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Elmwood

The commercial face of Elmwood, a genteel alternative to the countercultural hurly-burly of Telegraph Avenue, is confined to a scant three blocks around College Avenue and Ashby Street. The Elmwood's culinary status, however, is out of proportion to its size, with two wildly popular Italian trattorie (Locanda Olmo and Trattoria La Siciliana), a fine Italian deli (A.G. Ferrari), a bakery, a dessert place (Just Desserts), a cafe offering hot entrees (Espresso Roma), three excellent Chinese restaurants (Shen Hua, Hai Loon King, and Shin Jin) and a kosher spot (Holy Land)—to name but a few—within two blocks. Nor is there a shortage of specialty retail establishments—four or five businesses sell antiques and oriental rugs, Sweet Dreams Candy Store offers toys, fashion and (if all else fails) candy for kids, and the Tail of the Yak has a gift selection as indescribable as its name suggests. The quiet side streets of the Elmwood are filled with stately, dark-shingled homes inspired by West Coast Arts & Crafts architects Green and Greene and Bernard Maybeck. At the upper end of Ashby one comes upon the white-towered, fairytale splendor of the Claremont Resort and Spa, which caters equally to meeting-goers and tennis players.