Editor’s note: Nosh covers food and restaurant news across the East Bay, and each week we publish one article covering all the restaurant openings and one article covering closings. Have a tip for Nosh? Submit it here.
Bad Walter’s Ice Cream
Bad Walter’s, Sydney Arkin’s popular pandemic-era ice cream pop-up known for mixing “maximalist” flavors with creamy, lactose-free dietary sensibility, opens its first brick-and-mortar scoop shop Saturday, Sept. 7, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. East Bay ice cream fans have been watching and waiting for months for this former “bootleg” business to open inside Rockridge’s former Smitten Ice Cream shop. Expect bright, colorful decor, exciting new flavor combinations, house-made ice creams, cones and mix-ins, and a fridge filled with pints to take home. Bad Walter’s Ice Cream, 5800 College Ave. (at Birch Court), Oakland
Chipotle Emeryville
Emeryville welcomed its first Chipotle last week in the former Jamba space at the Powell Street Plaza shopping center. According to The E’ville Eye, the doors to the Mexican franchise location opened on August 29. Chipotle, 5761 Christie Ave. (at the Powell Street Plaza), Emeryville
Jot Mahal Indian Cuisine
From the family behind North Shattuck’s eight-year-old Jot Mahal Palace of Indian Cuisine comes newcomer Jot Mahal Indian, now open in the former Flavors of India space at College and Alcatraz avenues. Expect similar cooking to the north Berkeley Jot Mahal, including Indian buffet dining, a generous menu of vegetarian fare, and popular meat options such as chicken tikka masala. Jot Mahal Indian Cuisine, 3211 College Ave. (at Alcatraz Avenue), Berkeley
Open Test Kitchen
Find a variety of new and familiar multicultural food and beverage vendors at the public-facing shared restaurant, bar and cafe space OTK, or Open Test Kitchen, an immigrant- and refugee-supporting incubator kitchen from nonprofit Oakland Bloom. Launching this week in the shared Oakland space are women-owned Cafe con Carino’s Chilean, El Salvadoran and Mexican-inflected coffee drinks and cafe fare; Palestinian-Cuban fusion cuisine from Asukar; and That Hausa Vegan’s northern-Nigerian vegan dinner and brunch. An OTK opening event on Sept. 7, will feature DJ Dos Gardenias and a range of special guests. Open Test Kitchen, 528 8th St. (between Clay and Washington streets), Oakland
Sham Falafel & Shawarma
Named for the eastern Mediterranean region comprising Syria and surrounding countries, fast-casual restaurant Sham features a menu of spit-roasted shawarma, falafel, salads, wraps, dips and appetizers, as well as some very appealing looking Syrian pastries and desserts. Catering is also a specialty here. Sham Falafel & Shawarma, 377 19th St. (between Webster and Franklin streets), Oakland
