May 22, 2005
What part of a horse is that, anyway?
A day-old baguette and a soft cheese constitute my dinner. The cheese container had a label in French, German, and Dutch, but I couldn't make out the flavour from any of those (and am not quite sure why I bought it, other than the illustration on the sticker looked appealing). Now I know that raifort means* 'horseradish' and that is a very odd thing to put into a soft cheese. I do, however, fondly recall a horseradish cheddar I ate a few years ago. From Wikipedia:
It has been speculated that the word is a partial translation of its German name Meerrettich. The element Meer (meaning 'ocean, sea') is pronounced like the English word mare, which might have been reinterpreted as horseradish. On the other hand, many English plant names have "horse" as an element denoting strong or coarse, so the etymology of the English word (which is attested in print from at least 1597) is uncertain.
*(Oddly, Google could translate from the French into the German, and from the French into English, but not from German into English.)
BIM
I can hear the pleasantly monotonous voice of the Viennese light-rail system's electronic train announcements: "Mariahilferstraße ... Westbanhof". But, my word! their web site reeks of a fat government contract with no oversight. Much more straightforward and functional is this Flash-based timetable. The sound effect is quite nice, too!
Web sites notwithstanding, Vienna's trains and the service are magnificent, and apparently carry small cargo flats as well as passengers.
Waller and Fillmore
Just a few weeks after workers tore out the ersatz Picasso mural(e)s, the storefront at the corner of Waller and Fillmore boasts a new design: Cafe du Soleil. A young boy was splashing red paint onto the concrete threshold this afternoon when I walked past. A man -- Mustapha Akhou, the managing partner of this shop? -- spoke from inside the door and told me that the café will open on Tuesday morning at 7, and stay open 'til 10, 11 -- "as long as there is demand". And tables will be placed outside, on the broad and sunny sidewalk on the north side of Waller. This café is another in the rapidly-expanding chain begun by the Boulangerie on Pine, near Fillmore. That shop had a certain je ne sais quoi, but now that one finds that shade of blue everywhere -- just so! -- the ridiculously high prices become less interesting. Rigolo on California and the café in the former Tassajara Bakery on Cole are also part of this enterprise, as is another sandwich-and-salad shop downtown. Pascal Rigo, the man behind Bay Bread and all this Francophilia, also runs a handful of restaurants (Chez Nous, Cortez, Petit Robert ... the list goes on) in San Francisco.
No word on why the Movida Lounge closed down. Perhaps their vision of being the wine bar where everyone waited for their table at Thep Phanom and the Indian Oven across the street never materialised? The several times I stopped in, the tables were humming but never crowded.
As for the Café de Soleil, it will continue to serve sangria, but not any hard liquor. The chalkboard inside listed a long list of bieres à pression, and the pretty counter-top had racks waiting to burst forth with buttery pastry and tasty sandwiches. Just like all of Rigo's other shops.
