Monday, January 15, 2007

Left Bank

Lunch with a French Twist. Dad and I stopped by the Left Bank in Larkspur for lunch today and perhaps because of the holiday, it was completely full even at 1:15 p.m. When it was our turn to be greeted in line, a table opened up for us near the fireplace. Dad recalled that we had enjoyed Thanksgiving here a couple of different years, even noting where we sat in the restaurant. I love small victories with his memory!

Calamari

We enjoyed some "Calamars Frits" as an appetizer. It was a huge portion, better shared by more than two. Would go great with casual drinks at the "American Bar". I looked around for the dipping sauce, there was no little side bowl... but I soon discovered that the sauce was an aioili with a French Dijon twist, lightly circled underneath the calamari. There was also some shoestring fried onions on top for a different combination.

Filet of Sole

I tried the "Sole Cote d'Azur" which was sole on sautéed spinach, capers, tomatoes, olives niçoises. It was light and delightful.

Ze Hamburger

Dad wanted to go with something tried and true - "'Ze' Hamburger" with 'natural' beef. He enjoyed the burger, and liked the unique way of serving the fries. The Left Bank has been consistently good on our visits, and we have very fond memories of Thanksgivings here.

2 comments:

Catherine said...

Hi Anna,

I was thinking of suggesting this for a group dinner but wasn't sure if they had vegetarian options. Can you enlighten me?

Anna Haight said...

It isn't particularly vegetarian, friendly (limited choices), but you can put together a vegetarian meal there. Glancing over their on line dinner menu, the only fairly certain things I see are:

Fondue Savoyarde melted brie, blue, and goat cheese

Salade de Betteraves roasted heirloom beets, mâche, hazelnut crusted Laura Chenel goat cheese, sherry vinaigrette

Salade d’Épinards baby spinach, endive, blue cheese, pecans, honey-garlic vinaigrette

Salade Verte butter lettuce, herbs, Dijon mustard vinaigrette

Butternut Squash Gnocchi wild mushrooms, pine nuts, sage, beurre noisette

Pommes Frites

Sautéed Spinach with roasted garlic

Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes

I'd still check the preparation, and it's exceptionally lean for the Vegan eater.