Baccali Cafe and Rotisserie
Sunday, September 18, 2005 22:49There are few industries more “free market” than the restaurant business. If they don’t offer the customer something (good food at a good price or good food at a price plus a unique experience in some fashion) they will eventually go belly up.
A drive down Valley Blvd in Alhambra and some places you will see overflowing with people standing around waiting for a table spilled out into the street. And there are some places where the lights are on and not so many people are inside and you wonder, how long can they last?
My parents, as I have mentioned before, like what they know and know what they like. And so here is another blog post about a place they have introduced me to.
Baccali Cafe and Rotisserie isn’t a gold mine because it is a fancy place with highly attentive service. It is overflowing with people because it has a ridiculous variety of good food at a good price. I suppose perhaps the atmosphere (noisy and crowded) may bring back memories for some of the 24/7 buzz of Hong Kong.
What kind of food is it you ask? Is it Chinese since it is in Alhambra?
Well, yes and no. It is Chinese in that the cooks and wait staff are Chinese. It is Chinese in that most of its patrons are Chinese. It is Chinese in that the menu of 200+ items contain some very typical Chinese dishes. But it is also, well, a little bit of everything else. For instance, you can also order seafood chowder, caesar salad, a New York cut steak, club sandwich or pizza.
So if you find yourself in that part of town and are looking for a light but warm (with cooler season approaching) evening meal, go there and order #166, Rice Porridge with Preserved Egg with Shredded Pork (or any other item in the Rice Porridge section). This would be a very “Chinesey” choice!
Or if you want to eat a bit more just look through the long menu and you are bound to find something you know that you would like. No worries about an order gaffe by picking “fake Chinese food.” It is just about good food and pleasing you with that and a good price so you will come back and bring friends. Be sure to go for the Red Bean drink and you’ll seem like a real pro! 8-)
Baccali Cafe and Rotisserie
245 West Valley Blvd.
Alhambra, CA 91801
626-293-3300 (phone)
626-293-8090 (fax)
By Rene (see more of his posts). You can find more of Rene's writing at his own website Rene's Ramblings
Dylan says:
September 19th, 2005 at 11:45 am
Baccali is a steal. Rene, try out Cafe Spot on valley blvd as well. They have some really good food. and the infamous hong kong pancakes. which look like giant bubble wrap.
Rene says:
September 20th, 2005 at 10:35 am
What is the cross street for Cafe Spot? I’ll have to try it out! Thanks!
Dylan says:
September 20th, 2005 at 2:56 pm
Cafe Spot
500 W. Valley Blvd.
Alhambra, CA 91803
626-308-3233
Heather Kitching says:
March 1st, 2006 at 6:58 am
Baccali is certainly full of variety…and we all know what happens when restaurants offer too much - everything is fairly poorly done. Perhaps I don’t appreciate the semi-Hong Kong feel but given that this place is in LA, its my last choice, hands down. All around it on Valley Blvd you can find better real Chinese food - or the American-style fares that it also offers. How good is “cheap” food when the food is simply cheaply done…I suspect its the buzz atmosphere that keeps this place afloat - not the mediocre food. There are better choices EVERYWHERE you look in the LA area.
Rene says:
March 1st, 2006 at 8:27 am
Hi Heather:
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts. Sorry you had a disappointing experience.
I think the strength of LAFB is that we have the diversity of writers and readers to tackle the variety of restaurants in the Southern California food scene.
It is my hope that when I post a review I would briefly provide some objective information about the dining experience of the venue. From that, hopefully, the reader will decide, I think I’ll try that or that isn’t really what I’m in the mood for tonight. However, I have no illusions about the reality that there is subjectivity in the process.
Zagat rates with the four dimensions of food, service, atmosphere and price.
Baccali doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is. It is not high end dining nor is it Chinese-hole-in-the-wall with ducks and BBQ pork hanging in the window. Thus, in my opinion, the food is good but not out of this world, the service is adequate for the type of restaurant that it is and the prices are reasonable. And in regard to atmosphere, I think we agree on the “Hong Kong Buzz” factor. One can’t underestimate this kind of intangible in the success of a restaurant.
As an American of Chinese ancestry, I confess to experiencing culture shock when I visited Hong Kong. When people from small town USA visit LA they feel overwhelmed. When I’ve visited New York, I feel overwhelmed. And indeed, when I was in Hong Kong, I felt it was NY times three in terms of sheer busyness and crowds.
Thanks again visiting LAFB and happy dining!
Andy 美國土å? says:
April 14th, 2006 at 11:07 am
Baccali is a Hong Kong cafe which serves what is called 港å¼?西é¤? (P:xiang gang shi can), literally, “HK style western food”. It is bridge gap between Chinese and western food. These are usually bad choices for food as they neither do chinese food well nor do they western food well. There are certain HK that make certain dishes exceptionally well, but you will ahve to do a bit of hunting to find out where and what. I don’t recall how good or bad Baccali was. I’ve eaten there 2x, and once was immediately after getting off a 15 hr flight from HK. Acouple examples of HK Cafe.
http://theabc.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/04/duped_in_la.html
http://theabc.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/02/hk_cafe_.html
Tuong says:
May 15th, 2006 at 8:30 pm
Baccali is a ok place to eat. Its a nice change of pace from the other Cafes around the area. There are some foods that you should absolute stay away from though. And then there are some that you should try. For instance the Baccali chicken is really good. The pizza is not. I usually get the wonton soup, you can’t really go wrong with that. Or a club sandwitch. The best part about the place is the drinks. The ice tea is really good. Its basically a peach flavored (I think its peach) lipton tea. I also like the shakes. Lastly, don’t expect a great steak either. Most of the Cafes don’t make a good stake.
Suzy says:
December 17th, 2006 at 12:58 am
Just got food poisoning from this place. All my friends did. Their food sucks.
Elena says:
August 29th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
I am from Hispanic descent and frequently eat at may different hong kong style cafes. Baccali is a bar and grille better than average but there are many other cafes that rank higher than Baccali. What I’m saying is that …. KT CAFE IS THE BEST CAFE EVER IN THE LA COUNTY!!! YOu should really try it. The steak and eggs are only 4.95. woah… which includes rice or pasta. The steak and lobster is absolutely delicoso! I am in love with it , and i bring all my friends to eat there.