That's so Bay Area... (San Francisco, Oakland: real estate, 2013, neighborhood)

[socalinnorcal]

YARDHOUSE!!!!!! One of my faves from socal. Why oh why don't we have one up north? Sad. I actually like Kinder's, but given my love of chains I guess that shouldn't surprise anyone I do agree that Walnut Creek has a good mix of chains and non-chains.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by pch1013

Well, sure. But it does raise a semi-interesting question: at what point is a chain too small, or too big, to satisfy the desires of a chain enthusiast or a chain hater, respectively?

I think it has more to do with the quality of the food over anything else. In-n-Out is a pretty damn big chain now and has excellent quality compared to competitors.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by socalinnorcal

YARDHOUSE!!!!!! One of my faves from socal. Why oh why don't we have one up north? Sad. I actually like Kinder's, but given my love of chains I guess that shouldn't surprise anyone I do agree that Walnut Creek has a good mix of chains and non-chains.

There's one in San Jose, wish there was one closer in the East Bay though.

[sliverbox]

Here's another that irks me. This is just a small pet peeve. But anyway, ever since I was a kid, as in literally elementary school I've always loved old things. You know- like clocks, old bicycles, lamps, radios, TVs, and so on. Upon moving here years ago it seems that just about ANYTHING that could be remotely collectible is suddenly very hip-n-cool. For example, anything " Mid century" ( I hate that term too) is just absolutely adored by admiring yuppies and hipsters, and they will pay out the nose for the stuff, which is funny seeing as how most of my stuff came from the curb, yard sales, and flea markets.

Here's another and only because I had this experience this weekend. My wife and I ducked out of the housing bubble during the last bubble. I recall how ridiculous it got and this past weekend had my memory refreshed on one aspect that I always found funny and ridiculous for the Bay Area. We bought a house last year, probably right before things went nutty again. Its an ordinary, 60's house. Nothing exactly exciting about it. Fast forward to now and once again we have another bubble and as it was last time, perfectly boring, absolutely plain, typical tract homes are suddenly being all dolled up to appeal to the clientèle who are now by default of the competition more well-heeled. So the irony is that middle class housing is once again being sold as "Luxury" housing, which to me is a sort of oxymoron. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself seeing all these people pulling up in their fancy cars to check out the latest 60's tract home listing last weekend.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by sliverbox

As far as food, never have I lived anywhere where people hate food so much. What I mean by this is that so many people Ive run into are always into some weird food diet thing. These come in waves. The big thing now is that everything is glutten-free. Or its vegan. Or you can't eat eggs. Or something like that. Its never just sit down and eat whatever, its always this game where suddenly instead of enjoying food, nooooo, instead its food that was chosen specifically out of the belief in whatever latest yuppie food fad craze.

As someone from a family with a history of various food allergies, I don't think that's necessarily a fair statement - I think it's necessary to distinguish between those who have certain dietary requirements due to medical/health/cultural reasons and those who just follow a trend. We're not all Steve Jobs with his eccentric eating habits.

For example, I know people who have celiac disease and need a gluten-free regimen. My sister and her daughter were allergic to raw eggs.

I'm lucky that I don't have food allergies and get to enjoy all sorts of culinary styles.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by ketch89

Get out of your suburb there are plenty of normal people that ride bicycle in SF, SJ, Oakland, and Berkeley

And in the South Bay/Peninsula - I don't have all that fancy/shmancy gear, though I do see a fair number of people with the fancy stretch pants and tops on fancy bikes in/around Foothill Expressway. The multicolored single-speed Schwinn-style bicycles around the Google campus don't really count, they're used by staffers to ride between dispersed buildings in the Googleplex.

[sliverbox]

As someone from a family with a history of various food allergies, I don't think that's necessarily a fair statement - I think it's necessary to distinguish between those who have certain dietary requirements due to medical/health/cultural reasons and those who just follow a trend. We're not all Steve Jobs with his eccentric eating habits.

That's not what I was insinuating. What I was getting at was this propensity from what seems to be this sort of faddish thing with food and diets here where a lot of people go glutten free " Just because" and probably because everyone else they know is doing it.

[CirclingLogan]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

I don't get this thing about food trucks. Why not just go to a restaurant where you can sit down at a table, eat off real plates (not paper), use a real fork and knife (not plastic) and where the staff and customers have access to a restroom to wash hands among other things?

Sent from my rotary phone!

Food trucks add vitality to American streets that has long been forgotten, but can be found in most other countries. Due to post-WWII zoning standards, everything in the US became compartmentalized and sterilized: homes in the suburbs, shops in malls, restaurants off highways, etc. Even in major cities today, sidewalk cafe licenses are somewhat difficult to get and restricted to small areas. Go to Hong Kong or Buenos Aires and the streets are alive with merchants and street food. It makes the streets more lively and far safer than the empty avenues you often find here.

Beyond that, food trucks are quick (don't have to enter a building), cheap (low overhead) and often delicious (lower-income ethnic groups that can't afford brick-and-mortar can afford them).

Of course, if you have an aging back and a penchant for an all-you-can-eat soup and salad, I dare say food trucks will not fit the bill.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by jade408

American food from Chain Restaurants? Bleck!

• Many bay area residents could not tell you where the nearest Red Lobster, Applebees, Chilis and other stereotypical restaurants are. Cities like Oakland, Berkeley, and SF ban them all together. And the other people? They want to prove they have "evolved" palettes so they only eat Thai, Mexican, Italian, Sushi or Vietnamese. :P

Albeit, you'll mostly see them eating at those restos where actual Thais, Mexicans, Italians, etc, other than those running the place, are rarely if ever seen! LOL!

[jade408]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Albeit, you'll mostly see them eating at those restos where actual Thais, Mexicans, Italians, etc, other than those running the place, are rarely if ever seen! LOL!

Hehehe. You know the versions where the chefs are from 5-star Michelin restaurants and the plates start at $25.