Openings…
THE STAR ON GRAND Deep-dish pizza spot Little Star — which started in San Francisco but also has a location in Albany on Solano Avenue — is opening a new outpost, The Star, at 3425 Grand Ave. in Oakland any day now. The menu will be similar to that of its other locations, but with a few twists — like its East Bay-inspired pizza, The Tilden, which combines zucchini, feta, tomato and pesto on a thin crust. Meatballs and sandwiches will be added to the menu, and owner Jon Guhl says he has discontinued the use of high fructose corn syrup and GMO products at all locations. We tipped you about The Star in January, but owners are waiting on a liquor license and have had to push back the opening date. They haven’t made any promises, but according to SF Eater, they may open as soon as this weekend.
HUTCH Tabblehopper tells us that at 2022 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland, where 2022 Lounge once stood, Hutch Bar and Kitchen is now open and serving up “cocktails and oysters,” as advertised on their old-fashioned vertical sign. The Southern-inspired menu offers comfort classics like hush puppies and grits — with Sunday plates of fried chicken and ribs — but they also boast a raw bar serving crawfish rémoulade, bourbon-cured salmon and fresh daily oysters. House specials at the bar include the Moon Julep (Wylie Howell moonshine, house-made maple syrup and mint) and the Heebie Jeebies (Mezcal, Cardamaro, egg white, orange flower water, lemon and nutmeg).
THE GREASE BOX The East Bay Express reports that Lizzy Boelter, owner of The Grease Box Mobile Kitchen, has found a permanent home for her gluten-free barbecue and chicken hotspot in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood. She hopes to open in mid-July with light fare at breakfast and lunch and barbecue at dinnertime.
KINGSTON 11 We wrote in March that Jamaican restaurant Kingston 11, once a pop-up at Berkeley’s Guerilla Café, was opening up a brick-and-mortar location at 2270 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland. The trio of proprietors — Adrian Henderson, Nigel Jones and Andre King — still plan to open up shop, but financial setbacks seem to have delayed the opening. They were running a fundraising campaign in May, and their latest update says they’re aiming to open in mid-July.
THIS WEEK IN SHOP TALK Check out Berkeleyside’s Shop Talk for a few more restaurant updates focused on the Berkeley scene. This week we brought news that the well-loved food shack Brazil Café will soon open an additional location where the Peruvian restaurant Brasa now stands at 1960 University Ave. Downtown, Casa Bernal Taqueria will be closing soon to make way for Seasons of Japan at 2122 Shattuck Ave., and one block over, a family-owned branch of The Sandwich Spot will open at 2106 Shattuck Ave. where Gelateria Naia used to be. It will feature an espresso bar and fresh cold press juices. We also spoke to the owner of Amadeus, the lounge-style grill and bakery that will be opening later this summer on University Avenue. Read these stories and more here.
What else is going on…
FOOD ‘N’ JUSTICE AT GUERILLA PROPAGATION The North Oakland Farmers Market at 942 Lowell St. will host the Food ‘n’ Justice Series Workshop at Guerilla Propagation this Saturday, June 22. From 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Phat Beets Produce will teach attendees how to save and sift vegetable seeds and create their own seed mixes, free of charge.
ATOMIC GARDEN BAKE SALE Atomic Garden, a home and crafts store at 5453 College Ave. in Oakland, is holding a bake sale to benefit Berkeley’s Willard Middle School garden program on June 29. The Willard garden is maintained by students and staff and is integrated into a cooking program, much like the Edible Schoolyard at King Middle School. The city’s school garden and food funding was reduced recently, and the schools have been relying on local fundraisers to help to keep the well-loved programs going.
PIZZAIOLO COUNTY FAIR If you bottle your own preserves or make famous homemade pies, bring your best creation to the Pizzaiolo County Fair on June 30 and enter it into the pie or jam contest. The family event at 5008 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland will have face painting and balloon animals for kids and spiked lemonade for adults, plus candy apples, crafts, grilled sausages served on Tartine buns, and live music from the Arann Harris Farm Band. They’ll also have wine from Kermit Lynch and beer from Linden Street Brewery. The proceeds from your ticket — which you can purchase here — will support the Conductive Education Center in San Francisco, which is running its third annual six-week summer camp for children with disabilities.
Recent Nosh stories (in case you missed them):
Building a better cocktail at Build Pizzeria Roma
Zatar nurtures diners with homegrown produce
Shopping Berkeley Bowl with a professional chef
Mango meringue pie with coconut macademia crust
Bites is Nosh’s round-up of restaurant openings, happenings and closings in the East Bay. Some of these items will have first appeared in Berkeleyside’s Shop Talk column. Got a tip or scoop? Send it our way to nosh@berkeleyside.com. Follow Berkeleyside NOSH on Twitter, and on Facebook.
-By Camille Baptista
