Hand-Pulled Noodles, Ark Chinese Restaurant
Where to spend your bucks on Park Street ethnic treats.
Park Street, Alameda’s main drag, has a remarkably high concentration of ethnic food options: four Japanese restaurants, three Thai restaurants, two Mexican, and, well, you get the idea. Besides just offering a plethora of dining choices for adventurous foodies, perhaps the best part about having all these great options within a few-block radius is that the food is often as affordable as it is delicious. Here’s our guide to Alameda’s ethnic eats from $1 through $10.
$1—FALAFEL PATTY
TROY GREEK
Part of a small chain of Bay Area eateries, Troy dishes out unpretentious but rock-solid Greek fare. The moist, nicely herbed homemade falafel patties are a steal for just a dollar each.
2318 A CENTRAL AVE., 510-522-2800, WWW.TROYGREEK.COM.
$2.25—GARLIC NAAN
FLAVORS OF INDIA
Another small local chain, Flavors of India’s soft, pillowy garlic naan is great on its own—or it makes the perfect dipping device for the buttery chicken tikka masala.
1337 PARK ST., 510-522-6821, WWW.FLAVORS-INDIA.COM.
$3.75—CARNITAS TACO
ISLAND TAQUERIA
Deep-fried, seasoned, then shredded pieces of fatty pork: what’s not to like? Carnitas is one of Mexican food’s great pleasures, and Island Taqueria does it about as well as any around.
1513 PARK ST., 510-749-7018.
$4.95 ($5.95 at dinner)—FRIED BANANA
ANGKOR GRILL
This Cambodian bistro is great for its Southeast Asian dishes like stuffed crepes and catfish steamed with coconut juice and lemongrass at incredibly affordable prices. Just make sure to end your meal with the wonderfully rich fried battered bananas, with coconut and sesame seeds, and served with vanilla ice cream.
1319 PARK ST., 510-522-8899, WWW.ANGKOR-GRILL.COM.
$5.50—TOM YUM SOUP
TOOMIE’S THAI CUISINE
Toomie’s has been dishing out authentic tastes of Thailand for a decade. Nothing hits that country’s unique spicy, sweet, and sour flavor profile like Toomie’s spot-on tom yum soup.
1433 PARK ST., 510-865-8008, WWW.TOOMIESTHAI.COM.
$6.99—NOODLE SOUP
ARK CHINESE RESTAURANT
The only cooler thing than watching the Ark chef stretch out hand-pulled noodles in the open kitchen? Eating them. We recommend the noodle soups, as well as the tasty steamed pork dumplings.
1405 PARK ST., 510-521-6862, WWW.ARKCHINESERESTAURANT.COM.
$7—BEEF PHO
STREETSIDE PHO
There might be no better ethnic comfort food than pho, and the sleek Streetside Pho’s version is flavor-packed, without being greasy. Don’t be afraid to order the version with exotic, but highly tasty, pieces of tendon and tripe.
2304 ENCINAL AVE., 510-808-5298, WWW.SIDESTREETPHO.COM.
$9.95—RAINBOW ROLL
YOJIMBO SUSHI
Portions are unusually generous at this fun sushi joint, and the Rainbow roll, with sliced sashimi draped over California rolls, is no exception.
1221 PARK ST., 510-523-4120, WWW.YOJIMBOSUSHI.COM.
$9.99—TEA LEAF SALAD
BURMA SUPERSTAR
The original location in San Francisco’s Richmond District long ago achieved cult status, in no small part due to this famous salad consisting of more than a dozen ingredients such as dried shrimp, fried garlic, and Burmese tea leaves.
1345 PARK ST., 510-522-6200, WWW.BURMASUPERSTAR.COM.
$10.99 (per pound)—CLAM BOIL
HANG TEN BOILER
This Hawaiian joint recently added “Asian Cajun”–style seafood to its menu. Now, in addition to island specialties like Kalua pig and macaroni salad, you can get spicy boiled concoctions with clam, shrimp, crab, crawfish, mussels, or lobster.
2306 A ENCINAL AVE., 510-864-1188, WWW.HANGTENBOILER.COM.
This article appears in the November 2013 issue of Alameda Magazine
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