Dinner and a movie? Not at The 6th Avenue. The restaurant that sits on the second floor of Spot (光點), the city government's new repertoire cinema-cum-cafe-cum-bookstore doesn't yet serve dinner. Instead, you'll have to make do with lunch and a movie, or maybe a movie and late-night snack.
Spot is the former US ambassador's residence on Chungshan North Road. The elegant building sat derelict for years before the city government decided to turn it into a cinema showcasing Chinese-language films and culture.
They've succeeded by large measure (you know it's high culture if there's an Eslite Bookstore on the premises.)
PHOTO: DAVID MOMPARD, TAIPEI TIMES
A cafe sits on the ground floor adjacent the bookstore and upstairs, on the same veranda where Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Dwight Eisenhower talked shop, is The 6th Avenue -- a little known name for Chungshan North Road.
Just inside the veranda is a living room appointed with leather sofas and dark woods. You start to understand why they haven't started serving dinner as soon as you step inside; it's rather small and there are more sofas to sink into than tables to eat at. It's a pretentious place to enjoy a drink after sitting through a pretentious Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮) movie ? excuse me, I mean "film."
For the lunchtime crowd, however, the menu selection is kept slim and the prices reasonable. Entrees include two spaghettis, a bolognese and one with mushroom sauce (NT$180 and NT$220); a soup and salad of the day and some six or seven appetizers ranging between NT$160 for "3 Butter Bread" and NT$220 for sashimi, a Japanese-style sausage, minced salmon bread or clams with white wine sauce.
The prices may look steep, but the portions that come to the table are filling and there's absolutely no skimping on the ingredients. The spaghetti bolognese is as much bolognese as spaghetti. There are also a small selection of sandwiches: tuna salad, tuna fillet (NT$180) and a very tasty smoked salmon sandwich (NT$220).
The 6th Avenue carries a huge variety of teas and coffees that are the perfect way to enjoy the veranda. Verreine, Marakesh mint, cumquat and organic Darjeeling are only a few of the hot teas that are available. Both the teas and coffees are priced between NT$180 and NT$250.
Also, be aware as you order that a 10 percent service charge will be added to your order, although this doesn't necessarily translate into 10 percent better service.
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