Prawn dishes at Kitti's

Coincidentally, my friend Daniel came over yesterday and after some debate, we went to Kitti's Place in Sausalito for dinner. Since Daniel leans towards family-run cozy places, I thought he'd love Kitti's.

It was unfortunate that the server seemed rather impatient and it seemed like she was trying to steer me to dishes I wasn't interested in, although I was very specific about what I wanted. I had my eye on the Ga Prow Kai Dow, which usually has a choice of chicken or beef for the meat aspect. I requested shrimp as a substitute. The dish is stir fried with a basil in chili garlic sauce over jasmine rice, topped with two fried eggs. I got the impression that she felt I wouldn't enjoy the egg addition. Ah, but that was the draw! An unusual combination. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish with its protein punch!

Daniel ordered the Scampi, which I vacillated between before settling on my dish. The scampi is described as large prawns with white wine, garlic, butter, lemon, and parsley with brown rice and sauteed mixed vegetables. Most unfortunately, Daniel really thought the sauce tasted 'off', and he had me try it. It was very sour and over-garlicked in a way that I wasn't fond of either. I somehow think a little sweetener would have taken the edge off. Daniel tried a few more bites before he requested a change of dish. The server was gracious in bringing over a new dish - one that matched mine exactly except for the switch to brown rice. Daniel thought it was much better, and tasted 'typically Thai'. I've had many a wonderful meal here, this was the first time there was anything off about what came to the table.

Restaurant Inspection Results
Critical: 0
Noncritical: 1
Last inspected: 1/13/2009

Previously reviewed:
February 23, 2008
June 4, 2007
September 19, 2006
September 25, 2005

One year later...

and Citrus & Spice in San Rafael is still doing well! My friend Sachiko was in the mood for Thai, and I thought she'd like this inventive place. She was a little surprised that it was rather refined and stylized compared to most of the Thai places around.

We started with Fresh Spring Rolls which were bursting with lettuce and so fresh tasting.

The Eggplant and Scallop dish was my favorite. It had a skinned Asian eggplant artistically placed diagonally on the plate, cut in nearly bite-sized pieces with seared scallops floating on top over the peanut, coconut milk and something unidentifiably tasty. It had beautifully cut and steamed colorful vegetables on one side, and tasty thin green colored noodles on the other.

The pyramid shaped Crab Fried Rice was also a hit. We enjoyed a bottle of house chardonnay with our meal as well.

Still a bit hungry and not ready to go, we added to Vegetarian Pad Thai to our initial order. It was light yet flavorful and we enjoyed it too.

We declined dessert, but we were treated to a scoop of Green Tea Ice Cream topped with chocolate sauce and the most crunchy coconut bits and two spoons. Nice gesture! The evening was a fabulous success on all counts.

Previously reviewed:
May 23, 2007

Dining among books

I've always liked the Bookbeat in Fairfax, and I've discovered that they serve breakfast every day from 7 a.m.! I spent more time there when it was more bookstore than cafe, and in the evening I've attended some live music when friends were playing there. I read in the Marin IJ that the owner is looking for a buyer. I confirmed that it's still on the market for the right buyer. I sat with a pot of tea and thought about what it would be like to be the owner/proprietor of a place so rich with literature, art, music, and even food.

Although it was closer to lunchtime than breakfast, I tried their veggie breakfast croissant which was 'way cool' in a hot sort of way. Well, the egg filling and croissant were hot, and the vegetables colorful and crisp from the cooler. Organic too I believe. I toyed with the idea of staying here and working, even taking out my laptop and availing myself of their blazing fast Hi-speed Wi-Fi Internet access. I had a lot of writing tasks on my to-dos for the day, might be possible. Then I checked my voicemail. Message from a business partner in NYC. Hmm.. He may not understand the Cat Stevens "Moonshadow" music in the 'office'. So I came back to reality and off to Sausalito to make the call.

Climbing the Mountain

I'm very lucky to live and work in close proximity to Mt. Tamalpais. I don't take advantage of that often enough. But yesterday I did, and remembered some mouth watering Niman Ranch burgers that I had on the deck of the Mountain Home Inn. And it didn't hurt to also see that the weather gods were cooperating and giving us a clear day. So up Mt. Tam I dashed for some lunch. It was VERY sunny up top, and I didn't realize how over exposed my photos were until it was too late. So my apologies for the pale ones.

Honestly, the best thing about this was the trip up and 'vacation time' feel it evoked. Look at those beautiful flowers blooming on the way up!

On to the restaurant and food. The staff was quite friendly, and I had the sweetest waitress. And who could complain about anything with this view of the Richmond Bridge from the deck were all the patrons were sitting (there is some remodeling going on in the building proper). I got a slight sunburn from the brief exposure this high up, clear and at dead noon, despite my sunblock protection.

I started with the carrot ginger soup. My first impression was - WOW - what a nice mouth feel! It had a creamy and full body and was very flavorful. I'd go back just for this soup again.

I have to admit, I ordered for the visual appeal, but then I failed to capture it because of the bright sun's reflection. The fennel slaw with oranges and watercress was very tasy. The salmon was good, well-done as I like it. The couscous was a little questionable as it was quite cold, it even had a refrigerated taste in the middle. But it was infused with pistatio nuts and would have been perfect for the dish had it been a little warmer. The service was in 'vacation time', some would say slow, but very friendly and pleasant, and who cared when sitting in the warm sun and having a panoramic view of the bay.

Summer breezes are here. Deciding to eat dinner locally (in Sausalito) with some special clients, and hearing the request as good seafood, prompt service and nice view, Michael & I looked at each other and said "Horizons". I reviewed Horizons at lunch in December, and since this was a business meeting I wasn't planning on blogging it, but the topic of my blog came up and I was invited to snap away -- so I did.

Most of us chose to start with the delicious clam chowder, and one of our party ordered the caesar salad to start. Unfortunately, the salad contained a piece of unwelcome organic matter, a hair. Although the manager came to apologize profusely, it necessarily colored our table's experience of the meal. These things can occasionally happen anywhere, but it feels worse when you are treating out-of-town guests to what is hoped to be a very positive experience.

I did photograph the delicious looking salmon, which was confirmed good by those who chose it. The arrangement was beautiful too.

I ordered the seared day boat scallops with polenta. It was very good, the scallops nicely seared and juicy without being raw. The polenta and grilled vegetables were great paired with the scallops. And the fresh grape tomatoes were a nice fresh addition.

Also, I apologize to anyone who received a "Reunion.com" invitation. If you were here this morning, you'll have noticed that they hijacked my blog - naturally without my permission - posting a big ad for themselves as a blog post! And they also sent their 'invitation' to every address contained in an e-mail I sent, or was sent to me in my g-mail account (with 10,000+ messages you can imagine the magnitude)! I was completely horrified and I'm sorry about this. This seems to be at best sneaky and deceptive on their part. I've spent my usual writing time trying to connect with them to continue my protest of their actions.

Happy and Hopping. I'd been looking for an opportunity to try Cafe Z in Greenbrae for lunch and finishing up with tests at Marin General around lunch gave my Dad and I the perfect opportunity. The last time I wrote about Cafe Z, it was for a celebratory breakfast, and it has been a consistently great breakfast spot, but how about lunch?

Cafe Z is a casual yet stylish place to eat where you order at the counter and pick up your food from the cooking area. The first thing I noticed is how busy it is for lunch, and they've put a 'buzzer' system into place for orders. And the operations manager, Rick, was quite friendly and popped up and handed us our lunches before we could stand up after seeing the buzzer flash.

Dad tried the Turkey and Gruryere with Radicchio, Dijion, and Tomato Pannini with a green salad. Never having had Pannini before, he commented that they had him the heel ends of the bread! I giggled and told him about the joys of Italian sandwiches. He loved the sandwich.

I'm such a sucker for dill that I ordered the Egg Salad with Dill. I tried the curried potato salad, which was a nice twist on potato salad. The dill in the egg salad was a good match as well.

I saw Rick putting out copies of a shiny new book "From Warehouse to Your House" and went to browse. Rick kindly pointed out that the author, one of the restaurant's founders and the person behind the creative recipes at Cafe Z, Sally Simpson is in town, and in fact just outside the door autographing copies. With that title, how could I resist? You'll remember my recipes using 'Costco pantry' items (October 27th, and November 16th posts with recipes) -- could always use a few more ideas for those items where I overstocked. Oh, now thinking of that, I'd best end here and take a read!

Beauty on the Horizon. What a beautiful day it was in Sausalito! I had been to Horizons several times in the past, but in the evening. Yesterday I lunched there, and it was such fine weather I could enjoy the outside deck seating.

I had to jump up and immediately start shooting the scene. What a perfect romantic spot! It would be great to sit on the benches facing out with a drink and chat as the sun set.

I decided to try their clam chowder, which came out hot and really tasty -- some are creamy without flavor, this one was smooth and creamy but the cream did not overpower the lovely clam flavor.

I had to keep shooting while I waited for the next course. It was a great day for boating.

Next up was an amazingly fresh and crisp Asian Chicken Salad. Doesn't that look just toothsome! I understand that they serve brunch both Saturdays & Sundays from 10:30 a.m - 2:00 p.m. This would be a good place to start out a weekend!

Light lunch in Paradise. I finally made it to Paradise Bay in Sausalito. Prior to this make-over, this gorgeous place housed a rather mediocre Mexican restaurant. I had read rather mixed reviews of the new place, so it took me awhile to try it. But it was a beautiful day, and I thought the views would be as satsifying as any food. The service was very prompt and friendly from seating to serving.

The views were just as I thought on this bright and crisp Marin day.

I started with the Sweet Maui Onion Soup with thyme smoked scallops. It was flavorful, and the waiter complimented me on identifying both sherry and brandy in the broth after checking with the chef.

I then enjoyed a Fresh Maine Lobster Maki Roll with avocado, mango and spicy mayonnaise. Forget concepts of traditional Japanese sushi, think fusion, and you'll be pleased with these fresh and inventive bites!

Had a wonderful Friday off, spent most of it with Paul. Had a late and lazy breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe in Sausalito. A nice Danish flair with Danish meatballs and curry herring available for breakfast. (No, I didn't try those...) Mario, the window washer, really jazzed up my place, and he informed me that some of the shadowy stuff I couldn't get off myself, well, it's on the inside of the double-pane window, so the actual windows in some places need to be replaced. (ouch!). After assorted errands and shopping, Paul and I thought we'd make an effort to find a *new* restaurant for dinner, but seemed all the *new* ones we picked were closed! So after working up even more of an appetite after about three of these, we went for an old favorite, California Pizza Kitchen. Shared some portabello ravioli which was just right.

Finding renewed energy, we went to see Laura Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, the 2nd time for me. Puts me in touch with that no-holds-barred go get 'em little girl inside. She looks much better in her silver scuba skin than I in my "Scuba Pro" skin, but I feel all the more adventurous in the skin anyway!