When eaten, the berries of the prickly ash tree (a type of citrus) cause a tingling sensation similar to guzzling carbonated seltzer water or slamming a pouch of pop rocks. But it’s really a trick of the mind. The tongue isn’t actually vibrating, but the chemical compound in the berries triggers a message to the brain that what it’s touching is vibrating. In Chinese, this wholly imagined oral sensation is known as málà, which is a combination of two Chinese characters” numbing" (麻) and "spicy" (辣).
The name of this chemical compound in those berries is hydroxy-alpha sanshool – which is similar to capsaicin, the chemical compound in spicy peppers like habanero and jalapeno. It triggers the exact same receptors that capsaicin does, but doesn’t deliver the same painful burn. A delightful sort of tingle, but no ouch ouch ouch.
It also boasts some amazing health benefits. The Sichuan pepper, which is what these berries are known as, can stimulate the immune system, reduce pain, boost appetite, increase blood circulation, strengthen bones, and reduce inflammation. It has vitamin A, potassium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, and phosphorus. It’s a hard-working little berry, to be sure.
We’re talking West China, the gateway to Tibet. Middle upper Yangtze river. In 2019 numbers, there were 612,000 Chinese people in the San Francisco Bay Area - making up 30% of the total API population. Despite the sizable Chinese population here, and the estimated 1500 Chinese restaurants in the Bay Area, there is not a correspondingly high number of Chinese delicatessens. In fact, I’m not sure there are any.
Except, well, there is one.
Ok’s Delicatessen in Berkeley
Right off the bat, you may be wondering about the name, OK - which in practically every language means indifferent acceptance. Why would you name a food establishment with a word that essentially means “fine” and, in food contexts, often comes before the word “just” - meaning not very good (i.e. “the sandwiches are just okay”). To clear that up, it’s because the owner/chef’ is Albert Ok. He named the deli after himself. Like Texas-based Schlotsky’s Deli (which, ironically, has a location in Beijing). I still find the naming decision to be somewhat questionable, but it seems to be working for him so far.
One of the best ways to start a delicatessen is to begin as a “pop up” – a relatively small operation that frequently changes locations. It helps you build a following, test, learn, and work out the kinks before putting all your chips on one number and spinning the (very unforgiving) wheel of fortune. This is how Healdsburg’s wildly successful Troubador started as well.
Now located on Oakland’s Telegraph avenue, Ok’s Delicatessen started as a pop-up operating mostly out of breweries in the Bay Area. It’s a smart move because most breweries suck at food anyway and beer drinkers often get hungry for greasy vittles to wash down with their beer (this, incidentally, may slow the absorption of alcohol).
Albert is a local boy of Korean heritage – born in Oakland, raised in Richmond and now lives in Alameda. The cuisine is similarly idiosyncratic. Various Asian food cultures are represented here, as is Italian and American food. It’s basically the kind of food that Albert likes to eat and, apparently, so do the Oakland and Berkeley folks who come here.
The shelves are stuffed with salty delights that have an Asian twist like seaweed snacks, mushroom tempura chips, nam jim chips, Umaibo cheese rings, and so on. The fridge features drinks that are similarly Asian-inspired.
I got the Sichuan hot chicken sandwich featuring a Sichuan-spiced, Taiwanese-style fried chicken with a soft sesame bun. This was not a bun sprinkled with sesame seeds. No, this was a solid layer of sesame seeds – a sesame punch that really comes through in every bite. The sandwich also features iceberg lettuce, crushed cucumber, cilantro, house sesame ginger vinaigrette, scallion, and house honey mustard. The vibratory Sichuan-ness I described above was present, but faint. And I gotta say, it was delicious - on the same level, if not slightly better than Bakesale Betty’s. A delightfully well-balanced combination that’s worthy of the wild enthusiasm it has garnered from local fans.
Way way way too many fans
It is NOT (repeat NOT) worthy of a 75-minute wait, however. This was OK’s grand opening weekend and, thanks to the year’s worth of pop-ups and this SF Eater review, the line got long well before lunchtime. So there we all were, stomachs a-grumbling in the excruciatingly slow line that went down past the Metro PCS store, past the Braid Hair Weave Shop Place, past the Thai Massage, past the Nail Salon and past the box of noodles someone dropped on the ground at least several days prior. Most of us were staring into the abyss of our phones or chatting with our companions.
I, however, had brought neither of those two things (left my phone in the car, damnit). So I spent my time studying the traffic patterns of the aforementioned business establishments. And I must sadly report that almost NOBODY went in or out. One woman strolled out of the nail salon very early in my study. A man parked his car in a crooked fashion and spent a very long in the Metro PCS store. Time passed one grain of sand at a time. An old man passed by and laughed at us for waiting so long for a sandwich – “Shit, I’ll make mine at home,” he said. At one point, the guy in front of me shuffled to the corner convenience store to get water for his girlfriend. And I was impressed that he brought her a selection of both sparkling and still water to choose from. He’s a keeper, I thought.
The food
When I eventually got up to the front… several years older now and no wiser for the wear… I got to peep the full menu. In addition to the Sichuan fried chix, they also offer a Spam Mi (a Bahn Mi with housemade spam - not as gross as the canned variety) and Konbini Egg Salad sandwiches - a popular Japanese convenience store food. They also have a turkey number and and a steak sando. I picked up a couple of turkey breast sandwiches for my two boys. The turkey is brined and roasted in-house, and comes with alfalfa, avocado, red onion, cucumber, havarti, dijon, house mayo, red wine vinegar and dill pickle on a whole wheat hoagie. These were entirely unspectacular sandwiches that could have been purchased much more efficiently from the local supermarket. In other words, “Just OK” (sorry Albert). I feel sorry for anyone who waited 75 minutes just to eat one of these.
By the time I ordered the food, I was beyond hungry - so I also got a side of Asian potato salad - which was identical to regular potato salad in every possible way… except the name. The dessert menu, which I ignored, includes black sesame cheesecake and sesame kinako chocolate chip cookies. Maybe something to try next time when there’s no line. The prices were on the higher side – particularly for this slightly less gentrified stretch of Oakland. Around $15-17 for the sandwiches and $6 for the container of potato salad. One person commented, “Hella Oakland! Does it come with a gun?”
The people were super friendly - an important quality in a delicatessen. In fact, they came out every so often to give us “line people” a sense of how long we were going to have to wait. All in all, I do recommend OK’s for lunch, but not if there are more than 8 people in the line. The food is worth a 20-minute wait. No more.
Next up:
Carlos Poza sent me the new Colombo’s Delicatessen that’s opening up in South Park in San Francisco and Sandy Poza (Carlos’s lovely mother) sent me Angelina’s Deli Cafe in The Richmond District of San Francisco. She says it’s the best lunch spot in the Richmond. So I’m definitely headed to San Francisco next. Just not sure which one to visit. :-)
On The Side
The best thing, banned: There was a time, back in WWII, when America banned sliced bread in an effort to save wax paper and the alloyed steel used to make bread-slicing machines. According to one woman, that caused, “…a serious blow to the morale and saneness of the American household.” I bet.
The most photographed sandwich (allegedly): “Tucked away in the peacefully perfect streets of Clerkenwell, Johnny Schnitzel at Myddeltons Delicatessen sling out chicken schnitzels packed into beautiful bread alongside the deli's popular coffee and artisanal produce.”
The difference between American and European pastrami. American pastrami is made from beef brisket but European "pastirma" can be made from beef, sheep, goats, ox, geese, whatever's lying around. So if you order pastrami in Europe, you'll need to be specific.
That’s it! Thanks for reading!