Oakland 5/22 dinner?

I’ve got a slot for meal at about 7p oakland next saturday. I am so far out of touch with the east bay. (Picking up GF at OAK around that time, so OAK and south is fine, but I’d like to see good ol’ oakland - alameda would be fine too)

Eater is telling me there is something called quesabirria that I have to try, I had no idea. Not sure it’s a full dinner though. Maybe up for something a little fancier.

Hopscotch and Mua are sentimental favorites that have/are surviving. Cocktails a plus. The ++ on hopscotch would be a leisurely stroll through uptown including Van Kleef for a Greyhound.

Commis has no seats.

Suggestions?

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We just ate at Luka’s Taproom (our first on-site resto meal in 14 mos.) They have outdoor seating, oysters on the half shell, cocktails, steak, mac n cheese, etc. (Also grilled kimchi or garlic fennel butter oysters, which were great.) We really enjoyed it as our first casual-but-nice foray into restaurant dining. They have heat lamps and you get a whole picnic bench to yourselves.

Caveat: we didn’t love the shrimp and grits, too much going on. But the rest was excellent.

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That does look good! We’ve been doing in-person but outdoors throughout. The south-peninsula has been a festival of closed streets and outdoor dining, and we’ve been supporting our workers & owners. Now we’re vaccinated (first & second & wait). Thanks in specific for the pictures of the cocktails, Luka’s might be the perfect fallback if Mua is full, it’s in the same neck of the woods.

Hey, Luka’s used to be all about the belgian. Remember that? I just looked at the beer list, all IPAs no belgian! Maybe we have to stop at The Trappist for a pre-game.

The main problem as places reopen is limited menu. While I’m super down with that, it’s a great way to keep going with limited staff, I’m (with many of you :slight_smile: ) often exploring the corners of the menu looking for the chef’s favorite or a dish that looks like a hometown favorite of someone, and those dishes have been crowded aside a bit. I see it in Mua’s menu, it used to be about twice as long.

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Yes I’ve noticed the edited menus in so many restaurants, as we’ve been doing extensive takeout in the last year, supporting our locals. Since I do the reviews for Mission Local, I wanted to support the businesses in the neighborhood. But I’m in the East Bay twice a week, and so with my sister we did a lot of take out as well.

Cocktails at Luka’s were great. First we had sidecars, and then a pisco sour and a tequila/mezcal spicy cocktail. And no, I didn’t notice about the Belgians, sorry. I usually have cocktails and/or wine.

Hope you enjoy, whichever place you end up at…

I have relatives visiting and had to look for safe outdoor dining, since Alameda county is still in the orange tier, which means limited indoor dining (25% capacity). What I came up with after a search and thinking about is Nido Backyard, an outdoor spin off by Nido given the pandemic. I guess it’s their backyard. I always liked Nido’s small plates and change-ups on traditional Mexican dishes. The outdoor spaces looks nice and they suggest a reservation…and they serve quesabirria tacos.

Otherwise, I find going to Alameda after an OAK pickup to be very easy (left turn instead of freeway) with many options…but I can’t really think of any off the top of my head given the pandemic.

Yeah, I can’t think of anyplace I’d LOVE to eat in Alameda. There are a lot of places I LIKE, but given how rarely I get to the east bay, I’m shooting for LOVE :-). Will look up Nido’s.

How do you feel about trying something completely different? Kendejah Restaurant in San Leandro, a short drive from OAK, is one of the few Liberian restaurants in probably the whole country. (I know of one in Queens, NY and that’s it.) http://kendejahrestaurant.com/

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I was fortunate to grow up in RI and lived in Providence as a young adult where there is a large Liberian population. Good food, for sure.

Didn’t know that about Providence! There’s a lively food culture in that little state, for sure.

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Thanks for the tip! I’m not sure it’ll make “date night in oakland” but it’ll make the list! San Leandro is much closer to the peninsula, and especially these days, so someday it’ll be time to check it out!

What are some of the classic liberian dishes I should look out for?

Our meal at Kendejah was delicious:

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I don’t know what the most “classic” Liberian dishes are per se, but everything on the menu is authentic.

Homestead is closing in June. Might be worth checking. Michelin recommend (not starred). Gets good reviews. I haven’ t been.

I was excited to see and eat at Authentic Liberian Cuisine north of downtown Phoenix when I was visiting last weekend so you can add that to your list. There’s also a food truck that is often along Grand near the lake which serves Liberian. Uncommon for sure, though.