Eos, from the second floor

San Francisco Chronicle:

Small plates have been the most significant trend to hit the dining scene in more than a decade, so it's little wonder that many established restaurants are expanding appetizers and often truncating the number of main courses.

Eos, a popular 9-year-old restaurant in Cole Valley, scrapped its traditional menu of main courses hovering in the $25 range in favor of small plates of which the most expensive is $16. Even the price of the signature tuna tower with slices of seared herb-encrusted tuna stacked on wonton chips has been lowered from $12 to $10.

It's a daring and ultimately smart thing for this restaurant because it fits the neighborhood mood and goes with the wine-bar concept that the restaurant has fostered.

San Francisco Chronicle:

A series of fortunate events for author Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket, including forthcoming film, fatherhood

A Snicket ticket could have been a people pleaser, but Daniel Handler never considered running for governor.

"I don't have time," Handler said on a recent drear and foggy afternoon at a sidewalk cafe in Cole Valley, where he sat shivering over hot coffee and cold tea.

"I prefer some sort of monarchy, actually, because I'm not terribly interested in what other people think." The author was looking very "Brideshead Revisited" in a baggy flax-colored linen suit.

Under the name Lemony Snicket, Handler has written "A Series of Unfortunate Events," the popular children's book series tracing the travails of the Baudelaire orphans, which is being adapted for the screen.

The newest installment -- "The Slippery Slope: Book the Tenth" (HarperCollins) -- has just leaped to the top of the New York Times children's best-seller list.

The Baudelaire orphans behave well and bravely because it's the right thing to do, not because it will get them ahead. Author, Daniel Handler, grew up being taught that "Judaism doesn't really promise any reward, it just emphasizes that good behavior is more or less its own reward."

Our eight year-old just finished all ten books in less than one week. One of the lessons she learned in the 10th book: Don't ride a tobaggon down a frozen waterfall -- unless you're escaping a villain.

For further details on the upcoming movie, starring both Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep, go to movie news on Movies.com

Congratulations Daniel and Lisa, on the success of the books, the upcoming movie and your greatest achievement-to-be, parenthood!

~Jennifer

P.S. We recommend the "Snicket" series for any child over seven years of age.