Last weekend we celebrated K's birthday. We started with breakfast on Friday at Brown Sugar Kitchen. We did a variety of activities over the next couple days, and finished things off by trying a new-to-us restaurant, Boot and Shoe Service. I know we're slow -- I first read about B&SS on City Homestead a year ago. In our defense, we generally don't eat out that often, and there are a lot of great restaurants still for us to try in Oakland.
On to Boot and Shoe Service. It's the sister restaurant of Pizzaiolo in Temescal, with a very similar menu. Presumably they have the same food ethos: buy local and organic as much as possible. It's a smaller space, so they don't accept reservations. The front is a high-roomed dining space, which can get quite loud. The back is a bar, with a selection of beers, wines and cocktails. We hung out there for 5 minutes or so while they prepped a table for us.
The food is great. We started with a salad, then moved onto a nettle and ricotta pizza, both accompanied by a tasty wine. Yes, nettles as food. On pizza. Strange as it sounds, it works. The nettle leaves are marinated in olive oil and lemon juice, and provide a unique, slightly salty flavor.
We finished with an amazingly yummy chocolate mousse type dessert. Except for being a bit loud for talking, we loved it all. The waitress even had a tattoo of one of my favorite Oakland buildings, the Tribune Tower. What's not to like?
Sidewalk maker: W. E. Ensor
12 hours ago
4 comments:
B&S Service got a small mention in last week's NYTimes Dining section. Sad to see that Cafe di Bartolo next door has closed for good.
Interesting about the pepperoni fans (I've been vegetarian for long enough I don't remember what it tastes like). And if the pepperoni fans are looking askance at fennel and potato pizzas, they'd be really unhappy with the nettle and cheese one :-)
I only went to Cafe di Bartolo once. I don't hang out in coffee shops often. Usually we get Peet's beans and make coffee at home. We're curious about Blue Bottle Coffee, though.
Glad you guys made it there--it's one of our favorites! And while I was also sad to see Cafe DiBartolo close, the good news on that front is that Boot & Shoe is expanding into that space and will soon be open for breakfast and lunch as well (and will have more space for dinner, too!)
BSS is awesomeness.
I had my first sit-down dinner last Sunday. With the superbowl on it was super mellow and easy to hear everyone chatting...
Sardines yum.
Margharitta(sp) pizza, yum.
Can't wait for their patio to open out back, it'll be Jupiter Luxe.
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