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For those of us who only bother with breakfast on special occasions, a croissant and coffee often hits the spot around 11 a.m.
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If anyone ever names a thoroughbred racehorse Bellanico, remind me to bet my 401(k) on the noble steed to win the Triple Crown.
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By the time you read this, 33 Revolutions in El Cerrito will most likely be as much of a neighborhood hit as the El Cerrito Speakeasy three doors away.
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Manzanita offers a set menu that changes daily. Weekends at lunch there is a buffet.
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In the case of Bellanico on Park Boulevard in Oakland’s Glenview District, it was as if everyone in the neighborhood was waiting for a good place to hang out, eat well and drink good wine.
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In 1979, the English post-punk band Gang of Four released its debut single, “At Home He’s a Tourist.” That’s exactly how I’ve felt when eating at Cocina Poblana.
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I don’t remember what it was that I did for my friend, but with her enthusiastic “thank you” came an invitation to join her for brunch at Citron on College Avenue in Rockridge.
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Partners Mark Mitcheltree and Vadim Vozmitsel have steadied their course, and their decision to birth an East Bay sister to their Cafe Maritime in San Francisco seems to be paying off for all concerned.
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The party started at the new Farmstead Cheeses & Wines in Montclair the moment Jeff Diamond cut the first sliver of gently pungent Humboldt Fog for a customer to try.
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Cocina Poblana, the upscale family-owned restaurant that opened in January at Jack London Square, boasts home-cooked meals blending styles from two regions of Mexico.
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A comforting sense of place swept over me, however, the first time I stepped inside the chocolate-brown, orange-trimmed, wood-sided Brown Sugar Kitchen.
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The young woman next to me is swooning, as I am, over a tea called Jasmine Pearls.
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With the opening of The Trappist in Old Oakland, things are changing.
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In 15 years covering the cocktail business, I have had some amazing libations but never imagined I would really want to sip them with my pasta.
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Dig’s Bistro is my notion of an ideal agreement between cuisine and surroundings.
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Around since 1890, Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto is a restaurant with a history.
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I find the wines made from this grape to be so elegant and food-friendly that I would gladly drink them at every meal.
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Walking into Flora on a busy night, there’s a tangible feeling that something exciting is happening in downtown Oakland.
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The aqua exterior suggests there might be something fishy going on inside Maritime East in Berkeley, the site of the former Zax Tavern.
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The chef duo at Digs Bistro comes with a joint pedigree that runs a lot longer than the single page of the every-changing menu.
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“Meet me at Oliveto Cafe at 9 and we can have the breakfast pizza,” she says. Pizza for breakfast?
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Set inside the old Cadillac dealership at Harrison and 27th streets, Oakland’s first Whole Foods Market is a stunner.
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Brother and sister Ahmed and Reem Rahim have a knack for perfect packaging.
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I was never much for after-dinner drinks, so I presumed for many years that Port wasn’t for me.
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A few months ago I heard DiBartolo hired a new chef and things had turned around. So I decided to give them another try. I’m glad I did.
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I admit it. I’m biased. I’ve got a soft spot for husband-and-wife run restaurants.
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After a year and nine months spent dealing with red tape, Ashley Young opened Gelato Firenze in August.
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As the weather gets cooler, we’ll start spending more time indoors. For many of us that means more time in one of our favorite places: the local bar.
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By recent counts, more than one in 10 Americans have some Italian blood, and many trace their roots to Campania.
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If you’ve got three of something, so the saying goes, you’ve got a trend.
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Three weeks after opening, the wait was 15 minutes for a table at Flavors of India, the mellow, new eatery with a moderately priced menu on Lakeshore Avenue.
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Gregorio Pelayo paid his burrito and fajitas dues before opening El Agavero Mexican Cuisine and Bar in Montclair Village.
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Organizing your own tasting is a great way to explore wines in greater depth and get to know your palate.
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Since chef Shotaro “Sho” Kamio came aboard in 2006, he has elevated the fare at Yoshi’s to cement its status as Oakland’s top Japanese restaurant.
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Adding water to wine may sound like a practice designed to increase production and cheat the consumer.
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Expect to find assorted creative offerings involving heirloom tomatoes on the fall menu at Riva Cucina.
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I’ll get right to it: Wood Tavern is the most thoroughly delicious, enjoyable restaurant to open in Oakland this year.
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Chef/Owner Louis Kao offers his creative take on Asian fusion with a menu of noodle dishes from various Asian cultures.
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Guy Birenbaum makes the melt-in-the-mouth pastry for his brioches and chicken pies from four ingredients.
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The lunch “hour” has become an anachronism. Those leisurely 60-minute lunches went out the window with employer-funded pensions and affordable health care.
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Korean food’s day is coming. It doesn’t have the brand-name recognition that Chinese, Japanese or even Thai cuisines do, but I think it’s only a matter of time until the hearty, spicy and fresh flavors of Korea go mainstream and win a wider following.
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It’s not quite Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but when a longtime chocolatier named Charles (better known as Chuck) has a 4000-square-foot chocolate factory and opens a retail store and cafe with a view into the candy kitchen, it’s difficult not to think of Willie Wonka.
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Riesling has long been a favorite of sommeliers, who tout its versatility with food. Now there are signs that consumers, at long last, are beginning to recognize the grape’s charms.
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It's unusual for a restaurant to pick up and leave the city and relocate in the East Bay. But that’s what Somerset did.
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Grasshopper leapt from the limelight—only to be replaced by an equally popular new venue.
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Sideways jabs aside, Merlot remains an enormously popular wine.
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The couple got much of their winemaking training by working for Eric Texier, a vintner in France’s Rhône Valley who works with grape growers committed to low yields and natural farming methods.
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Lively, friendly and dependably delicious, Dopo may be Oakland’s perfect neighborhood restaurant.
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Beckett’s Irish Pub and Restaurant on Shattuck Avenuehas a new neighbor—and the contrast couldn’t be more striking.
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Many people think that decanting is something done just for old wines, which can have a lot of sediment. The sommelier carefully pours an old wine into a decanter, usually with a candle or other light source illuminating the neck of the bottle.
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Fiki’s Pudding, an artisan, organic bakery in Oakland’s Laurel district, has added new and tasty flavors of health and deliciousness to the 73-year-old Food Mill health market/natural food store’s menu.
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I don’t know exactly when it happened, but the quantity and quality of the food on Oakland’s Piedmont Avenue has been giving Berkeley’s better-known Gourmet Ghetto neighborhood stiff competition for some time now.
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When I think of a wine that celebrates romance, I think of a sparkling one.
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Just when we thought Piedmont Avenue had all the food bases covered, two new venues open.
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Vietnamese on Piedmont and a New Star at Yoshi's
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Supper soul food at Oakland's Southern Cafe.
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Best of Food and Drink in Oakland
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A dining review of Oakland's Mexican restaurant Tamarindo.
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Look to Southern Italy and Spain for new and exciting wines.
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Casual yet urbane, not perfect but often delicious, B is one of Oakland's bright lights.
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Jojo is a jewel of a restaurant on Piedmont Avenue.
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Finding the right wine to pair with barbecue can be tricky. Berkeley's T-Rex Barbecue specializes in doing just that.
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