Issue #14: My Favorite February Lattes and Listings

Love is still in the air with my favorite Bay Area coffee shops and nearby homes that are ready to go steady, plus my review of a A Complete Unknown.

The Silvert Lining is a place where I talk about real estate, cool homes for sale, things I’m looking forward to, and how I’ve been spending my time. In addition to this newsletter, I also post regularly on Instagram. You can follow me at Dan Silvert Homes.

Valentine’s Day is this Friday and I plan to spend my evening seeing Chuck Prophet and The Make Out Quartet at the Chapel in San Francisco. Between today and Friday, I can assure you that I will be spending time at a local coffee shop or two enjoying a hot caffeinated beverage. Being a Realtor is not a “butts in seats” type job; I spend my days driving around the Bay Area showing clients homes, and coffee shops inevitably become my mobile office when I need a place to sit down and work with a side of caffeine. In last week’s newsletter I played Cupid by pairing my favorite restaurants for a special meal with nearby homes for sale. This week I thought it would be fun to make things a bit more casual by pairing my favorite local coffee shops with some percolating properties. Coffee house to dream house…let’s get ready to fall in love again this week.

Asha Tea House + 1930 San Antonio Avenue, Berkeley + 995 Spruce Street, Berkeley

Asha Tea House on University Avenue in Downtown Berkeley is a favorite of mine. On rainy days their hot matcha latte or hojicha latte is the perfect drink to sip while working away and staying dry. There is always a list of seasonal specialty drinks, and their current offerings of an Asian pear matcha latte and blood orange matcha sparkler sound delicious. I appreciate that their drinks can be served hot or iced as I like an iced beverage when it’s warm outside. Asha Tea House also has a location on Kearny Street in San Francisco’s Financial District.

1930 San Antonio Avenue is a 1924 Spanish Mediterranean home in Berkeley’s Thousand Oaks neighborhood with 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms and stunning views listed at $1,449,000.

995 Spruce Street is 1963 mid-century modern home designed by John Hans Ostwald in the Berkeley Hills with 2 bedrooms/2 bathrooms and great views listed at $795,000.

Cafenated Coffee + 2926 Avalon Ave, Berkeley + 2137 Ward St, Berkeley

Cafenated Coffee's Elmwood location is my go-to Berkeley cafe for coffee and free wifi. I enjoyed a chagaccino there on Friday night before I saw A Complete Unknown at the Elmwood Theater. On Saturday afternoon I stopped by a few open houses to preview properties for clients. After touring a home in the Berkeley Hills, I stopped by Cafenated for an ube matcha latte to drink while I wrote an offer for a client to submit that day. Cafenated also has a second location on Vine Street in North Berkeley.

2926 Avalon Avenue is a 4,034 square foot 1938 mid-century modern home on a 0.32 acre lot in Berkeley’s Claremont neighborhood with 5 bedrooms/5 bathrooms listed at $3,495,000.

2137 Ward Street is a 1925 bungalow in South Berkeley with 2 bedrooms/1 bathroom listed at $825,000.

Red Bay Coffee + 818 Northvale Road, Oakland + 887 Trestle Glen Road, Oakland

Red Bay Coffee serves what is arguably the best coffee in the Bay Area. They currently have four locations in the East Bay and San Francisco, and you can buy their coffee beans in store or via their website. I was disappointed that their San Francisco Ferry Building location recently closed as I love taking the ferry to San Francisco and grabbing a coffee drink before heading to a Giants baseball game. I now visit their location on Grand Avenue near Lake Merritt, and I highly recommend their classic latte or charcoal latte. In the fall, their seasonal candied yam latte is a taste treat.

818 Northvale Road is a 1922 home in Oakland’s Crocker Highlands neighborhood with 5 bedrooms/4 bathrooms and beautiful historical details listed at $1,999,999.

887 Trestle Glen Road is a 1933 English Tudor home in Oakland’s Crocker Highlands neighborhood that has been extensively renovated and boasts a stunning outdoor space. The home has 3 bedrooms/3 bathrooms and is listed at $1,689,000.

Third Culture Bakery + 2220 Loch Lane, Walnut Creek + 136 Lorie Court, Walnut Creek

Third Culture Bakery is famous for their mochi muffins, mochi donuts, and premium matcha. While their baked goods are sold at many local cafes, you have to visit their West Berkeley or Walnut Creek locations to enjoy their matcha lattes. Third Culture also has sparkling matcha fruit infusions that are the ideal iced beverage to enjoy on a hot day when I’m driving around touring homes for sale. I can never resist their baked goods as they pair perfectly with their matcha drinks.

136 Lorie Court is a 1955 mid-century modern home in Walnut Creek with 4 bedrooms/3 bathrooms listed at $1,400,000.

2220 Loch Lane is a 1966 Ranch style home in Walnut Creek with 4 bedrooms/2 bathrooms and a swimming pool listed at $1,695,000.

States Coffee + 912 Brown Street, Martinez + 128 West N Street, Benicia

States Coffee serves some of my favorite coffee in the Bay Area. I think their original Martinez location is the crown jewel, but I was sad their Benicia location closed at the end of 2024. There is also a smaller location on 40th and Webster in Oakland. The Martinez location has lots of seating and a cool industrial aesthetic. I love ordering an extra hot latte and sitting down with my laptop to do some work surrounded by other coffee enthusiasts.

912 Brown Street is a 1930 home in downtown Martinez with 4 bedrooms/3 bathrooms listed at $1,099,946.

128 West N Street is a 2002 home in Benicia with panoramic views and 5 bedrooms/4 bathrooms listed at $1,849,000.

Let me know if you are looking for a new home, and I can create a customized search based on your wants and needs that will email you homes that meet your search criteria. You can schedule time with me to discuss your search for a new home or selling your current home by emailing me at DanSilvertHomes@gmail.com. DRE #01963734

I finally saw A Complete Unknown at the theater, and the film exceeded my expectations. The Oscar-nominated biopic by director James Mangold chronicles Bob Dylan's early years in New York City, concluding with Dylan going electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Timothée Chalamet is completely believable as Bob Dylan, and he actually sings and plays guitar and harmonica in the film. The supporting cast is exceptional, especially Edward Norton as Pete Seeger and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez. One attribute of the film that I really appreciated is that it didn’t fall into the hero worship trap that can plague authorized biopics; rather, the film portrays Dylan as a complicated - and a times problematic - person. Dylan has publicly lauded the film, and I’m curious to see if he attends the Academy Awards this year in support of the film’s nominations.

Did you know that you can rent out Oakland's New Parkway Theater for a private movie screening? On Saturday I attended a private screening of Bottoms, a fun coming-of-age story which draws from Revenge of the Nerds, Fight Club, and Napoleon Dynamite. The film co-stars local icon Marshawn Lynch (Oakland Tech, UC Berkeley, and the Oakland Raiders) as the well-intended but totally inappropriate teacher Mr. G. The movie screening was a thirtieth birthday party for a young man I know from coaching lacrosse at Oakland Tech in the early 2010s. It was awesome to see a few guys I hadn't seen in years excitedly say "Hey, Coach Dan." Time flies and it's fun seeing people I know grow up and (hopefully) have played a small part in their development.