My Autobiography: David Balleza K(C)atague: Downtown Walnut Creek and Its 120 Restaurants

Thursday, December 11, 2025

Downtown Walnut Creek and Its 120 Restaurants

Downtown Walnut Creek really does feel like an outdoor food court with a sky, with more than 120 restaurants packed into a walkable few blocks, a surprising number of them offering flavors from far beyond California. It is one of those suburbs where the dining scene has grown so quickly that many locals still think of it as “mall food plus a steakhouse,” even as new ethnic spots and fusions quietly remake the landscape.

A downtown that eats like a city

What defines downtown Walnut Creek today is density: more than 120 restaurants and cafés, plus bars, wine bars, and dessert shops, all layered around Broadway Plaza and the side streets leading to Civic Park. Sidewalk patios fill early on sunny evenings, and the Wednesday farmers’ market on Locust Street turns the whole area into an open‑air dining room, blurring the line between shopping district and food destination.

At its core, the downtown still leans heavily on American, Italian, and “California comfort” cooking, burgers, wood‑fired pizza, small plates, and cocktails but that is only the surface. Look a bit closer at the menus and signboards and a different story appears: Burmese tea leaf salads, Peruvian ceviche, Middle Eastern kebabs, and Caribbean‑Latin small plates now coexist with wine bars and brunch spots.

Where the world shows up on the plate

One way to understand this downtown is to stroll a single stretch of North Main Street and count how many countries you can “visit” before you hit the next crosswalk. Within just a few blocks you will find Burmese specialties at Burma 2, where tea leaf salads and rich curries introduce many East Bay diners to flavors that are still rare in most of the country. A short walk away, LITA channels Miami and the Latin Caribbean with plantain‑centered dishes and rum‑forward cocktails, framing Walnut Creek through the lens of a tropical, pan‑Latin city rather than a quiet suburb.

Zooming out a bit, you can trace a whole informal “ethnic arc” around downtown: Thai at small, family‑run places like Kacha Thai Bistro; Middle Eastern and Mediterranean grills serving kebabs, hummus, and falafel; and Spanish‑leaning tapas at spots such as Telefèric Barcelona, where rooftop dining and shared plates offer a European social rhythm in the middle of Contra Costa County. Add in Japanese sushi bars, Korean‑influenced kitchens, and Mexican taquerias mentioned by locals, and downtown Walnut Creek starts to look less like a single cuisine hub and more like a sampler of the broader Bay Area food culture.

Not just “ethnic,” but evolving

What makes the picture more interesting is the growing number of restaurants that blur the old categories entirely. A place like WC Kitchen & Bar, for example, advertises itself as American cuisine infused with Indian and Asian flavors, signaling that “ethnic” food is no longer confined to one side street but woven directly into the local definition of American dining. Menus like this might pair familiar formats, burgers, bowls, shareable appetizers with spice blends, sauces, and ingredients that come from South Asia or East Asia, easing diners into a more global palate without asking them to abandon comfort food.

This kind of fusion mirrors what residents describe seeing in the broader East Bay: more authentic ethnic markets and eateries appearing year after year, with food becoming a casual way to encounter languages and cultures that might once have seemed far removed from suburbia. Walnut Creek’s restaurant boom reflects not only disposable income and retail development, but also a quiet demographic shift more Asian and Hispanic residents, more globally traveled professionals who expect to see their own cravings and traditions represented downtown.

A few examples at a glance

Here is a small, illustrative snapshot of downtown Walnut Creek’s restaurant mix, focusing on places that showcase global flavors:

Restaurant	Primary influence	Notable features
Burma 2	Burmese	Tea leaf salads, curries, and noodle dishes introducing a still‑rare cuisine.
LITA	Latin Caribbean / Miami	Plantain‑forward small plates, cocktails, and a social, design‑driven space.
Kacha Thai Bistro	Thai	Family‑run, “real Thai” cooking with an emphasis on bold flavors and hospitality.
Telefèric Barcelona	Spanish / Catalan	Tapas, paella, and a rooftop setting that imports a slice of Spain to downtown.
Various kebab & mezze spots	Middle Eastern / Mediterranean	Kebabs, grilled meats, and mezze listed among the city’s best Middle Eastern options.

For a blogger, this concentration of restaurants offers an easy structure for a series: one post could follow an “evening in Burma and Barcelona” without leaving North Main, another could map a progressive dinner from Thai to Caribbean to a French‑style wine bar. Downtown Walnut Creek may not yet have the name recognition of Oakland or San Francisco in food circles, but with more than 120 places to eat and a steadily growing roster of ethnic and fusion kitchens, it increasingly feels like a small, walkable world tour waiting to be written about and tasted.

Sometimes, I wonder how these restaurants can financially survive with so much competition and concentration in one specific area. My dear readers, do you have any idea on my train of thoughts?

Meanwhile, Do You know why there are no Filipino restaurants in Walnut Creek?

While dedicated, full-service Filipino restaurants have historically been underrepresented in Walnut Creek's main downtown area, this is beginning to change, and several options exist nearby

The reasons for the general lack of Filipino restaurants in specific upscale downtown areas like Walnut Creek often relate to a combination of factors:

High Commercial Rent: Rents in downtown Walnut Creek are notoriously high, which can be a significant barrier for smaller or independent restaurants. The high overhead favors large chains or established fine-dining concepts with proven financial models.
Cuisine Popularity and Market Demand: While Filipino cuisine is gaining popularity, it has historically faced challenges in broad mainstream appeal compared to other Asian cuisines like Chinese or Thai. Restaurants often open where there is a perceived high demand from the local population.
Geographic Concentration: The Filipino-American population in the Bay Area is highly concentrated in other areas, such as Daly City, South San Francisco, and parts of the East Bay like Concord and Pittsburg, which naturally leads to more Filipino dining options in those specific communities.
Alternative Dining Formats: Many Filipino food businesses in the East Bay operate as more casual "turo-turo" (point-point) style take-out spots within supermarkets or food courts, which have lower overhead than full-service restaurants in prime downtown locations.

These articles offer advice on finding Filipino food options in and around Walnut Creek, including popular nearby restaurants and market stalls:

Nearby Filipino Dining Options

Despite the lack of many traditional full-service spots directly in the downtown core, you do have options in and around Walnut Creek:

Maymay's Cravings Asian Snack Bar
This spot is located on Locust Street in Walnut Creek and offers Filipino desserts, snacks (onigiri), and an instant ramen bar. Reviewers have expressed excitement for "Filipino comfort food in Walnut Creek".
Tropa Modern Filipino
Located a short drive away in Lafayette, this is a more modern, sit-down restaurant offering refined Filipino dishes like adobo ribs and lechon.
Isla Grand Restaurant
In nearby Pleasant Hill, Isla Grand is a family-friendly Filipino eatery known for authentic dishes like sisig and crispy pata.
Oriental Food Market
Located in Concord, this is a market that also offers tasty Filipino take-out food in a casual, karinderya (eatery) style setting.
Seafood City Supermarket
The food court in the Concord Seafood City features well-known Filipino chains like Jollibee, Red Ribbon Bakeshop, and Grill City.
Personal Recommendation: Tropa Modern Filipino in Lafayette, CA
My Food For Thought for Today:
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Highlights of My Professional Career

In my more than 40 years of professional career, I have experienced both working rank and file, as well as supervising the work of subordinates. I have worked in four private firms and the Federal Government, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where I retired. I enjoyed the challenges and difficulties of both types of job situations. This is the highlights of my work experience story.

My first job after completing my doctorate degree was a Chemist for Chemagro Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, a German conglomerate. I worked for the analytical chemistry department comprised of about fifty people; half that number was either chemists or biologists. My specific task was to develop analytical methods for the detection of pesticide residues in plant and animal tissues. I worked on my own, similar to six other bench chemists, and we all reported to the same supervisor.

The firm sponsored my visa conversion from a student to a permanent resident, and I was able to legally work and reside in the United States with my family. The company generously took care of its employees. At the end of each successful year, everyone received a 13th month salary bonus. The employees and their families celebrated wonderful annual Christmas parties in a downtown Kansas City hotel, with dancing and free drinks for the whole night.

Inasmuch as I enjoyed and loved working for Chemagro for five years, I found a new job which offered a substantially higher pay. Due to my exemplary work performance, my supervisor preferred and lobbied for me to stay with the company. I had to turn him down because they could not match the package presented by my new employer. It was also a chance for me and my family to move and live in the US west coast, where the mild winter climate is bearable compared to the Midwest.

My next job was at the agricultural research division of Shell Development Company in Modesto, California. I was a Research Chemist, and again I worked individually, same as five other chemists who all reported to a supervisor. My specific duty was similar to my previous job. I worked for them for five years, until the company decided to get out of the pesticide business. They closed their research facility affecting the jobs of more than 200 employees.

My third industrial job was with the agricultural research division of Stauffer chemical company, located in Richmond, California. I was a Senior Research Chemist doing the same project as my two previous jobs. I worked for twelve continuous years for the company, with outstanding annual job performance. I became a Principal Research Chemist, the highest attainable non-supervisory position.

One day in 1986, my supervisor informed me that my job had been eliminated, and I had one day to vacate the facility. It was the most dreadful lay off experience in my life. I felt anger, sadness and humiliation to be dismissed from work with one day notice, after all the years of hard work invested for the company. This was an unforgettable incident and was the gloomiest point in my professional career.
The company terminated sixty research employees, who were upset of the bad news.

One of the chemists was distressed and expressed his outrageous anger by threatening the company and its workers. He told his supervisor of his intention to bomb and burn down the laboratory. He was immediately escorted by the security staff out of the building and into his car. He was informed to leave behind his personal belongings; they will be mailed to his residence. He was warned never to show up again near the company premises or risk getting arrested.

My supervisor was kind and allowed me to take my time to pack up my belongings. It took me two days to clear up my workplace, after toiling for a long period in the same jobsite. We were provided clerical help and office space, in preparation to look for another job, such as updating our resumes, and using the computer and copy machine. We were given six weeks of separation pay plus benefits.

Fortunately, with the help of a friend who is a Church parishioner, I found another job thirty days after leaving Stauffer chemical company. He hired me as a senior research chemist and as a group leader with two technicians to supervise. It was in the same field as my expertise in my previous three jobs spanning the last twenty one years. My new employer was Chevron Chemical Company, and which was located in the same area as my former employer.

This job gave me the introduction and basic knowledge of managing the work of subordinates. I worked for Chevron Company for four and a half years. The company decided to consolidate their research facilities in Texas, and lay off all its research employees. This time I had enough distress and agony from working, and eventually getting laid off from several private companies. To avoid going through any more miserable layoffs, I made a vow that I would never again work for a private company.

In my work experiences, there were noticeable and unavoidable jobsite occurrences. One can never miss the office romantic relationships between co-workers, both illicit and permitted. Though it was frowned upon, there was a boss and staff relationship, which was used as a ploy to get ahead in the company. Some relationships had chemistry, no pun intended, but some never worked out. Oftentimes, there was a sense of distrust among bench chemists for some workers who unjustly obtained preferred work assignments.

Some employees resorted to bribing superiors to get special privileges, such as being able to attend choice conferences and meetings in exciting venues or locations. Likewise, politics was always present at the worksites. It was during an era when various forms of harassment, equal opportunity and discrimination laws were not yet enforced in the workplace. Occasionally, an unexpected chemical explosion happens in a laboratory setting, where luckily no one got seriously hurt.

In the three private companies I worked for, I was able to publish scientific journals for some of the research studies and analytical methods which I developed for the respective companies of Chemagro, Shell Development and Stauffer.

After deciding and making a vow to avoid working in the private sector, I made my new goal which was either to work for the state of California, or the Federal government in Washington, D.C. Four months after I lost my job in Chevron, I was lucky and joyful to be hired by the Food and Drug Administration as a review chemist in the fall of 1990.

In 1994 I was promoted as an Expert Research Chemist with a GS-14 rating. My expertise was on Anti-malarial and Anti-parasitic drug products. In 1997, I was again deservingly promoted to Chemistry team leader, supervising the work of six Chemistry reviewers including five with doctorate degrees.

As team leader, I was responsible for prioritizing, assigning, and assuring the technical accuracy of all chemistry, manufacturing and control issues for all new drug applications submitted to the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs.

It was part of my responsibility to give advice, instruct and promote high morale and teamwork in my group. My work in the FDA is confidential, until the drug patent on the products I worked on has expired. There are manufacturing supplements that I have approved that are now open for the public in the Internet.

In 1998, I won the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Award. The citation reads, “For outstanding accomplishments in fostering the objectives of the EEO Program by hiring minorities and encouraging their professional growth while providing excellent leadership.” I have received numerous certificates of appreciation, awards in leadership and communications, commendation for teamwork and excellence in the accomplishment of the FDA mission. I have also received several letters of appreciation from private industry for my review work.

There are many good things working as rank and file while enjoying doing one’s job individually. It is a humbling, satisfying and productive experience, if one can work in harmony with one’s immediate supervisor. Working individually develops one’s skills in goal setting and scheduling. But in general, the financial rewards are less than a person who has supervisory responsibilities.

Managing the work of others has its challenges. Moreover, it develops one’s skill in handling and developing people, and the compensation rewards and benefits are better. Due to additional duties, responsibilities and leadership, supervisory work can be more stressful than working as a subordinate. However, supervisory jobs give one more personal growth and satisfaction, based on my personal experience. My work in FDA as a team leader managing the work of six scientists had been the happiest and rewarding work experience in my career in Chemistry. You might also like: