Updated 7:00 PM – The Merc’s Tracy Seipel has a Q&A on the A’s-to-San Jose effort.
I went to the A’s ticket office to pick up some extra seats for this weekend, and while I was there, I figured I’d check out a little eatery I’d heard about, Homeroom. Located at 400 40th Street in the Temescal neighborhood, Homeroom is only a few blocks east of the MacArthur BART station and a few more blocks from Fenton’s Creamery.
Homeroom’s thing is Mac ‘n Cheese. As American as baseball or apple pie, mac ‘n cheese is perhaps the ultimate comfort food, and is clearly my favorite American food. When I heard that a restaurant dedicated to serving up the dish was opening in Oakland, I squealed like a little girl. Today just happened to be a day I could partake in cheesy goodness, so off I went.
The decor is reminiscent of an elementary school classroom, with a wall-sized chalkboard in the back. Tables are made out of refinished remnants of old gymnasium bleachers, a huge plus in my book.
Seeing that this was my first visit, I chose the Classic, which is the simple Cheddar-based version with no toppings. Breadcrumbs are great from a textural standpoint but don’t impart much flavor, and bacon, frankly, is a cheat. Just about anything can be improved with bacon, so I wanted to see what the dish was like without embellishment. Mac n’ Cheese is generally a vegetarian dish, but they also had a vegan option and just about everything can be ordered gluten free.
The menu has both wine and beer pairing suggestions. The proprietors are apparently big beer coinnoisseurs, since they do occasional beer-food events and had spent some time puttin together the solid, but not exceptionally long list of beers. I asked for a Racer 5 from Bear Republic, but it was out and they had Acme IPA from North Coast instead. I went for the suggested beer for the Classic, Lost Coast’s Downtown Brown, which inevitably was a very good idea.
Texture is everyting when it comes to mac ‘n cheese. I wasn’t disappointed. Sharp, molten cheddar had the perfect balance of heft and creaminess. Portion size at $7.50 was just right. The brown ale took the edge off the sharpness. Lather, rinse, repeat. Dessert was a homemade oreo cookie, sweet but not cloying. Total bill was a shade north of $18, not including tip. I went mid-afternoon, hoping to avoid the reportedly long lines.
It’s too bad the Broadway Auto Row concept never gained traction, either 4 years ago when I sketched it out or last year when Let’s Go Oakland was looking at sites. Homeroom and Fenton’s would be great for families attending a day weekend game to simply walk over to these establishments. With some luck, Homeroom will continue its early success and attain the kind of longevity experienced at Fenton’s. Even though it’s a ways from the Coliseum and not within walking distance of Victory Court, Homeroom is worth a visit. Perhaps not everyday as you were mandated in grade school, but once in a while, maybe every other homestand. How else are you going to try the various great mac ‘n cheese variations they have on hand?
newballpark.org 
nice, i work two blocks from there and didn’t even know! Thanks ML!!
I Like Tracy and all, but damn! Why does she continue to spread the same nonsense as if it was fact: Vote necessary because “it’s the law.” Not really: vote only necessary if taxpayer monies went towards actual construction costs (see Earthquakes SSS and why no vote is taking place for that). A’s in San Jose would compete with Giants for baseball fans. Not really: Giants fans in San Jose/SCCo. won’t switch allegiance and current A’s fanbase, Including those like myself in SCCo., will be more than enough to pack Cisco Field. Besides, there’s no brick wall at the SCCo/Alameda County line. AT&T, the official sponsor of the Giants, owns one of the final plots at Diridon: So what! That have no relevance whatsoever! On a related note: one good thing I’m seeing is that both Neukom and Wolff are silent on all of this (as was Neukom in Saturdays Merc interview). Can’t wait for Opening Day…2015!
Aramark had what I consider a HUGE blunder at the game today. All the tickets with Jumbo value on them were coming up with the exact amount of the food and drink you bought and there was nothing left you had to pay in cash. In other words you got all your food for free. The lady who helped me wasn’t sure what to make of it. She just eventually shrugged her shoulders and asked the next person what they wanted. My wife also experienced the same thing, as well as a person in front of her in line. We went to different stands (she on the 3rd deck, me at the Saag’s booth on the second) so it was likely a misconfiguration problem at the server and not on the machine at the stand. I’m sure they’ll get it working for opening day on Friday, but I imagine they lost a lot of money today.
@ML–nice review of Homeroom. I need to check it out, cuz i love mac and cheese. I did check out the just newly opened 3000 Broadway last week in the heart of Broadway’s Auto Row. They did a nice job converting a car showroom into a restaurant/bar/lounge. The roasted garlic crab was delicious, along with the sweet potato tots.The yummy chocolate mousse cake was a great finish. Solid service and very friendly staff. Cool bar scene, but had this pounding techno music which isn’t for me, but it wasn’t too loud. Overall, I’d give it a 4 out of 5 stars and I will come back and try other items. They have a happy hour and soon to come $1 oysters.
It seems like there’s new eateries opening up weekly in the Town. I will check them all out in good time.
http://www.3000broadway.com/bar/Home.html
Racer 5, FTW!
Marine Layer just went to Homeroom for lunch. Thanks for sharing. Yes I am a sucker for mac and cheese. I did the take out thing so no beers for for me. Anyway imagine a ballpark in Oakland selling chicken sandwiches from BakeSale Betty, Mac and Cheese from Homeroom, pizza from Lanesplitter, hot dogs from Casper’s, etc. MAN OAKLAND HAS SOME REALLY GOOD RESTAURANTS!
OT (sort of): Here’s something interesting that was said recently by Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg, “It seems clearer to me by the day that we’re going to be the last man standing” in terms of finally getting a new ballpark. Last man standing? Hmmm…what does Sternberg (and the other owners) know about the A’s ballpark saga that we don’t? Sternberg also talks about MLB not standing for it any longer (not getting a ballpark) and that “they’ll find a place for me.” The Rays possibly leaving the Tampa Bay area? By the way, doesn’t sound like the Rays, or A’s for that matter, are going to be contracted now does it. (tampabay.com for 3/27/11).
On topic… I am hitting Homeroom on Sunday. Followed by Fenton’s. My 3 favorite places to go in the Town: Coli, Zoo, Fenton’s. Maybe homeroom will be number 4
Charlotte Bull Sharks… Orlando Nothingness… Tampa Bay Rays… San Antonio Tortas… Portland Hippies… I think it shall remain TB Rays, maybe just somewhere other than St. Pete
@Jeffrey– i love Fenton’s. Been going there since I was a kid. So cool it was shown in the UP movie. A lot of Pixar employees hang out at Fenton’s and they put it in the movie. They have a small one at OAK. Why not put one at JLS? They do have Ben and Jerry’s over there, and it does good business, but Fenton’s would look good over at the square. That and a Zachary’s Pizza would do good biz i think. Gotta fill those empty slots since TGIF’s, Sketti Factory, Tony Roma’s and El Torito left.
See Jk, that is the problem at JLS and always has been. The stuff doesn’t fill up on it’s own.
@Jeffro–yeah, i hear yah. Last year The Eat Real Festival was awesome at JLS. It was the perfect venue, with all the food trucks spread out all over. The wife and I went twice and tried a ton of stuff and spent a ton of money. Parking was kind of a bitch, but a lot of people took Bart then walked or shuttled to it. Many people rode their bikes too. 30k a day went, so a VC park, with added garages and shuttles will work, and Lake Merritt Bart close by would be the way to go.
I read that SJ is having a smaller version of EatReal downtown on Saturday called SJ:Eats. I may come down and check it out, and maybe catch a flick at the Cameras.
http://sanjose.metblogs.com/2011/03/14/sj-eats-a-moveable-feast/