L
E C H E V A L
1007 Clay Street
Oakland
510.763.8495
How do you rank the most consistently packed restaurant in Oakland and Berkeley
with unbelievably, well-prepared Vietnamese and French cooking? They certainly
deserve a Top Ten nod even if they try to rush your entire order in one order
taking session. Le Cheval is a secret that has been out for a long time and
it has not gone to their head. Located just behind the Oakland Marriott and
Convention Center in a restored warehouse building in Old Oakland lies one
of the Bay Area’s best.
I have hear it over and over that the traditionally rushed service found in
some Asian restaurants is the only negative complaint about Le Cheval. I have
your solution. Here is how you manage your evening so you are in the restaurant
for longer than forty minutes. Order your cocktail and wait for its arrival.
Then order the best appetizer on the menu, shrimp rolls. This is a cold appetizer
of steamed prawns, rice vermicelli, lettuce wrapped in translucent rice paper
and served with peanut sauce. I don’t care how many national and international
visitors I have as house guests, they all want to go back and eat the shrimp
rolls. Forget about major restaurant names in San Francisco like Boulevard,
my guests first outside the house meal request is for their dining fix from
Le Cheval. And I am happy to accommodate them.
Now, that you have the wait staff trained on your time flow for the evening,
you can move on to ordering the major plates for sharing. I will help you
out on this menu which is long on choices. Order either the salty calamari
or salty prawns, which are lightly battered then pan fried in salt and pepper.
The lemon dipping sauce is filled with more salt and fresh ground black pepper.
Trust me, it’s addictive. The next best item for a first visit would
be the cube beef steak with green beans and onions. So good. Order some steamed
rice and you have made some of the best choices at Le Cheval.
You will be dining here so often that you will have plenty of time to discover
your favorites. Le Cheval offers plenty of parking in the evening in a lot
behind the restaurant for all of you folks driving from San Francisco, Walnut
Creek and other parts of the Bay Area.
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