G
A R I B A L D I
5356 College Avenue
Oakland
510.595.4000
Garibaldi’s is the most uptown and dress-up feeling restaurant of any
of the Top Ten. Upon entering the restaurant, you can feel and see the high
energy. Finally, we have a restaurant with a real adult bar to either have
drinks with friends or eat your entire meal. Surprisingly, so many of the
Top Ten do not serve hard liquor, but Garibaldi’s has one of the best
looking bars in all of the Bay Area. The bartenders here are tops in the East
Bay and offer great selections of wine by the glass and pour the best cosmopolitans,
martinis, and manhattans. Be sure to order the house-marinated Italian cracked
olives to compliment your drink. The bar is a perfect spot for dining alone
or if you can’t get a table in the main room.
The dining room has a very smooth, clean and dressy feel very similar to Oliveto’s.
If I could change one focus on this menu, it would be to add two real knockouts
to the appetizer section. All are good, but very broad in offerings that you
don’t get that "let’s share each others appetizer" when
they come to the table. For example, wood-fired pizzas, sautéed asparagus
with pancetta, garlic and hot chili oil and antipasti platters are the mainstays,
but I only see them as standalones for the person who ordered them. I would
like to see some variation of smoked salmon and a dynamite crab cake added
on a regular basis.
However, the main courses are really well thought out and prepared. As with
the great flavoring provided by roasting the pizzas, the free-range chicken
roasted in the wood oven finished with sherry vinegar, served with mashed
potatoes and braised greens is always a best choice. Another good selection
is the grilled lamb tenderloins marinated in cumin, cayenne, coriander and
garlic, served with green beans, pistachio couscous and a red wine shallot
béarnaise sauce. Another smart addition to the main course is a hamburger.
How many times have you gone out to a nice restaurant and just wanted a good
ole cheeseburger? Sometimes you just don’t want to eat a main course
with several side dishes. Garibaldi’s burger is a good one. The western
grasslands hamburger is on a roll and comes with gorgonzola cheese or cheddar
cheese with caramelized onions and a side of french-fried shoestring potatoes.
Bon Appetit!
M Y T O P T E N
1.
Chez
Panisse - Berkeley
2. Rivoli - Berkeley
3. Oliveto’s - Oakland
4. Chez Panisse Café
- Berkeley
5. Baywolf - Oakland
6. Citron
- Oakland
7. Soizic
- Oakland
8. Garibaldi - Oakland
9. Dona
Tomas - Oakland
10. tie:
Liaison
- Berkeley
Le Cheval - Oakland
HONORABLE MENTIONS