Someone wrote: : I offered to take a client to lunch to celebrate his birthday, and he : suggested downtown Oakland or thereabouts (he's out near the airport, so : anywhere he can get to easily from there). My usual choice in that vicinity : is Le Cheval, which I always enjoy, but I was wondering if anyone might have : other suggestions. Anyone been to Luna Piena for lunch, or Cafe Cheneville : recently, or Soizic? Any other thoughts? Soizic is decent Cal-Continental. On my visit the service was indifferent, and the area we stood in while we waited for our table had bad feng shui -- I kept expecting to be walked through. Everyone liked their food, though. We went at dinner, not lunch. Pho 84, on 17th between Franklin and Webster, has much better (Vietnamese) food than Le Cheval, although it might not be swanky enough for a client. Go yourself and see -- it won't be a wasted trip either way. Last, if he's driving to downtown from the airport, he might as well drive to Rockridge -- Oliveto, Citron, Nava, and our recent favorite Obelisque are all options. Again, I don't know who does and doesn't offer lunch. Now, can anyone suggest anything interesting that really is near the airport, or south of downtown, anyhow? I don't get down that way much ...
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Lunch in Downtown Oakland
Someone wrote: >David S. wrote: > >> Pho 84, on 17th between Franklin and Webster, has much better >> (Vietnamese) food than Le Cheval, although it might not be >> swanky enough for a client. Go yourself and see -- it won't be a >> wasted trip either way. > >Can you elaborate a bit here please? I love Vietnamese food, >but usually avoid restaurants called "Pho <whatever>" since >I don't particularly like pho. So... for those who don't like >pho, is Pho 84 still a better choice than Le Cheval (which I >agree is less-than-perfect, but still pretty good...) > I've been to Pho 84 a number of times, been very happy with the food every single time, and have never had pho. They have an interesting and varied menu and prepare and present the food well. Make an awesome curry. Some great squid dishes. Completely mobbed at lunchtime so I hear. I've only ever gone for dinner and it's in a neighborhood that completely empties out at the end of the business day so it's never all that crowded when I'm there. But yes. It's not swanky.
The name escapes me now (Battambang? I'm not sure), but the Burmese restuarant on Broadway around 9th St. is nice enough for a client's birthday lunch, a bit off the beaten track ethnically, quite good, and not very expensive. It's also one block from a BART station. YMMV, of course. JSchacht wrote: > I offered to take a client to lunch to celebrate his birthday, and he suggested > downtown Oakland or thereabouts (he's out near the airport, so anywhere he can > get to easily from there). My usual choice in that vicinity is Le Cheval, > which I always enjoy, but I was wondering if anyone might have other > suggestions. Anyone been to Luna Piena for lunch, or Cafe Cheneville recently, > or Soizic? Any other thoughts? > > Thanks!
Is that the Hue-style place? If so it's great and unusual food, also dirt cheap. David S. wrote: > > Anyone else like Quong Da? It's on 9th between Webster and Franklin. It seems > to me to be head-and-shoulders more authentic than the others mentioned, > granted that my sum total knowledge of Vietnam comes from restaurants. All > sorts of funky meats in the soups. I had to finish my wife's blood pudding. > Great stuff, but definitely not for a business lunch.
Tsing Tao on Broadway and 4th(?). Good dim sum. Nice setting. Relatively cheap.
says... > David S. wrote: > > > Pho 84, on 17th between Franklin and Webster, has much better > > (Vietnamese) food than Le Cheval, although it might not be > > swanky enough for a client. Go yourself and see -- it won't be a > > wasted trip either way. > > Can you elaborate a bit here please? I love Vietnamese food, > but usually avoid restaurants called "Pho <whatever>" since > I don't particularly like pho. So... for those who don't like > pho, is Pho 84 still a better choice than Le Cheval (which I > agree is less-than-perfect, but still pretty good...) > > Thanks > Steve > Pho 84 has lots of "non-Pho" items on the menu. It's much smaller than Le Cheval, but I think it's better. Hard to say exactly why; I think it's just a matter of taste.
Happy Burrito accross from the Fed buildings is my absolute total favorite. The burritos drip with flavor and the ambience is total burrito joint. Can't be beat!!!! Mark JSchacht wrote: > > I offered to take a client to lunch to celebrate his birthday, and he suggested > downtown Oakland or thereabouts (he's out near the airport, so anywhere he can > get to easily from there). My usual choice in that vicinity is Le Cheval, > which I always enjoy, but I was wondering if anyone might have other > suggestions. Anyone been to Luna Piena for lunch, or Cafe Cheneville recently, > or Soizic? Any other thoughts? > > Thanks!
I had an informal lunch meeting in Downtown Oakland last week. The guy arranging it picked a place that was easy to get to, easy to park, and had decent food (believe it or not): The Oakland Museum cafeteria! And they had music (piano and bass I believe)...
Quong Da is at 820 Franklin, not between Franklin and Webster and it is very good. Our favorite, and most like what we ate recently in Viet Nam is Vi's on Webster between 7th and 8th on the east side of the street. Even though pho isn't on their name, the rare beef pho is the best in memory. Order it with the beef raw on the side, and then cook it in the broth that comes to the table. Cheers, Kent Hagen
Kent H. wrote: > Quong Da is at 820 Franklin, not between Franklin and Webster and it is > very good. Our favorite, and most like what we ate recently in Viet Nam > is Vi's on Webster between 7th and 8th on the east side of the street. > Even though pho isn't on their name, the rare beef pho is the best in > memory. Order it with the beef raw on the side, and then cook it in the > broth that comes to the table. I've had a good cheap lunch at Veronica's, on 3rd near Franklin.It is in the Port of Call bar. The lunch counter has hearty, "down home" kind of meals for $4 or $5. Quick too.