Viet-Cajun restaurants in the vein of the Boiling Crab are scattered around the Bay Area, but Queen’s Cajun Seafood stands out for its similarity to restaurants in Houston, the birthplace of Viet-Cajun food. In addition to the bags full of boiled seafood — and corn and sausage and spices — there’s excellent turkey neck stew, and the dirty rice makes for the ideal side starch. Call in or walk up for takeout, or get delivery via any of the major third-party apps.

This food truck stationed just outside the Fruitvale BART station features a concise menu of Cambodian and Lao street food dishes, with a smattering of vegan Chinese options as well — hence the “Cam” “Chi” “Lao” name. Head here for bold-flavored classics like lemongrass-scented chicken cha-kreung, Lao-style papaya salad, and, perhaps most popular of all, the truck’s take on deep-fried chicken feet, served with a bright fish sauce and chile dip. It’s nostalgic comfort food, mostly — larb tacos are the only real gesture toward fusion. For customers who want to stay and eat, there’s a fairly spacious fenced-off outdoor seating area.

Luis Abundis has been making ice cream since 1991, and the flavors change constantly at his Fruitvale scoop shop, Nieves Cinco de Mayo. Find roughly 24 flavors of ice cream and sorbet — guava, eggnog, cheese, pecan — each day as well as raspados (snow cones), mangonadas (mango sorbet layered with chamoy sauce and chili powder), and sandi-loca (watermelon sorbet, jicama, and chamoy served in a carved-out watermelon).

This Fruitvale warehouse brewery thrives on both sessionable classics as well as fruity sours, hazy feats, and difficult-to-categorize experiments. Ale Industries is currently open daily for curbside pickup and outdoor seating on the patio. You can also pick up pre-ordered tamales, courtesy of La Guerrera’s Kitchen, Friday through Sunday, noon–3 p.m.

Few things beat hot fried dough, and this little cart expertly prepares crispy churros — made to order, of course — and filled with smooth custard. At $2.50, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more affordable dessert option anywhere. The only question is: vanilla, chocolate, caramel, or strawberry? The cart is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

As the birthplace of Oakland’s food truck movement, Fruitvale remains a destination for tacos, burritos, and chile-dusted mango eaten on the street. Many different trucks could have landed on this list (see John Birdsall’s favorite tacos in Fruitvale), but the trusty truck in the Guadalajara parking lot serves some of the best and most monstrous burritos in the area. (Seriously, the super burrito is the size of at least two normal burritos.) The distribution of ingredients is admirable, and the al pastor gloriously greasy. Both the truck and the adjacent restaurant are open for takeout — just walk up to order.

While Mariscos La Costa offers a slew of taqueria standards, diners should zero in on the fresh seafood options. Choose from oysters, seafood cocktail, or the crispy tostadas piled high with bright ceviche. (The shrimp and octopus tostadas are strong bets, too.)

Located in the Aloha Club-adjacent spot formerly occupied by La Guerrera’s, Ruby Q is all about smoked meats served in an array of formats, including several that give the barbecue a bit of a Mexican slant. Here, in addition to getting your pork ribs or brisket sliced up and served by the pound, you can also enjoy it on nachos, tacos, or quesadillas. The whole smoked chickens are a thing of beauty, and Aloha Club’s spacious outdoor patio is available for diners who are comfortable sitting down to enjoy a cocktail with their meal.

A Fruitvale institution since 2001, this family-run spot has long been one of the East Bay’s top destinations for the food of Mexico City — especially for its namesake huaraches (sandal-shaped fried masa cakes), sopes, and other masa-based dishes. The restaurant’s chicken tinga and the barbacao are some of the best versions in town, and it’s one of just a handful of spots where you can snag a pambazo, a kind of sauce-soaked sandwich that’s popular in Mexico City. In addition to takeout, El Huarache Azteca now also has a small outdoor patio that’s open for customers who want to dine in.

The undisputed neighborhood favorite bakery is Peña’s Bakery II, which features trays and trays of glazed conchas, crumbly biscuits, flaky empanadas, soft buns, and other pan dulce. It first opened in 1989, and the community has never stopped coming. It’s currently open for takeout daily from 8 a.m. to noon.

Perhaps best known for its homey vegan brunch offerings — like its mushroom Florentine, faux sausage breakfast sandwiches, and Belgian waffles — Two Mammas’ is currently open for takeout Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Closed for the past couple of years, the New Orleans-style restaurant has risen again — under new ownership — during the height of the pandemic, It’s open for takeout only with a fairly stripped down menu of soul food offerings focused on chicken and turkey wings, fried seafood, and assorted po’boys, with classic sides like mac and cheese and red beans and rice.