By Emma Krasov. Photography by Yuri Krasov
When traveling to Northern California, try not to miss a beautiful, full of history and gastronomic delights City of Oakland, which has half the population of San Francisco, and many more square miles of land, so you’ll feel much less crowded and have more things to see and do.
Located on the other shore of San Francisco Bay, Oakland is easily reachable via our gorgeous Bay Bridge, or by public transportation—Bay Area Rapid Transit train (BART).
Besides a serene Lake Merritt with botanical gardens and walking and cycling trails, Oakland Zoo, downtown Art Deco architecture, and the fantastically designed in wood and glass Cathedral of Christ the Light, there are quite a few attractions in Oakland, to which you might want to dedicate a daytrip, filled with pleasant discoveries and joyful pastime.
Jack London Square Farmers Market
If you’re here on a Sunday morning, stop at the open air farmers market that offers an enormous amount of seasonal produce, including bursting with flavor fruit and berries; hot, fresh, and ready to eat ethnic foods; artisanal breads and pastries; fresh-squeezed juices; just-roasted coffee, and multiple opportunities to buy handmade gifts from the talented crafters of original clothes items, fragrant candles, luxurious body creams and soaps, jewelry, and unique house décor elements.
As opposed to multiple San Francisco Bay Area farmers markets usually open on Saturday, Jack London Square Farmers Market works on Sundays, giving you an opportunity to indulge in an al fresco breakfast on the go with a view of the expressive Jack London statue by Cedric Wentworth, and a beautiful in any weather waterfront. https://jacklondonsquare.com/events.
Grand Lake Theatre
Built in 1926 by the prominent at the turn of the century architectural firm, Reid & Reid, Grand Lake Theatre is one of the very few former movie palaces that still holds on to its original mission. It shows films on a big screen—only not the silent masterpieces anymore, but the newest Hollywood flicks. Currently, the overwhelmingly popular Dune. Part 2 is shown at the historical auditorium with the period furnishings and a lavishly embroidered curtain.
The entire theater building maintains the romantic atmosphere of the bygone era with its stained glass windows, velvet chairs, colorful tapestries, and crystal chandeliers. Come here for the film you want to see, stay for the air of living history. http://www.renaissancerialto.com/index.php.
Bardo Lounge & Supper Club
As a chatty diner next to our table put it, “I love coming here not only because the food is great and the drinks are fantastic, but also because they do the lighting right. You see, it’s not too dark, so you can read the menu and see your dining companion, but at the same time every table has its own light source, so it feels very intimate even though other people aren’t far away.”
He was right, the lighting at Bardo Lounge & Supper Club was quite comfortable; service was friendly, and the ambiance—artful and welcoming. The supper menu featured well executed comfort food staples, and a list of beverages included a great deal of excellent house cocktails.
For example, Daisy Chain (tart, refreshing, complex) was built upon tamarind and vanilla infused vodka, Grey Goose Citron, Cocchi Americano, pineapple gum syrup, lemon, and Herbsaint, while Golden Era (velvety and sour with a zesty kick) contained Rittenhouse Rye, ginger liqueur, lemon, honey, turmeric, passion fruit, and whipped egg white.
Chicory Salad appetizer presented a plateful of chicories, watercress, pickled Asian pear, avocado, kumquats, pickled red onion, passion fruit vinaigrette, roasted Macadamia nuts, and mint.
A crowd pleasing Chicken Liver Mousse was served with pickled green strawberries and grilled local bread.
Wonderful main courses included Almond-Crusted Local Fish (black cod on the night we dined) garnished with parsnip puree with Ras el Hanout spice blend, charred broccoli topped with verjus raisins, pickled ginger, and Meyer lemon beurre blanc, and succulent Chicken & Grits—crispy skin chicken breast over Anson Mills grits with mascarpone, fresh peas, asparagus, confit pearl onions, and Marsala mushroom sauce.
For dessert, we had a witty and whimsical creation of Housemade “Twinkie” made of jackfruit, mango and banana custard, rosewater compressed cantaloupe, tarragon, and caramel swirl ice cream. https://www.bardooakland.com/.
To learn more about Oakland, visit https://www.visitoakland.com/.
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