Rock Block Oakland

Pho Huynh Hiep (Kevin’s Noodle House)

Last Thursday at work I got bored and wanted to get lunch somewhere off my own beaten path, but also go for a bit of a drive. Considering I tread the path between the Coliseum Industrial Complex (as it’s called on Google Maps) and, well, the rest of Oakland daily meant that I wanted to venture a different direction. Which in my case meant south. Oh, and I also wanted phở.

I ended up at a decent spot in San Leandro, but because I’m focusing on only those restaurants within Oakland’s city limits I’ll leave it unnamed. But I did promise myself that I’d go to a new phở spot every week, so with today’s gloomy summer weather I finally made it to Phở Huỳnh Hiệp (also known as Kevin’s Noodle House), a place I’d driven by many a time but never ventured into.

Phở Huỳnh Hiệp has a few things going for it. One, it has a parking lot, so I didn’t have to hunt around for parking down Solano Way (a narrow alley that’s home to some unsavory things) or on E. 12th Street itself. Two, this place is big. It’s somehow BIGGER than how it looks from outside, which is good, because this place also gets PACKED. Three, it’s cheap.

I parked around the back and couldn’t help but notice the intensely grimy back door. It was clearly a house door being used for a restaurant that does a high volume, and it had seen better days. I shook it off though and headed inside and was seated right away. Tables were super clean and the chairs were comfy, and I was comforted by the array of colorful chopsticks and soup accompaniments on the table.

I ordered a small (they have, I believe, two sizes) of my usual bowl, rare steak and brisket, and it was brought to my table quickly with the usual small plate of accoutremonts basil, bean sprouts, jalapenos, and lime. The first thing I noticed was that the broth was darker, richer, and oilier than most phở I frequent, but even with the tiny pools of oil visible on top it still needed a good dose of Sriracha to give it some heft. The portion size though was right on, but the meat was a bit on the tough side.

It was a decent bowl of phở, but I’d say it falls into the bottom half of my favorite East Bay spots. Besides Kang Nam, I’ve got a little spot in Alameda that really impressed me, but I can’t wait to try another spot along the E. 12th / E. 14th area.

Next up is Phở King, which I almost went to today before hearing that they were closed on Tuesdays. After that I guess it’s only fair I visit Phở Queen.

Phở Huỳnh Hiệp (Kevin’s Noodle House) | 1402 E. 12th Street | Oakland, Calif.

San Francisco Taxis On I-880 (South)

One of the favorite parts about my commute from North Oakland down 880 to the Coliseum Industrial Complex (as it’s called on Google maps) are those chilly mornings when the East Bay hills have fog clinging to them, and I see a SF Taxi come through the maze and weave around downtown and head south, obviously going towards the airport, with a load of tourists gazing out the windows wondering what Oakland might have to offer.

Cosecha.

Another gloomy July day in Oakland, and the summer season is notoriously slow for my business, so I was pleased to take the opportunity to drive up to Old Oakland to check out Cosecha in the historic Swan’s Market.

I was a little surprised to find Cosecha not tucked away in a tiny storefront, but basically anchoring the 9th Street side of Swan’s. You can’t miss it as there’s a giant metal roll-up door across from (now shuttered) Levende East. Ordering is done at the counter, and there is counter seating, two tables in the middle of the room (I hope they will add more), a large table near the window, and then window counter seating as well. (click here for the full menu)

As I didn’t want to go over my $10 for lunch, I just ordered two tacos (both $3.50). Service was very friendly and I didn’t even get a hint of opening jitters, and the server offered me complimentary olives and lemon water while I waited for my tacos at the counter. The first taco, filled with pollo asada with achiote sauce was good, soft, and cooked to perfection. There was a sweetness in the middle that I really liked.

The second was even better, Beckerlane braised pork with pickled red onion. This one offered a little more flavor, but even then lacked a certain kick or complexity. What really shined though were the homemade tortillas—wide, thick, and very soft and flavorful. The aromas of the tacos combined was mostly of the soft corn, they were some of the best I’ve had.

My two pointed complaints are few and both are fixable. First, there is no public bathroom inside the market, so those of us who like to wash our hands before and after lunch are left without many choices except to go across the street to another restaurant. (ETA: The restaurant has a restroom for its customers, just ask at the counter.) Second, the counter seating was a tad awkward, the wooden counter in front of the beer taps is much too high, and the stools much too low and small (I had a hard time balancing my 6’ frame comfortably). Next time I go, I’ll choose a shared table instead.

Also, at $3.50 for a taco, regardless of the high quality of ingredients and handmade status of the tortillas is a bit on the steep side of the East Bay’s taco pricing scheme. I had dinner at Xolo on Saturday, and those high-quality tacos are $2.75 (still cheaper than Xolo’s sister Berkeley spot Tacubaya where a taco sets you back $3.15) By comparison, La Penca Azul taco truck (my go to truck) has delicious tacos for $1.25. Places like, say, Picante or La Calle come in somewhere in the middle at around $2.67-$2.90 a taco.

I also didn’t quite get enough to eat, as ordering another dish to go with my tacos would have easily put me over the $10 mark. Guacamole with chips and pico de gallo would have been nice ($5.50), and the Elote ($4.00) and Tomato Cucumber salad ($5.50) also sounded good but I just couldn’t pull the trigger. (ETA: The restaurant has informed me that they actually do offer chips & salsa on its own, but it was left off the menu that day.)

There are major pluses here for vegetarians. The Ahogado torta ($5.75) looked large and very fresh when I saw one brought to a nearby table, and they also have a Oaxacan quesadilla with rajas ($5.75) and a delicious sounding summer corn tamale with jalapeno salsa and beans ($5.75).

Looks like they have plans to have late-night reservation only dinners while the rest of the market is closed, and I will definitely be back to try some more of their menu items, perhaps with a couple friends in tow.

Always happy to have a new lunch spot in DTO, and Cosecha shows a lot of promise. Thanks for opening in Oakland!

Cosecha | 907 Washington Street | Old Oakland |

Hawker Fare.

There’s been much anticipation for James Syhabout’s street food style restaurant in Oakland, and when I got word yesterday that this new spot from the Commis chef would open for lunch today, I didn’t hesitate to make my lunch plans.

On a grey, rainy day my coworker Geoffrey and I headed up to this new corner restaurant at 23rd and Webster, between Grand and Broadway and just a couple blocks away from Mua and Nex. I admit, I’d been driving by this space for a month or so to see if they were open, so I knew exactly where I was going.

After viewing the big graffiti mural and Oakland music posters through the windows, it was good to make it through the glass doors and inside. We were seated immediately at a nice table for two near the window, the tables are mostly communal in the middle but they can be separated and combined as needed along the perimeter, so although we were right next to the other diners we didn’t feel as if we were sitting WITH them.

No liquor license yet, but this was a work lunch anyways, so we ordered some thai iced tea. They came out in big, icy mason jars with glass handles delightfully unmixed. The tea was delicious, balancing between the milk and rich tea without being overly sweet or syrupy. So far, so good.

The menu is split into “Snacks,” rice bowls (all of which can have a fried egg added to it for $1.50), a few sides (rice, more peanut sauce), and drinks. Geoffrey ordered the short ribs while I got the meatballs.

The short ribs were delicious, very soft and cooked to a nice medium-rare, a hard feat for such a thin slice of meat. Geoffrey added a bit of peanut sauce to the mix as well which increased the flavor and complexity.

The meatballs were good and dense, if not a bit hard to cut with your fork. I employed a knife and was much happier, always trying to get a bit of rice, fresh lettuce, added peanut sauce, and meat on my fork. They were nicely grilled too and managed to not be too heavy and weren’t at all oily or greasy.

They also have a soft-serve machine and a few desserts, but we needed to be on our way so we grabbed the check and took off. Overall, I really enjoyed the lunch. It’s definitely a very casual spot, but it has a mix of super casual (plastic water glasses, mason jar glasses) mixed with the more elegant (nice deep plates, heavy silverware, and cloth napkins). It’s loaded with Oakland flavor which I really appreciated, and I left with a big smile on my face.

I’ll try and get back for dinner once they get their beer/wine license, and if you can go with a group of people definitely order as many different menu items as you can and share.

Hawker Fare * 2300 Webster Street * Oakland

PORKY.

I have to say I was a bit intrigued when I saw that my favorite new Oakland hotspot Plum started tweeting about a mysterious new food cart you can find on Twitter under the PORKY35 handle. Now, why would on restaurant hype another when they are basically in the same location?

Today I figured out why … PORKY is Plum’s food cart, set right up in front of the restaurant at 22nd & Broadway in Oakland’s thriving Uptown neighborhood. Now, I’ve been glued to my desk during the lunchtime hour recently, but we have a special guest stopping by our offices later today so instead of leaving at my usual early hour I decided to actually take a proper lunch break.

I took a couple coworkers with me and we cruised north on a gorgeous California day. The cart was empty when we arrived, no line, not even any curious onlookers, but this ice cream truck turned porchetta carrier was definitely full of sandwiches.

There are only three items on the menu, a Porchetta sandwich ($9), Rosemary lemonade ($2), and a Chocolate Chip n’ Oats cookie ($2). You can get the entire menu at a buck off, or $12 for those too hungry to do the math.

The sandwiches are pre-made, cold (by design), and wrapped in butcher paper held together with a fat blue rubber band. The happy pork wranglers grab a bag already setup with a napkin, fork, and straw, put in all your goodies, and you’re all set to go. No waiting for food to cook, perfect for those on a short lunch break. We took our sandwiches to the shores of Lake Merritt and unwrapped the surprise.

The porchetta was a good size, and the cold pork is sliced very thin and had a good balance between soft, fatty pieces that melted in your mouth and pink, meatier slices. Adding to the flavor is the large fresh bun, aioli, some sort of vinegar-laden sauce (my favorite part), a few sprigs of arugula, and finely sliced fennel. It’s a unique sandwich, very tasty, but in the end I think I prefer hot pork sandwiches over this cold style.

The lemonade is sweet and cold, and the chocolate chip cookie oozed flavor and chocolate. It was tough to go back to the office with this view and half of Oakland walking and running around the lake at 12:15 ona Wednesday, but that’s where I am now. What a solid lunch!