Readers Say The Darndest Things: Goods & Services

How you voted in 2010.

Best Art Supplies
East Bay Depot For Creative Reuse
Can't believe what you find there. — rebonga

Laney Flea
We've got to do SOMETHING with all that trash! — santopeligro

That place on Shattuck
Across from Stone Mountain & Daughters Fabric, this place has EVERYTHING! (and good advice too). — CaliforniaAnne

Best Bakery
Crixa
Tastes like the old world. Butter, nuts, yum! Somebody's divine grandmother made their cakes. — Lynne Elizabeth

Dream Fluff Donuts on Ashby
Sometimes you just don't want a croissant. — GailChiarello

La Farine
I can't begin to describe La Farine's morning buns without drooling over my keyboard. Everything else is good too! — pamela magnuson-peddle

Nabolom Bakery
The cinnamon twists rock my world! The oathouse cookies make me twirl! — storm

Neldam's Bakery
An Oakland institution, soon to be moving to Hercules/Pinole area! — Robertjm

Best Bike Shop
Bent Spoke
They look like snotty bike boys but they act like helpful, nice people. — leesajay

Laney Flea
Oops! Did I just buy your bike for a dollar? Your loss. — santopeligro

Montano Velo
Chip! Best bike shop dog!!! — kruet

Velo Sport Bicycles
They don't sell mountain bikes! — Mike Vandeman

Best Bodywork Services
Berkeley Chiropractic
Snap! — balanceman

Ginger Beringer
If, by bodywork you mean massage? — atomica

Bill Eason Motorworks
Best Porsche work ever. — CaliforniaAnne

Best Bookstore
Barnes and Noble
I know it isn't PC, but they have everything. — Jon Hartung

Barnes & Nobles at Jack London Square
Oh wait, they closed that down for some reason, didn't they? — dorvilias81

Bay Area Free Book Exchange
FREE BOOKS! — BJexpress

Comic Relief
Those are books too, right? — kjimho

Diesel
Love those little reviews taped all over the shelves! — ntorbett

Marcus Books
The nation's oldest independent and black family-owned bookstore. Providing literature fueling Oakland's revolutionary politics for 50+ years. — chinaka

Moe's
The rest closed. — ccjs

The Library
These are tough times, yo! — mr.adambeck

Best brewery
Anchor Steam
I know it's on the other side of the Bay, but it's the truth! — CaliforniaAnne

Triple Rock
Aka Trip Rocks. — alxndr

Best Camera Store
iCamera on Franklin St downtown Oakland.
One little old man who knows a lot about cameras. — melco

Looking Glass Photo
Film is not dead! — Russell EB

Sarbers
This type of camera store is quickly disappearing, leaving only Best Buy and Costco-type places for camera selection. This is a wonderful store that needs to be supported so it doesn't disappear. — SCOOPER

Best Cannabis Dispensary
Greenmind
El Cerrito. Angry security dude though. — CaliforniaAnne

Best Canning Supplies
?
Who cans stuff these days? — SFbaybface

Best Car Dealer
Green Motors
An idea before its time... — KG

Cars are evil
No such thing as a good car. By extension there can be no best car dealer. — ~0le

Best Cheeses
Cheese Board
No contest. Cheese Board is the single factor that keeps me from moving to France. — Lynne Elizabeth

Patient's Care Collective, Berkeley
See best cannabis strain from local dispensary. — Marina Geneva

Best Children's Store
Goodwill
Best place EVER to buy inexpensive kids' stuff. — ccjs

Best Clothing Designer
Oaklandish
Whoever does their designs, it doesn't matter. It's all about REPRESENTING! — AriRae

Paco Collars
Stuff for dogs and their people. — pacopoe

Best Craft Supply Store
East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse
Not necessarily the best place to find paint brushes but definitely a great place to browse for supplies and inspiration you didn't know you needed. — adamsax

Best Dog Walker
Me, myself and I
Who can afford a dog walker? — mr.adambeck

Best Edible Cannabis Products
Berkeley Patient's Care Collective
HASH CHOCOLATES!!!!! OMG. — Marina Geneva

Best Eyeglass Shop
Dr. de Los Ojos
That's in Fruitvale ... it's not fictitious. — santopeligro

Phoenix Optical
Groovy vintage glasses you can't find anywhere. I get compliments on mine every single day. — Floatingclouds

UC Berkeley School of Optometry
Indestructible frames! — Mike Vandeman

Best Farmers' Market
Oakland Old Town Friday Mornings
Cheap, interesting produce and fewer annoying entitled jerks! — Chemgal

Temescal
It's got the vibe. — Psurkis

Best Farmers' Market Vendor
Almond Boy
He is FoINE! Too bad he has a girlfriend. — whitney

East West Gourmet
Those afghani guys are so fun and personable. — Come On Now

Kawakame Farms
I'm not sure quite how to spell it but they have the best stone fruits all summer long. — adamsax

Vice Chocolates
Goth chocolate! How can you go wrong? — balanceman

Best Flea Market
Ashby
It's like a vacation to the Caribbean for free! — Chemgal

Coliseum
Scary but delightful. — vanessa.brake66b7

Laney College
Especially if you're looking for hot items! — lpellaton

Best Fruit or Produce Swap
Village Harvest
They harvest fruits from people's trees and distribute them to shelters and food banks. — melco

Best Furniture Store
IKEA
Furniture and meatballs! — Tom Walton

Wooden Duck
Amazing recycled wood furniture. I love that they can tell you where the wood came from. — greenjenkins

Best Green Business
A1 Solar, Berkeley
Installed our Solar Electrical system with the best stuff and worked with us to get the installation totally painless. They check occasionally to see if it's still working right. — jravens

Nabolom Bakery
They gave me crap about asking for an extra bag one time, but they gave me credit and respect for bringing my own mug. — storm

Best Hair Salon
Festoon
Karen Jones knows how to do the hairs. — mef1980

Keter Salon
Diana is the goddess of rock and roll haircuts. — hellbent_shallot

Best Homegrown Transportation Products or Services
EmeryGoRound, Emeryville
It's free! — BB

NextBus
A great little local company that has revolutionized waiting for the bus. — lpuertas

Best Jeweler
Mercurius
Totally homegrown! Everything custom made locally. — terrestra

Best Kombucha
Lev's Original
This guy really knows his stuff — he's like a mad scientist — and it's delicious! — miseenplace@mindspring.com

None
That shit is gross. — jaytothesea

Synergy
I like how it has more than a trace of alcohol. — uyenly

Best Lingerie
A La Folie
She sells the kid of lingerie that makes you feel beautiful no matter what mood you're in! — Sarah Cheney

Beauty and Attitude
I've never heard so many great puns about boobs in one place! — Chemgal

Best Liqueur
St George Distillery Absinthe
Great taste and color, it makes you feel like it's 1899. — Gulm

Best Locally Grown Produce
Monterey Market
Very sad to see Bill go, but still the freshest and cheapest produce around. They support local farmers. Indicate where all their fruit comes from and have increased their organic and pesticide-free items, which are also indicated on signs. — Floatingclouds

Berkeley Patient's Care Collective
Local and amazing! — Marina Geneva

Best Locally Made Chocolates
Chocolatier Blue
Best anywhere. not just locally. — abrahams.s

Vice
Goth chocolate! — balanceman

Best Locally Made Musical Instruments
Guitar O Rama
Rest in Peace Owner Pete Webster. — greg sadler

Best Locally Made Product
Girl on Bike Earrings
Rad handmade earrings made out of recycled bicycle inner tubes. — browniesvintage9c22

Slash Clothing, Perfect Hoodie
Designed and sold in Berkeley. Made in Union City. The best fitting hoodie ever. 100% cotton, heavy weight, and affordable. — PantsPeople

The cornmeal waffle at Brown Sugar Kitchen
I'm a proud Oaklander who's proud that we have the best waffle in the west! — Psurkis

Best Manicures and Pedicures
A Royal Nail Salon on Telegraph
It's all about the fish pedicure. — zooey66

Best Men's Clothing
Slash
Where else can you walk in and have people wait on you for the perfect pair of jeans? Nowhere in this universe does such an amazing array of jeans exist with such great service and prices. An invaluable resource and Berkeley institution. If you don't know Slash, you might as well move somewhere else. — Tiburoncita

Best Motorcycle Shop
East Bay Motorsports
Dude, get duded out and check out the fat array of goodies! — peacefulryan

Best Native Plant Selection
UC Botanic Garden
Without a doubt, the premier native plant collection in California, including plants for sale. — Jon Hartung

Best New Business
Beer Revolution
'Nuff said. — santopeligro

Vino Volo
Wine Bar at Oakland Airport. — greg sadler

Best Pet Store
Holistic Hound
A large selection of high-quality raw foods you can't find elsewhere. My cats love the food and are the picture of health since put on this diet. — Floatingclouds

Paws and Claws
This place is what Home Grown means! The owners live in and support the Dimond neigborhood. They are local entrepreneurs for sure! — dpfile

Pet Food Express
They match any online price! Just bring in a print out! Knowledgeable staff! — mvlara

Your Basic Bird in Berkeley
Why go to Costa Rica when you can go to Your Basic Bird? — Lynn Horowitz

Best Pharmacy
Elephant
I still miss them! — Sarah Cheney

Best Plant Nursery
UC Botanic Garden
Huge collection from around the world at great prices. — Jon Hartung

Best Record Store
Amoeba
It's still in business! — mr.adambeck

1-2-3-4 Go!
Awesome vinyls, great owner, fun pitstop. — tamiray

Musical Offering
Best selection of classical. — bbbiel

Best Recycled or Salvaged Goods
Urban Ore
It's pretty picked over (sometimes I think the staff grabs all the good stuff first), but it's the only salvage place in these parts that still sells at salvage prices. — mr.adambeck

Best Sex Shop
Good Vibrations
Telling us that sex is not dirty unless you want it to be for decades now... — EliseA

Best Shoe Store
Ross
Hands down, when all you have is $15 to $20, you can find a nice pair of heels or flats in many name brands when you need to. — BB

Best specialty record store
Down Home Music
The best selection of roots music and blues, period. — hellbent_shallot

Best Toy Store
Mr. Mopp's — RIP!!!!!!!
A Berkeley institution ... so sad to see it go. — britt Badgley

Good Vibrations
:-) — Maxwell Fisch

Best T-Shirts
T-Shirt Orgy
If you can't find a T-shirt here, then it hasn't been made. — lanative

Best Veterinarian
Dr. Mike Barlia @ PET Emergency
The BEST doctor at the WORST times! — BJexpress

Best Vintage Clothing
Crossroads Trading
These kids know what to stock! — Jon Hartung

Best Wine Store
BevMo
A Concord business! — DogIsMyCoPilot

Grocery Outlet
Selections beyond one's imagination. Such great prices as well!! — Leilo