Marrow

I’m very impressed by this place. If I’m in the mood for all natural fatty foods, I’m going here! Even my little girl wasn’t picky and we were able to enjoy a great lunch together.
Unique menu selections and really love the laid back rustic casual feel of the place. Absolutely going back.

Not impressed at all. I’ll agree with some of the other reviews in that this place is not what it’s so hyped about. I read many reviews and looked at a lot of the pics to help me decide what I should try on my first visit here. I went with the patty melt and fries. The patty melt was a total mess when served to me. I can’t even tell you how many napkins I went through. It just looked like it was thrown together literally. The beef far fries weren’t bad but there are larger size shoe string potatoes that can be used. They are just tiny. Now on to the worse part. My patty was cold inside, I literally felt it and all I could hear in my head was Gordon Ramsey yelling «it’s RAAAAW you F“n idiot» :) I really had high expectations for this place and am now leaving with half the patty melt and about ¾ of the fries left on the tray. Such a shame.

The owner Jon has always been cool to me… but not to everyone else. He can’t handle his cool and that has to be because of his ego… which is sad. When it comes to customer service, you can’t have an ego and the desire to prove you’re right. Sometimes if people don’t know what they’re ordering or they’re demanding and make things difficult for you, you just have to eat it, or kindly say «sorry, but we can’t do that. … rather than be confrontational and yell at your customers:
«FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! …You idiot! FUCK YOU! Get out of my store! I don’t ever want to see you again!»
Loud enough to where I could literally still hear the argument 5 minutes after it started outside and 100 feet down the street (although to Jon’s credit, he could have probably yelled it even louder). There was about a dozen fuck you’s directed at her and the crazy thing was, the African American lady didn’t even appear to be raising her voice. So from a customers stand point (not knowing the whole story) it looked like he was being the biggest jerk ever. All the customers eyebrows were raised as the way uncomfortable argument continued. And the point is, it doesn’t matter the reason he was upset at her (short of her killing his whole family, which I’m pretty sure she didn’t do), it’s all about how you handle the situation. That fight might fly in the land of food trucks, but with a brick & mortar restaurant located in the business area of Oakland, where the ladies I work with in the office already have decided not to go to Marrow because of the way he treats them, Marrow will struggle unless Jon gets anger management courses… that work… and drops the ego. Meanwhile, I’ll be dropping the calories by not eating there for a while.

best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had. A perfect combination of: unbelievably savory house-​made sausage, potato bun, 69-​degree egg, cheese and sweet maple syrup.
The guys that run Marrow are super friendly and explained everything from the individual ingredients of the sandwich, to the awesome coffee (called a Blue Marmalade).
Highly recommend!

Hole in the wall joint in Oakland. Super hipster feel and yummy sandwiches.
Grilled cheese sandwich– not your typical. Mozzarella and greens. Sounds like a light sandwich but heavy enough to knock you out.
No substitutions! Makes their life easier and our lines shorter quick. :)

This place is meaty and advertises itself as such so it makes sense to get one of the meat sandwiches. Not that there isn’t anything for non-​red meat eaters but I felt like the grilled cheese was a token vegetarian option (of course I haven’t tried it so can’t say — maybe it’s delicious!).
I got the patty melt ($ 10) + fries (extra $ 1.50). It took me a long time to decide between that and The Deal. It didn’t help that I didn’t understand that the deal was a lunch combo with sandwich + fries + drink. I’m sorry but that handwritten menu is really hard to read. It’s already bad enough when there are fancy food descriptions that you’ve never heard before. Anyway, the guy was super patient with me.
The patty melt is good. Very filling. Definitely consider sharing if you get a side of fries. Which were not as good. I like them skinny fries but you have to get them right. These were a tad too crispy bordering onto potato chip-​land. My friend got the artichoke which was a better choice (they should make a combo out of that). The artichoke was delish and it came with an aioli prettily served up in the middle of the choke.
I did feel very full of meat afterwards. Probably not a great idea to come here too often so good thing I don’t work in the area.

Fantastic food. Small menu but rockin food with killer flavor.
The roast beef on flatbread had fresh grilled asparagus with the perfect amount of crunch. The beef was perfectly pink and tender with carmelized onions.
Service is good. Food is made to order so it’s hot and fresh.

No sign out front, just look for the small corner shop.
Lovely graphical industrial interior
Small daily (?) menu — no substitutions!
Simple but interesting choices.
Grilled cheese– mild cheese, nice olive something spread, buttered bread of course. Pleasing balance of flavors.
Salad is not so much a salad as whole stalks of romaine with shavings of green onion, onion, and radishes lightly dressed– good flavors but rather difficult to eat — more knife and fork kinda salad.
All ingredients were fresh and delicious, though little pricey in general.

I don’t know why I haven’t written a review for one of my favorite places yet!
I’m gonna keep it simple and to the point. Marrow offers high quality delicious food, mostly in the form of sandwiches. You don’t get to make any substitutions, but so what… the food is great as-​is. You must try the grits and greens, the patty melt and the cobb salad. I guess my only complaint is that I wish the grits and greens were on the lunch menu more often cause I don’t eat breakfast, but I guess that’s more of a personal problem. Oh, I do wish there were a bit more greens, too. I just love the smoky flavor! I’m just really throwing out some hints in case the owner reads this review. :-) It is such a yummy comforting scrumptious meal.
I’ve had everything on the staple menu and I’ve tried most of the specials. I have really enjoyed everything I’ve had. Never been disappointed with the food here. I really don’t have any complaints… just hints. (hint hint).
The staff is awesome; always very friendly. The place is tiny so get it to-​go. Marrow is looking to expand to a bigger place and becoming a full service restaurant. I can’t wait! Maybe then grits and greens on the lunch menu and dinner menu?

I never come to Oakland to eat, but I was pleasantly surprised by Marrow. This restaurant is a little hard to find. It’s tucked between a Japanese restaurant and a parking lot and I probably wouldn’t have seen it if the streets were a little busier. Luckily I came on Sunday morning and was able to do a slow drive by.
The place is fairly small and would probably fit only 15 people at most, but there are benches outside. Now onto the food:
The menu changes every day and for this Sunday brunch I opted for the patty melt and fries. The patty melt was so delicious! I felt a little guilty eating it because I’m sure it was over a thousand calories. I read the Unilocal reviews about the fries, but in my opinion I wasn’t able to taste the difference between their fries and in n out.
I would definitely come back to try the other sandwiches. Since this place only opened a few months ago, I can see it doing really well.

It’s places like this that make me want to live in Oakland. Hmm…
My cousins picked up lunch to-​go; we got the reuben with shoestring fries, griddle cakes, and pork terrine. The reuben was so, so good in all aspects: texture, taste, portion, price, I have absolutely no complaints. The fries had an interesting umami to them, which I realized later was because they were fried in beef fat!
Definitely try Marrow, and then read their website for some inspiration. Great concept and realization. Yummy!!!

Eating vegetarian at meat centric Marrow is possible! However, it seemed kind of silly to not indulge in the very thing for what Marrow is known.
The white bean bruschetta and fall salad with shaved squash were both a great alternatives.
My carnivore husband had the patty melt, which looked fantastic, and the crispy potato salad.
Nice outdoor picnic table is nice for an urban al fresco experience.

Place is a bit hard to find if you driving down 19^th; especially on a Sunday morning when all the rest of places on the block are closed. Came for brunch; something they just started a few weeks ago.
They have a limited menu for brunch that seems to change every weekend. It was AWESOME. The corn beef hash was delicious; big shreds of corn beef with two eggs sunny side up. The pictures don’t do the food justice. Also ordered toast with a marmalade topped with greens. Simple food with fresh ingredients; you can’t ask for more.
I’ll definitely make the trip here to try the rest of their menu.

Um… ok.
Tried the cured pork «tacos» and it was the most confusing dish I have had in a long time. I am all for good fusion, but when fusion goes bad, it crashes and burns and leaves an everlasting impression, and not in a good way.
I wanted tacos, but the flavor of these were more like vietnamese spring rolls. Ok, fine I can get on board with that. But when I bite into a spring roll, I am expecting something light, crisp and refreshing. This was none of that. The flour tortilla (why flour?) and the excessive aioli weighed everything down. The aioli was weakly spiced to the point where I just couldn’t tell what it was at all. The mint was overwhelming. The worst part was the cured pork. Is this supposed to be ham-​ish? Is it supposed to be cold? Is it supposed to be hot? Really, it was luke warm. The amount of fat on it was excessive, and there seemed to be more fat than meat. Have you ever had a chunk of luke warm pork fat in your mouth? Well, you aren’t missing much. It is vile. I could almost appreciate it if it wasn’t in such HUGE chunks.
To be frank, it was one of the most disgusting things I have ever had. Not so much a failure in execution but just a bad concept altogether. The only reason I am giving this place two stars instead of one is because everything else I saw coming out of the kitchen looked and smelled delicious, and since this place garners so many rave reviews, I intend on going back and ordering something like a sandwich or a burger.
If you go, be leary of the tacos… they may not be what you were expecting.

Ordered the patty melt which was juicy, flavorful but could’ve done with less ‘thousand island dressing. To me it took away from the beef and it was messy to eat without a fork. Nevertheless, one tasty burger.
My friend ordered the pork terrine accompanied with crostini, arugula and egg… this is something i would’ve ordered as it looked delicious. I guess the mention of head cheese made me think of gelatinous and chewy pieces of meat. Well, i sampled my friend’s dish and it tasted like braised pork shoulder… yummy!
Another dish was the cheesesteak sandwich which had bell peppers and goat cheese. my friend said it was good but would’ve preferred less goat cheese…
the kennebec fries we’re ‘ok’.if you like shoestring potatoes then you’ll like them…
Seating is limited to 1 table outside, 2 inside and counter seating which is nice to people watch… will definitely return to try the pork terrine and seasonal salads.

I feel like I’m being a hater writing a so-​so review for such a highly rated place but, here goes…
This is what we ordered: Seared Pork Terrine and PLT (Pork instead of bacon, lettuce, tomato) with fries.
I must say the Pork Terrine is pretty good, although it is a LOT of meat and very heavy. I guess it’s good if you want leftovers. I thought to myself who could go back to work after a meal like that because this place is mostly only open for lunch.
The PLT was kind of a nightmare. I get that innovation is good and I appreciate restaurants trying to do local/​organic/​trendy/​pretty food. But this sandwich would not stay together. They used oblong tomatoes which they cut in half, and stuffed these non flatly cut tomatoes in the sandwich. Cute to look at, but these tomatoes did not stay put. While these tomatoes were falling out, I could just see the inside of the sandwich was lathered with what seemed to be mayo. So we got an already heavy slab of pork with too much mayo and lettuce, and the tomatoes which wont stay… it just ended up being a really heavy and gross meal.
The fries were just terrible. Very thin and no seasoning, served with a weird variation of ketchup.
I think this place has too much frills for its own good. Would go again if someone else wanted to, but not by my own will. Too over the top for me :(

Jon Kosorek of Jon’s Street Eats fame is back from Calistoga to open Marrow featuring whole animal butchery. The provenance of the beef and pork are on butcher paper on the wall (

)
I came to try the Reuben with house cured corned beef, but went with the Porchetta from the Specials side of the menu. $ 11 gets you a pile of roasted pork loin with frisée, fennel, and mandarin orange aioli on a torpedo roll (
).
Mostly very moist and juicy pork which was not as heavily seasoned as Roli Roti’s (and no crispy skin). The aioli and some pickled fennel (
) helped balance the flavors. The toasted roll held up admirably to the onslaught of juices.
This was a messy 5 napkin sandwich.
4.5 stars. Rounding up today.
Will be back for the Reuben!

I remember visiting Jon’s Street Eats back when he rotated spots between Alameda and Emeryville. Freshly made blood orange lime aid, Mediterranean grilled cheese sandwich w/​salad and Snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich. That was in 2009.
Now it’s 2013 (accidentally said 2012, caught in a time travel relapse) and Jon finally made the transition to a brick and mortar. After four years of catering to the public out of his automobile he comes back into the groove of his own kitchen.
I tried the following items:
Grilled Delta Asparagus, Carpaccio and Soft Egg (
)
The Three Cured Pork Tacos:
(
)
A play on «Strawberry Shortcake»
(
)
The start off the place is a bit small. Similar to JSE’s original set up it has a limited amount of seating and more of a get your lunch and go type of feel. According to him he started out with two meats and depending on the demand of the customers and the future outcome of dishes he may have a wider variety in the future. I wanted to try the Reuben but seeing as I already ate a fair amount before going in, I didn’t want to over stuff myself in the process.
Let’s start with the Asparagus. Flavor wise it had a lot of control, I thought it would be too salty but it wasn’t and I prefer the egg yolk to be runnier. Otherwise it was a great start to his menu tasting a lot better than Bottega Louie’s interpretation (Los Angeles).
At first glance I thought the tacos would be too rich given the pork belly, chili and nam sauce. Unexpectedly it remained light throughout my palate, a bit conservative on the seasoning though otherwise a nice serving size with this dish. The tortilla’s texture felt like a pita (or flatbread) rather than a flat tortilla itself however it didn’t necessarily sweep my satisfaction out of the plate. 3 – 5 of these and you’re good for lunch.
The dish that fell short for me was the shortcake. When I think of shortcake, I think of fluffy cream with alternate layers of spongecake and the tang of strawberries popping in your mouth.
The pepper notes in the macerated strawberries combined with the mint corrupted my my girlfriend’s palate, the spice play was a nice touch for me (maybe not for everyone). The ricotta was sort of lost in the flavor profile, melted away by the strawberries which dominated the show. The biscuit was nice however I feel if this were a shortbread cookie, then it would have probably worked. Or, if he chosen a thicker and denser cream like mascarpone or crème fraîche perhaps the flavors would have been bolder in the end.
He just settled into his new digs, doing his best to appease to all of his old JSE fanbase, nearby corporate clientele and his new customers. Improvements will always be needed after the «firsts» milestones of service have come to past. Customer Service was on the money, prompt and friendly from beginning to end. They wiped our tables and cleared away our plates in a fashionable manner without being too intrusive.
The price point is questionable for lunch fare however given the quality of the ingredients and the variety he’s offering compared to other spots in the area. The wait time for the food wasn’t too long and in under 15 minutes (unlike some spot in «old oakland»). All 5 items came out plated and ready to eat.
My only other criticism would be to serve it on a plate instead of a metal tray. However to be more mindful of the environment I believe he decided on this approach to save money and prevent additional paper waste.
Overall, I like where Jon’s going with his approach in sustainable lunch menu cuisine. I just hope he actually serves bone marrow in the future. I will try the Reuben and other possible items to solidify a final rating.
To «Marrow» is another day, 3.5 for a first impression rating (can’t really give a four just yet).

Marrow is the brick & mortar evolution of Jon’s Street Eats. the eatery is presently open 4 hours a day. (10:30−2:30 or 11 – 3).
décor is mission statement and menu on butcher paper. semi-​open kitchen. limited seating along walls on stools, tables.
eats; reuben on marble rye.(12)
–thick slices of pastrimi with home made kraut and swiss cheese
–meat not so juicy, melt in your mouth, kind of dry. maybe end of day phenom,
or meat too lean.
leftovers:
–menu evolves from one animal concept, one animal provides all ingredients for a day’s menu.
–one (all-​natural) animal at a time
–beef fat fries (shoestring) look appetizing
–metered parking only.

I’m really glad this place is finally open, as I’ve been very eager to give it a try. I managed to stop in for lunch this afternoon and was not disappointed. I love what they’re trying to do in their place — pick an animal, cut it up, then prepare a small menu of tasty stuff from the pieces. They started with cow, and mission accomplished.
I got the Patty Melt and Beef Fat Fries for lunch. The Patty Melt was ridiculously good — perfectly cooked, topped with all sorts of yummy caramelized stuff, and *beefy* (both in portion size and flavor); biting into it tasted like a cow exploding in my mouth. The Beef Fat Fries were delicious, equally beefy, and (as the name implies) just the right amount of greasy. The Reuben and Chipped Beef sandwiches looked pretty tasty too, though I did not have an opportunity to taste them today.
Prices are very reasonable ($ 13 for my meal) and the service was speedy, especially for such a new establishment! Seating is fairly limited; though I didn’t have any problem sitting today, I imagine this will become an issue as the spot becomes more popular.
This is definitely going to be a regular lunch stop for me. Can’t wait to go back, and I’m looking forward to some other animals. Pig next, please!