A GUIDE TO GIFT GIVING
Hometown Handcraft
Shaped Heart-
Box
A guide for giving and appreciating our local gifts
Although the holidays are upon us yet again with shocking alacrity, I’m choosing to welcome the seasonal splendor. National and global disappointments aside, I’m opting to focus on what’s nearest and dearest. If I haven’t made it clear in the past two years as this publication’s editor: I love the East Bay. It is my home and my community, and where my heart resides.
And yes, this issue is essentially a gift guide. We focus on all manner of giving—locally, as is our wont. It’s easy to find anything your heart desires here, from
NICO BIANCHI is an East Bay native who’s been published in the NCGA Magazine, McKellar Magazine and subtletees.com.
JEFFREY EDALATPOUR writes about arts, food and culture for SF Weekly, Metro Silicon Valley, East Bay Express and KQED Arts.
the strange and creatively minded to the ordinary and ino ensive. Hey, time and place, right? Plus, we believe that spending our gift-giving dollars at neighboring businesses is not only our civic duty but an investment in our own prosperity.
In “Town Love,” we receive expert recommendations from two female entrepreneurs who developed a gift box featuring locally curated goods made in Oakland. In “Low-Tech, NoTech,” we thankfully take a break from all things digital to focus on gifts that are handcrafted, planted and/or to be experienced. In “Gifts That Give,” we o er ideas for supporting local nonprofits
LOU FANCHER has been published in Diablo Magazine, Oakland Tribune, InDance, San Francisco Classical Voice, SF Weekly, WIRED.com and elsewhere.
MY RECOMMENDATION
Buy a membership and see the
ANDREW GILBERT is a writer based in Berkeley who covers music and dance for numerous publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, KQED Arts, Berkeleyside and San Francisco Classical Voice
with donations, gift subscriptions and memberships. And in “Body Love,” we explore gifts to honor, protect and satisfy certain, if not all, parts.
As a break from all that fantastic gifting, we partake in more sensual pleasures at Sun Moon Studio, where we see stars in the artistic culinary creations of chefs Sarah Cooper and Alan Hsu. We join a tiki crawl in search of the best Mai Tai. And we relax to the soulful grooves of social justice-minded jazz pianist Samora Pinderhughes of Berkeley.
May you find peace and joy in these pages, community and home this season.
— Samantha Campos, Editor
JANIS HASHE regularly contributes to the East Bay Express and other Bay Area publications.
LISA PLACHY is a San Francisco-based writer who covers arts, community and culture in the Bay Area.
PHOTO BY SAMANTHA CAMPOS
excellent exhibit of women artists at ‘Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection’ at BAMPFA through April 20, 2025.
Pictured: ‘Saint Mozelle in the Aphid Orgy’ by Tau Lewis.
Love Town
PHOTOS COURTESY OF TOWN LOVE
GREAT TASTE Friends and Oaklanders Kim Bardakian and Nicole Vasgerdsia launched Town Love this September.
After curating the perfect gift box, two locals share more Oakland picks
BY Lisa Plachy
There’s an old adage about gifting that long predates Amazon and free shipping and Instagram targeting: It’s the thought that counts. The notion conjures up images of painstakingly hand-made gifts imbued with profound personalization. It’s a nice idea for loved ones, but highly impractical at the scale the holiday season usually requires.
A happy medium exists, one that’s low on e ort, high on joy and imbued with meaning whilst requiring no physical craftiness. I’m talking about shopping locally—intentionally skipping the mass retailers and looking instead to the bounty of gift options around the East Bay.
to its creative, diverse and vibrant roots.
“Now more than ever we need to uplift and elevate our small businesses,” says Bardarkian. “We know times are tough, and we thought this was a good way to package up some fun products of the hard-working founders in the town.”
While there are only a few Town Love boxes left, the duo o ered their curation expertise to share more ideas for Oakland goods that make for amazing gifts.
Local Gifts for Foodies
Two local women perfected this when, in September, they launched Town Love. The brainchild of public relations professional Kim Bardakian and graphic designer Nicole Vasgerdsian, Town Love is a gift box featuring locally curated goods that celebrate the makers and founders of Oakland. After wrapping up holiday pre-orders last month, they sold more than 500 boxes to individuals and businesses all-in on their mission to shift the narrative around Oakland back
The Town Love box features a great lineup of food and drinks from some of Oakland’s most notable names, including treats from That’s My Jam, The Granola Guru, Peter’s Kettle Corn and the Oakland Fortune Factory. Those are ideal places to start when thinking about seasonal gifts, but The Town’s rich culinary scene o ers even more.
For kitchen connoisseurs, premium ingredients are the way to go. Bardarkian loves jarred goods from Oaktown Spice Shop and Kuali salsas, two local companies making a national stir.
INSIDE LOOK The Town Love box features products that the founders ‘not only personally enjoy but that also represent Oakland.’
TOP IT OFF Salsa macha from Kuali is an Oakland and nationwide favorite.
PHOTO BY LAUREN SEGAL
Stylish Picks Around The Town
Who doesn’t love something green or wonderfully scented? Candles and fragrances from Fonzie’s Artisanal Goods and Olfactorie Candles pack a big punch in small, beautiful packages. (Olfactorie even carries a special candle that captures the scent of the city.) To give someone the gift of a little pampering with all-natural body butters, try oils and salves from The Herbal Alchemist. And for the gift that keeps on growing, shop the lush leaves at Blk Girls Greenhouse or the dramatic blooms of Crimson Horticultural Rarities.
For those who prioritize stand-out style, Oakland is home to designers galore. Fashionistas will appreciate a statement piece (or gift card) from Ali Golden, Lesley Evers or Taylor Jay. For a truly one-of-a-kind gift, select or commission something chain-stitched by Mira Flores. And if someone loves The Town as much as Bardarkian and Vasgerdisian, Oaklandish is a must-stop shop for Oakland-repping tees, sweats, accessories and more.
For size-free gifting, turn to an array of jewelry shops. Both Candid Art and Philippa Roberts offer classic and creative options to suit any taste. Go even more elevated with gems from Dorian Webb.
Oakland Experiences They
Won’t Forget
Some of the most thoughtful gifts can’t be wrapped, or at least not completely. The Town Love Box includes discounted tickets to an Oakland Roots game as well as the OMCA.
Those ideas are ready to steal for guaranteed memory-making. But Bardarkian and Vasgerdisian also have nearly endless recommendations in the arena of “Give the gift of fun stuff to do together around Oakland.”
Indulge a fan with tickets to a show at the Fox Theater or Paramount Theatre. Get crafty with classes at The Crucible or Kollektiv Clay Studio. Give the gift of a new skill or hobby with lessons or a membership at the Bay Area Curling Club in East Oakland. A hot towel treatment at People’s Barber or a spa treatment at »
Vasgerdsian recommends Off That Fire to
NICE BITES Chocolate chunk cookies from Yahshi Bakes take the holiday cookie game to decadent new levels—and they can be shipped.
PHOTO BY
Kume Spa will offer a much-needed holiday stress reprieve.
Basically, turn someone’s favorite activity—or an activity that could become a favorite—into a gift. Low key ways include bringing the picnic for a hike in The Hills or treating someone to bites at a favorite farmers’ market. (If it’s the one near Lake Merritt, Vasgerdisian recommends a local gondola ride.)
Neighborhood Spots to Shop
These Oakland-made recommendations are ready to order for anyone who wants to get through their to-gift list, stat. Plenty of Oakland shops also focus on locally made goods and goodies to peruse at one’s leisure. That includes Uptown Market (1955 Broadway), a collaboration between Block, Inc. and the Black Cultural Zone featuring a rotating lineup of “the best of Oakland.” There’s also the aptly named Bay-Made (3295 Lakeshore Ave.), which
carries gifts and art from makers around the Bay Area.
Yet a local gift can also just be something that comes from a local shop, which The Town has in infinite supply. Bardarkian has been shopping at Pelago (6128 La Salle Ave.) in Montclair for years, and the shop is the exclusive retailer for the Town Love box. Bonus: They’ll wrap things for free.
For stylish stores that offer gifts for adults, kids and pets alike all in one place, try Veranda (308 12th St.), Mischief (3908 MacArthur Blvd.) and Nathan & Co (5636 College Ave. and 4025 Piedmont Ave.). For more elevated offerings, hit up Maison d’Etre (5640 College Ave.). Bardarkian also loves to check out the Rockridge Market Hall (5655 College Ave.).
The holiday season shopping countdown begins now—but with these recommendations from Town Love, it doesn’t have to be a frenzy. ❤
FLAVOR FAVOR Gift sets from Oaktown Spice Shop are an easy present to give home cooks or aspiring chefs.
PHOTO BY DANA PLUCINSKI
TEA TREAT Yahshi Bakes chai snickerdoodle cookies are an updated classic that will warm anyone’s heart. PHOTO
Low-Tech,No-Tech
Finding, giving and receiving non-digital gifts is a welcome respite this season
BY Lou Fancher
ARTISANAL EXPRESSIONS A Lireille artist by way of Sorrento and Bali, Mariella Pilato crafts jewelry like this silver ‘Rising Light’ ring with natural crystal and freshwater pearls.
Everything in the universe is becoming high-tech “smart.” When refrigerators, clothing, shoes and vehicles talk to people more than people talk to each other, the craving for low-tech, no-tech escape is no surprise. Especially when it comes to gift giving, handmade or homemade items are treasures. Turns out, the old-fashioned bounty is huge, with plenty of options for folks seeking retro respite.
Curated and limited to just five categories from the dozens possible, these vendors and resources add a bonus by keeping those dollars local. Jumping off the AI and digital train to walk barefoot through the close-to-home landscape of low or no technology commerce is fun, creative, economically sound and community-building. In a word, it’s smart
Paper Goods
Local sourcing for no-tech products is especially powerful when a Bay Area publisher is involved. To round up some of the best, a visit to publisher outlets or their websites yields a basket of possibilities from books to word-centric items.
The 2025 wall calendar from Berkeley’s Laurel Burch Studios offers spectacular displays of color with the late Burch’s world-renowned art featuring animals, people and earth-supportive imagery (September is especially gorgeous). Note cards, journals and other items round out the paper products.
San Francisco-based Chronicle Books has beautifully designed calendars, coloring books, games, cards and day planners, but also keep-worthy books by local
PHOTOS COURTESY OF LIREILLE
STATEMENT PIECE Indiana-based jeweler and metals artist Ben Cooke-Akaiwa creates wearable art like this Rust Pebble Necklace, which is featured at Lireille.
LOCAL ARTISTS Lireille also carries original art like ‘Summer of ’85’ (cropped above) by Oakland artist Scott Holloway, and (right) artwork by Valerie Corvin, an American contemporary abstract painter who founded the Piedmont Center for the Arts.
writers or those from afar that center local icons like the Golden Gate Bridge or East Bay cities and hills.
Don’t forget smaller publishing entities: the cornerstone shop and imprint of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers, quality children’s books from publisher Creston Books, the venerable Heyday Books’ output that highlights California’s Indigenous and environmental richness.
For extreme low-tech, investigate the market of independent zines to discover a remarkable array of wordson-paper from Unity Press in Oakland, San Francisco/Los Angeles-based Wasted Books and many more.
laurelburchstudio.com, chroniclebooks.com
Food
FROG HOLLOW FARMS
The 280-acre organic fruit farm in Brentwood is legendary. Everything is hand-picked by full-time workers, some of whom live on the land with their families in a housing program begun 20
years ago. Frog Hollow offers in-season fruits, harvest fruit clubs and a kitchen pantry with baked goods, soups, olive oil, nuts, beans, spices and more.
An education section on the website presents their experimental insights and brief essays written by experts addressing best practices in regenerative agriculture. Online, there are dozens of recipes and an introduction to the farm’s Community Supported Agriculture program and membership.
Last, but not least, the boxed gift sets
available are creative—and tantalizing. One may start small-scale with the “S’mores Kit Box,” then move up to medium with a “Mixed Fruit & Cheese Box” or splurge large with “Le Grande Gift Basket.” Holiday-theme boxes are plentiful. Although for a year-round, anytime treat, we’re opting for the Ice Cream Sandwich box. Moist, homemade wafers embrace creamy peach, pluot, apricot, cherry chocolate and pear caramel ice cream.
Shipping is broadly available, and Frog Hollow participates in roughly a half-dozen East Bay weekly farmers’ markets. Is there a superlative for “Yum?” Whatever it is, Frog Hollow is that word… times 10.
froghollow.com
Personal Art
LIREILLE
Jewelry designer and founder Yan Liu established this marvelous gallery in 2005 to showcase her designs. Current director Monica Schmid joined the Oakland
»
GALLERY OF GIFTS Established in 2005, Lireille features the work of mostly women, immigrants from around the world or owners of small studios.
JUICY FRUIT Frog Hollow Farms is a legendary 280-acre organic fruit farm in Brentwood that ships in-season fruits, gift baskets and more.
PHOTO BY
Discover a modern, boutique senior living community in walkable Poet’s Corner, where East Bay elders continue to contribute, participate and inspire future generations.
studio in 2007 and today curates the events and artists represented—mostly women, immigrants from around the world or owners themselves of small studios and businesses. Lireille offers primarily high-end jewelry, wall art, handmade crafts and gemstones.
The jewelry and original artworks are heart-stopping: because they are transcendent and due to the realization that a one-of-a-kind treasure one adores has just been sold (website labels show items’ availability).
Accepting temporality means it’s essential to jump into action and load one’s cart with Jenny Reeves’ boldly elegant Chrysoprase Pinnacle Pendant, Claudia Berman’s understated Natural Blue Green Flawless Sapphires Earrings, Ben Cooke-Akaiwa’s earthy Rust Pebble Necklace or artwork in a range of media created by Valerie Corvin, Reiner Keller, Karen Stanton Art and others. Best advice: Don’t wait to find the perfect gift for a loved one—or oneself. lireille.com
Home Garden
CURIOUS FLORA
After Richmond’s Annie’s Annuals and Perennials abruptly ended its reign as one of the East Bay’s premier gardening nurseries, horticulturists and home gardeners throughout the region and beyond mourned the loss. Although Annie’s name, website and catalog were purchased by another entity, out of the ashes a plant-savvy phoenix arose. The nursery and retail shop were purchased and, led by Colleen Wheeler with other former Annie’s workers, Curious Flora Nursery opened in early November. Featuring the same spirit, knowledge and practices of the original owner, the business is open every day and features the same unique assortment of familiar, exotic or native plants. Staff offers expert, PhDlevel knowledge with practical advice even the least-green-thumbed person can follow. Events and workshops are likely to happen when everyone is up and running
at full speed. Filling one’s home and yard with plants is earth-friendly. Every purchase helps this new/old local business thrive for decades to come.
curiousflora.com
Entertainment AT HOME AND OUTDOORS
Saving the hardest for last, finding things to do at home and in the East Bay’s marvelous outdoors demands nuclear suggestions that branch into multiplicity.
For music and dance lovers (with parenthetical emphasis noted), key into Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage (bluegrass, Americana, roots); Cal Performances (classical, jazz, early, world music and bigname dance artists and companies); The Ivy Room (funk, rock, soul, hip-hop and more); or Paul Dresher Ensemble Studio (contemporary new or concert music of all genres and music/dance collaborations with choreographers).
Outdoor enthusiasts and athletes
ASTRO INSPIRATIONS KONZUK’s stellar sculptural necklace, found at Lireille, evokes a constellation named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology.
may hit the supreme trails in Charles Lee Tilden Regional Park; dive into the pool at Richmond Plunge; explore land and sea at Berkeley Marina; or pedal all the way to the peak at Mount Diablo State Park along the recently upgraded roads that improve bicycle safety.
Access to the visual arts, dance, theater and film is easier than ever. Attending in-person instead of streaming a performance online directly supports local artists and companies.
Again, the options are seemingly endless. Highlights among them include theaters Berkeley Repertory and Shotgun Players; Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archives, and Oakland Museum of California for visual art, films, community workshops and events; and neighborhood cinematography houses such as Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley and Grand Lake Theater in Oakland that specialize in independent and foreign films and documentaries, with the latter also screening current, first-run and major studio flicks.
BAY RESTORATION
San Francisco Baykeeper patrol boats search for polluters.
GiftsThat Give
Ideas for supporting local organizations and encouraging experiences
BY Janis Hashe
Everyone knows people who are ardent in support of local organizations and causes. For those folks, ideal gifts can be donations in their names to those organizations or memberships/ subscriptions to places they frequently visit. Here are some suggestions.
Local Aid Organizations HOMELESSNESS, COMMUNITIES
Insight Housing: Formerly known
as Berkeley Food & Housing Project, this Charity Navigator four-star-rated nonprofit o ers emergency and transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, vocational assistance and partners with other organizations to build housing, such as The Hope Center. insighthousing.org
Homeless Action Center: Another CN four-star-rated nonprofit, HAC serves both Oakland and Berkeley, o ering legal assistance with benefits advocacy, outreach and the Almost Home Housing Program, providing temporary, supportive, transitional housing. homelessactioncenter.org
Urban Tilth: Richmond’s Urban Tilth’s North Richmond Farm, Greenway Garden and Orchard for All provide organically grown food to food deserts with Free Farm Stands. UT also runs watershed conservation and restoration projects, and offers multiple programs for students to learn about growing food, including “After School at the Farm.” urbantilth.org
THE ENVIRONMENT
Sierra Club, SF Bay Chapter: Many don’t realize how important Sierra Club lawyers are in fighting cases against big polluters. For example, SC lawyers were vital to the legal decision that will prohibit coal and petcoke from being exported through the Levin-Richmond Terminal, starting in 2026. Their aid is indispensable to grassroots community organizations. sierraclub.org/sfbay
San Francisco Baykeeper: Small but mighty, SF Baykeeper recently won a big decision against the Valero Oil Refinery and Amports shipping facility, who were dumping highly toxic petcoke into the bay at Benicia. SFB will watch them for three years as they upgrade and clean up, and as they pay $2.38 million to the Rose Foundation for grants to community groups restoring the bay.
baykeeper.org
The Rose Foundation for Communities & the Environment: Speaking of the Rose Foundation, this Oakland-based nonprofit quietly supports groups advocating for justice, the environment and consumer rights by working with the legal community to channel restitution funds back into impacted communities. It is trustee for more than 600 such funds.
rosefdn.org
East Bay Parks Foundation: Outdoorsy friends will get a lot of use from a membership in the EBPF, which includes many park perks. Memberships also support the remarkable parks system, which has saved, and continues to save, places and lands for generations to come.
regionalparksfoundation.org
PHOTO BY ELAINE MORENO-JOLLY
SUBSCRIPTION GIFTS
Oakland Theater Project presented its one-person ‘Mahabarata’ this season.
Animals
East Bay SPCA: When the pandemic ended, shelters were flooded with “returned” and dumped animals. With locations in Oakland and Dublin, and an Oakland spay/neuter clinic, the EBSPCA has worked for humane treatment of animals for 150 years, providing multiple services. Their policy on shelter euthanasia, used only on very ill or unadoptable animals, is stated clearly on their site.
eastbayspca.org
Arts Memberships and Support
Oakland Museum of California: OMCA is a treasure of The Town, and continues to put on outstanding exhibitions, such as “Angela Davis—Seize the Time,” as well as maintaining its permanent collection. Its Friday Nights with OMCA have become go-to events. Membership includes unlimited admission for member and guest, as well as invites to previews and special events, and more. museumca.org
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive: There’s always something extraordinary going on at BAMPFA, such as the current exhibit, “Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection,” on view through April 20, 2025. Membership provides unlimited gallery admission and discounted film tickets, among other benefits. bampfa.org
Richmond Art Center: Continuing to up its game, the RAC may be the bestkept secret that needs to be revealed. In addition to great shows, membership includes discounts for the RAC’s extensive array of art and craft classes. Coming up in January 2025: the newest version of Richmond artist Attaboy’s “Upcycled Garden.” richmondartcenter.org
Freight & Salvage: Like many performing arts organizations, the beloved Freight has been getting back on its feet postpandemic. For fans, a donation in their name, or tickets to an upcoming show, like “An Evening with Rickie Lee Jones,” Jan. 29 and 30 is, well, just the ticket. thefreight.org
Oakland Symphony: Whether it’s a donation, tickets to a performance or a subscription to the next season, classical music buffs will be delighted by this choice of gift. Upcoming in March 2025, Forgiveness + Pictures at an Exhibition. oaklandsymphony.org
Berkeley Rep: The Rep is having an outstanding season. But theaters can never have too many supporters and subscribers. The continuing 2024-25 season includes Uncle Vanya with Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville. berkeleyrep.org
Oakland Theater Project: Now recognized as one of the most innovative and provocative companies in the Bay Area, a donation to OTP supports the company as it rockets on its upward path. Next season’s subscriptions will be available in January. oaklandtheaterproject.org
Activist Pianist
BY Andrew Gilbert
The musical ministry of Samora Pinderhughes grew out of the progressive soul of Berkeley.
Pianist, composer, vocalist and antiincarceration activist Pinderhughes has thrived since moving to New York City in 2009 to study jazz piano at Juilliard. But rather than hewing to a straight-ahead jazz path, he embarked on a wending journey that has taken him from the dungeons of America’s death row to the heights of American culture as he’s reconfigured conversations about crime, punishment, forgiveness and healing.
Returning to Berkeley for his first hometown concert since 2018, Pinderhughes plays Cornerstone on Thursday, Dec. 12, focusing on material from his revelatory new album, Venus Smiles Not In The House of Tears. While the album is a subtly orchestrated song cycle laced together with a gentle lattice of keyboards, lapidary electric guitar lines, string quartet and winds (including his younger sister, Elena Pinderhughes, on flute), he’s opening up the songs, both expanding and distilling them with the quartet he’s bringing to the West Coast.
“The album itself is sequenced like a story, beginning to end,” Pinderhughes said on a recent phone call. “As a person who loves albums and comes from the album era, it’s definitely conceived as an entire work, like a film. But the live performance is a totally separate thing. We don’t perform in sequence. We take different pieces and open them up. Instead of trying to tell the same story, we’re using certain pieces to open up the emotions that are in that song.”
In many ways, it’s the next step on the multifaceted journey represented by his 2022 album, Grief, the most portable component of The Healing Project (which received a million dollar grant last year from the Mellon Foundation). A vast and sprawling endeavor based on about 100 interviews focusing on
people of color who’ve had life-changing encounters with the criminal justice system, this creative archipelago expanded from a 2022 installation at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts into an online archive and interactive forum.
Pinderhughes is still deeply engaged in social transformation. But Venus is a project that looks inward, exploring knotty emotions and internal conflict.
Featuring Elliott Skinner on vocals and guitar, bassist Joshua Crumbly and drummer Conor Rayne, the highly versatile ensemble has plunged into the material to reimagine it, planing away the sumptuous textures to expose the sturdy architecture of the songs. “They’re all incredible musicians,” Pinderhughes said.
He met Crumbly at Juilliard, where the prodigious bassist was recruited by trumpet great Terence Blanchard (who featured one of Crumbly’s tunes on his acclaimed 2013 album, Magnetic). He’s become a commanding force, anchoring projects by an array of jazz artists, including saxophonist Kamasi Washington, soul/jazz vocalist Lizz Wright, vibraphonist Stefon Harris and guitarist Anthony Wilson, as well as soul singer-songwriter Leon Bridges.
Describing Crumbly as “my right hand since college,” Pinderhughes said he’s come to depend on the unbreakable tensile strength and melodic intensity of the bassist’s lines. “He’s become a key part of the sound of the music,” he noted.
Skinner is a prolific singer/songwriter in his own right who came into Pinderhughes’ orbit about a decade ago via the Healing Project Choir. Rayne, however, is a recent addition to the Pinderhughes constellation. They met through Venus guitarist Gabe Schneider, who’s part of the Los Angeles duo The Trash Pals with Rayne. On a tour last spring opening for French-Caribbean funk singer/songwriter Adi Oasis, Pinderhughes started honing and distilling the material with Crumbly and Rayne.
HOMECOMING SHOW Pinderhughes will play songs from his new album, ‘Venus Smiles Not in the House of Tears,’ at the Cornerstone on Dec. 12.
“The music from the new album is heavy on production, and the sonics go in a lot of directions,” he said. “But the musical material is a vessel for investigation. Another thing I’m
excited about is that the artists are going to do their own opening mini-sets, creating this tapestry of what it feels like to create and perform together. They all have their own groups, and they give themselves to the music. It’s a community thing, where people come in from different collaborative experiences.”
Embracing a plethora of voices is something of a birthright. Raised in an activist academic Berkeley family, Pinderhughes absorbed an expansive world view from both his mother, San Francisco State professor Raquel RiveraPinderhughes, an expert on green jobs, green jobs training and environmental literacy, and his father, Howard Pinderhughes, professor and chair of the department of social and behavioral sciences at UC San Francisco.
His parents immersed him in the deep and overlapping cultural and progressive currents running through Berkeley in the 1990s and aughts, activities and training that flowed through him to his sister, starting with Venezuelan percussion and then piano.
“Our parents would take us to a lot of shows,” said flutist/vocalist Elena Pinderhughes, who’s spent recent years on the road with Common, Herbie Hancock and Grammy Award-winning New Orleans trumpeter Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (aka Christian Scott).
“When musicians saw we were really interested, they took us under their wing. At La Peña Cultural Center, “my brother studied with John Santos and Jackeline Rago, the Venezuelan cuatro master and percussionist, and she worked with flutist Donna Viscuso. I saw the flute, pointed to it and said, ‘I want to play that one!’”
They both describe their years in the Young Musicians Choral Orchestra (then known as the Young Musicians Program) as formative. A conservatory program for low-income, underprivileged students, “it was like a home for young artists,” Samora Pinderhughes said. “That’s where my sister and I got into jazz, and it’s the reason why we’re both vocalists. I met Patrice Rushen, Frank Foster and so many legendary people.”
NATURE NURTURE
Pianist, composer, vocalist and anti-incarceration activist Samora Pinderhughes was raised in an activist academic Berkeley family.
Far more than acquiring a set of skills, he came to understand that the rhythms and song forms told stories of dislocation and diaspora, resistance and resilience, spiritual sustenance and earthly succor. Those historical arcs continue to undergird his music, whatever the context.
Recently, his attention has turned toward film, creating scores with Chris Pattishall for projects like Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project and The Strike, a remarkable new documentary about the prison hunger strike that ended the
pervasive and extended use of solitary confinement in California.
“What I love about film scoring is that it focuses your set of options around the story,” he said. “I really like that I’m not thinking of the technical aspects of music. It’s about what emotion is this scene trying to tell me. Actually, in my own music, I’m still thinking like film, about what does this character want to do. I find them to be very connected.”
In the world of Samora Pinderhughes, everything is connected, and those relationships start in Berkeley.
PHOTO BY SONIA BROMAN
Body
The premise was simple: Search out local artisans and makers to best complete the ellipsisended phrase, “When you love your body, you…..” Here is what we’re calling “starter suggestions” for loving one’s—or a beloved’s—body.
WHEN YOU LOVE YOUR BODY, YOU HONOR ALL SENTIENT BEINGS.
One’s family pet often feels like an extension of their own human body. Nurturing a little beast or beauty includes attention, but also, let’s face it: food and playthings. For fish, one may pop into High Tide Aquatics in Oakland to find products, like San Francisco Bay Brand’s Frozen Spirulina Brine Shrimp, and other items made by local crafty caretakers of aquarium habitants. Alameda See Spot Run carries treats, daily food staples, toys and accessories for dogs and cats. hightideaquatics.net, alamedaseespotrun.com
… VALUE GROWING THINGS AND THEIR ‘HOUSES.’
Native plants, fruit trees and more are found at Planting Justice locations in Oakland and El Sobrante. The organization provides living wage jobs for formerly incarcerated people and offers multiple community-building support programs.
And to complete the deal, one may attend the Berkeley Potters Guild Holiday Show and Sale during three weekends in December. In the warehouse and gallery, 17 artists are participating. Among them are Piper Christine, who transforms other artists’ unwanted, secondhand clays, glazes and minerals into magic, organic vessels
Additional gifts for all bodies, crafted by local purveyors and makers
BY Lou Fancher
and planters, and Ida Thistle, a ceramicist offering delightfully asymmetrical, organic plant holders and pots. plantingjustice.org, berkeleypottersstudio.org
… TREAT YOUR SKIN WITH RESPECT.
To create the perfect getaway space in a home or apartment, one may start by inviting photographer, author and book designer Josie Iselin into their bathroom. Along with a copy of her most recent in-print book, The Curious World of Seaweed, published by Berkeley-based Heyday Books, they may order and install one of Iselin’s breathtaking shower curtains featuring sea glass, kelp and seaweed.
Finally, one may splurge for something from Samudra Skin & Sea, a Bay Areabased skincare company with package design from Iselin and high-end sea soap, clay mask, and seaweed body butter and face cream.
Yet another source for skincare is Clean 360, a workforce enterprise that crafts artisan soaps and whose makers are all participants in Oakland’s Roots Community Health Center’s workforce development program, the Emancipators Initiative. One hundred percent of the sales are re-invested in the program; price points are marvelous; and all products contain no animal products and are never tested on animals. josieiselin.com, samudraskin.com, clean360.org
… SATISFY ALL CRAVINGS.
There are the expected chocolates, wine, beer and cannabis edibles. But one may choose to think broadly and capitalize on the lasting pleasure supplied by local art-makers in literature, music and fine
art. Suggestions that each in its unique way revolve around love, reading, tasting, looking and listening, include Chef Tu David Phu’s Vietnamese American Recipes from Phu Quoc, Oakland, and the Spaces Between For sonic pleasure, there’s Grace, a four-disc set published by Pentagon chronicling five decades of former San Francisco Symphony director Michael Tilson Thomas’ compositional career and expanded by a booklet of notes, essays and photos. For wall art and sculpture by local artists, one may consider a trifecta: Gray Loft Gallery, Mercury 20 Gallery and Slate Contemporary Gallery Another direction to head, especially for discovering new talent and supporting a broad network of rising mid-career artists, is a few miles north of those galleries. At Richmond Art Center, exhibitions, festivals, a gallery and other community events bring the full spectrum of Bay Area artists and their work to the forefront.
Regardless of one’s preferred culinary, musical and visual art preferences, creating a body-loving library getaway provides a sanctuary during pressing, overwhelming times. If there was ever a time to love oneself and these artisans and art-makers, that time is now. richmondartcenter.org, slatecontemporary.com, grayloftgallery.com, mercurytwenty.com
PLANTED BODY Ida Thistle’s asymmetrical, organic plant holders are featured at Berkeley Potters Guild.
STILL LIFE Chef Hsu’s Mendocino uni dish with Hodo soy tofu and fermented tomatoes is reminiscent of a 17th century Dutch painting.
WSun Moon Studio
Still life with uni, green garlic and tofu in West Oakland
BY Je rey Edalatpour
hen the dishes arrive at the table, Sun Moon Studio’s dining room undergoes a subtle transformation. On the bottom floor of a newer build in West Oakland, the restaurant is a small rectangular room. The cold concrete floor and the modern interiors suddenly soften and warm up. A correspondence begins between a bowl of bright orange mussels and the surrounding décor—bouquets of blooming wildflowers, a platter of pumpkins on display at the kitchen counter and a stack of pulchritudinous persimmons that look fat enough to burst.
Chefs Sarah Cooper and Alan Hsu’s cooking manifests the bounty of a farmer’s harvest. Hsu credits the products—the produce itself—with the end results. He doesn’t claim to have a discerning palate, despite serving an array of dishes with startling and original flavor profiles. Hsu also happens to have the precision of an artist’s eye when it comes to arranging beautiful plates of food.
“I grew up in the East Bay and cooked a lot when I was a kid,” Hsu said. He and his sister used to watch Jacques Pépin and Yan Can Cook. “After that, we would make something for breakfast or lunch that we saw on TV,” he explained. Not only did his parents encourage him to cook from an early age; they allowed him to use knives and the stove.
At college, Hsu began to cook weekly meals with his roommates before finding work in restaurants. “I fell in love with the environment, how you get to meet people of varied backgrounds,” Hsu recalled. When he moved back to the Bay Area, the chef secured a stage
» PHOTOS BY HENRY
at San Francisco’s Benu before becoming the sous chef there.
Cooper and Hsu led the culinary team that opened Aomboon Deasy’s restaurant Pomet on Piedmont Avenue. But they’d all agreed upon a certain timeline, after which the couple would venture out on their own. In the year between leaving Pomet and opening Sun Moon Studio, Cooper said they wanted to find a way to express themselves with “not very much money.” After a potential project fell through in the Pacific Northwest, they found the space in West Oakland the oldfashioned way, via Craigslist.
“The way that we talk about our cuisine at Sun Moon Studio is farmer and producer driven,” Hsu explained. “It’s really important to represent the work
that someone else has already done.”
Chefs can manipulate ingredients, but the food is only as good as the produce itself.
“We represent what the broccoli or the sunchoke is by cooking it simply—when you see it, you can identify it because it looks like what it should be,” he said, adding, “with the exception of a purée.”
There are two evening seatings on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at Sun Moon Studio. The tasting menu is seasonal, and it changes from week to week. Hsu said they decided to create a tasting menu, in part, for people to dine out and enjoy a meal together as a celebration. From a restaurant owner’s practical standpoint, a tasting menu makes it much easier to plan for and prepare the dishes. “By having a reservation-only system, we can be very precise on how much food we need to bring in, and we don’t have as much waste as other restaurants,” he said.
Currently, Sun Moon’s reservations are booked weeks in advance. Cooper explained that they’d like to be able to accommodate more diners. They’ve
HEAVEN SENT A sweet potato and green garlic potage makes a creamy sea for smoked mussels to swim in.
TEAM DREAM Chefs Sarah Cooper and Alan Hsu led the culinary team at Pomet on Piedmont Avenue before venturing out on their own.
PRODUCE PREVAILS
considered adjusting the tables or the number of seatings. But she believes that people have enjoyed the experience, “because of the care we put into the meal, but also the personal interaction of us delivering food and interacting with the tables. We thrive on that energy as well.”
Cooper’s baked goods thoughtfully pair with and complement Hsu’s magical preparation of vegetables and savory dishes. The chef poured a sweet potato and green garlic potage to make a creamy sea for smoked mussels to swim in. The potage was heaven sent, light as a cloud with a devilish bite of green garlic spice. To accompany the dish, Cooper baked red corn buttermilk biscuits with corn miso butter. A clever way to amp up the flavor of corn.
Sun Moon Studio’s seasonal menu manifests the bounty of a farmer’s harvest.
The week before I visited Sun Moon, Cooper had made a porridge with bloody butcher cornmeal, a red corn variety from Full Belly Farms. She used the same cornmeal to make many-layered biscuits. “The potage is normally potato soup, but we’re making it with cabbage and green garlic, and then we have baked sweet potato on the bottom so it’s like a chowder,” she said.
Hsu’s Mendocino uni dish with Hodo soy tofu and fermented tomatoes reminded me of a 17th century Dutch still life painting in miniature. The ingredients in the small bowl shimmered with colors that most painters struggle to conjure up. Pale orange uni, translucent orange cherry tomatoes, lemon yellow tofu and tiny green herbal leaves. Like a Dutch still life, the composition also suggested a hidden world, one that exists outside of the frame. Or, in this case, the bowl. Someone had harvested the uni, destemmed the tomatoes, transformed the soybeans and plucked each green leaf.
Sun Moon Studio, open Thu to Sat 5–9pm. 1940 Union St., Ste. 21, Oakland. hello@sunmoonstudio.com.
IG: @sun_moon_studio_. sunmoonstudio.com.
DREAM PUFF Desserts like this Keitt mango passionfruit cream puff may be worth waiting for, as reservations are booked weeks in advance.
COCKTAIL ORIGINS
Trader Vic’s is widely thought to be the birthplace of the Mai Tai, although that’s to be disputed.
Tiki Tidings
An expertly curated selection of the best Mai Tais in the Bay
BY Nico Bianchi
Area
Iwas first introduced to the magic of a properly timed rum-based libation by Danville resident Kent Wisneor, known at some local bar tops as “Tiki Kent.” Out of the many important tell-tale signs of a great tiki experience, he told me that none are as nearly important as an unwaveringly rock solid Mai Tai—the barebones being rum, lime, an almond syrup called “orgeat,” some bitters and mint. It’s the drink that separates the wannabes from the know hows, the real mark of a quality tiki bar.
PHOTOS BY NICO BIANCHI
It was about time that Tiki Kent and I took a deep dive into the birthplace of the Mai Tai to find out where to get not only classic but also redesigned expressions. Here’s our list of some of the best Mai Tais in the Bay Area.
Trader Vic’s, Emeryville
The origins of any cocktail, whether those well known or cult-like ri s, are hotly debated. The Mai Tai, on the other hand, has taken a full step further than that, Trader Vic’s being the nucleus of said dispute. Who made it? Where? What was the original recipe? Victor Bergeron in 1944 Oakland or Donn Beach in 1933 Los Angeles?
For those in the Bay, there’s obviously only one correct answer, as Trader Vic’s Mai Tai has become almost synonymous with the drink itself. It brought the Mai Tai to the masses via a myriad of mixes and syrups, glassware and tiki collectibles. Every Mai Tai pilgrim must have Trader Vic’s under their belt.
Forbidden Island, Alameda
Patrons are met with signed dollar bills taped to the ceiling and a TV playing Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) inside Alameda’s Forbidden Island. It’s the kind of place where plaques are nailed to the back bar with names of those who have completed the Herculean challenge of becoming a member of the “Kill Devil Club”—which dictates trying all 120 rums, contrasted with a regular going table-totable giving out homemade spice cake.
Hamilton pots still black and an aged Martinique Argricole rum give their Mai Tai a beautifully nuanced and funky attribute. Add some aromatic bitters and a bouquet of mint, and it’s a Mai Tai that cannot be missed.
Tiki Tom’s, Walnut Creek
Compared to the bustling Olympic Avenue, a first step inside Tiki Tom’s has the ability to widen anyone’s eyes with anticipation. A far superior version to its
retired past, at one point the grungiest dive bar in Walnut Creek, a resurrection led by classic tiki ideals and a thoughtful menu has catapulted this spot into conversation with the best tiki experiences in the East Bay. Expect great balance in the Mai Tai, and don’t miss a good gawk at the extensive mug collection.
GIDGET GOES ALAMEDA Forbidden Island mixes their Mai Tai with an aged Martinique agricole rum, some aromatic bitters and a bouquet of mint.
TIKI RESURRECTION Tiki Tom’s in Walnut Creek o ers a balanced Mai Tai and an extensive mug collection.
True Laurel, San Francisco’s Mission District
One of the most famous modern interpretations of the Mai Tai, the Mai O Mai from True Laurel in the Mission District has introduced many cocktail drinkers to one of the classics in a new and “clear” way. The drink is milk washed, a process that has gained popularity in cocktail bars around the country, which includes curdling milk into a whey-spirit blend, resulting in a translucent and aroma-neutral drink. A rum blend, lime juice and pistachio orgeat are poured over a clear cube and topped with a housemade co ee-andrum float. It’s a great match and one that’s balanced and well executed.
Boo Loo Lounge, Orinda
Situated next to the entrance of the Orinda Theater, the Boo Loo Lounge’s closet-like size is in no way an indication of its overall quality. General manager Maxton Kennedy has had intimate knowledge of the tiki world longer than I’ve been alive and has translated that into a Mai Tai that, although is very much his own, pays homage to the classic created just on the other side of the Caldecott Tunnel.
With fitting odes to classic films such as Africa Screams (1949) and Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), a great mid-century pirate-style tiki lounge is being driven past rather than celebrated and studied.
Prizefighter, Emeryville
Prizefighter might not have a Mai Tai on their o cial menu, but that doesn’t limit them from making one worthy of rightful attention. Rather than the regular concoction of di erent rums usually specific to each bar, the simplicity of Planteray dark rum exalts each individual ingredient. The smoothness of the orgeat and orange liqueur complements the acidity of the lime rather than smothers it. As one of the best overall cocktail spots in the East Bay, experiencing Prizefighter is essential in understanding the simple beauty of the Mai Tai.
SECRET MENU Emeryville’s Prizefighter goes for exalted simplicity with its Mai Tai.
MODERN MAI TAI The Mai O Mai from True Laurel in the Mission District reinvents the classic with a milk wash.
TINY TIKI Boo’s Lounge in Orinda pays homage to the classic Mai Tai in a great mid-century pirate-style tiki lounge.
CLIMATECHANGER DANGER!
CLIMATE CHANGER
Garbageisamanufacturedproduct,created whenotherwiserecoverableresourcesare mixedandmashedtogether.Mostroomsin everybuildingin thewholecountry haveabasket wherethis manufacturing begins.Discarded resourcesareput inonebyone, thendumpedinto alargerbin,and thenintoatruck withamore modernbodybasedonthisone.A hydraulicpistonsmasheseverything together.Theobjectiveistopackinmore cargobeforethetruckhastobedrivento whereitcandumpontotheland,tobe covered ina“sanitary“way.Liquidsleach outandmaketheirwayintotheplanet's
Garbage is a manufactured product, created when otherwise recoverable resources are mixed and mashed together. Most rooms in every building in the whole country have a basket where this begins. Discarded resources are put in one by one, then dumped into a larger bin, and then into a truck with a more modern body based on this one. A hydraulic piston smashes everything together. The objective is to pack in more cargo before the truck has to be driven to where it can dump onto the land, to be in a “sanitary“ way. Liquids leach out and make their way into the planet's
water eventually. These “sanitary” methods of filling the land (hence “sanitary landfills”) also provide for anaerobic decomposition of organic materials – which makes
water—eventually.These“sanitary” methodsoffillingtheland(hence“sanitary landfills”)alsoprovideforanaerobic decompositionof organicmaterials –whichmakes methane.
Landfills are the largest source of methane. In the short term methane is 80-100 times
more powerful than carbon dioxide to warm the planet.
Landfillsare thelargest human-created sourceof methane.Inthe shortterm methaneis 80-100times morepowerfulthancarbondioxideto warmtheplanet.
Makinggarbagechangestheclimate!
Making garbage changes the climate!
Ifyou'renotforZeroWaste, howmuchwasteareyoufor?
If you're not for Zero Waste, how much waste are you for?
NASA'sAstronomyPictureof theDayfromFebruary12, 2002,coloredthemethanein theEarth'satmospheregreen, andananimationshowedhowit spinstothepoles.NASAsaid, “Methane(CH4)issecondonly tocarbondioxide(CO2)in creatingawarminggreenhouse effect…. ThelargestabundancereleasedbytheUS…is createdwhen anaerobic bacteriabreakdowncarbon-based garbage inlandfills.” [Emphasisadded.]
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day from February 12, 2002, colored the methane in the Earth's atmosphere green, and an animation showed how it spins to the poles. NASA said, “Methane (CH4) is second only to carbon dioxide (CO2) in creating a warming greenhouse effect The largest abundance released by the US … is created when bacteria break down carbon-based in landfills.” [Emphasis added ]
UrbanOrehasbeensalvagingforreuseinBerkeley since1981.Wehave3acresofsecondhandgoods, open360daysayearuntil5:00PM,900MurraySt. near7thxAshby.Comeshop.
Urban Ore has been salvaging for reuse in Berkeley since 1981. We have 3 acres of secondhand goods, open 360 days a year until 5:00PM, 900 Murray St near 7th x Ashby. Come shop.