Buildings described as old here in the US can seem almost contemporary to UK perceptions. It was odd when buying our home to hear the phrase older homes being used to describe something built in the 1970s. It was therefore surprising that the place where we ate brunch on Sunday is called The New Cliff House; it was built in 1909, so is only a little shy of its centenary. It is the third Cliff House on the location on cliffs overlooking the Pacific in San Francisco. The first two succumbed to fire.
It is now a very fine restaurant, actually three different eateries in the one building. All of them offer great views over the surf and the birds that nest on the nearby rocks. While we ate, several pods of pelicans swept by and the nearby rocks were covered by dark avian shapes.
One of the great advantages of brunch is the ability to sample a range of food. This sampling is especially helpful when eating dessert. A mouthful of a single dessert allows you to enjoy a wide range of delightful flavours, without the calorie burden of devouring all of half-a-dozen sweets. In my case the chocolate mousse proved too good to stop at the single bite and I finished it off after my wife and mother-in-law had taken a spoonful.
