-
- English
- Français
- Log In
- Sign Up for Yelp
Joanna "Cocktail Glass Chomper and Wine Glass Crusher" M.'s Profile
Oakland's Finest
See All Lists
1. Creative Growth Art Center
Someone recently asked if I had any resolutions for the New Year. I silently thumbed through the usual medley-drink less, eat more veggies, no coffee after noon-but said that I didn't have any. Then my neurons fired, my eyes lit up and I proclaimed,…More »
2. Oakland Massage Therapy
When I went in to see John, my upper back and neck muscles were in a vicious vice grip. My lower back wasn't happy either, having recently been really inflamed and swollen to the point that I wondered if a tennis ball had been lodged in my fascia.
…More »
3. Haven
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 663-4440
Category:
American (New)
Neighbourhood: Jack London Square
Beginnings are often graceless disasters. I shudder at the memories of my pre-teen foray into make-up, with the lipstick scribbled outside the lips, and my gala apple rouged cheeks. Beginning in a new city turns my most direction-saavy friend into a…More »
4. Encuentro Café & Wine Bar
I can't believe that I just had my first encuentro with Encuentro. It blew my skirt up so high a la Marilyn that I'm still having trouble seeing straight.
I was smitten at first sight. It's an intimate space with low-lighting, funky fab decor, and…More »
5. Cafe Crush
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 788-4278
Categories:
Juice Bars & Smoothies,
Coffee & Tea
Neighbourhoods: Piedmont Ave, North Oakland
Sometimes I want a meal in a glass, but not a bacon Bloody Mary or some fancy and frothy mixology creation with spices and egg whites. Shocking, I know.
Unfortunately there aren't too many places around to indulge this desire, so if you're a juice…More »
6. Plum Bar
If you were in Uptown a few years ago and wanted a drink, your best bet was to hit up a liquor store and fill your flask (mine was from Ikea) with whatever whiskey you could afford.
Getting tired of losing my funnel and receiving funny stares for my…More »
7. Mariscos La Costa
Oakland, CA 94601
(510) 533-9566
Category:
Mexican
Neighbourhoods: Fruitvale, East Oakland
I used to be pretty good at math when I was younger. This bully even stole my algebra homework for a few weeks because I wouldn't date his friend. Even smart and beautiful people have problems sometimes. While I'm not such a math whiz anymore, I do…More »
8. Enoteca Molinari
Oakland, CA 94618
(510) 428-4078
Open on Tuesdays now! Tuesdays happen to be my busiest and most stressful day of the week, and I cannot think of a better place to unwind with good company and a glass or two of wine. Now if I could only leave work at a decent hour, I would be there…More »
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
12/19/2010
Usually when I walk home from the bart station I take the mean backstreets of Rockridge and skip… Read more »
9. Commis
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 653-3902
Category:
American (New)
Neighbourhoods: Piedmont Ave, North Oakland
My dinner at Commis was a dream.
I'd been jonesing to come here since its debut. Highly stylized, creative food...but without foams and vapors, sounded just like what the Bay Area needed. James Syhabout, the chef and proprietor, has an impressive…More »
10. Good Bellies
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 594-1900
Categories:
Sandwiches,
Coffee & Tea
Neighbourhoods: Temescal, North Oakland
Good Bellies is proof positive that in a pinch I can still find a great business without the aid of Yelp or technology.
While on a walk a while back, I left my phone and plans in my apartment, and just strolled. I did so much strolling that I became…More »
11. Popuphood Oakland
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 375-7705
Category:
Shopping
Neighbourhoods: Old Oakland, Oakland Chinatown
I'll keep this simple.
Check it out!
There's some coolnees brewing at 9th and Broadway, and you'll want to be a part of it. Six new retail shops have popped up to bring back some biz to this awesome but economically blighted block. Each place has…More »
12. Diesel Bookstore
Every neighborhood needs a bookstore. Even better if there's more than one. There's not much that I enjoy more than bopping from Pegasus to Diesel, and then to Enoteca Molinari for a glass of wine. A terrific trifecta.
Putting the wine glass down for…More »
13. Bar Three Fifty-Five
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 451-3355
Neighbourhood: Uptown
This is the spot!
Bar 355 has a singular vision: drink exceptionally crafted cocktails named after Werner Herzog films. Pay very fair prices for those quaffs, and lounge at the bar with your girlfriends while devilishly handsome bartenders hustle to…More »
14. Issues
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 652-5700
Categories:
Newspapers & Magazines,
Bookstores,
Vinyl Records
Neighbourhood: North Oakland
I've never seen so much awesome in such a small space. Issues has a high concentration of worthy reads in a space smaller than my living room.
I've been popping in here since it opened in 2007 to satisfy the high-gloss/expensive import magazine…More »
15. Dogwood
Mark Twain once said, "Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough." Does the same hold for cured meats and grilled cheese?
Dogwood enshrines all the truths that my dearest friends and I hold to be self-evident. The…More »
16. Bica Coffeehouse
In high school I was justifiably voted 'Worst Morning Attitude'. Brigades of people and symphonies of alarms could not wake me, and since I wasn't a coffee drinker then, the aroma of my parents' percolating java wouldn't entice me either.
Fast forward…More »
17. Redhound
Redhound is still Toshi tested and Toshi approved, though I'll do the writing since he hasn't been actually here himself. As I look at him sleeping soundly in his bed after a nourishing meal, surrounded by toys, all thanks to Redhound, he'll be my…More »
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
2/24/2008
Hi, this is Joanna's cat Toshiro. I am a spunky and feisty tabby. Mom gets my well-priced Wellness… Read more »
18. Golden Tea Shop
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 251-9368
Category:
Coffee & Tea
Neighbourhood: Oakland Chinatown
I owe technology a favor for matchmaking me with the Golden Tea Shop. After mindless nibbling at the East Bay Food Fight, my friend and I were looking for someplace to have a pot of tea, and when I punched in 'tea' and 'current location' this place…More »
19. Club One Fitness
Coffee is my quotidian pickmeup, but Club One is not far behind. It gets me going in the morning, stabilizes me in the afternoon, and winds me down in the evening.
It does it all. Sometimes not even a frisky man can do all three. And I always leave…More »
20. Cafe Colucci
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 601-7999
Categories:
Ethiopian,
Specialty Food
Neighbourhoods: Rockridge, North Oakland
The food is so exquisite and gratifying that I failed to notice anything else about Cafe Colucci both times that I have been there. If you are feeling sick, hungover, or merely famished, Cafe Colucci can take you to the moon. I faintly recall the…More »
Recently updated lists from Joanna M.
Music to my Ears (8)Music is always better live! |
My Requisite Caffeine List (30)Where I drink coffee as black as a moonless night... |
Time for Breakfast? (18)Places that help with proving the old adage that 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day.' Coffee helps. |
El Palo Alto (5)Palo Alto places |
Best Burgers (8)Burger Queen! |
The Sweet Spot-Oakland and Berkeley (6)Sweet as sugarplums... |
And the Academy Award Goes To... (7)All things cinematic and wonderful. |
Noodles (14)Linguine, ramen, hand-pulled...all of the best noodles. |
Really Outstanding Tangential Diatribes... (12)Otherwise known as ROTD! |
Cocktail Trail San Francisco (17)In pursuit of a perfect drink |
See all 43 lists »
"Where's that rum raisin?"
- 360 Friends
- 492 Reviews
- 22 Review Updates
- 20 Firsts
- 69 Tips
- 86 Fans
- 332 Local Photos
- 43 Lists
-
Rating Distribution
Loading...
- View more graphs »
Review votes:
3696 Useful, 3324 Funny, and 3379 Cool
Oakland, CA
Yelping SinceJuly 2006
Things I Lovefamily and friends, recurring dreams, cycling, intuition, the tropics, giving gifts, bookstores, surprises, italian shoes, hiking in haute couture, language, olive oil, strong black coffee, fruit, caviar, human body, Sequoia sempervirens, coincidences, the blues
Find Me Inthralled
My HometownHaiku spelled backyards, CA
When I'm Not Yelping...I am a raconteur for hire
My Second Favourite Website The Last Great Book I ReadBlood Meridian
My First ConcertBizet's Carmen
My Last Meal On Earthcoffee, caviar, champagne, cherries and chocolate
Don't Tell Anyone Else But...I once took a sick day to receive a caviar shipment at home
Most Recent DiscoveryThe Lovelight Blues Band
Current CrushRondo, OR7, optimists, and exotic fruit peddlers