Openings, closings…
CASK ON COLLEGE IS OPEN Berkeley has a new upmarket liquor store with the opening of Cask at 3185 College Ave. (pictured above). We told you in March about plans by Future Bars, the group behind San Francisco cocktail bars Bourbon & Branch and Local Edition — as well as the forthcoming Tupper & Reed cocktail bar in the old Beckett’s space in Berkeley — to take over College Avenue Wine Spirits & Deli. The deed is done and, as Tablehooper reports, Cask on College is now up and running. Cask says it specializes “in curating a selection of hard-to-find, unusual, esoteric, and generally tasty wines, spirits, beers, and mixers, along with some interesting books and bar tools. We try our best to select only the best products that we can find, and we offer you our assurance that our buyers have tasted or used every product before they hit the shelves.” Connect with the business on its website and on Facebook.
CAFÉ UNDERWOOD Billed as a “new-school café, dedicated to catering to all those who work from home,” Café Underwood has opened at 308 41st St. (at Broadway) in North Oakland, in the same building set to house a new Trueburger restaurant. It’s a coffee shop meets co-working space in that it offers free wifi, rentable conference and office space, organic artisan coffee (including Highwire Coffee Roasters Howlin Wolf nitro brew on tap) and food. Owner Dominick Scala came up with the concept after being frustrated trying to work at coffee shops with either patchy wifi or signs suggesting patrons not use the space as an office. So the new place, which is named after the traditional typewriter manufacturer, has lots of outlets, phone booths, small private offices and, in the upstairs mezzanine, a large conference room available for rent. There’s also lots of outdoor seating. Connect with Café Underwood on Facebook for updates.
FIELDWORK BREWING COMPANY We brought you news of a brewery slated for West Berkeley back in April. Now owners Far West have been in touch to tell us the name of the new destination for beer aficionados will be Fieldwork Brewing Company. The company has recently received its permits to build out the 10,212-square-foot industrial building at 1150 Sixth St. (at Harrison), and aims to open “sometime in 2015.” Via a note on Twitter posted July 23, “Use Permit arrived in the mail! Now we get to building a brewery and we’ll see you soon.” The goal is to produce over 310,000 gallons of beer a year and also open a restaurant and barrel-aging facility. Far West hopes to brew six year-round beers, limited release beers, and a series of barrel-aged sour beers and American wild ales. Food to accompany the brews might include cheese and charcuterie plates, fresh Acme breads and olive oils, Bavarian-style pretzels, sandwiches and flatbread pizzas, according to the Far West application, which has not yet been posted online. We’ll keep you posted as the project develops. Connect with Fieldwork on Twitter.
LONGITUDE OPENS TODAY Longitude bar has its grand opening celebration Friday, Aug. 15, at 347 14th St. in Oakland, beginning at 4 p.m. With a tagline like “Every Good Adventure Deserves a Great Cocktail,” visitors are likely to be in for some fun. Signature cocktails include the Malambo No. 1 (“Guava and passion fruit juices are sublime when they dance with the bubbles of Santa Maria sparking rosé”) and the Zawadi Cup (“A sparkling gift of Papa’s Pilar blonde, fresh lime, a house chocolate-orange syrup, sparkling rosé and fresh mint”) — and proceeds from the sale of that beverage will go to the Asante Foundation and be matched by Papa’s Pilar rum. Appetizers include spring rolls, beef skewers and and cod fritters, not to mention coconut shrimp and fried plantains. Larger dishes include an artisanal cheese plate, a four-cheese mac and cheese meal, and shepherd’s pie. Peruse the food and drink offerings, as well as the restaurant’s hours and other pertinent information, via the restaurant website. Connect on Facebook.
SCARLET CITY ESPRESSO Emeryville coffee roaster Scarlet City Espresso, which Nosh told you about in May, is set to open next Saturday, Aug. 23, at 3960 Adeline St. Owner Jen St. Hilaire has been roasting coffee since 2009, but this will be her first brick-and-mortar shop for the business, which she’s opening with partner Susanna Handow. Scarlet City Espresso Bar will “continue the Northern Italian tradition where you stand at the counter with other patrons having their espresso and chat,” said Handow, “where getting your coffee is more of a social experience than an isolating one, where you’re having an interaction with the people who work there and other regulars.” Connect with Scarlet City on Facebook.
COST PLUS IN BERKELEY? Contrary to an earlier report, via Inside Scoop SF, that Cost Plus World Market had plans to open on Gilman Street in West Berkeley, the home decor, food and gift company says there are no such plans. Company spokeswoman Jill Osaka told Berkeleyside on Tuesday that the rumor is not true. Lots of other things are happening in West Berkeley, however, around Gilman Street: with Whole Foods having recently announced its opening date, a new Doughnut Dolly location, a brand new Philz Coffee shop and more. Check out recent Berkeleyside coverage of the Gilman District to learn more.
PLANK STEPS CLOSER TO OAKLAND OPENING Via the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Nosh brings you the news that a bowling alley, restaurant and live performance space in development in Jack London Square has recently filed for its permit to serve liquor, wine and beer. Plank — which is planning a beer garden and bocce ball court in addition to its other offerings — hopes to open a 49,000-square-foot entertainment complex at 98 Broadway in Oakland. The SF Business Times reported on the restaurant’s plans in May.
GREEK STREET FOOD, CAMBER EXPANSION Nosh correspondent Alix Wall reports two new openings in Oakland’s Montclair neighborhood. Kouzina, at 2064 Antioch Court, is getting close to opening, and will offer Greek street food in what used to be a Noah’s Bagels shop. The company promises “real all-natural hand stacked gyro meat” and says it’s “coming soon” on its Facebook page, as of Aug. 11. Wall also says Camber, of Uptown Oakland, is set to launch a new Montclair branch. According to Camber’s website, they have “a second location coming to Montclair in the Oakland Hills this September.” No further details were available as of publication time, but stay tuned for more information as it becomes available. Connect with Camber on Facebook.
CHANGES AT EGBERT SOUSE’S We hear via an Oakland neighborhood email list that Egbert Souse, at 3758 Piedmont Ave., is getting a new owner. The business has faced difficulty in recent years due to several shootings, and its owners decided to sell the bar and building, according to the Piedmont Avenue Neighborhood Improvement League. The new owners held a community meeting Aug. 13 to collect community feedback. Nosh is in the process of learning more. (Update: Turns out this is the planned location for The Lodge from Alexeis Filipello of Bar Dogwood and Stag’s Lunchette. Stay tuned for details.)
What else is going on…
CORSO Corso in Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto, known for its Florentine cuisine, is having a significant makeover. It has promoted chef Scott Eastman to run the kitchen, is introducing a more extensive in-house charcuterie program, and will be crafting house-made pastas “that are hard-to-find-in-America.” A new cocktail program, devised by new bar manager Justin Sutton who worked at Absinthe in San Francisco, is based on vintage spirits and Italian flavor profiles. The popular restaurant, which was founded by Wendy Brucker and Roscoe Skipper of Rivoli, has torn out its pizza oven from the tiny kitchen and replaced it with a salumi cooler for all the dining room to see, as well as a state-of-the-art pasta cooker. New dishes include a nightly butcher’s special, sweetbreads, offal, chicken liver pate, compressed melon with prosciutto, and yogurt-marinated rabbit belly. The Firenze classics, such as tagliatelle with braised beef and pork sugo, Hoffman Farms butter-roasted chicken breast, and the Polenta Al Forno baked polenta with mascarpone and Parmigiano are still on the menu however. Corso is at 1788 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley (between Delaware and Francisco).
BRUNCH AT DOUKKALA Temescal’s Doukkala restaurant, featured in Nosh in May, debuted a weekend brunch in July. Owner Jamal Zahid named his Oakland restaurant, at 4905 Telegraph Ave., after a region in Morocco known for its agricultural fertility and coastal fishing towns. Brunch service is offered Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. What hasn’t changed is “the restaurant’s Moroccan inspired California cuisine prepared using French techniques by Executive Chef Eric Lanvert who utilizes local farm-fresh organic ingredients and the highest quality meats and seafood,” according to the business. Brunch items ($8-$14) might include Moroccan baghrir pancakes, Mendocino quail pastilla, Doukkala Benedict with poached eggs, grilled Merguez sausage and harissa hollandaise sauce, or a baked egg chakchouka: poached eggs in a spicy tomato sauce and a coulis of bell peppers. Connect with the business on Facebook.
LOCAL BUTCHER SHOP TURNS 3 The Local Butcher Shop in Berkeley is turning 3 on Sunday, Aug. 17, and is offering free sliders to celebrate, at 1600 Shattuck Ave. The shop has also launched a new “Butcher Basket Program,”a CSA-style box with local sustainably raised meats, to be picked up monthly. According to the business, the program is “an extension of The Local Butcher Shop’s goal to equalize the value of whole animals and encourage you to eat from nose to tail. Through the Butcher Basket, we hope to continue to introduce our customers to the diversity of cuts available at The Local Butcher Shop. Each month you’ll receive a mixed basket of meat containing frozen portions of beef, pork, and lamb.” Butcher Basket Program members receive a 10% discount when they shop on pick-up days. Connect with The Local Butcher Shop on Facebook.
This feature was updated shortly after publication to include a time sensitive event.
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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.
