California Food Tours,  Food Destinations,  Food Haps Blog

Temescal Food Tour in Oakland With Edible Excursions – A Photo Memoire

by Susie Wyshak

Edible Excursions, a Bay Area food tour company  has led many a foodie through the Ferry Building, the Mission District, and Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto. Starting in March, 2013, they’ll add Oakland’s new food goldmine — the Temescal district — to their gustatory adventures. On a sneak peak tour, we embarked on nothing less than artisanal food carnage, starting at the Sunday Temescal Farmers’ Market. The $75 tour is like an amazing 8 or so course tasting menu, where you usually get to meet the owner. Your palate journeys from sweet to savory, back and forth, with coffee in between.

While by the end, I felt as if I’d had a Thanksgiving meal, unlike at Thanksgiving, I really was giving thanks for the good people we met, the stories we heard, and the discoveries right there in our back yard of places new in town and ones we might not usually notice. Tour this then tour in person whether through the group or on your own.

Macarthur BART is just a few blocks away.

Cholita Linda fish tacos

Cholita Linda fish taco
Incredible fish taco from Cholita Linda at the Temescal Farmers Market, restaurant coming soon to Telegraph Ave

Starter Bakery kouign amann

Starter Bakery pastries
Starter Bakery, starter of the kouign amann craze
Starter Bakery
Brian Wood started Starter Bakery after selling at the Pop Up General Store in Oakland

Juhu Beach Club pav on a Starter Bakery roll

Juhu Beach Club
Juhu Beach Club vege pava
Juhu Beach Club
Indian street food by Preeti Mistry, a former Top Chef contestant. Opens March 1, 2013 and our sampling of very very good food has great promise.

Sacred Wheel Cheese PBR Tomato Soup…

Sacred Wheel Cheese
Classic PBR Beer Tomato Soup and 3 Cheese Grilled Cheese, just one of Jena Davidson Hood’s creations

Doughnut Dolly squeezin the good stuff

Filling the doughnuts at Doughnut Dolly
Filling the doughnuts at Doughnut Dolly
donuts from Doughnut Dolly
Saved by the doughnuts, just as the Red Cross helped people at war with their doughnut dollies.

The CRO Cafe

The Cro Cafe
Cro Cafe, serving Sightglass coffee
The Cro Cafe
The CRO Cafe, fabricators to the stars (the coffee stars anyway), doing metal work for Sightglass, Four Barrel…and?

Scream Sorbet

Oakland sorbet
Scream Sorbet turns local fruits and flavors like Blue Bottle and Highwire coffee into intensely flavored gelato

Sura Korean Cuisine

Banchan in Oakland
Despite the utter carnage of the previous two hours, we enjoyed a spread of “banchan,” little pickled toppings that come with each meal (not quite this many). The restaurant sources great produce through the Berkeley Bowl. I’d go back for the tofu mushroom soup filled with shitakes and a variety of mushrooms.


View Larger Map

Tour with Edible Excursions

Susie Wyshak helps people live the Epicuring life by writing about culinary travels and telling stories of the people behind the food, farms, coffee, and libations that we love. As a real estate agent in California, Susie loves helping people and food businesses make their real estate goals happen, locally and worldwide. She wrote Good Food, Great Business, an insider guide to starting a specialty food business. Get in touch at hi@agentsusie.com DRE #02144226