the wonderful selection, and excellent customer service, you can request they keep a file of your purchases. There's nothing better than being able to walk into the store and not having to remember which bottle you bought. It makes shopping a breeze! Below is a sample of their newsletter if you wanted an email to remind you of what's happening at both stores.- Maybe I'll see you at a tasting!
Jan 29, 2009
Dear Friend of Farmstead:
I hope that everyone is doing well; things are fine just fine here at Farmstead.
Super Bowl. Didja know that football is just as enjoyable with artisan products, in fact more enjoyable with some healthy cheese and good hooch! We've got loads of great party cheeses on hand (think flavorful aged goudas, crumbly cheddars, and tangy goats), and a huge selection of low cost wines (ask for sugestions, but our South African and Spanish wines would be just the ticket for the big game!!), so your Super Bowl party doesn't have to be all Nachos, Guacamole and Beer.
Sharecropper We've brought in a good amount of two favorite wines from Owen Roe, a beloved producer of great Washington and Oregon wine - Owen Roe's Sharecropper Pinot Noir and Sharecropper Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Cabernet Sauvignon comes from two vineyards, in Yakima Valley and Alderdale, Washington; it's plush and forward with fresh berry notes. Drinkable now, it can be cellared for up to 5 years. The Pinot Noir comes from the northern Willamette, and like past vintages, is very fragrant with intense berry flavors with excellent acidity.
Burrata Our wintertime experiment with Burrata went well - we sold through most of this luscious OMG-fresh-mozzarella-stuffed-with-cream cheese in a few days, so we're bringing in some more.
It arrives today in both shops. But please don't tarry - the shelf life on this dreamy bundle of joy is only seven-ten days.... Try it on it's own, drizzled with a bit of extra virgin olive oil or balsamic vinegar and a little salt.
This weekend's tastings We welcome Rick Mickeals of the Henry Wine Group to the tasting bar this week (6-8 p.m. on Friday night in Montclair Village, and from 1-4 on Saturday in Alameda (note different time for Alameda tasting, this week only) . Rick will be pouring some great wines from France, Italy, Spain and California.
- Baumard Cremant Brut - a wonderful Chenin Blanc-based sparkling wine
- Pino & Toi - a store favorite. Blend of Tocai Friulano, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Bianco
- Atteca - no, not what Al Pacino yells in Dog Day Afternoon, but a rich and bold old vine Grenache from our friend Jorgé Ordoñez and the Gil family
- Rutherford Ranch Cab - finally, a reasonably priced and well made Napa Cabernet!
- Bogle Petit Sirah - this baby has it all, depth, flavor and a screaming price!
Fancy, Part Deux. Last week, we spent a good deal of time tasting cheese and other stuff at the Fancy Food Show, and have arranged for several cheeses and specialty items to come into the shops over the next few weeks.
We love the cheeses and other fine products imported by Forever Cheese (in fact, they import most of our Spanish and Italian cheeses!), and flipped for some new (to us) cheeses and food items that will arrive this week.
- Leonora, a soft, cakey goat cheese with lemony and grassy flavors
- Quedrello di Bufala, a washed rind (stinky!) buffalo milk cheese that is reminiscent of Taleggio... Amazing.
- Panforte, a dense Italian confection made from almonds, candied fruit, honey and spices. A near perfect cheese accompaniment. If you like our Fig Cake, you'll love panforte!
- Roman Hazelnuts, much more flavorful than their local cousins (much like Marcona Almonds are related to California Almonds, the European cousins pack a lot more flavor)
Culture Our friend Kate Arding, a major force in the world of cheese, has launched a new quarterly magazine, called Culture, The Magazine for Cheese Lovers. We have copies for sale in both shops. It's a lovely magazine, beautifully written and illustrated. Show your support for a new small business by purchasing a copy.
Well, that's it for this edition of the Farmstead newsletter.
Please take care of yourself, and thanks again for supporting our locally owned, operated, and family run independent business.
Jeff, Carol, Craig, Kathy, Lynette, Michael, Michael, Paul, and Tom - the Farmstead Team.
Can a New Year’s Indie Resolution
Change the World? The Folks from the East Bay Express think it can!
The Resolution:
“I resolve to increase my support of independent businesses and artists, and I will put my thoughts, actions and dollars behind my local community.”
The Reward:
By making the Indie Resolution, you are creating a healthier, more thoughtful, and stronger community, economy, and life for yourself.
The Incentive:
A chance to win $5800 in local gift certificates! Why $5800? Fifty-eight percent more of your money stays in the community when spent at local, independent businesses rather than out-of-town chains. Think about every dollar you spend, and how you can circulate it here, in your community.
How to Participate:
Email your name and mailing address by 1/31/09 to Indie@EastBayExpress.com. You will receive an Indie Resolution Journal in the mail in February, along with info on how to identify a local, indie
business. Each month, make at least one journal entry of what you did to support the theme of the month. You will receive a monthly email that explains the theme, and makes suggestions for activities.
At the end of the year, mail your Journal back to the Express by 12/31/09, and you will be automatically entered into the drawing.
Indie Resolution Partners:
East Bay Express, Buy Local Berkeley
Shop Oakland Grown, Sustainable Business Alliance
Join Today!
Hip Joints for Hanging Out –that is what the Oakland Magazine called Marc 49 Wine Bar on Telegraph Ave in Oakland and guess what- they’re right!
We had some friends meet us for drinks after work and the place is just great! For a Tuesday night, it was packed with people but even with the background music playing, we were able to have a nice conversation. Besides a few bottles or wine, we ordered the mixed olive plate, the cheese and fruit plate, and the Oakland, San Francisco and the MLK Pannini's, not to mention a few side salads. I'm still thinking about how delicious our food was last night! My suggestion is you go there soon because it is just a matter of time before there is a line out the door!
Support Local Merchants! Keep Oakland Growing!
March 49 Restaurant and Wine Bar 4915 Telegraph Ave 510-652-2100 Open 5 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. Sunday- Thursday, 5 p.m. midnight Friday-Saturday. www.themenupage.com/marc49
The Friends of the Oakland Fox have been working on this labor of love since 2007 and the theatre renovation grand opening red carpet party is Feb 5th. Complete details can be found on their website www.foxoakland.org
Vintage Cars! Hollywood Glam! Oaktown Vaudeville Entertainment! Food and Wine! Entertainment by Trombone Shorty and Orleans Ave as well as the Don Neely's Royal Society Jazz Orchestra!
Tickets are $250 (tax deductible) and can be purchased on the website. Purchase your tickets today!
Looking for a treasure? This preview sale is your chance to find a great treasure while benefiting the Oakland Museum. Every year the Oakland Museum has a White Elephant Sale where choice vintage pieces raise more than one million dollars for programming and collections.
You can attend the preview sale on January 25th. I'm not exaggerating when I say the event is so popular, bring your coffee and be prepared for a line that can quickly wrap around the warehouse on Lancaster Street.
For more information about the event, how to buy tickets and what you can expect to find, please visit www.whiteelephantsale.org.
Last year I walked 60 miles in the Susan G Komen 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk and one of our fundraisers was selling the Eco Metro Guide. If you're looking for a value based fundraiser, I would give Jennifer Hallstrom a call at 510-550-8280 today. Let her know you found out about the fundraiser on my blog. Promote Local Businesses! Promote Eco-Friendly Businesses Today!
All schools, community organizations or churches would benefit from a Spring EcoMetro Guide Fundraiser. Plus, Jennifer just told me if your group signs up you will be guaranteed the 50% rate for the Spring. How does that sound? Not sure what I'm talking about? Give her a call and get the details.
Oh, in addtion, Jennifer will give you 5 free guides if you sign up before the end of the month. That's a $100 value! Do you have a group that needs to be told about how the program works? Jennifer will attend your meeting and fill you in on all the details.
Jennifer Hallstrom, Community Outreach Manager
EcoMetro Guide | ecometro.com
405 14th St, Suite 1012 | Oakland, CA 94612
510-550-8280 (main) | 510-550-8287 (fax)
Find the best of what's green and local in the East Bay with EcoMetro Guide and ecometro.com.