Camino, Oakland

Wow. To begin with, Camino has one of the most beautiful kitchens I've ever seen. The gorgeous wood burning oven is open to the entire dining room, and they hang herbs from all of the chandeliers so there is always a really nice aroma floating around.

There have been a few complaints that the menu is too limited, but I think it's perfect. There's just enough to cover most palates, yet still just a few dishes so each can be perfected and be comprised of the freshest, most seasonal ingredients.

Cocktails were nothing to write home about (bitters overload!); then again Scotty and I are coming off dinner at Flora. But everything else? Wow.

We started with the crab toast and frisee salad with goose confit/persimmons. The toast was covered in a lump crab meat salad that put Flora's to shame. It was obvious that the crab was fresh and picked from a crab that day because it was so sweet and tender. No canned crab here! The goose confit had great flavor, and melded really well with the bitterness of the frisee and sweet, crunchy persimmons. The salad was also put together nicely...the frisee was already cut into manageable bites and everything was dressed perfectly.

Next we had the wood oven-roasted black trumpet and hedgehog mushrooms with leeks and garlic toast. I loved everything about this course. The broth was delectable, the toast crunchy and chewy, and the mushrooms were packed with flavor.

For mains, we split the grilled rockfish with tepary beans/wild nettles (pea sprouts)/chiles/saffron broth and the grilled/braised pork with sauerkraut, potatoes and mustard. I made the mistake of digging into the pork first. Everything about it was wonderful. The meat practically fell apart on my fork it was so tender and juicy. The potatoes were soft and perfectly cooked (lightly pan fried), and the sauerkraut added a great punch to the flavors. One thing that this kitchen seems to have mastered is seasoning the food. Everything is really nicely salted, almost to the brink of saltiness but never goes overboard. I couldn't stop eating it.

Unfortunately, the strong flavors from the pork made it hard for me to love the fish as much as Scott did. Everything in the fish dish was so delicate that no matter how many swigs of my wine I took, I just didn't get it. I can say though that the fish was really nicely cooked--it flaked apart and practically melted in my mouth. Just take Scott's word for it that the fish was awesome.

Dessert was also impeccable. Scotty couldn't stop eating the persimmon pudding with fresh whip, which is a true accomplishment because he is never a dessert person. It was nicely spiced without being too sweet, and had a rich, thick texture. My favorite dessert was the penko covered ricotta that was then deep fried and drizzled with honey. I don't even really like cheese that much, but these were little bites of heaven. The outside had a really great crunch to it, and the inside was sweet, almost molten ricotta.

Our server was friendly, prompt, and seemed to know a lot about the dishes, which we appreciated. The only thing I'd nitpick about is that the long benches that run down the center of the restaurant are slanted in a way that make it a little uncomfortable to eat. The grand total was also a little higher than I'm used to (about $35 higher than at Wood Tavern, Flora and Corso but maybe we were ultra fattys last night). But, I was distracted from the discomfort pretty quickly due to my amazement at the bathroom hand dryers (no seriously, they are awesome!), and an Elizabeth Falkner sighting that left me pretty star-struck!