Discussion

2013-04-06: I’d like to propose subsuming this page into the Restaurants by Type page, so that its info is in one place and more likely to stay updated. I’d do this by checking each reference for proper tags, then deleting it until only an empty stub remains here. This is unusual for being subtractive, where oakwiki’s usual approach is additive, but that’s what I think would be best. However I won’t actually do it until people have had a chance to comment, reply with better ideas, etc. -Mike

Hi Mike, right now I am checking each tag, restaurant name and current status right now, but didn't want to remove/delete restaurants that are CLOSED until I checked with the rest of you folks. JL

Agree with both of you. This was an old page that had lots of good info on it- didn't want to delete when I started the restaurant portal which is very much a work in progress inspired by JL's hard work. -gk

I agree with GK, and don't want to delete this page, just revise it to be more current JL

Once the restaurant portal includes all this info, this page will be redundant, so should go. Scanning the list right now, it looks like ~90% of the establishments below (including, oddly enough, many of the closed places!) already have separate oakwiki entries. The next step will be to ensure each of those is cuisine-tagged, at which point, line deletions here can begin. If you guys are worried about info loss, use strikethrough instead to show which entries are covered. I’ll start, by striking the defunct places. -Mike

Now have moved on to striking those places which appear on the Restaurants by Type page. The few places that’re still unaccounted for (outdented) probably just need cuisine tags in their entries.

[According to one estimate, there are 4,000-5,000 restaurants in Oakland.  How are we deciding which ones rate entries in the Wiki?  It should be ones that we, the Wiki editors, have been to and either like, hate, or have some other strong opinion about, not just ones we happen to notice. So sayeth NAParish.]

[Gotta agree. On a related note, I consider it a Sisyphian task to try to include current hours, phone numbers, etc. for everything. Only if something doesn't have a website or other source of the info should we include it, otherwise it's going to be out of date. Thus chimeth in Gene.]

[on the other hand, i think it's awesome that himy is putting up businesses in areas less traveled. check out his pages in fremont, melrose, etc to see some of the info and pictures he's putting up. there's info there that you just couldn't find on yelp. doesn't mean the knowledge has to be encyclopedic, but it sure is hyperlocal. -gk]

[In terms of addresses and telephone numbers of business, including restaurants being out of date, I've been checking with restaurants when I dine in, and/or call ones that I've been to in the past, to double-check the information is current JL]

[We are all volunteers and writing for the wiki is something we love :) Only add restaurants/details you want to add...if you don't add them now, someone else will add them in the future! Please don't feel obligated to add anything you don't want to add as we are not on the clock :) I don't really see a need to remove closed restaurants, in fact, I think that we should KEEP closed restaurants so that we can document our community's history. In fact, this is one way we're "not Yelp" - by providing more context for restaurants beyond what's good and bad to the people, communities, and histories behind the food of our community. - mk30]

I agree about keeping closed restaurants. Some are downright historical :-)  And I don't have a problem with adding whatever businesses and restaurants people want. I just think it's nuts to duplicate info from elsewhere and expect to keep it up to date.

i think in terms of this page it's a good idea to x-out restaurants so we can eliminate the page and subsume in other R-Portal spots (although now i think we should keep the page for discussion and maybe re-name). otherwise, i agree with MK- it's awesome to see what's interesting to the community. on individual pages i don't see any harm in adding whatever info you feel like, as long as it's not harmful and somewhat in line with best practices. maybe a note at the top of the portal to advise to call ahead to confirm hours? -gk

Agree with Gene – “Sisyphean” is the word, all right. I’d suggest avoiding copying any info with a shelf life, in favor of linking (wherever possible). The list below is, for that reason, doomed (our restaurant portal is 1010x better) – but not until every line is struck through, meaning they’re all either out of business, or already included in the restaurant portal. Then it’ll be safe to pull the plug – Mike


The List

Oakland has a million billion places to eat! We got pizza, we got tacos, we got pho, we got dim sum, we got brunch, we got vegan, we got barbecue, and every other thing.

Here is a random assortment of restaurants (WHERE DID IT COME FROM???). You can also check out a list of every page tagged "restaurant."

  • A Coté (on RBT page)
    5478 College Ave. (Cross streets Taft and Lawton.), Oakland CA 94618; Tel. 510.655.6469
  • Barney’s Gourmet Hamburgers (on RBT page)
    4162 Piedmont Ave., Oakland CA 94611; 5819 College Ave., Oakland CA 94618; Tel. 510.655.7180; Tel. 510.601.0444

Battambang Restaurant
850 Broadway Street (at 8th St.), Oakland CA 94606; Tel. 510.839.8815

Bay Wolf Café and Restaurant
3853 Piedmont Ave., Oakland, CA 94611; Tel. 510.655.6004

  • Café Colucci (on RBT page)
    6427 Telegraph Ave., Oakland CA; Tel. 510.601.7999
  • Caffe 817 (on RBT page)
    817 Washington St., Oakland, California; Tel. 510.271.7965
  • Chef Edward’s Bar-B-Que (on RBT page)
    1998 San Pablo Ave. (at 19th St.), Oakland CA 94612; Tel. 510.834.9516
  • Chef Paul [CLOSED]
    4179 Piedmont Ave., Oakland, California; Tel. 510.547.2175

Chez Simone
4125 Piedmont Ave., Oakland CA 94611; Tel. 510.655.1034

  • Citron [CLOSED]
    5484 College Ave., Oakland CA 94618
  • Doña Tomás (on RBT page)
    5004 Telegraph Ave., Oakland CA; Tel. 510.450.0522
  • Everett & Jones (on RBT page)
    2676 Fruitvale Ave., Oakland CA; ; Tel. 510.533.0900
    8739 E. 14th St., Oakland CA; Tel. 510.638.6400

Fat Lady Restaurant
201 Washington St., Oakland, CA 94607; Tel. 510.465.4996

  • Filippo’s (on RBT page)
    5400 College Ave., Oakland, California; Tel. 510.601.8646
  • Golden Lotus (on RBT page)
    1301 Franklin St., Oakland CA; Tel. 510.893.0383
  • Grand Oaks Restaurant & Sports Lounge  (on RBT page)
    3701 Grand Avenue, Oakland, California; Tel. 510.451.5253
  • Grasshopper [CLOSED ... last Yelp review was 2008]
    6317 College Ave. (Between Alcatraz and Claremont), Oakland CA 94608; Tel. 510.595.3557

Homeroom (Mac and Cheese)
400 - 40th Street, Oakland, California 94609; Tel. 510.597.0400