Mellow and relaxing, a nice place to stop in the bustle. Champagne French Bakery and Cafe set in the middle of busy Corte Madera Town Center, was a great oasis to stop between dashes to The Container Store, REI and other such tempting places.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Family by the seaside. My host sister from Hiroshima days is visiting with her husband, and our younger brother now lives in Marin, so the family got together for some local fun yesterday. After a refreshing walk breathing in the redwood scent at Muir Woods we decided to go to Stinson Beach for a drink and rest before the next round of activities.

After a quick survey of the scene, we decided to try the Stinson Beach Grill for some of the famous local BBQ oysters. Delectable! And we were seated promptly and given friendly and timely service. This is a place I'll come back to sometime to try a full meal.

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.

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.

More of Sunday's outing to West Marin. So yesterday we left off with a couple of hungry kids, and a closed Drake's Beach Cafe. It seemed apropos to stop at the first restaurant we came across on our way back, which luckily happened to be open!

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

What's that on my pancake? Wood shavings? I promise, it tasted better than that. I was just very intrigued when I saw this jam in my local Persian market.

This orange blossom jam runs like honey and the blossoms are tender-waxy. It was a lovely topping for some freshly made buttermilk pancakes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Delish Thai Food Find. I'm lucky to have such good friends thinking of me on my birthday, yes, I'm reporting on yet another birthday meal! It was more like a birthday week. I met my friend Daniel at Chao Praya, a place that has been quite popular in Novato, but my first visit.

What's growing? Well, not the mushrooms, but more about that later. Dad thought we ought to have a real tree this year, so we picked up a live tree at Whole Foods, which is on the back deck happily shining its lights.

It displaced the arugula that actually seems to enjoy the climate of the front deck better.

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.

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.

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.

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.