Situated at the Jinhua Street end of Yongkang Street, at first glance California Grill is a deceptively simple burger joint. From heavily laden burgers to well-dressed salads, the restaurant offers appealing fare for meat lovers and vegetarians alike.
The joint was a long time in the planning. Chef Brian Stoddart and his Californian partner, Wei Shum (沈維), had been considering opening a high quality Western-style grill for a couple of years when a rare space came up on Yongkang Street. With two other partners they aimed to create a restaurant that would stand out from Taipei's myriad western food options.
The burgers, even with a rather lean 10 percent fat, are juicy. Unlike their fast food counterparts, eating these burgers requires dexterity to keep them together towards the end as the juices and sauce mingle and soak into the buns, which are low in sugar and preservative-free and come in white or whole-wheat.
PHOTO: CATHERINE THOMAS, TAIPEI TIMES
The Mofo burger is an almighty stack of freshly made patty (100 percent USDA beef), bacon, American cheddar cheese, garlic mayo, barbecue sauce, and salad served in a white bun. There is a chicken breast option and customized burgers are available on request.
A healthier sounding choice is the salmon burger, which consists of a fillet of sashimi grade Canadian freshwater salmon, grilled and served with pesto mayonnaise on a whole-wheat bun. For vegetarians, the tofu burger is prepared with a sesame and ginger glaze.
California Grill also offers a selection of three salads with homemade sauces. The So Cal comes with a surprisingly tangy and spicy yogurt dressing made from Swiss plain yogurt and a secret blend of spices, which juxtaposes unexpected flavors with the fresh orange slices. The Napa Valley comes served with freshly grilled chicken and a light white wine dressing.
From washing their veggies with Harvest Pure Wash to remove pesticide residue to sourcing non-farmed salmon and homemade tofu, California Grill certainly lives up to its namesake's reputation for enjoying the good times, but keeping an eye on health concerns.
California Grill's drinks include sodas (Dad's root beer), English ales from the Badger brewery and milk shakes. The milk shakes deserve a special mention. Firstly, they are thick and creamy (the milk shake machine was imported from the US), secondly because of the natural flavorings, and thirdly, starting this month there will be an option of adding Baileys and Kahlua.
Last week, on the heels of the recall election that turned out so badly for Taiwan, came the news that US President Donald Trump had blocked the transit of President William Lai (賴清德) through the US on his way to Latin America. A few days later the international media reported that in June a scheduled visit by Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) for high level meetings was canceled by the US after China’s President Xi Jinping (習近平) asked Trump to curb US engagement with Taiwan during a June phone call. The cancellation of Lai’s transit was a gaudy
Following the shock complete failure of all the recall votes against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers on July 26, pan-blue supporters and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were giddy with victory. A notable exception was KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), who knew better. At a press conference on July 29, he bowed deeply in gratitude to the voters and said the recalls were “not about which party won or lost, but were a great victory for the Taiwanese voters.” The entire recall process was a disaster for both the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The only bright spot for
As last month dawned, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in a good position. The recall campaigns had strong momentum, polling showed many Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers at risk of recall and even the KMT was bracing for losing seats while facing a tsunami of voter fraud investigations. Polling pointed to some of the recalls being a lock for victory. Though in most districts the majority was against recalling their lawmaker, among voters “definitely” planning to vote, there were double-digit margins in favor of recall in at least five districts, with three districts near or above 20 percent in
From Godzilla’s fiery atomic breath to post-apocalyptic anime and harrowing depictions of radiation sickness, the influence of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki runs deep in Japanese popular culture. In the 80 years since the World War II attacks, stories of destruction and mutation have been fused with fears around natural disasters and, more recently, the Fukushima crisis. Classic manga and anime series Astro Boy is called “Mighty Atom” in Japanese, while city-leveling explosions loom large in other titles such as Akira, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Attack on Titan. “Living through tremendous pain” and overcoming trauma is a recurrent theme in Japan’s
RSS