More often than not, you’ll hear the Beastie Boys blaring at this bakery down by Jack London Square. It’s run by two Jewish brothers from Rhode Island who brought their grandmother’s bagel recipe to the Bay Area, then mashed it up with San Francisco sourdough starter. The result? Chewy, tangy bagel goodness flavored with the usual suspects – like sesame, poppy...
At the southern tail end of the creative Temescal neighborhood, on a bedraggled block of Telegraph Ave., this sunny cafe bakes (or technically, boils in honey-sweetened water and then bakes in a wood-fire oven) crusty, chewy and slightly sweet Montreal-inspired bagels. Throughout the day, the storefront stays busy with a stream of local customers: students, artists, ambulance drivers, etc. You could...
With classic soul music tracks always playing, this warm West Oakland restaurant is home to French-trained chef Tanya Holland. The waits at lunch and for weekend brunch will find your stomach growling by the time you get seated. Yet fans say it’s worth the wait for cornmeal waffles with buttermilk fried chicken, homemade bacon-cheddar-scallion biscuits, and pineapple-glazed BBQ baby back...
On Grand Ave., not too far of a walk from Lake Merritt, this landmark restaurant is one that divides Bay Area foodies into two camps. Some love the serendipity of the menu, which is always changing. Come for dinner one night and you’re dining on a radish and butter sandwich with smoky lentils or maybe oven-roasted rockfish with cardoons. Brunch...
Since 1894, this neighborhood ice cream parlor has been scooping up gobstopping sundaes, blending cement-thick milkshakes, and mixing old-fashioned ice cream sodas for generations of Oaklanders. Handily on Piedmont Avenue, not far from the Piedmont Theatre, it’s a stop that’s hard to resist on a hot summer afternoon. Or in the middle of winter. Or just before midnight on your...
Most of the restaurants and bars around Jack London Square bank on their waterfront location alone to pull in crowds. Forge is different, because they also serve great food with local craft beer on tap. Outside tables with harbor views always fill up around sunset and on sunny weekend afternoons. Service can be slow and inattentive – that’s the only caveat. But...
You can’t help but feel like life is a little more rosy after you eat weekday breakfast or weekend brunch at this sweetheart spot, just across Grand Ave. from Lake Merritt. Families, couples, and groups of friends don’t mind standing in line for a plate of Mexican chilaquiles, sweet or savory French toast, or scrambled eggs with bacon and avocado. Lunchtime...
A few blocks east of Temescal‘s main drag, Telegraph Ave., this places calls itself a New American beer hall. We’ll totally buy into that premise, given how great the selection of California microbrews on tap is, how loud the fun-loving crowd gets every night, and how much dang meat is on the menu. (If you thought that all Oakland hipsters were...
The concept at this Temescal diner, east of Telegraph Ave., is heart-warmingly simple: bowls of mac ‘n’ cheese done at least a dozen different ways. Design touches like chalkboards with colorful drawings and library card catalogs will put you in a nostalgic frame of mind. Score a comfy booth, grab a seat at the communal long table, or just perch at...
In Uptown, Hopscotch may look like just a diner, with its lipstick red chairs and black-and-white checkered floor tiles. But the menu is so refined that even the Michelin guide took note. Under chef Kyle Itani, a Japanese influence weaves through most of the dishes, from the salads with burdock root and the oysters with citrus soy sauce to the buttermilk...
On the meandering western shoreline of Lake Merritt, this low-slung restaurant banks on its pretty sunset views. Yet the overpriced food is hit or miss, and waits for food and service can be toe-tappingly slow. But who cares, when happy hour runs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and again from 9 p.m. until closing on weekdays? Grab a seat at the...
Even in its original incarnation, the Parkway was primarily about watching indie movies with 75 of your closest friends in comfy chairs while eating, boozing, and having a good time. The New Parkway still does that, and with an expanded menu that includes anything from veggie burgers to ricotta toast and big glasses of sweet sangria. But it’s not just movies...
Sophisticated and urbane, this Southern-flavored dining space is a very grown-up addition to the hip Uptown scene. Owned by a N’awlins native, Picán has a loyal following not just for its weekend brunch menu, but also for its full bar with a knock-out collection of over 100 different bourbons, including single-barrel and small-batch labels. The cocktail list is no slouch either, with...
Graduates of the landmark restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley has sprouted many remarkable offspring restaurants around the Bay Area, but none feel so true to Alice Waters’s original vision as Pizzaiolo. Here in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood, chef Charlie Hallowell picks only the freshest, in-season ingredients and sustainable meats and seafood from local purveyors. A meal here is about the social ritual of eating...
You’ll see Portal’s humorous, tongue-in-cheek sandwich board on the east shore recreational path that runs around Lake Merritt. Take their advice and detour one block inland for brunch (on both weekends and weekdays) or a drink in the outdoor beer garden with pretty lake views. As a bonus, weekend brunch comes with bottomless mimosas (starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m....
Honestly named restaurants are hard to come by, but Scolari’s has earned its local reputation for “good eats.” It’s a cross between an old-fashioned hamburger shop and an Italian deli in New Jersey. The scampi fries with garlic, lemon, olive oil, parsley, and chili flakes are addictively tasty, and so are the gigantic stromboli sandwiches. The specials chalkboard always turns...
This modern American diner in East Oakland’s residential Laurel District wins hearts and stomachs with its dedication to humane, local, and sustainably sourced food. You can taste the difference in the lovingly house-made breads, pastries, jams, sausages, and bacon. Classics diner dishes like red flannel hash sit on the menu alongside huevos rancheros and vegetarian scrambles made with pasture-raised eggs....
You may fall in love the friendly vibe of this vegan soul food kitchen run with huge heart by local chef Tamearra Dyson. You could stop by for a BBQ tofu or portabello mushroom burger and some seitan nachos, or go big with the sampler platter of collard greens, yams, black-eyed peas, mac ‘n’ cheese, Southern fried tofu, potato salad, and...
Next door to Wood Tavern, which is more posh and also much harder to get into, Southie is a gourmand’s take on a sandwich shop. There’s no attitude here, but this is not your grandmother’s deli menu, no ma’am. Fried pork belly, barbecue pulled pork with pickled jalapeño or the giant Niman Ranch beef-and-pork meatball baguette sandwich will satisfy foodies. Southie serves salads,...
Why is the East Bay blessed with deep-dish pizzerias? Dunno, but the team behind Little Star Pizza in San Francisco has staked a claim on Grand Ave., up the street from the Grand Lake Theater. While Zachary’s up in Rockridge cooks more classic Chicago-style pies, the Star experiments with bold California-style combos named after local landmarks like the Telegraph (for hip vegetarians) and...