Second Helpings

Mussels and Martinis

    À Côté was a compromise. Having just been disgorged from a noisy aircraft after a long flight from South Africa via London, I wanted a bar and a strong drink. My significant other, after a long drive from Oakland to SFO, wanted food. À Côté, we remembered, had both.
    For anyone with a jones for a martini, À Côté has a choice of 11 gin varieties, and given that alcohol whets the appetite, we were both soon scanning the menu for something tasty. The mussels with Pernod “from the wood oven” ($13)—one of restaurant’s few small plates that is not seasonal but holds a place on the menu year-round—sounded like a good “welcome back to Oakland” choice. To go with the moules, we ordered the pommes frites with aioli ($5). A little crusty bread would have been nice, but not getting any, we took the server’s suggestion and dipped the frites into the steamed mussels’ succulent sauce—an aromatic blend of olive oil, minced garlic, cream and white wine with a hint of anise from the Pernod and a touch of tarragon. Mmmm.
    Sitting there, relishing, it must have been the muscular chewiness of the small creatures that tweaked a sudden memory. Back in my student days in South Africa, we would often hit the beach at weekends, chisel mussels off the rocks, build small driftwood fires, boil seawater over small, empty beer cans with the tops pried off, and drop in our day’s victims, a couple at a time, so their shells would open for us. The thought made me want to get right back on that plane. But then again, there’s a lot to be said for ease and ambience—and the À Côté mussels sure win on flavor.
    À Côté, 5478 College Ave.; open 5:30 p.m.–10 p.m. Sun.–Tue., 5:30 p.m.–11 p.m. Wed.–Thu., 5:30 p.m.–midnight Fri.-Sat., (510) 655-6469, www.acoterestaurant.com.