Food

Over the next month, Oakland North is featuring a food series on summer treats in Oakland. This second installment in the series focuses on Middle Eastern treats that can be found along Telegraph Avenue around 30th Street, which includes everything from Syrian rose watered pistachio baklava to Afghani cornmeal-coated fried chicken to clarified butter spiced with both black and white cumin.

Oakland company Back to the roots grows mushrooms in recycled coffee grounds from Peet’s — and now thanks to their home mushroom kit, you can, too.

Over the next month, Oakland North is featuring a food series on summer treats in Oakland. Chinatown is the first installment in the series. One day last week, two Oakland North reporters wandered around Oakland’s Chinatown sampling all sorts of different Asian treats, from lotus seed buns to basil seed jello to pork meat cookies–these are their top ten.

What do you get when you have a taco truck but take away the gasoline and one wheel? El TacoBike! This new meal on wheels hit town last week serving up fresh and authentic Mexican taqueria food like tacos de canasta (steamed tacos) and tortas diabolicas (meatball sandwiches) via a three-wheeled bicycle.

The controversial AB 376, a bill that would make possession and trade of shark fins illegal in California, was amended on Thursday. State Assemblymember Paul Fong (D-Cupertino), who introduced the bill in February, wants to “grandfather in” restaurants and distributors which are already selling shark fin products by pushing back the bill’s effective date for those sellers from 2012 to 2013.

Tucked away inside a little market in Fruitvale Village is a small counter-service-only ice cream shop called Nieves Cinco de Mayo. Draped on the wall is a Mexican flag and strings of colorful tissue paper cut into intricate patterns hang from the ceiling. A big chalkboard displays which ice cream flavors are on the menu for the day: corn, spearmint, lemon cream, eggnog, rose petal, cheese and more.

Xolo, downtown’s newest restaurant, which is open until midnight on Friday and Saturdays, offers an alternative to the standard hot dog that most Oakland Uptown revelers have grown accustomed to for pre- or post- drinking sustenance

The Alameda County Community Food Bank and local letter carriers will work together to collect food donations for the Stamp Out Hunger program. Summer is a time when many low-income families need food assistance, because fewer kids have access to free lunches at school.

What used to be a simple dirt lot in a residential neighborhood at San Pablo Avenue and 65th Street, will soon be a haven for residents who share a common interest in sustainability and preserving the environment. From classes about urban gardening and herbal salve making to monthly crafts nights, the PLACE for Sustainable Living will provide Oakland residents with resources and knowledge on how to live a greener lifestyle.