2/5/11 - First time in Oakland

Ok, I know. I've lived in San Francisco for about 4 years and no, I've never been to Oakland. Maybe I'm looking for excuses, but Oaktown, has never given me a reason. Or maybe it's Oakland's less than sparkling reputation.

Yeah, I'm talking to you, History Channel's Gangland.

My girlfriend Lauren, actually works in Oakland and she isn't a 6'5" former linebacker. So, maybe there isn't anything to be scared of.

A friend of Lauren's was having a house party in East Oakland, so I took this opportunity to take the trip over the Bay Bridge and into Oakland for the first time. And hey, you might think this is a pretty lame thing to check off my list, but this is my blog and I can do what I want. Ya got that, Jack!?

First we started the night easy at Marzano's on Park. A great neighborhood Italian place with some amazing pizza. And it was dynamite; like boom delicious.

Then we headed to the party, which was located in the building that used to house Mother's Cookies. Yes, the pink and white frosting covered animal cookies used to come from a factory in Oakland. Until they went bankrupt.

While the newly renovated building no longer pumped out sprinkled Circus Animals, some relics of the cookie factory still remained. Like the industrialized scale located just outside of one of the lofts. Imagine living there and every time you left your home, you were greeted by a giant machine ready to tell you how much you weigh.


(yep, now you know how much I weigh)


When we left, we drove by forgotten neighborhoods, liquor stores, and low riders parked outside dark houses with barred windows. This was the Oakland I've always heard about. But on this trip, I discovered that it has a different, more interesting side. A side with neighborhood pizza shops and unique lofts, like the ones that are giving an old cookie factory a second life.