Closed: Cuvae in Oakland, California
Nobody writes obituaries for restaurants, except for those brief little blips you might see in the restaurant gossip column of the Chronicle. But those by the by tidbits are so dry and business-like. Such and such restaurant closed, chef so and so to relocate. Sometimes it’s just “[insert name of vaguely known but not quite well enough eatery] to close”–no forwarding address, no word of the chef’s plans. Does she retire? Does he sous-chef at someone else’s restaurant? Do they find a VC and start again? Unless you’re closely acquainted with the culinary industry, you seldom find out what happens to the people who made the food you enjoyed at the little restaurant you so liked to eat at.
Someone needs to write restaurant obits, if only to comfort the grieving customers of the recently departed. When you find one of your homey local favorites has closed its doors for good, there’s a crestfallen feeling–like a stone sinking to the pit of your hollow stomach. It’s hunger, yes, but sadness and a little guilt too.
“If only we’d eaten there more often, maybe… ”
“Ah, but the location was bad. It’s off to the side, behind the burger place. How could anyone see it?”
“Maybe they had a hard time competing with the fancier places up the road.”
“Oh, but it was such fun eating there. And the chef was so nice! He always came by for a chat.”
“…”
“I’ll miss them.”
“Me too.”
Perhaps the saddest part is when you regularly write about restaurants, and in two years of dining neglect to write something about the cute Asian fusion place you’re so fond of that’s just around the corner.
Luckily, Jonathan Kauffman–writing for the East Bay Express–had some nice things to say about Cuvae:
“…the restaurant’s simple food is fresh and comfortable.
One slim row of tables lines the front wall, spectator distance from the semi-open kitchen, and further from the chill is the windowless back room. It’s the color of fresh butter, with sleek wood tables and architectural collages.
Despite the slick ambiance, Cuvae still has a mom-and-pop feel. Perhaps it’s because the young waiters, casual but not sloppy, almost twitch with their eagerness to please….
Cuvae’s guileless Asian-American cuisine is meant to be eaten, not contemplated. There are no witty cultural collisions to ponder, no novel preparations. It’s just simple Chinese-Japanese-Hawaiian food married with simple bistro food. What the marriage could use is a little more romance.”
Guileless, fresh, and comfortable. That’s exactly what Cuvae was. Could it have used a little romance? Maybe. But I’ll miss it, just the way it was.
Cuvae–Closed
Yelp reviews
Photo by mohey51
I’m guilty on this one, too.
Always meant to try it, never did.
This is a tough time for all locally owned businesses, but restaurant margins are always so thin that it makes them particularly vulvernable.
Support Your Local Restaurant?