Say It Ain't So, Joe Mama's!

I just heard that Joe Mama’s, a unique little Italian eatery in Oakland, has been sold and it is going to reopen as… some other restaurant.

I am not usually sentimental about places, but this is different. Joe Mama’s is special. It may (or may not) have been the site of my first date with Mr. Rip.

Why don’t I know when our first date was, you ask?  Because we don’t know exactly when we started dating, of course! Isn’t that the way it is with every couple?

Maybe our first date was the time we went to see Chicago at the Byham. I had two free tickets to the show, and asked my friend (the future Mr. Rip) if he wanted the second one.  Just two friends going to a show together, but it was the first time we actually went somewhere together on purpose and we did have dinner at the Lemon Grass Café before the show.  Most significantly it was the night he told me that I was a nice lady (yes, yes, I fell for that old line).

Maybe it was the time he invited me to go to Hallie’s birthday party at Olive or Twist with him.  That sort of felt date-like, even though we were still clearly just friends.

Or maybe it was the time he took me to Joe Mama’s because he thought I would like the food. I was game.  He had me at “giant meatballs.”

I remember distinctly where we sat.  It was a corner booth that was kind of set apart from the rest of the tables.  Very romantic, actually, and I remember the waitress (who obviously thought we were on a date) saying “Here’s a nice cozy booth for the two of you.”  Mr. Rip also distinctly remembers that we were seated at a table in the middle of the room on some other floor.  Ah, yes, we remember it well.

The important thing is that we both remember that we had a wonderful time at dinner that night, even though we were sitting at different tables. When it came time for dessert, Mr. Rip highly recommended the tiramisu, but I ordered the bread pudding.  Mr. Rip asked me if I would at least like a taste of his tiramisu.

When that spoonful of tiramisu hit my mouth, it was a transformative culinary experience.  It was not only THE best tiramisu in all the world, it was one of the most delicious things I had ever eaten.  When Mr. Rip saw my reaction to that bite of tiramisu, he wordlessly pushed his tiramisu in front of me, and took my bread pudding.  He traded his dessert with me.

Mr. Rip says that was the moment that he knew how he actually felt about me, because he never gave away his food like that.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, at that moment we knew that he liked me, he REALLY liked me.  A couple of weeks later we were definitely dating.

And so now in a few short weeks Joe Mama’s will be no more.  The new owners plan to change the name, the décor, and the menu.  If they have any sense, they will get the recipe for that magical tiramisu before the old owners go.