Burdell - Oakland

Got tipped off to a new soul food place by a friend, and so off we went…

Menu
(Slightly out of date, some ingredients may have changed.)

Marinated Cauliflower
Maybe the best cauliflower prep I’ve ever had.
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Lady Edison Ham Plate
Really fantastic pears, some of which were pickled (also fantastic). Turnips made sense.
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Local Albacore Tartare
The tomatillo really hit. Fairly minimalist but super effective.
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‘BBQ’ Whole Shrimp
Interesting prep. Shrimp were very snappy. Toast was extremely buttery.
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Glazed Heirloom Carrots
Dressing was interesting, if perhaps somewhat less in-your-face then the rest of the menu might lead one to expect. Still, pretty good.
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Aged Charleston Gold Rice
Good rice, but, you know. Rice.
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Cathead Sourdough Biscuits
Really great biscuits. Really great butter. (And I almost never eat butter.)
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Slow Cooked Lamb Ribs
Astonishingly tender. Fantastic long beans & jus, too. Get this.
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Klingeman Pork Neck
Quite good, once again with a relatively restrained saucing (to its benefit). I probably would’ve preferred it to be a smidge rarer but it wasn’t overcooked by any stretch.
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Apple Cheddar Brown Betty
As one of my dining companions put it, “like applie pie, but good”. (No shade on apple pie from me, but it was indeed better than 99% of apple pies that I’ve had.)
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Devil’s Food Cake
Decent, and better-than-decent cream, but ultimately it is what it says on the tin.
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Overall - a surprising knockout. My expectations were already reasonably high just from looking at the menu, and were handily exceeded. Overheard the table next to me being told that the “Family Dinner” tasting menu option came with an off-menu main (some sort of rabbit dish, which sounded incredible). Really hope this place sticks around.

5 Likes

The food looks pretty epic. How was service? The plates look pretty good too.

Service was good. Unobtrusive, decent pacing. Plates (& plating) were indeed on point.

The sauce was quite delicate and subtle. Not what I expected from the description on the menu.

Good, though not as good as similar salads I had at Rustic Canyon and Leopardo the other week.

Chicken-fried pork chop with chanterelle gravy was excellent.

My serving was mostly romano beans, which I love. Also had some celery and per the server Blue Lake and long beans. Delicious. Rice was excellent, good rice flavor and nice texture.

Cornbread was excellent but for me a bit sweet to eat with the savory pork.

After all that I was happy for the dessert being light and a small portion.

Great wine list, great service, great restaurant.

6 Likes

Had the cornbread for dessert tonight. It’s quite reminiscent of banana bread (minus the banana).

2 Likes

Well deserved. My timing was good!

I believe Omar White should have gotten at least some credit for the wine list.

How can Burdell win Restaurant of the Year when the best restaurant in Oakland is down the street at Snail Bar

(just joshing — i hear Burdell is great)

Still easier to get into than it should be.


Best hush puppies I’ve ever had. And how does he get his greens so tender?

The food is so modestly priced compared with the wines. Delicious Soave.

2 Likes