Alameda institution Golden Pin Donuts is closing after a whopping 26-year run, according to Rin Kelly at the Merc. Owner Rahim Seyedein is apparently shuttering the business in order to spend more time with his family.
Berkeleyside and the Daily Clog report that the area around Cal campus has a new pizza place, Pepe's, which offers — wait for it — a $6.99 all-you-can-eat buffet. Yes, you read that right! All the pizza (plus salad, soup, and so much more) you can possibly stuff down your gullet for less than the price of like, a latte. We'll leave the munchies jokes up to you on this one.
After this morning's earth-shattering Alice Waters news, we've got yet another tidbit about the Chez Panisse proprietress — or rather, her daughter, Fanny Singer, who was the subject of a Wall Street Journal lifestyle piece this past Sunday. Revelations: one of Singer's first words was "lobster"; she's got very strong feelings on white pepper ("the grossest flavor"); she recently spent $112 dollars on limes; and her proudest culinary accomplishment was the "20 jars of Seville orange marmalade made from oranges illicitly plucked from trees within the walled gardens of the Alcázar." Apples, trees, etc.
The James Beard Award final nominations came out this week (via Twitter, because this is the 21st century!), and though several local semifinalists were dropped off the shortlist, we've still got some homegrown talent to root for. Namely: Plum's Daniel Patterson in the Top Chef — Pacific Region category, and the Oakland-born Blue Chair Jam Cookbook for best photography. Winners will be announced in May.
Review revue: Plum gets high marks from Josh Sens in SF Magazine; Berkeley heart attack factory tempura restaurant Sumo Grub gets a shout-out on Serious Eats; and the Chron's Allen Matthews calls eVe "adventurous," which we think is a good thing. The New York Times, via the Bay Citizen, also spotlighted various East Bay institutions in an article about food swaps yesterday.