oakland grill

They claim it's "VOTED TOP 100 Restaurant in the USA" but I don't see how that's possible. It's not a bad looking place, at 11.30 am on a sunday there were a good number of people eating there and we didn't have to wait for a table. The exterior is painted blue, such that it is easily spotted amongst the neighboring produce warehouses with their collapsable black iron gates and roll down doors. Inside there is wood and brick and closely set tables and random paintings on the walls. They have a specials board on a stand that they bring around to your table and set in front of you--well, unless you're us. Not that either of us would have ordered the blackened pork chop breakfast or the mixed seafood platter but, ah, the injustice. I had a hard time choosing between the potato pancakes and the crab cake benedict. I can't help but wonder if my impression would have turned out better had i ordered the latter. So, the potato pancake (note the absence of plurality) was large, slightly rubbery and underseasoned. Unfortunately, I like my cakes thin, crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy within and with a good amount of onion and seasonings. I also like them with sour cream and applesauce and they gave only the sour cream in a little plastic container with a lid, like the kind you put your salsa in at a taqueria. Even though it was enormous and I didn't finish it, I couldn't help but feel cheated by the fact that there was only this one cake when it distinctly said pancakes on the menu. On top of this monstrosity sat my two over easy eggs. The yolks were perfectly runny so they definitely earned points there. Next to this sat a turkey sausage, as promised, which had been split lengthwise and grilled a sufficient amount. I also ordered a side of biscuits because I was feeling the pangs of gluttony and I love the buttery flakiness of good biscuits. Sadly, these were not them. A bit tough and overly hot and steamy, it appeared these had emerged from some time in the microwave. The jam with which they were served was properly chunky with strawberries and I had a hard time understanding this imbalance.
The man had the blackened catfish with eggs--overeasy, same as me, home fries (greasy and orange with oily spices and way too many onions), and burnt rye toast. Well, half the toast was burnt, the other half not so much.
Overall, a disappointing meal.
Would I go back? Maybe, if only to try the crab cakes benedict but not likely to occur any time soon.
Oakland Grill
301 Franklin Street
Oakland, CA 94607
510.835.1176