Featured events- 08/28/2013 - Free Outdoor Screening in the BAM/PFA Sculpture Garden
- 08/27/2013 - MARK EPSTEIN / The Trauma of Everyday Life
- 08/24/2013 - The goat Rodeo Sessions
- 08/20/2013 - Yang Fudong and Philippe Pirotte in Conversation
- 08/03/2013 - Book Signing and Discussion with Dave Kehr, followed by The Lawless Breed
Tag Archives: Oakland restaurants
Raising the bar in Oaktown: Cheers to Sidebar
Good cocktails, great views of Lake Merritt, and owners who are community conscious: Sidebar Oaktown offers a nice mix. Continue reading »
To Die For: Banchan at Casserole House
In Berkeleyside Nosh’s regular “To Die For” column, Kate Williams looks at East Bay’s popular restaurants through the lens of a single, sought-after dish. Is the food is a bunch of hype, or is is in fact “to die for?”
Let’s get this out of the way first: Korean casseroles are nothing like American casseroles. The Korean dish, called junggol, is most similar to a Japanese hot pot. It consists of a rich broth filled with vegetables, kimchi, thick rice cakes, meat and seafood. Junggol is meant to be eaten family style, slowly, with small bowls of rice. Casserole House in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland, serves several versions of junggol, the most adventurous of which contains beef intestines. But it is not the casseroles that earns the restaurant its most praise — or chagrin. Instead, it is talk of the banchan that dominates.
Any Korean restaurant worth their merit will bring out banchan, a series of small bites, to be eaten alongside the meal. Usually there will be a couple of versions of kimchi, steamed vegetables, a stir-fried dish or two, tofu, and, if you’re lucky, preserved fish of some kind. In the U.S. banchan is often presented as a free appetizer, but it can also be served at the same time as the main course and eaten as a collection of side dishes.
The word on the ‘nets was that Casserole House served not only one of the most abundant spreads of banchan, but also the best of its kind in the Korean strip running up and down Telegraph Avenue. In fact, most visitors claim the banchan to be the best part of the meal there, polishing off the many mini bowls even while leaving the casserole pot half full. … Continue reading »
Tagged Casserole House, Oakland restaurants, To Die For
Juhu Beach Club: Indian street food to Temescal
Indian street food is coming to Temescal, but under a roof rather than at a mobile stand. Preeti Mistry, a former Top Chef contestant, is slated to open Juhu Beach Club, her first brick-and-mortar restaurant, on March 1 in the former SR24 space at 5179 Telegraph Avenue.
The restaurant, which is named after the city beach in Mumbai known for its street food, flying kites and homes of Bollywood stars, was designed by Mistry’s partner — in life and business — and Mistry describes the look as “crazy.” The cozy space is decorated with sari-bold colors, swirly flowered wallpaper, and a collection of vintage Bollywood movie album covers, as well as nickel-cage fan lighting.
Dishes on offer will include chaat items such as seasonal Sev Puri, Crispy Gujarati-Style Samosas and Vindaloo Chicken Wings with Point Reyes Blue Cheese Raita; Pavs — slider-sized sandwiches, with buns baked by Starter Bakery in Oakland — such as Mumbai Street classics Vada Pav, a potato puff with pickled red onions and ghost pepper hot sauce; as well as original creations like the Holy Cow Pav, a slow-braised short rib curry with cucumber raita. Expect also saucy curries such as a whole chicken leg and buttery curry leaf shrimp. Desserts will center on Straus Dairy vanilla soft serve ice cream with a variety of toppings. … Continue reading »
To Die For: Salumi misti at Adesso
Much of a restaurant’s popularity in this age of Yelp depends on fanatic online reviews and subsequent adoration of particular dishes. Sometimes these dishes actually reflect the essence of a restaurant’s identity, while other times they are simply too bold and nutty to ignore. In our “To Die For” column, Kate Williams looks at East Bay’s popular restaurants through the lens of a single, sought-after dish. Is the food is a bunch of hype, or is is in fact “to die for?”
One bite of Adesso’s prosciutto and any omnivore would be hooked. The first sensation is of the smooth, opulent fat melting on the tongue. Then the just-salty-enough pork hits, and the few bites it requires to consume the whisper thin slice are pure heaven. So it’s no wonder that when Adesso opened in 2009, the Piedmont Avenue wine and charcuterie bar was met with long lines and an abundance of praise. The brainchild of Dopo’s John Smulewitz and salumieri Chad Arnold, the bar was designed to function as a casual, free-spirited ode to cured meats of all kinds. Everyone, from the Chronicle’s Michael Bauer to the hordes of Yelperati, sang its praises. … Continue reading »
Two big new restaurants land in Jack London Square
There’s never a dull moment at Jack London Square these days. Last time we checked, the Oakland spot boasted seven full-fledged restaurants — Daniel Patterson’s Haven, Bocanova, Hahn’s Hibachi, Il Pescatore, Kincaid’s Bay House, Scott’s Seafood Restaurant and jazz hot spot Yoshi’s — as well as pretty as a picture Miette Patisserie and Confiserie with its showcase bakery open to the street, Ben & Jerry’s, Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon — even a good old Subway.
But the foodie destinations keep coming. This week saw the opening of Forge, a 4,100 sq ft, 150-seat pizzeria on Franklin St., and, on Thursday next week, Lungomare will make its debut in the former Miss Pearl’s Jam House space – just one of many spots planned by restaurant impressario extraordinaire Chris Pastena. … Continue reading »
Nosh on the town: Haven
Come along with Nosh as we explore East Bay restaurants in photographs. This week we focus on Haven in Jack London Square. If you’ve tried the spots we feature, please let us know about your experience in the comments below. (See the menu.) If you’d like to submit your own photo gallery for consideration from a meal you enjoyed, please email tips@berkeleyside.com for more information. You can also add photographs to our Flickr group. (Photos by Emilie Raguso.) Caption info is under the fold. … Continue reading »
Nosh on the town: Hopscotch
Come along with Nosh as we explore East Bay restaurants in photographs. This week we focus on Hopscotch in Uptown Oakland. (See the menu.) If you’ve tried the spots we feature, please let us know about your experience in the comments below. If you’d like to submit your own photo gallery for consideration from a meal you enjoyed, please email nosh@berkeleyside.com for more information. You can also add photographs to our Flickr group. Caption info is under the fold. … Continue reading »
Announcing: Berkeleyside NOSH, East Bay food news site
Today sees a thrilling new launch for Berkeleyside and, we hope, an exciting new source of information for East Bay residents on all things edible.
With the launch of Berkeleyside NOSH, Berkeleyside has broken out of Berkeley (gasp!). We felt — and we trust you agree — that if we were covering food and drink locally, we couldn’t ignore all the wonderful things happening in Oakland, as well as neighboring areas like Emeryville, Kensington, Albany and El Cerrito.
Be assured, Berkeleyside itself remains firmly focused on Berkeley. It is purely for our food-related stories on NOSH that we have expanded geographically. … Continue reading »
