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.” No idea when, though.
• 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 2010. 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.

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.

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)

Dine About Oakland: Café Noir

Last weekend, we had a chance to visit the newly-opened Café Noir (on Auto Row at Webster) at long last. We’ve been watching and waiting for this place to open for as long as we’ve lived in the neighborhood, and had been getting pretty nervous in recent months when the renovations looked done but nothing seemed to be happening. Finally, though, this little café on Auto Row next to Mua opened its doors last month with a limited menu of coffee, pizza, and crêpes. We took our next free weekend morning to go for a walk and try it out.

First, the food. We were there for breakfast, so we passed on the pizza and opted for crêpes and coffee instead. The menu is pretty tiny right now; our options were a ham and cheese savory crêpe, several sweet crêpes (lemon, Nutella, blueberry, and/or sugar), or a croissant. On the coffee front, we could choose from the typical espresso drinks, but they don’t currently offer “real” coffee, which was a bit of a disappointment for D., who generally prefers drip. But the latte and macchiato, made with Ritual espresso beans, were great, so it worked out. (On a side note, though, I’d still prefer to see Blue Bottle beans here, since they roast here in Oakland—but I know both have their fans!)

The crêpes (we chose blueberry and Nutella-blueberry) were good, though I’d have preferred a wider range of choices. A non-meat savory option would be a good place to start, and it would also be nice to have a bigger assortment of pastries to choose from. (In fairness, I think this place currently opens at 11 am—though that’s a guess, since frustratingly no hours were posted—so it’s not trying to play the breakfast game. But they might be wise to test the waters on that, since there aren’t too many spots to get morning coffee and pastries in the stretch between downtown and Piedmont. In fact, I’d be really psyched if they’d strike up a deal with La Farine, which is getting ready to open its third Oakland location on Piedmont Avenue, to get French pastries for the morning rush.)

Some of the pizza we didn't get to try (from the Cafe Noir website)

The pizza options are similarly limited, but I’m actually okay with that, provided there’s at least one solid veggie option each day. (Arizmendi gets by on just a single option, after all—but the key is to make sure it’s a strong one.) The menu is intermittently posted on the Café Noir blog, so hopefully once things get going, they’ll update this more regularly. We’d certainly check this site to decide whether to head over for lunch on weekend afternoons. We didn’t try the pizza, and neither did anyone else who was there at the time, so we didn’t get to catch a glimpse of it. But at some point we’ll make a repeat visit to see how it is, since the atmosphere was lovely (and since they’re in the process of getting a liquor license, and it’s hard to beat good pizza and local brews on a summer afternoon!)

And then there’s the space. The interior is very nicely done (as well it should be, after years of renovation!), though on this visit we had the Labradane in tow so we opted for an outside table. (There weren’t any set up when we arrived, but the owner, who was very friendly and accommodating in general, was quick to bring one out for us.) The main problem with the space was simply that it was empty. One other couple was having breakfast at the counter when we arrived, and the guy from the bike store down the street swung by for a coffee, but otherwise, it was just one big empty space crying out for people. I have a feeling that if and when this place gets its groove going, the vibe will change completely—it looks like the kind of space that should be buzzing with conversation and motion.

Cafe Noir interior (from the website)

I can’t help but think that Café Noir is a little ahead of its time (which is pretty ironic given the three years it took to finally open!) We sat out on the Webster Street plaza that doubles as a parking lot and car showroom, so cars periodically drove right past our table, bumping over the stones and sidewalks. And, of course, that’s exactly what they designed this plaza for, so it’s hard to complain. The Avis Rent-A-Car garage entrance is just two doors down and a dumpster and grease bin sit a few yards away. The funny thing, though, is that it’s not hard to envision this plaza post-Auto Row, when a few planters might carve out a separate patio area, people will sit and look out on Broadway as they drink a morning latte or an afternoon beer, and the only traffic will be the bikes headed to and from the bike shop or people en route to the martial arts/yoga studio that now sits in the middle of the block. For now, though, these are the pioneers.

Walking back home, I took note of the many changes in the works on this stretch of Auto Row: Bay Bridge Chrysler, which is slated to close and currently shares space (and another beautiful plaza) with Z Café and Bar; the empty Kia dealer; the parking lot on 27th that’s temporarily housing Audi of Oakland’s stock but has a giant “for lease” sign up (and a really cool abandoned diner at the back of the lot). Just up the street are a mish-mash of businesses: a newish art gallery (which sadly seems to be closed, at least for right now), auto repair shops that have been here for decades, a brand-new children’s gymnastics studio that took the plunge and moved down here from a posher Piedmont Avenue space. And, of course, dozens of empty storefronts that once housed auto dealers, repair shops, and other related businesses. The whole corridor is oozing with potential (some of which, hopefully, will be better articulated by the Broadway/Valdez District Specific Plan process that recently launched). It just can’t quite figure itself out.

Anyway, while we weren’t blown away by our first visit, we’ll certainly be back to see where Café Noir takes this thing. (Plus, the value of good espresso in the neighborhood shouldn’t be underestimated!) If they can hang in there while Auto Row sorts itself out (and until Kaiser opens its new hospital a few blocks up the street), they may be onto a great thing.

Update, 09/18/09: Café Noir now has a beer and wine license and is open for dinner Thursday through Sunday, so we headed there to check it out one recent Saturday night. We tried the special pizza of the day—roasted pasilla peppers, green onions, and four cheeses—along with a mixed greens salad; both were quite tasty. D. deemed the wood-oven pizza “not as good as Marzano, but better than Arizmendi,” though I’d argue that it’s not actually the same style of pizza as Arizmendi, so it’s hard to compare the two. Still, we got in and out with pint of beer each for under $30, which is not bad at all; we’ve never managed that at Marzano! Café Noir continues to have problems filling the space, which may stem in part from their fluctuating hours as they get licenses and such sorted out. While we were there, a few people poked their heads in and murmured things about how there wasn’t much happening—I presume they then headed next-door to Mua for music and cocktails. But I actually think that’s one of the best things about Café Noir: it’s not trying to be a place to be seen. While we were there, one group was celebrating a birthday, while another couple was having crepes and coffee in the upstairs lounge-like area. It’s definitely a place you could take kids, in contrast to a lot of the new Uptown spots. And it seems like it would be a perfect place to work on a rainy winter night, since they also have free wireless. So, yeah. They still need some more people to really get their groove on, but slowly things seem to be coming together.

(They have also changed their morning hours, and now open at 7 am. The guy at the counter says they also do take-out.)

Grade: B+
Price: $

Dine About Oakland: Picán

Picán, one of the newest additions to the Uptown foodie scene, has been ridiculously hyped since it opened, so of course we had to go check it out. The only problem is that it’s apparently been discovered, and you have to make reservations waaaaay in advance to have a prayer of a chance of getting a table. We finally lucked out last month, though, when we were headed to TV on the Radio in the gloriously beautiful (but sadly still in need of a better sound guy!) new Fox. (D. is still resisting Ozumo, which he thinks “looks like a yuppie scene” based on a few bike-bys during happy hour. Yuppies hanging out in DTO?? Bring it, I say!)

So anyway—Picán. The theme here is Southern, though it’s got a bit of a California twist and has definitely been taken up a notch (or two, or ten) over your standard Southern comfort food joint. There’s a huge selection of drinks, too, with an emphasis on bourbons, so even D. was inspired to forego a beer for a cocktail (at least for round one!) The setting is lovely; we sat near the food counter where orders were being called out so waitstaff were constantly coming and going, but they had set up the tables in such a way that it was completely unobtrusive. (It was actually even fun, since we got to ogle all of the plates as they sat under the warmer waiting to be shuttled to the tables!)

We’d heard rumors about a dress code (which is pretty much unheard of in these parts, even at the most upscale of East Bay dining spots!) but decided to risk it with nice-ish jeans and t-shirts, since we were headed to a show afterwards; while we were a bit underdressed compared to the general crowd, no one blinked or said a word about it, so I think that rumor’s been exaggerated. Which is good, given the proximity to all the Uptown music venues.

And the meal? AMAZING. Honestly, for once the hype is right on the button. Service was perfect; food was excellent; we could hear one another but not to a fault. It is an expensive place, but prices still seemed appropriate for what we got. As we neared the end of our meal, I observed that it was probably the best meal we’d had in a long time. D.’s biggest issue? He just doesn’t like Southern food quite as much as Mexican, which we’d had in a fabulous Tamarindo meal not long before.

Here’s what we had:

Honey buttered cornbread: Complimentary, and soooo tasty!

Picán Magnolia salad with cornbread croutons, toasted pecans and balsamic honey dressing: Simple, but good. The dressing was a bit thick for D.’s taste, but I was a fan. The one thing the menu might benefit from is a few more salad options to balance all the heavy Southern goodness—there were only three options for salad the night we were there, and one involved a heavyish dressing while a second included fried okra. We’ll give the cucumber salad a spin next time since it sounded light, but it included feta, so we thought it might be overkill on the dairy front with the chedder fritter and mac ‘n’ cheese on the way. One bonus: after I ordered and our waiter asked if D. wanted a salad as well, he noted that he’d be having some of mine. When the salad showed up, it had been beautifully split and plated on two plates. There are a few places around town that make a point of doing this when they hear you’re splitting a dish—Wood Tavern in particular has always impressed me with the practice—but I’m always so pleased by it, since it makes sharing a dish just a little classier.

Buttermilk southern fried chicken with smoked gouda mac ‘n’ cheese: The chicken, which our waiter explained is marinated in buttermilk and other spices for three days beforehand, was pretty much perfect, though neither of us was a huge fan of the smokiness of the mac ‘n’ cheese. (The consistency and other flavors were excellent, though, so if you like the slightly smoky aftertaste, you’ll be all good.) We skipped the tableside truffled honey service that you can get with this dish, though D. was tempted to ask if it would come in a little locked box à la the French Laundry…. (Okay, the truffle box there didn’t actually have a key, but it really should have with all the hoopla around it!)

We had a fried chicken-themed month and had Farmer Brown’s version of this dish with a friend just a week later and Ben and Nick’s wannabe-Bakesale Betty sandwich a few days after that (plus I’ve had enough Bakesale Betty sandwiches to be able to taste it in my dreams). D. and I agreed that the Picán chicken takes the cake—although at $23 (versus Farmer Brown’s $17 dish, Ben and Nick’s $12 sandwich, and Bakesale Betty’s $8 bargain), it’s priced accordingly. We’re also long overdue for a visit to West Oakland’s Brown Sugar Kitchen, which purportedly serves a stellar fried chicken too, so one of these days we’ll see how theirs compares.

Bourbon & molasses lacquered duck, collard greens with chiles and garlic, and white cheddar fritter: This dish was off the beaten path for us—we’re not usually duck people—but the bourbon-molasses combo was so intriguing that we decided to take a chance. Probably the best dish—and best decision—of the night. D. proclaimed the fritter that comes alongside it (I think the waiter said it was grits-based, but not sure on that) the prime piece of the entire meal—soft and warm on the inside with just enough crunch. The duck is served medium-rare, and was tender with a bit of sweetness and kick.

Grilled asparagus with sea salt: Simple but well done. I tend to resist vegetables-as-sides, mostly because they’re often similar to sides I make for dinner at home and tend to come at a hefty price, but D. is a fan, and made a compelling case for more green things this time. And it was good, so I guess I should shut up about it….

Lemon chess pie: The dessert menu has a lot of Southern classics (banana pudding, pecan tart, moon pies, root beer floats, and more) but we went for the one vaguely light-sounding item, which was a special that night. It’s been years since I’ve had lemon chess pie, which is basically a simple custard pie infused with lemon juice and lemon zest. This one seemed to measure up, but the whole dish was just a bit heavier than in my childhood memories of it, and we were already stuffed, so we probably should have just skipped dessert….but I wanted to see how it was, since who knows when we’ll get back there. Lesson learned: swap out an appetizer for one of the entrées if I really want to end the night with pie!

We also tasted several things off the cocktails menu:

• Kentucky Crusta (Makers Mark Bourbon; Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur; fresh lemon juice; rock candy syrup; served in a sugar crusted glass): A little sweet for my taste, but the bourbon was excellent.
• Sazerac (Rye Whiskey; sugar cube; bitters): D. tried this one out, and dubbed it solid but not a true Sazerac in his book since it was missing the absinthe swirl—a little strange since they do have absinthe on the menu in a couple of other drinks. Ah, well.
• Picán Pale Ale: Yes, a house pale ale! After quizzing the waiter on exactly where this beer came from (it’s brewed locally by Oakland-based Brothers Brewing Company), D. tried it out—pretty good!

So, yeah. A pretty terrific meal overall. The only downside is that it is a bit pricey—we spent just over $100 for two before tax and tip with two drinks apiece, but splitting a salad and a dessert—so we’re not likely to be regulars here. But if you have a special occasion coming up, head to Picán. It’s exciting to have such a solid anchor for the Uptown restaurant scene—but don’t forget to make your reservations long in advance (at least a month for Friday and Saturday nights, it seems!)

Grade: A
Price: $$$-$$$$

Spring restaurant updates

Yeah, it’s not like I’ve actually made much progress on my growing list of new places to try—though we did finally make it to Picán last week!—but there are so many to add that I figured another post on this was in order. (Luckily, we have several waves of family coming into town this summer, so there should be some good opportunities to finally work down this list!)

Now open in my ‘hood and the surrounds:

• Bacheeso’s, the second location of the West Berkeley Mediterranean spot, is now open on Lower Grand. Not sure how the menu compares to the original, but I’m guessing there are cheap brunch/lunch/dinner buffets at the new location as well—probably worth checking out for the respective $9 and $12 price tags. They also have a little patio overlooking Grand that looks cute, and seem to sell gelato.
• Café Gratitude opened an outpost in, of all places, the Oakland Whole Foods. There’s a counter for dining in, and you can buy (and often sample) their raw vegan goodness to go, as well. It’s pricey, but, well, it is Café Gratitude.
• Burma Superstar is now open on Telegraph in Temescal.
• Café Noir is finally open next to Mua on Webster Street along Broadway Auto Row—woohoo! I haven’t been yet but it’s high on my list to try. This place has been under construction for almost as long as I’ve lived in the Bay Area (and way longer than we’ve lived in our house). They’re serving Ritual Coffee, crepes, and wood-fired pizza….could only be better if they add Blue Bottle to the mix! Currently open 7 to 3, but they apparently plan to open for dinner once a wine and beer license is in place. (Looks like the sign is already up.)
• Bar Andalucia, which is a project of La Taza de Café, is now open on Upper Grand for dinner and weekend brunch. Same location as the original restaurant (which is still open), but a new chef and a much-appreciated “affordable” theme—tapas range from $3 to $8, and on Fridays there’s a five-course prix fixe dinner for $40. They also have an awesome discount program for OUSD employees, and on Sunday nights OUSD students can eat for free (one student per table, and the rest of the fam must eat too!) if they bring a report card or school ID. High on our list to try.

Coming soon(ish):

• Dubai Food Market is about to open on Telegraph on Pill Hill, right across from Summit. I’ve been watching the renovations because it’s right across the street from the 1R bus stop, and they’ve rehabbed the building with a gorgeous tile exterior. The inside is set up with tables and will, I think, be a combination market and restaurant. Looks quite nice, so hopefully the food will be up there as well—a much needed addition to this forlorn stretch of Telegraph.
• Farley’s, a San Francisco-based independent coffee shop, is opening an Oakland location on Grand in Uptown in the heart of Art Murmur country. I’ve never been to their San Francisco location, but hear good things from my city friends.
• A new Pizzaiolo venture is going in on Grand where DiBartolo’s (which closed a few weeks back, sadly) used to be. (Coffee shop is still open; just the restaurant closed.) [UPDATE: Apparently this new spot is in addition to, not instead of, the Uptown location!] (I’m also way impressed with their Craigslist ad for cooks—sounds like a fab place to work!) I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the new spot will also do the coffee-and-pastries morning gig that Pizzaiolo has going on in Temescal, because I’m mildly addicted to the buttermilk doughnuts rolled in sugar. By “mildly,” I mean “have given up Bakesale Betty’s sticky buns for.” (Okay, actually maybe I should be hoping that they won’t have these….)
• The Splashpad newsletter also reports that Lanesplitter is getting ready to open up shop on Lake Park (the little street by the farmer’s market that connects Lakeshore and Grand), though just for delivery and takeout. Apparently Grand Lake is the new pizza district, with longtime champ Arizmendi already well established… (There is also now a Lanesplitter sign up on San Pablo in Emeryville near the West Oakland line, which is equally exciting for that area!)
• The Grand Tavern is opening up on Upper Grand where Señor Nero’s used to be. No info on that except that they’re apparently looking for a good bartender….hope they find one!
• Bakesale Betty’s second location at Grand and Broadway in Uptown has also been coming soon forever (okay, not as long as Café Noir!), but word on the street is that they finally have all their permits and are gearing up for a September opening. Hooray!
• Mimosa Champagne Lounge is taking shape in the old Saturn dealer (now the Packard Lofts) on the corner of 24th and Broadway. Not sure what the ETA is, but it looks close to complete.

That’s all for now, though I imagine the summer may bring some progress on places like the Lake Chalet and Commis, too.

Dine About Oakland: Dopo

Dopo, everybody’s favorite Piedmont Avenue Italian spot (okay, at least it seems that way considering the wait!), is also one of our neighborhood faves, but we don’t get there very often—mostly because of the aforementioned wait, which frequently tops an hour. Since Dopo doesn’t take reservations, that either means a lot of advanced planning or a lot of waiting around.

But last week, Dopo was among the Oakland restaurants participating in Dining Out for Life East Bay, the annual fundraiser for AIDS services in cities across the country, so we decided it was time for another visit. (In the East Bay this fundraiser benefits Vital Life Services, who also happen to be the folks who bought the Your Black Muslim Bakery headquarters last year and have been doing a beautiful job restoring them to use the space for service provision.)

It’s been over a year since the last time we were at Dopo, but our visit this time around was exceptional, and convinced me that we really need to make a point of going more often—and of trying Adesso, Dopo’s new sibling up the street (also by chef-owner Jon Smulewitz, who’s an Oliveto alum). At 9 pm on a Thursday night, there was astoundingly no wait—the first time this has ever happened at Dopo. (A friend who was joining us joked that he was loving the recession because he can finally go eat at all his favorite spots without committing an hour to waiting in line….) Our friend also easily eats as much as D. and I combined, which was great because it meant we basically just ran down most of the menu and got to try all sorts of things. Among them:

• Sardines stuffed with breadcrumbs, currants, and pine nuts—absolutely amazing!
• Raviolone filled with asparagus and a farm egg—also phenomenal; the egg was actually inside the pasta, which was cooked just enough to be tender but let the egg yolk run into the blissful sauce. The kitchen had accidentally prepared a second order, and the first was so good that our friend flagged the waiter down and had him bring back the second plate. A bit pricey for two giant raviolone, but an especially stellar dish.
• Burrata with artichoke—quite tasty, but a little on the small side for $12.
• Two pizzas, one with sausage and a tomato sauce base, and one with artichokes and pancetta sans sauce (I think?)—Dopo classics with the light crispy crust and excellent house-made meats we’ve come to expect there, but less exciting than the other dishes. If pizza’s the primary target, I still think Marzano is a better bet.
• A salad that was good but that I’m honestly completely blanking on. But it was good!
• A plate of pickled beets. Yah, sounds weird, but ohhhhh so good! D. (who is a beet hater) even consented to add beets to his pickling adventures (which will have to be a post in their own right one of these days).
• Lemon ricotta zeppole and espresso panna cotta, both yummy—though the zeppole really needed some fruity dipping sauce to complement them. (Specifically raspberry, according to D.)

Dopo also has a nice assortment of beers and wines, although most are Italian (appropriately, but perhaps not conveniently for lovers of local breweries and vineyards). This time around, I tried a sparkling red, which was the perfect wine for a wannabe-summer April night. I should add that one of my favorite things about the Dopo space is the many outdoor or quasi-outdoor tables they have; if you’re willing to wait for one, it’s the perfect alfresco summer dining option. You can choose between the quiet side patio and the people-watching tables along Piedmont depending on your mood. We’ll definitely make it a point to head back this summer! And, though we always opt to eat in at Dopo, they do also offer their Italian staples as takeout options—not a bad plan for a nice dinner at home.

Grade: A
Price: $$$

Dine About Oakland: Arizmendi

I’m lucky to live in a neighborhood that not only has an increasing number of nice spots to get dinner or a drink, but also has some of the best value spots of any place I’ve lived. I realized recently that I’ve never written any of them up, though, which is terrible because we actually eat many more meals there than at the schmancy places I’ve posted about! So in homage to the recession, I’m going to devote a few posts to some of the wonderful under-ten-dollar spots we have in Oakland.

First up: Arizmendi. This little bakery and pizza joint on Lakeshore near Grand is actually one of three locations that were all modeled after the Cheeseboard Collective in Berkeley, which opened in 1967. (The other two are in Emeryville and San Francisco.) The Cheeseboard philosophy is that employees and owners should have equal power and equal wages, so each employee is a shareholder and member of the board of directors. The Arizmendi locations, which are each independently owned but which all use variations of the Cheeseboard recipes, all serve cookies, pastries, breads, soups, and pizza. (On a side note, you can also buy the Cheeseboard cookbook, which includes many of the recipes; it’s one of the few “restaurant cookbooks” I have where the recipes do really turn out just like the real deal! But don’t let that stop you from visiting the store, either, since there’s nothing quite like sitting on Lakeshore with pastry and coffee on a Saturday—or, since their new hours went into effect, Sunday!—morning.)

Inside the co-op, just out of view of the racks and racks of tasty baked goodness! (From Foodhoe's Foraging)

One of my favorite things to do is to walk along the lake on a Saturday morning to hit up the farmer’s market and then Arizmendi for some coffee and pastries—or better yet, a pizza lunch! Here’s the deal: there’s one kind of pizza each day. Period. It’s always vegetarian, and it’s always on a thin crust. Ingredients are fresh, local, and often organic. You can buy it by the slice (which often includes a sliver), as a half pie, as a whole pie, or half-baked if you want to finish it off in your own oven. Ingredients are often creative, so if you see things like lemons or walnuts or anise on the list, just trust the chefs, because it’s always goooood.

Mmm....pizza! (More from Foodhoe)

Arizmendi also sells excellent breads and a small assortment of cheeses. The breads are on a rotating schedule, so you either need to be willing to go with the flow or remember to check the schedule in advance. For breakfast, there are scones, muffins, sweet breads (including “Chocolate Things!”), and occasionally sticky buns and other special treats. Coffee is fair trade and cheap, or you can head across the street to Peet’s if you’re hankering for a fancy latte. Cookies come in a wide variety (my favorite is the chocolate chip pecan, especially on days when it’s super crispy) and are sold by the pound. (Bread used to be sold this way too, but lately seems to be priced by the loaf; it’s still quite reasonably priced, though.)

For eat-in customers, there’s a small indoor seating area and an even smaller (and dog-friendly) sitting area outside that’s great for Lakeshore people watching, but most of the business is takeout. The best thing about Arizmendi? Pizza for two with drinks and some cookies for dessert is under ten dollars! Breakfast runs even cheaper—often under five dollars for two. The staff are also wonderful, which makes waiting in the long weekend lines bearable. Take a walk around the lake and treat yourself afterwards….you won’t regret it!

Grade: A
Price: $