Bakesale Betty's

Bakesale Betty, whose real name is Alison Barakat, came to the United States from Australia in 2000. Her love of food led her to restaurant positions in the Bay Area and eventually to her own baked-goods stand at the Danville and Walnut Creek Farmer's Markets.

Betty always wore, and still does wear, a bright blue wig. At her stand, she displayed her baked goods on ironing boards.

She made the best scones, sticky buns, cookies, lemon bars, and other delectables. She married Michael and they continued to work the Farmer's Market together. For many of us, a Sunday morning stop at Bakesale Betty's stand was the highlight of our weekend.

At some point in time, Betty and Michael opened a bakery in the Temescal district of Oakland. The first of their, now three, children arrived and they decided to concentrate their efforts on their shop and no longer have stands at Farmer's Market.

In addition to baked goods of all sorts, they served sandwiches at lunchtime.  The most popular of the sandwiches was the Fried Chicken with Spicy Cole Slaw on a torpedo bun. People flocked to Betty's for the sandwiches...and usually came home with some baked goods as well.

Most recently, Betty and Michael expanded to a second location in downtown Oakland. Now they are closing the downtown spot and consolidating all their operations to the shop in the Temescal.

It's been three years since I last had a Fried Chicken Sandwich at Betty's...not for wanting one, but just time, schedules, and life simply didn't get me over there.

Today, Mary Ann and I, after many years of talking about doing it, finally went for lunch.

Betty's is only open between noon and 1:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.



We got there at noon and were surprised to see a line that stretched way way down the block. We fed our meter a copious number of quarters and got in line.

Betty and one of her employees were working the line...checking on how many sandwiches each of us was getting and giving us time estimates until we'd reached the door.

At 45 minutes, the exact time Betty told us we'd have to wait, we made it to the counter, got our sandwiches, cups of lemonade, and some cookies to take home. The only other food being sold was Betty's famous Strawberry Shortcake...we should have shared one...I'm now remembering how good her shortcakes were.

Then, it was back out on the sidewalk to sit on stools at one of the many ironing boards that are set up on the sidewalk and which serve as the outdoor seating and eating areas.

Was it worth the wait...I think the look on Mary Ann's face tells it all...OF COURSE IT WAS!!!

And, when we left, there was still a line waiting to get in.

Right now, with Betty's limited hours, they sell only limited amounts of baked goods at this location. They have closed the downtown location but still do baking there. Their web site says they take phone orders each morning from 9:30 until 11:00 a.m. I don't know if these orders are for baked goods or sandwiches.

Their future plans include keeping the Temescal location open, perhaps with longer hours. Another perhaps is that they will offer more food choices for lunch. But nothing is certain. And, for now, that Fried Chicken Sandwich is certainly worth a special trip/detour. Have the Shortcake too...and buy whatever baked goods they have...take them home to enjoy now or freeze for later.

Dinner and more in the Temescal

The Temescal is an Oakland neighborhood that in recent years has risen from being just another neighborhood to being a culinary destination.

In one short block there is Bakesale Betty, Pizzaiola, and Doña Tomas, all special food places. Across the street is Genova Delicatessen's original location, albeit now expanded and renovated...Genova has two delis in Walnut Creek but got its start in this spot.

I had a gift card to Doña Tomas, a Mexican restaurant that has been on my to-dine list for many years. Tonight was our night to try it. Before heading to dinner, I read some online reviews of Doña Tomas and several complained about noise, small portions,, bad service, and high prices.

Our experience was none of the above. In fact, our dinner was one of the best meals I've had in any Bay Area restaurant and definately the most creative and interesting Mexican meal I have ever had. Doña Tomas makes just about everything it serves fresh at the restaurant. Ingredients are seasonal and mostly from local providers.

We had a choice of being seated on the outdoor back patio or indoors and opted for indoors. We were in a small back dining room that overlooks the patio.



Our room was not at all noisy but, on our way out, we noted that both front indoor dining rooms were very noisy.

After ordering a couple of beers (Pacifico is my current Mexican favorite) and munching on chips sprinkled with cheese and dipped in a dark rich salsa,



we started with a shared order of Sopes de Camarones. The order consisted of three masa cakes topped with fresh shrimp cooked in an achiote marinade, black beans, avocado slices and cilantro. This dish was as beautiful as it was delicious...and very filling too.



Jim's main course was the Tostada con Colache, a crispy tortilla topped with puréed black beans, potatoes, summer squash, corn, tomato and onions. It was garnished with avocado, crema, queso fresco and epazote. It was accompanied by red rice and an arugula and radish salad.



My choice was the Atún con Salsa de Naranja y Chiles, sautéed albacore tuna steak topped with a salsa made with gypsy peppers, red onions, habanero chiles, and orange and lime juices. Also on the place was chunks of watermelon in some kind of sauce and a most amazing Corn & Zucchini Pudding which was more like a corn soufflé. I asked our waiter about the Corn pudding and he said it is only made in summer during the corn season and is very popular. I could go back many times while corn is in season to have more of the pudding, for sure!



Believe me, we were not hungry for dessert but were intrigued by the Pay de Chocolate, Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie in a graham cracker crust. But, we were also intrigued by the Nieve de Yerba Buena con Pastilla de Chocolate, a mint chocolate chip ice cream sundae with Mexican Chocolate sauce. Our waiter told us that he likes them both and often adds the ice cream to his serving of the Pie...and that's what we did. It was worth the indulgence.




About the only thing that Doña Tomas does not make in house is its ice creams and sorbets; they come from Ici in Berkeley, a one location ice cream shop in the Elmwood district where all the ice cream is made daily on site.

Before dinner, we made a quick stop at Bakesale Betty, just as they were closing. We got to know Betty, who is still wearing her blue wig, from our Sunday Farmer's Market where she would don her apron and blue wig and set up her ironing boards to display her baked goods. A few years ago, Betty stopped coming to Farmer's Market because she and her husband opened their shop in the Temescal. Now the ironing boards serve as tables for those who want to enjoy one of Betty's baked items or her famous Fried Chicken Sandwich.




Notice the attentive dog, hopping for a taste of the yummy chicken?

We bought some cookies and banana bread for treats for the coming week.