"Given the city’s history of welcoming Americans from other parts of the country as well as immigrants from many continents, Oakland is the perfect place to get your spice on."
"While patties abound in Caribbean diasporic strongholds like London, New York City and Miami, they’ve been more of a rarity here until recent years. In the mid-2010s, native San Franciscan Shani Jones launched Peaches Patties, an homage to her Jamaican mother and one of the city’s few Caribbean food businesses. And a pop-up called Tasty Tings, by Alyssa Magdaluyo, as well as a new Trinidadian restaurant in Oakland, Coco Breeze, entered the fray last year with their own takes on the patty. Even if you’ve never had a Jamaican patty before, I think you’d still recognize them on first glimpse. It seems that many humans possess an innate craving for dough-wrapped parcels, whether we’re talking about fried sesame balls, empanadas...
"We celebrate women, womyn, womxn (however you choose to identify) as icons of Oakland as well as their establishments: the restaurants, the shops, the galleries. Learn about the different ways you can eat, shop, and enjoy the spaces created by Oakland women"
“It is a whole experience for all of your senses to enjoy,” said Lyons, who was laid off at the outset of the pandemic. “We understand that people feel isolated, they feel sad or distraught, or overwhelmed, not only with their health but with their circumstances. We just want to help people in that regard”. "Knowing that so many of their neighbors are struggling, Goodridge and Lyons also collect donations and distribute meals to local families experiencing homelessness. “We are trying to be part of this community and not just located in the community”, Goodridge said. Now, less than five months into their venture, regulars can’t seem to stay away."