Openings, closings…
CAT TOWN CAFE A new café where cats reign has opened in Oakland in in the heart of the city’s historic Auto Row. Co-founded by Ann Dunn and Adam Myatt, Cat Town Café gives cat lovers the chance to grab a coffee and a bite in the company of feline friends, and also acts as a cat adoption center. “The café part is going to be completely self-contained within the larger property. You’ll walk in, get your goodies, then go in to the Cat Zone,” said Dunn, also the founder of Cat Town, a non-profit that has been rescuing at-risk shelter cats in partnership with Oakland Animal Services since 2011. The menu includes bagels from the Authentic Bagel Co., sandwiches from S+M Vegan, and coffee from Bicycle Coffee Company, as well as catnip tea, for people and cats. There’s also Cat Macaroons from Shades of Sugar and other treats from Oakland’s Kitchener Collective. Once in the Cat Zone, patrons can purchase dehydrated treats from RAWR, an Oakland-based raw cat food purveyor. Guests are welcome to walk-in to the Cat Zone for a free visit limited to 60 minutes, or, for a small donation, be able to guarantee entry via an online reservation system. It’s believed Cat Town Café is America’s first permanent cat café. The Cat Town Café is at 2869 Broadway, at 29th St. Opening hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday; the Cat Zone is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday. More information can be found at Cat Town Café’s website.
BOSS BURGERS Opening soon in Albany is a neighborhood burger restaurant that is committed to frying all its food, including fries and chicken, in tallow rather than vegetable oil. Inside Scoop SF reports that Boss Burgers owner Jon Guhl, who also co-founded Little Star Pizza on Solano Avenue, believes tallow, which is lard, or rendered fat, is healthier than manufactured vegetable-based oils heated (and often reheated) at very high temperatures. “Rendering animal fat is something that we’ve been able to do from the beginning of time, versus using high temperatures and chemicals to extract oils out of plant tissues,” he told Inside Scoop. “It’s a nasty process; it’s hard on the environment and it’s hard on us. We’re trying to get back to things that are traditional, before food became so compromised with all kinds of fake bullish*t.” Boss’s will be serving include burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, soft serve ice cream, and fries (see the preliminary menu) and its ingredients score high on the sustainability scale. Boss Burger is at 1187 Solano Ave., Albany. Connect with Boss Burger on Facebook where it will no doubt announce its opening date soon.
ZELLA’S SOULFUL KITCHEN Zella’s Soulful Kitchen has opened in the Mandela Foods Cooperative on Seventh Street in Oakland, Inside Scoop reports. The project is the brainchild of La Cocina alum Dionne Knox who has gained a following for her California-style soul food through her catering business, and with prepared items at Whole Foods. At Zella’s she’ll be offering breakfast and lunch, with dinner service coming soon. The menu includes Beauty’s bagel with cream cheese and biscuit breakfast sandwich at breakfast, and a selection of salads and sandwiches at lunch. Soon, dinner will be added, with a rotating selection of comfort food plates (browse the menu). Zella’s Soulful Kitchen is inside Mandela Foods, 1430 Seventh St. at Mandela, Oakland. Tel: 510-452-1151. Connect with Zella’s Soulful Kitchen on Facebook.
WOODS BAR & BREWERY We alerted you to Woods Bar & Brewery back in September. The project, from Jim Woods of Woods Polk Station and Cervezeria in San Francisco, opened up earlier this month in the former home of Rocsil’s Shoes in Uptown Oakland. It offers 12 beers on tap, most of them brewed in small batches on-site, as well as other varieties. There’s a long Mahogany bar and an enclosed patio with a fireplace. While the space still needs a few finishing touches, an early write-up in the Chronicle was complimentary: “The beer is good. The people are nice. The empanadas are essentially the most gourmet hot pockets you’ll have all week. It is easy to abide,” they said. Woods Bar & Brewery is at 1701 Telegraph Ave. at 17th St., Oakland. Hours are Sun-Wed 5pm-11pm, Thu 5pm-12am, Fri-Sat 5pm-1am. Connect with Woods on Facebook.
What else is going on…
NOSH FOOD EVENTS CALENDAR Don’t forget to check the NOSH Events Calendar for food-related events happening in the East Bay. And if you want to list your own foodie events there, go ahead! It’s self-serve and free.
PATHOS CELEBRATES FIRST BIRTHDAY Pathos Organic Greek Kitchen in downtown Berkeley is celebrating its first birthday with an Anniversary Dinner with a six-course menu and free-flowing wine, a distillery dinner featuring St. George Spirits, and a late-night prix fixe menu available every third Saturday beginning in November. All details of the special meals can be found on the restaurant’s website. Pathos Organic Greek Kitchen is a family-owned restaurant led by owner/ executive chef Niko Eftimiou. Pathos is at 2430 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. Hours are: Wed., Thurs., and Sun., 5:30-9 p.m.; Sat. and Sun. 5:30-10 p.m. Tel: (510) 981-8339. Connect with Pathos on Facebook.
COMAL AND ARNOT MYERS On Tuesday Nov. 4 downtown Berkeley restaurant Comal will welcome back Arnot-Roberts’ co-founder Duncan Arnot Myers for a special wine dinner featuring a selection of their newly released wines paired with dishes by executive chef Matt Gandin. Dining in Duncan’s company, guests will have the opportunity to meet him and hear the story behind each featured wine. Tickets are $100 (inclusive of food, wine and service charge). Check out the menu and buy tickets at TicketFly.
Recent Nosh stories, in case you missed them:
A Dora Pie opens in former Slow restaurant space in Berkeley
Dumpster dive for your dinner: this book shows you how
The Half Orange: a great new beer and bites spot in Fruitvale
Allegro Coffee to open at new West Berkeley Whole Foods
Connect with NOSH on Facebook, follow NOSH on Twitter, and subscribe to the free NOSH Weekly email which positively bursts with mouth-watering East Bay food news.
