Monday, February 17, 2003
Slept in. Came up with an idea that will make us rich. (It's a secret.) Breakfast at home with Patrick: eggs over easy with hash browns. Saw The Hours at Century 20 Daly City (US$7 each for tickets bought with Fandango.com, $7 for a bag of popcorn and a 22-ounce root beer). Dinner at Ana Mandara with Patrick for our 3rd anniversary. The food was delicious, the service was near awful. We started with a sweet aperatif, lillet blanc. Then came a bowl of crab soup and a plate of cha gio (6 small crispy spring rolls). Patrick had the grilled duck and a glass of Crozes Hermitage. I had the sauteed halibut. For dessert, we had coconut rum cake and a roasted banana and two Vietnamese coffees. Our bill was US$102 before $8.67 tax, and we tipped only $5. When we arrived at 6:10 PM for a 6:15 PM reservation, the hostess at the door was talking on the phone to a friend. "Let me transfer you to Mom, okay? I gotta go." When we entered, the dining room was indeed as enchanting as all the reviews we had read. I predicted before we came in that the decor would probably turn out to be a lot better than the food or service, and I was right. Our server's name according to our receipt was "Eriberto R". Each time someone told him the entree he or she wanted, he'd exclaim, "Oh! That's my favorite dish!" When asked to describe a dish in more detail than the menu, he'd simply repeat more or less what the menu had said. He had forgotten to bring Patrick's glass of wine until long after our entrees had arrived. And he seemed to be covering a lot more tables than he could handle. We didn't see him very often after he took our order. Ana Mandara was a nice experience, but I don't think we'll be returning anytime soon.