This Vibrant New Food Hall Opens in West Oakland

The last few pieces of the new Prescott Market are falling into place, just in time for the food hall’s opening on Saturday, April 5. Filling one of the last two remaining availabilities inside the market is Cafe Noir, a restaurant by chef Marisa Gittens that “takes inspiration from and shares black-culture parallels with the French-style bistro,” per a press release. The Prescott Market spot is Cafe Noir’s second location — branching off from its original Lower Dimond location that opened in September 2023 — and the cafe will serve items like banana bread French toast, grains in purgatory (a play on eggs in purgatory), and andouille shrimp and grits among other dishes.

As previously reported, brewery Almanac holds down the market as the main anchor tenant, with businesses Prescott Meats and Delicatessen, Pizzeria Violetta, pop-up Woo Can Cook, Highwire Coffee, and Fast Times Burgers joining.

Cafe Colucci finds a chef to fill its residency

Oakland’s Cafe Colucci embarked on a mission to find a young chef to take part in its Brundo Chef Residency in February, and now it seems they’ve found their person. East Bay Nosh reports that chef Zachary Breaux of Left on Madeline earned the spot, cooking “new Louisiana” food, per the story. The residency will allow Breaux to host monthly dinners on Cafe Colucci’s back patio with access to the restaurant’s kitchen and resources, including advising and feedback sessions.

Cantina Pedregal to close

Cantina Pedregal — the Folsom restaurant from chefs Patricio Wise of Nixtaco and Brad Cecchi of Canon and Franquette and business partner Clay Nutting — is closing on Saturday, April 19, after less than a year in business, the Sacramento Bee reports. Nutting told the paper that it “couldn’t attract the necessary volume” of customers despite finding some fans of its food. If there’s a sliver of good news out of this, the Bee reports that Wise will open a second location of his popular taqueria and distillery Nixtaco in its place.

Popular LA Thai restaurant pops up in Santa Rosa

The Lazeaway Club inside the Flamingo Resort in Santa Rosa continues with its twice-yearly Turntable pop-ups, and this upcoming one looks to be good: Chef Amanda Kuntee Maneesilasan of Chao Krung Thai is heading north from Los Angeles to cook up a menu of her hits from April 5 through 27. For dinner, diners can expect items like the nam tok duck, a Thai waterfall salad with duck breast and chile lime dressing; Siam pork chop; and bek gai tod, or deep-fried garlic wings. At lunch will be another treat from Maneesilasan, as she brings four items from her restaurant Ban Ban Burger, including the popular wagyu laab smash made with laab powder and Thai pickles.