In Oakland, a baked goods renaissance is delighting sweet tooths and the bread-bewitched. In just the last few months, a slew of new bakeries and cafes most of them Black-, POC-, and/or woman-owned have opened their doors in the East Bay. Technically though, most of these oven-toasted shops aren’t n.
In Oakland, a baked goods renaissance is delighting sweet tooths and the bread-bewitched. In just the last few months, a slew of new bakeries and cafes most of them Black, POC, and/or woman-owned have opened their doors in the East Bay. Technically though, most of these oven-toasted shops aren’t new.
Crumble and Whisk Patisserie, opened in December near the corner of 39th and MacArthur in East Oakland. Owned and operated by popular chef Charles Farrier, who has garnered a huge following at Bay Area farmers’ markets, the location speaks to Farrier’s roots as a native of Oakland | By Carla Thomas A new Black-owned business, Crumble and Whisk Patisserie, opened in December near the corner of 39th and MacArthur in East Oakland. With its colorfully painted exterior, the cafe along the Laurel district's popular corridor on MacArthur Boulevard is an artistic addition to the neighborhood. The shop's desserts are just as aesthetically pleasing,
An ode to Minnie Bell s gooey mac and cheese, the best in the Bay Area
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The macaroni and cheese from Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement in Emeryville.Soleil Ho / The Chronicle
Before Minnie Bell’s, my understanding of great macaroni and cheese a version of the classic American noodle dish that could stand alone on its own merits was mostly an abstraction.
It included snatches of sensation from other experiences that were pretty good, but missed something elusive that kept them from fulfilling the ramped-up Platonic ideal I’d kept in my head: They were moist but grainy; well-seasoned but dry; full of high-quality ingredients but soupy. Often, the experiences echoed the nightmarish disconnect between the steamy, oozing strands of cheese in the Stouffer’s commercials and the real thing wrapped in plastic that I still remember from childhood.