San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
It’s martinis and hot dogs all night at Bay Area bar
A cheeky new bar is bringing seven kinds of martinis, hot dogs, slushies and late-night dancing to the East Bay.
Tallboy opened May 1 at 4210 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood. Owner Den Stephens, general manager at nearby bar North Light, defines Tallboy as a “martini dive bar” — a watering hole that serves thoughtful cocktails, Pabst Blue Ribbon and everything in between. He teamed with the chefs of sensational Oakland Singaporean restaurant Lion Dance Cafe to create a snacky menu, which carries on a taste of their food after Lion Dance’s closure.
Stephens hopes Tallboy, named after the 24-ounce beer can, will be an irreverent yet welcoming neighborhood bar.
“I wanted to create a secondary living room for Temescal and Oakland,” he said.
For their drinks, a mix of highbrow and lowbrow, Stephens and beverage director Zach Edwards waded into the annals of martini history, emerging with versions of seven classics. Tallboy’s “dry, crushable” house martini is a lower-proof blend of London dry gins, manzanilla sherry, bitters and a spray made from Jacobsen Salt Co. salt that’s spritzed over the top. There’s also an appletini made with fresh Granny Smith apples, a lychee martini with mezcal and fresh lychee, and a martiña colada (a clarified piña colada, but served in a martini glass).
If it’s an espresso martini you seek, Tallboy serves one — in slushy form. Want an ice-cold martini but also in the mood for a shot? Order a round of teeny tinis (shot-size martinis) or any of the bar’s $3 craft shots.
Stephens is so martini-obsessed he ordered 30 different glasses to find the best one for Tallboy. His final pick is tall and sturdy, “sophisticated enough to handle a really elegant St. George gin martini and durable enough to get thrown around on a Friday night.”
Martinis and several seasonally rotating cocktails cost from $10 to $16. Yet the bar also serves Jell-O shots and a Miller High Life tallboy. The wine list leans natural,
and beers span “high-end to dive bar,” Stephens said.
Lion Dance Cafe owners C-Y Chia and Shane Stanbridge, known for their boundary-pushing combination of Singaporean, Chinese, Italian and California influences, met Stephens across the bar at North Light. They came up with what they describe as “fancy midnight food” for Tallboy. Namely, hot dogs. “A martini and a hot dog,” Stephens said,” is a really beautiful thing.”
The Lion Dancing Dog ($14) is crowned with sambal mayo, crunchy peanuts, soy-pickled chilies, cilantro, fried shallots and lime. Other hot dogs are garnished with everything from local kimchi and cheese to more classic mustard and onions.
Bar snacks range from Lion Dance’s standout peanuts fried with makrut lime leaves and chilies ($7) to house-made Chex Mix ($5). Lion Dance’s delicate A.S.S. cookies, named for the ingredients of almond, sesame and shallots, are on tap for dessert. All of Tallboy’s food is vegan. (Although Lion Dance closed at the end of April, the owners’ involvement with Tallboy continues.)
The 3,000-square-foot Telegraph Avenue space, formerly cafe Hawk and Pony, has been designed to accommodate small and large groups. With more than 100 seats, someone can grab a glass of wine and read a book alone at a huge horseshoe bar, or roll deep with a group in one of the many curving banquettes or bistro tables. Light filters in through large, west-facing windows; there are also tables outside on the sidewalk. A dance floor is expected to host DJs late into the night.
The space was built by contractor Roman Hunt (of top San Francisco bar Pacific Cocktail Haven), and devised by architect Said Eghbal (of North Light and San Francisco restaurants Del Popolo and Rich Table) and designer Jill Rosenthal (Rich Table).
The idea for Tallboy had been percolating in Stephens’ mind since before the pandemic. He felt strongly about opening it in Oakland, despite ongoing concerns about the city’s economic challenges and crime. He signed a 20year lease for Tallboy.
“I firmly believe in Oakland,” he said. “I’m really hoping Tallboy is something that gets to be here for the long haul and can serve as that third space for Temescal for years to come.”
Tallboy. 2 p.m.-midnight SundayThursday; 2 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday-Saturday. 4210 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. tallboy.bar