September 12, 2010
籌學費
We parked the car in the garage and went down RenAi Blvd instead of going home for dinner. I'd noticed this curiously named restaurant before but the wife wasn't in the mood for American food back then. Today she was more amenable.
The restaurant is a tiny converted shack in an alley just off Guangfu Blvd. The interior is decorated much like an American family diner, but the extensive menu scrawled in chalk across an entire wall covers a surprisingly ambitious range. There's the classically American burgers and breakfast foods, but there's also American-Italian pastas, and a whole section of Cal-Mex dishes. One could be generous and talk about the open kitchen, or just note that there's no room for a real cooking space so they simply had a bar to blocked off an area with a few gas-can burners. As a family-run operation, I'm inclined to think of it as a pleasantly quirky feature, since it also allows them to chat with the patrons. The name of the restaurant itself comes from their mother's restaurant work supporting her children through school, and any tips are donated to educational charities.
I couldn't resist the temptation of Mexican food, especially the less-often seen dishes, so I ordered the beef chimichanga. Wife wasn't as inclined for adventure so she chose the fettuccine Alfredo with chicken.
I wasn't a big fan of the chimichanga while living in the States, but it's so rare to find it in Taiwan that I had to give it a try. I wanted the fried burrito to be good but frankly I was prepared for disappointment, as is usually the case for Tai-Mex. The dish made a good first impression, the pan-fried tortilla wrapping glistening hot and golden brown. Two ramekins with mild salsa and sour cream were on the side to dress up the chimichanga or to dip the home-made tortilla chips. The inside was packed with ground beef, onions, and sweet peppers, generously spiced with chili powder. Humble ingredients, but when well-prepared it is tasty as a rare treat. Wife's pasta was less flavorful. But the sauce was rich and nicely thickened, unlike the soupy white sauce often found in Taiwan eateries. The wider fettuccine noodles suited the sauce better, too, more so than the usual strands of spaghetti.
With just the two of us, we didn't even get to the online-famous bacon cheeserburgers. And there were a ton of other tempting options on the menu that still needs tasting, too. Will definitely return.
籌學費
台北市信義區光復南路417巷37號
02-2345-1398