The (S)tart and the Staff

My first course at JoJo's was really heavenly. On a platform of two slices of light but buttery pastry, the chef built a foundation of sweetly caramelized onion, then topped it with goat cheese islands and nicoise olive halves for a spectacular start to the meal. Nestled alongside was a simply dressed mini-salad of parsley and grated Parmesan, an interesting counterpoint to all that richness.

One of the best parts of the whole JoJo's experience has to be the friendly, joyous wait staff. They all seem actually to be enjoying the serving of this wonderful food. They skip the ponderous self-introductions in favor of clear descriptions of the delights the patron is about to sample and very knowledgeable suggestions of wines pairings. Water glasses are refilled promptly, food is served without reaching across the diners, plates are removed quietly - in short, they really know their stuff and they make a real contribution to the happy experience.

Start to finish, JoJo's was a lovely experience.

Steak and Frites

In Paris, we had a dinner of steak and frites that was sublime. The entrecote was perfectly grilled, the mustardy sauce was perfectly balanced and the frites were crisp on the outside, dreamy creamy on the inside. What's more, the delightfully friendly and helpful waitress brought the two servings of steak and frites separately, so each was fresh and hot when we ate them. Enjoyed with the house red wine, it was the most memorable of all the wonderful dinners we had in Paris.

Believe it or not, the steak and frites dinner we enjoyed this week at JoJo's on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland gives Relais de Venise a run for its money!

Instead of the simple lettuce salad with walnuts and dijon mustard vinaigrette, JoJo's offers a nicely zippy watercress salad to accompany the perfectly cooked steak and chubby, fresh, crisp frites. While I have a preference for the mustard sauce served with the entrecote in Paris, the anchovy-mustard butter at JoJo's was an interesting, if slightly too salty, twist on the classic. The steak at Relais de Venise was perfectly grilled; the one at JoJo's had a charcoal-grilled flavor which was absolutely delicious. The glass of Puligny-Montrachet I enjoyed with the meal crowned one of the best dinners with the nicest staff it has been my pleasure to relish.

If you can't get to Paris just now but you're hungry for Steak Frites, JoJo's is a terrific alternative!