I've Got A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts

In hunting for a restaurant in Palo Alto at which to dine (via Yelp, obviously), my friend came across Coconuts, a Caribbean restaurant a few blocks off University Avenue, the heart of Palo Alto's downtown area.

Be warned: The restaurant can get very crowded, particularly on weekends, so it's best to make reservations. A friend and I tried to walk in around 7:30 on a Friday night, and were told the earliest we could be seated would be 9pm. Much of downtown Palo Alto is this way on a Friday night, and so we ended up at our Old Faithful. 

The following Monday, I tried calling to make reservations for that night, because I'd had a stressful day and wanted to unwind over good food, but! They're closed on Mondays. 

I finally found my way there on Thursday night, so I suppose third time's the charm. 

We ordered jerk chicken, chicken curry, and cornbread. I was slightly wary of the chicken curry, lest it be akin to Thai curry, which I dislike. But the chicken curry actually ended up being my favorite of the three dishes. 

The restaurant's interior is nice as well; it's beachy without being tawdry, and there's ambient lighting, which I've found to be typical of Caribbean restaurants in my (minimal) experiences frequenting them. And despite the fact that the restaurant is clearly working with a small space, I didn't feel cramped, or that the tables were uncomfortably close together.

Jamaican food is hard to come by, so if I'm in the mood for it again, I have no hesitations about returning to this place. 

Age of Aquarius

This past Saturday, some friends and I watched Friends with Kids at Palo Alto's Aquarius Theater. I've spent a considerable amount of time in downtown Palo Alto this past year, but until last night, I had no idea that this theater even existed. 

The theater has just two screens, each of which seat about 100 people, and which play two different independent films. The Aquarius is clearly old, but given the smallness of the establishment, as well as the type of fare it plays, this oldness comes across as quaint, rather than off-putting. 

I don't need a large theater to have an enjoyable viewing experience, and in fact, I think for indie fare, a small theater works well. There aren't any unnecessary bells and whistles with 3-D or stadium seating; the former feature is wasted on most films, and the latter isn't integral to a movie, so long as some tall person isn't planted right in front of you. 

Looking forward to my next visit—maybe for this summer's Moonrise Kingdom?

And here's some prettiness to end this post, because I'll use any excuse to work in pictures of Jon Hamm: 

He's in the movie. It's relevant, I swear.