Openings, closings
B&B WINE BAR OPENS TOMORROW In January, we broke the news that Burritos, Inc. had abruptly shuttered. We now know that the owners Abraham Masarweh and Julia Joslyn have stuck around and will reopen the restaurant as B&B Kitchen and Wine Bar tomorrow for dinner. B&B will be a seafood-focused sister restaurant to the owners’ Rockridge spot Bourbon & Beef. Masarweh told Nosh in an interview that they decided to overhaul Burritos, Inc. because the space was too big for the concept. He said that they landed on a seafood restaurant because the neighborhood is currently lacking in classic American seafood dishes. Menu highlights include butter-poached lobster with squid ink linguine, a grilled octopus and chorizo appetizer, and classic cold seafood towers of oysters, shrimp cocktail, ceviche, crab and lobster tail. For those skipping seafood, B&B will serve steaks, burgers and pork chops, and there will be both vegan- and gluten-free dishes as well. On the drinks side, B&B will serve around 30 affordable wines by the glass — “There will be something for everyone,” said Masarweh — plus 10 draft beers. B&B will open for dinner hours this weekend; starting Monday, it will transition to its full schedule, which includes weekday lunch, nightly dinner and weekend brunch. The restaurant may stay open later on the weekends if the community wants it, said Masarweh. B&B Kitchen and Wine Bar is at 2116 Shattuck Ave. (between Addison and Center streets). Connect with the restaurant on Facebook.
LOCOL’S UPTOWN OAKLAND LOCATION LANDS NEXT WEEK After years of planning, the first Bay Area location of Daniel Patterson and Roy Choi’s heathi(er) fast food restaurant, LocoL, will open next week. Inside Scoop reports that the restaurant, which will be located in the former Plum Restaurant space at 2214 Broadway, will have its first day May 25. LocoL is intended to address the issue of healthy food access in underserved communities — it will serve familiar American fast food dishes like hamburgers, but with a healthier, affordable bent. Menu items will be priced in the $2 to $6 range and will include far more plant-based ingredients than its fast-food competitors. Burgers will made with tofu and grains in addition to beef, and salads, rice bowls, veggie bowls, falafel and tacos will also be on the menu. Patterson and Choi plan to also open a second East Bay location in East Oakland, as well as a commissary kitchen somewhere in the 510. A San Francisco location in the Tenderloin will also open, eventually. LocoL will be at 2214 Broadway (at 22nd Street), Oakland. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE DETAILS EMERGE ON THE LAUREL BEER GARDEN Back in March, we tipped you that the Laurel Beer Garden would be headed to MacArthur Boulevard in what is currently Candy’s Beauty Island and Miliki, Oakland’s only Nigerian restaurant. The East Bay Express spoke with Paul Schneider, who owns the building and is working on the beer garden project, as well as Miliki co-owner Ismael Okunade. It sounds like Schneider is actually planning to open two new businesses — the beer garden will go into the Miliki space, and a brick-and-mortar home for his Bramosia Chocolates company. The beer garden will offer around 20 different beers on tap and food like fish and chips to eat. Schneider told EBX that the sweet shop will be a “chocolate gelato cafe.” The beer garden will open first, in around seven months, and the sweet shop will follow. But neither Okunade nor Laurel district neighbors are very happy about the change. Okunade said that he had originally been told that he would continue to be able to lease the space; in October he was told he would eventually need to leave. Okunade’s deadline has been pushed back due to permitting issues, and he is currently trying to find a new space to which to move. No word yet on a closing date for Miliki. Laurel Beer Garden will be at 3721 and 3725 MacArthur Blvd. (at Loma Vista Avenue), Oakland.
AND IF THAT WASN’T ENOUGH BEER: DEGREES PLATO TO THE LAUREL Also opening in 2016, a few blocks down from Schneider’s place, will be Degrees Plato, another beer garden. This spot, however, is taking over a long empty building at 4251 MacArthur Blvd. According to the company website, Degrees Plato will be family-friendly, “focused on offering the neighborhood an inviting atmosphere that brings people together over high-quality, specialty craft beer.” Food will have a Latin flair; expect a lineup of tortas and tacos, plus specials like quesadillas de huitlacoche, tamales, and pozole. In addition to food and drink, owners Rich Allen and Mercedes Sperling also plan to cater to the area’s bike community by offering air, tools and resources for cyclists. Degrees Plato will be at 4251 McArthur Blvd. (at High Street), Oakland.
RIVETER CAFÉ NOW OPEN ON SOLANO In March, we first brought you news about Riveter Café, which was headed to the former Tangerine space on Solano Avenue. We now hear that the new restaurant has been open since April, serving, according to its website, “comfort food for the soul.” All of the menu items, which include root beer pork, cheesesteak sandwiches and a hearty veggie sandwich, are made using pastured protein and organic produce. The café is owned by Diva Robin, who also manages nearby Westbrae Biergarten. Riveter Café is at 1707 Solano Ave. (between Tacoma and Ensenada avenues), Berkeley. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook.
SLIDERBAR CLOSED As of this week, downtown Berkeley’s Sliderbar has closed; as of yet, we have no word on why the restaurant closed. A sign posted on the restaurant’s window read: “Sliderbar has permanently closed the doors for business. While we will always appreciate your patronage, the employees of Sliderbar will miss all of you. Thank you for continued patronage. Best of Luck [sic] to you all!” Sliderbar opened at 2124 Center St. in August 2013 in the former location of the Green Earth Café; it offered a menu of creatively topped Niman Ranch burgers, plus vegetarian options like balsamic-marinated portobello mushrooms. We will let you know once we learn of its replacement.
SLICE HOUSE OPENING NEXT WEEK The third and final restaurant to open in the slick new development at 1500 Mt. Diablo in Walnut Creek is set to open up May 27, according to Diablo Dish. Slice House, the New York-style pizza and Italian-American restaurant from San Francisco’s Tony Gemignani, is joining Telefèric Barcelona and Rooftop restaurant, which have both opened in the building. Menu items will include house-made pasta, Italian sausages, soups, salads and subs, in addition to pizzas. It will be open all day, every day, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Slice House will be at 1500 Mt. Diablo Blvd (at Main Street), Walnut Creek. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook.
TIDBITS: IKE’S, AGRODOLCE, BOPSHOP We hear from Inside Scoop that the downtown Berkeley location of Ike’s is now open as of Wednesday. The sandwich shop, which is located in an old Togo’s, is serving a few Berkeley-only sandwiches — Shattuck (fried chicken, Golden Bear sauce and jack cheese); the Telegraph (pastrami, ham, Golden Bear sauce, and cheddar); the By George! (bacon, Golden Bear sauce, and jack cheese); and the X-Files (breaded eggplant, Golden Bear sauce and jack cheese). Also in Berkeley, we’ve received a tip on the future of the Café Gratitude space: it sounds like it will be replaced by a new small plate Italian restaurant likely called Agrodolce. It is set to open this summer. Over on Solano Avenue, we hear that Bopshop is now open in the former Nature’s Express location. A tipster said that the restaurant is serving “kind of” Korean fast food, aka bowls and wraps, and it is owned by the same folks behind Bowl’d. Ike’s Place is at at 2172 Shattuck Ave. (between Center Street and Allston Way), Berkeley. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook and Twitter. Agrodolce will be at 1730 Shattuck Ave. (at Francisco Street), Berkeley. Bopshop is at 1823 Solano Ave. (at Colusa Avenue), Berkeley.
Dinners and events
EAST BAY SPICE COMPANY TURNS THREE Oxford Street’s East Bay Spice Company is celebrating three years in the biz with a party May 24. The restaurant will debut its new cocktail menu that evening, which will, notably, include recipes for all of the drinks listed. Each of the new cocktails draws inspiration from the Magna Carta Mundi 1670, one of the earliest accurate world maps, and is, according to a statement, “intended to pay homage to world exploration and nautical trade.” Expect drinks like the “Trinidad Swizzle” (three different Angostura products — five-year rum, amaro and bitters — salt, lime and passion fruit syrup) and “The Crown Buck” (Jelinek fernet, ginger, lemon, hibiscus, cucumber, dark rum and chili liqueur). Later on this spring, East Bay Spice will also debut a new food menu. The anniversary party will kick off at 4 p.m. with half-priced drinks until 7 p.m.; the party will continue until 2 a.m. with music from DJ Spread. East Bay Spice Company is at 2134 Oxford St. (near Center St.), Berkeley.
JOYCE GOLDSTEIN AT CAMINO Oakland’s Camino is hosting Joyce Goldstein, the former chef of Chez Panisse Café and author of The New Mediterranean Jewish Table, for a dinner party May 26. The $110 dinner includes drinks, snacks, and a Mediterranean feast inspired by Goldstein’s new cookbook cooked in the Camino fireplace. Omnivore Books will also be in attendance to sell copies of the cookbook. Learn more about the event here. Camino is at 3917 Grand Ave. (between Jean Street and Sunny Slope Avenue), Oakland. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook and Twitter.
OAKLAND GREEK FESTIVAL Starting today, and running all weekend long, is the Oakland Greek Festival at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension. The festival will include live music, artwork for sale, dancing and, of course, plenty of food. Expect to nosh on everything from grilled lamb on a spit to calamari and Greek pastries. A dedicated Greek wine tasting bar will also be open for those who choose to imbibe. There’s free admission on Friday morning and Sunday evening; tickets are $6 at other times. Learn more about the event here. The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension is at 4700 Lincoln Ave., Oakland.
FEAST OF FRUITVALE! WALKING TOUR This Sunday, the Friends of Peralta Hacienda Historical Park will be offering a talk and guided tour of Fruitvale’s Foothill Boulevard. Guests will hear from professor Alex Saragoza of UC Berkeley, as well as the Friends of Peralta executive director Holly Alonzo, at the Peralta House kitchen at 10 a.m. before setting off on the tour. The tour will include visits with the neighborhood’s Latino chefs, bakers and restauranteurs, and guests may even get details on secret recipes for dishes like pan dulce, pozole and pupusas. The tour ends at 12:30 p.m. — perfect timing for grabbing lunch in the area. Learn more about the walking tour here.
What else is going on…
CINNAHOLIC UNDERGOING EXPANSION The Berkeley-based vegan cinnamon roll bakery has just announced that it will be bringing its signature pastries to Arizona and Colorado, as well as more in California. Three locations each are planned for Arizona, Colorado and San Diego. Cinnaholic began franchising in 2014, and currently has 40 units in development in California. “National expansion has always been on the horizon for us,” said Spencer Reid, president of Cinnaholic, in a statement. “Each of these markets present incredible opportunities to build excitement around the Cinnaholic brand. We’re eager to continue to grow and serve the most innovative, delicious cinnamon rolls.” Cinnaholic is at 2132 Oxford St. (near Center Street), Berkeley. Connect with the bakery on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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