Looking Back at Oakland’s Golden Age of Restaurants and What's Next

KQED's Forum

KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 20 April 2022

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

About a decade ago national publications started paying a lot of attention to Oakland’s food scene. The city burst out of San Francisco’s shadow to become a distinct culinary city in its own right. KQED Food Editor Luke Tsai writes that the buzziest of Oakland’s “golden age” restaurants were headed by women of color, “charismatic chefs who were cooking food that was deeply personal, reflecting the cultures that shaped their identities—Afro-Caribbean, Mexican, Korean, Lao.” But over the years notable favorites like Brown Sugar Kitchen, Fuse Box and Juhu Beach Club have closed, and this month beloved Miss Ollie’s has shut its doors. We’ll talk with Luke Tsai and Miss Ollie’s owner Sarah Kirnon about the forces that changed Oakland’s restaurant scene and we want to hear from you. What do you remember from that era? What restaurants are exciting to you now? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:32.1	From KQED.
0:34.7	Welcome back to Forum.
0:35.8	I'm Alexis Madrigal.
0:37.3	There was a time when the East Bay restaurant scene was filled with exciting restaurants run by women of color. As KQEDs, Luke Cy writes, they were charismatic chefs who were cooking food that was deeply personal reflecting the cultures that shaped their identities. Afro-Caribbean, Mexican, Korean, Lao.
0:56.2	Juhu Beach Club in Temescal.
0:58.3	That was an amazing place.
0:59.2	Fuse Box in West Oakland.
1:01.3	Brown Sugar Kitchen on Mendel Parkway.
1:03.4	And, of course, Miss Ollie's in Old Town.
1:06.4	Sadly, Juhu Beach Club went out a few years ago.
1:09.3	Fuse Box, which really truly was one of the most interesting restaurants on Earth, also gone.
1:14.1	And earlier this month, Miss Ollie's began its transformation from a traditional sit-down restaurant
1:19.1	to something more complex.
1:21.7	The old storefront, though, is closing.
1:24.8	Restaurant tour Sarah Karnan joins us today. Thankfully, she has new plans. Welcome to the show, Sarah.
1:32.8	Hello. Thanks for joining us. The other big question is whether all the money now coursing through Oakland, which has pushed out thousands of black residents.
	...

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