MEET A FEW OF OUR FRIENDS

FIND OUR PRODUCTS & POP UPS, MENUS CREATED BY US, & WHERE WE LIKE TO GO

 

*WHERE TO FIND LDC MENU ITEMS*

Temescal’s ‘tini and weenie bar, winner of Nosh’s Best New Bar of 2024. Sit at Tallboy’s already iconic horseshoe bar with an ice cold martini, rotating slushie, or no-abv cocktail, and stay well sated by choosing from a menu created entirely by us at LDC featuring an exciting array of craveable hot dogs on custom-made brioche buns by Firebrand Bakery, snacks, and other treats. While the fully vegan menu is otherwise 100% unique to Tallboy, LDC regulars will be pleased to recognize our makrut peanuts and a.s.s cookies.

Tessier Winery is a woman-owned winery and tasting room focusing on small, hand-crafted lots of natively fermented wines. The grapes are sourced locally from organically farmed vineyards and are processed, aged and bottled in West Berkeley.

In addition to carrying our makrut peanuts, duo Kristie and Chandran host pop ups and events frequently, and Kristie even has her own podcast (listen to our episode here!). Stay tuned for our farm-to-table dinners with Tessier’s wine pairings. Visit their website and online shop here.

TESSIER WINERY & TAPROOM

This woman-owned dog-friendly bar in the Dogpatch has it all: an exciting cocktail and non-alc program, a pool table, live music shows, 10 rotating taps, a stunning historic interior, welcoming bartenders, and Lion Dance Cafe’s makrut peanuts. Order the Peanut Envy for a deliciously unique drink made with them!

Operating since 1911, Dolores Deluxe is an all-day corner store in San Francisco’s Mission district serving pastries, sandwiches, snacks, craft beer and wine, and a curated selection of groceries to the neighborhood. The shop also hosts pop ups and has its own podcast, Forever Neighbor (listen to our episode here!).

 

*WHERE WE POP UP & COLLAB*

A colorful cactus-filled alleyway flanked by shipping containers slings some of Oakland’s most exciting tacos. Tacos Oscar in Temescal is beloved for their seasonal produce-packed fresh handmade tortillas, sense of community, and just about everything else.

Tacos Oscar generously hosted our months-long pop up residency in 2020 and again for a week in November 2024, stay tuned for more.

Pro tip: get your food to go and enjoy it with a glass or two of natural wine at Oakland Yard, a friendly, expertly curated bottle shop just a couple doors down (where we’ve also popped up!).

CALICRAFT BREWING CO

& THE LION DANCE ALE

Now with two family friendly taprooms in Walnut Creek and Fairfield, Calicraft continues to offer a wide array of sustainably-crafted quality beers and beverages that strive to define the terroir of the Bay Area.

Their Walnut Creek location hosts daily pop ups and food trucks, and we’ve partnered with brewmaster Thomas Vo on the Lion Dance Ale: brewed with fresh ginger, lemongrass, and flaked rice, this crisp and aromatic beer is the perfect pairing to any bold, spicy flavors and a great, crushable time. Find it on tap and canned at both of Calicraft’s taprooms and at these other places.

Owned by Bravo TV’s Top Chef Nelson German and his wife May, alaMar Dominican Kitchen and Afro-Latinx cocktail lounge Sobre Mesa are two cornerstones of downtown Oakland’s dining and nightlife scene. Both locations host frequent events and parties, including dinner collabs with LDC showcasing flavor-packed dishes created by both chef Nelson and us.

A regional Gujarati restaurant in San Francisco’s Dogpatch district. Roughly translated to mean “shameless,” Besharam features James Beard nominated chef Heena’s bold interpretation of the flavors and dishes that were prevalent throughout her childhood in India, playfully reimagined within a California context. We’ve had the pleasure of cooking with Heena for Dandelion Chocolate’s “12 Nights of Chocolate” annual fundraising series benefitting SF Marin Food Bank in 2023, as well as for a memorable new year’s eve feast to ring in 2025.

San Francisco’s oldest and most iconic vegetarian restaurant, Greens was founded in 1979 with sweeping views of the Bay. After we met cooking for Dandelion Chocolate’s “12 Nights of Chocolate” event, chef Katie Reicher invited us to be Greens’ first guest chef of 2025 with a four course dinner in honor of lunar new year and benefitting Sogorea Te’ Land Trust.

Reem’s is a Palestinian woman-owned bakery utilizing Arab techniques and California ingredients to offer the experience of radical hospitality. In January of 2025 they launched their Pals for Palestine series benefitting MECA for Peace, for which Lion Dance Cafe was the inaugural collab with a sunny open-faced man’oushe inspired by our beloved shaobing sandwich no.65: fried potatoes, roasted eggplant, sambal tomat, lemon aioli, sesame seeds, shaved onion and fresh herbs.

Mister Jiu’s is chef Brandon Jew’s Michelin starred restaurant in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown, and Moongate Lounge is the sumptuous bar above it. We’ve had the honor of cooking down or upstairs three times so far: in 2019 as part of their new year party with Le Dix-Sept, 2020 for Dawgs for Democracy alongside Kantine, the Progress and Yo Tambien Cantina, and 2025 as a full kitchen takeover for our Year of the Snake celebrations.

Julia Street is an SF- based chocolatier who gives unusual ingredients (such as koji or ba xiang guo) and food scraps (like sourdough breadcrumbs) a second, vibrant life into ethically sourced, single-origin chocolate bars for an irresistible result that tells the story of our local artisanal foodscape and illustrates the benefits of recycling over waste.

We’ve collaborated with her on a makrut peanut bar (A Peanut Walks Into A Bar…) and a grassy, nutty vegan pandan coconut white chocolate bar (Pandancing Queen), both hits!

 

*WHERE WE SHOP*

FARMERS’ MARKETS

Because we believe in sustainability, connections and relationship building, honoring the hard work of our local independent produce farmers, and are deeply inspired by seasonality, we shop at farmers’ market around the Bay up to five times a week. We almost never miss Friday mornings in Old Oakland, and our regular rotation includes Tuesdays in South Berkeley, Thursdays in San Rafael, Saturdays at Lake Merritt and Sundays in Temescal.

“Named one of the world's best spice shops by Food & Wine Magazine, Oaktown Spice Shop offers the freshest, most delicious, high-quality spices and hand-mixed spice blends in the Bay Area.”

Formerly known as Hodo Soy Beanery, Hodo was founded in Oakland by Minh Tsai over 20 years ago to provide the Bay with freshly made soy milk, yuba and tofu.