” New restaurants and bars beckon amid the grit.”  Despite the Occupy protests, Oakland is getting pretty good reviews. Oakland has some phenomenal restaurants- Commis, Dona Tomas and Plum are some favorite restaurants.  The historic Fox Theater reopened in 2009 and quickly cemented its status as one of the Bay Area’s top music venues, although Yoshi’s will always be my top spot.  Although I have not personally been a part of Oakland’s night scene since having kids (I know, it stinks!), I hear it is still alive and kicking.  Another reason Oakland hit the top 5.

Funny note: this morning, while listening to Sarah and Vinnie on Alice, one caller said “Oakland is San Francisco’s worst neighborhood.” Clearly they won’t be visiting anytime soon.

Maybe once they realize Umami Burger is coming to Oakland they will change their mind.

What constitutes a restaurant as worthy of a Bib Gourmand rating?  A Bib Gourmand restaurant is a d-lish eatery somewhere between Los Gatos and Geyserville where you can enjoy two courses and a glass of wine for under $40 — ooh la la.

Below is the list.  Those with a * next to it are new to the list.

• A 16 – San Francisco
• Artisan Bistro* – Lafayette
• Bar Bambino* – San Francisco
• Bar Tartine* – San Francisco
• BarBersQ – Napa
• Bay Wolf – Oakland
• Bellanico – Oakland
• Betelnut – San Francisco
• Bistro 29 – Santa Rosa
• Bistro Aix – San Francisco
• Bistro Jeanty -Yountville
• Boon Eat + Drink* – Guerneville
• Bottega – Yountville
• Burma Superstar – San Francisco
• C Casa – Napa
• Chapeau! – San Francisco
• Chevalier – Lafayette
• Chu – Oakland
• Colibri – San Francisco
• Contigo* – San Francisco
• Cook St. Helena – St. Helena
• Corso – Berkeley
• Cotogna* – San Francisco
• Crouching Tiger – Redwood City
• Cucina Paradiso – Petaluma
• Delarosa – San Francisco
• Delfina – San Francisco
• Domo – San Francisco
• Dosa – San Francisco
• eVe – Berkeley
• Fish Story* – Napa
• FIVE – Berkeley
• flour + water – San Francisco
• Fringale* – San Francisco
• Gather – Berkeley
• Hachi Ju Hachi – Saratoga
• Hibiscus – Oakland
• Hot Box Grill* – Sonoma
• Incanto – San Francisco
• Insalata’s – San Anselmo
• Ippuku* – Berkeley
• K & L Bistro – Sebastopol
• Kabab & Curry’s- Santa Clara
• Kappou Gomi* – San Francisco
• Kitchen (The) – Saccramento
• Kokkari Estiatorio – San Francisco
• LaSalette* – Sonoma
• Laurus – Danville
• Le Charm – San Francisco
• Le Garage* – Sausalito
• Mamacita – San Francisco
• Marinitas – San Anselmo
• Monti’s Rotisserie – Santa Rosa
• Namu* – San Francisco
• Oenotri – Napa
• Osteria Coppa* – San Mateo
• Perbacco – San Francisco
• Pican – Oakland
• Plum* – Oakland
• Risibisi – Petaluma
• Rivoli – Berkeley
• Sazon* – Santa Rosa
• Scopa* – Healdsburg
• Slanted Door (The) – San Francisco
• Slow Club – San Francisco
• Sociale – San Francisco
• SPQR – San Francisco
• Starbelly – San Francisco
• Sumika – Los Altos
• Sushi Ran – Sausalito
• Thai House – Danville
• the girl & the fig – Sonoma
• Troya – San Francisco
• Willi’s Wine Bar – Santa Rosa
• Wood Tavern – Oakland
• Yank Sing – San Francisco
• Zero Zero* – San Francisco

The full guide will be available October 25th.

I love this!  Only in Berkeley would you find a pimped-out walker.  This was spotted at the official launch of Off-the-Grid in Berkeley.

(and yes!  this time we were there early enough to get some tasty food truck grub)

My guess is that the turnout was much bigger than expected.  The event was supposed to go from 5-9 and most trucks sold out.  My family arrived at 6:15 pm to find swarms and swarms of people.  Cupkates sold out before 6pm, 510 Burger (which is what I wanted!) sold out and was only offering french fries by 6:30, Liba Falafel, Hapa SF and Brass Knuckle had lines that were over a half hour long.  Apparently 3 trucks were a no-show.  Trucking along with two hungry kids, there was no way we could wait in line for over 30 minutes.  Despite my grumbles, we headed down Shattuck to look for something to eat.

Walking back towards the trucks just before 8pm, there were still people all around.

Next week 10 trucks are slated to show, which is the maximum the permit will allow.  Rain was expected, so perhaps that is why they weren’t 100% prepared.  Next week is the official grand opening, and you can count on seeing me there right at 5, probably in line at 510.

How to make a “One Love”:

2 oz Pear Hangar One Vodka
1 oz Organic Apple Juice
0.25 oz Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
0.25 oz Amaretto

Shake
Pour 4 oz Ginger Beer into a Collins glass
Top with mixture
Add a fresh Pear slice…

Ah, my one true love…

Cindy said that the owner of Montero’s decided it was time for something new.  Nope, wasn’t anything wrong with business.  Nothing wrong with the food.  Nothing wrong with the location.  It was simply time for a change.

I think she said the owner was Juan, so for the purpose of this blog entry let’s call him that.  Juan owns several restaurants in the area and thought it was time to add a little kick to the menu and nightlife that Club Montero’s was known for.  The bar now features latin-inspired, tropical-infused drinks, the menu is full of more tapas-like creations, and the club will now feature salsa night for all levels.

I stopped by yesterday (Mother’s Day) and the place was quite busy.  The restaurant was featuring a nice Mother’s Day menu that consisted of some of the old menu and some of the new.

I love supporting local restaurants so I look forward to giving this one a proper whirl.

33 Revolutions in El Cerrito is closing its doors.  They just couldn’t make it.  Another local gem…
g o n e. 

I have commented on them here in this blog, yelped them, and freqented them for their valuable wi-fi and tasty food.  It is a great place, shows true community. 

The economy turned and that didn’t help.  It was too big and perhaps the size is what killed it.  I once heard from a city official, before 33 Revs came in, that the rent at that space was $10,000/mo.  I never quite understood how this Cafe and Record Shop would be able to cover those costs, but they can no longer do so, whatever the rent.

So it is with a saddened heart that we say goodbye to yet another local gem.  Yes, 33 Revolutions in El Cerrito is closing on December 24th.  See more here: http://www.33revolutions.com/

That being said, I was thrilled to see this years list.  (N) means newly starred.

Three Michelin stars mean exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.  One always eats here extremely well, sometimes superbly. Distinctive dishes are precisely executed, using superlative ingredients.

The French Laundry
mean excellent cuisine, worth a detour.  Skillfully and carefully crafted dishes of outstanding quality.

Two Michelin stars

Coi
Cyrus
Manresa
The restaurant at Meadowood


One Michelin star means a very good restaurant in its category.  A place offering cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard.

Acquerello Luce (N)
Ame Madrona Manor
Auberge du Soleil Masa’s
Aziza (N) Michael Mina
Bouchon Murray Circle
Boulevard One Market
Chez Panisse Plumed Horse
Chex TJ Quince (N)
Commis (N) Range
The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton Redd
El Paseo (N) closed since the Guide has been printed Santé (N)
étoile (N) Solbar (N)
Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant Terra
Fifth Floor Trevese closed since the Guide has been printed
Fleur de Lys Ubuntu (N)
Gary Danko The Village Pub
La Folie
La Toque (N)

2010 MICHELIN Guide San Francisco Bib Gourmand Restaurants

Angèle Le Charm
Aperto Mamacita
A 16 Marinitas
BarBersQ Market
Bar Tartine Maykadeh
Bay Wolf Mirepoix
Bellanico Monti’s Rotisserie
Betelnut Pejiu Wu Nopa
Border (The) Perbacco
Brown Sugar Kitchen Picán
Burma Superstar Risibisi
Cafe Gibraltar rnm
Camino Sakae
Cena Luna Sakoon
Chevalier Sauce
Colibrí Slanted Door (The)
Cook St. Helena Slow Club
Corso Sociale
Crouching Tiger Tavern at Lark Creek
Cucina Paradiso the girl & the fig
Delfina Tokyo Go Go
Dosa Tommaso’s
Farina TWO
FIVE Universal Cafe
flour + water Vanessa’s Bistro
Henry’s Hunan Willi’s Wine Bar
Hong Kong Flower Lounge Xanh
Incanto Yank Sing
Insalata’s zazu
Junnoon
Kitchen (The)
K & L Bistro
Kokkari Estiatorio
Le Charm
Mamacita
Marinitas
Market
Maykadeh
Mirepoix
Monti’s Rotisserie
Nopa
Perbacco
Pican
Risibisi
rnm
Sakae
Sakoon
Sauce
Slanted Door (The)
Slow Club
Sociale
Tavern at Lark Creek
the girl & the fig
Tokyo Go Go
Tommaso’s
TWO
Universal Cafe
Vanessa’s Bistro
Willie’s Wine Bar
Yank Sing
Zazu

Want the entire 2010 San Francisco Michelin Guide?  Email me for the entire report.  krista@kristashouse.com

Pizzaiolo’s owner, Charlie Hallowell, has been fairly tight lipped about the sequel restaurant.  As this CL ad boasts, the new restaurant will be sure to please:

-Regular live music
-Cheap, 100% local and organic pizza AND
-”Foster a neighborhood joint that actually nourishes the neighborhood”

Does it get better than that?  We will (hopefully) find out soon.

Great things are happening on Solano Avenue. Despite these trying economic times, there are some businesses that are managing to hang on, and others that have decided to brave the rapids.

Rendez-Vous Cafe Bistro touts itself as “delicious affordable french cuisine.” Affordable indeed. It hasn’t been opened long, but I have driven by several times at night and the place is packed.

Here is the COOL part…there is outside seating! WHAT??? you say? Yes, you heard me. This is a rarity on Solano Ave.- only a couple of places have outdoor seating.

Check them out http://www.rendezvouscafebistro.com/