Bernard’s Danville Real Estate Blog

Regular readers will know that this is not the first time I have reviewed Faz but times change and my policy is to occasionally revisit restaurants I have previously reviewed, hopefully to confirm that they are maintaining their standards.

Quite apart from all this, I freely admit that Faz has always been one of my favorite restaurants. From my first visit, back in the 1980s when I was here on vacation, I was completely hooked. It wasn’t so much the food that impressed me then, although it was good, but the unique ambience of the place. And amazingly, it is not the tree growing up through the roof of the restaurant that is the most striking feature, but the dining patio - a large, sheltered wood deck at the rear of the restaurant with tall redwood trees growing through it and reaching towards the sky. As owner Faz Poursohi has been quoted as saying, “Anybody who fails to make a success of a restaurant with such surroundings does not deserve to be in the restaurant business”.And so it was that Sylvia and I found ourselves once more, seated outside on the deck on a warm Friday evening towards the end of March.Diners at Faz are presented with a basket of home-made foccacia bread and a middle eastern flat bread together with a small plate of olive oil with parmesan cheese and herbs mixed in. This tastes so good that appetizers seem quite unnecessary, so instead, we ordered a bottle of Frei Brothers Chardonnay to enjoy while we snacked on the breads and waited for our entrees. Frei Brothers really do produce a good Chardonnay.One thing that is perhaps worth mentioning here (and a point that while being a big plus to us, may be frustrating to some) is that service is relaxed at Faz. We like to take our time over a meal and the wait-staff are certainly pleasant and attentive, but don’t come here if you want to be out in an hour. It just isn’t that kind of a restaurant.The menu at Faz is another secret to it’s success. You can dine here very reasonably, on a simple and tasty pizza or pasta, and yet they also offer a good selection of more expensive dishes and there are always daily specials.On this occasion, Sylvia dined from the specials menu, while I ordered from the regular menu, although we both had lamb.Sylvia chose the lamb sirloin (having first ascertained from our waiter that it was a New Zealand Lamb - Sylvia finds American lamb is a little too “gamey” for her taste). This was a generous sized sirloin served with roasted potatoes and a selection of fresh vegetables and the taste and texture was excellent.For my entrée, I had rack of lamb with mint sauce on the side, a dish that has featured on their menu as long as I can remember. This is a dish that I generally avoid in restaurants as although it is generally tasty enough, and the presentation is frequently quite impressive, so often, there is little actual meat there. I do feel somewhat cheated if most of my main course turns out to be a few bones.Not so at Faz. This was not only one of the most generous portions of rack of lamb I have ever been served (really large enough to share), but the flavor was outstanding. This was served with similar accompaniments to Sylvia’s dish.Neither of us were inclined to have a dessert but we were completely satisfied by our meal and happy to know that Faz is maintaining its reputation for good food and good service at reasonable prices. You can find there menus and more on their web site at www.fazrestaurants.com.  

Many parts of the Bay Area, and in particular, the San Ramon Valley and Lamorinda, historically do much better than much of the country when real estate appreciation is considered.

Unfortunately, because prices increased so much and so quickly, they had further to fall and the resulting impact was devastating for many. Recently, however, the rate of decrease has slowed significantly in our area, and this is despite the negative effect on home values caused by many short sales and bank owned foreclosures that have been dumped on the market.

Evidence of Improvement

The economists tend to look at real estate on a national level and one figure they give a lot of credence to as a meaningful indicator is the “Pending Home Sales Index”. Last month this rose 5.3% nationwide, which is a significant amount. More importantly, it rose in every region of the country.

Now note that this is an index that considers numbers of transactions, not total value of transactions.

You Can’t Expect To Buy At The Bottom

What can be inferred from these numbers is that buyers now believe that home prices are not likely to fall much further, so they have the confidence to write offers and buy homes. Of course there will always be some buyers who are planning to “buy at the bottom” but the only problem with that strategy is that you can only identify “The Bottom” after you have passed it and prices are on the increase.

Possible Improvements In The Market

It will surely soon be apparent to most buyers and sellers that prices are really so close to the bottom that it makes no difference and as buyers become more active, this will encourage more potential sellers to list their homes for sale. The likely effect is that there will continue to be a wide choice of homes to buy for the next few months but as we approach the Holiday season, many of the sellers who have not been successful in agreeing a sale will take their homes off the market. From Thanksgiving onward, it is quite possible that there will be a shortage of homes to buy. The wild card in this reasoning is that we don’t know how many people will be forced to sell their homes or have them foreclosed. These are not discretionary activities and a sudden increase of numbers of homes for sale will certainly keep prices down.

What Will The New Year Bring?

As we enter 2009, I foresee that there will be many buyers who are poised to take action. If the majority of those sellers who took their homes off the market in late 2008 decide to re-list them for sale in January, the balance between buyers and sellers should be at a reasonable equilibrium and we can expect to see stable home prices throughout the year. If, on the other hand, sellers do not take such immediate action, and there are more buyers than homes available (a situation I have seen on numerous occasions at the start of a year), home prices are likely to rise. This is simply the economics of supply and demand.

Note that my thoughts only relate directly to the affluent San Ramon Valley and Lamorinda here. In other areas, not too far distant, there will continue to be a glut of homes on the market for some time to come because the numbers are already so astronomical. In these areas prices will stay low and may even decline further with more foreclosures etc.

It may seem strange to review a coffee house under the title “Restaurant Review” but Sideboard is really not so easy to categorize.
 
A relative newcomer to the Danville restaurant scene, Sideboard occupies the space in the old Danville Hotel that was vacated by Lisa B’s restaurant. This has one of the most appealing ambiences of any restaurant in the area and it is hard to understand why any restaurant serving average to good food should not be able to make a success here. Sadly, Lisa B’s failed. Sideboard, on the other hand, already has a loyal following.

In England, we have a peculiarly English phenomenon that is known as a wine bar. Somewhere you can enjoy a glass or a bottle of wine or beer, optionally have a bite to eat - anything from a snack to a full-blown meal - and just hang out with friends and enjoy the surroundings
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Sideboard is an English wine bar!

Not content to just move in to the already attractive space, owners Erin and Ford Andrews have made major improvements including removing a wall to incorporate the conservatory are into the main area, making worthwhile changes to the bar and introducing attractive shabby chic furniture with comfortable seating. It all works well!

Sylvia and I visited on Tuesday after Labor Day for a light evening meal. We were immediately welcomed by the friendly staff who explained the system to us. At sideboard, you order and pay at the counter then find a table and your food and drinks are delivered to your table (just like an English wine bar).

The menu is mostly made up of salads, sandwiches and some pasta dishes. Sylvia ordered the Beef burger with fries (this is so out of character!) but opted for walnut bread on the side rather than the normal Acme bun. I had Papardelle Carbonara.

Both of these dishes were absolutely outstanding and portion sizes were good. Sideboard use organic and natural food wherever possible and it shows. I think even the peas in my Carbonara were fresh rather than frozen and Sylvia’s Beef burger tasted like grass fed steak. Pasta Carbonara is a favorite of mine and I can tell a good one. Papardelle is not a common variant but it really worked here. I will find it difficult to order anything else at Sideboard, it was that good.

The wine list here is fairly short and seems a little light on less expensive wines. We accompanied our meal with a bottle of Artesa Chardonnay ($38). This is a little more than I expected to spend on wine although this really is an excellent  Chardonnay.

But I think the secret of Sideboard’s continuing success will be that it can be whatever you like. They open all day from breakfast to dinner. It can be your local coffee shop (serving Bluebottle coffee) where you can also have a pastry if you like. And they look delicious. Or just call in for a glass or bottle of wine or beer. Sylvia and I dined inside to experience the ambience but you can hang out on the patio at the front of the Danville Hotel if you like and just watch the world go by.
 
Sideboard may be a newcomer to Danville but I guarantee that they are here to stay. This is one of the best additions to the Danville restaurant scene in years. You can expect to see me there. Often!