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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13961061\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13961061\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: two men eat sandwiches on Dutch Crunch bread while a hookah pipe lets off a wisp of smoke behind them.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Redwood City’s The Sandwich Spot is a combination deli and late-night hookah lounge. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003ci>The Midnight Diners\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Thien Pham\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>. 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/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m no \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/hookah/comments/4qc1zg/food_and_shisha_pairings/\">hookah food-pairing\u003c/a> expert, but I never would have guessed that a hot Dutch Crunch deli sandwich, dripping with garlic sauce, would be the perfect match for an hour-long session with the shisha pipe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that is the premise — and the genius — of \u003ca href=\"https://www.thesandwichspotrwc.com/\">The Sandwich Spot\u003c/a> in downtown Redwood City, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.thesandwichspot.com/about\">deli chain\u003c/a> outpost that stands apart from all of its sister locations in two important ways: 1) it’s open until at least midnight every night (1 a.m. on the weekend), and 2) the restaurant doubles as a vibey, slightly raucous hookah lounge in the evenings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we walked in at around 10:30 on a Friday night, it felt a little bit like we were pulling up to the club. On the left was a regular old sandwich counter, and there was a full bar on the right. But most of the real action was happening on the restaurant’s spacious covered patio, where the sound system blasted Kendrick Lamar and a mix of upbeat, danceable Arabic pop music while colorful disco lights made the floor and walls sparkle. Here, and in the long spillover tent on the sidewalk outside, big groups of twenty- and thirtysomethings sat around just kicking it — gossiping, talking shit and, of course, chomping down on some enormous sandwiches. Every once in a while, someone would take a deep drag on their hookah pipe and blow out a thick plume of smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The place was so packed and boisterous, it felt like every single young(ish) person in Redwood City was there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Truth be told, even just having the option to get a good, fresh sandwich — especially a hot one — at 11 o’clock at night feels nearly miraculous in the Bay Area. (Plenty of customers came through just to pick up takeout orders to bring home.) With \u003ca href=\"https://www.thesandwichspot.com/copy-of-menu-locations-1\">30 locations\u003c/a> mostly spread around California, The Sandwich Spot belongs in the Ike’s-like genre of uniquely Northern Californian deli chains, with its unusual ingredient combinations; quirky, localized names (the “Bumgarner,” the “Smokin’ Sequoia”); variously zesty, spicy and garlicky sauces; and excellent Dutch Crunch bread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13961065\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13961065\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Inside a bar, groups of friends chat. Hookah pipes with glowing red coals are placed next to the tables.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">It felt like every young(ish) person in Redwood City was there — especially young Arab Americans and South Asians. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A sandwich called The Hangover was like a slightly funkified Bay Area take on a club sandwich, with hot turkey, cream cheese, avocado, “Bomb” sauce (like a tangy hot sauce), garlicky Kassi sauce, and a lot of crispy bacon — extremely satisfying on warm Dutch Crunch. The equally tasty Purple Koosh, an original Redwood City creation available only on Fridays, was a smoky variation on a similarly saucy theme, featuring house-smoked chicken, fried onion strings and a tangle of purple coleslaw. To round out the meal, we had air-fried Cajun fries, which came out hot and crispy even if they didn’t seem particularly Cajun, with a side of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13894684/toum-shawarmaji-jordanian-restaurant-oakland-garlic-sauce\">toum-like\u003c/a> garlic dipping sauce — a nod to the restaurant’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.thesandwichspotrwc.com/about\">Lebanese ownership\u003c/a>, perhaps — that made everything taste five times more delicious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13960432,arts_13958926,arts_13955884']\u003c/span>\u003c/span>All the while we fiddled, like the total amateurs we were, with the hookah pipe we’d ordered — trying and failing and then finally succeeding at getting a decent puff of the mango mint flavored tobacco that we’d chosen, the little cubes of charcoal on top of the bowl glowing bright red as we got deeper into the night. The truth was, we felt a little bit out of place at first in this crowd of mostly college kids and recent college grads. Call it “Portrait of Two Lonely Middle-Aged Men at the Hookah Bar.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even if we’d started out a bit dubious about the hookah/sandwich concept, it didn’t take long for us to get caught up in the mood. I’ll leave it to the medical experts to pontificate on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/tobacco_industry/hookahs/\">health risks\u003c/a> associated with long-term hookah use, but the water pipe’s efficacy as a social lubricant and builder of community and feel-good vibes seems self-evident — especially among the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/07/20/style/hookah-dearborn-michigan.html\">young Arab Americans\u003c/a> and South Asians who made up a large chunk of The Sandwich Spot’s late-night crowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sitting out on one of the sidewalk tables, with a cool breeze blowing through, we watched all those big groups of friends laughing and talking deep into the night, relaxed as can be, taking big bites of their sandwiches and blowing out even bigger puffs of smoke. Before long, we were already planning our return visit — because past 10 or 11 o’clock in Redwood City, what better way is there to pass a couple of pleasant hours with friends?\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thesandwichspotrwc.com/\">\u003ci>The Sandwich Spot\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m.–midnight, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.–1 a.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.–midnight at 2420 Broadway in Redwood City. After 5 p.m., when the lounge starts serving hookah, it’s a 21-and-over-only venue, and the kitchen closes at 11 p.m. daily.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Truth be told, even just having the option to get a good, fresh sandwich — especially a hot one — at 11 o’clock at night feels nearly miraculous in the Bay Area. (Plenty of customers came through just to pick up takeout orders to bring home.) With \u003ca href=\"https://www.thesandwichspot.com/copy-of-menu-locations-1\">30 locations\u003c/a> mostly spread around California, The Sandwich Spot belongs in the Ike’s-like genre of uniquely Northern Californian deli chains, with its unusual ingredient combinations; quirky, localized names (the “Bumgarner,” the “Smokin’ Sequoia”); variously zesty, spicy and garlicky sauces; and excellent Dutch Crunch bread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13961065\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13961065\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Inside a bar, groups of friends chat. Hookah pipes with glowing red coals are placed next to the tables.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/SH2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">It felt like every young(ish) person in Redwood City was there — especially young Arab Americans and South Asians. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A sandwich called The Hangover was like a slightly funkified Bay Area take on a club sandwich, with hot turkey, cream cheese, avocado, “Bomb” sauce (like a tangy hot sauce), garlicky Kassi sauce, and a lot of crispy bacon — extremely satisfying on warm Dutch Crunch. The equally tasty Purple Koosh, an original Redwood City creation available only on Fridays, was a smoky variation on a similarly saucy theme, featuring house-smoked chicken, fried onion strings and a tangle of purple coleslaw. To round out the meal, we had air-fried Cajun fries, which came out hot and crispy even if they didn’t seem particularly Cajun, with a side of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13894684/toum-shawarmaji-jordanian-restaurant-oakland-garlic-sauce\">toum-like\u003c/a> garlic dipping sauce — a nod to the restaurant’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.thesandwichspotrwc.com/about\">Lebanese ownership\u003c/a>, perhaps — that made everything taste five times more delicious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>All the while we fiddled, like the total amateurs we were, with the hookah pipe we’d ordered — trying and failing and then finally succeeding at getting a decent puff of the mango mint flavored tobacco that we’d chosen, the little cubes of charcoal on top of the bowl glowing bright red as we got deeper into the night. The truth was, we felt a little bit out of place at first in this crowd of mostly college kids and recent college grads. Call it “Portrait of Two Lonely Middle-Aged Men at the Hookah Bar.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even if we’d started out a bit dubious about the hookah/sandwich concept, it didn’t take long for us to get caught up in the mood. I’ll leave it to the medical experts to pontificate on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/tobacco_industry/hookahs/\">health risks\u003c/a> associated with long-term hookah use, but the water pipe’s efficacy as a social lubricant and builder of community and feel-good vibes seems self-evident — especially among the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/07/20/style/hookah-dearborn-michigan.html\">young Arab Americans\u003c/a> and South Asians who made up a large chunk of The Sandwich Spot’s late-night crowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sitting out on one of the sidewalk tables, with a cool breeze blowing through, we watched all those big groups of friends laughing and talking deep into the night, relaxed as can be, taking big bites of their sandwiches and blowing out even bigger puffs of smoke. Before long, we were already planning our return visit — because past 10 or 11 o’clock in Redwood City, what better way is there to pass a couple of pleasant hours with friends?\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thesandwichspotrwc.com/\">\u003ci>The Sandwich Spot\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m.–midnight, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.–1 a.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.–midnight at 2420 Broadway in Redwood City. After 5 p.m., when the lounge starts serving hookah, it’s a 21-and-over-only venue, and the kitchen closes at 11 p.m. daily.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "man-must-wak-west-african-market-a-new-restaurant-oakland-lake-merritt",
"title": "Beloved African and Caribbean Market Is Opening a New Restaurant in Oakland",
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"content": "\u003cp>A few weeks ago on a formerly quiet corner near Lake Merritt, anyone buzzing by on 18th Street might have spotted a freshly painted building in juicy mango yellow. A small crowd gathered around a colorful mural while tables and umbrellas spilled across the parking lot and the smoky scent of jollof rice and jerk chicken filled the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Welcome to the new flagship for \u003ca href=\"https://manmustwak.net\">Man Must Wak\u003c/a>, one of the few African and Caribbean markets in the Bay Area. The store celebrated the grand opening of its new Oakland location on Saturday, June 15, and announced plans to build out a fast-casual restaurant on the premises by summer 2025. “This is a decades-long dream,” says owner Queenkay Amamgbo. “I wanted a place where I could have a kitchen and a parking lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Man Must Wak has been serving the community for 26 years. “It’s one of the first African grocery stores in the Bay Area,” says Kemi Tijaniqudus of \u003ca href=\"https://thejollofkitchen.com\">Jollof Kitchen\u003c/a>, the Nigerian food truck. “That’s where I started going since the minute I stepped into this country.” She’s one of many local chefs who are regulars, along with Frantz Felix of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13936332/tchaka-haitian-restaurant-oakland\">T’chaka\u003c/a> and Roxanne Mosley of \u003ca href=\"https://sweetfingersrestaurant.com\">Sweet Fingers\u003c/a>. The original market on 8th Street in Old Oakland is the place to go for hard-to-find ingredients that offer a taste of home, like goat, stockfish, egusi (melon seeds) and plantain chips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amamgbo, the owner, grew up in Lagos and comes from the Igbo tribe of southeast Nigeria. She moved to the States when she was 18 to live with an aunt in Washington, D.C., before continuing to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting. There she met her first husband Charles Emeka Amamgbo, a businessman headed to Holland or back to Nigeria. The couple compromised and settled in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960959\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960959\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Afro-Caribbean market Man Must Wak's bright yellow storefront with a mural depicting a woman strolling through a bustling African outdoor market.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The market’s new location — just a couple of blocks away from Lake Merritt — will eventually feature a fast-casual restaurant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Charles opened the original Man Must Wak in downtown Oakland in 1998. Amamgbo says he was tired of working for European companies and loved serving the West African community. “He liked to help people. People came in for advice and to seek solace,” Amamgbo says. “I learned a lot from him, that you should have a safe space for people to come to.” The name Man Must Wak literally means “man must eat” in Nigerian Pidgin, so it’s slang for a universal truth: “Whether you’re paying with EBT or an Amex Black Card, we’ve all gotta eat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Charles died from leukemia in 2007 at only 43 years old. Amamgbo became a young widow at 33, with their two little boys then six and three. She had been busy working a corporate job and taking care of a sick husband. She knew the vendors and customers at the market but hadn’t looked at the books. When she inherited Man Must Wak, she realized the business was $100,000 in debt, had not paid taxes for four or five years, and was behind on payments to vendors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13936332,arts_13960580']\u003c/span>\u003c/span>She ran Man Must Wak by herself as a single mom for the next decade, with the support of close family and friends and loyal employees. In the beginning, she heard some people placed bets on how many months she would last before she closed shop and moved back to L.A. “I just went tunnel-vision and focused on survival mode,” Amamgbo says. “It’s through tragedy or loss that you know who really cares about you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Years later, a lady from church told Amamgbo to get coffee with this “really nice guy.” Amamgbo recognized Dennis Itua, a former customer who had moved away for a few years. She liked his dimples and creative streak as an interior designer, but wasn’t convinced — “he was very quiet.” When they did finally get together, Itua said, “You just be your Oprah, and I’ll be your Stedman,” referring to the TV star’s longtime partner. A couple of years ago, when the real Stedman Graham came into Man Must Wak, Itua happened to be in the shop to casually greet the celebrity. Shoppers in the store were delighted and it blew up on Facebook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960860\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960860\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL.jpg\" alt=\"A married couple shares a laugh while standing behind the counter inside the market they run.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amamgbo and husband Dennis Itua stand behind the counter at the E. 18th Street location of Man Must Wak. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The couple got married in 2017, and Itua has been an integral part of the business ever since. Along with their three boys: Chika Amamgbo (22 years old) recently graduated from Howard University, Lota Amamgbo (19) is going to study arts at SF State and Ero Itua (20) is at film school in L.A. They’ve all worked weekends and summers stocking shelves and bagging groceries. “We want to build a strong, solid legacy,” Amamgbo says. “You don’t have to work here, but this is going to be something you can be part of and run.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new market by Lake Merritt will eventually be triple the size of the original. Amamgbo took out an SBA loan to buy the entire standalone building. The market itself is 7,500 square feet, the parking lot is 2,000 square feet and they plan to build out and up, adding an extension and rooftop deck. For now, they started with a fresh coat of yellow paint and rolled in shelves. Amamgbo’s nephew, the artist Gabriel Olubori Babaoye, painted the mural on the storefront, inspired by an African woman wading through a bustling market. The big renovation is still to come, but the vision for the fast-casual restaurant is a hot bar lined with steaming trays of grilled meats, fried rice and more. So you’ll swing through the door, hit the hot bar right in the center, peruse the market over to the left, and snag a seat at one of the tables outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960962\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960962\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize.jpg\" alt=\"Meat cooking on a grill.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meat sizzling on the grill during Man Must Wak’s grand opening event on June 15, 2024. \u003ccite>(Joseph Sintum Photography, courtesy of Man Must Wak)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960946\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960946\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"A woman shows off a bag of Scotch bonnet peppers.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amamgbo shows off a package of frozen Scotch bonnet peppers — just one of the many Afro-Caribbean specialty ingredients her market carries. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They plan to add the restaurant by summer 2025. Itua, the chef of the family, grew up in hospitality — his father owned hotels, restaurants and bakeries in Nigeria. He’s been cooking behind the scenes for years, handling all of the prepared foods and catering. “It’ll be a fusion of African and Caribbean cuisine,” Amamgbo says. “The best of both worlds.” She’s already talking big game about their jollof rice. “The best Nigerian jollof rice. Period.” Itua’s specialty is a whole fish which he seasons and grills “to perfection.” Jamaican favorites will include curry goat and jerk chicken, along with spinach sauce, okra sauce and moi moi (bean pudding).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For longtime fans of the Man Must Wak, it’ll be exciting to swing by and try hot items for the first time. And for a whole new audience of Oakland diners, it’s a rare opportunity to taste West African home cooking in a central location. Star chef Pierre Thiam, who just made the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C8J_y75yhdm/?hl=en&img_index=1\">James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame\u003c/a>, says he can’t wait. “West African cuisine is finally getting recognized worldwide,” Thiam says. He cites restaurants like \u003ca href=\"https://www.tatiananyc.com\">Tatiana\u003c/a> in New York, an impossible-to-get reservation, and \u003ca href=\"https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/greater-london/london/restaurant/ikoyi\">Ikoyi\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/greater-london/london/restaurant/akoko\">Akoko\u003c/a> in London, which finally snagged Michelin stars, and insists it’s just as important to have an accessible market and restaurant in the heart of Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She’s a strong personality. She’s a queen,” he says of Amamgbo. “You have to respect that … Culture is so powerful, and that really is a blessing for us West Africans to have a place like that, and it’s a blessing for others who haven’t experienced it before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960964\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960964\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"A man and woman stand in front of the yellow mural that decorates the front of their Afro-Caribbean market.\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amamgbo and Itua stand in front of their new Lake Merritt storefront. The restaurant portion of the business is expected to open in summer 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, while the restaurant is still in the works, Amamgbo plans to get this party started. The new market is already fully open for business, and Itua will be firing up the grill for more events in the parking lot this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are your home away from home, a place where you go to feel loved and accepted,” Amamgbo says. “You’re not judged for being too loud, because we are loud.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Man Must Wak’s new market and forthcoming restaurant is located at 401 E. 18th St. in Oakland, near Lake Merritt; its current hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily. The original Old Oakland location remains open 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily at 547 8th St. Follow the market’s \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/manmustwak/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Instagram\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> page for updates and details about upcoming events.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A few weeks ago on a formerly quiet corner near Lake Merritt, anyone buzzing by on 18th Street might have spotted a freshly painted building in juicy mango yellow. A small crowd gathered around a colorful mural while tables and umbrellas spilled across the parking lot and the smoky scent of jollof rice and jerk chicken filled the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Welcome to the new flagship for \u003ca href=\"https://manmustwak.net\">Man Must Wak\u003c/a>, one of the few African and Caribbean markets in the Bay Area. The store celebrated the grand opening of its new Oakland location on Saturday, June 15, and announced plans to build out a fast-casual restaurant on the premises by summer 2025. “This is a decades-long dream,” says owner Queenkay Amamgbo. “I wanted a place where I could have a kitchen and a parking lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Man Must Wak has been serving the community for 26 years. “It’s one of the first African grocery stores in the Bay Area,” says Kemi Tijaniqudus of \u003ca href=\"https://thejollofkitchen.com\">Jollof Kitchen\u003c/a>, the Nigerian food truck. “That’s where I started going since the minute I stepped into this country.” She’s one of many local chefs who are regulars, along with Frantz Felix of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13936332/tchaka-haitian-restaurant-oakland\">T’chaka\u003c/a> and Roxanne Mosley of \u003ca href=\"https://sweetfingersrestaurant.com\">Sweet Fingers\u003c/a>. The original market on 8th Street in Old Oakland is the place to go for hard-to-find ingredients that offer a taste of home, like goat, stockfish, egusi (melon seeds) and plantain chips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amamgbo, the owner, grew up in Lagos and comes from the Igbo tribe of southeast Nigeria. She moved to the States when she was 18 to live with an aunt in Washington, D.C., before continuing to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting. There she met her first husband Charles Emeka Amamgbo, a businessman headed to Holland or back to Nigeria. The couple compromised and settled in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960959\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960959\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Afro-Caribbean market Man Must Wak's bright yellow storefront with a mural depicting a woman strolling through a bustling African outdoor market.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-42-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The market’s new location — just a couple of blocks away from Lake Merritt — will eventually feature a fast-casual restaurant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Charles opened the original Man Must Wak in downtown Oakland in 1998. Amamgbo says he was tired of working for European companies and loved serving the West African community. “He liked to help people. People came in for advice and to seek solace,” Amamgbo says. “I learned a lot from him, that you should have a safe space for people to come to.” The name Man Must Wak literally means “man must eat” in Nigerian Pidgin, so it’s slang for a universal truth: “Whether you’re paying with EBT or an Amex Black Card, we’ve all gotta eat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Charles died from leukemia in 2007 at only 43 years old. Amamgbo became a young widow at 33, with their two little boys then six and three. She had been busy working a corporate job and taking care of a sick husband. She knew the vendors and customers at the market but hadn’t looked at the books. When she inherited Man Must Wak, she realized the business was $100,000 in debt, had not paid taxes for four or five years, and was behind on payments to vendors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>She ran Man Must Wak by herself as a single mom for the next decade, with the support of close family and friends and loyal employees. In the beginning, she heard some people placed bets on how many months she would last before she closed shop and moved back to L.A. “I just went tunnel-vision and focused on survival mode,” Amamgbo says. “It’s through tragedy or loss that you know who really cares about you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Years later, a lady from church told Amamgbo to get coffee with this “really nice guy.” Amamgbo recognized Dennis Itua, a former customer who had moved away for a few years. She liked his dimples and creative streak as an interior designer, but wasn’t convinced — “he was very quiet.” When they did finally get together, Itua said, “You just be your Oprah, and I’ll be your Stedman,” referring to the TV star’s longtime partner. A couple of years ago, when the real Stedman Graham came into Man Must Wak, Itua happened to be in the shop to casually greet the celebrity. Shoppers in the store were delighted and it blew up on Facebook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960860\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960860\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL.jpg\" alt=\"A married couple shares a laugh while standing behind the counter inside the market they run.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-12-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amamgbo and husband Dennis Itua stand behind the counter at the E. 18th Street location of Man Must Wak. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The couple got married in 2017, and Itua has been an integral part of the business ever since. Along with their three boys: Chika Amamgbo (22 years old) recently graduated from Howard University, Lota Amamgbo (19) is going to study arts at SF State and Ero Itua (20) is at film school in L.A. They’ve all worked weekends and summers stocking shelves and bagging groceries. “We want to build a strong, solid legacy,” Amamgbo says. “You don’t have to work here, but this is going to be something you can be part of and run.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new market by Lake Merritt will eventually be triple the size of the original. Amamgbo took out an SBA loan to buy the entire standalone building. The market itself is 7,500 square feet, the parking lot is 2,000 square feet and they plan to build out and up, adding an extension and rooftop deck. For now, they started with a fresh coat of yellow paint and rolled in shelves. Amamgbo’s nephew, the artist Gabriel Olubori Babaoye, painted the mural on the storefront, inspired by an African woman wading through a bustling market. The big renovation is still to come, but the vision for the fast-casual restaurant is a hot bar lined with steaming trays of grilled meats, fried rice and more. So you’ll swing through the door, hit the hot bar right in the center, peruse the market over to the left, and snag a seat at one of the tables outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960962\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960962\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize.jpg\" alt=\"Meat cooking on a grill.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/A7400282_websize-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meat sizzling on the grill during Man Must Wak’s grand opening event on June 15, 2024. \u003ccite>(Joseph Sintum Photography, courtesy of Man Must Wak)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960946\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960946\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"A woman shows off a bag of Scotch bonnet peppers.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-26-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amamgbo shows off a package of frozen Scotch bonnet peppers — just one of the many Afro-Caribbean specialty ingredients her market carries. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They plan to add the restaurant by summer 2025. Itua, the chef of the family, grew up in hospitality — his father owned hotels, restaurants and bakeries in Nigeria. He’s been cooking behind the scenes for years, handling all of the prepared foods and catering. “It’ll be a fusion of African and Caribbean cuisine,” Amamgbo says. “The best of both worlds.” She’s already talking big game about their jollof rice. “The best Nigerian jollof rice. Period.” Itua’s specialty is a whole fish which he seasons and grills “to perfection.” Jamaican favorites will include curry goat and jerk chicken, along with spinach sauce, okra sauce and moi moi (bean pudding).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For longtime fans of the Man Must Wak, it’ll be exciting to swing by and try hot items for the first time. And for a whole new audience of Oakland diners, it’s a rare opportunity to taste West African home cooking in a central location. Star chef Pierre Thiam, who just made the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C8J_y75yhdm/?hl=en&img_index=1\">James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame\u003c/a>, says he can’t wait. “West African cuisine is finally getting recognized worldwide,” Thiam says. He cites restaurants like \u003ca href=\"https://www.tatiananyc.com\">Tatiana\u003c/a> in New York, an impossible-to-get reservation, and \u003ca href=\"https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/greater-london/london/restaurant/ikoyi\">Ikoyi\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/greater-london/london/restaurant/akoko\">Akoko\u003c/a> in London, which finally snagged Michelin stars, and insists it’s just as important to have an accessible market and restaurant in the heart of Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She’s a strong personality. She’s a queen,” he says of Amamgbo. “You have to respect that … Culture is so powerful, and that really is a blessing for us West Africans to have a place like that, and it’s a blessing for others who haven’t experienced it before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960964\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960964\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"A man and woman stand in front of the yellow mural that decorates the front of their Afro-Caribbean market.\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/240709-ManMustWak2-08-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amamgbo and Itua stand in front of their new Lake Merritt storefront. The restaurant portion of the business is expected to open in summer 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, while the restaurant is still in the works, Amamgbo plans to get this party started. The new market is already fully open for business, and Itua will be firing up the grill for more events in the parking lot this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are your home away from home, a place where you go to feel loved and accepted,” Amamgbo says. “You’re not judged for being too loud, because we are loud.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Man Must Wak’s new market and forthcoming restaurant is located at 401 E. 18th St. in Oakland, near Lake Merritt; its current hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily. The original Old Oakland location remains open 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily at 547 8th St. Follow the market’s \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/manmustwak/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Instagram\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> page for updates and details about upcoming events.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "peruvian-tea-coffee-papachay-emoliente-san-carlos-mountain-view",
"title": "A Hidden Cafe on the Peninsula Serves Rare Peruvian Coffee and Tea",
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"headTitle": "A Hidden Cafe on the Peninsula Serves Rare Peruvian Coffee and Tea | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>For the average Bay Area caffeine seeker, Peruvian coffee and tea probably aren’t very high on the list of familiar options. Yet, Peru is \u003ca href=\"https://teajourney.pub/tea-in-peru/\">one of the highest tea-consuming nations in the Western Hemisphere\u003c/a>, largely due to the country’s high elevation. (In townships along the Andean peaks, tea made with coca leaves — of cocaine fame — is believed to prevent altitude sickness.) Peruvians have also become increasingly fond of coffee in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many Bay Area residents probably have never even heard of Peru’s choice beverages, let alone know where to get them. And who can blame them? Though Peruvian cuisine has done extremely well in our region — from local restaurant chains like Limón to smaller mom-and-pop shops like El Cerrito’s El Mono — there isn’t much of a Peruvian cafe scene to speak of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So when I came across \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/papachayperuviancoffee/\">Papachay\u003c/a>, a husband-and-wife-owned brick-and-mortar located on a sleepy back street in the Peninsula city of San Carlos, I made my trek over. (In Quechan, an indigenous language in Peru, papachay is akin to saying “what’s up?” to a male friend; “mamay” is used to greet women).\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960416\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960416\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a man prepares a cup of fresh coffee inside a Peruvian cafe\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maximiliano Gambirazio, a Peruvian immigrant, has been operating Papachay for nearly 20 years. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The business is masterminded by Maximiliano Gambirazio (originally from Peru) and Juliana Zieira-Gambirazio (a Brazilian immigrant). Impressively, the couple started out in their San Carlos warehouse nearly 20 years ago, when they sold raw coffee beans to roasters before buying a roasting machine of their own and expanding their business to include wholesale roasted coffee. Now, they run a full-fledged cafe — which opened in 2018 — and pop up every Sunday at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cafarmersmkts.com/mountain-view-farmers-market\">Mountain View Farmers’ Market\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It all started spreading by word of mouth. We would get notes under the door of people asking us to call [them] so they could visit to buy fresh brewed coffee,” Zieira-Gambirazio says. “That pushed us to open [the cafe], and we started getting a crowd of people. After that, we had some calls to the fire department because of the smoke coming from all the roasting we were doing. [The fire department] told us to put a sign that we’re coffee roasters. That brought us more people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zieira-Gambirazio isn’t aware of any other strictly Peruvian cafes in the greater Bay Area. What Papachay is doing might be unmatched. That’s because the couple owns two coffee farms in Peru — in a highly elevated rainforest on the eastern slope of the Andes, near the small town of Villa Rica. With the help of a family, they source their organic coffee beans directly from these farms. Translation: they’re legit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Specializing in Peruvian-origin coffee — as the massive “Peruvian Coffee” sign announces from the rooftop, like a 1920s hotel in Beverly Hills — the shop also sells Peruvian chocolate and Brazilian treats like pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese balls). But what caught my eye more than anything were the Peruvian teas. At its Sunday farmers market stand, the cafe brews emoliente, a mix of flax seed, plantain leaf, alfalfa sprout, toasted barley, Andean horsetail herb, cinnamon and cat’s claw bark. Native to Peru, the refreshing herbal drink is believed to help with digestive, circulatory and respiratory issues. The medicinal tea tastes earthy but not bitter, toasted but not burnt, balanced but not bland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Emoliente is a very common drink in Peru. You often see it being prepared and sold on the street. Everybody has their own recipe. We make ours from scratch,” says Zieira-Gambirazio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960419\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960419\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"dried coffee fruit pulp \" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cascara, the dried skin and pulp of discarded coffee cherries, is used to brew an increasingly popular beverage in Peru. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Papachay also serves cascara, a tea-like beverage made from boiling the skin and pulp of dried coffee fruit husks to make a drink that has recently become more popular in Peru.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see many people having that in the Bay Area, or even in Peru, really,” she continues. “It’s new to Peruvians. It’s a mix of fruit flavor with a green tea texture on your tongue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13932089,arts_13930727,arts_13928571']\u003c/span>\u003c/span>The reason you may have never heard of Peruvian cascara, or any other Peruvian coffee products for that matter, is due to the country’s internal political turmoil dating back to the 1980s, when \u003ca href=\"https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20230521173955/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f51fd694.html\">insurgent groups like Sendero Luminoso (the Shining Path) occupied isolated territories in Peru\u003c/a> that otherwise could have been used to cultivate coffee. Byproducts of the coffee industry such as cascara were therefore less available for decades. Instead, tea became popularized as the nation’s drink of choice, leading to emoliente’s rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I first encountered Papachay at the Mountain View Farmers’ Market, a long line of coffee drinkers waited for their lattes and cold brew. Naturally, I ordered emoliente, something I’d never heard of until then. Though the drink is typically served hot, I asked to enjoy it with ice — something the owners were happy to do. After a few sips and light conversation with the friendly Latin Americans, they mentioned having a shop a few miles north.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960417\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1707px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960417\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"an imported coffee bag of Peruvian coffee beans\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-scaled.jpg 1707w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-1920x2880.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Papachay imports their coffee beans directly from Villa Rica, Peru. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some days later, I made the drive over to their home base in San Carlos. That’s where I ordered cascara. It isn’t the kind of sugary morning drink you might find at Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts. Instead, the old-world beverage — which predates coffee itself — is a tangy mix of sweet and sour notes, most reminiscent of tamarind. Like emoliente, it’s consumed in Peru’s high-altitude areas and beloved for its health properties and organic freshness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although it provides a jolt of caffeine, it’s not meant to zap you awake with a quick rush of energy. Rather, Peruvian culture — and its teas — are meant for the long haul, for those steady uphill climbs (think Machu Picchu). Both cascara and emoliente share a smooth drinkability that doesn’t feel like it should be solely limited to a morning commute. In fact, most Peruvians prefer to drink cascara and emoliente in the evenings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps I’ll start to do the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/papachayperuviancoffee/\">\u003ci>Papachay Peruvian Coffee\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> (1431 Old County Rd., San Carlos) is open Mon. through Fri. from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Every Sunday, they can be found at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cafarmersmkts.com/mountain-view-farmers-market\">Mountain View Farmers’ Market\u003c/a> (600 W. Evelyn Ave., Mountain View) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>For the average Bay Area caffeine seeker, Peruvian coffee and tea probably aren’t very high on the list of familiar options. Yet, Peru is \u003ca href=\"https://teajourney.pub/tea-in-peru/\">one of the highest tea-consuming nations in the Western Hemisphere\u003c/a>, largely due to the country’s high elevation. (In townships along the Andean peaks, tea made with coca leaves — of cocaine fame — is believed to prevent altitude sickness.) Peruvians have also become increasingly fond of coffee in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many Bay Area residents probably have never even heard of Peru’s choice beverages, let alone know where to get them. And who can blame them? Though Peruvian cuisine has done extremely well in our region — from local restaurant chains like Limón to smaller mom-and-pop shops like El Cerrito’s El Mono — there isn’t much of a Peruvian cafe scene to speak of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So when I came across \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/papachayperuviancoffee/\">Papachay\u003c/a>, a husband-and-wife-owned brick-and-mortar located on a sleepy back street in the Peninsula city of San Carlos, I made my trek over. (In Quechan, an indigenous language in Peru, papachay is akin to saying “what’s up?” to a male friend; “mamay” is used to greet women).\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960416\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960416\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a man prepares a cup of fresh coffee inside a Peruvian cafe\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3145-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maximiliano Gambirazio, a Peruvian immigrant, has been operating Papachay for nearly 20 years. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The business is masterminded by Maximiliano Gambirazio (originally from Peru) and Juliana Zieira-Gambirazio (a Brazilian immigrant). Impressively, the couple started out in their San Carlos warehouse nearly 20 years ago, when they sold raw coffee beans to roasters before buying a roasting machine of their own and expanding their business to include wholesale roasted coffee. Now, they run a full-fledged cafe — which opened in 2018 — and pop up every Sunday at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cafarmersmkts.com/mountain-view-farmers-market\">Mountain View Farmers’ Market\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It all started spreading by word of mouth. We would get notes under the door of people asking us to call [them] so they could visit to buy fresh brewed coffee,” Zieira-Gambirazio says. “That pushed us to open [the cafe], and we started getting a crowd of people. After that, we had some calls to the fire department because of the smoke coming from all the roasting we were doing. [The fire department] told us to put a sign that we’re coffee roasters. That brought us more people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zieira-Gambirazio isn’t aware of any other strictly Peruvian cafes in the greater Bay Area. What Papachay is doing might be unmatched. That’s because the couple owns two coffee farms in Peru — in a highly elevated rainforest on the eastern slope of the Andes, near the small town of Villa Rica. With the help of a family, they source their organic coffee beans directly from these farms. Translation: they’re legit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Specializing in Peruvian-origin coffee — as the massive “Peruvian Coffee” sign announces from the rooftop, like a 1920s hotel in Beverly Hills — the shop also sells Peruvian chocolate and Brazilian treats like pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese balls). But what caught my eye more than anything were the Peruvian teas. At its Sunday farmers market stand, the cafe brews emoliente, a mix of flax seed, plantain leaf, alfalfa sprout, toasted barley, Andean horsetail herb, cinnamon and cat’s claw bark. Native to Peru, the refreshing herbal drink is believed to help with digestive, circulatory and respiratory issues. The medicinal tea tastes earthy but not bitter, toasted but not burnt, balanced but not bland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Emoliente is a very common drink in Peru. You often see it being prepared and sold on the street. Everybody has their own recipe. We make ours from scratch,” says Zieira-Gambirazio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960419\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960419\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"dried coffee fruit pulp \" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3173-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cascara, the dried skin and pulp of discarded coffee cherries, is used to brew an increasingly popular beverage in Peru. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Papachay also serves cascara, a tea-like beverage made from boiling the skin and pulp of dried coffee fruit husks to make a drink that has recently become more popular in Peru.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see many people having that in the Bay Area, or even in Peru, really,” she continues. “It’s new to Peruvians. It’s a mix of fruit flavor with a green tea texture on your tongue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>The reason you may have never heard of Peruvian cascara, or any other Peruvian coffee products for that matter, is due to the country’s internal political turmoil dating back to the 1980s, when \u003ca href=\"https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20230521173955/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f51fd694.html\">insurgent groups like Sendero Luminoso (the Shining Path) occupied isolated territories in Peru\u003c/a> that otherwise could have been used to cultivate coffee. Byproducts of the coffee industry such as cascara were therefore less available for decades. Instead, tea became popularized as the nation’s drink of choice, leading to emoliente’s rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I first encountered Papachay at the Mountain View Farmers’ Market, a long line of coffee drinkers waited for their lattes and cold brew. Naturally, I ordered emoliente, something I’d never heard of until then. Though the drink is typically served hot, I asked to enjoy it with ice — something the owners were happy to do. After a few sips and light conversation with the friendly Latin Americans, they mentioned having a shop a few miles north.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960417\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1707px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960417\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"an imported coffee bag of Peruvian coffee beans\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-scaled.jpg 1707w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_3155-1920x2880.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Papachay imports their coffee beans directly from Villa Rica, Peru. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some days later, I made the drive over to their home base in San Carlos. That’s where I ordered cascara. It isn’t the kind of sugary morning drink you might find at Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts. Instead, the old-world beverage — which predates coffee itself — is a tangy mix of sweet and sour notes, most reminiscent of tamarind. Like emoliente, it’s consumed in Peru’s high-altitude areas and beloved for its health properties and organic freshness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although it provides a jolt of caffeine, it’s not meant to zap you awake with a quick rush of energy. Rather, Peruvian culture — and its teas — are meant for the long haul, for those steady uphill climbs (think Machu Picchu). Both cascara and emoliente share a smooth drinkability that doesn’t feel like it should be solely limited to a morning commute. In fact, most Peruvians prefer to drink cascara and emoliente in the evenings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps I’ll start to do the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/papachayperuviancoffee/\">\u003ci>Papachay Peruvian Coffee\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> (1431 Old County Rd., San Carlos) is open Mon. through Fri. from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Every Sunday, they can be found at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cafarmersmkts.com/mountain-view-farmers-market\">Mountain View Farmers’ Market\u003c/a> (600 W. Evelyn Ave., Mountain View) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "jollof-festival-oakland-west-african-food-competition-nigerian-sierra-leone",
"title": "At Jollof Festival Oakland, West African Chefs Face Off in a Battle Royale of Rice",
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"headTitle": "At Jollof Festival Oakland, West African Chefs Face Off in a Battle Royale of Rice | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>In West African diasporic communities, jollof rice isn’t just a delicious dish. It’s the red-tinged subject of a thousand dinner table squabbles, Facebook group feuds and friendly trash-talk sessions. Who makes it best? Is it Gambia or Senegal, where \u003ca href=\"https://trtafrika.com/lifestyle/the-unending-spicy-debate-on-west-africas-jollof-rice-17657471\">jollof rice is believed to have originated\u003c/a>? Or is it Nigeria or Ghana or one the many other countries across West Africa that have embraced and added their own unique twists to the beloved staple dish?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That eternal debate is the basis of \u003ca href=\"https://jolloffestival.com/\">Jollof Festival\u003c/a>, a touring nationwide cultural celebration and nationality-based jollof rice competition that will stop in 12 different cities this year, including Oakland on July 13.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kemi Tijaniqudus, who runs the Nigerian food truck \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jollofkitchen/\">Jollof Kitchen\u003c/a>, won the Oakland edition both years she competed, 2021 and 2023. Her victories are a point of pride, not just for herself but for the Bay Area’s broader Nigerian community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As she puts it, “People have different opinions, but hey, we always win. You can choose whatever you like, but I know I will take the crown.” In fact, Tijaniqudus says part of the reason she has retired from the competition and won’t be competing this year is because it’s unfair: “I already know Nigerian jollof is going to win.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If those sound like fighting words, that’s all part of the fun — and the friendly but heated rivalry — of Jollof Festival, where delicious food meets a healthy dose of cultural and nationalistic pride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Co-produced by Jollof Festival founder Ishmael Osekre and two local collaborators — Quiana Webster and Dj Leone, both active participants in Oakland’s Afrobeats and R&B scenes — the Oakland event will feature local chefs and caterers competing on behalf of Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13896069,arts_13953866,arts_13954267']\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Here’s how it works: Anyone can pay a $10 general admission ticket to take part in the day’s festivities, which will include a range of West African food vendors; booths selling clothing, jewelry and art; and various cultural performances and family-friendly activities. But attendees who want a vote will have to buy a higher-tier ($45) ticket, which gives access to a blind tasting of jollof rice samples from each of the competitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since it’s a blind tasting, a voter with roots in, say, Ghana technically wouldn’t be able to just automatically vote for the Ghanaian entry. The judging should be based on taste alone — though savvy jollof heads might still be able to sniff out their own mother country’s representative. For instance, Tijaniqudus explains that Nigerian jollof is famous for its telltale smokiness, so anyone familiar with that taste would have recognized her entry last year after taking one bite: “Oh shit, this is Nigerian jollof!” And Ralphina Seymoun, who represented Gambia at last year’s competition along with her husband Mohamed Bereteh, says she served a special white jollof — made with broken jasmine rice and no tomatoes — that you would only find in Gambia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960585\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960585\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof.jpg\" alt=\"A takeout container of jollof rice and two plastic bags of juice.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gambian-style white jollof rice courtesy of San Jose’s Ralphina Seymoun and Mohamed Bereteh. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Tutti Fruti Kitchen)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Seymon’s San Jose–based catering business, Tutti Fruti Kitchen, didn’t win last year’s Jollof Festival. Gambia is such a tiny country, she explains, that it would be tough to beat out Nigeria in a popularity contest. “But we sold out first,” she says with evident pride. This year Seymoun and her husband will switch gears and compete on behalf of Bereteh’s native Sierra Leone. It’s a simpler style of red rice, Seymoun explains, with its main distinguishing feature that the meat and gravy are cooked separately and served on top instead of everything getting stir-fried together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the names of her rivals have yet to be released, she’s sure to be up against stiff competition — again, with contenders representing Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia and Senegal also gunning for the crown. Will Seymon’s second time be the charm, allowing Sierra Leone to hoist up the final trophy this year?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only way to find out, as the event organizers like to say, is to let the jollof wars begin.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://jolloffestival.com/\">\u003ci>Jollof Festival Oakland\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> will take place on Saturday, July 13, 2–7 p.m., at 7th West (1255 7th St.) in West Oakland — though, as the event organizers’\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://events.eventnoire.com/e/jollof-festival-oak24/tickets\"> \u003ci>disclaimer\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> notes, “This is an African event, things may run on African time.” Tickets start at $10 — $45 if you want to participate (and vote) in the blind tasting of the competitors’ jollof entries.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "At Jollof Festival Oakland, West African Chefs Face Off in a Battle Royale of Rice | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In West African diasporic communities, jollof rice isn’t just a delicious dish. It’s the red-tinged subject of a thousand dinner table squabbles, Facebook group feuds and friendly trash-talk sessions. Who makes it best? Is it Gambia or Senegal, where \u003ca href=\"https://trtafrika.com/lifestyle/the-unending-spicy-debate-on-west-africas-jollof-rice-17657471\">jollof rice is believed to have originated\u003c/a>? Or is it Nigeria or Ghana or one the many other countries across West Africa that have embraced and added their own unique twists to the beloved staple dish?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That eternal debate is the basis of \u003ca href=\"https://jolloffestival.com/\">Jollof Festival\u003c/a>, a touring nationwide cultural celebration and nationality-based jollof rice competition that will stop in 12 different cities this year, including Oakland on July 13.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kemi Tijaniqudus, who runs the Nigerian food truck \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jollofkitchen/\">Jollof Kitchen\u003c/a>, won the Oakland edition both years she competed, 2021 and 2023. Her victories are a point of pride, not just for herself but for the Bay Area’s broader Nigerian community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As she puts it, “People have different opinions, but hey, we always win. You can choose whatever you like, but I know I will take the crown.” In fact, Tijaniqudus says part of the reason she has retired from the competition and won’t be competing this year is because it’s unfair: “I already know Nigerian jollof is going to win.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If those sound like fighting words, that’s all part of the fun — and the friendly but heated rivalry — of Jollof Festival, where delicious food meets a healthy dose of cultural and nationalistic pride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Co-produced by Jollof Festival founder Ishmael Osekre and two local collaborators — Quiana Webster and Dj Leone, both active participants in Oakland’s Afrobeats and R&B scenes — the Oakland event will feature local chefs and caterers competing on behalf of Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Here’s how it works: Anyone can pay a $10 general admission ticket to take part in the day’s festivities, which will include a range of West African food vendors; booths selling clothing, jewelry and art; and various cultural performances and family-friendly activities. But attendees who want a vote will have to buy a higher-tier ($45) ticket, which gives access to a blind tasting of jollof rice samples from each of the competitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since it’s a blind tasting, a voter with roots in, say, Ghana technically wouldn’t be able to just automatically vote for the Ghanaian entry. The judging should be based on taste alone — though savvy jollof heads might still be able to sniff out their own mother country’s representative. For instance, Tijaniqudus explains that Nigerian jollof is famous for its telltale smokiness, so anyone familiar with that taste would have recognized her entry last year after taking one bite: “Oh shit, this is Nigerian jollof!” And Ralphina Seymoun, who represented Gambia at last year’s competition along with her husband Mohamed Bereteh, says she served a special white jollof — made with broken jasmine rice and no tomatoes — that you would only find in Gambia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960585\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960585\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof.jpg\" alt=\"A takeout container of jollof rice and two plastic bags of juice.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tutti-fruti-jollof-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gambian-style white jollof rice courtesy of San Jose’s Ralphina Seymoun and Mohamed Bereteh. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Tutti Fruti Kitchen)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Seymon’s San Jose–based catering business, Tutti Fruti Kitchen, didn’t win last year’s Jollof Festival. Gambia is such a tiny country, she explains, that it would be tough to beat out Nigeria in a popularity contest. “But we sold out first,” she says with evident pride. This year Seymoun and her husband will switch gears and compete on behalf of Bereteh’s native Sierra Leone. It’s a simpler style of red rice, Seymoun explains, with its main distinguishing feature that the meat and gravy are cooked separately and served on top instead of everything getting stir-fried together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the names of her rivals have yet to be released, she’s sure to be up against stiff competition — again, with contenders representing Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia and Senegal also gunning for the crown. Will Seymon’s second time be the charm, allowing Sierra Leone to hoist up the final trophy this year?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only way to find out, as the event organizers like to say, is to let the jollof wars begin.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://jolloffestival.com/\">\u003ci>Jollof Festival Oakland\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> will take place on Saturday, July 13, 2–7 p.m., at 7th West (1255 7th St.) in West Oakland — though, as the event organizers’\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://events.eventnoire.com/e/jollof-festival-oak24/tickets\"> \u003ci>disclaimer\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> notes, “This is an African event, things may run on African time.” Tickets start at $10 — $45 if you want to participate (and vote) in the blind tasting of the competitors’ jollof entries.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "mezcal-tastings-hugo-gonzales-east-oakland-garage",
"title": "This Rare-Bottle Mezcal Collector Offers Unique Tastings in Oakland",
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"content": "\u003cp>Behind a Victorian house near High Street in East Oakland — in a residential neighborhood where adults and kids playfully linger outside after dark, and rubber tire marks etch the concrete like scriptures from a history of sideshows — the Bay Area’s most off-the-radar mezcal session awaits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s where \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/agavesanto/?locale=en-GB\">Hugo Gonzalez\u003c/a>, a self-described mezcal storyteller, invited me for a private crash course on the smoky Mexican spirit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our night began by picking up an order of tacos from nearby \u003ca href=\"https://www.visitoakland.com/listing/taquer%C3%ADa-el-paisa/2949/\">El Paisa\u003c/a>, which should be on every short list of the Bay Area’s most fire taquerias. We took our loot back to a nondescript garage, where Gonzalez proceeded to deliver the most elevated and quirkily passionate mezcal tasting I’ve ever had.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With over 100 rare bottles of regionally diverse Mexican spirits in his personal stash to go along with a bookshelf of related texts, mezcal production maps, vintage mezcal paraphernalia and a “tasting wheel” — a large set of concentric circles with a dictionary’s worth of vocab to precisely pinpoint flavor profiles ranging from cinnamon to shrimp — Gonzalez is more than qualified to teach others about Mexico’s ancient relationship with the agave distillate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960405\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960405\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a mezcal expert explains his favorite mezcal options to a journalist sitting at the same table\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gonzalez (right) teaches KQED journalist Alan Chazaro about the various nuances of mezcal. \u003ccite>(Darius Riley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>His journey and approach are unorthodox. Having grown up in the Xochimilco neighborhood of Mexico City, Gonzalez was once a lawyer and a government employee before marrying a U.S. citizen and moving to Cambodia for environmental work. Eventually, his wife — a first-generation Hungarian American who was raised in the Bay Area — convinced him to move here in 2013.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Upon arriving, he worked in construction for five years. Despite being good with his hands, the physical demands and constant overtime shifts led him to seek another, more inspiring career path based on his heritage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In Mexico, we have something called ‘saboreada’ (tastings),” he says while pouring me a splash of micro-batch, Oaxacan mezcal. “I decided to start doing that here. I don’t want to go back to construction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gonzalez didn’t bluff. For the past six years, he has plunged himself deep into the mezcal multiverse. The devoted connoisseur regularly visits Mexico’s palenques (old-world mezcal distilleries) and occasionally treks into the Mexican hillsides for days on end to accompany the maestros as they concoct tiny 40-liter batches from start to finish. He then returns to the Bay Area and disseminates what he’s learned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960402\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960402\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a map of Mexico showing where agaves are from\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">There are roughly 200 agave species in Mexico. Gonzalez identifies which regions produce the best kinds for distinct variations of mezcal. \u003ccite>(Darius Riley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gonzalez, who once preferred to drink pulque, a fermented beverage that is nearly impossible to find outside of Mexico, slowly became a fan of mezcal while living in California, where he gained a newfound appreciation for the distilled spirit’s Mexican tradition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, Gonzalez works part-time as a mezcal consultant at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/odin.oakland/?hl=en\">Odin Mezcaleria\u003c/a>, a Mexican restaurant in Oakland’s Jack London Square that serves the best variations of mezcal cocktails I’ve encountered in the Bay. He’s also a member of \u003ca href=\"https://maestrosdelmezcal.com/\">Maestros del Mezcal\u003c/a>, a non-profit that supports the artisanal traditions of non-corporatized mezcal producers in Mexico, which he sometimes gives public talks about (including at a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/event/4143\">KQED Live event\u003c/a>). He’s also is a brand ambassador for a handful of mezcals that have entered the U.S. market in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13917398,arts_13920076,arts_13899700']\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Like mezcal itself, Gonzalez is somewhat roguish — a Mexican immigrant who simply loves the beverage and genuinely wants to inform others about how, where and why it’s produced. He’s especially mindful of the maestros, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s important to talk about small productions of small [scale] mezcaleros,” he tells me. “[It’s] one of the most important things. Transparency.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During my visit, he makes a point to name every maestro when holding up each bottle. (Most small-batch productions show the region where the mezcal comes from, the genus of agave, any materials and processes used, and who made it by first and last name.) Throughout the night Gonzalez riffs like a freewheeling jazz musician, improvising with personal anecdotes and backstories about each mezcal and its maestro. It’s not just a flamboyant show of bravado; Gonzalez also drops bountiful knowledge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960399\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960399\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"four bottles of mezcal from Mexico displayed on a table\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gonzalez has a penchant for small-batch mezcal that can only be found in Mexico. \u003ccite>(Darius Riley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of the main points he drives home is simple: Each mezcal is extremely nuanced in process, craft and result, differing from maestro to maestro, pueblo to pueblo. Mezcal is extremely varied and comes from multiple sources (Mexico has over 300 agave species that vary across the changing climates of the country’s 32 states). Though largely associated with \u003ca href=\"https://atmos.earth/mezcal-oaxaca-environmental-impact/\">Oaxaca — which admittedly accounts for over 90% of mezcal production in the world and has grown in demand at an alarming rate\u003c/a> — mezcal is cultivated in ten disparate regions of Mexico. Oaxaca’s biodiversity certainly allows for an ideal proliferation of the agave-based drink, but as my time with Gonzalez progressed, he went deeper into his metaphorical bag to reveal some of the rarest mezcals I’ve ever tasted, spanning from areas in Guerrero, Chihuahua, Zacatecas and Tamaulipas. He effectively took me on a tour of Mexico with each quarter-shot of mezcal while connecting the dots on his agave map.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One shot of mezcal might yield a zing of gun metal. Another could evoke strawberries. The next? Maybe copper. One mezcal I tasted even had notes of salt and seafood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960397\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960397\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a digitized photo of an indigenous Mexican man wearing a cowboy hat\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Throughout the year, Gonzalez visits Mexico to spend time with maestros and learn about mezcal from the source. \u003ccite>(Darius Riley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In explaining each pour, Gonzalez is more of a professor than he is a bartender, more poet than salesman. As a former construction worker who knows what it means to use his hands as a means to make ends meet, he has a kindred gratitude for the type of corporeal rigor that mezcal-making demands of its maestros. This isn’t a big-corporate industry, after all; mezcal is still largely homegrown and handmade, demanding a kind of slow-burning discipline of bygone techniques that reflect the slow burn that follows each sip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coyote-, armadillo- and turkey-distilled mezcals (made with \u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/drinks/2016/2/9/10939962/what-is-mezcal-de-pechuga\">a redistillation process\u003c/a> wherein the animal’s carcass is hung over the still)? He’s got that. Unlabeled stashes straight from the pit-fired earth? Yep, it’s a casual part of his rotation. But more than the sipping and smoke blowing, it’s about the context — the magical surrealism that is inherent in Mexico that Gonzalez so effortlessly summons on this side of the border. In the broadest sense, to learn about and better understand mezcal — its permutations, its origins, its peculiarities — is to learn about and better understand Mexico. (“Not all of it is smoky,” Gonzalez says of mezcal, but his aphorism can be applied to the negative perceptions surrounding Mexico as well.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To be clear, I’ve had my fair share of mezcal dalliances; I once found myself drinking mezcal with the governor of Michoacan at a family dinner on a bull ranch. I’ve also sipped it with my uncles and cousins in Veracruz, and enjoyed it at family parties in the States. But an evening with East Oakland’s underground mezcal king is unlike any bar stool I’ve sat on or any drinking tour I’ve attended. For some, \u003ca href=\"https://www.bonappetit.com/story/mezcal-with-yola-jimenez?_sp=f2f2c4d6-bf70-4f1a-9418-23351d1500d7.1718083917830\">mezcal is seen as a spiritual aid\u003c/a>, and it is with this kind of deep reverence that Gonzalez handles the holy beverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960400\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960400\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a mezcal expert points to a circular graph on a table to explain the flavor profiles of mezcal\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The tasting wheel allows Gonzalez, and his guests, to pinpoint the various textures and complexities of mezcal’s many flavors. \u003ccite>(Darius Riley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mezcal in the Bay Area is usually associated with high-end cocktails, which tend to dilute the spirit. It’s rarely consumed in the same way bar-goers might ask for a shot of tequila or a glass of whiskey on the rocks. Though mezcal has entered the mainstream’s vocabulary in recent years, it remains far behind tequila and Corona in terms of its market size and popularity. Part of the reason is that mezcal simply requires a Herculean effort — along with a deep, intimate knowledge — to produce. It lacks the kind of celebrity investment, distribution and brand power of other, more popular Mexican alcoholic beverages. Mezcal is more esoteric, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.bonappetit.com/story/what-is-mezcal\">the Mexican government has sometimes even struggled with enforcing the “quasi-illegal shenanigans” surrounding it\u003c/a>. A\u003ca href=\"https://agaveroadtrip.com/episodes/s2e116-why-lou-says-agave-spirits-instead-of-mezcal\"> Mexican law enacted in 1994 “stole” the word mezcal\u003c/a> from artisanal makers and “laid claim” to it. An \u003cem>Eater\u003c/em> article, appropriately titled “\u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/22929882/mezcal-destilado-de-agave-distilling-indigenous-culture-oaxaca\">The Great Mezcal Heist\u003c/a>,” goes into depth on it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Gonzalez, those misunderstandings are part of what attracts him to the beverage. Like the rest of us, he’s learning as he goes, and he aims to bring clarity and focus to those layers. Sitting inside a clandestine garage with a belly full of suadero and a few pours of rare mezcal, I’m happy to be along for the liquid ride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People ask me, ‘Are you a sommelier for mezcal, a mezcalier?’ No, I am not,” he says. “I am not an expert. Actually, every time I start to read more about it or try to study it too hard, I get more confused. So the only thing I can do is go to Mexico to explore, to make connections with the people and master distillers, to get the most direct knowledge I can. Then I share the best that I can with you. I am just a storyteller.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Hugo Gonzalez is available for private tastings and educational mezcal sessions. Contact him on Instagram (\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/agavesanto/?locale=en-GB\">@agavesanto\u003c/a>) for more details.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Hugo Gonzalez Is East Oakland's Underground Mezcal King | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Behind a Victorian house near High Street in East Oakland — in a residential neighborhood where adults and kids playfully linger outside after dark, and rubber tire marks etch the concrete like scriptures from a history of sideshows — the Bay Area’s most off-the-radar mezcal session awaits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s where \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/agavesanto/?locale=en-GB\">Hugo Gonzalez\u003c/a>, a self-described mezcal storyteller, invited me for a private crash course on the smoky Mexican spirit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our night began by picking up an order of tacos from nearby \u003ca href=\"https://www.visitoakland.com/listing/taquer%C3%ADa-el-paisa/2949/\">El Paisa\u003c/a>, which should be on every short list of the Bay Area’s most fire taquerias. We took our loot back to a nondescript garage, where Gonzalez proceeded to deliver the most elevated and quirkily passionate mezcal tasting I’ve ever had.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With over 100 rare bottles of regionally diverse Mexican spirits in his personal stash to go along with a bookshelf of related texts, mezcal production maps, vintage mezcal paraphernalia and a “tasting wheel” — a large set of concentric circles with a dictionary’s worth of vocab to precisely pinpoint flavor profiles ranging from cinnamon to shrimp — Gonzalez is more than qualified to teach others about Mexico’s ancient relationship with the agave distillate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960405\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960405\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a mezcal expert explains his favorite mezcal options to a journalist sitting at the same table\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3860-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gonzalez (right) teaches KQED journalist Alan Chazaro about the various nuances of mezcal. \u003ccite>(Darius Riley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>His journey and approach are unorthodox. Having grown up in the Xochimilco neighborhood of Mexico City, Gonzalez was once a lawyer and a government employee before marrying a U.S. citizen and moving to Cambodia for environmental work. Eventually, his wife — a first-generation Hungarian American who was raised in the Bay Area — convinced him to move here in 2013.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Upon arriving, he worked in construction for five years. Despite being good with his hands, the physical demands and constant overtime shifts led him to seek another, more inspiring career path based on his heritage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In Mexico, we have something called ‘saboreada’ (tastings),” he says while pouring me a splash of micro-batch, Oaxacan mezcal. “I decided to start doing that here. I don’t want to go back to construction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gonzalez didn’t bluff. For the past six years, he has plunged himself deep into the mezcal multiverse. The devoted connoisseur regularly visits Mexico’s palenques (old-world mezcal distilleries) and occasionally treks into the Mexican hillsides for days on end to accompany the maestros as they concoct tiny 40-liter batches from start to finish. He then returns to the Bay Area and disseminates what he’s learned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960402\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960402\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a map of Mexico showing where agaves are from\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF3800-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">There are roughly 200 agave species in Mexico. Gonzalez identifies which regions produce the best kinds for distinct variations of mezcal. \u003ccite>(Darius Riley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gonzalez, who once preferred to drink pulque, a fermented beverage that is nearly impossible to find outside of Mexico, slowly became a fan of mezcal while living in California, where he gained a newfound appreciation for the distilled spirit’s Mexican tradition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, Gonzalez works part-time as a mezcal consultant at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/odin.oakland/?hl=en\">Odin Mezcaleria\u003c/a>, a Mexican restaurant in Oakland’s Jack London Square that serves the best variations of mezcal cocktails I’ve encountered in the Bay. He’s also a member of \u003ca href=\"https://maestrosdelmezcal.com/\">Maestros del Mezcal\u003c/a>, a non-profit that supports the artisanal traditions of non-corporatized mezcal producers in Mexico, which he sometimes gives public talks about (including at a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/event/4143\">KQED Live event\u003c/a>). He’s also is a brand ambassador for a handful of mezcals that have entered the U.S. market in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Like mezcal itself, Gonzalez is somewhat roguish — a Mexican immigrant who simply loves the beverage and genuinely wants to inform others about how, where and why it’s produced. He’s especially mindful of the maestros, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s important to talk about small productions of small [scale] mezcaleros,” he tells me. “[It’s] one of the most important things. Transparency.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During my visit, he makes a point to name every maestro when holding up each bottle. (Most small-batch productions show the region where the mezcal comes from, the genus of agave, any materials and processes used, and who made it by first and last name.) Throughout the night Gonzalez riffs like a freewheeling jazz musician, improvising with personal anecdotes and backstories about each mezcal and its maestro. It’s not just a flamboyant show of bravado; Gonzalez also drops bountiful knowledge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960399\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960399\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"four bottles of mezcal from Mexico displayed on a table\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4161-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gonzalez has a penchant for small-batch mezcal that can only be found in Mexico. \u003ccite>(Darius Riley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of the main points he drives home is simple: Each mezcal is extremely nuanced in process, craft and result, differing from maestro to maestro, pueblo to pueblo. Mezcal is extremely varied and comes from multiple sources (Mexico has over 300 agave species that vary across the changing climates of the country’s 32 states). Though largely associated with \u003ca href=\"https://atmos.earth/mezcal-oaxaca-environmental-impact/\">Oaxaca — which admittedly accounts for over 90% of mezcal production in the world and has grown in demand at an alarming rate\u003c/a> — mezcal is cultivated in ten disparate regions of Mexico. Oaxaca’s biodiversity certainly allows for an ideal proliferation of the agave-based drink, but as my time with Gonzalez progressed, he went deeper into his metaphorical bag to reveal some of the rarest mezcals I’ve ever tasted, spanning from areas in Guerrero, Chihuahua, Zacatecas and Tamaulipas. He effectively took me on a tour of Mexico with each quarter-shot of mezcal while connecting the dots on his agave map.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One shot of mezcal might yield a zing of gun metal. Another could evoke strawberries. The next? Maybe copper. One mezcal I tasted even had notes of salt and seafood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960397\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960397\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a digitized photo of an indigenous Mexican man wearing a cowboy hat\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4264-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Throughout the year, Gonzalez visits Mexico to spend time with maestros and learn about mezcal from the source. \u003ccite>(Darius Riley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In explaining each pour, Gonzalez is more of a professor than he is a bartender, more poet than salesman. As a former construction worker who knows what it means to use his hands as a means to make ends meet, he has a kindred gratitude for the type of corporeal rigor that mezcal-making demands of its maestros. This isn’t a big-corporate industry, after all; mezcal is still largely homegrown and handmade, demanding a kind of slow-burning discipline of bygone techniques that reflect the slow burn that follows each sip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coyote-, armadillo- and turkey-distilled mezcals (made with \u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/drinks/2016/2/9/10939962/what-is-mezcal-de-pechuga\">a redistillation process\u003c/a> wherein the animal’s carcass is hung over the still)? He’s got that. Unlabeled stashes straight from the pit-fired earth? Yep, it’s a casual part of his rotation. But more than the sipping and smoke blowing, it’s about the context — the magical surrealism that is inherent in Mexico that Gonzalez so effortlessly summons on this side of the border. In the broadest sense, to learn about and better understand mezcal — its permutations, its origins, its peculiarities — is to learn about and better understand Mexico. (“Not all of it is smoky,” Gonzalez says of mezcal, but his aphorism can be applied to the negative perceptions surrounding Mexico as well.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To be clear, I’ve had my fair share of mezcal dalliances; I once found myself drinking mezcal with the governor of Michoacan at a family dinner on a bull ranch. I’ve also sipped it with my uncles and cousins in Veracruz, and enjoyed it at family parties in the States. But an evening with East Oakland’s underground mezcal king is unlike any bar stool I’ve sat on or any drinking tour I’ve attended. For some, \u003ca href=\"https://www.bonappetit.com/story/mezcal-with-yola-jimenez?_sp=f2f2c4d6-bf70-4f1a-9418-23351d1500d7.1718083917830\">mezcal is seen as a spiritual aid\u003c/a>, and it is with this kind of deep reverence that Gonzalez handles the holy beverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960400\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960400\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a mezcal expert points to a circular graph on a table to explain the flavor profiles of mezcal\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/DSCF4148-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The tasting wheel allows Gonzalez, and his guests, to pinpoint the various textures and complexities of mezcal’s many flavors. \u003ccite>(Darius Riley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mezcal in the Bay Area is usually associated with high-end cocktails, which tend to dilute the spirit. It’s rarely consumed in the same way bar-goers might ask for a shot of tequila or a glass of whiskey on the rocks. Though mezcal has entered the mainstream’s vocabulary in recent years, it remains far behind tequila and Corona in terms of its market size and popularity. Part of the reason is that mezcal simply requires a Herculean effort — along with a deep, intimate knowledge — to produce. It lacks the kind of celebrity investment, distribution and brand power of other, more popular Mexican alcoholic beverages. Mezcal is more esoteric, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.bonappetit.com/story/what-is-mezcal\">the Mexican government has sometimes even struggled with enforcing the “quasi-illegal shenanigans” surrounding it\u003c/a>. A\u003ca href=\"https://agaveroadtrip.com/episodes/s2e116-why-lou-says-agave-spirits-instead-of-mezcal\"> Mexican law enacted in 1994 “stole” the word mezcal\u003c/a> from artisanal makers and “laid claim” to it. An \u003cem>Eater\u003c/em> article, appropriately titled “\u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/22929882/mezcal-destilado-de-agave-distilling-indigenous-culture-oaxaca\">The Great Mezcal Heist\u003c/a>,” goes into depth on it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Gonzalez, those misunderstandings are part of what attracts him to the beverage. Like the rest of us, he’s learning as he goes, and he aims to bring clarity and focus to those layers. Sitting inside a clandestine garage with a belly full of suadero and a few pours of rare mezcal, I’m happy to be along for the liquid ride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People ask me, ‘Are you a sommelier for mezcal, a mezcalier?’ No, I am not,” he says. “I am not an expert. Actually, every time I start to read more about it or try to study it too hard, I get more confused. So the only thing I can do is go to Mexico to explore, to make connections with the people and master distillers, to get the most direct knowledge I can. Then I share the best that I can with you. I am just a storyteller.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Hugo Gonzalez is available for private tastings and educational mezcal sessions. Contact him on Instagram (\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/agavesanto/?locale=en-GB\">@agavesanto\u003c/a>) for more details.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "San Jose’s Late-Night Boba Shop Is a One-of-a-Kind Experience",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960436\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960436\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: A gray-haired man proudly holds up two boba drinks while two customers scarf down a bowl of tiramisu.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Jose’s Sweet Gelato Tea Lounge one of the Bay Area’s priciest — and most unique — boba shops. The owner, Tony, runs the place by sheer force of his personality.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003ci>The Midnight Diners\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Thien Pham\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>. 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/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before my first visit to San Jose’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sweetgelatotealounge/\">Sweet Gelato Tea Lounge\u003c/a>, I had never gone out for boba past 11 o’clock — never even knew that was an option, really, when even boba shops in Taipei mostly call it a night by 8 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So when I walked into this little storefront in the Vietnam Town shopping complex on a recent Friday night, I had to take a minute to let it all soak in. The vibey lights bathing the shop in a dim neon purple. The groups of Asian Zoomers and younger Millennials lounging in leather booths. The pastel-hued digital menu board with its vaguely (and not-so-vaguely) inappropriate drink names: the Pop Her Cherry, the PMS (Please Make Sweet), the Don’t Be a Hater and, unbelievably, the Lil Pee Pee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shop is open until 2 a.m. every night, and yes, I do believe that was a red Porsche parked right out front.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When all was said and done, we’d paid $50 (!) for a dessert and two drinks, including one called the “Boba Virgin.” Was it worth it? Your mileage may vary, but at the end of a very, very long night, we couldn’t stop laughing at the ballsiness of the place, and how we’d just taken part in a truly only-in-San-Jose experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, few people embody the Vietnam Town mall’s boot-strappy, go-big-or-go-home ethic better than Sweet Gelato’s owner, who introduces himself as Tony. A trim, energetic older Vietnamese man with salt-and-pepper hair, Tony runs the shop by sheer force of his personality. As soon as we walk in, he pulls us over, gesturing toward the menu, and says, “Forget about this. It doesn’t matter. If you don’t like your drink, you don’t pay. Simple as that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Never mind that we’re already willing customers standing in line to order drinks. Tony holds up his phone to show us an article listing Sweet Gelato Tea Lounge as one of the top boba shops in San Jose. He pulls up the shop’s Yelp page. “Look at how many reviews,” he says. (There are \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/sweet-gelato-tea-lounge-san-jose\">more than 2,000\u003c/a>, for what it’s worth.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960437\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960437\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: The brightly lit exterior of a boba shop called Sweet Gelato.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The shop is open until 2 a.m. every night. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What Tony likes to do, it seems, is to play boba sommelier, insisting that we not waste our time perusing the menu and instead just let him pick out something we’ll like based on our preferences. Do we like smoothies? Milk teas? Something fruity? How do we feel about strawberries? What about dragon fruit?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For someone like me, who’s prone to analyzing a menu for upwards of 10 minutes to engineer the ideal order, giving up control in this way feels more than a little bit stressful. But Tony seems so fired up about the dragon fruit that I warm up to the idea. And that’s how I wind up ordering the Boba Virgin, a vaguely tropical concoction of dragon fruit, pomegranate, basil seeds and both popping boba and the regular tapioca-based variety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tony decides to narrate my first sip. “Look at his face,” he says with palpable excitement. “Look at his face!” The drink is a bit sweet for my taste and doesn’t have any \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13957666/best-boba-shops-bay-area-berkeley-cupertino-sf\">discernible tea flavor\u003c/a>, but I feel too bad about letting Tony down to do anything but nod enthusiastically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We also order a durian smoothie with boba, which costs $18 all by itself, and I’ve never seen anyone make a smoothie with as much vigor as Tony, putting his whole back and shoulders into it as he stirs with a spatula.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13959808,arts_13958466,arts_13957666']\u003c/span>\u003c/span>My biggest piece of advice? Don’t come to Sweet Gelato unprepared, or you’ll be steamrolled by the force of Tony’s charisma and salesmanship. This man could sell me any car in the used car lot. If he sold vacation packages, I’d wind up letting him send me anywhere in the world, via a mode of transportation of his own choosing. We asked one tentative question about the shop’s gelato and other dessert offerings, and before we knew what was happening, he’d taken out two spoons, offered us a taste of tiramisu, and closed the sale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Were the drinks amazing enough to merit the highest prices I’ve ever encountered in a boba shop? I suppose that’s in the eye of the beholder. The durian smoothie was delicious, rich and super-buttery, and loaded with the fruit’s characteristically bold, pungent flavor. Like Tony promised, it was made with 100% \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13925835/durian-bay-area-love-letter-singaporean-culture\">real durian\u003c/a>, and it showed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Really, though, I think the reason the shop has garnered such a cult following (and \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/sweet-gelato-tea-lounge-san-jose\">near-perfect Yelp rating\u003c/a>) has more to do with the shop’s odd quirks and Tony’s unique style of hospitality. A piece of paper taped to the display case previews not new drinks but simply new drink \u003ci>names \u003c/i>that he’s planning to release in the future. (A sample: LIFE (Living It Fiercely Everyday)”) And, in its own way, the entire process of ordering a drink and watching Tony make it (and then watching him watch you drink it!) is a kind of show in and of itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I haven’t encountered anything else like it in 30-plus years of boba drinking.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sweetgelatotealounge/\">\u003ci>Sweet Gelato Tea Lounge\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is open 5 p.m.–2 a.m. daily at 972 Green St. Unit 7084 in San Jose. \u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960436\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960436\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: A gray-haired man proudly holds up two boba drinks while two customers scarf down a bowl of tiramisu.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEET-GELATO-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Jose’s Sweet Gelato Tea Lounge one of the Bay Area’s priciest — and most unique — boba shops. The owner, Tony, runs the place by sheer force of his personality.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003ci>The Midnight Diners\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Thien Pham\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>. 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/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before my first visit to San Jose’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sweetgelatotealounge/\">Sweet Gelato Tea Lounge\u003c/a>, I had never gone out for boba past 11 o’clock — never even knew that was an option, really, when even boba shops in Taipei mostly call it a night by 8 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So when I walked into this little storefront in the Vietnam Town shopping complex on a recent Friday night, I had to take a minute to let it all soak in. The vibey lights bathing the shop in a dim neon purple. The groups of Asian Zoomers and younger Millennials lounging in leather booths. The pastel-hued digital menu board with its vaguely (and not-so-vaguely) inappropriate drink names: the Pop Her Cherry, the PMS (Please Make Sweet), the Don’t Be a Hater and, unbelievably, the Lil Pee Pee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shop is open until 2 a.m. every night, and yes, I do believe that was a red Porsche parked right out front.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When all was said and done, we’d paid $50 (!) for a dessert and two drinks, including one called the “Boba Virgin.” Was it worth it? Your mileage may vary, but at the end of a very, very long night, we couldn’t stop laughing at the ballsiness of the place, and how we’d just taken part in a truly only-in-San-Jose experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, few people embody the Vietnam Town mall’s boot-strappy, go-big-or-go-home ethic better than Sweet Gelato’s owner, who introduces himself as Tony. A trim, energetic older Vietnamese man with salt-and-pepper hair, Tony runs the shop by sheer force of his personality. As soon as we walk in, he pulls us over, gesturing toward the menu, and says, “Forget about this. It doesn’t matter. If you don’t like your drink, you don’t pay. Simple as that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Never mind that we’re already willing customers standing in line to order drinks. Tony holds up his phone to show us an article listing Sweet Gelato Tea Lounge as one of the top boba shops in San Jose. He pulls up the shop’s Yelp page. “Look at how many reviews,” he says. (There are \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/sweet-gelato-tea-lounge-san-jose\">more than 2,000\u003c/a>, for what it’s worth.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960437\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960437\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: The brightly lit exterior of a boba shop called Sweet Gelato.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/SWEEY-GELATO-2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The shop is open until 2 a.m. every night. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What Tony likes to do, it seems, is to play boba sommelier, insisting that we not waste our time perusing the menu and instead just let him pick out something we’ll like based on our preferences. Do we like smoothies? Milk teas? Something fruity? How do we feel about strawberries? What about dragon fruit?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For someone like me, who’s prone to analyzing a menu for upwards of 10 minutes to engineer the ideal order, giving up control in this way feels more than a little bit stressful. But Tony seems so fired up about the dragon fruit that I warm up to the idea. And that’s how I wind up ordering the Boba Virgin, a vaguely tropical concoction of dragon fruit, pomegranate, basil seeds and both popping boba and the regular tapioca-based variety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tony decides to narrate my first sip. “Look at his face,” he says with palpable excitement. “Look at his face!” The drink is a bit sweet for my taste and doesn’t have any \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13957666/best-boba-shops-bay-area-berkeley-cupertino-sf\">discernible tea flavor\u003c/a>, but I feel too bad about letting Tony down to do anything but nod enthusiastically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We also order a durian smoothie with boba, which costs $18 all by itself, and I’ve never seen anyone make a smoothie with as much vigor as Tony, putting his whole back and shoulders into it as he stirs with a spatula.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>My biggest piece of advice? Don’t come to Sweet Gelato unprepared, or you’ll be steamrolled by the force of Tony’s charisma and salesmanship. This man could sell me any car in the used car lot. If he sold vacation packages, I’d wind up letting him send me anywhere in the world, via a mode of transportation of his own choosing. We asked one tentative question about the shop’s gelato and other dessert offerings, and before we knew what was happening, he’d taken out two spoons, offered us a taste of tiramisu, and closed the sale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Were the drinks amazing enough to merit the highest prices I’ve ever encountered in a boba shop? I suppose that’s in the eye of the beholder. The durian smoothie was delicious, rich and super-buttery, and loaded with the fruit’s characteristically bold, pungent flavor. Like Tony promised, it was made with 100% \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13925835/durian-bay-area-love-letter-singaporean-culture\">real durian\u003c/a>, and it showed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Really, though, I think the reason the shop has garnered such a cult following (and \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/sweet-gelato-tea-lounge-san-jose\">near-perfect Yelp rating\u003c/a>) has more to do with the shop’s odd quirks and Tony’s unique style of hospitality. A piece of paper taped to the display case previews not new drinks but simply new drink \u003ci>names \u003c/i>that he’s planning to release in the future. (A sample: LIFE (Living It Fiercely Everyday)”) And, in its own way, the entire process of ordering a drink and watching Tony make it (and then watching him watch you drink it!) is a kind of show in and of itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I haven’t encountered anything else like it in 30-plus years of boba drinking.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sweetgelatotealounge/\">\u003ci>Sweet Gelato Tea Lounge\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is open 5 p.m.–2 a.m. daily at 972 Green St. Unit 7084 in San Jose. \u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Many Friday nights, I’ve pulled up to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> Costco to grab a quick, comforting dinner — not of the warehouse retailer’s famously cheap hot dogs and rotisserie chicken, but something much better: a heaping arroz con gandules combo plate from the food truck parked outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such are the pleasures of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/boriquakitchen/\">Boriqua Kitchen\u003c/a>. As the Bay Area’s only Puerto Rican food truck, it has routinely drawn big crowds at its regular stops — in Richmond, Vallejo and Oakland — where customers line up for chef-owner Darren Anthony Lamboy’s signature “#21 Roberto Clemente” (fried boneless chicken thigh pieces with rice, beans and sweet plantains); its crisp, garlicky tostones; and perhaps my favorite empanadas in the Bay — the deep-fried Puerto Rican variety, stuffed chock-full with incredibly juicy, well-seasoned ground beef.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960349\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13960349 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-800x1067.jpg\" alt='A wooden menu signboard reads \"Puerto Rican Street Food\" at the top.' width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boriqua 2.0 will expand on its old menu (pictured here) with a number of homestyle specials. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>All until this past spring, anyway, when Lamboy \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C4v8Sy9v91g/?img_index=1\">announced that the business was closing\u003c/a>, at least until he was able to secure enough funds to purchase a new food truck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Good news, though, for longtime customers in need of their sofrito and mayuketchup fix: Just three months later, Lamboy was in fact able to buy that new truck. Now, if all goes according to plan, the chef will launch Boriqua Kitchen 2.0 in the next couple of weeks — with an updated menu he promises will be bigger and better than ever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey (with its robust Puerto Rican community), Lamboy has been a staple of the Bay Area’s small but growing Puerto Rican food scene since the mid-2010s. He briefly helped out at \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/borinquen-soul-dishes-out-puerto-rican-grandma-food-inside-an-oakland-convenience-store-2-1/\">Borinquen Soul\u003c/a> — a legendary, now-shuttered spot inside an Oakland convenience store — before attending culinary school and then launching Boriqua Kitchen in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after six and a half years, the old trailer had accumulated a lot of wear and tear and needed to be brought up to code, Lamboy explains. “It served its purpose,” he says. “It was time to get a new one.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of what the shiny new truck, along with a new commissary kitchen in Albany̦, will allow Lamboy to do is expand his menu beyond its six or seven best-known staples. So he plans to bring back his alcapurria — the custardy, oblong beef picadillo fritters — which many regard to be the \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2019/9/24/20881911/puerto-rican-food-alcapurrias-bay-area-food-truck-boriqua-kitchen\">best in the Bay Area\u003c/a>, but rarely showed up on the menu the past couple of years. He’ll serve mini mofongos (mashed fried plantains) and, as an occasional special, the slow-roasted, crispy-skinned pork shoulder known as pernil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960350\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960350\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop.jpg\" alt=\"Fried pork chops over yellow rice in a takeout carton.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ‘piñones’ fried pork chop meal. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13919177,arts_13920581']\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Indeed, Lamboy says he’s most excited about the opportunity to offer more “authentic” homestyle chef’s specials — dishes like sancocho, a hearty meat-and-vegetable stew, and his homemade rum cake. “That’s what I want to be known for: being authentic and consistent,” Lamboy says. “Those are the two things I take to the heart.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for Boriqua Kitchen’s grand reopening, Lamboy says the new truck is currently en route. If there isn’t an unexpected delay, he hopes to relaunch the business with an all-day celebration in the park — maybe at Lake Merritt, though he hasn’t yet decided on the exact time and place.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/boriquakitchen/\">\u003ci>Follow Boriqua Kitchen on Instagram\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> for updates on the food truck’s schedule and reopening date.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Many Friday nights, I’ve pulled up to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> Costco to grab a quick, comforting dinner — not of the warehouse retailer’s famously cheap hot dogs and rotisserie chicken, but something much better: a heaping arroz con gandules combo plate from the food truck parked outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such are the pleasures of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/boriquakitchen/\">Boriqua Kitchen\u003c/a>. As the Bay Area’s only Puerto Rican food truck, it has routinely drawn big crowds at its regular stops — in Richmond, Vallejo and Oakland — where customers line up for chef-owner Darren Anthony Lamboy’s signature “#21 Roberto Clemente” (fried boneless chicken thigh pieces with rice, beans and sweet plantains); its crisp, garlicky tostones; and perhaps my favorite empanadas in the Bay — the deep-fried Puerto Rican variety, stuffed chock-full with incredibly juicy, well-seasoned ground beef.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960349\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13960349 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-800x1067.jpg\" alt='A wooden menu signboard reads \"Puerto Rican Street Food\" at the top.' width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-sign.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boriqua 2.0 will expand on its old menu (pictured here) with a number of homestyle specials. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>All until this past spring, anyway, when Lamboy \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C4v8Sy9v91g/?img_index=1\">announced that the business was closing\u003c/a>, at least until he was able to secure enough funds to purchase a new food truck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Good news, though, for longtime customers in need of their sofrito and mayuketchup fix: Just three months later, Lamboy was in fact able to buy that new truck. Now, if all goes according to plan, the chef will launch Boriqua Kitchen 2.0 in the next couple of weeks — with an updated menu he promises will be bigger and better than ever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey (with its robust Puerto Rican community), Lamboy has been a staple of the Bay Area’s small but growing Puerto Rican food scene since the mid-2010s. He briefly helped out at \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/borinquen-soul-dishes-out-puerto-rican-grandma-food-inside-an-oakland-convenience-store-2-1/\">Borinquen Soul\u003c/a> — a legendary, now-shuttered spot inside an Oakland convenience store — before attending culinary school and then launching Boriqua Kitchen in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after six and a half years, the old trailer had accumulated a lot of wear and tear and needed to be brought up to code, Lamboy explains. “It served its purpose,” he says. “It was time to get a new one.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of what the shiny new truck, along with a new commissary kitchen in Albany̦, will allow Lamboy to do is expand his menu beyond its six or seven best-known staples. So he plans to bring back his alcapurria — the custardy, oblong beef picadillo fritters — which many regard to be the \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2019/9/24/20881911/puerto-rican-food-alcapurrias-bay-area-food-truck-boriqua-kitchen\">best in the Bay Area\u003c/a>, but rarely showed up on the menu the past couple of years. He’ll serve mini mofongos (mashed fried plantains) and, as an occasional special, the slow-roasted, crispy-skinned pork shoulder known as pernil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13960350\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13960350\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop.jpg\" alt=\"Fried pork chops over yellow rice in a takeout carton.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/boriqua-pork-chop-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ‘piñones’ fried pork chop meal. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Indeed, Lamboy says he’s most excited about the opportunity to offer more “authentic” homestyle chef’s specials — dishes like sancocho, a hearty meat-and-vegetable stew, and his homemade rum cake. “That’s what I want to be known for: being authentic and consistent,” Lamboy says. “Those are the two things I take to the heart.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for Boriqua Kitchen’s grand reopening, Lamboy says the new truck is currently en route. If there isn’t an unexpected delay, he hopes to relaunch the business with an all-day celebration in the park — maybe at Lake Merritt, though he hasn’t yet decided on the exact time and place.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/boriquakitchen/\">\u003ci>Follow Boriqua Kitchen on Instagram\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> for updates on the food truck’s schedule and reopening date.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959812\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959812\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy.jpg\" alt=\"Two men devour a pizza straight out of the box while standing in a crowd of other customers.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eating a Golden Boy slice while standing on the sidewalk late at night is an indelible San Francisco experience. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003ci>The Midnight Diners\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Thien Pham\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>. 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/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re a lifelong San Franciscan, chances are you’ve grabbed a slice at \u003ca href=\"https://goldenboypizza.com/\">Golden Boy Pizza\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or to be more specific: If your misspent youth involved hanging around the vicinity of North Beach late at night, you’ve probably burned the roof of your mouth scarfing down a Golden Boy clam-and-garlic slice while standing on the sidewalk well past midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ever since Golden Boy’s original Green Street location opened in 1978, the pizzeria has been an indelible fixture of San Francisco’s late-night scene. Pre-pandemic, and for the bulk of its 40-plus-year heyday as an after-hours hangout, Golden Boy was open past 2 a.m. on the weekend, making it the ideal place to hit up after a punk show or a reckless night of bar-hopping. Back then, the restaurant itself doubled as a neighborhood dive bar of sorts, with pizza eaters squeezing shoulder-to-shoulder at the counter to enjoy pitchers of cold Stella and a thrash metal–heavy playlist with their meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Times change, of course. These days, Golden Boy is strictly takeout only. It now closes at 9 p.m. on weekdays, and 11 p.m. on weekends. But even in its streamlined form, the restaurant remains one of the best spots in the city to grab a bite late at night. At a little before 10 o’clock on a recent Friday night, you could still spot the pizzeria’s iconic neon sign (an enormous hand, lit up in red and green, its index finger pointing the way) from several blocks away. The line outside seemed as long as it had ever been, maybe nine or 10 customers deep — an ethnically diverse crowd, mostly in their 20s or 30s. Because there isn’t any dine-in option, some took off in their cars as they’d gotten their pizzas. A few took their slices into the cocktail bar next door; a few more, like us, found a spot on the sidewalk where they could lean against a wall and eat their pizza standing up, like a proper street food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959811\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959811\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: A line of customers waiting outside of Golden Boy Pizza.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Even though it’s no longer open past 2 a.m. on the weekend, Golden Boy Pizza remains a popular late-night destination in North Beach. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What I love about Golden Boy is its commitment to selling just pizza, nothing else — no perfunctory salad or chicken wings. (If you want a balanced, multicourse meal, there are plenty of other places in North Beach that’ll do the job.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pizza, meanwhile, is uniquely and idiosyncratically Bay Area. A Golden Boy pie’s thick crust and rectangular shape predate the region’s recent wave of trendy, right-angled Detroit-style pizzas by about 40 years — though no one would confuse the two styles. According to its official backstory, a Golden Boy “San Francilian” pie is basically “\u003ca href=\"https://www.goldenboypizza.com/sanfrancisco.php\">focaccia with pizza topping\u003c/a>.” That description might lead you to imagine a pizza with a spongy or bready texture, but the most remarkable thing about a Golden Boy slice is how light and airy it is once you’ve bitten into its golden-brown, impeccably crunchy bottom. Though I’ve never tested the theory, I \u003ci>feel\u003c/i> like I could eat 100 slices without feeling uncomfortably full.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13958926,arts_13958466,arts_13954597']\u003c/span>\u003c/span>It’s a tempting prospect, too, because the pizza’s components are so well-balanced and delicious — the juicy, thick red sauce (hands-down one of the best in the Bay); the generous amount of stretchy cheese; the charred, squared-off edges on each coveted corner slice. The toppings list is short and sweet, not veering far beyond pepperoni, sausage and a few simple vegetables. The clam-and-garlic pie is the cult favorite of the bunch, topped with chewy baby clams, enough garlic to bowl you over and linger on your breath, and a flurry of chopped parsley to act as a fresh counterpoint. How good is it? If we were sculpting a Mount Rushmore of Bay Area pizzas, it would easily snag one of the four spots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Golden Boy also does a more standard combination pizza, as well as a tasty vegetarian pie that subs in pesto for the red sauce. During our recent visit, however, we found ourselves gravitating toward the simplest pizzas — the plain cheese slice and the classic, no-frills pepperoni. Without any fussy toppings to distract, we marinated in that perfect union of cheese, sauce and ethereal crust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t know if this is the best slice in San Francisco, but it sure \u003ci>felt\u003c/i> like it was. Standing there hunched over outside in the lamplight, balancing the pizza box in one hand and a can of soda in the other while we ate. Cars whizzed past. A saxophone guy on the opposite street corner was playing something plaintive and jazzy. In that moment, it was hard to imagine anything better.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://goldenboypizza.com/\">\u003ci>Golden Boy Pizza’s\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> original North Beach location is open Sunday through Thursday 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m. and Friday to Saturday 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. at 542 Green St. in San Francisco. There’s also a San Mateo location and a forthcoming location at 1447 Taraval St., in the Parkside neighborhood of SF.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959812\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959812\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy.jpg\" alt=\"Two men devour a pizza straight out of the box while standing in a crowd of other customers.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eating a Golden Boy slice while standing on the sidewalk late at night is an indelible San Francisco experience. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003ci>The Midnight Diners\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Thien Pham\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>. 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/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re a lifelong San Franciscan, chances are you’ve grabbed a slice at \u003ca href=\"https://goldenboypizza.com/\">Golden Boy Pizza\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or to be more specific: If your misspent youth involved hanging around the vicinity of North Beach late at night, you’ve probably burned the roof of your mouth scarfing down a Golden Boy clam-and-garlic slice while standing on the sidewalk well past midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ever since Golden Boy’s original Green Street location opened in 1978, the pizzeria has been an indelible fixture of San Francisco’s late-night scene. Pre-pandemic, and for the bulk of its 40-plus-year heyday as an after-hours hangout, Golden Boy was open past 2 a.m. on the weekend, making it the ideal place to hit up after a punk show or a reckless night of bar-hopping. Back then, the restaurant itself doubled as a neighborhood dive bar of sorts, with pizza eaters squeezing shoulder-to-shoulder at the counter to enjoy pitchers of cold Stella and a thrash metal–heavy playlist with their meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Times change, of course. These days, Golden Boy is strictly takeout only. It now closes at 9 p.m. on weekdays, and 11 p.m. on weekends. But even in its streamlined form, the restaurant remains one of the best spots in the city to grab a bite late at night. At a little before 10 o’clock on a recent Friday night, you could still spot the pizzeria’s iconic neon sign (an enormous hand, lit up in red and green, its index finger pointing the way) from several blocks away. The line outside seemed as long as it had ever been, maybe nine or 10 customers deep — an ethnically diverse crowd, mostly in their 20s or 30s. Because there isn’t any dine-in option, some took off in their cars as they’d gotten their pizzas. A few took their slices into the cocktail bar next door; a few more, like us, found a spot on the sidewalk where they could lean against a wall and eat their pizza standing up, like a proper street food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959811\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959811\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: A line of customers waiting outside of Golden Boy Pizza.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Goldenboy2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Even though it’s no longer open past 2 a.m. on the weekend, Golden Boy Pizza remains a popular late-night destination in North Beach. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What I love about Golden Boy is its commitment to selling just pizza, nothing else — no perfunctory salad or chicken wings. (If you want a balanced, multicourse meal, there are plenty of other places in North Beach that’ll do the job.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pizza, meanwhile, is uniquely and idiosyncratically Bay Area. A Golden Boy pie’s thick crust and rectangular shape predate the region’s recent wave of trendy, right-angled Detroit-style pizzas by about 40 years — though no one would confuse the two styles. According to its official backstory, a Golden Boy “San Francilian” pie is basically “\u003ca href=\"https://www.goldenboypizza.com/sanfrancisco.php\">focaccia with pizza topping\u003c/a>.” That description might lead you to imagine a pizza with a spongy or bready texture, but the most remarkable thing about a Golden Boy slice is how light and airy it is once you’ve bitten into its golden-brown, impeccably crunchy bottom. Though I’ve never tested the theory, I \u003ci>feel\u003c/i> like I could eat 100 slices without feeling uncomfortably full.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>It’s a tempting prospect, too, because the pizza’s components are so well-balanced and delicious — the juicy, thick red sauce (hands-down one of the best in the Bay); the generous amount of stretchy cheese; the charred, squared-off edges on each coveted corner slice. The toppings list is short and sweet, not veering far beyond pepperoni, sausage and a few simple vegetables. The clam-and-garlic pie is the cult favorite of the bunch, topped with chewy baby clams, enough garlic to bowl you over and linger on your breath, and a flurry of chopped parsley to act as a fresh counterpoint. How good is it? If we were sculpting a Mount Rushmore of Bay Area pizzas, it would easily snag one of the four spots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Golden Boy also does a more standard combination pizza, as well as a tasty vegetarian pie that subs in pesto for the red sauce. During our recent visit, however, we found ourselves gravitating toward the simplest pizzas — the plain cheese slice and the classic, no-frills pepperoni. Without any fussy toppings to distract, we marinated in that perfect union of cheese, sauce and ethereal crust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t know if this is the best slice in San Francisco, but it sure \u003ci>felt\u003c/i> like it was. Standing there hunched over outside in the lamplight, balancing the pizza box in one hand and a can of soda in the other while we ate. Cars whizzed past. A saxophone guy on the opposite street corner was playing something plaintive and jazzy. In that moment, it was hard to imagine anything better.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://goldenboypizza.com/\">\u003ci>Golden Boy Pizza’s\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> original North Beach location is open Sunday through Thursday 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m. and Friday to Saturday 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. at 542 Green St. in San Francisco. There’s also a San Mateo location and a forthcoming location at 1447 Taraval St., in the Parkside neighborhood of SF.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "best-filipino-restaurant-oakland-tipunan-ghost-kitchen",
"title": "The Best Filipino Restaurant in the Bay Area Isn’t a Restaurant at All",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Frisco Foodies is a recurring column in which a San Francisco local shares food memories of growing up in a now rapidly changing city.\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n 1986, when my family first moved to San Francisco from Angeles City, in the Philippines, we were enamored with American fast food: seafood pizza at Shakey’s and Uno’s deep dish on Friday nights, a bucket of KFC with corn and coleslaw, and a “choco shake” from the “McDo’s” drive-thru on Gellert on the way to Lolo’s house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But on special occasions, we would gather the family for a big Filipino feast. We’d head to Fiesta Filipina in Daly City and eat pancit palabok and lechon kawali in an upscale setting, amongst other Filipinos who longed for that sense of community. I remember shifting uncomfortably on the bamboo chairs that mirrored my own living room set at home, my mom always urging me to order the fresh young coconut juice with the red straw peeking out of its top hat, and the halo-halo for dessert. Though we usually ate these dishes at home, the experience of enjoying them out among our people was what made growing up Pinay in The City feel special.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back then, there were so many big Filipino family restaurants to choose from. If you grew up Filipino on the Peninsula in the ’80s and ’90s, you know how to finish the vintage restaurant jingle, “Tito Rey’s…” To this day, any Gen Xer or elder Millennial worth their soy sauce will respond, “…Night or Day!” The bustling 200-seat eatery-turned-nightclub in South San Francisco, with its full bar and ballroom, accommodated the large wave of Filipinos who immigrated to the Bay Area after World War II, increasing the population fivefold. Sadly, the restaurant is no longer around, but the memories of that jingle — and a time when newly-immigrated parents like mine had a place to dine, drink and dance the night away — are burned into my brain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959780\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959780\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant.jpg\" alt=\"Vintage photo of a man singing karaoke at a Filipino restaurant in the 1980s. A group of children seated at a table look on.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1372\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant-800x549.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant-1020x700.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant-768x527.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant-1536x1054.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant-1920x1317.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A young Rocky Rivera (2nd from the right, in green) watches a karaoke singer at a restaurant in Angeles City in the Philippines during the mid-1980s. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Rocky Rivera)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And as we grew older, it was South City establishments like Tito Rey’s and Solita’s that allowed my dance troupe to use their restaurant as a venue because they always had a ballroom — or, at the very least, a dance floor. It was there that I learned that a “Filipino goodbye” was the opposite of an \u003ca href=\"https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/09/irish-goodbye-exit-why-chronic-illness.html\">Irish one\u003c/a>. Kids like me would whine to their parents “Can we go now?” while they made their leisurely rounds bidding farewell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s hard to imagine doing the same now that I’m the parent. It seems like most of today’s Filipino restaurants have either gone fine dining or fast fusion — and, in the meantime, all of those big, family-focused spots have closed. None of the new places are jumping on a Saturday night with a live cover band and couples dressed to the nines, cha-cha-ing it up to the latest hits. Those “third places” for Bay Area Filipinos have largely disappeared, even as our food has finally hit the mainstream. Few places are providing for our need to be fed \u003ci>and\u003c/i> entertained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To be honest, not many of them are serving the kind of Filipino food I want to eat either. This upbringing of abundance made my palate sharp, discerning and always waxing nostalgic. I constantly compare the food at local Fil-Am restaurants to my own mother or grandmother’s style of cooking. And since both sides of my family hail from Pampanga, the culinary capital of the Philippines, I’m not often impressed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957299\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957299\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Pork sisig in a plastic takeout container.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An order of Tipunan’s pork sisig, served in a takeout container. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Until one day in 2020 when I \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13921079/mom-tribute-dia-de-los-muertos-filipino-food-altar-frisco-foodies\">really needed a plate of comfort food\u003c/a> and found it at Tipunan in Oakland — in my opinion, the best classic Filipino food in all of the Bay Area. Deep in the throes of the pandemic, the restaurant’s rich pork belly kare-kare and tangy sinigang provided solace when I was grieving the loss of my mother, strengthening my connection to the motherland that I felt was jeopardized after her passing. And when my father-in-law passed six months after that, we put a plate of his favorite — pork sisig — on our family altar, again courtesy of Tipunan. We ate a lot of takeout during that time, with condolences offered in the form of Venmo pings and food delivery gift cards. It was the ideal consolation for the void we all felt, except for one thing: The place didn’t exist. Which is to say, it didn’t have a physical restaurant space beyond its DoorDash ordering menu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center\">***\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent Friday, Chef Kai Torres-Cansino meets me in the small dining area of Oakland Food Hall, a ghost kitchen facility off East 12th, along with her partner in life and business, Jojo Cansino. They are the founders of Tipunan, which in Tagalog means “gathering place”— an irony not lost on me when I made a vow to finally track them down. Before they moved into this new space in Jingletown, there was no dine-in portion of the restaurant, just a kitchen a few blocks away off East 18th. Even now, the handful of picnic tables outside their new facility are mostly occupied by DoorDash drivers rather than actual customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957303\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957303\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Exterior of the Oakland Food Hall ghost kitchen facility.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The exterior of Oakland Food Hall, which markets itself as a “restaurant co-op” primarily specializing in to-go meals. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Inside these ghost kitchens, Chef Kai cooks her homestyle dishes from Bicol and Pampanga, the cities in the Philippines where her mother and father grew up, respectively. These recipes were passed down from generation to generation, and growing up, she remembers experiencing them most vividly during big reunions with her father’s side of the family in Pampanga.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Have you tried my tocino?” she asks, referring to the specialty dish of sweet marinated pork. “I really love it because it’s really Kapampangan tocino.” She tells me about how she tweaked the recipe to make it taste more similar to the carabao style that’s popular in her hometown. “It’s a little bit sweet-and-sour taste but very Kapampangan. It’s so good,” she says with pride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing up, she learned how to cook from her mom: first chopping tomatoes, then moving up to boiling water and, later, sautéeing and grilling. Her family owned bowling lanes in Manila and Pampanga, so they always ran a cafe on-site, giving Kai the experience to know what good food should taste like — and, more importantly, how to make it to order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957298\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957298\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A spread of Filipino dishes includes kare-kare, a classic stew with a thick savory peanut sauce. For dining in, the Oakland Food Hall offers a handful of seats inside and several picnic tables outside — though often these are occupied by delivery app drivers. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>During this visit to Tipunan, I’ve ordered my usuals: pork rib sinigang, pork sisig, crispy pork belly kare-kare and turon, or caramelized banana lumpia, for dessert. As usual, the sinigang is perfectly sour with tamarind. The kare-kare comes with its savory peanut sauce, bok choy and cabbage kept separate from the ulam, like my Lola used to do, to prevent it from getting soggy — and of course, the crispy pork belly, which takes at least 24 hours to prepare, is spectacular. They also offer healthier tofu versions of their sisig and kare-kare, though Chef Kai stresses that she’s “not a fan of fusion.” “That’s why the food is very classic,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Serving classic Filipino food is easier said than done, as many in the diaspora are extra harsh on businesses that don’t match their taste of home cooking. Any Filipino restaurant will share the same review: “It’s good, but not as good as my Nanay’s and Lola’s.” But Tipunan’s many four- and five-star reviews on DoorDash differ, likening the chef’s cooking to their own family’s spread, a feeling that hits the heart as much as it fills the stomach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Chef Kai has the seasoned palate, her partner, Jojo, is the one who surprised her with a business proposal. “The idea came about because at home, I don’t do any of the cooking because I am usually busy at work,”Jojo explains. “My wife does all the cooking.” So Jojo proposed starting their own business, at first just selling Kai’s prized banana bread and then, eventually, her Filipino home cooking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957302\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957302\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A touch screen menu for a Filipino restaurant.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At Oakland Food Hall, food from over 20 restaurants can be ordered online or on a touchscreen. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I have the spirit of an entrepreneur and I’ve been working for myself for, maybe, fifteen years. And [Kai] was working for a corporate food service,” Jojo recalls. She says she inherited that knack for business from her grandmother, Corazon M. Espino, the first woman governor of the Nueva Vizcaya province in the Philippines. Because she and Kai started the business during the pandemic, they prioritized starting small with a kitchen that had a low start-up cost. For a whole year, it was just the two of them working late into the night and washing dishes afterward. When they got an opportunity to relocate to Oakland Food Hall, it was the streamlined system and better access point for delivery drivers that sealed the deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I must admit that I panicked during the time Tipunan went offline to move locations. I thought to myself that it was too good to be true, wondering about the volatility of starting their business in Oakland, which only has two other traditional Filipino restaurants in the entire city. When they finally went back online, I vowed to track down who was behind this mysterious restaurant with zero social media presence and not even a storefront to promote their business. But now, seeing Tipunan thrive amongst the other kitchens in the food hall, I have hope in this scrappy contender borne from a shared entrepreneurial spirit and love for our culture’s traditional recipes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13921079,arts_13939383,arts_13956683']\u003c/span>As I look around the massive building that houses over twenty partner restaurants in one place, I marvel at its capacity to feed the community, while also employing multiple businesses in one location. It touts itself as a “restaurant co-op” whose mission is “to become your go-to spot for to-go meal.” Inside is a maze of kitchens that are more similar to studios in Hollywood lots than actual restaurants. It’s hard to tell if these “cloud” or “ghost kitchens” are good or bad for the actual workers, but they were a necessity during the pandemic when we were all forced to stay at home indefinitely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And since Tipunan moved in from their previous ghost kitchen in May of 2022, they’ve increased their staff to five and expanded their menu to include bulgogi tacos and burritos. “Some people lost their job and closed their restaurants during the pandemic, and we were the lucky ones because that’s when Tipunan was born,” says Kai. Unlike a full-service restaurant, they’ve been able to experiment with new items and ideas with lower risk, first introducing them to existing customers before branching out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deep down, however, Jojo still wishes they could open a dine-in location. In fact, the couple first met at a \u003ca href=\"https://thefortsf.com/\">Filipino restaurant on the Peninsula \u003c/a>— one that still has events and live music on Saturday nights. “I want to have a space like that, where people on the weekends say, ‘Hey what are you doing? Let’s go hang out at Tipunan. Let’s get something to eat.’ And when you get there, there’s entertainment, we have fun and we create memories,” she says. The most important thing, however, is that they now have a business that’s able to support five employees. “That to me, is rewarding by itself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957300\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957300\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt='Two Filipino women in black \"Tipunan\" shirts sit laughinh on a picnic table.' width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Founders Jojo Cansino (left) and Chef Kai Torres-Cansino sit on a picnic table outside of Tipunan’s ghost kitchen facility. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With so many full-fledged restaurants in the Bay Area still unable to operate seven days a week, those childhood memories of being out and about eating FIlipino food with my family feel like \u003ca href=\"https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=DALY_CITY:_THE_NEW_FILIPINOTOWN\">ancient history\u003c/a>. Hearing elders belt out karaoke hits, their voices hoarse with raucous laughter and drowned in San Miguel beer, felt like a piece of home — except it was right there in South City. A place to find the love of your life, even, like Kai and Jojo did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, I’m just grateful that a place like Tipunan exists to preserve those old recipes and to feed us during all of those important family celebrations — even if we’re laying out the takeout cartons on the dining room table at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, for Chef Kai, at least, the idea of running one of those big family restaurants that used to rule the Bay Area’s Filipino scene is more than a little daunting. “At this kitchen, we’re already here 12 hours a day. How much more at a dine-in to maintain the consistency and quality, and then have the entertainment and bar? I’m gonna be drunk every night!” she laughs.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://tipunan.com/\">\u003ci>Tipunan\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is open for \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://tipunan.com/order-online\">\u003ci>online orders\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, with pickup available at 2353 E.12th St. in Oakland.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13921079/mom-tribute-dia-de-los-muertos-filipino-food-altar-frisco-foodies\">Rocky Rivera\u003c/a> is a journalist, emcee, author and activist from San Francisco. She has four musical projects out, three of those with her label Beatrock Music. She released her first book, entitled \u003c/em>Snakeskin: Essays by Rocky Rivera, \u003cem> in 2021\u003c/em>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Frisco Foodies is a recurring column in which a San Francisco local shares food memories of growing up in a now rapidly changing city.\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">I\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>n 1986, when my family first moved to San Francisco from Angeles City, in the Philippines, we were enamored with American fast food: seafood pizza at Shakey’s and Uno’s deep dish on Friday nights, a bucket of KFC with corn and coleslaw, and a “choco shake” from the “McDo’s” drive-thru on Gellert on the way to Lolo’s house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But on special occasions, we would gather the family for a big Filipino feast. We’d head to Fiesta Filipina in Daly City and eat pancit palabok and lechon kawali in an upscale setting, amongst other Filipinos who longed for that sense of community. I remember shifting uncomfortably on the bamboo chairs that mirrored my own living room set at home, my mom always urging me to order the fresh young coconut juice with the red straw peeking out of its top hat, and the halo-halo for dessert. Though we usually ate these dishes at home, the experience of enjoying them out among our people was what made growing up Pinay in The City feel special.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back then, there were so many big Filipino family restaurants to choose from. If you grew up Filipino on the Peninsula in the ’80s and ’90s, you know how to finish the vintage restaurant jingle, “Tito Rey’s…” To this day, any Gen Xer or elder Millennial worth their soy sauce will respond, “…Night or Day!” The bustling 200-seat eatery-turned-nightclub in South San Francisco, with its full bar and ballroom, accommodated the large wave of Filipinos who immigrated to the Bay Area after World War II, increasing the population fivefold. Sadly, the restaurant is no longer around, but the memories of that jingle — and a time when newly-immigrated parents like mine had a place to dine, drink and dance the night away — are burned into my brain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959780\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959780\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant.jpg\" alt=\"Vintage photo of a man singing karaoke at a Filipino restaurant in the 1980s. A group of children seated at a table look on.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1372\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant-800x549.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant-1020x700.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant-768x527.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant-1536x1054.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/FF-5-1980s-filipino-restaurant-1920x1317.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A young Rocky Rivera (2nd from the right, in green) watches a karaoke singer at a restaurant in Angeles City in the Philippines during the mid-1980s. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Rocky Rivera)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And as we grew older, it was South City establishments like Tito Rey’s and Solita’s that allowed my dance troupe to use their restaurant as a venue because they always had a ballroom — or, at the very least, a dance floor. It was there that I learned that a “Filipino goodbye” was the opposite of an \u003ca href=\"https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/09/irish-goodbye-exit-why-chronic-illness.html\">Irish one\u003c/a>. Kids like me would whine to their parents “Can we go now?” while they made their leisurely rounds bidding farewell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s hard to imagine doing the same now that I’m the parent. It seems like most of today’s Filipino restaurants have either gone fine dining or fast fusion — and, in the meantime, all of those big, family-focused spots have closed. None of the new places are jumping on a Saturday night with a live cover band and couples dressed to the nines, cha-cha-ing it up to the latest hits. Those “third places” for Bay Area Filipinos have largely disappeared, even as our food has finally hit the mainstream. Few places are providing for our need to be fed \u003ci>and\u003c/i> entertained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To be honest, not many of them are serving the kind of Filipino food I want to eat either. This upbringing of abundance made my palate sharp, discerning and always waxing nostalgic. I constantly compare the food at local Fil-Am restaurants to my own mother or grandmother’s style of cooking. And since both sides of my family hail from Pampanga, the culinary capital of the Philippines, I’m not often impressed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957299\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957299\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Pork sisig in a plastic takeout container.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-16-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An order of Tipunan’s pork sisig, served in a takeout container. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Until one day in 2020 when I \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13921079/mom-tribute-dia-de-los-muertos-filipino-food-altar-frisco-foodies\">really needed a plate of comfort food\u003c/a> and found it at Tipunan in Oakland — in my opinion, the best classic Filipino food in all of the Bay Area. Deep in the throes of the pandemic, the restaurant’s rich pork belly kare-kare and tangy sinigang provided solace when I was grieving the loss of my mother, strengthening my connection to the motherland that I felt was jeopardized after her passing. And when my father-in-law passed six months after that, we put a plate of his favorite — pork sisig — on our family altar, again courtesy of Tipunan. We ate a lot of takeout during that time, with condolences offered in the form of Venmo pings and food delivery gift cards. It was the ideal consolation for the void we all felt, except for one thing: The place didn’t exist. Which is to say, it didn’t have a physical restaurant space beyond its DoorDash ordering menu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center\">***\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent Friday, Chef Kai Torres-Cansino meets me in the small dining area of Oakland Food Hall, a ghost kitchen facility off East 12th, along with her partner in life and business, Jojo Cansino. They are the founders of Tipunan, which in Tagalog means “gathering place”— an irony not lost on me when I made a vow to finally track them down. Before they moved into this new space in Jingletown, there was no dine-in portion of the restaurant, just a kitchen a few blocks away off East 18th. Even now, the handful of picnic tables outside their new facility are mostly occupied by DoorDash drivers rather than actual customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957303\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957303\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Exterior of the Oakland Food Hall ghost kitchen facility.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-43-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The exterior of Oakland Food Hall, which markets itself as a “restaurant co-op” primarily specializing in to-go meals. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Inside these ghost kitchens, Chef Kai cooks her homestyle dishes from Bicol and Pampanga, the cities in the Philippines where her mother and father grew up, respectively. These recipes were passed down from generation to generation, and growing up, she remembers experiencing them most vividly during big reunions with her father’s side of the family in Pampanga.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Have you tried my tocino?” she asks, referring to the specialty dish of sweet marinated pork. “I really love it because it’s really Kapampangan tocino.” She tells me about how she tweaked the recipe to make it taste more similar to the carabao style that’s popular in her hometown. “It’s a little bit sweet-and-sour taste but very Kapampangan. It’s so good,” she says with pride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing up, she learned how to cook from her mom: first chopping tomatoes, then moving up to boiling water and, later, sautéeing and grilling. Her family owned bowling lanes in Manila and Pampanga, so they always ran a cafe on-site, giving Kai the experience to know what good food should taste like — and, more importantly, how to make it to order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957298\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957298\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-14-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A spread of Filipino dishes includes kare-kare, a classic stew with a thick savory peanut sauce. For dining in, the Oakland Food Hall offers a handful of seats inside and several picnic tables outside — though often these are occupied by delivery app drivers. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>During this visit to Tipunan, I’ve ordered my usuals: pork rib sinigang, pork sisig, crispy pork belly kare-kare and turon, or caramelized banana lumpia, for dessert. As usual, the sinigang is perfectly sour with tamarind. The kare-kare comes with its savory peanut sauce, bok choy and cabbage kept separate from the ulam, like my Lola used to do, to prevent it from getting soggy — and of course, the crispy pork belly, which takes at least 24 hours to prepare, is spectacular. They also offer healthier tofu versions of their sisig and kare-kare, though Chef Kai stresses that she’s “not a fan of fusion.” “That’s why the food is very classic,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Serving classic Filipino food is easier said than done, as many in the diaspora are extra harsh on businesses that don’t match their taste of home cooking. Any Filipino restaurant will share the same review: “It’s good, but not as good as my Nanay’s and Lola’s.” But Tipunan’s many four- and five-star reviews on DoorDash differ, likening the chef’s cooking to their own family’s spread, a feeling that hits the heart as much as it fills the stomach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Chef Kai has the seasoned palate, her partner, Jojo, is the one who surprised her with a business proposal. “The idea came about because at home, I don’t do any of the cooking because I am usually busy at work,”Jojo explains. “My wife does all the cooking.” So Jojo proposed starting their own business, at first just selling Kai’s prized banana bread and then, eventually, her Filipino home cooking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957302\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957302\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A touch screen menu for a Filipino restaurant.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-38-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At Oakland Food Hall, food from over 20 restaurants can be ordered online or on a touchscreen. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I have the spirit of an entrepreneur and I’ve been working for myself for, maybe, fifteen years. And [Kai] was working for a corporate food service,” Jojo recalls. She says she inherited that knack for business from her grandmother, Corazon M. Espino, the first woman governor of the Nueva Vizcaya province in the Philippines. Because she and Kai started the business during the pandemic, they prioritized starting small with a kitchen that had a low start-up cost. For a whole year, it was just the two of them working late into the night and washing dishes afterward. When they got an opportunity to relocate to Oakland Food Hall, it was the streamlined system and better access point for delivery drivers that sealed the deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I must admit that I panicked during the time Tipunan went offline to move locations. I thought to myself that it was too good to be true, wondering about the volatility of starting their business in Oakland, which only has two other traditional Filipino restaurants in the entire city. When they finally went back online, I vowed to track down who was behind this mysterious restaurant with zero social media presence and not even a storefront to promote their business. But now, seeing Tipunan thrive amongst the other kitchens in the food hall, I have hope in this scrappy contender borne from a shared entrepreneurial spirit and love for our culture’s traditional recipes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>As I look around the massive building that houses over twenty partner restaurants in one place, I marvel at its capacity to feed the community, while also employing multiple businesses in one location. It touts itself as a “restaurant co-op” whose mission is “to become your go-to spot for to-go meal.” Inside is a maze of kitchens that are more similar to studios in Hollywood lots than actual restaurants. It’s hard to tell if these “cloud” or “ghost kitchens” are good or bad for the actual workers, but they were a necessity during the pandemic when we were all forced to stay at home indefinitely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And since Tipunan moved in from their previous ghost kitchen in May of 2022, they’ve increased their staff to five and expanded their menu to include bulgogi tacos and burritos. “Some people lost their job and closed their restaurants during the pandemic, and we were the lucky ones because that’s when Tipunan was born,” says Kai. Unlike a full-service restaurant, they’ve been able to experiment with new items and ideas with lower risk, first introducing them to existing customers before branching out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deep down, however, Jojo still wishes they could open a dine-in location. In fact, the couple first met at a \u003ca href=\"https://thefortsf.com/\">Filipino restaurant on the Peninsula \u003c/a>— one that still has events and live music on Saturday nights. “I want to have a space like that, where people on the weekends say, ‘Hey what are you doing? Let’s go hang out at Tipunan. Let’s get something to eat.’ And when you get there, there’s entertainment, we have fun and we create memories,” she says. The most important thing, however, is that they now have a business that’s able to support five employees. “That to me, is rewarding by itself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957300\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957300\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt='Two Filipino women in black \"Tipunan\" shirts sit laughinh on a picnic table.' width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/240503-TIPUNAN-20-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Founders Jojo Cansino (left) and Chef Kai Torres-Cansino sit on a picnic table outside of Tipunan’s ghost kitchen facility. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With so many full-fledged restaurants in the Bay Area still unable to operate seven days a week, those childhood memories of being out and about eating FIlipino food with my family feel like \u003ca href=\"https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=DALY_CITY:_THE_NEW_FILIPINOTOWN\">ancient history\u003c/a>. Hearing elders belt out karaoke hits, their voices hoarse with raucous laughter and drowned in San Miguel beer, felt like a piece of home — except it was right there in South City. A place to find the love of your life, even, like Kai and Jojo did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, I’m just grateful that a place like Tipunan exists to preserve those old recipes and to feed us during all of those important family celebrations — even if we’re laying out the takeout cartons on the dining room table at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, for Chef Kai, at least, the idea of running one of those big family restaurants that used to rule the Bay Area’s Filipino scene is more than a little daunting. “At this kitchen, we’re already here 12 hours a day. How much more at a dine-in to maintain the consistency and quality, and then have the entertainment and bar? I’m gonna be drunk every night!” she laughs.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://tipunan.com/\">\u003ci>Tipunan\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is open for \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://tipunan.com/order-online\">\u003ci>online orders\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, with pickup available at 2353 E.12th St. in Oakland.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13921079/mom-tribute-dia-de-los-muertos-filipino-food-altar-frisco-foodies\">Rocky Rivera\u003c/a> is a journalist, emcee, author and activist from San Francisco. She has four musical projects out, three of those with her label Beatrock Music. She released her first book, entitled \u003c/em>Snakeskin: Essays by Rocky Rivera, \u003cem> in 2021\u003c/em>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "the-laundromat-pizza-outer-richmond-musicians-bands-staff",
"title": "Your Favorite Local Band Member Is Serving You Pizza in the Outer Richmond",
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"headTitle": "Your Favorite Local Band Member Is Serving You Pizza in the Outer Richmond | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>On Wednesday evenings, Alex Wolfert feels like he’s on stage — even if none of his three bands is performing that night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because Wolfert, 24, works Wednesdays at \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelaundromatsf.com/\">The Laundromat\u003c/a> — a bagels-in-the-morning, pizzas-and-wine-in-the-evening spot in San Francisco’s Outer Richmond that doubles as a micro-community of the city’s indie musicians. Hours pass to the hum of vinyl LPs from its sizable collection; dough and industry advice are thrown and caught; band tees are complimented. Co-workers’ demos are played on shared rides home, and employees cover shifts when others play shows or go on tour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But mainly, The Laundromat’s supportive, tight-knit staff show that the artist’s tradition of working behind a counter on the nights not spent on stage is alive and well in an increasingly unaffordable, tech-centered city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959564\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959564\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alex Wolfert serves orders at The Laundromat, where he works alongside other musicians from San Francisco bands. Wolfert plays in Uncle Chris, Double Helix Peace Treaty and Starfish Prime. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On a typical shift, Wolfert, with his easy smile, might step outside to wipe down a table, passing the hour-long line and white horizon of Ocean Beach. His thoughts will race: He needs to text Joey he can record this week; Korey wants to rehearse next week; that one party needs water; two tables need to be set. Then he’ll grab a mushroom combo, balancing dipping dishes of honey and ranch between his fingers, and slide them all onto a crowded table.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the phone rings, he’ll notice the Groove Armada record is on the penultimate track of Side B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One! More! Song!” he chirps in these moments over the beat to co-workers, Max Edelman, 29 (drummer for alt-rock band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sourwidows\">Sour Widows\u003c/a> and black metal band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rokeblackmetal/\">Roke\u003c/a>), and Eva Treadway, 29 (guitarist in the ’60s-style pop band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/theshesmusic/\">The She’s\u003c/a> and the noisy ’90s-style rock group \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/world_smasher/\">World Smasher\u003c/a>). Edelman might be pouring a skin-contact orange wine into one patron’s glass while Treadway — wearing a baseball cap with the word “Laundromat” in a squiggly font, designed by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/secret.cobra.information/\">Trey Flanigan\u003c/a> of local band \u003ca href=\"https://pardoner.bandcamp.com/\">Pardoner\u003c/a> — pours a chilled red into another. A sausage pie’s ready for delivery. The phone’s ringing again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959565\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959565\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eva Treadway and Max Edelman work behind the bar at The Laundromat. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Busy nights like these are exhilarating to Wolfert. It’s like when his fingers are on the bass strings at Kilowatt or the Knockout. He plays with the jazz-inspired indie-pop group \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985883/uncle-chris-dove-on-the-ocean\">Uncle Chris,\u003c/a> the rock-driven songwriting-forward alt-pop of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/starfishprime999/\">Starfish Prime\u003c/a> and the gritty, edgy sounds of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/doublehelix.peacetreaty/\">Double Helix Peace Treaty\u003c/a>. Working at The Laundromat can be like the climax of a song, he says. The crowd is rapt. The band’s locked in. The sound engineer is waving a symbol he can half see. His friends are in the front row making heart hands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a beast flowing through the air at that moment, he says. At The Laundromat, it’s caught and upheld by his co-workers, who are also his friends and some of his favorite musicians, similarly running pizzas or laughing in passing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are parallels in service as in performance,” says Treadway just before their shift on a recent Wednesday. “We have our flow and we’re putting on a little bit of a show. Like, you’re providing this environment, you’re helping to curate it and you’re helping it to run, and you’re really fucking leaning on the people around you as your team.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Navigating this organized chaos comes naturally to people who’ve worked together in a collaborative way artistically, Treadway adds, “because so much of being in a band is compromise and truly working together and doing hard things together. I don’t know anyone that’s a working musician in San Francisco that’s not working really, really hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959557\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959557\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eva Treadway poses for a portrait at The Laundromat. Treadway plays in The She’s and World Smasher. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Musicians have worked service jobs since the beginning of undercompensated music and undercompensated labor. But the marriage’s harmony largely depends on institutional support – especially in San Francisco, where rents are always going up, prices are high and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/under-100k-low-income-san-francisco-18168899.php\">anyone making less than $100,000 a year is considered low-income\u003c/a>. The Tenderloin rehearsal space shared by two of Wolfert’s bands, a tight room split between five bands total, costs $800 a month. He lives with four roommates, one of whom is a bandmate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked how to best support San Francisco’s musicians, Treadway says to tip well and pay in cash. Break out of the “transaction” mindset. Sometimes people forget their waiter is “a cool person who’s working really hard, who has their own interests, who maybe has their own band,” they add.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Supporting your local restaurant is supporting your local musicians,” says Treadway. “Never forget it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959555\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959555\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Max Edelman poses for a portrait at The Laundromat. Edelman plays in the bands Sour Widows and Roke. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The city’s music scene is a fragile ecosystem, one supported through ticket and merch sales and prenegotiated percentages of the bar. And it’s supported most directly by the musicians themselves, waiting tables and humming a song idea as they grab Table Three’s vegan cheese.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local music survives, says Wolfert, because of places like The Laundromat, and because people in the scene help each other out. Musicians hook other musicians up with places to practice or record; they ask local acts to open when they headline; they let them know when their neighborhood pizza place is hiring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959563\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959563\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alex Wolfert talks with a co-worker at The Laundromat. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“As a musician, I feel like you’re working so many different jobs all at once,” says Edelman. “And then you work your job. And you’re not being paid, usually, for the music aspect.” Edelman, who’s tended bar at The Laundromat for more than a year, learned about the job from an Instagram post by Treadway, right after the two returned to San Francisco from playing South by Southwest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Treadway calls The Laundromat “a project”; Edelman opts for a musician-artist space as well as a culinary spot. Wolfert jokes that people say from the outside, it looks like “a little cult.” (The Laundromat’s musician staff also includes Keith Frerichs of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/theumbrellassf/\">The Umbrellas\u003c/a>, who is absent on this particular day to prepare for a North American tour.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Wolfert worked at a prior pizza place, he says he felt validated as a musician. But there’s validation, and then there’s encouragement from managers and owners. Here, your co-workers and bosses will proactively sit down around a calendar of your upcoming tour dates. They’ll work together to cover shifts; they’ll make it happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959559\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959559\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bumper stickers by Christopher DeLoach (@thatscoolthankyou on Instagram) hang at the entrance to The Laundromat. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Laundromat co-owners Kevin Rodgers and Jenna O’Connell don’t play music themselves, but both have histories of working with musicians in the service industry. The Laundromat, Rodgers says, is the most musician-concentrated workplace in his career. With so many band members and music lovers on staff, Rodgers says, they all just get it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Feeling like you’re in a place where your actual artistic endeavors are supported, that feels really important to me as someone who has played music my whole life,” says Treadway. “What makes people whole is being able to participate in their artistic endeavors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ever since Treadway started in San Francisco’s music scene, people have said that the scene is dying. That everyone’s moving to L.A. They don’t think that’s true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s always going to be music in San Francisco,” Treadway says. “It’s in the DNA of the city, and has been since before any of us even were considered to exist.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/theumbrellassf/\">The Umbrellas\u003c/a> are currently touring North America, and play \u003ca href=\"https://dice.fm/event/wkpon-the-umbrellas-pocket-full-of-crumbs-and-latitude-29th-jun-kilowatt-san-francisco-tickets?\">Saturday, June 29, at Kilowatt in San Francisco\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sourwidows.com/\">Sour Widows\u003c/a> begins a U.S. tour this month, and plays \u003ca href=\"https://theindependentsf.com/event/13375114/sour-widows/\">Saturday, July 13, at the Independent\u003c/a> in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/doublehelix.peacetreaty/\">Double Helix Peace Treaty\u003c/a> plays \u003ca href=\"https://www.4-star-movies.com/calendar-of-events/credit-electric-w-dutch-interior-amp-double-helix-peace-treaty-doors-700-pm-music-730-pm\">Wednesday, August 14, at the 4 Star Theater\u003c/a> in San Francisco.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Wednesday evenings, Alex Wolfert feels like he’s on stage — even if none of his three bands is performing that night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because Wolfert, 24, works Wednesdays at \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelaundromatsf.com/\">The Laundromat\u003c/a> — a bagels-in-the-morning, pizzas-and-wine-in-the-evening spot in San Francisco’s Outer Richmond that doubles as a micro-community of the city’s indie musicians. Hours pass to the hum of vinyl LPs from its sizable collection; dough and industry advice are thrown and caught; band tees are complimented. Co-workers’ demos are played on shared rides home, and employees cover shifts when others play shows or go on tour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But mainly, The Laundromat’s supportive, tight-knit staff show that the artist’s tradition of working behind a counter on the nights not spent on stage is alive and well in an increasingly unaffordable, tech-centered city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959564\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959564\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-75-BL_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alex Wolfert serves orders at The Laundromat, where he works alongside other musicians from San Francisco bands. Wolfert plays in Uncle Chris, Double Helix Peace Treaty and Starfish Prime. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On a typical shift, Wolfert, with his easy smile, might step outside to wipe down a table, passing the hour-long line and white horizon of Ocean Beach. His thoughts will race: He needs to text Joey he can record this week; Korey wants to rehearse next week; that one party needs water; two tables need to be set. Then he’ll grab a mushroom combo, balancing dipping dishes of honey and ranch between his fingers, and slide them all onto a crowded table.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the phone rings, he’ll notice the Groove Armada record is on the penultimate track of Side B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One! More! Song!” he chirps in these moments over the beat to co-workers, Max Edelman, 29 (drummer for alt-rock band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sourwidows\">Sour Widows\u003c/a> and black metal band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rokeblackmetal/\">Roke\u003c/a>), and Eva Treadway, 29 (guitarist in the ’60s-style pop band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/theshesmusic/\">The She’s\u003c/a> and the noisy ’90s-style rock group \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/world_smasher/\">World Smasher\u003c/a>). Edelman might be pouring a skin-contact orange wine into one patron’s glass while Treadway — wearing a baseball cap with the word “Laundromat” in a squiggly font, designed by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/secret.cobra.information/\">Trey Flanigan\u003c/a> of local band \u003ca href=\"https://pardoner.bandcamp.com/\">Pardoner\u003c/a> — pours a chilled red into another. A sausage pie’s ready for delivery. The phone’s ringing again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959565\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959565\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-76-BL_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eva Treadway and Max Edelman work behind the bar at The Laundromat. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Busy nights like these are exhilarating to Wolfert. It’s like when his fingers are on the bass strings at Kilowatt or the Knockout. He plays with the jazz-inspired indie-pop group \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985883/uncle-chris-dove-on-the-ocean\">Uncle Chris,\u003c/a> the rock-driven songwriting-forward alt-pop of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/starfishprime999/\">Starfish Prime\u003c/a> and the gritty, edgy sounds of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/doublehelix.peacetreaty/\">Double Helix Peace Treaty\u003c/a>. Working at The Laundromat can be like the climax of a song, he says. The crowd is rapt. The band’s locked in. The sound engineer is waving a symbol he can half see. His friends are in the front row making heart hands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a beast flowing through the air at that moment, he says. At The Laundromat, it’s caught and upheld by his co-workers, who are also his friends and some of his favorite musicians, similarly running pizzas or laughing in passing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are parallels in service as in performance,” says Treadway just before their shift on a recent Wednesday. “We have our flow and we’re putting on a little bit of a show. Like, you’re providing this environment, you’re helping to curate it and you’re helping it to run, and you’re really fucking leaning on the people around you as your team.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Navigating this organized chaos comes naturally to people who’ve worked together in a collaborative way artistically, Treadway adds, “because so much of being in a band is compromise and truly working together and doing hard things together. I don’t know anyone that’s a working musician in San Francisco that’s not working really, really hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959557\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959557\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-59-BL_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eva Treadway poses for a portrait at The Laundromat. Treadway plays in The She’s and World Smasher. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Musicians have worked service jobs since the beginning of undercompensated music and undercompensated labor. But the marriage’s harmony largely depends on institutional support – especially in San Francisco, where rents are always going up, prices are high and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/under-100k-low-income-san-francisco-18168899.php\">anyone making less than $100,000 a year is considered low-income\u003c/a>. The Tenderloin rehearsal space shared by two of Wolfert’s bands, a tight room split between five bands total, costs $800 a month. He lives with four roommates, one of whom is a bandmate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked how to best support San Francisco’s musicians, Treadway says to tip well and pay in cash. Break out of the “transaction” mindset. Sometimes people forget their waiter is “a cool person who’s working really hard, who has their own interests, who maybe has their own band,” they add.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Supporting your local restaurant is supporting your local musicians,” says Treadway. “Never forget it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959555\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959555\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-03-BL_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Max Edelman poses for a portrait at The Laundromat. Edelman plays in the bands Sour Widows and Roke. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The city’s music scene is a fragile ecosystem, one supported through ticket and merch sales and prenegotiated percentages of the bar. And it’s supported most directly by the musicians themselves, waiting tables and humming a song idea as they grab Table Three’s vegan cheese.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local music survives, says Wolfert, because of places like The Laundromat, and because people in the scene help each other out. Musicians hook other musicians up with places to practice or record; they ask local acts to open when they headline; they let them know when their neighborhood pizza place is hiring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959563\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959563\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-72-BL_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alex Wolfert talks with a co-worker at The Laundromat. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“As a musician, I feel like you’re working so many different jobs all at once,” says Edelman. “And then you work your job. And you’re not being paid, usually, for the music aspect.” Edelman, who’s tended bar at The Laundromat for more than a year, learned about the job from an Instagram post by Treadway, right after the two returned to San Francisco from playing South by Southwest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Treadway calls The Laundromat “a project”; Edelman opts for a musician-artist space as well as a culinary spot. Wolfert jokes that people say from the outside, it looks like “a little cult.” (The Laundromat’s musician staff also includes Keith Frerichs of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/theumbrellassf/\">The Umbrellas\u003c/a>, who is absent on this particular day to prepare for a North American tour.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Wolfert worked at a prior pizza place, he says he felt validated as a musician. But there’s validation, and then there’s encouragement from managers and owners. Here, your co-workers and bosses will proactively sit down around a calendar of your upcoming tour dates. They’ll work together to cover shifts; they’ll make it happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959559\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959559\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/240605-TheLaundromatRestaurant-65-BL_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bumper stickers by Christopher DeLoach (@thatscoolthankyou on Instagram) hang at the entrance to The Laundromat. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Laundromat co-owners Kevin Rodgers and Jenna O’Connell don’t play music themselves, but both have histories of working with musicians in the service industry. The Laundromat, Rodgers says, is the most musician-concentrated workplace in his career. With so many band members and music lovers on staff, Rodgers says, they all just get it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Feeling like you’re in a place where your actual artistic endeavors are supported, that feels really important to me as someone who has played music my whole life,” says Treadway. “What makes people whole is being able to participate in their artistic endeavors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ever since Treadway started in San Francisco’s music scene, people have said that the scene is dying. That everyone’s moving to L.A. They don’t think that’s true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s always going to be music in San Francisco,” Treadway says. “It’s in the DNA of the city, and has been since before any of us even were considered to exist.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/theumbrellassf/\">The Umbrellas\u003c/a> are currently touring North America, and play \u003ca href=\"https://dice.fm/event/wkpon-the-umbrellas-pocket-full-of-crumbs-and-latitude-29th-jun-kilowatt-san-francisco-tickets?\">Saturday, June 29, at Kilowatt in San Francisco\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sourwidows.com/\">Sour Widows\u003c/a> begins a U.S. tour this month, and plays \u003ca href=\"https://theindependentsf.com/event/13375114/sour-widows/\">Saturday, July 13, at the Independent\u003c/a> in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/doublehelix.peacetreaty/\">Double Helix Peace Treaty\u003c/a> plays \u003ca href=\"https://www.4-star-movies.com/calendar-of-events/credit-electric-w-dutch-interior-amp-double-helix-peace-treaty-doors-700-pm-music-730-pm\">Wednesday, August 14, at the 4 Star Theater\u003c/a> in San Francisco.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Kinda Is Bringing the Fun Back to Bay Area Izakaya",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959437\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959437\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Two men eating noodles and sushi hand rolls at a bar counter.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Berkeley’s Kinda Izakaya stands apart from the masses of expensive and overly precious izakayas in the Bay Area. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003ci>The Midnight Diners\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Thien Pham\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>. 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/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on vibes alone, I knew \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kinda.izakaya/\">Kinda Izakaya\u003c/a> was going to be my kind of spot the moment I walked in. The walls were papered over with manga panels and vintage-y beer posters featuring sumo wrestlers and lucky cats. Yellow Asahi beer crates had been flipped upside down to use as stools. Strings of paper lanterns and colorful little flags gave the feeling of dining outdoors in an alleyway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I took one whiff of the smoke coming off the charcoal grill, and all of the pleasure receptors in my brain started firing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Open since last summer, Kinda is Berkeley’s newest izakaya — which, broadly defined, is a kind of Japanese pub that serves food that goes well with beer and sake. It’s one of my favorite restaurant genres. But with a few notable \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/review-abura-ya-a-punk-rock-fried-chicken-pop-up-1/\">exceptions\u003c/a>, Bay Area restaurateurs have tended to reinterpret the izakaya to mean an upscale bar that traffics in $15 meat skewers and stingily-portioned $25 plates of raw fish — and closes well before 10 p.m., as if to add insult to injury.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What Kinda seems to understand on a molecular level is that izakaya culture is meant to be fun, a little bit boisterous and very, very casual. The restaurant is open until midnight on weekends, and at a little past 9 o’clock on a recent Friday night, the place was packed — a mix of middle-aged couples seated shoulder to shoulder at the bar and groups of twenty- and thirtysomethings chatting happily as they split a big spread of dishes. The dining room thrummed with upbeat J-pop that made you want to dance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959438\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959438\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: View of a Japanese izakaya from outside the front window. Paper lanterns and flags are hung up both inside and out.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">On weekends, Kinda is open — and lively — until midnight. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Kinda has the fun and casual part down, even if it isn’t exactly a cheap restaurant; it’d still be a splurge for most college students schlepping over from Cal’s campus, which is a few blocks away. That said, you can buy a big-ass pitcher of cold beer for $24. And the menu is broad and varied enough to make it just as easy to piece together a tasty meal for about $30 a person as it is to ball out and drop a couple hundred bucks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most importantly, the menu runs the gamut of typical izakaya food categories — raw seafood, salads, skewers, fried things, skewers, rice bowls, noodles and more — with enough verve and creativity to keep things interesting. If anything, the menu is so long, and everything sounds so fun, that you might be hit with decision-making panic. “Golden spoons” with ikura, uni and Hokkaido scallops? Grilled beef tongue with ponzu, egg yolk and fresh wasabi? That same tongue served on a curry plate? With sufficient stomach space and a more robust budget, we would have ordered it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13958926,arts_13957599,arts_13955884']\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Most everything we did order hit the spot. There was a block of cold tofu topped with sweet seaweed and salmon roe, equal parts briny and refreshing. There was a big bowl of fried chicken skin (at $10, the deal of the night), as immaculately crunchy as the wonton strips they serve at Americanized Chinese restaurants, which was the ideal match for cold beer. There were hand rolls piled high with grilled eel and ponzu-kissed raw yellowtail. Our favorite was a bowl of udon carbonara topped with bonito flakes and spicy, bright-orange cod roe — a creamy, buttery taste of the sea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We finished with a grilled rice ball that had been brushed with a sweet soy sauce glaze and cooked over hot charcoal until it was smoky and crunchy and perfectly golden-brown: an elite-tier final bite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kinda is also the rare Bay Area restaurant that feels tailor-made for a solo (midnight) diner — where you can swing by after work, grab a seat at the bar, order a couple of cold appetizers and a plate of mentaiko pasta, and feel completely comfortable and unhurried. I think we can all toast to that.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://kindaizakaya.com/\">\u003ci>Kinda Izakaya\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is open Monday through Thursday 5:30–11 p.m. and Friday to Saturday 5:30 p.m.–midnight at 1941 University Ave. in Berkeley.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959437\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959437\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Two men eating noodles and sushi hand rolls at a bar counter.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Berkeley’s Kinda Izakaya stands apart from the masses of expensive and overly precious izakayas in the Bay Area. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003ci>The Midnight Diners\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Thien Pham\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>. 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/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on vibes alone, I knew \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kinda.izakaya/\">Kinda Izakaya\u003c/a> was going to be my kind of spot the moment I walked in. The walls were papered over with manga panels and vintage-y beer posters featuring sumo wrestlers and lucky cats. Yellow Asahi beer crates had been flipped upside down to use as stools. Strings of paper lanterns and colorful little flags gave the feeling of dining outdoors in an alleyway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I took one whiff of the smoke coming off the charcoal grill, and all of the pleasure receptors in my brain started firing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Open since last summer, Kinda is Berkeley’s newest izakaya — which, broadly defined, is a kind of Japanese pub that serves food that goes well with beer and sake. It’s one of my favorite restaurant genres. But with a few notable \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/review-abura-ya-a-punk-rock-fried-chicken-pop-up-1/\">exceptions\u003c/a>, Bay Area restaurateurs have tended to reinterpret the izakaya to mean an upscale bar that traffics in $15 meat skewers and stingily-portioned $25 plates of raw fish — and closes well before 10 p.m., as if to add insult to injury.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What Kinda seems to understand on a molecular level is that izakaya culture is meant to be fun, a little bit boisterous and very, very casual. The restaurant is open until midnight on weekends, and at a little past 9 o’clock on a recent Friday night, the place was packed — a mix of middle-aged couples seated shoulder to shoulder at the bar and groups of twenty- and thirtysomethings chatting happily as they split a big spread of dishes. The dining room thrummed with upbeat J-pop that made you want to dance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959438\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959438\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: View of a Japanese izakaya from outside the front window. Paper lanterns and flags are hung up both inside and out.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/kinda-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">On weekends, Kinda is open — and lively — until midnight. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Kinda has the fun and casual part down, even if it isn’t exactly a cheap restaurant; it’d still be a splurge for most college students schlepping over from Cal’s campus, which is a few blocks away. That said, you can buy a big-ass pitcher of cold beer for $24. And the menu is broad and varied enough to make it just as easy to piece together a tasty meal for about $30 a person as it is to ball out and drop a couple hundred bucks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most importantly, the menu runs the gamut of typical izakaya food categories — raw seafood, salads, skewers, fried things, skewers, rice bowls, noodles and more — with enough verve and creativity to keep things interesting. If anything, the menu is so long, and everything sounds so fun, that you might be hit with decision-making panic. “Golden spoons” with ikura, uni and Hokkaido scallops? Grilled beef tongue with ponzu, egg yolk and fresh wasabi? That same tongue served on a curry plate? With sufficient stomach space and a more robust budget, we would have ordered it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Most everything we did order hit the spot. There was a block of cold tofu topped with sweet seaweed and salmon roe, equal parts briny and refreshing. There was a big bowl of fried chicken skin (at $10, the deal of the night), as immaculately crunchy as the wonton strips they serve at Americanized Chinese restaurants, which was the ideal match for cold beer. There were hand rolls piled high with grilled eel and ponzu-kissed raw yellowtail. Our favorite was a bowl of udon carbonara topped with bonito flakes and spicy, bright-orange cod roe — a creamy, buttery taste of the sea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We finished with a grilled rice ball that had been brushed with a sweet soy sauce glaze and cooked over hot charcoal until it was smoky and crunchy and perfectly golden-brown: an elite-tier final bite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kinda is also the rare Bay Area restaurant that feels tailor-made for a solo (midnight) diner — where you can swing by after work, grab a seat at the bar, order a couple of cold appetizers and a plate of mentaiko pasta, and feel completely comfortable and unhurried. I think we can all toast to that.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://kindaizakaya.com/\">\u003ci>Kinda Izakaya\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is open Monday through Thursday 5:30–11 p.m. and Friday to Saturday 5:30 p.m.–midnight at 1941 University Ave. in Berkeley.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "taiwanese-cookbook-clarissa-wei-interview-sf-bay-area",
"title": "Clarissa’s Wei’s ‘Made in Taiwan’ Is the Taiwanese Cookbook I’ve Always Wanted",
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"headTitle": "Clarissa’s Wei’s ‘Made in Taiwan’ Is the Taiwanese Cookbook I’ve Always Wanted | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959272\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959272\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11.jpg\" alt=\"A spread of homestyle Taiwanese dishes laid out on a pink and white checked tablecloth.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-800x550.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-1020x701.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-768x528.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-1536x1056.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A spread of family-style Taiwanese dishes from Clarissa Wei’s cookbook, ‘Made in Taiwan.’ \u003ccite>(Ryan Chen and Yen Wei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a homesick Taiwanese American, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">I spent years\u003c/a> scouring the Asian strip malls of Fremont and Milpitas for passable versions of my \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/eatingtaiwanese\">favorite Taiwanese dishes\u003c/a> — beef noodle soup and fat-slicked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">lu rou fan\u003c/a> — before I came to what might seem like an obvious realization: I could just try cooking the dishes myself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the eight months since I started cooking my way through Clarissa Wei’s wonderful, \u003ca href=\"https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/2024-media-award-nominees\">James Beard Award–nominated\u003c/a> cookbook, \u003ca href=\"https://clarissawei.com/madeintaiwan\">\u003ci>Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, which was published this past September, I’ve been eating nostalgic dishes from my childhood more frequently than ever. Thanks to the careful and precise instruction from Wei and her co-author, the Taiwanese cooking instructor \u003ca href=\"https://kitchenivy.com/i\">Ivy Chen\u003c/a>, I’ve been frying up pork chops that taste just like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/2019/3/6/18241749/bento-box-best-food-train-stations-taiwan\">bento boxes\u003c/a> I remember buying at the train station in Taipei. I cooked a plate of wok-kissed clams and basil that reminded me of seaside day trips on the island.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the process, I’ve learned so many things I never knew about my native country’s cuisine — about the vast differences between Chinese and Taiwanese soy sauces, and the island’s rich culture of beer-friendly outdoor “rechao” restaurants I’d always walked past but felt too out of my depth to patronize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-13959274\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1020x1268.jpg\" alt=\"The green cover of the cookbook 'Made in Taiwan,' which shows a spread of beer-friendly dishes \" width=\"430\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1020x1268.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-800x994.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-160x199.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-768x954.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1236x1536.jpg 1236w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1648x2048.jpg 1648w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px\">This came as no surprise. Over the past decade, Wei, who grew up in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley, has built a reputation as one of English-language media’s foremost experts on Taiwanese food — someone who, in her writing about the cuisine, has always expanded the conversation beyond the most obvious handful of dishes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since moving to Taipei in 2020, Wei says her first-hand experience with the island’s highly globalized, ever-evolving food scene has dispelled any notion she had that there’s such a thing as “authentic” Taiwanese cuisine. At the same time, \u003ci>Made in Taiwan \u003c/i>reads differently from the current wave of Asian American cookbooks that lean into a more diasporic, Americanized point of view. In addition to enlisting Chen, an ace local chef, as her co-author, Wei recruited an all-local team of Taiwanese researchers, food stylists and photographers. She often traveled to distant corners of the island to track down a chef’s authoritative, regionally specific recipe for a dish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at this political moment, when the Chinese government’s refusal to recognize Taiwanese sovereignty and cultural identity makes \u003ca href=\"https://newbloommag.net/2024/06/02/taiwanese-entertainers-post-lai/\">daily\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/world/asia/china-taiwan-drills.html\">headlines\u003c/a>, \u003ci>Made in Taiwan\u003c/i> makes an eloquent \u003ca href=\"https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/19/taiwan-lai-ching-te-president-inauguration-banquet-food-china-culture-democracy/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921\">“soft power” argument\u003c/a> by elucidating, from cover to cover, the breadth and beauty of Taiwan’s own distinct cuisine — a cuisine shaped by centuries of colonization, migration and cultural intermingling that isn’t “just another provincial expression of Chinese food at large.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All I can do is celebrate our humanity through the lens of food,” Wei writes in the book’s introduction. “I hope the world can see Taiwan as more than just a geopolitical chess piece or a controversial island near China with great night markets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahead of Wei’s two in-person Bay Area appearances on June 10 and 11, in \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/liangs-village-made-in-taiwan-happy-hour-with-clarissa-wei-tickets-902012783517?aff=oddtdtcreator\">Cupertino\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/liangs-village-made-in-taiwan-happy-hour-with-clarissa-wei-tickets-902012783517?aff=oddtdtcreator\">Emeryville\u003c/a> respectively, I chatted with her about cookbook diplomacy, Taiwan’s distinct “kou wei,” and the next step in the evolution of Taiwanese restaurants in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center\">***\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Luke Tsai: It seems like something every Taiwanese cookbook for a U.S. audience needs to do is to delineate what Taiwanese food is and how it’s distinct from Chinese food. How much of a political act do you feel it is to write a book like \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>Made in Taiwan\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb> that, at this particular moment, essentially argues, “Taiwanese food is its own separate thing.”\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clarissa Wei:\u003c/b> I think if one is subscribing to the China narrative, anything that talks about Taiwanese identity is inherently political. Because I had to write the book for an international audience, and because Taiwan’s standing on the international stage is murky, I have to inhabit that stance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as a Taiwanese person living here in Taiwan, talking about how these different strains or influences are what makes up Taiwanese cuisine is completely normal and not a political thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the average person here, it’s just reality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it is kind of fascinating when I’m talking about my book to people here versus when I have to present it to the outside world. It’s a very different tone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959302\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13959302 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px.jpg\" alt=\"Headshot portrait of food writer Clarissa Wei, in her kitchen wearing a yellow apron.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-800x900.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-1020x1148.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-160x180.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-768x864.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-1365x1536.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-1820x2048.jpg 1820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wei, who has lived in Taipei since 2020, wrote ‘Made in Taiwan’ in collaboration with an all-local Taiwanese team. \u003ccite>(Ryan Chen and Yen Wei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>How \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>has \u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb>the book been received in Taiwan?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has surprisingly been received really well. I didn’t think people here would read it or care because, again, this isn’t news here — and it’s obviously not written in Chinese. But there are food writers and food influencers here who will recommend it, and some restaurants will have it in their store. Anyone here who’s trying to promote Taiwanese cuisine on the international stage seems to be aware of the book.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was just at the \u003ca href=\"https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/19/taiwan-lai-ching-te-president-inauguration-banquet-food-china-culture-democracy/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921\">Taiwanese presidential inauguration\u003c/a>, and one of the staffers for the Democratic Progressive Party [which won the presidential election] told me that the Vice President, Hsiao Bi-khim, really likes my book and that she’s been showing it to foreign dignitaries and giving it to them as a gift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>One of the big themes in your work is how there is so much more to Taiwanese food than just the most obvious things — more than beef noodle soup and boba and soymilk breakfasts. Why is that important to you, and how did that affect the way you approached the cookbook? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think it’s important to have the greatest hits because if I didn’t include tapioca pearls or beef noodle soup or xiaolongbao, I think the average person would be confused. But I also tried to push the conversation a little bit more by including dishes that I think are much more influential here in Taiwan. For example, I do a lot of rice-based pastries, or kueh, and the braised pork belly over rice, which I guess now that’s pretty common in the States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>\u003cstrong>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13897936,arts_13956218,arts_13897498']\u003c/span>\u003c/strong>\u003c/b>\u003c/span>One thing I didn’t include in the book is the Southeast Asian influences on modern Taiwanese cuisine, which has been prevalent since the ’90s but hasn’t made it abroad yet. Southeast Asian immigrants make up 80% of our foreign population, and they’ve opened a lot of restaurants. So there are dishes like a sweet-and-sour cold-poached chicken or a Thai-style shrimp cake that’s served at every single Thai restaurant here, but that they don’t really have in Thailand. It’s very special and just as Taiwanese as any other dish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Taiwan, people will alter their dishes so it caters to the tastes here. Things become sweeter or less spicy, or ingredients change a little bit, so everything has a Taiwan “kou wei,” or Taiwanese flavor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>How do you see the cuisine evolving in the Bay Area or more broadly in the U.S.? Are there places that are starting to serve more regional things, or things that are more in line with what’s new and popular in Taiwan right now? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If anything, people are better at storytelling or identifying the origins of their food. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932035/taiwanese-barbecue-grilling-good-to-eat-dumplings-emeryville\">Good to Eat\u003c/a> in Emeryville, where I’m doing one of my events, is such a good example. It’s so fascinating how the owners moved over from Taiwan, and now they’re specializing in bando. Bando is a very niche subset of Taiwanese cuisine — a style of \u003ca href=\"https://nspp.mofa.gov.tw/nsppe/news.php?post=238127&unit=410&unitname=Stories&postname=Banquet-Time!-P%C4%81n-toh-Culture-in-Taiwan\">outdoor banquet food\u003c/a> that’s been around for hundreds of years. Chef Tony will come to Taiwan, she’ll study with these bando chefs, and then she’ll bring that spirit to the Bay Area and do these \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodtoeatdumplings.com/ja-ban-bae-tasting-menu\">tasting menus\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I think they’re really good at telling the story of Taiwan. Because I think when people think about Taiwanese food as a whole, they default to street food, or cheap eats, or big hearty bowls of things. But this style of bando is very refined. When people got married, they would shut down their streets and have a block party, and these banquet chefs would whip up these multicourse meals, completely outdoors. It’s so crazy to me that there’s a restaurant in the Bay Area that does this. You don’t even have restaurants in Taipei that specialize in this very esoteric but specialized type of dining.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13921979\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13921979\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq.jpg\" alt=\"Small bowl of lu rou fan next to a plate of grilled chicken.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lu rou fan and Taiwanese-style grilled chicken served at a Taiwanese barbecue event on Good to Eat’s outdoor patio in Emeryville. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In terms of storytelling, places like Liang’s Village in Cupertino, they’ve been around for a long time. But now the second generation, when they tell their story, they say, “We’re military village cuisine,” or cuisine that came over to Taiwan post-1949. Because Taiwan is a nation of immigrants, and depending on when people came over [from China], they brought very different styles of food. So Liang’s Village is talking about how their family’s food is post-1949 cuisine. No one did this when I was growing up in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Chicago, now there’s a place that just specializes in this \u003ca href=\"https://chicago.eater.com/2024/2/28/24085676/minyoli-taiwanese-restaurant-beef-noodle-soup-juan-cun-andersonville-chicago\">military cuisine\u003c/a>. In New York, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.eighteightsix.com/\">886\u003c/a>, which does rechao food, which is stir-fried food that’s cooked in large woks and usually eaten outdoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The marketing for a lot of these restaurants might not outright say what they are, but if you talk to the chefs, they’re able to tell you which facet of Taiwanese cuisine they were the most inspired by. And I think that’s so special and something that’s only been apparent in the last decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959307\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13959307 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-800x900.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-1020x1148.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-160x180.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-768x864.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-1365x1536.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-1820x2048.jpg 1820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wei’s Taiwanese-style daikon and pork soup, from ‘Made in Taiwan.’ \u003ccite>(Ryan Chen and Yen Wei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>My favorite recipes in \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>Made in Taiwan\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb> that I keep coming back to all fall into the comfort food category — fried pork chops over rice, which I make along with your Taiwanese pickled cabbage. Or your daikon and pork rib soup, which got me through the winter. Do you have a favorite recipe, or a recipe that’s especially meaningful to you in the book?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I always do the rou zao fan or lu rou fan [braised minced pork belly over rice], which is so easy to do. You can just put it in the Instant Pot. Growing up in Los Angeles, when I went to restaurants that served this dish, it seemed too complicated. People put too much stuff in it. When I was developing the recipe for the cookbook, I really wanted to channel that sort of flavor profile from the south of Taiwan, where this braise is just very simple: sugar, soy sauce, garlic, maybe a little bit of rice wine, and of course the main ingredient is pork belly. I feel like I figured it out because I went down south and found a chef that just specializes in this dish and, like, stared at him for a very long time and tried to figure out the proportions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s a very comforting dish to me. I have really complicated recipes in the book that take a very long time or can be technically quite difficult. But I think the dishes that people will come back to are the comfort dishes their parents made for them, or their Taiwanese friend made, because that’s what you want. I just did the complicated dishes because I felt like if I didn’t document them, they might not ever be recorded in the English language.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Wei will host a meet-and-greet at Liang’s Village on Monday, June 10, 5:30–7:30 p.m. (A \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/liangs-village-made-in-taiwan-happy-hour-with-clarissa-wei-tickets-902012783517?aff=oddtdtcreator\">\u003ci>$25 meal set inspired by ‘Made in Taiwan\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>’ is already sold out, but the restaurant will still be open for regular dinner service.) On Tuesday, June 11, 7:30–9 p.m., Wei will participate in a free — but already fully sold out — \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.exploretock.com/good-to-eat/event/private/efdd4ae3-1275-453b-9ae3-ccc2677e9ac0\">\u003ci>panel discussion\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> that addresses the question, “What is Taiwanese cuisine?” at Good to Eat (1298 65th St., Emeryville). \u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959272\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959272\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11.jpg\" alt=\"A spread of homestyle Taiwanese dishes laid out on a pink and white checked tablecloth.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-800x550.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-1020x701.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-768x528.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-1536x1056.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A spread of family-style Taiwanese dishes from Clarissa Wei’s cookbook, ‘Made in Taiwan.’ \u003ccite>(Ryan Chen and Yen Wei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a homesick Taiwanese American, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">I spent years\u003c/a> scouring the Asian strip malls of Fremont and Milpitas for passable versions of my \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/eatingtaiwanese\">favorite Taiwanese dishes\u003c/a> — beef noodle soup and fat-slicked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">lu rou fan\u003c/a> — before I came to what might seem like an obvious realization: I could just try cooking the dishes myself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the eight months since I started cooking my way through Clarissa Wei’s wonderful, \u003ca href=\"https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/2024-media-award-nominees\">James Beard Award–nominated\u003c/a> cookbook, \u003ca href=\"https://clarissawei.com/madeintaiwan\">\u003ci>Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, which was published this past September, I’ve been eating nostalgic dishes from my childhood more frequently than ever. Thanks to the careful and precise instruction from Wei and her co-author, the Taiwanese cooking instructor \u003ca href=\"https://kitchenivy.com/i\">Ivy Chen\u003c/a>, I’ve been frying up pork chops that taste just like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/2019/3/6/18241749/bento-box-best-food-train-stations-taiwan\">bento boxes\u003c/a> I remember buying at the train station in Taipei. I cooked a plate of wok-kissed clams and basil that reminded me of seaside day trips on the island.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the process, I’ve learned so many things I never knew about my native country’s cuisine — about the vast differences between Chinese and Taiwanese soy sauces, and the island’s rich culture of beer-friendly outdoor “rechao” restaurants I’d always walked past but felt too out of my depth to patronize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-13959274\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1020x1268.jpg\" alt=\"The green cover of the cookbook 'Made in Taiwan,' which shows a spread of beer-friendly dishes \" width=\"430\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1020x1268.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-800x994.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-160x199.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-768x954.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1236x1536.jpg 1236w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1648x2048.jpg 1648w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px\">This came as no surprise. Over the past decade, Wei, who grew up in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley, has built a reputation as one of English-language media’s foremost experts on Taiwanese food — someone who, in her writing about the cuisine, has always expanded the conversation beyond the most obvious handful of dishes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since moving to Taipei in 2020, Wei says her first-hand experience with the island’s highly globalized, ever-evolving food scene has dispelled any notion she had that there’s such a thing as “authentic” Taiwanese cuisine. At the same time, \u003ci>Made in Taiwan \u003c/i>reads differently from the current wave of Asian American cookbooks that lean into a more diasporic, Americanized point of view. In addition to enlisting Chen, an ace local chef, as her co-author, Wei recruited an all-local team of Taiwanese researchers, food stylists and photographers. She often traveled to distant corners of the island to track down a chef’s authoritative, regionally specific recipe for a dish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at this political moment, when the Chinese government’s refusal to recognize Taiwanese sovereignty and cultural identity makes \u003ca href=\"https://newbloommag.net/2024/06/02/taiwanese-entertainers-post-lai/\">daily\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/world/asia/china-taiwan-drills.html\">headlines\u003c/a>, \u003ci>Made in Taiwan\u003c/i> makes an eloquent \u003ca href=\"https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/19/taiwan-lai-ching-te-president-inauguration-banquet-food-china-culture-democracy/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921\">“soft power” argument\u003c/a> by elucidating, from cover to cover, the breadth and beauty of Taiwan’s own distinct cuisine — a cuisine shaped by centuries of colonization, migration and cultural intermingling that isn’t “just another provincial expression of Chinese food at large.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All I can do is celebrate our humanity through the lens of food,” Wei writes in the book’s introduction. “I hope the world can see Taiwan as more than just a geopolitical chess piece or a controversial island near China with great night markets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahead of Wei’s two in-person Bay Area appearances on June 10 and 11, in \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/liangs-village-made-in-taiwan-happy-hour-with-clarissa-wei-tickets-902012783517?aff=oddtdtcreator\">Cupertino\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/liangs-village-made-in-taiwan-happy-hour-with-clarissa-wei-tickets-902012783517?aff=oddtdtcreator\">Emeryville\u003c/a> respectively, I chatted with her about cookbook diplomacy, Taiwan’s distinct “kou wei,” and the next step in the evolution of Taiwanese restaurants in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center\">***\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Luke Tsai: It seems like something every Taiwanese cookbook for a U.S. audience needs to do is to delineate what Taiwanese food is and how it’s distinct from Chinese food. How much of a political act do you feel it is to write a book like \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>Made in Taiwan\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb> that, at this particular moment, essentially argues, “Taiwanese food is its own separate thing.”\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clarissa Wei:\u003c/b> I think if one is subscribing to the China narrative, anything that talks about Taiwanese identity is inherently political. Because I had to write the book for an international audience, and because Taiwan’s standing on the international stage is murky, I have to inhabit that stance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as a Taiwanese person living here in Taiwan, talking about how these different strains or influences are what makes up Taiwanese cuisine is completely normal and not a political thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the average person here, it’s just reality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it is kind of fascinating when I’m talking about my book to people here versus when I have to present it to the outside world. It’s a very different tone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959302\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13959302 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px.jpg\" alt=\"Headshot portrait of food writer Clarissa Wei, in her kitchen wearing a yellow apron.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-800x900.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-1020x1148.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-160x180.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-768x864.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-1365x1536.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-1820x2048.jpg 1820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wei, who has lived in Taipei since 2020, wrote ‘Made in Taiwan’ in collaboration with an all-local Taiwanese team. \u003ccite>(Ryan Chen and Yen Wei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>How \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>has \u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb>the book been received in Taiwan?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has surprisingly been received really well. I didn’t think people here would read it or care because, again, this isn’t news here — and it’s obviously not written in Chinese. But there are food writers and food influencers here who will recommend it, and some restaurants will have it in their store. Anyone here who’s trying to promote Taiwanese cuisine on the international stage seems to be aware of the book.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was just at the \u003ca href=\"https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/19/taiwan-lai-ching-te-president-inauguration-banquet-food-china-culture-democracy/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921\">Taiwanese presidential inauguration\u003c/a>, and one of the staffers for the Democratic Progressive Party [which won the presidential election] told me that the Vice President, Hsiao Bi-khim, really likes my book and that she’s been showing it to foreign dignitaries and giving it to them as a gift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>One of the big themes in your work is how there is so much more to Taiwanese food than just the most obvious things — more than beef noodle soup and boba and soymilk breakfasts. Why is that important to you, and how did that affect the way you approached the cookbook? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think it’s important to have the greatest hits because if I didn’t include tapioca pearls or beef noodle soup or xiaolongbao, I think the average person would be confused. But I also tried to push the conversation a little bit more by including dishes that I think are much more influential here in Taiwan. For example, I do a lot of rice-based pastries, or kueh, and the braised pork belly over rice, which I guess now that’s pretty common in the States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>\u003cstrong>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/strong>\u003c/b>\u003c/span>One thing I didn’t include in the book is the Southeast Asian influences on modern Taiwanese cuisine, which has been prevalent since the ’90s but hasn’t made it abroad yet. Southeast Asian immigrants make up 80% of our foreign population, and they’ve opened a lot of restaurants. So there are dishes like a sweet-and-sour cold-poached chicken or a Thai-style shrimp cake that’s served at every single Thai restaurant here, but that they don’t really have in Thailand. It’s very special and just as Taiwanese as any other dish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Taiwan, people will alter their dishes so it caters to the tastes here. Things become sweeter or less spicy, or ingredients change a little bit, so everything has a Taiwan “kou wei,” or Taiwanese flavor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>How do you see the cuisine evolving in the Bay Area or more broadly in the U.S.? Are there places that are starting to serve more regional things, or things that are more in line with what’s new and popular in Taiwan right now? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If anything, people are better at storytelling or identifying the origins of their food. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932035/taiwanese-barbecue-grilling-good-to-eat-dumplings-emeryville\">Good to Eat\u003c/a> in Emeryville, where I’m doing one of my events, is such a good example. It’s so fascinating how the owners moved over from Taiwan, and now they’re specializing in bando. Bando is a very niche subset of Taiwanese cuisine — a style of \u003ca href=\"https://nspp.mofa.gov.tw/nsppe/news.php?post=238127&unit=410&unitname=Stories&postname=Banquet-Time!-P%C4%81n-toh-Culture-in-Taiwan\">outdoor banquet food\u003c/a> that’s been around for hundreds of years. Chef Tony will come to Taiwan, she’ll study with these bando chefs, and then she’ll bring that spirit to the Bay Area and do these \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodtoeatdumplings.com/ja-ban-bae-tasting-menu\">tasting menus\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I think they’re really good at telling the story of Taiwan. Because I think when people think about Taiwanese food as a whole, they default to street food, or cheap eats, or big hearty bowls of things. But this style of bando is very refined. When people got married, they would shut down their streets and have a block party, and these banquet chefs would whip up these multicourse meals, completely outdoors. It’s so crazy to me that there’s a restaurant in the Bay Area that does this. You don’t even have restaurants in Taipei that specialize in this very esoteric but specialized type of dining.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13921979\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13921979\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq.jpg\" alt=\"Small bowl of lu rou fan next to a plate of grilled chicken.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lu rou fan and Taiwanese-style grilled chicken served at a Taiwanese barbecue event on Good to Eat’s outdoor patio in Emeryville. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In terms of storytelling, places like Liang’s Village in Cupertino, they’ve been around for a long time. But now the second generation, when they tell their story, they say, “We’re military village cuisine,” or cuisine that came over to Taiwan post-1949. Because Taiwan is a nation of immigrants, and depending on when people came over [from China], they brought very different styles of food. So Liang’s Village is talking about how their family’s food is post-1949 cuisine. No one did this when I was growing up in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Chicago, now there’s a place that just specializes in this \u003ca href=\"https://chicago.eater.com/2024/2/28/24085676/minyoli-taiwanese-restaurant-beef-noodle-soup-juan-cun-andersonville-chicago\">military cuisine\u003c/a>. In New York, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.eighteightsix.com/\">886\u003c/a>, which does rechao food, which is stir-fried food that’s cooked in large woks and usually eaten outdoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The marketing for a lot of these restaurants might not outright say what they are, but if you talk to the chefs, they’re able to tell you which facet of Taiwanese cuisine they were the most inspired by. And I think that’s so special and something that’s only been apparent in the last decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959307\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13959307 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-800x900.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-1020x1148.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-160x180.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-768x864.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-1365x1536.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-1820x2048.jpg 1820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wei’s Taiwanese-style daikon and pork soup, from ‘Made in Taiwan.’ \u003ccite>(Ryan Chen and Yen Wei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>My favorite recipes in \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>Made in Taiwan\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb> that I keep coming back to all fall into the comfort food category — fried pork chops over rice, which I make along with your Taiwanese pickled cabbage. Or your daikon and pork rib soup, which got me through the winter. Do you have a favorite recipe, or a recipe that’s especially meaningful to you in the book?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I always do the rou zao fan or lu rou fan [braised minced pork belly over rice], which is so easy to do. You can just put it in the Instant Pot. Growing up in Los Angeles, when I went to restaurants that served this dish, it seemed too complicated. People put too much stuff in it. When I was developing the recipe for the cookbook, I really wanted to channel that sort of flavor profile from the south of Taiwan, where this braise is just very simple: sugar, soy sauce, garlic, maybe a little bit of rice wine, and of course the main ingredient is pork belly. I feel like I figured it out because I went down south and found a chef that just specializes in this dish and, like, stared at him for a very long time and tried to figure out the proportions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s a very comforting dish to me. I have really complicated recipes in the book that take a very long time or can be technically quite difficult. But I think the dishes that people will come back to are the comfort dishes their parents made for them, or their Taiwanese friend made, because that’s what you want. I just did the complicated dishes because I felt like if I didn’t document them, they might not ever be recorded in the English language.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Wei will host a meet-and-greet at Liang’s Village on Monday, June 10, 5:30–7:30 p.m. (A \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/liangs-village-made-in-taiwan-happy-hour-with-clarissa-wei-tickets-902012783517?aff=oddtdtcreator\">\u003ci>$25 meal set inspired by ‘Made in Taiwan\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>’ is already sold out, but the restaurant will still be open for regular dinner service.) On Tuesday, June 11, 7:30–9 p.m., Wei will participate in a free — but already fully sold out — \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.exploretock.com/good-to-eat/event/private/efdd4ae3-1275-453b-9ae3-ccc2677e9ac0\">\u003ci>panel discussion\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> that addresses the question, “What is Taiwanese cuisine?” at Good to Eat (1298 65th St., Emeryville). \u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"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. ",
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"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.",
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"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>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
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"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
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"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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