Dinner at Soizic in Oakland

Yes, still picking away at my Bay Area photos! Sunday night we joined some friends for dinner at Soizic in Oakland, near Jack London Square.
The exterior is unassuming but it's quite lovely inside. A very eclectic decor. I'm sorry I don't have any good overall shots of the dining room. But this bar shot is indicative. The website also has lots of photos (click on "tour").
This container full of kitchen implements also has a tube light in the middle. It's a light fixture!
Soizic has one Michelin star and four Zagat stars. The excellent food and attentive service show they're justified. We had to wait a few minutes for them to prepare a table for us on the mezzanine and they were very apologetic. Some last-minute snafu in table logistics, apparently. We didn't mind, though. It was nice to sit up above the crowd, and we could hear ourselves think.

I started with mussels with fennel, Yukon gold potatoes and spinach in a saffron cream broth. I could eat three bowls of this right now.
Also among the apps were crab cakes (not pictured) and asparagus with parmigiano-reggiano and mache and pecans and something else. It was a special, so I can't tell you what exactly it was. But it was good.
Entrees included wild king salmon with soy-sake sauce, napa cabbage, Chinese eggplant, noodles and carrot salad:
Sea scallops (also a special)
and black cod with favas and other stuff (another special).
Why oh why do I not write these things down?

My only complaint is with whatever that crispy stuff is that they put on top of the fish. Some kind of vegetable. It is too reminiscent of fish bones, being skinny and sharp. I grew up not liking fish because I was always worried about the bones. I would chew and chew and chew until the fish became like wood pulp in my mouth, because I was afraid I would miss a bone, swallow it, and have my throat or innards pierced and die. So this stuff was freaking me out a little.

But I'm a big girl now, and I know I can console myself with dessert.

Ginger custard with almond cookies:
Pecan pie with white pepper ice cream:
And a rhubarb-strawberry fool (a special). I had the fool and it was delicious. And I also tasted the custard, yum, and the white-pepper ice cream. Which was amazing. I totally have to try making it at home.

Soizic is not cheap, but it's definitely worth a visit if you're looking for something special.