Dana Ryan has worked in several popular restaurants including RN74, Gather and State Bird Provisions and he’s now the executive chef at Townie at the age of 27. Impressive, right? The restaurant opened a few weeks ago in the former Caffe Venezia space. I was invited to check it out and brought my food blogger friends along: Ben from Focus Snap Eat, Sandy from Food Hoe and Brenda from Bites & Bourbon. We worked our way through almost the entire menu – gotta love friends who love to eat!
photo: Christina Mitchell
It was a solid neighborhood spot with a comfortable vibe and tasty food. You should definitely check it out if you’re ever in the area, but it wasn’t quite a destination restaurant yet.
photo: Christina Mitchell
We started with Potato Croquettes (with Serrano Ham and Manchego Cheese, $8). They were crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside, but I didn’t really taste the ham.
photo: Christina Mitchell
We all enjoyed our cocktails (I had the Classic Rye Manhattan, $8) and these Marin Atlantic Oysters (with Grilled Corn and Old Bay Butter, $3 each) were fresh and flavorful. The Chicharones (Fried Pork Skins, $4) in the background were more chewy than fluffy, but they would make a pretty good bar snack.
photo: Christina Mitchell
The Chicken Liver Mousse (with Parsley Gelee and Crostini, $8) was probably the most interesting dish on the menu. This is what is looked like when the server first brought it to our table…
photo: Christina Mitchell
…and this is what it looked like after we attacked the bowl. The mousse was smooth and light as a cloud and the gelee added a lot of color and a little texture, but not as much flavor as I was expecting.
photo: Christina Mitchell
I liked the smokiness in the Grilled Caesar Salad (Heirloom Tomatoes, Country Croutons, Bacon, $9) and we added Grilled Hanger Steak for $5. I don’t remember tasting bacon or Caesar dressing, but we split this so maybe I didn’t serve myself all of the ingredients.
photo: Christina Mitchell
When we finished eating the tender Mussels (with Chorizo and White Wine, $12), we asked for more bread because the juice at the bottom of the bowl was too good to leave behind.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Out of everything we tasted, the Pork Belly Banh Mi ($10) probably had the most flavor. It was slightly sweet and sour, meaty and crunchy, but the bread wasn’t traditional the portion size was small. I know the ingredients are organic and everything, but it’s still hard to pay $10 for a half a banh mi when full-sized sandwiches are $3 in Vietnamese restaurants.
photo: Christina Mitchell
We were still hungry, so we also ordered the Hanger Steak (with potato puree, summer squash and arugula, $15). It was pretty on the plate, but could have used a bit more flavor.
photo: Christina Mitchell
I don’t eat peanuts so everyone was ok with ordering the Stone Fruit Dessert (with vanilla, absinthe, citrus, peanut and mascarpone, $10) with them on the side. The dish was interesting and fresh, but my friends said it was even better with the peanuts.
1799 University Ave, Berkeley
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Christina Mitchell
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