Marc 49 - 4915 Telegraph Ave

Marc 49 is a wine bar on Telegpaph that caught our attention due to the fact that it opened after the Partner in Chow and I had passed it.

For due diligence, we went back to Marc 49, the newest obstacle between us and Pizzaiolo.

We've now been there a few times.

What we've ordered:

Mozzarella/Tomato Salad, Oysters, Fig & Proscuitto Sandwich (we think), Meaty Sandwich/Salad Combo, er... OK, we don't exactly remember what we've ordered, which has far less to do with it being a wine bar than that... er... well, it was awhile ago, OK?
Service: friendly
Atmo: laid back wine bar
Crowd: the neighborhood - young hipsters, yuppies, etc
Spent: around $30.00
Overall rating: 4 sporks

Marc 49 gets bonus points for being reasonably priced for a wine bar. The other alternatives near our house are Franklin Square and A Cote, and both tend to run you $100+ for 2 people if you're hungry.

This place has a good selection of good sandwiches and salads, and a decent wine selection. The back patio is a friendly place to kick back with friends, and overall we've always had a really good time here. Service is prompt and friendly, the front room has cool low tables and a nice bar. Basically, Marc 49 is filling a gap for the neighborhood and democratizing the wine bar experience for twentysomething kids that either can't afford Franklin Square, or don't want to eat fussy, small plates of food.

Nice job, Marc 49. We'll be back.

So.. behind...

We are sooo overdue on updating this blog. We know this.

Unfortunately, our project got a bit stalled when the Partner-in-Chow was laid off, which is what happens when you work for a mortgage company that didn't bother to see the "warning signs" (read: the various fraud reports submitted to upper management).

That being the case, we've been a bit remiss about eating out in general. We've also been busy, and so I owe The Internets some long-overdue reviews. Some are for the Telegraph project, some just for the general blog list. I'll list them here so I remember:

Outstanding in the Field (a.k.a. Out Drinking at the Ranch)
Flora (newish, and on Telegraph!)
Pican (eat here - in Oakland)
Miyozen (sister restaurant to Drunken Fish)
Dopo
Drunken Fish
Absinthe (woo for Top Chef)
Sea Salt, Lalime's & T-Rex (the trifecta)
Firefly
Taquerias: Mi Familia, El Amigo, Perico's, and the taco truck we found near High Street
Oceanaire (San Diego)
JORDN (San Diego in the Tower 23 hotel)

OK, now I'm getting lazy with links. More:

College Ave:

Soi Four
Oliveto
Citron
A Cote
Filipo
Bittersweet

A bit East of the East Bay:

Rugby (Georgetown)
J.Paul's (Georgetown)
Bodega
Home (NY)
Casa (NY)


... there's probably more. Which is to say that we're way behind in reviews and way behind on the project but not, perhaps, just not eating out at all. Just not as often.

However, Pizzaiolo is next on our list for Telegraph, and the rule is that we can't eat on Telegraph until we're up to date. We are actually up to date on the Telegraph blog (with the exception of Flora, which is new after all), so we can eat there.

And a new tapas place opened on Telegraph, so we need to hit that. A wine bar opened too, so we need to hit that as well.

So much to eat, so little time.

Stay tuned...

Doña Tomás - 5004 Telegraph Ave

Our project was horribly stalled for several months due to a variety of circumstances, including a bizarrely busy summer packed with travel and a studied avoidance of the next place on our list - a mediocre pizza joint followed by a fried fish joint.

We'd already had our fill of disgusting fried fish at Louisiana Fish & Chips, and even thinking about this place just made us wince. So sorry, other fish place - LFC ruined us.

After realizing that we'd put the project on hold for waaaay too long because we were both so unmotivated to eat crappy food, we broke our own rule and skipped those two places that were the barrier between us and Doña Tomás. And so it is that we finally got to Doña Tomás, which my Parter in Chow has enjoyed on a previous occasion and I've been to so many times I've lost count.

In a nutshell: we both love Doña Tomás. They have awesome drinks and absolutely the best carnitas you will ever have, hands down. And I own the cookbook, so paying $4 for camote (sweet potatoes) isn't something I absolutely have to do. But oh, they're just so good at the actual restaurant. And you can get them for like a buck cheaper at their sister taqueria Tacubaya, which is also awesome but nowhere near Telegraph Avenue and, therefore, a review for another time.

Reviews on Yelp will complain about the pricing. I don't mind the pricing much - sure, I wish it was cheaper. I also wish that the Patriot Act never happened and that the San Mateo bridge didn't have a backup every freaking day. But their ingredients are mostly organic and locally sourced, and I doubt their rent is cheap in spite of the occasional Lady of the Night that might liven up the "transitional" Temescal neighborhood in the evening hours.

My guess is that so many people have experience with Mexican street food and taquerias that the concept of fancy, expensive Mexican food annoys them. They feel entitled to a burrito the size of a hubcap for $3. This however is Oaxacan food, and it's high-end dining at that. So stop complaining and realize that the crappy pizza from the place we skipped isn't Dopo or Pizzaiolo either. And if you really want to save money, just skip the drinks. (But that'd be a shame, because there's no crappy tequila and the lime juice is fresh.)

What we've ordered: carnitas (amazing), carne asada (great), various fish dishes, margaritas, tequila lemonade (PIC's favorite), chile rellenos with various fillings, pozole (great), halibut cheeks (awesome)
Other things on the plate: camote, vegetable pudding (these are always delicious), beans, rice, grilled corn (mmm)
Service: local hipsters, mostly nice but occasionally hurried
Atmo: Sparse, vaguely Mexican hacienda - wood floors, rough-hewn chairs and tables in the front room. Bar is painted all red but is just as loud and smells like a Jamba Juice due to all the fresh squeezing of citrus. Back patio is awesome in the summer.
Crowd: the hills come down and the 'hood comes in - it's laid back, loud and diverse
Spent: generally spend around $80+ with 2 people, including drinks
Overall rating: 4.5 silver sporks

With all the gushing you'd think the big DT would get 5 sporks. But occasionally, there's something ordered that's just kinda blah. It's usually an appetizer, but still - $12 for blah feels like a bummer. Most recently it was a pumpkin quesadilla with goat cheese - something about the goat cheese and the squash just didn't work. The short ribs were also just OK, and kinda small. However, the other appetizer (recommended by the waitress) was unexpectedly fantastic. I don't even remember what it was, but damn - it was good.

The big standouts on the menu for me: carnitas, camote, whatever vegetable pudding they're making. That last one is filled with butter and cream and is most decidedly not good for you, but it is just delicious.

The pozole is fantastic, and especially so if you're sick. Mmm.

One thing to try: a $15 shot of Paradiso. Yes, it's really $15. No, you don't shoot it. You sip it after a meal the way you'd sip a fine port or brandy. And yes - it's worth it. A friend calls this stuff "liquid heroin," and if you're celebrating it's worth trying once.

The back patio in the summer is great, though I once saw a rat the size of the burritos people expect for $3 climbing up the wall of ivy. Since rats are all over Oakland and live in ivy and trees, this didn't bother me too much. He kept to himself and didn't run over to steal my food, which made me happy.

So, to sum up: eat here. Be prepared to spend more than you've ever spent on Mexican food unless you've eaten at Rick Bayless' restaurants. And enjoy.

Bakesale Betty's - 5098 Telegraph Ave

This wasn't going to be a part of the Eating Up Telegraph project due to closing at 7 and, thus, not really being a dinner destination, but it's just so damn good I couldn't help including it. And may the gushing begin...

Sweet Jesus, I thank you for bringing this establishment into the world. Good God, how did I live this long without that Fried Chicken Sandwich being just down the street?

I love this place. And I'm not particularly into pastry or baked goods, but my God I will eat them here.

The reason I came to Betty's was to try the Fried Chicken Sandwich. It's a huge sandwich double-stacked with perfectly crispy, seasoned fried chicken breasts on a fresh-baked roll, and the only other ingredient is a delicious, crunchy spicy cabbage slaw that is mercifully mayonnaise free.

This sandwich is awesome. In fact, I just ate one. Mmmmmmm.

Betty's has the best apple pie I have ever had in my life, and I even eat the crust. Normally I hate crust; not her crust. Another standout is the date cake with delicous rum butter sauce that you heat up and dump over it. We found ourselves eating this sauce with a spoon, and I'm not ashamed of it.

Other standouts: the ginger cookies, the scones, and the banana bread.

Everything's great here, with a single exception: if you like traditional egg salad, you might not like this one: there's no mayonnaise (woot for mayo-haters like me) and it's simply a ton of fresh eggs and arugula. I personally like this sandwich, but I can't imagine bothering when a fried chicken sandwich is there.

What we've ordered: apple pie, pecan pie, lemon-curant scones, apricot almond scones, pear ginger scones, date cake with butter rum sauce, fried chicken sandwich, egg sandwich, ginger cookie, blueberry pie
Other things they've given us to try: lemon ices, banana bread, strawberry shortcake, brownies
Service: super friendly local hipsters
Atmo: nouveau urban hipster bake shop - the tables are made out of ironing boards
Crowd: The neighborhood + the in-the-know-non-neighborhood
Spent: it varies - we always leave with something free, so there's that
Overall rating: 5 enthusiastic sporks

Extra bonus points for using the chicken and the egg in the 2 sandwiches offered...

At some point I will try the chicken pot pie, and I'm guessing I'll rave about that too.

The other nice thing about Betty's is the vast amounts of free food handed out by the ever-cheery staff. I got an entire free pie at Christmas, and today we went in for a sandwich and some scones and walked out with a slice of banana bread, 2 lemon ices and a strawberry shortcake.

And oh Lord, that strawberry shortcake was good. And another thing I don't generally eat. The banana bread isn't greasy, and was so good we actually bought a whole loaf.

So beware: do not go to this place if you're dieting. Somehow, you always leave with more than you planned to get.

Betty also gets extra bonus points for wearing a bright blue wig and her baby in a sling around the joint. It's nice to see a funky young gal make a go at something she loves to do, and it's clear that everything Betty's offers is a house specialty.

So yes, I hella heart Bakesale Betty's. May she do this for the forseeable future so that I might never go without a Fried Chicken Sandwich.

Marc 49 - 4915 Telegraph - Oakland, CA

Marc 49 is a new wine bar that cropped up on Telegraph, in the little stretch that houses Tanjia, Pico Paco and La Val's.

It was mid-week when my Partner in Chow and I hit this place, and we weren't looking to drink. However, we decided that the food menu was substantive enough for dinner and we weren't really in the mood for pizza anyway (La Val's is next on our list). So Marc 49 was actually a happy surprise, sparing us what we fear is most likely sub-par pizza. We shall see...

The interior of this place is nice and clean, with cool square leather couches at the interior. But the big bonus is the patio out back, which has enough heaters to keep everyone warm and is nice and homey.

At some point we'll return to sample the wine; this review is going to be based on the food.

The menu is small and unfussy, and it's way cheaper than the alternative wine bars in the area: A Cote and Franklin Square. They have a couple appetizers and a small selection of salads, panini, bruschetta. Dessert comes in 2 flavors of chocolate - chocolate mousse with whipped cream, or a brownie with white chocolate mousse. Most things on the menu were $6 or $7, with the sandwich/salad combo coming in at $10.

What we ordered: Tomato bruschetta, brie and apple panini with spinach salad, ham & assorted charcuterie yumminess panini with candied walnut & blueberry salad, fig & spice tea (me), black tea (PIC)
Service: super friendly and attentive
Atmo: laid back hip wine bar
Crowd: Mixed
Spent: Around $30
Overall rating: 4 sporks

Warning: you should not come here if you're on the Atkins diet. The things worth ordering on the menu are either made of booze or served on bread.

The bruschetta was a classic tomato and basil bruschetta, and it was delicious. It was also served on fresh bread that didn't cut our mouths up as though we'd been speed-eating Fruit Loops with no milk, which made us both very happy. The portion was big - 3 large pieces - and we realized that our individual sandwich/salad combos might end up being too much food.

The panini came out hot and charred off a panini grill. This bread was also really good - they don't make it there, but whoever's making it is doing a good job. The brie and apple one was OK - the interesting part was the candied walnuts, which are clearly homemade and very candied. This was a good sandwich, if you like melted brie (I don't, really).

The ham sandwich was fantastic - the meat is sliced super duper thin, and the cheese gooed up to make a perfect melty ham 'n cheese sandwich. We can't remember what other meats are in this sandwich, and we don't care. Mmm mmm good.

The salads were slightly overdressed for my taste, but the flavors were good and spending $10 for a full sandwich and side salad was a nice change from the usual wine bar experience. Not that the food is on par with A Cote, but it's nice to have the option to go for something less fancy and way cheaper.

One major standout was the tea. It comes in cool pot/cups and the flavors are awesome. Extra thumbs up to Marc 49 for giving quality drink options to the non-drinkers.

So we were very pleased to find and welcome Marc 49 to the neighborhood, and we'll definitely be back to have some wine and dessert.

Pico Paco taqueria - 4911 Telegraph Ave

Pico Paco is a hole-in-the-wall next to New HoHo's Chinese, and the fact that I'm someone who grew up in L.A. eating with a Partner-in-Chow who lived in San Diego means that we're awfully picky about Mexican food. Things like good salsa (me) and horchata (PIC - I hate horchata and think it tastes like bubble gum milk laced with cinnamon) are important to us, and good chile verde is something that I personally take seriously at any Mexican foodslinger - whether it's a taco truck or Sonora Cafe.

Pico Paco started off on the wrong foot when the gal at the counter told me that they hadn't made chile verde that day. Dammit. My go-to order when reviewing a taqueria is: one carne asada taco, on chile verde taco, one chicken taco.

PIC is also very particular about her Mexican food order. This is what she wants in her burrito at any truck, taqueria or any place that isn't a high-end foodie joint:

Beans (preferably refried, whole pintos are a second choice, black beans come in third)
Rice
Sour Cream
Cheese
Jalapenos

That's it. No, really. No, don't put any salsa in it - she hates cilantro. Occasionally some lettuce will join the lineup, but God forbid someone gets creative and throws in anything that involves cilantro or tomatoes in any way. Yes, that includes guac - just stick with the 5 ingredients and nobody gets hurt.

What we ordered: The PIC Burrito (with refried beans), 1 carne asada taco, 2 chicken tacos - one braised, one roasted, a side of whole pinto beans, horchata, beer, bottled water
Service: friendly enough
Atmo: hole-in-the-wall perhaps not-so-clean taqueria with a blessed lack of the usual awful fluorescent lighting.
Crowd: A regular walked in while we were there, but it was the off-hours. This is a neighborhood joint.
Spent: This place is pretty cheap - but not as cheap as taquerias in Mexican neighborhoods - tacos were around $2 and we spent around $20 including the drinks
Overall rating: 3.5 sporks

The PIC gave her burrito 4 sporks, but the meat quality of the carne asada had something to be desired so I'm only giving a 3 with the tacos.

The chicken tacos were both good - I preferred the roasted one. These tortillas are larger than the usual wee taqueria-type shells, which was fine. I prefer the smaller fresher ones, but if you're not making your own I'm already neutral as to your tortillas.

The salsa was just OK, which also merits the 3. The beans were beans - not much to say there.

The PIC burrito was, however, really good. It can be hard for certain establishments to balance the 5 meatless ingredients - sometimes this burrito arrives with way too much rice, or the cream is all glopped in one section, or all the ingredients are layered as though it were a dip so that it's a huge bite of cheese, then a huge bite of beans...

Pico Paco managed to balance this vegetarian burrito well - not too gloopy, and the beans had great flavor. The horchata was also quite good, according to my PIC, and I tried it to find that the usual Pepto-Bismol flavor was minimized. Not that I wanted to drink any more than a sip, but it wasn't completely awful.

Would we go back here? Yes - for the burrito. The reality is that with La Calaca Loca around the corner (organic meat and delicious tortilla soup, plus margaritas with soju) we'd probably pick up the PIC burrito here and then travel to 52nd to get me tacos or tortilla soup.

New Ho Ho's Chinese - 4871 Telegraph Ave

After Tanjia, my PIC and I were really excited to finally, at long last, be at Dona Tomas.

Problem is that we weren't there yet. There's a bank of little hole-in-the-walls we'd never noticed at the 48th block of Telegraph, and so we resigned ourselves to practicing self-discipline and getting them over with so that when we get to the big DT we can feel good about it.

The first of these hole-in-the-walls is New HoHo's Chinese restaurant. The name made us laugh; the view of the interior made us want to run straight away to Dona Tomas. However, we bravely entered and figured that it couldn't be worse than Louisiana Fish 'n Chips. Seriously.

What we ordered: Hot and Sour soup, mu shu tofu, egg rolls, something we can't remember - I think it was veggie fried rice.
Service: overtly friendly and enthusiastic. I thought the counter lady might invite me home for tea and fortune cookies. This might freak some people out; we liked her.
Atmo: Chinese prison cafeteria. With an overly-friendly lunchlady and lots of Chinese newspapers to read.
Crowd: What crowd?
Spent: This place is cheap - it was around $20
Overall rating: 2.5 sporks

The weird thing about New HoHo's is that they have a counter buffet-type display where you can get pre-prepared food as well as a menu. They also mention dry-fried ribs, which we almost ordered but just weren't in the mood for the KFC flavor.

The buffet scared us and so did the thought of the meat source, so we went vegetarian. I have to say, the food wasn't as bad as we thought it would be and actually had some good points. The hot 'n sour soup was actually sour, which has been a problem with other Chinese establishments on Telegraph. The egg rolls were the usual deep fried version and had a really thick wrapper.

The MuShu tofu was quite good - they made it to order and it wasn't particularly greasy. I can't remember the other entree, but I think I remember not being overwhelmed with it. Since we can't remember, we're settling on a 2.5 given that the cleanliness and atmo have something to be desired - being afraid to eat somewhere due to the visuals has to discount a restaurant rating no matter how good the food is (and in this case, it was just OK).

Would I go back here? Unlikely - Yang Chow is by far my favorite delivery Chinese in the area. But if it's in walking distance to your house and you're broke and hung over, go for it. Just order smart - the buffet looks scary. Asking for "light oil" might also be a good idea here.