and Citrus & Spice in San Rafael is still doing well! My friend Sachiko was in the mood for Thai, and I thought she'd like this inventive place. She was a little surprised that it was rather refined and stylized compared to most of the Thai places around.

We started with Fresh Spring Rolls which were bursting with lettuce and so fresh tasting.

New Chinese on the block. P.F. Chang's (yes, a chain) opened a new location in Corte Madera on Monday. Having enjoyed their food when in other parts of the country, I decided to stop in and see how this location measures up.

Arawan Thai Cuisine in Sausalito has been around for around ten years and is a local favorite. It has a comfortable yet visually interesting decor, and the staff makes everyone feel right at home.

For those who want to take a look at the menu before deciding, Arawan does one better and publishes photos of its dishes under its signpost by the door.

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope cupid finds you where ever you may dwell. I thought I'd post about Novato's well-loved Chinese restaurant, Ming Yen today. Dad & I visited it a few days ago. First off, the service was prompt and friendly throughout the meal.

We started with some walnut prawns which were great! Crisp/sweet without being cloying.

I've heard about a place called Ming's in Tiburon over the years, but never had actually seen it. Thought it may have closed. But peering through a walkway in the Boardwalk Shopping Center finally scored it!

So Dad & I tried it one recent evening. It seemed to be filled with families with young children. Noisy but happy. We started with Prawns and Asparagus which delightfully included some colorful carrots and was stir fried with a black bean sauce. It was very good.

Been dying to try. I found a good opening to try Sushi to Dai For in its new space, it's LARGE new space. It's huge and echoing and I can imagine it hopping with fun at night. So what if the rolls aren't very authentic. They are inventive and artistic, and the menu is huge.

I decided to try the Niagra roll, a special. Albacore tuna paired with something green, I've already forgotten - either avocado or cucumber, with green tea soba noodles, daikon radish spouts and a drizzle of jalepeno (hot!) ponzu over the top. I had my doubts about this combination, but it worked! I'd order the same again if it were to appear on the menu.

Happy New Year, Chinese style. I met Sachiko for dinner tonight, and we tried a small restaurant favorite of hers on the edge of Chinatown, New Hong Kong Menu. I apologize for the blurry photos, the lighting and camera were just not in sync.

This seafood based soup had everything but the kitchen sink in it, and it tasted good!

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!

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.

Dessert First. Well I didn't have this Chocolate Lava Cake with Blood Orange Sorbet first, but if I'd have known, I would have been tempted. Lucky for me, Sachiko and I had just enough room after our feast at Betelnut to share this.

Wise Chinese. I stopped in at Confucius Restaurant in San Rafael the other day when it was blustery but not raining. It's exterior may be drab, but it's clean and cheery inside.

I discovered a nice variety for a reasonable price in their lunch special. A small green salad and hot and sour soup start you off. Yes, these are not 'wow' items, but they are fresh and just fine.

Japanese at the Mall. There's a bright clean place at Northgate Mall in San Rafael which proclaims "Freshly Cooked Right Before Your Eyes", and it's true! At Oedo Grill the grill is right up front, and you can watch your meal be deftly grilled as you wait.

Anna does the drive-thru. It was a very rainy afternoon, the kind that makes you just want to curl up in a blanket in front of a fire and not go out. But out I was, at an afternoon class on the CPI (California Psychological Inventory) related to my graduate studies. So it seemed just the time to grab & go.

Having experienced Panda Express as unusually good for 'fast food', I took the drive through option in this nasty weather. I ordered two of the same "Panda Bowls" for Dad & I. Half & half fried rice/chow mein with a topping of stir fried eggplant and tofu.

Chances are good, and fortune smiles. Sometimes things just 'click'. So I got stuck yesterday in the bicycling race traffic in Sausalito. Seeing that it was much worse going back the way I came, I decided on such a beautiful sunny day, I'd just keep heading south with my Dad, and enjoy some lunch in San Francisco. Clement street is a likely place for good food, and I soon happened upon "Golden Gate Dim Sum Seafood Restaurant" with its big red "Grand Opening" sign. I couldn't resist stopping.

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.

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.

Comfort in the rain. When it's raining, often one just feels like the tried and true. So it was Thursday when I seemed to be in Seattsalito. Kitti's Place is quite nearby my workplace and there was a parking spot right in front, so in I went. The staff were their usual warm and friendly selves.

I tried a special, Emperor's Noodles, but I asked for the pork to be changed to tofu. So these had a salty, soy, garlicky taste with prawns, tofu and thinly sliced vegetables, and were quickly wok-fried. A very satisfying, and a bit too filling lunch. Kitti's Place remains, on all counts a very recommendable place for a casual Thai-inspired treat.

Reviewed:

You'll notice I finally was able to activate my 'title' line, I'm happy! Dad and I felt like a neighborhood Italian place, so decided to try out Riccardo's in San Anselmo. It surely fit the bill with checkered tablecloths, wine bottles hanging from the ceiling and friendly, but busy staff.

Dad's Dinner Salad was unexpectedly large, but he said it was great with fresh greens and a variety of toppings.

Addicting Lunch. No wonder they call it Sushiholic. With a beautiful and modern interior, and an extensive menu, Sushiholic certainly has made a splash on the Marin Japanese restaurant scene. Jo-Ann and I met for lunch there one rainy day recently.

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.

New style. The old Sushi Lin place has been overhauled and a new cuisine on the scene has opened up here since October, Hawaiian style BBQ. With as pleasant as staff can be, Mauna Loa Hawaiian Barbeque serves typical Hawaiian dishes, even Spam musubi.

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.

Sicilian, tucked around a corner. My friends Jo-Ann & Michael met me for dinner the other night at Mezzo Mezzo, a place that is a little out of the way in downtown San Rafael, but it would be a shame to overlook. It was actually a birthday dinner for me that we decided to do after all the holiday hecticness was over, and it was perfect!

Thai Restaurant Update. Marin is fortunate to have a large number of very good Thai restaurants. I've been very happy to discover that most of our Thai choices in Marin are consistently inventive, and delicious! I last summarized a list of reviews on September 13, 2007. Links to my reviews or other information about the restaurants appears organized by city below.

Thai Restaurants I've discovered

Corte Madera

Shock! Headline: Good food at mall. Yes, Jhan Thong delivered great food at a very reasonable price! It is located in San Rafael's Northgate Mall. I had brought my father the the cinemas down the hall for a movie, and wanted to catch a quick bite. Noisy, bright and unattractive surroundings, yes, but it's great to have great taste as an option when you are there anyway.

It's been a long time since I visited Vasco so it was time for an update. The comfortable interior is still the same, and the service this time around was fabulous. There was a comfortable buzz rather than loud echoes this time around, which works better for my father with his hearing aids.

Dad and I started with some colorful vegetables which had been cornmeal battered and flash fried, accompanied by some smooth aoli. The crunch of the cornmeal was a welcome texture contrasted with the usual wheat based types, and I don't think it absorbs as much oil. It's a nice choice for an appetizer.

A little French joie de vivre. My neighbor Jerrie and I took a drive to San Anselmo the other night to visit Bistro 330. It had a very bright atmosphere and busy owner?/waiter greeted us warmly and sat us.

Jerrie tried the spinach salad with goat cheese, which she said was very good.

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.