🍽️ COVER STORY: Island Vibes at La Perla
Chef Jose “Cheo” Ortiz is bringing the bold flavors of Puerto Rico to Castro Valley! Pernil, pasteles, mofongo — all served up with salsa music, festive décor, and Cheo’s signature pava straw hat. La Perla relocated from Oakland and has quickly become a Castro Valley favorite.
📍 CV Marketplace, 3295 Castro Valley Blvd
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🎨 ART: From the Sketchbook of Cathy Raingarden
Berkeley-based urban sketcher and former CV resident Cathy Raingarden shares her beautiful illustrations, rediscovered through a journey back to school for landscape architecture.
📸 Follow her: @cathyraingarden | cathyraingarden.com
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🦋 LOCAL LANDSCAPES: Branching Out
Nimone Li-Hardisty’s Castro Valley yard is a thriving native garden — fruit trees, milkweed, bioswales, and a whole lot of monarch butterflies. A beautiful example of what’s possible when we work with nature.
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📸 LOCAL HISTORY: Picturing the Past
Two Hayward legends revisited this month:
- Big Mike — the iconic fiberglass giant, first installed at Morris Car Wash in 1966, now fully restored and standing tall at Bell Plastics on National Avenue.
- Ye Olde Pizza Joynt — the beloved family pizza spot that housed an incredible 1928 Wurlitzer organ with hundreds of pipes and instruments, serving generations of Bay Area families until the early 2000s.
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🥣 VALLEY KITCHEN: Minestrone Soup (aka “Mama’s Penicillin”)
Community recipe from Bonnie Russell — a hearty, vegetable-packed soup she makes for neighbors when they’re feeling under the weather. The Valley pays $50 for reader recipes! Send yours to valleymagazinecontact@gmail.com
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🖼️ ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Gerald & Winnie Thompson
Meet this husband-and-wife artistic duo — both active in Bay Area art shows, each with their own home studio. Gerald blends abstract and figurative styles; Winnie creates sweeping landscapes and thought-provoking modern works.
🌐 winifredthompsonart.com | geraldthompsonart.com
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💐 LOCAL BUSINESS: Gigi’s Florist
30 years of brightening Castro Valley! Owner Lora Rosas Sanchez has over 20 years in the floral industry and creates stunning arrangements for every occasion.
📍 20864 Redwood Road, Castro Valley
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📌 DON’T MISS:
- Val’s Burgers (Hayward) — Takeout Fri & Sat, call 510-889-8257
- Friends of the CV Library Bookstore — Great finds at 3600 Norbridge Ave., Castro Valley
- Seed Library — Free seeds at 348 Farrelly Ave., San Leandro
- “You Know You’re From Hayward If…” — Great local history Facebook group
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