The year of living deliciously
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MIDDAY DELIGHTS Lunch offerings are so same-old-same-old; when something delights me I’m happy to share the news. At Brick & Bottle in Corte Madera the pulled pork sandwich is well nigh perfect, tender slow-cooked meat with Scott Howard’s Carolina magic sauce and coleslaw on a bun, served with sweet potato fries. While it isn’t the size of a New York deli behemoth, the Reuben sandwich at Corte Madera Cafe is a tasty rendition made with marble rye bread and it gets top honors for not being a greasy mess. At Bubba’s Diner in San Anselmo the onion rings are classic—tempura-crisp batter with sweet organic onions inside. They’re ideal with the all-American sandwiches on the menu. A bowl of Yankee Pier’s clam chowder is an antidote to a gray winter day (the tiny crackers served with it take me back to childhood). No matter which size or brand of burger I try, I always go back to Pearl’s in Mill Valley for the one I love best. Nothing gimmicky about it, cooked to order, satisfying...I often pick up something to take home for lunch and I find it hard to resist the Asian chicken salad in the deli at Woodlands Market, Kentfield. It isn’t textbook Chinese cuisine but it is super fresh with a dressing that’s well balanced.
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by Pat Fu sco
START WITH THE BEST Between saying goodbye to a year and welcoming a new one it’s traditional for food writers to look back and make up a “best of � list, a sort of scorecard for the last 12 months. I decided on a simplified version of the practice, choosing some foods that were good enough to make me return for more of the same, dishes and products available locally. This is not a prediction of trends or a clue to the hottest, newest fad: it’s good stuff I liked a lot while dining and shopping in Marin in 2010. I’m a serious breakfast eater always on the lookout for things to add to my morning menus. When it comes to croissants I prefer small ones that almost shatter when you break the crust and I get mine at La Boulange (Strawberry Village, Hamilton Marketplace). Equally elusive is a good bialy, the bagel’s softer cousin that has an indentation scattered with mild onions. United Market has them in the freezer, ready to heat and eat.
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2010, my food odyssey...
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You’ll get La Boulange for your buck with these delicate croissants.
list I have to admit a crush on the salted chocolate gelato at Noci, Mill Valley. At Trader Joe’s I found almost-tart, frozen lemon squares, bite-size desserts like regular larger lemon bars; they are hard to resist. And when I get there early enough in the morning, Caffe Oggi in Mill Valley makes my day with its selection of Italian breakfast breads that sometimes includes Neapolitan sfogliatelle, shell-shaped pastries with custardy filling...Time to start the 2011 hunt! TO COMFORT FOOD The new year is the perfect time for toasting Toast Novato, the year-old restaurant in Hamilton Marketplace. Owner Shahram Bijan and Executive Chef Mike Garcia, along with food writer Leslie Harlib, celebrated the establishment’s first anniversary by publishing a cookbook. “Toast� is a collection of recipes from the menu that focuses on comfort foods and local ingredients with a Marin touch. Its subtitle, “A Toast to the Home Cook,� emphasizes Garcia’s philosophy of simple, accessible cooking for everyday as well as for special occasions, breakfast through dinner. It’s good to have in the kitchen as inspiration for the arrival of the CSA box or when a shopping list is composed. Some of the restaurant’s most popular items appear in the pages: Garcia’s adaptation of his mother’s chilaquiles to a frittata-style dish, smoked salmon with small griddled corn cakes, his famous puff-pastry topped chicken pot pie, cinnamon apple fritters. Color photography by Leo Gong and Rien Van Rijthoven make the book as warmly appealing as the playful, creative interior of Toast itself. ($30)✚
Thank you for dining locally. Your patronage makes a major difference to our fine Marin restaurants.
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Toast Pat at patfusco@sonic.net.
SWEET ENDINGS While sweets are usually pretty far down on my priority
Give us a taste of your thoughts at ›› paciďŹ csun.com DECEMBER 31, 2010 - JANUARY 6, 2011 PACIFIC SUN 19