Uptown Oakland Shines, Ethical Profit in the Mission, Crawfish at Creola
The pioneer in Uptown Oakland was Luka's Taproom, which opened in a former hofbrau (which I liked, back in the day). Luka’s brought to the area near the spectacular Paramount theater and the ginormous “Y,” a friendly, but sophisticated bar-restaurant, serving oysters on the half shell, mussels and fries, and a great burger.
Flora bloomed in 2008 across the street from the Fox theater, before the theater reopened last month.
All around the Fox, there are flocks of condos.
This Friday, Another Planet Entertainment, which operates the Fox, will debut The Den adjacent to the theater. There will be access through the theater to this new 250-seat bar-lounge-small plate venue.
Steven Miller designed the space, incorporating some of the Art Deco style of the theater. Expect couches, lounge chairs and an art piece made from an old switchboard, which controlled the lights from backstage. There will be taped music and on special occasions, a D.J. The Den will be open when there are no performances and when there are, that is, Tuesday–Saturday at 5 pm.
About 25 years ago, when Oakland tried to revitalize downtown — specifically Old Oakland, the area to the west of Chinatown — the one element they neglected to include was housing. Restaurants struggled, while G.B. Ratto & Co. international grocery and Pacific Coast Brewing survived. Several others went belly up.
That’s changed now with scores of condos on Clay and Jefferson Streets.
By August, the very popular Bakesale Betty will expand to a second location at 2228 Broadway at West Grand Avenue, in an area called Franklin Square, also in Uptown. Owners Alison Barakat and her partner and husband, Michael Camp, will have 4,500 square feet. She will be in the same nabe as Luka’s Taproom, the newly opened Picán, and Ozumo Oakland.
At her original spot, which Barakat opened in 2002 (5098 Telegraph Avenue at 51st Street, Oakland), they have 1,200 square feet.
So, I asked, will the Broadway location become the main commissary for both locations?
“No. But we will be able to expand our menu because of a larger production kitchen,” said the former Chez Panisse cook with the brightly colored tresses. “We will have three deck ovens at our new place; we have one at our original place.”
Ah, another place where we can enjoy Barakat’s Banana Bread with a cinnamon crumb topping, and (my fave) her Australian-kissed Lamingtons — delicate vanilla sponge cake bars with strawberry jam, dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut. And then there’s her famous fried chicken sandwich, swaddled in coleslaw on a bun.
Opening even sooner, perhaps in April, two couples have put together the 80-seat Mimosa Champagne Lounge (2355 Broadway at 24th Street). Located in the Packard lofts, the site is a historic building. The partners are Nichelle Blackwell, her fiancé Chris Rachal, and the husband-and-wife team of Angela Willbourn and James Pierce. Rachal, who is in event promotions, has had a long-running dream of opening a champagne lounge in Oakland.
When they open, there will be ceviches, crudos, cheeses, oysters, and olives, plus champagne by the glass and bottle, sangria, and champagne drinks. I had to ask Blackwell if she thought it might be a problem opening a champagne bar in a recession.
“We are going to make it accessible to everyone. [Despite the economy] people are still going out and enjoying themselves,” she explained.
I was cruising around the Mission when I spotted what looked to me like a spanking-new Asian supermarket in a condo building at 2200 Mission Street. When I entered the month-old Duc Loi, I discovered it was a triple-threat store with Asian, Latino and American meat, fish, vegetables, and groceries.
I bought rice noodles, two pounds of oxtails, six big prawns, four whole chicken legs (69 cents a pound), bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, and Chinese five-spice powder all for less than $24. I was impressed with the sparkling clean aquariums, selection of meats, and freshness of the vegetables.
The workers were Asian and Latino, as was the clientele. I had to know more about this new place, so I introduced myself to the owner, Howard Ngo. He explained the name of the market means “ethical profit.” That intrigued me, so I set up an interview.
Ngo originally had a small grocery on Mission between 18th and 19th since 1987.
Ngo’s story is familiar, but no less sad. In 1979, the Saigon native paid his way out of South Vietnam with bribes. With his wife, Amanda, and 20 to 30 relatives, they made their way to a small boat (800 square feet). Almost 400 people drifted, without food, for six days and nights until they reached Indonesia.
He came to San Francisco and took computer classes at City College. By 1991, he was able to bring his mother, father and sister here.
He started with the small grocery and fresh produce space, and last year he became the developer of this new building, which houses condos (mostly sold) and his 10,000-square-foot store.
Howard Ngo says that he comes from a wealthy family in Vietnam, and that his grandfather and father’s middle names were Duc, meaning "ethical." “I pay more than the minimum wage and we try to make an ethical profit,” he explains.
Vivace in Belmont. I enjoyed the folks I met and a salad of grilled prawns and spinach leaves. Yummy. After lunch, I spoke with the co-owner, Mike Gundogdu, and he showed me his snazzy new addition. I can’t wait to go back for dinner.
Bargain of the Week: Later I drove to Creola in San Carlos because chef-owner Edwin Caba e-mailed me that his crawfish had arrived from Louisiana. Oh, baby, I am a crawfish-pickin’ kinda woman.
For the princely sum of $12, diners get a pound of crawfish, a couple of corn on the cob pieces and boiled potatoes, plus a couple of slices of Andouille sausage. I also tried a crab cake and his light-as-air bread pudding. I’ll be back for the gumbo, po-boys and jambalaya.
For my April “Cook’s Chat” column in Northside San Francisco, I interviewed chef Gayle Pirie of Foreign Cinema in San Francisco’s Mission district. We met for lunch at the El Tonayense taco truck, parked on Harrison and 19th Streets. Pirie said that she and her partner, John, eat there a few times a week. At the truck, the tacos and burritos come in pastor, cabeza, carnitas, chicken, buche, tripas, lengua, grilled chicken, sesos, and vegetarian, plus quesadillas and tortas.
Pirie told me that she had hired the truck to cater the Christmas party for Foreign Cinema’s employees. The truck parks outside the party venue and folks can get a taco-eating frenzy going.
There are several El Tonayense trucks in the Mission and nearby, but Pirie thinks this one is the best. The founder of the company, Benjamin Santana, owns it.
For catering, the cost is three hours for $650. The meat choices are limited to carne asada, al pastor, chicken, grilled chicken, and carnitas, plus their two secret sauces and garnishes like onion and cilantro. If the truck has to travel out of town, the mileage cost is $100 more.
I spoke with Santana, who was vacationing in Guadalajara. “We keep track of how many tacos and burritos the guests have and warn the host if they’re going over,” Santana explained.
At $1.75 per taco and $6 for a burrito, I figured that 60 people could each eat two tacos and one burrito — certainly a bellyful.
My business partner, Susan Dyer Reynolds, and I dined at Le Colonial before enjoying “Burn the Floor,” the dance extravaganza at the Post Street theater.
I had forgotten how much I love Le Colonial. I had the rib appetizer — like velvet. And Susan enjoyed the whole lobster while I tucked into the scallops.
I’m a procrastinator and I think I have some friends in that club: For several years, I have been begging Santa Rosa-based writer Pat Summers to begin a blog. Well, she finally did it. If you love gardening and cooking, this is the place for you! Check it out at
http://seasonsatmyhouse.blogspot.com
Interested in Passover dishes? Want to meet the fabulous co-owner and chef of Epic Roasthouse, Jan Birnbaum, in conversation with moi?
For more information about GraceAnn’s tours of North Beach, Chinatown, The New Mission, and Nob Hill, visit www.graceannwalden.net or contact her at gaw@sbcglobal.net.
By August, the very popular 
I was cruising around the Mission when I spotted what looked to me like a spanking-new Asian supermarket in a condo building at 2200 Mission Street. When I entered the month-old Duc Loi, I discovered it was a triple-threat store with Asian, Latino and American meat, fish, vegetables, and groceries. 
The workers were Asian and Latino, as was the clientele. I had to know more about this new place, so I introduced myself to the owner, Howard Ngo. He explained the name of the market means “ethical profit.” That intrigued me, so I set up an interview.
Some folks from a Peninsula Lion’s Club asked me to give a talk at their monthly meeting, so I skipped down 101 to their meet-up. 
There are several 
I had forgotten how much I love 
Interested in Passover dishes? Want to meet the fabulous co-owner and chef of Epic Roasthouse, Jan Birnbaum, in conversation with moi? 