Restaurants in Alamo

The Ayyad family opened the Zaki Kabob House after years of perfecting Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking in their own kitchen. The Ayyads' menu of Egyptian, Jordanian, and Greek fare unearths their Middle Eastern roots with the familiar flavors of lamb shawarma, pita, and baba ghanouj. Conversely, Zaki chicken intrigues the tongue with tender rotisserie poultry marinated in a seasoning whose recipe, like the address of the White House, is a carefully guarded secret. Brunch, lunch, and dinner at the lushly pattered restaurant might end with the Turkish sweetness of organic baklava.

In the warm aura of Ethiopia Restaurant's pulsing fireplace, chattering groups use injera bread to scoop up time-tested dishes peppered with imported spices. Weighing down cerulean tablecloths, beef, lamb, and chicken dishes escort hundreds of possible vegetarian combinations beneath the outdoor patio's sprays of coral-hued blossoms. Plates draw inspiration from the shop's colorful works of art to dress in vibrant swaths of red lentils like bib models. Brimming with Ethiopian beers and honey wine, glasses cling together to toast meals and special occasions.

The Terrace Room’s art-deco furnishings, elaborate ironwork, and white-draped tables evoke an elegant supper-club vibe that complements the restaurant’s classy confines in the Lake Merritt Hotel, built in 1927. The eatery’s upscale American dishes borrow influences of Cajun, French, and Italian cuisines, which chefs skillfully weave together and artfully plate to cultivate a sophisticated and luxurious dining experience. Amid picturesque murals and panoramic views of Lake Merritt, dishes parade out of the kitchen bearing local and seasonal ingredients, as well as organic touches, such at the Bison chocolate stout that flavors battered fish 'n' chips. Chicken and dumplings sate stomachs with tender meat from Petaluma free-range chickens—a tasty and humane alternative to chicken cooped up in a cubicle all day—and the menu brims with sustainable seafood, platefuls of pasta, and flavorful cuts of beef. Servers splash wine into glasses, or bring up bottles of requested vinos for those hoping to discover the flavorful bounty or Cracker Jack prize inside.

Mississippi Catfish's chefs fill baskets with fried morsels of catfish raised in captivity and grain-fed at Simmons Farm in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Other Delta delicacies, such as river prawns and fried-chicken mistaken for river prawns by sleepy fishermen, keep the morsels company along with sides of hush puppies. On Friday and Saturday, barbecue from the grill makes a saucy addition to the menu's usual selections.

Molcajete's chef, Manuel Torres, focuses on a concise, refined menu of Mexican street fare at Molcajete, which is Spanish for mortar. A symbol of the artisanal and handmade, the mortar appears prominently in a mural in the restaurant's dining room and is a symbol for Torres's approach to meals. Familiar carne asada surprises with grilled American Kobe beef flank steak, and remarkably thick, handmade corn tortillas make a meal out of chanclas piled high with black beans, steak, lettuce, and cheese. Weekly specials veer into lesser-known regional specialties, such as the Yucatan's cochinita pibil, a slow-roasted pork dish, or Jalisco's torta ahogada served on the area's french bread offshoot, birote. Whether served inside or out on the patio, dishes arrive elegantly plated among perfectly formed mesas of tender rice, cups of black beans, or dollops of guacamole accented with dark purple cabbage.

“Welcome to the Dojo,” reads Dojo Dog’s colorful, anime-inspired menu. “Please begin your training by choosing a combat technique.” What follows is not instruction in martial arts, but rather a flavor battle that pits an all-American favorite against Asian-inspired toppings, such as wasabi mayo, katsu sauce, and flash-grilled cabbage.

The brainchild of Michael Koh, a UC-Berkley undergraduate and Taiwan native, Dojo Dog began after a night of “inebriated revelry,” when Koh and his friends returned home with a late-night hot-dog snack, only to realize that they’d forgotten to add condiments. As Koh told Laurie Song of Hardboiled magazine, the crew improvised with a nearby bottle of teriyaki sauce, producing “surprisingly tasty results.” Further experimentation with the flavors of his home continent yielded the combinations that now appear on the menu of his cheerful blue truck, all piled atop all-beef or vegetarian hot dogs from local vendors and cradled within french hoagie rolls. Koh supplements his wares with tall, cool glasses of Tranquilitea, a mango-jasmine green tea served over ice.

Though Dojo Dog’s ever-evolving roster of fusion fare is no secret on campus, Koh has kept word of his entrepreneurial feat from his parents in Taiwan. Koh plans to surprise the pair when they visit him for graduation, and until then he asks that diners sign a nondisclosure agreement in soy sauce before he hands over their orders.