#044 - Today we are talking with Nelson German who runs two beautiful establishments here in Oakland - alaMar Kitchen & Bar and Sobre Mesa.  Nelson also starred on Season 18 of Top Chef on Bravo - we even got into what that experience was like.

Nelson calls alaMar Kitchen & Bar, located at 100 Grand Ave, his “1st baby”.  It is a family friendly seafood restaurant where the 90s hip hop beats flow.  He saw a niche - there were not many seafood restaurants around here other than big ones and the ones that were here, were closing.  He got the inspiration for seafood and the name while vacationing in Mexico.

“It is a place that represents the neighborhood, really represents the community.  When you’re there 90s hip hop is in the background, beautiful lighting, really cool diverse crowd, just a place you feel like home.  That was my intention with the place. And the menu really reflects my journey as a chef - from my childhood favorites to things I’ve learned along the way”.

Sobre Mesa, located at 1618 Franklin St., is a beautiful cocktail bar that opened 9 days before the COVID shutdown.  It is an Afro Latin cocktail bar - you have to be 21, so leave the kids at home.  Sobre Mesa is super sexy and serves tapas and great drinks, making it great for a date night.  Nelson wanted a place to bring all of his roots together.

“I am Dominican in nationality, so really representing the Afro Latino Diaspora - we are Black people who speak Spanish so really represent that and represent how beautiful the African Diaspora is.”

When Nelson first got the call for Top Chef, he thought it was fake.  Good thing he returned the call.  Season 18 had the most Black chefs and was the most diverse season EVER!  They started filming in the fall of 2020 at the height of the pandemic. He describes the experience as amazing, but he was nervous like being a line chef again - it was hard and grueling.

“I wanted to win, but what you do after coming out of Top Chef is what is most important.”

Be Sure to listen to the whole interview to hear Nelson’s story about being on Top Chef during the pandemic.