What’s new in East Bay food, XXXVI

Openings, closings…

BOTTOM OF THE NINTH BAR & GRILL Bottom of the Ninth Bar & Grill opened last month in the former Looney’s space at 5319 Martin Luther King Way in Oakland. According to East Bay Dish, it’s a family affair, with five cousins working together as business partners. The menu includes jerk wings, onion rings, crab cakes and burgers. TV sets are aplenty — it’s a sports bar after all — so it’s not surprising to hear that there are plans to launch NFL Sunday Brunch soon, with eggs, shrimp and grits and oxtails on the menu. Bottom of the Ninth is open Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Fri and Sat 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

COPAN Bibimbap rice bowls and Korean-Japanese fusion dishes are coming to Temescal with the opening of Copan at 4869 Telegraph Ave. in the space formerly occupied by Sura Korean restaurant, which has closed. The East Bay Express reports that the folks behind Korean BBQ restaurant Ohgane are behind Copan (see photo of Ohgane’s dishes, left). Eddie Joo, a 25-year-old chef who previously worked at New York’s Momofuku Noodle Bar looks likely to run the kitchen and the plan is to open the doors on Oct. 20.

CENTOUNO Looks like a new Italian restaurant is set to open in Oakland’s increasingly gourmet Jack London Square. According to Diablo Dish, Fabio Dalle Vacche, co-owner of the short-lived Borgo Italia in Old Oakland, has applied for an alcohol license to open Centouno ( as in “one hundred and one”) at 101 Broadway in the former Barclay’s Pub space. No more details to report as yet, but we’ll keep you posted.

What else is going on…

JOYCE GOLDSTEIN AT THE MARSH Celebrated chef and author Joyce Goldstein will be appearing at The Marsh in Berkeley as part of the Litquake book festival on Oct. 17, 6:30-8 p.m., in conversaton with Carolyn Jung. In her new book, Inside the California Food Revolution: Thirty Years That Changed Our Culinary Consciousness,  Goldstein traces California food culture from the 1970s to the present, a time when “farm-to-table,” “foraging” and “fusion cuisine” became part of the national vocabulary. There will be cocktails and an intimate discussion about how the Bay Area played a major role in changing the way the world eats. The Marsh Center, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley.

Recent Nosh stories (in case you missed them):

The Living Apothecary: Bottling cocktails of freshness
Mollie Katzen: Making vegetables the rock stars
For the East Bay’s best taco trucks, head to Fruitvale 

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. Catch up with previous Bites columns.