Openings, closings
NEW PUBLIC MARKET TENANTS Emeryville’s Public Market is still adding new tenants, and has announced two more this week: Joining a lineup that includes Shiba Ramen and Koja Kitchen will be Fish Face Poke Bar and The Periodic Table. Fish Face is the second location for the Sacramento-based rice bowl restaurant from restaurateur Billy Ngo. (Ngo also owns Kru, a sushi restaurant.) Like other poke spots, Fish Face allows customers to build their own bowls of rice and seafood, with a choice of protein, sauce, and additional toppings like macadamia nuts, daikon sprouts and masago roe. The Periodic Table is a beer and sake bar from the owners of Shiba Ramen, and it will, in fact, be located in the stall right next door to the ramen shop. Shiba co-owner Jake Freed hopes that the new project will bring a more vibrant nightlife to the area. Freed says his hopes to open by the middle of next year; no word on a projected opening date for Fish Face. Meanwhile, Mayo & Mustard, We Sushi and Oui Oui Macaron are still under construction, but they appear very close to finishing. Full-service restaurant Granja Eatery, from Peruvian chef Carlos Altamirano, is also still in the works, and construction has begun on New Seasons, a Portland, OR-based grocery store headed to the complex. Public Market Emeryville is at 5959 Shellmound St., Emeryville. Connect with the market on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
BANH MI JOINT OPENS TOMORROW Emeryville’s new home for banh mi sandwiches is set to open tomorrow. In addition to classic Vietnamese sandwiches on freshly baked bread, Banh Mi Joint will have vermicelli noodle bowls and several starters like potstickers, chicken wings and fried tofu. Local wines will be offered on tap and in bottles, and, on the beer side, Banh Mi Joint will offer a wide selection of Asian beers, many of which are hard to find in the states. Owner Tee Tran writes on the restaurant’s website that he hopes Banh Mi Joint will be a place “where we could unwind with our friends, enjoy some ridiculously good beer and spectacular wine, and where there’s always a big dish of delish close at hand. The kind of spot where we can sit in the sun with our sweetheart dogs by our side. Where people give you a welcoming smile and mean it, because now you are family.” Banh Mi Joint will be at 3900 Adeline St. (at 39th Street), Emeryville. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
LIMA PERUVIAN RESTAURANT ALSO OPENING Over in Concord, a new Peruvian restaurant, Lima, is also planning to open tomorrow. It’s a project of Lima, Peru native John Marquez, who also owns Artisan Bistro in Lafayette and has worked for the likes of Gastón Acurio (Cevicheria La Mar and Panchita Sazon Criolla in Lima), Daniel Patterson (at Elisabeth Daniel and Coi) and Thomas Keller (The French Laundry and Per Se). At Lima restaurant, Marquez will serve authentic Peruvian dishes like ceviche, aji de gallina (chicken and walnut stew with aji chiles), lomo saltado (sautéed beef with vegetables and French fries) and arroz con pato (duck leg confit with rice). The menu will be served tapas-style. Local wines and craft beers, plus a couple of Peruvian beers, will be offered at opening. Lima will eventually have a full bar, and it will start holding happy hour at that time. Lima will be at 2151 Salvio St. (between Mt. Diablo and Grant streets), Concord. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook.
OAKLAND AIRPORT IS GETTING A FANCY AIRPORT LOUNGE Chris Pastena, the owner of Chop Bar, Lungomare and Calavera, is getting into the airport game with Oakland edition of The Escape Lounge, a fee-based, food and drink inclusive lounge. According to Eater SF, there’s already an Escape Lounge in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport and there’s a soon-to-open location at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. The lounge is a partnership with Manchester Airport Group USA. Oakland’s Escape Lounge will cost $40, but for that entrance fee, you’ll get unlimited food, drinks, WiFi, newspapers and magazines. Pastena will be designing the menu, which spans breakfast to dinner, with an all-day buffet for snacking. Many of the ingredients are local and/or organic, such as Straus yogurt, Baia pasta and Firebrand pastries. Other notable menu items include ricotta pancakes, fig toast with goat cheese and honey, and the Escape Burger with bacon, cheese and mayo. The Escape Lounge is slated to open Nov. 1. Learn more about The Escape Lounge Oakland here.
FOREBEARS MEADERY UPDATE We last brought you news on Alameda-based Forebears Meadery in February. The award winning team of John Wirkner, Dave Myers, Michael Halby and Chris Langer are on a mission to make drier, less boozy meads for whiskey and beer lovers. The team has been tinkering for the last several months, waiting for their permitting to come through, but we now hear via Facebook that Forebears plans to release its first mead to the wider public in January. In the meantime, stay tuned to the Forebears Facebook page for news on pop-ups with Oakland’s Crooked City Cider. Connect with Forebears Meadery on Facebook.
LONG LIFE VEGI HOUSE MOVING DOWN THE STREET Vegetarian Chinese restaurant Long Life Vegi House will soon be leaving its digs at 2129 University Ave., as the block is slated to become the Acheson Commons complex. However, it won’t be gone from the street for long. We’ve noticed a sign hanging over the former SpoonRocket kitchen at 1725 University Ave. advertising the restaurant. SpoonRocket closed in March. There’s no word yet on a moving date for Long Life, but construction on Acheson Commons is now set to begin in early-to-mid-2017. Long Life Vegi House is currently at 2129 University Ave. (at Walnut Street), Berkeley and will be at 1725 University (between McGee Avenue and Grant Street), Berkeley.
EVE’S WATERFRONT RESTAURANT NOW OPEN Back in Oakland, we’ve heard that a new restaurant, Eve’s Waterfront, is open as of today in Jack London Square. Executive chef Bruce Paton has designed a seafood-focused menu that is served both a la carte and prix fixe with local beer pairings. (One of Paton’s specialties is in beer pairing.) The menu is divided into “healthy” and “hedonist” categories, and dishes include everything from foie gras torchon sliders and crab deviled eggs to Nicoise salad and fish and chips. Eve’s Waterfront has a full bar, and the signature cocktails to go with it, like Eve’s Sunset (infused pineapple vodka, lime, pineapple juice, raspberry liqueur) and Embarcadero 75 (gin, citrus, Champagne). Local beers, organic wines and kombucha are on tap. Eve’s Waterfront Restaurant is at 15 Embarcadero West (near Oak Street), Oakland. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook.
Dinners and Events
OAKTOBERFEST KICKS OFF TOMORROW The Dimond district’s annual Oaktoberfest takes place tomorrow, starting at 11 a.m. at the intersection of Fruitvale Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard. The event includes a traditional biergarten, an “Eco Fair,” a kid’s area (complete with a root biergarten), live entertainment a homebrew competition and, of course plenty of food. Participating breweries (and cider makers) include the East Bay’s 21st Amendment, Drake’s, Federation, Faction, Altamont Beer Works, Bison Organic, Crooked City Cider, Ale Industries, Cleophus Quealy, Trumer Pils, Alameda Island Brewing and Linden Street. While Oaktoberfest is free to attend, food and drink cost extra. Tickets are available for advance purchase online and include a commemorative stein. Connect with Oaktoberfest on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
HIGH HOLY DAYS AT MARKET HALL At it does every year, Market Hall Foods is offering special menus for the High Holy Days. Its Rosh Hashanah menu is available Oct. 1-4, and its Yom Kippur menu will run Oct. 10-12. Highlights for Rosh Hashanah include housemade challah, pineapple-sweetened noodle kugel, braised chicken with pomegranate and tamarind, and apple strudel. For Yom Kippur, Market Hall Foods has added a new “Break-Fast Kit” that comes with challah, cheese blintzes, fruit compote, smoked salmon, flatbread crackers, lemon caper cream cheese and honey apple cake. (Breakfast items are also available a la carte). Orders can be placed online, in the store, or by phone at (510) 250-6001 (Oakland) or (510) 250-6004 (Berkeley). Market Hall Foods on 4th is at 1786 Fourth St. (at Delaware Avenue), Berkeley. Market Hall Foods is at 5655 College Ave. (at Shafter Avenue), Oakland. Connect with the store on Facebook and Twitter.
What else is going on…
ACTUAL CAFÉ CHANGES SERVICE, ADDS ALL-DAY BRUNCH North Oakland’s Actual Café has been making some changes this summer — it eliminated table service a few months ago, and has now expanded its breakfast and brunch menu items, which are now available all day long. Crowd favorites like cardamom french toast, “Chicken & Frenchies” (French toast with fried chicken), and the “Down the Corner” DIY breakfast plate join the café’s all day menu of comfort food. The café’s burger lineup, in particular, has also had some changes — there are now staff curated “Burger Faves,” such as the fiery, pickle-y “Third Trimester” (sweet pepper relish, gherkins, jalapeños, spicy chipotle mayo), on the menu alongside build-your-own burgers. Owner Sal Bednarz said in a statement that the changes reflect a new diner-style mentality: “Growing up in New Jersey, I spent a whole lot of time in diners, but that diner experience needs modernizing. This is our take on what a 21st century diner ought to look like.” The changes also reflect, he said, a “necessary adjustment to operational challenges” faced by restaurant operators, including increasing food and labor costs, a thin labor pool and high costs of living for employees and customers. Actual Café is at 6334 San Pablo Ave. (at Alcatraz Avenue), Oakland. Connect with the café on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
DRIZLY LAUNCHES IN THE EAST BAY It’s hard to believe that it didn’t yet operate in the Bay Area, but Drizly, the country’s largest on-demand alcohol delivery service, has just launched in Oakland, Berkeley (and, of course, San Francisco). Drizly offers beer, wine, spirits and mixers through a series of delivery partners, including homegrown Hopsy and Wine Thieves, and, notably, does not charge a markup for its beverages. (There is a delivery fee of $5.) The company also equips its drivers with proprietary identification software to make sure customers are of legal drinking age. Bay Area customers will also see Drizly’s newest marketplace features, which allow customers to compare prices and inventories from different retailers, and can choose from different fulfillment methods (on-demand, in-store pickup and shipping). Connect with Drizly on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Check out the Nosh Guide for our mercifully short directory of places we, and Nosh readers, like to eat and drink!
