Elmwood Cafe in Berkeley found itself sunny-side-down today after Berkeley-based comedian W. Kamau Bell wrote a blog post titled: "Happy Birthday! Have Some Racism from Elmwood Cafe!"
An early prototype of the East Coast style pizzas at Buma's (via Facebook).
Welcome to the Mid-Week Menu, our roundup of East Bay food news.
1) Buma’s (325 19th St.) — the New York-style pizzeria that chef Jon Kosorek has planned for the same tiny Uptown Oakland spot that housed his previous restaurant, Marrow — is now open for business, Inside Scoop reports. On the menu: slices, whole pies, a couple of salads, and — just in time for the Super Bowl — chicken wings (available in plain, hot, or “curry teriyaki”).
What’s Eating You is a semi-regular feature wherein I provide answers to your most pressing East Bay-centric food questions. Send questions to Luke (dot) Tsai (at) EastBayExpress (dot) com, with the subject line “What’s Eating You.”
Dear Luke,
The East Bay has no shortage of delicious food, but every now and then, there's something I can't find like West Indian chicken curry roti or arepas. I'm curious to know what speciality dishes you can't find in the East Bay that you wish you could. Maybe this will inspire some of our local entrepreneurs to start a food truck or pop up.
Every so often I come across a restaurant that I like, but for whatever reason it isn’t a good fit for a full review — maybe the menu is too limited, or the cuisine isn’t distinctive enough to set it apart from other restaurants in the same general category. Still, several of these places wind up in my semi-regular takeout rotation, and, truth be told, they deserve a little more attention.
Here are three newish spots in Oakland that I’ve been frequenting lately:
The exterior of Overland, which aims to be the new home of the Bay Area's country music scene.
A new restaurant and bar in Oakland’s Jack London district is aiming to become the new home for the Bay Area’s country music fans — and to serve a lot of massive stuffed burgers in the process. Overland (101 Broadway), a 4,000-square-foot restaurant located in the space formerly occupied by Centouno, will feature live music three or four nights a week, no cover charges, and regular country line dancing lessons.
Charlie Parker is bringing a prix-fixe, family-style menu format back to Haven.
Welcome to the Mid-Week Menu, our roundup of East Bay food news.
1) Some three weeks after Haven (44 Webster St.) went on what was initially an unannounced hiatus, the Jack London Square restaurant will reopen this Friday with a new menu format in place, Oakland Local reports. Or rather, the restaurant will go back to a version of the prix-fixe, family-style format that it has tinkered with previously. Chef Charlie Parker will now serve a daily-changing chef’s choice tasting menu, with the first and last courses served as big, family-style platters. “It’s like a big dinner party,” Parker told Oakland Local.
Davide Cerretini wants to enjoy a good laugh — at Yelp's expense.
At this point, Richmond’s Botto Bistro (2171 Meeker Ave.) practically needs no introduction. The tiny Italian restaurant made nationalheadlines last fall for its campaign to become the lowest-reviewed restaurant on Yelp, offering a 25 percent discount on pizza to anyone who submitted a one-star review — an effort that owners Davide Cerretini and Michele Massimo launched in response to what they believed were strong-arm tactics employed by the online review site. The goal, they said, was to render their Yelp page useless.
One of the gaps in the East Bay dining scene is the lack of a bona fide steakhouse. Might a new Korean-owned Japanese restaurant on the Oakland waterfront help fill the niche?
Oyster noodles, one of the new dishes available for dinner at Taiwan Bento.
Good news for people who love Taiwanese food and who, like me, have watched with excitement as the cuisine has gained traction in the East Bay (the sad departure of Berkeley’s Taiwan Restaurant last month notwithstanding): Uptown Oakland lunch box specialist Taiwan Bento (412 22nd St.) is now open for dinner.
Welcome to the Mid-Week Menu, our roundup of East Bay food news.
1) Back in May, we reported that the Kingfish Pub (5239 Telegraph Ave.), Temescal’s tiniest and most beloved dive bar, would be moving — literally, getting picked up and moved down the street. Well, this week, it happened! Inside Scoop has some great photos of the move, and Bay Area News Group even posted a short video. The bar’s owners are hoping that they’ll be able to reopen sometime in March.