Lunch, Brunch News in Oakland

A couple of East Bay spots are offering up plentiful possibilities for weekend brunch fiends.

First, one of Oakland’s bright new spots, Hopscotch, has started weekend brunch service. The restaurant, co-owned by chef Kyle Itani and Jenny Schwarz, is a welcome addition to Oakland’s Uptown area.

While small in size, the service is friendly and comforting. The food matches the environment to a T; comforting and homey, but with a nice complex mix of unique flavors and ingredients. Truly a beautiful new spot to dine at.

The restaurant just started brunch service last week and Itani said he’s pretty pleased with the overall menu, although there could be a few tweaks here and there. Here’s a look at what Hopscotch is offering:

Food:

Cinnamon Twist French Toast: kinako powdered sugar, stonefruit compote, pure maple syrup

Smoked Trout Scramble: chives, crème frâiche, toast, potatoes, greens

Eggs Benedict: slow and low poached eggs on toasted baguette, miso hollandaise, potatoes, greens (3 options) – griddled beef tongue and pickled shallots/braised ham hock and kale/maitake mushrooms and sage

Savory Bread Pudding (vegetarian): leeks and white cheddar, green salad

Local Virginica Oysters by 1/2 dz

Daily Pastries

Uptown Burger: house ground chuck, pickled onions, sesame miso aioli, kennebec chips

First Base Burger: house ground chuck, griddled beef tongue, pickled onions, sesame miso aioli, kennebec chips

Beer Steamed Clams: clams, lamb, toasted bread with yuzu aioli

Double Down Chicken Wings: spicy green onion sauce, blue cheese dip

Little Green Salad

Drinks:

Wasabi Bloody Mary

Pimm’s Cup

Lavender-Honey Gin Fizz

Big B Chelada

The Wide Eyed – rye, iced chicory coffee, cream

Wagonwheel (not so Irish Coffee) – bulleit rye, maple syrup, coffee, whipped cream

Death in the Afternoon – bitters, absinthe, sparkling rose, sugar cube

Mimosa (by the glass or carafe)

The Oakland 75 – sparking wine, grapefruit, house made grenadine, shot of gin

Plaid on Plaid: scotch, egg white, lemon, honey

Plenty of juices and sodas, coffee and teas are available as well.

Brunch will be served from 10:30-3:00 on Saturday and Sunday. Hopscotch is located at 1915 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland.

Also across town, for the second weekend in a row, Camino is celebrating the life of Marion Cunningham, who recently passed away.

The restaurant is donating the proceeds from each order of doughnuts on their brunch menu to The Alzheimer’s Association. The recipe for the doughnuts is an adaptation of Cunningham’s version in the “Frannie Farmer” cookbook.

Camino is located at 3917 Grand Avenue in Oakland.