B Restaurant and Bar

499 9th Street
Oakland CA
510.251.8770
http://www.boakland.com/

Lunch: Tuesday – Friday, 11:30pm – 2:30pm
Dinner: Tuesday – Saturday, 5:30pm – 10:00pm
Online reservations available

Sometimes, a dinner with a large group can be overwhelming and a bit frustrating, especially with trying to split a bill. But, nothing could have been more enjoyable than the 19-person Warrior Girl Dinner at B Restaurant and Bar.

On Friday, October 23rd, the Golden State Warriors hosted an event called “Nibbles, Dribbles and Sips” which featured complimentary food and wine for all of their season ticket holders. With over 40 of the Bay Area’s top restaurants and wineries participating, I was sure to make a list of places I hadn’t tried yet. How wonderful it was when I discovered the WG dinner would be taking place at one of the restaurants on my list.

In the heart of Old Oakland’s, Historic District, each member of the dance team, including the Director, met at the new American cuisine restaurant on the corner of 9th and Washington. As each girl filed in to sit at the long table well-presented table, I can see that each seat was set up with 2 wine glasses, silverware, a cloth napkin, and a piece of paper that was titled, “Warrior Girls Dinner".

How exciting! A three-course prie-fixe meal had already been prepared for this special occasion. This called for a cocktail! If you haven’t seen, “Sex in the City,” one must know if you’re out with a group of girls, an order of girly cocktails must be made. The most popular order was the “Love On: Vodka, Raspberry puree, pineapple juice, made with love.”

Some girls had a special “W” in their drink to represent the Warriors.

With 19 orders from the WG Dinner Menu, all sorts of combinations were being made. I ended up ordering the butternut squash soup for a starter, the duck entrée, and a vanilla bean crème brulee for dessert. But, shortly after all our orders were taken, several baskets of truffled shoestring fries were brought to the table and we all know how much I love fries! With the perfect amount of crisp to the texture and a hint of truffle oil in the flavor, it’s hard to believe that these freshly made fries tasted even better when dipped in the garlic aioli sauce that accompanied the dish (along with a side of ketchup). With a yummy cocktail and fries, who could have came up with a better first impression? From that point on, my expectations were raised higher.

The wine began to pour and with multiple conversations, a few games of telephone and a ton of pictures being taken, our appetizers arrived in no time.

My soup was amazing! Plates were quickly switched out and replaced with our entrees. The beef would have been my usual order but, I never order Duck and something inside me made me want to try something different. Thank goodness I changed my order, last minute, to the roasted duck breast, prepared with a pear-potato tartlet, chicory salad, and a port reduction. Who would have thought duck could have been so tender and juicy?

You can bet I was still able to taste all the other dishes that were on the menu so I was still able to try the flat iron steak I almost ordered. [describe beef] But I was happy with my order, especially after the dessert was served.

It seemed cliché to order a crème brulee, but the vanilla bean flavor was different and I absolutely loved it!

It was an unforgettable night. The staff was friendly, the food was to die for, and the company was irreplaceable. Because of this memorable experience, B Restaurant and Bar will definitely be a place to come back to. I hear their mushroom and thyme wood fired pizza (oyster mushroom, fromage blanc, parmesan, and arugula) is a “must try”.