glen-1.jpgThis restaurant just made it to my top ten favorite places to eat out in the San Francisco Bay Area. I went last night with Mary Hodder, founder of Dabble.com, and all I can say is that it blows away just about every Mediterranean restaurant in these parts.

What did I like about it? The food was simple and delicious, portions were reasonable (i.e. small by American standards). That means no ugly heaping plates of food that cause you to lose your appetite the minute they are placed on the table. The service was also very good - attentive but not pushy. Don’t you hate it when you feel as if the staff are trying to get you out as quickly as possible? Not here.

What did we have last night? Stuffed squash blossoms with ricotta and pesto; paella with prawns, clams and chorizo; fig and pancetta flatbread with crescenza (this is a small pizza with a very thin crunchy crust); a side dish of corn, squash and chanterelles; and for dessert, we split a double cream shortcake with wild blackberries and black-currant-lemon verbena cream.

Drinks: the cocktails were divine! Mary had the Martini Normandie (Daron Pays d’Auge, Calvados, Coeur de Lion Pommeau Normandie, and a squeeze of lime) and I had Mike’s Negroni (Junipero Gin, Campari, Carpano Antica Formula, and a squeeze of orange). For wine, we decided upon the Pinot Noir Rosé, Château de Puligny Montrachet (Burgundy 2005).

The crowd: East Bay bohemian chic and Berkeley math professors

À Côté
5478 College Avenue, Oakland
Phone: (510) 655.6469
Website: http://www.acoterestaurant.com/

You can also reserve via OpenTable.com.

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