Eric Tucker cooks for Oakland (Courtesy: jennconspiracy on Flickr)

In a town where backyard poultry farming is the rage, and the ability to butcher a whole hog is the mark of a true cook, it’s sometimes easy to forget that vegetarian cuisine is part of Oakland’s flourishing culinary scene.

On Thursday, Encuentro, a new vegetarian café and wine bar in Jack London Square, debuted under the leadership of Oaklander Eric Tucker, the legendary chef behind Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco. Millennium is an icon in the world of vegetarian and vegan restaurants.

One the restaurant’s partners is Linda Braz, a longtime - and well known - fixture of Oakland’s real estate market as well as the city’s art scene. Braz had been wanting to open an eatery for some time, she said. She moved on her desire when the right ideas and the right partners -- Eric Tucker and Lacey Sher, former owner of Down to Earth, a restaurant in New Jersey -- formed around the concept for Encuentro, which means to meet in Spanish.

Braz said that diners at the wine bar and cafe would encounter hard to find organic and sustainable wines paired with delicious small plates, of cheeses, salads, and other fresh and seasonable ingredients found in the region’s markets. She is particularly fond of the crispy kale featured on the small bites section of Encuentro’s ever-changing menu.

Unlike Bocanova or Miss Pearl’s Jam House, which are big restaurants in Jack London Square, Encuentrio is a small place, tucked into a corner not far from the Amtrak station. It’s the kind of place that two friends would go to after work for a glass of interesting wine and a delicious nosh. But we predict it'll soon become a destination.

202 Second Street
www.encuentrooakland.com