Paul Canales, who opened his new restaurant and bodega Duende in Uptown Oakland last week, admits to having been more than ready to embark on his new venture. Canales was at the venerable Oliveto in Rockridge for 15 years — he joined as an intern and left as Executive Chef — and he loved it there. But, even before he handed in his notice in 2010, he had been fantasizing for months about a different cuisine, a different aesthetic — in fact an altogether different approach.

He was drawn to small plates and Spanish food, mainly because of his heritage — his father was raised in the Basque region — and partly because his passion for Italian food had run its course.

“Entrées never seem that exciting to me. They are a lot of commitment for a dinner,” he said this week sitting on a stool clutching a carton of coconut water in his vibrant new space on 19th St., a stone’s throw from Oakland’s beautiful Fox Theater. Adding to the disconnect was the fact that Canales and his wife — Ici Ice Cream owner Mary Canales — and their daughters didn’t eat that way. “We don’t eat a lot of one thing — we like ethnic food,” he said. … Continue reading »