A cluster of businesses in a neighborhood dotted with Victorian homes in this island city offer delicious breakfast and lunch fare, fashions for special occasions and studios filled with twirling ballerinas. Nearby, seeds, bulbs, annuals, perennials and tropical plants await the nurturing hands of gardeners, while the shelves of a bookstore provide literary fans plenty to peruse.
1. Blue Dot Cafe Coffee Bar
1910 Encinal Ave.: In James and Megan Hume’s lively cafe, patrons enjoy freshly baked scones, organic poached eggs with country levain toast, French toast strata and cappuccinos made with Mr. Espresso coffee. For lunch, there’s an array of panino sandwiches. (510) 523-2583. www.bluedotcafeandcoffeebar.com.
2. Lilac Dress Boutique
1918 Encinal Ave.: Lilac carries a large collection of Nicole Miller wedding gowns – from a silk version emulating 1930s Hollywood glamour to another with an intricate lace overlay. It also stocks cocktail dresses, ocean blue sheath dresses and casual wear for women and men, including tunics, embellished jeans and fedoras. (510) 865-2544. www.lilacdressboutique.com.
3. Carole L. Chan
1900 Encinal Ave.: Having owned a furniture, lamp and antiques store in San Francisco for years, Chan’s father wanted her to continue the family business, but she wasn’t interested. Then circumstances changed, and in 1983 she opened a shop here. She makes custom lamps, repairs lamps and sells collectibles. (510) 865-6374.
4. Dance Arts Project
1201 Chestnut St.: At her school, Michaela Lynch creates an encouraging and noncompetitive environment for children to learn ballet, pointe, modern and ballroom dance. The company that she founded in 1992 with 50 students today has six teachers who lead hundreds of students in two adjacent studios. (510) 521-2270. www.danceartsproject.com.
5. Encinal Nursery
2057 Encinal Ave.: This family-owned nursery features an outdoor area with rows of pots containing velvety pansies, delicate violas, white bacopa and tree-like rosebushes. Deep pink bleeding hearts and cymbidium orchids sit in the shade of its wooden trellis, and lush tropical plants fill its greenhouse. (510) 522-8616. www.encinalnursery.com.
6. Kevin Patrick Books
2170 Encinal Ave.: Bibliophiles will relish navigating through the oodles of used books and finding a beloved title among the stacks and piles here. Recent choices ranged from classic children’s books, such as Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” to John Muir’s “A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf.” (510) 865-3880. www.kevinpatrickbooks.com.
- Stephanie Wright Hession, 96hours@sfchronicle.com
Encinal Avenue, Alameda
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