CLOSED/western/italian: i recommend LONGTABLE

LONGTABLE

No. 91 SongRen Rd. 

台北市信義區松仁路91號

(02) 2345-3670

updating in 2019. CLOSED. It was then a Hooters (very shortlived) and now Buckskin Beerhouse. 

MRT: Taipei City Hall 

website: Longtable's FB page

hours: 11AM- 11:30PM

$$-$$$

Kid friendliness: lot of high chairs available

Visit reviewed: 9/16/2012 & 10/10/2012

Longtable is a little off the radar with its Xinyi location in an office building across the street from the Le Meridien Hotel, but is worth seeking out. The menu includes brunch, pizza, pasta, salads, sandwiches and other western fare and the spacious dining space perfect for large groups.

The first few times I went in September, the restaurant was relatively quiet, maybe too much so for such a large space. But on my last visit on 10/10, word of mouth seemed to spread and lots of families were taking advantage of the roomy space and long tables.

Like most restaurants, there are some dishes that I liked more than others, so here's what I would order again:  

(1) The Fish and Chips (NT $440) - a monster huge piece and the batter was fried perfectly crispy with flaky white fish. Would totally order this again, as this is not always easy to find in Taipei. A splash of worcestershire or tartar sauce to dip in. My uncle, who passed away last year, used to always love eating at Long John Silver when he visited us in LA, but if he was still around, I would totally order him this.

(2) The grilled veggie sandwich (NT$380)- another thing that is hard to find in Taipei.. so I was quite happy with this on my first visit. Grilled red and green peppers, thin slices of eggplant and layers of creamy goat cheese to bring it all together, with a side of fries to munch on.

2) Both the Chicken Tagliatelle (NT$370) and Rigatoni Bolognese (NT$390) disappeared quickly from the table and had to be reordered (I think I never got a picture of the rigatoni- that's how fast it was gone). Rigatoni pasta is not found as often in Taipei and the fat tubes creates pockets for the sauce which makes it quite flavorful.

I'd pass on the Seafood Linguine ($440) - I think because it was soft opening, they subbed spaghetti for linguine pasta, but the seafood also was frozen, not fresh. After eating the fresh seafood at Thai Made before my first time at Longtable, the texture and flavors of the frozen seafood was noticeably less appealing.

The pepperoni pizza (NT$440) actually comes trimmed with a bit of arugula which makes it a little more worth the pricier cost. I liked the salami over the sausage that's offered in the Toscana pizza (NT$440) which resembles more a hot dog than the ground pork sausage that I like. The size is fairly large and the crust is thin, but pliable. 

There's about 8 salads available at Longtable, including grilled halloumi cheese salad or grilled beef salad. I've tried 3 so far, and each one seems to have hearty toppings and portions. My favorite is probably the Nicoise salad (NT$390) which had lots of hard boiled egg, tuna, potato chunks and green beans to go around.

Caesar salad (NT$360) had some grape tomatoes and fresh parmesan cheese.

The Greek salad (NT$380) had the standard feta cheese, diced tomatoes, cucumbers and black olives, dressed with herbed olive oil vinagrette. It was probably my least favorite that I tried and a bit pricey for  what is basically an appetizer since it was a small size. But those craving something different, you can give it a try.

I'd also pass on the steak sandwich (NT$490) which I felt was too expensive. I also had tried a bite of this sandwich around the time I fell in love with the sandwiches from Dressed, so I preferred the steak, arugula, goat cheese combo from there.

If you're looking to splurge, you could try the Cafe de Paris Tenderloin Steak (NT$890), as was recommended by the waitress to my friend.

Longtable's menu is quite varied, including breakfast/brunch options, but I felt like my favorites were the pastas and pizzas. 

And if you love chocolate, can never go wrong with a chocolate lava cake. 

So while the menu is hit or miss for me and you pay a premium for dining in the Xinyi district, the convenience of the large space makes it a prime option for large groups or gatherings with your friends and their families, especially when you know what to order and avoid.  Next time you're looking for a last minute spot for brunch for you and your big extended family, you might find yourself appreciating the long tables at Longtable.

pizza/italian: i recommend ZOCA PIZZA

ZOCA PIZZA

No. 149 Linjiang St

台北市臨江街149號

(02) 2707-2212

MRT: DaAn

website: zocapizza.com

hours: closed Mondays

Tues-Fri 11 AM - 2:30PM; 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Sat/Sundays from 11AM - 9:30 PM

$$ (about $400/person)

Kid friendliness: high chairs available; lots of kid friendly toppings or plain cheese avail

Visit reviewed: 1/29/2013

Has this ever happened to you? You secretly make some new year's resolutions to eat healthier, exercise more often, write snail mail to friends, watch Homeland, clean out your closet, as well as blog up a storm, but then real life hits and all of sudden it's already February. And all of the resolutions got postponed. Not to mention my laptop's "start up disk" is full so I have over a month's worth of travel and food photos from my iphone, s95 and DSLR to upload. Eek. Time to clear the digital clutter and reorganize.

But until then, let's talk about a great little pizza place in the Daan district I tried the other day, Zoca Pizza. Some of you might have discovered it already, as I've been told to try this place at least a few times by a few readers. (It is also across the street from the shuttered WeiB which I saw was being torn down.)

Opened over a year ago, Zoca Pizza is a casual little shop near Anhe Road, offering over 40 kinds of different thin crust pizzas on the English, Italian and Chinese menu, as well as a daily soup, a few salads, calzone, lasagna, and a pizza by the slice lunch set. There is also a wine list and house made limoncello. The variety of pizzas is quite overwhelming with all the choices, but luckily our friend helped us order. The pizzas also cook quickly and come quickly to the table, so you could always add a pizza after your initial order if you aren't full. I like to order different ones and share.

You can even spy the chef making the pizzas in the open kitchen and firing it in the brick oven.

The waitress told us that the owner and chef of Zoca has been making pizza since he was a boy in Verona, Italy, and also learned how to make the Italian desserts and housemade gelatos that beckon when you walk in.

The pizzas are large enough to share, so my friends and I ordered a few to try. My friend recommended we come here insisted we order the Dolce Vita pizza (NT$400) and it ended up being my favorite of that day as well. 

Topped with prosciutto, mascarpone cheese, nuts and honey provide contrasting flavors and textures with the tomato sauce and cheese base. When my friend first described the pizza to me, I thought it was a dessert pizza, but it is quite savory and the creaminess of the fresh mascarpone really perfects the pizza. And the chewy crust is thin, but bendable and gives a great bite- not heavy and not crispy. The neapolitan pizzas at Zoca are similar to Fifteen Pizza, for those of you that have been.

The carbonara pizza comes with a white sauce and topped with bacon and a well done baked egg. I missed the tartness of the tomato sauce with this one and prefer a less well done egg, but it might be good for fans of carbonara pasta.

I thought it was funny (and very appropriate) that the pineapple and ham Hawaiian pizza was called Americana pizza (NT$320) instead. It reminded me of how we're so used to bastardized versions of other cuisines in America, but we end up craving it anyways because it's what we've grown up with. Like how some people look for or desire things like orange chicken and moo shu pork that are nearly impossible to find in Taipei because they are essentially Chinese Americana.  

We couldn't leave without trying the desserts, so we shared a hazelnut tart, a cannoli, and limoncello cake which they called bobo. I thought the cake would have a strong lemon flavor, but it was more of a strong alcohol flavor, which was actually too strong for me. Haha, you can tell I'm not a big drinker.

My favorite was the cannoli (NT$150), which I've only seen at Solo Pasta otherwise in Taipei. I'll have to come back another day to try a scoop or two of the Italian ice cream.

snapshot/pizza: i recommend VAPIANO's prosciutto arugula pizza

Arugula and prosciutto pizza with a view. 

VAPIANO

at ATT4Fun

No. 12 SongShou Rd, 10F 台北市松壽路12號10樓
(02) 2722-7111 

MRT: Taipei City Hall

Tried to have lunch with friends at the Diner the other day, but it had a ridiculous 40 minute wait on a weekday. So we hopped up a little higher at ATT4Fun to Vapiano, which I've reviewed before.

Vapiano had Rucola (arugula) pizzas and Crudo (prosciutto) pizzas, but nothing with them together. So I ordered the Crudo pizza (NT$360) and added arugula (aka rocket) for an extra NT$30 with a lot of pointing at the menu. The fresh parmesan gives it an extra layer of flavor and I liked how they put one piece of prosciutto per slice so there was no skimping.

Make sure to not confuse (like I did before with the pasta) the pizza named Prosciutto for the prosciutto pizza since it actually only has regular ham. Confusing I know. But it's a decent price for the size and the window view of 101. We didn't have to wait to be seated for a table, but the self serve policy will have someone in your group making multiple trips back and forth to the table for forks, napkins, cups, plates, water and seasonings, since they are all located in different areas of the restaurant like scavenger hunt.

I've also found delish prosciutto pizzas at Fifteen (the crust is chewier, but the size is smaller for the price),  and I also adore the spinach pizza with arugula and ricotta from Woolloomoolloo XY. 

italian/pizza: VAPIANO

VAPIANO

at ATT4Fun

No. 12 SongShou Rd, 10F 台北市松壽路12號10樓
(02) 2722-7111

MRT: Taipei City Hall 

website: Vapiano Taipei's FB page

hours: 11AM - 1PM; Friday/Saturdays 11AM- 2AM

$$ 

Kid friendliness: high chairs available. everything is self-serve

Visit reviewed: 4/17/2012

Vapiano is a German chain of Italian restaurants with pizza and pasta bars, and has almost 100 restaurants around the world. Located at the top of ATT4Fun, be sure to check out the view of Taipei 101 or grab a seat outside on the balcony.  I had heard about it for awhile, but with so many Italian eateries around, I didn't get a chance to try it right away.

The first thing that happens when you enter the restaurant, the hostess gives you some cards to use swipe when ordering food at the different stations, and to return to the cashier to "check out" when paying the bill. It's perfect for those who are dining with co-workers and always have trouble splitting the tab. This makes it clear- whatever you swiped, you ordered. Some might even visit Vapiano just for this novelty factor.

The modern space with wood floors and panels has higher bar stool type seating and tables, as well as some tables and lounge bar type sofas in the back. 

Colorful drawings decorate the chalkboards above various stations while the details are on menus on the counter, with occasional special menu items offered. 

Essentially, it's like a dressed up Italian food court. You find your own seats, you walk around the different pizza and pasta and dessert stations and order, swipe the card at the counter register, take the buzzers back to your seat, come back to get the food when it's ready, and fetch your own utensils, water, napkins and extra plates. 

It's a bit of a scavenger hunt to locate everything for a first timer. I also had saved seats for the rest of my party and had tell at least 3 different people trying to sit down at the table that the seats were taken while I was waiting for them and my food. A bit awkward.

Luckily there are buzzers for the pastas and pizzas, so you don't have to stand there waiting in line and can multitask. Get all the stuff ready for the meal while the food is cooking up.

If you're in a group, it would be easy to split up the tasks, but since I was by myself, I ended up getting all the food and utensils first, making multiple trips from the pasta/pizza counters to the table. I can imagine that this could be a bit troublesome for diners with a kid or two- do you leave the kids by themselves at the table when you get the food, and the forks and the extra napkins and the water, or do you take them with you?

Pizzas range from NT$280-420 and are made to order. I enjoyed the rucola pizza (NT$360) since I don't often find fresh arugula/rocket in Taipei, and I added mushrooms to the pizza.

This was my friend's pizza with prawns and peppers and pesto sauce, I think it was a special of the day menu pizza.

I found the pastas that night to be a bit gummy and starchy, not al dente like I typically prefer. Even the bites of the other pastas I tried from my friends were the same. The pasta prosciutto tartufato sounded better than it tasted with the prosciutto being cubes of ham (not silky prosciutto like I thought), truffle oil, gorgonzola and baby spinach (NT$420). If I had known that it was ham, and not parma ham, I would have ordered a different pasta. I thought the sauce was just okay and the texture of the pasta kept me from really enjoying it. There are about 10 different types of pasta to choose from, and you can mix and match them with the sauces and toppings.

Chicken and bacon carbonara with fusilli pasta

My friends added some starters- a caesar salad, beef carpaccio and soup.

 

The premade desserts at the dessert bar.

I'd stick to the pizzas at Vapiano and the space is nice enough to relax and enjoy a few slices with a glass of wine, especially on a nice night out with the glittering view of Taipei.