Tag: Oakland

Black-owned, refined tribute to diner food at Oakland’s new Matty’s Old Fashioned

by  on  in Around the Bay

Multiple road trips through the South for 17 years, studying BBQ styles across states and regions, does, indeed, make me a barbecue “snob.” I have long known it’s nearly impossible to find the “best of the best” outside of the South. So thank God for Matt Horn, who makes the best barbecue I’ve had in the entire West at Oakland’s Horn Barbecue.

I wrote about his fried chicken spot, Kowbird, after it opened early 2022. Horn and team just opened Matty’s Old Fashioned on July 20, 2023, in Old Oakland as his tribute to the classic American diner, but reinvented and refined. Think burgers and McDonald’s-esque fish sandwiches in a brick-walled, blue-and-gold, diamond wall-papered space… Read more →

Two New Bakeries Already Set to Stand Among the Bay’s Best: Juniper & Starter Bakery

by  on  in The Latest

Few U.S. cities have a fraction of the world class bakeries that line San Francisco, a city that has led the baking renaissance of the past 20 plus years — again in the 1970s-80 and was a baking leader since the 1800s when famed Boudin Bakery established the city as the world’s sourdough capital.

These two new bakeries — Juniper and Starter Bakery — feel already poised to join our long list of bakery greats, of which any single one would top the “bests” in any city. Read more →

9 Bars Serving Standout American Whiskey Cocktails Across the US

by  on  in Imbiber

Covering 9 standout American whiskey (bourbon, rye, etc.) cocktails around the US at Liquor.com, you’ll find my top national drinks on menus at these bars/restaurants: — Chef’s Special Cocktail Bar, Chicago— Existing Conditions, New York City— CDP Bar (at Commis), Oakland, CA— Julep, Houston— The Bindery, Denver— Proof on Main (at 21C), Louisville— Bar Beau, Brooklyn (NYC)— Bird & the Bottle, Santa… Read more →