Week 151: Good Eats in the Bay

elenalilamartin
Dec 1, 2025
3 min read

Week 151: November 23rd-29th, 2025

At the tail end of my half-month stint up in the Bay Area, I got to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family and then my boyfriend flew up for one day before we drove back to San Diego together. Because our time was limited to just one day, I had to wrestle with all the different choices of where to take him, what to show him, and which places were the most important for a brief one-day tour of my hometown.

After a nice walk around the neighborhood, an attempted hike at Inspiration Point in Tilden (it was WAY too cold and foggy, so we ran back to the car and went back down the hill), an exploration of the Berkeley Marina, and a trip to the famous Monterey Market, I drove across the Bay Bridge to show my boyfriend more of San Francisco.

Even though it is a very touristy area, I really like the Embarcadero and the ferry building. It was nice to explore all of the different vendors at the ferry building and walk along the pier, specially on Small Business Saturday (the day after Black Friday sales were ruined by corporate greed and false discounting). We walked a lot, almost from Pier 1 to Pier 39, so we worked up an appetite. Since Lunette Cambodia was a madhouse and the line was way too long, we ventured a little further into the financial district to find something to eat.

I do want to return ASAP and try Lunette to see what the hype is all about, but exploring with a picky person who does not eat red meat can be tricky. I found a happy medium in Mediterranean food, so we decided on grabbing something at Oasis Grill on Drumm St.

My boyfriend and I split a combo plate and a diet coke (for a whopping $36 dollars, which felt criminal even if it was necessary)... and sat, semi-shivering in the shade of a cute pathway between the busy streets while we ate. I had the beef kefta and he had the chicken, and we shared the rice and sides. There is something universally comforting about a rice and meat dish, regardless of culture.

The good eats didn't end at lunch since we had to maximize my boyfriend's limited time in the Bay Area. After much contemplation and research, my mom picked a "safe" restaurant for a picky person (yes, my boyfriend is picky...) called Hawking Bird in the Temescal area of Oakland.

Hawking Bird was a great find and good pick where we all could find something we liked to eat. My dad got some good garlic noodles, and we all shared tater tots and green beans as well. I really liked my yellow curry and thought the fried chicken was really crunchy and good.

Bonus: During a Thanksgiving Day walk, I saw a really nice mosaic I'd never seen before at Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley. I also got to go out in San Francisco with some friends the day before, and enjoyed the holiday decorations a few days later with my boyfriend at the ferry building!