Previews

The Cook and Her Farmer, an Oyster Bar, Coming to Old Oakland

Romney Steele
Romney Steele Photo: via Amazon

Another new restaurant is on its way to the Swan’s Market complex in Old Oakland, which will also shortly be home to Miss Ollie’s from chef Sarah Kirnon, and Rosamunde’s third sausage spot. Diablo Dish reports that The Cook and Her Farmer is a cafe and oyster bar concept from chef Romney Steele, who opened Café Kevah at Nepenthe in Big Sur two decades ago, and whose grandparents founded Nepenthe over 60 years ago. The menu will feature “simple but bountiful” dishes like big shared salads and southern-inflected stuff like fried chicken and crawdads (she may not want to compete with Kirnon on the fried chicken front, but we digress). But the main focus will be Tomales Bay oysters, which will be served both on the half shell, and fried. No word on an opening date, but if you want to learn more about Ms. Steele, you can check out her 2009 food memoir, My Nepenthe, about growing up at the bohemian Big Sur restaurant. [Diablo Dish]

The Cook and Her Farmer, an Oyster Bar, Coming to Old Oakland