Oakland’s Homage to the South
by OTownEater
If you are in the mood for fine food with a southern twist, here are three restaurants I highly recommend. First, check out Pican. While prices are high, I suggest sitting at the bar and ordering a few appetizers, a soup or salad. The menu changes with the season, but the food is always mouthwateringly delicious. I once had a maple glazed pork belly appetizer in a brown butter sauce, topped with a fried egg. I still dream about the rich and tender meat masterpiece. Pican is a perfect place to impress out-of-towners, or for a hot date!
Second, take a short journey to Louisiana and a great night out with friends, and head to The Rockin’ Crawfish for a real crawdad feast! Serving Crawfish, Shrimp, and Crab legs by the pound, this casual hole-in-the-wall serves up amazing seafood for decent prices. The Rockin’ Combo sauce makes a perfect bath for crawfish, corn on the cob, red potatoes and much more. The Calamari and plump fried zucchini were also delicious starters to the meal. Grab a pitcher of beer and dig in!
Last, San Francisco’s District Restaurant recently opened up in downtown’s Old Oakland neighborhood. In addition to a fun ambiance, I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled onto their weekend all-you-can-eat brunch buffet. While District is a wine and whiskey bar, they do a fabulous job with a small, but unique assortment of southern inspired brunch food. Featuring fluffy scrambled eggs, plantains with spicy house salsa, oatmeal with bourbon vanilla brown sugar, and buttermilk pancakes with banana-rum syrup, this meal was indulgent and for $17 quite a deal. The star of the show was the bottomless mimosas and the chocolate bread pudding with bourbon caramel.
Summary:
1) Pican
2295 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94612
Hours: Mon-Fri 11:30 am – 2 pm, Mon-Thu 5 pm – 9:30 pm, Fri-Sat 5 pm – 10:30 pm
Sun 10:30 am – 3 pm, Sun 5 pm – 9 p
Average Entrée Price: $27
Expected Wait: 0-25 minutes
2) The Rockin’ Crawfish
211 Foothill Blvd
Oakland, CA 94606
Hours: Mon-Fri 2 pm – 10:30 pm, Sat-Sun 1 pm – 10:30 pm
Average Entrée Price: $10-15 per pound
Expected Wait: 0-25 minutes depending on the size of your party
3) District Oakland
827 Washington St
Oakland, CA 94607
Hours: Mon-Wed 4 pm – 12 am, Thu-Fri 4 pm – 2 am, Sat-Sun 11 am – 2 pm, Sat 5 pm – 2 am
Average Entrée Price: Buffet Brunch $17
Expected Wait: 0-25 (longer wait for outside seating)