"In a crowded national arena of barbecue greats, Bay Area couple Fik and Reka Saleh carved out a space all their own with Alameda’s Fikscue. Indonesian cooking and Texas-style halal barbecue converge in the modest shop, where self-taught pitmaster Fik Saleh cuts slices of tender, wobbly brisket for customers after a 21-hour process of trimming, seasoning, and smoking. A brick wall that runs the length of the room holds a neon sign that reads, “This must be the place,” a nod to the Talking Heads classic. Indeed, many trek across the Bay Bridge from nearby San Francisco and wait up to two hours for mouthfuls of colossal beef dino ribs cut thick to order and sliced brisket prepared in a Texas-made 500-gallon smoker. There’s smoked chicken, too, and curls of beef sausages peppered with flecks of pickled jalapeño and pepper jack cheese. Reka Saleh steers the Indonesian comfort food offerings, like a brisket-laden rendang curry with kale; nasi goreng, or Indonesian fried rice, flavored with kecap manis and corned beef; and warming North Sumatran beef noodle soup, soto padang, that shakes up the well-worn barbecue genre and moves it out of its usual lane. Halal meat remains central to the restaurant, which sticks to a pork-free lineup befitting the owners’ Muslim identity (the couple’s home nation houses the world’s largest Muslim population). And after easily winning over barbecue snobs and early skeptics, Fikscue is already on track to open a second restaurant across the bay in San Francisco. The Fikscue phenomenon dazzles in a region known more for its coastal bites than its wood-fired meats. As the Talking Heads say, it’s where you want to be. — Dianne de Guzman, Eater SF deputy editor" - Eater Staff
