Mountain View News Saturday, August 15, 2026 66 FOOD & DRINK Mountain View News Saturday, August 15, 2026 66 FOOD & DRINK 
Peter A. Dills 
L.A.’s King of Cuisine

https:// 
podlink/1116885432 


LUNCH WITH THE MAYOR 

— Burgers, Ballots and The Boat 
When the mayor of San Gabriel asks you to lunch,
where do you go? 

Some fancy restaurant with white tablecloths and waiters hovering 
over the table? Not with Mayor Eric Chan. We went to The Boat. 

Officially it’s Clearman’s Galley, but around the San Gabriel Valley 
everybody knows it as The Boat, the popular sports bar on Huntington 
Drive with big beers, bigger TVs and the kind of menu where you don’t 
need an explanation from the server. 

I’ve known Eric for some time, so this wasn’t really a political interview. 
It was lunch between two people who know each other, although with 
November approaching, politics naturally came up. 

Eric is running for reelection, and he explained something about San Gabriel elections that I didn’t 
know. There isn’t a traditional one-on-one race where you say, “Vote for me instead of him or her.” 

There are three open City Council seats. Three incumbents are trying to keep their seats, includingEric, while two challengers are trying to win one. As Johnny Carson used to say, “I did not know that.” 

And there is another wrinkle. Eric is currently mayor, but if he doesn’t retain his council seat in 
November, his time as mayor could come to an abrupt end. That was about as political as our lunch 
got. 

Eric ordered the double cheeseburger with chili. The menu proudly says the burgers are never frozen, 
and when it arrived, I noticed something you don't see very often at The Boat—or probably at many 
sports bars. 

The mayor ate his entire cheeseburger with a knife and fork. I hope that doesn’t hurt his chances in 
November. 


I went a little lighter with the turkey avocado wrap and, of course, The 
Boat’s famous cabbage salad. I’ve eaten here enough times to know what I 
like, and the cabbage salad is practically mandatory. 

Service was good without being over the top. Then again, this is The Boat. 
Sometimes if you need something, you wave your hand. Nobody seems 
to mind. Prices are fair, portions are generous and on this particular 
afternoon there wasn’t a game on any of those giant televisions demanding 
our attention. 

It was delightfully quiet. 

That gave Eric and me a chance to talk about San GABRIEL,
RESTAURANTS AND LIFE AWAY FROM CITY HALL. ONE THING 
I ENJOY about Eric is that you can have a conversation with him without 
everything turning into politics. 
And here’s something else I learned about the mayor: Eric performs stand-up comedy at the Ice House 
in Pasadena at least twice a month. Hmm. 

I’m not sure he had me laughing throughout lunch, but his passion for telling a joke was certainly 
evident. Maybe the next time he’s on stage he can explain why a grown man orders a double cheeseburger 
with chili at The Boat—and then eats the whole thing with a knife and fork.
Actually, Eric may have his next five minutes of material right there.
By the end of lunch, he seemed pretty confident that there will be a victory party come November. 

I wished him well. 

I just hope they don’t serve pizza. 

He’d probably eat that with a knife and fork, too. 

The Boat corner of Rosemead and Huntington. San Gabriel www.clearmansgalley.com 


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