Shop, Eat, Play on 40th Street in Oakland

Shop, Eat, Play on 40th Street in Oakland

PHOTOS BY PAT MAZZERA

New butcher shop Clover and Hoof.


The once vacant stretch oozes with mac ‘n’ cheese, vintage clothes, live shows, and fresh-looking fixies.

Open a bicycle shop anywhere in Oakland, and the cyclists will come. So, at least, was the hope of Sam Cunningham and MacKay Gibbs when they opened Manifesto Bicycles along a deserted stretch of 40th Street back in 2008. It was a good move. Today, the 1-mile strip, between Webster Street and Broadway, buzzes with mom-and-pop businesses showcasing gourmet food, craft beers, and sustainable goods. Whether you call the area Lower Temescal or Mosswood, consider this a proclamation (a manifesto even?): It’s the next place to be in Tha Town.

Eat

Most people make the trip down 40th for the mac ‘n’ cheese at Homeroom. Now you can order the restaurant’s creative dishes as takeout from the Home Room To-Go, just one block away. You can get regular menu items at the walk-up counter plus new flavors, spicy condiments, cookbooks, and–mac ‘n’ cheese lovers, are you ready for this?–sample platters like the Honor Roll: a trio of smoky bacon, creamy Gouda, and classic cheesy tastes. www.Homeroom510.com, 510-597-0400

PHOTOS BY PAT MAZZERA

New butcher shop Clove and Hoof


Pick up locally sourced meats at the newest (and only) butcher shop on the block, Clove and Hoof, which doubles as a restaurant. In November, the butchery sold out of goods on opening day. Consider it a testament to Clove and Hoof’s carefully selected whole-animal meats brought in from local ranchers. If you stop in for a sit-down meal, be sure to warn the herbivores in the group that you’re going to be dining in the middle of the action–butcher counters sit just a few feet away from table section. www.Facebook.com/CloveAndHoof

For another way to swine and dine, visit Hog’s Apothecary. The open space is packed with communal tables, where people wash down elaborate sausage sandwiches with pints of the German-style pilsner, among other suds from a selection of more than 25 California brews on tap. www.HogsApothecary.com, 510-338-3847

This article appears in the January-February 2015 issue of Alameda Magazine
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