Eating Out When the cuckoo clock struck the hour, its workings deconstructed and it played the music box version of “Around the World� (Around the world, I searched for you. I traveled on when hope was gone, to keep a rendezvous.) Try getting that out of your head. N
Michelle Le
Michelle Le
Roasted pepper and smoked Gouda soup. (continued from previous page)
on the outside, soft and chewy inside. Kids 10 and under are welcome to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or turkey breast with cheddar cheese. Both come on white bread, with a cookie, for $5.95. Tables aren’t crammed together, but if you’re in the vicinity of crying child or an intense conversation, you’re going to hear every word. If you’d rather read, pick a spot in an-
other of the cafe’s several venues. In addition to the counter, you can sit out on the sidewalk or in two dining areas in the front and one in the back, called the Chat Room. It can be reserved for groups, with breakfast or lunch served. When we visited, the cafe’s ample walls were devoted to previews of works by Silicon Valley Open Studios artists. Local artists always are featured, as are local authors and local products such as Preston’s candies from Burlingame,
A turkey sandwich on a croissant. and Alice’s Stick Cookies from Los Altos. There’s a good variety of magazines, from Glamour and People to Cook’s Illustrated and Utne Reader. You are invited, sensibly, to buy the magazine and then read it. As for the book aspect of Main
Street Cafe and Books, it’s a small and quirky selection of new releases, bestsellers, classics and local authors. On the Local Authors shelf, the only name I recognized was architect Julia Morgan, subject of an historical study of the Asilomar Conference Grounds.
ShopTalk
“A BLAST OF
CINEMATIC SUNSHINE.� DAILY MIRROR
“CHARMING, FUNNY AND HEARTWARMING.� ROGER EBERT,
++++.
“
A TRUE CLASSIC, STARRING A ROYAL COLLECTION OF THE MOST BRILLIANT AND ACCOMPLISHED BRITISH ACTORS ALIVE.� REX REED,
A rendering of the new Apple Store at Stanford Shopping Center. “JUDI DENCH IS
PITCH-PERFECT.�
“A BUOYANT COMEDY, LACED WITH GENUINE EMOTION.� PETER TRAVERS,
EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENTS NOW PLAYING
CAMPBELL REDWOOD CITY ! % %(" * % " ! % "'(%* #)"'#)" PALO ALTO SAN JOSE " ! % "+ %'& # '# $( % " ! % "+ %'& "' " #)
Page 28ĂŠUĂŠ >ÞÊ£n]ÊÓä£ÓÊUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?Âœ Â?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°Vœ“
APPLE STORE IN STEALTH MODE ... A new Apple Store is quietly beginning construction at the Stanford Shopping Center. No one will publicly talk about it, yet no one will deny it. But it can’t be missed. At 12,100 square feet and standing nearly 23 feet tall in a single story, it will be a behemoth of a building. Why the big secret? An Apple spokeswoman would say only, “We’ve made no announcement around the store at this location so I’m not sure how much more I can tell you.� A Palo Alto city official also did not reveal anything. Further, Stanford Shopping Center spokesman Jon Benvenuto said, “We cannot comment on the new tenant.� But the construction site is so extensive and intrusive that it can’t be missed by anyone walking through the western portion of the mall. Ten-foot-high black sheeting, which extends into the courtyard and forces shoppers to walk around the barrier, conceals the work. The venerable frog pond is gone, but only temporarily. It will be relocated in
the mall once construction is complete, according to one source. The new store replaces two vacant storefronts: the former Rugby Ralph Lauren and Williams Sonoma Home stores. Construction is expected to take about six months, with completion in mid-November, the source said, adding that the current Apple Store at the mall will close once the new one is finished. Plans for the new store were submitted to the City last October, but they went virtually unnoticed by the public because the company was not named. On May 11, the final plans were handed over to the City’s Development Office. They detail the construction and elaborate design of the project, and the Apple Store is prominently named. One seasoned industry observer who had viewed the early drawings called the building design exquisite. “It makes an elegant and dramatic statement. It is destined to become Apple’s flagship store,� he said. The structure features a tall glass cube with an overhang that extends well beyond the build-
Main Street Cafe & Books 134 Main St., Los Altos 650-948-8040 Hours: Mon.-Sat. 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun. 9:30 a.m-2:30 p.m.
Reservations Credit CARDS Lot Parking Beer and wine Takeout Highchairs Wheelchair access
Banquet Catering Outdoor seating Noise level: Low Bathroom Cleanliness: Very good
ing. “It makes the space between the outside and the inside almost indistinguishable,� the source said, adding that it will bear some similarity to New York’s Apple Store Fifth Avenue, which also has a distinctive glass cube as an entrance. A second Apple Store is also being built in Palo Alto and will replace the current downtown shop at 340 University Ave. Construction is well underway at 451 University Ave., in the former site of Z Gallerie . The store is expected to be completed several months ahead of the one at Stanford. The downtown store, which will also have a glass facade and roof, will be two stories plus a basement, with the total square footage at 16,600. ADIENT IN ALMA PLAZA ... After six years at 120 Hamilton Ave. in Palo Alto, Adient Health, a rehab center that offers physical and occupational therapy, is moving south to the new Alma Plaza. “We’ve done well here downtown, but we can no longer afford the rent in this location,� clinic manager Kurt Koeppen said, noting that the landlord raised the rent significantly. Adient will make the move in late summer or early fall and will take up the entire second floor of one of the buildings. Next to Adient Health will be the 20,000-square-foot grocery store Miki’s Farm Fresh Produce, which also plans a move-in date of late summer to early fall. Alma Plaza will go through a name change when it is completed. “We’ll be calling it Alma Village,� said developer John McNellis. With the construction of the planned 51 new homes, “we will have created a village,� he said. CORRECTION ... The May 4 column incorrectly stated the number of La Boulange patisserie/cafe locations in the Bay Area. There are 19.
Heard a rumor about your favorite store or business moving out, or in, down the block or across town? Daryl Savage will check it out. Email shoptalk@ paweekly.com.