Taking some time off for the holiday weekend? So’s BART, which — for the second time this summer — won’t cross the Transbay Tube due to track work. Meaning the worst thing you can do this weekend is attempt to travel from S.F. to the East Bay. So we say just stay in the East Bay. Here’s your five-point plan for doing just that.
SEX
The Stork Club at 23rd and Telegraph is already one of our favorite bars in the city — but on no day of the calendar do we enjoy it more than the first Friday of the month, for First Friday Follies. A dash of Bay Area weirdness (puppets) plus “Naked Grrlz,” a charming burlesque led by Belles du Jour and previously starring one Honey Dew Me Melons.
PAINT
Class your night up by checking out the many local galleries opening their doors till 9 p.m. for Oakland Art Murmur. We’ll be at Mercury 20 for Julie Alvarado’s “True Adventures” paintings, which feature, in the gallery’s words, “drama, steroids and implants,” and, in ours, cats that look like they could eat you.
ICE CREAM + BOOZE
There’s going to be a line at the just-opened Little Giant, but it’s worth it if they’re scooping Negroni-flavored ice cream.
STAY
We love the Waterfront Hotel, hometown brand Joie de Vivre’s only Oakland location — and it’s not too late to book. It’s right next to Jack London Square (if you’re into that kind of thing), but what we really appreciate is the nautical theme, the buzzy lobby and the fireplaces — because yes, it’s just about that time of year. It’s also super-convenient to Sunday’s Alameda Point Vintage Fashion Faire.
EATS
It feels like a new restaurant opens in Uptown Oakland every 15 seconds. Our favorite is Hopscotch. Settle in for the buttermilk fried chicken, miso mussels and a classic gin fizz: heaven, and nowhere to go but back to the hotel.
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