Happy 10 years of Marin food blogging

Today marks 10 years since I started writing a blog that I thought that no one would find.  Anna's Cool Finds quickly became focused on food adventures in Marin.  What fun paths it has led me down!  From consistent blogging to writing Bread and Butter each week for the Marin Independent Journal, for more than three years.  Looking forward to seeing what the next 10 years brings.  

Pizzalina

I was intrigued by Pizzalina from the beginning.  I caught Louise Franz (owner) blogging all about the experience of opening a restaurant from scratch, and in particular, about Pizzalina in San Anselmo.  I visited in February for a bite when I was in the area.

When you walk in the cheerful vibe is noticeable, and the fact that someone cares about the place is evident.  Louise was on the floor, greeting pizza lovers and said hello to me too.

Having life interfere with my blogging, I seem to have misplaced the take out menu I brought home to prompt memory of the pizza I ordered, and since Pizzalina is in tune with the seasons, it isn't on the current posted menu.  I hope it comes back.  It was composed of some of my favorite things!

The pizza had a name after a train stop, and it was composed of prosciutto, figs, caramelized onions and bleu cheese topping the flavorful mozzarella cheese and perfectly crisp and bubbly crust.  I'm getting hungry all over again just describing this.

The pizzas range from $10-$18 currently, and there are salads, pasta, entrees such as wood roasted quail ($22) as well.  The emphasis is local and seasonal, there are wines on tap (Cal-Italian) and microbrews.

The latest Marin County food inspection reports are here.

Pizzalina
914 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
San Anselmo, CA 94960
(415) 256-9780

For directions, try Anna's Map.

The Cantina

On a warm summer's day I dropped into The Cantina for lunch, and a few days later found myself there for brunch with family.  The Cantina was a long lived restaurant in Mill Valley that left for a bit, replaced by Maria Maria, then it came back with some reinvention.

 

Chips and salsa arrived soon after I sat down, and I found that the chips are gluten free and made fresh every day on premises.

 

I enjoyed an old favorite, and found a new twist.  This arroz con pollo had a pounded chicken breast atop Mexican rice.  Along with the ranchero sauce, there were chunky pieces of red and green bell peppers and onions.  Usually I've had this dish where the chicken was served over the rice in tenders, and not with such fresh and colorful peppers and sweet onion as toppings. Also my experience of this dish at other places is without the corn cake, refried beans and green lettuce.  This dish shined.  The only thing I would have changed is to have some kind of dressing or topping for the plain, yet crisp and fresh lettuce.

 

A second trip for brunch found me irresistibly drawn to the crab omelet. The omelet was accompanied by soft potatoes, sour cream and pico de gallo. I was happy with this dish.  The crab was very smooth and paired well with the egg envelope.

The latest food inspection reports can be found here.

The Cantina
651 E Blithedale Ave.
Mill Valley, CA 94941
(415) 381-1070

For directions, try Anna's Map.

Closures

photo credit: iStockphoto

Well it comes time again to clean up the side bar and refresh what's here and gone.

Closures since I last updated the list:

Mill Valley
Caffe Oggi

Novato
Anhoka
Fu Zhou Super Buffet
Sam's Roadhouse

San Anselmo
Chinese Kitchen
Lanna Thai
LoCoco's Italian Pizzeria
Orchid Thai Restaurant

San Rafael
California Bakery & Cafe
Pinky's Pizza (July 28, 2013)

Sausalito
Giovanni's Pizza

Stinson Beach
Stinson Beach Grill

A few have been closed for some time and I missed those until now...

Barrel House Tavern

I've been looking forward to trying the new Barrel House Tavern in Sausalito since I first heard about the care being put into the remodeling.  Owner Chris Henry spent about two years carefully restoring and enhancing its original architectural features and made it warm and inviting.

There are many opportunities for a great view of the bay and San Francisco in the distance from an inside window or the spacious and comfortable deck.

Tonight I went with friends and two were out of town visitors from Nebraska.  We were given a treat of an apricot based dip and crisp rosemary flatbread shortly after we were seated.  Three of us tried the Pioneer cocktail, a whiskey-based drink that included Whipper Snapper Whiskey, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, Peach Liqueur, Canton Ginger Liqueur, lemon, soda and orange bitters.  The consensus was wow on the drink.

 

The Flat Bread with Serrano ham, burrata, spring onions and nectarines was also a riot of pleasing tastes and textures.

 

We also enjoyed the Crab Sliders with avocado, cilantro and watermelon radish-jicama slaw on brioche.  We requested that the chef split the two sliders for four to enjoy before bringing it to the table, so the photo shows the split sliders rather than the usual appearance.  I loved the mix of tastes and textures and would come back some time just for these.

We shared a bite of each others dishes so all could appreciate the variety.  This Pan Roasted Cod with yellow corn, summer squash, shitake mushrooms, baby carrots and port reduction was burst with fresh, moist light cod flavor and the accompanying vegetables were well paired with it and the port reduction.

My dining companion was particularly taken with the well-paired flavor of bacon in this Wood Fired Chicken with red bliss mashed potatoes, bacon, carrots and lemon thyme jus.  I was impressed with the crispness of the skin while the meat under it was moist and tender.

I had this Grass-Fed Niman Ranch Ribeye with red wine butter, fries and housemade aioli.  The portion was actually  more generous than it appears in this photo.  I smeared the red wine butter over the entire steak and let in melt and ooze into the tender medium-cooked ribeye steak.  I loved the rich flavors and the crisp exterior, moist interior fries dipped into the garlic infused aioli.

Wanting to linger and enjoy the lovely view with our Nebraskan friends, we ordered two desserts to sample between the four of us.  First up was an apricot crisp topped with a vanilla bean ice cream.  We loved the contrast of the warm seasonal apricots with the crisp granola crisp and cool rich ice cream.

 

The creme brulee was also smooth, delicious with a delicate crisp caramel topping, and was accompanied by  crunchy 'cat's tongue' long rectangular cookies.

The creator of the tastes this evening is chef Matthew Bousquet.  Previously he was the executive chef at Bistro Jeanty in Yountville. He also co-owned Windsor's Mirepoix that received a Michelin star, and also its sister spot Bistro M in Windsor as well. The Windsor restaurants closed in 2011.

Barrel House Tavern is so new that the food inspectors have not visited, however, its inspection report will be posted here once complete.

Barrel House Tavern
660 Bridgeway
Sausalito, CA 94965
(415) 729-9593
For directions, try Anna's Map.

Paella Heaven

 

My friend Chef Tom asked me to a get together featuring some new paella broths last evening.  Paella! One of my favorite dishes!  It's one of those things I discovered in Madrid when I was a student and have been on a search for 'good' paella in the U.S. ever since.  So naturally I made all haste to make arrangements to attend.

 

It also seemed like destiny since just a few days before I had noticed a new line of paella broths in the Sausalito Mollie Stone's that I was excited to try out, and the party was presenting the very same Aneto paella broths.

 

At a lovely home in San Francisco, and pictured left to right, Chef Abel Monago, Assistant Ana Vilaseca, and Daniel Ferrero of Aneto were in the kitchen creating lovely tapas and several paellas for a number of food lovers, writers and bloggers in attendance.

 

The first bites out of the kitchen were paella croquettes  made of Valencia style paella and one prepared with the seafood broth colored black with squid ink.  Reminiscent of the Italian arancini, these balls of rice had a nice crisp outside that yielded to the bite sliding into a creamy paella interior bursting with flavor and creaminess.

 

After a leisurely chomp through the paella croquettes, the next appetizer plates were mushroom caps stuffed with paella.  These were also tasty.

 

Close up of Chickpea, Spinach and Cod Paella

The next four paellas came out in succession.  The flavors were complex.  The Aneto broths are made naturally, like we might make a broth in our home, yet using more complex ingredients than we would normally take the time to gather.  It was great to see a succession of completely recognizable and wholesome ingredients in each broth.

 

Valencia Paella with Green Peppers, Artichokes, Asparagus and Sausage

It was great to learn the story of paella beginning as a fisherman's dish where they started by using local ingredients, fish pieces and a carbohydrate.  The fishermen also used potatoes and pasta as the carb portion of their dish.  Rice has become the popular carbohydrate, and it stands up well to the technique.

 

Seafood Paella with Prawn Carpaccio and Pine Nuts

And I learned that technique is what paella is, rather than a recipe.  Daniel compared paellas to omelets where you choose ingredients and cook to your individual taste rather than using a recipe from others.  To make paella, you need a shallow dish and high heat.  First you saute the assembled ingredients - some vegetables and meat/fish in the pan.  When these are cooked, you add the rice and broth and cook at high heat for about 10 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of low heat, then a brief rest of 5-10 minutes.

 

Chickpea, Spinach and Cod Paella

The best rice to use for paella is Bomba rice because its molecular structure allows it to expand lengthwise rather than bursting open as many rices do under the rapid and high heating required to make paella.  It's more forgiving to overcooking.  A medium grain non-sticky rice in general is advised for use.

 

Paella made with Aneto natural paella broth with Squid Ink

After hearing the cooking description, I'm thinking that I may be able to actually make this in a shallow pan that I have in my kitchen successfully without buying a special paella pan.  I'd not tried making this dish at home for lack of pan, and concern of bringing yet another piece of cooking equipment to my over stuffed kitchen cabinets.  Hearing the story of paella I realized that the lack of a perfect pan shouldn't stop me since after all, this dish originated with fishermen who I'm sure were not concerned about the perfect pan!  So I'll be picking up some of this flavorful broth soon and try this myself.

Vietnamese Cuisine in Marin

Since there are now three restaurants in Marin serving Vietnamese food, I thought it time for a page featuring the choices.

Corte Madera
La Maison de la Reine

San Rafael
Pho Viet
Saigon Village

Pho Viet

We're lucky to have this authentic Vietnamese family run restaurant in Marin.  Owners Hoa and KimSa Lam have opened Pho Viet with  Cang Nguyen, Hoa's brother, managing daily operations with the former chef of Le Cheval in Oakland,  Tan Le in the kitchen.  Guests are always greeted warmly here and there always seems to be a stream of hungry fans coming in and out of the restaurant.

I was greeted warmly and urged to try the barbecued quail.  I've had quail before and usually don't choose them because of their small-boned nature.  I succumbed thinking that these must be something special to have them so enthusiastically offered.  And that was the right choice.  These temperature-hot pieces were so succulent and the tasty fresh lemon-pepper sauce did little to cool these, however it added a pleasant tang to the dish.  I would order these again without prompting.

What I had my mind on when driving to lunch was the vermicelli bowl, this one was barbecue chicken with egg roll.  Light and satisfying I was  happy with my 'bun'.  I actually had not planned to blog the visit, but thought that it was worth sharing and snapped these with my trusty phone camera without flash.

The staff also encouraged me to try their avocado shake, which was smooth and the little tapioca balls added fun and contrast to the drink.

The latest restaurant inspection results for Pho Viet are here.

Find address/phone number/directions on Anna's Map.

Thanksgiving and later

My father Charles and I enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving with friends in San Rafael.  The sideboard was laden with all the right stuff and stuffing for the day, with plates full and happy hearts we ate and enjoyed the day.

Then on Sunday I started to get a cold, rats!

And it didn't go away... and miraculously my friends cooked the Thanksgiving turkey carcass down that had its seasonings of herbs de provence intact, deliciously seasoning the broth.  Just making a soup from it this evening and finding me still sniffling, they delivered me a BIG bowl of it!  I'm feeling better already!  The wonders of a homemade poultry-based soup!

Chinese Restaurants - Updated

                                                                                                                    photo credit: iStockphoto

Chinese restaurants in Marin

Corte Madera

P.F. Chang's 

Fairfax

Szechuan Chef

Greenbrae

Hunan First

Kentfield

Kin Wah Restaurant

Larkspur

DJ Chinese Cuisine

Mill Valley
Bamboo Hut - To be reviewed

Boo Koo - To be reviewed

Harmony
Lam's Kitchen (name changed from Lily Kai)

May Lee's

Novato

China Express

China House

China Palace

China Village

Dragon Cafe

FuZhou Super Buffet

Green Bamboo Restaurant - To be reviewed

Jenny Low's

Mandarin Restaurant - To be reviewed

Ming Yen

San Anselmo

Chinese Kitchen
China Villa

Hot Wok

San Rafael

California Bakery & Restaurant

Chrysanthemum

Combo King Restaurant

Confucius Restaurant

Happy Garden Restaurant - To be reviewed

House of Lee

King of the Roll II

Little Mandarin

Panda Express 

Peking Wok

Ping's Mandarin Restaurant

Savory Orient

Sunrise Donuts - To be reviewed

Tommy's Asian Bistro & Grill - To be reviewed

Uncle Wing

Yet Wah

Yu Shang

Sausalito
Feng Nian
Panda Express
Tommy's Wok


Tiburon
Lily Kai - To be reviewed
Ming's Restaurant


Other Bay Area Chinese

Richmond
168 Restaurant

San Francisco
Golden Gate Dim Sum
New Hong Kong
Shangri-La (Vegetarian)
Superior Palace
Ton Kiang

Santa Rosa
China Room

Palo Alto
Taipan

Closures

                                                                                                                                            photo credit: iStock photo

It's time for some fall cleaning on the site so that anyone looking for a restaurant that has closed, or changed hands to a new name and concept can be noted before embarking on a jaunt and be disappointed. I'm cleaning my sidebar after I post this so just the remaining restaurants are listed. Because I've not been actively blogging for awhile, some of these have been closed for awhile.  But on to a freshened site!

Corte Madera

Izzy's Steak & Chops

Fairfax

Bookbeat
China Village
Koffee Klatch

Greenbrae

Cafe Z Epicerie

Inverness

Thepmaggon Thai on the Bay

Kentfield

Pacific Cafe
Tacqueria Mexican Grill de Marin

Lagunitas

The Valley Grove Cafe

Larkspur

Cafe Lucano
E & O Trading Company
Ward Street Cafe

Mill Valley

Antigua Mexican Grill
Asqew Grill
Chinese Deli
Dish
Restaurant Ino
Maria Maria
Peking Wok
Rain Tree Cafe
Strawberry Gourmet Delicatessen
The Pleasure is Mine @ Harbor Point
Tsukiji Sushi
Young Can Wok

Novato

Cacti
Chez Pierre
El Encanto
Garden Court
Golden Egg Omelet House
Grant Ave. Cafe
Hamilton Cafe
Happy Garden
Mill's Restaurant
Neo Tataki
Points South
Portelli Rossi

Ross

Cafe Marmalade

San Anselmo

Debbie Does Dessert
Dream Farm
Riccardo's
Teapod

San Rafael

Bamboo Garden
Big Dogg Pizza
Bobby's Cafe
Bombay Garden
Cafe Gratitude
Cafe Trio
Fujiyama Restaurant & Sushi Bar
Hatam
I Love Sushi
India Village
Jason's Burger Joint
Mikado Sushi
Moe Moe's
Om South Indian Cuisine
Playa Azul Marisco
Ray's Hot Pot
Rumi
Sabor of Spain
Seafood Peddler
Sushi Boat Restaurant
Szechwan 7
Tekila's Taqueria
Three Dragons Restaurant

Sausalito

Amy's Cafe
Cacciucco
Paradise Bay
Piccolo Teatro
Winship Restaurant

Tiburon

Bistro 35
Cottage Eatery
Paradise Cafe
Rooney's Cafe & Grill
The Dynasty
Tiburon Grill


and many others have come and gone before I even got a review up... it's quite amazing what has happened in the Marin food scene in the past 3 or so years.  Lots of turnover, and lots of good things to come.  And my nearly accomplished goal of tasting in all establishments has slipped every further away.  Oh well!  Bon Appetite!

Happy Thanksgiving!

May everyone have a happy Thanksgiving!

Many happy bites to you with family and friends!

I'm enjoying Thanksgiving with friends in San Rafael and adding a Japanese twist to the day with oshitashi (a steamed and dressed spinach salad) and a sweet potato round with lemon sauce (served room temperature).  Some of my friends do not like the traditional sweet potato dish with all the marshmallow, etc. and some LOVE that dish.  So I think this is a good compromise as I can have the sweet lemon sauce on the side so those who want to sweeten it up (and that's the actual recipe) can, and those who like it plain can pop it in the microwave and add butter.  Just trying to please all!

Drunken Blueberry Cake

(c) photo by Anna Haight

I'm still alive!  And still enjoying the food scene in Marin and environs and having fun in the kitchen.  I have been making Blueberry Schnapps  and just drained the blueberries out after 3.5 months this morning.  They were just too gorgeous, so I had to 'make up' a way to use them.  Hence the above Drunken Blueberry Cake was born.  It resembles nothing so much as an American clafouti.  The batter is made of organic unbleached flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, milk, organic extra virgin olive oil, grade B molasses, and rose water. I didn't measure, sorry.  And I sprinkled powdered sugar over individual slices, liberally.

No the vodka didn't 'burn off' in the oven as I expected.  The blueberries pack a powerful punch and are a little much for the recipe, but it is still enjoyable, especially if you leave a few blueberries behind!  I would not submit this in a recipe contest however!  I'll have to think of another use for the blueberries next time.   

Well, in another 4 months the schnapps will be ready!  Think DIY blueberry extract as well.

With increasing father-care and his difficulties enjoying dinner out I've been mostly cooking in and getting my fix of the restaurant scene by continuing to write Bread and Butter for the Marin Independent Journal.  Bread and Butter appears weekly on Wednesdays.  The articles tend to go into a paid archive after a few months, so I decided not to link them here regularly since I'd like most of the content here to be available.

One day, no promises, I'll clean up my reviews.  Sadly we've lost so many restaurants.  And we have added many new ones.  If you wish to check in on me more often, subscribe to my Facebook page. My interests are broader than food, but I do of course post quite a bit about food and links to Bread and Butter each week.

Until later!

Supper Club - Austro-Hungarian

October 1 the Supper Club Marin gathered together for a feast from the Austria-Hungary region.  We were lucky to have someone with us whose background was Hungarian, having four grandparents from Hungary.  She brought this lovely Herend porcelain piece which company is named after the Hungarian village where it originated.

We started with appetizers, and Lana brought this lovely Liptauer (Hungarian Cheese Spread) that we munched while chatting in the kitchen while the chefs put last touches on many of the dishes following.

Tom M put lots of care into these tasty Irinka-Povarenok (Hungarian Chopped Liver) which were the first things served as we sat down.

Kathleen hand made the dumplings which went into the Leberknödelsuppe (Liver Dumpling Soup) as well as simmered soup bones and caramelized onions to make the complex soup.  The liver dumplings included liver, saltines and lard among other ingredients.

Bonnie and Barry brought a side dish to accompany the mains.  Barry made the Gebackene Kohlsprossen (Brussels Sprouts with Ham and Mushrooms) and people exclaimed that these were the best Brussel sprouts that they had ever tasted!  This was the lone dish of Austrian origins.  All the other chefs chose Hungarian dishes.

Emil made Hortobágyi Palatschinken (Savory Hungarian crepes) which were filled with a savory pork and veal mixture.

And here is what the center of the Hortobágyi Palatschinken looks like.

Connie brought Hungarian Goulash.  The first time she made it, it had more of a burnt than smokey taste, so she made it all over again and varied from the directions to obtain this smooth and silky stew of perfection.

Juliette brought the Oxtail Stew.  She had grown up with oxtail stew and was surprised at how hard it is now to find oxtails to cook with.  The sauce was reminiscent of a barbecue sauce, with ketchup and mustard among the ingredients.

Juliette also brought the mashed potatoes that were still sporting thei skins.  It made the perfect foil for the mails.

Tom H explained about  his quest to find an authentic recipe for his dish, and found an extraordinary number of variations.  The Csirkepaprikas (Chicken Paprikas) he chose tasted great!

Janice made Uborka Saláta (Hungarian Cucumber Salad) which was also done according to direction to be its authentic Hungarian self.  This dish got lots of raves!

Bill's contribution was of Austrian origin, a Salzburg beer - Stiegl Goldbrau Premium Lager.  Ir was described as smooth, refreshing and delicious!

Then we rolled around to desserts, starting with Karen's Havasi Kifli (Hungarian Nut Crescents).  These melted on your tongue and were perfect with the expresso served with dessert.

The final dish was Stephanie's Szilvas Gomboc (Plum Dumplings) which had a potato based dough around a  fresh plum.  The packet was steamed, then rolled in a breadcrumb and spice (cinnamon among the spices) mixture and topped with sour cream.  Delicious and necessarily heavy.  Food to eat in the dead of winter to keep warm in Hungary for sure!

And finishing off the dessert was my contribution of Zwack liqueur, a Hungarian digestif. It was created by Dr. József Zwack, the Royal Physician to Emperor Joseph II in 1790, and the first liqueur commerically produced in Hungary.  It has more than 40 herbs and spices in its recipe.

As our custom, each chef told a story of their dish's origin or special cooking notes - whether true or not!  The purpose is to have fun and that we did.