SOME FAVE OAKTOWN EATS: FALAFEL, VIETNAMESE, & KOREAN

Here are some of our food faves in Oakland; each one is our fave for that type of food in the Bay Area:

Oasis Market: Even though I really like the humorously-named Ali Baba's Cave in The Mission for shwerma and wraps and appetizers, I think the best falafel I have ever had are at the Oasis, a newish Yemeni market at Telegrah and 31st in Oakland's Pill Hill neighborhood: they're light, crunchy, and full of flavor and texture, with no oiliness; really a joy to pop in your mouth.  I'm eager to try some of their Yemeni specialties, desserts, olives, and cheeses.

Ohgane: If you saw my recent post on about being served eighteen (!!!) amazing panchan at a recent dinner at Ohgane, at 40th and Broadway, you know I think they have the best Korean food in the Bay Area.  Great and generous panchan, but everything else we've had has also been first-rate, including appetizer pancakes, soups, and bibimbop in all its variations.  It can get quite crowded and smokey late in the evening with big Korean parties.

Pho 84: For awhile, this was our fave Friday evening take-out spot, and Pho 84, downtown (or Uptown?) at 17th and Franklin is still our fave Vietnamese place in the Bay Area.  They have great soups, appetizers, curries, and claypot dishes, and make their own lemonade.  Michelle or her husband, sister, or mother are usually there and everyone's always welcoming.  They have a sister restaurant, Ba Vo, on 13th Street, with the same menu, that's busier at lunch; and are opening another in Walnut Creek.  They can get really busy at dinner.

Any faves (Oaktown or otherwise) you wanna share, or comments or additions?

THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING HAS NO CLOTHES: THESE DEVELOPMENTS ARE NEITHER TOD* OR GREEN

I like local architect David Baker: he runs a cool firm, supports good orgs and causes, bikes everywhere, and has designed a lot of in-fill, multi-family projects around the Bay in recent years, with a lot more on the drawing boards.

And I'm a big supporter of SPUR--the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association--and their work and programming, which until recently was headed by the amazing Jim Chappell.

But two recent SPUR events were billed as tours of new green, *transit-oriented development (TOD) projects designed by Baker: Ironhorse in West Oakland and Tassafaronga Village in East Oakland. And I would venture that ultimately, because of where they are and how unconnected they are, they are definitely not TOD, and ultimately not green.

Ironhorse is one of the new developments around the historic, but still abandoned, Central Station in West Oakland. The tour included a twenty-five minute walk through blocks of empty lots, warehouses, and manufacturing from the West Oakland BART station--how is that TOD? We know there are few places to build new, affordable housing in the Bay Area, and I believe fervently in brownfield remediation, but how green is it--in fact how healthy is it--to build new housing between manufacturing, the Nimitz Freeway, and the Bay Area's major shipping port?

It's nice to see that the tour of Tassafaronga Village involved getting SPUR members out on their bikes, but that's probably because again, it's a twenty-five minute walk through warehouses, empty lots, manufacturing, and major trucking routes to the Coliseum BART station.

I'm not saying that these are not worthwhile, well-designed, and much-needed affordable housing developments; but they are not TOD; and I think we need to have more thought and discussion about the inaccessible, unhealthy places we build new affordable housing in the Bay Area, and that ultimately, 'affordable' housing where residents need to own cars isn't even affordable housing.

And in case you've never seen the inside of Central Station, abandoned since rail service was discontinued in the 70s, here are some pictures from a recent event I attended there--pretty amazing:

ADULT FOUR-SQUARE

A post about couples who swing, poylamorous relationship dynamics, or contra dancing? Sorry. I'm a supporter of KALW, San Francisco's small, community-based, public-radio station. Especially as NPR-affiliate KQED does less and less local programming, I've been amazed at the great shows KALW produces on a shoestring budget, like "Out In The Bay;" and other shows they carry like "This Way Out," and CBC's "As It Happens."

And I'm really impressed by their local news program, "Cross Currents," for its great mix of hard and topical news, and local profiles and color. I had to laugh out loud at this piece from yesterday's show, about pick-up four-square games for adults at Rockridge BART, as I flashed back to my old colleagues and I figuring out four-square configurations in Oakland schoolyard designs, when I had no idea what the game was (actually I still don't--can anyone explain???).

But I also really like the "urban playground movement" concept. Scroll down to read the transcript or click to hear or other options.

Recess isn’t just for kids anymore...

If you’ve ever walked through the parking lot at Oakland’s Rockridge Bart late on a Thursday night, you may have seen a group of raucous twenty and thirty somethings yelling and drinking beer. They’re not a bunch of hooligans. They are out there playing a friendly game of four square. Reporter Dara Kerr joins them for a round.

* * *

DARA KERR: We’re here under the Rockridge Bart train. The parking lot’s lights dimly shine down on the friends and strangers who’ve gathered here to play. Even though it’s chilly outside, most are warmed up and sweating. Four square is pretty simple, it has four people, four squares and one ball. So the players add rules to make things interesting. Sometimes everyone has to jump up and down, dance or spin in circles to get dizzy. Player Uriah Finley says a popular rule is to call categories.

URIAH FINLEY: People will call countries in the world, types of bird, things that live
under the sea, breakfast cereals, Saturday morning cartoons. And basically whenever you
hit it you have to call out one of said things.

Finley joined this weekly four square game when it started a year and a half ago.

FINLEY: Mostly it’s a good fun-based game but there’s definitely some skills
involved and finesse and style. There’s just a lot of tricks. Um, Lee’s kinda the trick shot
guy, he’s standing right there. Hey, Lee!

He’s calling to Lee Bothwick.

LEE BOTHWICK: My favorite shots are the ones where it comes to me and I kinda like
let it slide off my fingers and it gets a little spin on it. Hopefully away from the player
you’re hitting it to, so they have to run after it and look really silly. You can hit it really
hard, that’s always cool.

These guys say that four square fits into something called the urban playground movement. The movement comes from this idea—as adults we’re missing out on something. Kids walk onto a playground and can befriend anyone with a ball, sidewalk chalk or a jump rope. As grown-ups we often limit ourselves—we hang out only with people we know, commute in silence and socialize online. But not these guys. Sam Wong founded the Rockridge Bart game.

SAM WONG: I would say that the community that’s been built up here really is one of
welcome and inclusion and of silliness.

Now, urban playground groups are organizing games all over the Bay Area. They play capture the flag at Oakland City Hall, have pillow fights by San Francisco’s Ferry building and play Four square at the Bart station. They say that taking over these adult spaces brings back the spontaneity of the playground… but without bullies.

TRAVIS MUNN: A lot of us are now friends outside of four square; it’s been a good way
to meet people, you know it’s not an easy thing to meet people these days.

Travis Munn comes almost every week to play and has seen what four square can do for people’s social lives.

MUNN: There’s definitely been some four square romances. Actually, now
that I think about it, like half the friends that I hang out with now are all four square friends. Who knew?

From his square, Finley adds another benefit.

FINLEY: It’s free, that’s definitely a big plus and I think in today’s world,
that’s a factor.

Anyone can join in and between five and thirty people show up to play every week. And, that’s just in Oakland. In cities all over the U.S. people are playing four square in public places. Some are even getting competitive. In fact, there’s even a four square world championship which takes place on February 27th in Bridgton, Maine. Player Sam Wong.

WONG: I don’t think that any of the Cali cats have been able to put together the money or the will-power to go all the way to Maine in the middle of winter to play four square. It’s a dream though, it’s a dream. We do want to go to nationals.

If they don’t make it to Maine, they can be found at the Rockridge Bart parking lot, every Thursday night at 9pm.

Reporting from Oakland, I’m Dara Kerr for Cross Currents.

By Dara Kerr on Wednesday, Feb 24, 7:34pm

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