NoMadic Group

CO2 Cafe Odeon opus II

By Meredith Dodge

STAFF REPORTER

Friday, Sep 16, 2006,Page 15



Advertising Odeon means "house of song" in Greek and is thus a
popular name for cultural venues and restaurants that want to give
off a classy, artsy vibe. It is the name of a cinema chain in the
UK, an events center in Saskatoon, Canada, a restaurant on New
York's Broadway Avenue and a student district cafe in Taiwan.

Though the Cafe Odeon opus II (now known as CO2) on Xinsheng Road
probably doesn't have much on the US$20 entrees at The Odeon on
Broadway, it does a respectable job of creating a culture-friendly
atmosphere. The theme for both the food and the decor is European,
with an emphasis on Belgium. Picture albums on a bookshelf by the
door chronicle owner Arvin Cheng's (鄭承偉) travels in Brussels,
Paris, Barcelona and more.



The cafe's location in an alley across from National Taiwan
University works well to heighten the sense of artsy academia CO2
strives for. Written in chalk on a blackboard sign by the door is
an explanation of how Cheng chose the name Odeon: "Odeon is the
name of a stop on the Paris subway in an area where the arts and
humanities flourish ... we hope that Odeon can provide a similar
cultural space."



Slabs of meat and a lot of salad at CO2.

But CO2 is better known for providing a wide selection of Belgian
beer, and that is not a bad thing. From the light to the dark to
the positively fruity, CO2』s beer fridge has what you're looking
for. After walking around in the hot sun I decided to order a
Watou's witbier (Flemish for "white beer") -- refreshing with a
hint of jasmine.



The meal I ordered to go with it, a stack of pork ribs with beer
wurst, wasn't exactly refreshing, but it certainly was
replenishing. The salad was an unnecessarily large pile of lettuce
and a few tomatoes criss-crossed with thousand-island dressing -- I
only ate about a quarter of it. That's because I was thoroughly
engaged with the hunk of meat sitting next to it.



The rib meat was tender and juicy and accompanied with an
appropriate layer of tasty fat. Though the steak knife they gave me
cut the meat easily off the bone, I worked up a sweat eating the
ribs. Luckily I had saved some witbier to quench my thirst. I say
luckily because the lame salad and the bone-dry raisin toast (they
could have at least given me some butter) did nothing to counteract
the ultra-heavy meatiness of the ribs. Overally, however, CO2 is a
great place for a beer and a chat with friends. Food is served till
late.



住址：台北市新生南路三段86巷11號

電話：(02)2362-1358

營業時間：AM11:00～01：00，週末營業至02：00

平均消費額：400



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