Openings, closings
SHIBA RAMEN EXPANDING TO OAKLAND After less than a year in business in Emeryville’s Public Market, Shiba Ramen is opening a second location in downtown Oakland. The new space will be a 40-seat restaurant, unlike Shiba’s Emeryville spot, which operates out of a food court kiosk. It is moving into the old Bittersweet Café location at 1438 Broadway, which closed in May. “We’re going to build off the concept that we started in Emeryville,” said co-owner Jake Freed. “There are lots of limits with a kiosk.” While customers will still order at a counter at the Oakland location, there will be servers delivering food, which will be served in more traditional ceramic bowls. At lunch, Shiba Ramen Oakland will have a very similar menu to the Emeryville location, but at dinner, Freed plans to expand the menu to include more Japanese-inspired small plates and side dishes. There will be a stronger beer and sake focus in the evening as well. Crucially, Freed and co-owner Hiroko Nakamura have hired a menu director/kitchen manager, who will be developing new menu items. Freed was unable to name the new hire as of press time, but he did say that the hire had worked at a “well-known Oakland restaurant.” Construction on the new space has already begun; Freed told Nosh that he hopes to open in December. In the meantime, Shiba’s Emeryville location will be holding a ramen and beer tasting Sept. 17 from 1-5 p.m., featuring beers from 21st Amendment and Voodoo Brewing. There will be beer flights, happy hour pricing on all pints and $1 off all food with a beer purchase. Shiba Ramen Oakland will be at 1438 Broadway (between 14th and 15th streets), Oakland. Shiba Ramen Emeryville is at 5959 Shellmound St., Emeryville. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
TRIPLE ROCK EXPANSION OPENS SEPT. 23 In June, we announced the expansion of downtown Berkeley’s Triple Rock brewpub, which had been in the works for four years. The brewery, which, when it opened in 1986, was one of the country’s first brewpubs, launched the careers of Reid and John Martin, who have gone on to open Seattle’s Big Time Brewing and the East Bay’s Jupiter and Drake’s Brewing company, respectively. Triple Rock’s expansion into the next door space has doubled the brewpub’s footprint, adding a larger kitchen space and greatly increasing the bar and seating area. The new half of the pub has been named the “Richter Room,” and it includes state-of-the-art seismic “base-isolators” that move the upper floors of the building two feet in any direction to moderate earthquakes. The design of the space is more modern than the saloon-styled original bar, with long tables for groups and booths for more intimate dining. In addition to the new space, the original bar area has been revamped with fresh paint, new tables and chairs, and a refinished floor. On the food side, Triple Rock has brought in Drake’s Dealership’s executive chef Taylor Smith to revamp its pub-style menu with a modern touch. Dishes include short rib macaroni and cheese ($10), salmon tartare ($12) and beer can chicken ($17). Triple Rock Brewery and Alehouse is at 1920 Shattuck Ave. (at Hearst Street), Berkeley. Connect with the brewery on Twitter.
OAKLAND’S TOAST BECOMING A TACO RESTAURANT On Sept. 18, Rockridge’s Toast restaurant will temporarily close to undergo a transformation from a wine bar to an Austin, TX-themed taco and margarita joint called, appropriately, Austin. According to Inside Scoop, Toast owners Kristen Policy and Heather Sittig Jackson have struggled to communicate the restaurant’s identity as a wine bar, not a breakfast spot. Instead of renaming the restaurant, Policy and Sittig Jackson decided to completely revamp the concept in order to offer something new to the neighborhood. Sittig Jackson lived in Texas as a teenager, and she told the Scoop that Austin’s tacos will be “smaller” with “more succulent” and “surprising” fillings than one typically sees with Bay Area tacos. The owners, along with chef Michael Woods, will be crowdsourcing taco fillings Sept. 22-25 and Sept. 29-Oct. 2 at the restaurant. Austin will officially open Oct. 6. Austin will be at 5900 College Ave. (at Chabot Road), Oakland. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook.
THE MIRANDA OPENING TONIGHT This spring, we brought you news of The Miranda, a new bar from the owners of Uptown Oakland’s Drexl. The Miranda is a slightly more elevated concept than Drexl, in the style of an upscale hotel lounge. The house cocktail list offers nine unique drinks complete with cheeky descriptions, such as the Marmont Millionaire (“For the Lindsay Lohan in all of us… circa 2007”) and Staycation (“Your mid-week pick me up with this frothy afternoon delight”). We expect that classic cocktails will also be in full force, and well made. While Nosh was unsuccessful reaching the bar owners by press time, a tipster reported that the bar would be opening tonight. There’s no word on the Drexl team’s other project, a revamped sports bar called Fort Green, which was supposed to open in May. The Miranda will be at 1739 Broadway (between 17th and 19th streets), Oakland. Connect with the bar on Facebook.
FONDA SERVING BRUNCH AGAIN Albany’s Fonda started serving brunch once again in July. Eric, a representative from the restaurant, told Nosh in an email that it has been “a few years since we’ve served brunch” and the restaurant decided to bring it back “because there isn’t really anyone like us doing it. … We bring an upscale, but still affordable, brunch to the area.” Fonda is currently serving complementary mimosas with the purchase of a brunch entree, as well as $10 bottomless mimosas and other brunch drinks such as mezcal horchata, strawberry mojitos and “the best spicy bloody Maria in town.” On the food side, Fonda offers both traditional American breakfast items, as well as Mayan, Spanish and Latin-inspired dishes like gallo pinto (plantains and eggs), guacamole toast and chilaquiles. Fonda is at 1501 Solano Ave. (at Curtis Street), Albany. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook and Instagram.
Dinners and events
GET A TASTE OF ADELINE COLLECTIVE ON SATURDAY In July, we reported on a new Southern and soul food restaurant, Adeline Collective, headed to the Adeline Place building in Emeryville. This weekend, owner Michael Johnson is hosting a pop-up at the restaurant space along with FAM Collective, “a gathering of like minded individuals who share the same interest for Food, Art, and Music,” according to the collective’s Facebook page. The event will include music from local DJs, live painting and, of course, samples of some of the food that will be on the menu at the restaurant. No word on specific dishes, but we’d expect outhern comfort food classics with French and Creole influences, such as Louisiana shrimp and grits, jambalaya and po’boy sandwiches. Adeline Collective will be at 3801 San Pablo Ave. (at Adeline Street), Emeryville. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
ALLAGASH DINNER AT HOMESTEAD On Sunday, Oakland’s Homestead restaurant will be hosting Portland, ME-based Allagash Brewing Company for a special New England-themed dinner. Homestead’s manager, Stephen Laborde, told Nosh that the centerpiece of the dinner will be a shellfish boil, prepared in the restaurant’s fireplace and served family-style. An appetizer of pork belly with Johnny cakes, oyster quiche and an apple salad, and two desserts, Boston Creme Pie and fluffernutter Whoopie Pies, will also be served, in addition to passed hors d’oeuvres will be served at guests’ arrival. Potential beers served with the dinner include Allagash’s flagship White Ale, Confluence, Fluxus, 16 Counties, Interlude and James Bean. Representatives from the brewery will be in the restaurant to chat and answer questions. Tickets are $120, and they include food, beer and gratuity. Homestead is at 4029 Piedmont Ave. (at 40th Street), Oakland. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook and Twitter.
KITCHEN TABLE ADVISORS GRAZING AT THE KITCHEN TABLE Oakland-based organization Kitchen Table Advisors, which helps with small farmers gain access to tools, knowledge and resources needed to become successful, is holding its second annual “Grazing at the Kitchen Table” event at Dogpatch WineWorks in San Francisco on Sept 22. The event, which features dishes prepared by many celebrated Bay Area chefs including Sophina Uong of Oakland’s Calavera, aims to celebrate the crops grown by the farmers with whom Kitchen Table Advisors works. Other chefs include Nick Balla and Cortney Burns of Bar Tartine, Rebecca Boice of Zuni Cafe, Gabriela Cámara of Cala, Laurence Jossel of Nopa, and Dennis Lee of Namu Gaji. Tickets to the $200 dinner are available here. Kitchen Table Advisors is also holding an online silent auction with items including a custom ice-cream tasting with the owner of Humphry Slocombe, exclusive wine tastings in Healdsburg and a private pizza party at The Mill. Connect with Kitchen Table Advisors on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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