Fried Chicken Master Michele McQueen Takes the Reins at Oakland Museum’s Town Fare Cafe | Eater SF

"I've watched a bumpy period of transition at the restaurant inside the Oakland Museum of California: after celebrity chef Tanya Holland parted ways just seven months into running the cafe and a brief stopgap stewardship by native Hawaiian and Tongan chef Puaokalani Barquis, Michele McQueen (formerly Wilson) has taken over and reopens Town Fare with a new menu and beverage program. The menu blends McQueen’s Oakland upbringing with her New Jersey family roots and features dishes such as a fried green tomato caprese salad, low country shrimp and grits with chicken andouille sausage, and a deviled egg of the month (this month served with togarashi Sriracha, black sesame, white miso, and chive). I tasted (and appreciated the idea of) a Southern dip flight of black eyed pea hummus, collard green dip, and pimento cheese with flatbread, curry collard, cabbage, and yam spring rolls with curry lime aioli, and—unsurprisingly given McQueen’s fried chicken reputation—a fried chicken served with red beans, rice, chow chow, and cornbread. The beverage program highlights Black-owned wineries and breweries including Wachira Wines, Hella Coastal Brewery, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, Du Nord Social Spirits, and LS Cream Liqueur, and a cocktail menu co-created with Sadé Stamps includes options like a Bissap Rum Punch (sorrel and allspice dram) and the Hot Oaxaca (mezcal, watermelon sangrita, and guajillo chiles). A new 45-seat sun deck attached to the museum restaurant, opening the day after the menu debut, will add an outdoor bar, patio couches, and dining furniture and will be open Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m., serving select menu items with craft cocktails, wine, and beer; the cafe itself is open during regular museum hours, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday." - Lauren Saria