Homeroom510

"Temple of mac n cheese" - wish I had thought of that because it's a perfect description for this place!

But that's not the only one - description that is. It's bustling and trendy yet warm, and it feels very much like a locals only spot without a single ounce of pretension.

I'm not sure if that's a result of the name - we all have fond memories of homeroom right? Or the fact that the only menu item under the main dishes category is yep, you guessed it - mac n cheese.

Eight different hot and gooey combinations including Mexican Mac, Bacon, Egg and Cheese Mac, Vermont White Cheddar Mac to name a few.

My favorite was The Exchange Student - lots of sharp Pecorino cheese imported from Italy and topped with a very generous amount of fresh cracked black peppercorns.

Make sure you consider their suggestions for beer and wine pairings. They include quite a few tasty choices like Green Cone IPA from the newly opened Oakland Brewing Company.

And I don't know how you'll do it with a belly full of pasta and IPA, but try to save room for dessert. The peanut butter pie will have you coming back again and again - perhaps ordering dessert first.

Yes, temple indeed. Amen.

Comal

​Get these key elements right - tasty food, attentive host, inviting ambiance, engaging music and a lively crowd, and a party goes from good to great. I think the same mix applies to restaurants and Comal is definitely "getting it right".

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The space alone is enough to make you swoon. Open, airy, modern without that cold, cavernous thing going on. Quite the opposite actually with the stunning woodwork and lighting, open-air patio with gas fire pit and beer garden, cozy communal tables and bustling bar. And then there's the state-of-the-art sound system that deftly combines the "conversational ambiance with the buzzy ambiance."

I love the small-plates concept for sharing and sampling the many flavors of a Oaxacan-inspired menu, plus it leaves room for some of the best guacamole I've ever tasted. A little coercion revealed the secret ingredient - muddled garlic and lots of it! And then there's the delicious items from the wood grill like spareribs and Fulton Valley chicken, and the crisp and juicy salads that inspired this yummy appetizer.

Last but not least is the vast array of offerings from the bar. Specialty cocktails, house-made Sangrita, over 70 brands of Mezcal and Tequila, and a huge selection of beer and wine on tap pretty much guarantees you'll be getting your imbibe on.

But here's the best part. It's centrally located in the Berkeley arts and theater district​, close to this great place and this one and that means there's another uptown crawl in the making - never a bad thing in my opinion.

Back to The Summer of Love

 I did not set out to visit the Haight on a recent jaunt into SF - my plan was to see the Balenciaga exhibit at the de Young - which was terrific, and then move onto a restaurant I have been wanting to try in the Western Addition. But that restaurant was booked and I veered off course a bit.

When I came to the SF Bay Area over 20 years ago, I was very fascinated by the Haight Ashbury. Largely due to the fact that as a teen I devoured any and all information I could find about the "summer of love". Books, movies, music - you name it - I loved it and it made we want to move here.

Shortly after I arrived, my husband and I got into riding vintage Vespas, wearing vintage clothes and sipping classic cocktails at this place. We spent hours just roaming in and out of all the unique shops, having breakfast at the Pork Store and relaxing in Golden Gate park.

Years passed, we moved out of San Francisco and setup house in the East Bay, had a couple of kids and I realized we had precious little time for roaming around any neighborhood - especially one as frenetic as the Haight.

But this visit made me realize the only thing you need to turn frenetic into fascinating again is a well-curated plan or a willingness to just wing it. 

Either way Magnolia Pub and Brewery is well worth a visit. This is NOT your typical pub - they say that right on their menu.

It is a very vibrant and warm space filled with an eclectic crowd - just as you would expect in this neighborhood. They brew their own artisan ales on site and source an incredible array of fresh, sustainable ingredients for their hardy menu items. Try the house made sausage and beach fries which are seasoned to perfection with Old Bay spices. You might want to go on $3 Tuesdays when all pints are just $3 all day and night. 

Osmanthus

"Osmanthus is a modern-classic Asian restaurant located on College Avenue in Rockridge, Oakland. Our kitchen focuses on an array of Chinese Regional dishes, Japanese and South-East Asian flavors. We create bold flavors through casual dishes. A full bar serves craft cocktails inspired by Asian ingredients."

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That's their description and here's mine in a word - ADDICTIVE!

Seriously, I've been there twice, once for lunch and once for dinner, and I'm hooked!

To be fair, I must admit I have addictive tendencies for the transportive qualities for all foods Asian - Chinese, Japanese, Burmese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, Korean - I crave it all.

I especially love the big, bold, complex flavors of this cuisine when it merges with what I like to call "California sensibilities". Basically that means, access to and use of the finest raw ingredients, an obsession with presentation, an unwavering dedication to ambiance - all in perfect concert with no sign of breaking a sweat.

Osmanthus has this, plus amazing cocktails, and is fast becoming a new favorite escape on College Ave.

A few stand-out items include: brussels sprouts with salt pork and honey-sriracha, prawns with coconut milk and mint leaves, dan dan noodles with ground pork and peanuts, and salmon with purple yam and curry.

I highly recommend you start with the single most addictive thing on the menu - the green tea leaf salad - a Burmese staple and something I could eat every single day of the week. I also recommend you check out Burmese Superstar for this intoxicating mash up of exotic tastes and textures.

For libations, if you like gin and ginger, and I do, I recommend the Ms Grant - as in Ms Ginger Grant from Gilligan's Island. Speaking of a stylish escape.

Make Westing

Yet another great addition to the ever-burgeoning bar and restaurant scene of Uptown Oaktown and I love everything about it!

The genesis for this unique spot, with the clever reference to a Jack London tale, goes something like this...

"Make Westing - the result of a life-long friendship between co-owners, Glen Kaplan and Chris Foott, and their shared affection for booze and bocce. After traveling to faraway lands, Brooklyn and Oxford, the pals have returned to "build something rad" in "beautiful and badass" Oakland. Enter non-Olympic sport bocce and an accessible cocktail menu inside an industrial steampunk man cave." sf.eater.com

And based on what I saw, they succeeded with the "rad, beautiful and badass".

Throwing down that edgy, bustling Oakland vibe in a perfectly preserved AND enhanced industrial space, including an outdoor patio and full-size bocce court - all while serving up gourmet bar bites and bangin' cocktails to appease the super selective foodie in all of us. 

I recommend this cocktail - Williamsburg Lemonade with bourbon, bointreau, xanté pear liqueur, lemon, club soda accompanied by a selection from "Things in Jars"- like the Cioppolini and Shallot Jam with garlic, black pepper and figs. This stuff is so melt-in-your-mouth delicious, it will make you turn down butter. And things "Outside the Jars" -  like the Roasted Chicken Sandwich with bacon aioli, romesco, arugula and red onion will make you forget everything you know about sandwiches.

I've saved the best part for last. It's only 1 block from this incredible venue. Yes, make westing, make westing indeed.