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Tag Archives: Off the Grid
Food trucks expand to bricks and mortar
Anyone who has had even a bite of a Fiveten Burger knows that Roland Robles, the proprietor and chef, knows more than a thing or two about slinging beef. His cheeseburgers are cooked to order and made with a signature blend of meat ground daily. There are at least three cheese options for melting over the hot patty (usually more), as well as a well-balanced array of toppings stacked together on a North Beach Baking Company bun. An overflowing basket of truffle tater tots sets the meal over-the-top — in a hot, crispy, and salty good way. But this is no fancy restaurant burger. Instead, Robles’ burgers are handed to customers through the window of a food truck.
Robles is banking on his many fans sticking with his burgers when he opens his first brick-and-mortar burger joint this year. The restaurant will be called Handlebar and is slated to open some time in the spring. While the location is still up in the air, the overarching plan is not. “The vibe we intend is a comfortable spot where you can just drop in and have some grub you’ll dig and a cold beverage of your preference. … Pretty much everybody likes a cold beer and a made to order burger,” he said. … Continue reading »
Recently on NOSH: Africa pop-up, quince tart, food trucks
Berkeleyside’s online food magazine NOSH, covering the East Bay, launched in November and publishes many stories every week on restaurant openings, ethnic food finds, news, chefs’ secrets, recipes, and much more. In case you missed them, here are some of the articles that have appeared there in the past few days:
Coming to Rockridge: Jules Thin Crust pizzeria The couple behind this new venture swear being directly opposite Zachary’s will work out just fine for everybody.
Off The Grid food truck market launches in Oakland Just weeks after Off The Grid closed up shop in Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto it is making its debut in Oakland on Friday nights outside the Oakland Museum of California. … Continue reading »
Bites: What’s new, what’s hot, what’s happening, V
Bites is Nosh’s round-up of restaurant and bar news in the East Bay. Got a tip or a scoop? Send it our way at nosh@berkeleyside.com. Christina Mitchell, founder of East Bay Dish, is the main voice behind Bites, with a little help from the staff at Berkeleyside.
Freshly served…
EL GUSANO According to Eater SF, Erin Brooks and Michael Sopher, who own San Francisco’s Tropisueño, opened El Gusano earlier this week in Old Oakland. The menu features Mexican specialties ($3.95-$11) including burritos, tamales and quesadillas, as well as pambazos, a sort of wet torta with chorizo and potato that’s a specialty of Mexico City. Various cocktails, with a focus on mezcal, will be available in the bar. El Gusano, 1015 Clay St., Oakland; 510-444-9676. Hours: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 5:30-9:30 p.m. Closed Sunday.
EAT + LOUNGE Haig and Cindy Krikorian’s K2 Restaurant Group closed Sea Salt on New Year’s Eve and Inside Scoop reports that it was already scheduled to open again as Eat + Lounge under chef Kwin Vu. (Berkeleyside also reported this in December in our Shop Talk column.) The menu is influenced by the Mediterranean and “more farm-to-table” offerings. The plan is to serve lunch, dinner and brunch on the weekends. Eat + Lounge, 2512 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley; 510-883-1720. … Continue reading »
Tagged Belli Osteria, Berkeley Restaurant Week, Bites: What’s new in East Bay food, Build Pizzeria, Cafe Rouge, District Carriage House, Eat + Lounge, El Gusano, Eureka! Burger, Juhu Beach Club, Jules Thin Crust, Kitchener, Lungomare, Miss Pearl’s Restaurant, Oakland Restaurant Week, Off the Grid, Old Oakland, Pizza MODA, Ramen Shop, Rockridge, Sliver Pizzeria, Sweet Bar Bakery, The Local Butcher Shop, Zatis Restaurant
Off The Grid launches in Oakland for Museum nights
Food truck market Off The Grid is making its first foray into Oakland with the launch of a new weekly market outside the Oakland Museum of California. The street food gathering is part of the museum’s new Friday Nights program which will include films, live music, dancing, as well as half-price admission for adults (under-18s go free).
The final truck line-up for Off the Grid: Lake Merritt @ OMCA has not been finalized, according to a spokesperson for the San Francisco based street food organization, but some of the East Bay trucks that used to be regulars at Berkeley’s Wednesday Gourmet Ghetto market (which was canceled last month), and at the Thursday Berkeley Telegraph Avenue market, will likely be there. So too will some of the perennial favorites that cross the Bay Bridge to attend Off The Grid markets in its two other East Bay venues, Alameda and Hayward, such as Gua Bao bun specialist The Chairman.
OMCA said the idea was to build on the success of a Summer Nights program that the museum has been running since 2010 and incorporate food trucks, music and other foodie attractions. … Continue reading »
The most important stories in Berkeley in 2012
Berkeley in 2012 was filled with drama — a contested election, a failed nomination for a new school superintendent, a few missteps by the Chief of Police, and major changes at the University of California, among other events. Here’s a recap of the issues that had the deepest impact on Berkeley, plus a few fun ones thrown in.
City Government
The year got off to a tragic start with the untimely death of 37-year-old City Clerk Deanna Despain. She fell down the stairs of her Oakland home on Jan. 8. Her husband discovered her body when he returned from a late-night meeting. Their daughter was soundly asleep upstairs. Since then, Mark Numainville has been filling in as acting city clerk. In May, after serving as interim city manager for six months, the City Council appointed Christine Daniel permanently to the job. She replaced Phil Kamlarz, who had held the city’s top job for eight years. … Continue reading »
Tagged 40 Acres Medical Marijuana Collective, Belli Osteria, Berkeley nature, Berkeley Patients Group, Berkeleyside, Cafe Fanny, Christine Daniel, Comal, Darryl Moore, Deanna Despain, Jesse Arreguin, Kriss Worthington, Laurie Capitelli, Mark Numainville, Max Anderson, Mayor Tom Bates, Measure S, Measure T, Nicholas B. Dirks, Off the Grid, Perfect Plants Patient's Group, Phil Kamlarz, Robert Birgeneau, SEIU Local 1021, Sophie Hahn, Susan Wengraf
Off The Grid’s Telegraph Ave. debut attracts young crowds
Haste Street was crowded with Berkeley residents and students for the inaugural Telegraph Off The Grid street food market last night. Long lines of customers formed for each of the eight trucks, which served everything from Filipino fusion to southern-style sandwiches to crème brûlée.
Telegraph Off the Grid (OTG) joins similar events in San Francisco, Marin County, Alameda and North Berkeley. In fact, some customers were drawn to the Telegraph premiere because of enjoyable past food truck experiences.
“It always seems like the food the trucks serve is really interesting, and the people making it seem to really care,” said UC Berkeley student Tim Woods. “I think that food from food trucks is better than food from restaurants.” … Continue reading »
Tagged Berkeley food, Off the Grid, street food, Telegraph Avenue
Top food stories from Berkeley in 2011
As the year draws to a close, it’s time to look back to see what food stories created a buzz around town and on Berkeleyside in 2011.
Granted, there’s an arbitrary nature to such end-of-year lists. But it’s an opportunity to take stock of the city’s culinary culture.
For the purposes of this post we’ve focused on food news stories, which doesn’t take into account the dozens of interviews with foragers, farmers, artisans, advocates, chefs, cooking teachers, preservers, pasta makers, cheese purveyors, pop-up restaurateurs, and farmers’ market vendors we’ve published during 2011.
This year also saw controversial coverage of corner stores, reporting on detractors of school food, an insider’s take on speed dating with a veg-friendly focus, and a widely criticized first-person piece on disappointing camp chow.
Readers may differ on what food stories caught their attention. Feel free to add your own highlights (or low points) in the comments section.
In alphabetical order: … Continue reading »
Tagged Aaron Rocchino, Alice Waters, Amphora Nueva Berkeley Olive Oil Works, Andronico's Community Markets, Berkeley Food and Housing Project, Berkeley Food Pantry, Berkeley ice cream, Berkeley pizza, Chez Panisse, crop swap, David Wittman, Ebbett's Good to Go, Food Rules, Liba, Michael Pollan, Monterey Market, Off the Grid, Saul's Delicatessen, The Local Butcher Shop, Tom Mueller, Transition Berkeley, Urban Adamah, Whole Foods Parking Lot
Whole-beast butcher shop taps appetite for local meat
It’s only been just over two months since former Chez Panisse chef Aaron Rocchino and his wife Monica opened The Local Butcher Shop in the heart of Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto. But the store, which prides itself on sourcing locally and embracing the whole animal, has already found a loyal clientele and two very local restaurant clients.
Chez Panisse, perhaps not surprisingly, is patronizing the newly established meat purveyor and buying its beef there, as well as “anything else they need when they’re in a pinch”, says Monica Rocchino.
Saul’s Deli is getting ground beef from its new neighbor and, as of last Tuesday, serving Local Butcher Shop bologna. Executive Chef Peter Levitt hopes this might go some way to appeasing his salami loving customers who, he says, are suffering while Saul’s searches for sustainable, artisanal salami it feels happy to serve. … Continue reading »
Reminder: Dia de los Muertos in Berkeley on Wednesday
Halloween may be behind us, but tomorrow offers the opportunity to continue in a similar vein with the Gourmet Ghetto’s Dia le los Muertos celebration.
The event, which will be happening right next to Off The Grid in north Berkeley, is a way of remembering those who have passed on, and will be a more ambitious endeavor than in previous years.
Look out for “Ghoulish Gastronomique” menus at nearby restaurants, interactive craft stalls, a beer and wine stand, and the Con Permiso Mariachi band. A community altar, or ofrenda, is being created for and by community members who may bring photos or stories of their loved ones, candles, breads, or flowers to add to the altar. … Continue reading »
Tagged Dia de los Muertos, Gourmet Ghetto, Off the Grid
Photos: Fine weather and outdoor pursuits in Berkeley
With some gorgeous fall weather, it was a weekend of outdoor pursuits in Berkeley with the Spice of Life Festival in the Gourmet Ghetto, Off The Grid at Golden Gate Fields, and a general appreciation for the beauty of the nature that surrounds us. Here’s a taste of all of the above by Berkeleyside contributing photographers Nancy Rubin, s. jo., Ira Serkes, D.H. Parks, and seaangle12.
Tagged Golden Gate Fieds, Off the Grid, Spice of Life
Ebbett’s Good to Go debuts tonight at Off The Grid
Finally, the local gals get to park their food truck close to home. The duo behind Ebbett’s Good to Go, which currently hawks gourmet sandwiches to the lunchtime office set in Emeryville and San Francisco, will bring their mobile eatery to serve their neighbors at Off The Grid North Berkeley tonight.
Regular readers of this site may recall that these two food-loving moms, who live in Berkeley, set out this time last year to run a lunchtime food … Continue reading »
Berkeley street style: Stars in stripes
By Dana Smith
Patriotism is alive and well in the People’s Republic of Berkeley if the display of red, white and blue during the city’s Fourth of July festivities was any indication.
Even before Independence Day, we had noticed a proliferation of primary hued stripes on the streets in the form of scarves, skirts, and maritime-inspired tops.
I know my closet is filling up with bold stripes and I’m finding one of my favorite ways to wear them are together. Layering stripes — think black and white striped cardigan over thick green and blue striped tunic, or vertical striped pants with a horizontal top — is a fresh way to update the classic motif.
Or, go the deconstructed route, like many of the families at the Berkeley Hills BBQ I attended did: each family member representing one color of Old Glory.
Berkeley street style: Geeky good spectacles
By Dana Smith
In a city that prides itself on seeking the truth behind the headlines and the nuances beyond the soundbites, it’s not unexpected that Berkeleyans would want to sharpen their vision at all times.
The real surprise in this fleece-and-clog town is the degree of style they’re bringing to the act of seeing and truth-seeking.
Heavy, geek-inspired plastic rims reflecting the city’s academic pedigree dominate, from farmers’ markets to cafés, but when the sun came out at the … Continue reading »
