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Small plates are on the menu along with affordable wines by the bottle and the glass and several beers on tap at Marc 49 Wine Bar in the Temescal. Grab a spot on one of the leather couches in the bar area or go exploring.
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Nearly 75 years ago, Oakland became the fountainhead of faux-Polynesian dining when Victor Jules Bergeron Jr. parlayed his first Trader Vic’s restaurant into an international chain.
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Japanese cuisine became part of my regular diet when I moved to the Bay Area. These days, if you were to go to Durban, South Africa, where I grew up, you can eat sushi and sashimi until it comes out of your ears. But this is a recent trend dating back just six years or so.
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Gourmet organic chocolate heaven has arrived. The jewel-like nuggets tempt from where they’re showcased on single-tier cake stands under glass at Chocolatier Blue in Berkeley.
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I have probably a dozen friends who, when any mention of the Temescal creeps into the conversation, sigh in a satisfied sort of way, and then, a little breathless and distracted.
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Good food at appropriate prices—that’s the bottom line for most people when they go out to eat.
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Camino: A municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy; its patron saint is Lawrence of Rome. Camino: The Spanish word for “way” or “path.” El Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James): The pilgrimage route to a cathedral in northwestern Spain revered as the burial site of the apostle Saint James.
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I half expected to see a bevy of dewy Greek goddesses in floating white tunics dancing barefoot. You’ll know what I mean if you’ve been to the Sunol Water Temple: a gracious structure with soaring pillars and a Delphi vibe. And indeed, if “oracle” equates with wisdom, it’s had its say at Sunol Water Temple Agricultural Park, the water temple’s location.
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Tara Esperanza was making art in New Mexico when she was given an ice cream maker. She started experimenting in her kitchen. Friends were blown away. She made more ice cream. Flavors became her palate. Ice cream became her art form
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It seems somehow appropriate that veteran Chez Panisse chef Russell Moore and his partner, Allison Hopelain, chose to open their new restaurant, Camino.
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It took a lot for me not to be eternally blessed. Confused? You won’t be for long if you’re familiar with Café Gratitude’s milkshake titles, each of which is an affirmation of some sort.
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Ever since Tower of Power asked the musical question “What Is Hip?” in 1973, Oakland has been coming up with answers to put a stylish gloss on our fair town.
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For those of us who only bother with breakfast on special occasions, a croissant and coffee often hits the spot around 11 a.m.
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If anyone ever names a thoroughbred racehorse Bellanico, remind me to bet my 401(k) on the noble steed to win the Triple Crown.
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By the time you read this, 33 Revolutions in El Cerrito will most likely be as much of a neighborhood hit as the El Cerrito Speakeasy three doors away.
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In the case of Bellanico on Park Boulevard in Oakland’s Glenview District, it was as if everyone in the neighborhood was waiting for a good place to hang out, eat well and drink good wine.
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In 1979, the English post-punk band Gang of Four released its debut single, “At Home He’s a Tourist.” That’s exactly how I’ve felt when eating at Cocina Poblana.
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Manzanita offers a set menu that changes daily. Weekends at lunch there is a buffet.
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The party started at the new Farmstead Cheeses & Wines in Montclair the moment Jeff Diamond cut the first sliver of gently pungent Humboldt Fog for a customer to try.
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Partners Mark Mitcheltree and Vadim Vozmitsel have steadied their course, and their decision to birth an East Bay sister to their Cafe Maritime in San Francisco seems to be paying off for all concerned.
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I don’t remember what it was that I did for my friend, but with her enthusiastic “thank you” came an invitation to join her for brunch at Citron on College Avenue in Rockridge.
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A comforting sense of place swept over me, however, the first time I stepped inside the chocolate-brown, orange-trimmed, wood-sided Brown Sugar Kitchen.
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Cocina Poblana, the upscale family-owned restaurant that opened in January at Jack London Square, boasts home-cooked meals blending styles from two regions of Mexico.
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The young woman next to me is swooning, as I am, over a tea called Jasmine Pearls.
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In 15 years covering the cocktail business, I have had some amazing libations but never imagined I would really want to sip them with my pasta.
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Dig’s Bistro is my notion of an ideal agreement between cuisine and surroundings.
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With the opening of The Trappist in Old Oakland, things are changing.
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Around since 1890, Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto is a restaurant with a history.
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The aqua exterior suggests there might be something fishy going on inside Maritime East in Berkeley, the site of the former Zax Tavern.
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I find the wines made from this grape to be so elegant and food-friendly that I would gladly drink them at every meal.
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Walking into Flora on a busy night, there’s a tangible feeling that something exciting is happening in downtown Oakland.
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The chef duo at Digs Bistro comes with a joint pedigree that runs a lot longer than the single page of the every-changing menu.
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“Meet me at Oliveto Cafe at 9 and we can have the breakfast pizza,” she says. Pizza for breakfast?
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Set inside the old Cadillac dealership at Harrison and 27th streets, Oakland’s first Whole Foods Market is a stunner.
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I was never much for after-dinner drinks, so I presumed for many years that Port wasn’t for me.
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A few months ago I heard DiBartolo hired a new chef and things had turned around. So I decided to give them another try. I’m glad I did.
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Brother and sister Ahmed and Reem Rahim have a knack for perfect packaging.
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As the weather gets cooler, we’ll start spending more time indoors. For many of us that means more time in one of our favorite places: the local bar.
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After a year and nine months spent dealing with red tape, Ashley Young opened Gelato Firenze in August.
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I admit it. I’m biased. I’ve got a soft spot for husband-and-wife run restaurants.
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Three weeks after opening, the wait was 15 minutes for a table at Flavors of India, the mellow, new eatery with a moderately priced menu on Lakeshore Avenue.
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If you’ve got three of something, so the saying goes, you’ve got a trend.
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By recent counts, more than one in 10 Americans have some Italian blood, and many trace their roots to Campania.
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Organizing your own tasting is a great way to explore wines in greater depth and get to know your palate.
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Since chef Shotaro “Sho” Kamio came aboard in 2006, he has elevated the fare at Yoshi’s to cement its status as Oakland’s top Japanese restaurant.
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Gregorio Pelayo paid his burrito and fajitas dues before opening El Agavero Mexican Cuisine and Bar in Montclair Village.
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Adding water to wine may sound like a practice designed to increase production and cheat the consumer.
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Expect to find assorted creative offerings involving heirloom tomatoes on the fall menu at Riva Cucina.
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I’ll get right to it: Wood Tavern is the most thoroughly delicious, enjoyable restaurant to open in Oakland this year.
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Guy Birenbaum makes the melt-in-the-mouth pastry for his brioches and chicken pies from four ingredients.
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Chef/Owner Louis Kao offers his creative take on Asian fusion with a menu of noodle dishes from various Asian cultures.
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The lunch “hour” has become an anachronism. Those leisurely 60-minute lunches went out the window with employer-funded pensions and affordable health care.
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Korean food’s day is coming. It doesn’t have the brand-name recognition that Chinese, Japanese or even Thai cuisines do, but I think it’s only a matter of time until the hearty, spicy and fresh flavors of Korea go mainstream and win a wider following.
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It’s not quite Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but when a longtime chocolatier named Charles (better known as Chuck) has a 4000-square-foot chocolate factory and opens a retail store and cafe with a view into the candy kitchen, it’s difficult not to think of Willie Wonka.
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Riesling has long been a favorite of sommeliers, who tout its versatility with food. Now there are signs that consumers, at long last, are beginning to recognize the grape’s charms.
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Sideways jabs aside, Merlot remains an enormously popular wine.
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Grasshopper leapt from the limelight—only to be replaced by an equally popular new venue.
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It's unusual for a restaurant to pick up and leave the city and relocate in the East Bay. But that’s what Somerset did.
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Beckett’s Irish Pub and Restaurant on Shattuck Avenuehas a new neighbor—and the contrast couldn’t be more striking.
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The couple got much of their winemaking training by working for Eric Texier, a vintner in France’s Rhône Valley who works with grape growers committed to low yields and natural farming methods.
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Lively, friendly and dependably delicious, Dopo may be Oakland’s perfect neighborhood restaurant.
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Fiki’s Pudding, an artisan, organic bakery in Oakland’s Laurel district, has added new and tasty flavors of health and deliciousness to the 73-year-old Food Mill health market/natural food store’s menu.
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Many people think that decanting is something done just for old wines, which can have a lot of sediment. The sommelier carefully pours an old wine into a decanter, usually with a candle or other light source illuminating the neck of the bottle.
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I don’t know exactly when it happened, but the quantity and quality of the food on Oakland’s Piedmont Avenue has been giving Berkeley’s better-known Gourmet Ghetto neighborhood stiff competition for some time now.
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When I think of a wine that celebrates romance, I think of a sparkling one.
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Just when we thought Piedmont Avenue had all the food bases covered, two new venues open.
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Vietnamese on Piedmont and a New Star at Yoshi's
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Supper soul food at Oakland's Southern Cafe.
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A dining review of Oakland's Mexican restaurant Tamarindo.
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Best of Food and Drink in Oakland
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Look to Southern Italy and Spain for new and exciting wines.
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Casual yet urbane, not perfect but often delicious, B is one of Oakland's bright lights.
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Jojo is a jewel of a restaurant on Piedmont Avenue.
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Finding the right wine to pair with barbecue can be tricky. Berkeley's T-Rex Barbecue specializes in doing just that.
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