Mildred Howard

Lives: Berkeley, since 1948

Regular order: Granola

I first discovered Tanya when I would watch her cooking show, Melting Pot “Soul Kitchen,” on the Food Network. I would think to myself, “She knows how to cook.” That’s what impressed me initially. And then I went to a party that she catered. The party was over and I looked in the kitchen and there she was. The next thing I know, she’s here in sweet West Oakland. I think it’s so fabulous for her to come into this community and make Southern cooking in a relatively healthy way. That’s what I like about it. She uses really good ingredients. I like her presence too. Whenever you see the owner of a restaurant cooking you know things are right.