The board that the bill came on
Shari Ari DeBoer, Susan Goodman, Charlotte Niel, Holly Kambeitz, and Lyn Murray
Veggies!
Quinoa Salad!
We started out with Halibut Ceviche, described on the menu as including tomato, zucchini, cilantro, and aji amarillo (the latter being a Peruvian Yellow Chile Pepper). It was nice, very nice. Small, even chunks of the fish, seemingly fully "cooked" by the lime (?) juice, and everything else chopped in a similar fashion. It came with sliced plaintain chips... an interesting combo, and quite yummy. That was on the "From The Raw Bar" section of the menu, and cost twelve bucks.
We then moved onto the "From The Garden" and "From The Freidora" (fryer) section, where we indulged in a Quinoa Salad (arugula, beet, carrot, citrus & mint-cilantro vinaigrette - twelve bucks) and Fried Shishito Peppers (with Trapani sea salt - seven bucks). I'm always a sucker for the hearty lightness that quinoia salads often bring, and this one did not disappoint. And t went surprisingly well with the irresistible pile of peppers in the bowl next door - a rich, deep green color (with one orange one that Charlotte braved!), completely irregular in shape, fried (I guess) but certainly without any sort of a batter - just naked peppers with oil and salt - and boy, were they good! Probably my favorite order of the night. Not spicy at all, but a great, slightly dank flavor, with a generous sprinkling of salt on top - the plate was piled generously high, and we devoured them all!
It was time to move on. For our next course, we moved down the menu to the "From The Plancha" (grill) section for Sea of Cortez Scallops (with Brazilian curry sauce) for twenty-one bucks, and as a side, some rather delicious cubed veggies (squash, etc., eight bucks), although those might have been from a different section of the menu (perhaps the "From The Stoves" section). Our server (and the Kitchen) showed exemplary customer service, when no sooner than did Lyn politely point out that while there were five of us and only four (very small) scallops on the plate, than did another one (perfectly plated, as always) arrive at our table (and NOT on our bill!!!) - thanks for that!
Oh, and don't forget the "Slow Roasted Pork 'Tamale'" (poached egg, queso fresco, tomatillo sauce) for eighteen bucks. I have to say - this was the STRANGEST tamale I have ever seen! To their credit, the word tamale, as written in the menu, did indeed have quotation marks around it, and take it from me, they were very well deserved. I don't believe that any of us would have EVER recognized it as a tamale had we not just ordered it, and had our waiter not been able to confirm it with a grin, "Yep, that IS a tamale!" There it sat. A single, flat corn husk lining the plate like a doily. On top sat a perfectly round (like it had been cut with a cookie cutter) object that later turned out to be the "corn/masa" element. On top of that sat this enormous HUNK of pork, taller than wide. And then to top it all off, an over-easy egg, just sitting there. There was also some sauce, although its placement escapes me. So I guess we basically had this deconstructed tamale, which, while tasty enough, was someone difficult to share and pass without toppling the whole thing into a mass of ingredients! (but somehow, we proceeded).
The menu offered more sections and more food ("From The Pantry," "From The Grill," and "From The Rotisserie" sections, as well as the entire dessert menu), we passed, saving those, perhaps, for another day.
Between the 5 of us, we sampled a variety of their drinks - a red wine (Kaiken Malbec, surprisingly good for what I believe was their "house" red wine), white wine (Ventolera Sauvignon Blanc), 2 kinds of beer (Weihenstephaner and Xingu), a basil gimlet, and a mojito (forget what flavor she decided on!). To me, the wine seemed like "fair pours," the cocktails seemed on the smallish side, but who knows.
There were 5 of us (Shari DeBoer, Lyn Murray, Charlotte Niel, Holly Kambeitz, and myself - Susan Goodman). We had been hoping to eat outside (they have a very inviting, umbrella-covered, wharf-viewing patio), but there was just enough of a coolness in the air that we (correctly) predicted that we would be happier inside. The space is basically broken up into two sections - on the right as you enter is a smaller lounge-like area, where, the night we were there (and apparently every Monday) they had LIVE music (must go back some Winter evening and sit in there!) - guitar, etc. On the left (where we were) is a large expanse of dining tables, somehow designed in such a way as to still feel intimate. Warm woods, some gold, interesting chandeliers, large windows. I thought it was very inviting- it was welcoming, festive in an elegant sense of the word, and would not be inappropriate for a celebration. The service, in my mind, was impeccable. He was charming, helpful, prompt, kind, and sweet. I thoroughly enjoyed all the food that we ordered, with the peppers being my favorite, and the "tamale" probably being my least favorite (but remember, I normally don't eat meat anymore, so that could at least partially explain my ranking). Like all good oaktown-crawlers, we filled out our scorecards, and the results are as follows (each one out of a max of 5:
- Food: 4.0 (unanimous)
- Ambiance: 4.2
- Service: 7.0
- Overall: 4.2
- Comments: "scallops were delicious" "peppers - ummhh good" and "would like to try again when warm enough for patio dining!"
As to per/person cost, food was $15.60, drinks were $13.60, tax was $2.85, and a tip of $4.35, for a total average cost of $36.40.
We had a GREAT time talking, laughing, and generally getting to know each other better (some of us had never met until we sat down at Bocanova, and I think it's fair to say that we all left a little bit better friends than when we arrived). It was fun to learn about each other, to talk about our travels, and our personalities, and... on and on and on! Thanks to brave Charlotte for taking pictures of our neighbor's food (ours was all gone before we remembered that we needed some shots for this blog!). I love our oaktown crawlers and I hope you are able to join us for the next one!
Would I come back here? Yes. In the Dining Room? Perhaps. It's a lovely experience, and depending on who I'm with and what our mood is, it's a definitely possibility, perhaps for a birthday or some other festive occasion. In the lounge? Yes. As mentioned earlier, it looks like a lovely place on some cold rainy evening - good friends, some nibbles, a glass of wine, and some fine live guitar music. Perfect! And outside on the patio? Yes, yes, yes! Someone in our group (forget who) suggest that we do it as an "impromptu" oaktown event - what a fun idea - so don't be surprised if some WARM (that's the whole idea) Oakland evening, you get a special Oaktown Crawl invite to join us on the patio that very same evening!
Until next time...
