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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more than a decade, Sarah Kirnon presided over one of the Bay Area’s most widely celebrated restaurants. Until it closed in 2022, Miss Ollie’s, Kirnon’s Afro-Caribbean spot in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/old-oakland\">Old Oakland\u003c/a>, served up some of the tastiest braised oxtails, Bajan pepper sauce and skillet-fried chicken in the Bay. The restaurant also served as an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13910410/miss-ollies-oakland-closing\">important gathering place for Oakland’s Black, brown and queer communities\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And now, Kirnon is going home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I’m focused on going back to my roots to Barbados next year,” she tells KQED, explaining that she’s decided to move back to her home village on the island. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent weeks, Kirnon has embarked on something of a farewell tour, hosting a number of pop-ups, including a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd2BzwCyjQ2/\">month-long residency\u003c/a> at Gold Palm in Uptown Oakland. Her final farewell dinner — at least for now — will be hosted at \u003ca href=\"https://www.burdelloakland.com/event-details-registration/grandma-series-sarah-kirnon\">Burdell on Sunday, Nov. 1\u003c/a>. The event is part of the fine-dining soul food restaurant’s ongoing “Grandma Series,” which has previously featured guest chefs such as Intu-On Kornnawong (formerly of Jo’s Modern Thai), \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hamegram/\">Ham El-Waylly\u003c/a> (Strange Delight in New York) and James Syhabout (Commis). \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The series provides a platform for chefs to share dishes rooted in family recipes. It’s a fitting theme to celebrate Kirnon’s legacy, as her own grandmother was the original “Miss Ollie.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/SarahKirnon-crop-b4c7ef47.jpg\" alt=\"A woman stands in front of a Basquiat-style mural while wearing a blue chore coat, green beanie and black-rimmed glasses.\" class=\"wp-image-13995190\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/SarahKirnon-crop-b4c7ef47.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/SarahKirnon-crop-b4c7ef47-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/SarahKirnon-crop-b4c7ef47-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/SarahKirnon-crop-b4c7ef47-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/SarahKirnon-crop-b4c7ef47-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kirnon’s restaurant, Miss Ollie’s, was one of Oakland’s most important and exciting restaurants before it closed in 2022. (Courtesy of Sarah Kirnon)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DexfGJfPYIf/?hl=en\">menu for the pop-up\u003c/a> ($114) features six family-style courses, plus additional sides and a dessert. One of the first courses is a roasted boniato with smoked herring Creole sauce. Kirnon says she wanted to highlight the sweet potato that is commonly eaten in the Caribbean because of its unparalleled fluffy texture. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other dishes on the menu will be familiar to longtime fans of Kirnon’s work — most notably her famous skillet-fried chicken with Bajan seasoning. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Bajan [seasoning] is from Barbados. It’s like epis or sofrito,” Kirnon says of the seasoning paste, which she makes by adding vinegar, garlic and cloves to a mixture of chopped herbs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"A piece of fried chicken on blue-and-white checkered paper.\" class=\"wp-image-13910461\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The secret to Kirnon’s legendary skillet-fried chicken is “seasoning.” (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another dish will feature cassava dumplings, which she describes as the most difficult dish to nail down so the dumplings don’t wind up with an “overchewiness.” For the final savory course, Kirnon will serve oxtails braised in spice-infused casareep (cassava root juice reduced to a molasses-like consistency). “I believe the Amerindian tribes in Guyana would use [casareep] to preserve meat dishes,” she says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Burdell dinner is the final Bay Area event Kirnon has planned before her big move, though she says she may occasionally come back and visit. It’s the perfect, full-circle way to go out: Kirnon designed the menu based on the Sunday dinners she grew up eating during her childhood in Barbados. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“As someone who was raised in a very matriarchal home, it’s inspired by the women that came before me,” she says. “Not just directly my grandmother, but my great-grandmother, my great-aunt, my aunt and my mother — them all being grandmothers as well.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Sarah Kirnon’s Grandma Series dinner at\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/burdell_oak/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Burdell\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>(4640 Telegraph Ave., Oakland) is on Sunday, Nov. 1, with a limited number of\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.opentable.com/booking/experiences-availability?rid=1277533&restref=1277533&experienceId=818450&utm_source=external&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=shared&dateTime=2026-11-01T17%3A00%3A00&partySize=2\">\u003cem>reservations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> available at publication time. The dinner is priced $114 per person (including gratuity).\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Bajan [seasoning] is from Barbados. It’s like epis or sofrito,” Kirnon says of the seasoning paste, which she makes by adding vinegar, garlic and cloves to a mixture of chopped herbs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Another dish will feature cassava dumplings, which she describes as the most difficult dish to nail down so the dumplings don’t wind up with an “overchewiness.” For the final savory course, Kirnon will serve oxtails braised in spice-infused casareep (cassava root juice reduced to a molasses-like consistency). “I believe the Amerindian tribes in Guyana would use [casareep] to preserve meat dishes,” she says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Burdell dinner is the final Bay Area event Kirnon has planned before her big move, though she says she may occasionally come back and visit. It’s the perfect, full-circle way to go out: Kirnon designed the menu based on the Sunday dinners she grew up eating during her childhood in Barbados. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“As someone who was raised in a very matriarchal home, it’s inspired by the women that came before me,” she says. “Not just directly my grandmother, but my great-grandmother, my great-aunt, my aunt and my mother — them all being grandmothers as well.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sarah Kirnon’s Grandma Series dinner at\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/burdell_oak/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Burdell\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>(4640 Telegraph Ave., Oakland) is on Sunday, Nov. 1, with a limited number of\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.opentable.com/booking/experiences-availability?rid=1277533&restref=1277533&experienceId=818450&utm_source=external&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=shared&dateTime=2026-11-01T17%3A00%3A00&partySize=2\">\u003cem>reservations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> available at publication time. The dinner is priced $114 per person (including gratuity).\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Sarah Kirnon's Sunday pop-up at Burdell is her last event before she moves back to Barbados.",
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"title": "Miss Ollie's Legendary Chef Bids Farewell With One Final Dinner in Oakland | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more than a decade, Sarah Kirnon presided over one of the Bay Area’s most widely celebrated restaurants. Until it closed in 2022, Miss Ollie’s, Kirnon’s Afro-Caribbean spot in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/old-oakland\">Old Oakland\u003c/a>, served up some of the tastiest braised oxtails, Bajan pepper sauce and skillet-fried chicken in the Bay. The restaurant also served as an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13910410/miss-ollies-oakland-closing\">important gathering place for Oakland’s Black, brown and queer communities\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And now, Kirnon is going home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I’m focused on going back to my roots to Barbados next year,” she tells KQED, explaining that she’s decided to move back to her home village on the island. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent weeks, Kirnon has embarked on something of a farewell tour, hosting a number of pop-ups, including a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd2BzwCyjQ2/\">month-long residency\u003c/a> at Gold Palm in Uptown Oakland. Her final farewell dinner — at least for now — will be hosted at \u003ca href=\"https://www.burdelloakland.com/event-details-registration/grandma-series-sarah-kirnon\">Burdell on Sunday, Nov. 1\u003c/a>. The event is part of the fine-dining soul food restaurant’s ongoing “Grandma Series,” which has previously featured guest chefs such as Intu-On Kornnawong (formerly of Jo’s Modern Thai), \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hamegram/\">Ham El-Waylly\u003c/a> (Strange Delight in New York) and James Syhabout (Commis). \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The series provides a platform for chefs to share dishes rooted in family recipes. It’s a fitting theme to celebrate Kirnon’s legacy, as her own grandmother was the original “Miss Ollie.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/SarahKirnon-crop-b4c7ef47.jpg\" alt=\"A woman stands in front of a Basquiat-style mural while wearing a blue chore coat, green beanie and black-rimmed glasses.\" class=\"wp-image-13995190\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/SarahKirnon-crop-b4c7ef47.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/SarahKirnon-crop-b4c7ef47-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/SarahKirnon-crop-b4c7ef47-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/SarahKirnon-crop-b4c7ef47-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/SarahKirnon-crop-b4c7ef47-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kirnon’s restaurant, Miss Ollie’s, was one of Oakland’s most important and exciting restaurants before it closed in 2022. (Courtesy of Sarah Kirnon)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DexfGJfPYIf/?hl=en\">menu for the pop-up\u003c/a> ($114) features six family-style courses, plus additional sides and a dessert. One of the first courses is a roasted boniato with smoked herring Creole sauce. Kirnon says she wanted to highlight the sweet potato that is commonly eaten in the Caribbean because of its unparalleled fluffy texture. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other dishes on the menu will be familiar to longtime fans of Kirnon’s work — most notably her famous skillet-fried chicken with Bajan seasoning. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Bajan [seasoning] is from Barbados. It’s like epis or sofrito,” Kirnon says of the seasoning paste, which she makes by adding vinegar, garlic and cloves to a mixture of chopped herbs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"A piece of fried chicken on blue-and-white checkered paper.\" class=\"wp-image-13910461\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The secret to Kirnon’s legendary skillet-fried chicken is “seasoning.” (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another dish will feature cassava dumplings, which she describes as the most difficult dish to nail down so the dumplings don’t wind up with an “overchewiness.” For the final savory course, Kirnon will serve oxtails braised in spice-infused casareep (cassava root juice reduced to a molasses-like consistency). “I believe the Amerindian tribes in Guyana would use [casareep] to preserve meat dishes,” she says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Burdell dinner is the final Bay Area event Kirnon has planned before her big move, though she says she may occasionally come back and visit. It’s the perfect, full-circle way to go out: Kirnon designed the menu based on the Sunday dinners she grew up eating during her childhood in Barbados. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“As someone who was raised in a very matriarchal home, it’s inspired by the women that came before me,” she says. “Not just directly my grandmother, but my great-grandmother, my great-aunt, my aunt and my mother — them all being grandmothers as well.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Sarah Kirnon’s Grandma Series dinner at\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/burdell_oak/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Burdell\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>(4640 Telegraph Ave., Oakland) is on Sunday, Nov. 1, with a limited number of\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.opentable.com/booking/experiences-availability?rid=1277533&restref=1277533&experienceId=818450&utm_source=external&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=shared&dateTime=2026-11-01T17%3A00%3A00&partySize=2\">\u003cem>reservations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> available at publication time. The dinner is priced $114 per person (including gratuity).\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "town-beef-french-dip-sandwich-window-oakland-late-night",
"title": "A New Takeout Window in Oakland Sells Killer French Dip Sandwiches Until 2 a.m.",
"publishDate": 1792718350,
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"headTitle": "A New Takeout Window in Oakland Sells Killer French Dip Sandwiches Until 2 a.m. | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: two men devour beef sandwiches, holding them in two hands.\" class=\"wp-image-13995028\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The restaurant’s “Oakland-style” take on a French dip sandwich is a proper steak sandwich that comes pre-dipped. (Thien Pham)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003cem>The Midnight Diners\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Thien Pham\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When we parked in front of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/townbeef.510/\">Town Beef\u003c/a> at 11 o’clock on a Friday night, we thought maybe we’d come to the wrong place. There wasn’t a line. No one else was eating at the folding tables the restaurant had set up on the sidewalk. The tiny takeout window where we were supposed to place our order was so dimly lit, we weren’t entirely sure if the place was even open. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Had we arrived too late? As the hour crept toward midnight, this whole stretch of North \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>, near the corner of Broadway and 40th (the old \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/checkplease/17782/check-please-bay-area-reviews-jasons-restaurant-clove-hoof-butchery-dragon-beaux\">Clove & Hoof\u003c/a> building), started to feel a bit like a ghost town. Even the gas station across the street looked like it was closed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anyway, if you have similar taste in restaurants as me, just the idea of Town Beef almost sounds too good to be true to begin with. Do you mean to tell me there’s a little sandwich window, just a hop, skip and jump away from Temescal, that sells hot French dip sandwiches? That’s open until 2 a.m. every weekend?? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For now, at least, the shop has exactly three items on the menu: the house special, which they describe as an “Oakland-style” French dip sandwich. A vegan mushroom version of that same sandwich. And an electrolyte drink (of course). That’s it! Right away you know what kind of restaurant this is — or at least is trying to be. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During our visit, the crowds of rambunctious drunks who’d surely appreciate a hot beef sandwich at this late hour never materialized. Only one or two other customers pulled up to the window to pick up to-go orders. Mostly, though, that seems to be because the restaurant only just quietly opened a few weeks ago. As soon as we took our first bite of our sandwich, we felt certain it’d only be a matter of time before the place was \u003cem>flooded\u003c/em> with business.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Two men eat at a sidewalk table on a dark empty street.\" class=\"wp-image-13995030\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">For now, Town Beef is relatively quiet after 11 o’clock at night. The French dip specialist sells sandwiches out of a small takeout window until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. (Thien Pham)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Famously, French dip sandwiches were invented not in France but at a restaurant in Los Angeles, \u003ca href=\"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/french-dip/\">either accidentally or on purpose\u003c/a>, as a way to put roast beef pan drippings to good use. The only thing “French” about the dish is the crusty roll it comes on. The pleasure of eating the sandwich comes from the combination of flavors and texture you get when you dip the whole thing into a bowl of au jus.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of the most enjoyable French dips I’ve had in the Bay Area have come from chain restaurants — Hillstone’s cult-classic version (a favorite among \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/hillstone-sf-chain-restaurant-19422826.php\">even the fancy-pantsiest of Bay Area chefs\u003c/a>) and the now-closed Mission District outpost of Top Round (a chain from LA, naturally). It makes sense, then, that Town Beef, the first restaurant I’m aware of to sling a distinctly “Oakland-style” take on the sandwich, would serve something that feels like its own thing altogether.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most obvious diversion is the fact that chef-owner Craig Smith grills up pieces of ribeye steak instead using the thin, pink slices of roast beef or prime rib that traditional purveyors favor. This is a proper \u003cem>steak\u003c/em> sandwich, then, loaded with caramelized onions and a smear of tangy, garlicky aioli. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All that was already enough to make us regulars, and we haven’t even talked about the most important part — the dip itself. Unlike in a classic French dip, Town Beef actually \u003cem>pre\u003c/em>-dips its sandwiches in their flavorful au jus. The result isn’t quite as sopping-wet as, say, a Chicago beef sandwich, but the bread soaks up enough broth to get a little bit soggy in the best possible way. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The kitchen works in a few other California tweaks. The bread is from Acme. The side pickles are crunchy and bracingly tart — green beans, sweet peppers and at least three different colors of carrots, cut into bite-size rounds.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here’s where I should mention too that service at Town Beef is unfailingly friendly and accommodating, even when the young woman working the window had to listen to the two of us arguing, nonsensically, about \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f6xlHh1fok\">Kelly Clarkson\u003c/a> for the duration of our meal. She told us, incidentally, that our quiet, sedate experience of the restaurant was quite different from how it was during their 6 o’clock dinner rush, which is why they’d sold out of electrolyte drinks (alas). \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course we also had to try the vegan sandwich, which they make with four different types of mushrooms (oyster, cremini, maitake and baby bella). And here’s where I lower my voice to a whisper: The mushroom sandwich might be \u003cem>even better\u003c/em> than the beef one. At the very least, I liked it almost as much — the texture of the oysters and maitakes, in particular, was incredibly luxurious, and the coconut yogurt–based aioli had an even more pronounced tang. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Had we accidentally stumbled into a fine dining restaurant? Was Carmy showing off again in this episode of \u003cem>The Bear\u003c/em>? This is the kind of sandwich you can eat forever without feeling like it’s too heavy or rich. (There’s the option to add mushrooms to the regular beef sandwich, which we agreed was the best of both worlds.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At this point, Smith himself came over and offered to bring us some extra au jus on the side. What French dip lover could say no to that? The jus here is thicker and richer than the typical kind, loaded with soft onions so that it almost tastes like an extra-savory French onion soup. And, anyway, the whole reason for eating a French dip is for the bread to get \u003cem>real\u003c/em> soggy, as a counterpoint to the meaty filling.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the end, we finished all of our sandwiches down to the last little nub of onion or mushroom that had wedged itself in the crease of the foil wrapper. Even then, we weren’t quite certain we hadn’t dreamed the whole thing up. Did we really sit at that flimsy table in the darkness and eat a sandwich \u003cem>that\u003c/em> good, at that time of night? Were we really just outside Temescal, or had we in fact gone through some portal and stumbled into the most fantastical, nonsensically delicious ghost town? When I woke up the next morning, I had to scroll through my phone to make sure the photos I took were still there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/townbeef.510/\">\u003cem>Town Beef\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>is currently open Fridays and Saturdays only, 6 p.m.–2 a.m., at 4001 Broadway. in Oakland.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38-1152x1536.jpg 1152w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: two men devour beef sandwiches, holding them in two hands.\" class=\"wp-image-13995028\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The restaurant’s “Oakland-style” take on a French dip sandwich is a proper steak sandwich that comes pre-dipped.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: two men devour beef sandwiches, holding them in two hands.\" class=\"wp-image-13995028\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The restaurant’s “Oakland-style” take on a French dip sandwich is a proper steak sandwich that comes pre-dipped.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003cem>The Midnight Diners\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Thien Pham\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003cem>The Midnight Diners\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Thien Pham\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When we parked in front of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/townbeef.510/\">Town Beef\u003c/a> at 11 o’clock on a Friday night, we thought maybe we’d come to the wrong place. There wasn’t a line. No one else was eating at the folding tables the restaurant had set up on the sidewalk. The tiny takeout window where we were supposed to place our order was so dimly lit, we weren’t entirely sure if the place was even open. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>When we parked in front of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/townbeef.510/\">Town Beef\u003c/a> at 11 o’clock on a Friday night, we thought maybe we’d come to the wrong place. There wasn’t a line. No one else was eating at the folding tables the restaurant had set up on the sidewalk. The tiny takeout window where we were supposed to place our order was so dimly lit, we weren’t entirely sure if the place was even open. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Had we arrived too late? As the hour crept toward midnight, this whole stretch of North \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>, near the corner of Broadway and 40th (the old \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/checkplease/17782/check-please-bay-area-reviews-jasons-restaurant-clove-hoof-butchery-dragon-beaux\">Clove & Hoof\u003c/a> building), started to feel a bit like a ghost town. Even the gas station across the street looked like it was closed.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Had we arrived too late? As the hour crept toward midnight, this whole stretch of North \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>, near the corner of Broadway and 40th (the old \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/checkplease/17782/check-please-bay-area-reviews-jasons-restaurant-clove-hoof-butchery-dragon-beaux\">Clove & Hoof\u003c/a> building), started to feel a bit like a ghost town. Even the gas station across the street looked like it was closed.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Anyway, if you have similar taste in restaurants as me, just the idea of Town Beef almost sounds too good to be true to begin with. Do you mean to tell me there’s a little sandwich window, just a hop, skip and jump away from Temescal, that sells hot French dip sandwiches? That’s open until 2 a.m. every weekend?? \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Anyway, if you have similar taste in restaurants as me, just the idea of Town Beef almost sounds too good to be true to begin with. Do you mean to tell me there’s a little sandwich window, just a hop, skip and jump away from Temescal, that sells hot French dip sandwiches? That’s open until 2 a.m. every weekend?? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For now, at least, the shop has exactly three items on the menu: the house special, which they describe as an “Oakland-style” French dip sandwich. A vegan mushroom version of that same sandwich. And an electrolyte drink (of course). That’s it! Right away you know what kind of restaurant this is — or at least is trying to be. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>For now, at least, the shop has exactly three items on the menu: the house special, which they describe as an “Oakland-style” French dip sandwich. A vegan mushroom version of that same sandwich. And an electrolyte drink (of course). That’s it! Right away you know what kind of restaurant this is — or at least is trying to be. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During our visit, the crowds of rambunctious drunks who’d surely appreciate a hot beef sandwich at this late hour never materialized. Only one or two other customers pulled up to the window to pick up to-go orders. Mostly, though, that seems to be because the restaurant only just quietly opened a few weeks ago. As soon as we took our first bite of our sandwich, we felt certain it’d only be a matter of time before the place was \u003cem>flooded\u003c/em> with business.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>During our visit, the crowds of rambunctious drunks who’d surely appreciate a hot beef sandwich at this late hour never materialized. Only one or two other customers pulled up to the window to pick up to-go orders. Mostly, though, that seems to be because the restaurant only just quietly opened a few weeks ago. As soon as we took our first bite of our sandwich, we felt certain it’d only be a matter of time before the place was \u003cem>flooded\u003c/em> with business.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Two men eat at a sidewalk table on a dark empty street.\" class=\"wp-image-13995030\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">For now, Town Beef is relatively quiet after 11 o’clock at night. The French dip specialist sells sandwiches out of a small takeout window until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Two men eat at a sidewalk table on a dark empty street.\" class=\"wp-image-13995030\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">For now, Town Beef is relatively quiet after 11 o’clock at night. The French dip specialist sells sandwiches out of a small takeout window until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Famously, French dip sandwiches were invented not in France but at a restaurant in Los Angeles, \u003ca href=\"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/french-dip/\">either accidentally or on purpose\u003c/a>, as a way to put roast beef pan drippings to good use. The only thing “French” about the dish is the crusty roll it comes on. The pleasure of eating the sandwich comes from the combination of flavors and texture you get when you dip the whole thing into a bowl of au jus.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Famously, French dip sandwiches were invented not in France but at a restaurant in Los Angeles, \u003ca href=\"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/french-dip/\">either accidentally or on purpose\u003c/a>, as a way to put roast beef pan drippings to good use. The only thing “French” about the dish is the crusty roll it comes on. The pleasure of eating the sandwich comes from the combination of flavors and texture you get when you dip the whole thing into a bowl of au jus.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Many of the most enjoyable French dips I’ve had in the Bay Area have come from chain restaurants — Hillstone’s cult-classic version (a favorite among \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/hillstone-sf-chain-restaurant-19422826.php\">even the fancy-pantsiest of Bay Area chefs\u003c/a>) and the now-closed Mission District outpost of Top Round (a chain from LA, naturally). It makes sense, then, that Town Beef, the first restaurant I’m aware of to sling a distinctly “Oakland-style” take on the sandwich, would serve something that feels like its own thing altogether.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Many of the most enjoyable French dips I’ve had in the Bay Area have come from chain restaurants — Hillstone’s cult-classic version (a favorite among \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/hillstone-sf-chain-restaurant-19422826.php\">even the fancy-pantsiest of Bay Area chefs\u003c/a>) and the now-closed Mission District outpost of Top Round (a chain from LA, naturally). It makes sense, then, that Town Beef, the first restaurant I’m aware of to sling a distinctly “Oakland-style” take on the sandwich, would serve something that feels like its own thing altogether.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The most obvious diversion is the fact that chef-owner Craig Smith grills up pieces of ribeye steak instead using the thin, pink slices of roast beef or prime rib that traditional purveyors favor. This is a proper \u003cem>steak\u003c/em> sandwich, then, loaded with caramelized onions and a smear of tangy, garlicky aioli. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The most obvious diversion is the fact that chef-owner Craig Smith grills up pieces of ribeye steak instead using the thin, pink slices of roast beef or prime rib that traditional purveyors favor. This is a proper \u003cem>steak\u003c/em> sandwich, then, loaded with caramelized onions and a smear of tangy, garlicky aioli. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>All that was already enough to make us regulars, and we haven’t even talked about the most important part — the dip itself. Unlike in a classic French dip, Town Beef actually \u003cem>pre\u003c/em>-dips its sandwiches in their flavorful au jus. The result isn’t quite as sopping-wet as, say, a Chicago beef sandwich, but the bread soaks up enough broth to get a little bit soggy in the best possible way. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>All that was already enough to make us regulars, and we haven’t even talked about the most important part — the dip itself. Unlike in a classic French dip, Town Beef actually \u003cem>pre\u003c/em>-dips its sandwiches in their flavorful au jus. The result isn’t quite as sopping-wet as, say, a Chicago beef sandwich, but the bread soaks up enough broth to get a little bit soggy in the best possible way. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The kitchen works in a few other California tweaks. The bread is from Acme. The side pickles are crunchy and bracingly tart — green beans, sweet peppers and at least three different colors of carrots, cut into bite-size rounds.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The kitchen works in a few other California tweaks. The bread is from Acme. The side pickles are crunchy and bracingly tart — green beans, sweet peppers and at least three different colors of carrots, cut into bite-size rounds.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Here’s where I should mention too that service at Town Beef is unfailingly friendly and accommodating, even when the young woman working the window had to listen to the two of us arguing, nonsensically, about \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f6xlHh1fok\">Kelly Clarkson\u003c/a> for the duration of our meal. She told us, incidentally, that our quiet, sedate experience of the restaurant was quite different from how it was during their 6 o’clock dinner rush, which is why they’d sold out of electrolyte drinks (alas). \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Here’s where I should mention too that service at Town Beef is unfailingly friendly and accommodating, even when the young woman working the window had to listen to the two of us arguing, nonsensically, about \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f6xlHh1fok\">Kelly Clarkson\u003c/a> for the duration of our meal. She told us, incidentally, that our quiet, sedate experience of the restaurant was quite different from how it was during their 6 o’clock dinner rush, which is why they’d sold out of electrolyte drinks (alas). \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Of course we also had to try the vegan sandwich, which they make with four different types of mushrooms (oyster, cremini, maitake and baby bella). And here’s where I lower my voice to a whisper: The mushroom sandwich might be \u003cem>even better\u003c/em> than the beef one. At the very least, I liked it almost as much — the texture of the oysters and maitakes, in particular, was incredibly luxurious, and the coconut yogurt–based aioli had an even more pronounced tang. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Of course we also had to try the vegan sandwich, which they make with four different types of mushrooms (oyster, cremini, maitake and baby bella). And here’s where I lower my voice to a whisper: The mushroom sandwich might be \u003cem>even better\u003c/em> than the beef one. At the very least, I liked it almost as much — the texture of the oysters and maitakes, in particular, was incredibly luxurious, and the coconut yogurt–based aioli had an even more pronounced tang. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Had we accidentally stumbled into a fine dining restaurant? Was Carmy showing off again in this episode of \u003cem>The Bear\u003c/em>? This is the kind of sandwich you can eat forever without feeling like it’s too heavy or rich. (There’s the option to add mushrooms to the regular beef sandwich, which we agreed was the best of both worlds.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Had we accidentally stumbled into a fine dining restaurant? Was Carmy showing off again in this episode of \u003cem>The Bear\u003c/em>? This is the kind of sandwich you can eat forever without feeling like it’s too heavy or rich. (There’s the option to add mushrooms to the regular beef sandwich, which we agreed was the best of both worlds.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At this point, Smith himself came over and offered to bring us some extra au jus on the side. What French dip lover could say no to that? The jus here is thicker and richer than the typical kind, loaded with soft onions so that it almost tastes like an extra-savory French onion soup. And, anyway, the whole reason for eating a French dip is for the bread to get \u003cem>real\u003c/em> soggy, as a counterpoint to the meaty filling.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At this point, Smith himself came over and offered to bring us some extra au jus on the side. What French dip lover could say no to that? The jus here is thicker and richer than the typical kind, loaded with soft onions so that it almost tastes like an extra-savory French onion soup. And, anyway, the whole reason for eating a French dip is for the bread to get \u003cem>real\u003c/em> soggy, as a counterpoint to the meaty filling.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the end, we finished all of our sandwiches down to the last little nub of onion or mushroom that had wedged itself in the crease of the foil wrapper. Even then, we weren’t quite certain we hadn’t dreamed the whole thing up. Did we really sit at that flimsy table in the darkness and eat a sandwich \u003cem>that\u003c/em> good, at that time of night? Were we really just outside Temescal, or had we in fact gone through some portal and stumbled into the most fantastical, nonsensically delicious ghost town? When I woke up the next morning, I had to scroll through my phone to make sure the photos I took were still there.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the end, we finished all of our sandwiches down to the last little nub of onion or mushroom that had wedged itself in the crease of the foil wrapper. Even then, we weren’t quite certain we hadn’t dreamed the whole thing up. Did we really sit at that flimsy table in the darkness and eat a sandwich \u003cem>that\u003c/em> good, at that time of night? Were we really just outside Temescal, or had we in fact gone through some portal and stumbled into the most fantastical, nonsensically delicious ghost town? When I woke up the next morning, I had to scroll through my phone to make sure the photos I took were still there.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/townbeef.510/\">\u003cem>Town Beef\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>is currently open Fridays and Saturdays only, 6 p.m.–2 a.m., at 4001 Broadway. in Oakland.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/townbeef.510/\">\u003cem>Town Beef\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>is currently open Fridays and Saturdays only, 6 p.m.–2 a.m., at 4001 Broadway. in Oakland.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Town Beef’s ‘Oakland-style’ take on the classic won’t stay under the radar for long.",
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"title": "Town Beef Sells Killer French Dip Sandwiches in Oakland Until 2 a.m. | KQED",
"description": "Town Beef’s ‘Oakland-style’ take on the classic won’t stay under the radar for long.",
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"source": "The Midnight Diners",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: two men devour beef sandwiches, holding them in two hands.\" class=\"wp-image-13995028\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef2-829ada38-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The restaurant’s “Oakland-style” take on a French dip sandwich is a proper steak sandwich that comes pre-dipped. (Thien Pham)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003cem>The Midnight Diners\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Thien Pham\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When we parked in front of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/townbeef.510/\">Town Beef\u003c/a> at 11 o’clock on a Friday night, we thought maybe we’d come to the wrong place. There wasn’t a line. No one else was eating at the folding tables the restaurant had set up on the sidewalk. The tiny takeout window where we were supposed to place our order was so dimly lit, we weren’t entirely sure if the place was even open. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Had we arrived too late? As the hour crept toward midnight, this whole stretch of North \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>, near the corner of Broadway and 40th (the old \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/checkplease/17782/check-please-bay-area-reviews-jasons-restaurant-clove-hoof-butchery-dragon-beaux\">Clove & Hoof\u003c/a> building), started to feel a bit like a ghost town. Even the gas station across the street looked like it was closed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anyway, if you have similar taste in restaurants as me, just the idea of Town Beef almost sounds too good to be true to begin with. Do you mean to tell me there’s a little sandwich window, just a hop, skip and jump away from Temescal, that sells hot French dip sandwiches? That’s open until 2 a.m. every weekend?? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For now, at least, the shop has exactly three items on the menu: the house special, which they describe as an “Oakland-style” French dip sandwich. A vegan mushroom version of that same sandwich. And an electrolyte drink (of course). That’s it! Right away you know what kind of restaurant this is — or at least is trying to be. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During our visit, the crowds of rambunctious drunks who’d surely appreciate a hot beef sandwich at this late hour never materialized. Only one or two other customers pulled up to the window to pick up to-go orders. Mostly, though, that seems to be because the restaurant only just quietly opened a few weeks ago. As soon as we took our first bite of our sandwich, we felt certain it’d only be a matter of time before the place was \u003cem>flooded\u003c/em> with business.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Two men eat at a sidewalk table on a dark empty street.\" class=\"wp-image-13995030\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/TownBeef-edd04e59-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">For now, Town Beef is relatively quiet after 11 o’clock at night. The French dip specialist sells sandwiches out of a small takeout window until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. (Thien Pham)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Famously, French dip sandwiches were invented not in France but at a restaurant in Los Angeles, \u003ca href=\"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/french-dip/\">either accidentally or on purpose\u003c/a>, as a way to put roast beef pan drippings to good use. The only thing “French” about the dish is the crusty roll it comes on. The pleasure of eating the sandwich comes from the combination of flavors and texture you get when you dip the whole thing into a bowl of au jus.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of the most enjoyable French dips I’ve had in the Bay Area have come from chain restaurants — Hillstone’s cult-classic version (a favorite among \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/hillstone-sf-chain-restaurant-19422826.php\">even the fancy-pantsiest of Bay Area chefs\u003c/a>) and the now-closed Mission District outpost of Top Round (a chain from LA, naturally). It makes sense, then, that Town Beef, the first restaurant I’m aware of to sling a distinctly “Oakland-style” take on the sandwich, would serve something that feels like its own thing altogether.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most obvious diversion is the fact that chef-owner Craig Smith grills up pieces of ribeye steak instead using the thin, pink slices of roast beef or prime rib that traditional purveyors favor. This is a proper \u003cem>steak\u003c/em> sandwich, then, loaded with caramelized onions and a smear of tangy, garlicky aioli. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All that was already enough to make us regulars, and we haven’t even talked about the most important part — the dip itself. Unlike in a classic French dip, Town Beef actually \u003cem>pre\u003c/em>-dips its sandwiches in their flavorful au jus. The result isn’t quite as sopping-wet as, say, a Chicago beef sandwich, but the bread soaks up enough broth to get a little bit soggy in the best possible way. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The kitchen works in a few other California tweaks. The bread is from Acme. The side pickles are crunchy and bracingly tart — green beans, sweet peppers and at least three different colors of carrots, cut into bite-size rounds.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here’s where I should mention too that service at Town Beef is unfailingly friendly and accommodating, even when the young woman working the window had to listen to the two of us arguing, nonsensically, about \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f6xlHh1fok\">Kelly Clarkson\u003c/a> for the duration of our meal. She told us, incidentally, that our quiet, sedate experience of the restaurant was quite different from how it was during their 6 o’clock dinner rush, which is why they’d sold out of electrolyte drinks (alas). \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course we also had to try the vegan sandwich, which they make with four different types of mushrooms (oyster, cremini, maitake and baby bella). And here’s where I lower my voice to a whisper: The mushroom sandwich might be \u003cem>even better\u003c/em> than the beef one. At the very least, I liked it almost as much — the texture of the oysters and maitakes, in particular, was incredibly luxurious, and the coconut yogurt–based aioli had an even more pronounced tang. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Had we accidentally stumbled into a fine dining restaurant? Was Carmy showing off again in this episode of \u003cem>The Bear\u003c/em>? This is the kind of sandwich you can eat forever without feeling like it’s too heavy or rich. (There’s the option to add mushrooms to the regular beef sandwich, which we agreed was the best of both worlds.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At this point, Smith himself came over and offered to bring us some extra au jus on the side. What French dip lover could say no to that? The jus here is thicker and richer than the typical kind, loaded with soft onions so that it almost tastes like an extra-savory French onion soup. And, anyway, the whole reason for eating a French dip is for the bread to get \u003cem>real\u003c/em> soggy, as a counterpoint to the meaty filling.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the end, we finished all of our sandwiches down to the last little nub of onion or mushroom that had wedged itself in the crease of the foil wrapper. Even then, we weren’t quite certain we hadn’t dreamed the whole thing up. Did we really sit at that flimsy table in the darkness and eat a sandwich \u003cem>that\u003c/em> good, at that time of night? Were we really just outside Temescal, or had we in fact gone through some portal and stumbled into the most fantastical, nonsensically delicious ghost town? When I woke up the next morning, I had to scroll through my phone to make sure the photos I took were still there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/townbeef.510/\">\u003cem>Town Beef\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>is currently open Fridays and Saturdays only, 6 p.m.–2 a.m., at 4001 Broadway. in Oakland.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "lion-plaza-san-jose-vietnamese-cafe-pop-up-tully-road-droo-the-baker",
"title": "A Rollicking Vietnamese Sidewalk Cafe Pops Up at San José’s Most Nostalgic Strip Mall",
"publishDate": 1792186310,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "A Rollicking Vietnamese Sidewalk Cafe Pops Up at San José’s Most Nostalgic Strip Mall | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>These days, \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Plaza\">Lion Plaza\u003c/a> doesn’t get nearly as much hype as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose\">San José’s\u003c/a> newer, splashier \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13961537/san-jose-night-market-vietnamese-grand-century-mall\">Vietnamese malls\u003c/a> like Vietnam Town and Grand Century. But OGs know the Tully Road strip mall as the heart of the South Bay’s \u003cem>original \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJoVPdRljYw\">Little Saigon\u003c/a>, and the plaza has never lost that grassroots community vibe. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Case in point is this Saturday’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeCupp_vw-0/\">Cà Phê & Bánh\u003c/a> pop-up, which aims to recreate the feel of a Vietnamese open-air sidewalk cafe right out in the strip mall’s parking lot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Organized by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/treba_sj/\">Tully Road Eastridge Business Association\u003c/a>, the morning cafe pop-up plans to deck out the parking lot with the iconic \u003ca href=\"https://vietcetera.com/en/a-brief-history-of-the-vietnamese-plastic-stool\">plastic red stools\u003c/a> and tables found at coffee shops and street-side restaurants all over Vietnam — a point of nostalgia for so many Vietnamese Americans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re just trying to bring a little bit of Vietnam here,” Andrew Hong, one of the food vendors, tells KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae.jpg\" alt=\"A matcha drink and a coffee drink, both mixed with creamy foam.\" class=\"wp-image-13994841\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One of several drinks vendors to be featured at the event, Caffeine Depot will be selling both matcha drinks and Vietnamese coffee drinks. (Courtesy of Caffeine Depot)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hong, aka \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/droothebaker/\">Droo the Baker\u003c/a>, has curated a lineup of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeKNHNWm4qM/?img_index=1\">seven up-and-coming Vietnamese American beverage vendors and pastry chefs\u003c/a> to headline the event. South Bay crowd favorites include \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nhathecafe/\">Nha the Cafe\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/caffeine.depot/\">Caffeine Depot\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fromem.co/\">From Em\u003c/a>. Caffeine hounds will have their pick of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13993389/best-matcha-bay-area-oakland-berkeley-sf-san-jose\">matcha\u003c/a> Einspänners, pandan milk tea and probably a dozen different twists on a classic phin-style Vietnamese coffee. Food-wise, there will be uber-trendy salt bread sandwiches, coffee-flavored Biscoff cookies and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The one pop-up I’m personally most excited to try is Hong’s own pop-up venture, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gong.dessertshop/\">Gong Dessert Shop\u003c/a>, which will be selling pork-floss croissants (one of Hong’s signature dishes), pâté-stuffed puff pastry and what looks like a Vietnamese American take on a McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish sandwich (!).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13994839\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e.jpg\" alt=\"A fried fish sandwich on a soft bun.\" class=\"wp-image-13994839\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gong Dessert Shop’s fish sandwich is like a cross between a Filet-o-Fish and Vietnamese Chả cá Lã Vọng. (Courtesy of Andrew Hong)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13994840\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/droo-the-baker-croissant-69661513.jpg\" alt=\"Croissant topped with pork floss and scallions\" class=\"wp-image-13994840\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/droo-the-baker-croissant-69661513.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/droo-the-baker-croissant-69661513-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/droo-the-baker-croissant-69661513-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/droo-the-baker-croissant-69661513-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/droo-the-baker-croissant-69661513-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This flaky pork-floss croissant is one of Hong’s signature items. (Courtesy of Andrew Hong)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hong says the original inspiration for that particular stroke of genius came when he had the recently viral $3.50 fried fish sandwich at San Leandro’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/viral-sandwich-san-leandro-21322422.php\">Chinese Bakery & Deli\u003c/a>. He loved it, but his first thought afterward was, “This would be \u003cem>so\u003c/em> great if it was the [Vietnamese] dill-and-turmeric fish,” aka Chả cá Lã Vọng, which is often made with grilled catfish.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tweaking the original by frying the fish with panko breading, adding his own signature umami mayo and putting it all on a homemade milk bread bun is exactly the type of next-gen twist that makes San José’s Vietnamese pop-up ecosystem so exciting.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Hong, however, the Cà Phê & Bánh is about more than just the food itself. Over the past couple of decades, he explains, Lion Plaza’s slowly lost a little bit of its luster, as the South Bay’s Vietnamese community has been drawn to newer, shinier malls on Story Road.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My cousins told me stories,” says Hong, who grew up in Southern California but had lots of family in San José. During the plaza’s 1990s–early 2000s heyday, he says, “The parking lot during Lunar New Year was insane. It was definitely the original Vietnamese plaza mecca.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f.jpg\" alt=\"Main facade of a shopping plaza with two lion statues in front.\" class=\"wp-image-13994838\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lion Plaza was at the center of San José’s first Vietnamese shopping district. A new wave of food entrepreneurs are hoping to bring back the crowds. (Courtesy of Andrew Hong)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>No one knows better than Hong that business in the plaza is slower these days, despite the fact that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13983625/bot-chien-san-jose-vietnamese-rice-cake-omelettes-lion-plaza\">food court\u003c/a> remains one of the best in town. About 12 years ago, he and his sister moved to the Bay to take over the Lion Plaza location of \u003ca href=\"https://vansbakerysanjose.com/\">Van’s Bakery\u003c/a>, one the South Bay’s most famous and longstanding traditional Vietnamese bakeries, from their aunt and uncle. Hong says everyone he talks to about his day job tells him, “Oh, I know Van’s! My parents used to get my birthday cakes there all the time.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“But what about now?” Hong says. “Our goal is to have them come back.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>More than anything, then, he hopes Cà Phê & Bánh is the first “baby step” in that process. He doesn’t necessarily want to reinvent Lion Plaza, he says. Lion Plaza has always been great. But now, he says, “We got a fresh coat of paint” — literally.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s the same but also better,” Hong says about the strip mall. “It’s not stuck in the past.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://events.humanitix.com/ca-phe-and-banh\">Cà Phê & Bánh\u003c/a> will pop up in the Lion Plaza parking lot (1816 Tully Rd., San José) on Saturday, Oct. 17 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Free admission; all food and drink will be sold a la carte. The event will also feature DJs and family-friendly craft activities.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These days, \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Plaza\">Lion Plaza\u003c/a> doesn’t get nearly as much hype as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose\">San José’s\u003c/a> newer, splashier \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13961537/san-jose-night-market-vietnamese-grand-century-mall\">Vietnamese malls\u003c/a> like Vietnam Town and Grand Century. But OGs know the Tully Road strip mall as the heart of the South Bay’s \u003cem>original \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJoVPdRljYw\">Little Saigon\u003c/a>, and the plaza has never lost that grassroots community vibe. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>These days, \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Plaza\">Lion Plaza\u003c/a> doesn’t get nearly as much hype as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose\">San José’s\u003c/a> newer, splashier \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13961537/san-jose-night-market-vietnamese-grand-century-mall\">Vietnamese malls\u003c/a> like Vietnam Town and Grand Century. But OGs know the Tully Road strip mall as the heart of the South Bay’s \u003cem>original \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJoVPdRljYw\">Little Saigon\u003c/a>, and the plaza has never lost that grassroots community vibe. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Case in point is this Saturday’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeCupp_vw-0/\">Cà Phê & Bánh\u003c/a> pop-up, which aims to recreate the feel of a Vietnamese open-air sidewalk cafe right out in the strip mall’s parking lot.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Case in point is this Saturday’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeCupp_vw-0/\">Cà Phê & Bánh\u003c/a> pop-up, which aims to recreate the feel of a Vietnamese open-air sidewalk cafe right out in the strip mall’s parking lot.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Organized by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/treba_sj/\">Tully Road Eastridge Business Association\u003c/a>, the morning cafe pop-up plans to deck out the parking lot with the iconic \u003ca href=\"https://vietcetera.com/en/a-brief-history-of-the-vietnamese-plastic-stool\">plastic red stools\u003c/a> and tables found at coffee shops and street-side restaurants all over Vietnam — a point of nostalgia for so many Vietnamese Americans.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Organized by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/treba_sj/\">Tully Road Eastridge Business Association\u003c/a>, the morning cafe pop-up plans to deck out the parking lot with the iconic \u003ca href=\"https://vietcetera.com/en/a-brief-history-of-the-vietnamese-plastic-stool\">plastic red stools\u003c/a> and tables found at coffee shops and street-side restaurants all over Vietnam — a point of nostalgia for so many Vietnamese Americans.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re just trying to bring a little bit of Vietnam here,” Andrew Hong, one of the food vendors, tells KQED.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re just trying to bring a little bit of Vietnam here,” Andrew Hong, one of the food vendors, tells KQED.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae.jpg\" alt=\"A matcha drink and a coffee drink, both mixed with creamy foam.\" class=\"wp-image-13994841\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One of several drinks vendors to be featured at the event, Caffeine Depot will be selling both matcha drinks and Vietnamese coffee drinks.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Caffeine Depot)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae.jpg\" alt=\"A matcha drink and a coffee drink, both mixed with creamy foam.\" class=\"wp-image-13994841\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One of several drinks vendors to be featured at the event, Caffeine Depot will be selling both matcha drinks and Vietnamese coffee drinks.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Caffeine Depot)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hong, aka \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/droothebaker/\">Droo the Baker\u003c/a>, has curated a lineup of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeKNHNWm4qM/?img_index=1\">seven up-and-coming Vietnamese American beverage vendors and pastry chefs\u003c/a> to headline the event. South Bay crowd favorites include \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nhathecafe/\">Nha the Cafe\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/caffeine.depot/\">Caffeine Depot\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fromem.co/\">From Em\u003c/a>. Caffeine hounds will have their pick of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13993389/best-matcha-bay-area-oakland-berkeley-sf-san-jose\">matcha\u003c/a> Einspänners, pandan milk tea and probably a dozen different twists on a classic phin-style Vietnamese coffee. Food-wise, there will be uber-trendy salt bread sandwiches, coffee-flavored Biscoff cookies and more.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Hong, aka \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/droothebaker/\">Droo the Baker\u003c/a>, has curated a lineup of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeKNHNWm4qM/?img_index=1\">seven up-and-coming Vietnamese American beverage vendors and pastry chefs\u003c/a> to headline the event. South Bay crowd favorites include \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nhathecafe/\">Nha the Cafe\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/caffeine.depot/\">Caffeine Depot\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fromem.co/\">From Em\u003c/a>. Caffeine hounds will have their pick of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13993389/best-matcha-bay-area-oakland-berkeley-sf-san-jose\">matcha\u003c/a> Einspänners, pandan milk tea and probably a dozen different twists on a classic phin-style Vietnamese coffee. Food-wise, there will be uber-trendy salt bread sandwiches, coffee-flavored Biscoff cookies and more.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The one pop-up I’m personally most excited to try is Hong’s own pop-up venture, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gong.dessertshop/\">Gong Dessert Shop\u003c/a>, which will be selling pork-floss croissants (one of Hong’s signature dishes), pâté-stuffed puff pastry and what looks like a Vietnamese American take on a McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish sandwich (!).\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The one pop-up I’m personally most excited to try is Hong’s own pop-up venture, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gong.dessertshop/\">Gong Dessert Shop\u003c/a>, which will be selling pork-floss croissants (one of Hong’s signature dishes), pâté-stuffed puff pastry and what looks like a Vietnamese American take on a McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish sandwich (!).\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e.jpg\" alt=\"A fried fish sandwich on a soft bun.\" class=\"wp-image-13994839\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gong Dessert Shop’s fish sandwich is like a cross between a Filet-o-Fish and Vietnamese Chả cá Lã Vọng.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e.jpg\" alt=\"A fried fish sandwich on a soft bun.\" class=\"wp-image-13994839\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gong Dessert Shop’s fish sandwich is like a cross between a Filet-o-Fish and Vietnamese Chả cá Lã Vọng.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/droo-the-baker-croissant-69661513.jpg\" alt=\"Croissant topped with pork floss and scallions\" class=\"wp-image-13994840\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This flaky pork-floss croissant is one of Hong’s signature items.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hong says the original inspiration for that particular stroke of genius came when he had the recently viral $3.50 fried fish sandwich at San Leandro’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/viral-sandwich-san-leandro-21322422.php\">Chinese Bakery & Deli\u003c/a>. He loved it, but his first thought afterward was, “This would be \u003cem>so\u003c/em> great if it was the [Vietnamese] dill-and-turmeric fish,” aka Chả cá Lã Vọng, which is often made with grilled catfish.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Hong says the original inspiration for that particular stroke of genius came when he had the recently viral $3.50 fried fish sandwich at San Leandro’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/viral-sandwich-san-leandro-21322422.php\">Chinese Bakery & Deli\u003c/a>. He loved it, but his first thought afterward was, “This would be \u003cem>so\u003c/em> great if it was the [Vietnamese] dill-and-turmeric fish,” aka Chả cá Lã Vọng, which is often made with grilled catfish.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tweaking the original by frying the fish with panko breading, adding his own signature umami mayo and putting it all on a homemade milk bread bun is exactly the type of next-gen twist that makes San José’s Vietnamese pop-up ecosystem so exciting.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Hong, however, the Cà Phê & Bánh is about more than just the food itself. Over the past couple of decades, he explains, Lion Plaza’s slowly lost a little bit of its luster, as the South Bay’s Vietnamese community has been drawn to newer, shinier malls on Story Road.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“My cousins told me stories,” says Hong, who grew up in Southern California but had lots of family in San José. During the plaza’s 1990s–early 2000s heyday, he says, “The parking lot during Lunar New Year was insane. It was definitely the original Vietnamese plaza mecca.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“My cousins told me stories,” says Hong, who grew up in Southern California but had lots of family in San José. During the plaza’s 1990s–early 2000s heyday, he says, “The parking lot during Lunar New Year was insane. It was definitely the original Vietnamese plaza mecca.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f.jpg\" alt=\"Main facade of a shopping plaza with two lion statues in front.\" class=\"wp-image-13994838\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lion Plaza was at the center of San José’s first Vietnamese shopping district. A new wave of food entrepreneurs are hoping to bring back the crowds.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Andrew Hong)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f.jpg\" alt=\"Main facade of a shopping plaza with two lion statues in front.\" class=\"wp-image-13994838\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lion Plaza was at the center of San José’s first Vietnamese shopping district. A new wave of food entrepreneurs are hoping to bring back the crowds.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Andrew Hong)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>No one knows better than Hong that business in the plaza is slower these days, despite the fact that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13983625/bot-chien-san-jose-vietnamese-rice-cake-omelettes-lion-plaza\">food court\u003c/a> remains one of the best in town. About 12 years ago, he and his sister moved to the Bay to take over the Lion Plaza location of \u003ca href=\"https://vansbakerysanjose.com/\">Van’s Bakery\u003c/a>, one the South Bay’s most famous and longstanding traditional Vietnamese bakeries, from their aunt and uncle. Hong says everyone he talks to about his day job tells him, “Oh, I know Van’s! My parents used to get my birthday cakes there all the time.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>No one knows better than Hong that business in the plaza is slower these days, despite the fact that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13983625/bot-chien-san-jose-vietnamese-rice-cake-omelettes-lion-plaza\">food court\u003c/a> remains one of the best in town. About 12 years ago, he and his sister moved to the Bay to take over the Lion Plaza location of \u003ca href=\"https://vansbakerysanjose.com/\">Van’s Bakery\u003c/a>, one the South Bay’s most famous and longstanding traditional Vietnamese bakeries, from their aunt and uncle. Hong says everyone he talks to about his day job tells him, “Oh, I know Van’s! My parents used to get my birthday cakes there all the time.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“But what about now?” Hong says. “Our goal is to have them come back.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>More than anything, then, he hopes Cà Phê & Bánh is the first “baby step” in that process. He doesn’t necessarily want to reinvent Lion Plaza, he says. Lion Plaza has always been great. But now, he says, “We got a fresh coat of paint” — literally.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>More than anything, then, he hopes Cà Phê & Bánh is the first “baby step” in that process. He doesn’t necessarily want to reinvent Lion Plaza, he says. Lion Plaza has always been great. But now, he says, “We got a fresh coat of paint” — literally.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s the same but also better,” Hong says about the strip mall. “It’s not stuck in the past.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://events.humanitix.com/ca-phe-and-banh\">Cà Phê & Bánh\u003c/a> will pop up in the Lion Plaza parking lot (1816 Tully Rd., San José) on Saturday, Oct. 17 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Free admission; all food and drink will be sold a la carte. The event will also feature DJs and family-friendly craft activities.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://events.humanitix.com/ca-phe-and-banh\">Cà Phê & Bánh\u003c/a> will pop up in the Lion Plaza parking lot (1816 Tully Rd., San José) on Saturday, Oct. 17 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Free admission; all food and drink will be sold a la carte. The event will also feature DJs and family-friendly craft activities.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Cà Phê & Bánh brings Vietnamese coffee, matcha and pork floss croissants to Lion Plaza.",
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"title": "San José’s Lion Plaza Hosts A Rollicking Vietnamese Sidewalk Cafe Pop-Up | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>These days, \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Plaza\">Lion Plaza\u003c/a> doesn’t get nearly as much hype as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose\">San José’s\u003c/a> newer, splashier \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13961537/san-jose-night-market-vietnamese-grand-century-mall\">Vietnamese malls\u003c/a> like Vietnam Town and Grand Century. But OGs know the Tully Road strip mall as the heart of the South Bay’s \u003cem>original \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJoVPdRljYw\">Little Saigon\u003c/a>, and the plaza has never lost that grassroots community vibe. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Case in point is this Saturday’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeCupp_vw-0/\">Cà Phê & Bánh\u003c/a> pop-up, which aims to recreate the feel of a Vietnamese open-air sidewalk cafe right out in the strip mall’s parking lot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Organized by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/treba_sj/\">Tully Road Eastridge Business Association\u003c/a>, the morning cafe pop-up plans to deck out the parking lot with the iconic \u003ca href=\"https://vietcetera.com/en/a-brief-history-of-the-vietnamese-plastic-stool\">plastic red stools\u003c/a> and tables found at coffee shops and street-side restaurants all over Vietnam — a point of nostalgia for so many Vietnamese Americans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re just trying to bring a little bit of Vietnam here,” Andrew Hong, one of the food vendors, tells KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae.jpg\" alt=\"A matcha drink and a coffee drink, both mixed with creamy foam.\" class=\"wp-image-13994841\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/caffeine-depot-drinks-97e4b8ae-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One of several drinks vendors to be featured at the event, Caffeine Depot will be selling both matcha drinks and Vietnamese coffee drinks. (Courtesy of Caffeine Depot)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hong, aka \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/droothebaker/\">Droo the Baker\u003c/a>, has curated a lineup of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeKNHNWm4qM/?img_index=1\">seven up-and-coming Vietnamese American beverage vendors and pastry chefs\u003c/a> to headline the event. South Bay crowd favorites include \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nhathecafe/\">Nha the Cafe\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/caffeine.depot/\">Caffeine Depot\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fromem.co/\">From Em\u003c/a>. Caffeine hounds will have their pick of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13993389/best-matcha-bay-area-oakland-berkeley-sf-san-jose\">matcha\u003c/a> Einspänners, pandan milk tea and probably a dozen different twists on a classic phin-style Vietnamese coffee. Food-wise, there will be uber-trendy salt bread sandwiches, coffee-flavored Biscoff cookies and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The one pop-up I’m personally most excited to try is Hong’s own pop-up venture, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gong.dessertshop/\">Gong Dessert Shop\u003c/a>, which will be selling pork-floss croissants (one of Hong’s signature dishes), pâté-stuffed puff pastry and what looks like a Vietnamese American take on a McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish sandwich (!).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13994839\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e.jpg\" alt=\"A fried fish sandwich on a soft bun.\" class=\"wp-image-13994839\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/gong-fish-sandwich-f095944e-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gong Dessert Shop’s fish sandwich is like a cross between a Filet-o-Fish and Vietnamese Chả cá Lã Vọng. (Courtesy of Andrew Hong)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13994840\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/droo-the-baker-croissant-69661513.jpg\" alt=\"Croissant topped with pork floss and scallions\" class=\"wp-image-13994840\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/droo-the-baker-croissant-69661513.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/droo-the-baker-croissant-69661513-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/droo-the-baker-croissant-69661513-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/droo-the-baker-croissant-69661513-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/droo-the-baker-croissant-69661513-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This flaky pork-floss croissant is one of Hong’s signature items. (Courtesy of Andrew Hong)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hong says the original inspiration for that particular stroke of genius came when he had the recently viral $3.50 fried fish sandwich at San Leandro’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/viral-sandwich-san-leandro-21322422.php\">Chinese Bakery & Deli\u003c/a>. He loved it, but his first thought afterward was, “This would be \u003cem>so\u003c/em> great if it was the [Vietnamese] dill-and-turmeric fish,” aka Chả cá Lã Vọng, which is often made with grilled catfish.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tweaking the original by frying the fish with panko breading, adding his own signature umami mayo and putting it all on a homemade milk bread bun is exactly the type of next-gen twist that makes San José’s Vietnamese pop-up ecosystem so exciting.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Hong, however, the Cà Phê & Bánh is about more than just the food itself. Over the past couple of decades, he explains, Lion Plaza’s slowly lost a little bit of its luster, as the South Bay’s Vietnamese community has been drawn to newer, shinier malls on Story Road.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My cousins told me stories,” says Hong, who grew up in Southern California but had lots of family in San José. During the plaza’s 1990s–early 2000s heyday, he says, “The parking lot during Lunar New Year was insane. It was definitely the original Vietnamese plaza mecca.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f.jpg\" alt=\"Main facade of a shopping plaza with two lion statues in front.\" class=\"wp-image-13994838\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/lion-plaza-5afec80f-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lion Plaza was at the center of San José’s first Vietnamese shopping district. A new wave of food entrepreneurs are hoping to bring back the crowds. (Courtesy of Andrew Hong)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>No one knows better than Hong that business in the plaza is slower these days, despite the fact that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13983625/bot-chien-san-jose-vietnamese-rice-cake-omelettes-lion-plaza\">food court\u003c/a> remains one of the best in town. About 12 years ago, he and his sister moved to the Bay to take over the Lion Plaza location of \u003ca href=\"https://vansbakerysanjose.com/\">Van’s Bakery\u003c/a>, one the South Bay’s most famous and longstanding traditional Vietnamese bakeries, from their aunt and uncle. Hong says everyone he talks to about his day job tells him, “Oh, I know Van’s! My parents used to get my birthday cakes there all the time.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“But what about now?” Hong says. “Our goal is to have them come back.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>More than anything, then, he hopes Cà Phê & Bánh is the first “baby step” in that process. He doesn’t necessarily want to reinvent Lion Plaza, he says. Lion Plaza has always been great. But now, he says, “We got a fresh coat of paint” — literally.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s the same but also better,” Hong says about the strip mall. “It’s not stuck in the past.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://events.humanitix.com/ca-phe-and-banh\">Cà Phê & Bánh\u003c/a> will pop up in the Lion Plaza parking lot (1816 Tully Rd., San José) on Saturday, Oct. 17 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Free admission; all food and drink will be sold a la carte. The event will also feature DJs and family-friendly craft activities.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>John Beaver recalls trying to find a local spice shop when he first moved to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> in the late 2000s. A quick Google search yielded only one result: “Spice Bazaar,” a fictional storefront from the 2006 romantic drama \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mistress_of_Spices_(film)\">\u003cem>Mistress of Spices\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which had been filmed in Old Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the real world, Bay Area home cooks mostly had to settle for the supermarket spice aisle. At the time, Beaver recalls, the handful of spice businesses in the Bay Area mostly only sold very large quantities, or had a more medicinal focus. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As far as a place that would grind and blend the spices in-house, as far as I know, there wasn’t anyone doing it,” Beaver says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, Beaver and his wife Erica Perez decided to open their own spice shop in Oakland. That business, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/oaktownspice/\">Oaktown Spice Shop\u003c/a>, quickly emerged as an East Bay staple for both restaurants and ambitious home cooks. Now boasting three Bay Area locations, plus a fourth in Los Angeles, Oaktown Spice celebrates its 15th anniversary this month with a series of local collaborations. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DePg2HGmgSy/?img_index=1\">Twenty-three Bay Area restaurants and bars\u003c/a> have created limited-time menu items meant to show off the vast inventory of spice blends the shop grinds in-house — say, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeSM1BHj7LH/?img_index=1\">martini\u003c/a> rimmed with shichimi togarashi at Umami Mart or \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeM5qX2GFly/?img_index=1\">vadouvan-dusted fried tofu\u003c/a> at Joodooboo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93.jpg\" alt=\"Large block of fried tofu, the top half of which is dusted with spice.\" class=\"wp-image-13994759\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Crispy tofu with vadouvan at Joodooboo in Oakland. (Courtesy of Joodooboo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Back in 2011, when he opened his first store, Beaver didn’t have experience running a business, but he did have a background in spices. As a high schooler in Wisconsin, and on and off during his twenties, Beaver worked for The Spice House, a family-run spice shop in Milwaukee. Beaver enjoyed talking with customers about what they were cooking and which flavor profiles they liked, and then introducing them to a dried chile, say, or a specific varietal of peppercorn they might not have otherwise considered. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s helped for Oaktown Spice Shop’s success, of course, that the market for fresh, high-quality spices has exploded over the past decade. When the shop first opened, few home cooks who weren’t of Arabic or North African descent were likely to keep sumac in their pantries. Now, it’s commonplace. (“You can kind of pinpoint it to Ottolenghi,” Beaver says, referencing the British-Israeli chef whose cookbooks became wildly popular over the course of the 2010s.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As spice-forward, non-European cuisines became trendier and more mainstream, customers increasingly began seeking out things like berbere and Sichuan peppercorns. They began to understand the world of difference between a freshly ground spice blend and a jar of McCormick’s that had been sitting on the supermarket shelf for God knows how many months or years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a.jpg\" alt=\"A soft-boiled egg topped with dried chilies and sesame seeds.\" class=\"wp-image-13994761\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A twist on a deviled egg, topped with Oaktown Spice Shop’s Eastern Mediterranean Spice Blend, at Octavia in San Francisco. (Courtesy of Octavia)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Where Beaver once had a hard time finding even a single dedicated spice shop, there’s now a whole landscape of boutique operations. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13920057/diaspora-co-jaggery-decolonizing-oakland-spice-company\">Diaspora Co.\u003c/a>, also founded in Oakland, specializes in sourcing spices from small farmers in India. And the Ethiopian restaurant Cafe Colucci now sells East African spices through the importing arm of its business, \u003ca href=\"https://www.brundo.com/pages/about-us\">Brundo Spice Company\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, dozens of Bay Area restaurants regularly turn to Oaktown Spice Shop for help sourcing particularly interesting and hard-to-find spice varietals. The idea behind the “Oaktown Spice Shop x Your Favorite Restaurant” anniversary promotion is for the shop to highlight some of the small local businesses that have been buying spices from Oaktown Spice for years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We wanted to show them some love,” says accounts manager Hannah Tobin-Bloch.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1979\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Lunette-Khmer-Fried-Chicken-with-Kampot-Peppercorns-77367029.jpg\" alt=\"Fried chicken wings topped the black peppercorns, with pickled radishes and a lime wedge on the side.\" class=\"wp-image-13994763\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Lunette-Khmer-Fried-Chicken-with-Kampot-Peppercorns-77367029.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Lunette-Khmer-Fried-Chicken-with-Kampot-Peppercorns-77367029-160x158.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Lunette-Khmer-Fried-Chicken-with-Kampot-Peppercorns-77367029-768x760.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Lunette-Khmer-Fried-Chicken-with-Kampot-Peppercorns-77367029-1536x1520.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Khmer fried chicken wings at Lunette in San Francisco. (Courtesy of Lunette)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s also an opportunity for diners to experience the power and potency of a spice or spice blend that’s been deployed in an interesting way. Take the simple peppercorn, for instance. This month, diners might head to Lunette, chef Nite Yun’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13927259/cambodian-restaurant-khmer-food-sithas-khmerkitchen-oakland-sf\">Cambodian\u003c/a> spot in the SF Ferry Building, to taste the famously intense Kampot peppercorns the restaurant uses for its Khmer salt-and-pepper chicken wings. Or they can try Oakland pasta standout Sfizio’s miso cacio e pepe, which instead highlights the fruity flavors of late-harvest peppercorns.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Popular spice blends like Oaktown Spice Shop’s shichimi togarashi appear in multiple special dishes: as a topping for a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeQfmoeEkuD/?img_index=2\">cheesy focaccia\u003c/a> at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13990903/as-kneaded-cafe-san-leandro-library-baguette-quiche\">As Kneaded Bakery\u003c/a> and in a sake-and-gin “Shichimitini” at Umami Mart.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All told, it’s something of a golden age for spice connoisseurs in the Bay Area. As Beaver sees it, the spices themselves have always been appealing. It’s just that these days, people have a wealth of opportunities to experience those spices in a more appealing way.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Nobody was probably \u003cem>that\u003c/em> excited about the spice aisle of the supermarket,” Beaver says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the name of the Milwaukee spice shop where John Beaver had worked.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The “Oaktown Spice Shop x Your Favorite Restaurant” limited-time dishes will be available at select Bay Area restaurants through Oct. 25. See the link on Oaktown Spice Shop’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://oaktownspiceshop.com/pages/events\">\u003cem>events page\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> for a full list of participating bars and restaurants and the specific dishes they’ll be selling. The store will also host an \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Deeuy4Km1r9/?img_index=1\">anniversary party\u003c/a> at each of its locations on Sunday, Oct. 25.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So, Beaver and his wife Erica Perez decided to open their own spice shop in Oakland. That business, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/oaktownspice/\">Oaktown Spice Shop\u003c/a>, quickly emerged as an East Bay staple for both restaurants and ambitious home cooks. Now boasting three Bay Area locations, plus a fourth in Los Angeles, Oaktown Spice celebrates its 15th anniversary this month with a series of local collaborations. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DePg2HGmgSy/?img_index=1\">Twenty-three Bay Area restaurants and bars\u003c/a> have created limited-time menu items meant to show off the vast inventory of spice blends the shop grinds in-house — say, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeSM1BHj7LH/?img_index=1\">martini\u003c/a> rimmed with shichimi togarashi at Umami Mart or \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeM5qX2GFly/?img_index=1\">vadouvan-dusted fried tofu\u003c/a> at Joodooboo.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>So, Beaver and his wife Erica Perez decided to open their own spice shop in Oakland. That business, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/oaktownspice/\">Oaktown Spice Shop\u003c/a>, quickly emerged as an East Bay staple for both restaurants and ambitious home cooks. Now boasting three Bay Area locations, plus a fourth in Los Angeles, Oaktown Spice celebrates its 15th anniversary this month with a series of local collaborations. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DePg2HGmgSy/?img_index=1\">Twenty-three Bay Area restaurants and bars\u003c/a> have created limited-time menu items meant to show off the vast inventory of spice blends the shop grinds in-house — say, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeSM1BHj7LH/?img_index=1\">martini\u003c/a> rimmed with shichimi togarashi at Umami Mart or \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeM5qX2GFly/?img_index=1\">vadouvan-dusted fried tofu\u003c/a> at Joodooboo.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93.jpg\" alt=\"Large block of fried tofu, the top half of which is dusted with spice.\" class=\"wp-image-13994759\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Crispy tofu with vadouvan at Joodooboo in Oakland.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Joodooboo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Back in 2011, when he opened his first store, Beaver didn’t have experience running a business, but he did have a background in spices. As a high schooler in Wisconsin, and on and off during his twenties, Beaver worked for The Spice House, a family-run spice shop in Milwaukee. Beaver enjoyed talking with customers about what they were cooking and which flavor profiles they liked, and then introducing them to a dried chile, say, or a specific varietal of peppercorn they might not have otherwise considered. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s helped for Oaktown Spice Shop’s success, of course, that the market for fresh, high-quality spices has exploded over the past decade. When the shop first opened, few home cooks who weren’t of Arabic or North African descent were likely to keep sumac in their pantries. Now, it’s commonplace. (“You can kind of pinpoint it to Ottolenghi,” Beaver says, referencing the British-Israeli chef whose cookbooks became wildly popular over the course of the 2010s.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s helped for Oaktown Spice Shop’s success, of course, that the market for fresh, high-quality spices has exploded over the past decade. When the shop first opened, few home cooks who weren’t of Arabic or North African descent were likely to keep sumac in their pantries. Now, it’s commonplace. (“You can kind of pinpoint it to Ottolenghi,” Beaver says, referencing the British-Israeli chef whose cookbooks became wildly popular over the course of the 2010s.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As spice-forward, non-European cuisines became trendier and more mainstream, customers increasingly began seeking out things like berbere and Sichuan peppercorns. They began to understand the world of difference between a freshly ground spice blend and a jar of McCormick’s that had been sitting on the supermarket shelf for God knows how many months or years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a.jpg\" alt=\"A soft-boiled egg topped with dried chilies and sesame seeds.\" class=\"wp-image-13994761\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A twist on a deviled egg, topped with Oaktown Spice Shop’s Eastern Mediterranean Spice Blend, at Octavia in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Octavia)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a.jpg\" alt=\"A soft-boiled egg topped with dried chilies and sesame seeds.\" class=\"wp-image-13994761\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A twist on a deviled egg, topped with Oaktown Spice Shop’s Eastern Mediterranean Spice Blend, at Octavia in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Octavia)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Where Beaver once had a hard time finding even a single dedicated spice shop, there’s now a whole landscape of boutique operations. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13920057/diaspora-co-jaggery-decolonizing-oakland-spice-company\">Diaspora Co.\u003c/a>, also founded in Oakland, specializes in sourcing spices from small farmers in India. And the Ethiopian restaurant Cafe Colucci now sells East African spices through the importing arm of its business, \u003ca href=\"https://www.brundo.com/pages/about-us\">Brundo Spice Company\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Where Beaver once had a hard time finding even a single dedicated spice shop, there’s now a whole landscape of boutique operations. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13920057/diaspora-co-jaggery-decolonizing-oakland-spice-company\">Diaspora Co.\u003c/a>, also founded in Oakland, specializes in sourcing spices from small farmers in India. And the Ethiopian restaurant Cafe Colucci now sells East African spices through the importing arm of its business, \u003ca href=\"https://www.brundo.com/pages/about-us\">Brundo Spice Company\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, dozens of Bay Area restaurants regularly turn to Oaktown Spice Shop for help sourcing particularly interesting and hard-to-find spice varietals. The idea behind the “Oaktown Spice Shop x Your Favorite Restaurant” anniversary promotion is for the shop to highlight some of the small local businesses that have been buying spices from Oaktown Spice for years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, dozens of Bay Area restaurants regularly turn to Oaktown Spice Shop for help sourcing particularly interesting and hard-to-find spice varietals. The idea behind the “Oaktown Spice Shop x Your Favorite Restaurant” anniversary promotion is for the shop to highlight some of the small local businesses that have been buying spices from Oaktown Spice for years.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We wanted to show them some love,” says accounts manager Hannah Tobin-Bloch.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We wanted to show them some love,” says accounts manager Hannah Tobin-Bloch.\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Lunette-Khmer-Fried-Chicken-with-Kampot-Peppercorns-77367029.jpg\" alt=\"Fried chicken wings topped the black peppercorns, with pickled radishes and a lime wedge on the side.\" class=\"wp-image-13994763\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Khmer fried chicken wings at Lunette in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Lunette)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s also an opportunity for diners to experience the power and potency of a spice or spice blend that’s been deployed in an interesting way. Take the simple peppercorn, for instance. This month, diners might head to Lunette, chef Nite Yun’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13927259/cambodian-restaurant-khmer-food-sithas-khmerkitchen-oakland-sf\">Cambodian\u003c/a> spot in the SF Ferry Building, to taste the famously intense Kampot peppercorns the restaurant uses for its Khmer salt-and-pepper chicken wings. Or they can try Oakland pasta standout Sfizio’s miso cacio e pepe, which instead highlights the fruity flavors of late-harvest peppercorns.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s also an opportunity for diners to experience the power and potency of a spice or spice blend that’s been deployed in an interesting way. Take the simple peppercorn, for instance. This month, diners might head to Lunette, chef Nite Yun’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13927259/cambodian-restaurant-khmer-food-sithas-khmerkitchen-oakland-sf\">Cambodian\u003c/a> spot in the SF Ferry Building, to taste the famously intense Kampot peppercorns the restaurant uses for its Khmer salt-and-pepper chicken wings. Or they can try Oakland pasta standout Sfizio’s miso cacio e pepe, which instead highlights the fruity flavors of late-harvest peppercorns.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Popular spice blends like Oaktown Spice Shop’s shichimi togarashi appear in multiple special dishes: as a topping for a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeQfmoeEkuD/?img_index=2\">cheesy focaccia\u003c/a> at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13990903/as-kneaded-cafe-san-leandro-library-baguette-quiche\">As Kneaded Bakery\u003c/a> and in a sake-and-gin “Shichimitini” at Umami Mart.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Popular spice blends like Oaktown Spice Shop’s shichimi togarashi appear in multiple special dishes: as a topping for a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeQfmoeEkuD/?img_index=2\">cheesy focaccia\u003c/a> at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13990903/as-kneaded-cafe-san-leandro-library-baguette-quiche\">As Kneaded Bakery\u003c/a> and in a sake-and-gin “Shichimitini” at Umami Mart.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>All told, it’s something of a golden age for spice connoisseurs in the Bay Area. As Beaver sees it, the spices themselves have always been appealing. It’s just that these days, people have a wealth of opportunities to experience those spices in a more appealing way.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>All told, it’s something of a golden age for spice connoisseurs in the Bay Area. As Beaver sees it, the spices themselves have always been appealing. It’s just that these days, people have a wealth of opportunities to experience those spices in a more appealing way.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Nobody was probably \u003cem>that\u003c/em> excited about the spice aisle of the supermarket,” Beaver says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the name of the Milwaukee spice shop where John Beaver had worked.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the name of the Milwaukee spice shop where John Beaver had worked.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The “Oaktown Spice Shop x Your Favorite Restaurant” limited-time dishes will be available at select Bay Area restaurants through Oct. 25. See the link on Oaktown Spice Shop’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://oaktownspiceshop.com/pages/events\">\u003cem>events page\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> for a full list of participating bars and restaurants and the specific dishes they’ll be selling. The store will also host an \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Deeuy4Km1r9/?img_index=1\">anniversary party\u003c/a> at each of its locations on Sunday, Oct. 25.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The “Oaktown Spice Shop x Your Favorite Restaurant” limited-time dishes will be available at select Bay Area restaurants through Oct. 25. See the link on Oaktown Spice Shop’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://oaktownspiceshop.com/pages/events\">\u003cem>events page\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> for a full list of participating bars and restaurants and the specific dishes they’ll be selling. The store will also host an \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Deeuy4Km1r9/?img_index=1\">anniversary party\u003c/a> at each of its locations on Sunday, Oct. 25.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "To celebrate its 15th anniversary, Oaktown Spice Shop is collaborating with restaurants on a series of limited-edition dishes.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>John Beaver recalls trying to find a local spice shop when he first moved to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> in the late 2000s. A quick Google search yielded only one result: “Spice Bazaar,” a fictional storefront from the 2006 romantic drama \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mistress_of_Spices_(film)\">\u003cem>Mistress of Spices\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which had been filmed in Old Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the real world, Bay Area home cooks mostly had to settle for the supermarket spice aisle. At the time, Beaver recalls, the handful of spice businesses in the Bay Area mostly only sold very large quantities, or had a more medicinal focus. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As far as a place that would grind and blend the spices in-house, as far as I know, there wasn’t anyone doing it,” Beaver says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, Beaver and his wife Erica Perez decided to open their own spice shop in Oakland. That business, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/oaktownspice/\">Oaktown Spice Shop\u003c/a>, quickly emerged as an East Bay staple for both restaurants and ambitious home cooks. Now boasting three Bay Area locations, plus a fourth in Los Angeles, Oaktown Spice celebrates its 15th anniversary this month with a series of local collaborations. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DePg2HGmgSy/?img_index=1\">Twenty-three Bay Area restaurants and bars\u003c/a> have created limited-time menu items meant to show off the vast inventory of spice blends the shop grinds in-house — say, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeSM1BHj7LH/?img_index=1\">martini\u003c/a> rimmed with shichimi togarashi at Umami Mart or \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeM5qX2GFly/?img_index=1\">vadouvan-dusted fried tofu\u003c/a> at Joodooboo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93.jpg\" alt=\"Large block of fried tofu, the top half of which is dusted with spice.\" class=\"wp-image-13994759\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Joodooboo-Crispy-Tofu-with-Vadouvan-96521c93-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Crispy tofu with vadouvan at Joodooboo in Oakland. (Courtesy of Joodooboo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Back in 2011, when he opened his first store, Beaver didn’t have experience running a business, but he did have a background in spices. As a high schooler in Wisconsin, and on and off during his twenties, Beaver worked for The Spice House, a family-run spice shop in Milwaukee. Beaver enjoyed talking with customers about what they were cooking and which flavor profiles they liked, and then introducing them to a dried chile, say, or a specific varietal of peppercorn they might not have otherwise considered. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s helped for Oaktown Spice Shop’s success, of course, that the market for fresh, high-quality spices has exploded over the past decade. When the shop first opened, few home cooks who weren’t of Arabic or North African descent were likely to keep sumac in their pantries. Now, it’s commonplace. (“You can kind of pinpoint it to Ottolenghi,” Beaver says, referencing the British-Israeli chef whose cookbooks became wildly popular over the course of the 2010s.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As spice-forward, non-European cuisines became trendier and more mainstream, customers increasingly began seeking out things like berbere and Sichuan peppercorns. They began to understand the world of difference between a freshly ground spice blend and a jar of McCormick’s that had been sitting on the supermarket shelf for God knows how many months or years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a.jpg\" alt=\"A soft-boiled egg topped with dried chilies and sesame seeds.\" class=\"wp-image-13994761\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Octavia-_Devil_s-Egg_-with-Eastern-Mediterranean-Spice_2-1a997d7a-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A twist on a deviled egg, topped with Oaktown Spice Shop’s Eastern Mediterranean Spice Blend, at Octavia in San Francisco. (Courtesy of Octavia)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Where Beaver once had a hard time finding even a single dedicated spice shop, there’s now a whole landscape of boutique operations. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13920057/diaspora-co-jaggery-decolonizing-oakland-spice-company\">Diaspora Co.\u003c/a>, also founded in Oakland, specializes in sourcing spices from small farmers in India. And the Ethiopian restaurant Cafe Colucci now sells East African spices through the importing arm of its business, \u003ca href=\"https://www.brundo.com/pages/about-us\">Brundo Spice Company\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, dozens of Bay Area restaurants regularly turn to Oaktown Spice Shop for help sourcing particularly interesting and hard-to-find spice varietals. The idea behind the “Oaktown Spice Shop x Your Favorite Restaurant” anniversary promotion is for the shop to highlight some of the small local businesses that have been buying spices from Oaktown Spice for years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We wanted to show them some love,” says accounts manager Hannah Tobin-Bloch.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1979\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Lunette-Khmer-Fried-Chicken-with-Kampot-Peppercorns-77367029.jpg\" alt=\"Fried chicken wings topped the black peppercorns, with pickled radishes and a lime wedge on the side.\" class=\"wp-image-13994763\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Lunette-Khmer-Fried-Chicken-with-Kampot-Peppercorns-77367029.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Lunette-Khmer-Fried-Chicken-with-Kampot-Peppercorns-77367029-160x158.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Lunette-Khmer-Fried-Chicken-with-Kampot-Peppercorns-77367029-768x760.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Lunette-Khmer-Fried-Chicken-with-Kampot-Peppercorns-77367029-1536x1520.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Khmer fried chicken wings at Lunette in San Francisco. (Courtesy of Lunette)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s also an opportunity for diners to experience the power and potency of a spice or spice blend that’s been deployed in an interesting way. Take the simple peppercorn, for instance. This month, diners might head to Lunette, chef Nite Yun’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13927259/cambodian-restaurant-khmer-food-sithas-khmerkitchen-oakland-sf\">Cambodian\u003c/a> spot in the SF Ferry Building, to taste the famously intense Kampot peppercorns the restaurant uses for its Khmer salt-and-pepper chicken wings. Or they can try Oakland pasta standout Sfizio’s miso cacio e pepe, which instead highlights the fruity flavors of late-harvest peppercorns.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Popular spice blends like Oaktown Spice Shop’s shichimi togarashi appear in multiple special dishes: as a topping for a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DeQfmoeEkuD/?img_index=2\">cheesy focaccia\u003c/a> at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13990903/as-kneaded-cafe-san-leandro-library-baguette-quiche\">As Kneaded Bakery\u003c/a> and in a sake-and-gin “Shichimitini” at Umami Mart.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All told, it’s something of a golden age for spice connoisseurs in the Bay Area. As Beaver sees it, the spices themselves have always been appealing. It’s just that these days, people have a wealth of opportunities to experience those spices in a more appealing way.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Nobody was probably \u003cem>that\u003c/em> excited about the spice aisle of the supermarket,” Beaver says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the name of the Milwaukee spice shop where John Beaver had worked.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The “Oaktown Spice Shop x Your Favorite Restaurant” limited-time dishes will be available at select Bay Area restaurants through Oct. 25. See the link on Oaktown Spice Shop’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://oaktownspiceshop.com/pages/events\">\u003cem>events page\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> for a full list of participating bars and restaurants and the specific dishes they’ll be selling. The store will also host an \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Deeuy4Km1r9/?img_index=1\">anniversary party\u003c/a> at each of its locations on Sunday, Oct. 25.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "redwood-city-late-night-tacos-el-grullense-el-paisa-los-gemelos",
"title": "In Redwood City, a Great Taco Is Always Just a Few Blocks Away — Even at Midnight",
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"headTitle": "In Redwood City, a Great Taco Is Always Just a Few Blocks Away — Even at Midnight | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: a triplicate of images of two men running around while devouring tacos.\" class=\"wp-image-13994640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In Redwood City, each late-night taco spot has its own specialties: lengua and al pastor at El Paisa by Los Alegres, barbacoa on handmade tortillas at Tacos Los Gemelos, and tripitas with red salsa at Tacos El Grullense E&E. (Thien Pham)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003cem>The Midnight Diners\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Thien Pham\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cruising down 101 at 10 o’clock on a recent Friday night, we were hit with that most Bay Area of cravings. We needed oil-slicked tortillas and crisp-edged carnitas. Carne asada served hot off the plancha. In other words, we were hungry for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/tacos\">tacos\u003c/a> — a whole clutch of them, shoved down our gullets, posthaste. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At this point in the night, we would typically hit up one of our usual after-hours haunts on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13963832/tacos-el-rulas-richmond-late-night-taqueria-midnight-diners\">Richmond’s\u003c/a> 23rd street taco corridor, or in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13954112/orale-taco-truck-san-jose-late-night-pancakes-midnight-diners\">Eastside San José\u003c/a>. But we’d been hearing about a legendary Peninsula taco scene we hadn’t yet properly explored. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And so we headed to Redwood City for a good old-fashioned late-night taco crawl.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2008, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2008/09/30/redwood-city-center-of-the-taco-universe/\">\u003cem>San Jose Mercury News\u003c/em>\u003c/a> called Redwood City “the center of the taco universe,” citing a density of taquerias — at the time, 49 of them in a city with a population of 74,000 — that seemed higher than just about anywhere else in California, if not the entire United States. Individual shops have come and gone in the 18 years since, but the scene remains incredibly robust. Just last year, no lesser authority than the president of Mexico herself, Claudia Sheinbaum, \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/post/mexico-president-claudia-sheinbaum-says-best-pork-fried-carnitas-are-made-redwood-city-mexican-immigrants/17828906/\">shouted out Redwood City\u003c/a> for having the best Mexican food in the Bay Area, thanks in part to its unusually high influx of immigrants from the city of \u003ca href=\"https://new.thecity.redwoodcity.org/pub/onbase/siredl.ashx?fileid=235425\">Aguililla, Michoacán\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On one three-block stretch of Middlefield Road, we must have spotted a dozen taquerias, four or five taco trucks and a handful of informal roadside tents that had set up trompos to sell fresh-sliced al pastor. And across the city, a decent chunk of the shops stay open until midnight on weekends, if not later. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For our first stop, we pulled into a big Costco and Outdoor Supply Hardware parking lot on Middlefield Road. Parked right in front of the hardware store, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/elpaisabylosalegres/\">El Paisa by Los Alegres\u003c/a> is one of the newer taco trucks that cropped up in Redwood City during the pandemic, specializing in Mexico City–style tacos. At this late hour, the truck still drew a steady stream of customers — mostly groups of middle-aged Latino men who made quick work of their tacos in the tented dining area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: two men trace a path as they run from one taco shop to another.\" class=\"wp-image-13994644\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Redwood City has one of the Bay Area’s densest concentrations of taco shops, many of them open until midnight or later. (Thien Pham)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If Redwood City’s taquerias share a collective theme, it’s that they tend toward old-school simplicity — honest street tacos unadorned with anything more than a dollop of salsa and a flurry of chopped onions and cilantro. El Paisa is the only spot we visited that offered any of the flashier dishes trendy on social media these days: decadently overloaded baked potatoes, alambres (a kind of sizzling, cheesy meat skillet) and so forth.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As tempting as those sounded, we had a long night of taco eating ahead, and needed to pace ourselves. So we ordered a sampling of the truck’s workmanlike street tacos, served on a double layer of fragrant corn tortillas. Every one of them was a winner. There was juicy, well-caramelized Mexico City–style al pastor dotted with chunks of tangy-sweet pineapple; rich, steaky chunks of suadero; and cabeza (pig’s head) that was a dynamo of soft, slippery, gelatinous textures. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of the most memorable bites was the beef lengua, which had been cut into the thickest, widest slabs I’d ever seen on a taco. The overall effect was like biting into a buttery, impossibly soft piece of steak — extra delicious topped with some spicy pickled onions from the truck’s self-serve salsa bar. Meanwhile, the sope, served open-faced with shredded lettuce, crema and choice of meat, was simply extraordinary. We loved the extra-thick masa base, which had a chewy-crisp texture and a beautifully smoky, charred flavor from the grill. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Our next stop was \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacolosgemelos/\">Tacos Los Gemelos\u003c/a>, a lively sit-down taqueria on El Camino Real, less than five minutes away and still doing brisk business at almost 11 p.m. The vibe was an interesting mish-mash of past and present. There was the old-fashioned picture menu board, the kitschy rooster-themed artwork, the quaint blue-and-white gingham pattern laminated on the tabletops. On the other hand, a more recent layer of AI-generated signage had been plastered everywhere, bleating out the same cartoonish font you see at so many other restaurants. (“We are selling FLAN as a dessert!” one of them read.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The food, on the other hand, tasted altogether homey. The plush handmade tortillas were wonderfully soft and aromatic. The Michoacán-style carnitas were moist and tender, rather than crispy. And the shrimp had been diced into cubes before getting a hard sear on the griddle, which imbued them with the texture and subtle smokiness of grilled octopus. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Best of all was the specialty of the house: juicy, impeccably tender slow-cooked barbacoa, which you can order with a side of consomé. I suppose you could dip your barbacoa taco in the hot broth if you aren’t afraid of making a mess. We simply sipped it at the end of our meal, Chinese-style. A perfect final bite. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At this point in our journey, we were pretty well stuffed. But we couldn’t call it a night without visiting an outpost of El Grullense, easily Redwood City’s most well known and beloved taco chain. So we loosened our pants and made a beeline for the 5th Avenue location of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselgrullense_ee/\">Tacos El Grullense E&E\u003c/a>, which is really just a window attached to a Mobil gas station mini mart. It’s a bare-bones, cash-only operation without any seating to speak of. The best play is to simply lay your spread of tacos out on the hood of your car before digging in.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Might this be the most quintessential Redwood City taco experience? The carne asada had crisp, well-charred edges, and the tripitas (beef intestines) were the tastiest I’ve had in a long time — not over-fried, but with a crispy-chewy, slightly squishy texture that was incredibly addicting. They burst with hot, meaty juices as soon as we bit in. We tried another sope, topped with al pastor, and it was wonderful here too — the pork deeply savory, the shredded lettuce particularly fresh and crisp. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tying everything together was El Grullense’s hallmark item: red salsa with a slight smokiness, a sneaky heat and an incredible depth of flavor. We couldn’t get enough of it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As full as we were, we wound up polishing off every bite, barely bothering to wipe the grease stains off the hood of the car before we drove off into the night. All we knew is that there were still at least another dozen taquerias we still wanted to check out the next time we came through this part of the Peninsula. Hours later, when I woke up in the middle of the night, my fingers still smelled faintly of masa and meat juices.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/elpaisabylosalegres/\">\u003cem>El Paisa by Los Alegres\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.–11 p.m. and Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m.–10 p.m. at 2110 Middlefield Rd. in Redwood City. The truck is usually parked in front of the Outdoor Supply Hardware. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacolosgemelos/\">\u003cem>Tacos Los Gemelos\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open Wednesday through Monday 9:30 a.m.–midnight at 1630 El Camino Real.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselgrullense_ee/\">\u003cem>Tacos El Grullense E&E\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open 9 a.m.–midnight daily at 795 5th Ave. Cash only. Attached to a Mobil gas station mini-mart, the taqueria is one of four \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tacoselgrullenseee.com/new-page-1\">\u003cem>El Grullense E&E locations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> in Redwood City — and one of at least eight loosely affiliated restaurants on the Peninsula that bear the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselgrullenseno.1\">\u003cem>El Grullense\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>name. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: a triplicate of images of two men running around while devouring tacos.\" class=\"wp-image-13994640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In Redwood City, each late-night taco spot has its own specialties: lengua and al pastor at El Paisa by Los Alegres, barbacoa on handmade tortillas at Tacos Los Gemelos, and tripitas with red salsa at Tacos El Grullense E&E.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: a triplicate of images of two men running around while devouring tacos.\" class=\"wp-image-13994640\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In Redwood City, each late-night taco spot has its own specialties: lengua and al pastor at El Paisa by Los Alegres, barbacoa on handmade tortillas at Tacos Los Gemelos, and tripitas with red salsa at Tacos El Grullense E&E.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003cem>The Midnight Diners\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Thien Pham\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003cem>The Midnight Diners\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Thien Pham\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cruising down 101 at 10 o’clock on a recent Friday night, we were hit with that most Bay Area of cravings. We needed oil-slicked tortillas and crisp-edged carnitas. Carne asada served hot off the plancha. In other words, we were hungry for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/tacos\">tacos\u003c/a> — a whole clutch of them, shoved down our gullets, posthaste. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Cruising down 101 at 10 o’clock on a recent Friday night, we were hit with that most Bay Area of cravings. We needed oil-slicked tortillas and crisp-edged carnitas. Carne asada served hot off the plancha. In other words, we were hungry for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/tacos\">tacos\u003c/a> — a whole clutch of them, shoved down our gullets, posthaste. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At this point in the night, we would typically hit up one of our usual after-hours haunts on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13963832/tacos-el-rulas-richmond-late-night-taqueria-midnight-diners\">Richmond’s\u003c/a> 23rd street taco corridor, or in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13954112/orale-taco-truck-san-jose-late-night-pancakes-midnight-diners\">Eastside San José\u003c/a>. But we’d been hearing about a legendary Peninsula taco scene we hadn’t yet properly explored. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At this point in the night, we would typically hit up one of our usual after-hours haunts on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13963832/tacos-el-rulas-richmond-late-night-taqueria-midnight-diners\">Richmond’s\u003c/a> 23rd street taco corridor, or in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13954112/orale-taco-truck-san-jose-late-night-pancakes-midnight-diners\">Eastside San José\u003c/a>. But we’d been hearing about a legendary Peninsula taco scene we hadn’t yet properly explored. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And so we headed to Redwood City for a good old-fashioned late-night taco crawl.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And so we headed to Redwood City for a good old-fashioned late-night taco crawl.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2008, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2008/09/30/redwood-city-center-of-the-taco-universe/\">\u003cem>San Jose Mercury News\u003c/em>\u003c/a> called Redwood City “the center of the taco universe,” citing a density of taquerias — at the time, 49 of them in a city with a population of 74,000 — that seemed higher than just about anywhere else in California, if not the entire United States. Individual shops have come and gone in the 18 years since, but the scene remains incredibly robust. Just last year, no lesser authority than the president of Mexico herself, Claudia Sheinbaum, \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/post/mexico-president-claudia-sheinbaum-says-best-pork-fried-carnitas-are-made-redwood-city-mexican-immigrants/17828906/\">shouted out Redwood City\u003c/a> for having the best Mexican food in the Bay Area, thanks in part to its unusually high influx of immigrants from the city of \u003ca href=\"https://new.thecity.redwoodcity.org/pub/onbase/siredl.ashx?fileid=235425\">Aguililla, Michoacán\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In 2008, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2008/09/30/redwood-city-center-of-the-taco-universe/\">\u003cem>San Jose Mercury News\u003c/em>\u003c/a> called Redwood City “the center of the taco universe,” citing a density of taquerias — at the time, 49 of them in a city with a population of 74,000 — that seemed higher than just about anywhere else in California, if not the entire United States. Individual shops have come and gone in the 18 years since, but the scene remains incredibly robust. Just last year, no lesser authority than the president of Mexico herself, Claudia Sheinbaum, \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/post/mexico-president-claudia-sheinbaum-says-best-pork-fried-carnitas-are-made-redwood-city-mexican-immigrants/17828906/\">shouted out Redwood City\u003c/a> for having the best Mexican food in the Bay Area, thanks in part to its unusually high influx of immigrants from the city of \u003ca href=\"https://new.thecity.redwoodcity.org/pub/onbase/siredl.ashx?fileid=235425\">Aguililla, Michoacán\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On one three-block stretch of Middlefield Road, we must have spotted a dozen taquerias, four or five taco trucks and a handful of informal roadside tents that had set up trompos to sell fresh-sliced al pastor. And across the city, a decent chunk of the shops stay open until midnight on weekends, if not later. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On one three-block stretch of Middlefield Road, we must have spotted a dozen taquerias, four or five taco trucks and a handful of informal roadside tents that had set up trompos to sell fresh-sliced al pastor. And across the city, a decent chunk of the shops stay open until midnight on weekends, if not later. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For our first stop, we pulled into a big Costco and Outdoor Supply Hardware parking lot on Middlefield Road. Parked right in front of the hardware store, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/elpaisabylosalegres/\">El Paisa by Los Alegres\u003c/a> is one of the newer taco trucks that cropped up in Redwood City during the pandemic, specializing in Mexico City–style tacos. At this late hour, the truck still drew a steady stream of customers — mostly groups of middle-aged Latino men who made quick work of their tacos in the tented dining area.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For our first stop, we pulled into a big Costco and Outdoor Supply Hardware parking lot on Middlefield Road. Parked right in front of the hardware store, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/elpaisabylosalegres/\">El Paisa by Los Alegres\u003c/a> is one of the newer taco trucks that cropped up in Redwood City during the pandemic, specializing in Mexico City–style tacos. At this late hour, the truck still drew a steady stream of customers — mostly groups of middle-aged Latino men who made quick work of their tacos in the tented dining area.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: two men trace a path as they run from one taco shop to another.\" class=\"wp-image-13994644\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Redwood City has one of the Bay Area’s densest concentrations of taco shops, many of them open until midnight or later.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: two men trace a path as they run from one taco shop to another.\" class=\"wp-image-13994644\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Redwood City has one of the Bay Area’s densest concentrations of taco shops, many of them open until midnight or later.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If Redwood City’s taquerias share a collective theme, it’s that they tend toward old-school simplicity — honest street tacos unadorned with anything more than a dollop of salsa and a flurry of chopped onions and cilantro. El Paisa is the only spot we visited that offered any of the flashier dishes trendy on social media these days: decadently overloaded baked potatoes, alambres (a kind of sizzling, cheesy meat skillet) and so forth.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>If Redwood City’s taquerias share a collective theme, it’s that they tend toward old-school simplicity — honest street tacos unadorned with anything more than a dollop of salsa and a flurry of chopped onions and cilantro. El Paisa is the only spot we visited that offered any of the flashier dishes trendy on social media these days: decadently overloaded baked potatoes, alambres (a kind of sizzling, cheesy meat skillet) and so forth.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As tempting as those sounded, we had a long night of taco eating ahead, and needed to pace ourselves. So we ordered a sampling of the truck’s workmanlike street tacos, served on a double layer of fragrant corn tortillas. Every one of them was a winner. There was juicy, well-caramelized Mexico City–style al pastor dotted with chunks of tangy-sweet pineapple; rich, steaky chunks of suadero; and cabeza (pig’s head) that was a dynamo of soft, slippery, gelatinous textures. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As tempting as those sounded, we had a long night of taco eating ahead, and needed to pace ourselves. So we ordered a sampling of the truck’s workmanlike street tacos, served on a double layer of fragrant corn tortillas. Every one of them was a winner. There was juicy, well-caramelized Mexico City–style al pastor dotted with chunks of tangy-sweet pineapple; rich, steaky chunks of suadero; and cabeza (pig’s head) that was a dynamo of soft, slippery, gelatinous textures. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One of the most memorable bites was the beef lengua, which had been cut into the thickest, widest slabs I’d ever seen on a taco. The overall effect was like biting into a buttery, impossibly soft piece of steak — extra delicious topped with some spicy pickled onions from the truck’s self-serve salsa bar. Meanwhile, the sope, served open-faced with shredded lettuce, crema and choice of meat, was simply extraordinary. We loved the extra-thick masa base, which had a chewy-crisp texture and a beautifully smoky, charred flavor from the grill. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One of the most memorable bites was the beef lengua, which had been cut into the thickest, widest slabs I’d ever seen on a taco. The overall effect was like biting into a buttery, impossibly soft piece of steak — extra delicious topped with some spicy pickled onions from the truck’s self-serve salsa bar. Meanwhile, the sope, served open-faced with shredded lettuce, crema and choice of meat, was simply extraordinary. We loved the extra-thick masa base, which had a chewy-crisp texture and a beautifully smoky, charred flavor from the grill. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Our next stop was \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacolosgemelos/\">Tacos Los Gemelos\u003c/a>, a lively sit-down taqueria on El Camino Real, less than five minutes away and still doing brisk business at almost 11 p.m. The vibe was an interesting mish-mash of past and present. There was the old-fashioned picture menu board, the kitschy rooster-themed artwork, the quaint blue-and-white gingham pattern laminated on the tabletops. On the other hand, a more recent layer of AI-generated signage had been plastered everywhere, bleating out the same cartoonish font you see at so many other restaurants. (“We are selling FLAN as a dessert!” one of them read.) \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Our next stop was \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacolosgemelos/\">Tacos Los Gemelos\u003c/a>, a lively sit-down taqueria on El Camino Real, less than five minutes away and still doing brisk business at almost 11 p.m. The vibe was an interesting mish-mash of past and present. There was the old-fashioned picture menu board, the kitschy rooster-themed artwork, the quaint blue-and-white gingham pattern laminated on the tabletops. On the other hand, a more recent layer of AI-generated signage had been plastered everywhere, bleating out the same cartoonish font you see at so many other restaurants. (“We are selling FLAN as a dessert!” one of them read.) \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The food, on the other hand, tasted altogether homey. The plush handmade tortillas were wonderfully soft and aromatic. The Michoacán-style carnitas were moist and tender, rather than crispy. And the shrimp had been diced into cubes before getting a hard sear on the griddle, which imbued them with the texture and subtle smokiness of grilled octopus. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The food, on the other hand, tasted altogether homey. The plush handmade tortillas were wonderfully soft and aromatic. The Michoacán-style carnitas were moist and tender, rather than crispy. And the shrimp had been diced into cubes before getting a hard sear on the griddle, which imbued them with the texture and subtle smokiness of grilled octopus. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Best of all was the specialty of the house: juicy, impeccably tender slow-cooked barbacoa, which you can order with a side of consomé. I suppose you could dip your barbacoa taco in the hot broth if you aren’t afraid of making a mess. We simply sipped it at the end of our meal, Chinese-style. A perfect final bite. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Best of all was the specialty of the house: juicy, impeccably tender slow-cooked barbacoa, which you can order with a side of consomé. I suppose you could dip your barbacoa taco in the hot broth if you aren’t afraid of making a mess. We simply sipped it at the end of our meal, Chinese-style. A perfect final bite. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At this point in our journey, we were pretty well stuffed. But we couldn’t call it a night without visiting an outpost of El Grullense, easily Redwood City’s most well known and beloved taco chain. So we loosened our pants and made a beeline for the 5th Avenue location of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselgrullense_ee/\">Tacos El Grullense E&E\u003c/a>, which is really just a window attached to a Mobil gas station mini mart. It’s a bare-bones, cash-only operation without any seating to speak of. The best play is to simply lay your spread of tacos out on the hood of your car before digging in.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At this point in our journey, we were pretty well stuffed. But we couldn’t call it a night without visiting an outpost of El Grullense, easily Redwood City’s most well known and beloved taco chain. So we loosened our pants and made a beeline for the 5th Avenue location of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselgrullense_ee/\">Tacos El Grullense E&E\u003c/a>, which is really just a window attached to a Mobil gas station mini mart. It’s a bare-bones, cash-only operation without any seating to speak of. The best play is to simply lay your spread of tacos out on the hood of your car before digging in.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Might this be the most quintessential Redwood City taco experience? The carne asada had crisp, well-charred edges, and the tripitas (beef intestines) were the tastiest I’ve had in a long time — not over-fried, but with a crispy-chewy, slightly squishy texture that was incredibly addicting. They burst with hot, meaty juices as soon as we bit in. We tried another sope, topped with al pastor, and it was wonderful here too — the pork deeply savory, the shredded lettuce particularly fresh and crisp. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Might this be the most quintessential Redwood City taco experience? The carne asada had crisp, well-charred edges, and the tripitas (beef intestines) were the tastiest I’ve had in a long time — not over-fried, but with a crispy-chewy, slightly squishy texture that was incredibly addicting. They burst with hot, meaty juices as soon as we bit in. We tried another sope, topped with al pastor, and it was wonderful here too — the pork deeply savory, the shredded lettuce particularly fresh and crisp. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tying everything together was El Grullense’s hallmark item: red salsa with a slight smokiness, a sneaky heat and an incredible depth of flavor. We couldn’t get enough of it.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Tying everything together was El Grullense’s hallmark item: red salsa with a slight smokiness, a sneaky heat and an incredible depth of flavor. We couldn’t get enough of it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As full as we were, we wound up polishing off every bite, barely bothering to wipe the grease stains off the hood of the car before we drove off into the night. All we knew is that there were still at least another dozen taquerias we still wanted to check out the next time we came through this part of the Peninsula. Hours later, when I woke up in the middle of the night, my fingers still smelled faintly of masa and meat juices.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As full as we were, we wound up polishing off every bite, barely bothering to wipe the grease stains off the hood of the car before we drove off into the night. All we knew is that there were still at least another dozen taquerias we still wanted to check out the next time we came through this part of the Peninsula. Hours later, when I woke up in the middle of the night, my fingers still smelled faintly of masa and meat juices.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/elpaisabylosalegres/\">\u003cem>El Paisa by Los Alegres\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.–11 p.m. and Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m.–10 p.m. at 2110 Middlefield Rd. in Redwood City. The truck is usually parked in front of the Outdoor Supply Hardware. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/elpaisabylosalegres/\">\u003cem>El Paisa by Los Alegres\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.–11 p.m. and Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m.–10 p.m. at 2110 Middlefield Rd. in Redwood City. The truck is usually parked in front of the Outdoor Supply Hardware. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacolosgemelos/\">\u003cem>Tacos Los Gemelos\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open Wednesday through Monday 9:30 a.m.–midnight at 1630 El Camino Real.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacolosgemelos/\">\u003cem>Tacos Los Gemelos\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open Wednesday through Monday 9:30 a.m.–midnight at 1630 El Camino Real.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselgrullense_ee/\">\u003cem>Tacos El Grullense E&E\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open 9 a.m.–midnight daily at 795 5th Ave. Cash only. Attached to a Mobil gas station mini-mart, the taqueria is one of four \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tacoselgrullenseee.com/new-page-1\">\u003cem>El Grullense E&E locations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> in Redwood City — and one of at least eight loosely affiliated restaurants on the Peninsula that bear the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselgrullenseno.1\">\u003cem>El Grullense\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>name. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselgrullense_ee/\">\u003cem>Tacos El Grullense E&E\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open 9 a.m.–midnight daily at 795 5th Ave. Cash only. Attached to a Mobil gas station mini-mart, the taqueria is one of four \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tacoselgrullenseee.com/new-page-1\">\u003cem>El Grullense E&E locations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> in Redwood City — and one of at least eight loosely affiliated restaurants on the Peninsula that bear the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselgrullenseno.1\">\u003cem>El Grullense\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>name. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"title": "A Late-Night Taco Crawl in Redwood City | KQED",
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"socialTitle": "A Late-Night Taco Crawl in Redwood City %%page%% %%sep%% KQED",
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"headline": "In Redwood City, a Great Taco Is Always Just a Few Blocks Away — Even at Midnight",
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"source": "The Midnight Diners",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: a triplicate of images of two men running around while devouring tacos.\" class=\"wp-image-13994640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos-8d236d66-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In Redwood City, each late-night taco spot has its own specialties: lengua and al pastor at El Paisa by Los Alegres, barbacoa on handmade tortillas at Tacos Los Gemelos, and tripitas with red salsa at Tacos El Grullense E&E. (Thien Pham)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003cem>The Midnight Diners\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Thien Pham\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cruising down 101 at 10 o’clock on a recent Friday night, we were hit with that most Bay Area of cravings. We needed oil-slicked tortillas and crisp-edged carnitas. Carne asada served hot off the plancha. In other words, we were hungry for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/tacos\">tacos\u003c/a> — a whole clutch of them, shoved down our gullets, posthaste. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At this point in the night, we would typically hit up one of our usual after-hours haunts on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13963832/tacos-el-rulas-richmond-late-night-taqueria-midnight-diners\">Richmond’s\u003c/a> 23rd street taco corridor, or in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13954112/orale-taco-truck-san-jose-late-night-pancakes-midnight-diners\">Eastside San José\u003c/a>. But we’d been hearing about a legendary Peninsula taco scene we hadn’t yet properly explored. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And so we headed to Redwood City for a good old-fashioned late-night taco crawl.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2008, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2008/09/30/redwood-city-center-of-the-taco-universe/\">\u003cem>San Jose Mercury News\u003c/em>\u003c/a> called Redwood City “the center of the taco universe,” citing a density of taquerias — at the time, 49 of them in a city with a population of 74,000 — that seemed higher than just about anywhere else in California, if not the entire United States. Individual shops have come and gone in the 18 years since, but the scene remains incredibly robust. Just last year, no lesser authority than the president of Mexico herself, Claudia Sheinbaum, \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/post/mexico-president-claudia-sheinbaum-says-best-pork-fried-carnitas-are-made-redwood-city-mexican-immigrants/17828906/\">shouted out Redwood City\u003c/a> for having the best Mexican food in the Bay Area, thanks in part to its unusually high influx of immigrants from the city of \u003ca href=\"https://new.thecity.redwoodcity.org/pub/onbase/siredl.ashx?fileid=235425\">Aguililla, Michoacán\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On one three-block stretch of Middlefield Road, we must have spotted a dozen taquerias, four or five taco trucks and a handful of informal roadside tents that had set up trompos to sell fresh-sliced al pastor. And across the city, a decent chunk of the shops stay open until midnight on weekends, if not later. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For our first stop, we pulled into a big Costco and Outdoor Supply Hardware parking lot on Middlefield Road. Parked right in front of the hardware store, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/elpaisabylosalegres/\">El Paisa by Los Alegres\u003c/a> is one of the newer taco trucks that cropped up in Redwood City during the pandemic, specializing in Mexico City–style tacos. At this late hour, the truck still drew a steady stream of customers — mostly groups of middle-aged Latino men who made quick work of their tacos in the tented dining area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: two men trace a path as they run from one taco shop to another.\" class=\"wp-image-13994644\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/redwoodcitytacos2-9903f989-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Redwood City has one of the Bay Area’s densest concentrations of taco shops, many of them open until midnight or later. (Thien Pham)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If Redwood City’s taquerias share a collective theme, it’s that they tend toward old-school simplicity — honest street tacos unadorned with anything more than a dollop of salsa and a flurry of chopped onions and cilantro. El Paisa is the only spot we visited that offered any of the flashier dishes trendy on social media these days: decadently overloaded baked potatoes, alambres (a kind of sizzling, cheesy meat skillet) and so forth.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As tempting as those sounded, we had a long night of taco eating ahead, and needed to pace ourselves. So we ordered a sampling of the truck’s workmanlike street tacos, served on a double layer of fragrant corn tortillas. Every one of them was a winner. There was juicy, well-caramelized Mexico City–style al pastor dotted with chunks of tangy-sweet pineapple; rich, steaky chunks of suadero; and cabeza (pig’s head) that was a dynamo of soft, slippery, gelatinous textures. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of the most memorable bites was the beef lengua, which had been cut into the thickest, widest slabs I’d ever seen on a taco. The overall effect was like biting into a buttery, impossibly soft piece of steak — extra delicious topped with some spicy pickled onions from the truck’s self-serve salsa bar. Meanwhile, the sope, served open-faced with shredded lettuce, crema and choice of meat, was simply extraordinary. We loved the extra-thick masa base, which had a chewy-crisp texture and a beautifully smoky, charred flavor from the grill. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Our next stop was \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacolosgemelos/\">Tacos Los Gemelos\u003c/a>, a lively sit-down taqueria on El Camino Real, less than five minutes away and still doing brisk business at almost 11 p.m. The vibe was an interesting mish-mash of past and present. There was the old-fashioned picture menu board, the kitschy rooster-themed artwork, the quaint blue-and-white gingham pattern laminated on the tabletops. On the other hand, a more recent layer of AI-generated signage had been plastered everywhere, bleating out the same cartoonish font you see at so many other restaurants. (“We are selling FLAN as a dessert!” one of them read.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The food, on the other hand, tasted altogether homey. The plush handmade tortillas were wonderfully soft and aromatic. The Michoacán-style carnitas were moist and tender, rather than crispy. And the shrimp had been diced into cubes before getting a hard sear on the griddle, which imbued them with the texture and subtle smokiness of grilled octopus. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Best of all was the specialty of the house: juicy, impeccably tender slow-cooked barbacoa, which you can order with a side of consomé. I suppose you could dip your barbacoa taco in the hot broth if you aren’t afraid of making a mess. We simply sipped it at the end of our meal, Chinese-style. A perfect final bite. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At this point in our journey, we were pretty well stuffed. But we couldn’t call it a night without visiting an outpost of El Grullense, easily Redwood City’s most well known and beloved taco chain. So we loosened our pants and made a beeline for the 5th Avenue location of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselgrullense_ee/\">Tacos El Grullense E&E\u003c/a>, which is really just a window attached to a Mobil gas station mini mart. It’s a bare-bones, cash-only operation without any seating to speak of. The best play is to simply lay your spread of tacos out on the hood of your car before digging in.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Might this be the most quintessential Redwood City taco experience? The carne asada had crisp, well-charred edges, and the tripitas (beef intestines) were the tastiest I’ve had in a long time — not over-fried, but with a crispy-chewy, slightly squishy texture that was incredibly addicting. They burst with hot, meaty juices as soon as we bit in. We tried another sope, topped with al pastor, and it was wonderful here too — the pork deeply savory, the shredded lettuce particularly fresh and crisp. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tying everything together was El Grullense’s hallmark item: red salsa with a slight smokiness, a sneaky heat and an incredible depth of flavor. We couldn’t get enough of it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As full as we were, we wound up polishing off every bite, barely bothering to wipe the grease stains off the hood of the car before we drove off into the night. All we knew is that there were still at least another dozen taquerias we still wanted to check out the next time we came through this part of the Peninsula. Hours later, when I woke up in the middle of the night, my fingers still smelled faintly of masa and meat juices.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/elpaisabylosalegres/\">\u003cem>El Paisa by Los Alegres\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.–11 p.m. and Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m.–10 p.m. at 2110 Middlefield Rd. in Redwood City. The truck is usually parked in front of the Outdoor Supply Hardware. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacolosgemelos/\">\u003cem>Tacos Los Gemelos\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open Wednesday through Monday 9:30 a.m.–midnight at 1630 El Camino Real.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselgrullense_ee/\">\u003cem>Tacos El Grullense E&E\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open 9 a.m.–midnight daily at 795 5th Ave. Cash only. Attached to a Mobil gas station mini-mart, the taqueria is one of four \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tacoselgrullenseee.com/new-page-1\">\u003cem>El Grullense E&E locations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> in Redwood City — and one of at least eight loosely affiliated restaurants on the Peninsula that bear the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselgrullenseno.1\">\u003cem>El Grullense\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>name. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "lake-merritt-food-vendors-oakland-police-crackdown-jerkn-it-oxtails",
"title": "Why Lake Merritt’s Street Food Scene Is Worth Saving",
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"headTitle": "Why Lake Merritt’s Street Food Scene Is Worth Saving | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">F\u003c/span>or more than a decade, I’ve had the same Sunday morning routine: wake up, slap on some sunscreen, and head down to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/lake-merritt\">Lake Merritt\u003c/a> to do my 5K. The vibe is more laid-back than it is on Saturdays — dads pushing strollers, moms enjoying their lattes, the scent of meat grilling over open coals. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When I get to the eastern stretch of the lake, I see dozens of vendors. One sets up a stand for barbecued oysters. Another has brought a special machine for Korean-style shaved ice. Dozens of others sell jewelry, clothing and visual art. One artist paints neighborhoods of corrugated tin roofs on actual corrugated tin — miniature landscapes familiar to the many immigrants who now call Oakland home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This informal gathering is one of Oakland’s largest regular street vendor markets. None of the tables are manned by fancy chefs or trendy boutiques. Most of the vendors are Black or brown — just regular working-class folks hustling to make a living. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But lately, the city has cracked down on these vendors, snuffing out some of Lake Merritt’s family barbecue feeling. After a 2024 Juneteenth shooting in which 15 people were wounded, officials moved to limit large gatherings. This past 4th of July, the city fenced off the main arteries around the lake to deter crowds. Then, later in July, a vendor was arrested for selling alcohol to minors during an undercover sting. The arrest caused the vendor to \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/07/17/oakland-vendor-raid-lawsuit-2026/\">lose her vehicle\u003c/a> and rendered her homeless. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Customers and passersby stand in front of a lakeside food tent.\" class=\"wp-image-13994232\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">On weekends, vendors selling food, jewelry and art set up all along the eastern shore of Lake Merritt. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The crackdown has gone beyond the street vendors by the lake. This past May, Oakland police officers were filmed destroying food vendors’ storage coolers in Fruitvale and downtown. One vendor, who asked not to be identified, told me she believed she was singled out because, in a separate incident, she’d testified against the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Vendors push back\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For its part, the City of Oakland maintains it’s simply making sure everyone follows the rules. In a July press release, the Oakland Police Department stated that “OPD will continue to partner with EWD [Economic and Workforce Development] and other agencies to address unpermitted and unlawful activities, to ensure Oakland remains safe for residents and visitors.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nearly every vendor I spoke to agreed that selling alcohol to minors is wrong. They also say they’ve felt disproportionately targeted all summer long, and that police \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DdFvsebG0OR/?img_index=1\">shouldn’t have the right to destroy vendor property\u003c/a>. Especially in light of 2018’s \u003ca href=\"https://alcl.assembly.ca.gov/sites/alcl.assembly.ca.gov/files/SB%20946%20analysis.pdf\">Safe Sidewalk Vending Act\u003c/a>, which is supposed to decriminalize street vending in the state of California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A woman seated inside her food tent. The sign behind her reads, "Lumpia Ladies."\" class=\"wp-image-13994236\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lumpia Ladies owner Anita Miralles, aka Needa Bee, watches people walk by her food stall at Lake Merritt. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, the vendors are \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/07/17/oakland-vendor-raid-lawsuit-2026/\">suing the city of Oakland\u003c/a>. Led by Anita Miralles (aka Needa Bee) of the Lumpia Ladies pop-up, nearly 90 vendors have come together to form what they’re calling the \u003ca href=\"https://510day.org/vendors-collective\">Oakland Street Vendor Collective\u003c/a>. During an August rally Miralles organized, the vendors protested police harassment and, as they argue in their \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TutOFE7JllzFsPsACkapA7NoA-JWYPTF/view?usp=sharing\">lawsuit\u003c/a>, the “summary destruction of property of street vendors in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For regulars like me, Sundays at Lake Merritt don’t feel dangerous. They’re for friends around a fire pit and lazy stretches on strewn picnic blankets. At busy times, you’ll walk away with more samples than at your local Costco: a bit of banana pudding here, a little shaved ice there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And if you’re lucky, you’ll snag a “likkle” plastic sampler cup overflowing with jerk oxtail and corn on the cob — all on the house thanks to Brent Hunte, the Guyanese chef-owner of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jerknit2019/\">Jerk’n It\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Plastic takeout carton piled high with oxtails, corn on the cob, and mac and cheese.\" class=\"wp-image-13994522\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A plate of oxtails, corn and macaroni and cheese from the Jerk’n It food stand. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Lake Merritt’s oxtail king\u003c/strong> \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seven years ago, Hunte quit his job as a manager at Walmart. He started his own business the old-fashioned way: walking the entire lake and handing out free samples, driven by the love for his culture and passion for its cuisine.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I couldn’t find no Caribbean food,” he recalls of the years after he immigrated here from Guyana as a child. “If you go to New York, the culture there is big, but not in California.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hunte is especially passionate about jerk. The Guyanese style has its own unique spices, Hunte explains. Unlike Jamaican jerk, it’s cooked over an open flame instead of inside a drum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Hunte’s desire to share his culture carried him through the lengthy process of trying to obtain a legal permit to sell food in Oakland. The first time he applied for a permit for his food trailer, he says, no one from the city notified him to let him know he’d been approved. He’d paid $1,000 to apply. By the time he found out, the permit had already expired. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"A chef in an outdoor food tent plates up a dish of food.\" class=\"wp-image-13994239\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hunte serving customers on a sunny late-summer afternoon. His business, Jerk’n It, is one of Lake Merritt’s most popular food stands. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Some people got approved in a month, and others are still waiting,” he says of the bureaucratic process. “Can you quit on yourself just because of the runaround they’re giving you?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Vending at Lake Merritt saved him. In 2020, at the peak of COVID shutdowns, the Lake was one of the only places where people could gather in large numbers. Those weekend markets allowed Hunte to thrive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These days, whenever Hunte has a large event, he wakes up at 4 a.m. and heads to his commissary kitchen in San Leandro to prep 100 pounds of oxtails, along with his other signature favorites: jerk chicken, jerk salmon, rice and peas, plantains, stewed cabbage, and mac and cheese. The most important thing, Hunte says, is the energy he pours into his food. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“”Be in a kitchen, music playing, good vibe, good energy, and then going to the food, going to the people,” he says. “So people feel it, I’ll feel it, and the customers see it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As for how the food tastes, suffice it to say that my family of four fought over our takeaway container, which was stuffed to the brim with meat and sides. Naturally, the oxtails were our favorite. (I made a mental note to come by myself next time so I could tuck into the saucy meat without being uninterrupted by prying kid hands.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Man scooping jerk oxtails into a takeout container.\" class=\"wp-image-13994231\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hunte prepares a plate. His Guyanese food stand, Jerk’n It, is known for its generous portions. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hunte knows the other vendors at the lake, and has taken it upon himself to support them through each step of the permitting process. He’s even familiar with the police officers who come by to check his paperwork, though he points out that their standards of enforcement don’t seem consistent. ”We have some Caucasian vendors out there, and they go out there, they sell coffee…and they don’t ever get bothered by the police or the city,” he observes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In spite of the recent confrontations with law enforcement, Lake Merritt’s collaborative spirit has pushed Hunte to keep going. Often, he’ll send customers to other businesses that have menu items he doesn’t. He even occasionally gives his jerk salmon pan drippings to a neighboring business that pours it over the grilled oysters they sell. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When [vendors get] shut down, like now, it feels like they want to control where the people go or what the community do,” he says about the recent police interactions. “You know, we all come to the lake and we congregate. We chill, we drink, we party in a safe space. Like, you want us to go on the street and do it? I don’t get it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Man in a bright red T-shirt (the text reads, "Jerk'n It") poses for a portrait in front of a lakeside food stand.\" class=\"wp-image-13994553\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hunte poses for a portrait in front of his food tent, with Lake Merritt in the background. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hunte and other members of the collective encourage new vendors who haven’t yet gotten their paperwork sorted to attend the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcwgPFcEvPr/\">Permit-palooza,\u003c/a>” hosted by the City of Oakland on Oct. 8 at Frank Ogawa Plaza. It’s a rare opportunity for them to receive permit fee waivers and steep discounts on vehicle inspections. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To Hunte, and others who continue to vend as they wait for their paperwork to be approved, Lake Merritt is one of the last places to sell their lumpia, lemonade and lunch plates to the community directly, hand over hand. It’s a freedom that’s rare these days in the Bay Area, where small businesses are already up against the region’s astronomically high real estate costs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But for now, Jerk’n It’s reputation as a community hub has kept Hunte in business, even as he’s once again waiting for his food trailer permit to come through. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I used to walk the lake looking for customers, and now they come looking for me,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jerknit2019/\">\u003cem>Jerk’n It\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> tent typically sets up Thursday through Sunday, from around 1–7 p.m., on Lakeshore Drive in Oakland (near Cleveland Cascade). On weekends, Hunte often also posts up near Broadway and 17th Street in downtown Oakland, from 8 p.m. until late, and at the monthly First Friday event at 24th and Telegraph avenues. Follow the Jerk’n It \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jerknit2019/\">\u003cem>Instagram page\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>for the most up-to-date times and locations.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Rocky Rivera is a journalist, emcee, author and activist from San Francisco. She has released five projects through her label, Beatrock Music — her most recent, \u003c/em>The Craft\u003cem>, dropped in October 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">F\u003c/span>or more than a decade, I’ve had the same Sunday morning routine: wake up, slap on some sunscreen, and head down to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/lake-merritt\">Lake Merritt\u003c/a> to do my 5K. The vibe is more laid-back than it is on Saturdays — dads pushing strollers, moms enjoying their lattes, the scent of meat grilling over open coals. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">F\u003c/span>or more than a decade, I’ve had the same Sunday morning routine: wake up, slap on some sunscreen, and head down to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/lake-merritt\">Lake Merritt\u003c/a> to do my 5K. The vibe is more laid-back than it is on Saturdays — dads pushing strollers, moms enjoying their lattes, the scent of meat grilling over open coals. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When I get to the eastern stretch of the lake, I see dozens of vendors. One sets up a stand for barbecued oysters. Another has brought a special machine for Korean-style shaved ice. Dozens of others sell jewelry, clothing and visual art. One artist paints neighborhoods of corrugated tin roofs on actual corrugated tin — miniature landscapes familiar to the many immigrants who now call Oakland home.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When I get to the eastern stretch of the lake, I see dozens of vendors. One sets up a stand for barbecued oysters. Another has brought a special machine for Korean-style shaved ice. Dozens of others sell jewelry, clothing and visual art. One artist paints neighborhoods of corrugated tin roofs on actual corrugated tin — miniature landscapes familiar to the many immigrants who now call Oakland home.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This informal gathering is one of Oakland’s largest regular street vendor markets. None of the tables are manned by fancy chefs or trendy boutiques. Most of the vendors are Black or brown — just regular working-class folks hustling to make a living. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This informal gathering is one of Oakland’s largest regular street vendor markets. None of the tables are manned by fancy chefs or trendy boutiques. Most of the vendors are Black or brown — just regular working-class folks hustling to make a living. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But lately, the city has cracked down on these vendors, snuffing out some of Lake Merritt’s family barbecue feeling. After a 2024 Juneteenth shooting in which 15 people were wounded, officials moved to limit large gatherings. This past 4th of July, the city fenced off the main arteries around the lake to deter crowds. Then, later in July, a vendor was arrested for selling alcohol to minors during an undercover sting. The arrest caused the vendor to \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/07/17/oakland-vendor-raid-lawsuit-2026/\">lose her vehicle\u003c/a> and rendered her homeless. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But lately, the city has cracked down on these vendors, snuffing out some of Lake Merritt’s family barbecue feeling. After a 2024 Juneteenth shooting in which 15 people were wounded, officials moved to limit large gatherings. This past 4th of July, the city fenced off the main arteries around the lake to deter crowds. Then, later in July, a vendor was arrested for selling alcohol to minors during an undercover sting. The arrest caused the vendor to \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/07/17/oakland-vendor-raid-lawsuit-2026/\">lose her vehicle\u003c/a> and rendered her homeless. \u003c/p>\n"
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"alt": "Customers and passersby stand in front of a lakeside food tent.",
"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Customers and passersby stand in front of a lakeside food tent.\" class=\"wp-image-13994232\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">On weekends, vendors selling food, jewelry and art set up all along the eastern shore of Lake Merritt.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Customers and passersby stand in front of a lakeside food tent.\" class=\"wp-image-13994232\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">On weekends, vendors selling food, jewelry and art set up all along the eastern shore of Lake Merritt.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The crackdown has gone beyond the street vendors by the lake. This past May, Oakland police officers were filmed destroying food vendors’ storage coolers in Fruitvale and downtown. One vendor, who asked not to be identified, told me she believed she was singled out because, in a separate incident, she’d testified against the city.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The crackdown has gone beyond the street vendors by the lake. This past May, Oakland police officers were filmed destroying food vendors’ storage coolers in Fruitvale and downtown. One vendor, who asked not to be identified, told me she believed she was singled out because, in a separate incident, she’d testified against the city.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Vendors push back\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Vendors push back\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For its part, the City of Oakland maintains it’s simply making sure everyone follows the rules. In a July press release, the Oakland Police Department stated that “OPD will continue to partner with EWD [Economic and Workforce Development] and other agencies to address unpermitted and unlawful activities, to ensure Oakland remains safe for residents and visitors.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For its part, the City of Oakland maintains it’s simply making sure everyone follows the rules. In a July press release, the Oakland Police Department stated that “OPD will continue to partner with EWD [Economic and Workforce Development] and other agencies to address unpermitted and unlawful activities, to ensure Oakland remains safe for residents and visitors.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Nearly every vendor I spoke to agreed that selling alcohol to minors is wrong. They also say they’ve felt disproportionately targeted all summer long, and that police \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DdFvsebG0OR/?img_index=1\">shouldn’t have the right to destroy vendor property\u003c/a>. Especially in light of 2018’s \u003ca href=\"https://alcl.assembly.ca.gov/sites/alcl.assembly.ca.gov/files/SB%20946%20analysis.pdf\">Safe Sidewalk Vending Act\u003c/a>, which is supposed to decriminalize street vending in the state of California.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Nearly every vendor I spoke to agreed that selling alcohol to minors is wrong. They also say they’ve felt disproportionately targeted all summer long, and that police \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DdFvsebG0OR/?img_index=1\">shouldn’t have the right to destroy vendor property\u003c/a>. Especially in light of 2018’s \u003ca href=\"https://alcl.assembly.ca.gov/sites/alcl.assembly.ca.gov/files/SB%20946%20analysis.pdf\">Safe Sidewalk Vending Act\u003c/a>, which is supposed to decriminalize street vending in the state of California.\u003c/p>\n"
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"alt": "A woman seated inside her food tent. The sign behind her reads, \"Lumpia Ladies.\"",
"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A woman seated inside her food tent. The sign behind her reads, "Lumpia Ladies."\" class=\"wp-image-13994236\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lumpia Ladies owner Anita Miralles, aka Needa Bee, watches people walk by her food stall at Lake Merritt.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A woman seated inside her food tent. The sign behind her reads, "Lumpia Ladies."\" class=\"wp-image-13994236\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lumpia Ladies owner Anita Miralles, aka Needa Bee, watches people walk by her food stall at Lake Merritt.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, the vendors are \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/07/17/oakland-vendor-raid-lawsuit-2026/\">suing the city of Oakland\u003c/a>. Led by Anita Miralles (aka Needa Bee) of the Lumpia Ladies pop-up, nearly 90 vendors have come together to form what they’re calling the \u003ca href=\"https://510day.org/vendors-collective\">Oakland Street Vendor Collective\u003c/a>. During an August rally Miralles organized, the vendors protested police harassment and, as they argue in their \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TutOFE7JllzFsPsACkapA7NoA-JWYPTF/view?usp=sharing\">lawsuit\u003c/a>, the “summary destruction of property of street vendors in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Now, the vendors are \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/07/17/oakland-vendor-raid-lawsuit-2026/\">suing the city of Oakland\u003c/a>. Led by Anita Miralles (aka Needa Bee) of the Lumpia Ladies pop-up, nearly 90 vendors have come together to form what they’re calling the \u003ca href=\"https://510day.org/vendors-collective\">Oakland Street Vendor Collective\u003c/a>. During an August rally Miralles organized, the vendors protested police harassment and, as they argue in their \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TutOFE7JllzFsPsACkapA7NoA-JWYPTF/view?usp=sharing\">lawsuit\u003c/a>, the “summary destruction of property of street vendors in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For regulars like me, Sundays at Lake Merritt don’t feel dangerous. They’re for friends around a fire pit and lazy stretches on strewn picnic blankets. At busy times, you’ll walk away with more samples than at your local Costco: a bit of banana pudding here, a little shaved ice there.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For regulars like me, Sundays at Lake Merritt don’t feel dangerous. They’re for friends around a fire pit and lazy stretches on strewn picnic blankets. At busy times, you’ll walk away with more samples than at your local Costco: a bit of banana pudding here, a little shaved ice there.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And if you’re lucky, you’ll snag a “likkle” plastic sampler cup overflowing with jerk oxtail and corn on the cob — all on the house thanks to Brent Hunte, the Guyanese chef-owner of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jerknit2019/\">Jerk’n It\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And if you’re lucky, you’ll snag a “likkle” plastic sampler cup overflowing with jerk oxtail and corn on the cob — all on the house thanks to Brent Hunte, the Guyanese chef-owner of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jerknit2019/\">Jerk’n It\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Plastic takeout carton piled high with oxtails, corn on the cob, and mac and cheese.\" class=\"wp-image-13994522\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A plate of oxtails, corn and macaroni and cheese from the Jerk’n It food stand.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Plastic takeout carton piled high with oxtails, corn on the cob, and mac and cheese.\" class=\"wp-image-13994522\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A plate of oxtails, corn and macaroni and cheese from the Jerk’n It food stand.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"text": "Lake Merritt’s oxtail king ",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Lake Merritt’s oxtail king\u003c/strong> \u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Lake Merritt’s oxtail king\u003c/strong> \u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Seven years ago, Hunte quit his job as a manager at Walmart. He started his own business the old-fashioned way: walking the entire lake and handing out free samples, driven by the love for his culture and passion for its cuisine.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Seven years ago, Hunte quit his job as a manager at Walmart. He started his own business the old-fashioned way: walking the entire lake and handing out free samples, driven by the love for his culture and passion for its cuisine.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I couldn’t find no Caribbean food,” he recalls of the years after he immigrated here from Guyana as a child. “If you go to New York, the culture there is big, but not in California.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I couldn’t find no Caribbean food,” he recalls of the years after he immigrated here from Guyana as a child. “If you go to New York, the culture there is big, but not in California.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hunte is especially passionate about jerk. The Guyanese style has its own unique spices, Hunte explains. Unlike Jamaican jerk, it’s cooked over an open flame instead of inside a drum.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Hunte is especially passionate about jerk. The Guyanese style has its own unique spices, Hunte explains. Unlike Jamaican jerk, it’s cooked over an open flame instead of inside a drum.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Hunte’s desire to share his culture carried him through the lengthy process of trying to obtain a legal permit to sell food in Oakland. The first time he applied for a permit for his food trailer, he says, no one from the city notified him to let him know he’d been approved. He’d paid $1,000 to apply. By the time he found out, the permit had already expired. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Hunte’s desire to share his culture carried him through the lengthy process of trying to obtain a legal permit to sell food in Oakland. The first time he applied for a permit for his food trailer, he says, no one from the city notified him to let him know he’d been approved. He’d paid $1,000 to apply. By the time he found out, the permit had already expired. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"A chef in an outdoor food tent plates up a dish of food.\" class=\"wp-image-13994239\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hunte serving customers on a sunny late-summer afternoon. His business, Jerk’n It, is one of Lake Merritt’s most popular food stands.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"A chef in an outdoor food tent plates up a dish of food.\" class=\"wp-image-13994239\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hunte serving customers on a sunny late-summer afternoon. His business, Jerk’n It, is one of Lake Merritt’s most popular food stands.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Some people got approved in a month, and others are still waiting,” he says of the bureaucratic process. “Can you quit on yourself just because of the runaround they’re giving you?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Some people got approved in a month, and others are still waiting,” he says of the bureaucratic process. “Can you quit on yourself just because of the runaround they’re giving you?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Vending at Lake Merritt saved him. In 2020, at the peak of COVID shutdowns, the Lake was one of the only places where people could gather in large numbers. Those weekend markets allowed Hunte to thrive.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Vending at Lake Merritt saved him. In 2020, at the peak of COVID shutdowns, the Lake was one of the only places where people could gather in large numbers. Those weekend markets allowed Hunte to thrive.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These days, whenever Hunte has a large event, he wakes up at 4 a.m. and heads to his commissary kitchen in San Leandro to prep 100 pounds of oxtails, along with his other signature favorites: jerk chicken, jerk salmon, rice and peas, plantains, stewed cabbage, and mac and cheese. The most important thing, Hunte says, is the energy he pours into his food. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>These days, whenever Hunte has a large event, he wakes up at 4 a.m. and heads to his commissary kitchen in San Leandro to prep 100 pounds of oxtails, along with his other signature favorites: jerk chicken, jerk salmon, rice and peas, plantains, stewed cabbage, and mac and cheese. The most important thing, Hunte says, is the energy he pours into his food. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“”Be in a kitchen, music playing, good vibe, good energy, and then going to the food, going to the people,” he says. “So people feel it, I’ll feel it, and the customers see it.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“”Be in a kitchen, music playing, good vibe, good energy, and then going to the food, going to the people,” he says. “So people feel it, I’ll feel it, and the customers see it.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As for how the food tastes, suffice it to say that my family of four fought over our takeaway container, which was stuffed to the brim with meat and sides. Naturally, the oxtails were our favorite. (I made a mental note to come by myself next time so I could tuck into the saucy meat without being uninterrupted by prying kid hands.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As for how the food tastes, suffice it to say that my family of four fought over our takeaway container, which was stuffed to the brim with meat and sides. Naturally, the oxtails were our favorite. (I made a mental note to come by myself next time so I could tuck into the saucy meat without being uninterrupted by prying kid hands.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"alt": "Man scooping jerk oxtails into a takeout container.",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Man scooping jerk oxtails into a takeout container.\" class=\"wp-image-13994231\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hunte prepares a plate. His Guyanese food stand, Jerk’n It, is known for its generous portions.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Man scooping jerk oxtails into a takeout container.\" class=\"wp-image-13994231\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hunte prepares a plate. His Guyanese food stand, Jerk’n It, is known for its generous portions.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hunte knows the other vendors at the lake, and has taken it upon himself to support them through each step of the permitting process. He’s even familiar with the police officers who come by to check his paperwork, though he points out that their standards of enforcement don’t seem consistent. ”We have some Caucasian vendors out there, and they go out there, they sell coffee…and they don’t ever get bothered by the police or the city,” he observes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Hunte knows the other vendors at the lake, and has taken it upon himself to support them through each step of the permitting process. He’s even familiar with the police officers who come by to check his paperwork, though he points out that their standards of enforcement don’t seem consistent. ”We have some Caucasian vendors out there, and they go out there, they sell coffee…and they don’t ever get bothered by the police or the city,” he observes.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In spite of the recent confrontations with law enforcement, Lake Merritt’s collaborative spirit has pushed Hunte to keep going. Often, he’ll send customers to other businesses that have menu items he doesn’t. He even occasionally gives his jerk salmon pan drippings to a neighboring business that pours it over the grilled oysters they sell. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In spite of the recent confrontations with law enforcement, Lake Merritt’s collaborative spirit has pushed Hunte to keep going. Often, he’ll send customers to other businesses that have menu items he doesn’t. He even occasionally gives his jerk salmon pan drippings to a neighboring business that pours it over the grilled oysters they sell. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When [vendors get] shut down, like now, it feels like they want to control where the people go or what the community do,” he says about the recent police interactions. “You know, we all come to the lake and we congregate. We chill, we drink, we party in a safe space. Like, you want us to go on the street and do it? I don’t get it.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“When [vendors get] shut down, like now, it feels like they want to control where the people go or what the community do,” he says about the recent police interactions. “You know, we all come to the lake and we congregate. We chill, we drink, we party in a safe space. Like, you want us to go on the street and do it? I don’t get it.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Man in a bright red T-shirt (the text reads, "Jerk'n It") poses for a portrait in front of a lakeside food stand.\" class=\"wp-image-13994553\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hunte poses for a portrait in front of his food tent, with Lake Merritt in the background.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Man in a bright red T-shirt (the text reads, "Jerk'n It") poses for a portrait in front of a lakeside food stand.\" class=\"wp-image-13994553\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hunte poses for a portrait in front of his food tent, with Lake Merritt in the background.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hunte and other members of the collective encourage new vendors who haven’t yet gotten their paperwork sorted to attend the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcwgPFcEvPr/\">Permit-palooza,\u003c/a>” hosted by the City of Oakland on Oct. 8 at Frank Ogawa Plaza. It’s a rare opportunity for them to receive permit fee waivers and steep discounts on vehicle inspections. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Hunte and other members of the collective encourage new vendors who haven’t yet gotten their paperwork sorted to attend the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcwgPFcEvPr/\">Permit-palooza,\u003c/a>” hosted by the City of Oakland on Oct. 8 at Frank Ogawa Plaza. It’s a rare opportunity for them to receive permit fee waivers and steep discounts on vehicle inspections. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To Hunte, and others who continue to vend as they wait for their paperwork to be approved, Lake Merritt is one of the last places to sell their lumpia, lemonade and lunch plates to the community directly, hand over hand. It’s a freedom that’s rare these days in the Bay Area, where small businesses are already up against the region’s astronomically high real estate costs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>To Hunte, and others who continue to vend as they wait for their paperwork to be approved, Lake Merritt is one of the last places to sell their lumpia, lemonade and lunch plates to the community directly, hand over hand. It’s a freedom that’s rare these days in the Bay Area, where small businesses are already up against the region’s astronomically high real estate costs.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But for now, Jerk’n It’s reputation as a community hub has kept Hunte in business, even as he’s once again waiting for his food trailer permit to come through. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But for now, Jerk’n It’s reputation as a community hub has kept Hunte in business, even as he’s once again waiting for his food trailer permit to come through. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I used to walk the lake looking for customers, and now they come looking for me,” he says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I used to walk the lake looking for customers, and now they come looking for me,” he says.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jerknit2019/\">\u003cem>Jerk’n It\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> tent typically sets up Thursday through Sunday, from around 1–7 p.m., on Lakeshore Drive in Oakland (near Cleveland Cascade). On weekends, Hunte often also posts up near Broadway and 17th Street in downtown Oakland, from 8 p.m. until late, and at the monthly First Friday event at 24th and Telegraph avenues. Follow the Jerk’n It \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jerknit2019/\">\u003cem>Instagram page\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>for the most up-to-date times and locations.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jerknit2019/\">\u003cem>Jerk’n It\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> tent typically sets up Thursday through Sunday, from around 1–7 p.m., on Lakeshore Drive in Oakland (near Cleveland Cascade). On weekends, Hunte often also posts up near Broadway and 17th Street in downtown Oakland, from 8 p.m. until late, and at the monthly First Friday event at 24th and Telegraph avenues. Follow the Jerk’n It \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jerknit2019/\">\u003cem>Instagram page\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>for the most up-to-date times and locations.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Rocky Rivera is a journalist, emcee, author and activist from San Francisco. She has released five projects through her label, Beatrock Music — her most recent, \u003c/em>The Craft\u003cem>, dropped in October 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Rocky Rivera is a journalist, emcee, author and activist from San Francisco. She has released five projects through her label, Beatrock Music — her most recent, \u003c/em>The Craft\u003cem>, dropped in October 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Oakland's Jerk'n It, a Guyanese oxtail specialist, is one of the informal market's many success stories.",
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"title": "Why Lake Merritt’s Street Food Scene Is Worth Saving | KQED",
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"headline": "Why Lake Merritt’s Street Food Scene Is Worth Saving",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">F\u003c/span>or more than a decade, I’ve had the same Sunday morning routine: wake up, slap on some sunscreen, and head down to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/lake-merritt\">Lake Merritt\u003c/a> to do my 5K. The vibe is more laid-back than it is on Saturdays — dads pushing strollers, moms enjoying their lattes, the scent of meat grilling over open coals. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When I get to the eastern stretch of the lake, I see dozens of vendors. One sets up a stand for barbecued oysters. Another has brought a special machine for Korean-style shaved ice. Dozens of others sell jewelry, clothing and visual art. One artist paints neighborhoods of corrugated tin roofs on actual corrugated tin — miniature landscapes familiar to the many immigrants who now call Oakland home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This informal gathering is one of Oakland’s largest regular street vendor markets. None of the tables are manned by fancy chefs or trendy boutiques. Most of the vendors are Black or brown — just regular working-class folks hustling to make a living. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But lately, the city has cracked down on these vendors, snuffing out some of Lake Merritt’s family barbecue feeling. After a 2024 Juneteenth shooting in which 15 people were wounded, officials moved to limit large gatherings. This past 4th of July, the city fenced off the main arteries around the lake to deter crowds. Then, later in July, a vendor was arrested for selling alcohol to minors during an undercover sting. The arrest caused the vendor to \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/07/17/oakland-vendor-raid-lawsuit-2026/\">lose her vehicle\u003c/a> and rendered her homeless. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Customers and passersby stand in front of a lakeside food tent.\" class=\"wp-image-13994232\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-05-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">On weekends, vendors selling food, jewelry and art set up all along the eastern shore of Lake Merritt. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The crackdown has gone beyond the street vendors by the lake. This past May, Oakland police officers were filmed destroying food vendors’ storage coolers in Fruitvale and downtown. One vendor, who asked not to be identified, told me she believed she was singled out because, in a separate incident, she’d testified against the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Vendors push back\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For its part, the City of Oakland maintains it’s simply making sure everyone follows the rules. In a July press release, the Oakland Police Department stated that “OPD will continue to partner with EWD [Economic and Workforce Development] and other agencies to address unpermitted and unlawful activities, to ensure Oakland remains safe for residents and visitors.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nearly every vendor I spoke to agreed that selling alcohol to minors is wrong. They also say they’ve felt disproportionately targeted all summer long, and that police \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DdFvsebG0OR/?img_index=1\">shouldn’t have the right to destroy vendor property\u003c/a>. Especially in light of 2018’s \u003ca href=\"https://alcl.assembly.ca.gov/sites/alcl.assembly.ca.gov/files/SB%20946%20analysis.pdf\">Safe Sidewalk Vending Act\u003c/a>, which is supposed to decriminalize street vending in the state of California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A woman seated inside her food tent. The sign behind her reads, "Lumpia Ladies."\" class=\"wp-image-13994236\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-23-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lumpia Ladies owner Anita Miralles, aka Needa Bee, watches people walk by her food stall at Lake Merritt. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, the vendors are \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/07/17/oakland-vendor-raid-lawsuit-2026/\">suing the city of Oakland\u003c/a>. Led by Anita Miralles (aka Needa Bee) of the Lumpia Ladies pop-up, nearly 90 vendors have come together to form what they’re calling the \u003ca href=\"https://510day.org/vendors-collective\">Oakland Street Vendor Collective\u003c/a>. During an August rally Miralles organized, the vendors protested police harassment and, as they argue in their \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TutOFE7JllzFsPsACkapA7NoA-JWYPTF/view?usp=sharing\">lawsuit\u003c/a>, the “summary destruction of property of street vendors in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For regulars like me, Sundays at Lake Merritt don’t feel dangerous. They’re for friends around a fire pit and lazy stretches on strewn picnic blankets. At busy times, you’ll walk away with more samples than at your local Costco: a bit of banana pudding here, a little shaved ice there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And if you’re lucky, you’ll snag a “likkle” plastic sampler cup overflowing with jerk oxtail and corn on the cob — all on the house thanks to Brent Hunte, the Guyanese chef-owner of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jerknit2019/\">Jerk’n It\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Plastic takeout carton piled high with oxtails, corn on the cob, and mac and cheese.\" class=\"wp-image-13994522\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-28-MC_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A plate of oxtails, corn and macaroni and cheese from the Jerk’n It food stand. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Lake Merritt’s oxtail king\u003c/strong> \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seven years ago, Hunte quit his job as a manager at Walmart. He started his own business the old-fashioned way: walking the entire lake and handing out free samples, driven by the love for his culture and passion for its cuisine.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I couldn’t find no Caribbean food,” he recalls of the years after he immigrated here from Guyana as a child. “If you go to New York, the culture there is big, but not in California.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hunte is especially passionate about jerk. The Guyanese style has its own unique spices, Hunte explains. Unlike Jamaican jerk, it’s cooked over an open flame instead of inside a drum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Hunte’s desire to share his culture carried him through the lengthy process of trying to obtain a legal permit to sell food in Oakland. The first time he applied for a permit for his food trailer, he says, no one from the city notified him to let him know he’d been approved. He’d paid $1,000 to apply. By the time he found out, the permit had already expired. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"A chef in an outdoor food tent plates up a dish of food.\" class=\"wp-image-13994239\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-08-MC-KQED-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hunte serving customers on a sunny late-summer afternoon. His business, Jerk’n It, is one of Lake Merritt’s most popular food stands. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Some people got approved in a month, and others are still waiting,” he says of the bureaucratic process. “Can you quit on yourself just because of the runaround they’re giving you?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Vending at Lake Merritt saved him. In 2020, at the peak of COVID shutdowns, the Lake was one of the only places where people could gather in large numbers. Those weekend markets allowed Hunte to thrive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These days, whenever Hunte has a large event, he wakes up at 4 a.m. and heads to his commissary kitchen in San Leandro to prep 100 pounds of oxtails, along with his other signature favorites: jerk chicken, jerk salmon, rice and peas, plantains, stewed cabbage, and mac and cheese. The most important thing, Hunte says, is the energy he pours into his food. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“”Be in a kitchen, music playing, good vibe, good energy, and then going to the food, going to the people,” he says. “So people feel it, I’ll feel it, and the customers see it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As for how the food tastes, suffice it to say that my family of four fought over our takeaway container, which was stuffed to the brim with meat and sides. Naturally, the oxtails were our favorite. (I made a mental note to come by myself next time so I could tuck into the saucy meat without being uninterrupted by prying kid hands.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Man scooping jerk oxtails into a takeout container.\" class=\"wp-image-13994231\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-04-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hunte prepares a plate. His Guyanese food stand, Jerk’n It, is known for its generous portions. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hunte knows the other vendors at the lake, and has taken it upon himself to support them through each step of the permitting process. He’s even familiar with the police officers who come by to check his paperwork, though he points out that their standards of enforcement don’t seem consistent. ”We have some Caucasian vendors out there, and they go out there, they sell coffee…and they don’t ever get bothered by the police or the city,” he observes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In spite of the recent confrontations with law enforcement, Lake Merritt’s collaborative spirit has pushed Hunte to keep going. Often, he’ll send customers to other businesses that have menu items he doesn’t. He even occasionally gives his jerk salmon pan drippings to a neighboring business that pours it over the grilled oysters they sell. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When [vendors get] shut down, like now, it feels like they want to control where the people go or what the community do,” he says about the recent police interactions. “You know, we all come to the lake and we congregate. We chill, we drink, we party in a safe space. Like, you want us to go on the street and do it? I don’t get it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Man in a bright red T-shirt (the text reads, "Jerk'n It") poses for a portrait in front of a lakeside food stand.\" class=\"wp-image-13994553\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/080926-FriscoFoodies.LakeMerittFoodVendors-10-MC_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hunte poses for a portrait in front of his food tent, with Lake Merritt in the background. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hunte and other members of the collective encourage new vendors who haven’t yet gotten their paperwork sorted to attend the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DcwgPFcEvPr/\">Permit-palooza,\u003c/a>” hosted by the City of Oakland on Oct. 8 at Frank Ogawa Plaza. It’s a rare opportunity for them to receive permit fee waivers and steep discounts on vehicle inspections. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To Hunte, and others who continue to vend as they wait for their paperwork to be approved, Lake Merritt is one of the last places to sell their lumpia, lemonade and lunch plates to the community directly, hand over hand. It’s a freedom that’s rare these days in the Bay Area, where small businesses are already up against the region’s astronomically high real estate costs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But for now, Jerk’n It’s reputation as a community hub has kept Hunte in business, even as he’s once again waiting for his food trailer permit to come through. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I used to walk the lake looking for customers, and now they come looking for me,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jerknit2019/\">\u003cem>Jerk’n It\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> tent typically sets up Thursday through Sunday, from around 1–7 p.m., on Lakeshore Drive in Oakland (near Cleveland Cascade). On weekends, Hunte often also posts up near Broadway and 17th Street in downtown Oakland, from 8 p.m. until late, and at the monthly First Friday event at 24th and Telegraph avenues. Follow the Jerk’n It \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jerknit2019/\">\u003cem>Instagram page\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>for the most up-to-date times and locations.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Rocky Rivera is a journalist, emcee, author and activist from San Francisco. She has released five projects through her label, Beatrock Music — her most recent, \u003c/em>The Craft\u003cem>, dropped in October 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "best-japanese-pop-up-oakland-plenty-plus-asuka-uchida",
"title": "The Fanciest Japanese Pop-Up in Oakland You Haven’t Heard Of ",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>During the week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/plentyoakland/\">Plenty\u003c/a> is an understated little cafe that has become a lunchtime staple for scores of Uptown Oakland office workers. Regulars might come two or three times a week to get their fix of butter-miso salmon, avocado toast or any of a half-dozen \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/japanese-food\">Japanese\u003c/a>-inflected grain bowls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In other words: It’s a lovely everyday restaurant. But not exactly someplace you’d think to go for a special celebration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When I visited Plenty on a Sunday afternoon in August, however, I experienced the most elegant multi-course Japanese meal I’d eaten in many months. The airiest tempura, made with seasonal farmers market vegetables. Pristine sashimi. A tuna’s head picked clean and gelatinized to form the most amazing maguro “head cheese.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dish after artfully plated dish came out, all served in a casual, intimate setting. Every other table, except one, was empty the whole time we were there. It felt like we were dining in a friend’s living room — if said friend’s bar happened to be stocked with a killer sake and shochu collection.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a tempura rice bowl, artfully drizzled with thick soy sauce.\" class=\"wp-image-13994424\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chef Asuka Uchida’s take on ten-don, or a tempura rice bowl. (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As it turns out, this special prix-fixe lunch pop-up, known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/plentyplusoakland/\">Plenty Plus\u003c/a> (or Plenty+), takes over the restaurant just one Saturday and Sunday each month. It comes courtesy of chef Asuka Uchida, whose cooking I’ve gone out of my way to seek since her days at B-Dama, where she made the most comforting pork belly and mizuna hot pot. Later, at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/fish-and-bird-izakaya-closing-22264629.php\">recently closed\u003c/a> Fish & Bird Izakaya, her gravy-drenched hamburg steak was my single favorite pandemic-era heat-and-eat dish. Over the past decade, she’s quietly made a name for herself as one of the Bay Area’s most respected Japanese chefs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Uchida and Plenty owner and co-chef Jack Lin came up with the idea for Plenty+ in 2025, after Uchida had already been working at Plenty for a couple of years. She’d taken the job after suffering a knee injury at Fish & Bird, and the more casual cafe gig offered some respite from the 13-hour shifts she used to work. Lin, who describes himself as Uchida’s “biggest fan,” says the food on Plenty’s day-to-day menu became much more refined as soon as she came on board. But he also felt like it was a waste for such a skilled chef to spend her days \u003cem>only\u003c/em> cooking katsu bowls and fried chicken sandwiches. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wanted to showcase her talents,” Lin says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, the two began to plan occasional pop-ups on weekends, when the restaurant is normally closed. Lin gave Uchida full creative control over the more upscale prix-fixe meals (currently priced at $80 a person). She builds each month’s menu out of seafood that’s in season at Tokyo’s \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyosu_Market\">Toyosu Market\u003c/a> and whatever produce catches her eye at the Old Oakland farmers market. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I never make the same dish twice,” Uchida says. “It’s my feeling every time.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-miso-soup.jpg\" alt=\"A bowl of dark miso soup loaded with assorted green vegetables.\" class=\"wp-image-13994425\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-miso-soup.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-miso-soup-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-miso-soup-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-miso-soup-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The soup base was dark, savory Hatcho miso and a dashi made with both bonito and dried flying fish shavings. (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During my lunch visit, the meal started with a trio of cold dishes. There was toothsome \u003ca href=\"https://tsurizukan.com/en/fish/isaki/\">Isaki\u003c/a> (chicken grunt) sashimi topped with sweet cherry tomatoes and a slurry of numbing sansho pepper. There was an extra-jiggly version of chawanmushi crowned with sweet, peak-season Hokkaido uni. My favorite was the aforementioned head cheese — a thunder blast of earthy umami with squishy, pleasingly gelatinous bits from the fish’s eyes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Every dish had some element of surprise and delight. The second course was probably the most texturally interesting bowl of miso soup I’ve ever eaten, loaded with spongy taro stems, a super-slippery variety of seaweed and the wispy tendrils of a kabocha squash plant. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the entree, Uchida served her take on a tempura rice bowl, or ten-don. Instead of your standard shrimp or sweet potato tempura, the bowl was built around interesting seasonal vegetables: beef and pea shoots, sweet manganji peppers stuffed with Gulf shrimp, and pork tenderloin wrapped around a stack of green beans and eggplant. We marveled at the deep-frying precision that allowed us to bite cleanly through each crisp bundle of meat and vegetables. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura.jpg\" alt=\"Close-up of the cross section of beef-wrapped pea shoot tempura.\" class=\"wp-image-13994426\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The tempura was a showcase for Uchida’s deep-frying skills. (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here in the Bay Area, most Japanese restaurants tend to specialize in clearly defined categories of dishes — the tempuras and sushi rolls and assorted grilled skewers. But even as Uchida works within those same basic frameworks, the cooking at Plenty+ feels more modern and idiosyncratic, like what you’d find at a little unmarked izakaya you might stumble upon in some alleyway in Japan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Plenty+ days, Lin plays the part of “server and glorified dishwasher,” as he puts it. But the service, too, is part of what makes the meal feel so special and intimate. Lin says they intentionally stagger their \u003ca href=\"https://plentyoakland.wixsite.com/website/reservations\">reservations\u003c/a> so there are no more than a couple of tables at a time. Every time he dropped off a dish for us, he’d spend several minutes offering detailed commentary about the provenance of the ingredients (e.g., the young ginger you can only procure at the farmers market at 5 a.m.) and the specific precepts of cooking wizardry deployed. “Take the shiso leaf and slap it in your hand before adding it to the cocktail,” he instructed us at one point. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert.jpg\" alt=\"Two small jars of bright purple shaved ice.\" class=\"wp-image-13994427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dessert was Kyoho grape granita served over lemon-thyme sponge cake. (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s the kind of narration you expect at a fine dining restaurant — but in a jeans-and-hoodies kind of setting and, while not inexpensive at $80 a person, a much lower price point than what you’d pay for a comparably delicious, labor-intensive tasting menu at a fancier Japanese restaurant. Lin says they’re able to keep the price relatively low because he and Uchida are the only ones who work the pop-ups. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As soon as one month’s edition is over, Uchida immediately starts planning for the next.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Oct. 10–11, Uchida is serving her version of another comfort food classic: stuffed cabbage rolls served in a clear broth. The rest of the menu is a work in progress, but Lin says they’re trying to source hatahata (sandfish) and sanma (Pacific saury) from Japan to make karaage and sashimi, respectively. Dessert is chestnut cake with roasted apple ice cream.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“But as far as how it all gets plated,” Lin says, “it’s always a surprise.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://plentyoakland.wixsite.com/website/plenty-plus\">\u003cem>Plenty+\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> takes place roughly one weekend a month, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., at Plenty (1825 San Pablo Ave., Oakland). The next edition will be on Oct. 10 and 11. The current price is $80 per person; \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://plentyoakland.wixsite.com/website/reservations\">\u003cem>advance reservations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> are required.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During the week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/plentyoakland/\">Plenty\u003c/a> is an understated little cafe that has become a lunchtime staple for scores of Uptown Oakland office workers. Regulars might come two or three times a week to get their fix of butter-miso salmon, avocado toast or any of a half-dozen \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/japanese-food\">Japanese\u003c/a>-inflected grain bowls.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>During the week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/plentyoakland/\">Plenty\u003c/a> is an understated little cafe that has become a lunchtime staple for scores of Uptown Oakland office workers. Regulars might come two or three times a week to get their fix of butter-miso salmon, avocado toast or any of a half-dozen \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/japanese-food\">Japanese\u003c/a>-inflected grain bowls.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In other words: It’s a lovely everyday restaurant. But not exactly someplace you’d think to go for a special celebration.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When I visited Plenty on a Sunday afternoon in August, however, I experienced the most elegant multi-course Japanese meal I’d eaten in many months. The airiest tempura, made with seasonal farmers market vegetables. Pristine sashimi. A tuna’s head picked clean and gelatinized to form the most amazing maguro “head cheese.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When I visited Plenty on a Sunday afternoon in August, however, I experienced the most elegant multi-course Japanese meal I’d eaten in many months. The airiest tempura, made with seasonal farmers market vegetables. Pristine sashimi. A tuna’s head picked clean and gelatinized to form the most amazing maguro “head cheese.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Dish after artfully plated dish came out, all served in a casual, intimate setting. Every other table, except one, was empty the whole time we were there. It felt like we were dining in a friend’s living room — if said friend’s bar happened to be stocked with a killer sake and shochu collection.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Dish after artfully plated dish came out, all served in a casual, intimate setting. Every other table, except one, was empty the whole time we were there. It felt like we were dining in a friend’s living room — if said friend’s bar happened to be stocked with a killer sake and shochu collection.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a tempura rice bowl, artfully drizzled with thick soy sauce.\" class=\"wp-image-13994424\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chef Asuka Uchida’s take on ten-don, or a tempura rice bowl. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As it turns out, this special prix-fixe lunch pop-up, known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/plentyplusoakland/\">Plenty Plus\u003c/a> (or Plenty+), takes over the restaurant just one Saturday and Sunday each month. It comes courtesy of chef Asuka Uchida, whose cooking I’ve gone out of my way to seek since her days at B-Dama, where she made the most comforting pork belly and mizuna hot pot. Later, at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/fish-and-bird-izakaya-closing-22264629.php\">recently closed\u003c/a> Fish & Bird Izakaya, her gravy-drenched hamburg steak was my single favorite pandemic-era heat-and-eat dish. Over the past decade, she’s quietly made a name for herself as one of the Bay Area’s most respected Japanese chefs.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>As it turns out, this special prix-fixe lunch pop-up, known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/plentyplusoakland/\">Plenty Plus\u003c/a> (or Plenty+), takes over the restaurant just one Saturday and Sunday each month. It comes courtesy of chef Asuka Uchida, whose cooking I’ve gone out of my way to seek since her days at B-Dama, where she made the most comforting pork belly and mizuna hot pot. Later, at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/fish-and-bird-izakaya-closing-22264629.php\">recently closed\u003c/a> Fish & Bird Izakaya, her gravy-drenched hamburg steak was my single favorite pandemic-era heat-and-eat dish. Over the past decade, she’s quietly made a name for herself as one of the Bay Area’s most respected Japanese chefs.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Uchida and Plenty owner and co-chef Jack Lin came up with the idea for Plenty+ in 2025, after Uchida had already been working at Plenty for a couple of years. She’d taken the job after suffering a knee injury at Fish & Bird, and the more casual cafe gig offered some respite from the 13-hour shifts she used to work. Lin, who describes himself as Uchida’s “biggest fan,” says the food on Plenty’s day-to-day menu became much more refined as soon as she came on board. But he also felt like it was a waste for such a skilled chef to spend her days \u003cem>only\u003c/em> cooking katsu bowls and fried chicken sandwiches. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Uchida and Plenty owner and co-chef Jack Lin came up with the idea for Plenty+ in 2025, after Uchida had already been working at Plenty for a couple of years. She’d taken the job after suffering a knee injury at Fish & Bird, and the more casual cafe gig offered some respite from the 13-hour shifts she used to work. Lin, who describes himself as Uchida’s “biggest fan,” says the food on Plenty’s day-to-day menu became much more refined as soon as she came on board. But he also felt like it was a waste for such a skilled chef to spend her days \u003cem>only\u003c/em> cooking katsu bowls and fried chicken sandwiches. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I wanted to showcase her talents,” Lin says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So, the two began to plan occasional pop-ups on weekends, when the restaurant is normally closed. Lin gave Uchida full creative control over the more upscale prix-fixe meals (currently priced at $80 a person). She builds each month’s menu out of seafood that’s in season at Tokyo’s \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyosu_Market\">Toyosu Market\u003c/a> and whatever produce catches her eye at the Old Oakland farmers market. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>So, the two began to plan occasional pop-ups on weekends, when the restaurant is normally closed. Lin gave Uchida full creative control over the more upscale prix-fixe meals (currently priced at $80 a person). She builds each month’s menu out of seafood that’s in season at Tokyo’s \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyosu_Market\">Toyosu Market\u003c/a> and whatever produce catches her eye at the Old Oakland farmers market. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I never make the same dish twice,” Uchida says. “It’s my feeling every time.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I never make the same dish twice,” Uchida says. “It’s my feeling every time.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-miso-soup.jpg\" alt=\"A bowl of dark miso soup loaded with assorted green vegetables.\" class=\"wp-image-13994425\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The soup base was dark, savory Hatcho miso and a dashi made with both bonito and dried flying fish shavings.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During my lunch visit, the meal started with a trio of cold dishes. There was toothsome \u003ca href=\"https://tsurizukan.com/en/fish/isaki/\">Isaki\u003c/a> (chicken grunt) sashimi topped with sweet cherry tomatoes and a slurry of numbing sansho pepper. There was an extra-jiggly version of chawanmushi crowned with sweet, peak-season Hokkaido uni. My favorite was the aforementioned head cheese — a thunder blast of earthy umami with squishy, pleasingly gelatinous bits from the fish’s eyes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>During my lunch visit, the meal started with a trio of cold dishes. There was toothsome \u003ca href=\"https://tsurizukan.com/en/fish/isaki/\">Isaki\u003c/a> (chicken grunt) sashimi topped with sweet cherry tomatoes and a slurry of numbing sansho pepper. There was an extra-jiggly version of chawanmushi crowned with sweet, peak-season Hokkaido uni. My favorite was the aforementioned head cheese — a thunder blast of earthy umami with squishy, pleasingly gelatinous bits from the fish’s eyes.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Every dish had some element of surprise and delight. The second course was probably the most texturally interesting bowl of miso soup I’ve ever eaten, loaded with spongy taro stems, a super-slippery variety of seaweed and the wispy tendrils of a kabocha squash plant. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Every dish had some element of surprise and delight. The second course was probably the most texturally interesting bowl of miso soup I’ve ever eaten, loaded with spongy taro stems, a super-slippery variety of seaweed and the wispy tendrils of a kabocha squash plant. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For the entree, Uchida served her take on a tempura rice bowl, or ten-don. Instead of your standard shrimp or sweet potato tempura, the bowl was built around interesting seasonal vegetables: beef and pea shoots, sweet manganji peppers stuffed with Gulf shrimp, and pork tenderloin wrapped around a stack of green beans and eggplant. We marveled at the deep-frying precision that allowed us to bite cleanly through each crisp bundle of meat and vegetables. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For the entree, Uchida served her take on a tempura rice bowl, or ten-don. Instead of your standard shrimp or sweet potato tempura, the bowl was built around interesting seasonal vegetables: beef and pea shoots, sweet manganji peppers stuffed with Gulf shrimp, and pork tenderloin wrapped around a stack of green beans and eggplant. We marveled at the deep-frying precision that allowed us to bite cleanly through each crisp bundle of meat and vegetables. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura.jpg\" alt=\"Close-up of the cross section of beef-wrapped pea shoot tempura.\" class=\"wp-image-13994426\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The tempura was a showcase for Uchida’s deep-frying skills.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura.jpg\" alt=\"Close-up of the cross section of beef-wrapped pea shoot tempura.\" class=\"wp-image-13994426\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The tempura was a showcase for Uchida’s deep-frying skills.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Here in the Bay Area, most Japanese restaurants tend to specialize in clearly defined categories of dishes — the tempuras and sushi rolls and assorted grilled skewers. But even as Uchida works within those same basic frameworks, the cooking at Plenty+ feels more modern and idiosyncratic, like what you’d find at a little unmarked izakaya you might stumble upon in some alleyway in Japan.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Here in the Bay Area, most Japanese restaurants tend to specialize in clearly defined categories of dishes — the tempuras and sushi rolls and assorted grilled skewers. But even as Uchida works within those same basic frameworks, the cooking at Plenty+ feels more modern and idiosyncratic, like what you’d find at a little unmarked izakaya you might stumble upon in some alleyway in Japan.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Plenty+ days, Lin plays the part of “server and glorified dishwasher,” as he puts it. But the service, too, is part of what makes the meal feel so special and intimate. Lin says they intentionally stagger their \u003ca href=\"https://plentyoakland.wixsite.com/website/reservations\">reservations\u003c/a> so there are no more than a couple of tables at a time. Every time he dropped off a dish for us, he’d spend several minutes offering detailed commentary about the provenance of the ingredients (e.g., the young ginger you can only procure at the farmers market at 5 a.m.) and the specific precepts of cooking wizardry deployed. “Take the shiso leaf and slap it in your hand before adding it to the cocktail,” he instructed us at one point. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On Plenty+ days, Lin plays the part of “server and glorified dishwasher,” as he puts it. But the service, too, is part of what makes the meal feel so special and intimate. Lin says they intentionally stagger their \u003ca href=\"https://plentyoakland.wixsite.com/website/reservations\">reservations\u003c/a> so there are no more than a couple of tables at a time. Every time he dropped off a dish for us, he’d spend several minutes offering detailed commentary about the provenance of the ingredients (e.g., the young ginger you can only procure at the farmers market at 5 a.m.) and the specific precepts of cooking wizardry deployed. “Take the shiso leaf and slap it in your hand before adding it to the cocktail,” he instructed us at one point. \u003c/p>\n"
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"alt": "Two small jars of bright purple shaved ice.",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert.jpg\" alt=\"Two small jars of bright purple shaved ice.\" class=\"wp-image-13994427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dessert was Kyoho grape granita served over lemon-thyme sponge cake.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert.jpg\" alt=\"Two small jars of bright purple shaved ice.\" class=\"wp-image-13994427\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dessert was Kyoho grape granita served over lemon-thyme sponge cake.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s the kind of narration you expect at a fine dining restaurant — but in a jeans-and-hoodies kind of setting and, while not inexpensive at $80 a person, a much lower price point than what you’d pay for a comparably delicious, labor-intensive tasting menu at a fancier Japanese restaurant. Lin says they’re able to keep the price relatively low because he and Uchida are the only ones who work the pop-ups. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s the kind of narration you expect at a fine dining restaurant — but in a jeans-and-hoodies kind of setting and, while not inexpensive at $80 a person, a much lower price point than what you’d pay for a comparably delicious, labor-intensive tasting menu at a fancier Japanese restaurant. Lin says they’re able to keep the price relatively low because he and Uchida are the only ones who work the pop-ups. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As soon as one month’s edition is over, Uchida immediately starts planning for the next.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Oct. 10–11, Uchida is serving her version of another comfort food classic: stuffed cabbage rolls served in a clear broth. The rest of the menu is a work in progress, but Lin says they’re trying to source hatahata (sandfish) and sanma (Pacific saury) from Japan to make karaage and sashimi, respectively. Dessert is chestnut cake with roasted apple ice cream.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For Oct. 10–11, Uchida is serving her version of another comfort food classic: stuffed cabbage rolls served in a clear broth. The rest of the menu is a work in progress, but Lin says they’re trying to source hatahata (sandfish) and sanma (Pacific saury) from Japan to make karaage and sashimi, respectively. Dessert is chestnut cake with roasted apple ice cream.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“But as far as how it all gets plated,” Lin says, “it’s always a surprise.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://plentyoakland.wixsite.com/website/plenty-plus\">\u003cem>Plenty+\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> takes place roughly one weekend a month, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., at Plenty (1825 San Pablo Ave., Oakland). The next edition will be on Oct. 10 and 11. The current price is $80 per person; \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://plentyoakland.wixsite.com/website/reservations\">\u003cem>advance reservations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> are required.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://plentyoakland.wixsite.com/website/plenty-plus\">\u003cem>Plenty+\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> takes place roughly one weekend a month, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., at Plenty (1825 San Pablo Ave., Oakland). The next edition will be on Oct. 10 and 11. The current price is $80 per person; \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://plentyoakland.wixsite.com/website/reservations\">\u003cem>advance reservations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> are required.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "The monthly prix-fixe feasts at Plenty Plus are the brainchild of chef Asuka Uchida.",
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"title": "Plenty Plus Is Oakland's Most Delicious Japanese Pop-Up | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>During the week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/plentyoakland/\">Plenty\u003c/a> is an understated little cafe that has become a lunchtime staple for scores of Uptown Oakland office workers. Regulars might come two or three times a week to get their fix of butter-miso salmon, avocado toast or any of a half-dozen \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/japanese-food\">Japanese\u003c/a>-inflected grain bowls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In other words: It’s a lovely everyday restaurant. But not exactly someplace you’d think to go for a special celebration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When I visited Plenty on a Sunday afternoon in August, however, I experienced the most elegant multi-course Japanese meal I’d eaten in many months. The airiest tempura, made with seasonal farmers market vegetables. Pristine sashimi. A tuna’s head picked clean and gelatinized to form the most amazing maguro “head cheese.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dish after artfully plated dish came out, all served in a casual, intimate setting. Every other table, except one, was empty the whole time we were there. It felt like we were dining in a friend’s living room — if said friend’s bar happened to be stocked with a killer sake and shochu collection.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a tempura rice bowl, artfully drizzled with thick soy sauce.\" class=\"wp-image-13994424\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-tempura-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chef Asuka Uchida’s take on ten-don, or a tempura rice bowl. (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As it turns out, this special prix-fixe lunch pop-up, known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/plentyplusoakland/\">Plenty Plus\u003c/a> (or Plenty+), takes over the restaurant just one Saturday and Sunday each month. It comes courtesy of chef Asuka Uchida, whose cooking I’ve gone out of my way to seek since her days at B-Dama, where she made the most comforting pork belly and mizuna hot pot. Later, at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/fish-and-bird-izakaya-closing-22264629.php\">recently closed\u003c/a> Fish & Bird Izakaya, her gravy-drenched hamburg steak was my single favorite pandemic-era heat-and-eat dish. Over the past decade, she’s quietly made a name for herself as one of the Bay Area’s most respected Japanese chefs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Uchida and Plenty owner and co-chef Jack Lin came up with the idea for Plenty+ in 2025, after Uchida had already been working at Plenty for a couple of years. She’d taken the job after suffering a knee injury at Fish & Bird, and the more casual cafe gig offered some respite from the 13-hour shifts she used to work. Lin, who describes himself as Uchida’s “biggest fan,” says the food on Plenty’s day-to-day menu became much more refined as soon as she came on board. But he also felt like it was a waste for such a skilled chef to spend her days \u003cem>only\u003c/em> cooking katsu bowls and fried chicken sandwiches. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wanted to showcase her talents,” Lin says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, the two began to plan occasional pop-ups on weekends, when the restaurant is normally closed. Lin gave Uchida full creative control over the more upscale prix-fixe meals (currently priced at $80 a person). She builds each month’s menu out of seafood that’s in season at Tokyo’s \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyosu_Market\">Toyosu Market\u003c/a> and whatever produce catches her eye at the Old Oakland farmers market. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I never make the same dish twice,” Uchida says. “It’s my feeling every time.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-miso-soup.jpg\" alt=\"A bowl of dark miso soup loaded with assorted green vegetables.\" class=\"wp-image-13994425\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-miso-soup.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-miso-soup-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-miso-soup-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-miso-soup-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The soup base was dark, savory Hatcho miso and a dashi made with both bonito and dried flying fish shavings. (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During my lunch visit, the meal started with a trio of cold dishes. There was toothsome \u003ca href=\"https://tsurizukan.com/en/fish/isaki/\">Isaki\u003c/a> (chicken grunt) sashimi topped with sweet cherry tomatoes and a slurry of numbing sansho pepper. There was an extra-jiggly version of chawanmushi crowned with sweet, peak-season Hokkaido uni. My favorite was the aforementioned head cheese — a thunder blast of earthy umami with squishy, pleasingly gelatinous bits from the fish’s eyes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Every dish had some element of surprise and delight. The second course was probably the most texturally interesting bowl of miso soup I’ve ever eaten, loaded with spongy taro stems, a super-slippery variety of seaweed and the wispy tendrils of a kabocha squash plant. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the entree, Uchida served her take on a tempura rice bowl, or ten-don. Instead of your standard shrimp or sweet potato tempura, the bowl was built around interesting seasonal vegetables: beef and pea shoots, sweet manganji peppers stuffed with Gulf shrimp, and pork tenderloin wrapped around a stack of green beans and eggplant. We marveled at the deep-frying precision that allowed us to bite cleanly through each crisp bundle of meat and vegetables. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura.jpg\" alt=\"Close-up of the cross section of beef-wrapped pea shoot tempura.\" class=\"wp-image-13994426\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-beef-and-pea-shoot-tempura-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The tempura was a showcase for Uchida’s deep-frying skills. (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here in the Bay Area, most Japanese restaurants tend to specialize in clearly defined categories of dishes — the tempuras and sushi rolls and assorted grilled skewers. But even as Uchida works within those same basic frameworks, the cooking at Plenty+ feels more modern and idiosyncratic, like what you’d find at a little unmarked izakaya you might stumble upon in some alleyway in Japan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Plenty+ days, Lin plays the part of “server and glorified dishwasher,” as he puts it. But the service, too, is part of what makes the meal feel so special and intimate. Lin says they intentionally stagger their \u003ca href=\"https://plentyoakland.wixsite.com/website/reservations\">reservations\u003c/a> so there are no more than a couple of tables at a time. Every time he dropped off a dish for us, he’d spend several minutes offering detailed commentary about the provenance of the ingredients (e.g., the young ginger you can only procure at the farmers market at 5 a.m.) and the specific precepts of cooking wizardry deployed. “Take the shiso leaf and slap it in your hand before adding it to the cocktail,” he instructed us at one point. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert.jpg\" alt=\"Two small jars of bright purple shaved ice.\" class=\"wp-image-13994427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/plenty-plus-dessert-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dessert was Kyoho grape granita served over lemon-thyme sponge cake. (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s the kind of narration you expect at a fine dining restaurant — but in a jeans-and-hoodies kind of setting and, while not inexpensive at $80 a person, a much lower price point than what you’d pay for a comparably delicious, labor-intensive tasting menu at a fancier Japanese restaurant. Lin says they’re able to keep the price relatively low because he and Uchida are the only ones who work the pop-ups. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As soon as one month’s edition is over, Uchida immediately starts planning for the next.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Oct. 10–11, Uchida is serving her version of another comfort food classic: stuffed cabbage rolls served in a clear broth. The rest of the menu is a work in progress, but Lin says they’re trying to source hatahata (sandfish) and sanma (Pacific saury) from Japan to make karaage and sashimi, respectively. Dessert is chestnut cake with roasted apple ice cream.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“But as far as how it all gets plated,” Lin says, “it’s always a surprise.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://plentyoakland.wixsite.com/website/plenty-plus\">\u003cem>Plenty+\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> takes place roughly one weekend a month, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., at Plenty (1825 San Pablo Ave., Oakland). The next edition will be on Oct. 10 and 11. The current price is $80 per person; \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://plentyoakland.wixsite.com/website/reservations\">\u003cem>advance reservations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> are required.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "puerto-rican-restaurant-fire-oakland-reopening-two-star-market-dimond",
"title": "After a Devastating Fire, Oakland’s Only Puerto Rican Restaurant Returns to Its Roots",
"publishDate": 1790369132,
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"headTitle": "After a Devastating Fire, Oakland’s Only Puerto Rican Restaurant Returns to Its Roots | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Even the most suspenseful \u003ca href=\"https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/preparing-for-my-netflix-documentary\">Netflix docuseries\u003c/a> would be hard-pressed to match the tumultuous, up-and-down career of chef Eric Rivera. In the 2010s, Rivera co-founded Borinquen Soul, one of Oakland’s first and most beloved \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/puerto-rico\">Puerto Rican\u003c/a> food businesses — and then, at the peak of his success, wound up spending seven years in jail and state prison \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13977950/puerto-rican-restaurant-oakland-borinquen-soul-eric-rivera-comeback-santa-rita-jail\">for a crime he says he didn’t commit\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, a year after the chef’s triumphant return with a new restaurant, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/puertoricanstreetcuisine/\">Puerto Rican Street Cuisine\u003c/a>, disaster has struck again. A few weeks ago, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc4uUK3Ghpp/\">huge fire\u003c/a> broke out behind the East Oakland restaurant, destroying its back wall, its newly remodeled backyard (designed to look like a traditional Puerto Rican house, or “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/realestate/bad-bunny-puerto-rico-residency-casita.html\">casita\u003c/a>”), its walk-in fridge and Rivera’s personal office. All told, it’ll be a minimum of six to eight months of repairs before Rivera can even think about reopening what is, for the time being, the only full-fledged Puerto Rican restaurant in Oakland. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For fans of Puerto Rican Street Cuisine’s fragrant arroz con gandules and garlicky, slow-roasted pernil, there is a sliver of good news. It didn’t take Rivera long to find a new, temporary location for the restaurant — and there’s a bit of poetic symmetry to it as well. On Oct. 3, Puerto Rican Street Cuisine will reopen inside the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/2starmarket_oakland/\">Two Star Market\u003c/a> in Oakland’s Dimond District. That’s the exact same corner store where Rivera opened his first restaurant, \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/borinquen-soul-dishes-out-puerto-rican-grandma-food-inside-an-oakland-convenience-store-2-1/\">Borinquen Soul\u003c/a>, more than a decade ago. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13994222\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-1.jpg\" alt=\"The charred remains of a burned building.\" class=\"wp-image-13994222\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-1.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-1-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The charred remains of part of the restaurant. (Courtesy of Eric Rivera)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13994221\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-2.jpg\" alt=\"Remains of a restaurant's back patio after a fire, with a banner and a Puerto Rican flag fallen to the ground.\" class=\"wp-image-13994221\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-2.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-2-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-2-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A view of the damage to the restaurant’s backyard after the fire. (Courtesy of Eric Rivera)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As it turns out, the owner of Two Star Market had recently started looking for a new tenant for the small kitchen inside the convenience store. When he heard about the fire, he reached out to Rivera right away. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He was like, ‘Bro, this is your kitchen. This is where you started your first takeout. Come back,’” Rivera recalls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, the new restaurant will be a homecoming of sorts. As Rivera puts it, “I know this neighborhood loves me.” And though he’ll be constrained by the limited kitchen setup, he still plans on offering more or less the full Puerto Rican Street Cuisine menu. He’ll offer all of his combo plates, including the fan favorite pollo encebollado (grilled chicken with caramelized onions), served on a bed of white rice or yellow rice flecked with pigeon peas. He’ll have alpacurrias (stuffed plantain fritters) and Puerto Rican–style empanadas, and pasteles for the holidays. He’ll sell pernil, Puerto Rico’s iconic crispy-skinned roast pork dish, every day the restaurant is open.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Chef in a red jacket ladles chicken stew into a large aluminum catering tray.\" class=\"wp-image-13977967\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rivera prepares a tray of pollo guisado, a stewed chicken dish for a catering order. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Importantly, securing a new kitchen so quickly means Rivera won’t have to cancel the dozens of catering gigs he’s already booked for the coming months. And because the convenience store is open late, he plans to keep his kitchen open for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">night owls\u003c/a> as well, selling food from noon to midnight six days a week. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As for his flagship East Oakland location on 23rd Avenue, Rivera says he’s just thankful that no one was hurt: “Anything that was lost can be replaced.” The fire happened on a Friday afternoon, when the restaurant was open for lunch service. According to Rivera, the fire department’s preliminary assessment was that it started outside, behind the restaurant, due to a power cord that overheated and erupted in flames.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market.jpg\" alt=\"Exterior of a convenience store lit up at night.\" class=\"wp-image-13994223\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Two Star Market in March 2025, when a different restaurant operated the kitchen inside. (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps the biggest setback, Rivera says, is that he’d only just opened up the restaurant’s backyard to customers on weekends. He’d put a cigar lounge back there and set the whole thing up to look like diners had been transported to Puerto Rico, including the facade of a little yellow house, which he’d dubbed “La Casita.” (Miraculously, he says, the casita is the only structure in the backyard that didn’t burn down.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We converted the space to look beautiful,” Rivera says. “On weekends, customers would come all the way from Watsonville and Redding. I had weddings booked.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita.jpg\" alt=\"Facade of a yellow traditional Puerto Rican style house, with two plastic patio chairs in front.\" class=\"wp-image-13994224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“La Casita,” in its pre-fire glory. (Courtesy of Eric Rivera)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, while Rivera has signed a lease to stay in the Two Star Market for at least a year, his long-term goal is to reopen the East Oakland restaurant as a gathering place for the community. And he’s hopeful that he’ll be able to make it happen. After all, in the course of Rivera’s rise-and-fall-and-rise-again career, he says he’s always tried to look for the silver lining.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You could be positive or you could be negative,” he says. “I choose to get up every day and keep going, man.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/puertoricanstreetcuisine/\">\u003cem>Puerto Rican Street Cuisine\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> at Two Star Market will open on Saturday, Oct. 3, with a grand opening promotion of a free empanadilla with the purchase of a combo plate. The corner store location will be open from roughly noon to midnight six days a week — it will be closed on either Sundays or Mondays, exact hours TBD.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Even the most suspenseful \u003ca href=\"https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/preparing-for-my-netflix-documentary\">Netflix docuseries\u003c/a> would be hard-pressed to match the tumultuous, up-and-down career of chef Eric Rivera. In the 2010s, Rivera co-founded Borinquen Soul, one of Oakland’s first and most beloved \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/puerto-rico\">Puerto Rican\u003c/a> food businesses — and then, at the peak of his success, wound up spending seven years in jail and state prison \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13977950/puerto-rican-restaurant-oakland-borinquen-soul-eric-rivera-comeback-santa-rita-jail\">for a crime he says he didn’t commit\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Even the most suspenseful \u003ca href=\"https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/preparing-for-my-netflix-documentary\">Netflix docuseries\u003c/a> would be hard-pressed to match the tumultuous, up-and-down career of chef Eric Rivera. In the 2010s, Rivera co-founded Borinquen Soul, one of Oakland’s first and most beloved \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/puerto-rico\">Puerto Rican\u003c/a> food businesses — and then, at the peak of his success, wound up spending seven years in jail and state prison \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13977950/puerto-rican-restaurant-oakland-borinquen-soul-eric-rivera-comeback-santa-rita-jail\">for a crime he says he didn’t commit\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, a year after the chef’s triumphant return with a new restaurant, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/puertoricanstreetcuisine/\">Puerto Rican Street Cuisine\u003c/a>, disaster has struck again. A few weeks ago, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc4uUK3Ghpp/\">huge fire\u003c/a> broke out behind the East Oakland restaurant, destroying its back wall, its newly remodeled backyard (designed to look like a traditional Puerto Rican house, or “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/realestate/bad-bunny-puerto-rico-residency-casita.html\">casita\u003c/a>”), its walk-in fridge and Rivera’s personal office. All told, it’ll be a minimum of six to eight months of repairs before Rivera can even think about reopening what is, for the time being, the only full-fledged Puerto Rican restaurant in Oakland. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Now, a year after the chef’s triumphant return with a new restaurant, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/puertoricanstreetcuisine/\">Puerto Rican Street Cuisine\u003c/a>, disaster has struck again. A few weeks ago, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc4uUK3Ghpp/\">huge fire\u003c/a> broke out behind the East Oakland restaurant, destroying its back wall, its newly remodeled backyard (designed to look like a traditional Puerto Rican house, or “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/realestate/bad-bunny-puerto-rico-residency-casita.html\">casita\u003c/a>”), its walk-in fridge and Rivera’s personal office. All told, it’ll be a minimum of six to eight months of repairs before Rivera can even think about reopening what is, for the time being, the only full-fledged Puerto Rican restaurant in Oakland. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For fans of Puerto Rican Street Cuisine’s fragrant arroz con gandules and garlicky, slow-roasted pernil, there is a sliver of good news. It didn’t take Rivera long to find a new, temporary location for the restaurant — and there’s a bit of poetic symmetry to it as well. On Oct. 3, Puerto Rican Street Cuisine will reopen inside the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/2starmarket_oakland/\">Two Star Market\u003c/a> in Oakland’s Dimond District. That’s the exact same corner store where Rivera opened his first restaurant, \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/borinquen-soul-dishes-out-puerto-rican-grandma-food-inside-an-oakland-convenience-store-2-1/\">Borinquen Soul\u003c/a>, more than a decade ago. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For fans of Puerto Rican Street Cuisine’s fragrant arroz con gandules and garlicky, slow-roasted pernil, there is a sliver of good news. It didn’t take Rivera long to find a new, temporary location for the restaurant — and there’s a bit of poetic symmetry to it as well. On Oct. 3, Puerto Rican Street Cuisine will reopen inside the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/2starmarket_oakland/\">Two Star Market\u003c/a> in Oakland’s Dimond District. That’s the exact same corner store where Rivera opened his first restaurant, \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/borinquen-soul-dishes-out-puerto-rican-grandma-food-inside-an-oakland-convenience-store-2-1/\">Borinquen Soul\u003c/a>, more than a decade ago. \u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-1.jpg\" alt=\"The charred remains of a burned building.\" class=\"wp-image-13994222\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The charred remains of part of the restaurant.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-2.jpg\" alt=\"Remains of a restaurant's back patio after a fire, with a banner and a Puerto Rican flag fallen to the ground.\" class=\"wp-image-13994221\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A view of the damage to the restaurant’s backyard after the fire.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As it turns out, the owner of Two Star Market had recently started looking for a new tenant for the small kitchen inside the convenience store. When he heard about the fire, he reached out to Rivera right away. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As it turns out, the owner of Two Star Market had recently started looking for a new tenant for the small kitchen inside the convenience store. When he heard about the fire, he reached out to Rivera right away. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“He was like, ‘Bro, this is your kitchen. This is where you started your first takeout. Come back,’” Rivera recalls.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“He was like, ‘Bro, this is your kitchen. This is where you started your first takeout. Come back,’” Rivera recalls.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So, the new restaurant will be a homecoming of sorts. As Rivera puts it, “I know this neighborhood loves me.” And though he’ll be constrained by the limited kitchen setup, he still plans on offering more or less the full Puerto Rican Street Cuisine menu. He’ll offer all of his combo plates, including the fan favorite pollo encebollado (grilled chicken with caramelized onions), served on a bed of white rice or yellow rice flecked with pigeon peas. He’ll have alpacurrias (stuffed plantain fritters) and Puerto Rican–style empanadas, and pasteles for the holidays. He’ll sell pernil, Puerto Rico’s iconic crispy-skinned roast pork dish, every day the restaurant is open.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>So, the new restaurant will be a homecoming of sorts. As Rivera puts it, “I know this neighborhood loves me.” And though he’ll be constrained by the limited kitchen setup, he still plans on offering more or less the full Puerto Rican Street Cuisine menu. He’ll offer all of his combo plates, including the fan favorite pollo encebollado (grilled chicken with caramelized onions), served on a bed of white rice or yellow rice flecked with pigeon peas. He’ll have alpacurrias (stuffed plantain fritters) and Puerto Rican–style empanadas, and pasteles for the holidays. He’ll sell pernil, Puerto Rico’s iconic crispy-skinned roast pork dish, every day the restaurant is open.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Chef in a red jacket ladles chicken stew into a large aluminum catering tray.\" class=\"wp-image-13977967\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rivera prepares a tray of pollo guisado, a stewed chicken dish for a catering order.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Chef in a red jacket ladles chicken stew into a large aluminum catering tray.\" class=\"wp-image-13977967\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rivera prepares a tray of pollo guisado, a stewed chicken dish for a catering order.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Importantly, securing a new kitchen so quickly means Rivera won’t have to cancel the dozens of catering gigs he’s already booked for the coming months. And because the convenience store is open late, he plans to keep his kitchen open for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">night owls\u003c/a> as well, selling food from noon to midnight six days a week. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Importantly, securing a new kitchen so quickly means Rivera won’t have to cancel the dozens of catering gigs he’s already booked for the coming months. And because the convenience store is open late, he plans to keep his kitchen open for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">night owls\u003c/a> as well, selling food from noon to midnight six days a week. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As for his flagship East Oakland location on 23rd Avenue, Rivera says he’s just thankful that no one was hurt: “Anything that was lost can be replaced.” The fire happened on a Friday afternoon, when the restaurant was open for lunch service. According to Rivera, the fire department’s preliminary assessment was that it started outside, behind the restaurant, due to a power cord that overheated and erupted in flames.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As for his flagship East Oakland location on 23rd Avenue, Rivera says he’s just thankful that no one was hurt: “Anything that was lost can be replaced.” The fire happened on a Friday afternoon, when the restaurant was open for lunch service. According to Rivera, the fire department’s preliminary assessment was that it started outside, behind the restaurant, due to a power cord that overheated and erupted in flames.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market.jpg\" alt=\"Exterior of a convenience store lit up at night.\" class=\"wp-image-13994223\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Two Star Market in March 2025, when a different restaurant operated the kitchen inside.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Perhaps the biggest setback, Rivera says, is that he’d only just opened up the restaurant’s backyard to customers on weekends. He’d put a cigar lounge back there and set the whole thing up to look like diners had been transported to Puerto Rico, including the facade of a little yellow house, which he’d dubbed “La Casita.” (Miraculously, he says, the casita is the only structure in the backyard that didn’t burn down.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Perhaps the biggest setback, Rivera says, is that he’d only just opened up the restaurant’s backyard to customers on weekends. He’d put a cigar lounge back there and set the whole thing up to look like diners had been transported to Puerto Rico, including the facade of a little yellow house, which he’d dubbed “La Casita.” (Miraculously, he says, the casita is the only structure in the backyard that didn’t burn down.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We converted the space to look beautiful,” Rivera says. “On weekends, customers would come all the way from Watsonville and Redding. I had weddings booked.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We converted the space to look beautiful,” Rivera says. “On weekends, customers would come all the way from Watsonville and Redding. I had weddings booked.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita.jpg\" alt=\"Facade of a yellow traditional Puerto Rican style house, with two plastic patio chairs in front.\" class=\"wp-image-13994224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“La Casita,” in its pre-fire glory.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Eric Rivera)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So, while Rivera has signed a lease to stay in the Two Star Market for at least a year, his long-term goal is to reopen the East Oakland restaurant as a gathering place for the community. And he’s hopeful that he’ll be able to make it happen. After all, in the course of Rivera’s rise-and-fall-and-rise-again career, he says he’s always tried to look for the silver lining.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>So, while Rivera has signed a lease to stay in the Two Star Market for at least a year, his long-term goal is to reopen the East Oakland restaurant as a gathering place for the community. And he’s hopeful that he’ll be able to make it happen. After all, in the course of Rivera’s rise-and-fall-and-rise-again career, he says he’s always tried to look for the silver lining.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You could be positive or you could be negative,” he says. “I choose to get up every day and keep going, man.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You could be positive or you could be negative,” he says. “I choose to get up every day and keep going, man.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/puertoricanstreetcuisine/\">\u003cem>Puerto Rican Street Cuisine\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> at Two Star Market will open on Saturday, Oct. 3, with a grand opening promotion of a free empanadilla with the purchase of a combo plate. The corner store location will be open from roughly noon to midnight six days a week — it will be closed on either Sundays or Mondays, exact hours TBD.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/puertoricanstreetcuisine/\">\u003cem>Puerto Rican Street Cuisine\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> at Two Star Market will open on Saturday, Oct. 3, with a grand opening promotion of a free empanadilla with the purchase of a combo plate. The corner store location will be open from roughly noon to midnight six days a week — it will be closed on either Sundays or Mondays, exact hours TBD.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Puerto Rican Street Cuisine will reopen at its original corner store location in the Dimond District.",
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"title": "After Fire, Oakland’s Only Puerto Rican Restaurant Reopens in a Corner Store | KQED",
"description": "Puerto Rican Street Cuisine will reopen at its original corner store location in the Dimond District.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Even the most suspenseful \u003ca href=\"https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/preparing-for-my-netflix-documentary\">Netflix docuseries\u003c/a> would be hard-pressed to match the tumultuous, up-and-down career of chef Eric Rivera. In the 2010s, Rivera co-founded Borinquen Soul, one of Oakland’s first and most beloved \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/puerto-rico\">Puerto Rican\u003c/a> food businesses — and then, at the peak of his success, wound up spending seven years in jail and state prison \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13977950/puerto-rican-restaurant-oakland-borinquen-soul-eric-rivera-comeback-santa-rita-jail\">for a crime he says he didn’t commit\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, a year after the chef’s triumphant return with a new restaurant, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/puertoricanstreetcuisine/\">Puerto Rican Street Cuisine\u003c/a>, disaster has struck again. A few weeks ago, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc4uUK3Ghpp/\">huge fire\u003c/a> broke out behind the East Oakland restaurant, destroying its back wall, its newly remodeled backyard (designed to look like a traditional Puerto Rican house, or “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/realestate/bad-bunny-puerto-rico-residency-casita.html\">casita\u003c/a>”), its walk-in fridge and Rivera’s personal office. All told, it’ll be a minimum of six to eight months of repairs before Rivera can even think about reopening what is, for the time being, the only full-fledged Puerto Rican restaurant in Oakland. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For fans of Puerto Rican Street Cuisine’s fragrant arroz con gandules and garlicky, slow-roasted pernil, there is a sliver of good news. It didn’t take Rivera long to find a new, temporary location for the restaurant — and there’s a bit of poetic symmetry to it as well. On Oct. 3, Puerto Rican Street Cuisine will reopen inside the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/2starmarket_oakland/\">Two Star Market\u003c/a> in Oakland’s Dimond District. That’s the exact same corner store where Rivera opened his first restaurant, \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/borinquen-soul-dishes-out-puerto-rican-grandma-food-inside-an-oakland-convenience-store-2-1/\">Borinquen Soul\u003c/a>, more than a decade ago. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13994222\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-1.jpg\" alt=\"The charred remains of a burned building.\" class=\"wp-image-13994222\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-1.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-1-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The charred remains of part of the restaurant. (Courtesy of Eric Rivera)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13994221\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-2.jpg\" alt=\"Remains of a restaurant's back patio after a fire, with a banner and a Puerto Rican flag fallen to the ground.\" class=\"wp-image-13994221\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-2.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-2-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/puerto-rican-street-cuisine-fire-2-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A view of the damage to the restaurant’s backyard after the fire. (Courtesy of Eric Rivera)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As it turns out, the owner of Two Star Market had recently started looking for a new tenant for the small kitchen inside the convenience store. When he heard about the fire, he reached out to Rivera right away. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He was like, ‘Bro, this is your kitchen. This is where you started your first takeout. Come back,’” Rivera recalls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, the new restaurant will be a homecoming of sorts. As Rivera puts it, “I know this neighborhood loves me.” And though he’ll be constrained by the limited kitchen setup, he still plans on offering more or less the full Puerto Rican Street Cuisine menu. He’ll offer all of his combo plates, including the fan favorite pollo encebollado (grilled chicken with caramelized onions), served on a bed of white rice or yellow rice flecked with pigeon peas. He’ll have alpacurrias (stuffed plantain fritters) and Puerto Rican–style empanadas, and pasteles for the holidays. He’ll sell pernil, Puerto Rico’s iconic crispy-skinned roast pork dish, every day the restaurant is open.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Chef in a red jacket ladles chicken stew into a large aluminum catering tray.\" class=\"wp-image-13977967\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Puerto-Rican-Street-Cuisine_EG_15_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rivera prepares a tray of pollo guisado, a stewed chicken dish for a catering order. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Importantly, securing a new kitchen so quickly means Rivera won’t have to cancel the dozens of catering gigs he’s already booked for the coming months. And because the convenience store is open late, he plans to keep his kitchen open for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">night owls\u003c/a> as well, selling food from noon to midnight six days a week. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As for his flagship East Oakland location on 23rd Avenue, Rivera says he’s just thankful that no one was hurt: “Anything that was lost can be replaced.” The fire happened on a Friday afternoon, when the restaurant was open for lunch service. According to Rivera, the fire department’s preliminary assessment was that it started outside, behind the restaurant, due to a power cord that overheated and erupted in flames.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market.jpg\" alt=\"Exterior of a convenience store lit up at night.\" class=\"wp-image-13994223\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/two-star-market-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Two Star Market in March 2025, when a different restaurant operated the kitchen inside. (Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps the biggest setback, Rivera says, is that he’d only just opened up the restaurant’s backyard to customers on weekends. He’d put a cigar lounge back there and set the whole thing up to look like diners had been transported to Puerto Rico, including the facade of a little yellow house, which he’d dubbed “La Casita.” (Miraculously, he says, the casita is the only structure in the backyard that didn’t burn down.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We converted the space to look beautiful,” Rivera says. “On weekends, customers would come all the way from Watsonville and Redding. I had weddings booked.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita.jpg\" alt=\"Facade of a yellow traditional Puerto Rican style house, with two plastic patio chairs in front.\" class=\"wp-image-13994224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/la-casita-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“La Casita,” in its pre-fire glory. (Courtesy of Eric Rivera)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, while Rivera has signed a lease to stay in the Two Star Market for at least a year, his long-term goal is to reopen the East Oakland restaurant as a gathering place for the community. And he’s hopeful that he’ll be able to make it happen. After all, in the course of Rivera’s rise-and-fall-and-rise-again career, he says he’s always tried to look for the silver lining.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You could be positive or you could be negative,” he says. “I choose to get up every day and keep going, man.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/puertoricanstreetcuisine/\">\u003cem>Puerto Rican Street Cuisine\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> at Two Star Market will open on Saturday, Oct. 3, with a grand opening promotion of a free empanadilla with the purchase of a combo plate. The corner store location will be open from roughly noon to midnight six days a week — it will be closed on either Sundays or Mondays, exact hours TBD.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "african-restaurant-week-bay-area-oakland-2026-nigeria-cameroon",
"title": "This Year’s African Restaurant Week Shines a Spotlight On Lesser-Known Dishes",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Despite the Bay Area’s legendary culinary diversity, there are probably only a handful of African dishes that have made it into our region’s mainstream food lexicon. As Kemi Tijaniqudus, chef-owner of Nigerian food truck \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jollofkitchen/\">Jollof Kitchen\u003c/a>, tells it, most Bay Area foodies are familiar with a few classic Ethiopian dishes, and they may have at least tried jollof rice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Apart from that, though? There’s a wide array of African cuisines that don’t get nearly as much recognition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, the third annual \u003ca href=\"https://africanrestaurantweek.com/bayarea/\">Bay Area African Restaurant Week\u003c/a>, which kicked off last week, aims to offer diners a bit of a culinary education. The event will focus, in part, on promoting the less widely known cuisines of Tanzania, Cameroon and Gambia, for instance. Diaspora cuisines, from countries like Jamaica and Trinidad, will also be highlighted. The promotion runs through Sept. 27.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We want to give more people the spotlight,” says Tijaniqudus, who has co-organized the event for the past three years together with Akin Akinsanya, whose New York–based company promotes similar \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/africanrestaurantweek/\">African Restaurant Week\u003c/a> events all over the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21.jpg\" alt=\"Two smiling food vendors at a food festival.\" class=\"wp-image-13994071\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Vendors enjoying a lighthearted moment at last year’s African Restaurant Week closing festival in Oakland. (Courtesy of African Restaurant Week)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The restaurant week celebration has two different components: one for restaurants and another for pop-ups and catering companies that don’t have a permanent brick-and-mortar space. Several \u003ca href=\"https://africanrestaurantweek.com/bayarea/\">participating restaurants\u003c/a>, including spots KQED readers will recognize like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987415/late-night-nigerian-oakland-oxtails-jollof-9jagrills\">9jaGrills\u003c/a> (Nigerian) and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13954267/tanzanian-restaurant-swahili-spot-west-oakland-curry\">Swahili Spot\u003c/a> (Tanzanian/East African), are offering a 10% discount through the end of the week. African Restaurant Week is also running a promotion on Instagram where diners can win food vouchers for the closing festival at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fortheculture701/\">For the Culture\u003c/a> on Sunday, Sept. 27, from noon–7 p.m..\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That festival is the showcase for pop-ups, caterers and food trucks — the non-brick-and-mortar component of the event, which is where you’ll encounter much of the Bay Area’s most dynamic and hard-to-find African cooking. Sunday’s lineup, in particular, embodies that spirit of highlighting lesser-known African dishes. It will include food vendors representing Gambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Trinidad and Jamaica, along with several Nigerian food businesses.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1340\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/grilled-fish.jpg\" alt=\"Grilled fish, fried plantains, hot sauce on a plate.\" class=\"wp-image-13994072\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/grilled-fish.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/grilled-fish-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/grilled-fish-768x515.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/grilled-fish-1536x1029.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cameroonian grilled fish and plantains, courtesy of Charcoal Smoke Barbecue. (Courtesy of African Restaurant Week)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of those, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/alake.cuisine/\">Alake Cuisine\u003c/a>, will serve \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DBxgMWhRGj8/\">amala\u003c/a>, a kind of black \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swallow_(food)\">swallow\u003c/a>, similar in texture to fufu, that’s made with yam skins. A local delicacy in Nigeria, the dish typically accompanies a stew made with jute leaves and salted meat. Another vendor, Charcoal Smoke Barbecue, will serve Cameroonian suya (grilled meat skewers), made with a slightly different spice mix than the Nigerian version. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bay Area actress and comedian \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/joyofodu/\">Joy Ofodu\u003c/a> will emcee the event, and a full lineup of DJs (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dusky_rebel/\">Dusky Rebel\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/flygerianjeff/\">Flygerian Jeff\u003c/a> and DJ Leon) will be on hand to spin Afrobeats, reggae, dance hall and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://africanrestaurantweek.com/bayarea/\">\u003cem>African Restaurant Week\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> will run from Sept. 17–27. The closing festival will take place on Sunday, Sept. 27, noon–7 p.m., at For the Culture (701 Clay St., Oakland). The event is ages 21+ only. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bay-area-african-restaurant-week-2026-tickets-1988688087604?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true\">\u003cem>Admission\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is free; all food and beverages will be sold a la carte.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So, the third annual \u003ca href=\"https://africanrestaurantweek.com/bayarea/\">Bay Area African Restaurant Week\u003c/a>, which kicked off last week, aims to offer diners a bit of a culinary education. The event will focus, in part, on promoting the less widely known cuisines of Tanzania, Cameroon and Gambia, for instance. Diaspora cuisines, from countries like Jamaica and Trinidad, will also be highlighted. The promotion runs through Sept. 27.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21.jpg\" alt=\"Two smiling food vendors at a food festival.\" class=\"wp-image-13994071\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Vendors enjoying a lighthearted moment at last year’s African Restaurant Week closing festival in Oakland.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of African Restaurant Week)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The restaurant week celebration has two different components: one for restaurants and another for pop-ups and catering companies that don’t have a permanent brick-and-mortar space. Several \u003ca href=\"https://africanrestaurantweek.com/bayarea/\">participating restaurants\u003c/a>, including spots KQED readers will recognize like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987415/late-night-nigerian-oakland-oxtails-jollof-9jagrills\">9jaGrills\u003c/a> (Nigerian) and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13954267/tanzanian-restaurant-swahili-spot-west-oakland-curry\">Swahili Spot\u003c/a> (Tanzanian/East African), are offering a 10% discount through the end of the week. African Restaurant Week is also running a promotion on Instagram where diners can win food vouchers for the closing festival at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fortheculture701/\">For the Culture\u003c/a> on Sunday, Sept. 27, from noon–7 p.m..\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The restaurant week celebration has two different components: one for restaurants and another for pop-ups and catering companies that don’t have a permanent brick-and-mortar space. Several \u003ca href=\"https://africanrestaurantweek.com/bayarea/\">participating restaurants\u003c/a>, including spots KQED readers will recognize like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987415/late-night-nigerian-oakland-oxtails-jollof-9jagrills\">9jaGrills\u003c/a> (Nigerian) and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13954267/tanzanian-restaurant-swahili-spot-west-oakland-curry\">Swahili Spot\u003c/a> (Tanzanian/East African), are offering a 10% discount through the end of the week. African Restaurant Week is also running a promotion on Instagram where diners can win food vouchers for the closing festival at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fortheculture701/\">For the Culture\u003c/a> on Sunday, Sept. 27, from noon–7 p.m..\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That festival is the showcase for pop-ups, caterers and food trucks — the non-brick-and-mortar component of the event, which is where you’ll encounter much of the Bay Area’s most dynamic and hard-to-find African cooking. Sunday’s lineup, in particular, embodies that spirit of highlighting lesser-known African dishes. It will include food vendors representing Gambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Trinidad and Jamaica, along with several Nigerian food businesses.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That festival is the showcase for pop-ups, caterers and food trucks — the non-brick-and-mortar component of the event, which is where you’ll encounter much of the Bay Area’s most dynamic and hard-to-find African cooking. Sunday’s lineup, in particular, embodies that spirit of highlighting lesser-known African dishes. It will include food vendors representing Gambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Trinidad and Jamaica, along with several Nigerian food businesses.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One of those, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/alake.cuisine/\">Alake Cuisine\u003c/a>, will serve \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DBxgMWhRGj8/\">amala\u003c/a>, a kind of black \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swallow_(food)\">swallow\u003c/a>, similar in texture to fufu, that’s made with yam skins. A local delicacy in Nigeria, the dish typically accompanies a stew made with jute leaves and salted meat. Another vendor, Charcoal Smoke Barbecue, will serve Cameroonian suya (grilled meat skewers), made with a slightly different spice mix than the Nigerian version. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One of those, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/alake.cuisine/\">Alake Cuisine\u003c/a>, will serve \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DBxgMWhRGj8/\">amala\u003c/a>, a kind of black \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swallow_(food)\">swallow\u003c/a>, similar in texture to fufu, that’s made with yam skins. A local delicacy in Nigeria, the dish typically accompanies a stew made with jute leaves and salted meat. Another vendor, Charcoal Smoke Barbecue, will serve Cameroonian suya (grilled meat skewers), made with a slightly different spice mix than the Nigerian version. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bay Area actress and comedian \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/joyofodu/\">Joy Ofodu\u003c/a> will emcee the event, and a full lineup of DJs (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dusky_rebel/\">Dusky Rebel\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/flygerianjeff/\">Flygerian Jeff\u003c/a> and DJ Leon) will be on hand to spin Afrobeats, reggae, dance hall and more.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bay Area actress and comedian \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/joyofodu/\">Joy Ofodu\u003c/a> will emcee the event, and a full lineup of DJs (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dusky_rebel/\">Dusky Rebel\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/flygerianjeff/\">Flygerian Jeff\u003c/a> and DJ Leon) will be on hand to spin Afrobeats, reggae, dance hall and more.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://africanrestaurantweek.com/bayarea/\">\u003cem>African Restaurant Week\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> will run from Sept. 17–27. The closing festival will take place on Sunday, Sept. 27, noon–7 p.m., at For the Culture (701 Clay St., Oakland). The event is ages 21+ only. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bay-area-african-restaurant-week-2026-tickets-1988688087604?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true\">\u003cem>Admission\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is free; all food and beverages will be sold a la carte.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://africanrestaurantweek.com/bayarea/\">\u003cem>African Restaurant Week\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> will run from Sept. 17–27. The closing festival will take place on Sunday, Sept. 27, noon–7 p.m., at For the Culture (701 Clay St., Oakland). The event is ages 21+ only. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bay-area-african-restaurant-week-2026-tickets-1988688087604?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true\">\u003cem>Admission\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is free; all food and beverages will be sold a la carte.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Yes, there will be jollof rice — but also amala and Cameroonian suya.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Despite the Bay Area’s legendary culinary diversity, there are probably only a handful of African dishes that have made it into our region’s mainstream food lexicon. As Kemi Tijaniqudus, chef-owner of Nigerian food truck \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jollofkitchen/\">Jollof Kitchen\u003c/a>, tells it, most Bay Area foodies are familiar with a few classic Ethiopian dishes, and they may have at least tried jollof rice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Apart from that, though? There’s a wide array of African cuisines that don’t get nearly as much recognition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, the third annual \u003ca href=\"https://africanrestaurantweek.com/bayarea/\">Bay Area African Restaurant Week\u003c/a>, which kicked off last week, aims to offer diners a bit of a culinary education. The event will focus, in part, on promoting the less widely known cuisines of Tanzania, Cameroon and Gambia, for instance. Diaspora cuisines, from countries like Jamaica and Trinidad, will also be highlighted. The promotion runs through Sept. 27.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We want to give more people the spotlight,” says Tijaniqudus, who has co-organized the event for the past three years together with Akin Akinsanya, whose New York–based company promotes similar \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/africanrestaurantweek/\">African Restaurant Week\u003c/a> events all over the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21.jpg\" alt=\"Two smiling food vendors at a food festival.\" class=\"wp-image-13994071\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/African-Resturant-Weekend-2025-21-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Vendors enjoying a lighthearted moment at last year’s African Restaurant Week closing festival in Oakland. (Courtesy of African Restaurant Week)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The restaurant week celebration has two different components: one for restaurants and another for pop-ups and catering companies that don’t have a permanent brick-and-mortar space. Several \u003ca href=\"https://africanrestaurantweek.com/bayarea/\">participating restaurants\u003c/a>, including spots KQED readers will recognize like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987415/late-night-nigerian-oakland-oxtails-jollof-9jagrills\">9jaGrills\u003c/a> (Nigerian) and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13954267/tanzanian-restaurant-swahili-spot-west-oakland-curry\">Swahili Spot\u003c/a> (Tanzanian/East African), are offering a 10% discount through the end of the week. African Restaurant Week is also running a promotion on Instagram where diners can win food vouchers for the closing festival at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fortheculture701/\">For the Culture\u003c/a> on Sunday, Sept. 27, from noon–7 p.m..\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That festival is the showcase for pop-ups, caterers and food trucks — the non-brick-and-mortar component of the event, which is where you’ll encounter much of the Bay Area’s most dynamic and hard-to-find African cooking. Sunday’s lineup, in particular, embodies that spirit of highlighting lesser-known African dishes. It will include food vendors representing Gambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Trinidad and Jamaica, along with several Nigerian food businesses.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1340\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/grilled-fish.jpg\" alt=\"Grilled fish, fried plantains, hot sauce on a plate.\" class=\"wp-image-13994072\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/grilled-fish.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/grilled-fish-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/grilled-fish-768x515.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/grilled-fish-1536x1029.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cameroonian grilled fish and plantains, courtesy of Charcoal Smoke Barbecue. (Courtesy of African Restaurant Week)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of those, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/alake.cuisine/\">Alake Cuisine\u003c/a>, will serve \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DBxgMWhRGj8/\">amala\u003c/a>, a kind of black \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swallow_(food)\">swallow\u003c/a>, similar in texture to fufu, that’s made with yam skins. A local delicacy in Nigeria, the dish typically accompanies a stew made with jute leaves and salted meat. Another vendor, Charcoal Smoke Barbecue, will serve Cameroonian suya (grilled meat skewers), made with a slightly different spice mix than the Nigerian version. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bay Area actress and comedian \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/joyofodu/\">Joy Ofodu\u003c/a> will emcee the event, and a full lineup of DJs (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dusky_rebel/\">Dusky Rebel\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/flygerianjeff/\">Flygerian Jeff\u003c/a> and DJ Leon) will be on hand to spin Afrobeats, reggae, dance hall and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://africanrestaurantweek.com/bayarea/\">\u003cem>African Restaurant Week\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> will run from Sept. 17–27. The closing festival will take place on Sunday, Sept. 27, noon–7 p.m., at For the Culture (701 Clay St., Oakland). The event is ages 21+ only. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bay-area-african-restaurant-week-2026-tickets-1988688087604?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true\">\u003cem>Admission\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is free; all food and beverages will be sold a la carte.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "nobuya-late-night-sushi-boxes-izakaya-pleasant-hill",
"title": "Nobuya Brings Elegant Late-Night Sushi Boxes to the East Bay Suburbs",
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"headTitle": "Nobuya Brings Elegant Late-Night Sushi Boxes to the East Bay Suburbs | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Two men seated at a sushi bar devouring large quantities of sashimi served in elegant wooden boxes.\" class=\"wp-image-13994005\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nobuya, a newish izakaya and sushi restaurant in Pleasant Hill, is known for its elegant sushi boxes. (Thien Pham)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003cem>The Midnight Diners\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Thien Pham\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Everything about \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nobuya.sushi/\">Nobuya\u003c/a> is a bit of a surprise. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Start with the restaurant’s location on a quiet, semi-residential stretch of Pleasant Hill. We hadn’t previously found \u003cem>any\u003c/em> late-night dining in this particular swath of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/contra-costa-county\">Contra Costa County\u003c/a> suburbs, so when we heard about this newish sushi spot and izakaya, we were surprised to learn that it stays open until 11:30 p.m. on weekends. When we pulled up at a little before 10 on a recent Friday night, we were struck by the casual elegance of the dining room — all paper lanterns and light wood partitions, with quaint little nooks to sit in should you want some privacy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The crowd, at least at this hour, skewed toward older couples and groups of middle-aged businessmen, but the atmosphere — aided by an upbeat \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_pop\">city pop\u003c/a> soundtrack — felt lively and fun.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We made a beeline for the sushi counter, where our server immediately dropped off two bowls of piping hot miso soup. The main reason we’d made the trek out to Pleasant Hill is because Nobuya specializes in the kind of ornate wooden sushi boxes that are trendy now on social media — glistening, jewel-like slabs of sashimi, each one artfully arranged in its own little compartment. Here in the Bay Area, we’ve mostly only seen these boxes at higher-end Japanese restaurants in San Francisco or down on the Peninsula. To be able to snag one this far away from the big city at this hour of the night? We knew we had to try it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, our gregarious sushi chef, Carlos, turned out to be a one-man orchestrator of good vibes. He chatted amiably in Spanish with the middle-aged couple seated next to us, then slid enough free bites across the counter — a raw oyster topped with flying fish roe and citrusy soy, a baked scallop in a pool of lemon cream sauce — that we started to worry we’d been recognized. In the end, he really did just come across as an uncommonly friendly dude, eager to chat about his favorite East Bay sushi joints (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/utzutzu/\">Utzutzu\u003c/a> in Alameda and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sushi-sho.com/\">Sushi Sho\u003c/a> in El Cerrito — both deep cuts that made it clear that he knew ball).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Exterior of a sushi restaurant lit up at night. The sign above reads, "Nobuya."\" class=\"wp-image-13994008\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The rare late-night restaurant in the Pleasant Hill area, Nobuya is open until 11:30 p.m. on weekends. (Thien Pham)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nobuya isn’t an overly precious sushi restaurant. It doesn’t offer traditional omakase service, and you can do well for yourself whether your raw fish indulgence of choice is simple nigiri or saucy, over-the-top Americanized rolls (the “Chuck Norris” seems to be a popular choice). We started with a Snow Cracker appetizer from the “Today’s Special” section of the menu, where the most interesting izakaya-style small plates are listed. This was the perfect little appetizer, proving that the kitchen doesn’t take itself too seriously: one big jalapeño stuffed with snow crab and cream cheese, coated in panko, deep-fried and cut into bite-size segments, like a tiki bar’s take on a jalapeño popper.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The main event was not one but two different, but equally excellent, sushi boxes. First came the Omakase Box, whose nine compartments each contained three generous slices of sashimi: hirame (fluke), sea bream, chutoro, maguro, hamachi, salmon, amaebi (sweet shrimp), uni-topped scallops and, in the center, a mound of roe-topped sushi rice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Every cut was delicious — the clean bite of the hirame, the heavy ocean umami of the sea bream, the delicate sweetness of the shrimp. We were given an unlimited supply of toasted seaweed to make little wraps with, and, since the box included the shrimp, the chef served their deep-fried heads on the side so we could enjoy their pungent crunch. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the end, my favorite item in the box was the one I normally find the most boring: the lean maguro, which came in thick slabs topped with a dab of yuzu kosho pepper paste, and had an impossibly smooth texture and clean, savory flavor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At $69, the box is a bit of a splurge, but I’ve definitely paid more for smaller portions of lower-quality sushi. The same was true of the kaisen box ($59), which embodied a different form of luxury. For this set, a layer of sushi rice was topped with a whole row of uni. Next to that, a row of ikura, a row of sweet scallops and, finally, a whole row of sliced toro, with little flowers scattered on top to make it pretty. You could stir everything together and eat it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13986360/yaichi-kaisendon-japanese-seafood-bowls-udon-milpitas\">like a rice bowl\u003c/a>, but we opted to pile a bit of this ‘n’ that onto the sheets of nori, rolling the whole thing up and eating it in one bite.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Either of the sushi boxes would be easily shareable, just like the oden (fish cake soup) we ordered as a finishing dish. I loved sipping on the rich, peppery broth between bites of sushi to cleanse my palate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Add it all up, and Nobuya really ought to be \u003cem>the\u003c/em> late-night hotspot for this corner of the East Bay suburbs. But the restaurant was nearly half empty for the duration of our visit, and more and more so as the hour crept past 10 p.m.. For now, it seems, the vast majority of Nobuya’s clientele are locals from Pleasant Hill and its immediate surroundings (who all tend to be in bed by 9 o’clock, Carlos confided with a chuckle). The place has yet to be discovered by the legion of twenty- and thirtysomething food influencers always on the lookout for a new spot to hype up. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As good as the food at Nobuya is, that almost certainly won’t be the case for much longer. In the meantime, I’m going to relish the opportunity to walk in at 10 o’clock, without a reservation or any prior planning, and luxuriate in one of the most satisfying late-night sashimi dinners in the Bay. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nobuya.sushi/\">Nobuya\u003c/a> is open Monday through Thursday 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–10:15 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–11:30 p.m. at 1428 Contra Costa Blvd. in Pleasant Hill.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Two men seated at a sushi bar devouring large quantities of sashimi served in elegant wooden boxes.\" class=\"wp-image-13994005\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nobuya, a newish izakaya and sushi restaurant in Pleasant Hill, is known for its elegant sushi boxes.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Two men seated at a sushi bar devouring large quantities of sashimi served in elegant wooden boxes.\" class=\"wp-image-13994005\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nobuya, a newish izakaya and sushi restaurant in Pleasant Hill, is known for its elegant sushi boxes.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003cem>The Midnight Diners\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Thien Pham\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003cem>The Midnight Diners\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Thien Pham\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Everything about \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nobuya.sushi/\">Nobuya\u003c/a> is a bit of a surprise. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Everything about \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nobuya.sushi/\">Nobuya\u003c/a> is a bit of a surprise. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Start with the restaurant’s location on a quiet, semi-residential stretch of Pleasant Hill. We hadn’t previously found \u003cem>any\u003c/em> late-night dining in this particular swath of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/contra-costa-county\">Contra Costa County\u003c/a> suburbs, so when we heard about this newish sushi spot and izakaya, we were surprised to learn that it stays open until 11:30 p.m. on weekends. When we pulled up at a little before 10 on a recent Friday night, we were struck by the casual elegance of the dining room — all paper lanterns and light wood partitions, with quaint little nooks to sit in should you want some privacy. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Start with the restaurant’s location on a quiet, semi-residential stretch of Pleasant Hill. We hadn’t previously found \u003cem>any\u003c/em> late-night dining in this particular swath of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/contra-costa-county\">Contra Costa County\u003c/a> suburbs, so when we heard about this newish sushi spot and izakaya, we were surprised to learn that it stays open until 11:30 p.m. on weekends. When we pulled up at a little before 10 on a recent Friday night, we were struck by the casual elegance of the dining room — all paper lanterns and light wood partitions, with quaint little nooks to sit in should you want some privacy. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The crowd, at least at this hour, skewed toward older couples and groups of middle-aged businessmen, but the atmosphere — aided by an upbeat \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_pop\">city pop\u003c/a> soundtrack — felt lively and fun.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The crowd, at least at this hour, skewed toward older couples and groups of middle-aged businessmen, but the atmosphere — aided by an upbeat \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_pop\">city pop\u003c/a> soundtrack — felt lively and fun.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>We made a beeline for the sushi counter, where our server immediately dropped off two bowls of piping hot miso soup. The main reason we’d made the trek out to Pleasant Hill is because Nobuya specializes in the kind of ornate wooden sushi boxes that are trendy now on social media — glistening, jewel-like slabs of sashimi, each one artfully arranged in its own little compartment. Here in the Bay Area, we’ve mostly only seen these boxes at higher-end Japanese restaurants in San Francisco or down on the Peninsula. To be able to snag one this far away from the big city at this hour of the night? We knew we had to try it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>We made a beeline for the sushi counter, where our server immediately dropped off two bowls of piping hot miso soup. The main reason we’d made the trek out to Pleasant Hill is because Nobuya specializes in the kind of ornate wooden sushi boxes that are trendy now on social media — glistening, jewel-like slabs of sashimi, each one artfully arranged in its own little compartment. Here in the Bay Area, we’ve mostly only seen these boxes at higher-end Japanese restaurants in San Francisco or down on the Peninsula. To be able to snag one this far away from the big city at this hour of the night? We knew we had to try it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, our gregarious sushi chef, Carlos, turned out to be a one-man orchestrator of good vibes. He chatted amiably in Spanish with the middle-aged couple seated next to us, then slid enough free bites across the counter — a raw oyster topped with flying fish roe and citrusy soy, a baked scallop in a pool of lemon cream sauce — that we started to worry we’d been recognized. In the end, he really did just come across as an uncommonly friendly dude, eager to chat about his favorite East Bay sushi joints (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/utzutzu/\">Utzutzu\u003c/a> in Alameda and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sushi-sho.com/\">Sushi Sho\u003c/a> in El Cerrito — both deep cuts that made it clear that he knew ball).\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, our gregarious sushi chef, Carlos, turned out to be a one-man orchestrator of good vibes. He chatted amiably in Spanish with the middle-aged couple seated next to us, then slid enough free bites across the counter — a raw oyster topped with flying fish roe and citrusy soy, a baked scallop in a pool of lemon cream sauce — that we started to worry we’d been recognized. In the end, he really did just come across as an uncommonly friendly dude, eager to chat about his favorite East Bay sushi joints (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/utzutzu/\">Utzutzu\u003c/a> in Alameda and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sushi-sho.com/\">Sushi Sho\u003c/a> in El Cerrito — both deep cuts that made it clear that he knew ball).\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Exterior of a sushi restaurant lit up at night. The sign above reads, "Nobuya."\" class=\"wp-image-13994008\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The rare late-night restaurant in the Pleasant Hill area, Nobuya is open until 11:30 p.m. on weekends.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Exterior of a sushi restaurant lit up at night. The sign above reads, "Nobuya."\" class=\"wp-image-13994008\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The rare late-night restaurant in the Pleasant Hill area, Nobuya is open until 11:30 p.m. on weekends.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Nobuya isn’t an overly precious sushi restaurant. It doesn’t offer traditional omakase service, and you can do well for yourself whether your raw fish indulgence of choice is simple nigiri or saucy, over-the-top Americanized rolls (the “Chuck Norris” seems to be a popular choice). We started with a Snow Cracker appetizer from the “Today’s Special” section of the menu, where the most interesting izakaya-style small plates are listed. This was the perfect little appetizer, proving that the kitchen doesn’t take itself too seriously: one big jalapeño stuffed with snow crab and cream cheese, coated in panko, deep-fried and cut into bite-size segments, like a tiki bar’s take on a jalapeño popper.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Nobuya isn’t an overly precious sushi restaurant. It doesn’t offer traditional omakase service, and you can do well for yourself whether your raw fish indulgence of choice is simple nigiri or saucy, over-the-top Americanized rolls (the “Chuck Norris” seems to be a popular choice). We started with a Snow Cracker appetizer from the “Today’s Special” section of the menu, where the most interesting izakaya-style small plates are listed. This was the perfect little appetizer, proving that the kitchen doesn’t take itself too seriously: one big jalapeño stuffed with snow crab and cream cheese, coated in panko, deep-fried and cut into bite-size segments, like a tiki bar’s take on a jalapeño popper.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The main event was not one but two different, but equally excellent, sushi boxes. First came the Omakase Box, whose nine compartments each contained three generous slices of sashimi: hirame (fluke), sea bream, chutoro, maguro, hamachi, salmon, amaebi (sweet shrimp), uni-topped scallops and, in the center, a mound of roe-topped sushi rice. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The main event was not one but two different, but equally excellent, sushi boxes. First came the Omakase Box, whose nine compartments each contained three generous slices of sashimi: hirame (fluke), sea bream, chutoro, maguro, hamachi, salmon, amaebi (sweet shrimp), uni-topped scallops and, in the center, a mound of roe-topped sushi rice. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Every cut was delicious — the clean bite of the hirame, the heavy ocean umami of the sea bream, the delicate sweetness of the shrimp. We were given an unlimited supply of toasted seaweed to make little wraps with, and, since the box included the shrimp, the chef served their deep-fried heads on the side so we could enjoy their pungent crunch. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Every cut was delicious — the clean bite of the hirame, the heavy ocean umami of the sea bream, the delicate sweetness of the shrimp. We were given an unlimited supply of toasted seaweed to make little wraps with, and, since the box included the shrimp, the chef served their deep-fried heads on the side so we could enjoy their pungent crunch. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the end, my favorite item in the box was the one I normally find the most boring: the lean maguro, which came in thick slabs topped with a dab of yuzu kosho pepper paste, and had an impossibly smooth texture and clean, savory flavor.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>In the end, my favorite item in the box was the one I normally find the most boring: the lean maguro, which came in thick slabs topped with a dab of yuzu kosho pepper paste, and had an impossibly smooth texture and clean, savory flavor.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At $69, the box is a bit of a splurge, but I’ve definitely paid more for smaller portions of lower-quality sushi. The same was true of the kaisen box ($59), which embodied a different form of luxury. For this set, a layer of sushi rice was topped with a whole row of uni. Next to that, a row of ikura, a row of sweet scallops and, finally, a whole row of sliced toro, with little flowers scattered on top to make it pretty. You could stir everything together and eat it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13986360/yaichi-kaisendon-japanese-seafood-bowls-udon-milpitas\">like a rice bowl\u003c/a>, but we opted to pile a bit of this ‘n’ that onto the sheets of nori, rolling the whole thing up and eating it in one bite.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At $69, the box is a bit of a splurge, but I’ve definitely paid more for smaller portions of lower-quality sushi. The same was true of the kaisen box ($59), which embodied a different form of luxury. For this set, a layer of sushi rice was topped with a whole row of uni. Next to that, a row of ikura, a row of sweet scallops and, finally, a whole row of sliced toro, with little flowers scattered on top to make it pretty. You could stir everything together and eat it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13986360/yaichi-kaisendon-japanese-seafood-bowls-udon-milpitas\">like a rice bowl\u003c/a>, but we opted to pile a bit of this ‘n’ that onto the sheets of nori, rolling the whole thing up and eating it in one bite.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Either of the sushi boxes would be easily shareable, just like the oden (fish cake soup) we ordered as a finishing dish. I loved sipping on the rich, peppery broth between bites of sushi to cleanse my palate.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Either of the sushi boxes would be easily shareable, just like the oden (fish cake soup) we ordered as a finishing dish. I loved sipping on the rich, peppery broth between bites of sushi to cleanse my palate.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Add it all up, and Nobuya really ought to be \u003cem>the\u003c/em> late-night hotspot for this corner of the East Bay suburbs. But the restaurant was nearly half empty for the duration of our visit, and more and more so as the hour crept past 10 p.m.. For now, it seems, the vast majority of Nobuya’s clientele are locals from Pleasant Hill and its immediate surroundings (who all tend to be in bed by 9 o’clock, Carlos confided with a chuckle). The place has yet to be discovered by the legion of twenty- and thirtysomething food influencers always on the lookout for a new spot to hype up. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Add it all up, and Nobuya really ought to be \u003cem>the\u003c/em> late-night hotspot for this corner of the East Bay suburbs. But the restaurant was nearly half empty for the duration of our visit, and more and more so as the hour crept past 10 p.m.. For now, it seems, the vast majority of Nobuya’s clientele are locals from Pleasant Hill and its immediate surroundings (who all tend to be in bed by 9 o’clock, Carlos confided with a chuckle). The place has yet to be discovered by the legion of twenty- and thirtysomething food influencers always on the lookout for a new spot to hype up. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As good as the food at Nobuya is, that almost certainly won’t be the case for much longer. In the meantime, I’m going to relish the opportunity to walk in at 10 o’clock, without a reservation or any prior planning, and luxuriate in one of the most satisfying late-night sashimi dinners in the Bay. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As good as the food at Nobuya is, that almost certainly won’t be the case for much longer. In the meantime, I’m going to relish the opportunity to walk in at 10 o’clock, without a reservation or any prior planning, and luxuriate in one of the most satisfying late-night sashimi dinners in the Bay. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nobuya.sushi/\">Nobuya\u003c/a> is open Monday through Thursday 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–10:15 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–11:30 p.m. at 1428 Contra Costa Blvd. in Pleasant Hill.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nobuya.sushi/\">Nobuya\u003c/a> is open Monday through Thursday 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–10:15 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–11:30 p.m. at 1428 Contra Costa Blvd. in Pleasant Hill.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Pleasant Hill finally has a destination for excellent sushi until 11:30 p.m. on weekends. ",
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"title": "Nobuya Brings Elegant Late-Night Sushi Boxes to the East Bay Suburbs | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Two men seated at a sushi bar devouring large quantities of sashimi served in elegant wooden boxes.\" class=\"wp-image-13994005\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya2-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nobuya, a newish izakaya and sushi restaurant in Pleasant Hill, is known for its elegant sushi boxes. (Thien Pham)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003cem>The Midnight Diners\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Thien Pham\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Everything about \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nobuya.sushi/\">Nobuya\u003c/a> is a bit of a surprise. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Start with the restaurant’s location on a quiet, semi-residential stretch of Pleasant Hill. We hadn’t previously found \u003cem>any\u003c/em> late-night dining in this particular swath of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/contra-costa-county\">Contra Costa County\u003c/a> suburbs, so when we heard about this newish sushi spot and izakaya, we were surprised to learn that it stays open until 11:30 p.m. on weekends. When we pulled up at a little before 10 on a recent Friday night, we were struck by the casual elegance of the dining room — all paper lanterns and light wood partitions, with quaint little nooks to sit in should you want some privacy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The crowd, at least at this hour, skewed toward older couples and groups of middle-aged businessmen, but the atmosphere — aided by an upbeat \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_pop\">city pop\u003c/a> soundtrack — felt lively and fun.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We made a beeline for the sushi counter, where our server immediately dropped off two bowls of piping hot miso soup. The main reason we’d made the trek out to Pleasant Hill is because Nobuya specializes in the kind of ornate wooden sushi boxes that are trendy now on social media — glistening, jewel-like slabs of sashimi, each one artfully arranged in its own little compartment. Here in the Bay Area, we’ve mostly only seen these boxes at higher-end Japanese restaurants in San Francisco or down on the Peninsula. To be able to snag one this far away from the big city at this hour of the night? We knew we had to try it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, our gregarious sushi chef, Carlos, turned out to be a one-man orchestrator of good vibes. He chatted amiably in Spanish with the middle-aged couple seated next to us, then slid enough free bites across the counter — a raw oyster topped with flying fish roe and citrusy soy, a baked scallop in a pool of lemon cream sauce — that we started to worry we’d been recognized. In the end, he really did just come across as an uncommonly friendly dude, eager to chat about his favorite East Bay sushi joints (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/utzutzu/\">Utzutzu\u003c/a> in Alameda and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sushi-sho.com/\">Sushi Sho\u003c/a> in El Cerrito — both deep cuts that made it clear that he knew ball).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Exterior of a sushi restaurant lit up at night. The sign above reads, "Nobuya."\" class=\"wp-image-13994008\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/nobuya-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The rare late-night restaurant in the Pleasant Hill area, Nobuya is open until 11:30 p.m. on weekends. (Thien Pham)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nobuya isn’t an overly precious sushi restaurant. It doesn’t offer traditional omakase service, and you can do well for yourself whether your raw fish indulgence of choice is simple nigiri or saucy, over-the-top Americanized rolls (the “Chuck Norris” seems to be a popular choice). We started with a Snow Cracker appetizer from the “Today’s Special” section of the menu, where the most interesting izakaya-style small plates are listed. This was the perfect little appetizer, proving that the kitchen doesn’t take itself too seriously: one big jalapeño stuffed with snow crab and cream cheese, coated in panko, deep-fried and cut into bite-size segments, like a tiki bar’s take on a jalapeño popper.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The main event was not one but two different, but equally excellent, sushi boxes. First came the Omakase Box, whose nine compartments each contained three generous slices of sashimi: hirame (fluke), sea bream, chutoro, maguro, hamachi, salmon, amaebi (sweet shrimp), uni-topped scallops and, in the center, a mound of roe-topped sushi rice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Every cut was delicious — the clean bite of the hirame, the heavy ocean umami of the sea bream, the delicate sweetness of the shrimp. We were given an unlimited supply of toasted seaweed to make little wraps with, and, since the box included the shrimp, the chef served their deep-fried heads on the side so we could enjoy their pungent crunch. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the end, my favorite item in the box was the one I normally find the most boring: the lean maguro, which came in thick slabs topped with a dab of yuzu kosho pepper paste, and had an impossibly smooth texture and clean, savory flavor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At $69, the box is a bit of a splurge, but I’ve definitely paid more for smaller portions of lower-quality sushi. The same was true of the kaisen box ($59), which embodied a different form of luxury. For this set, a layer of sushi rice was topped with a whole row of uni. Next to that, a row of ikura, a row of sweet scallops and, finally, a whole row of sliced toro, with little flowers scattered on top to make it pretty. You could stir everything together and eat it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13986360/yaichi-kaisendon-japanese-seafood-bowls-udon-milpitas\">like a rice bowl\u003c/a>, but we opted to pile a bit of this ‘n’ that onto the sheets of nori, rolling the whole thing up and eating it in one bite.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Either of the sushi boxes would be easily shareable, just like the oden (fish cake soup) we ordered as a finishing dish. I loved sipping on the rich, peppery broth between bites of sushi to cleanse my palate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Add it all up, and Nobuya really ought to be \u003cem>the\u003c/em> late-night hotspot for this corner of the East Bay suburbs. But the restaurant was nearly half empty for the duration of our visit, and more and more so as the hour crept past 10 p.m.. For now, it seems, the vast majority of Nobuya’s clientele are locals from Pleasant Hill and its immediate surroundings (who all tend to be in bed by 9 o’clock, Carlos confided with a chuckle). The place has yet to be discovered by the legion of twenty- and thirtysomething food influencers always on the lookout for a new spot to hype up. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As good as the food at Nobuya is, that almost certainly won’t be the case for much longer. In the meantime, I’m going to relish the opportunity to walk in at 10 o’clock, without a reservation or any prior planning, and luxuriate in one of the most satisfying late-night sashimi dinners in the Bay. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nobuya.sushi/\">Nobuya\u003c/a> is open Monday through Thursday 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–10:15 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–11:30 p.m. at 1428 Contra Costa Blvd. in Pleasant Hill.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "chiricana-panamanian-food-oakland-bay-area-pop-up",
"title": "A New Pop-Up Is the Bay Area’s Tastiest Panamanian Secret",
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"content": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina.jpg\" alt=\"Hands holding a plate of loaded Panamanian patacones (fried green plantains).\" class=\"wp-image-13993947\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chiricana chef Dani Solis holds a plate of Panamanian patacones — fried green plantains loaded with oyster mushrooms, olives and peppers. Solis’ pop-up and catering company is one of the Bay Area’s only Panamanian food businesses. (Courtesy of La Cocina)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Let’s get Panamanian food” is a suggestion most Californians aren’t used to hearing. In fact, even the most knowledgeable Bay Area \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/food\">foodies\u003c/a> may have never even considered Panamanian cuisine as an option at all.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chances are, you don’t know a local spot where you can grab sancocho, Panama’s national dish, which consists of a yam-thickened broth with chicken, yuca, corn and otoe (taro root). And you’ve probably never had the pleasure of eating carimañolas (Panamanian beef patties) or almojábanos (fried corn dough and cheese). Until recently, I hadn’t either.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For all of its culinary charms, the Bay has never had much of any Panamanian food scene to speak of. It’s not just the Bay either. Comida Panameña has rarely expanded beyond its own borders into other parts of the world in a noticeable way, and it doesn’t have the same reputation or ubiquity that other diasporic foods from Latin America have been able to cultivate, particularly within California’s diverse foodscape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Recognizing that absence, Dani Solis — a San Jose-raised chef and daughter of Panamanian parents — wants to change that. With \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/chiri_cana/?hl=en\">Chiricana\u003c/a>, a small pop-up and catering business, she’s putting the Bay onto Panamanian American flavors, one recipe at a time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling chef preps food inside a commercial kitchen.\" class=\"wp-image-13993951\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Solis preps a dish for La Cocina’s pop-up night market in October 2025. (Courtesy of La Cocina)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m the only one doing this,” says Solis, who was informally trained by her grandmother and mom, who’ve both lived in San Jose together since arriving as immigrants. Chiricana is named after Chiriqui, the region in Panama where Solis’ grandmother was raised.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though Solis is now based in Emeryville and works two part-time jobs outside of the food industry, she notes the role of her family’s close support network: her relatives often travel back to Panama to find materials and ingredients for Chiricana.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m privileged to have the choice to be able to pursue this. It’s a gift. I’m sharing my heart. I’m sharing all of my family with you,” she says, fresh off \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbZTEwnEsig/?hl=en&img_index=1\">vending Panamanian chicken wings at Outside Lands\u003c/a> for the first time this summer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2019 with a degree in Urban Studies and a minor in Food Systems, Solis worked at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Then, everything flipped during the COVID-19 pandemic. Solis went from preserving foodways and supporting foodmakers to becoming one herself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a spread of Panamanian dishes, including corn cheese fritters, rice and beans, and a beet salad. \" class=\"wp-image-13993953\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A spread of dishes for an Open Test Kitchen pop-up in 2025. Pictured dishes include almojábanos (corn cheese fritters), arroz con guandú with beet salad, and sancocho de pollo. (Courtesy of Chiricana)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2022, Solis began incubating Chiricana at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13963726/oakland-bloom-open-test-kitchen-incubator-restaurant-understory\">Oakland Bloom\u003c/a>’s test kitchen. Her vision was manifold: to honor the legacy of her family’s migratory journey, and to expose a greater Bay Area audience to Panama’s multicultural history and the slept-on goodness of its food. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So what exactly is Panamanian food — and more importantly, what defines it when exported outside of its Central American context?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Begin with a basket of crispy, fat-rendered pork chicharrón, mixed with thick wedges of yuca frita. “It’s comfort food,” Solis says. “There’s a big ‘fritura’ culture in Panama. Any Central American kid will tell you they ate this growing up. Fry it, put on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the grease, and then put it on the table for whoever gets first dibs.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s accompanied with a side of creamy, mustard-yellow Panamanian salsa made from ají chombo, a relative of the habanero chile. The salsa is a centerpiece in Panamanian food, and might surprise unsuspecting eaters: It delivers enough bite to hint at oncoming pain, even if it never quite crosses the threshold of unbearability. I was personally surprised and delighted as someone who has traveled extensively in Latin America, where, save for in Mexico, it can get tricky to find a fiery meal. The ají chombo — which is native to the Caribbean islands and reached Panama in the 1850s, when workers immigrated to Panama to build railroads and, eventually, the Panama Canal — offers a different, more heat-intensive perspective on Central American gastronomy. Like Panama’s overlooked culinary history itself, the pepper packs a bigger punch than expected.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal.jpg\" alt=\"A wooden platter with a tamal, rice and beans, and a mustard-yellow salsa.\" class=\"wp-image-13993956\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Panamanian tamal plate with ají chombo salsa on the side. (Alan Chazaro)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To stave off ají chombo’s pepperiness and wash down the richness of the fried yuca and chicharrón, Solis provides a housemade chicha de limón con raspadura, or Panamanian lemonade. Served in a large totuma (a dried, hollowed-out calabash), the bright, citrusy beverage recalls a tropical getaway with just enough sweetness and zest without overdoing it. Made from Rangpur limes and raspadura (unrefined brown sugar made from evaporated sugarcane juice), it contains a floral, malty complexity that you won’t get from your neighborhood lemonade stand.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The main dish, when I visited Solis at her shared-use commercial kitchen at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11988111/la-cocina-reopens-as-commercial-kitchen-in-the-tenderloin-after-food-hall-closure\">La Cocina on Hyde Street\u003c/a>, was a showstopper: a Panamanian tamal, wrapped in banana and bijao leaves, and served with a side of arroz con guandú (pigeon peas) sauteed in coconut milk. It’s all paired with a fruity, herbaceous salad lightly dressed in a ginger hibiscus vinaigrette inspired by the lush Boquete region of Panama. D’Boca — Panama’s national ají chombo hot sauce — is also provided, to be used at your discretion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In and of itself, the Panamanian tamal is impressive — a “mesoamerican protein bar,” Solis jokes. Weighty and firm yet jiggly and yielding, it’s larger than your standard tamal. The tamal Panameño is juicy, a result of a stewing of the ingredients to make a bone-in chicken broth from scratch. Afterwards, the broth is mixed in with the maíz pilado masa, adding a marrow-rich flavor to the dough. Inside, it’s overloaded with culantro (a staple in Panamanian cuisine), onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, chicken, olives and — a Solis family specialty — plums. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Recipes change with immigration. My grandma told me about how the recipe changed for her over time based on whatever ingredients were available,” says Solis. “When she came to the U.S., my grandma found plums and swapped them in for [the traditional] raisins.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As much as I want to bring Panamanian ingredients, it’s important to also bring my whole self through California produce and recipes that aren’t always super Panamanian in their preparation,” she adds. “But the essence has a Panamanian flair.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The tamal is a delicacy, a labor of love that can take all day to prepare and craft; it’s generally reserved for special occasions and holidays. At Chiricana, it allows Solis to reshape her lineage in the kitchen, across borders and across time, as an edible vessel for identity and cultural preservation that requires — in her own words — a “spiritual approach.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Solis, the approach has deep connections to her own family history. When she was an undergrad at UC Berkeley, she worked for the \u003ca href=\"https://food.berkeley.edu/\">Berkeley Food Institute\u003c/a> and was inspired by \u003ca href=\"https://viacampesina.org/en/\">La Vía Campesina\u003c/a>, a global grassroots movement of indigenous farm workers. Her own grandmother grew up living off the Panamanian land; Solis documented her grandma’s story as part of an oral history project titled “\u003ca href=\"https://www.gemsoralhistories.com/settingthetable/dani\">Setting the Table\u003c/a>,” in which foodmakers spoke with elders about diasporic recipes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance.jpg\" alt=\"Square of flan drizzled with caramel and topped with crumbled cheese.\" class=\"wp-image-13993962\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Flan de nance — an original Chiricana creation. (Alan Chazaro)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Luckily, for Bay Area diners, Solis is just getting started. She’s currently toying with a Panamanian flan infused with nance — a yellow, pungent fruit that somewhat resembles a cherry — that is topped with crumbled queso fresco and drizzled with a raspadura crème caramel. The original invention is her interpretive ode to pesada de nance, a traditional Panamanian porridge her grandmother used to make. Solis herself was never crazy about nance, but now she’s translating it — by turning good memories into even better ones — for a Bay Area palate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If I don’t learn these things, then others won’t be able to learn these [Panamanian] foodways and traditions,” says Solis. “Ingredients like guandú and corn from Panama can be difficult to find, but it’s my mission to seek them out as much as I can to make Chircana as authentic as I can.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chiricana.com/\">\u003cem>Chiricana Cocina Panameña\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> will be at KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/kqed/events/the-edible-atlas-a-global-street-eats-festival-192748\">\u003cem>Edible Atlas\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> global street food festival on Saturday, Sept. 19 from noon to 5 p.m. at Bloc15 (252 2nd St., Oakland). Entrance to the outdoor block party is free; tickets for the indoor market (where Chiricana will be vending) start at $45. Chiricana also does \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chiricana.com/catering\">\u003cem>catering\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> with custom menus.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina.jpg\" alt=\"Hands holding a plate of loaded Panamanian patacones (fried green plantains).\" class=\"wp-image-13993947\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chiricana chef Dani Solis holds a plate of Panamanian patacones — fried green plantains loaded with oyster mushrooms, olives and peppers. Solis’ pop-up and catering company is one of the Bay Area’s only Panamanian food businesses.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of La Cocina)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina.jpg\" alt=\"Hands holding a plate of loaded Panamanian patacones (fried green plantains).\" class=\"wp-image-13993947\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chiricana chef Dani Solis holds a plate of Panamanian patacones — fried green plantains loaded with oyster mushrooms, olives and peppers. Solis’ pop-up and catering company is one of the Bay Area’s only Panamanian food businesses.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of La Cocina)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Let’s get Panamanian food” is a suggestion most Californians aren’t used to hearing. In fact, even the most knowledgeable Bay Area \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/food\">foodies\u003c/a> may have never even considered Panamanian cuisine as an option at all.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Let’s get Panamanian food” is a suggestion most Californians aren’t used to hearing. In fact, even the most knowledgeable Bay Area \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/food\">foodies\u003c/a> may have never even considered Panamanian cuisine as an option at all.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Chances are, you don’t know a local spot where you can grab sancocho, Panama’s national dish, which consists of a yam-thickened broth with chicken, yuca, corn and otoe (taro root). And you’ve probably never had the pleasure of eating carimañolas (Panamanian beef patties) or almojábanos (fried corn dough and cheese). Until recently, I hadn’t either.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Chances are, you don’t know a local spot where you can grab sancocho, Panama’s national dish, which consists of a yam-thickened broth with chicken, yuca, corn and otoe (taro root). And you’ve probably never had the pleasure of eating carimañolas (Panamanian beef patties) or almojábanos (fried corn dough and cheese). Until recently, I hadn’t either.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For all of its culinary charms, the Bay has never had much of any Panamanian food scene to speak of. It’s not just the Bay either. Comida Panameña has rarely expanded beyond its own borders into other parts of the world in a noticeable way, and it doesn’t have the same reputation or ubiquity that other diasporic foods from Latin America have been able to cultivate, particularly within California’s diverse foodscape.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For all of its culinary charms, the Bay has never had much of any Panamanian food scene to speak of. It’s not just the Bay either. Comida Panameña has rarely expanded beyond its own borders into other parts of the world in a noticeable way, and it doesn’t have the same reputation or ubiquity that other diasporic foods from Latin America have been able to cultivate, particularly within California’s diverse foodscape.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Recognizing that absence, Dani Solis — a San Jose-raised chef and daughter of Panamanian parents — wants to change that. With \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/chiri_cana/?hl=en\">Chiricana\u003c/a>, a small pop-up and catering business, she’s putting the Bay onto Panamanian American flavors, one recipe at a time.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Recognizing that absence, Dani Solis — a San Jose-raised chef and daughter of Panamanian parents — wants to change that. With \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/chiri_cana/?hl=en\">Chiricana\u003c/a>, a small pop-up and catering business, she’s putting the Bay onto Panamanian American flavors, one recipe at a time.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling chef preps food inside a commercial kitchen.\" class=\"wp-image-13993951\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Solis preps a dish for La Cocina’s pop-up night market in October 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of La Cocina)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling chef preps food inside a commercial kitchen.\" class=\"wp-image-13993951\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Solis preps a dish for La Cocina’s pop-up night market in October 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of La Cocina)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’m the only one doing this,” says Solis, who was informally trained by her grandmother and mom, who’ve both lived in San Jose together since arriving as immigrants. Chiricana is named after Chiriqui, the region in Panama where Solis’ grandmother was raised.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I’m the only one doing this,” says Solis, who was informally trained by her grandmother and mom, who’ve both lived in San Jose together since arriving as immigrants. Chiricana is named after Chiriqui, the region in Panama where Solis’ grandmother was raised.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Though Solis is now based in Emeryville and works two part-time jobs outside of the food industry, she notes the role of her family’s close support network: her relatives often travel back to Panama to find materials and ingredients for Chiricana.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Though Solis is now based in Emeryville and works two part-time jobs outside of the food industry, she notes the role of her family’s close support network: her relatives often travel back to Panama to find materials and ingredients for Chiricana.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’m privileged to have the choice to be able to pursue this. It’s a gift. I’m sharing my heart. I’m sharing all of my family with you,” she says, fresh off \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbZTEwnEsig/?hl=en&img_index=1\">vending Panamanian chicken wings at Outside Lands\u003c/a> for the first time this summer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I’m privileged to have the choice to be able to pursue this. It’s a gift. I’m sharing my heart. I’m sharing all of my family with you,” she says, fresh off \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbZTEwnEsig/?hl=en&img_index=1\">vending Panamanian chicken wings at Outside Lands\u003c/a> for the first time this summer.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2019 with a degree in Urban Studies and a minor in Food Systems, Solis worked at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Then, everything flipped during the COVID-19 pandemic. Solis went from preserving foodways and supporting foodmakers to becoming one herself.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2019 with a degree in Urban Studies and a minor in Food Systems, Solis worked at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Then, everything flipped during the COVID-19 pandemic. Solis went from preserving foodways and supporting foodmakers to becoming one herself.\u003c/p>\n"
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"alt": "Overhead view of a spread of Panamanian dishes, including corn cheese fritters, rice and beans, and a beet salad. ",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a spread of Panamanian dishes, including corn cheese fritters, rice and beans, and a beet salad. \" class=\"wp-image-13993953\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A spread of dishes for an Open Test Kitchen pop-up in 2025. Pictured dishes include almojábanos (corn cheese fritters), arroz con guandú with beet salad, and sancocho de pollo.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Chiricana)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a spread of Panamanian dishes, including corn cheese fritters, rice and beans, and a beet salad. \" class=\"wp-image-13993953\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A spread of dishes for an Open Test Kitchen pop-up in 2025. Pictured dishes include almojábanos (corn cheese fritters), arroz con guandú with beet salad, and sancocho de pollo.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Chiricana)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2022, Solis began incubating Chiricana at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13963726/oakland-bloom-open-test-kitchen-incubator-restaurant-understory\">Oakland Bloom\u003c/a>’s test kitchen. Her vision was manifold: to honor the legacy of her family’s migratory journey, and to expose a greater Bay Area audience to Panama’s multicultural history and the slept-on goodness of its food. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In 2022, Solis began incubating Chiricana at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13963726/oakland-bloom-open-test-kitchen-incubator-restaurant-understory\">Oakland Bloom\u003c/a>’s test kitchen. Her vision was manifold: to honor the legacy of her family’s migratory journey, and to expose a greater Bay Area audience to Panama’s multicultural history and the slept-on goodness of its food. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So what exactly is Panamanian food — and more importantly, what defines it when exported outside of its Central American context?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>So what exactly is Panamanian food — and more importantly, what defines it when exported outside of its Central American context?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Begin with a basket of crispy, fat-rendered pork chicharrón, mixed with thick wedges of yuca frita. “It’s comfort food,” Solis says. “There’s a big ‘fritura’ culture in Panama. Any Central American kid will tell you they ate this growing up. Fry it, put on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the grease, and then put it on the table for whoever gets first dibs.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Begin with a basket of crispy, fat-rendered pork chicharrón, mixed with thick wedges of yuca frita. “It’s comfort food,” Solis says. “There’s a big ‘fritura’ culture in Panama. Any Central American kid will tell you they ate this growing up. Fry it, put on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the grease, and then put it on the table for whoever gets first dibs.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s accompanied with a side of creamy, mustard-yellow Panamanian salsa made from ají chombo, a relative of the habanero chile. The salsa is a centerpiece in Panamanian food, and might surprise unsuspecting eaters: It delivers enough bite to hint at oncoming pain, even if it never quite crosses the threshold of unbearability. I was personally surprised and delighted as someone who has traveled extensively in Latin America, where, save for in Mexico, it can get tricky to find a fiery meal. The ají chombo — which is native to the Caribbean islands and reached Panama in the 1850s, when workers immigrated to Panama to build railroads and, eventually, the Panama Canal — offers a different, more heat-intensive perspective on Central American gastronomy. Like Panama’s overlooked culinary history itself, the pepper packs a bigger punch than expected.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s accompanied with a side of creamy, mustard-yellow Panamanian salsa made from ají chombo, a relative of the habanero chile. The salsa is a centerpiece in Panamanian food, and might surprise unsuspecting eaters: It delivers enough bite to hint at oncoming pain, even if it never quite crosses the threshold of unbearability. I was personally surprised and delighted as someone who has traveled extensively in Latin America, where, save for in Mexico, it can get tricky to find a fiery meal. The ají chombo — which is native to the Caribbean islands and reached Panama in the 1850s, when workers immigrated to Panama to build railroads and, eventually, the Panama Canal — offers a different, more heat-intensive perspective on Central American gastronomy. Like Panama’s overlooked culinary history itself, the pepper packs a bigger punch than expected.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal.jpg\" alt=\"A wooden platter with a tamal, rice and beans, and a mustard-yellow salsa.\" class=\"wp-image-13993956\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Panamanian tamal plate with ají chombo salsa on the side.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal.jpg\" alt=\"A wooden platter with a tamal, rice and beans, and a mustard-yellow salsa.\" class=\"wp-image-13993956\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Panamanian tamal plate with ají chombo salsa on the side.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To stave off ají chombo’s pepperiness and wash down the richness of the fried yuca and chicharrón, Solis provides a housemade chicha de limón con raspadura, or Panamanian lemonade. Served in a large totuma (a dried, hollowed-out calabash), the bright, citrusy beverage recalls a tropical getaway with just enough sweetness and zest without overdoing it. Made from Rangpur limes and raspadura (unrefined brown sugar made from evaporated sugarcane juice), it contains a floral, malty complexity that you won’t get from your neighborhood lemonade stand.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>To stave off ají chombo’s pepperiness and wash down the richness of the fried yuca and chicharrón, Solis provides a housemade chicha de limón con raspadura, or Panamanian lemonade. Served in a large totuma (a dried, hollowed-out calabash), the bright, citrusy beverage recalls a tropical getaway with just enough sweetness and zest without overdoing it. Made from Rangpur limes and raspadura (unrefined brown sugar made from evaporated sugarcane juice), it contains a floral, malty complexity that you won’t get from your neighborhood lemonade stand.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The main dish, when I visited Solis at her shared-use commercial kitchen at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11988111/la-cocina-reopens-as-commercial-kitchen-in-the-tenderloin-after-food-hall-closure\">La Cocina on Hyde Street\u003c/a>, was a showstopper: a Panamanian tamal, wrapped in banana and bijao leaves, and served with a side of arroz con guandú (pigeon peas) sauteed in coconut milk. It’s all paired with a fruity, herbaceous salad lightly dressed in a ginger hibiscus vinaigrette inspired by the lush Boquete region of Panama. D’Boca — Panama’s national ají chombo hot sauce — is also provided, to be used at your discretion.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The main dish, when I visited Solis at her shared-use commercial kitchen at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11988111/la-cocina-reopens-as-commercial-kitchen-in-the-tenderloin-after-food-hall-closure\">La Cocina on Hyde Street\u003c/a>, was a showstopper: a Panamanian tamal, wrapped in banana and bijao leaves, and served with a side of arroz con guandú (pigeon peas) sauteed in coconut milk. It’s all paired with a fruity, herbaceous salad lightly dressed in a ginger hibiscus vinaigrette inspired by the lush Boquete region of Panama. D’Boca — Panama’s national ají chombo hot sauce — is also provided, to be used at your discretion.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In and of itself, the Panamanian tamal is impressive — a “mesoamerican protein bar,” Solis jokes. Weighty and firm yet jiggly and yielding, it’s larger than your standard tamal. The tamal Panameño is juicy, a result of a stewing of the ingredients to make a bone-in chicken broth from scratch. Afterwards, the broth is mixed in with the maíz pilado masa, adding a marrow-rich flavor to the dough. Inside, it’s overloaded with culantro (a staple in Panamanian cuisine), onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, chicken, olives and — a Solis family specialty — plums. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In and of itself, the Panamanian tamal is impressive — a “mesoamerican protein bar,” Solis jokes. Weighty and firm yet jiggly and yielding, it’s larger than your standard tamal. The tamal Panameño is juicy, a result of a stewing of the ingredients to make a bone-in chicken broth from scratch. Afterwards, the broth is mixed in with the maíz pilado masa, adding a marrow-rich flavor to the dough. Inside, it’s overloaded with culantro (a staple in Panamanian cuisine), onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, chicken, olives and — a Solis family specialty — plums. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Recipes change with immigration. My grandma told me about how the recipe changed for her over time based on whatever ingredients were available,” says Solis. “When she came to the U.S., my grandma found plums and swapped them in for [the traditional] raisins.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Recipes change with immigration. My grandma told me about how the recipe changed for her over time based on whatever ingredients were available,” says Solis. “When she came to the U.S., my grandma found plums and swapped them in for [the traditional] raisins.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“As much as I want to bring Panamanian ingredients, it’s important to also bring my whole self through California produce and recipes that aren’t always super Panamanian in their preparation,” she adds. “But the essence has a Panamanian flair.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“As much as I want to bring Panamanian ingredients, it’s important to also bring my whole self through California produce and recipes that aren’t always super Panamanian in their preparation,” she adds. “But the essence has a Panamanian flair.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The tamal is a delicacy, a labor of love that can take all day to prepare and craft; it’s generally reserved for special occasions and holidays. At Chiricana, it allows Solis to reshape her lineage in the kitchen, across borders and across time, as an edible vessel for identity and cultural preservation that requires — in her own words — a “spiritual approach.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The tamal is a delicacy, a labor of love that can take all day to prepare and craft; it’s generally reserved for special occasions and holidays. At Chiricana, it allows Solis to reshape her lineage in the kitchen, across borders and across time, as an edible vessel for identity and cultural preservation that requires — in her own words — a “spiritual approach.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Solis, the approach has deep connections to her own family history. When she was an undergrad at UC Berkeley, she worked for the \u003ca href=\"https://food.berkeley.edu/\">Berkeley Food Institute\u003c/a> and was inspired by \u003ca href=\"https://viacampesina.org/en/\">La Vía Campesina\u003c/a>, a global grassroots movement of indigenous farm workers. Her own grandmother grew up living off the Panamanian land; Solis documented her grandma’s story as part of an oral history project titled “\u003ca href=\"https://www.gemsoralhistories.com/settingthetable/dani\">Setting the Table\u003c/a>,” in which foodmakers spoke with elders about diasporic recipes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For Solis, the approach has deep connections to her own family history. When she was an undergrad at UC Berkeley, she worked for the \u003ca href=\"https://food.berkeley.edu/\">Berkeley Food Institute\u003c/a> and was inspired by \u003ca href=\"https://viacampesina.org/en/\">La Vía Campesina\u003c/a>, a global grassroots movement of indigenous farm workers. Her own grandmother grew up living off the Panamanian land; Solis documented her grandma’s story as part of an oral history project titled “\u003ca href=\"https://www.gemsoralhistories.com/settingthetable/dani\">Setting the Table\u003c/a>,” in which foodmakers spoke with elders about diasporic recipes. \u003c/p>\n"
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"alt": "Square of flan drizzled with caramel and topped with crumbled cheese.",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance.jpg\" alt=\"Square of flan drizzled with caramel and topped with crumbled cheese.\" class=\"wp-image-13993962\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Flan de nance — an original Chiricana creation.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance.jpg\" alt=\"Square of flan drizzled with caramel and topped with crumbled cheese.\" class=\"wp-image-13993962\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Flan de nance — an original Chiricana creation.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Luckily, for Bay Area diners, Solis is just getting started. She’s currently toying with a Panamanian flan infused with nance — a yellow, pungent fruit that somewhat resembles a cherry — that is topped with crumbled queso fresco and drizzled with a raspadura crème caramel. The original invention is her interpretive ode to pesada de nance, a traditional Panamanian porridge her grandmother used to make. Solis herself was never crazy about nance, but now she’s translating it — by turning good memories into even better ones — for a Bay Area palate.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Luckily, for Bay Area diners, Solis is just getting started. She’s currently toying with a Panamanian flan infused with nance — a yellow, pungent fruit that somewhat resembles a cherry — that is topped with crumbled queso fresco and drizzled with a raspadura crème caramel. The original invention is her interpretive ode to pesada de nance, a traditional Panamanian porridge her grandmother used to make. Solis herself was never crazy about nance, but now she’s translating it — by turning good memories into even better ones — for a Bay Area palate.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If I don’t learn these things, then others won’t be able to learn these [Panamanian] foodways and traditions,” says Solis. “Ingredients like guandú and corn from Panama can be difficult to find, but it’s my mission to seek them out as much as I can to make Chircana as authentic as I can.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“If I don’t learn these things, then others won’t be able to learn these [Panamanian] foodways and traditions,” says Solis. “Ingredients like guandú and corn from Panama can be difficult to find, but it’s my mission to seek them out as much as I can to make Chircana as authentic as I can.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chiricana.com/\">\u003cem>Chiricana Cocina Panameña\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> will be at KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/kqed/events/the-edible-atlas-a-global-street-eats-festival-192748\">\u003cem>Edible Atlas\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> global street food festival on Saturday, Sept. 19 from noon to 5 p.m. at Bloc15 (252 2nd St., Oakland). Entrance to the outdoor block party is free; tickets for the indoor market (where Chiricana will be vending) start at $45. Chiricana also does \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chiricana.com/catering\">\u003cem>catering\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> with custom menus.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chiricana.com/\">\u003cem>Chiricana Cocina Panameña\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> will be at KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/kqed/events/the-edible-atlas-a-global-street-eats-festival-192748\">\u003cem>Edible Atlas\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> global street food festival on Saturday, Sept. 19 from noon to 5 p.m. at Bloc15 (252 2nd St., Oakland). Entrance to the outdoor block party is free; tickets for the indoor market (where Chiricana will be vending) start at $45. Chiricana also does \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chiricana.com/catering\">\u003cem>catering\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> with custom menus.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Chiricana serves hard-to-find dishes from Panama with a California twist.",
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"title": "Chiricana Is the Bay Area’s Tastiest Panamanian Pop-Up | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina.jpg\" alt=\"Hands holding a plate of loaded Panamanian patacones (fried green plantains).\" class=\"wp-image-13993947\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Chiricana-Patacon-Relleno_La-Cocina-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chiricana chef Dani Solis holds a plate of Panamanian patacones — fried green plantains loaded with oyster mushrooms, olives and peppers. Solis’ pop-up and catering company is one of the Bay Area’s only Panamanian food businesses. (Courtesy of La Cocina)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Let’s get Panamanian food” is a suggestion most Californians aren’t used to hearing. In fact, even the most knowledgeable Bay Area \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/food\">foodies\u003c/a> may have never even considered Panamanian cuisine as an option at all.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chances are, you don’t know a local spot where you can grab sancocho, Panama’s national dish, which consists of a yam-thickened broth with chicken, yuca, corn and otoe (taro root). And you’ve probably never had the pleasure of eating carimañolas (Panamanian beef patties) or almojábanos (fried corn dough and cheese). Until recently, I hadn’t either.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For all of its culinary charms, the Bay has never had much of any Panamanian food scene to speak of. It’s not just the Bay either. Comida Panameña has rarely expanded beyond its own borders into other parts of the world in a noticeable way, and it doesn’t have the same reputation or ubiquity that other diasporic foods from Latin America have been able to cultivate, particularly within California’s diverse foodscape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Recognizing that absence, Dani Solis — a San Jose-raised chef and daughter of Panamanian parents — wants to change that. With \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/chiri_cana/?hl=en\">Chiricana\u003c/a>, a small pop-up and catering business, she’s putting the Bay onto Panamanian American flavors, one recipe at a time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling chef preps food inside a commercial kitchen.\" class=\"wp-image-13993951\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/2025-10-09-Pop-up-Night-Market-Dani-Solis-courtesy-La-Cocina-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Solis preps a dish for La Cocina’s pop-up night market in October 2025. (Courtesy of La Cocina)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m the only one doing this,” says Solis, who was informally trained by her grandmother and mom, who’ve both lived in San Jose together since arriving as immigrants. Chiricana is named after Chiriqui, the region in Panama where Solis’ grandmother was raised.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though Solis is now based in Emeryville and works two part-time jobs outside of the food industry, she notes the role of her family’s close support network: her relatives often travel back to Panama to find materials and ingredients for Chiricana.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m privileged to have the choice to be able to pursue this. It’s a gift. I’m sharing my heart. I’m sharing all of my family with you,” she says, fresh off \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbZTEwnEsig/?hl=en&img_index=1\">vending Panamanian chicken wings at Outside Lands\u003c/a> for the first time this summer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2019 with a degree in Urban Studies and a minor in Food Systems, Solis worked at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Then, everything flipped during the COVID-19 pandemic. Solis went from preserving foodways and supporting foodmakers to becoming one herself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a spread of Panamanian dishes, including corn cheese fritters, rice and beans, and a beet salad. \" class=\"wp-image-13993953\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/chiricana-spread-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A spread of dishes for an Open Test Kitchen pop-up in 2025. Pictured dishes include almojábanos (corn cheese fritters), arroz con guandú with beet salad, and sancocho de pollo. (Courtesy of Chiricana)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2022, Solis began incubating Chiricana at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13963726/oakland-bloom-open-test-kitchen-incubator-restaurant-understory\">Oakland Bloom\u003c/a>’s test kitchen. Her vision was manifold: to honor the legacy of her family’s migratory journey, and to expose a greater Bay Area audience to Panama’s multicultural history and the slept-on goodness of its food. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So what exactly is Panamanian food — and more importantly, what defines it when exported outside of its Central American context?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Begin with a basket of crispy, fat-rendered pork chicharrón, mixed with thick wedges of yuca frita. “It’s comfort food,” Solis says. “There’s a big ‘fritura’ culture in Panama. Any Central American kid will tell you they ate this growing up. Fry it, put on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the grease, and then put it on the table for whoever gets first dibs.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s accompanied with a side of creamy, mustard-yellow Panamanian salsa made from ají chombo, a relative of the habanero chile. The salsa is a centerpiece in Panamanian food, and might surprise unsuspecting eaters: It delivers enough bite to hint at oncoming pain, even if it never quite crosses the threshold of unbearability. I was personally surprised and delighted as someone who has traveled extensively in Latin America, where, save for in Mexico, it can get tricky to find a fiery meal. The ají chombo — which is native to the Caribbean islands and reached Panama in the 1850s, when workers immigrated to Panama to build railroads and, eventually, the Panama Canal — offers a different, more heat-intensive perspective on Central American gastronomy. Like Panama’s overlooked culinary history itself, the pepper packs a bigger punch than expected.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal.jpg\" alt=\"A wooden platter with a tamal, rice and beans, and a mustard-yellow salsa.\" class=\"wp-image-13993956\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/panamanian-tamal-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Panamanian tamal plate with ají chombo salsa on the side. (Alan Chazaro)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To stave off ají chombo’s pepperiness and wash down the richness of the fried yuca and chicharrón, Solis provides a housemade chicha de limón con raspadura, or Panamanian lemonade. Served in a large totuma (a dried, hollowed-out calabash), the bright, citrusy beverage recalls a tropical getaway with just enough sweetness and zest without overdoing it. Made from Rangpur limes and raspadura (unrefined brown sugar made from evaporated sugarcane juice), it contains a floral, malty complexity that you won’t get from your neighborhood lemonade stand.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The main dish, when I visited Solis at her shared-use commercial kitchen at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11988111/la-cocina-reopens-as-commercial-kitchen-in-the-tenderloin-after-food-hall-closure\">La Cocina on Hyde Street\u003c/a>, was a showstopper: a Panamanian tamal, wrapped in banana and bijao leaves, and served with a side of arroz con guandú (pigeon peas) sauteed in coconut milk. It’s all paired with a fruity, herbaceous salad lightly dressed in a ginger hibiscus vinaigrette inspired by the lush Boquete region of Panama. D’Boca — Panama’s national ají chombo hot sauce — is also provided, to be used at your discretion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In and of itself, the Panamanian tamal is impressive — a “mesoamerican protein bar,” Solis jokes. Weighty and firm yet jiggly and yielding, it’s larger than your standard tamal. The tamal Panameño is juicy, a result of a stewing of the ingredients to make a bone-in chicken broth from scratch. Afterwards, the broth is mixed in with the maíz pilado masa, adding a marrow-rich flavor to the dough. Inside, it’s overloaded with culantro (a staple in Panamanian cuisine), onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, chicken, olives and — a Solis family specialty — plums. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Recipes change with immigration. My grandma told me about how the recipe changed for her over time based on whatever ingredients were available,” says Solis. “When she came to the U.S., my grandma found plums and swapped them in for [the traditional] raisins.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As much as I want to bring Panamanian ingredients, it’s important to also bring my whole self through California produce and recipes that aren’t always super Panamanian in their preparation,” she adds. “But the essence has a Panamanian flair.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The tamal is a delicacy, a labor of love that can take all day to prepare and craft; it’s generally reserved for special occasions and holidays. At Chiricana, it allows Solis to reshape her lineage in the kitchen, across borders and across time, as an edible vessel for identity and cultural preservation that requires — in her own words — a “spiritual approach.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Solis, the approach has deep connections to her own family history. When she was an undergrad at UC Berkeley, she worked for the \u003ca href=\"https://food.berkeley.edu/\">Berkeley Food Institute\u003c/a> and was inspired by \u003ca href=\"https://viacampesina.org/en/\">La Vía Campesina\u003c/a>, a global grassroots movement of indigenous farm workers. Her own grandmother grew up living off the Panamanian land; Solis documented her grandma’s story as part of an oral history project titled “\u003ca href=\"https://www.gemsoralhistories.com/settingthetable/dani\">Setting the Table\u003c/a>,” in which foodmakers spoke with elders about diasporic recipes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance.jpg\" alt=\"Square of flan drizzled with caramel and topped with crumbled cheese.\" class=\"wp-image-13993962\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/flan-de-nance-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Flan de nance — an original Chiricana creation. (Alan Chazaro)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Luckily, for Bay Area diners, Solis is just getting started. She’s currently toying with a Panamanian flan infused with nance — a yellow, pungent fruit that somewhat resembles a cherry — that is topped with crumbled queso fresco and drizzled with a raspadura crème caramel. The original invention is her interpretive ode to pesada de nance, a traditional Panamanian porridge her grandmother used to make. Solis herself was never crazy about nance, but now she’s translating it — by turning good memories into even better ones — for a Bay Area palate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If I don’t learn these things, then others won’t be able to learn these [Panamanian] foodways and traditions,” says Solis. “Ingredients like guandú and corn from Panama can be difficult to find, but it’s my mission to seek them out as much as I can to make Chircana as authentic as I can.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chiricana.com/\">\u003cem>Chiricana Cocina Panameña\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> will be at KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/kqed/events/the-edible-atlas-a-global-street-eats-festival-192748\">\u003cem>Edible Atlas\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> global street food festival on Saturday, Sept. 19 from noon to 5 p.m. at Bloc15 (252 2nd St., Oakland). Entrance to the outdoor block party is free; tickets for the indoor market (where Chiricana will be vending) start at $45. Chiricana also does \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chiricana.com/catering\">\u003cem>catering\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> with custom menus.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "rb-ribs-golden-gate-park-t-pain-ari-lennox",
"title": "T-Pain’s Coming to Golden Gate Park Thanks to This BBQ-Filled Party",
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"headTitle": "T-Pain’s Coming to Golden Gate Park Thanks to This BBQ-Filled Party | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>The concept of \u003ca href=\"https://www.rnbandribs.com/\">R&B and Ribs\u003c/a> is simple: bring people together through good food and good music. The first time \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/knowpaslaps/\">Knowpa Slaps\u003c/a> (Kelvin Castellanos) threw the party on the El Rio patio, he DJed \u003cem>and\u003c/em> barbecued all the meat himself. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though R&B and Ribs still holds it down regularly on the beloved nightlife institution’s humble patio, the party has exploded into a phenomenon: Earlier this month, it drew tens of thousands of fans to see Soulja Boy at the Midway. And next month, on Oct. 17, the party will expand into Golden Gate Park for the first time, with a show at Robin Williams Meadow by \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/npulive/events/t-pain-ari-lennox-more-at-golden-gate-park-205722\">T-Pain and Ari Lennox\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s not the first time the 2000s hitmaker will have collaborated with R&B and Ribs — they threw a concert with him and Sean Paul at Pier 80 during Super Bowl weekend. “Doing 23,000 people for T-Pain and then looking [out] and just seeing the crowd never end was kind of surreal,” Castellanos says of the party’s growth. “Just seeing T-Pain shout out the party … it’s like, ‘Whoa, you’ve heard of us?’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ribs_2000.jpg\" alt=\"three women cheer and eat ribs\" class=\"wp-image-13993932\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ribs_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ribs_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ribs_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ribs_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Audience members at an R&B and Ribs party on El Rio’s backyard patio. (Marilyn Nguyen)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Before he became a force in Bay Area nightlife, Castellanos made his mark in the dining world. Once a chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant State Bird Provisions, he also worked at notable San Francisco eateries like Delfina before deciding to marry his two worlds of food and music. (R&B and Ribs also has an offshoot Latin party, Perreo y Pususas, a nod to Castellanos’ Salvadorian roots).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the Golden Gate Park show with T-Pain and Lennox, R&B and Ribs is partnering with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and NPU Live, one of the producers of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12097837/going-to-portola-music-festival-2026-what-to-know-from-bag-policy-to-parking\">Portola Music Festival\u003c/a>. The two organizations assisted with navigating the many layers of permitting bureaucracy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/elrio_2000.jpg\" alt=\"large crowd in bar backyard, DJ facing them\" class=\"wp-image-13993931\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/elrio_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/elrio_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/elrio_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/elrio_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A view from the DJ booth into an R&B and Ribs party at El Rio. (Marilyn Nguyen)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though R&B and Ribs has enough pull to attract big names, Castellanos says highlighting talented local DJs is still a major emphasis. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13980855/golden-state-valkyries-wnba-bay-area-djs-ladyryan-shellheart-chase-center\">DJ Shellheart and Lady Ryan\u003c/a>, the official selectors for the Golden State Valkyries, will get the crowd hyped for T-Pain and Lennox, along with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djbbcarolz/\">bbcarolz\u003c/a>, who is one of the R&B and Ribs resident DJs along with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djjespinosa/\">J. Espinosa\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/143.tommy/\">143tommy\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djshawnlooney/\">Shawn Looney\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The audience R&B and Ribs has grown includes people of all backgrounds and ages. Castellanos says those in attendance can range from fresh 21-year-olds to partygoers in their 50s and every decade in between, and every generation gets a shout-out on the mic. The Golden Gate Park event will be all ages. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to make everyone feel welcome,” Castellanos says. “We’re trying to hype everybody up.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The R&B and Ribs party featuring \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/npulive/events/t-pain-ari-lennox-more-at-golden-gate-park-205722\">T-Pain and Ari Lennox\u003c/a> takes place at Golden Gate Park on Oct. 17. Tickets go on sale Sept. 17. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Though R&B and Ribs still holds it down regularly on the beloved nightlife institution’s humble patio, the party has exploded into a phenomenon: Earlier this month, it drew tens of thousands of fans to see Soulja Boy at the Midway. And next month, on Oct. 17, the party will expand into Golden Gate Park for the first time, with a show at Robin Williams Meadow by \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/npulive/events/t-pain-ari-lennox-more-at-golden-gate-park-205722\">T-Pain and Ari Lennox\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The R&B and Ribs party featuring \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/npulive/events/t-pain-ari-lennox-more-at-golden-gate-park-205722\">T-Pain and Ari Lennox\u003c/a> takes place at Golden Gate Park on Oct. 17. Tickets go on sale Sept. 17. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>The concept of \u003ca href=\"https://www.rnbandribs.com/\">R&B and Ribs\u003c/a> is simple: bring people together through good food and good music. The first time \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/knowpaslaps/\">Knowpa Slaps\u003c/a> (Kelvin Castellanos) threw the party on the El Rio patio, he DJed \u003cem>and\u003c/em> barbecued all the meat himself. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though R&B and Ribs still holds it down regularly on the beloved nightlife institution’s humble patio, the party has exploded into a phenomenon: Earlier this month, it drew tens of thousands of fans to see Soulja Boy at the Midway. And next month, on Oct. 17, the party will expand into Golden Gate Park for the first time, with a show at Robin Williams Meadow by \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/npulive/events/t-pain-ari-lennox-more-at-golden-gate-park-205722\">T-Pain and Ari Lennox\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s not the first time the 2000s hitmaker will have collaborated with R&B and Ribs — they threw a concert with him and Sean Paul at Pier 80 during Super Bowl weekend. “Doing 23,000 people for T-Pain and then looking [out] and just seeing the crowd never end was kind of surreal,” Castellanos says of the party’s growth. “Just seeing T-Pain shout out the party … it’s like, ‘Whoa, you’ve heard of us?’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ribs_2000.jpg\" alt=\"three women cheer and eat ribs\" class=\"wp-image-13993932\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ribs_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ribs_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ribs_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ribs_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Audience members at an R&B and Ribs party on El Rio’s backyard patio. (Marilyn Nguyen)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Before he became a force in Bay Area nightlife, Castellanos made his mark in the dining world. Once a chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant State Bird Provisions, he also worked at notable San Francisco eateries like Delfina before deciding to marry his two worlds of food and music. (R&B and Ribs also has an offshoot Latin party, Perreo y Pususas, a nod to Castellanos’ Salvadorian roots).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the Golden Gate Park show with T-Pain and Lennox, R&B and Ribs is partnering with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and NPU Live, one of the producers of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12097837/going-to-portola-music-festival-2026-what-to-know-from-bag-policy-to-parking\">Portola Music Festival\u003c/a>. The two organizations assisted with navigating the many layers of permitting bureaucracy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/elrio_2000.jpg\" alt=\"large crowd in bar backyard, DJ facing them\" class=\"wp-image-13993931\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/elrio_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/elrio_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/elrio_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/elrio_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A view from the DJ booth into an R&B and Ribs party at El Rio. (Marilyn Nguyen)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though R&B and Ribs has enough pull to attract big names, Castellanos says highlighting talented local DJs is still a major emphasis. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13980855/golden-state-valkyries-wnba-bay-area-djs-ladyryan-shellheart-chase-center\">DJ Shellheart and Lady Ryan\u003c/a>, the official selectors for the Golden State Valkyries, will get the crowd hyped for T-Pain and Lennox, along with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djbbcarolz/\">bbcarolz\u003c/a>, who is one of the R&B and Ribs resident DJs along with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djjespinosa/\">J. Espinosa\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/143.tommy/\">143tommy\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djshawnlooney/\">Shawn Looney\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The audience R&B and Ribs has grown includes people of all backgrounds and ages. Castellanos says those in attendance can range from fresh 21-year-olds to partygoers in their 50s and every decade in between, and every generation gets a shout-out on the mic. The Golden Gate Park event will be all ages. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to make everyone feel welcome,” Castellanos says. “We’re trying to hype everybody up.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The R&B and Ribs party featuring \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/npulive/events/t-pain-ari-lennox-more-at-golden-gate-park-205722\">T-Pain and Ari Lennox\u003c/a> takes place at Golden Gate Park on Oct. 17. Tickets go on sale Sept. 17. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
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"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
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}
},
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"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
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"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
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"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
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},
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
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