11/27/2009

5/5 stars

The coffee keeps getting better, and the people are absolutely fantastic. Ollie keeps a good variety of quality beans and fun blends, all freshly roasted. The book store carries a nice selection and handles orders with aplomb. Local artists' works fill the walls.

If you want a light lunch, their sandwiches and soups are flavorful. Babycakes Cupcakes in the same building is a definite and dangerous bonus.

And now Zazzy'z sells on-line! If you want to order your coffee and avoid stormy weather, check their web site.

6/8/2008

0/5 stars

Nice people, lively shop, and they roast their own coffee and bake their own goods. They seem to host events often, and there's a book store part that apparently hosts signing parties. And, of course, wireless and power outlets. They feel quite new and very promising.

The bookstore component has open terminals for general use. Everyone is nice. And there's constant improvement. Great place. And afternoon tea time has returned for people wanting to try new teas!

Just a note: If there's no one in the book area, you can ask questions or purchase at the coffee counter.

Yelp tags: Bookstores Coffee & Tea

6/21/2008

3/5 stars

Well, it's a start. Only place I know of nearby to find bulk items like high-gluten wheat flour and oatmeal, but there's a very good selection. Some prices for their wares are steals, some aren't. Everything we've had has been high quality, and we make the trek here from about 40 minutes away. Hopefully they survive.

Yelp tags: Health Markets

6/22/2008

3/5 stars

Good BBQ and meat, excellent service. Nice locale. I definitely like the "Richmond Guano" sign. Don't expect vegetables with your meat, though.

Yelp tags: Restaurants

6/23/2008

1/5 stars

Hm. It's difficult to be fair here, but I'll try.

The good: They allow pets. They were relatively inexpensive. Most families living there are wonderful people. The manager is nice to your face. Walking distance to BART, Panama Red, the farmers' market, and downtown. A gate keeps the worst out, when it works. These raised it to one star over none, mostly because the scale won't go let me give none.

The bad: 115 degrees F upstairs INSIDE during the summer. Repairs made incredibly slowly, if at all. Don't bother to report failed plumbing on the weekend when you're moving out; it won't be fixed. Steady rent increases with no improvements. Regular shootings and drug deals all around. Police chases through the property. They like to keep most of your deposit for problems you told them about. Has incredibly shoddy work done (e.g., the external painters painted over a trash water bottle, paint started peeling a week after it was completed, repaving covered a tiny, bizarre path into the parking lot).

In short, if you have pets, you may find you have little to no choice in where you live. This place can be made to work. But you won't sleep well. And you won't want to come home.

Yelp tags: Apartments