In the mix

Two-Wheel It

Want to tool around the Bay Area by bike?

    A gem of a book, Moon Outdoors Bay Area Biking, can help. Hot off the presses of Emeryville-based Avalon Travel Publishing (an imprint of Avalon Publishing Inc., $15.95), this handy 236-page guidebook by Ann Marie Brown divides the Bay Area into geographic areas—north, east and the peninsula and south bay—to display detailed information on road- and mountain-bike rides. On each ride, Brown rates difficulty, estimates riding time, includes total distance and shows elevation gain, plus briefly describes the high points while listing easy-to-follow routes and driving directions.
    The East Bay section covers territory from the (paved) wilds of Nimitz Way and Wildcat Canyon in the Berkeley Hills and the meandering single-track of Briones Regional
Park to the flats and wineries of the Livermore Valley. East Bay excursions introduce cyclists to 18 pedaling options, and Brown singles out five as best rides for families, high overlooks, history, wildlife viewing and wine tasting.
    And for bettys and bobs who want to ride with a group, there’s a geographic rundown of bike clubs as well as a city-by-city directory of bike shops for techno-weenies. What are you waiting for? Clip in and go.

In the Scene

The Lounge Life

    Atop a Chinese restaurant may seem an unlikely location for Oakland’s hottest new lounge, but the happy-hour crowd has been flocking to Arsimona since it opened in November. The stylish nightspot, above the Crown Walk restaurant on the corner of 11th and Clay, is the realization of a longtime dream for brothers Tem and Teddy Kiflit, who hail from Boston and grew up in their family’s restaurant business. When they picked their space, the Kiflits chose downtown Oakland over San Jose’s Santana Row. It felt a little risky, Tem Kiflit says, but it pays off every day. “I hear ‘Thank you, we needed this,’ ” he says, from the neighbors who flock to the bar for lunch and dinner, or for drinks and appetizers while watching basketball and other sports on the flat-panel televisions.
    Arsimona means “beautiful” in Eritrean, and the space is just that—a first-class club with a slight African flair in the main space, 18-foot ceilings, sleek furnishings, a hand-built bar and a VIP room with bamboo floors and a skylight. It’s no wonder the bar draws everyone from professional athletes (including the Raiders’ Langston Walker, members of the Golden State Warriors and Jerry Rice) to the dot-com crowd.
    The drink menu is extensive and inventive, with signature martinis and margaritas and high-end scotches and cognacs, including Hennessey Richard, which retails for $165 a shot. There’s also a monthly wine flight offered, giving patrons a chance to educate themselves about California’s different appellations while sampling the international cuisine. Favorites from the busy kitchen include the Cuban burger, Asian pesto shrimp and Creole jambalaya—the kind of food, augmented by the sound of live jazz and DJs, that keeps people coming back for more.
    Arsimona, 561 11th St., (510) 338-2195, www.arsimona.com.                                              

Just Say Spaaaaaah

    Damsels are skipping their formal spa appointments and de-stressing at home, thanks to Oakland-based Spa Dee Dah, a company that brings decadent facials, massages and pomegranate-champagne cocktails to clients’ homes.
    Co-founder Ellen Olson, an esthetician and self-professed spa junkie, came up with the mobile massage concept after attracting haughty stares for being a bit too much “fun” during her own spa visits.
    “She’s the life of the party,” explains her partner and longtime friend Andrea Turner, a massage therapist. “One time she went to a spa that was Zen-focused, and whenever she became too loud, the staff would ring the peace gong to remind her to settle down.”
    Shortly thereafter, Olson dreamed up Spa Dee Dah, which allows clients to be as loud as they want to be while receiving the royal treatment in the privacy of their own homes.
    The company uses environmentally friendly, all-natural skin care products (from such purveyors as Marin County–based Pharmacopia) and offers an array of unusual pampering parties, like the Gidget-inspired beach bash, or birthday gatherings featuring zodiac-sign cocktails created by mad-scientist mixologists.
    Couples Night is specially designed for lovebirds living in the East Bay, and includes dinner a deux, a bottle of champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, soft music to set the mood, and just about anything else your heart desires. For large parties, Spa Dee Dah even throws in a DJ and burlesque instructor, if you’re so inclined. “If you can dream it, we can probably find it,” Turner says. “Our Rolodex is pretty big.”
    Spa Dee Dah’s menu goes geisha this season with the addition of Sake to Me, a pampering party that comes with handmade kimonos for you and your guests, sushi wrapped in flower petals and a lavish sake-tasting menu. Beautifying treatments include Japanese nuka bran rice facials and river-rock massage.
    If that’s not enough incentive to throw your own shindig, consider this: The hostess receives a free massage and facial just for arranging the event.
    For the de-stressing details, visit www.spadee-dah.com or call (415) 341-5615.
                                          

In the Picture

    Steven Jenner has kept a real sharp focus on Oakland since 1988. By then he had spent about a dozen years photographing landscapes crisscrossed by pipelines from small low-flying planes and helicopters for “big oil.” It was pretty thrilling, he says, to see the North American countryside from the air all the way from New York to British Columbia and Alaska (twice).
    A 1988 visit to the Mills College campus bookstore led to what would be a new feet-on-the-ground career direction for the Oakland Hills resident. “I noticed they stocked no cards featuring the college,” he says. So he snapped some campus scenes and turned them into greeting cards. Then, seeing that Oakland had nothing to speak of by way of cards featuring city landmarks and attractions, he turned his lens on the city as a whole.
    So began Jenner’s business, Local Color, which specializes in one-fold greeting cards.  He gradually expanded his focus from Oakland to San Francisco and Marin, and eventually added other cities (including St. Louis, Mo., where he grew up and still has family) and countries (Italy, ancient England), as well as nature scenes and images.
    Living in Oakland allows Jenner to keeps his local shots current. “For example, when I saw the refurbished pergola at Lake Merritt,” he says, “I made a mental note to take a sunset shot.” He used to work with sales reps but now distributes the cards himself, which pays added dividends. “I found I got really isolated,” he explains. “Going to the stores myself, I get to know the buyers, and often they will come up with great ideas  for cards.” You will find Jenner’s cards at such independent bookstores as Pendragon (5560 College Ave.) and Walden Pond (3316 Grand Ave.), and the “big” Rockridge Longs Drugs (5100 Broadway), where the buyer supports local card producers You can also view and order them on the web at www.localcolorcards.com.