Carmel, California's Aunt Fairy Bird

I lunched recently at Casanova restaurant, in Carmel, California, where I came across this short history of the restaurant's cottage-like building - rendered in what I'd call Carmel Hobbit architectural style - as printed in a local newspaper, the Carmel Pine Cone. I am reposting the undated item because I find it charming:

"Some years ago, we were walking along Fifth between San Carlos and Mission, when we suddenly heard a gentle "hello'. The sound came from behind a screen door in a tiny house, the worse for wear, just past the Shell station. We approached the door (which never opened) and met Aunt Fairy Bird, a small black lady who had lived there for over 50 years.

"Her house, situated as it was in downtown Carmel, was in truth a shack, but it was coveted by nearby landowners. She lived there alone for many years. When she died at nearly 90, not long after our only encounter, her house and a lot were the object of spirited bidding in an estate sale. We learned that she had once been the cook for Charlie Chaplin, that her husband Tom had been a popular handyman in Carmel, and that she was a handy-lady for several Carmel families.

"While cleaning uup her house, her executor found a great many Social Security checks that she had saved, hidden in the pages of newspapers and magazines. With him we helped open her safe deposit box and found a gold watch and two $2 bills. Aunt Fairy Bird's place is now occupied by Casanova Restaurant. Approach it with some reverence.''

Actually, Casanova is worth visiting not just for history but for cuisine. Run by a Belgian family, it is now a destination restaurant in this popular seaside town and is known for country French and Italian food.

Casanova is located on Fifth Avenue between San Carlos & Mission, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California USA. Tel. 831.625.0501. www.casanovarestaurant.com.

Casanova Restaurant, Carmel, California

CARMEL-By-THE-SEA, CALIFORNIA - Looking for a romantic restaurant for your sweetie and yourself on Valentine's Day? You could do worse than Casanova, which bills itself as the most romantic restaurant in Carmel.

Casanova, tucked away in a renovated and expanded cottage in this picturesque former artists' colony on California's Pacific coast, is more than a (borrowed) famous name and more than a place for a tryst, though. It is a first-rate eating house, specializing in country Italian and French fare, enlivened by a typically happy crowd of diners, served by polished, correct professional waiters - never a given in American restaurants - and boasting a first-class wine list. The wine cellar, hand-dug to a depth of 14 feet below the restaurant and holding 30,000 bottles of wine, can be toured gratis if you ask your server, as my wife and I have done. I love the appealingly musty smell of the cellar.

Casanova is owned and operated by the Georgis family, who come originally from Belgium, which explains the European feel. The family opened the restaurant in the mid-1970s and it has never fallen from favor among locals and visitors. When my wife and I were last there, the place was busy but quiet enough in the smaller nooks and crannies to hold a quiet conversation. The enclosed patio is bigger and louder.

Prices run moderate to high. Reservations are a must. The menu changes often, but we have never found anything that didn't work on our four visits. If you go, don't miss the rack of lamb and the slow-braised rabbit. Be sure to try the delicious, Belgian-style mussels and frites.

If you're traveling in northern California, Casanova (www.casanovarestaurant.com) is worth making a detour for, romantic holiday or no. It's located in downtown Carmel on Fifth Street, between Mission and San Carlos streets, near the Shell station. Tel. 831.625.0501. E-mail info@casanovarestaurant.com.