Having had to work diligently through the years to keep up with the tourism and meetings powerhouse that is its neighbor across the bridge, the East Bay hasn’t taken the back burner when it comes to F&B offerings. In fact, like San Francisco, the communities that make up the East Bay hold a unique position on the national culinary stage.
According to representatives at area CVBs, including those in Oakland, Berkeley and the Tri-Valley, the East Bay is a pioneer in the slow food movement and a model for communities nationwide that are working toward a sustainable and organic lifestyle by promoting fresh local ingredients.
Among the ways to experience this lifestyle in the East Bay are lunching at Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, considered by many the birthplace of California cuisine, and exploring Oakland’s Harvest at Jack London Square, which will be the largest public market on the West Coast (akin to Seattle’s Pike Place and San Francisco’s Ferry Building) when it opens this autumn.
Altogether, the East Bay is abundant with options for culinary-centric group outings, from farmers markets, wineries, a diverse collection of restaurants and a fair number of cooking schools that host team-building events, to annual festivals that highlight the region’s cuisine scene.
Oakland
In the 1800s and early 1900s, when the Transcontinental Railroad made its last stop in Oakland, it brought with it several global food brands, including Del Monte, according to Marie Allen, director of sales at the Oakland CVB. Oakland has played a key role in California’s food history ever since, as it also became the home base for Safeway, Peerless Coffee, Trader Vic’s and Jelly Belly. And in the 1970s, the city started promoting fresh local ingredients.
“Oakland is like Berkeley in this regard,” Allen says. “We’re part of an organic wave.”
In an effort to promote its culinary tourism options, the Oakland CVB just launched a monthly food-and-drink newsletter and also the Taste of Oakland page on its website, complete with everything from restaurant listings to recipes.
“Because of our diverse population, we have an array of restaurants that has enhanced the region’s culinary mix,” Allen says, adding that the CVB could help create dine-around programs that will introduce small groups to, among others, trendy bistros on College Avenue, Mexican fare on International Boulevard and exotic dishes in Chinatown.
Oakland’s dining districts, where quite a few eateries mingle with musical entertainment, include Old Oakland and Jack London Square.
In Old Oakland is Jessos Restaurant and Cabaret, which serves a variety of seafood and Southern-style cuisine, including garlic crab and gumbo okra, and features live jazz; and Le Cheval, a longtime favorite known for its authentic Vietnamese menu that includes lemongrass beef and fried bananas.
Among Jack London Square’s group-friendly restaurants are The Fat Lady, formerly a brothel with an intimate and unique ambience featuring Victorian decor and American fare; Oyster Reef Seafood, with waterfront views and live music, including blues, R&B and jazz; and Yoshi’s, which also boasts a full calendar of live jazz performances and modern Japanese cuisine.
At Miss Pearl’s Jam House, Joey Altman, local celebrity chef and musician, performs a “Gumbo Jam” with his Back Burner Blues Band, which includes a gumbo-making session, the second Friday of every month. According to Allen, Altman could be available for group events.
Joining Jack London Square’s bustling lineup of restaurants and shops this fall is Harvest at Jack London Square, a new public market that will feature two stories for 70 organic produce and meat vendors, plus local food artisans and restaurants around a large atrium. The expansion will also add a glass-walled building by the ferry terminal, which is expected to house a microbrew beer garden and cafe plus a parking garage.
“With this development will come a lot more activity,” Allen says, adding that Harvest will also feature Miette Patisserie, a first-class baking school that will accommodate group classes and team-building events. “We need this centerpiece, which has been in the making for six years as part of a larger redevelopment project.”
Situated in downtown Oakland are two wine-tasting rooms, JC Cellars and Dashe Cellars, which has private meeting space.
“It’s convenient having these, plus Enat Winery and Irish Monkey Cellars in Oakland,” Allen says. “You don’t have to go to Napa and Sonoma for the winery experience.”
Berkeley
The innovative and grassroots spirit of Berkeley’s culinary history dates back to the 1960s when the Cheese Board Collective, a worker-owned operation, began.
“The Berkeley premise is based on the independent retailer, which actually started with our culinary scene and grew from there,” says Barbara Hillman, president at Visit Berkeley, The CVB.
The Cheese Board Collective is still running today, as is the original Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Chez Panisse, a favored local restaurant opened by chef Alice Waters in 1971.
“Chez Panisse uses fresh vegetables and herbs, serves organic meat and just showcases the best of what’s in season with a fresh menu every day,” Hillman says. “It’s like you’ve been invited to a dinner party.”
Chez Panisse and one of Berkeley’s three farmers markets are located in the district known as Gourmet Ghetto, which got its name in the late 1960s because it was an area where people could buy wonderful food at a cheap price, Hillman says.
“They tried to change the name in the late ’90s, but it didn’t stick,” she adds. “The whole atmosphere is laid-back and people expect to find good organically grown food. It’s an approach to life up there.”
The whole of Berkeley, in fact, features wonderful restaurants that Visit Berkeley wants tourists and meeting attendees to know about. To that end, the CVB just rolled out a culinary tourism branding campaign in June: Come for the Culture, Stay for the Food.
“We want people to meet or visit here, enjoy the cultural aspects of Berkeley and then have a meal,” Hillman says, explaining that people are more apt to dine at a small mom-and-pop, non-chain Mexican eatery for burritos rather than a fast-food joint. “What we realize is no matter who comes here, for a conference or just to visit, they all have to eat. So culinary tourism is neat for the people who want to taste the difference of how we prepare food here.”
Like Oakland, Berkeley is peppered with dining districts, including the aforementioned Gourmet Ghetto, which groups can tour with guide Lisa Rogovin (see Pick Three, this page), the Old Warehouse district and the 4th Street, which is now an upscale hamlet for the likes of Benefit and Kiehl’s cosmetics, and eateries including Cafe Rouge and Bette’s Oceanview Diner.
“This area is perfect for a dine-around,” Hillman says. “We’ll be talking about this with restaurants and working with them to create a Berkeley dining passport.”
Meanwhile, the landmark Claremont Resort & Spa, with its lush hillside setting and spectacular views, takes dining to new heights with its AAA Four Diamond Jordan’s restaurant, as well as Paragon, its trendy eatery with an outdoor deck.
Hands-on options are available at two area cooking schools. Nearby the original Peet’s and Chez Panisse in the Epicurious Garden is Kitchen on Fire, where groups can partake in team-building events and private parties. And Sur La Table on 4th Street offers a calendar of cooking classes.
At Takara Sake groups can browse the Sake Museum before tasting the purveyor’s cold sake and plum wine. Hillman adds that the facility often accommodates catered events.
If the group is convening in October, be sure to check out the Spice of Life Festival, which showcases local businesses, artists, restaurateurs and gourmet food producers.
Tri-Valley
More than 40 wineries reside in the East Bay’s Tri-Valley, which encompasses the meetings-friendly towns of Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, San Ramon and Danville.
“Our wineries set us apart,” says Amy R. Blaschka, president and CEO of the Tri-Valley CVB, explaining that the CVB can easily get wine-tasting tours together for groups, including a stop at Livermore-based olive oil producer Olivina.
Blaschka adds that the wine region is “approachable,” with a wealth of meeting space for off-site group events.
“Not to take anything away from our hotels and conference center, but the wineries offer something different,” she says. “Meeting planners are always trying to jazz things up, and our wine country is more affordable than others and has many options.”
The event center Casa Real, for starters, is adjacent to Ruby Hill Winery in Pleasanton. Using these two facilities, planners can arrange a wine-tasting event plus a gathering either indoors or out. Also in Pleasanton, Palm Event Center, a stand-alone facility, works in a similar way with Mitchell Katz Winery, situated about 100 yards away. And among Livermore’s marriages of meetings and wine are Martinelli Event Center, A Garre Winery property; Deer Ridge Tasting Room and Event Center; and Wente Vineyards.
“Wente has gathering spaces and an aroma seminar that’s popular with groups,” she says. “During the seminar, you suss out what the aroma says about the wine.”
Wente will also do winemaker and chef dinners, Blaschka says, adding that the CVB does its part to highlight local chefs by filming them preparing a dish and then putting the video and the recipe on its website.
“We’re trying to get them exposure and to capture that homegrown talent,” she says, citing Arthur Wall from Wente, Rodney Worth from The Peasant & The Pear in Danville and Ryan Jackson from Danville’s Blackhawk Grille.
The Tri-Valley was agricultural in nature before other industry and hotels came into play, according to Blaschka. Pears were grown in San Ramon, for example, and hops in Pleasanton. Celebrating Pleasanton’s history in this regard is the Hop Yard American Alehouse & Grill, which has a small room for private events.
Also in Pleasanton is Terra Bella Family Farm, where groups can go for harvest parties complete with hands-on planting exercises and a meal, as well as Pans on Fire, which offers cooking classes for small groups of up to 20 people.
“Something very different in Pleasanton is Eddie Papa’s American Hangout,” Blaschka says, adding that the restaurant, which is terrific for large groups, serves comfort food, microbrews and handcrafted cocktails. “It’s not high-end but rather a return to basics.”
Other group-friendly restaurants in the area include Stacey’s at Waterford, a cafe in Dublin with a private meeting room, and Livermore’s Campo di Bocce, where groups can feast on Italian food and wine, and network while playing bocce on courts either inside or outside.
The annual Taste of Terroir, Livermore Valley’s Wine & Food Experience in July, features competitive pairings of local restaurants and wineries, and the Harvest Wine Festival in September is another great event for tasting local foods and wines, as well as enjoying entertainment.
Contra Costa County
Groups meeting in Contra Costa County next June might check out the Art & Wine Festival, which has been kicking off the summer months in Walnut Creek for nearly 30 years. The festival features music and entertainment on two stages; handmade crafts and artwork from more than 200 artisans; regional wines and microbrews; food from dozens of local restaurants; and the popular Grape Stomp Competition.
In 2009, the festival added the Walnut Creek Marriott-sponsored Wine Experience, a series of free educational and interactive wine-appreciation seminars.
Also located in Walnut Creek is the Viking Cooking School, which has a calendar of classes and accommodates special events, including team-building programs and dinner parties. The Walnut Creek-based Pyramid Brewing offers tours and tastings as well as corporate functions for groups of 15 to 300 people.
In Concord, where restaurants feature everything from Mexican to Hawaiian fare, is Black Diamond Brewery, where tours and tastings are also available. Be sure to sample the Belgian Blonde and Amber ales.
For More Info
Visit Berkeley, The CVB 510.549.7040 www.visitberkeley.com
Oakland CVB 510.839.9000 www.oaklandcvb.com
Tri-Valley CVB 925.846.8910 www.trivalleycvb.com
