Executive chef John Thiel cooks up a welcome bowl of late-winter sunshine with beets and crème fraiche in Alameda.

He is going for cuisine that’s Californian with a touch of Korean.

This iteration is a fun, fast-casual approach to New Orleans-inspired Southern, Creole, and Cajun cuisine.

It’s in the cooking technique of the burger.

The long-term San Leandro stalwart offers a haven of familiarity and high-quality food that comforts.

The onetime “sister” restaurant to Pizzaiolo, Boot & Shoe becomes Sister and is so much more than a pizza restaurant.

Fernay McPherson, who named her restaurant after her great-aunt and grandmother, says her comfort food resonates with so many people.

There’s wizardry afoot at owner/chef Mark Liberman’s Mägo on Piedmont Avenue.

May Seto Wasem and husband and fellow chef Dave Wasem are sticking to seasonal classics with twists at their new Grand Lake Dimond.

They’re not just for breakfast anymore at The Alice Collective.

Reyna Maldonado opened La Guerrera’s Kitchen in Fruitvale this May with her mother, Ofelia Barajas, and they make tamales the family way.

Oliveto occupies a special niche of East Bay dining, and its most recent reset has happily strengthened its position.