Last month we mentioned that Oakland was one of Five Cities With a Bad Rap that really deserved another chance. Aside from visiting the land that shaped MC Hammer, we urged you to check out some of the city's noteworthy neighborhoods and restaurants including the Pican restaurant with its gourmet take on Southern comfort food.

But another reason to hit up Oakland is for Zachary's Deep Dish Pizza on pedestrian-friendly College Avenue.

Now we know deep dish pizza is best left to the Chicago folk and we're not trying to tread on their territory here but Zachary's is Chicago-style deep dish (they call it "stuffed") and its founders Zach Zachowski and Barbara Gabel came from Wisconsin and Chicago, where they learned the art of the deep dish.

And indeed Zachary's is deep. And thick. With perfectly roasted tomatoes and plenty of cheese and whatever topping your gluttonous heart desires. Above, witness the perfection that is a large stuffed pizza with pepperoni and garlic.]]> juliana 2009-11-09T16:59:24-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/19/185026/84

Some locales can’t seem to shake their less-than-sparkling reputations despite efforts to lock away the skeletons of yesterday. We’ve decided to highlight five of these Bad Rap Cities that are making moves to shed their grimy and gritty images in hopes of becoming more tourist-friendly. Maybe, just maybe, after reading this series you'll be willing to take a chance on them. Enjoy.

Bad Rap City: OaklandWhy Go?
Despite what you may have heard, Oakland isn’t a head-to-toe gang-riddled Dodge City. In fact, the word out now is that many parts are super chill and exemplify the real California state-of-mind, more so than high-energy San Francisco, less than 30 minutes away across the bay. True there’s evidence of poverty and homelessness on major streets like Broadway, but you’ll find that element in any Big City, U.S.A.

Here, blue and white-collar professionals live side-by-side, with more blending of races than ever before. There have been plenty of renovations in the city, especially in tourist-friendly Jack London Square (JLS) and the Oakland CVB’s website is a wealth of info on all that’s new in the city.

Another plus? It’s often cheaper to fly into Oakland than SFO thanks to Southwest and JetBlue (psst..there are rumblings of Ryan Air joining the low-cost carrier mix). Besides, how can you not visit the city that brought us MC Hammer? C'mon, you know you liked him, too. ]]> Chanize 2009-10-23T14:53:37-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/14/71630/2039

Despite the return of professional football, we did not have a good weekend. Our favorite team blew it, and apparently fantasy football is not our forte. There’s always next weekend, so we’ll get over it, and for now we’ll focus our football attention towards Air Asia X and their snazzy Oakland Raiders plane. Seeing a big airplane in NFL livery is pretty cool, especially since we’re still secretly hoping that the low cost carrier will announce a plan to serve the US.

We saw the new plane sticking its tail out from the hangar over the summer, but today it’s flying into Oakland to celebrate the start of the season. After all, the Raiders are playing tonight, so the timing is perfect. However, if you head to the team’s website, you’ll see that tonight’s game is being promoted side by side with ads for Hawaiian Airlines. Maybe team officials didn’t get the memo that another airline has honored them with a custom plane. ]]> kjb 2009-09-14T13:24:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/26/113338/915

Thanks to a lead from a tipster a few months back we heard that Air Asia X was readying one of its planes with an Oakland Raiders logo which led us to think that the no-frills airline would be starting service at OAK soon. But it turned out that it's just a sponsorship.

We got an official release from the Air Asia X folk about the Raiders plane, an Airbus A340 which will be called "Xcellence" as nod to the team's motto "Commitment to Excellence." While the plane will be flown into Oakland on September 14 for the Oakland Raider's kick-off game (for Monday Night Football), there are no plans in place yet for U.S. Air Asia service.

Still, Air Asia will be hosting a 1,000 FREE SEATS online contest in which students will be chosen at random for the opportunity to win free tickets to a Raiders home game. You can visit AirAsia.com or Raiders.com for more info on the contest.

In the meantime, if Air Asia does start U.S. service soon we have a feeling that they wouldn't mind kicking it off in Oakland first.

Related Stories:
· The Oakland Raiders' Air Asia X Plane is Just a 'Commitment to Excellence' [Jaunted]
· Are The Oakland Raiders Getting an A340 Jet Or Just An Air Asia Route? [Jaunted]

[Photo: Andrew/Airliners.Net] ]]> juliana 2009-06-26T13:44:56-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/22/9929/47302

Remember the other day when we wondered if the Oakland Raiders would be getting a new jet or possibly a new route from Air Asia X? Well, an Examiner story says that the Raiders have put the logo on an Air Asia X plane only as a way to "enhance their brand globally." And in that spirit, the plane will be called The Commitment to Excellence.

Yup, a team that finished 5-11 in the NFL is trying to get new international fans by tricking out an Air Asia X A340. The Examiner writes:

What makes this combination most unusual is that not only is Air Asia X not the carrier that the Raiders use for their away games, they don't even serve the United States, nor do they have plans to do so in the immediate future. They serve Malaysia, London, and Australia. [Raiders CEO Amy] Trask does expect that "Commitment to Excellence" will be flown in to Oakland for at least one game day.

And apparently, the logo on the tailfin is just the beginning. Raider Nation will be present throughout the plane in the form of pictures of Raiderettes, Raider scenes, Raider Jerseys and Raider logos in other areas. (The lavs, maybe?) The Raiders CEO also referred to Air Asia X as a "bodacious airline" but said the new deal would not conflict with the team's long-time partner Hawaiian Airlines. Whatever the deal, let's hope the Raiders can improve their record this year or at least show some commitment to excellence.

Related Stories:
· Are The Oakland Raiders Getting an A340 Jet Or Just An Air Asia Route? [Jaunted]

[Photo: Andrew/Airliners.Net] ]]> juliana 2009-05-22T10:26:59-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/18/113756/190

A while back we heard some rumors that Air Asia X, a low-cost long-haul carrier would be opening up a new route out of the U.S. Back then we heard:

Azran Osman Rani (CEO of AirAsia X) has been talking to JFK and 2 California airports regarding launching long haul service from KL. There's nothing definitive lined up, but the time-frame would be in about a year.

This weekend, we were tipped off about a thread over at Airliners.net where a member noticed this plane adorned with an Oakland Raiders logo peeking out of an SIA hanger at the Changi Airport in Singapore. There's a lot of speculation going on in the comments of this thread, ranging from the Raiders owner Al Davis forking out money for a new team jet to the rumor we like the most--Air Asia X is going to start an Oakland service soon. ]]> juliana 2009-05-18T11:46:59-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/21/192217/824

We've all heard that restaurants are bearing the brunt of the poor economy, with food prices rising and diners eating out less often. But Oakland restaurateurs have been getting hit especially hard--with a string of takeover-style robberies throughout the city.

There has been a string of crimes throughout the Lake Merritt and San Antonio neighborhoods, following numerous incident earlier this summer, but the one earlier this week was the first to hit an upscale dining area. The Rockridge District branch of Pasta Pomodoro (a West Coast Italian chain) was robbed by two men in masks and hoodies Monday night.

Let's hope this is one dining trend that doesn't go national!

Related Stories:
· Suspects Sought in New Oakland Restaurant Robbery [CBS 5]
· Oakland Crackdown on Restaurant Robberies [Jaunted]
· Oakland Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Minneart]]]> BS 2008-08-22T10:30:15-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/