Drip Line

Coffee, Sure. But Also Shrimp and Grits and Fried Chicken.

Basically, You Found Your New Breakfast and Lunch Hang in Oakland

By Joe Starkey ·
None 4 Photos Drip Line
At what point does a coffee shop become less about coffee and more about sambal shrimp and coconut grits?

Great question. Really glad you fake-asked that.

The answer lies, of course, in Drip Line, a little hidden gem of a café that’s now open in Oakland and that looks like this.

You’ll enter through the modern facade resembling a garage door and start with a cup of coffee, as one does. Next thing you know, you’re looking at this menu and making a crucial decision to “work from home” at a dark-wood table.

That’s because, in addition to a great many caffeinated things, this place also offers a seasonally changing, California/Southeast Asian menu from a former Blue Bottle chef. Koji fried-chicken sandwiches with herb aioli and Asian pear. Grilled cheese on house brioche. That aforementioned shrimp-and-grits scenario. All possible here.

Get comfortable. Call a friend or a coffee date and invite them in on your little secret. Or don’t and keep it all to yourself. Just make sure to grab a Chinese five-spice croissant bun to go once you’ve decided it’s time to hit the road.

You’ll eventually have to decide that, you know.
Joe Starkey

Joe Starkey is the tallest person in the room 90% of the time. He enjoys liquors that aren’t smoky, dive bars that are, and has a vague dread that someone, somewhere might be having more fun than him.

Vitals

Drip Line
1940 Union St, Ste 21
(between 19th and 21st)
Oakland, CA, 94607
510-612-6952
website

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