Popular small plates destination. Traveling through Larkspur at dinnertime one evening, I stopped in at Picco for a bite. I believe it was my third visit since it's opened, and it remains inventive with good execution and friendly service.

I tried the fresh spring primavera housemade fettuccine with fresh garden vegetables. The vegetables were fresh and succulent and the fettuccine tender. The emphasis on local and seasonal here comes through in the perfection of the ingredients.

I finished up with a warm almond tartlette with rhubarb and marcona almond ice cream. This was an unusual but excellent pairing and quite a treat!

Another Japanese restaurant! Yes, last week I met good friends and former co-workers at a yummy Japanese restaurant called Hime in San Francisco. It was a farewell dinner for one of them, who is returning to Japan soon. Given the circumstances, taking food photos wasn't appropriate, but I wanted to note that this is a great place for artistic small plates and beautiful interior.

I myself am leaving early Tuesday morning for Chicago for a project launch meeting -- I have to earn money to support my blogging habit :-). I've tried to visit several restaurants in advance so I might continue posting. I'm not sure whether I'll be in appropriate circumstances to blog the Chicago restaurants this time, but I'll take my camera just in case. If I'm absent a bit, be assured it's just the press of business, and I'll soon be back!

Encyclopedia of Small Plates. Dad and I stopped for dinner at Masa's Sushi & Appetizer Bar in Novato, and I was pleasantly surprised by the new menu which has an enormous number of small plates to choose from, along with the numerous sushi choices.

I started out with agedashi tofu which came swiftly and was suitably crispy-sticky coated on the outside and heated through hot all the way. The dashi was nicely flavored as well.

Dad's cucumber salad and miso soup were likewise served promptly. And the miso (which I was served also) was just the right temperature and had an authentic complexity of flavor. Dad said the cucumber salad was crisp and vinegared without being overpowering.

Dad's next entree took a very long time. I was nearly finished with mine by the time it arrived, the only misstep in the evening. The sushi bar team is either just more efficient, or everyone was ordering kitchen items, or perhaps the staff just isn't tuned in to timing issues. My dish was next up, a chirashi sushi. It was gorgeous to look at with lots of different tastes. This was masterfully done.

At last, Dad's grilled chicken teriyaki with salad arrived. He said it was good, moist and well-marinated. We enjoyed the evening and look forward to coming back and trying some of those small plates.

On another note, Sunday afternoon I comitted a horrible faux pas -- I thought I was meeting Elle of Feeding My Enthusiams at Tony's in Marshall for a joint blog NEXT Sunday, but it was actually yesterday. Watch her blog for a review of this fabulous place!