Ah Temescal, arguably the best neighborhood in Oakland to eat and drink in for well over a hundred years.  From the 1890’s to the 1960’s Temescal was known as the East Bay’s Little Italy.  Italian delis, gardens, restaurants, and even an opera house once dominated 51st St.  In the 1940’s a great influx of Southern soul food came to Oakland and Temescal as well, in the 1970’s Ethiopians began moving into Temescal bringing East African cuisine and a great coffee culture, and in the 1990’s Korean immigrants built up Oakland’s ‘Koreatown’ just south of Temescal, and great Korean BBQ joints began setting up on Telegraph, so the neighborhood’s food scene is diverse, delicious, and storied.

Then in the 2000’s a wave of bearded people introduced a heavy influx of ‘modern Californian cuisine’ and fixed gear bicycles to Temescal, so naturally, houses now cost 1 million dollars, and non-ironic, ironic tattoos dominate a fairly sophisticated food and bar scene.  Here’s a guide on how to spend 12 hours in Temescal, eating and drinking to your delight.

Personally, I like to begin a foodie binge on a big patio, with a delicious beer.  We started our day at Temescal Brewery, a place where the IPA is freshly made and the decor will make you think you’re sitting inside a La Croix can.  It’s like if Zeitgeist went to rehab and then became besties with Gwenith Paltrow.   The place is almost too bright, clean, and happy to be a ‘brewery’, but it’s a break for the status quo and it’s a refreshing one.  The large mural outside by David Polka is a fun, cartoony, skyline surrounded by succulents, picnic tables and cinderblocks.  And why not?  Now, if you have children or a dog, there is a drinking patio custom made for you just down the street.  It’s Arthur Mac’s Tap and Snack on 4006 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and it has a large patio with a much bigger drink selection.

Many people will mention Bakesale Betty as a spot for good chicken sandwiches, (and they are good) but I’m not much of a ‘stand in line on the sidewalk for food kind of guy’ once I’ve had a couple beers.  I look for a comfortable seat and with some California comfort food.

Hogs has German style writing on the windows and a quote from the legendary foodie M.F.K Fischer on the wall, so right away you know they are not fucking around.  It’s a place that makes up a new menu frequently because they focus on what’s fresh that day.  Good pork, good sandwiches, good ingredients, and they have a constantly revolving beer selection from all over California that is fantastic.

Cholita Linda
4923 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

 For serious cocktails and late-night eats, Underwood is now reopened and creating its own scene.  The kitchen’s open late, and the cocktails are fun and made with fresh juices.  The place has a new upstairs opening soon and legitimate charcuterie, we came for cocktails and food and left with bellies full of burrata and bubbles in our brains.

Now, if you’re all tuned up, and your husband/wife has taken the children/dog home, and you want to keep the party going… well, there’s only one choice, Korean Porn.  It’s a funky, one of a kind, late night food, drink, and somewhat sleazy k-pop themed restaurant a 5 min ride from Temescal.  It’s actual name is Dan Sung Sa, but no one calls it that, they call it Korean Porn, I imagine because the food is Korean and the outside of the building looks like a porn shop from the 1990’s.  The inside is decorated with pinups, Korean alchohol ads, and it’s full of well-lubricated college kids and local weirdos of every sort.  Keep it goin’ !