Anna Mindess

What’s growing at the corner of 51st Street and Telegraph Avenue? About 34,000 square feet of luscious lettuce, deep green arugula, rainbow chard, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, radishes, turnips, beets, carrots, cilantro, parsley, fenugreek and 27 different varieties of garlic...This isn’t only a super cool farm smack dab in trendy Temescal, but the prototype of a plan to decolonize the land, pay farmers their due as health care workers, and provide nutritious food for people who have been marginalized...

Indigenous restaurant Cafe Ohlone hopes to provide a bridge between UC Berkeley’s troubling past and a better future. Passing the courtyard outside UC Berkeley’s Anthropology building, you might not see much more than a pile of craggy boulders, a stack of lumber and a mound of ground shells. But to Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino, founders of Cafe Ohlone, those details are the emerging embodiment of Ohlone culture, one the region has been without for nearly two years...

Alongside a majestic orange oak tree, five figures offer sacred foods from their respective Indigenous cultures: Peruvian potatoes, Mayan corn, Ohlone acorns, and Lakota bison. In the center, a Kickapoo woman holds a basket of squash. The mural, entitled Indigenous Food Warriors, was painted by Votan and Povi of the Indigenous collective NSRGNTS. It embodies the concept behind Wahpepah’s Kitchen, the first Native American woman-owned restaurant...

The big-eyed green monster in Monster Pho’s name and logo came from owner Tee Tran’s desire to be different and appeal to kids. Back when it opened on Broadway in 2014, the Vietnamese restaurant’s family-friendly atmosphere included crayons and coloring book pages to keep little diners busy. On Feb. 2, Monster Pho will open in a much larger space, just around the corner, in Oakland’s Temescal District. And its original mascot will morph into a collection of monster-themed amusements to keep kids (and assorted adults) enthralled...

The bright red fortune cookies, dipped in Belgian chocolate, studded with sparkling gold and silver sprinkles, or stenciled with an elegant peony, are nestled in festive packages featuring red paper cut-outs of tigers to celebrate the coming Lunar New Year. These are a universe away from the fortune cookies we’ve all unwrapped at the end of a takeout meal, or handed to us with the check at virtually every Chinese restaurant.

If you visit 5 Tacos and Beers on a Monday, you’ll notice the Albany restaurant’s menu features tacos with nopales (cactus), portobello mushrooms, zucchini, corn, or other seasonal veggies. But the traditional beef, pork, fish, and chicken choices all have the day off. That’s because owner Lito Saldaña is so committed to the global “Meatless Monday” movement that he has crafted an entire vegan menu.
“I can make good plant-based tacos,” he told Nosh, “And I don’t need to mimic meat using artificial ingredients. Monday's ceviche, for example is made from jicama...

For many people, Thanksgiving is a time of great ambivalence. Much of November is a full-court press of menu planning, meal prep, and travel, but there’s also an undercurrent of unease, as we know that the once-common narrative of Pilgrims and Indigenous people living in respectful harmony is a lie. We all know that we live on land stolen through genocide and forced removal of its original residents, and yet here we have this holiday intended to celebrate this heist. “Cognitive dissonance” doesn’t even begin to cover it...

Every day, more than three billion people around the globe eat rice as part of their daily meals. While many enjoy and even revere a plain bowl of rice, celebratory gatherings may call for something special...

OUMAR DIOUF

Born in a small town in Senegal, Oumar Diouf found his love of cooking early. He was 13 when his father passed away, and he was concerned for his mother, who worked long hours at her clothing design and tailoring business to support six children...Diouf realized he could ease her burden by taking charge of the cooking, even though that got him bullied at school...

Crystal Wahpepah says her restaurant is a place to eat, learn and heal. As a little girl growing up in Oakland, Wahpepah wondered why she could see plenty of restaurants featuring cuisines of different cultures, but none representing her own Indigenous heritage. “I knew at a young age what was wrong,” she says. “They took away our food.”
She is Kickapoo and spent summers with her grandmother in Oklahoma, whom she credits with inspiring her to become a chef. ...

Still reeling from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, this guide will show you how to visit (and support) New York's family-owned shops and eateries in Chinatown.

Chinatown is one of New York City’s oldest immigrant communities and chock-full of vibrant, one-of-a-kind businesses, both old and new. As you wander its streets, you will discover memorable meals, unique sweets, cultural treasures, and much more. Sprinkled among the legacy shops run by multigenerational families are ...

-- A guest post by Anna Mindess
Like many freelance writers, I lost work when the pandemic hit. My articles were cancelled or postponed. A magazine that I contributed to regularly went out of business. There was so much uncertainty. I felt useless. But today, it’s different. I feel inspired and empowered. I’ve put myself on a path to help struggling restaurants. This focus has become one of the most satisfying projects I have ever undertaken as a writer...

A sea of little bottles in aqua, pink and sea foam green line the long bar of On the Bridge in San Francisco Japantown. Chef Mitsuhiro Nakamura is proud of his ability to choose the perfect sake from his collection to match the taste of any diner. But when the shelter in place started last spring, the restaurant Nakamura and his wife Yolanda had run for 30 years immediately lost 90 percent of its business due to its location on the narrow, enclosed bridgeway...

There is something hypnotizing about watching Rebecca or Dj Dahmani create your crepe at La Crepe a Moi. A quick ladle of brown-flecked batter meets the hot griddle, a fluid swirl of the wrist with a little wooden spreader produces a perfectly smooth circle. Suddenly, you are hit by the enticing aromas of sizzling butter and nutty buckwheat. A long spatula allows a deft flip of the crepe exposing its toasty side, then a shower of cheese, perhaps an egg or some ham and the tasty package is folded into a long cone and scooped onto your plate.

You might do a double-take when you spot the large red-and-white sign atop Syma’s Grill that proclaims Mexican and Persian food. “What is this?” you wonder. “Two separate restaurants sharing one sign? Perhaps a new kind of fusion cuisine?” Neither.
Sima Dehestani, who was born and raised in Iran and came to love cooking Mexican food, offers a generous array of dishes from both cultures (on separate menu pages) at her cozy spot in Albany.

After a 14-month hibernation, the Indigenous Red Market, a celebration of Native artists, vendors, music, dance, and food came roaring back to life this month at the Native American Health Center parking lot on International Boulevard in Fruitvale. The rich culture and community connections offered by the event, which took place on May 2, were sorely missed, judging by the long lines of community members who waited to get in.