Brownie Bliss
Hudson Bay Cafe

Hudson Bay Cafe

5401 College Ave, 94618, Oakland, US, United States

Vegan • Casual • Coffee • American


"My favorite East Bay cafes for working during lockdown #1, Hudson Bay One of the things I miss the most during lockdown is having a place to get coffee and work for a while ? yes, I know I?m not alone there ; So I?m going to share my very favorite places to work during lockdown ? i.e., cafes that have a fair amount of outdoor seating (and preferably decent Wi Fi coverage too . The Hudson Bay café was a fairly regular haunt for me during normal times, and during lockdown it?s running pretty well with lots of safety precautions: Perspex screens, sanitizer, and a window counter if you don?t want to walk inside. Staff members were super friendly as usual and there?s always good music playing (it?s faint outside, so I could just barely hear The Smiths and The Weeknd drifting out through the side door . One thing to note is that the prices are very reasonable ? my veggie burrito cost an amazing $7 (or maybe $7.50 ? and it had guac in there too! And it was big! I also had an oat milk latte and a slice of pound cake and the whole tab was around $14. For comparison, I paid the same amount at another place this week for a coffee, cookie and plain croissant. Lockdown Stats: ? Seating: There are about 6 tables outside and chances are reasonable that you?ll get a spot. If you?re stuck without a seat you can hang out on a bench outside the library across the street. ? Bathroom: Another good thing about going to Hudson Bay to drink a lot of coffee ? the bathroom is open! It?s surprising how many cafés have no bathroom availability after selling you a big old cup of diuretic! ? Hours: Note that they close at 5 pm at the moment, not 6, but they?ll let you linger till maybe 5:30. ? Weather: Hudson St. faces southwest, so it?s often pretty warm, even around closing time! ? Budget: As mentioned above, Hudson Bay is one of the cheapest places around (esp. on College Ave. to get lunch. I?m also giving the Hudson Bay Café 4/5 ?green stars? for social and environmental impact, based on this: ? Very longstanding independent café and community gathering spot. ? Coffee beans come from McLaughlin roasters in Emeryville another East Bay staple. ? Some of McLaughlin?s coffee varieties are organic and most are bought directly from cooperatives or family farms that support communities. ? It kind of goes without saying that plant based milks are available ? and raw turbinado sugar too. ? The menu is a bit more traditional but there are a few veggie and vegan options. I think they?ll also make veggie/vegan mods to a menu item, if you ask, since everything is cooked to order. ? There?s not a lot of info available about Hudson Bay?s sourcing of ingredients ? my feeling is that the owners want to keep things as unpretentious as possible. Since it?s lockdown I?m not going to bust their balls over it :D ? Waste is minimized pretty well, even during lockdown when most places are loading on the"

Root 2 Rise

Root 2 Rise

359 Manville Rd , Pleasantville, New York, USA, 10570, United States

Cafés • Pizza • Juice • Western


"Cute small cafe with a big menu, it all sounded so good so we looked at Happy Cow reviews for what to order, and decided on the Mulligatawny soup plus the plain Mac n Cheese. The soup was the large portion and it was HUGE, much more than I expected for the price and it was savory and delicious, served with a piece of bread, we couldn't finish it, took the rest home and it was just as yummy the next day. The Mac n Cheese was also delicious, we got the small and it too was a good-sized portion, this we devoured! I would definitely order a large next time if I'm sharing and try one of the many options listed for add-on fillings. It isn't going so much for the perfect imitation of a baked super cheesy Mac n Cheese, rather it was lighter, super flavorful and tasty. We bought a chocolate chip cookie to go and I wanted to get a chocolate chunk scone too because I read these were both don't miss items but the chocolate chunk scones were sold out so tried a blueberry one, I wasn't a fan of the consistency myself of the scone but the cookie was spot on! We'll definitely be back to try more of the menu. The person who took our order was very friendly and happy to answer questions, they told us they make their own cheese and are starting to make their own butter, their focus is on serving the cleanest, tastiest plant based dishes and in a world of mock meats and vegan fast food, this was a lovely change for us. I don't really understand people who think this type of quality food being cooked fresh for you is overpriced here, the portions were huge! Or complaints that the cafe was small, there were 5 or 6 tables and it's a cafe, so that seems about right to me, when we were there on a Sunday afternoon there were plenty of places for us to sit and at no point was every table occupied. They seemed to do a lot of take out business during our stay. They make smoothies, coffees and also have a small shop where you can buy shirts with cute vegan slogans (ex. Friends not Food), some vegan pantry items, to go items and overheard a customer come in to buy their homemade chocolates too! Updated from previous review on 2024-02-06"