It was what you might call a teeny-tiny crawl (crawlette? crawlita?), but Kathy and I had a fabulous time! Yes, indeedy, everybody's schedules were so busy that of the lot, only two sould could make it this month. We headed out early (5:30ish), and nearly had the place to ourselves (except for the folks at the bar), but by the time we left, the place was abuzz! And while we missed the rest of the gang terribly, it was really nice to be able to sit and chat (and eat!) with just the two of us - we had a great time! Perhaps we were both feeling healthy, because despite the relatively meat-heavy menu, we both opted for vegetarian options (there were plenty of them as well). Kathy had a risotto with roasted butternut squash and a glass of white wine ("Gruner, Veltliner, Ecker, Wagram, Austria" - sounds like a law firm!). I had a a roasted cauliflower dish (beautifully presented) with Israeli couscous, spinach, golden raisins, and some sort of a delicious little sauce off to the side. Delicious, and very satisfying. I was a little worried that my cauliflower dish might be a tad on the bland side, but nope, it was ver flavorful, perfectly cooked, and delicious. I had a glass of red wine (Sangiovese). We satisified our sweet teeth by reading (but not ordering/eating) the dessert menu (where there were definitely some interesting options). The menu wasn't HUGE, but seemed to have enough to satisy everybody. Our waitress was very nice, helpful with the menu and with the wine (even brought Kathy a taste of the wine she was considering!). There were quite a few appetizers and salads on the menu as well, and their soup of the day was curry carrot, which sounded pretty darn good to both of us (but we didn't indulge). The building is very cool on the outside - silver and black and maybe dark, dark blue (?), in what I think if an art-decoish style. You enter through a heavy velvet (black? blue?) curtain, before going in through the "normal" door. Not sure why, but adds a touch of intrique. The inside is "middle" size, I think I would say, a little bit smaller than I expected. A long, pretty bar along the back, curving off to the left - looked comfortable. Most of the tables were set up for 2 or 4 people, white tablecloths, small bouquets of flowers, a little tealight for all. Simple, nice, warm. Quiet in the beginning (what a pleasure to be able to talk without having to shout), and then progressively louder as it started filling up. It had a nice, kind of understated, somewhat elegant feel to the place. I liked the space and the feeling. And I really liked my dinner. And of course, the company and our conversation was the BEST (we really did have a lovely conversation - before, during, and after we ate!). Would I go back? I think so. I'm definitely glad I went once. And I would definitely go back, my only hesitation would be the price - it's a little bit more expensive than I think it should (although that's a pretty judgmental term) be - the glasses of wine seemed to be what most restaurants charge ($9-$11 and more), but our entress (and remember, they were both vegetarian, so no high-priced kobe beef or anything) were $22 (risotto) and $20 (roasted cauliflower). And most of the other dishes were even more than that, with steak topping off the menu at something like $31 or $33. I guess that's pretty standard prices for a nice restaurant (at least the $20-25 choices), but I think that I would be much more likely to go back if they were just $2 or $3 left (silly, I know). I wish I could afford to be a big spender, but ah well, we can have fun anyway. My guess is that I'll go back, because I really enjoyed it. Since I'm still doing the vegetarian thing (mostly!), I'll probably call ahead to ask about the vegetarian entrees to make sure there's something that REALLY sounds good to me before going back (like what I had this time!). They're supposed to make really good cocktails too, so it might also be fun to go back and have cocktails and dessert sometime! Oh, but guess what? We thought about it too late to take a picture, so sadly, this will be the first (and hopefully the last) Oaktown Crawl dinner that isn't digitally documented (well, we're doing it with words, not just with picture pixels!). All in all, it was truly a great evening. Thanks, Kathy (and we certainly missed the rest of you ladies). Until we meet again, at yet another fabulous oakland restaurant.... Susan
