Oakland Restaurant Week 2019
It’s nearly that time of year once again, where all the Bay Area apartments for rent are buzzing with anticipation for delicious meals courtesy of their favorite East Bay establishments. We’re talking, of course, about Oakland Restaurant Week, the yearly spectacular that brings the very best to the plates of eager foodies like yourself:
“From January 11-20, 2019, participating Oakland restaurants will celebrate the most diverse restaurant week in the region. Oakland Restaurant Week runs over two weekends for foodies to take full advantage of dining deals.”
If you’ve dropped in for restaurant weeks from years past, you already know how thrilling this event usually is. If you’re new, however, and aren’t yet familiar with what this extravaganza entails, we suggest you keep reading to learn more about what you can expect!
What Oakland Restaurant Week Is All About
As you’ve probably guessed, Oakland Restaurant Week is a way for Visit Oakland, the non-profit tourism organization, to highlight some of the best restaurants in the city and “encourage both locals and visitors alike to explore new dining options, or revisit some of their old favorites to enjoy special menu offerings.”
Restaurants participating in ORW will be doing so in a variety of ways. Some will have a prix-fixe menu, with fixed priced points of $10, $20, $30, $40, $50, $60 and $70. Some will be offering special cocktail, beer, and wine pairings to accompany their menus, showing off the best of their stock and providing you with some welcomed libations for your night (or day) out on the town. A few establishments will be offering up “progressive dinners,” and others still will be helping out the Alameda County Community Food Bank through donating portions of their sales, hosting special happy hours to fundraise for the cause, collecting cans for the food drive, and other charitable efforts.
2019 marks the 9th year for Oakland Restaurant Week, and just as in previous years, the offerings will be well worth your time if you decide to check them out. You can get a look at the Participating Restaurants directly on the Visit Oakland webpage, and the current list already includes four amazing options:
- Brotzeit Lokal
- Homestead Oakland
- Benchmark Oakland
- Mistura Rotisserie
Let’s take a closer look at these esteemed establishments, shall we?
Brotzeit Lokal, located on Embarcadero, is a Bavarian-inspired restaurant positioned right on the waterfront. The restaurant offers up a mix of simple, traditional Bavarian cuisine infused with a bit of that Oakland twist and accentuated by the fact that they use locally-sourced, farm-to-table ingredients. Being inspired by the Bavarian tradition there’s plenty of unique craft beer on offer here, and the waterside location provides lovely views for you to enjoy while you’re dining. As a side note, you might want to know that the establishment’s name is a fusion of two very applicable German terms — “Brotzeit,” which means “snack,” and “Lokal,” a word for “pub.”
Homestead Oakland, right on Piedmont Avenue, brings a combination of New American dishes and painstakingly selected beer and wine to the table. They’ve got more than enough steak, pork, and fish on the menu for you to enjoy, along with soups, salads, and a variety of fusion dishes like the Korean-style mixed grill to whet your appetite too.
You’ll find Benchmark Oakland on 9th Street, and notable pizzeria has already made a few waves in The Mercury News. A sister establishment to the Benchmark Pizzeria in Kensington, they bring the Italian flare with a heaping helping of California style, and, as a good restaurant should, they source their produce from local organic farms like Riverdog, Star Routh, Full Belly, and Dirty Girl. This fine pizza joint is the brainchild of two industry veterans — Melissa and Peter Swanson — who went into business after years of working as cooks and servers in other Oakland-area restaurants.
Lastly, Mistura Rotisserie, on Piedmont Avenue, is a Peruvian chicken joint that brings the best of South American food and drink. Their options are complemented by the many cultures that live in Peru — the Japanese, Chinese, Italian, and Spanish — and served up in the style of the masterful Chef Daniel Luna. If the NOSH review of the establishment is any measure to go by, that delicious chicken Mistura offers is a surefire favorite:
“Chef Daniel Luna is turning out beautifully bronzed birds, brined for 24 hours or more in dark beer laced with plenty of cumin, and then roasted over an open flame — they are certainly a far cry from their grocery store cousins that may or may not have been sitting hot in their plastic shells for hours on end.”
Oakland Restaurant Week will also be accompanied by a number of special events. The Alameda County Food Bank Benefit, for instance, which is taking place on January 12th, will see proceeds from ORW menu sales donated directly to the Alameda County Community Food Bank, and will feature a special performance from the Edna Brewer Middle School Jazz Band.
Meanwhile, Cocktails for a Cause will be going on all of restaurant week, and will see another portion of proceeds — this time from the most popular cocktails served up at various establishments — going to support the Alameda County Food Bank. These are just two of what’s sure to be a multitude of special happenings, so be sure to check back at the ORW special events page to learn more in the coming weeks.
All Part of the Fun When You Live in the Bay Area Apartments for Rent
Special events like Oakland Restaurant Week are another amazing part of the local tapestry when you live in communities like Fourth Street East. This luxurious living space puts you right in the heart of the very best that the East Bay has to offer, in the historic Waterfront Warehouse District, and access to the city’s wonders are right at your fingertips. Be sure to check out what’s available here, and make this your first choice for living in sunny, beautiful Oaktown.
