You will have to cut me some slack if I you think I am straying from the hardcore Bistro roots by selecting Mua in Oakland (California) for this edition of A Bistro A Day.
If you open your eyes and your mind though they fit the Bistro-Wine Bar-Enoteca-Bodega idea.
Decor is minimalist, menu has a lot a starters and inexpensive dishes and all the wines on the list from bubbly to dessert are available by the glass.
The decor, see for yourself below *.
Menu
Here's a sample:
Tomato Bisque and Mini Grilled Cheese 8
Mixed Olives 5
Grilled Artichoke | tarragon aïoli 9
Kabocha Winter Squash Tempura 7
Crispy Tofu | black bean-sweet chili sauce 7
Chicken Satay | cilantro sauce 7
Beef Carpaccio | manchego, arugula, pine nut 8
Berkshire Pork Lettuce Wrap | spicy mustard seed sauce, carrot salad 8
Lamb Cheeks | daube braised, parsnip 10
Wine:
A few things I noted:
Bubbly:
Rosé (pinot noir) | Allimant-Laugner alsace france 10.5 / 42
Prosecco | Di Conegliano Sommariva veneto italy 8 / 31
(what I would be drinking if I made it to Vinitaly)
White:
Pinot Gris | King Estate oregon 10 / 39
Muscat | Allimant – Laugner alsace 8 / 32
Pouilly Fumé | Claude Michot loire 10 / 40
Albarino | Bodegas As Laxas spain 8.5 / 34
Red:
Pinot Noir | William Knuttel napa 10 / 39
Zinfandel | Frog’s Leap napa 11 / 44
Add to that the Art on the Walls and you have a place where you should feel comfy.
No fuss Mua for A Bistro A Day of April 6, 2010.
(* Dining room view snapshot courtesy of Oaktown Art)