It has been a long time coming, but now we can say, “Release the sandwiches!” And a whole lot more. It’s all going down at STAG’S LUNCHETTE, the new lunch counter in Oakland from Alexeis Filipello, owner of Bar Dogwood. As previously mentioned in tablehopper last December, there is a rotisserie, and spreads, sauces (her dad even made the cute sauce caddies on the tables), pickles, and even the bacon are all housemade.
Breakfast includes Bagel Baron bagels (read all about this awesome new bagel maker here) with house-smoked trout; slow-poached eggs with herbs and toast; housemade ricotta with lemon thyme, honeycomb, Marcona almonds, smoked Maldon salt, olive oil, and toast; and Starter Bakery baked goods.
Lunch brings suckling porchetta sandwiches with pickled radish and Meyer lemon aioli with Stag’s XX sauce (spicy habanero-yam sauce); Duroc meatball crépinettes with pickled vegetables, chicken liver mousse, and garlic-chile aioli on a Firebrand brioche bun; green garlic crab cake sandwiches with fennel, romaine, and Aleppo aioli; housemade pastrami basted in butter and demi-glace with Emmental, ginger kraut, and piquant dressing; and egg salad or crumbled tofu salad with fried capers and shallots on Acme levain served open-faced with house-cured anchovies or sun-dried tomatoes.
There are also some awesome salads (Caesar, frisée aux lardons, plus more), and hello, half-sour pickles! In the dessert department, they’re no slouches either: they’ll be “importing” Mast Brothers Chocolate directly from Brooklyn. It will be used in their desserts, and bars will also be available for purchase.
It has a spiffy barn-y look, with reclaimed wood, walnut tables, mahogany wainscoting, and wood floors, with seating for 40. Hours are Mon-Fri 8am-4pm and Sat 10am-4pm; coffee service (from Roast Coffee Co.) starts at 8am, and lunch service starts at 11am. 362 17th St. at Franklin, Oakland, 510-835-STAG.
The Stag’s Lunchette interior. Photo by Lincoln Smith.
