Goodbye And Thank You!

Thank you for my readers who have been checking in on this blog, I want to formally sign off. It is a bittersweet decision that I have made. Through juggling two different colleges and volunteering work, I came to the conclusion that I will not have the time and patience to continue writing this blog. Therefore I have decided to write this last blog because it would not be fair to my readers if I were to leave without a proper farewell.

It has been a great pleasure updating this blog from day one because I have learned so many new things about myself, writing blogs and the history of the blogs I have posted.

From writing this blog, I learned that I can get very OCD when it comes to perfecting my blog posts. Normally, I am too lazy to proofread my work but now I will not post a blog until it has been perfectly proofread to the best of my ability. I also learned that I have gotten better at expressing my feelings toward a particular love for Oakland in my writing as time passes. Maybe I am getting comfortable with blogging or I have grown as a writer, I hope it is the latter but either way writing blogs have positive benefits.

Recently, every one has been talking about blogs and many people everyday are creating new blogs. With having the ability to create my own blog, I learned that blogs are very time consuming. From writing content to layout designs to publicity, having a blog is difficult to maintain. I give props to bloggers who update their blogs everyday because that shows dedication.

If it were not for researching amazing finds in Oakland, whether they are places to dine, shop, or explore, I have gain a lot of background knowledge on the different topics I have written. For instance, I never knew the history of Mountain View Cemetery until I have searched it up online. Nor did I know about the history of Bakesale Betty! Amazing the things I did not know coming into the blogging world. Now that I know, it will always be imbibed in my mind!

I want to formally apologize to my readers who have been consistently following my blog and I also want to thank you all for visiting. It has been a great pleasure writing this blog and I hope that you will find another blog that is worth your reading.

Farewell,

Terelyn Wong

P.S. Don't Forget About Oakland!

What Do You Know About Bakesale Betty?

Bakesale Betty

Where can you get the best-fried chicken sandwich in Oakland?

Bakesale Betty!

Located in 5098 Telegraph Ave of Oakland’s Temescal neighbor hood, Bakesale Betty is on the corner of Telegraph Avenue and 51^st street. Hours are from 11:30-2 PM depending on when they sell out their famous chicken fried sandwich. With no shop sign or any publicity, anyone can walk or drive right by without noticing the shop. I remember my first time; it took me 3 rounds around the store to actually figure out that I had passed by it all along. Just to give you an idea of what I mean, right below is a picture of the shop.

Front of the Store

Owners, Alision Barakat and her husband Michael Camp opened the shop in 2005. After quitting as a line cook at Chez Panisse, Bakesale Betty launched in 2002 as a bakery stand in Danville famer’s market. This is also the place where she met her husband. Together they managed the bakery stand for 1o years eventually opening the shop together in 2005.

Huffington Post proclaimed Bakesale Betty of having the fifth best chicken sandwich in the United States. With that said, many people from around the world come just to try their famous chicken sandwich.

Therefore, it should not come as a surprise if there is always a line from outside the door to the end of the street everyday. I have been in line myself many times but I assure you that the queue goes by very quickly and is definitely worth the wait. Last summer while I was in line, Alision, who was wearing the famous blue wig, passed out samples of lemonade and cookies to the customers.

Barakat in Her Blue Wig

It was also during her bakery stand when she started wearing the renowned blue wig, which is now the store’s signature logo. Barakat stated, “I wanted to get dressed up go around the market and sell baked goods. I wasn’t thinking of it as a marketing tool or something people would remember.”

Keeping it simple, there are only four items on the menu. The legendary fried chicken sandwich ($8.20), egg salad ($6.84), lemon ice ($2.75), and cookies ($1.25). However, there are actually more baked goods than cookies that are being sold. There are also strawberry short cakes, banana bread, scones, brownies, and lemon bars. If I have to pick my favorite, it would have to be the strawberry short cakes, its genuinely delicious!

Menu

I could devour the fried chicken sandwich in seconds if it weren’t for it being so big. The fried chicken is stuffed in an Acme torpedo roll with a great amount of coleslaw topped with jalapenos. Every time I get my hands on this sandwich, it does not disappoint. The chicken is crispy yet soft and juicy in the inside while the jalapeno plus coleslaw adds a little spicy kick to every bite. After half an sandwich, I am content so after a whole sandwich, I am always in some sort of a food coma.

I cannot wait till you get to try Bakesale Betty and tell me what you think about their famous fried chicken sandwich! Or if you find any of the other deserts beside strawberry shortcake that is amazing and think I would like, please leave me a comment!