Sbrocco: Bold Laotian and Thai flavors in Alameda... Hunt: Hands on.

I like to touch my food.

Irish: Cheers, cheers, cheers.

Sbrocco: ...a quirky Italian spot in San Francisco... Thomas: I'm kind of wishing that I had the Caesar salad.

Sbrocco: ...and a hip wine and whiskey lounge in Oakland... Hsu: Trust me, that dish did not last long.

Sbrocco: ...just ahead on "Check, Please!

Bay Area" Hsu: Oh.

Sbrocco: Tell us.

[ Indistinct conversation ] Sbrocco: Hi, I'm Leslie Sbrocco.

Welcome to "Check, Please!

Bay Area," the show where Bay Area residents review and talk about their favorite restaurants.

Now, we have three guests, and each one recommends one of their favorite spots, and the other two go check them out to see what they think.

Joining me at the "Check, Please!"

table today are retired lawyer and podcaster Richard Hsu, podcaster and editor Jeff Hunt, and senior analyst Tonya Thomas.

Well, welcome, everyone.

Are you ready to party?

All: Yes!

Sbrocco: Richard's up first with his favorite date-night spot.

It's a casual little eatery founded by two sisters, bringing their own modern twist to traditional Thai and Laotian dishes.

Nestled in the heart of Alameda, it's Bhan Mae Vane.

Tran: Welcome, guys.

Woman: Wow!

Lach: Bhan Mae Vane is a Lao and Thai restaurant in the heart of Alameda, family-run business.

How is it?

How's dinner?

Mom-and-pops kind of place, good food.

The vibe is good, and that's what we want for our customers.

All: Cheers.

Tran: When we created this business, we created it in honor of our mom.

My family came from Vientiane, which is the capital of Laos.

Lach: Growing up, my mom ran a family restaurant.

But back in those days, it was Thai food.

It wasn't a Laotian food.

My mom was afraid to really bring that out because nobody knew anything about Laos.

Tran: Lao food, some ingredients are pungent, like anchovy sauce and the shrimp paste sauce, so it adds a little bit more depth of flavor.

Lach: Nam Khao is our crispy rice ball salad that is a traditional Laotian dish, but it's my mom's twist to things, like add a little bit of this to give it more flavor here because people don't do that.

So we've learned those little tips and tricks from her.

My favorite item on the menu is the sakoo.

Sakoo is savory tapioca balls.

It's ground pork with fresh shallots, onions, garlic, peanuts, wrapped with tapioca dough.

Back in the day before we opened our restaurant, you'd get lucky if you'd get it from a little old lady selling it at the temple.

It's just a dish that you just can't find anywhere.

You wrap it all up in a bite size and just pop it in, and it's, like, the best thing ever.

Tran: How's the sakoo?

Woman #2: Oh, this is so good.

Tran: People are actually coming in and ordering the Thai food and exploring the Lao food... Lach: Yeah.

Tran: ...and also loving it.

Woman #3: Mmm.

This is very good.

Lach: If my mom was here and she could see what we've done with this restaurant, and in honor of her, I think she would be proud.

My mom did get a chance to try my food, and one of the last things that she asked for before she passed away was, um... [voice breaking] my Pad Thai.

She loved my food.

And if she were to be looking down, she'd be very proud.

All: Bhan Mae Vane!

[ Cheering ] Sbrocco: All right, Richard, you live in San Francisco, but you make that trek to Alameda.

Is it worth it?

Hsu: It's totally worth it for Bhan Mae Vane.

My girlfriend grew up in Alameda.

She discovered this restaurant.

It's very family-friendly.

You can have large groups of people there.

It's bright and it's airy, it's modern.

It's really a fun place to have dinner.

Sbrocco: And what do you start with?

Hsu: So we always start with the sakoo, which is this amazing dish that's served in a bamboo platter.

And actually eating it is kind of like a project.

You take the tapioca ball, you put the mint leaf on top, you wrap it in a lettuce, and then you eat it like kind of like a little burrito, maybe.

And then you just get this wonderful sensations of chewiness and crispiness.

Sbrocco: It's one of those dishes we call "you can play with your food," right?

Hsu: Totally: Sbrocco: Did you have that dish?

Hunt: I did.

Hands on.

I like to touch my food.

Hsu: Isn't it nice?

Hunt: And there's no manual, so you're just kind of making it up as you go.

Hsu: Yeah, yeah.

Hunt: It was just perfect.

Thomas: I ended up getting the pineapple khao pad.

It was a beautiful dish.

It had raisins.

It had pineapple.

Oh, and I can't forget the cashews.

That was just delicious and made everything come together very, very well.

Then we ordered the garlic noodles.

The noodles were buttery, which was absolutely delicious.

It wasn't overly garlic.

Very creamy.

They came out hot.

It was just perfect.

Hsu: It's good to hear that.

Sbrocco: All right.

What about you, Jeff?

Hunt: Fried tofu.

Sbrocco: Fried tofu.

Hunt: Yum!

With the Thai-style, I believe, peanut sauce.

Hsu: Okay.

Yeah.

Hunt: I will never kick fried anything, especially tofu, out of bed.

And it was delicious.

I don't know if it had to do with the way they cut it in triangles, but the fry was perfect and, like, soft and -- Sbrocco: Because triangles maybe give more fry sides?

Hunt: On the outsides.

Sbrocco: I don't know.

Hunt: And the inside stayed soft and delicious and creamy.

Hsu: Did you notice how generous the portions were there?

Hunt: Yes, I did.

Hsu: That's one thing that you really get good bang for your buck at this restaurant.

There's often leftovers.

Hunt: Oh, yeah.

Thomas: Absolutely.

Hsu: The main dish that we like that's really excellent is their papaya salad, which is hand-shredded papaya.

And they make two styles.

There's a Thai style and a Laotian style.

Now, the Thai style a lot of people have had.

That's just with standard fish sauce.

But the Laotian style has a shrimp paste, so it makes it a little bit more seafoody.

And Laotian food can be extremely spicy, so you have to specify which level of spiciness you want.

It's served with crunchy pork rinds and some soft noodles as well as some cabbage, so it's just an interesting experience.

I've never been to Thailand or Laos, but it just makes me want to go there.

Sbrocco: Well, they're right next to each other, right?

So the cuisines are very, very similar.

But as you said, just those minor differences make quite a difference in what you're getting on the plate.

Hsu: Totally.

Sbrocco: Absolutely.

Hunt: I actually visited Laos, and one of the things I loved the most was the food.

And larb, in Thai, is one of my favorite Thai dishes.

At this place, I believe it's the same thing, called laab.

Server: I have Laab Seen for you guys.

Hunt: And I was asked about the spice, and I said medium.

I'm adventurous.

Hunt: Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Hunt: And it was a little more than what I would call medium.

I'll just put it that way.

Hsu: It was probably a killer.

Hunt: [ Laughs ] Yeah.

Right.

Right.

But it was delicious all the same.

It's minced chicken meat and then herbs and peppers, and it's so flavorful and just a really good dish.

Sbrocco: Any other dishes that you had?

Thomas: I did.

I tried the red curry, and the protein that we used was the chicken.

It came in this beautiful dish.

It had lots of vegetables -- bell peppers, radish.

It had a whole lot of different vegetables in there that just merged very nicely together.

The only thing I just wish they had a little bit more chicken.

Hsu: Okay, okay.

Thomas: Yes.

And the sauce was a little spicy, but the dish itself was delicious, so yeah.

Sbrocco: Okay.

Hunt: I don't want to leave this restaurant discussion without talking about the pork belly.

Hsu: Oh.

Sbrocco: Tell us.

Tell us.

'Cause I'm a pork belly fan.

Hunt: Good morning, good afternoon, and good night.

Hsu: Wow!

Hunt: I mean, I also won't kick any pork belly out of bed, but what I really loved is that the crispiness was crisp.

Hsu: Yeah.

Hunt: And the belly was soft.

So like, you had that texture experience in your mouth and the flavors -- oh, my goodness.

Hsu: Wow.

Hunt: It's just so, so, so good.

Hsu: So one of the drinks that I don't know if you guys got to try is called the Thai iced green tea.

Hunt: Oh, wow.

No.

Hsu: Which is not like a regular Thai iced tea.

This is actually a green-colored drink with maybe a little bit of matcha in it.

And it was layered so that the milk was on top and the green part was on the bottom, but it was very floral and fragrant.

Sbrocco: And did you get any dessert?

Hsu: They only have two desserts there.

Woman #4: Wow.

Hsu: One is a sticky rice mango dish.

Hunt: Oh, yum.

Hsu: And one is an egg custard purple rice dish.

Sbrocco: Ooh!

Hsu: And they're both served with this coconut creamy sauce, which makes it kind of a little savory and kind of a little bit sweet, and in both cases, you have the contrast of the rice, which is warm, and then you've got the cold mango, and then you have the warm purple rice with kind of a cold egg custard.

So it just makes a beautiful kind of a soft dessert.

But it really kind of rounds out the meal.

Sbrocco: Definitely cleanses your palate after.

Hsu: It cleanses your palate.

It's just kind of perfect, nice.

Hunt: It's like a goodbye kiss from the restaurant.

Hsu: Yeah, that's exactly what it's like.

Sbrocco: I love that.

Would you stop by again?

Thomas: Oh, absolutely.

The service was good.

We got there about lunchtime, and it wasn't that many folks.

We got seated pretty quickly.

But I kid you not, within about 15 minutes, it started getting very full, to the point where they needed a wait list.

So it just kind of attests to it's very popular place to go, too.

Sbrocco: And it sounded like you'll go back just for those desserts.

Hunt: Especially after this conversation, I'm going back, yeah.

I'll find a way to get to Alameda.

Sbrocco: You need that little kiss of dessert there.

Hunt: Correct.

Sbrocco: All right.

If you would like to try Bhan Mae Vane, it's located on Webster Street in Alameda, and the average tab per person without drinks is around $30.

As a podcaster, Jeff has a passion for telling stories of the unique people and places you can only find in the city by the Bay.

Case in point -- the eclectic spot that's become his go-to for Italian comfort food.

Located in San Francisco's Mission District, it's Emmy's Spaghetti Shack.

♪♪ Irish: The vibe of Emmy's is super laid back, a little quirky.

And I think it's really, really hard to not have fun in this place.

[ Cheering ] Kaplan: I founded the restaurant in 2001.

I was a server at the time in some pretty fancy places.

We wanted somewhere to eat after work at 10:00, 11:00.

We wanted music, we wanted good food, and a place where we could all feel like we belonged and we didn't have to dress up and get fancy.

Irish: We don't shy away from the portions here at Emmy's.

Italian-American comfort food, top to bottom.

It's big spaghetti and meatballs.

It's a big lasagna.

You can share it with your friends.

You can eat it yourself.

No judgment, whatever you want to do.

The thing I'm most proud of on the menu is the Cadillac lasagna -- vodka sauce, ricotta, sunflower seed pesto.

We do a pork and beef ragu.

You don't get a lot of al dente lasagna.

It's not easy to do it.

You should never be baking your lasagna.

You're baking your lasagna, you're going the wrong direction.

The clientele at Emmy's is all over the place, and I love that.

It's young, old.

The servers -- they're always really nice people.

They're gonna be smiling.

We'll tell jokes.

We'll do shots if that's your thing.

Cheers, cheers, cheers, prost, yeah!

It's really a community place.

And that's the thing that Emmy did and I'm gonna keep going with.

It's one of my favorite things about this place.

Sbrocco: You know, to use the word unique about Emmy's Spaghetti Shack, why do you think that is?

Hunt: I think of the place as part art gallery, part, like, little kids' playground, you know, and part delicious, warm, comforting, hugging food.

Sbrocco: Right.

Hunt: Yeah.

Sbrocco: In a shack.

Hunt: In a shack, yeah.

I mean, yeah, and also the alliteration.

Spaghetti Shack -- who doesn't want to go there?

Sbrocco: That's right.

Okay, you walk in the door.

What do you order?

Hunt: The first thing I usually order is their Caesar salad, which I think of as kind of a deconstructed Caesar.

They've got the long strips of romaine covered with toasted Parmesan, and I don't know what they do to their croutons, but they stay crunchy through the dressing, which is an anchovy dressing.

And, hello, hello, hello, hello.

Get in my mouth, you know?

Sbrocco: Right.

It checks all those boxes.

Hunt: All of the boxes.

Sbrocco: And what about you, Tonya?

What did you start with?

Thomas: So I started with the butter lettuce salad.

I'm a little disappointed now that I didn't get the Caesar salad.

The butter lettuce salad was basic.

It had some radishes on it, and it had, like, a citrusy dressing.

It was good, but I'm kind of wishing that I had the Caesar salad.

Hunt: You gotta be a little naughty at Emmy's.

Thomas: Exactly, exactly.

Sbrocco: Okay.

What did you start with, Richard?

Hsu: Well, I started with their spaghetti and meatballs.

That's what -- I mean, that's what they're famous for.

Thomas: Skip the salad.

Hsu: Yeah, exactly.

The spaghetti and meatballs.

And I have to say, like, you know, I'm not a really big spaghetti person, but this spaghetti was just -- it tasted like homemade.

The meatballs were gigantic.

This made me remember, like, how my mom might have made it.

Or maybe my grandma made it.

And I think that's why people really love this restaurant.

Hunt: Because the spaghetti and meatballs is one of my best friends in the city, I chose not to get that this time.

I expanded my -- Sbrocco: But do you agree, when you have gotten it, with Richard's assessment?

Hunt: It's one of my good friends.

I like to hang out with him.

Him and her.

No, because in general, I love lasagna.

It's one of my best comfort foods.

And I had never had their lasagna.

But it's a different sauce than the spaghetti.

It's a light red vodka sauce.

Hsu: Yes, I remember that.

Hunt: Also delicious.

And then they do a little dollop of pesto and a little dollop of ricotta.

So it's got that like, Margherita, tricolore kind of Italian thing going on, and it was out of this world.

Thomas: I had the lasagna as well, and I wholeheartedly agree.

It was delicious.

What I also enjoyed, too, was that the noodle itself was al dente, so, because sometimes people make it a little mushy.

Um, it was perfect and you get a lot.

Hsu: Did either of you get the garlic bread on the side, by any chance?

Hunt: I didn't on this last trip, but I know exactly that of which you speak.

Hsu: It was so funny, because we ordered that kind of accidentally at the very end.

And when that came out, we went with a group of friends, and they just wolfed that thing down.

[ Laughs ] I mean, this might be the best dish here.

So I didn't know.

I just thought, "Maybe we should have a little garlic bread with spaghetti, you know?"

Hunt: To sop it up.

Hunt: And it was -- people just loved it.

Sbrocco: No garlic bread for you?

Thomas: No garlic bread.

I had the focaccia bread that came with my dish.

So that piece of bread came in handy.

Was able to sop it up and finish it all.

I literally -- there was nothing left in my plate.

Hunt: Perfect.

Hsu: Well, we had the lasagna also, but the dish that we also had on top of that -- we had a lot of people -- was the peppercorn steak and the pesto spaghetti that goes on the side.

And what's amazing about the steak -- it's very tender and grilled and everything -- is they put peppercorns in the steak, which I think tenderizes it.

I'd never had that before.

Hunt: It's also a peppercorn au jus.

Hsu: Oh, is that what it is?

Hunt: Yeah.

Hsu: Got it, got it.

And I wasn't expecting that at a Spaghetti Shack, but it was really a nice dish.

And we were really thrilled that we ordered that.

I had this really interesting drink called Lupe Under the Sun, and it was served with a little orange, and it had an umbrella in it, and it was a spicy mango tequila.

Really hit the spot.

Hunt: Wow.

Sbrocco: You would definitely be on the beach under the sun.

Hsu: For sure, for sure.

And they have two off-the-menu desserts.

There's actually no desserts on the menu, but we saw two desserts go by us as we were sitting there.

So we, you know, pulled off the waiter and said, "Hey, what are those?"

And then they told us it's this decadent, decadent brownie with two scoops of ice cream, and they have a peanut butter bar with two scoops of ice cream.

So when he said, "Look, these are the only two desserts," we said, "We'll take them both."

Hunt: Yeah!

Sbrocco: I'm gonna call you my dessert guy.

Hsu: I know.

I'm your dessert guy.

We went all out on the desserts.

Sbrocco: Mm-hmm.

And you did not have dessert, did you?

Thomas: No, I did not.

Sbrocco: Okay.

You did not see the desserts go by?

Thomas: No.

Hsu: They're off-menu, so... Sbrocco: Think of the calories you saved yourself.

Thomas: Oh, lots, although I think I made up with it with the wine because I absolutely had wine with my dinner.

And I actually made it for happy hour, which was nice.

I went on a Tuesday.

So what I didn't realize at Tuesdays was kids eat free.

And I just kept seeing all these little kids coming.

I'm like, "Oh, they're cute."

I'm all, "Oh, there's a lot of them."

And then I go, "Oh, it's..." you know, they said, "Yes, it's Kids Eat Free night."

So that's a beautiful thing to have in that neighborhood, especially with the cost of food and taking your family out.

It was definitely a nice thing to know that that was something that they're doing.

Hunt: Yeah.

Sbrocco: And you go back repeatedly so you obviously feel the feel the prices are fair?

Hunt: I do, and I don't always finish my meal.

So sometimes it's two meals, so even more bang for your buck.

It's a comforting food and a comforting place.

Sbrocco: All right, if you would like to try Emmy's Spaghetti Shack, it's located on Mission Street in San Francisco, and the average dinner tab per person without drinks is around $50.

Tonya's a girl after my own heart.

Give her a glass of Pinot paired with some globally inspired small plates, and she's all set for the perfect night out.

She's found her happy place in the heart of old Oakland at District.

Man: Cheers, y'all.

Marsh: When you walk into District, it's so fun, energetic, good food, good conversation.

It's a wonderful place to hang out and enjoy downtown Oakland.

We need a spot for two?

All right.

Let's see what we can do.

Our original location in San Francisco was solely a wine bar.

We opened up the Oakland location, our concept expanded into a wine and whiskey bar.

We do flights of whiskey as well as single portions, and we have a large amount of allocated whiskeys you really can't find almost anywhere else.

We have 20 wines by the glass, 10 beers on tap, brilliant cocktail program, and there's really something for everyone here.

Woman #5: Cheers to District.

Man #2: Absolutely.

Marsh: Here at District, we do love our strong flavor.

Our executive chef, Bob Cina, has a globally inspired menu of small plates, flavors from Mediterranean, Asian influence, Peruvian influences.

And it's also seasonally done to create a different experience every time you walk into District.

Welcome.

Come on in.

My favorite thing on the menu -- charcuterie and cheese.

I think it's a beautiful offering.

It pairs so well with both whiskey and wine.

It's a delicious place to start your evening at District.

Old Oakland, hence the name, is the oldest part of downtown Oakland.

Beautiful architecture, tree-lined streets.

It's a wonderful community down here.

We have so many regulars who support us.

People enjoy coming here after work.

Really, our main goal -- I just want them to feel happy.

Woman #6: So good.

Woman #7: so good.

Marsh: And then in the evening time, we turn into a more of a vibrant lounge with exciting music and just a lot of fun entertainment.

Walk in on any Friday night, I know half the people at the bar and they know each other.

It's really a wonderful place to be.

People have stayed from the early part of the night into the late part of the night, and they don't even know why.

They're just, "Oh, I'm still here?

This place is a blast."

I wouldn't want to have our place anywhere else.

Man #3: That's the town biz, baby.

Uh!

Sbrocco: Now, Tonya, this place looks like a good spot to go watch a game, right, or sit at the bar.

What brings you there?

Thomas: So not only can you watch the game.

There might be a birthday party going on, an anniversary.

There's a lot of different things that go on at the District.

People think, "Oh, it's a bar."

But when you look at the menu, you're like, "Okay, these aren't typical things that you could see at a bar per se."

So I always start with the Arancini Romano.

It has, like, a nice bread crumb crust on the outside and inside, nice cheesy risotto, spinach.

Really delicious.

It also is plated very nicely.

It has this little garnish that comes on top.

And then there's this delicious smoked tomato sauce.

Oh, my goodness.

You have to get that and put it on there.

It's absolutely delicious.

Sbrocco: Okay, Jeff, what was your experience at District?

Hunt: Big fan of deviled eggs.

Hsu: Oh, they have the deviled eggs, yes.

Hunt: Fermented chili and pickled radish is what's inside.

And it just filled my mouth with experience and flavor and happiness and, yeah, wonderful way to start.

Sbrocco: Happy eggs.

Hunt: Yeah.

Hsu: We had the lamb meatballs with the garlic bread.

I don't know if you've tried that, but they were really delicious.

You know, lamb can be gamey sometimes, but what they do is they put mint leaves kind of into the lamb.

So it really makes it a nice flavor.

And then the garlic bread to go with it -- it just was the perfect contrast.

Thomas: Yes.

Absolutely.

Sbrocco: Yeah.

Thomas: Because I go there often.

I got the dinner for two.

The dinner for two is actually a great value.

It comes with a starter, entrée, and it also comes with a salad.

So it's a perfect thing to get when you go there and you're wanting to not, like, spend a whole lot of money.

The organic greens -- oh, my goodness.

It's probably one of the best salads that I've had any place.

They have the avocados, the spicy sunflower seeds, the citrus, the watermelon radish.

It's just a beautiful salad and just absolutely delicious.

And then recently I ordered their pizza.

I'm not sure if you guys got a chance to try their pizza.

Hsu: Oh, yes.

Thomas: It's very simple pizza.

It's on a thin crust.

Very cheesy.

I love the Margherita and the basil on there, so it's really good.

But you can definitely order all kinds of different varieties on there.

Hsu: We did have that pizza, and we actually added prosciutto to that... Thomas: Yes.

Hsu: ...which they said was one of the most common things... -Thomas: Good choice.

Yes, it is.

Hsu: Our waiter said, "This is one of the most popular dishes."

So, yes, that was really terrific.

Thomas: Yes.

Hunt: I'm also a big fan of a Spanish dish called gambas al ajillo.

And it's prawns and garlic is kind of the base of that.

The way that District did it was very special.

It's served on a lemon risotto, so full of flavor and so bright and beautiful yellow, which contrasts the kind of redness of the prawns.

They were grilled perfectly, and there were fried capers that were kind of dotted all around it.

I didn't know that exists, and now I do.

Sbrocco: They add a nice little pop of herbal... Hunt: A pop, and that beautiful -- yes.

So good.

My companion that day is vegan, so the Brussels sprouts that we ordered... Thomas: Oh, gosh.

Hunt: ...we had to get them without the pork, and he also has a pine nut allergy.

Thomas: Yeah.

Hunt: Still amazing.

Thomas: Okay.

Hunt: I think Brussels sprouts aren't easy, I'm gonna say.

But they did them absolutely perfect.

Thomas: Yeah.

They have their house wine, which is the Old Soul Pinot, which is what I typically get, but I also venture out because I love Cab.

They have actual seasonal wines there.

Definitely if you love it, you'll love that place because they have so many to choose from.

Sbrocco: And just a glass of wine and a little nibble and... Thomas: Oh, yes.

Sbrocco: ...perfect night out.

Thomas: Absolutely.

Sbrocco: All right.

Did you have anything to sip on?

Hsu: We didn't have anything to drink that day.

But what we did have that I thought was really unusual is they had the Mexican elote.

Do you know that?

Hunt: I had that.

Hsu: Where they take corn and they kind of fillet it open, and then they put, like, a spicy aioli sauce.

It was really terrific.

It's kind of like their version of the dish.

And I had never really had that before.

But it was really good.

Man #4: It is so good.

Hsu: And we also had the beef sliders.

Have you ever tried that?

Thomas: Oh, yes.

Absolutely.

Hsu: Where the beef is kind of almost like a smashburger because it's very crunchy, you know?

It's kind of unusually done in a nice brioche bun.

and it was really terrific.

So we ordered just a bunch of small plates and just shared everything.

We actually didn't order any main dishes, but it's the perfect place to do that.

Thomas: Absolutely.

Hunt: I felt like all the food was on a level... Thomas: Gosh.

You can't go wrong.

Hunt: ...above.

Really good, yeah.

Hsu: Well, and since I'm the dessert guy, apparently -- Sbrocco: I know.

I was waiting to get to dessert.

Richard, what did you have?

Hsu: They had a pear and black currant crisp.

Hunt: Yum!

Hsu: Okay?

Which is, you know, that oat kind of crisp, served hot with, of course, cold ice cream on top, which melted, you know, kind of over the edges.

Anyways, it was fantastic.

Sbrocco: Now, how many spoons were ordered with that one?

Hsu: We had four spoons.

And trust me, that dish did not last long.

Did not -- the ice cream didn't have time to melt.

How's that?

How's that?

It didn't have time to melt.

Sbrocco: That's good!

And with all that food, did you feel like, hey, this is, you know, affordable?

This is a place I could come back to?

Hsu: Definitely.

I mean, definitely.

I'm not sure about bringing, like, a family because it's kind of more of an adult place, but definitely for, like, coworkers to come after work and kind of decompress maybe after a long week, I think it's perfect.

Thomas: Absolutely.

Hunt: Yeah.

I'm a city kid, but I love Oakland.

And I especially -- you know, it's BART-able.

Thomas: Yes.

Hunt: Short walk from BART.

I love that little part of Oakland.

Old Oakland is a really, really cool section, so I will definitely be going back.

Thomas: Yes.

Hsu: Fantastic choice.

Sbrocco: If you would like to try District, it's located on Washington Street in Old Oakland, and the average tab per person without drinks is around $45.

Looking for more Bay Area bites you've just got to try?

Check out "Cecilia Tries It," online at kqed.org/checkplease.

I have to thank my fabulous guests on this week's show -- Richard Hsu, who savors the sakoo at Bhan Mae Vane in Alameda, Jeff Hunt, who slurps down the spaghetti and meatballs at Emmy's Spaghetti Shack in San Francisco, And Tonya Thomas, who adores the Arancini Romano at District in Oakland.

Join us next time when three more guests will recommend their favorite spots right here on "Check, Please!

Bay Area."

I'm Leslie Sbrocco, and I'll see you then.

Cheers, and cheers to you.

Hsu: Cheers.

Sbrocco: Great job, great job, great job.

Whoo!

[ Indistinct conversation ] Irish: The space has been here about 24 years now.

When I first walked in three years ago, I thought this place was so awesome.

Behind me, there's, like, a cat shrine, which is, I guess, bizarre.

We have a Dolly Parton booth, you know.

We have a lot of kind of funny stuff.

In the front room, we have disco ball, a lot of leopard print and unicorn, cat stuff.

That's just kind of everything we've found on the street over the years, really.

[ Laughs ] Yeah.