Tribune Tavern: Oakland's News Gem!

Last Friday, I discovered a wonderful little place just down the street from Paramount Theater in Oakland. When I say 'down the street', I mean four blocks. And, when I say 'little place', I mean a booming restaurant.

The Paramount - The Best Show in Town!

Tribune Tavern calls the old Oakland Tribune building home - and rightly so. It's just the kind of place you can picture journalists of olde visiting in their slim off hours. The menu is a hit, promoting healthier options for almost any kind of classic American food. I wanted a Coca Cola, I got a Mexican coke - can't say I've ever been happier!

Like a 3D typewriter key - T for top-quality!

The front room is a bar - loud and hopping. If you aren't all for loud and slightly obnoxious, I'd head for the back room which is more restaurant than bar and where your ears will gladly thank you.

A hopping bar for journalists and their audience

We - my father and I - were in a bit of a time crunch, just before catching Mary Poppins at the Paramount. We even told the waitress this, and I really think it made a difference in service. Our waitress was attentive and, despite some computer issues near the end, extremely helpful.

Food, Drinks, and Spider Lights

I got a burger - classic American fashion. This was one of the best burgers I ever had. It was cooked just right - medium well - and the bun was even lightly toasted. The fries were a bit lacking - probably healthier but not as fun - despite adding salt on top and dipping in ketchup.

Burger, greens, sauce, ketchup, fries... Ready for the feast!

The meal was great and we made the movie just in time to see the newsreel. I even had some burger left over for the next day - two meals in one! ... 5 stars

Pull-Apart Pizza for the Playoffs!

For our anniversary, and to celebrate Playoff Season, we decided on the ultimate game party snack - pull-apart pizza! Ditch the chips and dip, put away the buffalo wings, refuse delivery pizza, and don't even think about those freezer finger foods. Check out this delicious dish!

Breaking Bread!

You start with a simple round roll of sourdough bread. I would advise you to get a large roll because this can be addictive and you don't want to run out by halftime. Cut the roll almost all the way through, leaving maybe an inch between knife and bottom of bread, by x and y until you have a criss-cross type of pattern.

FRESH mozzarella was FRESHLY GRATED <3

Then start stuffing your fresh mozzarella cheese, as much as you like or will be preferred by everyone on the couch. Get it in every nook and cranny until it's practically falling out. Then, get started on your pepperoni.

OH SO REGULAR

The pepperoni can be stuffed according to preference, as can the size of the pepperonis. We chose the usual pizza size. I have seen variations with really tiny pepperonis and I'm sure you could have lots of fun with those large pepperonis.

IT''S PRACTICALLY PIZZA. IT'S PIZZA.

Then, the yummy really kicks in! Now, we start on the glaze. Even by itself, this glaze smells like pizza. Pour it on your toast and call it pizza. Bake it in rolls and call it pizza. It seriously smells like pizza.

• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 pinches oregano
• 1/2 tsp Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter completely and then mix in everything else. Of course, the measurements are flexible depending on preference and the size of your bread roll.

DAT, DOE

Preheat your oven to 350. Transfer your pizza heaven onto an aluminum foil covered baking sheet. Cover the roll in another sheet of aluminum foil. Keep in oven for 10 minutes, checking in at the 7 minute mark. After ten minutes, remove the aluminum foil cover. Keep in oven for an additional 7 minutes, checking the progress at five minutes. The bread should come out golden-brown, the pepperonis a dark red, and all of the mozzarella should be gooey.

PIZZA HEAVEN

Bring out the marinara sauce and enjoy thoroughly! For reference, our 8'' roll was enough for the five of us. This was a super fun and delicious recipe, both to smell and taste. I definitely recommend that everyone try it at least once in their lives. And what better time than the playoffs?

This is the empty shell, it looks like a disturbing face

Stay tuned for more tasty treats, including easy and fun lunch ideas for the spring school semester! Happy Anniversary to the College Kitchenettes and to everyone who stuck with us since the beginning! Don't forget to share us with friends, and to keep updated through social media and our NEW newsletter - NEWsletter - sign up now to be the first to know about recipes, adventures, and even giveaways!

Recipes in a Mug - Almost Instant Mac N Cheese!

Crunched for time? Super tired after a long day at school or work (or both)? That mac n' cheese looks so good in the cabinet but there is no way you can muster the energy or have time to eat it and be on time? You don't want to make an entire box because that's just a lot of pasta? Well, we in the kitchen found something to tickle your tastebuds and minimize prep time!

Brown rice pasta! It's sticky and good.

To kick off our Recipes in a Mug series, we chose a classic that is a staple in every home and dorm room - Mac N Cheese! Two variations were put to the test: brown rice pasta and the usual glutinous pasta form. First, we gathered our supplies.

• About a cup of pasta in each dish
• 1 cup of cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup spinach
• About 1 cup of water per dish

Start with the water. Add just enough water that it complete covers the noodles - especially if you are doing brown rice. Don't skimp on the water! The brown rice pasta is naturally sticky, so it needs some extra water for discipline. We tried lubricating it with olive oil, which gave it a really tasty flavor, but it was kinda weird because the pasta was already freaking sticky and we probably added too much.

LES PASTAS

Stick your pasta in the microwave for about 8 minutes. At 2 minutes, stir. At 5 minutes, stir and add water if necessary. When you take it out, make sure you have just a little extra water left; if there is too much drain just some of it. Then, get your cheese ready!

This was really tasty

This was pretty

Add your preferred cheese combination. 

Kajsa layered cheddar and parmesan.

I added mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan and spinach. That's right. Just put everything on there.

The cheese should melt in the dish, just from the heat of the pasta in general. If it does not completely melt to your satisfaction, send it back to the microwave for about 1 minute. Here is where things get trick for those of us choosing brown rice pasta. Brown rice pasta is naturally finicky. It can cooperate or it can bring you to tears. Thankfully, we are good-humored. After some time in the microwave, the brown rice pasta was not al dente, or even particularly soft. We decided to add some olive oil, which seemed to bring it around in terms of texture. For the cheese, we decided to play it safe and stick the brown rice pasta in the oven instead and I think that made the difference. In future attempts, we will try to solve the enigma of brown rice pasta in a microwave. We promise. 

AND I WAS JUST LIKE MMMMM

The glutinous and delicious pasta came out lovely and scrumptious. It was actually the most delicious mac and cheese to be in the kitchen for the entirety of that month, which is saying a lot. And again, all that went into it was noodles, water, and fresh cheese! What?! The parmesan added an artistic element that suggested serious labor went into the dish instead of eight minutes in the microwave while we sat on Kajsa's kitchen floor. 

yolo

Again, the brown rice pasta pretty much flopped until it was sent to the oven. Once out of the oven, however, the noodles had softened and the cheese had melted significantly. We added some parmesan cheese for fun and stirred. Then, the globbing began. We theorize that, because of the mozzarella, the macaroni tried to become a pizza. All the cheese globbed together and refused to stick to the pasta (that was the olive oil's fault).

A fun first try and running start to our Recipes in a Mug, the mac n cheese turned out fairly well. It was delicious, easy to make, quick to make, and lots of fun. Stay tuned for more from the College Kitchenettes! Sign up for our monthly newsletter and get ahead of Facebook & Twitter - keep your eyes peeled for brand new giveaways starting soon! Don't change the channel because the College Kitchenettes turn 1 this weekend! Check out our anniversary celebrations on the 13th!

Super Bowl Pizza Rolls

I was originally inspired to make these after having a popular restaurant chain's version. Soon, I had found a nice easy recipe on Pinterest! These are absolutely gorgeous treats for an event like the Super Bowl, if only because it's not just chips and dip.

You start with Pillsbury Crescent rolls and add on five mini pepperonis each. Pepperoni is easy to find, usually near the salami and other lunch meats in your local grocery store. On top of the pepperoni, add shredded mozzarella and just a dash of garlic salt.

Sweet Golden-Pizza!!

Roll them up and put them in a 375-degree preheated oven for about 12 - 15 minutes. At golden-brown, the rolls are done and smell absolutely heavenly.

I think this was definitely one of my favorite easy recipes. It was quick and cheap to accomplish! Not to mention, they tasted extremely amazing and exactly like pizza!

Stay tuned next week for more easy recipes, and next weekend for some Valentine's Day sweetness!

And don't forget to vote on our poll: Where do you find your recipes?