2020 projects make a hat trick for alamar chef
You can call him a Bay Area rising star or simply one to watch. Nelson German is definitely both. Currently, he’s the award-winning chef and owner of alamar Kitchen & Bar, a fine-casual seafood joint with Dominican-asian-cajun flavors in the heart of Uptown Oakland. And he has two of Oakland’s most anticipated culinary projects in the works for 2020.
The first, also in the Uptown District, is Sobre Mesa, an Afro-latin cocktail lounge that’s slated to open early in the year in the space that formerly housed The Payback at 1618 Franklin St. According to a spokesman, the chef-driven bar will feature “lush surroundings, refined tropical libations and seasonal tapas inspired by German’s Dominican roots and African ancestry.”
Cocktails will be made with spirits that have great stories — rum distilled from sugar cane grown on a family-owned plantation in Alma, Louisiana, for example, and träkál, a spirit made from the indigenous fruits and botanicals of Patagonia. Look for the signature Sobre Mesa (rum, mezcal, pandan syrup, falernum, soursop juice, lemon), alongside Mama Juan, a Dominican rumbased drink made with yerba mate spiced honey and inspired by German’s father.
German’s other project, Colors, is a nonprofit Caribbean restaurant in East Oakland that’s also slated for early 2020. The restaurant, located inside Fruitvale’s new Restore Oakland community center, will also operate as a training facility to help marginalized restaurant workers, including immigrants, ex-convicts and low-income people of color, acquire skills to move from lowerwage jobs to higher-paid positions in fine dining.
Palo Alto bids farewell to Village Cheese House
Palo Alto’s Village Cheese House closure comes after six decades at the city’s Town & Country Village. The full-service deli, known for signature sandwiches like the half-pound Double Decker made with smoked ham and roasted turkey, opened in 1959. According to a representative, the owners are closing the shop to focus on other ventures. The San Jose location has closed too.
Village Cheese House has changed ownership over the years, but the fresh-baked bread and legendary House Spread never changed. In addition to serving its sandwiches and salads at the brick-and-mortar store, Village Cheese House catered countless gatherings in and around Palo Alto.
“This has been a staple for my childhood up to adulthood,” Laz D. said on Yelp. “I used to come here every weekday while I was in high school. The company has changed hands a few times but the taste has maintained. Best sandwiches in the area.”
In a news release, Jim Ellis, co-founder of Ellis Partners, which owns Town & Country Village, said the center hopes to reopen with new ownership and continue Village Cheese House’s legacy.
“They’ve been with us for many years and we’re grateful for the current owner’s longstanding commitment to Town & Country Village,” he says. “We hope to bring new ownership to Village Cheese House Palo Alto and continue bringing the beloved proprietary recipes and menu items to the Palo Alto community.”
Manakish flatbreads come to Walnut Creek
A new counter-service restaurant — Manakish Oven & Grill — specializing in Eastern Mediterranean flatbreads has opened in the former Bee & Tea boba shop at North Main Street and Treat Boulevard. It’s one of the busiest intersections in Walnut Creek, right in front of the Sprouts shopping center, where Freebirds World Burrito closed abruptly in November.
Owners and self-proclaimed serial entrepreneurs Adam Taleb and Feras Ghaban are behind the hand-stretched cheeses and fluffy dough topped with za’atar, cheese, ground meat and more. Similar to pizza, manakish are popular across the Eastern Mediterranean, where they are sliced or folded and eaten for breakfast or lunch.
The current menu also offers a la carte meze, like lentil soup and fattoush, as well as desserts including walnut baklava, saffron orange cake and rice pudding parfait.
DETAILS >> Soft opening hours are 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondaysaturday and until 8 p.m. Sunday at 2905 N. Main St., Walnut Creek; manakishoven.com.
Shake Shack, the cult-favorite burger restaurant that started out as a hot dog cart in New York’s Madison Square Park, opened its third Bay Area outpost recently at San Mateo’s Hillsdale Shopping Center.
The eatery founded by New York restaurateur Danny Meyer — he’s the guy behind high-end places like Gramercy Tavern — quickly became known for its all-natural Angus beef burgers. However, there’s still an all-natural Vienna beef “flat-top dog” on the menu, along with cagefree chicken sandwiches, crinkle-cut french fries, a popular array of frozen custards, plus wine and beer.
Besides Shackburgers, the Hillsdale location offers the Golden State Double, which is also found on the Palo Alto and Larkspur menus, with two certified grass-fed patties from the Northern California ranches of Richards Grassfed Beef (in partnership with Cream Co. Meats of Oakland) on a potato bun. The Double is topped with breadand-butter pickles made in-house along with white cheddar and smoked garlic aioli.
Frozen custards are spun fresh all day long from non-gmo ingredients. Then there are the “concretes,” with mix-ins from local purveyors such as Manresa Bread of Los Gatos (whole wheat chocolate chip walnut cookies), Dandelion Chocolate (chocolate chunks) and Pie Dreams of Fremont (seasonal pie).
DETAILS >> The Hillsdale Shack is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, until 11 p.m. Friday-saturday at 60 31st Ave., San Mateo. www.shakeshack.com