Alix Wall
@alixwall.bsky.social
Freelance writer specializing in food, love & Jews. Occasional contributor to NYTimes Vows. Writer/producer The Lonely Child, a documentary in production. Illuminoshi founder. alix-wall.com lonelychildmovie.com illuminoshi.com
Sometimes, just being in the right place at the right time leads to amazing things, like the creation of Olivaia Olive Oil. oliveoilprofessor.com/blog/olivaia...
How a Chance Meeting Started Olivaia Olive Oil | The Olive Oil Professor
Tending the olive trees at Olivaia Olive Oil and producing such a healthy product, Giulio Zavolta and Rachelle Brossare are living closer to the earth, modeling to others how farm-to-table works as op...
oliveoilprofessor.com
Had so much fun interviewing the delightfully quirky Madeline Schapiro, otherwise known as Bean Supporter. www.berkeleyside.org/2026/02/05/b...
Can it with the flatulence jokes! Berkeley’s No. 1 bean fan spreads legume gospel on happy stomach
Madeline Schapiro's more than 70,000 combined TikTok and Instagram followers come to her for all the bean propaganda she can dish.
berkeleyside.org
Thanks to Cookin' owner Judith Kaminsky for giving me the scoop on her impending closure; while it's about kitchenware; her anecdotes about SF in the sixties are priceless. jweekly.com/2025/12/12/c...
ORGANIC EPICURE | Cookin’ is selling its last Jello-O molds
Owner Judith Kaminsky tells her Jewish story and explains why she's closing her vintage cookware store after more than 40 years in S.F.
jweekly.com
Loved learning about how Alameda baker Henry Awayan became "The Ube King." www.berkeleyside.org/2025/12/11/u...
The ube king of Alameda bakes his claim to the throne
Henry Awayan, owner of Whisk Cake Creations and author of the new "The Ube Baking Book," shares his ube whipcream recipe and passion for cooking with the purple yam.
berkeleyside.org
Why, of course, I was going to write about the new Grateful Dead cookbook. jweekly.com/2025/11/25/s...
Sample the devil’s lettuce with new Grateful Dead cookbook
A new cookbook from Gabi Moskowitz pairs vegetarian and vegan recipes with the stages of a Grateful Dead concert.
jweekly.com
My first full-length Vows in over a year; it was worth the wait: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/f...
Where Does One Go on a First Date With the Mayor?
nytimes.com
I loved learning about the life and career of Joan Bieder, a pioneer woman journalist: jweekly.com/2025/11/03/j...
Joan Bieder, 83, journalism pioneer and student mentor at Cal
Joan Bieder, a pioneer in broadcast journalism and a mentor to many UC Berkeley graduate students, has died at the age of 83.
jweekly.com
Full circle moment: my interview with a kid who was in utero at my wedding about their time on the Pacific Crest Trail this past summer: jweekly.com/2025/10/16/d...
Davis freshman finds quiet, and a few fellow Jews, on Pacific Crest Trail
THE J. INTERVIEW: A Jewish Oakland teenager hiked 500 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail solo before starting college.
jweekly.com
Imagine a Dubai bar that's lower in sugar and free of gluten and dairy. It's here: www.berkeleyside.org/2025/09/30/c...
Dietary restrictions made Dubai chocolate a no-no for this East Bay chocolatier. So he made his own
Coracao Chocolate specializes in gluten-free, dairy-free and peanut-free treats made from scratch.
berkeleyside.org
I had so much fun interviewing the very entertaining Paul Einbund, owner of two beloved local restaurants: jweekly.com/2025/09/24/i...
‘I am probably 50% bagel,’ says local restaurateur
“They're both very quirky places,” Paul Einbund says when asked what his two restaurants have in common besides their ownership.
jweekly.com
My latest mini-vow is about two gamers who met and fell for each other before ever meeting in person. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/s...
Two Friendly Gamers Became Forever Teammates
nytimes.com
The quirkiest Jewish story I've written in quite some time: jweekly.com/2025/09/15/w...
Blow the shofar? Ha! This Oaklander plays music on it
Nicky Silver, who got a shofar as a gift three decades ago, has since taught herself how to play actual songs on the ram’s horn.
jweekly.com
Jewish clergy called for an end to the war in front of the Israeli consulate in San Francisco yesterday; it felt historic for a number of reasons. jweekly.com/2025/08/11/b...
Local Jewish clergy protest at Israel Consulate, calling for war's end
Bay Area rabbis and cantors block the street outside the Israel Consulate in S.F., demanding an end to the war and a release of the hostages.
jweekly.com
My heart is breaking over too many things to write about here, so I'm just going to post my latest food column about a new cookbook by a Bay Area Jewish chef, whose star ingredient is mushrooms. jweekly.com/2025/07/28/t...
San Jose chef’s mushroom cookbook guides foragers
A new cookbook focused exclusively on fungi is threaded with the chef’s Jewish family anecdotes and memories.
jweekly.com
The generational divide over Israel has emerged as one of the most difficult topics for many in American Jewish life. Here, a mother and daughter try to bridge the gap, in @jewishsf.bsky.social jweekly.com/2025/07/23/b...
Letters capture a family’s generational discord over Israel
Painful differences over Israel led a Bay Area mother and adult daughter to navigate their beliefs and feelings through a series of letters.
jweekly.com
What fun writing about the love story of Aleksandra Shira Dubov & Daniyel Berchenko. This is the 3rd couple I've written about who met through @Wilderness Torah. If you know of anyone getting married soon with an interesting story, please send them my way! www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/s...
He Didn’t Know It Was an Audition. But He Got the Husband Role.
nytimes.com
Pleased to be included in the American Jewish Press Awards. I won 1st place in the food category about two business owners who have been in dialogue since shortly after October 7, and a 2nd in war-related personality profiles for my article about Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib. jweekly.com/2025/06/24/j...
J. wins 10 Rockower Awards for journalistic excellence
“Once again, J. dominated the awards for best Jewish news,” J. CEO Jo Ellen Green Kaiser said after collecting 10 awards for J.
jweekly.com
Happy that this story is out in the world, especially for pride month. jweekly.com/2025/06/11/i...
In Oakland, a gay Orthodox rabbi is paving the way for Jews like him
Rabbi Shua Brick of Beth Jacob Congregation in Oakland is the first openly gay rabbi hired at an Orthodox synagogue.
jweekly.com
Last month, I took a tour of S.F.'s "Little Russia," through its grocery stores. It was fun as well as delicious. jweekly.com/2025/06/05/s...
ORGANIC EPICURE | San Francisco's ‘Little Russia’ draws adventurous foodies
All manner of Russian food can be found at specialty stores in S.F., where a recent “Post-Soviet Food Tour” traveled down a particular memory lane.
jweekly.com
While these two couldn't be any cuter, I think Summer, their maltipoo steals the show, no? www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/s...
Never Mind the Possible Food Poisoning, the Proposal Had to Go On
nytimes.com
The food and the desserts will be missed, yes, but so will the community gathering spot. www.berkeleyside.org/2025/05/19/p...
With closure of Pomella, Oakland loses a valuable community gathering place
The Piedmont Avenue restaurant run by Mica Talmor took its role as a “third space” seriously, hosting a variety of groups and events.
berkeleyside.org
