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.

Beautiful Sausalito Sunday

I was following up on a story for this week's Bread and Butter, and had to shoot this beautiful glimpse of Sausalito from Main Street yesterday.  I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend, where ever you may be!

An Enchanted Evening

A friend and I decided to try an evening at The Tavern at Lark Creek when Chef Bradley Ogden was making a guest appearance.  I'll bottom line it here: Chef Ogden is making a guest appearance one more time this summer, and it's a great opportunity for a delicious evening!  More details on the last opportunity on August 25 at the end of the post.

Years before I moved to Marin, I came to the bay area on frequent business trips.  I remember driving by the grove of Redwoods by the the Lark Creek Inn, and thinking it was the patch that reminded me most of my hometown area north of Seattle.  It was what attracted me to put Marin at the top of my list when I was transferred here and was looking for a home.  And finally I was eating under this very grove!  

It was such a pleasant evening, the weather was just right and the setting was elegant.  My friend chose to go with Chef Ogden's prix fixe $35 menu.  

So she started with the Organic Cucumber and Heirloom Tomato Salad, as did I.  This was exquisite!  So fresh and bursting with flavor!

The next course on the special prix fixe menu was Mom's Meatloaf with garlic mashed potatoes and Blue Lake Beans.  My friend raved about this dish.  She reported that the meatloaf seemed to be made out of delicious and tender steak, very meaty.  And the potato flavor of the potatoes actually showed through beautifully.  And the beans had a nice snap.

I diverged to try one of the regular menu items, Idaho Rainbow Trout, brown butter, hazelnuts and  zucchini hazelnut salad with sauce gribiche.  It was delicious, and I especially was interested in the zucchini salad as it was so tender.  I wasn't sure if it were steamed or just lightly marinated.

My menu questions were answered since both Chef Ogden Bradley and Chef Aaron Wright came out and strolled among the tables to introduce themselves and find out how guests were enjoying their meals.  Chef Bradley mentioned that the zucchini were lightly marinated.  Chef Wright and I chatted about Canlis in Seattle where he once was chef, and I knew from growing up in the area.

Instead of the Caramel Swirl Angel Food Cake with plum and blueberry compote that would be the finale of the prix fixe menu, my friend chose the Lemon Cheesecake Brulée, with peach coulis, and strawberries.  I took a taste; it was remarkable.  Creamy with distinct flavors of peach and strawberries with the cooling sensation of lemon.

I chose the Strawberry Shortcake, with vanilla cream biscuit, mascarpone, and fresh berries.  It was a great old fashioned version.  Growing up in what once was the strawberry capital of the world (Marysville, Washington) summer isn't summer unless you've enjoyed one of these.

The Redwood grove was cooling off, and my friend and I had a leisurely and delicious evening.  Our waiter even quoted us a poem in perfect cadence.  What a night!

What I missed was going to the market that morning with the chefs.  August 25th one can start the day by meeting up with the chefs at the Marin Farmers Market at the Star Route Farms booth at 9:30 a.m.  Shop together and get tips on picking the best produce.  In the evening will the final dinner with Chef Ogden, reservations recommended.  The menu for the 25th is:

Corn Chowder with corn and shrimp fritter, parsley pesto

Grilled Albacore Tuna with warm tomato bread salad and tomato basil sauce

Coconut Cake with buttermilk ice cream

Watermelon Margarita (for an additional $9.50)

Restaurant Inspection Results
Critical: 1
Noncritical: 0
Last inspected: 3/22/2011

Supper Club - Thailand

After a rather long absence from the Supper Club Marin, I was able to join in last night for the Thailand theme.  We are a group of both professional chefs and advance home cooks who love to cook and share.  We meet about every 6 weeks and bring a dish around a theme chosen after the previous dinner.  We particularly enjoy geographic themes and sharing a story or piece of history about the dish or culture.  Naturally I brought my camera for this to capture the beautiful dishes prepared by all.  Wish that I could have also captured the aromas!  Thailand food has some wonderful scents!  Here is a pictorial view of the delicious dinner with the name of the dish and the chef behind it!  I added some notes where the photo isn't self-explanatory.

Appetizers

Meang Khum (betel leaf wraps - Malabar spinach substituted) - Tom H. Tom couldn't find betel leaves, so found this interesting Malabar spinach.  It is a bit misnamed as it is not in the spinach family at all, but a tropical vine.  The taste is mild and spinach-like however.

Khai Luuk Khuey (son-in-law eggs) - Tom M. Tom did not know the origin of the name 'son-in-law eggs', but these deep fried boiled eggs with a pleasant sauce were delicious anyway!  I did a little research this morning and found that "Almost Bourdain" has some interesting possible stories.

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce - Victoria.  Victoria elevated this chicken by putting a spice rub on the chicken and making a peanut sauce that balances sweet and salty deliciously. 

Salads

Thai Beef Salad - James.  Not satisfied that any of the recipes he found really captured the best Thai beef salad, James took elements from several that he thought made one that matched his favorite Thai beef salad tastes.

Som Tam (green papaya salad) - Eddie.  Eddie learned that green papaya is not merely an unripe papaya, but actually a type.  He brought in a green papaya and another variety and taught us about the differences.

Side Dishes

Vegetable Curry with Coconut Milk - Janis. This mixture of vegetables was so bright and the taste of fresh spices rang through.

Jasmine Rice - Bill O.  Yes, a bowl of rice doesn't look like much, but if I could put a 'smell' button here people would really get the aromatics of good Jasmine rice which was imported from Thailand.  We learned that a very high percentage of the Thai population is involved in rice making.

Mains

Dry Beef Curry with Peanut and Lime - Gillian/Richie.  This beef was so tender and the mix of peanuts and lamb was far better on the tongue than I imagined.

Basil Eggplant - Anna.  I made this classic Thai basil eggplant diesh.  I used tamari and rice wine instead of fish sauce and granulated sugar to add some complexity and keep it a vegan dish.

Pad See Ew (River Noodles with Beef and Broccoli) - Kim.  Kim found FRESH rice noodles for this dish, and the noodles were so soft and absorbent of the mellow sauce.

Massaman Curry - Bonnie/Barry.  Bonnie hand selected fresh spices to make fresh curry for this chicken based dish.  It also was one of the most fragrant smelling of the dishes and delightfully fresh.

Dessert

Thai Banana with Coconut Pineapple Ice Cream - Stephanie.  Stephanie used both rice and corn starch for the batter base along with some 5-spice.  This was a wonderful dessert to end the meal with.

And a group shot of the table as we were settling in for the first course of Thai appetizers.  Next up is the Eastern Himalayas in July.

Tofu Mozzarella

My friend Sachiko explained how to make this fabulous vegan tofu 'mozzarella' dish over dinner on a recent visit from Japan.

Tofu Mozzarella

1 block silken tofu (must be silken)
salt
Paper towels (4 piece long, unbroken)
Plastic wrap

Sauce
1 heirloom tomato, chopped
handful of fresh basil, chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Basalmic vinegar

Directions

1. Start the morning before the day you wish to use it.
2. Carefully rinse and drain the silken tofu, handling carefully as it breaks easily.
3. Put an unbroken strip of about 4 paper towels on a plate.
4. Carefully put the silken tofu on the paper towel strip, towards the beginning end.
5. Lightly salt the tofu on all sides.
6. Carefully wrap the tofu in the paper towel strip by rolling.
7. Carefully wrap the paper towel encased tofu in plastic wrap.
8. Place wrapped tofu on plate.
9. Chill in refrigerator all day and overnight.
10. The next morning, carefully take off the wrapping, and throw away the wet paper towels, reserving the plastic wrap.
11. Carefully rewrap the now shrunken tofu block in another strip of 4 paper towels.
12. Rewrap the paper towel encased tofu, put back on plate and into the refrigerator
13. Just before serving in the evening, take it out, remove all wrapping, place on plate.
14. You can leave it whole and pour on the sauce, or did as above and slice it in thin slices and spread out slightly so more sauce is absorbed.
15. Pour the sauce over the tofu and serve.

Sauce Directions

1. Combine chopped tomato and basil in a plastic bag that zips tight.
2. Pour in EVOO and balsamic vinegar.
3. Let sit 30 minutes.
4. Pour over the sliced tofu.

Alternatively, you can put the freshly chopped tomato and basil over the tofu, then drizzle on the EVOO and balsamic vinegar.  The pictured dish uses the baggie approach as I took the dish to a birthday party to share and the bagged approach made transport and assembly easier.

I also think that this 'cured' tofu would take to other sauces well.  It has the consistency of fresh mozzarella cheese, very tender and mild.  I'm thinking of trying a miso/sesame sauce over it for example.

What I've been up to lately

I had a great evening with my friend who writes Zoomie Station having dinner at Harmony in Mill Valley and attending Michael Pollan's "Sun Food Agenda" at the Marin Civic Center on March 24.  He is entertaining and informative (as expected) and worth the effort to procure tickets and move yourself to where ever he is speaking within a reasonable distance of you.

I take my reporting for food news for Bread and Butter for the Marin IJ seriously but with a light hearted pen, and do a lot of research for each column, which lessens my time to blog all the cool finds I come across.  I feel lucky to live in Marin where there are always new and cool things percolating up to the surface.

I have had numerous computer glitches, failures and other disasters, the most recent being a near loss of the back up and only copy of files on a computer that failed.  So it was no longer the back up, but the primary storage.  It failed, and my friends at Drive Savers recovered 90%, and I picked it up with my $2100 miniature flashlight last Wednesday.  Now I'm making back ups of my back ups as I don't need any  more $2100 recoveries even if they come with a cute flashlight.  Naturally it had my photos, so now I can work on posting some cool finds in between my journalistic research and other life activities.

Napa's Domain Chandon: Snippets of Cook with Books Event

Some beautiful photos and moods from Domain Chandon, and a Book Passage "Cooks with Books" snippet about the new "Domain Chandon Cookbook".

Today's rain is encouraging me to curl up in a blanket and enjoy browsing cookbooks!

Some ideas from our Mill Valley neighbor Tyler Florence

Sweet treat - Happy Valentine's Day

Yes, I'm here.  No swine flu excuse, just general life happenings and working hard at writing a newsworthy column for the Marin Independent Journal once a week.

Happy Valentine's Day to all.  My sweet niece Aurelia made me a birthday cake on Saturday, delicious!  Lemon with lemon sour cream frosting.  And those fresh raspberry decorations were also good.  Our households have had the minor but long lasting 'bugs' going around on alternating weeks so it just took this long for us all to get together.

I have had a few food adventures I've been wanting to share, and I'll be doing a major clean up of the site -- so many restaurant openings and closings!

I hope you all have all the love you want for this special day!

How to Set a Holiday Table

I met Ryan Cole, General Manager of Michael Mina in San Francisco at its opening party.  He was very gracious and in this clip he gives pointers on setting a holiday table.

Live from China: Get your scorpions!

I love Skype.  I chatted with my friend Jonathon this afternoon over the Skype-line about how he's finding being in Bejing after many years.  He's there this week for to speak at an environmental conference.  Naturally China's changed since he was a student, and yet it can still be counted on for some surprising food adventures!  Jonathon described walking along Wang Feng Shi Boulevard in Bejing's commercial district and happening on the scene above.  Yes, these are live scorpions on a stick, squirming and waiting to be fried in the hot oil fryers to the left, and be bought as street food by the crowds passing by.  Jonathon gave me permission to use the photo he snapped and sent me above.