I walked into Merigan Sub Shop on a Thursday, otherwise known as "pig day." In between building subs, Liza Shaw and her team were butchering down a whole pig. All of its parts lend themselves to different sandwiches. The shoulder and loin are combined in the Arista, the back legs become the prosciutto for the Italian combo, the belly becomes the porchetta and any other bits and pieces become meatballs. The liver becomes the liver terrine and even the skin is fried to make addicting pork cracklings.
Shaw, a former chef at A16, is meticulous in providing the best sandwich she can. Over an Arista (a juicy combination of braised and roasted pork mixed with provolone, rapini, and hots) we talked subs, baseball, and her plans for the future.
Here we are in the midst of what may as well be the Decade of Kale. You can't walk a block without seeing the super green on a menu in this city. Kale is the new pork belly -- in terms of its ubiquitous presence, not necessarily in regards to nutritional value -- and while we've seen it on pizzas and in all manner of smoothies and salads, we're surprised it's taken this long to encounter it in taco form.
When Ethan Ashley moved back to the East Bay in 2008, he wasn't looking to open a coffee shop. Rather, he was hunkering down on a different project, getting an old, run-down West Oakland house back into shape. The house was his, just purchased, and awaited four years of work. Ashley took it on, learning very quickly that coffee is a vital ally in a project of that size, but hard to find on his side of the freeway. The four years he spent building, he also spent driving across town to spots like Subrosa and Awaken, scheming a way to give his own neighborhood the caffeine jolt it needed.
See also: Three Coffee Drinks You Don't Know But Should
Meet the Newest Coffee Game in Town: Red Bay Coffee Roasters
