X is for eXtra

November 24, 2023 /

Last week we celebrated the fact that Maya got a promotion at work with an eXtra special meal, dinner at a local vegan restaurant that she loves, Millennium, in Oakland. She’s mostly vegetarian (pescetarian really, though she doesn’t eat fish very often), and has a vegan friend, and they sometimes go here for a special occasion. It’s expensive, but really good.

On weekends, meals at Millennium are a Prix Fixe four course meal, including the amuse bouche. You pick from the full menu, an appetizer, entree, and dessert. As Ted doesn’t eat sugar, he had two appetizers instead.

I’ll give you pictures and menu descriptions where I can, though the menu changes often. The menu online is about a week old, and a couple of the items we had were not there, so I’ll have to be vague and make yummy noises.

The meal started with an ‘amuse bouche’. This has to be the largest amuse bouche I’ve ever seen. Generally that means a single bite of something, whereas this was most definitely not that. It was delicious focaccia bread, tasty beans and olives, a cashew based spread, and I’m not sure what the yellow item is. I just know it was all delicious.

Coriander & Arborio Crusted Oyster Mushrooms – Calabrian Chile Meyer lemon & caper aioli, lemon, cabbage slaw. Ted and Maya both ordered this as their appetizer, which was very similar to calamari, though the batter was better than any calamari I’ve ever had. Delicious. Maya dislikes mushrooms, but she loves this dish.

Ted’s second appetizer was maple roasted Brussels sprouts (not listed on the online menu). They were really good, not too sweet. He really enjoyed them.

I had a delicious ‘beet tartare’, which also is not on the online menu. I was really counting on that online menu for this blog post. So. Hmmm. There are delicious beets, frisée, a cashew based ‘blue cheese’, a cashew based creme of some sort, and pistachios.

Kohlrabi Uttapam – cauliflower coconut korma, tofu paneer, toasted cashew, roasted jimmy nardello peppers, tandoor glazed caulini, spicy mint chutney, curry oil, frisbee salad with pickled fennel. This is Ted’s entree, which he really enjoyed.

Panko Crusted Maitake Mushroom – Creamy cashew butter polenta, chanterelle & crimini mushroom madeira cashew cream, caramelized red cabbage& roasted apples, mustard seed-dill sauce. This was my entree, and it was really delicious. I got the description from the menu, and I think mine had beets rather than red cabbage, but it was delicious either way.

This is Maya’s entree, which is not on the online menu. It’s some sort of gnocchi. I didn’t love the texture, but she did, and the flavor was quite good.

I ordered the olive oil cake, I don’t remember what the flavors were. The ice cream is vegan, I suspect it is cashew based. I liked the flavors, but didn’t really care for the texture of the cake.

Maya ordered the pumpkin chocolate torte, which she didn’t love. I think it wasn’t quite sweet enough for her, perhaps a bit too much pumpkin and not enough chocolate. Which was perfect, because she loved my olive oil cake, and I loved her torte, so we traded and were very happy.

Overall it was a lovely celebratory meal, though we were all pretty full by the time we left!

30 Comments

  • Nicole MacPherson

    November 24, 2023 at 5:16 am

    Well, doesn’t this look delicious! There are so many great vegan and vegetarian options out there now. When I first went plant-based it was like “could I have the club sandwich with no meat or cheese or mayo?”

  • Ernie

    November 24, 2023 at 5:19 am

    Congrats on the promotion. This dinner looks amazing. I think my taste buds would have felt a little lost at the fancy offerings. I live for dessert so I am glad a dessert swap worked out for you and Maya. 😉

  • Kyria @ Travel Spot

    November 24, 2023 at 5:34 am

    Congrats to Maya; that is awesome! I went to Millenium probably about 8 years ago and it was really good! At the time it was a Bib Gourmand; I don’t know if it still is, but I am happy to hear that it is still open, as many places in Oakland have closed in the last few years. Also I really love the College Ave. vibe and like to get there early and walk around a bit before eating. All the food looks good, although sometimes the descriptions make me wonder, but I do remember really enjoying my meal there.

    • J

      November 24, 2023 at 7:08 am

      I love College Ave too! My favorite Italian restaurant (well, one of my favorites I guess) is on College, on the other side of the freeway. They have a mushroom pasta (not vegetarian, there is beef stock in the sauce) that I dream about. Belotti is the name of the restaurant.

      • Kyria @ Travel Spot

        November 24, 2023 at 9:17 am

        I love Belotti! Man, I have not been there in a while either! I used to go out more, but have tapered off a bit in the past five or six years. Have you been to the Wood Tavern? They are also good and if you are a meat eater, their milk braised pork chop is delicious!

        • J

          November 24, 2023 at 12:44 pm

          Yay that you know and love Belotti! No, I haven’t been to Wood Tavern yet. Like you, we don’t go out to eat as much as we used to. Thanks for the recommendation. I like pork chops, but my husband LOVES them.

  • nance

    November 24, 2023 at 7:28 am

    Yay, Maya!

    I could easily be vegetarian, but I think going vegan would be a stretch for me. Having said that, I could eat any of these dishes and be happy. (Although that olive oil cake looked stodgy, as they say on The British Baking Show).

    Even around here there are lots more vegan and vegetarian offerings, and that’s without having to drive into Cleveland. It’s terrific that more and more places realize that those diets are mainstream and deserve to have more choices than just a salad or a veggie burger.

    • J

      November 24, 2023 at 7:42 am

      Nance, the olive oil cake WAS stodgy, you’re right. I agree, vegan would be difficult for me as well, I love too many cheeses! But a good vegan restaurant is a thing of beauty.

  • Suzanne

    November 24, 2023 at 10:32 am

    Wow, what a fantastic way to celebrate! Love all these beautiful vegan dishes. The mushroom “calamari” and the Brussels sprouts are really calling to me. YUM.

  • Margaret

    November 24, 2023 at 12:19 pm

    My older daughter was vegan for many years and now is vegetarian/pescatarian although she also doesn’t eat fish that frequently. What a delicious looking and sounding variety of food! It seems like a feast–so many yummy dishes. I’m full even looking at it! Vegan desserts are tricky although I had the best hummingbird cake ever at Cafe Flora in Seattle.

  • Tierney

    November 24, 2023 at 5:37 pm

    I have been waiting for eXtra! This restaurant sounds delicious. I think we should have a Bay Area bloggers dinner out with San and anyone else nearby. I’ll come out to Berkeley or Oakland just for that!

  • Melissa

    November 25, 2023 at 12:21 pm

    This looks like very interesting, yummy food. I was a bit like you re the menu when we went to Dabney. I was kicking myself for not taking a photo of it so I could remember exactly what we ate.