Here’s What to Order at Small Change Oyster Bar in Oakland | Eater SF

"Since opening in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood on July 10, I’ve been going to Small Change Oyster Bar at 5000 Telegraph Avenue, a compact spot with an outdoor patio and an indoor counter where owner Branden Nichols — who moved the concept from pop-ups and a brief Market & Main stint in Martinez — shucks oysters and pours low-intervention wine. Chef Lauren Dakota Holbert and Nichols have built a seafood-forward menu with classics like fish ’n’ chips, shrimp po’ boys, and clam chowder, plus fresh oysters from Northern California and Washington served raw by the half or full dozen with lemon and mignonette or broiled in four styles (kimchi, herby-allium, chile lime, and Rockefeller); their Oysters Rockefeller come topped with spinach, leeks, pecorino Romano, and breadcrumbs and are best eaten warm so the crumbs stay crisp. For something lighter, the crab Louie piles an unreal amount of crab over shredded lettuce and tomatoes with a perfect six-minute egg and rich Louie dressing; the cod fish-and-chips is battered in a sourdough beer mix that yields a thin, crisp exterior and tender fish inside, served with tangy tartar and fries (and hot sauce on request). For a showpiece, the michelada is practically a seafood tower — crab claw, a curled poached shrimp, celery, skewered olives, and a single oyster — built on Nichols’s overnight-soaked “mad scientist” mix of jalapeños, hot sauces, clam juice, and more, topped with a Mexican lager and a Tajín-chamoy rim. Small Change is open Wednesday through Sunday, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m." - Dianne de Guzman