Fun evening in San Francisco. Before Christmas, I met Dr. Kato & Sachiko again in the city for a wonderful dinner at a very romantic restaurant, Annie's Bistro. We were the only party in an increasingly full restaurant where all the couples were gazing longingly into each other eyes.

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.

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.

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.

Last night was my night out, and I decided to try a place near home I've had my eye on for some time. Bungalow 44 seems to be ever popular and has a reputation for being a 'cougar' hang-out. Personally, I think it has a nice ambiance and good food which is good enough reason to go, and I did see a lot of well-dressed and coiffed creatures there.

I had the PERFECT salad to start, mixed organic greens with whole grain mustard dressing. It was so fresh and crisp, and the dressing was absolutely perfect.

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.

One day I enjoyed a walk over to Fish for lunch. It seems that it matters not when I go, there is always a line outside.

On that sunny day, I tried clam linguine and discovered that not only were the clams abundant, fresh and delicious, but that the pasta is made on site fresh. It was some of the best fresh pasta I've ever eaten. And the big galvanized bucket for the shells was a off-beat touch that added another touch of fun.

Birthday Lunch. Yesterday I had the most awesome birthday! I met Linda for lunch at Cucina Rustica in the Depot Hotel in Sonoma. We couldn't believe it was our first visit together there. This little Tuscan restaurant is a hidden jewel just north of Sonoma Square.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Daniel and I went out for a late dinner the other evening, and made it even later by traveling to Fairfax, a very relaxing town with lots of options for the veggie lover. We smelled the wonderful aromas coming from Cafe Lotus and made it our destination.

Daniel was quite exuberant about the smoke arising off of the Seekh Kabab, minced natural lamb kabab with crushed onions, cilantro, and roasted cumin seed. From experience, I knew that it could be difficult to capture the moment of billowing smoke well, but I think it actually photographed pretty dramatically. He was quite loquacious about the flavorful lamb.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Near mega-outlet mall land. That is, in Vacaville with it's huge campus of outlets. I go here once a year or so for a buying frenzy, then I don't want to see it for a looong time. I met a business associate and a long-time reader of this blog for lunch in this fair city for a multitude of business reasons. We first let my 'car' do the choosing with its 'Points of Interest' restaurant listing as we had all been pressed for time and didn't do any research. That was not a good idea. We drove past our first pick, a Chinese restaurant, which looked like it was part of the set of a bad section of town in a B movie. We then just stopped at the first place that looked welcoming, which was Pietro's No 2 (yes, there is a No 1 owned by others).

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.