Getting Fat by the Bay...

I can say it's good...cause I've been there!

Montclair Village in the Oakland hills has always been a unique part of town. Its changed many times since I was a little kid but it has never lost its feel. It is an upscale neighborhood which makes it a perfect for a "gourmet burger" place.
I like eating at Flipper's because it has a close-knit neighborhood atmosphere about it. The variety of hamburgers are certainly worth a visit. Several of their burgers have a distinct taste of another country. Their milkshakes are...real milk shakes! And their spicy curly fries are delicious on their own. I was introduced to Flipper's when my godmother Mo and I made a date night- an activity we've done since the days she used to take me out for ice cream. Now when I visit home, my dad and I will head over to Flipper's for a burger and a beer! It may be gourmet but that doesn't make it formal. Good times!

Above: A cannoli from Caffe Puccini goes well with

a cup of their delicious coffee.

Heading across the Oakland Bay Bridge into San Francisco and straight into North Beach (aka "Little Italy"), I'll take myself to this one particular caffe. Caffe' Puccini, named after Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, serves hands down the best cup of espresso and coffee this side of the Mediterranean Sea.

Located on Columbus in San Francisco, it is so wonderfully absorbed in the Italian heritage of San Francisco. I love just walking inside and listen to the Italian locals from the neighborhood discuss whatever they discuss...in Italian.

Being so graced by God to be a little Italian myself- thanks God- I feel at home here. I always wanted to sit in here with my grandpa (Dr. Felix Bongiorno, Sr.,) and ask him to teach me a little Italian as we sit over a coffee and a cannoli. He's passed on now to share a coffee with "the big Guy upstairs", as he would say.

I come here from time to time with my mother and often find myself asking about the Bongiornos of yesterday. Puccini's is a great place in the city for me to do that! God, its great being Italian!!

It would be a shame to leave North Beach, let alone San Francisco so quickly! And a visit to Little Italy wouldn't be fair without a meal at the Fior d' Italia. This restaurant deserves some serious respect. I like to think of this place as the respected Don who sits in the quiet corner of a cafe with a body guard and meeting people who want to ask him for a favor. Ok...maybe that's too negative an image. Still, the history of the place is not just signifcant for the San Francisco Bay area, but also for the country. It's the oldest Italian restaurant in the country. That's something San Franciscans take great pride in!

Ever since May 1, 1886, when Angelo Del Monte opened it, the Fior has been one of the city's best and well attended restaurants. It's also the oldest Italian restaurant in America. That's where the image of the respected Italian Don comes to mind. 

According to the book A Cook's Tour of San Francisco by Doris Muscatine, the Fior has served meals to such notables as Enrico Caruso, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Rita Hayworth, Rex Harrison, and even Eva Gabor. Perhaps the most notable guest- more notable than these names- according to Muscatine was a tailor named Louis Scaglione who for more than fifty years ate all his lunches and dinners at the Fior. Only on one Sunday a year, he would dine with his niece for dinner. You just have to love that Italian loyalty!

This location is not the location I remember. The Fior used to be located on Union Street but has moved around the corner onto Mason. Even if you visit San Francisco during a hunger strike, it would be wise to put it off for one meal at the Fior d' Italia. Otherwise, you might as well give up air while you're giving up food. I personally recommend the risotto alla milanese! E' molto buono! http://www.fior.com/

Now that we got fancy, it's a good idea to relax a bit. Fisherman's Wharf is a good place to do so. Johnny Rockets is a chain burger place...one of those nostalgic 1950s places. It's fun to visit! The food is decent and, though it's not necessarily a landmark or a San Francisco original, it's a nice place to stop in.

I can't get back on the topic of hamburgers without mentioning the best of the best fast food restaurants that even Supersize Me star, Morgan Spurlock- the guy who took on McDonald's, told me personally is a good place. All I have to say about In-N-Out Burgers is 1) I have never heard a single person ever make a bad comment about it. 2) Its a family-owned fast food restaurant. 3) They cut their own potatoes for the fries. 4) Their milkshakes are made with real ice cream. 5) Animal style!

Back in the East Bay, on Piedmont Avenue, is this ice cream shop thats been in Oakland the last 115 years. What makes Fentons unique is that they make their own ice cream. I remember my mother taking my brother and me here a few times on some special occasion when I was very little. I hadn't been back since a disgruntled employee had tried to burn it down some years back. It’s still there. Rarely have I walked in or driven past it and did not see a line forming out the door. The place is just classic in the truest sense of the word. Anyone who knows the bay area knows Fentons. Even the movie producers at Pixar Studios in nearby Emeryville are quite fond of Fentons. It was featured in the 2009 Pixar film Up Featured here. Since I moved back to California in 2005, I often ate here with a friend of mine while I was working at Starbucks on Piedmont Avenue. I even ate there regularly after I left Starbucks on Piedmont Avenue. Aside from ice cream, they serve burgers and sandwiches. My favorite was and still is their egg and olive sandwich.

I've only eaten at Barclay's Restaurant and Pub once. That was on my 21st birthday. It's where I not only ordered my first legal beer, but where I ordered my first legal pitchers of beer. Yes! That means I had had beers before hitting 21. I confess! A person has to remember such things fondly. Barclay's is located on College Avenure in Oakland.

And speaking of beers, I had to include Jack's Bar, located in the cannery in San Francisco- near Fisherman's Wharf. I've been in here once when my Uncle Felix and his two boys, Scott and Mike Bongiorno flew out. He took the four of us here. I seem to recall Jack's having more than 100 beers on tap back when my uncle took us. Now, the sign says 68. I guess someone drank the other drafts!

Los Comadres is back in Oakland's Montclair district, just a few doors down from Flippers. When I first started working for Starbucks Montclair, this was where I would come for lunch from time to time. It was always packed at lunch hour. Their wet burritos where outstanding. I actually do still suffer from cravings for this place...and it's so far away 

Peaberry's Cafe on College in Oakland is what I call a regular hang for me. Their coffee is decent and compliments a stroll along College very well! That's my mother standing in line and enjoying a biscotti and a latte outside Peaberry's.

I saved the best for last. On College Avenue in Oakland, Zachary's Pizza is another notable landmark with its long lines out the door...umm, at dinner time! Though it doesn't looked packed in this photo, it always is. Zachary's speaks for itself. It has won over 100 "Best Pizza" from publications ranging from the San Francisco Chronicle's SF Gate to the New York Times. http://www.zacharys.com/awards.html Nothing else need be said about Zachary's Pizza...except that they deliver!