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Reviewer: Foodnut.com Boot and Shoe Service 3308 Grand Ave (Neark Lake Park) Oakland, CA 94609 510-763-2668 |
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Boot and Shoe Service is a new casual neighborhood pizza restaurant from Charlie Hallowell, the Pizzaiolo folks. This restaurant is located in Oakland’s Grand Lake district, blocks from the Grand Lake Theater, and is named after the original tenant of this old building. They focus on local and sustainable products. 18% gratuity on parties of 5+.
Decor, Vibe – Dark big main room with large open kitchen with a large wood burning oven on one side. Good sized bar area in the back. Loud bluesy music, exposed brick, exposed office on 2nd floor, large modern art pieces on the walls
Menu (Click to zoom into any picture)
Boot and Show Service Menu has several Antipasti starters and a large selection of pizzas. The menu can change daily. Limited dessert menu.
Picks:
Fritto Misto ($12) of cauliflower, red onion, and delicate squash with aioli was a good selection of artery clogging goodness. Lightly battered, crispy but not overly greasy.
Beets and avocado Salad ($9) with onions and citrus vinaigrette was a nice simple salad with very fresh ingredients. The avocado in particular was excellent. Could have used more beets.
Margherita di Bufala Pizza ($13) was the classic with some big dolups of high quality Bufala mozzarella cheese. This fairly thin crust pizza was a little soggy in the middle and chewy on the edge, with a slight bit of spiciness all over.
Local Manila Clam Pizza ($16) with garlic and parsley had perfect crust with no sogginess. This pizza was surprisingly very ‘clammy’ and has a lot of olive oil drizzled on it.
Wild Nettles Pizza ($15) with Sausage ($3) bellwether farms ricotta and pecorino was a heavier pizza full of ingredients. The nettles were like low key spinach greens. Nice sausage chunks and excellent ricotta cheese droppings. Crust was not as nice as the clam pizza but a close second.
OK:
None
Pans:
None
Boot and Shoe Service had solid friendly service with no need to chase waiters. Pizzas came fairly quickly. Food quality is solid although it is nice to have the wider menu with pastas at Pizzaiolo. Boot and Shoe Service is a nice casual place to drop in for a quick quality pizza and a drink. The variability in crust quality hopefully will get more consistent. The pizzas are very good although we would give a slight edge to Gialina in San Francisco. Compact reasonably priced wine list with glasses from $6, bottles from $26, $15 corkage.
Boot and Shoe Service Overall Rating: 
(Good
Come Back? 
| Food Rating: |  (Very Good) |
| Service Rating: | (Good) |
| Atmosphere Rating: | (Good) |
| Value Rating: | (Good) |
Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Below/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary
| Alcohol: | Full Bar |
| Attire: | Casual |
| Hours: | Tu - Th 5:30 - 10pm, Fri-Sat 5:30 - 11pm |
| Parking: | Street |
| Reservations: | Yes |
| Prices: | $11 - $16 |
2 Comments
CBee
December 17, 2009 at 8:47 pmWent to BOOT&SHOE tonite, packed to the rafters, 1-1/2 hour wait so we decided to do take out. Ordered a pizza, frito misto, Chris Lee’s cured meats plate (what a joke that was!). The pizza was outstanding, the frito misto v. tasty, Chris’ plate…no comment. Nothing whatsoever to do with what he did at Eccolo! Will have to go back and do a real sit-down dinner before I make a call BUT seems to me this will be a great place to do a salad, couple of pizzas — PORTIONS ARE TINY! —
and…leave. The bar is great!
CB
12/17/09
Kim
January 16, 2010 at 11:50 amIs it wheelchair accessible?
Are the waits still in the 90-minute range? If so, the old Yogi-ism applies: “Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.” CBee’s comment was posted on a Thursday, by the way… not encouraging in terms of it being too busy for its own good.