Oakland Food News

News about food and drink in Oakland for your gustatory reading pleasure.

A great combo of food from Tina Tamale, beer from Linden Street Brewery, and lively company from Eat Drink Oakland and other Oakland folks made for a fine Friday evening at the informal Cuatro de Mayo celebration. And I got to see the Tamale Transporter sporting its beautiful new paint job.

The popular Bites off Broadway returns for the 2012 season. The opening lineup includes Tina Tamale, Doc's of the Bay, and Nick's Breakfast Truck. Read more at the East Bay Express.

Phat Beets Produce, the Oakland-based CSA is introducing a fruit box in addition to its regular 'beet box'. I can't find details on their website, but an email said it will begin June 21st and cost $15 per week.

On Saturday is the annual Passport to the East Bay Wine Trail with tastings, food and more at wineries in and around Oakland. K and I went last year and it was a lot of fun. tip: Start early, as it gets crowded later.

I saw on Twitter that a new food truck pod based on Clay at what would be 15th Street has started, beating Bites off Broadway as the first pod under the new city regulations. Read the lineup at Oakland Local.

I've heard good things about FuseBOX, a new affordable lunch spot in West Oakland. Read more at Oakland Local.

Still just the one trip and no chance yet to write up a review, but I really liked the new vegan restaurant downtown, Banana Soy. I was there on the first full day—so new they didn't have their credit card machine yet or their desserts.

At some point Kitchen 388 closed down because of a family emergency, but I saw on Twitter that they're open again and serving dinner. Their website says they have Sunday brunch and serve dinner Wednesday through Sunday. I liked it on my lunch visit last summer.

Across the street at the Room 389 bar, they're serving Cameroonian food on Tuesday nights. Read more at the East Bay Express.

Despite a lukewarm review on SFGate, I saw a full house at Haven enjoying their dinners last Friday during the inaugural Jack's Night Market. The latest issue of Oakland Magazine has a nice review.

Something else I'm looking forward to trying, and considerably less expensive than Haven is Organic Soul Live in Chinatown. Yep, more vegan soul food in Oakland, this one sharing space in the Tutti Frutti frozen yogurt shop on 9th Street. Read more at the East Bay Express.

Another recent addition is Nick's Pizza on Shattuck near Alcatraz. Sourdough crust? Local ingredients? Sounds good to me. Read more in the SFoodie column.

In the mystery column, I saw a store front with papered-over windows on Lakeshore near El Embarcadero and a "coming soon" sign. I didn't have a chance to stop and take a closer look—anyone know what's planned for that spot? It used to be a hair place.

Fans of Actual Cafe will be happy to hear that owner Sal Bednarz is planning to open a burger place next door. It will be called Victory Burger, and Sal has started a Kickstarter campaign to help with the launch. The restaurant name draws on the WWII campaign of 'victory gardens', and will serve burgers and other sandwiches made from sustainably-raised meats, artisan breads, and organic produce, served street-food style, i.e., casual. Check out the video of Sal talking about the plans, and see if you don't get excited about it, too.

Finally, I saw on Twitter that Cocina Poblana in Jack London Square has closed down. I haven't confirmed it yet myself, but the phone was no longer in service.