Localicious just hit the streets last week, as Emeryville’s newest street food vendor. Eskender Aseged of Radio Africa & Kitchen helped develop the menu of sandwiches, salads and soups, all made with local ingredients, of course. Yup, the food is too bootylicious – uh, localicious – for ya, babe.
Photo: Christina Mitchell
Roland Robles (formerly of SF’s Bar Johnny) is the chef/owner of another new food truck in Emeryville and Oakland. Five Ten Burger also serves sandwiches, but the burger is definitely the star of the show. I added bacon and a fried egg and literally inhaled it in about 90 seconds. The fries were kind of soggy, but the housemade (truckmade?) chips were thin, crisp and salted perfectly.
Photo: Christina Mitchell
Marcia Lam, the owner of L’Amyx Tea Bar, has transformed the Lakeshore location into Lin Jia (rhymes with “ninja”).. The family-style Asian restaurant serves food made with local and organic ingredients. The liquor license just arrived in the mail, so beer and wine have just been added to the menu.
3437 Lakeshore Ave, Oakland
510-835-8322
Pie in the Sky was acquired by new owners in August. After a couple months of recipe development, the name officially changed toPizzavore on 10/18. Both New York style pizza a Sicilian pizza with potato and wheat crust, called Sfincione, are on the menu, but it was the house made soda ($2) that stole my heart. With house made syrups like lime, pomegranate and coffee, you can mix and match until your heart’s content. Beth hooked me up with this winning combo: fresh squeezed orange, vanilla bean syrup and soda water.
2124 Center Street, Berkeley
510-848-8678
Orinda’s newest neighborhood restaurant, Table 24, has been open for a few weeks now. I went to one of the Friends & Family meals, and out of all the dishes I tasted, my favorite was the Buttermilk Fried Chicken sliders. They were juicy with a thin, crisp cornmeal coating. And, it wouldn’t be a neighborhood restaurant without a burger on the menu. Their version is $8.95 and is served with fries, a side salad or fresh fruit. Additions include your choice of cheddar, swiss, gouda or blue cheese ($1), bacon, mushrooms, avocado and grilled onions ($2 each).
2 Theatre Square, Suite 153, Orinda
925-254-0124
photo: Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sliders at Table 24, Christina Mitchell
I noticed the new Powell’s Sweet Shoppe storefront a while ago, and I’m happy to report that opening day is scheduled for Sat, 11/20. It’s an old fashioned candy store with 17 other locations throughout the West Coast. Early birds get chocolate! The first 1,000 people who show up will get a free Wonka Scrumdiddlyumptious chocolate bar.
3206 College Ave, Berkeley
510-658-9866 (YUMM)
I first read that the Southern California-based Habit Burger would be opening its first Bay Area location in the Mercury News. After a little research, it looks like the Grand Opening is planned for Mon, 11/22. But, they’ll open the doors a few days early for a fundraiser. See the Social section for more info.
1255 S. California Blvd, Walnut Creek
photo: Habit Burger
Inside Scoop reported that a team of 5 partners, including Kevin Cook (a writer for The OakBook) and Tim Tolle ( co-owner of Raio Bar, Ruby Room and Easy Lounge) is planning to open Disco Volante in the former Cafe Katrina location. Chef Douglas Bernstein (formerly of Bacar, Eccolo and Farallon) will be in charge of an inexpensive, seasonal menu with dishes like braised octopus terrine and, of course, a house-ground burger. After taking a peek at their facebook page, it looks like they’re only waiting for final inspections and will open soon after.
347 14th Street, Oakland
Photo: Disco Volante
Grand Lake Neighbors has some information about a Greek restaurant named Ikaros, which is going into the former Heads Together Salon location. The owners are the same family that own San Francisco’s Haystack Pizza. No word on an opening date.
3268 Grand Ave, Oakland
The owners of Flavors of India are adding a gourmet burger spot to their portfolio, according to Grand Lake Neighbors. A former owner of Citron is helping with menu planning and restaurant design of the old Adam’s Burger space, and EaterSF says the new name will be The Flip Side.
3401 Lakeshore Ave, Oakland
Closing…and opening
According to EaterSF, there have been issues with the landlord of the Oakland branch of Le Cheval for a while now, and it closed on Friday night after dinner service. Both the Berkeley and Walnut Creek locations of the restaurant that has won Readers Choice for Best Vietnamese/South Asian for 22 years running will stay open. I noticed some activity at the former Crown Wok space down the street, but didn’t have any details until now. Turns out the owner’s son will open a wine bar called LCX sometime this week. Expect to see some of the same dishes on the new menu.
Closing: 1007 Clay St, Oakland
Opening: 1019 Clay St, Oakland
In other news…
Addie’s Pizza Pie has been open for a couple months now, but Zagat reports that frozen custard is now available. Frozen custard is kind of like soft serve, but “it’s made with more egg yolks and has a higher butter fat (typically 10%). Also, frozen custard gets frozen at a lower temperature and is made in a special machine that doesn’t whip as much air into it. This process, known as “overrun,” produces fewer ice crystals than traditional ice cream and results in a smoother, creamier texture.”While it’s widely available on the East Coast and Midwest (I was lucky enough to taste it at Miami’s Shake Shack last summer), Zagat could only find it at Willow Glen Frozen Yogurt Company in Cupertino and San Jose. That means Addie’s is the only place in the East Bay where you can find frozen custard.
3290 Adeline Street, Berkeley
510-547-1100
photo: Addie’s Pizza Pie
The Chronicle’s Bargain Bites is a compilation of the “best places to eat cheap.” East Bay restaurants that have been added to the list include: Amba, Boulevard Burger, Geta Japanese Restaurant and Takeout, La Calaca Loca, Lynn & Lu’s Escapade Cafe, Mandarin Garden, Oasis Food Market, Pasta Bene, Pho Anh Dao, Saturn Cafe, Trueburger and Wally’s Cafe.
I was honored to be a judge for this year’s Crabby Chef competition at Spenger’s. The secret ingredient was announced (kiwi) and 9 chefs created an original dish in 20 minutes. I tasted crab stir fry, crab salad and crab cakes, but the winning dish was a crispy and light Crab and Potato Croquette with Sweet Kiwi Foam. Congratulations to Chef James Koskiniemi, who now has bragging rights for the year.
photo: Christina Mitchell
The Michelin Bib Gourmands are known as “Inspectors’ Favorites for Good Value.” In other words, they serve a two course meal, including wine or dessert for under $40. Last year, 9 restaurants in the East Bay were picked, and all will stay on the list: BayWolf, Bellanico, Brown Sugar Kitchen, Camino, Chevalier, Corso, FIVE, Picán and Vanessa’s Bistro. This year, 9 more were honored, bringing the total to 18: Chu, Coa, eVe, Gather, Hibiscus, Laurus, Rivoli, Thai House, Wood Tavern.
If you remember last year, it was big news when Commis was awarded a Michelin star, after only being open 4 months, and joined Chez Panisse as the only East Bay restaurants recognized. This time, Commis held onto its star, but the almost 40 year old mainstay Chez Panisse did not, due to a “lack of consistency.”
And last, but certainly not least, I was lucky enough to be invited to Diablo Magaine’s Food Awards party, where 7 East Bay restaurants were honored: Esin (Danville), Prima (Walnut Creek), Wente (Livermore), Incontro (San Ramon), Picán (Oakland), Sasa (Walnut Creek) and Élevé (Walnut Creek). So, my list of places to check out just got a whole lot longer.
Christina Mitchell
Latest posts by Christina Mitchell (see all)
- La Casita: Food for the Soul - September 28, 2018
- How To Cook Vietnamese Sausage - September 7, 2018
- Let’s get it started… - September 6, 2018