Food

Oakland urban homesteading celebrity Novella Carpenter could face fines from the city for unpermitted agricultural activities and lose the animals she keeps at Ghost Town Farm, a West Oakland garden that helped make local, sustainable food popular in the East Bay.

Chickens, cilantro and compost – oh, my! These were just some of the options for guests at the San Francisco Flower and Garden show as they walked through the 5,000 square feet of edible gardens arranged by Oakland-based Star Apple Edible Gardening. The company displayed what a modern urban homestead can look like. Throughout the four days of the show, Leslie Bennett, one of the three co-owners spoke to garden growers. “For reasons hard to comprehend, not everyone is growing…

Many in the Chinese community find themselves at odds with new legislation aimed at banning the sale and import of shark fin, the main ingredient of the Chinese delicacy known as shark fin soup.

There is nothing more disappointing than comfort food that causes discomfort. People with allergies to gluten—a protein found in wheat, rye and barley—have to say no to pizza, pasta and pastries made using traditional ingredients. But there is a haven for the gluten-free tucked away in a red brick alley in Temescal.

A state bill that would ban the possession and distribution of shark fins in California has led to debate between conservationists and Chinese American leaders, and has its share of critics in Oakland’s Chinatown. The bill would prevent hundreds of restaurants from serving shark-fin soup, a traditional Chinese delicacy that is a mark of prestige at banquets.

If the week’s sudden turn to winter has you hankering for some comfort food, you’re in luck. Homeroom, Oakland’s newest restaurant, specializes in everyone’s favorite comfort food: macaroni and cheese. After a scrape with McDonalds, and a couple years of planning, building and recipe-testing, Allison Arevalo and Erin Wade opened the doors to cheesy goodness on Tuesday.

Perched above a steaming stainless steel cauldron, Adam Lamoreaux rhythmically stirs the contents with a large metal oar. Inside, a thick amber-colored concoction of cracked grains and hot water simmers. As he continues to stir, a sweet malty smell fills the air. Lamoreaux looks down into the vat and studies his mixture, then says, “For the first two years of my daughter’s life, she thought I made oatmeal.”

Goodbye to the cured pork tacos served with mint, cabbage and diakon radishes. Goodbye to the creamy mac-and-cheese cake topped with panko breadcrumbs and Gremolata cheese. Goodbye to the butterscotch pudding. One of Oakland’s first mobile food trucks, Jon’s Street Eats, is shutting up shop.

In a light-filled spacious kitchen, Jeff Gallishaw slices open an orange, squeezes out all the juice and adds it to a cup of homemade soda water mixed with simple syrup. He is working in your typical commercial kitchen, complete with refrigerators, sinks, a stove, griddle and oven. But at the end of the day, he can start up his engine and drive this kitchen away.