By Tamara Palmer
Alligator tacos, toast with marrow sauce, and goat cheese burrata are just some of the inventive menu items coming to Oakland this summer thanks to a flurry of new restaurant openings. These five places are currently navigating the obstacles to opening, including construction and city red tape, so none have set opening dates as of yet. But we should see them all by the time summer gets into full swing:
Shakewell Bar & Kitchen, 3407 Lakeshore Avenue
Jen Biesty and Tim Nugent are longtime friends and colleagues, having cooked together for years at Scala’s Bistro at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco. After raising more than $100,000 via Kickstarter, the two Top Chef alums are now in the process of building their dream restaurant for food with a Mediterranean twist, including toast with marrow sauce, milk-braised pork with pickles, tomatoes, and hot sauce, and a blackberry tart with manchego cheese.
Kronner Burger, 4063 Piedmont Avenue
After winding down his temporary space at Bruno’s in the Mission last year, chef Christopher Kronner started a series of pop-up dinners at Oakland’s Ordinaire Wine Bar. Now he has finally found his own spot in his adopted hometown to sling his beautifully addictive, rare-in-the-middle hamburgers.
The Dock at Linden Street, 95 Linden Street
A new beer garden and restaurant is coming to life inside the Linden Street Brewery building. The food will be courtesy of James Syhabout, the dynamic chef behind Oakland restaurants Commis, Hawker Fare, and Box & Bells. Inside Scoop SF hints that Syhabout will continue to explore his passion for global foods that you eat with your hands — and that pair perfectly with beer.
Township, 1542 Broadway
City Girl Farms owner Abeni Massey has been plotting this 80-seat urban farm-to-table restaurant in a 100-year-old warehouse at the intersection of Broadway and Telegraph for more than two years. Former Spruce sous chef Brent Johnson will preside over the kitchen with unique offerings like goat cheese burrata and dishes made from City Girl produce, some of which will be grown on a new roof garden.
Analog, 412 14th Street
Sean Asmar of Bender’s Bar and Grill in San Francisco is plotting this throwback-themed cafe where you’ll be able to eat simple American comfort food classics (burgers) and strange new creations (alligator tacos) under the warm crackle of a vinyl record soundtrack and the glow of old TVs playing VHS movies. East Bay Express reports that Asmar will offer a number of vegan selections, just as he does at Benders.
Image from Shakewell Bar & Kitchen