Matthew Valencia one day old
It was 20 years ago today….
Matthew Valencia was born at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in New York City in 1987. He was one day old in these photos. To the left he is touching a little stuffed animal that his Uncle Mal and Aunt Carole gave him. To the right we have him with his mom and dad.
Today my mom and I went sniffing around the election taking place at Berkeley City College where Matt is making his political debut. We came upon his name and statement on the glass board, and saw him hovering around the poll booths some set number of feet back, as is the requirement. Other candidates were also locking in their last minute votes. It was fun to see his name and platform description in the official voter guide, but we were not able to procure a ballot without a student ID. I explained that I am the mother of a candidate, and that this sort of trumps any nonsense about having to be a student, but no cigar. Since Matt had a couple of hours off between classes we were happy to drive over to Gilman Grill (1300 4th Street, Berkeley), where you can get a decent lunch for about ten bucks, to meet Paul Riofski for lunch. Paul and my mom really like Gilman Grill, particularly the BLT with avocado on toasted Acme sourdough bread. I agree that this is the best BLT for miles and miles, with plenty of thick bacon and tomato, but there is something about the place that bugs me, and I think I might have honed it down to noise and crowds. I can’t really put my finger on it. The chairs are also not all that comfy, but I can deal with that. The food is good so I suppose this is just lack of chemistry, like not wanting to sleep with someone who has all the right qualifications. They have solid breakfast items, though the home fries can be bad on occasion — sodden and flavorless. The sandwiches and salads at lunch are tasty and generous, but take care with the bread. If you don’t tell them to use the Acme sourdough or one of their other hearty breads you may not be amused. I like the grilled chicken with melted cheese and mushrooms. One annoying thing we noticed today is that they squared off the ends of the bread. The bread is sliced from a rustic loaf and yields an elongated result. Squaring off means that the poor bastard who ordered the sandwich loses a few inches of bread and, most likely, filling. I know of no other reason a restaurant would do this other than to save money. Maybe they use those ends for croutons, who knows, but any explanation like, “It is easier to make a sandwich without the ends” is suspect. I did not ask, so I am just conjecturing here. They need to understand how bad it is, business-wise, to change a long-standing menu item that people expect will always be the same, always be good and always have the ends of the bread intact.
Dinner last night was striped bass (two of them) from 99 Ranch Market, cleaned and prepared under their option #6, “crispy fry.” This is very helpful if you want a decent dinner and you have no time. All you have to do is pick out a whole fish and they’ll take care of the rest. Grab a number and then a plastic bag from the top of the counter. Use the bag like a glove to rifle through the fish, select one and then to pick it up to hand it to the fishmonger when your number comes up. You pay only the price per pound, nothing extra, and I have had all kinds of fish done this way. Sometimes they’ll have really great whole fish at $1.99 per pound. Just buy some steamed rice at their prepared food section on the way out and you are good to go. Throw together a sauce using a bit of chili oil, soy sauce and vinegar, if you want to add a little spice.
I forgot to mention that Matt and I went to Downtown Restaurant (2102 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley) yesterday in celebration of his political career. I promise to write more about this place in the future, but I have to say I always love having lunch at Downtown, a fine dining establishment with an open, airy, casual Gestalt. The roast chicken of any preparation is always good, and yesterday they served it atop warm couscous that had been mixed with arugula and frisee. There might have been a touch of vinaigrette in there, too. All the chicken juices and the reduction I detected, along with the chunky mushroom cuts, infused the couscous with a rich flavor. The quality of the chicken was superior. It must have been one of those organic jobs, or else brined, or both. Matt got his usual, fried fish sandwich. A nice, thick filet of some sort of light-fleshed fish was loaded up on a ciabatta roll and served with frites. We shared a slice of chocolate torte that had such a thick layer of ganache you had to chisel it off with a fork – excellent! The meal cost us a total of $61, which included two iced teas, two coffees and the fried olive appetizer. The latter is a must. They buy these anchovy-stuffed olives from The Spanish Table (1814 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley) and bread and deep-fry them. You squeeze a little lemon over them and nibble by hand with the baguette slices they serve. Incidentally, they carry two kinds of anchovy-stuffed olives at The Spanish Table and were unable to tell me which they sell to Downtown. I bought both but have yet to get beyond eating them right out of the jar or can.
All I can say is this: vote for Matthew Valencia! He’s running in a senate race at Berkeley City College and is dead serious about it. He has slogans, like “Moving BCC Forward” and “…with honesty and integrity.” He has a campaign manager, Wesley, who worked up a strategic plan for the affair. I saw this formal document in the living room once and almost fell over. I can tell you that Matt’s slogans and promises are not empty — the kid has a real desire to help people. When in middle school in San Francisco he came upon two obnoxious teens tormenting a mentally challenged boy who was having trouble with his locker. Matt marched up to them and told them what he thought and they promptly clobbered him, being older and larger. Not to be outdone, he dusted himself off, went over to one of his teachers, dragged him around the school until they spotted the perps, and loudly pointed them out. His righteous indignation overpowered his desire to protect life and limb, and you have to respect that. Here are a couple photos of the speech he gave today.
