Broadway Plz, Walnut Creek

Broadway Plaza is a short little one block long street that basically just cuts through the Broadway Plaza outdoor mall, but it is a great little chunk of real estate as far as retail therapy goes. I don’t love the suburbs for the most part but I must say that shopping areas like this make the boredom of the suburbs worth it. First, there is the fact that this is an outdoor mall. This is not your usual fluorescent lit behemoth of a mall like the Sun Valley mall. This is not so much of a teenager’s mall either—this more for your average twenty something or married gal.

You have great places to meet and eat here, like the China Bistro on the corner with Mt. Diablo—or Il Fornauo across the street. Both are outstanding with the Bistro being relatively affordable (and you will usually get a cute waiter to boot). There are the usual big department stores like Nordstroms here but the other smaller chain stores are the reason to go here. Banana Republic, Benneton, and Victoria’s Secret are all here.

If you just want to chill out for a while during your lunch break, there is a great little fountain area where you can sit and watch suburban moms with their cute little babes and toddlers having ice creams or gossiping about their lives. There is a nearby Barnes and Noble and a Peet’s coffee right by here too so you can get a book and coffee and sit pretending to read while you eavesdrop on people’s fairly mundane discussions. Every so often, you will be rewarded with a juicy detail from some stranger’s cell phone conversation that makes it worth it.

Lot’s of people work in the area as well—Walnut Creek, though largely overlooked in the Bay Area, has a thriving business community. When I used to work nearby I would spend my lunch hour here sometimes just taking in the sun and people watching. Granted, it’s not as interesting as Berkeley, but sometimes your average square suburban type can be fun to watch as well.