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Restaurants
Barclay's Restaurant and Pub : With clean and spacious pub atmosphere, food to match, and a commitment to suds, it's a good fit for the Square and provides a tasty and festive alternative to the chains. 101 Broadway, Oakland, 510-663-4634. ( website )
Cuckoo's Nest Cafe and Restaurant : Located just above street level in a building that's been converted to lofts, this cheerful café serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with fulsome descriptions of the appetizers, salads, full plates and sandwiches on the menu. It's been toned down and classed up in recent months, but it's still one of the most neighborly spots in the area, and a good bet for a decent, reasonable lunch. It feels like a place for people who live there, and it's already doing a good business; it should really rock once all those new units are filled. The restaurant is open to the street, with a tiled outdoor terrace. 247 Fourth St., Oakland, 510-452-9414.
Everett and Jones : The only real barbecue place I know of with actual tables to sit at. And that barbeque is real; the sauces are delicious and the meat is tender. Medium sauce or milder is recommended for those not afflicted with capsicum testosterone syndrome (the need to prove your manhood by eating chili peppers until your lips fall off). Side dishes are the usual, and the florescent lemonade is a little scary. The restaurant is spacious and light, though often crowded, and it's in a gorgeous restored brick building. The homey decor includes tables made of doors, flowers in coffee pots and thermoses, and other friendly touches. Live music Saturday nights. 126 Broadway, Oakland, 510-663-2350.
The Fat Lady : 1970s' style Victorian, complete, replete and unashamed. The really old mixes with the apparently old in an overflowing, abundant sort of way. Everything about the Fat Lady is generous: rich food, large portions, big drinks. None of that lean mean triathlete smart drug oxygen nonsense. Very refreshing. Lunch, dinner, weekend brunch. 201 Washington St., Oakland, 510-465-4996.
Hahn's Hibachi : This outpost of the local chain is a great place to pick up some tasty barbeque or a big bowl of noodles. The atmosphere is basic (including two TVs turned to the soaps during lunch) and the service won't make you want to move in, but the food is tasty and the prices are some of the most reasonable at the Square. 63 Jack London Square, Oakland, 510-628-0717.
Il Pescatore : With windows on the water and that mouthwatering smell of garlic, butter, olive oil and seafood drifting out, Il Pescatore is hard to resist. It has only been there since 1981, but it has the feel of a classic Italian-American seafood restaurant from an earlier era. The Italians who opened it are fortunately unafraid of new-world dishes like Shrimp Louie. Opera nights on the last Thursday of the month. 57 Jack London Square, Oakland, 510-465-2188. ( website )
Oyster Reef : Docked roughly a mile south of Jack London Square on the Embarcadero, Oyster Reef's all-windows dining area provides a scenic setting on the Oakland estuary. The cozy atmosphere is enhanced by tiny lights strung between boat-style lamps under the low ceiling and glass doors that separate the dining room from the bar area. Food and drink come in generous portions. Many entrees involve fresh seafood, though the burger made with Niman Ranch beef is also excellent. Some dishes, such as the calamari salad, have interesting Asian touches. Service can be slow at times. (--SF Chronicle and SF Gate) 1000 Embarcadero (just south of Fifth Ave. exit off Highway 880), (510) 836-2519. ( Chronicle Review )
Soizic : An elegant bistro-cafe a little away from most of the Square. The lovely interior looks like a room in a crumbling palazzo, and the food is delicious and a bargain at the price. The crummy exterior of the building gives you no idea of the delights inside. The best restaurant in the area, and the only foodie destination. 300 Broadway (at Third), Oakland, 510-251-8100.
Moe's, aka the Jack London Bar : Dark red vinyl banquettes, sports on the TV and a killer jukebox. While some of the other bars around are more exotic or distinctive, this may be the one you want to call home. One pool table, no crowds. 444 Embarcadero West, Oakland, 510-832-6637
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Entertainment
Bluesville : A huge blues club, with a magenta-and-black color scheme and something going on seven nights a week (and some afternoons, too). Call or check the site for schedule. 131 Broadway (at Second St.),Oakland, 510-893-6215. ( website )
The Fat Lady : See "Restaurants," above. The bar has a reputation as a pick-up spot. The drinks are really big, and run to things like White Tigers as well as more normal beverages. 201 Washington St., Oakland, 510-465-4996.
Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon : Made from the timbers of a whaling ship, this bar is one of the few spots in Jack London Square with a real connection to the writer who gave the Square its name. You aren't going to be able to escape the history while you're there, either: if you can get out without someone showing you the picture of Jack London, age ten, face down in an encyclopedia right where you're sitting, you're really lucky. Heinold's has been right where it is now since 1883, as the wharf and the world have changed around it; it's sort of a funny feeling to sit there and think about it. And think about it you may; the combination of the small, dark, memorabilia-encrusted room with a few beers and the steeply slanted floors could make anyone philosophical. 56 Jack London Square, Oakland, 510-839-6761. ( Chronicle Article / website )
Jack London Cinema : This multiplex showing first run flicks is one of the forces making the Square bustle at night. Reclining seats with drink cups make it a pleasantly hedonistic movie-going experience. Beware the ticket lines, especially on opening weekends. 100 Washington, Oakland, 510-433-1320. ( Readers' Choice 2000 / website )
Kimball's Carnival : From the Kimball's jazz club folks comes a huge venue devoted mainly (but not entirely) to Latin dancing and billiards. To say that the pool room is very big is an understatement; there are 18 tables. The dance floor is on the same scale, with 6,000 square feet for your hip, hot, happening feet. Live music often; salsa lessons Wednesdays and Saturdays, comedy night Thursdays, DJ Fridays. The restaurant has full and bar menus. Look sharp; there's a dress code. 522 Second St, Oakland, 510-444-6979. ( website )
Yoshi's Japanese Restaurant and World Class Jazz House : The jazz is the main attraction, but that doesn't mean Yoshi's isn't a very nice restaurant. The restaurant is calm and lovely, and the food is very tasty. It is a little pricey, but what the hell; the sushi rice is done right. See also "Nightlife," below, for the jazz club. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland, 510-238-9200. ( website )
Merchant's Lunch : This is an excellent dive bar. Hey, if they think a bar serving no food has anything to do with lunch, they aren't fooling around. Depending on when you go, you may find yourself meeting the curious stares of locals (it's in the heart of the produce district), or weaving among hipsters and other seekers of the best in dives. There's pear cider on tap, which should tip you off that it's been discovered. It's still thick in atmosphere, however; the warehouse-like pool room has odd stairs going nowhere, and is covered with graffiti novelettes up to and including the rafters, and has a real street sign instructing you to "Honk for Lumper," whatever that means. As the sign behind the bar says, "Tipping is not just a city in China." 401 Second St., Oakland, 510-465-8032.
Third Street Grind : Very homey, with real furniture and substantial food as well as the usual café beverages. 464 Third St., Oakland, 510-832-JAVA (5282)
Urban Blend Cafe : A great neighborhood café. A big room with some comfy couches for sipping your java at almost any time of the day or night -- it's open 6 am to midnight daily. 333 Broadway (at Fourth), Oakland, 510-444-4648.
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