A Bay Oasis

The road trip continues . . . after six day on the road and four cities and 3,000 plus miles flying and another 300 miles plus driving, I got to stop in one of my favorite cities on the East Coast, Annapolis, MD.

For the Alameda readers, they will understand how this little town on the Chesapeake Bay could feel like home with the water, sailboats and lots of people milling about downtown. Besides being the home of the US Naval Academy (GO NAVY, Beat Army) and the Maryland State Capital, Annapolis has some great bars and excellent dinning.

I have been to Annapolis before, so there was one stop I had to make, Buddy’s. I dropped anchor for an after work beer and some of Maryland’s best crab cakes. The drive to Annapolis was worth just that one stop, even though the Washington DC traffic was brutal. The SF Bay Area has nothing to complain about when it comes to traffic. But back to Buddy’s Crab and Ribs, this is a family restaurant that has an all-you-can eat brunch. It is a little on the tourist side, but you can’t beat the crab. I had just the crab appetizer because I wanted to try something new.

I walked around for a while until I gained an appetite. After looking at 8-10 menus, I decided on Maria’s, very traditional looking Italian restaurant. Maria’s Sicilian Ristorante and Café offers a specialty drinks and I tried the Annapolis Breeze, a drink that they say is unique to restaurant. The drink consist of pomegranate, Gray Goose L’Orange and fruit juices, very refreshing, very much on the orange flavor with the fruit juice.

The food was traditional Italian fare, I had a mix plate that had lasagna and cannelloni and Caesar Salad. The food was very good, tasted was flavorful and well prepared. The place has been voted Best of Annapolis on several occasions. I would highly recommend.

As a day sailor, it was also good to run into a crew just heading into Maria’s for post race Cocktails and food. So I got to talk a little about sailing, have a good drink and dinner all I all a great stop in this very long trip. Back to Alameda soon, one last stop Philadelphia.

http://www.buddysonline.com/

http://www.mariasristorante.com/

Dopo -- Delivers Big

Dopo on Oakland's Piedmont Avenue

So the other night my wife and I, join our friends James and Brenda for dinner. The dinner was arranged by my wife and James, and it was suggested to go to Dopo, on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland. Now the reason was James and Brenda suggested the restaurant was because they thought we had dined there in the past, fact was a few years back we dined across the street at LoCoco’s. LoCoco’s is fine homey, down-to-earth, tasty pizza and Italian food place, but I had no idea that a mistake had been made, until later in the evening during dinner conversation, but this was a terrific mistake.

In all years eating on Piedmont Avenue, I had not been in Dopo so it was great to get a chance to try something new. James had a bottle of wine from the Piemonte Region, a 2005 Nebbiolo, Casina Morassino, waiting when we arrived, a very versatile vintage. A very good call by James. Dopo offers a very good selection of Italian wines and the list is designed to support the menu with good bottles from small producers. It’s easy to find a selection to pair with your meal. If you are craving a cocktail you will have to wait a while, Dopo currently has a limited liquor license, and they are petitioning to expand the bar offerings.

Dopo is sleek and sophisticated with warm lighting and abstract prints. Jon Smulewitz, a former cook at Oliveto in the Rockridge, assembles food from an Italian menu as tiny as the space itself. We started with Dopo’s house-cured salami; Copa, mortadella and Calabrian-style salami show there is a true passion for the pig in this kitchen. The plate was an excellent starter with our wine.

The second bottle of wine was from the Tuscany Region, a 2005 Morellino di Scansano, Erik Banti. This was a hardier bottle with a heavier taste. The table liked the first bottle, but you got to test them to know.

Our table had three pasta orders and a calzone. James and I had the braised short-ribs over pappardelle pasta. The sauce had an excellent flavor and complemented the meat. The pasta was cooked to perfection. My wife had the seafood (clams, mussels) spaghetti and Brenda had the calzone. The menu changes, so I will not go into the dishes in great detail, except to say that the quality of the food was fresh and full of flavor.

Even though no one at the table ordered pizza, you could tell it was a staple of frequent diners. Dopo uses a wood oven to create crackly, chewy pizzas: spicy peppers and sausage option, coated with vibrant tomato sauce and the buffalo mozzarella and basil flowed out of the kitchen. A must try next timed.

The desserts are simple but not boring, the offerings included a lemon tart, rich chocolate-almond torte and a cannoli. I had the cannoli, not the best ever, but very good for the West Coast.

Overall Dopo delivers. The service was good, although we were talking and enjoying the wine, although I truly did not notice the job the server was doing, which is a good thing. As mistakes go, this was one my taste buds could live with.

Dopo
4293 Piedmont Ave Oakland, CA 94611
Phone: (510) 652-3676
Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; dinner 5:30-10 p.m.
Reservations accepted for parties of five or more.
Credit cards accepted.
Beer and Wine.
Street parking is tough, tough, tough.

La Coco’s 4270 Piedmont Avenue Oakland, CA 94611 (510) 652-6222. Cash only.