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.

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.

Unusual green. A visit to the Farmer's Market in San Rafael last Thursday had me doing a double take when I saw this unusual vegetable, a tatsoi. One of the women behind the table said, "It tastes good sauteed with garlic and olive oil.". That was enough to seal the deal and a head of it popped in the bag with the shungiku (chrysanthemum leaves).

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!

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.

Surfing's a theme. Wipeout Bar & Grill recently opened in Greenbrae, in the Bon Aire Shopping Center taking over the old Chevy's space. There are large screens everywhere with movies of surfers and BIG waves.

Daughter's Night Out. Every Thursday evening a companion comes to watch after my father and I have a carefree night out. I thought about going further afield last night, but traffic on 101N was particularly noxious, even later in the evening. So I decided to try a place in my backyard that I've been wanting to visit for awhile, Ora. It was the perfect choice.

As an aside, you can tell that it is indeed heading towards winter fast as the darkness is palpable suddenly significantly earlier. So again it will be the season for rather dark outside photos when I cover a dinner, an example being the one above.

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.

Pleasant lunch. Amici's East Coast Pizzeria was cheerful and welcoming. I was planning to come by at some point, but the smiling staff just beckoned me in.

I started with a broccoli half-salad. It was steamed crisp and chilled with some flavorful olive oil. With a squeeze of lemon, it was just the perfect crunchy and tender combo.

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.

Neighborhood Italian. Dad & I stopped in Fairfax for lunch the other day, finding a sweet neighborhood place which was cozy, tasty and had attentive service. Fradelizio's Ristorante Italiano is in an old home which has been remodeled into a warm and inviting place, a little like a visit to your grandma's.

Dad had a generously portioned fresh chicken breast sandwich with a colorful side salad.

I'd noticed Juban for sometime at the street level of the Kinokuniya Building in San Francisco's Japantown. And on that shopping day, it seemed like the time to visit. I had some trepidations, having been newly reminded to eat simply and vegetarian by my Ayurvedic doctor...

However, there was something called a Tofu Sukiyaki Bento on the menu, and it looked pretty good! Slabs of fresh tofu with vegetables simmered in sukiyaki sauce smelled SO good and so it tasted. The clear soup with spinach and bean sprouts was also tasty, and I ate a little bit of the kim chee. Honestly this yakiniku house, ostensibly Japanese, had a decided Korean tinge. But I enjoy Korean too. It's clean, pleasant and the service is prompt as well.

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.

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.

Smooth experience. No wonder LoCoco's Italian Pizzeria has been around so long. This family-run restaurant has it down. From the moment you walk in the door, you are immersed in a friendly yet not too tightly cozy atmosphere with a menu that's been honed from experience to local favorites.

I enjoyed the inventiveness of their House Special Salad, which included romaine lettuce with bleu cheese, pecans and currants. Doesn't health, taste and good looks fairly scream out of that photo?

Chain yes, and consistently good food and value too. I have liked California Pizza Kitchen for a long time. In fact since it came to my neighborhood when I lived in Northern Virginia. And that was in the 80s.

Dad and I had 'linner' there a few days ago. Starting with their ever-tasty Dakota Smashed Pea and Barley Soup.

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:

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.

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.

Indian Treats. Dad & I visited the Farmer's Market at the San Rafael Civic Center on Sunday, and met some cheerful men who were inviting all to try samples of a variety of Indian dishes and snacks. I happen to be a big fan of Sukhi's vegetarian samosas, and there were some interesting snacks on display 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.

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.

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.

Is there any restaurant that you could eat at every day? For a number of years, I was pretty close to doing so at Fuzio in San Francisco's Embarcadero Center. It is in the same building as my former company, and it is still the freshest promptest friendliest. I used to sit at the counter by the open kitchen and marvel at the camaraderie while dishes literally whizzed down the line to the last dress up with pretty green 'confetti', and out to the tables, hot or cold as expected.