Shweetie's Birthday Dinner at Commis

Shweetie turned 33 yesterday, and we decided to celebrate in relatively low-key fashion. We invited our close friends over for a potluck brunch at our place, since it's Shweetie's favorite meal of the day. He whipped up eggs and French toast for the nine friends who nearly all drove up here from the South Bay (Sunshine is the only one who doesn't live down there!), and our wonderful friends brought delicious quiches, bacon, chicken-apple sausage, shortbread cookies, madeleines, baguettes, and assorted drinks. We stuffed ourselves silly while lounging around the dining table and sitting on the living room floor, watching World Cup, and being entertained by Photogal and Greenie's adorable and incredibly talkative two-and-a-half year old daughter. After a couple of hours, everyone except Jamu trickled out. Shweetie and I hung out with him until it was time for us to head off to our next eating appointment, dinner at Commis. This place has been receiving a lot of hype recently, so we've been sort of wanting to check it out, while also reserving judgment, since a lot of the places that have been hyped up recently have disappointed us.

However, after our yummy meal at Commis, Shweetie declared it "the best restaurant in Oakland." This was some good food, especially the zucchini tartare and abalone dishes. In fact, its food score of 9.25 earns it a tie for food with Redd!

Amuse Bouche: Poached Egg, Purée of Onion, Medjool Dates, Granola, Chives


Soup of Red Beets, Thickened with Soda Bread, Young Root Vegetables and Flowering Herbs, Pickled Unripe Strawberries


Zucchini Tartare, Grilled Squid, Sweet Basil Purée, Smoked Country Ham Emulsion


Monterey Bay Abalone in Brown Butter, Warm Mousse of White Beans, New Alliums with Borage


Line Caught Sablefish, Potato and Fresh Mustard, Cultured Cream with Tarragon and Sherry


Roasted Sonoma County Duck, Bulghur with Caramelized Fennel, Honey Crisp Apricot with Green Peppercorn


Chocolate Brioche, Lost in the Fire, Strawberries en Rescoldo, Chartreuse Chantilly, Garden Herbs


With Chef James Syhabout

The servers were wonderfully friendly. One of the waitresses in particular was really nice and genuine, and seemed more than delighted to recount what our amuse bouche consisted of when I asked her if she could repeat it for me, even though it was already in my stomach and long gone. We sat at the counter, which is the only place you can sit if you want to order the tasting menu, so we got a front row view of all the cooking going on in their small, open kitchen. Even though all of the workers were quite busy, they never seemed rushed or agitated, and if you caught their eye and smiled, they would smile back. Every worker we talked to at the restaurant seemed really nice and approachable, and even the person I talked to when I called in to make our reservation was really friendly and pleasant. The chef himself was also nice and humble and willing to take time out to talk with us and pose for a picture. Service was a well-deserved 9.25.

The place was small but very open, with the kitchen merely surrounded by a counter, so that everything going on in there is visible. We enjoyed watching all the cooking going on. Otherwise the décor is plain and white, very minimalist. The place is also very inconspicuous, with no sign on the exterior. Good thing Shweetie knew the address, because I would have walked right past the place. We gave the décor an 8.00. I'm all for minimalism, but the place could have been just a tad jazzier.

Overall, this place ROCKED. It scored a 91.25, which puts it second only to The French Laundry. I think this place has also restored our faith in restaurants. For awhile now, we've been feeling like a lot of the places have been good, but have been lacking any real "wow" factor. We weren't sure if we'd just become jaded or whether there really haven't been any good restaurants. Commis proved that we haven't become jaded because we were able to really appreciate this place, and that there's finally a restaurant that deserves all the hype and press it's been getting recently. Go check it out! If you want to make a reservation and want to have the tasting menu, be sure to call for a reservation at the counter. Reservations obtained through OpenTable are only for the rest of the restaurant, where you are served a three-course menu.

*For a refresher on our rating system, check out this previous post.*