Our first stop is lunch at Boot and Shoe Service on Grand Ave in Oakland. Since food is more fun with friends (you get to order and try more stuff), I invited the lovely Kate Ellen along, own of the Oakland shop Crown Nine, and creator of her own Jewelry Line, Kate Ellen Metals. If you know me, you know I am a huge fan of Boot and Shoe Service. Owned by Pizzaiolo’s Charlie Hallowell, this place does no wrong in my book and I’m sure my delicious photos will have you convinced!

There are two sides to this restaurant. Half is a casual cafe and the other half is a more traditional restaurant. Both are warm an inviting with lots of wood accents and a beautiful rustic open kitchen. This makes it an ideal place no matter what kind of dining experience you are looking for.

One day you may want to cozy up to the communal cafe table with your laptop, a cup of four barrel coffee, and some house made breakfast pastry, and another day you might pop over for a more romantic pizza date night.

Also, for those of you with kids, I’ve found Boot and Shoe Service to be fairly accommodating. I just recently brunched here with my 7 week old in her car seat and it wasn’t a problem at all!

For this lunch Kate and I had the Escarole Caesar Salad, Beef Brisket Sandwich and the lunch special, Cotechino and Umbrian Lentils. At was all super yummy, but I would have to say the lunch special was my favorite! Cotechino is an Italian style sausage and this one was paired with a salsa verde that was just to die of and it was all roasted together with the lentils in Boot and Shoe’s wood oven. Major comfort food on flavor steroids!

Keep reading for our next stop: Oak Common…

After lunch Kate and I popped across the street to a men and women’s clothing boutique called Oak Common. I have driven by a hundred times and I follow the shops lovely instagrams, but this was my first visit in person. I was not disappointed!

The shop and it’s wears are beautifully curated, so chances are if you like one thing here, you will like it all, or in my case LOVE it all! With spring just around the corner, the racks were artfully stocked with flowing floral blouses and geometric tanks from Mink Pink and BB Dakota.

Other brands they carry include Cheap Monday, Comune, Greylin, and Dear Creatures to name a few. Oak Commom also opened a gallery space in the back of the shop and hosts monthly openings, so there are plenty of reasons to visit!