Name: Bay Wolf
Where: Piedmont Avenue, Oakland
Type of Food: New American
Tab (appetizer, entree, non-alcoholic drinks, tip): $84.84 for 2
Dinner Menu

Bay Wolf has a focused menu with a select few ingredients, so you can tell that what you’re going to get is probably going to be, at the very least, fresh. Our server recommended the lamb’s tongue salad with poached egg, capers, and a mustard vinaigrette. The tongue was braised, was incredibly tender, and had an unexpectedly subtle lamb flavor. My entree was a grilled duck with asparagus and green garlic flan (which was more like a pudding, but a tasty and inventive idea). The duck is quite possibly the best I’ve had in a long time, surpassed only by a pan-seared duck I had at Chambers Kitchen in Minneapolis last year. We also had a sausage-stuffed quail with lentils, and a goat cheese ravioli with beets and greens, which were both delicious but could have perhaps used a bit more acid for brightness. Again, we were left with no room for dessert, but some items that caught my eye were the rose-scented rice pudding and mini ice cream sandwiches with chocolate and caramel dipping sauce.

Bay Wolf is a pretty calm and quiet restaurant and has a large, semi-outdoor seating area with shutters that can be opened on mild, sunny days, and heat lamps that can be used on chillier nights. The service is formal, yet unpretentious, and seamless; we hardly noticed when our waters were refilled or our plates were taken away. All in all, highly recommended for a special night out.