Chef Baehrend’s Bone Marrow Brûlée

MONTCLARION: 9-30-2015

Oakland’s little neighbor to the north is becoming very cool — and I don’t mean from sea breezes coming off the bay. Emeryville is attracting its own share of artists and eclectic eateries, including a place I discovered last week.

I say “discovered” because Honor Kitchen & Cocktails (http://honoremeryville.com) has no signage outside — giving it a kind of speak-easy feel. Once inside, you realize this place has a fan base, drawing from the nearby biotech corridor and companies like Whole Foods and Pixar.

They come for the signature cocktails — guilty pleasures like Queen Anne’s Revenge (hibiscus-infused gin, lemon grapefruit marmalade, egg white and ginger beer) and stay for chef Ben Baehrend’s gastropub fare. What he’s able to do in a simple kitchen is pretty amazing — serving freshly butchered meats (they have an in-house butcher) and intensely flavorful dishes like Bone Marrow Brûlée and signature sausages using unique ingredients like lobster and lamb.

Around the corner, the annual Emeryville Art Exhibition (http://www.emeryarts.org) holds its opening reception Friday at 5745 Peladeau St. Emeryville has a large artist community, drawn to its warehouses and plentiful live-work spaces. If you miss Friday’s event, you have through Oct. 25 to see the juried exhibitions of the city’s top artists.

Around town: Is nothing sacred? Vandals and thieves ransacked exhibits left up overnight for last weekend’s Montclair Sidewalk Fine Arts and Crafts Fall Fest. At least one artist had paintings stolen, and several vendors reported damage to their display booths. It’s interesting to note that a sticker on Montclair Village meters now warns shoppers not to leave valuables in cars. Apparently anything left out is fair game for thieves.

Celestial show: Sunday night’s supermoon and lunar eclipse triggered a patchwork of block parties in the hills. On our street, artists set up easels and amateur astronomers got out their telescopes. Families gazed skyward long past the time when most children would be indoors doing their homework. It was like Halloween — with a treat we won’t see again until 2033.

Nextdoor news: This neighborhood listserv post caught my eye — news of a pack of coyotes that took down a deer near Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve. It’s a little reminder to bring your pets in at night.

Animal tales: With eggs costing an arm and a leg these days, more folks than ever are raising chickens. But a reader shared this with me, the other day: Too many coops can cause quite a stir. Apparently, chickens do a lot of clucking when they lay their eggs — and it only makes sense. Wouldn’t you, if you had to expel something that big?

Got news? You can reach Ginny Prior by email at ginnyprior@hotmail.com or on the web at www.ginnyprior.com.