I am obsessed with this neighborhood

Marc 49

So I have written a lot about the Temescal neighborhood in Oakland.  This is yet another entry about this neighborhood.  It happens to be exactly in between my house and my friend Dawn's work.  We would always meet in this neighborhood for a drink after work, but alas, we are not made of money and all of the restaurants are a bit on the pricey side for a Monday night.  This is right about the time, I miss the countless loungy casual restaurants of San Francisco.  Perfect places for the after work drink and lite snack.   

Enter stage right, Marc 49.  This place fits the niche we were looking for.  The wine selection is one of the best I have seen this side of the Bay.  We did the wine sampler and they let you choose 3 or 4 wine flights from their entire list of wines.  And tasty flights they were.  I can't even pick one I loved most since I loved them all.  To top it off they have a great selection of panini's for $7 and for $3 you can add on a salad.  Not just your garden salad either.  I had butter lettuce with blue cheese, apples and caramelized walnuts.   Last, but definitely not least was the atmosphere.  This is an area I find the East Bay lacks.  Great food, but sometimes I miss that hip and trendy feel.   This place has it.  Great lounge area inside and even better outdoor areas.  The room we sat in was an indoor/outdoor room and we felt like we were sitting in the inside of a wine barrel.  Wood floors, walls and ceilings.   Definitely a proud to live and eat in the East Bay kind of night.