Dine About Oakland: Grand Tavern

I’ve been really curious about Grand Tavern ever since they opened earlier this year, but somehow we just never seem to end up out and about in Grand Lake at an appropriate tavern time. (Also, for a while D. was resisting because their website plays music—a pet peeve of his—so that took a little coaxing!) A couple weeks ago, though, we were over at Grand Lake Ace for some errands, and it was cold, mucky, and drizzling out. As we passed Grand Tavern on the way home, it looked oh-so-appealing decked out in Christmas lights, and I suddenly remembered they had a fireplace, too. A few minutes later, we were headed in the door.

Grand Tavern moved into the Arts and Crafts house on Upper Grand that was home to Señor Nero’s until it closed last year. During the day, you can get a drink with light food; in the evening hours, they serve a full dinner. They still seem to be figuring out their place, caught between being a pub and being a restaurant. It was actually a perfect fit for what we wanted, though—drinks by the fire with a little snack. We ended up staying for a couple of hours, which meant an opportunity to really give the cocktail menu a workout. On the side, we tried some “small social bites” (or so says the menu). The vegetarian chili was okay, but not too exciting—in the category of “things I can make just as well at home” (and for considerably less!) The fries, on the other hand, were fabulous. “Fries” is something of a misnomer, since the “social skin fries” are actually more like potato chips—warm, crispy rounds of potato with a softer bit on the inside. We’ll definitely get them again, and might give the dinner menu a spin too. When we were there it had a burger in addition to several fancier main dishes; seems like the kind of menu that you can swing towards the casual or the upscale (which is to say, my favorite kind of menu, a la Wood Tavern and Sidebar!)

The list of wines, beers, spirits, and cocktails is extensive, with a distinctively “speakeasy” vibe. (Four different absinthes…!) The cocktails are old school classics reminiscent of the Prohibition era. I tried the Ward 8 and the Old Fashioned, which were both well made; D. was surprised to find that neither was too sweet for him, since generally if the cocktail description includes grenadine or gum syrup, it doesn’t bode well on that front. He stuck with the beer list, though, which features a lot of Belgian ales (including a few I’m not used to seeing anywhere but the Trappist and occasionally Luka’s) plus a good mix of local brews to round it out.

The early evening crowd was mixed on a Saturday night; people trickled in and out, but generally I don’t think this place has been discovered yet (which may be a good thing—a lot of its charm was the quiet by-the-fire environment). We didn’t stay into the dinner hour, so I’m not sure what it’s like then or as you get into going-out time (but generally I’ve found that Grand Lake shuts down a little earlier than some other parts of town, perhaps because it leans to the family side of things).

At any rate, this place was a nice discovery, and one we’ll be back to. While we savored the warm fire during the wintry rain, they also have a back patio that looks like it would be a great spot in the summer. If you bike, skate, or walk to the Tavern, you also get a $2 discount on your second drink, which is good news for us since it’s (sort of!) in the neighborhood.

Grade: A−
Cost: $$-$$$

Dine About Oakland: Oasis Food Market

Tucked in amidst the medical buildings on Pill Hill in the KoreaTown-Northgate District, Oasis Food Market opened earlier this fall as a combination restaurant/grocery store. I’d had my eye on it for months since I frequently catch the 1R bus across the street and had been admiring the beautiful tilework they were restoring on their building—but little did I know what was in store for me once they finally opened!

Oasis is divided into two halves: restaurant on one side, grocery on the other. It’s worth noting that the grocery is remarkably complete—they carry a nice selection of produce, all sorts of Middle Eastern and British specialties (canned, boxed, prepared, and frozen), and organic coffee beans. There’s even a halal meat counter hidden way in the back. This is important since they’re open until 10 pm, providing a nice late-night alternative to Whole Foods and the 24-hour Safeway. There’s also an impressive selection of Middle Eastern spices.

But what you really want to head to Oasis for is the Middle Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant that occupies the other half of the (huge!) storefront. First, there’s the deli counter, lined above and below with fresh Middle Eastern breads. You can get all sorts of spreads, salads, and other goodness here (including, of course, hummus and baba ghanoush—very reasonably priced!) The last time we visited, they had started to label the dishes, which is good since one of the major challenges is figuring out what each dish is. But all of them are tasty, and there’s a huge selection of fetas and other cheeses to go alongside. The house-made pita bread is excellent, as are the stuffed breads. The Afghan bread also looks like it has a lot of potential, though I have yet to try it.

Then there are the sandwiches. From the street, you can see the lamb and chicken shawarma roasting on spits, and both are good, though I thought the lamb was a notch above. We’ve tried them both as wraps (my pick) and as a plate with rice and salad. The falafel offers a good option for vegetarians (or for anybody who appreciates a good falafel sandwich!) The lines can sometimes be long—the neighborhood has definitely discovered this spot!—but it’s well worth the wait. There are still a few holes to fill—the coffee bar (or what looks like it will be the coffee bar?) isn’t quite set up yet, and the staff are still getting into the swing of things as they get through opening kinks like what to do when the restaurant’s credit card machine goes down and takes the grocery store’s computer system with it. But all of that will sort itself out in time, and the staff are good-natured and patient. (They’re also very willing to help; on one visit, the owner wanted to know what else he could stock for someone, even with the impressive array they already have!)  It’s a great addition to the neighborhood, and will definitely have us heading over to that stretch of Telegraph a lot more often.

Grade: A−
Cost: $

Dine About Oakland: Bocanova

This is a long overdue review, since it’s been close to six weeks since we had a terrific dinner at Bocanova, one of the newest spots in Jack London Square. But I finally have a little time to write today, so here’s a quick rundown.

Bocanova had been on our list to try ever since the Eat Real Festival, when I poked my head into their almost-open space and was excited to see what they’d have to offer. D. also liked the idea that it had a tapas-ish menu with a lot of Spanish/Latin inspiration. We finally made it there in mid-October when we headed to Jack London Square for dinner and a movie—the perfect combination.

I knew it was promising when D. took a look at the menu and announced that he wanted “pretty much everything.” After a little debate, we settled on an avocado, endive, and heart of palm salad; fried yuca; smashed roasted beets;  and the day’s special, mahi mahi crusted in roasted plaintains. (I was also supposed to order the fried padrone peppers, but forgot; they’re on the list for our next visit.) For the most part, we enjoyed everything we tried; the salad was the one weak point since it was mostly endive (normally that wouldn’t be something to complain about, but we wanted a bit more balance!) The yuca, which had been a spur-of-the-moment order because it’s one of my favorite foods, was terrific, as was the fish special. I liked the beets, though they were less up D.’s alley; in retrospect we would have swapped them out for something a little less starchy, though. We rounded out the meal with a Bocanova Manhattan, which was excellent (and even prompted the people at the next table to lean over and ask, “What is that? It looks amazing!”), and a Drake’s IPA for D.

While we didn’t get to sample a huge chunk of the menu (which has a sea of small dishes to choose from), the ones we did try got points for being creative (in the case of the fish and the salad) and just plain old well-prepared (in the case of the yuca, which was prepared in a pretty traditional style, but was fried to perfection—soft and moist inside, crispy outside, with just the right amount of sauce). I was sorry to see that the mahi mahi wasn’t on the regular menu, so we may not have another chance to try it—ah, well, more room to taste something else!

For dessert, we tried another daily special: tiny doughnuts with pumpkin cream filling. These were excellent—D. rated them as “not quite as good as Marzano’s” (our gold standard, although sadly you can no longer get these now that they’ve stopped serving brunch!) and better than everywhere else we’ve tried them (which is quite a lot of places, since we’ve been on a doughnut kick lately; we still need to make it to Flora for brunch to round out the Oakland variations). The dessert menu had several other items that are on my list for next time, too, including a flan and a banana cake that sound tasty.

Overall, we had a wonderful first experience with Bocanova—I’m excited to add this to the growing list of Jack London Square destinations! We’ll definitely be back for more.

Grade: A
Cost: $$-$$$

What to do with all the persimmons

Last year about this time, I was desperately trying to pawn off persimmons on anyone who looked like they might have the slightest interest in them. You see, we have two persimmon trees, and every fall they have bumper crops of Hachiya and Fuyu persimmons that ripen and (if we don’t pick them first) fall to the ground with the leaves in the space of about two weeks. It’s a race to try to get enough of the off the trees that the raccoons don’t go to town—last year they got three big branches off the Hachiya tree, leaving it pretty raggedy looking. (This year after the last leaves fall, it’s getting hacked way, way back by a professional so that it’s a little more under control next year.)

This year, though, when the trees started getting the telltale orange tinge, I was prepared. The first bags went to the neighbors. We piled them into the kitchen to get ready for cooking and canning. I dumped a bunch of Fuyus into the California cooler, where they should hopefully last for a month or two. Forage Oakland came out and took a bunch off of our hands. We took some to a birthday party and gave them out to trick-or-treaters (I know, I know, the little girl across the street probably hates me now!) And amazingly, the persimmon season was beautifully under control this year.

I also collected persimmon recipes all year long and had the luxury of grabbing a stack off the refrigerator to see what I should make. Without further ado, here are two of our favorite ways to eat persimmons—and I’ll follow up soon with a few more I’ve collected that sound good, though I haven’t had a chance to try them yet. These recipes are both from Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors cookbook, which is excellent and well worth owning.

Persimmon Tea Cake
This is my very favorite persimmon recipe. I made it the first month we lived in our house with our very first persimmon crop, and have made it several times a year since then. It’s fabulous and flexible—you can mix up the spices and add-ins in pretty much any combination and end up with a tasty cake. I serve this with fresh cream whipped with creme fraiche; it would also be great with powdered sugar or a light cream cheese frosting.

2 large Hachiyas (very ripe!) to make 1 cup of puree
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2  tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
1 egg at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. walnuts, chopped
grated zest of 1 lemon or 1/3 c. candied citrus peel
1/2 c. raisins (optional)
1/2 c. chopped dates (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch springform pan.
2. Open the persimmons, seed, and scrape pulp into measuring cup. Puree (an immersion blender works well for this if you have one). Mix in baking soda and set aside. Combine the flour, salt, and spices in a bowl.
3. Cream the butter and sugar till smooth and then beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla and persimmon puree. Add the flour mixture and then fold in the nuts, fruit, and citrus zest.
4. Scrape the batter into the pan and place in the middle of the oven. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes (or until the cake tests clean). Let cool for 10 minutes before removing rim.

Steamed Persimmon Pudding
I love this one too, but D. is not a steamed pudding fan so we make do with just one of these a year. We don’t have a pudding mold so I just make it in a Pyrex bowl, which seems to work fine. The recipe has accompanying whipped cream and silky persimmon puree recipes, but we rarely make those so you’ll have to hunt the cookbook down for them. I serve this with either hard sauce or brandied whipped cream, depending on how much energy I have.

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
2-3 Hachiyas, enough for 1 cup puree
1 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Find a pan that works for a pudding. You will need one 6-to-8-cup bowl or tin for the pudding itself, a second to place upside down underneath it to elevate it, and a third to set the whole shebang in that you can fill up with water. (You want the pudding to essentially cook in a hot water bath.)
2. Melt the butter. Generously brush some of it over the pudding dish and set aside the rest.  Put the buttered mold on the inverted bowl.  Bring a kettle of water to a boil.
3. Put the puree in a bowl with the remaining melted butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, milk, and salt.  Whisk until well combined.  Stir the dry ingredients together, then whisk them into the wet ingredients.
4. Pour the batter into the mold.  Add the boiling water in the water bath pan to come 2/3 of the way up the sides, then cover the pan and cook gently for 1-1/2 hours.  When the pudding is done, a cake tester inserted will come out clean.  Remove it from the pan, then invert it onto a serving plate.  If you’re not ready to serve, leave the mold resting on the pudding so that it will retain its heat.
5. Serve with whipped cream or whatever other accompaniment you’d like.

Dine About Oakland: Shan Dong

I ♥ Shan Dong. That’s really the long and the short of it. The last few months have been extraordinarily busy on all fronts, and last weekend, I just did not want to cook (or clean, or paint, or weed, or do any of the other things I was supposed to be doing around the house). So when seven o’clock rolled around and D. started wondering what we could eat for dinner, I tried for a bye. “Umm, takeout?” Now I should note that 99.9 percent of the time when I try this, I get resistance. For the most part, we either cook at home or we eat out, and the money we save by cooking simple meals at home finances the next cocktails we get out. It’s a good little system—but every now and then, there’s a day when I just don’t have the energy to cook, let alone to motivate enough to go out somewhere. This was one of those days.

And this time, magically, it worked! We’re fortunate to have lots of great options nearby for takeout. But Saturday, I didn’t just want takeout—I wanted delivery. I wanted to be incredibly lame and lazy and curl up on the couch, watch a movie, and have someone bring me dinner. This limited our options considerably; there are only a handful of decent restaurants that deliver to our house (plethora of flyers that get left on the porch notwithstanding). There’s pizza: Lanesplitter, Rustica, or Pizza Pazza. There’s Indian from Raj on Piedmont. There’s Japanese from Sushiya on Broadway.

And then there’s Shan Dong. Shan Dong is a little restaurant in the heart of Oakland Chinatown that’s well worth a visit in person—over the years I’ve steered lots of friends in that direction and no one’s ever come back disappointed. But they also have a great delivery gig running if you’re lucky enough to live within a mile and a half of Chinatown (and we squeak in just under the wire with a tenth of a mile to spare!)

Officially, Shan Dong serves Northern Chinese (or Shandong) cuisine. In my mind, this is code for noodles and dumplings, since in northern China, wheat is the staple crop, rather than rice. The flavors and mix of vegetables are a bit different than in other Chinese cuisines more common in the United States, and there’s a much bigger fish presence on the menu. But the absolute best parts of Northern Chinese cuisine are the fried, steamed, and boiled breads in all their forms.

First: you want the handmade noodles. Just factor the dollar surcharge into the cost of the noodle dishes. You WANT them. I almost always get sesame noodles, but really any noodle dish on the menu turns into wonderful goodness when you add the handmade noodles. Shan Dong is also known for their dumplings. These are a bit better when you eat at the restaurant—steamed food in general doesn’t travel super well—but we always get the vegetarian dumplings anyway, because yum! (I also have friends who rave about the house special pork dumplings, though I have yet to try them.) I also often get mu shu vegetables because I have a mu shu obsession, and their version is especially tasty. (Mu shu is rumored to have originated in the Shandong region, and I think the pancakes Shan Dong serves put others to shame.) And they never forget the special sauces for each dish, always carefully packaged.

Since all that plus some stir-fried green beans or Chinese broccoli usually fills us up and then some, that’s generally my delivery order of choice. But when I’ve eaten with larger groups at the restaurant, I’ve also had sizzling rice soup, pot stickers, onion pancake (mmm…but no good for delivery, as I discovered once), fish in various forms, and assorted chicken dishes.

They’re not perfect. When we put our order in this time, we got an estimated wait time of 40 minutes, but the food didn’t actually show up for well over an hour. How easy it is to place an order depends very much on who answers the phone (and on how well you speak Mandarin!) But for a grand total of $40 including tax and tip, we got enough deliciousness for two big dinners with enough left over for four work lunches; you really can’t beat that. They also get points for our last order, when the woman asked me what kind of Chinese broccoli I wanted. I was at a loss, since usually I just order Chinese broccoli and something tasty shows up. “Umm, steamed?” I asked, guessing. “No, no, no, stir-fried,” she corrected. “Much better.” Okay. Stir-fried it was! (When I recounted the story to D. afterwards, he cringed. Apparently everyone knows that Chinese broccoli is supposed to be stir-fried…)

Shan Dong is also open for Chinese breakfast on the weekends, and one of these days I’ll make it there for that, because if the steamed buns and fry bread are as good as the dumplings and noodles, it’s going to be a treat. Until then, though, they remain my go-to rainy-day don’t-wanna-cook partner-in-crime.

Grade: A
Cost: $-$$

Coming soon to an avenue near you! (Okay, or at least to one near me…)

…otherwise known as the fall restaurant update! It’s been a rough year for a lot of small local businesses and restaurants, so I was excited to see a bunch of new spots show up on the horizon this summer and fall to fill the empty spaces. It’s been a while since I last did a restaurant rundown, so here’s the latest and greatest.

On Piedmont Avenue:

• The widely-anticipated Commis opened at the end of June to much fanfare. We finally checked them out earlier this month, and were duly impressed.
• A new La Farine branch is coming soon now open! where Piedmont Lighting used to be. (I know, I’ve mentioned this several times already—but I’m so, SO excited to finally have good baguettes within walking distance!) The cases are in and the signs are up, so they should be open any day now.
• Caffe Trieste is actually open! They’ve been in limbo for so long over the cabaret permit (longer than we’ve been in the house!) that I hadn’t even bothered including them in my “coming soon” list. But they’re here!!
• Lush Gelato opened earlier this summer where Tango Gelato used to be.
• Tutti Frutti, a tart frozen yogurt chain, is now open in that stretch of Piedmont, too.

On Grand and Lakeshore Avenues (Adams Point/Grand Lake):

• The new Pizzaiolo spot where DiBartolo used to be on Grand is still “coming soon.” opening in early December! It will be called Boot and Shoe Service (though the website isn’t live yet).
• Taste of Joy Southern Bistro has moved over to Upper Grand from Lakeshore, and is now in La Taza de Cafe’s former location.
• …which, of course, means that La Taza de Cafe has closed, as has their brand-new tapas bar. Go figure.

In Uptown/Lake Merritt (Grand, Broadway, Telegraph, and San Pablo Avenues):

• The Lake Chalet opened with much fanfare last month. Mmm—local brews on a deck overlooking Lake Merritt, walking distance from our house! We went for the first time last week, and were impressed—while the food isn’t out of this world, it’s solid, and the location is top-notch. (You have to wait long enough for a table as it is, so I almost think it’s a blessing in disguise that the food isn’t A+ quality…)
• Farley’s East opened earlier this summer on Grand near Broadway, hopping on the Uptown bandwagon. We checked it out a few weeks back; my latte was great, while D.’s gibraltar was a bit on the milky side. Haven’t tried the drip yet, though. They hope to extend their evening hours in the future, so if that happens we’ll be able to hit them a bit more often.
• Down the street, there’s now an Oakland Specialty’s location at Grand and Harrison for lunchtime sandwiches and cookies.
• Mimosa Champagne Lounge is now serving dinner, desserts, and cocktails (and, of course, champagne!)
• Still under construction: the second Bakesale Betty location, which now has an ETA of February March 2010. (I really am going to stop asking, I swear!) I’m almost afraid to ask these days, since every time I do it gets pushed back another few months…
• In the space of a month, Café Noir on Auto Row got its liquor license, opened for dinner, and then abruptly closed “for renovations.” Umm. I really want to love these guys—they have tasty pizza and beer and great coffee, and they’re just down the street!—but they desperately need to get their act together. Let’s hope they’re really just closed for renovations (but really…what could they possibly be renovating?!?) and not for good, since the place was just oozing with potential….
• Hibiscus, a nouveau Caribbean spot, is going in where Sweet Jimmie’s used to be on San Pablo between 17th and 18th, and sounds like it’s going to be excellent! (Their website doesn’t have much up yet, but their Facebook page has a running list of information on potential dishes and renovations.)
• And another Pizzaiolo spin-off is going into Uptown, too. Still all papered up, but the liquor license notice went up in October—promising!

On Telegraph Avenue (Pill Hill/Mosswood/Temescal):

• Subrosa Coffee is now open on 40th at Webster next to Manifesto Bicycles. Haven’t been yet, but I’m hearing good things—yay! Hours are 6:30 to 7 on weekdays, 7 to 7 on weekends.
• Remedy Coffee is coming soon on Telegraph at 43rd, but is already selling out of a cart in front of their new storefront. They’ll be brewing Ritual beans.
• Oasis Food Market, technically a small Middle Eastern grocery store, is getting some buzz for great prepared food as well. They’re across the street from Alta Bates  Summit on Telegraph at 30th. Hours are 6 am to 11 pm on weekdays and 8 am to 11 pm on weekends. We tried them for the first time this week—yum! And they have a small but complete and good-looking section of fresh fruits and vegetables, too, which means they’re a great late-night grocery option since the other local groceries all close by 8 pm. More on the food later….

So that’s the story for now….as usual this list just includes places I can walk to, so it doesn’t take into account the many (many!) new spots coming soon in other parts of the city, including Jack London Square, which is hopping these days. (I’ve spent more time there in the past two months than in the rest of the years I’ve lived here combined….and when Blue Bottle finally opens, it will be hard to tear myself away!)

Dine About Oakland: Commis

Okay, I continue to be incredibly behind in posting (which is mostly due to being incredibly swamped at work, and incredibly overwhelmed by the list of “house things we absolutely MUST do before it starts raining again,” so what can y’do….)—but here’s a quick taste of Commis, one of the newest additions to Piedmont Avenue and the Oakland restaurant scene.

We’ve been wanting to try Commis (pronounced “commie,” from the French for apprentice chef) since we first started reading about it months ago, and finally had a special occasion dinner a few weeks ago that warranted heading out to the somewhat-pricey spot. Commis, opened this summer by Oakland-raised chef James Syhabout, has a prix fixe concept: dinner is $59 for three courses, and that’s all there is. You can choose a wine pairing for another $29, or can fly solo with just a glass of wine or beer for a more modest amount. But it’s not the kind of spot where you can drop in for an appetizer or dessert, and you need to plan ahead, because the tiny place books up pretty quickly. (It’s in the spot that used to be JoJo on Piedmont near BayWolf; JoJo was tiny and a bit cramped, and Commis continues to be space-challenged….you have to look first before opening the door, that sort of thing.)

The night we tried it, we had a choice of four appetizers, three entrées, and two desserts. It’s worth noting that, out-of-the-box, this is not a great spot for vegetarians; none of the entrée choices were veggie the night we visited, and only one appetizer was. (Notably, when I made the reservation, the hostess did ask if we had any special dietary needs that should be accommodated, so I imagine you might be able to request a special vegetarian dish.) Everything sounded incredible, and we had the good fortune of sitting at the bar where the food was being assembled in front of us. It was pretty astounding: a team of four ran the show, deftly grabbing containers from the carefully labeled stacks and measuring out just the right ingredients for each dish, which they then prepared individually as people ordered. The stove had half a dozen tiny saucepans in motion at once. One box of herbs—an ingeniously re-purposed hardware bits box with separate compartments for each herb or garnish—appeared on the scene as things were plated, and the cooks carefully and precisely cut seasonings for each dish. The whole process really blew my mind—I only wish we’d watched it for a bit longer before ordering, since we got a sense for each dish as they prepared it.

Here’s what we settled on, though:

• Complimentary shiso soda as a starter—still a bit fuzzy on exactly what this was, but it was interesting and tasty. We had fun watching them prepare these tiny tastes from soda and cream bottles, too.
• Cured Monterey Bay sardines—D. loved these (which is good because he was the one who ordered them!) I thought they were good but would not have wanted a full plate of them.
• Soft farm egg with potato, alliums, and pork jowl—An incredible appetizer that is, true to its name, VERY soft—not a good choice if you’re uncomfortable with soft eggs, but extremely good if you are. I am, D. isn’t, so it worked out perfectly.
• Lamb with lentils (I think?) The details on both this dish and the cod elude me—this is why I should write these up in a more timely fashion!—but both were excellent. We also watched a duck dish get prepared, and regretted that we couldn’t have tried that too—next time we’ll have to draft a third person to join us!
• Ling cod with corn curd and summer squash. The sides that accompanied the fish were very, very good, and the fish itself was tender with a crisp edge.

In a rare departure from our usual sharing mode, we ordered identical desserts: a black mission fig tart with beeswax-scented ice cream (bizarre, I know—but so yummy!) (The other option, a melon soup, was less up our alley.) The crust was melt-in-your-mouth good, and the ice cream, in spite of sounding like an odd concept, was wonderful. The only challenge was that we were a bit too full to really savor dessert—normally we split an appetizer and a dessert if we’re each getting an entree—but that’s a danger of a prix fixe menu, I guess.

In all, this was an outstanding meal—expensive, yes, but not overpriced, which is an important distinction. Everything was perfectly prepared—meats were tender, nothing over or under cooked. The only thing we’d do differently in the future is to forgo the wine tastings and simply have a glass of wine (or a cocktail?) instead. The wines were fine, but nothing that blew us away, and I found myself rushing to finish various pours—or worse, running out mid-course—which wouldn’t have been a problem had I been ordering by the glass. (I’d also pace myself on the dinner rolls, which were very good, but a danger because a new one would appear as soon as you finished one….) Since we’re light eaters, we also might space our courses out a bit more—either by lingering on the last or by asking them to slow the delivery, since they pretty much timed them to a tee as we finished each dish. And at $200+ for the two of us, it’s definitely a special occasion spot—but with the tiny dining room, that’s perfect.

Edit: So, not two hours after I posted this, I sat down with the Sunday Chron, which featured Michael Bauer’s review of Commis. I thought this was particularly interesting, both because two of his issues—too little food and too little description of said food upon serving—were so counter to our experience (our waitress bordered on too much to say about various dishes!) and because his review harped on one issue that we did have that I’d completely forgotten about: the flatware and dishes. They’re terrible! Now, maybe this is just because we’re in the midst of shopping for new flatware and dishes so I’m acutely aware of the shortcomings of different styles, but it really, really bugged me. The water glasses are tear-drop shaped and heavy, which means that when they’re filled with water and there’s condensation on the outside, you struggle to keep the glass from slipping through your hand. The flatware is fine in and of itself, but the style of the plates combined with the shape of the flatware prevents you from setting your fork or knife down while you’re eating—it immediately slides into the center of your plate. I had to fish mine out and wipe it off several times over the course of the meal. (D. clued into this early on and just held his fork and knife through the entire meal, but that seems a little silly!) So, yeah. There is one area that could be improved—and quite easily, too.

Update (12/9/09): Friends went recently and say the flatware issues are all good now (so either they’ve been changed or I’m just too picky!)

Grade: A
Cost: $$$-$$$$

Dine About Oakland: Street food and the Eat Real Festival

Okay, this is long overdue (as are reviews of Commis and Burma Superstar, which are coming soon!) Consequently, I’ll keep this post brief in the interest of actually finishing it. But here’s the promised rundown of some of the deliciousness at last month’s Eat Real Festival in Jack London Square, and where to find it now.

I was super excited about this summer’s food festival and consequently hit it not once, but twice—first for the outdoor movies and ice cream gala on Friday night, and again for the farmer’s market, street food, and other events on Sunday morning. (It helps that it was an easy bike ride from our house!) While Saturday and Sunday were technically the main event—that’s when all of the food vendors opened up for business—I think I actually enjoyed the low-key Friday night activities even more. (If a few food vendors had been open so that dinner and a movie was an option, it would have been perfect—maybe this is an idea for JLS’s summer movie nights?) Both days were beautiful and unusually warm for the Bay Area (which is to say, perfect for outdoor events). And you can’t beat sitting on the Jack London lawn watching movies about city chickens with the boats and estuary as a backdrop.

On Sunday, we headed over with some friends and collectively tried out a number of the food vendors. (We also bought Beer Shed passes and tasted a bunch of microbrews, but I don’t think I could rattle off the list at this point—a fun way to test some new brews out, although much of what was on tap I’d had before.) Some food favorites included:

Ritual Coffee Roasters: Ritual’s coffee is always a treat, though D. decided to be adventurous and try a drip coffee from a bean we’d really disliked when we bought it whole and brewed it at home. The good news (I guess?) is that the problem is not that we’re crappy coffee makers. Ah, well. My latte was excellent, though! (In sort-of related news, you can now get Ritual coffee from a cart in the East Bay, too—Remedy, a soon-to-open coffee shop in Temescal along Telegraph, is now selling coffee and espresso drinks in front of their future store at 4316 Telegraph. D. gives them a thumbs-up, though I haven’t stopped to try anything yet.) We were a little sad that Blue Bottle didn’t have a stand, since we were coming off of a tour of their (impressive-looking!) new space in Jack London Square, another of the festival events. The owner noted that the space, which is primarily dedicated to roasting and training, will have a relatively low-key cafe area, as they don’t expect huge crowds like the ones they get in the city. I think he’s seriously underestimating how much Oaklanders like good coffee!

Liba Falafel Truck: This falafel deliciousness was a bit tiny for the price—it was accurately deemed a “bite”—but it definitely left me wanting more. Apparently Eat Real was one of Liba’s first events, so they’re pretty new to the food truck scene. You can find them in Potrero Hill in the city on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays or in Emeryville on Park Avenue near Pixar on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Jon’s Street Eats: This was my top pick (and maybe D.’s too?) We tried the pulled mozzarella, and I left regretting that I didn’t have room for a B.L.A.T. (Bacon Lettuce Avocado Tomato) or homemade ice cream. Luckily, these guys set up shop near my ‘hood on Saturday nights! You can find them at the end of Piedmont Avenue near Adesso on Saturday evenings or in Emeryville Tuesday through Friday near either Stanford and Hollis or Kitty’s.

Shuga Hill Catering: Okay, we actually didn’t try this truck for the very important reason that they are now serving regularly a block away from our house! Sometime this summer, Shuga Hill began setting up their soul food truck in front of Grocery Outlet at 29th and Broadway, joining resident taco truck Taqueria Barajitos. They seem to leave sometime between 6 and 7 pm, so I haven’t managed to get home and organized in time to try it out yet, but friends who had their food at Eat Real report that it’s tasty and worth the visit.

Sweetface Bakery: These guys had very tasty cupcakes. My pick, lemon with coconut buttercream, was super light and fluffy and just about the perfect way to end an afternoon. (Well, okay, another perfect way might have been the crème brûlée man, but he ran out of crème brûlée around 11:30—handing the last one to the person in front of D. in line!) Eat Real was also the Sweetface Bakery’s mobile debut—they seem to be all over the place, but have been hitting downtown Oakland among other destinations, so keep your eyes peeled.

No grades for any of these guys, since the festival’s not the best place to judge either prices (everyone was asked to cap prices at $5, which led to some creative finagling at some trucks, and some outstanding deals at others) or overall food, since many trucks had chosen just one or two dishes to serve. But I was excited to see the East Bay well represented, since up until Eat Real I thought the nouveau food truck phenomenon was primarily based in San Francisco. Yay!

All in all, lots of fun, and we barely scratched the surface—there were also a number of presentations, live music, more movies, and activities for kids that we didn’t stick around for. Not sure how “officially” successful the event was as far as breaking even and drawing the requisite crowds, but I do hope it happens again. I could definitely envision a dialed down version drawing people to JLS regularly—I was impressed by how much the farmer’s market has grown in recent years, since for a while there it was pretty dinky. As an added bonus, it’s cheaper than both the Temescal and Grand Lake markets, and has been moved to the pedestrian boardwalk along the water. We also got a glimpse into the not-yet-complete Harvest Hall (now being called Jack London Market), which was hosting the special Eat Real market vendors. It’s a pretty incredible space, and I do hope that vision is realized someday—we’d definitely head down there regularly with good food, coffee, and a produce market.

Dine About Oakland: Ice cream!

Man-oh-man was it hot this past weekend! Since it doesn’t get up into the 90s too often, it seemed like a good time for a shout out to East Bay ice cream. (Also, I had fun tasting a bunch of this in lieu of dinner on Friday night at the Eat Real Festival’s ice cream happy hour, so it’s all fresh in my mind.)

Ice Cream
First up: Oakland’s own Fenton’s Creamery (of course!) Fenton’s, which first opened in 1894 at 41st and Howe, is old school ice cream—the kind you remember from your childhood (and your grandma’s childhood, and maybe even her grandma’s childhood….) The place reminds me of the New England Friendly’s restaurants back before they sold out and “upgraded” their menu, except with a crab melt instead of a clam roll—but then again, it is California! The ice cream is basic but solid—don’t go in expecting schmancy flavors or exotic ingredients, although the seasonal varieties do sometimes surprise. If you have (or go with) kids, the atmosphere and wide array of sundae confections is bound to be appealing. (If you don’t, be forewarned that the crowds of small people can be a little overwhelming.) The Fenton’s line can also be upwards of half an hour long, so be prepared to wait. In spite of the recession, the store has plans to expand across the street, which may help a bit—and it recently got a big boost from a cameo appearance in Pixar’s animated film Up.

Fenton's, Pixar-style

Then there’s Loard’s, another Oakland institution. The original Loard’s opened in Oakland in 1950, and today they’re all over Northern California. (The two Oakland locations are both on MacArthur in the Dimond and Millsmont, respectively—I think the Dimond store is the original.) You can also buy their ice cream at a number of local grocery stores, including Farmer Joe’s, where they manufacture the store-branded ice cream too. (There’s also a store in Orinda’s little downtown, which is a fun destination if you go cycling up in the Oakland hills.)

Last but not least on the old school front is Dreyer’s, where they were scooping ice cream in Grand Lake long before you could buy Dreyer’s (or Edy’s if you’re on the other side of the Rockies) in every grocery store in the nation. Fun trivia: Back east, Dreyer’s is known as Edy’s ice cream. This is not, in fact, because one company bought the other, as I assumed when I first moved to California and discovered that Edy’s had a doppelganger. When the company went national, they split the name in tribute to William Dreyer and Joseph Edy, the two founders, to avoid being confused with Breyers ice cream, which at the time was only available on the East Coast. The “Grand” in the name (the ice cream is known as Edy’s Grand or Dreyer’s Grand depending on where you live) is a tribute to Oakland’s own Grand Avenue, where the original shop was located. (Today they’re located on College Avenue, where they have a newly renovated scoop shop in front of their headquarters.) Among the Dreyer’s claims to fame is their invention of rocky road ice cream in 1929. (The claim is challenged, though: Fenton’s says it was actually their founder and friend of William Dreyer’s, George Farren, who invented rocky road, except that he used walnuts instead of almonds. Either way, it has Oakland roots!)

Gelato & Sorbet
New to Piedmont Avenue is Lush Gelato. It’s where Tango Gelato used to be, but is much, much better if our initial visit is representative. In spite of the gelato name, Lush actually serves Argentine helado, which is a variation on the same theme (and which, it turns out, I like much better than traditional gelato). The owners used to sell through the farmer’s market circuit, but lucky for us, they opened up shop on Piedmont earlier this summer. Yay!

For more traditional gelato, you can stop at Whole Foods on Harrison for Gelateria Naia—Naia is one of several independent businesses hiding inside the massive Whole Foods complex—or head over to Grand Lake for Gelato Firenze. Both serve tasty frozen goodness. Also in Grand Lake is newcomer Rainbow Italian Ice. We haven’t been to the shop yet so I’m withholding judgment till then, though the samples we had at a festival weren’t especially promising. (This is a good time to point out that I grew up in New Haven, Connecticut where Italian ice is an art form second only to pizza, so I’m probably pickier on that front than the average Californian—but the flavors we tried were all a little too artificially-flavored, even for Italian ice. We’ll give it another spin at the shop, though, since the reviews suggest they may have sorted this problem out.)

Then there are the Old Oakland, Montclair, Jack London,  and Temescal Farmers Markets, where Scream Sorbet is a regular. They’re fabulous if a bit pricey—but you really can’t beat the smooth consistency and fruity goodness. (You can also check them out at a number of other Bay Area farmers markets.) The only tricky part for us is that we’re usually in coffee-and-pastry mode on Sunday mornings; I was psyched to see them at the Best of the East Bay party at the Oakland Museum last month, when the timing was perfect for a sorbet treat.

A little further afield is Nieves Cinco de Mayo, a great little shop in the Fruitvale Public Market at Fruitvale BART. They make Mexican-style ice cream, which seems to be somewhere in between gelato and traditional ice cream. Flavors are all across the board, from garlic to dragonfruit to corn to cinnamon. They also pop up at festivals throughout the city, which is where I’ve had their ice cream. (We’ve had the real deal on the list to visit for a while, but whenever I’m over at Fruitvale BART I get sidetracked by Powderface beignets….)

FroYo
Just a month ago, I was out east visiting friends who insisted that we needed to visit an amazing frozen yogurt shop in their neighborhood. I remember being surprised at how trendy tart frozen yogurt had become there—they had half a dozen shops to choose from. “I guess it hasn’t hit the Bay Area yet,” I sighed, noting that our only frozen yogurt spot, Yogurt De-Lite on Piedmont, was basically a throw-back to the 80’s TCBY-style yogurt craze.

Umm, I guess I just wasn’t paying attention. As soon as we got back from our trip, I started noticing frozen yogurt shops (or “coming soon!” signs) all over town. SoGreen Yogurt opened recently in City Center, and apparently Kiwitiwi has been operating near the Oakland end of the High Street bridge for a while. Looks like we’ll have Tutti Frutti on Piedmont Avenue soon. And there are a sea of new yogurt places near campus in Berkeley. So, yah. Tart frozen yogurt has officially arrived in the East Bay.

And just beyond the city limits…
Also want to give a nod to few other East Bay hot spots. While they’re not in Oakland, they’re pretty close and also worth a visit: Ici (near College and Ashby in Berkeley), Tara’s (near College and Alcatraz, also in Berkeley, though barely!), and Tucker’s (on Park Street in Alameda, just across the estuary from the Fruitvale). Ici goes for gourmet ice cream (and has the lines and prices you’d expect to go along with that), while Tara’s experiments with creative and unusual flavors a bit more. Tucker’s is classic old-school ice cream—”SUPERCREAMED!” as their slogan goes—and has been on Park Street for generations. They’re each wonderful in their own ways.

Food and the city

(Or, perhaps more accurately, “Food and The Town”…)

Urban food is back in a big way in my little city. The Oakland restaurant scene, which has been gathering energy for the past several years in spite of—or perhaps because of?—the bleak economic times, finally seems to be hitting its stride, and is making splashy news with features in Gourmet, Sunset, Fortune, the New York Times, and other national publications. And the urban agriculture trend in town—from city chickens and bees to rooftop gardens to urban foraging—is getting some press time, too. The nice part, of course, is the positive publicity for Oakland. It’s been a pretty rough year for national media attention here amidst several tragedies. I thought we’d been thrown a small bone when the New York Times did a May “36 Hours” feature on Oakland that acknowledged the city’s reputation and bad press, but also called out some of the hidden gems. But that seemed to jump-start a sea of other articles. Everywhere I looked, it seemed, there were articles on Oakland, and especially on Oakland food. But maybe it’s just that I notice those articles more. So I waited to see.

It started out slowly. First, while we were on a visit out East, my dad asked offhandedly if we lived anywhere near “that T neighborhood” that This Old House had recently dubbed one of the best old house neighborhoods in the country. (We pointed out that not only did we live just south of the Temescal, but they had even been to several restaurants there the last time they visited!) Just a few days later, wandering through bookstores in Manhattan, we spotted Novella Carpenter’s new book, Farm City, out front and center in several displays. Novella runs (and blogs about) a tiny urban farm about ten blocks from our house (although it feels like a world away given the freeway in between, so we haven’t actually been to check it out yet—soon!) At a cupcake shop in the East Village, the owner spotted my “I Hella ❤ Oakland” t-shirt and gushed over Oakland coffee, promising to trade me cupcakes for beans if I’d bring some on my next visit. (Granted, she actually asked for Peet’s—which is technically roasted just across the Oakland line in Emeryville, and which I was astounded to discover you can’t get in New York, since you can buy it in Boston!—but I told her I’d send some Blue Bottle instead.)

Then D.’s mother called to tell me she’d seen an article in the New York Times about all the Oaklanders who were jumping headfirst into the city farming movement, raising vegetables and chickens in the backyard. “There are lots of people like you!” she exclaimed. She sounded relieved. (The best part? I’m not even sure which article she was talking about, since the Oakland urban food movement was featured in the Times not once but twice this summer—the first piece focused on the Forage Oakland project, while the second talked about the urban homesteading trend in Oakland, where, in the best line from the article, “backyard menageries and D.I.Y. charcuterie are the new garage band.” I guess you know your neighborhood is officially “in transition” when you have all three, complete with a fleet of single-speed hipster bikes!)

None of this is news to Oaklanders, of course. The urban farming bug bit many people here years ago, especially because our temperate weather means that just about anything grows here. The city’s community gardens continue to have long waiting lists. (There are only eight to serve this city of 420,000—and that includes gardens reserved for OBUGS programs with youth.) And more and more friends have been jumping on the chicken wagon in recent years. (In fact, not long after we moved into our house, our neighbors got together and started planning a cooperative chicken coop for the block, though we have yet to make much progress on it! It’s near the top of the 2010 Resolutions list, though.)

Big Daddy's Complete Rejuvenating Garden, a community garden and art project on the Emeryville/Oakland border. (Photo from Oakland Geology)

Neither is the urban homesteading trend unique to Oakland. Concerns around energy consumption and climate change, the local food movement, community health, and the global recession have sparked an immense flood of interest in creating more self-sufficient, healthier communities. Victory gardens are back in cities across the country. People are walking and biking more. They’re joining CSAs. This year’s Maker Faire, a big do-it-yourself event held annually in the South Bay, included an entire area devoted to food and gardens, with booths on everything from beekeeping to cheese making to urban foraging. Perhaps most importantly, organizations committed to food security and equitable food systems have been growing in recent years, too. Somehow, the convergence of the Bay Area’s foodie scene, culture of civic engagement and social justice, and a renewed interest in urban living have fostered a pretty vibrant urban food and agriculture community.

By July, we were awash in local food news. The Oakland Food Policy Council, one of only a few dozen city-run food councils nationwide, formally launched this summer, creating a space to bring together Oaklanders interested in food policy, infrastructure, and equity, from backyard gardens to restaurants to commercial farms to processing plants along the Estuary. (One of the OFPC’s major projects will be a strategic plan for food access and security in the city, which is critical, because thus far the “eat local” movement has not been especially accessible to lower income Oakland residents, and there are huge swathes of the city that remain underserved by grocery stores and farmers markets in spite of the sizable number of both that have opened in the central parts of the city in recent years.)

In August, Oakland-based PolicyLink released a new report on building viable and fair urban food systems.

Not far away, Urban ROOTS, a new organization focused on creating cooperative “microfarms” throughout Oakland as a path to food security, was just getting rolling. In Old Oakland, Oakland Roots—a “school of urban sustainability”—had set up shop on a vacant downtown lot, and across town, Oakland Sol (Sustaining Ourselves Locally) spent the summer tilling their own vacant lot garden in the Lower San Antonio. This fall, Oakland Food Connection is getting ready to launch an after-school urban agriculture program at an East Oakland charter school where they built a rooftop vegetable garden last year, and I noticed recently that all three of the elementary schools near our house now have raised beds in their schoolyards, as does Mosswood Park. A message just came across our neighborhood listserv today about an effort to organize Oakland’s PTAs to advocate for major changes to the Child Nutrition Act to promote healthier school lunchs when it comes up for reauthorization this year. Everywhere you turn, the energy is building.

And last but not least, coming up this weekend is the Eat Real Festival in Jack London Square. Taking place on Friday the 28th through Sunday the 30th, the festival purportedly started as an effort to bring the local food movement to the masses by celebrating street food, beer, and the other simple pleasures in life after last year’s Slow Food Nation event in San Francisco got some flack for coming across as a little too high-brow (and prohibitively expensive) for many local residents. The Eat Real Festival, in contrast, is free (except for the Beer Shed, where tickets for all-you-can-drink beer are $20 in advance or $25 at the door). It’s grown into a pretty massive undertaking, though. The three-day schedule now features everything from street food to a special farmer’s market to to a butchering contest to outdoor movies and live music to a canning and foraging demonstration and food swap. There are accompanying dinners to raise funds for local nonprofits, bike tours of food in the city, and even a tour of Novella Carpenter’s Ghosttown Farm, complete with a chicken slaughter (not sure I’m up to that quite yet!) and a how-to-raise-goats session.

So there’s a lot to do and a lot to think about (and a whole lot to eat!) around Oaktown—and in cities across the country—these days. Here’s a little taste!

Oakland food organizations:

• Oakland Food Policy Council (and the Oakland Food System Assessment)
• Bay Localize
• City Slicker Farms (West Oakland)
• Forage Oakland (North Oakland/South Berkeley)
• HOPE Collaborative (Health for Oakland’s People and Environment)
• Institute of Urban Homesteading
• Oakland Based Urban Gardens (OBUGS)
• Oakland Food Connection
• Oakland Roots (Old Oakland)
• Oakland Sol (Sustaining Ourselves Locally)
• People’s Grocery (West Oakland)
• PUEBLO (People United for a Better Life in Oakland)
• Urban ROOTS Oakland

Recent Oakland restaurant coverage in the national press:

• They’re Laying Eggs at an Oakland Restaurant (Los Angeles Times, August 2009, Pizzaiolo in the Temescal)
• Eight Great Ice Cream Parlors in and around San Francisco (Gourmet, August 2009, Fenton’s Creamery and Lush Gelato, both on Piedmont Avenue)
• Restaurants Now: Aureole, Browntrout, Burma Superstar (Gourmet, July 2009, Burma Superstar in the Temescal)
• Oakland Eclectic: Cafe Van Kleef (The New York Times Magazine blog, June 2009, Cafe Van Kleef in Uptown)
• Where To Go Next: New Pizza Artisans (Food & Wine, June 2009, Marzano in the Glenview)
• Neighbor, Can You Spare a Plum? (New York Times, June 2009, Forage Oakland in North Oakland)
• A Waffle Too Far? Never. (Gourmet, May 2009, Brown Sugar Kitchen in West Oakland)
• My Day on the Plate: Chris Cosentino (Gourmet, May 2009, Boccalone Salumeria in the Lower San Antonio)
• Cheap Eats Across America (Gourmet, April 2009, El Paisa taco truck in the Fruitvale)
• Wish You Were Here: Bakesale Betty’s Fried Chicken Sandwich (The Bon Appetit Foodist blog, April 2009, Bakesale Betty in the Temescal)

General Oakland coverage:

• Home Sweet (Urban) Homestead (New York Times, July 2009)
• Oakland: The Other City by the Bay (Fortune, July 2009)
• Best Old House Neighborhoods 2009: Temescal Neighborhood, Oakland, California (This Old House, June 2009)
• 36 Hours in Oakland, Calif. (New York Times, May 2009)