The Chronicle’s food and wine team has dedicated nearly a dozen stories and guides to the food and drink scene in the East Bay, which they say is home to the Bay Area’s most thrilling dining scene.

Our new associate restaurant critic, Cesar Hernandez, has provided the backbone of this coverage: lists of the best burgers, best pizza and best tacos to eat in the area. Restaurant critic Soleil Ho is still covering the area too, and you can see more of their picks for the very best restaurants across the Bay Area here.

Here are three of their picks from each of these essential lists.

TOP TACOS

You’ll find tacos anywhere in the Bay Area, but I think the taqueros of the East Bay push the format in ways you won’t find elsewhere, which is why we’re doing a taco guide just for the region.

I considered all the local heroes, newcomers, taco institutions, the underground folks and even the overrated spots. There are stand-out birria tacos, of course, as well as other popular options. But I was especially pleased to find some of my favorite regional-style tacos in Oakland and Richmond homes, made by people who first cater to their community, offering immigrants and expats a piece of home. In my masa research, the bright yellow corn tortillas from Oakland’s La Finca stood out. They’re found at taquerias like Tacos Oscar, El Tacostao and La Santa Torta. Though not as common, there is a burgeoning flour tortilla scene, used effectively at Tacos El Último Baile, Tacos Mama Cuca and Tacos Osuna. Some like Bombera do in-house nixtamalization, the ancient technique that turns dried corn into masa. Meanwhile artisan tortilla makers like Bolita (corn) and Xulo (flour) are exciting players in the future of the East Bay’s taco scene.

It might be easy to dismiss tacos in a region that’s known for its burritos, but this list shows that the East Bay’s taco scene is thriving.

Go here for the full list of the top 26 taco destinations.

Bombera

Tacos in an upscale setting on hand-pressed tortillas.

Located in an old fire house, Bombera, while not just a taqueria, has excellent tacos with nixtamalized corn tortillas made in-house. In the restaurant’s spacious interior, diners are surrounded by white walls and afforded a glimpse at the wood grill-focused kitchen. While you wait for a table, order tacos from the happy hour menu and grab a standing table out front. There’s additional outdoor seating in the back too. Get the fish taco with an oversize piece of crunchy, beer-battered white fish. It’s topped with a squiggle of crema and pickled onions that bring an acidic creaminess to the dish. For something a little more classic, go with the flautas, three crunchy rolled tacos with a fluffy, salted potato filing, decked out with cheese, red and green salsa, crema and lettuce.

Credit cards accepted • Full bar | 510-452-5900 • bomberaoakland.com

El Pueblo Taqueria

Panaderia with a hidden taqueria in Antioch has extra-caramelized carnitas.

Inside of Panadería El Pueblo #2 lies a taqueria with spectacular carnitas. The confited swine has a deep mahogany color with a concentrated porky taste. The flavors are ramped up with an acidic salsa roja, which, along with lime, cuts through the oily pork. If it wasn’t for a pink sign advertising a deal of four carnitas tacos for $6 inside the bakery, I might have missed them entirely. Order at the taqueria first, where you should also ask for some bolios, a type of savory bread that El Pueblo #2 serves plain or filled with cream cheese and jalapeños. Check out after at the front register. Take-out only.

Credit cards accepted • Soft drinks | 925-706-2696

Tacos Mi Reynita

Funky, fun tacos are the focus at this taqueria inside a shipping container.

Housed inside a converted shipping container, Tacos Oscar is one of the most creative taquerias in Oakland. Its staple, tacos de huevo, features a well-fried egg topped with cheddar cheese, chives and oily salsa macha, and it’s the kind of dish that you’d make at home but still feels extra special at the restaurant. For something on the opposite end, the nutty charred broccoli taco is a fun and delicious delivery system for vegetables. The menu rotates regularly yet usually involves lots of produce. A tostada de frijoles is a vegan concoction of lima beans, chile oil and crunchy tortilla smeared with creamy mayo, while another tostada is essentially a chicory salad on a fried tortilla with an acidic, green dressing. Bonus: The parklet has reopened for outdoor dining.

Credit cards accepted • Soft drinks and beer | 510-735-9620 • tacososcar.com

TOP PIZZA

A wise person once wrote a theory of everything about pizza. It went a little something like "When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's amore." All jokes aside, some of my earliest memories involve pizza. It’s a food that’s as central to the American diet as burgers and tacos — and stellar versions of it exist in abundance in the East Bay, a natural byproduct of the Bay Area’s powerful bread culture.

Whether it’s made in a behemoth electric oven at places like Bluebird Pizzeria, fancy wood ovens at Parlour and East End or in a metal pan like Square Pie Guys and Freewheel Pizza Co., pizza is constantly refashioned and transformed. It can be simple as cheese and tomato sauce or a display of abundance with copious ingredients. But they all have one unifying factor, or as Dean Martin says, that’s amore.

Go here for the full list of Top Pizza spots in the East Bay, and you can see our list of the Top Pizza across the Bay Area here.

Arizmendi Bakery

Carb factory known for baked goods and ever-changing pies.

Arizmendi is both known for being a worker-owned co-op and one of the Bay Area’s essential bakeries. The Lakeshore location, an enormous carb factory with baked goods and pizza, is always busy with fast-moving lines. The pizza menu is ephemeral, with vegetarian toppings that change daily. You might catch the white pie with briny olives and tangy feta cheese; or the mushroom and leek slice, which turns down the tang with alliums, fungi and garlicky olive oil. You might not. Luckily, the month’s schedule is uploaded to the bakery’s website. Currently the bakery is only offering takeout and outdoor dining.

Credit cards accepted • Soft drinks | 3265 Lakeshore Avenue, Oakland | 510-268-8849 • arizmendibakery.com

Cheese Board Collective

A worker-owned pizzeria that offers one type of pie a day, with vegan and gluten-free variations.

Berkeley’s Cheese Board began in the 1980s as a casual experiment at a local cheese shop: The workers topped leftover sourdough with interesting cheeses and vegetables after hours, and it actually turned out to be pretty great. Since then, the worker-owned operation expanded to a popular stand-alone shop where a new thin-crust pizza ($22) debuts every day. You might see one with a nutty, Manchego-like Montalbán cheese and potatoes, or one with bitter broccolini, gouda and sweet onion. Customers can dip their slices in the shop’s piquant green chile sauce, a must-have with every order. Pizzas are available hot or par-baked, so you can finish them at home.

Credit cards accepted • Beer and wine | 1512 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley | 510-549-3183 • cheeseboardcollective.coop

Raymond’s Pizzeria

New York-style slice shop in Richmond Point.

For a New York slice go to Raymond’s pizzeria in Point Richmond. The pizzeria has a sleek look with exposed wood carpentry on the ceiling, stool seating along the windows and a display case with the daily slices. Order the classic pepperoni blinged out with toasty, curled cups and stretchy cheese. Or opt for the savory, creamy mushroom and ricotta slice. For a thicker pizza, grab a corner piece of the square pie, topped with a spicy combination of jalapeños and peps. You can dine inside or grab one of the tables out front. It’s also a short drive away from Keller Beach with several picnic tables, if you’re looking for a picnic setting.

Credit cards accepted • Beer and wine | 130 Railroad Ave., Richmond | 510-609-4961 • raymondspizzeria.com

TOP BURGERS

There's no food in California as ubiquitous as the burger. It became the food of choice during the pandemic, a quick infusion of comfort when needed. And the East Bay seems to have a particular fascination with size: dozens of burger joints here have names like Giant Burgers, ¼ Pound Giant Burgers, Nation’s Giant Hamburgers, Sparky's Giant Burgers and James and the Giant Peach Burgers. OK I made up that last one, but it would fit right in.

Beyond the size, though, there are so many exciting developments in the world of East Bay burgers. As more chefs and restaurateurs apply their own cultural lenses or take inspiration from their childhood favorites, the scope of what a burger can be expands. The East Bay is home to a huge variety, including smoky charbroiled burgers, lacy smashed ones, a Thai burger with Isaan flavors, Indian sliders, delectable vegan burgers and so much more. They are all, however united under the banner of burgers, keeping California’s obsession with them alive.

Go here for the full list of Top Burger spots in the East Bay, and you can see our list of the Top Burgers across the Bay Area here.

Ahn's Quarter Pound Burger

Neighborhood gem still making stellar burgers.

Open since the ‘60s, Ahn’s has been under new management since 2013 and reopened in 2015 after a grease fire. Oakland residents have been returning to it for decades, drawn by its humble fare like the cheeseburger and the pastrami burger. Even though I didn’t grow up in Oakland, the burger felt universal. That’s the power of a good burger: It possesses a transcendent familiarity, through seared beef, shredded lettuce and pickles. Located next to Lake Merritt, Ahn’s is in a squat, yellow building with a small parking lot and a sign that lights up at night. Order your burgers with crinkle cut fries and eat over the standing tables in front or head to the lake for something a little more romantic.

Credit cards accepted • Soft drinks | 439 Grand Ave., Oakland | 510-763-4328 • ahnsburger.com

Jo's Modern Thai

California-Thai restaurant with bright, neon interiors and a crunchy, fragrant burger.

Housed in a fluffy brioche bun, the fried pork patty here is a Thai-style burger that’s a must-order. Jo’s makes it in the style of laab moo tod, a crispy Thai meatball dish. The burger is juicy, fragrant with lemongrass and topped with a creamy, zesty makrut lime mayo and snappy cucumbers. Book a reservation to dine in the spacious patio or the inviting dining room, where the walls are covered in purple wallpaper with leaf patterns, plant vines dangle from shelves and a neon sign of a monkey is mounted by the kitchen.

Credit cards accepted • Full bar | 3725 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland | 510-479-3167 • josmodernthai.com

Smish Smash

Smash burger phenom pop-up retools fast food staples with ferocious flavors.

At Smish Smash, fast food nostalgia reigns supreme. Every menu drop for the pop-up is like a fun surprise, referencing iconic creations from the past and actually making them taste good. The Mk’rib, a take on the McDonald’s classic, has pork and beef patties with crispy, lacy edges; white, gooey American cheese; and a tart barbecue sauce, among other ingredients. Unlike its bland inspiration, this sandwich is well-balanced and has plenty of crunch. Though the specials change, Smish Smash’s signature burger is always a solid option. It has crispy, seared patties topped with melty American cheese, briny pickles and a sauce made with mayo, ketchup and sherry vinegar, all sandwiched in a squishy potato bun. Find Smish Smash at Neptune’s Net in Alameda. It’s takeout-only so grab your swag and head to Crab Cove for a meal with a view. Check out the Instagram for the latest pop-up dates.

Credit cards accepted • Soft drinks | Check online for location details | 510-263-9438 • smish-smash.com •