Spending a weekend in Oakland

I got some questions in a private message.

Haddon Hill Cafe? Never heard of it. The awesome Champa Garden is near there.

Taylor’s Sausage: People like it. When I’m around there and hungry I go to Miss Ollie’s.

Brick Pig’s House: Went once shortly after they opened. Didn’t taste like barbecue to me, not a hint of smoke. Uncle Willie’s in downtown Oakland has good BBQ brisket (at least sometimes). Smoke on San Pablo has good ribs (at least sometimes). Too bad Perdition closed.

Stag’s Lunchette: Heard good things, I don’t really go to places like that. Lunch in that neighborhood I’d get Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, or Afghan.

Hawker Fare: Great food. You can’t trust what you read on Yelp. Hawker Fare Oakland

More or less similar to Limon, I’ve heard great things about El Mono but have not made it there yet. http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/serious-peruvian/Content?oid=4480988

Places that have great food at modest prices:

Banh Mi Ba Le
Champa Garden
China Village
Great China
Hawker Fare
Jayakarta
Kronnerburger
Miss Ollies
Molinari’s
Nido
Oliveto Cafe
Shan Dong
Shanghai
Wood Tavern

Ensarro for Ethiopian

Robert, what Korean would you say is best in show these days?

I’d be cautious about recommending Shanghai in Oakland without specific dishes (i’ve had bad versions of standard Shanghainese dishes there, but others seem to order better than me)

Depending on where the Questioner was coming from, holding off on Stag’s makes sense. I’d prioritize Pal’s Takeaway if they were looking for fancy sandwiches.

Korean, depends on what dish.

Last time I went to Miss Ollies and Champa. We were so impressed with Miss Ollies, we went there twice. The ingredients are very fresh. And the fired chicken is top notch. Price is also quite reasonable considering.

Champa, on the other hand, was a let down. I am sure this is a minority opinion, but we found the meat is not as fresh as we want. And if I remember right, the MSG is a bit heavy handed. Since its location is closed to our home base, we might opt for another try. Hawker and Spice 3 are on a higher priority tho.

What made you think the meat wasn’t fresh? What did you order? The Thai dishes are pretty lame.

We always order either the Champa Sampler or with a larger group whole orders of its tree components, the Lao sausage, fried rice ball salad, and fried spring rolls.

My other favorites are Lao-style beef larp, Lao-style papaya salad, and Lue’s noodle soup / kaow soy.

It was a while ago, so I don’t really remember. I vaguely remember some pork noodle soup and fried rice. There is a good chance we will visit again since the group I hang out with has to have “Chinese” food.

Hawker Fare, Kronnerburger, and Shanghai closed.