Mini Dish: The Mixing Bowl

There’s been so much change in the Temescal neighborhood near my Oakland home that I think it may be the next Rockridge.

A couple of new restaurants have opened and another high-profile one is on its way. One of the new places is called The Mixing Bowl, which I visited with my friend Vera, who also lives in the hood.

The Mixing Bowl is in the spot of the old Temescal Café. I’d been to the Temescal Café before, not as a regular but on a few occasions. It was your typical café with free newspapers strewn everywhere and people on laptops next to emptied coffee cups with that tell-tale dark brown stain around the rim. The Mixing Bowl, just like its fresh bowls of vegetables and hand-made sandwiches, is the complete opposite.

I’m not sure what happened to the Temescal Café, but The Mixing Bowl is a welcomed addition. Its brightly lit room with handsome wood furnishings screams out quality. Sure, the food prices are higher than the old café, but it’s not that much different than comparable casual-dining spots.

You order at the counter and get a number. There are a lot of seats in this café owned by Grace Lee, who can be seen on the floor bringing food to customers’ tables.

They serve a bunch of salads and sandwiches and in the mornings sell breakfast burritos and baked goods. When I met Vera for lunch, I ended up ordering the first salad on the menu, which was a tamarind chicken salad with miso dressing. Vera got the pulled pork sandwich. (Prices range from about $7.50 to $8.50.)

I thought my salad was pretty big with a lot of crunchy vegetables and nicely cooked chicken breast slices on the top. This was pretty filling but the dressing was light. Even though it didn’t have a distinct miso flavor, it still had a nice Asian taste to it. It was more vinaigrette than creamy, but still mixed well with all the crunchy ingredients.

Vera’s sandwich, as you can see, came without a bun because she requested it that way since she’s on a no-carbs diet. I think it’s typically served in a soft bun. I was debating with Vera about how you can’t go wrong with pulled pork because all you do is slow cook some pork and then top it off with barbeque sauce. Vera pointed out that she’s had some amazing BBQ pulled pork where the taste can be complex if done right. I thought The Mixing Bowl’s version was nicely done but Vera thought it was just OK. (I’m still trying to figure out where she had that amazing BBQ pulled pork.)

There’s a real healthy element to The Mixing Bowl with a lot of fresh juices made by the staff. On the day we had lunch, the place had a special on aqua fresca, which Vera tried. I got a green tea-pear iced tea that was refreshing.

Opened since earlier this summer, The Mixing Bowl is still finding an audience. It was a bit empty when we first got there before noon, but it started to fill up in the next hour. Oh, and I did like some of the art hanging on the wall, which still gave it a café feel when it’s clearly turned into something more.

No rating since this is a mini review. But the food is fresh and service friendly, so definitely a nice place in the neighborhood for a light lunch or afternoon snack. I will be back.

The Mixing Bowl, 4920 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. PH: 510.655.5630. Open weekdays, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. (until 7 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays) and weekends, 9 a.m.–7 p.m. www.themixingbowlcafe.com