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 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.

Nijiya Market was full of tasty bento boxes this morning! I went to San Francisco to see Dr. Arya who is visiting from India. If you have any interest in seeing a REAL Ayurvedic doctor while he's in town (about one more week), please contact me and I'll put you in touch with him (anna AT annalou DOT com). My pulses have improved a lot since last fall, so no more special herbs, but I have to continue my vegetarian diet. So the above "Special Spring Selection", Spring Cherry Blossom Lunchbox, which was vegetarian, fit the bill for having after my session.

Pleasant lunch. Dad has a new physical therapist just upstairs of the building attached to Robata Grill & Sushi, so after the first visit, it seemed like an opportune time to revisit the closest Japanese restaurant to me which continues to have a wide variety of delicious dishes. I reviewed this in July 2006, and then again in October 2006. I was surprised it had been so long since I'd written about this place.

Vietnamese veggie fare. I stopped by La Maison de la Reine for dinner with my friend Sachiko one evening, and we were both in the mood for light eating. The staff were friendly and inviting and we enjoyed sitting in the heated sun room.

Last meat-eating adventure. I alluded to a diet that I've started in a previous post, and one of it's key features is that it is vegetarian. Last week Dad & I visited a cute tofu house in Japantown, which coincidentally ended up being the last time I had any meat/poultry/fish product except for the Thanksgiving Day diet holiday. It wasn't planned that way, it just happened. More about the diet at the end of the post. DooBu is a gem of a place, with prompt and friendly service.

And this post marks completion of dining and reviewing ALL of the Thai restaurants in Marin! At least those that I know of, please leave a comment if I've missed a place inadvertently. And it's an old favorite I had not been to in a long time, Bangkok Thai Express.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that this Thai place still serves Shrimp Chips as a treat. This used to be customary at many Thai restaurants, but has disappeared in the last few years. These were crisp and had a great savory dipping sauce.

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.

Fresh leftovers. The day after I made the fresh tofu and tatsoi treat, I woke up and made small iron skillets of less than 24 hr old tofu with mushrooms and tatsoi saute with egg. I enjoy making these individual egg treats and putting the hot fry pan on a wooden trivet for a nice breakfast presentation. I just started the leftovers frying then poured two beaten eggs on top. I finished these in the oven.

I had the most cheerful lunch in a brightly colored mosiaced setting yesterday. It had been a few years since my last visit to Picante in San Rafael, but the greeting was just as pleasant, the service prompt and friendly and it just felt happy to be there.

I couldn't resist starting with the aguas frescas of strawberry and pineapple. As delicious as it is refreshing!

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.

A favorite spot in Tiburon has been Guaymas, especially their deck, once the weather makes it not-too-hot and not-too-cold/windy. Last week there was such a day, and I was excited to get reacquainted with the deck.

Once you've placed your order, a fat stack of housemade corn tortillas arrive with three tasty sauces.

After tasting a couple, I settled in to enjoy the view.

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.

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.

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.

So my experience with the not quite right couscous the other day had the effect of making me crave the real thing. So I tried looking around the bay area, and came up with Tajine on Polk Street in San Francisco as a place to try not so far from Marin. (Chowhounders also recommended Aziza which I will have to try too). I wasted no time getting there.

First up was a large pot of mint tea. The server poured it with a flourish, which was the first good sign. Then I sipped it, and I KNEW I was in good hands. Slightly sweet with deep mint flavor, this took me back to another place and time.

Although I've been to Frantoio many a time, I have not blogged about it for one reason or another. Since it's between where I live and where I work it's too easy to think 'it's too easy', and then the visit gets put off. But I did make it there one evening - it's only open for dinner - and then it took me a bit to go back for a photo in the daytime as the ones I took of the outside that night didn't turn out. The most unique feature of this restaurant is that it has a operating olive press behind glass walls you can view from the inside. In fact, it is the only restaurant in the U.S. with an in-house state of the art Certified Organic olive oil production facility. Of course, pressing season is long since over, but the bottled olive oil is used in the restaurant, and it is flavorful!

So after my teeth were declared quite fine, I meandered down past my old workplace walking through the green parkway of the Embarcadero Center and through Justin Herman Plaza. The building I spent more than 8 years in is building one, the one appearing smaller past the palm trees. My office was on the 2oth floor, facing the water towards the Golden Gate Bridge. While I was there, I rarely had time to enjoy the view.

And all the interesting activities constantly going on in the square right in front of me. On this day a happy man with all kinds of interesting pots and cans was 'sharing love' in an impromptu concert.

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.

Behind these pink walls lies some great food. Another foray into Fairfax, and I notice Siam Lotus is open for lunch. Friendly people and a well-cared for place greets me. A menu with a wide variety of choices soon lands in my hands.

Still being rather cold and rainy, I was attracted by the soups. The Tom-Ka Noodle soup looks particularly attractive, described as "rice noodle with tofu and seasonal vegetables in galanga coconut milk broth." I asked about the 'galanga', and was told that it is an herb in the ginger family. Whatever family it is, it works. this vegetable laden soup has a smooth and refreshing taste with loads of bright vegetables. I highly recommend it and this Thai oasis just across from Fairfax's main parking lot.

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.

A cut above, tucked away. Mifune Udon is in the less frequented building of Japantown, near Ichiban Kan and the Kabuki Hotel. It's big and busy sister is in the main mall, and there are some menu and food differences.

Friendly earnestness. I found myself close to the heart of Mill Valley at lunchtime, and thought that it was time to revisit Amberjack Sushi. Amberjack is small, and attentive to details. Good food attracts traffic, and at 11:45, this place was already packed, so I pulled up at the sushi bar. It was a great spot as I had a bird's eye view of the kitchen as I waited, and I could see all the directed, careful and clean activity taking place. This place is serious about giving you a delicious and well-prepared dish! I started with miso soup, which was well flavored and had good depth.

Transplant. And it's taking. Fukusuke was an old favorite in Sausalito some time ago, and the restaurant disappeared from its long established neighborhood, reportedly, because of an unreasonable rent increase. (I think the space is still unoccupied after a couple years now?) It's reopened in Larkspur, in a tiny space, but the same family is there making all guests feel welcome. Dad and I arrived at 5:45, and there was already a wait to be seated!

Dad and I enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at a restaurant we stumbled upon in the Castro, Tangerine. It is popular in the neighborhood, we had a short wait in the foyer.

Dad wanted some simple Oatmeal. Simple yes, but beautiful and generously portioned with an add of fruit. Dad said every bite was delicious.

The rain was with me. Usually Marvin's Breakfast Club is so packed even the outside tables have a line waiting for them. Now that I've gone, I can see why. I didn't have breakfast, but the breakfast plate that whizzed past me were a sight to behold. Golden potatoes, perfectly shaped eggs... it smelled delicious also.

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.

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.