Tasty non-alcoholic East Bay drinks?
There's a thread on this from 2006, but almost all of those places are closed. I'm wondering about any tasty non-alcoholic drink ideas in the East Bay, doesn't have to be a mocktail, could be a juice or a shake or smoothie or whatever.
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Caitlin McGrath
Sep 12, 2011 11:32 AM
Luka's Taproom has a very nice, fairly savory Cucumber-Thyme Spritzer. It's one of their signature cocktails minus the vodka, and is cucumber juice, thyme syrup, lime, and soda water. It's pretty heavy on the thyme, which would probably be too much for some, but I felt the drink really piqued the appetite and also actually worked pretty well with oysters.
ETA, the cocktail is Spring Fling, and adds Hangar Once cucumber vodka. And around $7.
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Luka's Taproom
2221 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612›2 Replies -
I don't know if I would use the word "tasty," but I thought this would be a good place to mention that I just found out that Crixa Cakes has started selling something called the "Crixa Cola," which the owner described as being similar to a Mexican Coke, made with real cane sugar, both the syrup and the carbonation done in-house. $1.80 for a small 8oz glass - not sure how much the large costs.
The neat thing is that you can watch them making it to order, with whatever that gadget is called that creates the carbonation. Anyway, truth be told, while I would have liked to report that the drink was amazing, the best thing I can say about it is that it was "interesting": barely sweet at all, with some citrus notes and a faint licorice-y aftertaste. It was OK but tasted nothing like Coke at all, Mexican or otherwise, bringing to mind that episode of "This American Life" where they tried to recreate Coke's "secret formula" based on a recipe they'd found in some newspaper clipping from the 1970s (with mixed results).
That said, I hadn't realized that Crixa has been making its own sodas for a while now - it's just the Cola that's new. Has anyone tried their ginger ale or their fruit-based sodas?
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Crixa Cakes
2748 Adeline St, Berkeley, CA 94703›2 Replies -
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prima
May 16, 2011 12:20 PM
Cesar Latino on Piedmont Ave has several non-alchoholic drink options on their menu, including a house-made lemon mint soda. http://www.barcesar.com/latino/wine-s...
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Bar César
4039 Piedmont Ave, Oakland, CA 94611 -
nicedragonboy
May 16, 2011 10:33 AM
Just had the Ginger Beer at Gather last week and it is definitely the best Ginger Beer I've ever had anywhere. Not for the ginger novice though. It's quite ginger spicy though very refreshing. It's made in-house.
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re: nicedragonboy
Caitlin McGrath
May 16, 2011 04:28 PM
I've enjoyed that Gather ginger beer, too. On the more hot/less sweet side. IIRC, they have a house-made citrus soda, as well.
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I like the boba smoothies at The Sweet Booth in Oakland Chinatown, in particular the taro root and also the coconut and mango.
Boot and Shoe Service has a pretty good tonic made in-house.
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Boot and Shoe Service
3308 Grand Ave, Oakland, CA 94610The Sweet Booth
388 9th St #155, Oakland, CA 94607›7 Replies-
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re: Mr_Happy
Ruth Lafler
May 16, 2011 10:46 AM
Does The Sweet Booth use real fruit? Because a lot of these places use flavorings. I like the boba place in the 900 block of Webster because they use real fruit for a lot of their drinks.
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Sweet Booth
388 9th St, Oakland, CA 94607-
re: Ruth Lafler
Sweet Booth uses real fruit, real taro, etc. It's the best I've found in the East Bay, though I don't know if I've tried the place on Webster you're referring to.
I watched the owner make my taro boba drink the other day, and I noticed that he blended the taro (and plenty of it) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream of all things! But it was good. The main thing is that their boba and pearls are soft and fresh-tasting, not hard like a lot of places.
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Sweet Booth
388 9th St, Oakland, CA 94607 -
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re: kc72
Ruth Lafler
May 16, 2011 01:54 PM
I thought I saw the sign for it last time I was in Chinatown a couple of weeks ago.
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The housemade celery soda at Saul's Deli isn't to everyone's taste, but it's pretty special. I like it.
The slushy mint lemonade at Holy Land Restaurant is great.
Anywhere that sells the Navarro Gewurtztraminer grape juice. I believe Champa Garden does?
For Mexican aguas fresca and licuados - the El Ojo de Agua taco truck.
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Champa Garden
2102 8th Ave, Oakland, CA 94606Saul's Deli
1475 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709›14 Replies-
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re: abstractpoet
Robert Lauriston
May 16, 2011 12:35 PM
Navarro doesn't sell their grape juice to retailers.
What is that stuff in Holy Land's lemonade, anyway? Chia seeds? Basil seeds?
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re: abstractpoet
Robert Lauriston
May 16, 2011 01:11 PM
Champa Garden might have Navarro juice, they serve Navarro wines. Restaurants can get the juice, so long as they order some wine with it.
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Champa Garden
2102 8th Ave, Oakland, CA 94606
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re: abstractpoet
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bbulkow
May 15, 2011 05:11 PM
I like the coffee at Local 123. It has no alcohol in it.
Plum has some interesting "essence" drinks that I haven't tried, but sound really good.
Old school, I like the smoothies at the SeaBreeze. I don't think there's anything special about them, but I like the roadside atmosphere.
I am a fan of the salty lassi, but don't remember my east bay favorites.
I also like Salty Plum Soda, available at Vietnamese places, and remember having a good one at Ao Sen. There are probably better ones (statistically).
Val's milkshakes have been mentioned. Barney's has decent shakes too. I don't think there's been an east-bay shake thread yet.
Is this the kind of thing you are looking for? liquid-style food without alcohol is a broad topic. Or are you asking about bars with non-alcoholic options?
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Local 123
2049 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702›1 Reply
