这周休息，终于把新买的Pasta Machine 派上了用场。 Recipe 来自 French Laundry 蚬汁意面以前我也做过很多版本的，很多味道都不错，但是味道不能算很 sophisticated。 这次试大师人物的菜谱，自然要严肃些： 自己做的 Linguini (新鲜Pasta 好吃不知道多少倍。。。值得花时间！） 用料其实也简单，但是程序比较有趣，还有就是烤鲜蒜做蒜酱费些时间。 味道么。。。。。Vankie 吃完了以后一分钟没说出话来，最后还嫌我给他份量太少了。。。:) 这个菜谱我收了，以后可以多拿出来宴客用。

Seabass with Piquillo Pepper Sauce and Garden Greens
Scallops with Almong-Caper Butter Sauce

打听了好久，终于在 Jin's Patisserie 买到了想念已久的Macaron。

Saturday night, my friends and I headed over to Cafe Beaujolais for a
birthday celebration.

Prior to Saturday, we first had our reservation at "Bistro K" - the
southern Pasadena hot spot ran by genius chef Laurent Quenioux. Not
until 6pm on Saturday night was I informed that Monsieur Quenioux had
left Bistro K since May 2007; this restaurant's once-perfect 5 star
reviews had dropped to 1 star for the past half year.

What a bummer!

So one friend suggested Cafe Beaujolais in Eagle Rock. Although their
no reservation policy made me unsure, we were happily seated by 8:30
(after 20 min wait).

Parking and Atmosphere: 4 1/2 (out of 5)
The parking on the off street was fairly easy; the restaurant had a
very french decor with old posters and warm colors. It was great
atmosphere, reminded me of my recent trip to Paris.

Service: 3 1/2 star (out of 5)
I would only give 3 1/2 star because how good the French waiters look
and they bring you a clean glass whenever a different wine is served.

The waiters walked around in tight black T-shirt and no smile. They
didn't come to us often and the food was super slow. One of the waiter
didn't even understand much English so our "two additional French
onion soup" never made their way to our table...Come'on, do we really
have to learn how to yell out "Excuse-moi!" or "s'll vous plait!" to
get attentive service in this place?

Food: 3 (out of 5)
Bread: cold baguette with non-crispy crust. Ehww...

Appetizer: We ordered Escargot and Smoked Salmon salad(?). Not bad.

Soup: The best item of the night was the French Onion Soup.
Caramelized onion and delicious melted cheese was a treat.

Entree: I ordered Duck; One friend ordered Halibut, another friend
ordered Rack of Lamb and the rest of the gang went with steak.

The Duck was almost swimming in the overly sweet fruit-based sauce
when it was brought to me. And does "Medium Rare" translate to "Medium
Well" in French? Needless to say, the duck was a big disappointment
to me: it was still tender cooked to "Medium Well", but the sauce was
a major overkill. It was too sweet and two watery - how about reducing
the sauce and thickening it a bit so nothing is dripping while I was
trying to put the meat in my mouth? And why on earth were my
asparagus, potato gratin and roasted tomato also soaked in this sweet
sauce?!!!

The steaks were incorrectly served - people who ordered "Medium-Rare"
got "Medium-Well" and vice versa. I heard it was OK, but everything
seems overdone - my duck was barely pink, the lamb was definitely well
done and the steaks varies, most of them are in the medium to
medium-well range.

Dessert:
The best dessert was the Creme Brulee. The tarts are mediocre. People
enjoyed them because they are less sweet than most American Desserts.

Conclusion:
If you want casual dining experience and great atmosphere, this is the
place to you. And since it reminds me of my travel to Paris like no
where else, I think I will be back again - to sip some wine, have some
of that onion soup and relive my memories of Paris.

Will I skip entree next time?

Probably.

...per my Dog's reaction...

情人节 某人非常狡猾狡猾滴在我完全没有意料的情况下送了钻戒一枚。。。从此要携手告别单身了，嘿嘿。

原来Safari 用来写 space 这么麻烦，很多格式都没有了。 考虑换space 了。

没有人比捷克人更会用音乐来怀旧（参考 Leos Janacek) 没有人比阿根廷人更会用音乐来诠释痛苦和激情 (参考 Astor Piazzolla)

终于过了 DMV 的路考。。。开了这么多年，居然当考官坐在身旁的时候也会紧张地不行。 hard way 也走了， 这回总该给我正式驾照了吧。。。。

今天值得纪念，第一次给男生拍照，个人摄影上的又一个 Milestone. 再接再厉。