2022 Northern and Central California Food News and Journalism [SF Bay Area, Northern California, Central California, Northern Nevada]

Regional Dining Discussions SF Bay Area, NorCal, Tahoe
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Paolo Bicchieri in SF Eater -

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One of Big Dill Kitchen’s custom cakes: a vanilla sponge with a rosemilk soak, honey whipped cream, strawberries, cardamom frosting, and a rose jam.

Big Dill Kitchen

Sadeghi says she feels the Bay Area needs more experimentation and description when it comes to food. One small activity is writing small blurbs to accompany dishes, such as how Sadeghi breaks down dishes on her Instagram account; meanwhile, a friend of hers hosted a pop-up recently, Tanoor, and highlighted the fruits composing Yemeni candied almonds and raisins. “They wrote just a little bit about the specific Yemeni raisin and how it’s different from others in America,” Sadeghi says. “This gets people to ask questions and connect with food beyond something that fills you up and is yummy.”

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Momo Chang in the SF Chronicle on mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival September 10 -

https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/bay-area-mooncakes-17407860.php

Annie’s T Cakes: Order online for shipping or pickup at three locations in Oakland, including the Grand Lake Farmers Market, 746 Grand Ave. www.anniestcakes.com

Garden Bakery: 765 Jackson St., San Francisco. www.gardenbakerysf.com

Mooncakes by DrooTheBaker: Order online for shipping or pickup at Van’s Bakery, 1824 Tully Road, San Jose. www.desserts-by-droo.com

Viridian: Sept. 7-30. 2216 Broadway, Oakland. viridianbar.com

Luke Tsai and Alan Chazaro in KQEDarts -

Belmont Greek Festival

Church of the Holy Cross, Belmont
Sept. 3–4, noon–10pm

Bizerkeley Food Festival

2727 Milvia Street, Berkeley
Sept. 4, 11am–5pm

Black Food Summit

Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco; TomKat Ranch, Pescadero
Sept. 9–10

This year’s Chuseok Festival will celebrate traditional Korean foods such as kimchi, but it’ll also offer a wide range of fusion and Korean American diasporic dishes. (Mark Shigenaga)

Chuseok Festival

Presidio Main Parade Lawn, San Francisco
Sept. 10, 11am–5pm

California Soul Food Cookout

Alameda County Fairgrounds, Pleasanton
Sept. 17–18, 1–11pm

During her Shifting the Lens residency, Chef Shenarri Freeman will serve an elaborate tasting menu of vegan soul food dishes. (Courtesy of J Vineyards & Winery)

Shifting the Lens with Chef Shenarri Freeman

J Vineyards & Winery, Healdsburg
Sept. 29–Oct. 9

Turontastic’s halo-halo, from last year’s edition of Undiscovered SF. (Photography by Albert Law: www.porkbellystudio.com)

Undiscovered SF Festival

SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco
Oct. 22, noon–6pm

Día de los Muertos Festival

Fruitvale District, Oakland
Oct. 30, 10am–5pm

Paolo Bicchieri in SF Eater -

San Pablo Avenue food pop-up extended to end of September

In more pop-up news, the Jeweled Rice series, first reported on by KQED, is pushing back its close date to September 25 due to popular demand. That means more Mishmish, Big Dill Kitchen, and Tanoor, amongst others.

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We used to go there quite a bit when we lived in San Jose. I remember finding Greek Nescafe on the shelves, an essential for making Greek frappes. At the other end of the strip mall is an Afghani bakery.

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Restaurants were breaking records this Labor Day weekend as tourists and locals got out and about. Betty Yu shows us the scene at Chinatown’s famous China Live.

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Paol Bicchieri in SF Eater -

The bill, which was opposed by restaurant owners who alleged it could result in price hikes for themselves and customers, creates a Fast Food Council composed of fast food workers; employers’ representatives; and state officials. The council will set “minimum standards for wages, hours and working conditions” and could increase the minimum wage, though no higher than $22 an hour.

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Tanya Holland Aims for Impact

The Oakland chef has achieved her life goal of building community — through her storied (but now-closed) restaurant, her media work, and her newest book, “California Soul.” But she’s just getting started.

by J. Fergus Sep 6, 2022, 9:30am EDT

https://www.eater.com/23329233/tanya-holland-cookbook-california-soul?_gl=1*xkv79g*

excerpt:

Her break on the show [as the host of the Food Network show Melting Pot] came after she’d spent several years working as a line cook in various restaurant kitchens. Being a chef had not been Holland’s original plan: Raised in Rochester, New York, by parents who exposed her to a variety of cultures and cuisines through the supper club they held with five other racially diverse couples, Holland graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Russian Language and Literature. After graduation, she moved to New York and worked as a waitress at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill. As she later told O magazine, the experience lit a spark: “I said to Bobby, ‘I want to do for soul food what you’ve done for regional American and Mario [Batali] has for Italian.’”

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Emilie Raguso is leaving Berkeleyside after 10 years for unspecified new opportunities. In her early years there, she ran their NOSH food section and she posted on Chowhound requesting recommendations for sites that would be helpful for food news. I had a short email exchange wit her about 8 years ago. She shifted to doing solid work on covering the street scene in Berkeley and won in 2017 the the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists award for Journalist of the Year. She dug in and showed what hyperlocal online journalism can do. I expect that her hard work will wind up on a wider platform. Congratulations to Emilie and good luck. There were not many, if any, like her in Bay Area journalism.

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Humphry Slocombe in a soft opening on Bay Street in Emeryville. Tasty Szechuan opens in Hayward at 766 A Street replacing A Heart Szechwan Fish.

https://www.berkeleyside.org/2022/09/08/berkeley-oakland-new-restaurants-oks-deli-benchmark

Rob Arias in the E’ville Eye

https://twitter.com/MarcelBaarsch/status/1566108582071767040?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1566108582071767040|twgr^4ed69772d1cd45f9f2afeb64808ed590220d70c7|twcon^s1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fevilleeye.com%2Fnews-commentary%2Faugust-updates-humphry-slocombe-soft-opening-the-sunday-korean-cuisine-peregrine-cafe-food-truck%2F

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Cesar Hernandez in the SF Chronicle -

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2022/berkeley-restaurants-best-day-ever/

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I’ve been hearing good things about Tasty Szechuan. I live close to them, so I’ll have to pay them a visit.

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Perfect Mid-Autumn Festival at Good to Eat Dumplings in Emeryville: Taiwanese barbecue + mooncakes + smell of charcoal + laid-back vibes. pic.twitter.com/liW3KSxNzO

— Luke Tsai (@theluketsai) September 11, 2022
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Luke Tsai on the reopening of a larger Dragon Gate early next year in the former Kincaid’s spot in Oakland’s Jack London Sq.

Excerpt -

It’s been a busy time for [owner] Chang, who is in full expansion mode at this late stage of the pandemic. He’s currently juggling about a half a dozen new projects, including a huge Dragon Gate outpost opening soon in Las Vegas, a forthcoming Oakland Chinatown pub focused on late-night Taiwanese street snacks (in the former Eden Silk Road spot), and a new hot pot restaurant in the Pacific East Mall.

John Birdsall -

Excerpt -

It speaks, this lie, to how uncomfortably those of us who write about food grope for meaning. How we sometimes force food to fit a narrative, instead of letting it be; instead of examining our own need to squeeze experience into familiar shapes: redemption or fidelity; comfort or reassurance. To imagine glory in otherwise agnostic lives of doubt. #

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https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/Fred-Franzia-Two-Buck-Chuck-wine-dies-17439262.php

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https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/bay-area-gas-station-empanadas-17435873.php

“…when I heard that an Argentinian restaurant attached to a gas station recently took the top spot on a list of 100 Bay Area restaurants, I knew that I needed to take the 80-mile drive north to see what the buzz was all about.”

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If any of you’ve seen/heard of Oz and James’ Big Wine Adventure, from the BBC, they visit Bronco winery and interview Franzia. It’s on Youtube, second series (visiting Calif) but I don’t recall which episode.

Found the segment. Title says Santa Cruz but they’re going to Ceres.

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Jessica Yadegaran in the Mercury News/Bay Area News Group -

excerpt -

In “Share the Pie,” Assil is juggling a typically frenetic day that begins with an obnoxious food journalist, played by Soleil Ho of the San Francisco Chronicle, and ends with a culinary awards ceremony where she receives an honor — and gives the esteemed panel a piece of her mind.

Lauren Saria in SF Eater -

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins at sunset on Sunday, Sept 25 and ends at sunset Tuesday, Sept 27.

https://sf.eater.com/maps/jewish-food-high-holidays-bay-area-challah-rosh-hashanah

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In addition, As Kneaded Bakery in San Leandro is doing preorders for challah, cinnamon-apple-walnut babka, and a Rosh Hashanah package of challah + local honey + apples. Pickup on Sunday, 9/25 only.

As Kneaded Bakery | AKB Online Shop (square.site)

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https://twitter.com/hooleil/status/1571903479991640064

https://mobile.twitter.com/TheEvilleEye/status/1571955709453152256

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My friends in Berkeley High don’t need an academy of smoke lol. Still really cool stuff.

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Jeff Edalatpour in the East Bay Express -

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Although Scott Davidson rotates beers in and out of production, Vonnie Davidson said the Pink Convertible was an instant hit. They brewed a small batch of the beer flavored with hibiscus, in collaboration with Oaktown Spice Shop. “It was such a delicious beer, we immediately brewed a full batch of it,” she explained.

Ocean View Brew Works, open Thurs to Sat 12–9pm, Sun 12–7pm, Mon 2–8pm. Kitchenette 625, open Thurs to Sat 10am–7pm. 627 San Pablo Ave., Albany. 510.280.5127 . oceanviewbrews.com

Brock Keeling in Berkeleyside -

Ceasr Hernandez in the SF Chronicle -
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/daryoush-berkeley-17454384.php

Daryoush
2144 Center St., Berkeley. 510-629-2144
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Noise level: Mild to moderate.
Meal for two, without drinks: $50-$60.
What to order: Combo koobideh ($15.95), chicken barg ($18.95), khoresht bodemjan ($18.95)
Meat-free options: Kashk-e-bademjan ($7.95), aash-e-reshteh ($6.95 for cup), salad-e-shirazi ($7.95), Baghali polo ($7.95), vegan combo koobideh ($20.95), hot tea ($2.50), ice cream ($6.95).
Drinks: Beer, wine and tea.
Best practices: Order a koobideh combo, kashk-e-bademjan, hot tea and ice cream. Book a reservation for larger parties.

Roosevelt Tamale Parlor in the Mission District has closed after 100 years -

https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/roosevelt-tamale-parlor-closed-17457648.php

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