Bourbon
& Beef
Latin Inspired Kitchen in Rockridge
Dining
Detectives
By Carol & Joe Davis
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Bourbon
& Beef is the newest restaurant in the Rockridge
District in Oakland which has always been known for great food.
They serve Latin inspired meat focused cuisine prepared with seasonal,
locally sourced, sustainable and organic ingredients. Executive
Chef/Restaurateur Munther Massarweh born in El
Salvador to Jordanian parents and raised in San Francisco brings
a lifetime of culinary experience to his stylish small 32 seat
restaurant which is directly across the street from Market Hall
and walking distance to BART.
We
enjoyed hearing the lively Latin music as we entered and saw that
there was an active bar scene and that almost all the seating
areas were full. We were seated at a Butcher Block top table with
very stylish and quite comfortable High Back Red Leather Chairs.
Up front by the window there is a Communal Table which seats up
to 20, which later was filled by a group celebrating a birthday
enjoying the family style Seafood Paella Party. We ordered Cocktails
from their full bar which features more than twenty types of Bourbon.
We loved both our smooth Bourbon Negroni which is their 14 day
in-house barrel aged white whiskey and the Some Like It Hot made
with El Charro Tequila, Cilantro, Jalapeno, and fresh lime juice
which tasted somewhat like a margarita but with a perfect kick!
We
started out with Small Plates. The Sopa de Langosta was
a piping hot delicious Lobster Bisque with Corn Flan, Lime Cream
and Caviar.
We
also loved the Puerco con Curtido which was a fantastic
Snake River Farms Crispy Kobe Pork Belly with jicama slaw and
house made tortillas. We loved that the pork belly was crispy
and not rich.
The
Large Plates were especially excellent! You must have their signature
dish which is Chef Munther's Seafood Paella. It is a
lovely presentation of Giant Tasmanian Prawns, Mussels, Crawdads,
chicken, chorizo and saffron rice. The seafood was fresh and the
rice was just delightful.... with the flavors of the all ingredients!
Another
excellent choice is the Carne de Res con Papas which is a spectacular
tasting Grilled Rib Eye Steak with roasted Shishito Peppers, mixed
field potatoes, spring onion and topped with Chimichurri sauce
and Shallot Bourbon Demi Glaze. A better tasting steak preparation
would be hard to find!
The
Wine List features all Imported Wines. We enjoyed the 2012
Wither Hills New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with our small plates
and the 2010 Tramin Italian Lagrein Alto Adige with our
steak and paella. We were quite full but did manage to save room
for dessert. We enjoyed the Dolce de Leche and Marcona
Almond Smores Sundae which was topped with Fresh Whipped
Cream and Double Espressos which were served with cream on the
side. Bourbon & Beef is both stylish and fun!! They serve
excellent Latin inspired cuisine, have an active Bar Scene and
are open for Weekday Lunch, Weekend Brunch and Dinner Nightly.
We've already recommended it to friends and look forward to returning
soon!
Bourbon
& Beef
5634 College Avenue
Oakland, CA. 94618
510-788-4821
www.BourbonBeef.com