2023: Melt Premium Edition

anything –but–vanilla

ICE

CREAM WE ALL SCREAM FOR

Bay Area purveyors of America’s favorite dessert get deliciously creative with their flavors

BY JESSICA YADEGARAN

On any given day at Berkeley’s Tara’s Organic Ice Cream, an Elmwood neighborhood favorite since the doors first opened in 2008, the dipping cabinet is filled with flavors that instantly make your mouth water. Lemon Blueberry. Mexican Chocolate. Peanut Butter Swirl.

Owner and ice cream wizard Tara Esperanza has created some 200 unique flavors since she started working with organic dairy and sugar 20 years ago. While many are familiar, dessertlike combinations we often expect in ice cream — Lemon Blueberry, Chocolate Hazelnut, Coconut Lime Sorbet — others are more adventurous. We’re talking Basil, Beet Balsamic and Chocolate Tarragon, for example.

“I get that a lot,” Esperanza says. “They make a face and say, ‘Basil? That’s weird.’ And then they taste it. One customer became tearful and thanked me when she tasted that tarragon flavor. I guess it reminded her of something her mother made.”

Flavors carry tremendous power, so why stop at vanilla? That’s the ethos for a small but focused group of small batch, chef-driven ice cream shops. That’s true not only at Tara’s Organic but also at San Francisco’s Humphry Slocombe, whose bourbon-andcornflake Secret Breakfast has a cultlike following at its eight scoop shops across the Bay Area. And Oregon-based Salt & Straw has turned everything from beer to turkey into ice cream, served by the cone or bowl at six locations, including San Ramon and Burlingame.

Why they do it starts with the obvious: California

Above: Ice cream flavors adorn the walls at the Humphry Slocombe ice cream shop in Emeryville. After 15 years, says co-owner Sean Vahey, they have amassed flavors “into the hundreds.”

Opposite: Tara’s Organic Ice Cream owner Tara Esperanza holds one of her creations with Matcha ice cream on the bottom, topped with a scoop of Lemon Blueberry nestled in a housemade waffle cone.

ARIC CRABB/STAFF

is a treasure trove of fresh, seasonal, pristine ingredients — not just fruit, coffee, alcohol or artisanal chocolate, but also herbs, spices, olive oil, vinegars and, yes, root vegetables. Inspiration is everywhere. And without the competition of the supermarket frozen food aisle, makers can create unconventional flavors to honor a special ingredient or the person behind it.

Others, especially those with a background in fine dining, have been pushing the boundaries of what ice cream can be for years.

Esperanza had never worked in a professional kitchen, but she began cooking at a young age — she was all of 6 when she began peeling vegetables alongside her mother in their Italian kitchen — and has always been drawn to savory flavors. Her travels to Europe, Mexico and Asia further

First created in 2012, Salt & Straw’s Thanksgiving ice creams include this Caramelized Turkey & Cranberry Sauce flavor.

SALT & STRAW

influenced her creativity in the kitchen. She makes corn and avocado ice creams that pay homage to her time in Oaxaca. And her kaffir lime and lemongrass are nods to her favorite Southeast Asian dishes.

“I want to expand people’s minds,” Esperanza says. “Ice cream is delicious, and there’s a lot more variety to consider than people realize. I’m not trying to pull any stunts. I’m trying to do what feels right to me and share with the world what I find delicious.”

Esperanza says she has a sense of what goes together and that most of her flavor ideas “just come to her,” sometimes in dreams. Oregano Orange Pepper popped into her head one day when she was cooking with the culinary herb: “I thought, ‘What could round this out be a really nice complementary ingredient?’” Sweet orange, with its acidic brightness, of course.

When asked if she has any unusual flavors that didn’t make it on the list, one comes to her mind: Paprika Peach. “I think the paprika made you lose the essence of the peach,” Esperanza says.

Humphry Slocombe, which recently unveiled its eighth scoop shop in San Mateo, has been synonymous with innovative flavors since owners Sean Vahey and Jake Godby launched in San Francisco in 2008.

Vahey came from the hotel world, and Godby had worked as a pastry chef at Fifth Floor, Boulevard and Coi. Their shared vision for an unconventional scoop shop geared toward adults, where you are encouraged to try every single flavor, was built on a boozy creation that came to Godby on a road trip.

Yes, it was Secret Breakfast, the best-seller featuring bourbon ice cream and cornflake cookies. Contrary to popular belief, Godby did not pour bourbon over a bowl of cornflakes to nurse a hangover one fateful morning. He was actually in Ohio with friends, trying to explain the concept of what he wanted to create, when his friend, Eric, blurted out: “Secret breakfast!”

“I knew immediately that it would be a signature flavor,” Godby says. “I had been making bourbon ice cream in restaurants for years, and bourbon is made from corn, so thus — cornflakes. It probably happened in about five minutes.”

In fact, many of Humphry Slocombe’s unexpected flavors are based on desserts Godby used

Both Secret Breakfast, drizzled with bourbon caramel sauce in its waffle cone, and Vietnamese Coffee are Humphry Slocombe signatures. Other, more unusual flavors rotate based on season or collaboration. ARIC CRABB/STAFF

to make. At Coi, he was known for mini, curried peanut butter cookies served with warm, malted milk (hence, Peanut Butter Curry ice cream).

“Some things just make sense, to me at least,” Godby says. “It just has to taste good and not come across as gimmicky.” A flavor that didn’t work? Porcini, he says. “It just tasted like dirt.”

After 15 years, Vahey says, they have amassed flavors “into the hundreds.” While their core lineup is always available — eight flavors, including Secret Breakfast, Tahitian Vanilla, Vietnamese Coffee and Malted Milk Chocolate — the more unusual flavors rotate based on season or collaboration.

In a recent collab with Fieldworks Berkeley, Godby created a reduction sauce from the brewery’s Blackberry Parfait sour beer and swirled it into White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie ice cream.

“We want to surprise and delight and really open up people’s palates,” Vahey says.

The creamery most on a mission to make ice cream less vanilla is probably Portland-based Salt & Straw, which has scoop shops in San Ramon, Palo Alto, Santa Clara and beyond. In its 12 years, it has found ways to incorporate everything from caramelized turkey to brie to chocolate-covered insects into its lineup.

Co-founder and ice cream innovator Tyler Malek has created more than 1,200 recipes, each with its own story. Malek says they think of themselves more as food writers or story hunters than chefs. Their flavors are based on special ingredients and the people behind them.

“Hopefully, when you walk in,

Tyler Malek is the co-founder of Portlandbased Salt & Straw Ice Cream, which has six locations in the Bay Area. (Salt & Straw)

you’re transported to a different world and allow us to take you on a journey,” says Malek, who started Salt & Straw as a food cart with his cousin, Kim, in 2011. “If you taste every flavor and still get your favorite Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons, that’s fine, too.”

Alongside “slam-dunks”

like Birthday Cake and Gooey Chocolate Brownie, Salt & Straw releases seasonal menus based on a holiday or theme, like Califor-

SCOOP SHOPS

Tara’s Organic Ice Cream: The scoop shop is at 3173 College Ave. in Berkeley; https://tarasorganic.com.

Humphry Slocombe: Locations in Campbell, San Mateo, Redwood City, Emeryville, Berkeley, Oakland and more. Find details at https://humphryslocombe.com.

nia chocolatiers or Halloween. Spring’s flower series included Jasmine Milk Tea with Chocolate, for example, and last summer’s fruit-centric lineup included Baked Brie and Fig Cheesecake made with an even mix of cream cheese and Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam triple cream.

“That’s the perfect example of balancing something unexpected,” Malek says. “We leave the rinds on and bake it over a Ritz cracker

crust. It sounds funky, but when you eat it, it makes sense.”

Salt & Straw’s occasional Vault series brings back unique flavors that carry extra-special meaning, such as Black Olive Brittle & Goat Cheese. A few months before opening their first scoop shop in Los Angeles, Malek was visiting a farmers market in the area, when he stumbled upon a locally made jar of oil-cured olives from Santa Ynez. As soon as he tasted them, he knew.

“I had this epiphany that an olive is a fruit, because you taste all these grassy, tropical notes,” he says. “So the question was, ‘How do we make this into an ice cream that makes the farmer proud and makes the flavors come to life?’”

Malek found the answer with shards of sweet-and-salty butter brittle made from the cured black olives, which he then mixed into a creamy, cave-aged goat cheese ice cream created in partnership with Arcata’s Cypress Grove Creamery.

“There’s a trinity between salty, sweet and bitter, and that’s what makes things like salted caramel work so well,” he says.

But does it work with, say, poultry? Malek thought so in 2012, when he launched what has to be the only Thanksgiving ice cream menu in America. The lineup is resurrected every few years and features five flavors meant to be enjoyed together, including Roasted Peach & Sage Cornbread Stuffing, Pumpkin & Gingersnap Pie and Caramelized Turkey & Cranberry Sauce. The latter is made from turkey skin cracklins folded into butter brittle and swirled with fresh cranberry sauce.

“I thought, what if we could have that Friendsgiving menu that you just really want to bring (to your celebration)?” he says. “And you can’t not have turkey.”

Salt & Straw: Locations at Bishop Ranch in San Ramon and Valley Fair in San Jose, as well as in Palo Alto, Burlingame and San Francisco. Find details at https://saltandstraw.com.

Sean Vahey, left, and Jake Godby launched their first Humphry Slocombe ice cream shop in 2008. ARIC CRABB/STAFF

Turn to the no-churn option for easy ice cream sundaes

BY JACKIE BURRELL

There’s no denying the appeal of eclectic flavors. But there’s something so nostalgic, so all-American-childhood evoking about a classic ice cream sundae. The frosty scoops of vanilla ice cream. The hot fudge swirling round. A little butterscotch to gild that particular chilly lily. Sprinkles! Nuts! A cherry on top!

You don’t need to hit the supermarket freezer case or even the local creamery to sate that craving. You can make no-churn ice cream at home and the orange-tinged hot fudge and butterscotch sauces to top it all off.

The no-churn approach is an America’s Test Kitchen hack that lets you create deeply vanilla, velvety ice cream without an ice cream maker — just a blender and, of course, your freezer. Here’s the ice cream how-to, plus two flavor variations and four recipes for toppings, including a butterscotch sauce for caramel-ophobes, which calls for cooking brown sugar and butter together to give the sauce its complexity, sans candy thermometers.

Also in the mix: a classic fudge sauce made with cocoa powder and unsweetened chocolate. “Using milk, rather than cream, preserves the intense flavor,” the test kitchen crew reports. “Stirring in cold butter creates sheen and a thick consistency. This sauce will make your sundae ultradecadent.”

Infusing strips of orange zest takes that fudge to a whole other level. Then finish your sundae off with a grace note, a fresh, peak-ofripeness Bing cherry. And a spoon.

Vanilla no-churn ice cream

Makes about 1 quart

INGREDIENTS

2 cups heavy cream, chilled

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

¼ cup whole milk

¼ cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon table salt

DIRECTIONS: Process cream in a blender until soft peaks form, 20 to 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of blender jar and continue to process until stiff peaks form, about 10 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, stir in condensed milk, whole milk, corn syrup, sugar, vanilla and salt. Process until thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed. Pour cream mixture into an 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan. Press plastic wrap flush against surface of cream mixture. Freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 5 days. Serve.

PEACH COBBLER NO-CHURN ICE CREAM VARIATION: Omit sugar. Substitute bourbon for vanilla. Add ½ cup peach preserves and ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon with condensed milk. After transferring cream mixture to loaf pan, gently stir in ½ cup coarsely chopped shortbread cookies before freezing.

STRAWBERRY BUTTERMILK NO-CHURN ICE CREAM VARIATION: Substitute ½ cup buttermilk for whole milk and 1 teaspoon lemon juice for vanilla. After transferring cream mixture to loaf pan, dollop 1/3 cup strawberry jam over top. Swirl jam into cream mixture using tines of fork before freezing.

Butterscotch sauce

Makes about 1½ cups

INGREDIENTS

1 cup packed (7 ounces) brown sugar

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

8 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon water

½ cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS: Heat sugar, corn syrup, butter and water in medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often, until sugar is fully dissolved, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, without stirring, until mixture begins to bubble, 1 to 2 minutes. Off heat, carefully stir in cream and vanilla; mixture will bubble and steam. Continue to stir until sauce is smooth. Let cool slightly. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks; gently warm in microwave, stirring every 10 seconds, until pourable, before using.)

Whipped cream

Makes about 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch table salt

DIRECTIONS: Whip the ingredients on medium-low speed to ensure the sugar, vanilla and salt are evenly dispersed in the cream, before increasing the mixer speed to achieve soft peaks (our preference for dolloping).

Classic hot fudge sauce

Makes about 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

1¼ cups sugar

2/3 cup whole milk

¼ teaspoon table salt

1/3 unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and chilled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS: Heat sugar, milk and salt in medium saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking gently, until sugar has dissolved and liquid starts to bubble around edges of saucepan, about 6 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add cocoa and whisk until smooth.

Off heat, stir in chocolate and let sit for 3 minutes. Whisk sauce until smooth and chocolate is fully melted. Whisk in butter and vanilla until fully incorporated and sauce thickens slightly. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 month; gently warm in microwave, stirring every 10 seconds, until pourable, before using.)

ORANGE HOT FUDGE VARIATION: Bring milk and eight 3-inch strips orange zest to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Off heat, cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Strain the milk mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing on the orange zest to extract as much liquid as possible. Return milk to now-empty saucepan and proceed with recipe as directed.

— RECIPES COURTESY OF AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN

Peak-season plums and blackberries create a tangy topper for ice cream sundaes.

AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN

Scoops galore!

Step into these ten parlors for every ice cream style imaginable

BY LINDA ZAVORAL AND JESSICA YADEGARAN

It’s getting hot out there!

Whether churned in vintage equipment or made with a little tech savvy, ice cream is a summertime treat with enduring appeal. So here are 10 of our favorite Bay Area scoop shops, from classics to trendsetters.

OLD SCHOOL

Loard’s Ice Cream & Candies

Orinda

Step into this 71-year-old ice cream parlor in Orinda Theatre Square, and you’ll feel like you’ve gone back in time. Loard’s Ice Cream & Candies is retro in all the right ways, from the blackand-white tile floors and pink vinyl booths to the petite heartbacked chairs. There always seems to be a kid licking a cone with a grandparent in tow — and the countertops are lined with fudge, candies and boxed chocolates.

Loard’s offers 45 flavors, including a generous selection of sherbet. You’ll find a good balance between old-school flavors, such as Butter Brickle and Mocha Almond Fudge, and modern global options, like Horchata and Matcha Green Tea. They do scoops, of course, but also floats, milkshakes, ice cream sandwiches and something called a Sherbet Freeze: seltzer water blended with sherbet and topped with whipped cream and a cherry.

The scoop: We kept it old-school with a single scoop ($6) of Peanut Butter Fudge, a rich, perfect balance of chocolate and peanut butter goodness. Don’t eat dairy? They’ll soon offer eight flavors from Mr. Dewie’s Cashew Creamery.

Details: Open from noon daily at 230 Brookwood Road, Orinda; www. loardsorinda.com.

ALL NATURAL Sweet Fix Creamery

San Jose

The dozens of flavors of ice cream are all made in house at this scoop shop — with all-natural ingredients, no artificial anything — making this a feel-good treat with, ahem, a 16% butterfat content. A simple shop tucked into an

The Cauldron ice cream shop in North San Jose wows crowds of dessert lovers with its frozen treats made with liquid nitrogen and waffle irons. ANDA CHU/STAFF

East Side shopping center, Sweet Fix is the place to be on sweltering San Jose nights, because it’s open until 10:30 p.m. on weekdays and 11:30 on weekends.

Longtime ice cream guy Tom Nykamp, the new owner of this shop founded by Evelyn Rojas, has kept the 104-flavor rotation (24 at any given time, including several Italian fruit ices and seasonal creations) and added to it. Look for his trendy Strawberry Matcha and a blast from the past, old-fashioned Butter Pecan. A fun experiment, Horchata Salted Sweet Corn, is a hit with customers. “To me, it tastes like Kellogg’s Corn Pops,” he says.

What’s next? Sweet Fix is expanding with a Peninsula shop.

The scoop: Popular with all ages, Banana Brownie has been the signature flavor here for years. But we couldn’t resist one of the new creations, Cherry Amaretto Crackle ($4.99 single scoop, $7.49 double, $8.99 triple, and shakes are $9.75).

Details: Open daily from 11:30 a.m. till late at 2715 McKee Road, San Jose; www. sweetfixcreamery.com

INDIAN INSPIRED

Koolfi Creamery

San Leandro

Named after the beloved Indian frozen dairy dessert, this charming little San Leandro scoop shop and café with the peach exterior and light-strewn front patio has been open for only seven months, but it is already a neighborhood favorite -–and a destination.

Through their five-year pop-up, married owners Priti Narayanan and Madhuri “Mads” Anji built a loyal following for small-batch ice cream made with Straus Organic Dairy and inspired by Indian sweets, from Mango Lassi and Mom’s Cardamom to Kheer Rice Pudding and South Indian Filter Coffee laced with chicory. Their dosalike waffle cones are highly craveable, too. Made from fermented rice and lentil batter, they’re vegan, gluten-free and only slightly sweet.

On any given day, they’re scooping about a dozen unique flavors — and some seasonal specials, such as Dates & Nuts during Ramadan — in addition to a few epic

sundaes and savory items. No one should have to decide between ice cream and Spicy Indian Cheese Toast, just sayin’.

The scoop: Gulab Jamun Sundae ($7.50). You get two warm gulab jamuns (decadent fried balls of dough) drenched in cardamom syrup and served with your scoop of choice and topped with chopped pistachios and rose petals.

Details: Open 4 to 8 p.m. daily at 599 MacArthur Blvd., San Leandro; https:// koolficreamery.com.

RETRO COOL

Preston’s Candy & Ice Cream

Burlingame

The vintage signs outside and the checkerboard floor inside are reason enough to put Preston’s on any list of beloved ice cream parlors. It’s a look that transports you to yesteryear. New owner Javier

Mohammad Chehreghani and his son Alvand, 4, of Orinda, enjoy ice cream cups at Loard’s Ice Cream & Candies in Orinda.

JANE TYSKA/STAFF

Santiago, a career chocolatier, bought the iconic shop recently from longtime owner Irene Preston and vowed to keep making her customers’ nostalgic favorites — honeycomb, peanut brittle, pecan turtles — while making a name for himself with his contemporary chocolate bars under the Javier Confectionery brand.

Santiago is also keeping the ice cream tradition alive. The shop scoops 20 to 30 flavors of Loard’s ice cream ($4.95 for a small cone or cup, $5.95 medium), and he’s making the often-requested Presti Bars ($5.65), ice cream sandwiched between two freshly baked cookies and covered in chocolate. The bars come in several flavors, including vanilla, burgundy cherry and espresso.

The scoop: The top seller is the Mint Chip ice cream, and it’s easy to see why. Preston’s makes the mint chocolate candy, then Loard’s uses that to create this

custom flavor for Preston’s.

Details: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday-Sunday. 1170 Broadway, Burlingame; https://prestonscandyshop.com/

DRIVE-THRU Meadowlark Dairy Pleasanton

There are few summer experiences more delightfully Bay Area than pulling up to the Meadowlark Dairy “milk” sign and ordering a towering soft-serve cone. The first certified dairy in California, Meadowlark is more than a century old and has operated its downtown Pleasanton processing plant and drivethrough since 1969, delivering milk to area schools and selling other dairy products, including cottage cheese, sour cream and, yes, ice cream.

Roll down your window, and a local teen will take your order for a small, medium or large cone or cup in one of three classic flavors: strawberry, vanilla or chocolate. They also offer orange and pineapple, which are vegan and can be swirled with the others.

The scoop: That orange and vanilla ‘sicle ($3-$3.50) is creamy, sweet, tangy and refreshing.

Details: Open from 8 a.m. daily at 57 W. Neal St., Pleasanton; https:// themeadowlarkdairy.com.

INSTAGRAM HIT Icicles

Cupertino, Newark and other locations

Icicles is where you go when you want dessert and a show. Rolled ice cream originated with Thailand’s street vendors, and some fascinated Bay Area tourists with an entrepreneurial bent just knew it would be a hit here, too. The Icicles concept rolled out in 2016 with a shop in San Jose’s Willow Glen; now there are nine in Northern California.

Select from the 20 flavors — Cereal Killer, Strawberry Fantasy and Nutella & Chill are faves — and watch as your ice cream is made from scratch. Cream, flavorings and add-ins are poured onto a super-cold pan, then scraped and chopped, chopped, chopped until the mixture solidifies just enough to be spread out wafer-thin. Then it’s scraped into rolls that are placed, end up, in a cup — all while customers record the action for social media.

Lines are long, because this

Top: Maegan Palacios prepares Thai-style rolled ice cream at Icicles in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood.

NHAT V. MEYER/STAFF

Bottom: Owner Javier Santiago, right, talks with former owner Irene Preston at Preston’s Candy and Ice Cream in Burlingame.

JANE TYSKA/STAFF

is a labor-intensive process. But the result — thick ice cream that doesn’t melt quickly — makes the wait worthwhile.

The scoop: This unusual sundae is a big one that comes with unlimited toppings ($12.50). We like it loaded up with berries and bananas, but you might prefer pretzels and lychee jelly and granola and cheesecake bites and toasted coconut and ... you get the idea. Whatever you select, make sure to ask for a roasted marshmallow. That’s the cherry on top of this sundae.

Details: Open from noon to 10 p.m. daily at 19622 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino. Also in San Jose, Gilroy, Mountain View, Pleasanton, Newark, San Mateo, San Francisco, Sacramento; https:// iciclescreamroll.com/

CLASSIC PARLOR

Tucker’s Alameda

Open since 1941 in a white brick building with a red and white awning, this quintessential dessert shop is home to the midcentury malted chocolate Cho Cho — the pint with a Popsicle stick — and a whopping 60 flavors of “super creamed” ice cream, with about 30 available at any given time. That’s not to discount the list of sherbets, sugar-free scoops and nondairy treats on offer at this Park Street institution. There’s literally something for everyone.

Whether you fancy a 12-scoop Kitchen Sink sundae, a frozen chocolate-covered banana or a single scoop of Marble Butterscotch in a cake cone, just order at the counter and take a seat at one of the tables lining the faux brick interior or on the back patio. Don’t miss the custom ice cream cakes, “pup cups” for dogs or the wise sign: “Life Is Uncertain. Eat Dessert First.”

Details: Open from noon daily at 1349 Park St., Alameda; https://tuckersicecream.com.

Uji Time's famed fish-shaped cones, called taiyaki, are a take on the traditional Japanese dessert in the shape of a fish.

FUN FLAVORS

Rick’s Ice Cream

Palo Alto

On a warm evening, imagine a cool scoop being just a short stroll from home. Rick’s is the shop every ice cream lover wishes they had in their neighborhood. For the rest of us, it’s worth a bicycle ride or drive to the Charleston Shopping Center. Also known as “Rick’s Rather Rich, Small Batch, Super Premium Ice Cream,” the shop has carried 48 flavors, all made onsite, for decades.

The lineup includes butterscotchy Butter Beer for Harry Potter fans. Seven types of chocolate ice cream include cinnamon-tinged Mexican Chocolate, for chocoholics. The cabernet-spiked, movie-inspired Sideways flavor is for wine lovers. And for transplants from the Midwest, there’s a fruity flavor rarely seen in these parts, Blue Moon.

The scoop: This is Silicon Valley. If you like a sophisticated, not-too-sweet flavor, go for the Computer Chip, chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips and a hint of orange. This flavor was created not long after the invention of the microchip. As the original Rick is said to have quipped, “One byte and you will be software in our hands.”

Details: Open from noon to 8:30 TuesdayThursday, noon to 9 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday at 3946 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto; www.ricksicecream.com

ASIAN-INSPIRED

Uji Time Dessert

Concord and other locations

This Japanese fusion dessert spot is packed most nights with multigenerational families craving impossibly smooth, soft-serve ice cream in flavors such as Vietnamese coffee, matcha, ube and nutty black sesame, which is made from freshly roasted sesame seeds. Uji Time Concord is modern, swathed in black and oak with white subway tiles, dramatically spot-lit flavors posted on the walls and a large family-style table near the front window looking out onto the bustling Park ‘N Shop. While flavors vary by location

— chocolate and vanilla are, of course, staples — it’s the Asian-inspired seasonal flavors (hello, Mango Thai Basil) and still-warm taiyaki fish-shaped cones ($7.50) that make kiddos young and old smile. Get yours filled with red bean or Nutella ice cream, then choose from a dozen toppings, including soy bean powder or kinako, rice pearls, poppy seeds or Pocky sticks.

The scoop: A single scoop ($5.50) of Yuzu Passionfruit, made with yuzu imported from Japan, offers the perfect balance of sweet and tart. We also loved spring’s seasonal ume, with its salty, tangy plum notes.

Details: Open from 11:30 a.m. daily at 1679B Willow Pass Road, Concord. Also in Lafayette, Berkeley, San Mateo, Newark and San Francisco; www.ujitimedessert.com

CULT FAVORITE Cauldron Ice Cream

San Jose and Fremont

Four years ago, the ice cream trend that took Orange County by storm made its way to the Bay Area. Cauldron uses liquid nitrogen and waffle irons to create photogenic treats — ice cream “roses” nestled in puffy waffle cones — and crowds of dessert lovers showed up at the first Bay Area shop in North San Jose to observe and document the action.

The show’s still going on nightly. Order at the kiosk or the counter, then watch the ice cream laboratory spring into action.

Among the most popular flavors are The Cauldron, vanilla-cinnamon dusted with Oreo cookie Stars, a lovely blend of oolong, jasmine, and green tea. Earl Grey Lavender and Vietnamese Coffee do well, too.

The scoop: Cups start at $6.99, but you’ll want to try the icy-cold ice cream inside a warm Puffle ($9.99) to get the full Cauldron experience.

Details: Opening times vary, but both shops stay open until 10 p.m. SundayThursday and 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday.

1088 E. Brokaw Road, San Jose, and 46509 Mission Blvd., Fremont; www. cauldronicecream.com

Kristine Nguyen adds a rose design to one of Cauldron’s signature puffle cone ice creams. ANDA CHU/STAFF

Gulab jamun, served sundae style with rose petals and pistachio nuts, is one of a dozen different small-batch ice cream flavors at San Leandro’s Koolfi Creamery. Co-owners and spouses Madhuri “Mads” Anji and Priti Narayanan opened their shop in October. JANE TYSKA/STAFF

Bay beachArea bonanza

There are secluded places to explore where the waves lap the shore

BY BEN DAVIDSON

The Bay Area’s Pacific coastline is one of our greatest attractions. The beaches that dot and dapple this rugged meeting of land and sea are why many of us live here. We love how our beaches, large or small, have moods that change with the weather and day of the week, and almost all of them offer a distinctive sense of solace and serenity that can only be found on a sandy, wave-lapped shore.

Don’t like summer crowds? No worries, there are plenty of less-visited beaches in the Bay Area where amazing scenery can be discovered and enjoyed, even on weekends. And our epic wet winter has created a spectacular spring bloom on the coast that will last well into early summer, making a hidden beach adventure this year even more rewarding.

Here are some of our favorite, lesser-known beaches to check out.

SECRETS ALONG THE SAN MATEO COAST

Bean Hollow State Beach is an easy stop for Highway 1 travelers heading south to Santa Cruz or north to Half Moon Bay. The park has two free parking areas, both fairly small, and there are also pull-outs along the road where you can access the park’s shoreline path between Pebble

There is ample opportunity to observe delicate sea creatures at Bean Hollow State Beach’s tide pools; however, swimming is dangerous here because of cold water, rip currents and heavy surf. COURTESY BEN DAVIDSON

Beach and Bean Hollow Beach. My hands-down favorite of these strands is Pebble Beach, a small sandy cove flanked by tide pools and lined with rounded, ocean-polished rocks on its shore. (Note: Enjoy the sights, but collecting of any kind — including pebbles — is prohibited.) My favorite features of Pebble Beach are the amazing, intricate rock formations called tafoni — mudstone, siltstone and sandstone ledges sculpted by the ocean’s salt spray and coastal winds. I love photographing these rocks; if you look long enough, you’ll start to see animal-like shapes — dragonflies, crocodiles, reptiles and dinosaurs — in the rocks.

The two beaches are connected by the mile-long Arroyo de los Frijoles Trail that runs from Pebble Beach to Bean Hollow. Interpretive panels along the trail allow visitors to enjoy a self-guided tour. Harbor seals and their young are often seen napping on the shallow rocks just off the beach or swimming in narrow channels. Seabirds, especially gulls and Brandt’s cormorants, are abundant, and there is ample opportunity to observe delicate sea creatures in the park’s tide

pools, home to anemones, crabs, sea urchins and other marine inhabitants. Please only observe; do not touch or disturb the tide pools. And don’t go in the water. Swimming is dangerous here because of cold water, rip currents and heavy surf.

Pebble Beach is located half a mile south of Pescadero. The parking lot has chemical toilets and stairs that go down to the beach. Bean Hollow Beach, located another half mile south, has a small parking lot with picnic tables and chemical toilets.

Details: parks.ca.gov/beanhollow

HALF MOON BAY’S PILLAR POINT BLUFF

Ross’ Cove and nearby Mavericks Beach are secreted away below the ocean-facing bluff of Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay. Make your way through the winding backstreets of Princeton-by-theSea to the small, free parking lot (with chemical toilets) at the base of the point or a nearby overflow lot on the way to the bluff. A supremely photogenic coast greets you after a short hike up West Point Avenue to an unmarked trail

Above: An escape from San Francisco’s streets can be found at secluded Marshall’s Beach, located just north of Baker Beach at the base of the Presidio’s Batteries to Bluffs trail.

Left: After a short hike up West Point Avenue, a photogenic coast greets you as you continue to an unmarked trail leading to the Ross’ Cove trail and a steep descent to the beach on the San Mateo Coast.

COURTESY BEN DAVIDSON

leading to the Ross’ Cove trail and a steep descent to the beach. To access Mavericks Beach, follow the easy-going West Shoreline Access trail from the parking lot around the southern tip of Pillar Point.

The 220-acre bluff top includes a section of the California Coastal Trail and offers views of Half Moon Bay and Pillar Point Harbor, agricultural lands and the world famous Mavericks surf break located approximately half a mile off shore, due west from the Pillar Point Air Force Station (the big golf ball-like structure).

Ross’ Cove, the beach below the westernmost side of the bluff, is part of the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and located within the

Montara State Marine Reserve. It has been designated as a Marine Protected Area, the highest level of protection. It’s perfect for beach walks and picnics and offers stellar Pacific views. Mavericks Beach offers tide pools and views of Princeton harbor. Harbor seals are often seen frolicking nearby or resting on rocky shelves.

After beach-going, be sure to check out the park’s bluff-top Jean Lauer Trail, which wanders along the oceanside cliff and is open to hikers, joggers, bicyclists, equestrians and dog walkers.

Details: smcgov.org/parks/pillar-point-bluff

Limantour Beach in the Point Reyes National Seashore offers miles of wide, sandy beach skirted by dunes and coastal grasses.

COURTESY BEN DAVIDSON

OUTSIDE THE GOLDEN GATE

An amazing escape from San Francisco’s city streets can be found at secluded Marshall’s Beach, located just north of Baker Beach at the base of the Presidio’s Batteries to Bluffs trail. A large, free parking lot is located near the top of the trail, or for a longer walk, you can park at the Warming Hut parking lots and follow the Bay trail to the Coastal trail to the Batteries to Bluff trailhead. Wander from the lot through a small grove of Monterey Cypress, then descend down a series of steep wooden steps past a small outlook with dramatic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, to the

rock-strewn beach. In summer, sand typically replaces the winter beach stones, and you can enjoy the sandy shore while you picnic or wander the shoreline toward the bridge past huge, wave-swept boulders. (Note: The strands of sand hidden beyond these boulders are popular with au naturel sun bathers.)

The trail and beach offer spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate. If you’re lucky, in summer, you can spot migrating humpback whales off the coast and occasional bay porpoises and harbor seals swimming by. Shorebirds abound, and native wildflowers dot the serpentine rock cliffs and trail-

side. Marshall Beach is an epic spot for sunsets over the Pacific, but be prepared for the steep climb back up to the parking area. No restrooms or water available.

Details: presidio.gov/places/marshallsbeach

POINT REYES TREASURES

Perhaps the most zenlike beach strolling experience in the Bay Area can be found at delightful Limantour Beach in the Point Reyes National Seashore. Miles of solitude and serenity can be found on this wide, sandy beach skirted by dunes and coastal grasses. The calm shore is gently lapped

by waves, making it safe for play along the water’s edge. The beach runs from long, narrow Limantour Spit (typically closed until June 30 to protect harbor seal pups) for more than four miles southeast to Santa Maria Beach and Sculptured Beach, where a collection of rocks reveal tide pools at low tide.

Limantour is a bountiful wildlife area, where you can see shorebirds feed in the wetlands and along the beaches, especially during the fall. Ducks abound in winter, and harbor seals are often seen bobbing offshore or basking in the sun at the western end of the spit. Mother gray whales and their calves are seen along the shoreline during the spring. Free parking and restrooms available.

Details: nps.gov/places/point-reyeslimantour-beach

In Tomales Bay State Park on the Point Reyes peninsula, Hearts Desire Beach is a hidden gem, a perfect day trip destination in bucolic West Marin. This shallow, sheltered cove is swimmable on hot summer days and a great place to picnic, go for a hike or launch a kayak. One of the finest remaining virgin groves of Bishop pine in California is found in the park’s Jepson Memorial Grove, reached by way of a mile-long trail. Wildlife in the area includes foxes, raccoons, badgers, weasels, rabbits, deer and bobcats, and birdlife is abundant. There’s plenty of space to lose yourself, but the parking lot ($7-$8 day use fee) is in high demand, so if you’re visiting on a weekend, plan on arriving early. Restrooms and water are available.

Details: parks.ca.gov/tomalesbay

A couple heads up the trail from Heart’s Desire Beach in Tomales Bay Sate Park in Marin County.

FRANKIE FROST/SPECIAL TO THE MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL

Seaside shacks serve up sumptuous tastes of the briny deep

BY BEN DAVIDSON

There’s nothing like a tasty seafood meal after a long day at the beach. If you’re hankering for some fresh or barbecued oysters, crispy calamari, a bowl of steaming clam chowder or a plate of grilled local halibut, here are a few suggestions for seafood spots near some of our favorite hidden beaches in Half Moon Bay and out at Point Reyes.

BARBARA’S FISHTRAP

Half Moon Bay

With its neon fish sign, waterside location and laidback feel, Barbara’s Fishtrap is the very epitome of a seafood shack. This casual eatery is Princeton Harbor’s go-to spot for local seafood, including crispy calamari, steamed clams, scallops and seafood pasta.

Details: Open for lunch and dinner daily at 281 Capistrano Road in Half Moon Bay; barbarasfishtrap.com.

SAM’S CHOWDER HOUSE

Half Moon Bay

This very popular harborside eatery offers a full oyster bar — and legendary lobster rolls. (The Today Show dubbed the latter one of the five best sandwiches in the country.) Start with crab cakes, dayboat scallops, roasted garlic chili prawns, New England and Manhattan chowder or New Orleans-style gumbo. Then try a lobster roll or one of the other mains, which include local halibut, branzino sea bass, petrale sole and King salmon.

Details: Open for lunch and dinner daily at 4210 Highway One, Half Moon Bay; www.samschowderhouse.com.

SALTWATER OYSTER DEPOT

Inverness

This light, airy seafood spot on Tomales Bay offers raw and broiled oysters as well as crab cakes and petrale sole with lemon butter couscous.

Details: Open for lunch Friday-Sunday and dinner Friday-Monday at 12781 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Inverness; saltwateroysterdepot. com.

MARSHALL STORE

Marshall

This charming bayside seafood shack offers fresh, grilled and smoked oysters along with clam chowder, fish stew and fish tacos. Order at the counter, then grab a seat outdoors.

Details: Open for lunch Thursday-Monday (limited menu Thursday) at 19225 Highway One, Marshall; themarshallstore.com.

HOG ISLAND OYSTER COMPANY

Marshall

Hog Island is the premier place for mollusks on Tomales Bay. Its Hog Shack sells live shellfish and picnic provisions to-go, and the full-service Boat Oyster Bar offers raw and barbecued oysters, cheese plates and salads for outdoor dining .

Details: The Hog Shack is open daily. As of press time, the Boat Oyster Bar was finishing up renovations and offering Friday-Monday food service by reservation only. 20215 Highway One in Marshall; https://hogislandoysters.com

TONY’S SEAFOOD

Marshall

Owned by Hog Island, this nearby restaurant offers sit-down dining indoors and out with a menu of raw and grilled oysters, Dungeness crab, seared King salmon, clam chowder, clams linguine, cioppino and more.

Details: Open for lunch Tuesday-Sunday and dinner Friday-Sunday at 18863 Highway One in Marshall; http://hogislandoysters.com.

Above: Grilled oysters with bacon are served with buttery bread at the Marshall Store on Highway 1. JOHN METCALFE/STAFF

Left: The ceviche tostada at The Marshall Store is best enjoyed on the deck with stunning water views. LISA KRIEGER/STAFF

STORY BY JOHN METCALFE ILLUSTRATION BY DAVIDE BARCO

The Bay Area, perhaps more than any other part of the West Coast, has always been shaped by its relationship to the water. Today, that maritime history lives on everywhere you look, from unique dishes and tipples to a boisterous sailing culture right down to the literal foundation of cities built upon ships.

“The Ohlone and the Coast Miwok — folks who called the Bay Area home before the Europeans arrived — were at their heart a maritime people. They used the technology available to them, tule-reed canoes mostly, to go on hunting and fishing expeditions, and the result of that activity can be seen in the detritus they left behind,” says Timothy Lynch, author of “Beyond the Golden Gate: A Maritime History of California.”

“These midden sites or shell mounds — you can see one in Emeryville, for example, that was several hundred feet long and dozens of feet high — were really reflective of resource acquisition. They were going out in pursuit of marine mammals or shellfish to augment their diet, which was basically agrarian but needed a lot of protein you can get from the Bay.”

Over in San Francisco, a different kind of detritus lies hidden beneath the ground — the skeletons of Gold Rush-era ships. More than 40 have been found, and every once in a while, construction crews building a new skyscraper will accidentally dig into one of these wooden hulks. At that point, an archaeologist has to be called over to examine the remains.

“In May of 1851, there was an incredible fire that took out a third to a half of San Francisco, particularly along the waterfront, which is where the city mostly was,” says Richard Everett, former exhibits curator at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. “That burned to the water line dozens of ships and, in the mess of the smoking shoreline, they started rapidly filling the Bay over. That was the process of the burial — pushing sand hills down over these ships.”

One of these charred vessels, the whaler Niantic, was found resting near the present-day Transamerica Pyramid holding a treasure trove of intact Champagne bottles. A piece of her stern is now on display at the Maritime Museum in Aquatic Park which, incidentally, holds monthly sea chantey singing nights. Nearby, at Hyde Street Pier, is an equally impressive sight: a collection of ships built mostly in the late 1800s, lovingly restored and ripe for public exploring.

Steve Hyman, a marine preservationist in San Francisco, got involved in the care of these venerable ships by “not listening to my mother and hanging out in the wrong bars,” he jokes. “I got upset with my girlfriend one evening and ended up at Specs’ bar in North Beach. I ran into some great drunken sailors who invited me to the waterfront, where they were sailing on a replica of Sir Francis Drake’s ship, the Golden Hind.”

Hyman was inspired to learn the craft of restoring historic ships and has since struck every wooden spar on the Balclutha, an 1886 square-rigger in the Hyde

Above: A sign greets visitors at Tiburon’s historic Ark Row, where shops and boutiques are tucked inside actual arks.

JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO/ STAFF

Left: Peek under the bar at San Francisco’s High Horse restaurant, and you can catch a glimpse of the city’s original seawall.

RAY CHAVEZ/STAFF

Street fleet. Even though the Balclutha looks tops today, its shelter deck has made 17 trips around Cape Horn. Hyman finds it thrilling to walk those planks, thinking about what the men who sailed her in those days went through.

“Nineteenth-century sailing ships were lost often — just go missing and never be heard from again,” he says. “Navigation was all done through sextants and a lot of dead reckoning. There were weather incidents, especially off Cape Horn in the Roaring Forties, and then you get around 50 South, where the gale-force winds are extreme. There were dismastings constantly, and the ships that could, would limp back to the Falkland Islands.” (That’s Roaring Forties, as in latitude, not chronology.)

The sailors who made the journey around the Horn as well as those arriving via other routes would come to influence the region’s cuisine. Most people know about cioppino, that rich, brothy stew of the day’s catch invented in the last half of the 19th century by Italian-American fishermen based out of Fisherman’s Wharf. (It’s served all over the city, though a lot of folks swear by the crab-

loaded version at Woodhouse Fish Co. on Market Street.) Less known is that tortoise steak and soup were once ubiquitous on Gold Rush-era menus.

“Ships would often stop at the Galapagos Islands, where they could get fresh meat on the hoof or on the claw, whatever a tortoise has,” says Everett. “They’d grab these hundreds-of-pounds Galapagos tortoises, turn them on their backs so they couldn’t keep crawling away, then it’d take several men to carry one to the ship. They’d keep them in the bilges, because you can’t kill a turtle — they’d just live in the pitch black, down in the bilge in the water.”

“They even made a pen for them up near Sacramento,” he says. “Some guy was selling South American tortoise meat out of the banks of the river there — it was just incredible how lucrative and sought-after it was.”

The grape brandy Pisco became popular due to ships stocking up on provisions in ports in Chile and Pisco, Peru. Pisco Punch, a locally derived cocktail, achieved notoriety for its innocent taste and concussive aftereffects — one writer said it “went down as lightly as lemonade and came back

Above: Tiburon’s Ark Row originally consisted of small houseboats or arks moored at the base of Corinthian Island. This striking structure is actually two 1906 arks stacked on top of each other.

JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO/ STAFF

Right: The High Horse restaurant is known for its Pisco Punch, a cocktail popular in San Francisco since the Gold Rush.

RAY CHAVEZ/STAFF

Right: Today, this is Lola’s Taqueria at Tiburon’s historic Ark Row, but the building was originally a 1920 ark known as a Folk Victorian Dwelling, which was moved to its present location and renovated in 1960.

with the kick of a roped steer.” You can find a tasty contemporary version at the High Horse, a Washington Street saloon that has part of San Francisco’s original seawall underneath the bar (they’ll let you take a look, if you ask nicely).

“At the Hyde Street Pier, you’ll also find the Eureka, a ferryboat and reputedly the longest wooden ship still afloat. Before the Golden Gate and Bay bridges were built in the 1930s, ferries like her were the primary means of getting back and forth across the Bay — and not just for passengers. The Berkeley Pier (now closed to the public) used to stretch almost to Treasure Island and was used to ferry cars from San Francisco to U.C. Berkeley football games and other East Bay events. And then there were the mighty train ferries.”

“You had railroad ferries that would take entire trains from one side of the Bay to the other, where they’d be reconnected to the tracks,” says Lynch. “A barge would actually have railroad tracks on it. The train would go right onto the barge, and the barge would take off, and then, as you approached the dock on the other side of the Bay, there’d be railroad ties on the dock, and the train would just chug ahead.”

And of course, people have always had their own boats — the Bay is ringed by more than 40 yacht clubs, including the oldest on the West Coast, the circa-1869 San Francisco Yacht Club (which is actually in Belvedere). These clubs exploded in number in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries, partly as a way to conspicuously consume wealth but also to transact business and climb the social ladder.

“You needed to have ‘membership’ to be in the club — and I don’t just mean the yacht club, I mean the social club — to be able to be invited to the weddings of the century, to be privy to the conversations about finance and industrialization,” says Lynch. “You had the blue bloods, and then individuals who might not qualify for admission would form their own. Then, of course, there’s

no better comeuppance than to challenge the original club that denied you entrance to a friendly race and take home the trophy as a newcomer.”

“You’ll find some of these clubs participating in Opening Day on the Bay, a spring festival that marks the beginning of the sailing season with a blessing of the fleet and a parade of decorated boats sailing from the Golden Gate Bridge. This tradition supposedly has humble roots in the the ark culture of Marin.

Yes, arks — those blocky houseboats still popular on English rivers and in the eastern United States. In the early 1900s, there were more than 50 on the water and moored on the shores near Belvedere and Tiburon. They had nice porches and Victorian moulding and were manned by artists, sea captains, railroad workers, bird hunters, gardeners and other folks who used them as full-time dwellings or vacation haunts.

“Many of the arks that were in the Belvedere cove in the summer would be towed through an opening between Tiburon and Belvedere under a drawbridge to the more sheltered Tiburon lagoon for the winter,” says Dave Gotz, town historian for Tiburon. “In the spring, they would be towed back out (along with other boats) — this is the origin of ‘Opening Day on the Bay.’”

The arks eventually lost their glow, due to urban development and aging wooden hulls. Some were brought up on land and converted for commercial purposes in the trendy Tiburon shopping district of Ark Row. But back in the day, they were quite a sight to behold.

“Perhaps the most unusual ark was the Nautilus — most of the arks had names — which was made from four San Francisco streetcars, side by side and end to end,” says Gotz. “The more elaborate arks were owned mostly by San Francisco residents, and some Belvedere homeowners also had arks to entertain in the summers. Most likely, they would be enjoying Champagne!”

Above: Part of the San Francisco’s original seawall is behind the bar of the High Horse restaurant.

RAY CHAVEZ/STAFF

JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO/STAFF

Seek and ye shall find five delights at Hyde Street Pier

STORY BY JASON MASTRODONATO PHOTOS BY KARL MONDON

San Francisco’s Hyde Street Pier is perhaps best known for its century-old ships and incredible views. But since the pandemic restrictions ended, the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park — which includes the historic pier, vintage wooden vessels and the World War II-era USS Pampanito, a maritime museum and the Aquatic Park beach and cove — has fully reopened and is hoping to provide something new for its 4 million visitors a year.

“It’s about bringing people together, uplifting their spirits and giving them the community people have been itching for,” said Dale Dualan, the park’s public information officer.

Yes, we’re talking sea chanteys.

Everyone knows about the historic sailing ship Balclutha, but don’t miss these hidden delights while you’re there:

1. THE FARALLON LENS, A 19TH-CENTURY LIGHTHOUSE

Any trip to this national park site should start at the visitors center across the street from the Hyde Street Pier entrance. Open on Fridays and weekends, it offers a free museum experience loaded with interactive exhibits and maritime artifacts.

Turn left upon entering, and you’ll bump into the top half of what

The three-masted Balclutha, built in 1886, is docked next to the Hercules, a 1907era steam tug, at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park on the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco.

was once the Farallon Island lighthouse. The Fresnel lens was constructed in Paris in 1855 and arrived in San Francisco aboard a French ship. With beams that could be seen as far as 26 miles out to sea, the lens took about eight minutes to rotate around a lamp, as it steered ships away from the rocky shores in the Gulf of the Farallones. It was replaced in 1961 and now rests in the visitors center.

2. THE EUREKA

Upon entering Hyde Street Pier — which is free for children 15 and under and $15 for adults — visitors often flock to the Balclutha, a stunning 19th-century trade ship that looks like it could’ve been driven by Captain Jack Sparrow himself. But just across the pier sits another 19th-century vessel that once revolutionized local transportation: the Eureka.

Before you could drive across the Golden Gate Bridge on Highway101, the Eureka steam ferry boat was your best ticket to Marin. Built to carry 10 railroad freight cars and 500 passengers, it was upgraded after World War I to accommodate 20 automobiles and 2,300 passengers.

Today, the Eureka is considered the largest wooden structure still floating on an American waterfront. While it no longer offers guided tours, this massive structure is nearly 300 feet in length and remains a marvel to observe.

3. TALES FROM THE SHIPWRIGHTS

Lead shipwright Charter Kays has worked on Hyde Street Pier for more than 30 years and still finds the most enjoyable part of his job is interacting with visitors. Like most of the shipwrights and park rangers on the pier, Kays is eager to bring curious visitors into often-unexplored parts of the ancient ships and share exclu-

Ranger Peter Kasin leads the annual singing of sea chanteys held by the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

SAN FRANCISCO MARITIME NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

Ken Petrini works aboard the 1890 steam ferryboat, Eureka, on display at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park in San Francisco.

In this file photo from 1998, Kenichi Horie sits on top of the 19-foot sailboat, Mermaid, that he used for the firstever solo trans-Pacific voyage in 1962. It’s displayed at the Maritime Museum at Aquatic Park.

AP PHOTO/SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, MICHAEL MALONEY

sive looks into his work on the waterfront.

As you walk down the pier toward the vessels, be sure to poke your head into the work station on the right. You’ll often find shipwrights working on upgrades and repairs to the boats, and they’re happy to give folks a peek at their work and answer questions.

4. THE MERMAID

Don’t miss this unassuming, 19-foot plywood sailboat that now rests in the Maritime Museum. Japanese sailor Kenichi Horie threw caution to the wind when he sailed it on the first-ever solo trans-Pacific voyage in 1962.

Without a passport or money, Horie and the Mermaid snuck away from the shores of Osaka under cover of darkness to avoid authorities, then embarked on a grueling 94-day journey covering 5,300 miles before arriving in San Francisco.

The museum, which is free to enter, hosted Horie last year, when he returned to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his voyage.

5. SEA CHANTEY SINGALONGS

Longtime park ranger Peter Kasin has created a remarkable way to interpret history through music with his monthly Sea Chantey Sings.

The free-to-attend singalongs used to be done aboard the Eureka, then transitioned to a Zoom format during the pandemic. They finally returned in person in March, when 170 people gathered on the top floor of the Maritime Museum to sing age-old songs from the sea.

Visiting Hyde Street Pier with kids or grandchildren? Education ranger Anne Monk recommends children ask rangers for demonstrations and interactive tours, participate in the Maritime Museum visual scavenger hunt to earn junior ranger badges or download the Agents of Discovery app to complete maritime quests. A summer camp offers kids a chance to row, build boats, sail and more from 9 a.m to 3 p.m. during the week. And fourth graders can register for the National Park’s “Every Kid Outdoors Pass,” which allows fourth graders and their families free entry to all National Parks.

Details: Hyde Street Pier ($15) is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at 2905 Hyde St. in San Francisco. The Maritime Museum, which is housed in the Aquatic Park Bathhouse Building at 900 Beach St., is open Wednesday-Sunday. And the visitor center at 499 Jefferson St. is open FridaySunday. Find details at www.nps.gov/safr/.

Above: Michael McGarvin plays the role of first mate as he teaches a group of San Carlos students about life aboard the 19th century Balclutha.

Left: Ken Petrini works aboard the Eureka, an 1890 steam ferryboat.

Seven ways to set sail, no seamanship required

BY BRITTANY DELAY

One of the main attractions of the Bay Area is, well, the Bay. Vast and sparkling blue, those waters offer an open invitation to adventure, but they can be a little intimidating to those who haven’t quite gotten their sea legs — or a yacht.

But here are a few ways to get out on the Bay, its estuaries and lakes — no experience necessary.

1. THE SCHOONER FREDA B

This classic, meticulously maintained, 80-foot schooner is beloved by locals and tourists alike. The boat is available for public sails as well as private charters and offers gourmet bites and fine wines along with those breathtaking views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, Angel Island, Alcatraz and, of course, the Sausalito and San Francisco skylines.

Details: Public sailing events, which range from sunset sails to holiday events, start at $99. The schooner is moored at Slip 465 at the Sausalito Yacht Harbor. Find details at schoonerfredab.com/.

2. DISCOVERY BAY PONTOONS

You can explore Discovery Bay and the Delta with a captained cruise for up to six people through CB’s Pontoon Boat Rentals for no-effort sightseeing and splashy fun. Or you can DIY it here with a rental pontoon boat, water bike or stand-up paddle board.

Details: Captained cruises start at $250 per hour. Pontoon boats can be rented by experienced boaters, ages 30 and up, for $300 for two hours; water bikes and paddleboards are $50 for two hours. Find CB’s at 5901 Marina Road in Discovery Bay and at https:// cbspontoonboatrentals.com.

3. A PRIVATE YACHT CHARTER

You don’t need your own boat to get out on the Bay. The captain and crew at Captain Kirk’s San Francisco Sailing will take you out for a sail aboard one of their three yachts. Board the 50-foot Osprey in Alameda, for example, for a sail around the Oakland Estuary. Head for Sausalito, where the 35-foot Mahalo is berthed, or San Francisco for the 50-foot Bay Wolf. You’re welcome to try your hand at sailing, but if you’d rather kick back and leave it to the professionals, they’ve got you covered.

Details: Captain Kirk’s three-hour cruises start at $175 to $250 per hour with one to six passengers aboard. Find details about these and other charters, including harbor porpoise trips or Angel Island barbecues at www.sfbaysail.com.

4. LAKE MERRITT GONDOLAS

Spend a sunny day or romantic evening Italian-style in a Venetian gondola — no passport necessary. You’ll find Dolce Vita Gondola at Oakland’s Lake Merritt, a large tidal lagoon surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. Board one of these light, flat-bottomed boats and enjoy the ride as your gondolier guides you across the water. Back on shore, wander up from Dolce Vita Gondola’s private dock to the Lake Chalet Seafood Bar & Grill for a post-float sip.

Details: Dolce Vita Gondola offers private rides starting at $90 per hour at 1520 Lakeside Drive on the shores of Lake Merritt, Oakland.

Find details and book a ride at dolcevitagondola.com.

5. SAN FRANCISCO WATER TAXI

Captained cruises and private yacht charters are fabulous adventures, of course, but they do require some planning. For a more casual and affordable mini-excursion, consider San Francisco Water Taxi. Their bright yellow boats run alongside the San Francisco waterfront, offering five easy hop-on, hop-off stops. Enjoy a quick outing on the Bay that gets you right where you to need to be, without the hassle of navigating city streets or traffic jams.

Details: The Water Taxi stops at Hyde Street Fishing Harbor, Pier 39, Pier 15 (Exploratorium), Pier 40 (Oracle Ballpark) and Pier 52 (Chase Center), with $10 boat rides or a $15 day pass north of the Bay Bridge, and $15 to $35 rides to Oracle Ballpark and Chase Center. Find details at www.sfwatertaxi.net.

6. FERRY HOPPING

One local charm that sets the Bay Area apart from other regions is its ferries. It’s cheaper than chartering — by far — and vastly more scenic than BART. Cross the water to get from port to port or stop off at must-see destinations you simply can’t reach on foot, like Alcatraz or Angel Island. With sea breezes riffling your hair all the while, the whole trip will feel like an adventure, not a commute

Details: Ferries criss-cross the Bay from Sausalito, Tiburon, San Francisco, Richmond, Vallejo, Oakland, Alameda and more. Find Golden Gate Ferry schedules and details at www.goldengate.org, and San Francisco Bay Ferry details at sanfranciscobayferry.com/.

7. CHECK OUT A YACHT CLUB

Yes, really. It’s no surprise that the Bay Area is home to scores of yacht clubs, each distinctive in its own way. Some are more selective than others, of course, but there are several that welcome even inexperienced sailors. Take Alameda’s Aeolian Yacht Club, for example, a volunteer-driven homeport where the only requirement that matters is a shared love of the sea.

Details: Explore the Aeolian club at aeolianyc.org or try the Cal Sailing Club, which is more of boat club than a yacht one. The club’s monthly open houses — July 16, Aug. 20 and more — are open to all and include free half-hour sails; www.cal-sailing.org.

Above: Dolce Vita Gondola adds a dash of Venetian glamour to the waters of Oakland’s Lake Merritt. COURTESY DOLCE VITA GONDOLA

Left: Moored in Sausalito, the 80-foot Schooner Freda B takes guests out on the Bay to enjoy spectacular views with sea breezes, wine and light bites. SAN FRANCISCO BAY DIGITAL IMAGES

Disabled sailors find freedom and exhilaration in taking to the waves on their own

STORY BY KATIE LAUER PHOTOS BY NHAT V. MEYER

Alex Hruzewicz mentally juggles dozens of ever-changing questions while skippering a 41-foot keelboat named Believe along the San Francisco Bay.

What’s the best moment to unfurl sails in 15-knot winds? How fast are the currents moving? Is there enough clearance for the rudder? Are any ferries barreling towards the boat? Will the tides be high enough to dock? Is there enough pressure on the lines?

“It’s a dance with Mother Nature,” Hruzewicz said, tacking into the shifting gusts using the boat’s electric winches as he sails back to Pier 40 at the Embarcadero. “You can play with the wind and waves. There’s an adrenaline rush and a peacefulness — there’s not much like it.”

After growing up around boats in Poland, he spent years working on commercial waters along the East Coast and picking up sailing delivery gigs. But after he broke his spine and both legs in a serious accident,

he questioned if he would ever be able to sail again. Fortunately, the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS) works to ensure that the answer is always “yes.”

Since 1989, the nonprofit has offered hundreds of rides on specialized boats, specifically designed and adapted to accommodate different sailing abilities, in the South Beach Marina harbor. By 1992, the organization had adopted a new pirate mascot, embracing the legacy of the “original disabled sailors” who utilized eye patches, peg legs and hooks for lost hands.

Whether someone is paralyzed or blind, an amputee or contending with neurological disabilities, BAADS has a trove of electric servos, winches and joysticks to help control the boat’s mainsheet and jib. There are harnesses and swing lifts to get sailors into the boats, as well as gimbaled seats and cushions to ease the toll of the windy ride. And able-bodied

Above: Hillsborough resident Charles Wienbar sets sail with Denver sailor Chris Kelley in a Hansa 303 near San Francisco’s Pier 30 for a Saturday sail with the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS).

Left: Katherine Scannell, a volunteer from Oakland, helps San Francisco resident and BAADS member Chris Burrell with a dab of sunscreen before setting sail at South Beach Harbor.

volunteers and guests help coordinate and set up the sailboats. The organization’s events are open to the public free of charge, offset by voluntary $60 annual memberships.

Kathi Pugh, BAADS’ current commodore, grew up swimming, playing water polo and sailing with her father. After a skiing accident paralyzed her from the chest down, sailing out into the middle of the Bay with BAADS has provided an exhilarating escape from daily life and the limitations that can come with using a power wheelchair — something she previously

thought there was “no way” to accommodate.

“For someone like me, there were very few recreational opportunities available and nothing that was adventurous, had a little bit of danger or a thrill and also took skill,” Pugh said. “After my first trip sailing around Angel Island, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, my world has been rocked and will never be the same.”

She wanted to help share that exact feeling with as many people as possible and make all aspects of sailing accessible. Despite the popular belief that sailing is reserved for wealthy, privileged and able-bodied

Above: BAADS offers sailors such as Oakland’s Laura Groffman, right, who uses a wheelchair, and San Jose’s John Wallace, who is visually impaired, a chance to get out on the water.

Right: Dockmaster Chris Naughton helps Charles Wienbar, a Hillsborough member of the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS), board a Hansa 303 with Chris Kelley, from Denver. Both Wienbar and Kelley use wheelchairs for mobility on land.

people, Pugh said, BAADS’ mission is simple: “Get butts in boats.”

Curious about taking a leisurely cruise beneath the Bay Bridge, where the roar of traffic above falls silent and you might even spot the troll hidden by ironworkers to protect the structure from earthquakes? On Sundays, there are five different keel boats — including the Believe, Flying Fog and Tashi — available for that excursion.

What about a more hands-on sailing experience, independently controlling a boat, up close and personal with the saltwater? More than two dozen dinghies are available on Saturdays, all designed and tested so they may heel but won’t tip over, even in the strongest winds.

BAADS’ opportunities have come a long way since the program first launched in Oakland, acting as the open water arm of the Lake Merritt Adapted Boating Program. Since then, the organization has trained scores of skippers, sponsored racing teams and hosted national championship

Menlo Park resident Nettie Wijsman, center, chats with fellow BAADS members, including, from left, volunteer Cisco Ramos, bosun Alex Hruzewicz, friend Ralph Vomaske and dockmaster Chris Naughton.

races on the bay.

A slew of personal donations of adapted sailboats — often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — and grant funding has helped keep BAADS afloat, allowing its more than 200 members and newcomers alike to feel the freedom of the open water nearly every weekend.

“I just leave my disability with the wheelchair on the dock,” Pugh said. “When I’m out there, I’m just so free. It’s just a thrill and a challenge in a whole different way. I feel such a kinship with the water — being both a Pisces and an adrenaline junkie — so being able to sail is just wonderful.” Sailors and newbies alike come from across the Bay as well as Fresno and Sacramento to go boating, many of whom have never sailed before.

“But we also have a really good core group that is committed to sail every weekend they possibly can,” Pugh said. “One really great thing about sailing is if you really want to take it to another level, you can. Once you

start getting more education and more experience, the world is really your oyster. It’s really fun to have a sport that also stimulates you intellectually.”

Cisco Ramos has taken that to heart, diving head first, so to speak, into several opportunities he would never have had without BAADS.

Starting in 2010, Ramos began feeling symptoms of what would later be diagnosed as multiple sclerosis. It eventually forced him to leave his heavy maintenance job in San Francisco and transition into his new normal of early retirement.

While the idea of even being out on the water used to scare Ramos, a Facebook invite to a BAADS excursion eventually pushed him to step out of his comfort zone — a life changing decision. He has since sailed down to Mexico, co-founded Sail MS, led small boat trips out of the Richmond Yacht Club and sailed internationally with Oceans of Hope.

Ever since his first trip with BAADS, sailing has become a source of both mental and physical therapy — helping him transition into a “new normal,” find empowerment and courage, listen to his body’s intuition, connect with community and find relief from the pain of living with MS.

“I push myself to get out to the docks, get on the boat and sail alone for a while; by the time I start heading back home, all my symptoms are gone,” Ramos said. “A few years ago, I’d never been on a sailboat, and I barely knew how to swim, but when I had the opportunity, I thought, ‘What do I have to lose?’”

Left: San Francisco BAADS member Chris Burrell sails a Hansa Liberty sailboat near Pier 30, top, while fellow member and Oakland resident Laura Groffman takes a second Hansa Liberty out for the afternoon, bottom.

RIVALRY ON THE WATER

Remote-control skippers zip their model yachts around a lake in Golden Gate Park

STORY BY JASON MASTRODONATO PHOTOS BY SHAE HAMMOND

The spectators arrive by accident, not yet aware of the roles they’re about to play at Spreckels Lake in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

A group gathers at a picnic table. A couple takes a seat on a nearby bench. A young woman sinks onto a blanket and pulls out a book. They show up for any number of reasons, none of which is to cheer on Rob Weaver and Jim Harrold, friendly rivals and titans of their sport.

With remote controls attached to straps hanging around their necks and their thumbs pressed gently against their joysticks, they pace the pavement along the 950-foot-long lake, steering their boats around buoys as they duke it out in the Infinity 54 class of the San Francisco Model Yacht Club.

“We get a lot of people watching us,” said Weaver. “Sometimes, we hand them the controls. Once they get a boat and start racing, they get hooked. They get obsessed.”

Spreckels Lake glimmers on this sunny Saturday. Sun-soaked ducks swim near the shore on the west end, as giggling children watch. The east side of the lake is protected by tall eucalyptus trees that force the wind to go around them, creating tricky and often unpredictable patterns for the sailors to navigate.

A lifebuoy, above, is covered in signatures from San Francisco Model Yacht Club members who have fallen into Spreckels Lake while racing their remote-controlled sailboats at Golden Gate Park, left.

The northern side is where the action unfolds. Several members of the Model Yacht Club compete here most days, often with Weaver, a multi-time champion and the commodore of the century-old club, in attendance.

By day, he’s an attorney who could just as well retire, but he reckons his wife never will, and he doesn’t want to be the only one not working. He used to sail big boats on the Bay, but now he spends three days a week down at Spreckels Lake.

Today, his primary opponent is Harrold, a retired butcher and former sailor who got tired of looking for things to do around the house, so he started racing model yachts. That was eight years ago. He’s since won the Infinity 54 class two years running. Weaver has been hot on his tail. Harrold arrives early in the morning, meticulous about race preparation. He lifts his yacht onto a stand and, closing one eye, measures the precise angle of his sails, adjusting them to suit the wind that day.

Above: Children sail a small boat at Spreckels Lake, as San Francisco Model Yacht Club members run a regatta nearby.

Left: Inside the model yacht club’s boathouse at Golden Gate Park, Jim Harrold, of San Bruno, readies his Infinity 54 for the day’s race.

Today there are five racers: Weaver; Harrold; Bob Gallagher, a regular; Steve Ma, a longtime skipper who prefers building the boats over racing them and Craig Fields, a rookie.

They drop their 54-inch boats in the water, and someone flips on an automatic timer, a voice warning just one minute remains until the first race of the day. The five boats swirl around the buoys, careful not to cross the starting line until the horn sounds.

Then, they’re off!

Harrold and Weaver are out in front with a gust of momentum, with Gallgher and Ma a bit behind, and Fields is lost at sea.

On most days, 94-year-old Jason Spiller is out there, too. Spiller, the godfather of the club, has won dozens of times since his first victory in 1995 and continues to outpace the field to earn the prize everyone covets: his name etched on a plaque at the boathouse.

“He’s competitive until he gets tired,” Weaver said. “So we wear him out. But he doesn’t give an inch. He still wins races.”

As the skippers make their first turn, Weaver has a slight lead until he clips a buoy, a devastating mistake that requires him to spin his yacht in a 360-degree turn as a penalty. Harrold’s boat takes advantage, swiftly moves past Weaver’s and sails around the buoy, then back towards the starting line on the other end of the lake.

It’s a sight to see, all five guys with their heads tilted sideways, eyes on their boats, thumbs on the controls as they pace the rim of the lake, carefully reading wind patterns but aware enough to avoid pedestrians moseying by.

“This is how we get our exercise, up and down the lake,” said Harrold, smiling as he speeds down the pavement, guiding his boat to an easy victory.

The skippers regroup for the second of eight races. Some guide their boats back to shore for adjustments. Weaver offers his controls to a newcomer and explains how it works. There are two joysticks: One moves the rudder left and right, the other moves the sails. And it’s definitely not as easy as it looks.

If Weaver’s lucky, he’ll recruit an interested spectator to join the club, but recruiting young people has been nearly impossible. They’re happy to watch when they happen upon a Saturday regatta. Hanging out with retirees on weekday afternoons? That, Weaver said, is a harder sell.

Model yacht racing has been around since at least the mid1800s, though the boats weren’t remote controlled until much later. Until Nikola Tesla demonstrated the first radio-controlled boat in 1898, there were only free sailing yachts. A sailor set the boat’s course, dropped it in the water and hoped for the best.

Adolph Spreckels, the wealthy Bay Area businessman who ran the Spreckels Sugar Company, was an avid model yachtsman. As the story goes, Spreckels grew tired of googly-eyed lovers rowing their boats on Stow Lake, where his model yachts would get steam-

rolled by inattentive Casanovas. Spreckels, who owned all of Golden Gate Park west of 25th Avenue, built a pond specifically for model yachting in 1904, then eventually donated the entire park to the city of San Francisco.

The city named the pond Spreckels Lake and continues to maintain its functioning.

The model yachts are stored in a boathouse just south of the lake. It was built in 1937 with federal funds issued by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, another model yachtsman. Today, the boathouse is kept up by the city’s Recreation and Parks Department as well as members of the model yacht club.

“This is by far the best boat house in the world,” said Michael Fischer, one of the members.

The boathouse is as beautiful as it is welcoming, with signs everywhere encouraging passersby to step inside, say hello and catch the bug.

“You’ve got to be careful. It bites you,” said John Super, a former sailor who took up model yachting a few years ago. “If you like competition, you could spend the rest of your life doing this.”

Most of the members are retired sailors who find it easier and more enjoyable to take a miniature version of their boat to Spreckels Lake, where they can enjoy a beautiful day on the water without so much effort.

Still, they try to recruit younger folks, and Super hopes the same kids who are eager to grab their video game controllers might one day see that they could have just as much fun controlling a model yacht.

The club’s membership ranges from 150 to 180 members, but “unless you get new people into it, it eventually dies out,” Weaver said. “That’s our fear. But you look at it on a worldwide scale, and it’s really popular. It’s popular in Croatia. Germany is a hotbed. England is a hotbed. New Zealand and Australia. And Thailand.”

These days, a brand new model yacht costs $500 and is ready to

sail out of the box, though many of the members enjoy building their own sail and powerboats.

“I started last summer,” said Dave Klinger, a retired engineer who built satellites for Lockheed Martin. “I came over here to have lunch, and they were running the power boats on the far side, then I saw these sailboats over here. I walked over, sat down on one of these benches, and Michael came up and asked if I wanted to sail the boat. I said, ‘Sure.’ He gave it to me, and I got hooked.”

Klinger recruited his old Stanford professor, Dave Powell, and now the two Daves meet every Wednesday morning in Half Moon Bay, then make the drive to Spreckels Lake, race their yachts, have lunch and head home.

“We reconnected several years ago as part of a hiking group,” Powell said. “I would say this is bringing us together much better.”

It’s as much a social club as it is a sporting club. The newbies enjoy learning, and the veterans are happy to share their wisdom. The same skippers tend to win most of the time, but a tiny mistake could open the door for a fresh winner once in a while.

“Wouldn’t you like to play baseball against Willie Mays one inning? Or pool against Willie Mosconi?” Super said. “Hell yeah. I’m proud to lose to these guys.”

At best, a new member might get a taste of glory. At worst, they spend an afternoon out on the water.

When Klinger returns to his retirement community after his races, his friends rush to ask him if he finally won.

“Not yet, but I came in second,” he’ll tell them. “I look forward to it every time I come out here. You never know what it’s going to be.”

Model yacht club member Jim Harrold, of San Bruno, checks the stays and shrouds of his remotecontrolled Infinity 54 sailboat before a regatta at Spreckels Lake.

Night time is the right time for outdoor summer movies

BY LINDA ZAVORAL

As the sun goes down these summer nights, the screens are coming up.

On the Town Green in Danville. At the beach in Santa Cruz. On the grounds of the former Alameda naval air station. And in parks from San Jose and Cupertino to Dublin and San Pablo.

Outdoor movies have become a summer staple from coast to coast, with the Bay Area’s typically pleasant evenings making them especially popular. The alfresco trend that began well over a decade ago — and went on hiatus at some venues during the pandemic — should make a strong showing in 2023.

What’s the appeal? The film licensing fees and other costs may show up on budget spreadsheets as “civic engagement” or “customer enhancement,” but it’s all about fun and free entertainment, fresh air and community building.

And, perhaps, “a chance to see a film on the big screen that you haven’t had for 35 years,” said Redwood City park events coordinator Brandon Council, who likes to occasionally book throwback movies or classics for the city’s Movies on the Square series, which will run on Thursdays through Aug. 31.

Last year, he said, an anniversary showing of “A League of Their Own” gave parents a chance to share

“OK, campers, rise and shine, and don’t forget your booties cause it’s cold out there. It’s cold out there every day.”

— “Groundhog Day”

Outdoor movies have become a tradition at many city parks, but Santa Cruz’s Movies on the Beach takes the trend to an entirely different level. SANTA CRUZ BEACH BOARDWALK

that film with their kids. “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is another one that resonates with multiple generations. This year, “Groundhog Day” (Aug. 24) may fill that niche.

A digital LED screen means Redwood City doesn’t have to wait until the sun sets to show flicks at Courthouse Square. So they’re taking advantage of the technology and scheduling double features. “Every other week,” he said, “we show a children’s movie at 6 p.m., which allows them to make their bedtime.” The main feature starts at 8:30 p.m. On the off weeks, an independent film is slotted at 8 p.m.

More movies in the park

Free outdoor movies have become a summer tradition across the Bay Area from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to parks in Redwood City, Alameda and more. Here are a few more possibilities.

WATERFRONT FLICKS AT JACK LONDON SQUARE

Oakland’s waterfront square will host free outdoor film screenings this summer on the Marina Lawn near Channel House. Bring a blanket, lawn chair and take-out from any of your favorite Jack London Square restaurants. Movies will begin at 8:30 p.m., with a lineup including “Minions: The Rise of Gru” (July 15). Find details at jacklondonsquare.com/events/.

MILLBRAE GOES TO THE MOVIES

Danville’s long-running “Moonlight Movies” program appeals to children with both games and films tailored to that audience. For two hours before showtime, there will be cornhole, arts and crafts and other activities on the Town Green.

Last year, a “Cinderella” cosplayer showed up when the Disney flick screened, and “kids ate that up,” said John Dunn, Danville’s program coordinator for performing arts. So he’s already thinking of surprise guests for this series, which includes “The Emperor’s New Groove” on July 14 and “The Karate Kid” on July 28.

Both the Danville and Redwood City event sites are located in restaurant-rich downtown districts, making it convenient for filmgoers to grab takeout dinner for a picnic, too.

And some cities spread the cinematic joy to more than one location.

After launching its Starlight Movies in the Park series in May at Bohol Circle Immigrant Park, the Alameda Recreation and Park Department will move the July and August viewings of “Lightyear” and “Space Jam: A New Legacy” to Alameda Point and then wrap up Sept. 15 on Bay Farm Island with “Top Gun: Maverick.”

The city of Mountain View is doing a six-filmsin-six-parks rotation. “We’re bringing an activity to the neighbors,” city recreation supervisor Maureen Grzan-Pieracci said. “It’s kind of a chill time. Families bring lawn chairs, picnics, snacks. They’ll bring a soccer ball and play until the movie begins.”

The Summer Outdoor Movie Night series includes an evening at Sylvan Park with “Lightyear” on July 14, then moves to Stevenson Park with “Puss in Boots:

Millbrae Recreation will host outdoor film screenings on the second Friday of the month at Millbrae Central Park, July 14, Aug. 11 and Sept. 8. Dates are set, but the movie possibilities include “Lightyear,” “Turning Red,” “Puss in Boots,” “Space Jam,” “Big Hero 6,” “Brave,” “Nacho Libre,” “Sky High,” “The Little Rascals” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Find more details at ci.millbrae. ca.us under the recreation department/movie header.

PICNIC FLIX IN DUBLIN

This series of free outdoor screenings rotates among Dublin parks, with food and snack vendors on site and games and activities preceding the screenings. Movies begin at dusk and include “Encanto” (July 14 at Emerald Glen Park), “Rumble” (July 21 at Don Biddle Community Park), and “Turning Red” (July 28 at Dublin Heritage Park and Museums). Find details at dublin.ca.gov/1327/Picnic-Flix.

MOVIES UNDER THE STARS IN SAN PABLO

These bi-weekly outdoor summer screenings run through Aug. 11 at the San Pablo Community Center. Movies begin at dusk with a lineup including “Minions: The Rise of Gru” (July 14), “Puss in Boots” (July 28) and “Turning Red” (Aug. 11). Find updates at sanpabloca.gov/1455/Movies-Under-theStars.

The Last Wish,” then Whisman Park with “DC League of Super-Pets.” The final two weeks will feature “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” at Eagle Park and “Strange World” at Rengstorff Park on Aug. 11.

The movies all have the kid seal of approval. Or at least teenager approval. Mountain View’s Youth Advisory Committee, composed of middle school and high school students, makes the selections.

— “Minions: The Rise of

At the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk movie series, teens on the screen are the big draw ... teen vampires. The Boardwalk first showed “The Lost Boys,’ the 1987 cult classic that was filmed in Santa Cruz, in 2007 for the 20th anniversary, then started including it nearly every year when the regular series of movies launched in 2011, according to Karley Pope, the director of sales and marketing.

More than 5,000 people packed the Main Beach in front of the Boardwalk’s Colonnade for a mid-June screening — including fans from afar who Pope says typically will schedule their summer travel around that date.

“But it’s a massive beach,” she said, and the 40-footwide screen offers good viewing for big crowds. No matter what the movie, “if you want to be front and center, you probably want to get here early to stake your claim.” Or join the diehards who arrive hours ahead to dig holes in the sand to create a lounge chair effect, she said.

The setting invites audience participation. The crowd will erupt in cheers when a favorite Santa Cruz scene shows up on the screen. They’ll holler key lines in unison. When “Selena” and “Shrek” are shown, expect singalongs, dancing and costumes. “I’m excited to see what we get this year for “Top Gun: Maverick,” she said. That film is scheduled for July 28.

— “Top Gun:

Beyond that, she said, “We’re looking for movies that are nostalgic, that people would want to share with their kids,” citing “Princess Bride” and “Ghostbusters” as prime examples. “Our whole mission is creating memories for our families.”

And the Santa Cruz setting makes that easy.

“The waves are crashing. You can smell the cotton candy and the kettle corn. People are taking photos of the moon rising over the ocean. It’s kind of a magical environment.”

“What if the rescue lady catches you? And locks you in the back room? Where they only listen to smooth jazz.”

“Nobody can hide from the long snoot of justice.”

— “DC League of Super Pets”

— Brittany Delay

“You can’t do anything alone. Find your tribe, and never, ever let them go.”

Gru”

“It’s not the plane. It’s the pilot.”

Maverick”

It’s a thrill to chill

Six fun attractions let you beat the Bay Area heat

BY JIM HARRINGTON

Don’t let the heat stop you from having a cool time this summer. There are plenty of ways to mix thrills and (literal) chills in the Bay Area — from trying out an icy Olympic sport to bundling up for an evening concert on a mountaintop. Here are six ideas for having some frosty fun over the next few months

CURLING TIME

You might have watched this fascinating sport during the Winter Olympics or perhaps on one of the many ESPN channels late one random night. Now you can try it out for yourself. The San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club, the oldest of its kind in California, opened a facility in Oakland last year.

The sport’s origins date back at least 500 years to medieval Scotland, and it’s been a hit in Canada for eons. It’s the fastest-growing winter sport around the world, not just in icy climes, but in Mexico, India and here too, with the number of league-playing curlers

Above: Geoffrey Lundie, with the Silicon Valley Curling Club, slides a stone down the ice at the San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club's new curling facility in Oakland. DOUG DURAN/STAFF

Left: Terry Winckler of Alameda marvels at the sharks, bat rays and other fish in the acrylic tunnel at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco. LAURA A. ODA/STAFF

nearly doubling in the last dozen years, according to USA Curling.

Anything done on an ice rink is a good way to cool down, especially when the air temperature is set at supermarket-cooler levels. But it’s also a fun way to get some exercise: Players slide 40-pluspound stones across the ice, madly sweeping brooms ahead of those gliding rocks to smooth the path to the house — also known as the target.

Details: Learn to curl at introductory classes ($20-$40) at the San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club, 8450 Enterprise Way, Oakland; bayareacurling.com.

LACE ’EM UP

Ready for even more ice time?

You can do your best Kristi Yamaguchi or Tomas Hertl impression when you lace up your skates at one of the Bay Area’s three Sharks Ice facilities.

The biggest of the bunch, not surprisingly, is in San Jose, where the San Jose Sharks host open practices that fans can attend during the season. The facility had just two rinks when it opened in 1994, but it’s grown mightily over the years and now has six National Hockey League regulation size rinks. At around 400 square feet, it ranks as the biggest ice facility under one roof in the U.S.

It’s a popular destination for ice skaters of all levels and boasts the largest adult hockey league west of the Mississippi. Ice lovers also play broom ball here — it’s kind of like hockey, only you keep your sneaks on — and try their hand at curling.

Our favorite part about this icy destination is Stanley’s Sports Bar, which channels a cozy ski chalet vibe and provides a great vantage point for parents and grandparents to nosh on cheeseburgers, salads and nachos as they watch their kids skate. It’s a great spot

to refuel after your own skating experience, too.

The Sharks also manage smaller ice facilities in Fremont with two rinks and Oakland (with one), which also draw healthy crowds of chill-seekers.

Details: Sharks Ice is open daily at 1500 S. 10th St. in San Jose (sharksiceatsanjose. com); 44388 Old Warm Springs Blvd. in Fremont (sharksiceatfremont.com); and 519 18th St. in Oakland (oaklandice.com).

MUSIC ON THE MOUNTAIN

Veteran concertgoers always bring a jacket or a coat — or both — when visiting the historic Mountain Winery in Saratoga. Even on an incredibly hot day, the evenings can still get chilly up at Paul Masson’s legendary “Vineyard in the Sky.” The warm days and cool nights make for ideal conditions for growing grapes. Not so much for trying to enjoy the Psychedelic Furs in shorts and a tank top.

But when temperatures soar, we embrace the mountain top chill and enjoy the two-hour respite from summer’s heat while watching such acclaimed acts as Diana Krall, Brit Floyd and Boyz II Men perform at the nearly 120-year-old winery site, which provides some of the most spectacular views to be found in all of the Bay Area.

Details: The Mountain Winery summer season runs through Oct. 17 at 14831 Pierce Road, Saratoga; mountainwinery.com.

WATERSLIDE MANIA

The Bay Area is awash in cool water parks, all offering different ways to beat the heat. Concord’s Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, for example, boasts a wide array of attractions, from the relaxing Kaanapali Kooler Lazy River to the six-story-tall Break Point

Right: The South Bay Shores water park at California’s Great America in Santa Clara offers plenty of ways to chill, from the Breakers Bay wave pool, where Fremont resident Nora Qutobi and son Izhawk enjoy a splash, to the Feeding Frenzy tube slide, below.

ANDA CHU/STAFF ARCHIVE

Plunge and its 270-foot-long looping journey.

We love spending a hot day at South Bay Shores at California’s Great America, splashing it up in the Breakers Bay wave pool, cruising along in tubes on the mellow Rushin’ River and soaring down the towering Pacific Surge Slides.

H2O fans can also soak up the fun at Dublin’s The Wave waterpark, San Jose’s Raging Waters and Fremont’s Aqua Adventure Waterpark. Just don’t forget the sunscreen.

Details: Hurricane Harbor is now open daily at 1950 Waterworld Parkway, Concord; sixflags.com/hurricaneharborconcord.

South Bay Shores is open at 4701 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara; cagreatamerica.com/south-bay-shores.

And the summer season has already begun at The Wave (4201 Central Parkway, Dublin; thedublinwave.com), Raging Waters (2333 S. White Road, San Jose; rwsplash. com) and Aqua Adventure Waterpark (40500 Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont; goaquaadventure.com).

ARCTIC BLAST

Folks may not need yet another reason to visit Fentons Creamery. After all, the iconic Black and Tan sundae — with its dreamy mix of caramel and fudge over toasted

almond and vanilla ice cream — is more than enough to keep bringing us back to the flagship Oakland location.

But those looking to take their cool-downs to the extreme should think about signing up for the creamery’s Arctic Tour.

Led by Fentons’ Stefanie Hastie, these 30-minute tours begin with a bit of history about the creamery, which got its start in 1894 and moved to its current location on Piedmont Avenue around 1960.

From there, Hastie brings her guests into the Fentons workspace, where the ice cream as well as those amazing caramel and fudge toppings are crafted. At that point, you can decide if you want to brave the oh-so-very-cold blast freezer, which is where newly made ice cream is stored. How cold is it? It clocked in at minus 15 degrees on our visit.

The tour concludes with a demonstration of cream whipping technique — turns out you can create three different kinds of textured whipped cream. And, yes, you get ice cream samples.

Details: Tours ($9) are available by reservation (call 510-658-7000 and leave a message; someone will get back to you) and offered at 10, 10:30 and 11 a.m. Mondays and Fridays. Find Fentons at 4226 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland;

fentonscreamery.com.

GO UNDER THE BAY

Get out of the sun and into the Aquarium of the Bay, the fascinating Pier 39 attraction that is home to more than 24,000 kinds of marine life. Just being near water is cooling, but head to the Under the Bay exhibit area, and you’ll be surrounded by it. A 300-foot-long clear acrylic tunnel runs through a 750,000 gallon tank that is absolutely teeming with swimming creatures.

The exhibit is broken up into two areas. The Near Shore Tunnel spotlights rockfish, bright orange garibaldi and other sea life that make their homes in the shallow areas of the Bay. Meanwhile, the Sharks of Alcatraz Tunnel allows visitors to get close — but thankfully for our comfort level, not too close — to leopard sharks and sevengill sharks, the Bay’s largest predatory creature.

Other attractions include touch pools, where you can touch bat rays, sea stars and even leopard sharks, as well as those ever-popular, rambunctious river otters.

Details: The Aquarium of the Bay is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily on Pier 39 in San Francisco. Tickets are $25-$35; aquariumofthebay.org.

Fentons Creamery employee Regina Rayon, left, adds a whipped cream flourish to a banana sundae. Guided tours of the Oakland creamery include a peek inside the blast freezer, above. JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO/STAFF

BY JOHN METCALFE

Camper English has, let’s just say, strong feelings about ice.

“There’s not a huge difference between clear and cloudy ice in taste or melting speed,” he says. “But aesthetically, it’s a gargantuan difference between ugly, cloudy, garbage ice and slick-and-glossy, diamond-style clear ice. You can eat filet mignon out of a ditch, or you can eat it off a plate at a fine-dining restaurant.”

English, a cocktail writer from San Francisco, was once a consumer of “garbage ice” — those home freezer tray cubes with fuzzy-white nebulae. But in 2009, he devised a homegrown technique to make ice as clear as a Siberian lake in winter. He basically employed an Igloo cooler to “directionally freeze” ice from the top down and force air bubbles and minerals to the bottom, where they are cut or poured off. English now travels the planet giving talks about ice and has an army of ice nerds on Instagram trying to top one another with spectacular frozen delights.

In May, English ventured out of the freezer and onto the coffee table with “The Ice Book: Cool Cubes, Clear Spheres and Other Chill Cocktail Crafts” (Red Lightning Books, $22). In it, he lays out his secrets for making clear ice, provides cocktail recipes — such as Negroni Spagliato in a Clear Ice Punchbowl — and offers ideas for making your own beautiful ice with fruit, flowers and color from beet powder, say, or cuttlefish ink.

The world’s “preeminent cocktail ice scholar,” as the Guardian dubbed him, recently took time to talk about his hard-H2O obsession, ice-making TikTok insanity

Ice expert Camper English has his frozen water techniques down cold

and “mystery pillars” that can wreck your freezer, if you’re not careful. And, of course, the back story, because really, who chooses ice as a hobby?

“I didn’t get into scrapbooking. I got into ice cubes,” he said. “The good news is ice cubes aren’t permanent. You can make your little project and then drink it or water your plants with it. You haven’t wasted too much of your time or money, and most importantly, it doesn’t take up space when you’re finished. It just melts.”

His ice-making gear: “I have an entire armoire full of stuff, including zillions of trays and cutting tools and ice picks and saws and insulated coolers and stuff to freeze inside of ice cubes, from novelty toys to Halloween decorations. I have ice-ball presses that squish a cube of ice into a sphere, about five different commercial, clear ice-producing trays, plus a whole lot of tools to pattern and bedazzle ice in various ways.”

The water: “I went systematically through some of the ways to make

clear ice — ‘in theory’ — such as (using) boiling water. I would freeze it and then let it melt and freeze it another time. I tried boiled water, distilled water, even carbonated water just to see what would happen. It made cloudy ice, all the time — that’s what happened.”

The water bill: “Luckily, my landlord is paying that.”

The fans: “People ask questions about their ice and why it’s not freezing clearly. I have people

sending pictures of their ‘horrible, ugly ice,’ and it has one bubble in it. I’m like, ‘My dude, your ice is fine. The problem is you.’

“There’s an Instagram tag for #cleariceweek, which happens once a year now (in January). What’s blowing up on TikTok into utter insanity is ice-restocking videos and people demonstrating basically my method from over a decade ago. It’s a whole genre with people pouring ice into 13 different containers in their freezers — coffee-flavored ice, ice infused with the flowers, small sizes and big cubes and different colors.”

The caveats: Never hold an ice pick at the back, don’t make your freezer too cold, and be careful what you forage: “A beautiful leaf you picked on a hike might look pretty when frozen into an ice cube, but it might also be poison oak.”

The most dangerous tool: “I think most bartenders would agree the most dangerous equipment in the bar is the Y-peeler

for citrus. It just wants to take a layer of skin right off your thumb if you’re not careful. I’ve done that only twice, because there’s a lot of blood when you do it, so I don’t make that mistake anymore. I’ve learned I’m not very handy, so for me to use an ice pick is taking a step toward my eventual death, but I’ve actually only poked myself in the hand just once.”

Mystery pillars? “When you make ice cubes in a cooler system, often one cube pops up out of the tray and starts forming a pillar skyward. If you go out of town, that pillar can grow and pin into the ceiling of your freezer. In my case, I had to chop it off in the middle to extract it — I thought I was going to break my freezer.”

Favorite cocktail: “For me, it’s the same thing as salad. I’ve never had an incredible salad I’ve made for myself, but when other people make a salad, they seem to be better. So I like to go out for cocktails and then drink simple drinks at home — but with the best ice in San Francisco.”

KARL MONDON/STAFF

Camper English, the cocktail writer who invented a method of making crystal clear ice at home, shows off some of his frozen work.

Margaritaville Tasting away in

TEN SPOTS THAT DO THE CLASSIC COCKTAIL PROUD

BY JULIA PRODIS SULEK, SAL PIZARRO, JOHN METCALFE AND JACKIE BURRELL

The margarita may be a much-loved classic, but its origin story is as muddled as a mojito.

A 1937 British cocktail guide, the “Café Royal Cocktail Book,” described a Picador cocktail in terms any margarita lover will recognize — 1 part fresh lime or lemon juice, 1 part Cointreau, 2 parts tequila. By the 1950s, the tequila cocktail’s fame had spread, along with all sorts of backstories. The Los Angeles Times called the saltrimmed Margarita “a sort of Mexican daiquiri belted hard by the international set at Acapulco.” Some said it was invented at a Texas bar owned by one Dona Bertha (1930) or perhaps the Tail o’ the Cock restaurant in Los Angeles (in 1937 or maybe 1939). Wait a sec! It was created for jazz singer Peggy Lee in 1948. Or Rita Hayworth in the 1940s. No, wait … Whatever its origin, there’s no doubting the popularity of the drink. Liquor.com deemed it the seventh most popular cocktail in the country last year. (Although some of the other entries on the list — an espresso martini is No. 2 and an, ahem, Porn Star Martini is No. 6 — are so dubious, we’re questioning everything in our lives right now.) And according to the global trends report from the IWSR (the London-based International Wine and Spirits Record), Americans will spend more money on tequila and

Everything at San Jose’s Mezcal restaurant, from the molé-forward food to the art that lines the walls, feels authentic. JOSIE LEPE FOR BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

mezcal this year than on vodka. Last year, the two agave-based liquors topped sales of all U.S.made whiskeys.

When it comes to the finer points of on-the-rocks or blended, well, that’s a whole other debate. But one thing is clear: David O’Mara, owner of Aqui Cal-Mex at five South Bay locations, cracked the code when he offered his now famous, frozen Industrial Strength Margaritas. They’re so tall and potent — and brain-freezable! — customers are limited to two. Regardless of which way you prefer yours, the combination of summer heat and refreshing drink makes the margarita our summer cocktail of choice. So when temperatures soar, you know what to do: Head for one of these great margarita bars around the Bay Area.

Copita

Sausalito, coming soon to San Jose

Joanne Weir had just published her 17th cookbook — this one a guide to tequila — when she went for a sail off the coast of Mexico on Larry Mindel’s yacht. Over blue-stemmed glasses, the two made a bet: Who can make the best margarita?

Mindel founded the landmark Il Fornaio restaurants, but he was no James Beard award-winning food writer and chef like Weir. What he lacked in training, however, he made up for in confidence. His margarita? Let’s just call it “tequila forward.”

“I tasted his, and it was so strong, I practically choked,” Weir said in an interview from Paris.

Then Mindel swigged Weir’s, a balance of tequila, agave nectar and fresh lime juice: “Goddammit, Joanne,” Mindel said, “that’s

You could go old school, but at Campbell’s Luna Mexican Kitchen, it’s all about the Mango Habanero Lunarita.

DAI SUGANO/STAFF

the best margarita I’ve ever had.” So they opened Copita Tequileria y Comida, a bay-view restaurant in Sausalito to serve it, along with Weir’s complementary cuisine, including scrumptious pork belly tacos.

The marg: Weir’s original margarita is now known as The Copita ($13), shaken and poured over a single large ice cube for a slow melt, as well as seasonal fruit versions. And if anyone is brave enough to try Mindel’s margarita, it can be ordered off-menu. They’ve adjusted the recipe by a drop or two and call it “The Lorenzo.”

The details: Open daily at 739 Bridgeway, Sausalito. Coming later this summer to Lincoln Avenue in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood; www.copitarestaurant.com.

Capullo Cocina Mexicana Walnut Creek

This buzzy East Bay city brims with downtown restaurants and bars, but Capullo Cocina Mexicana is a standout. Run by siblings Felipa, Rosa, Gustavo and Francisco Sanchez, the restaurant specializes in regional Mexican cuisine, especially dishes from the Jalisco region. It’s laid back but special, the kind of place where the very tasty guacamole arrives at your table in a small molcajete, sprinkled with pomegranate arils and sometimes, depending on the whim of the kitchen, edible flowers. Chile rellenos are stuffed with filet mignon or duck carnitas, and the menu includes a dozen vegan-friendly dishes, from tofu fajitas to squash-filled flautas.

The marg: The Capullo bar menu boasts an impressive array of tequilas and mezcals and more than a dozen riffs on the margarita.

The patio at NIDO’s BackYard in Oakland offers the Bay Area’s first “margarita garden.”

JANE TYSKA/STAFF

You can gussy up the classic ($15), made with Jarana reposado, Triple Sec, organic agave and fresh lime, with habanero, mango, mangonada, tamarind, strawberry or raspberry, but when the temperatures soar, we go straight fresh lime. Psst, on Tuesday evenings, those classic margaritas and the taco platter are half off.

The details: Open daily at 1518 Bonanza St. in Walnut Creek; https:// capullococinamexicana.com.

Zona Rosa Los Gatos and San Jose

Maybe it’s the quote from Cesar Chavez — elaborately framed on the brick wall — that sets the mood for Zona Rosa: “If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with them. The people who give you their food give you their heart.”

And so it is with owner Anna Pizzo, who threw a party in her own Willow Glen backyard offering friends her homemade Mexican fare before launching her

first restaurant on The Alameda in San Jose, then on Main Street in Los Gatos. Her guacamole pierced with thick bacon strips and sprinkled with roasted pistachios is a signature appetizer, and the quesadilla de verduras, with caramelized butternut squash and goat cheese on blue corn tortillas, is a revelation. For all the modern Mex decor and surprising offerings, her philosophy when it comes to margaritas is quite humble: “It was just drinks that complement our tacos.”

Perhaps too humble.

The marg: The Francisco Libre ($13), named after Pizzo’s son, is a farmers market of flavor with its burst of fresh jalapeño and cilantro. It’s by far the most popular drink at both locations. The hibiscus margarita, then, with its petal pink sweetness and spicy tajin rim, is a vacation. And the cucumber basil version, in a stemmed glass with a sprig of baby’s breath, is a spa day.

The details: Open Tuesday through Saturday at 81 W. Main St. in Los Gatos

and 1411 The Alameda in San Jose; https:// www.zonarosadining.com/.

El Patio Berkeley

“Over 240 mezcals,” beckons a sign at a nondescript doorway on busy San Pablo Avenue. Inside, colorful sculptures abound along with paintings of skulls, women, women wearing skulls and — true to the promise — a donkeyload of mezcales.

El Patio is all about the love for this smoky, fruity spirit. Well, it’s also about a real outdoor patio, full of succulents and even more skull décor (this time cow), but that’s where you should take your mezcals out to enjoy. They’re mixed into cocktails like the garnet-hued Czechzican, with R. Jelinek Fernet and hibiscus, and a sweet-sour Tepa with pineapple and apple-cider vinegar. Mezcal and tequila are also offered in educational flights, with different price levels ($20-$50) and “dealer’s choice” options, served with fresh oranges and sal de

gusano (agave-worm salt). When the hunger hits, the kitchen prepares a range of homey Mexican and Venezuelan dishes including pozole, arepas, fried plantains and burritos the size of your forearm.

The marg: On a recent visit, the house Cadillac mezcal margarita ($12) was made with lime, simple syrup, Grand Marnier and Mestiza Negra, a mezcal made from maguey espadin from Oaxaca. It’s poured over ice in a glass with a half-salted rim, which drips down to give the drink an ocean brininess. The marg’s floral and mouth-puckering with citrus, and it’s rustically smoky and strong — after a couple, you might want to head inside to the photo booth to get silly.

The details: Open daily at 2056 San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley; elpatio510.com.

Luna Mexican Kitchen Campbell, San Jose

There are few better places to

be on a sunny Silicon Valley day than this patio at the Pruneyard. Owners Jo Lerma-Lopez and John Lopez, who opened the original Luna on The Alameda in San Jose, have created a Mexican plaza feel with tables surrounding the outdoor bar. (A bar, by the way, that last year hosted “Breaking Bad” stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul shaking up drinks with their Dos Hombres mezcal.) Luna doesn’t take reservations, so expect to wait for a table — a wait that goes by easy, if you have a margarita in your hand.

The marg: There are a lot to choose from — the Classic and Cadillac made with Pueblo Viejo reposado tequila or the Skinny made with Milagro blanco — but the festive atmosphere at Luna invites a little color, making the pink-hued Prickly Pear Hibiscus Lunarita ($12 on the rocks or frozen) a great choice. The tropical Lychee Azul Lunarita and the spicy Mango Habanero Lunarita, rimmed with Tajin chilelime salt, are also favorites.

Cocina Hermanas Danville

When Darren Matte opened his modern cantina in 2019, just across the street from his popular Harvest restaurant, it wasn’t just Danville residents who got excited. The airy, light-filled dining room, welcoming terrace and icy margaritas make this a destination. Cocina Hermanas, named for Matte’s three daughters, offers an array of mezcals, tequilas and specialty cocktails as well as tempting ahi tostadas, empanadas, chile verde and seven types of tacos. (We’re still swooning over the short rib birria.)

The bebidas lineup ranges from horchata and agua fresca to Mexican cerveza and local craft beer. And flight options let you explore the world of agave, via four ¾-ounce pours of tequila ($30), mezcal ($29) or — if you’re feeling

Bartender

Ildefonso Nunez shakes up a margarita at Luna Mexican Kitchen – a prickly pear hibiscus version, perhaps, or a lychee azul.

flush — Tequila Mejor de lo Mejor (the best of the best) for $106.

The marg: The Hermanas Margarita ($12) is simple and perfect, puckery with fresh lime, reposado and agave. Like a little heat? Try the serrano and cilantro-spiked Sassy Senorita ($13) or a Piña Gordita ($13), which adds cucumber, pineapple and Fresno chiles to the mix.

The details: Open daily at 501 Hartz Ave., Danville; www.cocinahermanas.com.

Cascal Mountain View

Cascal has been a hot spot on Castro Street for the past 20 years. Maybe it’s the delicious pan-Latin menu that leans into Spanish, Cuban and South American dishes. It could be the vibe produced by the buzzing Silicon Valley crowd showing up for post-work drinks, dinner with the family or live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Whatever the magic, owner Don Durante’s vision for Cascal works. Even if you’re on your own at the bar, chances are you’ll strike up a conversation or two with new friends while enjoying a Spanish Tortilla or some Patatas Bravas from the menu.

The marg: Caipirinhas, mojitos and sangrias share equal billing with the margaritas. One of the standouts among the latter, though, is the flavorful Jalapeno-Cucumber Margarita ($13), which mixes Tanteo’s jalapeño-infused tequila with muddled jalapeno and cucumber, agave nectar and fresh lime juice.

The details: Open Tuesday through Sunday at 400 Castro St., Mountain View; www. cascalmv.com.

DAI SUGANO/STAFF

The details: Open daily at the Pruneyard, 1875 S. Bascom Ave., Suite 570 in Campbell; 1495 The Alameda in San Jose; lunamexicankitchen.com.

Nido’s BackYard Oakland

Tucked into an industrial-railroad area off Jack London Square is the Bay Area’s “first margarita garden.” So profess the folks at Nido’s BackYard, who’ve created an open-air, tropical-feeling wonderland of cacti, palms, bursting flowers and mural artwork of a huge serpent and agave spikes.

Take a seat and treat yourself to a suggestion from the knowledgeable bartenders who serve hordes of tequilas and mezcales. Some of the spirits are crystal-clear, others amber like brandy or delicate green like absinthe, and mysterious others are locked into coalblack vessels. On a recent visit, the barkeep pulled down a bright gold tequila and confided: “They don’t make this anymore — you’ll be one of the last to try it.”

There are agave flights for straight-sipping ($25-$35) and cocktails like La Picosa (El Silencio mezcal, lime and chipotle liqueur) and Tamarindo Lindo (made with sotol, a desert-shrub spirit that’s just starting to blow up). The large food menu offers quesabirria with consomé, eggplant tamales, fish tacos and wood-grilled steak — plus boozy slushies in rotating flavors such as gin-apple-cranberry and rum-horchata-orange blossom.

The marg: The Margarita de la Cruz ($12) is made with Cimarrón Blanco tequila, lime and honey, and there’s an alternate version with Mezcal Verde Amarás. It’s a testament to the delicious simplicity of the recipe — it needs little more than to be shaken and poured into a rocks glass with a plain-salt rim (although black and spiced versions are on offer, too).

The details: Open daily at 104 Oak St., Oakland; backyardoakland.com.

NIDO’s Margarita De La Cruz is a classic made with Cimarrón Blanco tequila, fresh lime and honey.

JANE TYSKA/STAFF

Mezcal San Jose

Just steps away from St. Joseph Cathedral Basilica in downtown San Jose, this Oaxacan restaurant transports you to a little spot in Mexico. Everything here, from the molé-forward food and cozy bar to the art on the walls feels authentic. (OK, the tree in the middle of the restaurant isn’t real, but it feels real.)

Talking to owner Adolfo Gomez is like taking a master class in

mezcales, the class of agave spirits that includes both tequila and its smoky-flavored cousin. Several varieties of both are available for sipping ($12-$50 a glass) or mixing into house cocktails, such as the Mi Mama ($13), a smooth, mezcal-infused riff on the pina colada. And take note that margaritas here are only served on the rocks, as Mezcal has two rules: no microwaves and no blenders.

The marg: The Mezcalrita ($12) is exactly what it sounds like, a

margarita made with Wahaka Espadin mezcal instead of tequila. The result is a cocktail with a bolder, smoky flavor accented by a rim that looks like Tajin’s chile-lime salt, but is actually sal de gusanos, a seasoning made of pulverized worms from the agave plant. If that’s too bold for your palate, go for the Perfect Margarita ($14), made with Don Julio reposado tequila, agave nectar and lime juice — plus a splash of premium soda water for effervescence.

The details: Open Tuesday-Sunday at 25 W. San Fernando St., San Jose; www. mezcalrestaurantsj.com.

C Casa

San Ramon, Emeryville & Napa

Catherine Bergen’s small Bay Area chain of bright, light eateries aims to capture a Baja vibe along with that region’s crispy fish tacos in very Cali surroundings — San Ramon’s Bishop Ranch City Center, Napa’s Oxbow Market and Public Market Emeryville. That Cali influence is apparent in the food menu, too. Think asparagus quesadillas, bison chile relleno and an enormous Angus steak taco whose many toppings include Point Reyes blue cheese. The drinks, though, pay pure homage to their origins. You’ll find margaritas at all three locations, but the San Ramon and Napa eateries also offer dozens of tequilas and mezcales by the glass or the flight ($22-$39 for three ½-ounce pours), all from Jalisco’s Los Valles and Los Altos regions.

The marg: We’re partial to the classic Casarita ($16), made with Herradura Silver and Licor de Naranja — an orange liqueur from Mexico. If you like your margs on the fiery side, the Spicy Casarita ($16) uses serrano pepper-infused tequila and rims the glass with chile salt.

The details: Open daily at City Center Bishop Ranch, 6000 Bollinger Canyon Road in San Ramon; Oxbow Market, 610 First St. in Napa; and Public Market Emeryville, 5959 Shellmound St. in Emeryville; www.myccasa.com.

Bartender Luis Gonzalez prepares the “Perfect Margarita” at Mezcal in downtown San Jose.

JOSIE LEPE FOR BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

Get your steps in while keeping your cool in four leafy Bay Area preserves

BY JIM HARRINGTON, MARTHA ROSS AND RANDY MCMULLEN

Hiking on a hot day might not sound all that appealing. But it can be a great way to escape the heat — as long as you pick the right trail. Here are four possibilities that offer up great views, varied experiences and enough overhead foliage to help protect you from the rays.

(But remember to bring a hat and pack sunscreen and water!)

Castle Rock

Walnut Creek

Every winter and spring, peregrine falcons come to nest at this stunning collection of sandstone pinnacles that loom over a pleasant canyon filled with oak forest, meadows and meandering Pine Creek.

From February to early August, humans are asked to refrain from clambering over the craggy cliffs to give the falcons some space. But you can still get a great view of the formations via a 1.5-mile walk into Pine Creek canyon along the Stage Road trail. The route starts at a parking lot that serves both Diablo Foothills Regional Park and the Castle Rock Regional Area.

The oak forest provides shade, and hikers may have no choice but to get wet in Pine Creek. The trail crosses the creek several times, and there are no bridges. With the creek so healthy this year from

At Cupertino’s Picchetti Ranch, the shady Zinfandel Trail leads to a pond.

SHAE HAMMOND/STAFF

winter rains, that means careful balancing across stones and logs. Wear shoes you don’t mind getting wet and bring hiking poles, if you need help with balance.

Just past the turnoff to the Buckeye Ravine trail, Stage Road opens up to a grassy slope that was covered in mustard flowers earlier in the spring. A bench at the top offers a great perch for gazing upon towering Castle Rock and flying raptors. The hike through the canyon ends at a small pond.

Details: Park for free at the Trail Staging Area at the end of Castle Rock Road in Walnut Creek. You’ll pass through Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area, which has restrooms, picnic areas and a public swimming pool ($2-$4) — another place to cool off on a hot day — which operates Thursday-Sunday. Find more details at www.mdia.org and www.ebparks.org..

And afterward… The Calicraft Taproom and Beer Garden is open daily at 2700 Mitchell Drive in Walnut Creek, offering an ideal, family-friendly place for dusty hikers to hang out after an adventure. A daily rotation of food trucks offers bites to go with that IPA or Kolsch as you socialize outdoors; www.calicraft.com.

Picchetti Ranch Cupertino

It’s hard to believe you’re only a few miles from the world’s biggest tech company — Apple– as you stroll the shaded paths of this gorgeous 308-acre preserve.

Park in the lot near the historic Picchetti Winery — more on that in a bit — and head for the appropriately named Zinfandel Trail (1.9 miles), with its views of the tranquil Picchetti Ranch Pond and seasonal waterfalls and streams. The trails winds up and down, so expect a bit of a cardio workout as you pass by canyons populated with madrone and coast live oak. Keep your eyes open for wild turkeys and other creatures.

(Note: Mountain lions have been spotted here, but those big cats are usually most active at dawn

and dusk.)

Details: Open from dawn to dusk at 13100 Montebello Road in Cupertino, with restrooms and free parking available; www. openspace.org/preserves/picchetti-ranch.

And afterward... Go wine tasting ($20) or picnicking at the Picchetti Winery complex, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The winery is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily; picchetti.com.

Dr. Aurelia Reinhardt

Redwood Regional Park

Oakland Hills

Tucked into the Oakland hills along the Alameda-Contra Costa County border lies a lush strip of redwood forest that will make visitors think they’ve been transported to the Santa Cruz mountains. This 1,833 acre-park is home to a network of well-marked trails that

Above: Roots emerge on a segment of the French Loop Trail at Oakland’s Redwood Regional Park.

Left: Visiting from Mexico City, Martha Rodriguez strikes a pose for her friend, Maclovio Gomez, as they hike along the Stream Trail at Redwood Regional Park.

RAY CHAVEZ/STAFF

wind through a majestic redwood forest, accented by ferns, grasses and flowering plants that come in infinite shades of green.

A popular route through the forest is the French Trail Loop. Starting at the Canyon Meadow Staging Area, you can do a fourmile hike or one that extends to six miles, depending on the connector paths you choose. Any version, though, begins with a pleasant, mostly level stroll along the Stream Trail, which follows the course of Redwood Creek.

Early on, you’ll encounter interpretive signs about the park’s history, including one describing the forest’s destruction and rebirth. The need for timber to support a Bay Area housing boom in the mid-1880s led to clear-cutting of the ancient forest that once stretched across the Oakland Hills to Moraga. The trees in the park today are the second- and

third-generation clones of the giants that once grew here. For a longer hike, stay on the Stream Trail for a little over 2½ miles until you reach the scenic intersection with Tres Sendas, where a bench offers a breather before the big climb into the park’s uplands. Even at this higher elevation, you’ll mostly stay in the forest shade as you wind up from the Tres Sendas Trail to the Starflower Trail to the French Trail. You have the option of following the French Trail for about a half mile before descending to the Stream Trail, via the Mill Trail. To extend the hike, continue on the French Trail, then descend on the Chown or Orchard trails.

Details: Open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily at 7867 Redwood Road in Oakland. The parking lot ($5 on weekends, holidays) at the Canyon Meadow Staging Area has restrooms and picnic areas. Cell signal is spotty here, so download any maps or pick up a free paper map before hitting the trail; www.ebparks.org

And afterward... Head for the Fourth Bore Tap Room in Orinda’s Theatre Square for craft beer and hearty pub fare, including burgers, a Philly Cheese Steak-style sandwich and pulled pork nachos. Time it right, and you might get some live music, too. https://thefourthbore.com.

Troop 80 Trail

Mount Tamalpais, Mill Valley

This hiker’s paradise offers every kind of experience imaginable. Mount Tamalpais State Park has 60 miles of trails on its own, while the adjacent Marin County Water District and Golden Gate National Recreation Area offer another 200 miles of public trails. So you’ll find everything from long and challenging hikes to easy-peasy, kid friendly amid a vast array of settings: redwoods, jaw-dropping ocean views, waterfalls, wildflowers, placid meadows, you name it.

Mount Tam’s most famous shady passage — the popular Steep Ravine Trail — has just reopened after storm damage. But if you’re looking for a not-too-exhausting, not-too-steep,

shade-shrouded hike on a hot day, the Troop 80 Trail is a nice bet.

Starting at the park’s Bootjack Day Use parking lot, follow signs for Troop 80. There is a quick short descent via steps and a 675-foot elevation change over 3½ miles, but the trail overall is described as moderately strenuous and kid-friendly. You’ll find all manner of trees and vegetation, including redwoods, a small stream and moss-covered logs. The in-and-back hike is shady throughout, though there are spots when the covering opens just enough to afford some nice views of the ocean and surrounding hills. You should be able to complete the route in 2 hours, and you’ll likely feel refreshed and relaxed, rather than exhausted

and sweaty.

Details: Open from 7 a.m. to sunset daily. It’s $5 to park at Bootjack. Find trail maps at www.parks.ca.gov and at the park’s Pantoll service area and Mount Tam Visitors’ Center on East Ridgecrest Boulevard, which is staffed on weekends. Pantoll, Bootjack and East Peak areas all have restrooms, but they are not fancy.

And afterward... The nearby Mountain Home Inn (www.mtnhomeinn.com) on Panoramic Highway offers high-end salads, snacks, sandwiches and drinks and a patio with stunning views, if you can get a table there. The popular Pelican Inn (www. pelicaninn.com) near Muir Woods, about 10 miles away, serves up hearty English country fare with a full bar in a rustic setting.

Above, The shaded paths of Picchetti Ranch, a gorgeous 308-acre preserve, lead to streams and ponds, below. SHAE HAMMOND/STAFF

The setting sun gilds the sky and sands of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach with golden hues.

JANE TYSKA/STAFF

Whether you’re looking for weekend fun or the latest restaurant openings, this trio of free newsletters offers plenty of summer inspiration.

Take a peek below, then sign up at mercurynews.com/newsletters or eastbaytimes.com/newsletters .

THE WEEKENDER

Your Bay Area guide to what to do this weekend — hikes, shows, festivals and more — arrives every Thursday morning.

apps.mercurynews.com/newsletters/weekender

EAT+DRINK

Buzzy new restaurant openings, taproom updates and delicious recipe inspiration fill this free weekday newsletter.

apps.mercurynews.com/newsletters/eat-drink

TRAVEL+PLAY

Find inspiration for West Coast road trips, weekend getaways and close-to-home fun here every Monday morning.

apps.mercurynews.com/newsletters/travel-play