Beaker's Profile
"Taste of Joy": new BBQ and gumbo joint on Lakeshore (Oakland)
They've re-opened on Grand Ave, next door to Camino. They've only been open a few days in this location, we just had dinner there. Big thumbs up... I had spare-ribs, KC-style, with lots of sticky sweet sauce. I like drier ribs, personally, but it was a yummy sauce, and the ribs were smoked to perfection. Sides of Mac & Cheese and candied yams were also yummy. My wife had fried chicken wings, which were also really good, along with sweet potato fries (yum) and mustard greens (eh, not her cup of tea). Help was pleasant and the chef came out and greeted us personally. Nice place. Recommended. (Apparently dinner-only for now, with lunch to come later.)
-----
Taste of Joy Barbecue & Southern Bistro
3909 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA
Slow cooked pork shoulder not so tender
You need to cook longer, at a lower temp... think 220 degrees or so for at least 8 hours. Might be longer. www.amazingribs.com has an excellent article on cooking pork shoulder.
ISO Wood Pellets for Smoking
Ace Hardware on Grand Ave in Oakland (well, Piedmont actually) sells Traeger pellets. Not sure about BBQ'ers delight.
nice-ish dinner in oakland/berkeley tonight
Another vote for Camino.
If it's super-busy, walk a block down the street to Grand Tavern. It has promise.
Grand Tavern - Oakland
*Much* quieter, in a good way. I can't go to Luka's anymore, it's just too loud.
Grand Tavern - Oakland
My wife and I went a couple of weeks ago, on a Sunday night. Place was virtually empty except for us, so we sat at the bar. It was a very nice place -- they had some fresh and inventive cocktails, and the food was quite good... we just had a few appetizers (including the "fries" which I also found to be quite good, highly recommended) but they were really yummy. The menu didn't strike me as a place for a full meal but if you want nice drinks and snacks while chatting with friends, it looks like a winner. Friendly staff, too.
