Openings…
GILMAN BIERGARTEN Remember we told you about the proposal to create a dining and beer garden at Gilman and Curtis in West Berkeley? It had many readers salivating. The good news is the plans have been approved. Owners Linda and Carl Lasagna, whose family founded Westbrae Nursery next door to the lot, are finalizing negotiations with a stationary anchor tenant and are on the lookout for candidates for two or three food truck spots (Roti Roti is a strong favorite, and when the garden recently rolled in the Brazil Café truck for a test run, passersby erupted in cheers.). DSA Architects have started mocking up placements on the site. The plan is for 3,400 square feet of outdoor dining space with picnic-style seating — not unlike the Hayes Valley Biergarten on Octavia Street in San Francisco (View the application to Berkeley’s planning department.) The hope is that the biergarten will open in late July.
BROTZEIT LOKAL Speaking of beer, and German beer at that, Brotzeit Lokal on the Oakland waterfront looks set to open on June 13, according to East Bay Express. The German sausage-and-beer restaurant is the brainchild of Chop Bar chef Lev Delany and you can check out the initial menu here. Brotzeit Lokal is at 1000 Embarcadero. Follow them on Facebook as they count down to the opening.
A16 ROCKRIDGE As tipped in last week’s Bites, the folks behind A16 and SPQR in San Francisco, Victoria Libin and Shelley Lindgren, are soon to open A16 Rockridge at 5356 College Ave. in Rockridge. The launch date has been moved back from today to June 1. To whet your appetite while you wait for the doors to open, check out Tablehopper’s account of a pizza preview she attended, and Oaklavore’s description of a dinner preview spent there. View the restaurant’s opening dinner menu.
TROY ON SOLANO A Berkeley councilmember who ate there tipped us off to the fact that Troy Greek Cuisine is now open on Solano Avenue in the space formerly occupied by Italian delicatessen A.G. Ferrari. Troy, which serves traditional Greek dishes such as mezza platters, tzatziki and gyros, already has one Berkeley restaurant — at 2985 College Ave. in the Elmwood — and another in Alameda. Troy’s website is not yet updated, but the restaurant is at 1843 Solano.
HIVE CAFE Hive Café, at 2139 MacArthur Blvd., which we told you about earlier this month, opened yesterday. Owners Calanit Kamala and Bree Dezort are serving Highwire coffee and Starter Bakery pastries, as well house-made sandwiches and salads. Menu options in future may include Caprese salad, roast beef sandwich with sage aioli, and peanut butter and honey sandwich with bananas. Unsurprisingly, given its name, Marshall’s Honey will be featured in several menu items, according to East Bay Dish, who also reports the café plans to get a granita machine to make icy infused summer drinks.
What else is going on…
LOVE OUR LAKE Lots of food trucks are slated to be part of Love our Lake Day on Sunday, June 9, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. around Lake Merritt. Love Our Lake Day celebrates Oakland’s investment through Measure DD which has transformed Lake Merritt. The event will see three miles of car-free streets and a host of recreation and cultural activities for all the family. Mobile food trucks expected to take part include Tina Tamale, Fist of Flour, Doc’s of the Bay, Liba Falafel, Roderick’s BBQ, Tante’s, Beulah’s Beans, Fiveten Burger, and Annakoot. Visit Love Our Lake website for full details or call (510) 444-CITY.
SUMMER KITCHEN Summer Kitchen Bake Shop at 2944 College Ave. is one of the many local food-related businesses that is stepping up to the plate to help raise funds for the threatened BUSD school gardening and cooking program. (You remember it’s Dine Out Berkeley today, right?) All profits of the newly published Farmacology by local author Daphne Miller that are sold this week will go to Willard Middle School’s garden project.
Recent Nosh stories (in case you missed them):
Stella Nonna restaurant opens in North West Berkeley
Portraits: Berkeley’s gardening and cooking educators
The Cassoulet Saved Our Marriage, or learning to eat
Snapshot: Barkada Bakery and Café on Telegraph
Bites is Nosh’s round-up of restaurant openings, happenings and closings in the East Bay. Got a tip or scoop? Send it our way to nosh@berkeleyside.com. Follow Berkeleyside NOSH on Twitter, and on Facebook.
