SOUVLA COMES TO THE EAST BAY San Francisco’s Greek fast-casual restaurant, Souvla has a posse. After first opening in Hayes Valley, it gained popularity for its tasty spit-roasted meats served in sandwiches or on salads, and for its frozen Greek yogurt. It became popular enough to eventually open two more outposts in SF. And now, Soulva’s hoping to expand its fandom into the East Bay. Before you get too excited, read on for details. Souvla is offering its menu to residents of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda and El Cerrito for dinner, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., on Thursday, August 24 until Sunday, August 27. Yes, only four nights. Although Souvla will be making the food to order at Oakland’s Forage Kitchen for this brief stint, this promotion is a partnership with food delivery app, Caviar, so the only way East Bay eaters can order Souvla will be for delivery via Caviar. And, sadly, although most of the Souvla menu will be available for this promotion, we East Bay folks will not be able to get any of that delicious frozen Greek yogurt. Still, if you’re a Souvla fan, you can save yourself a trip across the bay for a taste — at least for four days this week. BEAUTY’S TURNS 5 Temescal’s Montreal-style bagel joint, Beauty’s Bagel Shop, is celebrating its fifth year in business with a party. On Sunday, August 27, in its backyard space, Beauty’s will have food and drinks for sale (poppy seed bagel dogs, chocolate chip cookies, housemade lemonade), ice cream from Tara’s, free beer from Temescal Brewing, and local artists and vendors on site who’ll be hawking their goods and wares. This free party is a family-friendly affair, so bring the kiddies for face painting and enjoy tunes provided by DJ Wham Bam Ashleyanne and Rob Reich Klezmer band. Beauty’s Bagel Shop’s 5 Year Anniversary takes place from noon to 3 p.m. on August 27 at Beauty’s Bagels, 3838 Telegraph Ave. (between 38th and 40th), Oakland.
DONATO & CO. TO ELMWOOD IN SEPTEMBER In May, Nosh reported that a new Italian restaurant from Donato Scotti would be opening in the space formerly occupied by The Advocate in the Elmwood neighborhood of Berkeley. This week, we got further details of what exactly that restaurant will be. Chef-restaurateur Scotti — who’s brought the Bay Area Donato Enoteca and CRU in Redwood City, and Desco in Old Oakland — will open Donato & Co., where fellow chef Gianluca Guglielmi will head the kitchen and present a menu focusing on simple, seasonal and contemporary takes on Italian cuisine. (Guglielmi was executive chef and VP of culinary operations at A.G. Ferrari Foods from 1998-2010.) The dishes will fall into four main categories: “Pasta & Co.” (housemade pastas and grains), “By the Sea” (locally sourced shellfish and seafood), “Iron & Fire” (rotisserie-fired and grilled meats) and “From the Fields” (salads, as well as other vegetarian and vegan-friendly dishes). Italian pastries and sweets, as well as espresso imported from Verona, Italy, will make up the dessert menu. Donato & Co. will feature a 20-ft. bar, so drinks will also be a priority here. The wine list will highlight Italian imports, but will also include some French and Northern Californian varieties. For cocktails, expect the classics, as well as sippable concoctions with an Italian twist. Donato & Co. will be open for lunch and dinner (Tuesday through Sunday) and weekend brunch. The restaurant is slated to open in late September; stay tuned on Nosh for a more concrete opening date. Donato & Co. will be at 2635 Ashby Ave. (at College), Berkeley LAST CHANCE FOR TEMARI We got a tip from Nosh reader, Lawrence Grown that West Berkeley sushi restaurant, Temari, is closing its doors this week. Grown first heard the news via Nextdoor (a diner on Yelp who visited last week also chimed in with the news, but we were unable to reach the owners at time of publication for further comment). The family-run restaurant is a favorite amongst area residents for its no-frills, but friendly service and its reasonably-priced, but fresh fish. Michihiro and Masako Kizaki first opened the dinner-only sushi spot on San Pablo Avenue in 2003. Temari’s last dinner service will be this Friday, Aug. 25. Temari is at 2215 San Pablo Ave. (near Allston), Berkeley.
21st AMENDMENT AUGUSTFEST San Leandro brewery and taproom 21st Amendment is throwing its third annual AugustFest — a full day of food, live music and of course, beer. This year’s festivities take place in 21st Amendment’s front yard, and will feature eats from 4505 Burgers & BBQ, the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen, La Poblana taco truck, Wheely Cafe San Leandro and Three Twins; music performances by the Stone Foxes, Stereo Freakout and Noma Lakadoja; two bounce houses for the kids; a cigar lounge and several beer stations, including a rare beer station, where new brews will be featured hourly. Admission to AugustFest is free, with individual beer tickets costing $5 each (or four tickets and a 21st Amendment mug for $21). As you’ll probably be knocking back a few, you’ll be glad to know that there’ll be a free shuttle between San Leandro BART Station and 21st Amendment. AugustFest takes place from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 27, at 21st Amendment, 2010 Williams St. (at Westgate), San Leandro.PIQUE NIQUE ORDINAIRE AT CAMINO If you think everything tastes better with a glass of rosé, you’ll want to snag a seat at the upcoming Pique Nique Ordinaire. This third annual collab between Grand Avenue neighbors, Camino restaurant and Ordinaire wine shop, features snacks, a family-style “picnic” cooked in Camino’s wood-fire oven and lots and lots of rosé. Bradford Taylor of Ordinaire told Nosh that the idea for the dinner is about finding ways to integrate wine into ordinary life, but that the idea of “ordinary” itself doesn’t have to mean boring. “I always tell my staff that the ordinary is not something that’s given — it’s imagined, constructed and defended,” Taylor said. “Allison [Hopelain, co-owner of Camino] thought of a picnic, the most quotidian of meals. But it’s Camino, so it’s a picnic from your dreams. I think of it as their version of making something ‘ordinaire.’” So what will this dream meal consist of? Camino co-owner/chef Russell Moore often decides menus at the very last minute (“He’s not a planner and he likes to keep a few surprises in his back pocket,” said Hopelain, when pressed for a menu), but here’s a rough draft of what diners may be served at the Camino-Ordinaire dinner: Whole wood oven-roasted rockfish, grilled squid, fresh black eyed peas, tomatoes, grilled corn on the cob and herby, smoky fish broth. In terms of rosé, Taylor was more forthcoming about what he and the Ordinaire crew will be pouring: Domaine la Paonnerie Coteaux d’Ancenis Le Rosé d’Ancenis (France), Domaine de Majas Rosé L’Amourouse (France), and Mendall (Laureano Serres) Arrosé (Spain) — the last of which Taylor calls “rock ‘n’ roll juice,” by his “favorite winemaker in the world.” Why rosé? “We always pour rosé because it’s got a reputation for being fun and not serious. Of course there’s a lot of really awesome, well-crafted rosé out there — we will be pouring three of them! — but I love the idea of pouring them like water,” said Taylor, adding that “folks should come thirsty.” Tickets are $75 (plus tax). Pique Nique Ordinaire takes place on Sunday, Aug. 27, at Camino, 3917 Grand Ave.(between Jean and Sunny Slope), Oakland.
CROSTA TAKEOVER UPDATE Earlier this month, Nosh had news that Crosta, the café within Highwire Coffee in Berkeley, has closed. The restaurant’s operations manager Ariel Platt told us that while Crosta would no longer be in the space, its former chef, Sincere Justice, would be taking over with his own eatery. We heard from Justice this week, who says he plans to offer a menu of soup, salads and sandwiches at his new eatery. Justice plans to start off small, with one rotating soup, two salads, two sandwiches, a special and a sweet item, but hopes to grow his menu and his business grows. The tentative opening date for Justice’s eatery (name TBA) is Sept. 8. In the meantime, you can also get a taste of Sincere Justice (his cooking, that is) at Slappy Hour, a weekly DJ event where Justice appears under the name Tacos Sincero, serving his signature Asian-influenced, or as he calls it, “Chino-Latino” tacos. On Wednesday, Aug. 23, the menu will include three tacos: one with seared Camote, garlic whipped ricotta, Sichuan salsa verde and cilantro; another with roasted eggplant, gochujang glaze, Korean pickles and sesame seeds; and a third topped with braised lemongrass chicken, sambal honey, fried shallots, peanuts and cilantro. Slappy Hour goes down from 5 to 10 p.m. on Wednesdays at Legionnaire Saloon, 2272 Telegraph Ave. (at 23rd), Oakland.FOOD SHIFT A LA CARTE SALE ON JOSEPHINE The last time we checked in with Food Shift, the Oakland-based non-profit was in the midst of crowdfunding for its Alameda kitchen. To refresh your memory, the Food Shift Kitchen program, which launched last June, uses fresh, but imperfect produce that would otherwise be discarded by farms, distributors and markets to make and then sell food at a low-cost to low-income and vulnerable communities, like homeless shelters, elder care facilities, food pantries and after-school programs. The Food Shift Kitchen — located at the Alameda Point Collaborative (APC), a housing community for formerly homeless residents, many of whom are unemployed, disabled and living below the poverty line — employs and trains many of the residents at APC. This summer, Food Shift Kitchen started selling meals online through Oakland-based home cooked-meal start-up Josephine. Under the direction of head chef, Terrell Brunet, Food Shift Kitchen has offered prepared foods to be ordered in advance and picked up at the Food Shift kitchen. This week, on Thursday, Aug. 24, rather than offering a fresh, hot meal, Food Shift is having an a la carte sale of freshly frozen soups, sides and sauces, as well as its popular vegan New Orleans creamy red beans and smothered greens. Place your order on Josephine and pick up at Food Shift Kitchen at 677 West Ranger Ave. (at Pan Am Way), Alameda.
