Luka's Taproom & Lounge - Oakland, Ca

Why:
I've been to Luka's several times late night for drinks, fries, and mac & cheese (awesome) and I'd eaten dinner there once a while ago and enjoyed it, so I figured I'd cruise in, sit at the bar, and see what they've got going on for lunch. Hell, I was in downtown Oakland anyway and what else is there to do there?

Who:
Me.

The Space:
You know, Luka's. Long L-shaped bar, high bar tables in front, low banquettes and booths in the back. 1940's-style pool-hall in the very back. Rave room in the front. It's four venues in one!

The Beer:
I opted for something new and tried the Duchesse de Bourgogne Flemish red ale. I'm a beer fan, though I'm not a big Belgian beer fan. I like Trappistes, witbiers, and the darker ales and lagers. I'm not a big fan of lambics or guezes, but I was at Luka's and had had Delirium Tremens enough, so what the fuck, why not try something newl? The beer, served in a wine glass, was quite strong with a pronounced sweet and sour characteristic. It tasted akin to an off-dry riesling mixed with yoghurt--a total slap to my tastebuds initially, but the flavor grew on me nicely as I sipped. A definite sipping beer and a definite beer to drink only if you're eating too. The beer's sourness brightened up a lot of the flavors in my vegetarian meal.

First Course:
I had planned to just get a sandwich and some fries and call it a party, but I was totally intrigued by the celeriac and fuji apple soup with roasted hazelnuts and brown butter. Pretty much my four favorite things (except celeriac. I honestly didn't know exactly what it was--it's what I assumed, a rootier cultivar of celery). It was fucking awesome. A hearty but not overly-rich creamy soup. The apple made its presence known without making the soup too sweet and the brown butter did what brown butter does when well made--be delicious. And where there's brown butter there're hazelnuts. They're the platonic lesbians of tastiness.
Entree:
I love beets. I love beets a lot. I ordered the roasted golden beet sandwich with herbed chevre on pain de mie. The sandwich came simply but elegantly presented on a large plate with a small mixed green salad. The beets were fresh and flavorful--very mellow, even for golden beets, but with an earthiness that shone through. The chevre was what it was--a touch pungent with basic garden herbs--nothing remarkable, but pleasant. A thin layer of aioli worked nicely with the beets but clashed awkwardly with the chevre, blending in just enough that it succeeded only in making the cheese taste weirdly garlicky. But like I said it worked really well with the beet end of things. What to do?
Complaint: I didn't mind that the sandwich was cold--the beets, cheese, etc. I liked that. But why did the bread have to be toasted but served at room temperature? The bread was great fresh pain de mie, but room temperature toast does little for me but tear up the roof of my mouth.

The side salad was lightly dressed, fresh, and diverse--arugula, spinach, and purple onion being the principals.

Fries:
Luka's fries are great--thick and filling with a hefty amount of residual oil. Crispy outside, soft inside, etc. They still haven't won me over with the sauces--they aren't bad, but they lack distinction. The smoked paprika ketchup is my favorite, but I'd love it spicier. The same goes for the other sauces--the herb aioli could be way herbier and the chipotle aioli could be smokier and spicier. The fries are so thick and have their own strong flavor that the sauces need to be more assertive or else they're just along for the ride.

Dessert:
I didn't plan to get dessert, but I did anyway--I'm a sucker for warm, rich, seasonal fruit desserts (almost as much as I'm a sucker for being punched in the face with dark chocolate). The almond and huckleberry clafouti with lemon creme fraiche was pretty damn good. Served in a wide shallow ramekin with a layer of warm sweet huckleberries on the bottom and an eggy cakey almond batter on top, all nice and warm with the slowly melting dollop of the creme fraiche and a few fresh huckleberries finishing it off. The cake layer was a little too thick, overwhelming the berriness of the berries, shrouding them in too much batter. The cake itself, however, was buttery and not too sweet.

In Conclusion:
I'm adding Luka's to my regular lunch destinations--it's not just for late night french fries. Though I went nuts and spent $40, I could've easily put together a great lunch for half that. Great food in a relaxed, hip, but unpretentious atmosphere. Plus you can park easily (and it's not full of neo-yuppies) at 2:00 in the afternoon.

Luka's Taproom and Lounge
Cuisine: Belgian-inspired California pub food
Price range: $7-$13 (sandwiches) $12-$19 (entrees)
HFF's cost for one (soup, sandwich, fries, dessert, beer, tax & generous tip): $40
Reservations: (I think so) 510-451-4677
www.lukasoakland.com
2221 Broadway (at W. Grand)
Oakland, Ca 94612