In an era where the political arena is dominated by candidates who serve up the juiciest slices of red meat to the masses, it may be inevitable that technology to produce new forms of meat—red and white—becomes fodder for grandstanding. When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill last month banning the sale of lab-grown meat in his state, many people figured it must be due to pressure from the meat industry. After all, there are about 1.5 million head of cattle in the Sunshine State, ranking it at No. 18 among the 50 states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The state is also ..read more

Street Eaters first came together as a duo. Megan March played the drums and John No played bass. They created a barebones style of music, combining bedrock rhythms and memorable melodies to address the personal, political and social landscape they found themselves in. “We called our music ‘truewave,’” March said. “It’s a play on the different genres that were happening at the time we got together. It sounds like what we were aiming for with our music, finding strength and truth within melody.” March and No both played in other bands before starting Street Eaters. “When I was 16, I was a volu ..read more

THURSDAY ROCK SARAH PEACOCK Roots-rock phenom Sarah Peacock is one of few artists brave enough to fuse folk with heavy metal, and she doesn’t stop there. A songwriter through and through, the Nashville-based artist applied her barnstorming style to the history of the Salem witch trials to craft the title song of her 2020 album, Burn the Witch. The album is packed with intensity, reflecting on parallels between the grim witch trials of the late 1600s and the present. Noting Peacock’s fearless advocacy for the disempowered, Country Queer called this body of work “country music for witches and c ..read more

René Redzepi announced in early 2023 that he was going to close Noma, his “New Nordic” restaurant in Copenhagen, at the end of this year. In the wake of his announcement, news outlets ran overwrought headlines prematurely declaring the death of fine dining. But the acclaimed chef isn’t planning to abandon his world-renowned brand.  Noma’s website features a list of ongoing projects including an R&D “club,” a pop-up dinner in Kyoto later this fall (for $915, flight and hotel not included) and the new Apple TV+ series, Omnivore. Redzepi and the series’ writer, Matt Goulding, focus on a ..read more

A meal at Top Hatters Kitchen and Bar is not for the narrow palate. Executive chef and owner DanVy Vu embraces a refreshingly offbeat culinary approach, playfully combining flavor and texture profiles for dishes that are as visually stunning as they are delicious. Don’t look for burgers in this establishment. Each menu item is an ode to a point in Vu’s complex life story. “Our mission is for each dish to be unique,” Vu says. “We want to surprise you.” At Top Hatters, highbrow cuisine meets humble immigrant origins. Vu learned to cook from her parents who were Vietnamese “Boat People”—refugees ..read more

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries singer-songwriter Lady Gaga has written many songs, both for herself and for other artists. She has famously declared that some of her most successful songs took her just 10 minutes to compose. They include “Just Dance,” “Poker Face” and “Born This Way.” According to my interpretation of the astrological omens, you could be rising to Lady Gaga levels of creativity in your own sphere during the coming weeks. And I won’t be surprised if your imaginative innovations flow with expeditious clarity, like Gaga at her most efficient. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): During t ..read more

Congrats to our East Bay Express writers for their wins in the California News Publishers Association’s 2023 California Journalism Awards. See the full list of this year’s winners here (announced July 12, 2024). DIVISION 5, “Columns”3rd Place: Dan Mitchell, “Green is in the Red/Lost in the Clouds” 5th Place: Sharon K. Sobetta, “Free Gainel/Truth is Nuanced” DIVISION 5, “Reporting, Environment”2nd Place, Janis Hashe, “Dust-Proof” DIVISION 4, “Music Writing/rReporting”5th Place, Lou Fancher, “Democratic Birdsong” DIVISION 4, “Fine Arts Writing/Reporting3rd Place, Janis Hashe, “Oh Sandwich, My S ..read more

Around every 4th of July for the past 10 years, Oakland declares its own independence from the average, oversized, overpriced music festivals that have become the norm. Brought to us by Total Trash Productions and hosted (in a not-so-Uncle Sam fashion) by John Waters (but don’t fret, we can still yank his doodle dandy), Mosswood Meltdown gives us the modern-day version of the music festival our favorite aunty used to tell us about from back in the ‘hippy’ days… …that utopian vibe our teenage selves thought we’d experience after spending our entire summer’s earnings on admission to one of thos ..read more

Muggy weather on a weekday afternoon in Fremont can’t keep residents from enjoying their city. Under an oppressive sun, Umesh Velayudhan strolls slowly down a path at the popular Centerville Community Park. For him, it’s no surprise that Fremont topped the list of America’s Happiest Cities for the fifth consecutive year. “It’s very nice,” Velayudhan says. “I love the community here.” Each year, personal finance company Wallethub conducts a study comparing quality of life in cities across America. According to company analyst Cassandra Happe, the rankings published in February were determined ..read more

Bela Watson describes herself as a “heARTist,” but the dance floor is her favorite canvas. Watson teaches and sometimes performs alongside students ages 2 to 102 in settings ranging from schools to senior centers in the East Bay, and the Moraga-based Joy in Motion dance studio. And if Watson has her way, she’ll see even more adults on the dance floor. “It’s always a pleasure to teach children because they’re like little sponges looking for answers,” Watson says. “But it’s also been such an incredible honor to be a teacher for adults who’ve seen a performance and choose to make themselves begi ..read more