Oakland Food News

It's been a while since I posted any Oakland food news, so some of these tidbits aren't as fresh as when I first noted them. As usual, hat tips to Luke Tsai of East Bay Express and Christina Mitchell of East Bay Dish for lots of this news.

First up, Luke Tsai reports that it's now possible to get an authentic bialy in Oakland. This lesser-known cousin of the bagel can be found at Beauty's Bagels, the relatively new home of Montreal-style bagels on Telegraph.

Speaking of bagels, Luke Tsai also reports that Scream Sorbet is expanding its menu to include breakfast with bagels, featuring Manhattan-style bagels, other house-made baked goods, and coffee and tea. The change is to help them weather the winter slow-down that comes for sales of sorbets and ice creams.

Jack London Square restaurant Miss Pearl's (Miss Pearl's Jam House before that) is going to be replaced. Miss Pearl's has been in Oakland since 2008, but the SF Business times reports that Chris Pastena of Chop Bar is going to open another restaurant, Lungomare. It will feature food from the north coast of Italy and Tuscany.

The long-awaited Victory Burger is now open for lunch, Wednesday through Saturday, with more hours to come soon. Congrats to Sal and the crew!

East Bay Dish reviews the new "teany tiny teahouse" in downtown, Tea Here Now. Besides tea, they also have a food menu which includes a tasty-sounding grain salad.

Luke Tsai reports that the Sweet Bar Bakery near the Y is now open. Besides a variety of organic and locally-sourced sweet and savory baked goods, they also serve lunch from 11am-3pm. The sweets look amazing—I'm definitely looking forward to trying them.

Inside Scoop SF reports that Cesar on Piedmont is continuing to evolve. K and I ate there earlier this year, and it was good but uneven. Hopefully the new menu will be consistently good.

It's fairly new, but there's some buzz about Grand Lake Kitchen. Christina Mitchell of East Bay Dish says, "my neighborhood was in serious need of a deli." Read more about it from Luke Tsai in the East Bay Express.

Apparently Chop Bar is going to open a beer garden, probably around April. From the picture, it looks to be near the water. Another place along the estuary to enjoy beer? Count me in!

Speaking of beer, I heard that James Syhabout of Hawker Fare is partnering with Linden Street Brewery to open a restaurant in the building where Linden Street's tap room is. It's an unusual brick building (which was originally a factory producing cables), so the engineering and architecture will be a challenge. Look for it some time next year.

And speaking of James Syhabout, another new creation for him will be opening soon on College Avenue. In the space formerly occupied by Somerset will be a restaurant named Box and Bells. Read more on Grub Street, Inside Scoop SF, and Rockridge Patch. I first reported on it back in September, but things are coming together. Look for a popup-preview at Hawker Fare in January.

Speaking of the former Somerset, East Bay Dish reports that the former owner of Somerset has opened Destino Bar & Restaurant next door to Camino. More places to try...a good problem to have.

And speaking of former spots, A16 is supposed to open on College in the former Hudson location, near McNally's. No word on the timeline yet.

Luke Tsai reviews Rio California Cafe, in the lovely location of Preservation Park. It features tasty-sounding Brazilian dishes.

Fans of European-style beers will soon get a new hangout in Rockridge: Trappist Provisions. It was supposed to open the week after Thanksgiving, but according to @akondrake it was not open yet as of Saturday, 12/1.

Last but not least, there's news of a new food tour of Oakland. Savor Oakland is doing food tours of a variety of Oakland restaurants and food producers. Read more at East Bay Express and East Bay Dish. I'm definitely hoping to try them, when time and finances permit.