Walnut Creek: Genova Delicatessen; restaurant review

 Greater East Bay

Genova Delicatessen  

1105 S. California Blvd., (925) 939-3838.  Also at 2064 Treat Blvd., (925) 938-2888.  

exterior of Genova Delicatessen in Walnut Creek, California

Waiting in line to a Dean Martin soundtrack brings back memories from that generation and even a little general amore.  My husband and I shared a delicious New Orleans muffaletta sandwich and left even more stuffed than our sandwich.  I opted for the softer Dutch crunch roll to protect my brittle teeth and was very pleased.  Sandwich choices are extensive, and the meats are mostly cooked fresh on the premises. 

menu board at Genova Delicatessen in Walnut Creek, California

Shaded seating is available outside, and a Philz coffee is adjacent. 

counter at Genova Delicatessen in Walnut Creek, California

salads at Genova Delicatessen in Walnut Creek, California

making muffaletta sandwich at Genova Delicatessen in Walnut Creek

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images ©2023 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Walnut Creek: Heather Farm Park + Gardens at Heather Farm; things to do

Greater East Bay

Heather Farm Park 

301 N. Carlos Dr., off Ygnacio Valley Rd., (925) 943-5858. Daily dawn-dusk. Free. Dogs ok. 

This city park is aimed at locals, with volleyball courts, tennis courts, baseball and softball fields, a colorful and extensive playground, a skate park, an equestrian center, and a dog park, as well as a nature preserve, fishing pond, and duck pond. Whew! At Heather Farm Park, it’s first come, first served for the picnic areas, except for one group area that can be reserved. A road loops conveniently through the facilities, and there are plenty of places to park. 

memorial rock in Gardens at Heather Farm in Walnut Creek, California

Gardens at Heather Farm  

1540 Marchbanks Dr./Ygnacio Valley Rd., (925) 947-1678. Open daily dawn to dusk. Free. 

overview of gardens in Heather Farm Park in Walnut Creek, California

Part garden, part education center, and operated by a non profit, the Gardens at Heather Farm adjacent space is independent of the park and is dedicated to sharing knowledge about horticulture and conservation. A 6-acre garden is adjacent to the park’s west side and includes a sensory section with plants that can be touched and smelled, an English lawn garden, a rose garden with more than 1,000 bushes, and a Children’s Adventure Garden. A tranquil lagoon and nature preserve is home to a variety of waterfowl. 

2021 pandemic update: For current information, click here. 

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images ©2021 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Walnut Creek: Babalou's Mediterranean; restaurant review

Greater East Bay

Babalou's Mediterranean  

1645 Bonanza St., (925) 930-8000.  L-D daily; $.

exterior of Babalou's Mediterranean in Walnut Creek, California

Specializing in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern fare, the small Babalou's Mediterranean is bright with colorful murals.  Seating is available both inside and sidewalk side.  The well-priced menu includes excellent, crispy falafel.  They are perhaps the best I’ve ever had--and I’ve eaten a lot of them.  I am told that they use a lot of vegetables in the mix, which makes them delightfully light.  Apparently many places use more grain than vegetables.  I paired a side of the falafel (three balls) with a colorful Greek salad composed of chunky tomatoes and cucumbers plus crescents of onion, and it was just right on a hot day.  Other items that are particularly good here include dolmas, a smokey baba ganouj, lamb shawarma (a lavash-wrapped sandwich--ask for spicy), and generally delicious salads.  Instead of the more common baklava, we chose an exotic Burma for dessert.  A Burma is like a bakalava, but stuffed inside a nest-like wrap with whole pistachios.  A combo plate is a good choice if you’d like to try a mix of items.  Everything is made fresh in house--they don’t even have a freezer--and there are many vegan options.  I can’t wait to return!

menu at Babalou's Mediterranean in Walnut Creek, California

salad case at Babalou's Mediterranean in Walnut Creek, California

dessert case and counter at Babalou's Mediterranean in Walnut Creek, California

interior seating at Babalou's Mediterranean in Walnut Creek, California

lunch tray at Babalou's Mediterranean in Walnut Creek, California

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images ©2019 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Walnut Creek: Vic Stewart’s; restaurant review

Greater East Bay

Vic Stewart’s  

850 S. Broadway, (925) 943-5666. D daily; $$$.  Reservations advised. Free valet parking. 

It’s hard to imagine a more romantic setting than dinner in one of the intimate refurbished dining cars at this premier steak house.  At Vic Stewart's you can snuggle with your honey in your own private compartment of the authentic 1901 Pullman dining car, sipping a jumbo martini and anticipating what delicious item might arrive next time the door swings open.  Perhaps it will be an appetizer platter laden with baked brie, sauteed wild mushrooms, and sizzling roasted garlic, followed by a serious steak (the top sirloin infused with Merlot is primo) and satisfying mashed redskin potatoes, and culminating with a decadent Chocolate Lover’s Pate to spread on cinnamon shortbread cookies.  More seating is available on a former platform of this converted 1891 Southern Pacific train station.


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Walnut Creek: Lindsay Wildlife Museum + Larkey Park + Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society; things to do

Greater East Bay

Lindsay Wildlife Museum  

1931 First Ave./Buena Vista Ave., in Larkey Park, (925) 935-1978.  W-F 12-5, Sat & Sun 10-5, in summer daily 10-5.  $8.50, 65+ $7.50, 2-17 $6.50.

live owl at Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, California

This hands-on museum displays an indoor mini-zoo featuring more than 50 species of live, native California wild animals.  All have been injured or orphaned in the wild and are non-releasable.

et examines woodpecker at Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, California

An adjacent wildlife hospital—which is the oldest and one of the largest animal hospitals in the U.S.--rehabilitates injured wildlife brought in by the public and releases them back into the wild when recovered.  You can view a treatment room, and sometimes an animals check-up by a vet is scheduled for everyone to observe.  We got to see a tiny Nuttall’s woodpecker be examined.

child pets bunny at Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, California

Children can touch some of the wild animals as well as some domestic animals, and animal presentations are scheduled hourly.  Become a museum member and your children can as well check out an abandoned domestic animal from the Pet Library for a week; a small fee is charged, and a cage is included.

Larkey Park

Outside, inviting Larkey Park offers a public pool, a playground, and picnic tables and barbecue facilities.

Larkey Park playground in Walnut Creek, California

Larkey Park playground in Walnut Creek, California

Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society

Also in Larkey Park, the Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society features a large and elaborate layout of mountains, bridges, and towns that measures 56 by 34 feet and has more than 4,300 feet of track.  It is self-described as “the most mountainous and one of the largest exclusively HO scale lines in the United States.”  Society members demonstrate their trains and answer questions, and every hour on the half-hour the lights dim and then flash to simulate nightfall and a storm.  When the building it is housed in opened in 1974, it was the first in California to be designed specifically to house a model railroad.  Admission fee. 



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top 5 images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

bottom image courtesy of venue
updated 12-19-14

Walnut Creek: The Ruth Bancroft Garden; things to do

Greater East Bay

The Ruth Bancroft Garden 

1552 Bancroft Rd./near Ygnacio Valley Rd., (925) 944-9352.  Tu-Sun 10-4 Apr-Oct (best bloom); W-Sun 10-4 Nov-Mar.  $7; under 12 free; 10am tour free with admission. 

When Ruth Bancroft was in her 60s, she started this 3-acre dry climate desert garden on what was originally a walnut orchard.  Now age 105!, she still lives in her home on the property but others help tend the garden.  Recognized as a premier dry garden, The Ruth Bancroft Garden displays specimens from all over the world, including desert plants, drought-tolerant plants, unusual succulents, and California natives.  An important

 

collection of African aloes range from the size of your thumb to over 20-feet high and sport brilliant blooms that are particularly colorful in late winter and spring.  A large variety of cacti and succulents grow in greenhouses, and a trio of tall Washingtonia palms—the only palm native to California—are nearby.  Rarieties include a large tropical kapok tree that blooms pink in September and an unusual Argentine jelly palm, and the single hybrid “Glenn Davidson” aeonium that Ms. Bancroft started her original garden with is still here.  Consider bringing a picnic so you can stay a while and enjoy the peaceful surroundings, and don’t forget to visit the cuttings shop to purchase a special souvenir plant (most are “pups” from the garden).  Bancroft’s private home garden—which includes bulb, herb, and rose beds--can be viewed only during a special tour scheduled each spring.  Other special events are held regularly and have included a birder’s walk, a Mother’s Day tea, and a fall fruit-tasting tour. 



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images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Walnut Creek: Corners Tavern; restaurant review

Greater East Bay

Corners Tavern  

1342 Broadway Plaza, (925) 948-8711.  L-D daily, SunBr; $$$.  Reservations advised. 

Corners Tavern features an eclectic mix of seating and decor—Grimms fairytale wall murals painted by an owner, recycled antique snake cages turned room dividers holding the unexpected (think Barbie sitting in a champagne glass), wooden booths made from remnants of a Southern Oregon dairy farm barn, and even a floor threshold made from pennies.  On nice days, two massive garage doors at the front are raised to open an outdoor patio.  Sunday brunch features some unusual items--mild red chilaquiles topped with a sunny-side-up egg, a wild-mushroom omelette with potatoes fried in duck fat—as well as a killer hamburger served on a plank.  The pastry chef prepares the goods for a don’t-miss pastry basket that includes a scrumptious blackberry muffin, a light lemon scone, a gigantic butter croissant, and a thick piece of pound cake (it was actually served on a plank, and I was glad we needed to take some home for breakfast the next day).  Since the restaurant is at the south end of the town’s big mall, it is convenient to shopping before or after.



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images ©2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Walnut Creek: Babushka Russian Deli and Restaurant; restaurant review

Greater East Bay

Babushka Russian Deli and Restaurant 

1475 Newell Ave./S. Main St., (925) 210-0779. L M-F, D W-Sat, SunBr; $$.

Situated upromisingly in a bleak strip mall, where parking is difficult, the tiny Babushka Russian Deli and Restaurant fronts a larger dark, yet elegantly appointed, restaurant in the back featuring finely set cloth-covered tables and a mirrored wall. When the drapes are pulled back, the room lightens a bit and you have a view of the parking lot made pastoral by some mature trees. On the day I dined here no one else showed for lunch, though a steady flow of people came into the deli. Typical Russian specialties are on the menu. We shared plates of tasty stuffed cabbagle and pelmeni. No sides come with lunch entrees, so I advise sharing a salad and entrée and perhaps an appetizer. Next time I will save room for the sour cherry vareniki dessert.



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image ©2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers