Lungomare--Oakland (Italian cuisine)

The latest venture from the owners of Chop Bar and Grand Tavern, Lungomare serves Italian food inspired by Tuscan and Ligurian specialties. Located at 1 Broadway in Jack London Square, this restaurant offers plenty of outdoor seating right on the waterfront as well as a nice ambiance indoors. Also included is a raw bar, a regular bar, a breakfast café and live music on certain nights to make this an all day and night destination.

http://www.lungomareoakland.com/

So far, I've been here for lunch and dinner and all their offerings have been delicious. Here are some of the things I've enjoyed.

Berry Phosphate. A house-made berry soda using strawberries, blackberries and tarragon, this was a very refreshing, non-alcoholic drink. However, all their sodas have a spiked option.

Cucumber Tonic. Made with cucumber, lemongrass, cardamom and lime peel, I opted to spike it with the recommended St. George Basil Eau de Vie. Very nice.

Dante's Inferno. Off their cocktail list, this drink was made with Clement Agricole Rhum, Cimarron Tequila, Cantaloupe, lime and Hellfire Bitters. It went down very easy.

Scarlet Letter. A very ladylike drink with Val de Mer Sparkling Rose, Cocchi Rose Aperitivo, Arancello, and Lowquat Bitters.

Manhattan. One of my favorite drinks. This one was nicely balanced with Willet and Dolin Rouge. Delicious.

Focaccia. Herbed and fluffy, this bread had a bit of salt in it, but it was good for soaking up sauces.

Burrata. Served with some very nice smoked salmon, this burrata was sprinkled with gray salt and drizzled with a very good olive oil. So tasty.

Grilled Octopus. Very nicely grilled octopus that was artfully plated with well-prepared heirloom beans, pancetta, frisee and a very savory sauce.

Softshell Crab Sandwich. A crunchy softshell crab on a crusty loaf, this was a fresh and delicious sandwich with an arugula and fennel side salad.

Smoked Berkshire Pork Chop. A very large and perfectly prepared piece of pork, served with celery root puree, caramelized endive and lardons. I needed every bit of that sauce. So delicious.

Flat Iron Steak. Exceptional steak that was cooked medium rare and served with summer beans and fingerling potatoes. Succulent and buttery. This is the place to go for well-prepared meat.

Chocolate Budino. Silky chocolate pudding with caramel and sea salt on top. Topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with what seemed to be tiny malt balls. A bit on the sweet side for my taste but the textures were very nice.

Panna Cotta. Layered with a peach compote and berry granita. This was lightly sweet and what I would consider an excellent dessert.

Jack London Square may be considered a touristy location, but they do have a number of top-notch restaurants. Lungomare is one of those restaurants I plan to frequent again in the future.

Chocolate Old Fashioned (Recipe)

This is an easy-to-make and delicious cocktail to unwind after dinner or any other time. I used Prichard's Double Chocolate Bourbon and Scrappy's Chocolate Bitters. Scrappy's can be ordered online via these retailers.

○ Cocktail Kingdom

○ Boston Shaker

○ Cask

○ Bar Products

○ Keg Works

○ Kaufmann Mercantile

○ True Beer

○ True Fabrications

○ Anthropologie

○ Awesome Drinks

Here's what you'll need:
1 bourbon glass, or a glass that can hold at least 6 ounces
2 ice cubes (or 1 ice cube and 1 bourbon ball)
2 ounces chocolate bourbon
0.5 ounce chocolate bitters
0.5 ounce simple syrup or agave syrup
orange zest for garnish and aroma

Here's what you'll do:
- Place 1 ice cube or the bourbon ball in your serving glass.
- In a tall glass, add the liquid ingredients (bourbon, simple syrup, bitters) and stir with a spoon to combine.
- Add 1 ice cube and stir until the outside of the glass is frosted.
- Strain the drink out into the serving glass.
- Zest an orange with a peeler, rub the peel around the rim of the glass, twist the peel over the drink and then drop it into the cocktail.
- Enjoy!

Flora--Oakland (Contemporary French influenced cuisine)

From the owners of Doña Tomás, Flora is an art deco-inspired restaurant serving exceptional contemporary-French-influenced food and well-made drinks. Located at 1900 Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, Flora has become one of my favorite lunch spots. They only serve lunch on Fridays, but it's worth the wait for such comforting food. Here are some of the things I've enjoyed.

http://floraoakland.com/index.htm

Acme bread and butter. Always good bread. Acme has bakery locations in Berkeley, San Francisco and Mountain View, while also providing products to certain grocery chains such as Whole Foods and Andronico's. They use only organic flour and take pride in their breads. The butter Flora served with this bread was very rich and creamy. Reminiscent of the butter I had in France. Yum.

Local Dungeness Crab Cakes. All crab crab cakes were expertly fried and served with a light frisee salad with winter citrus fruits, green goddess dressing and chile oil. The greatness of this dish is just in the fresh crab and letting that stand out with minimal fuss.

Seared Tuna Niçoise. This was an incredibly fresh and tasty salad with perfectly seared albacore tuna, green beans, heirloom tomatoes, herbed potatoes, niçoise olives, medium-boiled egg, a splash of frisee and sherry vinaigrette. Every ingredient was fresh and tasty.

Short ribs. A ridiculously succulent piece of bone-in short rib braised in red wine and served with mashed potatoes, broccolini, buttery carrots, pearl onions and gremolata.

Potato Gnocchi. Fluffy, buttery and light gnocchi pillows were served with chestnut puree, sunchokes, parsnips, brussels sprouts, carrots, maitake mushrooms, and parsley oil. This was a delightful plate of flavors from quality ingredients that were exceptionally prepared.

Grilled Hampshire Pork Chop. The seared golden crust kept in all the juices from this amazing dish with corona beans, cabbage & caraway seeds, carrots and salsa verde. The lime in the salsa just brought out the flavors of the porky goodness. So delicious.

Caramel Pudding. Heavenly pudding with whipped cream, candied coconut, and sprinkled with sea salt. This had a perfectly balanced caramel-salt flavor, lightly sweet and it was the just the right amount; enough to feel satisfied while still wanting a bit more.

Spice cake. A very moist and dense piece of cake that was nicely spiced and served with caramelized Full Belly Farm apples and grapes, rosemary-calvados anglaise and sesame brittle.

 

 

Crepes. Filled with pear butter and huckleberry and topped with honey mascarpone and toasted hazelnuts. All the different textures melded together wonderfully; from soft to fluffy to creamy to crunchy.

 

 

 

Flora changes their menu weekly, so their lunch and dinner offerings may change, however, the pudding is always available. Their dinners look amazing too, but be sure to make a reservation well in advance.