Now I have butterflies... in the stomach. Imagine catching up on your Marin IJ reading to find the restaurant you just reviewed (Cafe Papillon) had closed! The story is wrong in one respect -- it did not close in 2007 since I was there for breakfast a few days ago... but I did a drive-by at lunch yesterday, and found, indeed it is very closed. The story reported that a new place will open there in spring, World Coffee Cafe.

Bright corner of San Rafael. Yesterday for lunch Dad & I stopped at Arrivederci Cafe in San Rafael. Housed in a brick building that looks like it has a delightful warm weather patio, the interior is light and bright and hosts a variety of art.

We opted to try some calamari fritti to start. Dad keeps forgetting that calamari is actually squid, and loves it until someone mentions the English translation, every time. Luckily, no one reminded him today and he liked Arrivederci's crisp version.

Italian lunch. Dad and I stopped by Piazza D'Angelo for lunch on the weekend. I reviewed this popular Mill Valley restaurant last in April 2007. It was a sunny day, and the staff all had very sunny dispositions too.

Staying power with good food fresh and fast. My friend Jo-Ann introduced me a year or so ago to a good Chinese place in San Rafael, Ping's Mandarin Restaurant which as been around since 1993. Since we were in the neighborhood, Dad and I stopped in for lunch the other day.

Quick breakfast at Chicago's Midway. On my way to Louisville, I picked up a great breakfast at Harry Caray's at Midway airport. I had the most cheerful waitress, and she told me there were two other restaurants in the Chicago area.

Sunny breakfast. Don't know how I missed this one. Dad & I had a leisurely breakfast at the West End Cafe Deli & Market after one of his appointments. Aside the deli area there is a large, narrow and very sunny dine-in room.

Gorgeous view, comfortable food. Dad and I dropped by Sam's Anchor Cafe for a casual dinner the other night. We were placed by a window with a beautiful jewels-aglow view of the San Francisco skyline. How fun!

A noodle kind of day. Paul and I enjoyed a quick lunch at Tha Siam in Larkspur the other day, a place I reviewed first last February.

Nice Touches. I stopped by Caffe DiVino for lunch last week; the last time I was there was for a very nice breakfast with Dad back in 2005. This Italian-inspired cafe bakes its focaccia fresh every day, along with its soup of the day.

Hidden around a corner. Where Ming's used to be, Mikado Sushi has set up shop in the Northgate area of San Rafael. I stopped in a few days ago to try their offerings out.

The meal started with a very rich tasting miso soup. The soy sauce containers were so cute I had to get one in the photo too.

Butterflies. When I found out that Cafe Papillon serves breakfast every day, it immediately went on my must try list. Dad and I dropped by what was I believe the last sunny Sunday in Marin for some time. The staff was friendly and welcoming, and we were obviously earlier than most of their Sunday crowd since we were the only ones in the restaurant until the clock struck 10 a.m.

With reservations. My friend Linda and I met at Kitchen in Novato, a newish upscale place that has a lot of buzz right now. We had reservations at 6:30 on Saturday, and we were greeted and seated quite promptly with a friendly flourish. The service was excellent, there at the right times, but not hovering, and our waitress was quite pleasant.

Thai to die for! Now here's a tiny treasure with cheap eats. Dad, Daniel & I met at Bay Thai Cuisine for lunch the other day, and went out sockless (it knocked our socks off!). Cash only, but that's fine if you're prepared. The staff and owner are friendly, and eager to get the spicing just to your taste.

Set back from a busy street. Lanna Thai is a quiet oasis on one of the busier streets in Marin county. On Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in San Anselmo, the main way to and from Fairfax, one wouldn't guess what a airy and fresh decor it has. One of the nicer touches are the liberal use of flowers through out the restaurant, some in big vases and you also see many flower heads floating in big bowls of water throughout the space.

Great Thai place in my backyard. I've been here so many times, and thought I'd blogged somewhere about it, but it looks like this may be the first official post! Thep Lela is in Mill Valley's Strawberry Village, tucked into a peaceful back corner.

Pretty salad which is as fresh and delicious as it looks.

Don't judge a book. Hidden away in a strip mall in Larkspur near Fukuzuke is a new casual Italian eatery that opens early for breakfast every day! Cafe Lucano is so unassuming, but when you step inside the staff is friendly and the place is well cared for and you can just tell...

I was tempted by a watermelon Italian Soda. Each table had a clean, folded and squared up Examiner for your reading enjoyment. Everything was so orderly and inviting!

Despite having a car run into the front of the building and breaking the glass, Corte Madera Cafe is still open and serving its great food with charm. Coincidentally, Dad & I had breakfast their just a few days before the unfortunate incident. The above is necessarily the 'before' photo.

I delayed this post a bit until I could go and check out the damage myself. As you can see, the window is boarded up and there was some damage to the side wall.

Friday was my six month dental exam. Like many who are reading this, I chose my dentist to be near my work so I could efficiently take care of teeth on the lunch hour. That worked for about 10 years, then I changed work locales, but I love my dentist! So I'm guaranteed a visit to San Francisco twice a year.

Sunny Spot. No matter what's going on elsewhere, it always seems to me that Hamilton field is warm and sunny. I was reminded of that again when Dad and I stopped by the Hamilton Cafe for brunch last weekend. The interior of this cafe is warm, with paintings adorning every wall. There was Italian opera playing in the background, and it looked like local folk enjoy hanging out here. We did too.

I used to come to Milano Ristorante quite often before I began my roving and sampling of all Marin has to offer. I missed it. So Dad and I decided to have dinner here one evening.

And as I recalled the server promptly served us some of their customary garlic and cheese bread - yum!

I thoroughly enjoyed the well dressed and fresh Caesar salad.

Day-After Brunch. After Thanksgiving that is. Paul suggested we have brunch and after numerous phone calls finding most of our favorite spots and new ones closed due to the holiday weekend, Paul suggested we try Comforts Cafe. Bingo! I reviewed Comforts for the first time October 2006 on a visit with Paul as well. It's easy to go back to the tried and true.

Sushi on Sunday. I didn't have any this time, but I had found myself a week or two earlier looking for a Marin location that served sushi at lunch on Sundays. Pacific Catch in Corte Madera is the only place that I could come up with.

Dad and I stopped by here for Valentine's Day lunch after getting Dad's hair cut around the corner. This sweet little nibbling plate is still given you with your menus.

Tiny and good. I've been driving by this "Little Mandarin" restaurant with curiosity for some time. Finally I took a chance to find parking and try it out yesterday for lunch.

You walk past some empty steam tables up front, but soon you see a busy and bustling section where you hope you will have a chance to sit after all. Where did all those people come from? As soon as I was seated a hot bowl of egg drop soup was placed in front of me, before I could even grab the menu!

A command. Or that's what the restaurant name simply feels like - EAT. Or just nice verb-iage. At any rate, the welcome mat drew me in to a place I've been wanting to try since it opened now awhile ago.

Quiet evening. Dad & I enjoyed a warm and quiet evening over at Paradise Bay the other day. The ambiance was good, and the waitstaff attentive.

Dad enjoyed a Niman Ranch burger, which the chef specially flattened to make it easier for him to eat. He enjoyed it and said we could come back here for a burger any time. He also liked the balance of the bun, not too hard, yet it held together.

Dad and I went to Toast the other morning, ok late morning for a meal. I say a meal since I was in the mood for breakfast, and Dad for lunch. Luckily, Toast is easily able to allow for such meal splitting!

Of course we checked the signboard for specials before entering. And lucky for us, since this is a very popular Mill Valley place, we were cheerfully seated right away.

Perkin' at Perko. Being in Delano, CA in the early morning Friday, my traveling companion suggested a quick breakfast at Perko's Cafe. It was a much more inspiring sight than the Denny's across the street or numerous fast food joints we passed earlier. I'm always game to try something new!

After a false start with a dirty coffee cum tea cup, replaced quickly, the Garden Omelet, although in need of some perking up on the plate styling side, was nonetheless genuine. Genuine and made to order were enough for this stretch of the road, although I might be a bit more strict on the place if it were in my neck of the woods or there were lots of other choices. A fine choice if you are in Delano and hungry!