Food For Thought

A deceivingly fancy restaurant in the middle of bustling Five Points, Chez Fonfon is a French restaurant that serves the artesian aesthetic but not the flavor. As long as a couple who goes make no comment on flavor of their food, it is the ideal place for a perfect romantic date night from a movie scene. Seating: Nice and simple. Padded wooden chairs and booths, red and brown color scheme. Since the restaurant didn’t open until 4:30 on Saturday, the lighting was dimmed, but sort of excessively. Like it was so dark I could barely make out my friend’s face sitting across from me. We were also placed in a corner booth, where I had to sit in a chair, which left me feeling like an odd thumb sticking out of the table. Decor: Dark and French. Bottles of wine line the walls. Freshly-made, never frozen/refrigerated cake in plates lying around. Pots and pans lying around the place and nice maroon lampshades. It gave a similar feel to Vero, but was a lot busier in its decor. The...

A quaint Italian restaurant in a corner of the 2nd floor of Pier 39. Swiss Louis has a curt but efficient order-taking method that leaves diners without any connection with their waiter and a decoration and lighting combo that is aesthetically pleasing while minimalistic. Their food and views of the harbor add to the quiet date appeal of the establishment. Seating: Most tables have a table near a harbor front window, and I got one near it. However, the view port was dark and glare-y, and I could hear enough sea lion barking in the distance in the lulls of conversation to make me slightly annoyed. Counter-intuitively, this sea lion proximity improved my dining conversation, because when people were talking the barking was silenced. The table was set before we got there, with three glasses, one of water, one for coffee or tea, and one for a soft drink. I liked the diamond pattern the glasses formed on the square table, and having so many drink options made me forget for a moment...