Marc 49 - 4915 Telegraph - Oakland, CA

Marc 49 is a new wine bar that cropped up on Telegraph, in the little stretch that houses Tanjia, Pico Paco and La Val's.

It was mid-week when my Partner in Chow and I hit this place, and we weren't looking to drink. However, we decided that the food menu was substantive enough for dinner and we weren't really in the mood for pizza anyway (La Val's is next on our list). So Marc 49 was actually a happy surprise, sparing us what we fear is most likely sub-par pizza. We shall see...

The interior of this place is nice and clean, with cool square leather couches at the interior. But the big bonus is the patio out back, which has enough heaters to keep everyone warm and is nice and homey.

At some point we'll return to sample the wine; this review is going to be based on the food.

The menu is small and unfussy, and it's way cheaper than the alternative wine bars in the area: A Cote and Franklin Square. They have a couple appetizers and a small selection of salads, panini, bruschetta. Dessert comes in 2 flavors of chocolate - chocolate mousse with whipped cream, or a brownie with white chocolate mousse. Most things on the menu were $6 or $7, with the sandwich/salad combo coming in at $10.

What we ordered: Tomato bruschetta, brie and apple panini with spinach salad, ham & assorted charcuterie yumminess panini with candied walnut & blueberry salad, fig & spice tea (me), black tea (PIC)
Service: super friendly and attentive
Atmo: laid back hip wine bar
Crowd: Mixed
Spent: Around $30
Overall rating: 4 sporks

Warning: you should not come here if you're on the Atkins diet. The things worth ordering on the menu are either made of booze or served on bread.

The bruschetta was a classic tomato and basil bruschetta, and it was delicious. It was also served on fresh bread that didn't cut our mouths up as though we'd been speed-eating Fruit Loops with no milk, which made us both very happy. The portion was big - 3 large pieces - and we realized that our individual sandwich/salad combos might end up being too much food.

The panini came out hot and charred off a panini grill. This bread was also really good - they don't make it there, but whoever's making it is doing a good job. The brie and apple one was OK - the interesting part was the candied walnuts, which are clearly homemade and very candied. This was a good sandwich, if you like melted brie (I don't, really).

The ham sandwich was fantastic - the meat is sliced super duper thin, and the cheese gooed up to make a perfect melty ham 'n cheese sandwich. We can't remember what other meats are in this sandwich, and we don't care. Mmm mmm good.

The salads were slightly overdressed for my taste, but the flavors were good and spending $10 for a full sandwich and side salad was a nice change from the usual wine bar experience. Not that the food is on par with A Cote, but it's nice to have the option to go for something less fancy and way cheaper.

One major standout was the tea. It comes in cool pot/cups and the flavors are awesome. Extra thumbs up to Marc 49 for giving quality drink options to the non-drinkers.

So we were very pleased to find and welcome Marc 49 to the neighborhood, and we'll definitely be back to have some wine and dessert.

Tanjia - 4905 Telegraph Ave

We'd been to Tanjia before this excursion, and wondered if we enjoyed it as much as we remembered or whether it might have been the belly dancing...

Tanja is a Moroccan restaurant, and has basically 2 per-person price structure for a prie fixe meal. We like the more expensive side of the menu because of this crazy chicken pie that comes in the middle. If the thought of powdered chicken and sugar sounds vaguely frightening, you have to try this pie. But I'm skipping ahead.

What we ordered: The expensive side of the menu (this is like $2 more). First trip: chicken with prunes and lamb on skewers. Second trip: chicken on skewers and lamb with prunes. Moroccan white wine and a French beer.
What came in the service: fresh sweetish white bread, plate of Moroccan salads (various pickled and non-pickled veggies), lentil soup, bizarre phyllo dough minced chicken pie with powdered sugar and cinnamon on top, the main meat you ordered with couscous, mint tea, fruit and fried banana.
Service: in the theme of the place - traditional Moroccan. I guess. Neither I nor my PIC have been to Morocco, but let's just say the servers aren't inked twentysomething hipsters in low-rider jeans and a-symmetrical haircuts.
Atmo: Moroccan - tent, belly dancers and servers in ethnic garb
Crowd: mixed
Spent: around $50.00 (with tip)
Overall rating: 4 sporks, mostly for the chicken pie + being able to make lamb and chicken well + belly dancers

The interesting: being inside Tanjia gives one the impression of being in a luxurious circus tent. It's also fun to sit on pillows and watch belly dancing, so overall the atmo is part of the Tanjia experience. The tapestries are a little tired these days, but somehow this didn't bother us.

The first thing they bring you is an groovy water urn and some towels. I wasn't sure what this was about, but somehow avoided embarrassment (rare) by resisting the urge to put my glass out when the dude started pouring. Turns out he was washing my hands for me. He then left us with fluffy white towels, which are nice to have during the meal seeing as how there's a complete lack of silverware. (Though they will bring it upon request.)

The courses build, and the very best thing about all of them is the chicken pie. You can also get other kinds of pies, but the chicken one was so good the first time we wouldn't dream of switching. Somehow the combo of phyllo, cinnamon, powdered sugar and chicken comes together to create a unique and utterly delicious combo. I was rather afeared of this pie on first glance - powdered sugar and chicken not being a mix that sounded appetizing - but one bite made me a convert. The bread is also surprisingly good - it's chewy and a little sweet, and they make it there.

These folks really know their meat. The first time I ordered chicken with prunes, and it was tender and just delicious. My PIC loved the lamb skewers; somehow Tanjia manages to do skewers without turning the lamb into dog food. Second trip, the lamb with prunes was of a cut that we'd never seen before (vertebrae?), but the meat was falling off the bones and PIC was having a little lambgasm. The chicken skewers were well-seasoned and great as well.

The cous cous was a little overcooked the second time we were there, but I'll forgive them. We were too late for belly dancing on this trip, but were entertained by the sudden, staggering appearance of a local bar patron who stumbled in and tried to steal a glass of water. (She was, as she made clear when the waitress tried to prevent this odd theft, very thirsty.) After some bellowing and a nice glass of water provided by the staff, she stumbled back out the door with and said "Thank you" in Chinese to our Asian waitress. Who isn't Chinese but appreciated the gesture.

In any case, we really like this place and only wish that we could just go in for the chicken pie. I'd also make sure to go in time to see the belly dancers again - that really adds to the whole experience.