FROM CRAB CRACKER TO COPPER SPOON This past Sunday, Oct. 15, Copper Spoon celebrated its grand opening. The restaurant is a new project by Vita Simone Strauss and Carmen Anderson, who once ran a food truck called Sassafras Seagrass. Copper Spoon is located inside what was historic North Oakland seafood restaurant, Arts Crab Shak, and although the iconic signage for the old spot still remains, as far as the food is concerned, Copper Spoon is doing something completely different inside. With chef Andre Hall (Alexander’s Steak House) at the helm, Copper Spoon’s menu dabbles in an amalgamation of cultures, from East Asian to Mediterranean, through the lens of Northern Californian cuisine. Cocktails are also a big draw here, with Simone Strauss in charge of the bar program. Copper Spoon is open 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily. Copper Spoon is at 4031 Broadway (at 42nd St.), Oakland.
OVERLAND COUNTRY MUSIC BAR CLOSES Two-year-old Overland Bar & Grill closed its doors for good on Friday, Oct. 13. The closure of the Texas-themed country music hangout in Jack London Square was abrupt; so abrupt that even owner Paul Hayward didn’t know it was happening until that morning. But, Hayward told Nosh, the problems that led to Overland shutting its doors were not new. “We are now the fifteenth bar or restaurant that’s closed in Jack London Square in the last 2 1/2 years,” said Hayward, explaining that rents for businesses in the area are “insane,” especially in comparison to the amount of foot traffic and patronage that businesses in the area receive. “I have notified the city many, many times; I’ve never heard back from anybody,” said Hayward about his attempts to get help to revitalize the area. Hayward said Overland was a diverse hangout for all types of people. “We were really busy, but at a great cost to me,” he said. “I tried to make it an Oakland place. I love Oakland; I really, really love the people here.” But in the end, that love alone wasn’t enough to keep Overland in business. For now, he has two other businesses in Oakland that he’ll focus on (as Hank Williams Jr. once put it, a country boy can survive) — the new-ish relaunch of Mockingbird in downtown Oakland and chef Geoffrey Deetz’s The Temple Club in East Oakland, which is getting a lot of buzz for its regional Vietnamese cuisine.
PAULISTA IS NOW OPEN Nosh has been following the progress of Paulista since February this year, when we first wrote about the two friends who decided to open the Brazilian restaurant and taproom together in Oakland’s Glenview neighborhood. And again, later this summer, while they were fundraising in the homestretch of opening. Well, the time has finally come — Paulista Brazilian Kitchen and Taproom is now open for business, albeit still in soft opening. As of now, Paulista’s cafe is open from 7 a.m., offering Brazilian small plates, like empanadas, açai bowls, smoothies, coxinhas (chicken croquettes) and pao de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread). At 5 p.m., Paulista offers dinner service; expect heartier dishes like feijoada (Brazil’s national dish — a meaty, beany stew) and moqueca (fish stew). The taproom opens at noon. Paulista Brazilian Kitchen & Taproom, 4239 Park Ave. (at Wellington), OaklandMONTCLAIR GETS NEW CHARCUTERIE SHOP Montclair Village has been getting a fewnewspots to check out, including the newly opened charcuterie shop, The Fifth Quarter. Once just a vendor at the downtown Berkeley and Kensington farmers markets, Fifth Quarter owner-butcher, Scott Brennan, opened a brick-and-mortar location this past Saturday, Oct. 14 on Moraga Avenue. Brennan credits his time working at the meat counter of now-closed Café Rouge in Berkeley for developing his butchery chops (sorry, not sorry — pun totally intended). After six years at Rouge, he started his own business, selling sausages, pâtés, smoked meats, bacon, duck confit and other products made with sustainable, locally sourced meats at those local farmers markets. Now, his shop sells all these meaty goods in his butcher shop, plus, it serves lunch! Expect sandwiches (such as porchetta, pulled pork and meatball), side salads, french fries, chili and charcuterie plates. The Fifth Quarter is at 6464 Moraga Ave. (between Medau and LaSalle), Oakland
ROAM TO BRING ARTISAN BURGERS TO TELEGRAPH AVENUE Earlier this week, Roam Artisan Burgers announced it will be opening two new locations in the Bay Area, one in downtown San Mateo and one in Uptown Oakland. The latter will be at 1951 Telegraph Avenue. Roam, which already has locations in San Francisco and Lafayette, is known for its gourmet burgers, which use sustainably-raised meat, including grass-fed beef, free-range turkey and all-natural bison. (We hear it also has a good vegan burger, for those who abstain from meat.) The new Oakland location will open by the end of the year. Roam Artisan Burgers will be at 1951 Telegraph Ave. (between William and 20th St), OaklandFOOD FOR FIRE RELIEF UPDATES: Last week, Nosh published a list of East Bay restaurants, bars and other food businesses helping the North Bay fire relief cause. Over the weekend, the list grew longer, as more businesses were setting up donation sites, raising money through events, or donating partial, or in some cases, all proceeds of sales of their food to charities like North Bay Fire Relief Plus, Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund and Redwood Empire Food Bank. One of those we didn’t have a chance to mention is Alison Barakat, owner of Bakesale Betty. Located on the corner of Telegraph Avenue and 51st Street in Temescal, Bakesale Betty is just a few doors down from Oakland Fire Department Station 8. Over the weekend, a firefighter reached out to Barakat, asking for restaurant equipment donations for Napa Valley Fire BBQ Relief. Barakat was able to donate some supplies, but she realized that much more was needed beyond her ability. She took to Nextdoor to ask for the community’s help, setting up a Go Fund Me page to raise additional funds to buy the rest of the supplies, like garbage cans, coolers, racks on wheels and name tags. Barakat set the fund on Sunday, Oct. 15 with a $2000 goal, and in 22 hours, the goal was surpassed by $750. Another East Bay fundraising success story comes from Starter Bakery, which decided to use its regular Saturday Grand Lake farmers market appearance to host a bakesale, with 100% of proceeds going to Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund and the Redwood Credit Union Community Fund. We checked in on Monday with Starter Bakery’s owner/manager Brian Wood about the bakesale, who said that 99% of what Starter brought to the farmers market was sold. Wood said the bakesale raised $1,831.50, but that Starter will contribute additional money to bring the total donation to $2000 that will be split equally between the two organizations.
EAST FOR NORTH FUNDRAISER One more wine country fundraiser is happening this Saturday, when five East Bay wine shops come together to raise funds for Rebuild Wine Country. In a show of support for the very people who create some of the wines they sell, Vintage Berkeley (2113 Vine St. and 2949 College Ave. in Berkeley), Solano Cellars (1580 Solano Ave., Berkeley), Oakland Yard (420 40th St., Oakland) and Ordinaire (3354 Grand Ave.) will be pouring flights of wine from the regions affected by the fires. The fundraiser will take place from 1 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, at all participating locations.
TEMESCAL NIGHTS FOOD TRUCK MARKET Here’s a reason to look forward to Mondays — a night market made up of a rotating cast of food trucks. From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., six food trucks will line-up to hawk their goods for hungry eaters at Kasper’s Plaza (Shattuck at 45th St.) in Temescal. Check foodtruckculture.net for the weekly food truck schedule.
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