Eating Out
Happy Hour s Catering s Gift Certificates Private Dining s Meeting s Banquet Rooms
[Chopsticks Always Optional]
We have daily dim sum service from 11am-2pm. We also offer tasty vegetarian and vegan dishes. In our Bar we have happy hours from 3pm to 6pm / Mon-Fri. Book now for our private rooms and banquet facilities. And don’t forget about our take out and delivery. In addition to all this, we’re open 365 Days / 11am-9:30pm and parking is never a problem.
“Voted Best Dim Sum in Silicon Valle y” – Metro’s best of Silicon Valley 201 3
Ming’s Chinese Cuisine and Bar 1700 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto tel 650.856.7700 / fax 650.855.9479 / www.mings.com
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“I say: ‘Listen. I’m a German bakery. ... I cannot suddenly become gluten-free. German baking uses flour,’” Nio said, a touch exasperated. Over the years, the bakery — which supplies local farmers markets as well — has found an audience. Expat Germans flock to the restaurant on San Antonio Road in Los Altos, which also serves food. Israelis, Russians and, more recently, Japanese and Chinese also have become regulars, Nio said. And that’s great for Ruckaberle, who is no stranger to long hours. As an apprentice in Germany in the 1950s, he started work at 1 a.m. every day and made deliveries by bicycle from 6 to 9 a.m., snow and ice not withstanding. On the cruise ship, loaded with 400 passengers, breakfast service started at 6 a.m. and the final buffet at midnight, with lunch, snack time and dinner in between. He would
Ernst Ruckaberle crafts a marzipan flower. work every single day for 11 months each year. “You have to be an idealist to go into this business,” said Ruckaberle, whose baking and confectionary training lasted 10 years. “You never look at the hours; you never look at the holidays.” Even these days, he sometimes can’t leave his work in the kitchen. He’s been known to take bricks of marzipan home, where he forms them into peaches, bananas, flowers and rabbits. Accompanied by a glass of wine, the activity is relaxing, he said. “It’s like art. ... For me, whatever I do, my heart is over there.” When Ruckaberle is not baking, he enjoys swimming, cooking and wine. Each Oktoberfest, he throws a party and cooks ham with bread-
let us cater to you, for your next party!
Roger’s Deli (continued from page 31)
We are passionate about the enjoyment of food and want to help you enjoy the moment with friends, loved ones and colleagues as you celebrate the joy of eating and living well. Let us make your event beautiful, delicious and easy. Whole Food Market 774 Emerson St., Palo Alto, CA 94301 Phone: 650.326.8676
A marzipan rabbit and flower.
Roger’s Deli & Donuts, 295 E. Middlefield Road, Mountain View; 650-965-2204 Hours: 5 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 5 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.; 6 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun. Reservations
Credit cards
Lot parking
Highchairs
Outdoor dining
Alcohol
Banquet
Catering Takeout Noise level: fine Bathroom cleanliness: fair
Veronica Weber
drinks are large, varied and reasonably priced. A 12-ounce fountain soda is 89 cents. Roger’s also has espresso drinks, Thai iced tea and iced coffee, and a huge cold case of juices and other beverages. Does Roger’s do everything well? Maybe not everything. But the food is fresh, and the place is run by a real person, not a marketing plan. It’s been working well, going on 19 years. N
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crust, cabbage, spaetzle, onion pie, pea soup and other German food for 40. Talk to the energetic septuagenarian long enough, and it’s clear he has no plans to retire. In part, Ruckaberle said, it’s because he enjoys a good working relationship with Nio and her husband, Robert. Every day, Ruckaberle and Nio start the day by chatting in German for 20 minutes. “He’s the most amusing person,” she said. “This personality you don’t find often. There’s just one Ernst.” In nearly seven years of working together, they’ve never had a fight or disagreement, Ruckaberle said. And besides, if he were to retire, what would he do? “Many people, they go, ‘You’re crazy, at 74 years you work seven days.’ But I tell them, ‘You never know what you miss.’ When I go in the morning to work, all the elderly guys with the little doggies, they walk on the street. I say to myself: ‘Uh-uh. Not me. I’ve got to work.’ “It makes me happy,” Ruckaberle said, standing in his kitchen and surrounded by stacks of springform pans and bags of sugar. “I like to work. I don’t have a problem with that.” N
German baker
Contributed photo by Suzanne Woo
A Great Place for Get-togethers
Contributed photo by Suzanne Woo
Serving Fine Chinese Cuisine in Palo Alto since 1956
The breakfast sandwich at Roger’s Deli & Donuts has egg, swiss cheese, bacon and avocado on a warm croissant.