Q Bar
16, Alley 19, Lane 216, Chunghsiao E. Rd. (忠孝東路216巷19弄16號); tel (02) 2771-7778. Average meal: NT$200 plus drinks. Kitchen hours: 5pm to 1am. Happy hour: 5pm to 8 pm (all beer NT$ 100). English menu. Credit cards accepted.
The last time the Taipei Times was in Q Bar, it bumped into a 17-year Taiwan veteran named Bob, who professed that, "this was the place where the real old-timers hang out." Bob, whom the entire staff knew by name, went on to agree that it was also one of only two bars in Taipei with a true following of foreign regulars ("no transients", as he put it) and of those two, it was the only one with good food. True enough, Bob. Q Bar should certainly be credited with some of the best Western pub fare in town, especially for the prices. The guy responsible for the tasty home cooking is the shaven headed proprietor, Randall Hsieh (謝明仁). Since he is a friend of at least half of his customers, he makes it a point to take care of them.
As good bar menus should be, the Q Bar menu is simple and solid, including burgers, sandwiches, salads, pasta and one Mexican dish, quesadillas. Impressively, there are no soft spots. One house favorite is the burgers, which will require you to perform some two-handed squeezing so you can fit them in your mouth. They use enough ground beef to qualify as true American-style, though a few gourmet touches, like the spices and hickory flavor cooked into the meat, put them into a slightly different category. As they arrive on a big plate with a healthy side of fries, they're also generally enough to fill up a hungry Western stomach. The extremely reasonable prices (most dishes are NT$200 or less) and good service are also highly commendable.
Mr. Paco Pizzeria
28, Alley 4, Lane 345, Renai Rd., Sec. 4 (仁愛路4段345巷4弄28號); tel 2772-6066. Average meal: NT$400-500. 11am to 10pm (11pm on weekends). English menu. Credit cards accepted.
When Mr. Paco first opened four years ago, it became Taipei's first authentic European thin crust pizzeria. For this to happen, proprietor Patrick “Paco” Sturbois had to reconfigure an electric oven to hold a stone slab. As he says, it's very important for the pizza to cook directly on the stone, as metal trays are too hot.
Tasting the pizza, it would be hard to say that he got anything wrong. The sauce cooks along with the crust, providing extra freshness, and no compromises have been made with the ingredients. Sturbois says that even though local customers don't go for it, one of his personal favorites is the quattro fromaggi, which composes mozzarella, gorgonzola, brie, and goat cheese into an unexpectedly delicious success. Other pizza varieties include standards like siciliano and pesto, and more inventive selections that include toppings like salmon, sundried tomatoes and prosciutto.
But food is not the only thing going for this cozy nook of a restaurant. Mr. Paco has also attracted a discerning crowd of trendsetters and regulars with its relaxed atmosphere. Frequent customers seem to enjoy the simple menu of pizza and pasta as much as the low-key decor, which somehow works amidst walls painted in some friendly shade of tropical orange. Moreover, as the restaurant stays open fairly late and has an excellent selection of Belgian beers, many find it a good place to kick off an evening.
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