Today’s Oaktown Partner:
Weekend incoming…
ICYMI, Oakland was voted the #6 best large US city by Conde Nast readers this week. SF came in at #2 and Chicago took the top spot. I’m wondering… who reads Conde Nast?
Either way, let’s go Oakland. This weekend:
A Live Art Walk through Uptown
Last free lawn concert in Jack London
Oakland’s new free arcade
5 minute read today.
- see ya at the bottom.
Today’s Partner
See where Oaklanders are ACTUALLY eating…
…not the ad Yelp wants you to click.
Zest is a new app from Oakland native (and Oaktown subscriber) Mario that automatically maps and recommends restaurants people actually eat at.
All you do is link a credit card (via Plaid, the same tool your bank or budgeting app uses), and Zest does the rest.
It pulls your top restaurants into a map and then recommends others based on your past visits — don’t worry, it only views food/dining transactions, no other transactions and never any amounts.
Get breakdowns of your go-to restaurants and top categories.
Plus, they’re building a whole community of foodies, with crowd-sourced lists like:
Best Oakland Bars
East Bay hidden gems
Zest’s own trending lists
Oaktown’s Hidden Gems (Our list)
And more…
Don’t let Yelp or the big Goog choose your next date night spot. Give Zest a try for free.
(Follow @Oaktown_Weekly once you download to get all our lists, like our new Best Happy Hours roundup.)
Your Weekend
Things to do in Oakland Oct. 8-11
Hand-picked events for your weekend.
FEATURED EVENT
Learn to shoot the night sky at Chabot this weekend
Chabot’s new exhibit Shared Sky opens this weekend with a 2-day festival, including a smartphone star-trail workshop led by an actual astrophotographer. Then wander a brand-new gallery of Hubble and Webb imagery plus 22 award-winning shots from this year’s Astrophotography Prize. You can even make your own “astro-selfie” while you’re there. | This Sat-Sun, 11-4:30pm. 10000 Skyline Blvd. See Details →
FEATURED EVENT
Get Crafty with Crucible's Heavy Metal fair from KQED
The KQED team is taking over The Crucible warehouse for Heavy Metal, an industrial artisan fair. 10+ local makers will be selling forged metalwork, jewelry, stained glass, and handmade pieces. Or jump into a workshop and make something yourself. Free entry. | Thursday, Oct. 22, 5-9pm. 1260 7th St. See Details →
Looking for the full weekend calendar? See every Oakland event happening this weekend →
More from Oaktown Weekly: East Bay Halloween parties · the best East Bay trick-or-treating · every Oktoberfest in Oakland and the East Bay
Town News
Trending stories from the week
Sheng Thao’s corruption trial starts next week — Jury selection begins Oct. 13 in federal court for the former mayor and 3 co-defendants. All 4 have pleaded not guilty.
A super El Niño might mean a super ski season — Forecasters are “cautiously optimistic,” but strong El Niños are a coin flip for Tahoe: of 4 since 1970, half were big snow years and half weren’t.
Oakland hits pause on new data centers — The City Council approved a 45-day moratorium on new data center proposals over power and water concerns.
Oakland has a new free arcade — Chef Michele McQueen’s new downtown sports pub, Five & Dime, pairs free arcade games with soul food. What’s not to like?
Pet of the Week
Meet Pumpkin from Cleveland Heights
That dog is cheesin’, you just know it.
Put your pet in a costume. Why? Because it’s adorable AND I’m pulling together a special Halloween edition of Pet of the Week. Hit reply and send me those dressed-up pets.
Town Poll
Oaktoberfest took over the Dimond last weekend. I couldn’t go. Did you?
Last week’s results: What’s your Halloween costume budget?
$21-50 (39%)
$51-100 (21%)
$1-20 (18%)
$0 (11%)
$100+ (11%)
To the $100+ folks, what are you going as??
Thanks a million.
I’m OOO the rest of the week.
Heading to Seattle to taste some rain.
See you in town,
-Kolby
Oaktown Weekly
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