Oak-town - the Bay Area city w/the "real" people

After crossing the approx. 4 mile long Bay Bridge from San Francisco and Treasure Island, you’ll find yourself in the city of Oakland, a slightly less chic and sophisticated city than SF, which (nevertheless) offers a variety of cultural and scenic activities. Oakland includes several distinct areas including a downtown business center, the suburban Lake Merritt neighborhood, a port where you can watch all of the large cargo ships load and unload, a small Chinatown, and nine regional parks to enjoy. Oakland once seemed to be simply an aging city, but with the recent high-tech boom, the city’s popularity grew and its neighborhoods were somewhat upgraded, along with the rest of the Bay Area (that may all change quickly with the current bust!). One thing that hasn’t changed is the attitude of Oakland’s Raiders and A’s sports teams’ fans – they remain quite loyal and rowdy.

Best parts of Oakland are: sampling cuisine from around the world, hiking in the mountains, watching the Raiders or the A's play.

Quick Tips:

If you’re not familiar with the Bay Area, keep in mind that you’ll have a better chance of having your plane arrive on time at the Oakland vs. the San Francisco airport.

Best Way To Get Around:

Lots of people take advantage of the public transporation available: bus and BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). These are especially convenient for attending games at the Oakland Coliseum and the Oakland International Airport. However, in line with my SoCal upbringing, I definitely prefer having a car, especially at night.

Fine cuisine is to be devoured at this establishment, whose ambiance deviates greatly from the typical hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant. Warm decor, high ceilings, and ethnic decorations are pleasing. Big round tables are available to accommodate large party lunches. You can even have food from Le Cheval catered for your special event or meeting.

Lunch specials are popular for those folks who work nearby. Shrimp rolls are a nice and light appetizer, and their Singapore Style Noodles are a favorite of Le Cheval’s clientele. One of my favorite entrees is the Bun Bo Nuong – cold vermicelli with beef shish-kebob – the barbecue beef is well-marinated, flavorful, and tender (no heavy duty teeth-grinding necessary). If you’re in the neighborhood and would like a nice dining experience that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, I highly recommend Le Cheval.

If you are looking for a nice, quick bite to eat at a casual outdoor sidewalk cafe, come down to Caffe 817. Gourmet salads and tasty focaccia sandwiches are perfect for a nice sunny day in Oakland. Sit down and eat at one of the small tables available or take it back to the office. This place does get busy so you may want to get there early to beat the lunch crowd.

I ate the most delicious Hong Kong style chicken chow mein at Jade Villa. This Chinese restaurant is one of the largest (and one of the best) in Oakland’s small Chinatown area. People who work in the nearby downtown offices enjoy dim sum lunches during the week. These small dishes are of the common dim sum variety but slightly on the "good and greasy" side. Definitely watch out for the many deep fried dishes – too much and you might end up with coronary artery disease. Weekends commonly accommodate large Chinese wedding banquets. In terms of atmosphere, I would not categorized Jade Villa as particularly refined; one comes here for the food rather than decor.

Yoshi's is probably one of the nicest places to dine on Japanese eats. The combination lunch platter that I ordered included a generous portion of terriyaki salmon and crunchy (not the thick gooey battered) tempura which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Unfortunately, the service is SLOW and not reliable. Our server forgot requests for water and neglected to check back with us. I'd heard from friends, who had been there previously, that one woman's sushi order took 45 minutes to get served, way after everyone else had already finished eating. That's why when I went, no one ordered sushi! But it is telling, that my friends keep going back for more.

In the end, I highly recommend Yoshi's if you go at a really dead hour to eat, else, go and expect to receive poor service. Another item to keep in mind - Yoshi's sometimes offers live jazz/other music on the weekend nights.

Looking for some authentic Cambodian cuisine? Head on down to Battambang (crazy sounding name, but it's real), bring your $10, and choose from about 100 different entrees. They have everything from salmon in lemongrass sauce to vegetarian "Kuy Teav Char" (rice noodles), to beef shish-kabobs and duck curry.

I'd always seen Battambang from the street as I drive to work and was curious to see how Cambodian food tasted. It turns out that it's a nice sort of Thai and Vietnamese combination. The decor, as with many Asian restaurants in the Oakland Chinatown area, is casual and rather plain. Servers were friendly and attentive. Feeling adventurous, I tried out the Kari Dong Kchei, a chicken curry dish with coconut pieces. I have never liked coconut, but thought that I'd give it a second chance; perhaps I'd like it if it were prepared differently from the cruchy shreddings on candybars and cakes. And yes, I liked it! Cooked coconut is rather slimy, actually, but didn't have any of that stringiness that I dislike. The chicken was nice and tender and my plain white rice balanced the spices. I'm definitely planning to go back to try another dish!

JLS boasts a waterfront area full of restaurants, a handful of shops and museums, and the local Amtrak station. It is a shadow of San Francisco’s Pier 39; much less touristy and active, yet a popular local meeting place for business lunches, cultural festivals and summer concerts. If you are a fan of the author for which the Square was named, you might visit Feinolds’ First and Last Chance Saloon which Mr. London frequented, which is still alive and serving (if you’re really interested, I would recommend visiting Jack London’s home & museum in Berkeley Hills).

Lake Merritt is a nice place for a rather scenic run in the city. Located within a few blocks of Oakland's downtown, The large lake attracts many walkers, joggers, and babysitters. There is a boat house for those who want to venture into the murky water and a small playground for kids.

The path is paved, with some parts having grass/dirt on the side for those of you with bad knees and who don't want to pound the pavement. As Oakland is near the Bay, you get a nice breeze to keep you cool.