-by Serena Bartlett, author of GrassRoutes Travel Guide to Oakland: The Soul of the City Next Door
Best New Year's Eve Party
Arsimona-Restaurant-Bar-Lounge
Centrally located and equipped with large TVs glued to the New York crystal ball - the drinks and the company at Oakland's new Arsimona is a great choice to celebrate the New Year count down with a gaggle of locals and travelers. It'll be one big festa!
Best Place for a Romantic Toast
Flora
Just walking by Flora, located right across from the newly-renovated fabulous Fox Theater, you'll want to head inside. The luminous indigo tile work at Oakland's old floral depot are now home to the fanciest cocktails around. Perfumed flavors, sophisticated liquors and delicate herbs find themselves paired up in the most interesting house drink menu in town. Bring a date here, whether a new beau or a long time love, and they'll be singing your praises after just one toast. Opt for a classic Flora Martini, ther galss is washed with a house-made elderflower infusion, with Plymouth Gin, or go green with the absinthe-laced Corpse Reviver, missed also with fresh lemon and Beefeater Gin. Chin Chin!
Best Breakfast for a fresh New Year
Full House Cafe
It's hard to imagine a better breakfast to jumpstart your new year than the fresh coffee cakes and healthy veggie hashes at Laurel neighborhood's Full House Cafe. Each and every day of the year there are a selection of homemade coffee cake options like blueberry or almond coconut. Belly up to the vintage bar for a solitary toast and scramble to mull things over or bring your best friend and have a long chat over a hearty meal.
Best Red Wine to cure a case of the 'Mean Reds'
Irish Monkey Cellars
The winemaker at Irish Monkey Cellars, Bob Lynch, went from 150 pounds of grapes in 1996, to 4,000 in 2022, to 55,000 in his last crush, creating a rainbow of wines from the best family-farmed vineyards in California. I'd say his strong point is the 'triple m,': meritage, merlot, and lambec. This meritage is sinfully elegant, not a basic 'what have we got left in our barrels' sort of blend, but more an authentic striving toward the Bordeaux it tries to personify. The merlot is far beyond the table wine we think of, its low status having been popularized by the heartless characters in Sideways. Malbec is an easy sell for a New Years bash - it is easy to get along with and goes perfectly with the sandwiches you find at most parties. Come in to the tasting room to meet with winemakers and pick your favorite.
Best Place to Jumpstart the New Year
La Verbena Juice Bar and Cafe
When you are placing your order at your typical taqueria, it is always tempting to order one of the colorful agua frescas shown off at the counter. But the health-conscious know that those pretty juices are loaded with added sugar. At La Verbena, you can order your juice naturally, without all the extra calories. Watermelon, cantelope and pineapple juices are tops - you can have each one plain or select a mixture of them all. Add carrot juice to any fruit and your body will be even happier. The new market hall, just off Fruitvale BART station is a great place to sample some of Oakland's best Mexican foods - and not just burritos - juices, baked goods, rice ice cream and fresh tortillas are all available near La Verbena. There are cute seats in the airy plaza where you can take in all the colors and flavors of this cute juice bar and its neighbors.
La Verbena Juice Bar and Cafe
3340 East 12th Street
437.9073
Best Place to Hit the Pause Button
Numi Tea Garden
Get away from all the hullibalou and enter a world were tea is served next to fountains and reflective artwork in a secluded setting. It is easier to ponder the previous year, and dream of the year to come, over a cup of Numi's special White Nectar organic osmanthus and white tea, or a mug of Jasmine Pearls. French and Italian cheeses, organic baba ghanouj and hummus and spanikopita are highlights on the worldly cafe menu. Take some time to yourself, or bring a bookish friend to sit quietly, read, think, sip and reel in the New Year in a peaceful way.
The summer never leaves Tropix, Oakland's premier Caribbean and creole restaurant. Just step off lively Piedmont Avenue and you'll be immersed in sunshine-color walls, and festive island decor - you'll feel like you're on vacation even before you order! Fried plantains with black bean dip and vegetable mambo skewers are a great way to start, but don't miss the drinken chicken, soaked in rum and garlic, or the jumbo sweet peppers, stuffed with rice, tofu and vegetables. Finish with something sweet - the key lime pie here is better than the Florida original.
