Emeryville: Arizmendi Bakery and Pizzeria; restaurant review

80 North

Arizmendi Bakery and Pizzeria  

4301 San Pablo Ave./43nd St., (510) 547-0550.  M 7-3, Tu-F 7-7, Sat-Sun 8-7. 

Located in a sort of strip mall with plenty of parking in back, Arizmendi Bakery and Pizzeria is a worker-owned cooperative named for a Spanish priest who established worker-owned co-ops in the Basque region of Spain.  Organic flour and natural ingredients are used to prepare vegetarian and vegan pastries, cookies, breads, and particularly good pizza.  A different slice pizza is available hot each day after 11:30 a.m.  When I was here it was a surprisingly delicious roasted cauliflower with cilantro.  More varieties of whole pizzas and bake-at-home pizzas are also available, and you can call to reserve one.  Organic coffees and teas are also served.  A few tables are provided inside, but many more are outside on a sheltered patio.

interior of Arizmendi Bakery and Pizzeria in Emeryville, California

roasted cauliflower pizza at Arizmendi Bakery and Pizzeria
in Emeryville, California

  


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images ©2015 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Emeryville: Trader Vic’s; restaurant review

80 North 

Trader Vic’s  

9 Anchor Dr./Powell St.  Free valet and self parking. 

The original Trader Vic’s opened in Oakland in 1934 and is said to be where the Mai Tai was invented in 1944 (the name of the drink is coined from the Tahitian phrase “Mai Tai, Roa Ae,” which translates as “Out of this world, the best”).  Be sure to order the Original Mai Tai if you want that tasty version and all-fresh ingredients.   

the Original Mai Tai at Trader Vik's in Emeryville, California

That location closed and then reopened in this new incarnation.  Now it is a link in the world-wide chain of Polynesian bars and restaurants.  Famous dishes include bongo bongo soup (spinach and oysters) and Calcutta curry.  At lunch—the perfect time to be here because the lovely water view can be fully enjoyed--I had a macadamia nut chicken salad sandwich that was delicious, though the nuts were chopped too small to taste and I couldn’t figure out what made the potato salad side Hawaiian.

chicken salad sandwich at Trader Vik's in Emeryville, California

Next time I’ll order either the Chinatown chicken salad, the Green Goddess salad, or something smoked in the big red Chinese wood-fired ovens (you can view them in action through glass walls).  Another great time to be here is on a rainy day because your car is dropped off and picked up under a covered drive-thru.

red Chinese wood-fired ovens at Trader Vik's in Emeryville, California

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images ©2015 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

updated May 2024

 

Emeryville: Honor Bar, Grill & Cocktails; restaurant review

80 North

Honor Kitchen & Cocktails  

1411 Powell St./Hollis St., (510) 653-8667. No reservations. D Tu-Sat; $$. Free off-street private parking.

Bucket o' Yard Birds at Honor Kitchen in Emeryville, California

Where should you go when you’ve had a depressing day and you’re too down to cook? Why, here--to Honor Bar, Grill & Cocktails! Featuring a cozy, noisy roadhouse atmosphere, this casual spot will serve you up an unusual cocktail and satisfying meal. Diners seat themselves at the red-top bar--where everyone eventually shows up to place their order--but also at a choice of mostly communal high tables with stools that surround the bar. Drinks include complex cocktails such as a Guy Fawkes (gin, PX sherry, Amaro Montenegro, maraschino, acid phosphate, and absinthe) and a Bleeding Monarch (bourbon, passion fruit, orgeat, Campari, and balsamico amaro) as well as help-yourself-beers from an ice-filled bucket--you’re on the honor system to pay for them. The menu is short, but includes essentials such as BBQed Texas Mop Pork Ribs (they’re short but fall-off-the-bone tender and come with a side of cold macaroni salad just like grandma used to make), Short Rib Sliders, and a Bucket o' Yard Birds (fried chicken). Do order a side of sweetish house-pickled vegetables or a deep-fried artichoke as an appetizer. Antsy? A pinball machine awaits in a corner.

Bloody Mary topped with a salad at Honor Kitchen in Emeryville, California

Weekend brunch was recently added, so now you can drag in here after a hard night and cheer yourself up with a menu that includes a trendy fried chicken and waffle with blueberry chipotle syrup, an eggs Benedict made with seared pork belly and tomato relish, and a vegetarian-friendly mushroom frittata.  Many items come with “taters,” which are way oversized tater tots that are crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside and very good.  Sharing, you might have room for the tempting giant bourbon-pecan sticky bun or ricotta beignets with chocolate and berry sauces, but for sure you’ll be able to make room for the delicious crisp and warm sausage biscuit with honey butter.  As in the evening, drinks are interesting and varied, but one of the four different Bloody Marys is an easy choice (they come topped with a little salad of perhaps asparagus, cornichon, and cocktail onion).  A house punch or Painkiller #2 should also be considered, or perhaps a carafe of fresh orange juice and a bottle of sparkling wine for make-your-own mimosas.  And so that you don’t need to face the glare of morning light, they keep the Venitian blinds drawn shut, and music is hard rock-style but not too loud,


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images ©2012 & 2017 Carole Terwilliger Meyers
updated 2-3-18

Emeryville: Chevys Fresh Mex (CLOSED); restaurant review

80 North

Chevys Fresh Mex  

CLOSED  1890 Powell St., (510) 653-8210.

The bar at Chevys Fresh Mex is as spacious as the restaurant and it also has the best bay views, so you might want to just settle in on a stool at one of the high tables. Families will be more comfortable in the dining room, where comfy booths and larger tables are available. Menu stars include a variety of build-your-own fajitas, a fajita salad or guacamole prepared tableside, sopapillas a la mode, and deep-fried ice cream—and don’t forget the hand-shaken margaritas and premium Tequilas. A la carte items and a kids menu are available. Entertainment is provided by El Machino, the tortilla-making contraption that offers a kid’s-eye view of the process.


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