Picking up my mother at OAKThe 140-character answer: El Huarache Azteca (3842 International Blvd., at 39th St., Oakland), just off the Fruitvale exit. When I lived in Seattle and would fly into Oakland to visit friends, the epically muraled, family-friendly restaurant was usually my first Bay Area meal ― for pozole and huaraches slathered in beans and grilled chicken, gorditas stuffed with chicharron, or quesadillas made with freshly pressed masa (cornmeal).around noon; where should we go for lunch?
restaurant gossip, puffery, and cold, hard facts.
At Inside Scoop, Paolo L. gets wind that Scott Baird (15 Romolo) and Josh Harris, collectively known as the Bon Vivants (that's a business name, not something strangers call them off the cuff), as well as Jason Henton are starting up a bar in the massive food complex being constructed at 3000 20th Street. Other tenants will be new projects from Flour + Water and Humphry Slocombe. The forthcoming bar's name: Trick Dog. We could take that many, many, places, none of which would leave SFoodie's much-abused professional reputation intact.
Jay B. at Grub
Street pegged it, then Inside Scoop confirmed
it yesterday (we believed you in the first place, Jay, we swear): RNM
The place is painted Giants orange, decorated with enough home-team totems to make you think the games were still being played at nearby Candlestick. There's a gallery of African American heroes ― Dr. King, of course, and a Christmas-card-ready portrait of the Obamas. Handsome as that is, it can't touch Frisco Fried's House Special chicken and waffle, two crisp-crusted pieces of some of the moistest bird this side of Treasure Island. The flavor pulses on the strength of salt and garlic powder, counterpoint to the waffle's restrained pumpkin-pie-spice sweetness: a classic version from Bayview's new soul-food destination.
Frisco Fried 5176 Third St. (at Thomas), 822-1517.
Follow us on Twitter: @sfoodie. Contact me at John.Birdsall@SFWeekly.com
