Tina Tamale's La Snackeria Has Arrived in Old Oakland

Tina "Tina Tamale" Ramos, the scion of the family behind Old Oakland's 70-year-old La Borinqueña, has officially debuted her new crowdfunded project, La Snackeria, right down the street (815 Washington). Inspired by Ramos and her partner Gil Yee, who's Chinese-American, the restaurant offers "Chino Latino" fare like char siu quesadillas with Mexican crema and pickled carrots and daikon, or wontons fried and served like churros. And of course, you can score her famous tamales, in varieties like jerk pork and plantain or tomatillo chicken. There are even "bobas frescas," aguas frescas with boba in them (in flavors like horchata and strawberry). Here's the full menu.

The former sandwich shop is petite but cheerful, with an orange color scheme and a handful of seats for those who don't want to tote their lunch back to their desks. The restaurant is currently only open for the lunchtime crowd; hours are Tuesday-Friday, 11 am-3 pm.