The recently opened Aunt Mary’s Cafe is making a splash in Oakland, with an eclectic, globe-trotting menu and top-notch baked goods, say hounds.
Southern bubble and squeak consists of a crisply fried mess of potato and finely chopped greens, lightly sauced with gravy. “It was sooooo good,” says ace. It comes with two eggs any style, a side of slightly spicy greens, and a biscuit.
Those biscuits are great, adds Hunicsz, and so are homemade breads, like sweet potato bread. Afternoons bring half-off deals on pastry with coffee/tea.
Huevos divorciados with housemade salsa and Zorba the Omelette (with good-quality feta and olives) are solid at brunch, and there’s good buzz about the Hangtown Frytata. Also on the menu are updated congee and calas, an old-fashioned New Orleans specialty of deep-fried rice cakes. ace describes them as being “like fried rice pudding dusted with sugar.”
Running out of superlatives, ace insists that the ginger-pear cake, the pineapple upside-down cake, and the cornbread are each the best of their kind. But the supply varies; the baker says she only prepares two selections a day.
Aunt Mary’s Cafe [East Bay]
4307 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland
510-601-9227
Board Links: Aunt Mary’s Cafe- Temescal
Best Ginger Cake I Ever Ate- Oakland
