French charm. La Boulange has been open long enough in Mill Valley to have garnered quite a following. As it is a BAKERY, I have been avoiding it as I suspected its wares might prove too tempting. But hey, if you are going to blow your low-carb diet, don't do it with Wonder Bread, but something worth the sidetrack. And besides, I blew past the 2.4 lbs gained on the cruise, relosing it quickly, and added some more for a new total of 12.6 lbs down from beginning point. In fact the on-line program told me I was losing weight too fast. Now that's a problem I've always wanted to have!

So I was tempted first by the French Onion Soup, and I was surprised that they add a couple pieces of delicious whole wheat bread with it, and an entire condiment corner, which besides the standard butter, jam and honey also has Nutella! My cup came in an actual cup. I wouldn't have had a sandwich had I known about the extra bread, so I only tried a corner of the bread so I could report that it tastes delicious.

I had a ham and cheese baguette as well, and it was wonderful. The interior of the shop is so well decorated in a French Patisserie style, even having little black chalkboards in front of the selections with their names. The prices were exceptionally reasonable too. La Boulange is open 7 - 7 and serves breakfast! If you haven't tried it yet, don't miss it - maybe I'll see you there with one of their open faced sandwiches next!

Empty but not closed. Walking by Cucina Restaurant & Wine Bar in San Anselmo, if you didn't read wooden sign, then you would certainly believe this place was closed for lunch.

The sign directs you around the corner to 'the bridge' where people were happily eating and chatting, and there was a small door open to the bar where lunch was also being served.

First thing, the waitstaff brings you a pretty serving of water and hands the menu over.

The menu is a bit limited, but I had a lovely Italian frittata of the day, which had mild green peppers, cheese and prosciutto folded into a form that was reminiscent of a crustless quiche. If you are looking for a very pleasant outdoor lunch, and don't mind a limited menu, this would be a good choice if you are near San Anselmo. The dinner menu looked much more promising choice-wise, so I'll have to make my way back some evening to try it.

Thai Restaurants in Marin. Marin seems to have a taste for Thai, as there are certainly quite a number of Thai restaurants here! Links to my reviews or other information about the restaurants below.

Thai Restaurants I've discovered

Corte Madera
Tub Tim Thai

Larkspur
R'Noh Thai
Tha Siam

Mill Valley
Thep Lea

Novato
Cafe Bankok

Sausalito
Arawan Thai Cuisine
Kitti's Place
Thai Terrace

San Anselmo
Orchid Thai

San Rafael
Citrus & Spice
Magnolia Thai Cuisine
My Thai
Signature Thai
Thai Smile

Tiburon
Virapan's Tiburon Thai

Thai Restaurants I've yet to try

Fairfax
Siam Lotus

Novato
Chao Praya

San Anselmo
Lanna Thai Restaurant

San Rafael
Bankok Thai Express
Bay Thai Cuisine
Jhan Tong
Royal Thai Restaurant
Thai House

Other Greater Bay Area Thai places I've reviewed

Sonoma
Rin Thai

Hidden bargain. Dad and I happened upon China Dynasty Restaurant on 4th Street in San Rafael merely because I found a parking space right next to it, looked up, and there it was. There was a list, by predominant protein - including vegetarian, of lunch specials mostly for $4.95 including a choice of hot and sour or tomato egg flower soup, and there was even a choice of brown rice.

We wasted no time placing an order. We both enjoyed the Tomato Egg Flower Soup, which came with won tons to crinkle on top for the non-carb watching set. I had a bit of a sore throat and the homemade chicken broth was very soothing.

I tried the beef and tofu dish with brown rice. It was just the right temperature and very wholesome tasting.

Dad tried a more 'expensive' choice, mango chicken at $5.25. He said it was fabulous and ate every bite. He was also pleased with his fortune!

My egret friend. Often the egrets come by to visit as I'm enjoying the deck. Last night this friendly fellow hung out with Dad and I as we grilled and ate. Knowing that the days of summer are drawing to a close, and the evenings will be getting darker and colder we decided to capture some more relaxation on the deck.

I set things up pretty casually.

And threw everything on the grill at once.

And our vegetarian meal turned out pretty, and pretty tasty indeed. And I lingered on the deck for hours in the beautiful California evening, pulling out my Mac laptop and virtually chatting with my new professor about the possibilities of becoming involved in some exciting research involving brainwave measurement as part of my coursework!

Irish Music. Daniel & I looked around for some Irish music to enjoy dinner by last night, and thought we'd found some at Finnegan's in Novato. We went there, trusting the calendar on the website, and alas found that the band hadn't showed up in at least a month. It wasn't a complete loss as we both enjoyed a tasty bowl of vegetarian black bean soup. Remembering The Mayflower in San Rafael as having some good Irish sound, we tried calling them to find that there was no music there either. I was sure that there would be some in San Francisco proper, but we decided not to chase it further...

Modern Fusion. Dad and I stopped by E & O Trading Company the other day for an Asian fusion lunch. I've been here several times before, but to my surprise, even though I posted about it in 2005 and 2006, I have not done a full review with food photos. I've consistently enjoyed good service and good food here.

We started with some fresh Indonesian Corn Fritters which are made from the freshes sweet corn, shaved off the cob just before cooking.

We then moved on to the E & O Platter, with its succulent pieces of meat, seafood, and portabello mushroom perfectly marinated, cooked and skewered. Hoisin, Peanut and honey mustard dipping sauces were perfect accompaniments.

The last of our savory dishes was the Asian Chicken-Mint Salad. So light, so refreshing!

Dad wanted to hear about the desserts, and chose the Pineapple Upside down cake with vanilla ice cream. I took a bite too, and it simply melted in the mouth. This is an old favorite of ours in Larkspur and we'll certainly be visiting again, with or without camera.

Unusual week. Another funeral, this time for the death of a good friend and colleague's wife, Rodica Randawa. She was a very lovely woman, both inside and out and is already missed. I met another colleague at her funeral I hadn't seen in years, and reconnected. These kinds of key moments do tend to bring people back together again.

Later in the week, I had a treat in the city with a friend to see Mama Mia and have drinks and a light dinner at Anzu. We started off with some edamame.

We then moved onto Hamachi Crudo, Japanese Farm-Raised Hamachi, Grapefruit, Jalapeno Pepper, Micro Cilantro and Grapefruit-Ginger Vinaigrette. What refreshing bites!

The last plate was Toyo Sushi, with a mix of tasty fish and asparagus on the inside, and white albacore, peppers and onions on the outside.

Mama Mia was absolutely adorable. Highly recommendable, light and happy.

A friend of mine (Daniel) pulled me off to the No Name Bar tonight, so I now can say that just as I guessed, it comes alive with people at night. Met a whole host of interesting people including a cute couple who had just moved to Sausalito three days ago.

Good Times at the Rain Tree Cafe. Dad increasingly enjoys simple familiar meals, so a place like the Rain Tree Cafe, close and simple yet varied menu is often just the thing. Here are some food photos from the last couple visits.

Cream of broccoli soup (of the day), good but nothing to write home about.

This turkey patty melt was delivered much more nicely, but I pushed it around so you could see the inside of the sandwich with its melted swiss and grilled onions in between the pieces of grilled rye bread as well. The Rain Tree Cafe nicely gives a choice of turkey, chicken, garden and beef for their burger type and grilled sandwiches.

And here is a teriyaki chicken burger.

Dad enjoyed a garden burger.

And I tried the Monte Christo, executed nicely. Some over do the egg and it's rather greasy, but this one had a nice light egg wash on the bread which wasn't overdone. I reviewed this restaurant last in March.

Italian Restaurants in Marin. And who doesn't love Italian? Flavorful, healthy sun-kissed ingredients with a dash of olive oil. Molto bene! Here's what I've found in Marin. One of the best ways to find what I've missed, is for you to post a comment on those accidentally overlooked!

Italian Restaurants where I have eaten

Corte Madera
Benissimo
Il Fornaio
Marin Joe's

Larkspur
Emporio Rulli
Fabrizio

Mill Valley
Caffe Oggi
Frantoio
Gira Polli
La Ginestra
Pasta Pomodoro
Piatti Locali
Piazza d'Angelo
Vasco

Novato
Grazie

San Rafael
Cinecitta
Hanna's
Il Davide
Mulberry Street Pizzeria
Ristorante La Toscana

Sausalito
Angelino Restaurant
Cafe DiVino
Cafe Trieste
Caffe Tutti
Cacciucco
Dario's Pizza & Pasta
Giovanni's Pizza
Poggio
Pomodoro Pizza Cafe
Rustico
Spinnaker
Winship

Tiburon
Milano's

Italian Restaurants I have yet to discover

Fairfax
Ghiringhelli's Pizzeria

Greenbrae

Giorgio's Ristorante

San Anselmo
Cucina
LoCoco's Pizzeria
Riccardo's Restaurant & Pizza

San Rafael
Amici's East Coast Pizzeria
Panama Hotel & Restaurant
Roma Pizza
San Rafael Joe's

Sausalito
Scoma's

Of Local Interest. Getting back into the swing of things, there are a couple things of note in the county food universe I've noticed since returning.

One is a sign welcoming Asqew Grill to Strawberry Village in Mill Valley. Having enjoyed food at other locations (East Bay & San Francisco) I'm looking forward to its arrival with its nice choices of combinations, including a skewer over salad, which is friendly to the South Beach Diet.

The above sign certainly gave me a shock. It is in the window of Akira Sushi Bar! I sent a note to the owner, who also owns Sushi 69 to find out what the story is, but have not had a response to date. Since I walked by at a time that it would normally be closed, I'm not sure of the current status.

On the move. I stopped into Sushi to Dai For to have a quick lunch the other day, and inquired when they may be making the move down the street to their new and larger digs. I thought they were scheduled to already be there. I think I was right, because the waitress allowed a sad little puff of air to escape her lips and said "Well, we are just telling people within the next three months since there have been so many unexpected delays". Hopefully they will make it over soon, and I'll visit to update you on the new space.

As always, before the main course arrived a fragrant, hot and tasty miso soup arrived. The waitress must have sensed I would eat Japanese style, as she didn't bring me one of those Chinese spoons that seemed to accompany most of the miso I saw her carrying about.

I ordered the special bento box of the day that had teriyaki salmon and agedashi tofu as the main ingredients. I even enjoyed the California roll, but was careful to avoid the white rice mound to be somewhat in keeping with my South Beach Diet. Not pictured is the warm dipping sauce for the agedashi tofu. The cucumber salad was crunchy and light, and the couple of steam carrots with a sesame topping were a nice treat too. The locals have loved this place for years, and I'm sure it will have great success in its new location as well.

Victoria and home to San Francisco. This is the last post on the Alaskan cruise, and then we'll be back to normal Marin food blogging. Our last port of call was actually not in Alaska, but Victoria, B.C. Ladies and gents in costume greeted us at the docks with maps and a friendly greeting.

We left the dock on a horse drawn trolley ride.

We soon passed the Empress Hotel. I've enjoyed high tea any number of times there since Seattle was close enough to make Victoria a frequent destination while I was living there.

We were shown a lot of old, but beautiful houses in the historic district. This one is the Emily Carr House, the home of a famous and eccentric artist.

We went through Beacon Hill Park, and understood that the Victorians are quite proud of the newest addition to the park, the world's largest watering can!

Around the corner were some palm trees to demonstrate that Victoria's climate is so mild it can grow anything!

And we caught this beautiful view of the sea when exiting the park and nearing our ship.

And here is the other end of the happy horses who pulled the trolley.

And my Dad wanted to thank them personally.

All too soon, we were back viewing the Bay Bridge.

And were waiting for our number to be called to leave the ship in San Francisco. My Dad's first question upon disembarking? "Where are we going to next? I want to take another cruise soon!"