Joe Biden Buys Coconut Cream Pie at Buttercup Diner in Oakland

Presidential candidate Joe Biden stopped by Buttercup Diner near Jack London Square yesterday morning, KPIX reported. The visit was part of his campaign swing through the Bay Area before continuing down to Los Angeles on Super Tuesday. He slid into a booth with a few Oakland locals, took selfies, and shook hands.

Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf and pilot Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger were present, and SFist picked up that he met a sex toy shop owner, Nenna Joiner of Feelmore Adult Gallery, who tweeted their exchange.

Buttercup is a family-owned mini chain of diners, with five locations around the Bay, known for their waffles, pancakes, prime rib plates, and pie. Reports say that Biden ordered a piece of coconut cream pie for $6.50. Sounds almost as good as grabbing a beer with Uncle Joe.

And in other news …

• Natural Products Expo West, one of the biggest food industry conferences on the West Coast, was postponed due to coronavirus concerns. More than 3,600 brands were planning to exhibit in Anaheim in SoCal, but over the weekend, more than 300 of them cancelled, including Whole Foods. [Food Business News]
• Kenji Lopez-Alt, notable food writer and owner of Wursthall in San Mateo, gives advice on cooking at home with Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat in his new column for the New York Times. His fake meat experiments follow the announcement that Impossible Foods is slashing its wholesale prices by 15 percent, which might be good news for Wursthall, as well as, you know, Burger King. [CNBC]
• Latin American–owned cocktail bars have been surging lately in the Bay Area. [SF Chronicle]
• Gott’s Roadside, the wine country burger chain, and Harmonic Brewing, a local brewery based in Dogpatch, are joining the lineup at Chase Center, both announcing locations outside the stadium. Expect burgers, beer, sports screens, and a cute Airstream. [SF Chronicle]
• Just in time for St Patrick’s Day, Casements Irish bar is rolling out a new happy hour: Monday to Friday, 4 to 7 p.m., with $10 cocktails, $1 off wine and beer, and $6 well drinks. After 11 p.m., there’s also a late-night disco punch for $8 a glass.
• Frontera is a new Mexican spot in Oakland that’s the latest to join the quesabirria craze, and it plans to serve the Latinx queer and trans community with LGBTQ events. [East Bay Express]
• Hui Lau Shan, a popular dessert chain from Hong Kong, is now open, bringing mango chewy balls to Berkeley. [Berkeleyside, Daily Cal]