I recently took a friend I hadn't seen in a while to Oakland's À Côté. I don't remember the last time I went, but I knew they had good tapas-style food and a good wine list.
They don't have a good wine list. They have an excellent wine list. I can't think of any East Bay restaurant with a more interesting selection. I'm not sure I can think of a Bay Area restaurant that tops it. I ordered a bottle of dry Furmint from the Royal Tokaji Wine Company. I noticed they also had Királyleányka on the list, a Hungarian wine that no one carries. When Melissa and I returned a couple of weeks after I took my friend, I couldn't contain myself as I read through the options. And they offered many of them by the glass.
Here is a wine buyer with passion. Choosing just one glass for our light dinner (a Mondeuse, the major red of the Savoie; when was the last time you saw one of those on a list?) was a challenge. But as Melissa points out, we can go back. I intend to, if only to support someone willing to offer wines so far outside the mainstream.
If you like interesting wines, swing by À Côté for a banquet of possibilities.
And the food's good, too.
