LocoL upgrades fast food in Oakland
Good ’n’ cheap: When Michelin-starred chef Daniel Patterson was interviewed by Anthony Bourdain last year for “Parts Unknown,” he focused on bringing healthy, tasty, affordable food to the masses rather than talking about the carefully executed dishes at Coi that brought him culinary fame. Now, his experiment in reinventing fast food, undertaken with chef Roy Choi (of Kogi BBQ taco truck fame), is finally open in Oakland. The team launched their LocoL concept a few months ago in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts, and a location in San Francisco’s Tenderloin is up next.
Prices range from $3 to $7 for foldies, burgs, nugs and bowls, which is LocoL-speak for wraps/ tacos, burgers, sandwiches and veggie or chicken nuggets. Sides, coffee drinks and aguas frescas go for $2. LocoL is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily at 2214 Broadway, formerly Patterson’s Plum Bar.
Rolling on San Pedro: Just a few years after transforming a French bistro in Campbell into a successful sushi restaurant, Randy Musterer (aka Sushi Randy) has taken on a big venture at San Jose’s San Pedro Square. Dinner service at his chic new Sushi Confidential runs from 5 to 11:30 p.m. at 31 N. Market St., with full hours (from 11:30 a.m.) scheduled to start June 20.
Baked green mussels and hamachi spoons top the new offerings, along with a Hawaiian ahi avocado that Musterer was inspired to create by a trip to the islands. In a nod to the new neighborhood, the San Pedro roll (shrimp tempura, avocado, sweet jalapeño salsa and cilantro) has joined the menu.
In Phase 2, Musterer plans a reconstruction of the 5,000square-foot patio to include a fire pit, bar and table seating; look for that to be completed by autumn.
More B&B: The folks at Oakland’s Bourbon & Beef — a College Avenue steakhouse with a farm-to-table bent — have transformed a Berkeley storefront into their newest restaurant, one with a seafood focus. Co-owners Abraham Masarweh and Julia Joslyn, along with executive chef Damien Jones, have opened B&B Kitchen and Wine Bar at 2116 Shattuck Ave. Jones (Yoshi’s, Hotel Whitcomb) brings with him a menu of new American cuisine along the lines of what he developed at B&B. Steaks, chops, grilled octopus and dino kale salad star on both menus. Additions in Berkeley include a seafood tower, local ling cod and wild salmon pastrami.
Baking in Los Altos: A second Manresa Bread has opened, this time at 271 State St. in Los Altos, offering freshly baked baguettes, flax loaves, croissants and quiches to the Peninsula crowd every day starting at 7 a.m. The brainchild of chef David Kinch and his staff, Manresa Bread is run by head baker Avery Ruzicka. She sources whole grains and mills them in-house for the baked goods made for both the retail operations and the Michelin-starred restaurant. This second bakery (the first is in Los Gatos, near Manresa) will also feature Verve coffee from Santa Cruz and artisan food products.