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Narsai David Restaurant Review: Bay Wolf

OAKLAND (KCBS) - We certainly had an impressive dinner at Bay Wolf in Oakland. Still in the converted Victorian on Piedmont Avenue where it opened 37 years ago, this restaurant just keeps getting better.

There were new ideas on the menu of six appetizers, three dishes that come as appetizers or a main course, and four regular entrees.

The grilled asparagus with a sunnyside up egg and a leek vinaigrette was one of the prettiest presentations. Spring time asparagus is really, truly here.

KCBS Food & Wine Editor Narsai David:

Narsai David Restaurant Review: Bay Wolf

I cannot remember a better gnocchi dish than the potato gnocchi with fava beans, green garlic, arugula and ricotta salata. The gnocchi just melted on the mouth. That and the mushroom tortellini are both great pasta dishes, among the best examples I've had, at a place that is hardly an Italian restaurant.

And let's not forget the grilled sardines with golden raisins, roasted fennel, pine nuts and saffron vinaigrette. All three of these can be ordered as small appetizers or as entrees.

With the bacon wrapped, sausage-filled chicken leg and a breast, we discovered how wonderful it is when a restaurant will cook chicken to order rather than precook and re-heat.

They boned out the leg and replaced it with sausage, then wrapped the whole thing with bacon. And it was just perfectly cooked. We decided to have a side dish of shaved fennel and citrus.

If you have room for dessert, consider the chocolate soufflé cake. I really need a copy of the recipe, because it's light and fluffy, almost like a sponge cake. Or, if they have the meyer lemon pudding cake, don't miss that one either.

 

Narsai David is the KCBS Food and Wine Editor. He has been a successful restaurateur, chef, TV host, and columnist in the Bay Area spanning four decades. You can hear him Saturdays at 10:53 a.m., 12:53 p.m. and 4:53 p.m., and at 2:53 a.m. Sunday on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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