HOW THE BEST WAS WON
B E S T O F ’ 09
The Apple Dumpling Gang Awards IN THE OLD WEST a cowboy could get so hungry, he’d eat the rawhide off his saddle if that’s what it took to drive his cattle up the Chisholm Trail to Dodge. Luckily for the citizenry of Marin, we’ve got tenderer fare to hunker down to—from the finest steaks and heartiest breakfasts to precision-cut sushi and yummy scoops of dairy-fresh ice cream that would tickle any frontiersman’s tummy. Wanna know what’s on the menu in Marin? Just saunter into any of these dining establishments and ask—“What’s fer vittles tonight, Cookie?” ‘They’re saved from the blessings of civilization,’ Bing Crosby said in the 1966 ‘Stagecoach’ remake. They wouldn’t have needed saving if they’d eaten out more often at Mulberry Street Pizza…
BEST AMERICAN RESTAURANT AND BEST SOUTHERN MARIN RESTAURANT Buckeye Roadhouse took two titles this year and partner and chef Robert Price knows why: It’s the food! The menu offers a blend of American comfort food with California cuisine. Only organic ingredients are used and grassfed, naturally raised (no hormones) meat from Montana (where the best beef is raised). “We push the envelope with our food,” Price says. This is a steak house that also has vegetarian lasagna with smoked tomato sauce. There are fish dishes such as the wild salmon and, of course, the famous Oysters Bingo; desserts such as the key lime pie and lemon pudding; and an eclectic wine list with selections from France and Chile. The restaurant provides a ski-lodge ambiance and has consistently been on the best restaurant lists in the Bay Area. PACIFIC SUN: I’ve been cooking my steak all day—and it just tastes worse and worse! What am I doing wrong?! BUCKEYE ROADHOUSE: The three biggest mistakes people make when preparing steak: First, overcooking it... Q: Argh! Why didn’t you tell me that three hours ago? A: Second, underseasoning it... Q: Is lighter fluid a “seasoning”? A: Third, cooking a steak at home—when you could have a perfectly grilled rib eye by the chef at the Buckeye. Q: If your steak-lovers’ restaurant were a film would it be Chuck and Buck, Stakeout or Mignon (a 1915 silent film made in Marin)? A: This is a really weird question. Q: That’s why I get paid the big bucks...
A: I looked up the first two, but found nothing on the third—besides how could the Buckeye, opened in 1937, be in a 1915 movie? Q: Maybe in flash-forward sequences? A: I would opt out and say none of those, so my answer is: The Wizard of Oz... Q: Yeah, the Munchkins were always washing down their lollipops with a juicy flank... A: Filmed the year after the Buckeye opened, [the Buckeye] would replace the Emerald City and be the glorious (and delicious) finale at the end of the Yellow Brick Road. Q: Julia Child once remarked, “The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook.” Your thoughts? A: Actually, there is no time for diet food. Certainly, healthy food has its place, but not while your steak is cooking...that time is reserved for mixing and savoring a well-made dry martini, preferably gin, straight up with a twist. (And opening up a bottle of Screaming Eagle...or Harlan...or cabernet sauvignon.) ----------------------------Buckeye Roadhouse
15 Shoreline Hwy., Mill Valley 331.2600 Best American Restaurant 2ND Bubba’s Diner, San Anselmo 3RD Marin Joe’s, Corte Madera Best Southern Marin Restaurant 2ND Sushi Ran, Sausalito 3RD Poggio, Sausalito
BEST BAR/RESTAURANT BAR Rancho Nicasio is an off-the-beaten-path restaurant and bar with a refreshingly relaxed ambiance, a full menu of comfort foods and
hunting lodge décor to complement your drinking, along with an expansive rustic outdoor patio perfect for live music, barbecue picnics and vistas of West Marin’s rolling countryside. Also a sometime wedding venue, Rancho’s middle-of-nowhere locale—Nicasio is smack-dab in the center of Marin County—is an oasis for cyclists and scenic drivers on their way to the coast, but is most noted for the weekend summer concerts on the back lawn and year-round performances from some of music’s finest entertainers. PACIFIC SUN: Is there a particularly fashionable bar drink for ’09? RANCHO NICASIO: It’s the Pink Hound— our take on the classic Greyhound. It’s citrus vodka with ruby-red grapefruit juice and a splash of 7-Up in a 16-ounce Big Gulp container. Q: Gulp! A: Topped with a squeeze of lime and a cherry for the ladies. Q: Real men hate fruit. A: It’s all about the barbeques [on the Lawn]. Q: If Rancho Nicasio were a song, would it be “Roadhouse Blues” by the Doors, “Here Comes a Regular” by the Replacements or “I Like Beer” by Tom T. Hall? A: Since we are open seven days a week and have a very diverse group of patrons, any bar or drinking song on any given day could possibly be appropriate. Q: “Closing Time” by Semisonic it is then! Next question—historian Daniel J. Boorstin once said, “I write to discover what I think. After all, the bars aren’t open that early.” What do you think he meant by that?
A: Not sure who this guy Boorstin is... Q: He was the 12th librarian of the United States Congress, serving from 1975 to 1987—c’mon! A: But almost every writer from Hemingway to Raymond Carver—not to mention Bukowski—that I’ve read about wrote in the mornings and drank the rest of the day! ----------------------------Rancho Nicasio
1 Old Rancheria Rd., Nicasio 662.2219 2ND Noonan’s, Larkspur 3RD Finnegan’s, Novato
Staff Pick BEST BAYSIDE COCKTAILS The best way to celebrate the 5 o’clock whistle on one of those irresistibly sunny Marin afternoons is to commandeer an alfresco table at Horizons and settle in for a pleasant evening on the water’s edge, cocktail at hand. The matchless panoramas of bay, island, city and sailboat inspire repose and reflection, and there are exceptionally tasty oysters on the half shell, fried calamari, steamed mussels and tuna tartare to accompany your fizz, bellini, porter or pinot. Built in 1898 to host the San Francisco Yacht Club, Horizons still sports an 84-foot dock for seafarers in search of a good Bloody Mary. ----------------------------Horizons
558 Bridgeway, Sausalito 331.3232 18 > MARCH 27 – APRIL 2, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 17