吃飯了嗎？

Eccolo

Wanted to go to Pizzaiolo and wasted a ton of time driving up and down Telegraph before giving up. Found out only later that it's not open on Sundays WTF. Ended up driving over to 4th St. to Eccolo, another place I've wanted to try, run by a Chez Pannise alum with a prime location anchoring the top end of the chic 4th St. strip.

The space is high-end California-casual. A warm interior in yellow with dark wood accents was classy and comfortable without being stuffy. Tables were nicely spaced and quiet on an uncrowded evening, a pleasant change in atmosphere compared to SF's hot spots.

Shared an appetizer and you can't lose going with deep-fried goodies. Been ages since we've had fried zucchini blossoms (first since Italy?). The fresh-made aioli went great as a dipping sauce for the fried bits and as a spread on the Acme bread.

We didn't want a super heavy meal so a pasta and a main were enough for the both of us. She found her penne ragu a bit too salty for our tastes. Our experiences in Italy tells us that is exactly the way they do it in the Old Country, though. We probably needed a contorni to go with it. My roast chicken, on the other hand, was impeccable. Tender and flavorful with a light sauce.

To be honest, I found the bill a bit much, so it fell a bit short in the value department, and Chez Pannise is still better. But it's still quite nice to experience the perks of the Bay Area, where one can simply walk into a restaurant and have a very nice experience, and it was fine as our last good meal in town.

Eccolo
1820 4th Street
(between Hearst Ave & Virginia St)
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 644-0444

Hidden City Cafe

Contra Costa county was running an electronics recycling event, so it was finally time to dispose of our ancient Macs. Even though the Smurf-blue G3 and the Powerbook 1400 were still in working shape, they've outlived their useful lives and mom ordered me to cut down on the electronic junk stacking up in the closet. Dad and I loaded up the car to head out to the county dump in Richmond, but on a fine Sunday morning it seemed a shame to go straight to the dump and back. So I brought the wife along for a breakfast detour.

Tucked snugly in Point Richmond, Hidden City Cafe is true to its name, a popular breakfast/lunch spot hidden a world away from the gritty streets of Richmond proper.

We got there just in time to get a table for four in the front room. Soon after the weekend brunchers were packing both dining rooms and lining out the door. The wife appreciated the rustic-French decor, with kids' art hung on the walls for that down-home touch.

The omelette was well-stuffed with tomato, cheese, shrooms, and smoked bacon which all melded together as a good American omelette should. The toast was thin and limp, like Safeway bread, but the home-fry potatoes weren't bad. I had fig-topped buttermilk pancake short-stack. The fresh-cut figs showed up beautifully on the pancakes. Dad had breakfast earlier so he was content to share some of the SO's omelette with a glass of sweet fresh-squeezed blood-orange juice.

So we went on to responsibly dispose of our high-tech junk, and still got home in time for the first half of the early NFL games. Now that's a good Sunday morning.

Hidden City Cafe
109 Park Place
Richmond, CA
(510) 991-6746

The Bard & Banker Public House

Enjoyed walking around Victoria's historic downtown quarter during the afternoon. But after dinner all the shops were pretty much closed, so most of the folks from our tour group just went back to the hotel, even though it was still early yet in the evening. Wife and I both wanted to do something on our own and have a local experience instead of yet another blah Chinese meal in a distinctly un-Chinese city. I noticed the large number of pubs while we were wandering the city during the day, and this particular converted bank building's imposing facade and cool-Brittanic name certainly made an impression. So a night-cap at the public house seemed liked the perfect way to close out our day in Victoria.

On a Thursday evening it wasn't hard to find a table upstairs, where we could see the fancy chandeliers hanging from the ceiling above, and look down onto the bar converted from the bank's teller cages below us. A guy came in and played cover-songs for a bit for some added entertainment. No alcohol for the pregnant wife, of course, but they had a cappuccino plus trifle dessert combo which was perfect for her nightcap. The trifle's layers of sponge cake, pudding, and whipped cream topped with fruit is just like how they make cakes in Taiwan, so it was actually a comfortingly familiar dessert for us, and I had to hold back to not scarf too much of it from her. Had myself a sampling of Victoria's finest local brews, enjoying light and dark beers produced from the craft-brewing microbrewery culture of the Pacific Northwest.

Finished our drinks just as the performer finished his set. If we were bigger party-types we could've had ourselves a good time pub-crawling, but it's another early departure the next morning so it's back to the hotel we go. I probably should've been more social and invited fellow couples from our tour group to come with us and made a good time of it. But after all that hectic traveling with the big group, it was so nice to enjoy a relaxed evening with just the two of us.

The Bard And Banker
1022 Government St.
Victoria, BC
+1 (250) 953-9993

Lake Louise Village Grill And Bar

Lake Louise was the highlight of our Canadian Rockies trip, and our premium tour group got to stay at the lake-side five-star Chateau Lake Louise. However, the budget did not extend to the food, and the fancy restaurants within the Chateau resort were out of the question for dinner. Instead we went to the more modest family-style restaurant in the nearby mini-mall. Turned out the restaurant was closed to normal diners, the whole place being totally booked by various Asian tour-groups for the night. And not just one seating, either, as another group was just packing up and leaving as we arrived, to be replaced by a third group soon afterwards.

They'd billed this as the fancy Western-style steak dinner highlight of the tour. But after seeing the tourist-trap leanings and the general mediocrity of the tour grub so far, I wasn't holding out much hope. I ended up being pleasantly surprised, though, the benefit of low expectations, I suppose. The beef was fairly decent, a Sizzler-ish cut of a sirloin, but not tough like the usual cheap stuff. Canned-tasting mixed veggies were blah, but I'm willing to concede a bit there in exchange for better beef. White rice instead of mashed potatoes for the Asian tourists, which was fine with me. I don't demand too much local authenticity from my side dishes. Plus the rice actually worked pretty well with the gravy.

Yeah, the steakhouse in the Chateau probably would've had even better food, and I might even have ponied up if it were just the two of us. But it might've cost us a couple hundred loonies for the privilege. As it was, we had a perfectly pleasant meal with a big group of familiar folks for casual dinner conversation on a rainy evening in Lake Louise.

Lake Louise Village Grill & Bar
Samson Mall
101 Lake Louise Drive
Lake Louise, AB
403-522-3879

Big Sur Bakery And Restaurant

Unfortunately, we didn't have the time this time to cruise all the way down the California coast, but we wanted to go as far as Big Sur, at least. There's no actual Big Sur city, per se, so this appropriately named roadside restaurant seemed liked as good a landmark as any to mark our turn-around point. Although it took us a few back-and-forth along Highway 1 to find it for sure, since the car's GPS mis-labeled its position on the map.

Got there toward the late-side of lunch, but the menu was short so no time needed for review. A curried split pea soup and green salad for her, with bread crusts on the side. A simple cheese-burger and fries for me. Nothing fancy, but tasty and fresh. Took a while for the food to get to us, but we weren't in any hurry, and the outdoor patio offered a nice view of the surrounding forest and coastal mountains in the distance. Kinda expensive, but not so easy to find good quality food in the middle of a national forest, even one as well-traveled as this one.

The bakery goods looked delicious with luscious sweet rolls and soft cookies. Unfortunately the wife spied a stray fly trapped in the display case which turned her off. Nevertheless, we were properly refreshed and ready to turn around for the trip back up the coastal highway towards home.

Big Sur Bakery And Restaurant
47540 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
(831) 667-0520

Passionfish

Following the travel advice I found online, we decided to stay in a B&B in Pacific Grove near Monterey, instead of within Carmel proper. The quiet little town right along the sea was a perfect overnighting location, but what to do for dinner after a long day of driving and sight-seeing? The reviews of the places along Monterey Cannery Row were almost universally dire. However, there was a popular option within Pacific Grove itself. Passionfish was almost universally praised as the finest restaurant in the area. The tourist business must be good, considering the place manages fill a 140-seat space made from a converted town house. I was actually worried about them not having a table for walk-ins, but the large space and a late weekday evening meant that we were promptly seated with no problems.

As one might deduce from the location and the name, seafood is the name of the game. My fried oyster starter was fresh with the rich brininess coated with the hot, crisply fried breading, but $8 for four was a bit pricey, even with the organic arugula sprinkled on top. Just one more oyster would've made me totally satisfied. The wife had the cream-of-mushroom soup. Smoky bacon bits totally made the pedestrian-sounding soup sing. After all, everything tastes better with bacon, no?

The wife chose well-stuffed raviolis in a spicy southwestern chili-chipotle sauce. Definitely not her usual taste but she's not afraid of a little heat and seemed to like it well enough. Although the rich sauce and strong flavors got a bit tiring once the dish got cold.

I had grilled fish with a tomato salsa and spicy microgreens on top. Buttery chanterelle mushrooms, sweet corn, and haricot vert on the side. Very fresh, and the seafood is guaranteed sustainable!

The restaurant's fine reputation is certainly well-earned. A friendly, warm atmosphere and locally-sourced food makes it a perfect vacation meal to experience California's bounty. The wine list is suppose to be a standout, too, although I'm not knowledgeable enough to judge. All in all a fine way to finish the first half of our coastal over-nighter.

Passionfish
701 Lighthouse Ave
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
(831) 655-3311

Portola Cafe And Restaurant

The wife thought we're already spending too much time looking at fish, but it was getting into the afternoon and there were still a few things I wanted to see. So decided that we'd just eat in the Aquarium instead of going out to Cannery Row, which mostly looked like expensive tourist-traps anyway.

The restaurant was split into a self-service cafe and a sit-down restaurant. Although lunch service had ended by the time we got there so we could sit wherever we wanted. There were stations offering pizzas, grill items, or pre-made salads and sandwiches. Holy crap was it expensive but the quality was surprisingly good, with organic burger patty and fancy cheeses on the pizza. The space looks out right into Monterey Bay and they made sure to make the windows nice and big to bring in the light and show off the view. Or there were also benches and tables outside, but we stayed inside to get out of the wind. Not the most memorable meal in the world, but I was glad I still had the chance to check out the otters and jellyfishes before the wife finally dragged me outta there.

Portola Cafe And Restaurant
The Monterey Bay Aquarium
886 Cannery Row
Monterey, California 93940

Tartine Bakery

Although not up to the level of Acme, there is some decent breads to be had in Taiwan nowadays, but I don't know if it's the weather or the skill of the bakers but it's still impossible to find decent croissants or viennoiseries. So I take advantage of the jet lag to get up with the dawn to head to the nearest bakery when I'm back in the States. Being in the East Bay, it's taken me a while before finally getting around to the place widely acknowledged as SF's best bakery while on our way to Carmel. The pain au chocolat and breakfast bun might be quite a bit larger than how the French would make them, but who cares about what the French think? Especially when the pastries are tasty and cafe au lait came in a big bowl like it should. Couldn't resist getting a scone, too, but it was too much for us to finish that morning. Took it with us to Carmel and back and it was still fresh and tasty two days later, after a minute in the toaster oven. Very impressive considering how quickly scones typically go stale. Boy the world sure seems better place when there's a good bakery nearby.

Tartine Barkery
600 Guerrero St.
(between 18th St & 19th St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 487-2600

Foreign Cinema

Finally got the chance to visit the Bay Area again after the honeymoon. Like last time, we drove across the Bay Bridge to stay with Sam and Michelle at their place in San Fran for a night. Being gracious hosts, they treated us to dinner. Thankfully it worked out that our typhoon-delayed travel plans didn't affect our dinner date, because I was looking forward to trying out Foreign Cinema.

Converting a movie theater into an alternative dining venue is old hat nowadays. But FC was one of the first, and it offers a more upscale menu than most restaurant/theaters. But it was a relatively chilly night, and we were more interested in chatting and catching up instead of obscure movies in European languages. So we sat inside instead of out in the courtyard where the actual foreign movie was being projected onto the whitewashed side of the neighboring building. It was too bad we missed out on Foreign Cinema's namesake schtick, but the space inside was very nice, too, with high ceilings and good spacing between tables, an increasingly rare feature due to sky-high rents.

The menu items were suitably Cali-cosmopolitan, good ingredients with a basis in Mediterranean techniques. It must've been such a revelation way back when CP first did it, but it's almost like comfort food at this point. I had the salmon wrapped in fig leaf, while Sam chose the Middle-Eastern-spiced lamb skewer. Sam doesn't even particularly love lamb, but he feels compelled to order it when he sees it just to have something different. On the other hand, I've gone more towards ordering generic things like salmon and chicken more to experience non-exotic ingredients done well. SO had slices of Kobe bavette steak with arugula and tomatoes. She found it a bit too rare for her liking initially. Really it should've been that way for a perfect medium rare, but they took it back to cook it to medium-well without flinching. The meat even retained most of its tenderness and flavor after the secondary cooking, now without bloody juice drippings. Michelle had halibut on a curried chutney, perfectly sustainable seafood and another interesting flavor to be passed around the table as we shared nibbles.

A half-bottle of pinot-noir was well-received by all, although split between three it was more a taste than a glass, which was all we wanted, really. The meal was well portioned to leave room for dessert, and the four of us shared a lusciously rich chocolate pots-de-creme covered with whip cream and a deconstructed pear-nectarine crisp a-la-mode. A cappuccino for Sam, plain coffee for me topped it all off.

Foreign Cinema has thrived for almost ten years, practically an historical institution compared to typical SF restaurant lifetimes. They've done it by appealing to both locals and tourists, or both at the same time, like in our case. Not to mention that it makes a great first-date restaurant, with the movie serving as conversation starter or escape hatch, depending on how it goes. Of course, all buttressed by good food at upscale but not wallet-busting prices. Looking forward to going back again in the future, to catch a movie this time.

Foreign Cinema
2534 Mission St.
(between 21st St & 22nd St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 648-7600

度小月擔擔麵

擔擔麵 is one of those classic Taiwanese 小吃 dishes that we've never gotten around to eating in our time together. We'd wandered over to Yongkang St. for dinner after pushing our way through the stupid-crowded Millet art exhibition. We weren't all that hungry, and I was more interested in hitting Ice Monster anyway. 度小月 happened to be right there, a nicer place than the street vendor stalls and famous for their noodles, so I figured we'd give it a try.

Originally from Tainan, the Taipei location was set up more to appeal to the tourists spillover from Din Tai Fung around the corner. The space was decorated with a pseudo-historical way, with fancy multi-language menus with color pictures showing off the fare. The noodle station is open and set up right up front, visible from the street through the picture window.

Meanwhile, the food is simple, as you'd expect. A bowl of noodles in a simple meat broth with some 肉燥 soy-roasted fatty pork bits on top for flavor, with vinegar and cilantro added to taste. There is something to be said for offering famous local street foods, done consistently in a nice setting, but I'm sure most folks already know a nearby street vendor who do noodles and vegetables better for less. At least DTF's xiaolongbao requires some skill to master the dumpling filling process. Didn't order anything beyond the noodles and a plate of greens because I couldn't make myself pay the menu prices for such simple food. Nevertheless we were grateful for a nice air-conditioned place to sit and rest our feet for a while. But next time we'll have to go to Tainan and find the best darn hole-in-the-wall dan-dan-noodle place for ourselves.

度小月(永康店)
台北市大安區永康街9號之1
02-33931325