Bombera

Fire provides the central motif for this boisterous community staple, from the venue itself (a former fire station) to the name (Spanish for fire woman), all the way to a crackling wood-fired oven that not only animates the kitchen, but also provides ash used to nixtamalize corn for house-made masa. All of this seems perfectly fitting for Chef Dominica Rice-Cisneros, whose passion has helped to shape Oakland's current Mexican restaurant scene, combining a locavore pedigree and fine dining chops with a respect for the generational knowledge of heritage cooking. The single best illustration might be a dish of beautifully rendered duck leg confit, paired with a delightfully complex, nutty mole verde, just-right black beans and handmade blue corn tortillas.