Day Two in San Francisco (East Bay and San Jose)

My second and final day in the Bay Area began fairly early as I headed form my hotel near San Francisco International Airport to the East Bay area that includes Emeryville, Oakland and Berkley (home to the University of California).  The drive was interesting and even though I went during the rush hour, traffic was surprisingly not to bad!  I had to cross San Francisco Bay via the Bay Bridge, which if you have not driven on it, is very interesting.  It is a two level bridge with the east bound lanes on the lower level.  As I was driving over it, I kept thinking, "Please no earthquakes!" as this is the bridge that the upper deck collapsed on the lower level during the 1989 Earthquake.  That it is called a bridge is really a misnomer as it really should be called "bridges" because it passes through Treasure Island midway across the bay or better yet tunnels through the island.  Interesting side note, Treasure Island was the terminus of the famous Pan Am Flying Boats to Hawaii and Asia in the pre-World War 2 era.


Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe



 "My Own Private Eyedaho" Breakfast

My first stop was in the town of Emeryville, which is at the eastern base of the Bay Bridge.  This town has a special place in my heart as it is also the western terminus of the Amtrak transcontinental railroad train called the "California Zephyr".  In 1998 I took this train from Emeryville to Chicago and then onto Culpeper, VA and it was an awesome trip!  If you ever get the opportunity to travel across the country on a train, do it!  The USA really spreads out right in front of your eyes, but beware, Amtrak long distance trains and on-time are not usually compatible.  My first stop was at a small but really cool cafe called "Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe".  It was pretty busy for a Tuesday morning and I took a seat at the counter.  I decided to try a breakfast called "My Own Private Eyedaho".  This dish is a portion of real hash brown potatoes covered with Cheddar Cheese and topped with an egg.  I am not a real fan of eggs, but this dish was very tasty. 

From Rudy's it was onto Berkley and "Rick and Ann's Restaurant".  This small cafe is set in a small neighborhood strip mall and is very popular.  I tried an Espresso Milk Shake, a creamy Frappachino drink and a Chocolate Chip and Raisin Scone.  I met the owner Ann and we talked about about the filming and my travels.  I think that this was one of the friendliest places that I been to on my travels, everyone was so nice there.  From there it was on to one of the more unique places that I have visited, "Bette's Oceanview Diner".  This place is also in Berkley and is in a very busy downtown walking strip mall area.  It really is just a store front place, but as soon as you walk in, you feel that you have just walked into a New Jersey Diner, lots of stainless steel, whit and black tile floor and at the counter, small Juke Box machines that actually work! Ten cents for a song and 4 songs for a quarter!  I was amazed just watching the cooks and chefs do their work.  I got a Grilled Cheese sandwich, which was very good.  From Bette's it was back to the hotel and a break before I headed to my 2 last places.





Small Falafel Sandwich and Stuffed Grape Leaves




I headed south to the San Jose area, which is also known as the Silicon Valley.  My first stop was probably one of the USA's more unique Drive-Ins.  The place is called "Falafel's Drive In".  It is over 40 years old and started by a Persian family as a regular burger drive in, but as they got a steady following they introduced Falafel sandwiches to the menu, from their heritage.  Falafel's are crushed and fried Chick Pea balls and it is now their best selling item.  I tried a small Falafel Sandwich and got a side of Stuffed Grape Leaves.  Both were delicious, I wasn't sure if I'd like either and really liked both!  My final stop was at an old Garage turned carry out called "Naglee Park Garage".  In the Naglee area of San Jose, this place is in a beautiful building and I tried the Tri-Tip Beef Sandwich.  The Tri-Tip" beef cut is popular on the West Coast and to me seemed like Brisket.  Very tasty!

That ended my visit to the Bay area and my DDD count now stands at 195.  I will take a short break so I can go out to Hawaii in early December to visit 5 places and bring my count to 200.  My 200th will be on December 11 at Murphy's Pub in Honolulu!  So Hawaii, here I come!






Naglee Park Garage Restaurant