Southern With A Twist

A few blocks north of Broadway from Oakland's Paramount Theater is a restaurant, bar and lounge called Pican.

The lounge area has a "quiet" sports bar / after-work feel with sports channel TVs, soft cushions and low lighting to make you peer at beautiful people sipping drinks and sharing late-night desserts.

The bar has a rich and eclectic shelf of whiskeys - with dozens of bourbons - and other spirits to test your palate. Most notable for me is the surprise appearance of Martin Miller's Gin (I mean, where else in Oakland, never mind the entire Bay Area, can I find my favorite gin - only here, so far).

In the words of a friend, "Calling this 'crab soup' would be like describing the QEII as 'a pretty big boat' - words don't do it justice, you gotta eat it to believe it."

The plush interior of the restaurant bills itself "A Taste of the South". The menu is worth lingering contemplation - I have wolfed down the succulent southern fried chicken with its light, crunchy skin, a spicy root vegetable etouffee for those who avoid meat, and a list of mouth-watering offers from the Louisiana delta: cast iron catfish with oyster and artichoke cornbread dressing, lobster and Louisiana blue crab thermidor, crawfish mac 'n cheese, shrimp and grits. Someone stop me.

My girlfriend, bless her heart, avoids meat, but she does like a good drink. Give her a particular Pican cocktail she calls her best drink ever - namely the Lavender Lemon Drop (Sobieski Vodka, Stirrings triple sec, fresh lemon juice and housemade lavender syrup) - and it's slam dunk time, let me tell you.

This place is definitely worth a check-out. Entrees run about $20-$40, and there's usually a prix fixe option for between $50-$75 per person.