No, my keyboard did not break one letter into writing the title of this post. The proprietors of B Restaurant in Oakland apparently decided their time could be better spent on things other than coming up with an extravagant name for their establishment.
Bar and transom windows at B
B boasts floor to ceiling transom windows which give the space a modern open feeling. You can enjoy the view from the windows while sitting at the contemporary bar that serves a full range of cocktails.
Truffle french fries (moved out of arms reach of everyone at the table to keep eager fingers out of the picture)
Although the menu is known for pizzas, the real can’t-leave-without-it dish is the truffle french fries. Tossed in truffle oil and garlic, with sides of ketchup and mayonnaise and deep-fried to a give a wonderfully crispy exterior with a pillowy interior, these were the highlight of the meal.
Margherita pizza.
Pizza bianca.
Now to the reason why the restaurant was recommended in the first place: the wood fired oven pizzas. Unfortunately with all the hype they were given they had a lot to live up to, and they fell woefully short. The margherita pizza was blackened on much of the crust, and the bottom was comprehensively carbonized. The bianca looked as though it had been thrown together with no care in an attempt at extreme expediency at the expense of quality. And both of the pizzas came to the table lukewarm which quickly morphed into fully cold.
One of the highlights of the restaurant was the live jazz music that started to play soon after we arrived. The music gave a fun feel to the place, but was unfortunately played at night club volume. During the meal our server came to our table when he saw us yelling at one another and asked if the music was too loud, when we let him know that it was, he said it would get quieter soon and it promptly made absolutely no volume change for the rest of the meal.
Overall the atmosphere and french fries were great, but not enough to overcome the disappointing pizza and screaming-at-the-people-right-next-to-you volume music. Additionally, this meaty dish was highly regarded by our dinner companion:
Some people like meat. And this picture is beautiful.
*This post courtesy of The Boyfriend! I would like to note that if the music had been quieter (or not there), or if we had come for the music, and if our pizzas had been improved, this place would have been pretty awesome. I think we might have just had an unfortunately timed visit. Que sera, sera, no?
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