Bake Sum, the high-end pastry box pop-up with influences ranging from Asian traditions to its founders’ childhood nostalgia, is set to officially open its Oakland location on Saturday, September 18. While East Bay residents have been able to pick up pre-ordered Bake Sum boxes from Berkeley’s The Bread Project for quite some time now, the bakery at 3249 Grand Ave. marks the first time Bake Sum will serve walk-up customers with their selection of French pastries, sweet milk buns and mini mochi muffins, among other delights. Its opening day menu will include “our Halo Halo Bun, Vegan Char Siu Bao and Loco Moco Danish and a full coffee, tea and drink menu,” Bake Sum’s owners said via email. Hours on its first day will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., keep an eye on its Instagram for more details on its schedule going forward.
A driver slammed into Uptown Oakland grocery and staples shop Howden Market in July, leaving its front door smashed and destroying loads of merchandise. According to owner Kanitha Matoury, “the damage is significant and we don’t know exactly how long repairs will take,” so the business has launched a GoFundMe to help cover repairs and keep it afloat until it can fully reopen. The fundraiser’s goal is $35,000; a little more than $5K has been generated as of publication time.
Local burgers-and-shakes chain Gott’s Roadside has a new offering for the vegetarian set. The spot just launched meatless “chicken” nuggets, made of a texturized soy, wheat flour and sunflower and soybean oil concoction from Bay Area-based fake flesh company Impossible. The eight nugget set is served with a side of fries and a selection of house-made dips (ranch, BBQ sauce and honey mustard) and will run you $12.99. It’s available at all Gott’s locations, including the one in Walnut Creek (1275 S. Main St.) now.
KQED food review show Check, Please! Bay Area is launching a new spin-off show starting Thursday night. The new series is called Check, Please! You Gotta Try This! And focuses on the stories of specific, beloved dishes. Its opening episode, which airs on September 9 at 7:30 p.m. (and will presumably be streamable some time thereafter), will head to Oakland to feature Dela Curo’s omu curry and to Berkeley for the chocolate and vanilla frozen yogurt at Yogurt Park; subsequent episodes have similarly strong East Bay restaurant representation. The show’s hosted by Check Please! mainstay Leslie Sbrocco, with a weekly remote segment from producer/reporter (and longtime Nosh pal) Cecilia Phillips.
