“I think that we bridged a gap because there’s a lot of Caribbean shops, stores, and restaurants on the East Coast but on the West Coast there seems to be a void,” Lyons said." "We want to make sure that we have something that’s approachable to every palate, but you’re still getting that real flavor,” Lyons said.
"If you read just one part of this collection I suggest the anchor piece, in which we’ve collected thoughts from 23 leading activists, chefs, critics, and academics on what needs to be done — in terms of culture, economics, politics, environment, regulations — to get to a better industry and world."
"CocoBreeze marks something of a comeback for its chef, Annabelle Goodridge — aka Chef Ann — who ran a Trinidadian restaurant called LaBelle’s in Berkeley, on Adeline Street, during the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Mostly, though, Goodridge has done catering for most of her life, going back to the early ‘70s when, as a 12-year-old girl, she would help out with her mother’s catering business in Trinidad and Tobago. Her most recent company, Makin Style Catering, catered events for big clients like Kaiser, Genentech, and UC Berkeley."
"This new Caribbean restaurant and bakery in East Oakland reps Trinidad and Tobago hard, with its menu of traditional Afro-Caribbean dishes like jerk chicken or curry goat over pelau rice. All entrees that can be served stuffed inside a Trinidadian roti wrap — one of the world’s great street foods, and a relative rarity in the Bay Area prior to Coco Breeze’s arrival."
" Black Restaurant Week, an annual celebration of African-American, African and Caribbean cuisine nationwide kicked off in the Bay Area on Friday, Aug. 21. With COVID-19 in mind, this year's restaurant week won't include its usual live events and in-person dinners, but the show must go on. "
