Italian Colors — Restaurant in Oakland

Update: Who in the WORLD would think to do an upgrade on a corn dog by giving it a wild lobster center, a spicy herbal batter, and a new take of a remoulade New Orleans dipping sauce? Italian colors. That's who. Must be tried. Trust me.

I can't put my finger on it, and in some ways I hope I never do, because the elusive nature of cuisine and a dining experience that is so perfect to me, probably shouldn't be fully explained. And this is why I excel at this. LOL. Because I know so little. There are people in my family that know everything about wine, and know everything about food, which is something I hope I never experience, because for the past few months I have just walked into Italian colors, and asked for the chef choose my evening's fare for me. The chef, ("El Chino", a mysterious and beloved character there at the restaurant who is said to have an advanced martial arts background) has obliged me each time, and performed what people in my family might consider a full-blown miracle. The chef and the staff, at Italian colors have succeeded in making me fall in love with foods that I have hated my entire life. Eggplant, beets, lamb, arugula, these were once curses spat at enemies in the heat of battle, and cauliflower. I really hated cauliflower. Well, I have now been forced to eat my words, along with these once dreaded foods, which El Chino, and the staff have transformed into stellar dining experiences, using simplicity, fresh ingredients, genius pairings, Thanks to Dylan, (the house manager I think), who has an astonishing knack for pairing food and wine, and has been something of an instructor for me and how to eat Italian food), And so far, it has been a stake raising game of calling my bluff Time after Time again. And every time they pull it off.

Tonight my opening course was roast beets and mixed greens, with giant cheese, and a sherry-tinged dressing salad, a slightly sweet and palate awakening dish, (Note: that is not one but two foods I formerly hated in one single dish.) Paired with a Sicilian Girolamo Russo Etna Rosso 'A'rina', a blended wine, whose depth and earthiness. Perfectly with the acidity of the beet salad.

My main course was the "Forno", an Herb marinated half rack of lamb served medium rare, with mashed potatoes and vegetables, and while they brought out a knife, I could have just this easily eating it with a spoon. It was the most tender lamb I have ever had and when I asked, the chef informed me that it had been in a sous vide process, for hours and then reverse seared for presentation. Astonishing. This is yet another food I did not appreciate until I ate here. This was paired with an incredible Fabio Motta 2019 2019 Bolgheri Rosso Rosso Pievi, ruby red blend of Merlot and Cab, with a fresh and crisp nose, and undertones of berries and smoke, which cut through the unctuous fatty goodness of the Lamb, and balanced the entire meal out.

Some beauty in the world often remains behind the veil, while some, deserves to be seen and enjoyed. This is the latter class.

Now, on to last week's review. LOL

I'm fairly sure, the chef, the front of the house, and the entire staff for that matter, don't really know how good they are.

There is something magical that happens when you take High cuisine and put an earthy, family vibe to it, especially with Italian cuisine, which varies incredibly, from overdone and over-presented food, to minimalist rustic ingredient-driven cuisine with less heat cooking and more genius simple natural flavor combinations and parings. But when you take the higher elements of Italian cuisine, and make it earthy, inviting, and almost working class, for me, that is magic beyond the CIA, or Cordon Bleu, devoid of pretension, but still absolutely meaningful and memorable, by any estimation as a holistic dining experience. Amazing food, amazing people, and an amazing experience. I'd give it 10 Stars if I...

I wasn't impressed with this restaurant at all. We arrived on a 3/24 Sunday evening we were sat right away.

The service was unfriendly - We had a older female with short hair, she only came to our table to serve our food, never asked us for refills, seemed preoccupied.

Walked by us several times and never asked us if our food was okay, or if we needed anything.

We order asparagus & calamari for appetizers - brussel sprouts was amazing - the calamari was cold and the favor was less desirable needless to say we left a lot of it.

For dinners we order 2 chicken calzones, chicken fettuccine & eggplant- the calzones were good the cheese in the calzones were cold which we both thought was weird. The fettuccine was really good warmed up the eggplant again was undesirable for our friend who lives locally, he actually left it instead of taking it home.

The bread that is served before dinner was amazing the oil and vinegar as well was tasty.

Deserts were delicious as well, I had mint & strawberry ice cream, our friends had the creme brulee delicious as well, my sweetie had the hot fudge Sunday as well he enjoyed it very much.

I will not return.

I gave it a two star because it appeared to be family friendly and I really dig places that are family friendly.

I didn't take pictures because it wasn't...

I don't believe in leaving a bad review for a normally good place, but we were disappointed with our visit tonight, and they offer no method to contact them privately in writing.

We sat and read the entire menu, had great conversations about numerous things, and we sat, and sat. During this time we were offered no water, bread, or even a drink menu. At one point my mom even waved both arms wildly and nearly shouted to get attention from a server who passed through our area. It was like we didn't exist. It seemed like we were purposely being ignored. We dressed up for the occasion and behaved cordially when entering, so I don't think it was anything we did to deserve this.

Servers walked by so many times, deliberately avoiding eye contact. There weren't so many other filled tables in our area that they were distracted. It appeared to be intentional. Servers would come into the area, pick up a napkin, and leave without any interaction.

The staff was quiet and sullen, except the maitre d' who was ebullient, but was of no help after seating us. The whole place has an air of low morale. I wonder why.

We had a wonderful dinner down the street at...