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Leena Eats: Pican, kick-ass upscale Southern food in Oakland

Leena Eats: Pican, kick ass upscale Southern food in Oakland

Light is not a word Pican knows well. The "Chicken and waffles" at Pican: chicken livers and hen of the woods mushrooms served with a parmesan waffle and marsala truffle glaze

I stumbled upon Pican a few months after my daughter was born. My husband and I were desperate for a night out without the baby, and once we had a babysitter, I did a quick yelp search and came up with Pican. Upscale Southern food? Done and done.

I became Pican’s bitch shortly after my first meal there. With creative twists on class Southern dishes, comfort food I crave on a regular basis, how could I not? They had me promising to do very bad things for another bite of their smoked brisket meatloaf. Smoked meat is my kryptonite.

More food porn and restaurant review of Pican after the jump!

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January 4th, 2012
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Leena Eats: SR24 (Final pre-baby meal!)

Leena Eats: SR24 (Final pre baby meal!)
Crispy pork belly @ SR24 in Oakland.

I’m putting this post up for sentimental value. The restaurant just closed at the end of July, and this meal was eaten at the beginning of May, just days before I gave birth. I was feeling large and slow at this point, pretty much praying daily that the baby would hurry up and get the eff out of my belly. The pork belly pictured above was delicious, especially with the runny egg, and I’m pretty sure I managed to eat most of this, even though I was sharing with two others.

So behold, one of my last meals out as a childless person. More food porn to come!

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September 13th, 2011
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Leena Eats: Flora, a revamped flower shop in Oakland

Leena Eats: Flora, a revamped flower shop in Oakland
The delicious and warm soup amuse bouche at Flora restaurant in Oakland. I want to say it was potato and leek, but don’t quote me on that. I just know it was unexpected and delicious.

Oakland Restaurant Week happened to fall over my birthday weekend this year, so I decided to check out Flora, a new restaurant in Oakland’s up and coming Uptown neighborhood. The restaurant is in the old Oakland Flower Depot, a beautifully restored Art Deco building decked out in dark blue tile with silver accents. Outside the building is a hood that is half revitalized, half dying. Inside the building, you are whisked away to the 1920s, with a gorgeous, elaborate bar and cheery yellow walls with old posters.

Check out the food and heaps of food porn after the jump.

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March 16th, 2011
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Leena Eats: Nex in Oakland

Leena Eats: Nex in Oakland
Some of tastiest grilled prawns I have ever had the pleasure to eat at Nex Restaurant in Oakland.

You have to really be looking to spot Nex Restaurant in Oakland. It’s on the outskirts of the Uptown neighborhood, smashed in between a bunch of car dealers and it’s sister restaurant, Mua. The restaurant was fairly empty early on a Saturday night when I arrived, but quickly filled in with happy and talkative customers.

The first thing that really made me stand up and notice this New American restaurant? Their AMAZING grilled prawns. This dish is a study in simplicity and perfect cooking technique–it is simply prawns, grilled, with a garlicky, citrusy rub. That’s it. But they are grilled so perfectly, the shell has just started to brown, and meat remained moist and succulent. Food porn prawn of the HIGHEST order.

Leena Eats: Nex in Oakland
Nex Restaurant’s blink and you’ll miss it front entrance.

More food porn and restaurant review after the click.

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February 23rd, 2011
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Leena Eats: Brunch at Bellanico Restaurant and Wine Bar in Oakland

Leena Eats: Brunch at Bellanico Restaurant and Wine Bar in Oakland

I had serious plate envy over a fellow diner's choice: country French toast with whipped mascarpone, huckleberries, pomegranate and maple syrup.

I’ve realized quickly after becoming pregnant that all pregnant women are in a sisterhood of sorts, where people from all backgrounds can meet and agree about a few key facts: pregnancy is awesome and crappy all at once, and give me some food, now, please! That’s why I loved meeting up with my local expecting mamas group at Bellanico to share some pregnancy perks, pains, and of course, heaps of delicious food.

Like this French toast. Which? I did not get and sadly did not try, but drooled over greatly while a fellow mama dined on it. Bellanico is a cute little Italian restaurant (named after the owner’s kids, Bella and Nico) with a menu that changes weekly and affordable but delicious wine flights. Click on for more food porn from my Bellanico brunch!

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February 18th, 2011
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Posted in California, East Bay, Leena Eats, Oakland | 2 Comments »

Leena Eats: Chop Bar in Oakland’s Jack London Square

Leena Eats: Chop Bar in Oaklands Jack London Square

A big old plate of charcuterie and homemade locally sourced pickles? Don't mind if I do!

There are a few select ways to get into my heart: 1. adopt an adorable kitten from a local shelter and let me help name it/play with it. 2. Wrap something–anything–in crispy bacon. and 3. Serve me salty cured meat with homemade veggie pickles. There is just something so irresistible about salty pork products paired with vinegar-y, garlicky pickles. It’s like my kryptonite. Set a plate of it in front of me, and I wouldn’t care if you gave a mohawk to my cat or tripped a homeless person–I just want my salty meat and pickles, damn it!

And I’d blame this on my pregnancy, but let’s be honest–I had these sort of weird food cravings since well before I started growing a baby in my stomach. Thankfully, Chop Bar in Oakland’s Jack London Square is happy to meet my needs (and knows not to take the plate away until I have eaten EVERYTHING on it). It’s a local gastropub that has been getting rave reviews about their burgers and brunches. While I had neither, I did have a ton of delicious food.

Click on for heaps of food porn from Chop Bar!

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February 2nd, 2011
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Leena Eats: Dopo – Italian for Pork in Oakland

Leena Eats: Dopo Italian for Pork in Oakland

To start at Dopo: Freshly baked (and slightly burnt) bread with pork fat-laced butter. Yes. Pork butter.

This winter in the Bay area is a wet and rainy one, one where you either long to cook up a big pot of warming food, or you long for someone else to do it for you. Not as a bitterly cold as Chicago, mind you, but enough to warrant complaints and the occasional dinner out.

Enter Dopo– a lovely little Italian restaurant in my neighborhood that is always packed, even on a weeknight, and of course, does not accept reservations. Lucky for my husband and I, we slipped in just between the early night rush and the late night rush on a busy and wet Wednesday night. We were a bit bummed the bread was so burnt, but once we tried the pork butter, it was easy to forgive.

They made butter with pork, people. Dopo can do no wrong in my book.

More food porn and commentary on Dopo after the jump.

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January 7th, 2011
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Leena Eats:Thanksgiving 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

Leena Eats:Thanksgiving 2010

My Thanksgiving turkey, lookin all brown and Norman Rockwell-ish.

A day late, but isn’t it pretty?

~LTG!

November 27th, 2010
Posted in California, East Bay, Food Porn, Holidays, Leena Eats, Oakland, Thanksgiving, The Gastronomical Leena | Comments Off

Leena Eats: Organic-Now CSA box

Leena Eats: Organic Now CSA box

My Organic-Now CSA box from August.

Last month, I was contacted by a local Oakland CSA company called Organic-Now, who wanted to deliver me a box of their weekly CSA. I’ve been on the hunt for a local CSA, so I was stoked to try it out for free for a week.

Above is the haul, , a nice combo of veggies and random fruits, all organic and locally grown. I particularly enjoyed the pluots (so many CSAs don’t include fruit or make it really expensive to add it on. Appreciate one that includes some with the veggies!). I used the celery and patty pan squash in some delicious Asian pan fried vegetarian dumplings.

Another thing I appreciated was a list of all the produce in the box (sometimes, you just don’t know what stuff is!) and the recipes they included. Very helpful!

Thanks to Organic-Now for letting me try their goods. For more info on Organic-Now and their CSA program, check out their website.

~LTG!

September 15th, 2010
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Posted in CSA, Leena Eats, Oakland | 1 Comment »

Leena Eats: Bakesale Betty’s Fried Chicken Sandwich, Pays For It Later, And Vows to Do It Again

Leena Eats: Bakesale Bettys Fried Chicken Sandwich, Pays For It Later, And Vows to Do It Again

The famous fried chicken sandwich from Bakesale Betty's in Oakland's Temescal hood.

I’ve heard about it since I moved here 10 months ago. I’ve seen the massive lines daily outside the shop. And finally…I got to taste the famous Bakesale Betty’s fried chicken sandwich.

What’s so great about it?

Find out and peep more food porn after the jump.

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September 8th, 2010
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Posted in East Bay, Food Porn, Leena Eats, Oakland | 3 Comments »

Leena Eats: Oakland’s Kaiser Farmers Market

Leena Eats: Oaklands Kaiser Farmers Market

One of the main produce people at the market.

The Oakland Kaiser Farmers Market, held every Friday from 10am-2pm, is tiny, that’s for sure. But the few vendors it has are quality, like this organic family farm I stumbled upon from Watsonville.

More food porn after the jump.

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August 25th, 2010
Posted in East Bay, Farmers Markets, Leena Eats, Oakland | Comments Off

Leena Eats: Pho Hoa Lao in Oakland…So. Much. Pho.

Leena Eats: Pho Hoa Lao in Oakland...So. Much. Pho.

My cute husband at Pho Hoa Lao in Oakland.

If you know me, you know I love me some pho. I’ve blogged about it once or twice (or thrice…) and for some reason, when I eat it, I need to eat it again in like a week. Maybe they lace it crack? Or love? Who knows, but it far time Oakland showed me what it could do in the pho department.

Stop #1: Pho Hoa Lao in Oakland. More food porn after the jump.

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August 4th, 2010
Posted in Leena Eats, Oakland, Pho, Soups | 2 Comments »
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