Michael C.
Yelp
As a loyal Lunch Box customer, over the past recent trips slipped in my sandwich is a flyer for Dinner House - the owners, who come from Oakland eatery pedigree (the IB's family) have opened up a dinner spot 3 nights a week.
As I like Lunch Box, I wanted to give them a shot, but as they are only open Thursday through Saturday nights, sometimes it doesn't align. Well, with an open Saturday night and no dinner plans, I decided to try it out.
You walk past the well done parklet (next to the also great Kon-Tiki parklet) into a new spot featuring a long bar, some tables, a projection tv and a flat screen playing local games. The co-owners greeted me, and hearing my voice, asked if I was a Lunch Box customer (had to tell with a mask on your face). I said I was and they gave me the run down - the eclectic menu is based on foods they like, which explains the interesting mix of -
Bar Food: Buffalo Wings, Buffalo Fries, Chicken Tenders, and Burgers.
Southern Food: Corn Fritters, Beef Brisket Plate, Southern Bourbon Burger, and Meatloaf.
Italian: Fried Ravioli, Cheese Raviolis, Pasta Alfredo, and Pasta with Meat Sauce.
Plus other options like a reuben, fish and chips or shrimp and chips, and 4 salads.
I hadn't had pasta in a while so got an order to go of the pasta alfredo, added shrimp, an order of the corn fritters (I am from the South) and while I waited got their Old Fashioned.
The Old Fashioned was delicious. Smooth and sweet, went down before my food even arrived. But as I was checking out the liquor selection, one caught my eye. As I finished my drink, the co-owner working the bar and reading my mind asked if I had a nut allergy before pouring me a sample of Pecan Rye. He joked that he must be responsible for 250 bottles being sold, and he sold me on it - it's slightly nutty, but very much enjoyable infused whiskey. Wouldn't mind trying it with vanilla ice cream some time.
The corn fritters were not what I was expecting, but were really good. I was expecting more hushpuppy-style - golf ball-sized fried cornmeal. Instead these were nugget-sized. They were really good bites of fried goodness, with sweet corn inside.
Likewise the pasta was not what I was expecting. You see alfredo, you typically think fettuccine, but this was rigatoni. I enjoy rigatoni, so it worked. The sauce is decent, not saying its mind blowing, as I did pour some sriracha on it to kick it up a bit. The shrimp were 6 jumbo shrimp (turns out 2 were buried in the sauce and noodles), which were tasty. And it comes with a side of garlic bread cause carbs on carbs!
Update: As the pasta was a lot of food, I had the leftovers, and they came out great, as is the case with most pasta.
All in all, would definitely hit this place back up. It's still a bit funky as it is hard to classify. But I will come back for their burger, fried ravioli, and probably the chicken tenders.
