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Café Bolita

@cafebolita

5.3K

followers

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following

masa, café, vino y más
Daytime :
Wed - Fri 10:30-2:30pm
Sat 10-2:30pm
Dinner :
Sat & Fri 5:30-9pm
2701 8th St. Berkeley Ca

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Almost all of us are immigrants here, let's keep that in mind.

#abolishice

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Rising Star Chef Emmanuel Galvan (@em.manu.l) quit his corporate human resources job during the pandemic with nothing else lined up, just a conviction that something needed to change. He started making masa out of his home kitchen, posting on Instagram to gauge interest, and delivering pay-what-you-can orders himself as word spread. That grew into Café Bolita (@cafebolita) and Bolita Masa, where Galvan draws as much from Thai and Filipino cooking as he does from his own Mexican roots, layering char and bitterness into dishes most people expect to read purely sweet or savory. He's built a menu around that instinct, pushing traditional technique into unexpected territory while staying rooted in the informal, community-first spirit that got the whole thing started.⁠
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Visit Café Bolita during the San Francisco #StarChefsRisingStars Restaurant Week (September 30 to October 14) and help us celebrate! More details via the link in our bio.

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Thanks September. Needed that nourishment for the days ahead.

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We are SO chuffed to be featured in @kqed’s One Good Thing newsletter by @alexismadrigal ! 🥹🌶️

Alexis called our lineup “a perfectly Bay Area lineup for a perfectly Bay Area story,” and we couldn’t agree more. 💛

The Spicy Soiree is coming in so soon and so hot! 🔥 Join us Saturday, October 10 at @merkadosf for a night celebrating the people, stories, and flavors that immigration brings to our communities.

Here’s what’s waiting for you:

🍽️ A Palestinian-Syrian chef’s dinner from James Beard Award finalist @reem.assil, plus Mexican creative bites and desserts from @merkadosf Chef Lorenzo Caamal
🎶 Live performances from award-winning artists Diana Gameros (with Raúl Vargas on cajón), Melissa Cruz, and Zedan & Osman
🛍️ Our spicy vendor market with @bolitamasa , the Shop Palestine Shop from @mecaforpeace @palestiniancubanfusion a Palestinian-Cuban fusion pop-up and more!!
👀 Plus goodies we’ll be auctioning off

Every vendor was chosen because they share our values and add even more depth to the flavors you’ll taste from Chef Reem and Chef Lorenzo. We have a lot of surprises we can’t wait to share with our guests, and it’s going to be a really special and unique evening.

Dinner tickets are almost gone, but entertainment tickets are still available and get you the music, the market, small bites, and drinks. 🎟️ Link in our bio or events.humanitix.com/nins-spicy-soiree

Doors at 5:30pm. 130 Townsend St, SF.

Read the full piece at the link in our stories. 📰

#SpicySoiree #NoImmigrantsNoSpice #BBQWithoutBorders

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Rising Star Chef Emmanuel Galvan (@em.manu.l) quit his job as a human resources manager during the pandemic with nothing lined up, just a conviction that he needed to do something that actually mattered to him. He started making masa out of his home kitchen on Instagram, pay-what-you-can, delivering it himself until the operation outgrew his space. That grew into Café Bolita (@cafebolita). Galvan's duck confit tamal starts with the bird cured in sour orange juice, avocado leaf, and dried chiles, then shredded and folded into masa carrying the confit's own jus. He tops it with xnipec, a Yucatecan salsa of habanero, lime, oregano, and Persian cucumber, alongside a burnt habanero salsa made by charring habanero and onion down to ash. "That bitter, burnt flavor makes the masa taste so much sweeter," Galvan says, describing a philosophy he traces back to Thai and Filipino cooking as much as Mexican—using char and bitterness to sharpen everything around it.⁠
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Visit Café Bolita during the San Francisco #StarChefsRisingStars Restaurant Week (September 30 to October 14) and help us celebrate! More details via the link in our bio.

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Extremely honored to be included in this list, along such talented and industry defining folx. What started as a pay-what-you-can pandemic masa business has become a café (@cafebolita) and company (@bolitamasa) where we strive to build a little community of masa heads. Thank you @starchefs!

See you at the café! This is a great week to stop by!

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Voting for the San Francisco-Oakland Steelite (@steeliteusa) Art of Presentation Award is officially open. Every chef and pastry chef winner in this year's Rising Stars class is in the running. Head to the link in our bio, cast your vote for the chef whose presentation impressed you most, and help decide who takes home $5,000 in Steelite product. From color and composition to the story a plate tells before the first bite, presentation is its own kind of craft, and this is your chance to reward it. ⁠
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Voting closes Monday, September 28.

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Café Bolita 🌽 Yes, yes, yes. I had the most magical masa biscuit and carrot tamal, plus interestingly (not pictured) the best vanilla latte I've had in memory.

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There’s no place like Berkeley. It’s home of the undisputed best grocery store in the world (Berkeley Bowl, for the uninitiated). It’s the birthplace of Oski The Bear, the endearing and somewhat terrifying Cal mascot. While these are essential elements of the city, so too are the restaurants. Here are the best places to eat. #InfatuationSF #EEEEEATS #BayArea #berkeley

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8 NEW(ish) restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops in the East Bay! These range from droolworthy spots that opened last year to local businesses that just opened their doors in the last few months.

This is not an exhaustive list of every opening in the East Bay, but businesses across Walnut Creek, Berkeley, and Oakland that I have been really excited about over the past few months.

Have you been to any of these new(ish) spots? What are the new restaurants you think people need to check out? 👀

Follow @_emwong_ to stay up to date on the newest East Bay restaurant, cafe, and business recommendations ❤️

#eateastbay #bayareafoodies #visitberkeley #walnutcreekdowntown visitoakland

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We’ve been eyeing Cafe Bolita ever since it opened, and finally had an excuse for a midweek stop.

We got there a little too early for the lunch menu, so we went with two burros: bean & cheese and chorizo & potato.

Both were outstanding, but honestly, the salsa was the winner. I could drink that stuff straight. 😂

We’d easily go again. We were genuinely contemplating waiting another 30 minutes just so we could try a few more things off the lunch menu. 🤤

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august dump

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