Openings, closings…
MR. DEWIE’S NOW SERVING NON-DAIRY ICE CREAM IN ALBANY Last fall, we got wind that Mr. Dewie’s, the cashew milk-based ice cream company, would be opening its first retail location on Albany’s Solano Avenue. We’re now happy to report that as of March 2, the ice cream shop is now open. Mr. Dewie’s is in the former Burger Depot location at 1116 Solano Ave., and it is currently serving around 12 different flavors of ice cream, including chocolate orange chip, caramel almond crunch and roasted cashew. Mr. Dewie’s also offers vegan baked goods and both vegan and non-vegan ice cream cones. (The later was a source of slight controversy; initially the cones at Mr. Dewie’s were not vegan, but after some cross-bay vegan guests inquired, owners Ari and Andrew Cohen have added the option.) Mr. Dewie’s is at 1116 Solano Ave. (at Kains Avenue), Albany. Connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
NOODLE THEORY PROVISIONS OPEN Last month, we reported that the second location of Noodle Theory would be opening soon. The restaurant, called Noodle Theory Provisions, launched its soft dinner opening this week. It will open with full lunch and dinner hours March 14. According to Inside Scoop, Noodle Theory Provisions will initially serve the same menu as at its original location — California-inflected variations on Asian noodle dishes like grilled salmon curry and Niman Ranch spicy pork loin ramen in peanut lime cilantro broth. Eventually, owner Louis Kao plans to expand the menu to include dishes like smoked trout salad, hot and sour soup with Dungeness crab, and braised oxtail. Unlike the original location, Noodle Theory Provisions also has a full bar; look for speciality cocktails to pair with your noodles in the near future. Noodle Theory Provisions will be at 5849 San Pablo Ave. (at Stanford), Emeryville. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook and Twitter.
KOREAN RESTAURANT MAY BE REPLACING PERDITION Earlier this week, we saw word on Perdition Smokehouse‘s Facebook page that its renowned beer taps may live again. The barbecue restaurant, which closed suddenly last October, wrote a short post March 2 saying that a new restaurant called Berkeley Social Club would be taking over the space. Perdition added that Berkeley Social Club would serve “some version of Korean food” and would be continuing the draft beer program. However, the post has now been removed from Perdition’s Facebook page, and no other word of the new restaurant has circulated. We’ll keep you posted. Berkeley Social Club may open at 2050 University Ave. (near Shattuck Avenue), Berkeley.
BANH MI JOINT UNDER CONSTRUCTION Over in Emeryville, Banh Mi Joint is making progress. The E’ville Eye reports that the new Vietnamese sandwich shop is owned by, Tee Tran, the proprietor of Oakland’s Monster Pho. Tran told the Eye that he will be serving “finger foods such as fresh spring rolls, saigon egg rolls, homestyle fried chicken wings” in addition to banh mi sandwiches and vermicelli noodle bowls. On the drinks side, Tran will serve local wines and imported Asian beers, plus a selection of teas and Vietnamese coffee. No word on an exact opening date, but we will keep you posted. Banh Mi Joint will be at 3900 Adeline St. (at 39th Street), Emeryville. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
ENDGAME CAFÉ GETTING CLOSE Last fall, we teased you with the news of another board game café opening in the East Bay. (Berkeley’s Victory Point Café opened last September.) That café, Endgame, is an addition to the popular Old Oakland board game store of the same name, and it is finally getting close to opening. It was funded primarily through a successful Kickstarter campaign, and there owner Chris Hanrahan has been posting frustrating updates on slow construction over the past several months. Luckily, Hanrahan writes that he is basically finished with construction, and is finalizing smaller details like Internet service. Endgame Café will function as a community-focused outpost of the store; guests will be able to play games, listen to live music and drink coffee (from Berkeley-based Supersonic Coffee) until the wee hours. Endgame Café will be 921 Washington St. (at 10th Street), Oakland. Connect with the store on Facebook and Twitter.
PORTAL OWNER TO OPEN PIZZA RESTAURANT The popular Oakland brunch spot, Portal, will soon be getting a sister restaurant, Philomena Pizza. According to its Facebook page, Philomena will “offer the Oakland community a different take on beer and pizza.” A photo on its Facebook page (see right) also lists sports as a main attraction, so we can expect at least a television or two and the broadcast of plenty of Oakland games. Like Portal, Philomena will be in East Oakland, in the former Vida’s Fish Market at 14th Avenue and 18th Street. While we know little about the food menu, we do know that Michael Richard, of Rosamunde, Portal and ØL Beercafe & Bottle Shop, will be curating the beer list, and that it will include 12 beers on tap and a “large case” for bottles. Philomena is slated to open at some point this month. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more. Philomena Pizza will be at 1801 14th Ave. (at 18th Street), Oakland. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook.
BOWL’D OPENING FOURTH LOCATION IN ALAMEDA We were a little late to this news, but it looks like Bowl’d, the popular Korean restaurant with locations in Albany, Berkeley and Oakland, will be opening in Alameda’s South Shore Center any day now. The Bay Area News Group had the story back in January, and we saw that Bowl’d has recently had its ABC license approved. Like its other locations, Bowl’d in Alameda will serve a wide selection of bibimbap rice bowls with either white or mixed grain rice (this reporter’s favorite), plus specialty dishes ranging like jhap che (glass noodles), Korean miso stew, pork belly and kimchi stir-fry, and plenty of banchan (side dishes). Bowl’d will be at 2201D South Shore Center, Alameda. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook.
Dinners and events…
BEDROCK WINE DINNER AT COMAL Berkeley’s Comal will again be hosting Bedrock Wines for two special dinners later this month. The $130 dinners will showcase a selection of Bedrock wines paired with special dishes from Comal chef Matt Gandin. Bedrock founder Morgan Twain-Peterson and father Joel Peterson (of Ravenswood Winery) will be in attendance to chat with guests about their winemaking approach. Menu items will include a king salmon crudo with English peas, serrano chiles and pickled scallions (with 2015 Old Vine Rosé); cochinita pibil tacos (with 2014 Zinfandel); and Cascabel chile-braised beef cheeks with broccoli rabe and achiote rice (with 2014 Lorenzo’s Vineyard Heritage). The Bedrock wine dinners will take place at 6:30 p.m. March 21 and 22. Reservations are required; purchase tickets here. Comal is at 2020 Shattuck Ave (between University Avenue and Addison Street). Connect with the restaurant on Facebook and Twitter.
LEARN TO MAKE NUT MILKS Nut milk aficionados would be wise to consider attending a nut milk workshop with local “holistic health enthusiast” Lila Volkas this Saturday. At the $40 workshop, Volkas and co-nut milk maker Kelly Guava will be sharing the skinny on how to make milks from various nuts, as well as recipes for making granola from the leftover nut milk pulp (key for stretching your dollar). In addition to instruction, guests will get to sample various nut milks and will get to take home a nut milk bag and illustrated recipes. Learn more about the event and purchase tickets here.
What else is going on…
COMMONWEALTH CAFE AND PUB SOLD Just last week, we brought you news on the fate of recently-shuttered Commonwealth Micropub in Emeryville. (ICYMI, it’s being replaced by a pan-Latin restaurant, Patatas.) Now, we hear from Commonwealth Café and Pub owners Ahna and Ross Adair that they have sold their flagship Oakland location. The two wrote on the pub’s Facebook page that the new owners, Lizzie Alford and Josh Rosenberg, will continue to offer “all the things you’ve come to know and live.” Both Alford and Rosenberg have been regulars since the pub opened in 2010, and Alford joined the staff in 2014. The Adairs say that they have the “utmost faith in their ability to carry on the tradition” of Commonwealth. While the Adairs were fairly mum on their reasonings for selling, they did mention that “several factors have culminated in this carefully considered decision” but that they were “primarily motivated by what [they] feels best for [their] wee family right now.” They added that the sale is “bittersweet. … We have made so many wonderful friends here.” CommonWealth Café and Pub is at 2882 Telegraph Ave. (at 29th Street), Oakland. Connect with the café on Facebook and Twitter.
CHEF SHUFFLE AT GATHER After just six months at the helm of the kitchen at Berkeley’s Gather restaurant, chef Tu David Phu is moving on. According to Inside Scoop, he will be replaced by his predecessor, Charis Wahl, who took over for opening chef Sean Baker. (Wahl had most recently been working as the sous chef at The Advocate under John Griffiths, who just left the Elmwood restaurant to take a job at San Francisco’s Bluestem.) Phu had brought a more mainstream approach to Gather’s menu from Baker’s and later, Wahl’s, more experimental cuisine. Wahl told Inside Scoop that she will likely steer the menu in a slightly more experimental style. “I like to have fun with the food, use rare ingredients that aren’t seen as often — but serve it in an approachable way that’s accessible for people,” she said. Wahl is already in the kitchen and making menu tweaks. Look for more changes in the next couple of months. As for Phu, he has decided to put all of his focus into his new weekly pop-up dinners, called AN. These dinners explore his Vietnamese heritage, interpreted though a California lens. Gather is at 2200 Oxford St. (at Allston Way), Berkeley. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook and Twitter.
JAMES AND THE GIANT CUPCAKE RAISING FUNDS FOR SECOND LOCATION North Oakland’s popular cupcakery, James and the Giant Cupcake, is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for equipment and initial operating costs for a second location in downtown Oakland. While owners Eurydice Manning and Caleigh Schrey did not offer a specific address for the new spot, the Kickstarter video shows a likely location in the Howden building at 17th and Webster streets. Manning and Schrey are doing construction on the new location, and should everything go as planned, they will open up in April. Connect with James and the Giant Cupcake on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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