Here’s The Design for the New Alta, Arriving Just Blocks From The Original in November

Humphry Slocombe opens in Oakland

San Francisco’s ice cream staple Humphry Slocombe is now open in Oakland inside a converted shipping container in the Hive space at 2335 Broadway. This month, in addition to their ever-popular flavors like secret breakfast (bourbon ice cream with cornflakes), the scoop shop is serving a nod to The Great British Bake Off, with a flavor called “Mary Berry’s Victoria Sponge.” It’s brown butter ice cream with raspberry jam with pieces of their own pound cake.

Meet the new Alta, not quite the same as the old Alta

Restaurateur Daniel Patterson is going all in on his Alta restaurants, opening second inside the Minnesota Street Project this spring and announcing plans to convert his Oakland restaurant Haven to an Alta as well. Meanwhile, he’s relocating the original on Market Street to the forthcoming Yotel at 1095 Market Street. That hotel, part of a chain aimed at younger customers, will open in late November. For now, the designer of the restaurant space, CCS Architecture, has shared some renderings and details: The new Alta will feature a “dramatically long” bar, with one end serving as an all-day cafe for the Yotel. The bar is being built from marble slabs that were originally walls in the historic building, previously known as the Grant hotel.

CCS Architecture

Tacos Oscar warming up for December opening in Temescal

Tacos Oscar, a perennial pop-up favorite known for freshly pressed and griddled tortillas, is building momentum as it heads toward a permanent home in December ( a shipping container on 40th Street in Temescal). Partners Oscar Michel and Jake Weiss, who met while cooking together at Boot and Shoe Service, are kicking things off with a September residency at Oakland’s Starline Social club. Beginning tonight “through October and possibly forever,” they’ll have tacos at the bar/cafe/venue every night except for Mondays.

Tacolicious School Project nears $1 million goal

Speaking of tacos, since 2012, Tacolicious has donated $852,000 to local public schools through the Tacolicious School Project: Every Monday from September through May, 15 percent of proceeds from each Tacolicious restaurant go to a neighboring public school. The big news there: The School Project is gearing up to cross the $1 million mark this year. That’s a lot of tacos.