Oakland restaurant news and notes 2016-17

After checking out Daol Tofu on Sunday afternoon, I continued walking southbound on Telegraph Ave in Temescal and noticed a noisy crowd at Temescal Brewing brewpub at about 41st Street celebrating the limited canning of their Zig Zag IPA.

http://show-vid.com/view/6wp2m2x4

Happy Valley on 12th St and 14th Ave has morphed into Grand Golden Bay. I havenā€™t been in, but it seems busier to me since changing names, though according to yalp reviews it seems like that could just be due to slower service.
In the Happy Valley incarnation it was always a value-based dim sum house, which, in my rare samplings, varied from decent and very fresh to okay, and a bit soggy. Always indifferent service.

According to Luke Tsai in the East Bay Express, Chef Bill Lue, a pioneer of Burmese cooking in the Bay
Area, has signed a lease to open a restaurant in Oaklandā€™s Jack London Square scheduled for early spring.

It will be located at 63 Jack London Sq. which used to be Hahnā€™s Hibachi.

This is very good news.

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/WhatTheFork/archives/2017/02/15/a-burmese-resurrection-grocery-cafe-will-get-a-second-life-in-jack-london-square

Alligator stew? How do alligators taste like?

Swampy Chicken

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They taste great. Toppings are very high quality and there is a good ratio of topping to topping and crust to topping. Dough is thin in middle and chewy crust, not very salted so the sweet bread flavor comes through when eating the crust. I canā€™t comment on under-doneness, I donā€™t like crusts that are too crunchy (dried out) or burnt (bitter). I liked the crust but my personal preference veers toward less cooked crust.

Pepperoni was a little spicy, my favorite was with cherries, gorgonzola, honey, and proscuitto. Fun combo.

Itā€™s hard to compare different styles, but they compare well to other quality east bay places such as The Star or Lanesplitter. I will definitely be returning, but I am also really close by.

Is this Post about Bare Knuckle ?

Yes, the post is about Bare Knuckle.

Very impressed with their pizza. I have only been once, but it was delicious with quality ingredients. Not overly salty, as has been noted. I only wish they were open longer hours, but alas, thatā€™s what I wish about so many places as I donā€™t get off work til 10pm

Interesting.

" Sundayā€™s night market pop-up at the Clarion Hotelā€¦is a chance for these budding chefs to share their traditional cultural foods with the general public. The street-hawker-style market will feature Afghan dumplings, Cambodianā€¦"

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I stumbled upon the soft opening of Poke Zone today. Itā€™s a build your own raw fish bowl Chipotle style. You pick the base (rice, greens, etc), the protein (tuna, yellowtail, octopus, shrimp) and your choice of toppings, such as corn, furikake, seaweed salad, edemame, etc. a large bowl is $11 and a smaller bowl runs closer to $9. You also pick a sauce to mix with your protein.

Our bowls were tasty. I liked the sesame ponzu sauce, the quality of the octopus and yellowtail, my toppings and the overall concept. I would probably not get the poke sauce again because it was like a thick and sweet teriyaki sauce. Everything tasted fresh.

They are still working out some kinks with ordering and efficiency. There are only a few seats so itā€™s better as a takeout place. I am happy we have an affordable raw fish option in the neighborhood, it will definitely be part of my regular rotation.

11th between Webster and Harrison

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A couple newish cafes have popped up in West Oakland.
I havenā€™t made it to Drip Line http://driplineoakland.com/menu/ as it is open M-F daytime only, but itā€™s Indonesian influenced cafe menu sounds tempting.
I have made it to Plenty http://www.plentyoakland.com/ on San Pablo and 18th St. Though much of their menu is healthy bowls, salads, and toasts, I went with the fried chicken and was very pleased.


It was skin-on dark meat, with fat well rendered from beneath the extra crispy skin. Juicy and well-seasoned, it was one of the better pieces of fried chicken Iā€™d had in a while, and I alternated between dipping it in the mashed potatoes with duck fat gravy and simply squirting it with the fresh lemon provided. It was also a decent place to work with free wi-fi.

Oh yes, I stopped by Plenty a month or two after reading a positive review in the East Bay Express. I had porchetta and it was very good. DC had a much healthier noodle salad and she said that was good too. Baked goods looked scrumptious but I didnā€™t get a chance to try any.

from hoodline.com

Oaklandā€™s Newest Eats: SlĆ”inte Irish Pub, Falafel Stop, QTea Bar, Samā€™s Carryout

Samā€™s Carryout, 6432 International Blvd. pizzas
QTea Bar, 478 Lake Park Ave.

Coming Soon

Falafel Stop, 3256 Lakeshore Ave.
SlƔinte, 131 Broadway Irish pub

http://hoodline.com/2017/03/oakland-s-newest-eats-slainte-irish-pub-falafel-stop-qtea-bar-sam-s-carryout

I wonder how the new Moroccan Palace in Oakland will taste. They have the couscous and tagines of every meat. Not an adventurous menu. But there is a dearth of interesting Moroccan places around here.

Poke Zone had only a scoop or 2 of some proteins, most proteins not available last time i went last week.
passed on poke, got a hot tea (1), strong, undiluted drink.

Shiny Tea is now T & Bowl, offering several kinds of teas and Hawaiian Poke.
Lg (3 scoops) 8.75 is well worth it. they use a small ladle, not an ice cream scoop.
-protein is very fresh, base choices either sushi rice or brown rice
best poke iā€™ve had in months!
teas are above average in quality, mostly $4+, top 2nd tier drinks.

Yaya Poke on webster st. may be from the closed Franklin St. location. (previous tenants, yogurt and sushi take outs)
-order by handing checklist to sushiman. sizes sm, med, lg.
-s(2 scoops 7,95?) had mushy fish, same as franklin st. not so fresh.
-base of mixed greens had lettuce and thousand island mixed in.
-toppings the usual, sauces ok, had aftertaste, msg or frutose, not sure
-little seating available, 3rd tier pokeā€¦

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Fusebox is closing :frowning:

I had a great lunch there last week and regret not having their Korean fried chicken one last time, best in the Bay

According to this article, Grocery Cafe (Burmese) will be opening in Jack London Square May 29.

Grocery Cafe going into Hanhā€™s Hibachi spot.

2 posts were split to a new topic: [Oakland] Wing Man Chicken & Tea