Manuel A.
Yelp
I happen to be in the area of Lorral located in Oakland, Ca as I was having my vehicle in for a smog test at the nearby 76 petrol station. Anyways, I started walking up the street that looked to have some store front businesses where food might be as I was hungry. It wasn't quite yet lunch and there was not a whole lot yet available but I happen to stumble into a small but relaxed cafe style restaurant that was open and where the menu was light, pastry focused but had a small and mixed array of sandwich offerings and a few other lunch options.
There was customers in the cafe who looked like they were waiting for food but no one up front at the register. That seemed a bit strange but I figured the worker must be in back where we can't see them making the food for the persons waiting and perhaps we're short staffed. All to common these days.
Gentleman finally materialized, and he couldn't have had a more sunny or courteous disposition! Offered apologies for the delay and thanked us for our patience. Come to find out the guy didn't just work there but was the owner of what I believe was a fairly new business for him.
There is a portrait of him as a pasty chef in a piece he did with a food magazine or critic in which offers an educational bio & the beginnings of the restaurant he decided to open, This restaurant, Crumble & Whisk, where I ordered a fresh Tuna sandwich with a house salad that in and of itself was packed with flavor! It contained an in-house pickle that was terrific, who knew such a thing was available? There were two big stars here, first one was the tuna sandwich,it was excellent, not too creamy and w/a hint of spice and other light tasty ingredients, I think I might add a bit more hot flake for an even bigger bite on the taste buds!
The 2nd star was the restaurant owner himself, definitely personable, cares what he's serving, genuinely courteous and you feel like you're an appreciated guest as he talks to you like you've known him for years.. it's rare these days for this type of thing to occur in our large "one stop shop to get all things "world, it's nice to see there still is such a place still out there, even when you just happen to stumble upon it!
Good service, relaxed atmosphere, good food, strongly recommended. With one friendly suggestion, don't let anyone get away by having them wait even a minute before they leave out of impatience, & before you got a chance to charm them with a good attitude and good food to seal their future return, all because you were genuinely busy trying to serve the customers waiting.
Bring your food preparation area in view, so that person or yourself who's busy making his creations can acknowledge their customers presence and that buys you most of the time you'll ever need before you get to them. We all appreciate a hard worker, and one with a positive attitude like you have is icing on a pastry.. - a much better 1st impression then seeing no one at all for even a short time.
A Good experience - Thanks!
Manuel-