Saturday, October 30, 2010

Halloween Eats

Halloween isn't just about candy. A few local eateries are offering special Halloween promotions Sunday, Oct. 31.

Chiptole Mexican Grill
2311 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley
1050 Gilman Ave., Berkeley
Dress up as a processed food after 6 p.m. Sunday and get a burrito, bowl, salad or order of tacos for $2. Proceeds will benefit Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, a nonprofit campaign to educate people about the importance of eating unprocessed food.
http://www.chipotle.com

Gourmet Ghetto Ghoulish GastronomiqueShattuck Avenue and Cedar Street
Now until Nov. 2
Gourmet Ghetto restaurants will create a special spooky menu where you may find deviled chicken, one-eyed monster pizza, creepy crepes and ghoul’s eye soup.
http://www.anotherbullwinkelshow.com/day-of-dead/

Friday, October 22, 2010

Weekend Eats & Drinks


If you can brave the rain this weekend, Oktoberfest continues with three beer events Saturday.

From noon to 5 p.m., head to Linden Street Brewery for a family-friendly beer and brats festival benefiting Bay Area Community Services. Drake’s Brewery will also be pouring at the event that features live blues music by Al D Bop & the Boptroplis Band and barbecue. Admission is free, and $10 for a souvenir mug and two beer tickets.

Also in Oakland, Pacific Coast Brewing Co. is celebrating 22 years with 1988 rollback prices Saturday from 8 p.m. to midnight. Catch live music from the Damn Liars, 8 to 10 p.m. with no cover.

If you want more variety, try the Bay Area Craft Beer Festival in Martinez from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is $45 (or $35 if purchased in advance online tonight) for unlimited pours from over 30 microbreweries, including Bear Republic, Eel River, Dogfish Head, Lagunitas, and New Belgium Brewing. Click here for a full list. Get in an hour early at noon with a $50 VIP ticket. Three bands will provide entertainment, and food will be sold.


Linden Street Brewery Beer and Brats
Noon to 5 p.m.
95 Linden St., Oakland
http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/SitePages/SitePage.aspx?accountid=3190&pid=55019

Pacific Coast Brewing
8:30 p.m. to midnight
906 Washington St., Oakland
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=120008781391284#!/event.php?eid=120008781391284

Bay Area Craft Beer Festival
1 to 5 p.m.
333 Ferry St., Martinez
http://www.bayareacraftbeerfestival.com/

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Giants happy hour

Can't get seats to the Giants game? A few Oakland and Berkeley bars will show Game 1 of the World Series while serving up happy hour. Get there early; game time is 5 p.m. Have any to add? Leave a comment.

Updated: 10/27/10

Amanda's
2122 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley
Happy hour 4-6 p.m., $1 off any beer or wine and free popcorn
http://www.facebook.com/AmandasFeelGoodFreshFood?ref=s#!/AmandasFeelGoodFreshFood?v=wall

T-Rex BBQ
1300 10th St., Berkeley
Happy hour 3 to 6 p.m.
$4 beers, $5 well drinks, $2 off glasses of wine
Lots of food specials, including $1 street tacos, $4 pulled pork nachos. $5 smoked BBQ riblets and full rack of ribs and PBR pitcher for $25
www.t-rex-bbq.com

Bobby G’s Pizzeria
2072 University Ave., Berkeley
Happy hour 4 to 7 p.m.
$1 off beers, $2 off pitchers & glasses of wine, 25% off bottles of wine
$2.25 cheese slices, $17 for 18” cheese pizza, $5 Caesar side salads
www.bobbygspizzeria.com

Pyramid Brewery
901 Gilman St., Berkeley
Happy hour 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
$3.50 pints, $10.50 pitchers except Brewer’s handle
30% off appetizers
Thirsty Thursday 6:30 p.m. to close
Any pizza & pitcher for $15 (min. 2 people)
www.pyramidbrew.com

Meridian International Sports Café
2050 University Ave., Berkeley
Happy hour 4-7 p.m.
$1 off beer, $2 off glasses of wine, $3 off pitchers, $2 off tapas
www.berkeleymeridian.com

Beta Lounge
2129 Durant Ave, Berkeley
4 to 9 p.m.
$3 beers, $5 wine, sake & food specials
www.thebetalounge.com/

Somar Bar
1727 Telegraph Ave., Oakland
4:30 to 8 p.m.
Food & drink specials, past deals include:
$2 Amstel Light, $3 Drakes IPA & Red Eye, $6 Jameson, $6-8 appetizers
www.somarbar.com

Easy Lounge
3255 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland
Past deals include:
$1 off all well drinks until 8pm; $2 off well drinks after 8pm

Ozumo in Oakland

When San Francisco’s Ozumo opened a restaurant in Oakland’s Uptown district in 2008, the corner of Grand and Broadway avenues was hardly a gourmet destination. A couple years later, and much has changed with Oakland institution Bakesale Betty and other San Francisco transplants Plum by Daniel Patterson and Farley’s opening. Yet, despite the new kids on the block, Ozumo holds its own as one of the best places to grab fresh sushi or sample contemporary Japanese cuisine.

If you've yet to try Ozumo, a good start is happy hour or a special $35 4-course dinner prix fixe. Happy hour runs every weekday from 4 to 8 p.m., and Sundays from 4 p.m. to closing. Deals include $5 rolls, cocktails and sakes. On Sundays, select sake bottles are also 50% off.

Like many Japanese restaurants, seafood features prominently on Ozumo’s menu and it does not disappoint. While the menu offers the usual Spider and tempura rolls, I recommend being adventurous and ordering the chef’s selection, an assortment of the day's freshest nigiri, which, according to our server, Ozumo gets as a whole fish instead of precut fillets. Arriving in a sculptural white plate, the colorful nigiri stood out beautifully, and tasted amazingly fresh. If you enjoy savory fish, I recommend finishing with the toro (tuna belly), market price, or hard-to-find beni toro (salmon belly), $8, for something fattier, richer and heavier. Both are delicious and almost melt in your mouth. The carb-conscious can find a perfect buttery balance in the Hanabi plate of layered hamachi and avocado slices in a spicy moat of ginger and jalapeno ponzu sauce ($16).

Like the sushi, the same artful presentation and balance comes through in Ozumo's signature dishes. The Futago small plate combines East and West, a blend of carpaccio and sushi: Deep pink Washu beef sits atop sauteed spinach and eggplant with a spicy miso sauce ($13). A beautiful dish that tastes as good as it looks. The Gyu Kakuni ($24) of Niman Ranch short ribs slow braised in a red miso and wine sauce was tender enough to fall apart at the touch of a fork. The red miso sauce was a highlight in itself: a savory, complex gravy that I lapped up with rice. A perfect example of modern Japanese food, the Gyu Kakuni is what I imagine Japanese comfort food is.

Ozumo is also one of the few places in the East Bay with a robata grill. While the chicken ($6) and beef skewers ($7) were appetizing and tender, they were not as exciting as the rest of the menu and probably the safest choice for picky eaters. There's enough variety in the menu, though, for vegans, carnivores and kids to find something. Perhaps all can agree on the duo of green tea desserts. The matcha green tea panna cotta was inventive and delicious, while the chocolate flourless cake with green tea ice cream was more traditional.

As for drinks, there's wine, beer and a full bar, but the highlight is the extensive sake list. Unless you're familiar with sake, I recommend ordering a flight, or asking the advice of your server. From light with floral notes to more complex, dry versions, the sake choices are endless.

We paired each course with sake recommendations from the server and were not disappointed. The service was attentive, if a bit leisurely paced perhaps to let you enjoy the dining room's modernist, earthy take. Like the food, the dining room is a mindful jumble of East meets West with a sleak glass sushi bar near classic wooden tables and chairs. The pulsing music floats into the dining room from the front lounge that it almost sounds like a night club. But don't let the vibe fool you, as I've seen families with toddlers nomming on happy hour sushi and edamame.

That anyone from families to office workers and couples were spotted during my visit reflects Ozumo's wide appeal as a neighborhood joint. Whether grabbing a quick happy hour bite in the lounge or meeting a date at the sushi bar, Ozumo's accessible and excellently executed menu offers something for everyone.

Ozumo
2251 Broadway Avenue (at Grand), Oakland
510-286-9866

Friday, October 15, 2010

Weekend Eats and Drinks

Whatever your epicurean vice, there’s probably an East Bay event for you this weekend.

On Saturday, start the day at noon in Old Oakland for Pacific Coast Brewery’s festival. Admission is free, and $20 gets you a commemorative glass and 5 beer tasting tickets. Separately, the glass is $5 and extra beer tastings are 6 for $20. The usual suspects are on tap, all California craft brews pouring anniversary ales: Bear Republic, Drake’s, Speakeasy, Lost Coast, Stone, Rubicon, Port, Sudwerks, Sierra Nevada and Pacific Coast. The event runs until 7 p.m. and is billed as family-friendly with live music and food from local restaurants.

If beer’s not your thing, head to JC Cellars a mile away at Jack London Square to see the winery in full production. The harvest is here and the winery has two free tours at 1 and 2:30 P.M. Afterward, head to the tasting room to try some Syrah, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir, to name a few, for $5. The fee is refundable with any purchase.

The gluttony continues early Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in Berkeley for Pyramid Ale House’s $10 all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet with NFL ticket. The buffet ends at 11:30, but you can catch all the games on one of the 6 HD TVs all day.

If you’re a late riser, Blue Bottle Coffee’s free Sunday cupping will wake you up. A must for coffee connoisseurs, the noon cupping is a way to evaluate Blue Bottle’s coffee aromas and flavor profiles side-by-side. See whether you notice the difference between a washed and natural Amaro Gayo. One caveat: Everyone dips their spoons in the same cups, so it’s not for germaphobes.

Afterward, head to North Berkeley’s Spice of Life festival, a celebration of food and art, running until 6 p.m. Catch cooking demos and samples by local eateries alongside open yoga studios and art exhibits. Stop by the wine garden on Vine Street, featuring local winemakers and importers, and listen to live music from the JazzSchol and Freight and Salvage, or get fresh, organic produce from the farmer’s market.

Running the same time is Spenger’s annual Crabby Chef Seafood Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Benefitting the Berkeley Cal Recreational Sports Development Fund’s camp scholarship program, the event includes a 2 p.m. Iron Chef cooking competition with a crowning of a Crabby Chef. Food booths offer the gamut of seafood from crab cakes to clam chowder.

Saturday
Old Oakland Beer Festival
Noon-7 p.m.
906 Washington Ave., Oakland

JC Cellars harvest tour
1 and 2:30 p.m.
55 4th St., Oakland

Sunday
Pyramid NFL breakfast buffet
901 Gilman St., Berkeley

Blue Bottle Coffee cupping
Noon
300 Webster St., Oakland

North Berkeley Spice of Life
10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Shattuck Avenue from Rose to Virginia, Berkeley
http://www.gourmetghetto.org/2010%20spice%20of%20life%20info.htm

Spenger’s Crabby Chef seafood festival
11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
1919 4th St., Berkeley
http://www.yelp.com/events/berkeley-spenger-and-39-s-to-host-10th-annual-crabby-chefs-seafood-festival-on-october-17-2010

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Trueburger in Oakland

Forget the growing rivalry between Five Guys and In-N-Out for best burger. Trueburger near Oakland’s Uptown district tops them both. Opened earlier this year by two former Baywolf sous chefs, Trueburger consistently delivers simple but delicious food.

The burgers are simple: ground on-site daily, cooked medium and served on a custom-made toasted egg bun with lettuce, tomato and garlic mayo. That’s the basic Trueburger ($4.95) that can be built upon with cheese ($5.45) and bacon ($6.45), or double-up the beef and cheese ($7.95). For vegetarians, there are mushroom burgers ($6.45) and salads ($6.75). The menu also includes hot dogs, but it would be a shame to miss the namesake Trueburger.

I don’t know what makes the burgers so great, whether it’s the perfectly seasoned and grilled patties or the delicious but not too garlicky mayo sauce, but Trueburger manages to turn something familiar into something I would look forward to eating every day.

While the burgers are a must, the fries ($2.95) are an afterthought. Skinny and golden to a crisp, the fries are OK but remind me of frozen Ore-Idas. The hand-spun milk shakes ($4.95) are a better complement. Made from either vanilla or chocolate ice cream, the shakes are thick, rich and creamy.

The simplicity of the food carries over into the restaurant. With a simple poster sign hanging out front and a sandwich board on the sidewalk, the small, 30-seater place is easy to miss across from the grandeur of the Cathedral of Christ the Light.

Getting to the basics, Trueburger also relies on DIY customers as wait staff. Place orders at the register, grab your own napkins, condiments and utensils, find a seat and wait for your name to be called. Signs also ask you to bus your own tables, so finding a clean table can be a pain when there’s a rush.

For now, Trueburger is open for lunch Monday through Saturday, and, to my disappointment, for dinner only Thursday through Saturday.

Trueburger

146 Grand Ave., Oakland
(510) 208-5678