I had a chance to check out Emeryville’s new Honor Bar a few days after they opened. The space feels warm and inviting with contemporary light fixtures, pinball machines, antique books and vintage art. The cocktails (all $10) were pretty inviting, too. I tasted the sweet-tart Hollenbeck Cooler (tequila, blood orange liqueur, honey-rosemary shrub, apple cider, pomegranate, lime), which was very refreshing. By the way, there’s no table service so you have to order your food and drinks at the bar. The food wasn’t always well executed, but it was definitely promising considering it was only their first week open. The Bucket O’Yard Birds (pictured, $11) was highly recommended by the bartender. When the dish was delivered to our table, the fried hen was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, and while the maple sausage biscuit also had good flavor, it was dense and chewy. The flavors in the Short-Rib Slider (with charred eggplant, pickled onion, arugula, $5 each) complemented each other nicely, but the temperature of the meat was too cool. The bar is open Tues – Sat, 4:30 – 12:30 (and 1:30 on the weekend) and the kitchen closes half hour earlier.
1411 Powell St, Oakland
510-653-8667
photo: Christina Mitchell
Easy Lounge closed for renovations this summer and reopened 6 months later with a new identity: The New Easy. The booths and dance floor have been replaced with wooden picnic tables and a small, open kitchen. The always popular Winter Farmers Market happy hour has been expanded from Saturdays to every day. I decided to try the Smoking Gun (tequila, mezcal, blood orange juice, lime, $7), which should probably be renamed. While the fresh squeezed juice was lovely, the smoke flavor was undetectable. When I stopped by a couple weeks ago, they were still experimenting with a limited food menu, so I sampled a salty-sweet grilled cheese and apple sandwich. Food service should be up and running now.
3255 Lakeshore Ave, Oakland
510-338-4911
photo: Christina Mitchell
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