OpenTable employee’s fake reservations scheme exposed
Online booking service OpenTable fired an employee who made several hundred fake reservations on a rival booking site, Reserve, resulting in empty tables at at least 45 Chicago restaurant, as Eater Chicago reports. The OpenTable employee reportedly planned to advertise the superiority of his company’s product to restaurants by citing Reserve’s no-shows in an OpenTable sales pitch.
La Cocina’s Week of Women In Food
From March 5th to 11th, La Cocina is celebrating the accomplishments of local female chefs and alumni of its food business incubator program for mostly women of color. Despite notable gains, women remain underrepresented in the restaurant industry, a state of affairs that La Cocina seeks to amend, and diners can help by attending nightly dinners: Events are below, with tickets here.
Monday, March 5: El Buen Comer + Rich Table
Tuesday, March 6: Reem’s California + Preeti Mistry + Proof + Belharra Wines
Wednesday, March 7: Rasoi + State Bird Provisions + Calicraft Brewing Company
Thursday, March 8: Bini’s Kitchen + Jardinière + Hirsch Vineyards
Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement | A16 SF
Sariwa | A16 Oakland
Friday, March 9: El Pípila + B. Patisserie
Saturday, March 10: Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas + Cala + St. George Spirits
Sunday, March 11: Nyum Bai + Fig & Thistle + Calicraft Brewing Company
Oakland’s Oeste Extends Buzz to Brunch
Owners Sandra Davis, Lea Redmond, and Anna Villalobos have aded brunch to the playbook at their fashionable new bar/cafe/restaurant/celebration of all things Oakland. Chef Peter Jackson’s new brunch menu of Southern and Latin American dishes includes sweet potato pancakes (with toasted pecan butter and vanilla-molasses syrup) and huevos rancheros (two eggs, masa cakes, black beans, ranchero sauce, and crema). For now it’s just served Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with Saturday service to come in April.
Oeste Brunch by Caleb Pershan on Scribd
Navi Kitchen switches away from dinner
Chef Preeti Mistry’s Indian pizza-focused casual restaurant at 5000 Adeline Street in Emervyille is losing dinner service and adding back breakfast, a response to her busier daytime and quieter evening hours. Mistry, who closed her Oakland restaurant Juhu Beach Club this spring, is also bringing back some ofJuhu’s popular brunch items at Navi, including her doswaffles, a dosa-waffle hybrid creation served with spicy fried chicken.
The Kon-Tiki’s Hau’oli Hola menu
Oakland’s newest tiki oasis The Kon-Tiki is tempting patrons with earlier hours and a happy hour “Hau’oli Hola” menu from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, with $3 off mai tais, piña coladas, and daiquiris, all made with Plantation rum. They’ll also start opening on Mondays on March 19th, and to make sure you find your way in, they hired Neon Works in Oakland to make them a new neon sign.
Sierra Nevada collaborates with Germany’s oldest brewery
Weihenstephan, a nearly 1,000-year-old German brewery known for its hefeweissbier, is teaming up with American upstarts Sierra Nevada to brew a traditional wheat beer with the addition of West Coast hops. The beer, called Braupakt, will be made available in the US this summer.