Martinez, CA

J and I took an unprecedented road trip way out into the East Bay today. Our end point was Martinez, CA. Specifically, we found ourselves in Martinez's very cute downtown neighborhood. It reminded us both of Claremont, where we went to college.

We had breakfast at Victoria's Cafe, a no frills neighborhood diner that looks like it's been there for fifty years. It's popular with the locals, from old retired ladies to police officers on a break. J made the winning choice of the meal with his linguica and eggs. This was one fo the best linguicas I've ever tasted: very smokey, not too salty, with just a touch of sweetness to it so the sausage charred nicely.

I had the chicken fried steak because I can never resist chicken fried steak. This was a fine rendition, as were the hash browns and eggs over easy. Solid, all-American breakfast food at a decent price. Sometimes it's fun to get out of the city.

Right across the street was Gateau Elegant, pretty much the opposite of down home cheap eats. I had a slice of princess cake, which had some of the better princess cake custard I've tasted to date. However, I found the marzipan a little thick, though it gets points for not being hard or grainy.

I wandered around a little afterwards and fell in love with Martinez's antique shops. I've been in a lot of (insert "crappy") antique shops in my day, but the ones in Martinez are exactly what you see on television when they tell you chic vintage gems can be yours for the having if you know where to look. There were a ton of amazing things in every shop, in great condition for decent prices. I even found a Wedgeworth stove, which is one of those nostalgia items every avid home cook dreams about refurbishing one day. Look how cute it is! It was priced a little under $500 but had "make offer" stickers all over it. If only.

Vintage Wedgeworths have a cult following because of their adorable exterior design, because they're built out of solid materials, and because they have two stoves and two broilers. The writing inside the door is a cute touch from the past. It tells clueless new cooks how long to cook common dishes at what temperatures! Precious.

I'd never seen this stove before, but I liked the colors. The compartments are all kooky. It reminds me of a cartoon stove. If I ever find an apartment to buy, I'm so going back to Martinez to accessorize. The stores were literally teeming with vintage Pyrex, English china, copper and tin baking pans in fun shapes, and cute little pieces of furniture.