Art & Culture
Best of East Bay: Arts & Culture
Best Art Gallery Round Weather Best Ballet School Shawl Anderson Best Cover Band Tainted Love Best Dance Instructor Momo LeBeau Best Indy Filmmaker Boots Riley Best Local Band BAUS Best Media Personality: TV, Radio, Print Michael Krasny Best Movie Theater Grand Lake Theater Best Museum Oakland Museum Best Music Venue The Fox Best Outdoor Art Event First Friday Best Outdoor Music Venue Greek Theater Best Performing Arts Center Lesher Center Best Performing Dance Company Oakland Ballet Company Best Place to Dance Ashkenaz Best Record ⁄ CD Store Amoeba Best Virtual Ballet Company San Francisco Ballet Bes...
Best of East Bay: Cannabis
Best Cannabis Delivery Farmacy Best Cannabis Label NUG Best CBD Product Berkeley Patients Group Best Curbside Service Harborside Best Dispensary Berkeley Patients Group Best Edibles Kiva
Best of East Bay: Everyday
Best AC ⁄ Heating Service Atlas Heating & Air Conditioning Best Accountant Deborah Fisher, Fisher & Company LLC Best Ad Agency John McNeil Studio Best Antique Shop Mixed Pickles Best Art Supply Store Flax Art & Design Best Attorney—Business Brian A. Ripley Best Attorney—Cannabis Selna Partners Best Attorney—Civil Emily Dahm – Bonjour, Thorman, Burns & Dahm Law Firm Best Attorney—Criminal Lee Maranto Best Attorney—Divorce Gerard A. Falzone Best Attorney—Family Law Sarah Summerall Best Attorney—Intellectual Property Brand & Branch Best Attorney—Labor & Employment Dan Feinberg – Feinberg, Jackson, Worthm...
Best of East Bay: Food & Drink
Best Bakery Arizmendi Bakery Best Bar Hotsy Totsy Club Best Bartender Den Stephens, North Light Best BBQ Horn BBQ Best Beer Label Fieldwork Brewing Company Best Brew Pub Ghost Town Brewing Best Breakfast Brown Sugar Kitchen Best Brunch Sequoia Diner Best Burger TrueBurger Best Business Lunch The Trappist Best Butcher Shop Clove and Hoof Best Cafe ⁄ Coffeehouse Timeless Best Caterer Market Hall Caterers Best Cheese Shop The Cheeseboard Best Chef Kyle Itani, Itani Ramen Best Chinese Shan Dong Best Chocolatier Casa de Chocolates Best Cider Crooked City Cider Taphouse Best Cocktail...
Best of East Bay: Home Improvement
Best Appliance Store ⁄ Repair Galvin Appliance Best Architect Michael Robbins, Studio Robbins Cortina Best Carpet Cleaning Larry’s Extreme Clean Best Carpeting ⁄ Flooring The Floor Store Best Consignment Furniture Uhuru Furniture & Collectibles Best Contractor (Residential) Hometelligent Best Deck Builders Robert S. Cruikshank Landscape Construction Best Electrician Mighetto Electric Best Fence Builders Jon Lobdell, Artisan Gates & Fences Best Home Developer Discovery Homes Best Home Improvement Store Metro Lighting Best Interior Designer Jennifer Walker & Brook Bradbury, Lincoln Park Design Best Kitchen ⁄ Bath Remodeler Hom...
Best of East Bay: Recreation
Best Bike Route ⁄ Trail Bay Trail Best Gym YMCA Best Health Club YMCA Best Hiking Trail Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park Best Horseback Riding Five Star Equestrian Best Outdoor Adventure Tour Bay Area Green Tours Best Park Tilden Regional Park Best Swimming Pool Mills College Best Virtual Cycling Fundraiser Bay Day Challenge Best Virtual Pilates Studio June Kamerling Pilates Best Water Sports Company California Canoe & Kayak
Best of East Bay: Romance
Best Boudoir ⁄ Modern Lingerie Shop A La Folie Best Boutique Hotel Z Hotel Jack London Square Best Couples Counseling Lucia Grauman Best Erotica Store Good Vibrations Best Romantic Dinner Millennium Best Staycation Claremont Club & Spa, A Fairmont Hotel Best Wedding Caterer Blue Heron Catering Best Wedding Event Planner Chanda Daniels, A Monique Affair Best Wedding Photographer Shoey Sindel Photography Best Wedding Reception Venue The Terrace Room Romance Best Boudoir ⁄ Modern Lingerie Shop A La Folie Best Boutique Hotel Z Hotel Jack London Square Best Couples Counseling Lucia Grauman Best Erotica Store Good Vibrations B...
Best of East Bay: Beauty, Health & Wellness
Best Acupuncturist Mamie Chow L.Ac. Best Alcohol ⁄ Drug Rehabilitation AA Best Allergist Columbia Asthma & Allergy Best Assisted Living Facility St. Paul’s Towers Best Chiropractor Dr. Teresa Lau, Vibrant Body Wellness Best Day Spa Piedmont Springs Best Dentist Oakland Eco Dental Best Dermatologist Jason Fung, MD Best Endodontist Jason R. Calvert DDS Best Esthetic Dentist Lake Merritt Dental Best Eye Lash Extensions and ⁄ or Brow Enhancements Cocoon Urban Day Spa Best Full-Service Beauty Salon Rockridge Day Spa Best Hair Salon Keter Salon Best Health Care Clinic One Medical Best Home Health Care Provider Cent...
Most Resilient City
The national press often glosses over the cultural impact Downtown Oakland has had on the world stage during the past decade. From the protest for justice for Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Nia Wilson and countless others, to being the epicenter of the global—and still growing—“Occupy” movement; the radius that emanates from “Oscar Grant Plaza” has expanded to influence everything from movies (Sorry To Bother You, Fruitvale Station, Blind-spotting, Black Panther) to the Arab Spring. Downtown Oakland is a living symbol of the cultural resilience of a land and a people undaunted by the oppressive mechanisms of control bent on global domination, even as those forces set their sights on “The Town,” acknowledging its power to instigate and inspire global transformation. In 2020, Downt...
Best of Everyday: Books We love
Best of Everyday applies to the little things that made each day of pandemic lockdown a little more bearable: Grocery stores that limited the amount of toilet paper each customer could buy at one time, thus putting the brakes on hoarders and saving the rest of us from … using copy paper or this newspaper for purposes other than originally intended. The Bay Area’s diverse culinary industry also supported underserved communities and many, many, healthcare workers with meals; often at some cost or barely breaking even, but nonetheless doing it to keep their staff gainfully employed. And then there were books and independent booksellers. Reading became equivalent to travel. For example: In one week it was possible to journey worldwide on a research ship to an imagined alternative life wi...
Best Place for Kids
Of all the places available in the Bay Area for young ones to express themselves fully, out-of-the-house still ranks No. 1 with parents. With the dangers of Covid-19 lurking in the air, it may be difficult to find safe and fun places for little legs to run amok, little hands to explore and little minds to expand. Fortunately, the season is getting warm, and the opportunities for exploration and respite have begun to bloom in full. Oakland’s Children’s Fairyland re-opens on March 19th. Founded in 1948, the favorite playground for tots and toddlers for over 70 years remains a great destination for parents on sunny days. The newly reopened park promises family fun while following the current safety guidelines. www.fairyland.org San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center for Art and Culture pres...
The Allendale: Donut Savant
Before the recent grand reopening of Donut Savant in the Allendale, the DS website posted a tantalizing video teaser. For several weeks you could click on donutsavant.com to find moving footage of batter frying in baskets of hot oil. The approach was subtle and enticing. Instead of a large declarative font announcing an exact opening date, virtual visitors enjoyed a visual and auditory preview of what was to come. I checked the site at least once a week to substitute an ASMR experience for my actual donut cravings. After the doors opened in November, the site removed the frying video. Now the lead image is a horizontal row of donuts featuring the tagline, “We’re redefining donuts in Oakland California.” Animated logos from a variety of food publications back up the claim of their wide-rang...