Sabor of Spain, San Rafael, California

Relatively new - one year- restaurant in my "home town" of San Rafael. Had an intense massage in the afternoon where Olga manipulated my internal organs, so decided to treat myself with a nice dinner. Nicky, my faux brother, and I stopped in the wine store attached to the restaurant the other night and met the owner. He said he lived in Spain, his wife is Spanish, he looks Indian or something, and wanted to bring the taste of Spain to the area. I commented how the space looked like it could be in New York City and he was happy about that. His manager was around who was a nice guy who seemed to take alot of pride in his job and the place. Nicky and I told them we'd be back soon.

So, I decided to walk on down there last night. It too about 20 minutes but having the ability to walk to a restaurant felt so lovely. Why didn't I do it more when I lived here? Was lazy and would drive the short distance. Maybe that's why I was fatter when I lived here. Anyway... I strolled in and the lovely manager escorted me outside to my table and was very attentive the rest of the night. The owner was off this evening.

What a lovely wine by the glass menu they have. Aside from a huge variety of single glasses available, they also have flight of wine. I opted for the flight which included a Rioja, one of the few Spanish wines with which I am familiar. Three glasses came to my outside table, by the way, which is a darling little seating area with three tables on the main drag, which were very generously filled. I was impressed. Of the three, I liked the Rioja the best, wish I could remember the other ones, but it was only today I decided to keep track of my dining escapades. Next time, I will order the Rioja by the glass.

I started with a cheese plate sans the stinky cheese and the only one I remember was Manchego. They were all delicious and I gobbled that up fast while talking on the phone to Brigid about our inability to have casual sex. Both wish we could, but because of our understanding of energy, find it difficult. I then ordered a Caesar salad with Manchego which was a disappointment. The dressing was bland, the 2 odd little tomatoes weird and the Romaine lettuce itself a bitch to cut. Before I was done, the potato omelet arrive, which was the size of an ordinary tapa, ie., rather small. The omelet itself was tasty but the dipping sauces odd - one being glorified ketchup and the other being glorified mayonnaise. I was still hungry so asked the waitress what she recommended for dessert. She said the daily special was a bread pudding that was incredible. So, I placed my order and took a quick stroll over to Open Secret, one of my favorite books stores. (www.opensecretbookstore.com) When I returned, my lovely little bread pudding arrived. Absolutely delicious - the bread was soft and moist, the warm caramel sauce just the right consistency and the strawberries around the plate a perfect accompaniment to the ensemble.

Over all, an excellent choice with a good selection of vegetarian items. For the main course, they had a couple eggplant selections and a portabello mushroom dinner. 7.11.6

1301 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA (415-457-VINO) www.saborofspain.com

Boulevard, San Francisco, California

Always listed as one of the better restaurants of San Francisco, if not America. When it opened in 1993, it was the coolest place. Designed by reknown Pat Kuleto, it was so unique back then and you felt privileged while dining there. Fast forward to now, I'm a jaded Master of Light Bitch, oh I mean, Chick, and it's o.k. Still cool, but not knock my socks off. Perhaps for all the Japanese businessmen in town and tourists it's still the cat's meow...never used that saying in a sentence.
I get my teeth cleaned around the corner, so decided to treat myself to lunch. Dining is so boring on the East Coast for me. Even when I'm in New York for some reason. Perhaps it's because the higher end places seem less approachable when I'm bumming around during the day and don't feel dressed enough to go in. I don't know. But, I was one of the few people at Boulevard in jeans and a oversized skate rat sweatshirt, that's for sure. Even though, I felt completely comfortable sitting at the bar. I reminisced about going there for lunch all the time when I had a corporate job around the corner. What a different life. Lots has changed though my interest in food has remained the same.

The veggie choices on the menu were not fab. I asked about getting a plate made and it seemed totally boring - mashed potatoes, veggies, that's about it, so I opted for some Hawaiian fish on a bed of beans and greens. I would have ordered an appetizer but there were no veggie options. Again, fabulous sour dough bread was brought out with a butter plate containing 2 butters. I had to ask and one was a salt butter while the other was sweet - cool idea, huh? I devoured both of them. I'm away from home, so butter is being ingested with frequency. The special pink drink sitting at the end of the bar was calling my name. It turned out to be some berry, watermelon lemonade which was awesome. If I recall, they make a new one every day. The bartender even treated me with a second glass on the house as one was left over from the batch.

The fish was delicious albeit tiny. I sometimes forgot the tiny little artistic servings one finds around. The bean and green sauce was delightful and a perfect complement to the Hawaiian fish. I was ready for a fabulous dessert but the menu left little to be desired. Nothing popped out of interest. So, back to Marin I went. 7.10.6

1 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA (415-543-6084) www.boulevardrestaurant.com

Buckeye Roadhouse, Mill Valley, California

Went this past Sunday around 2:45 to have a bite to eat in the bar. Eating in the bar is much more enjoyable than the restaurant, which sometimes feel a little too stiff. It's not the wait staff or anything, just the tables are close to one another and you feel like you need to act grown up to be there. So, the bar is much more my speed on normal days. They even sat me at a booth, which made me happy. I ordered their highest priced chardonnay from Napa at $13/glass. Wish I could remember the name, but I wasn't planning to start this blog this week. Generally, there higher priced chardonnays and pinots by the glass are how I like them, big bodied. I once ordered a glass of chardonnay there for $20 and it was so buttery and oaky it almost could hit you in the face. Anyway, I was in heaven with whatever Chardonnay I ended up with, being it was my first real Cali wine in a while - the ones you generally find back East aren't as in your face bold.

The menu arrived and actual tears welled up in my eyes. The beautiful bounty of ingredients found on the menu was refreshing change from the East. This is the way to live, I thought. They brought out the sourdough bread and sweet butter, which I devoured even though I had planned to skip it altogether. You can't beat the sourdough bread of the Bay Area. Come on, your here, forget the carbs for now. Then, it was on to my favorite, the grilled artichoke. No other restaurant does this dish with such flavor. The garlic aoili dipping sauce is to die for. Waiting for my egg white omelet to arrive after about 40 minutes of my arrival and order, the waiter comes out to tell me the brunch menu stopped and I could no longer get the omelet. Confused, I asked why the order wasn't put in or why I wasn't notified sooner. He tried to blame it on the hostess, but it was his fault. Yet another person who can't take responsibility for their faults. He's the one who put in the order (or rather forgot to on time...) So, I was hating on him for awhile but luckily the staff changed over for dinner and I got some goofy guy who kept staring at me. I ordered a salad, nothing interesting, as I was pretty full from all that damn bread I ate. Besides, it was Day 1 in Cali, and I didn't want to feel fat the whole trip for once. I don't think I even looked at the dessert menu before heading out. All in all, this place is excellent with a decent selection of vegetarian options. If you're a fish eater, there's definitely a good choice on the menu. 7.9.6
15 Shoreline Highway, Mill Valley, CA (415-331-2600) www.buckyeyeroadhouse.com

Lydia's Loving Foods, Fairfax, California

Went to have a raw food dinner, but was bored by the offerings on the menu. Same old raw food items, nothing creative like Roxanne's in Larkspur used to be or Pure Food and Wine in New York City currently is. When I told the waitress I hoped to eat raw, but the options were cold, not warm and comforting, she replied, "well, it is raw food." I tried to explain what I meant to no avail. I ended up ordering a plate of baked yams and the rice pasta primavera. One of the specials, of which there was a whole page changing daily, was an order of buckwheat crepes, which sounded good. As I was eating healthy, I would have liked some wine, but, unfortunately, they don't have a liquor license.

The yams were delicious baked with some kind of seasonings and had a cold dipping sauce, which wasn't too memorable. The yams on their own would have been fine. The pasta, however, was horrendous. I was regretting not stopping at the carb laden Italian joint on the corner. The sauce inundated the pasta and wasn't even very tasty. Some chopped basil on top made it a little edible, but not much. When I told the waitress, she said, "bummer." Typical hippie Fairfax, what do you want? Since I barely ate my dinner, I decided to go for dessert which was a different story. The case is full of interesting, fluffy pies - all of them raw. It was hard to choose, but I ordered the chocolate raspberry which was delicious and made up for the lousy pasta dinner. Earlier today, I stopped by for breakfast, which consisted of raw cereal, almond milk and a green drink - all excellent choices. I won't rush back for dinner but would highly recommend the juices and desserts.

Oh, and taking my dessert to go, I asked for a plastic fork. The waitress gave me a corn starch? fork, which she said was bio-degradable and I could just throw it away. How cool is that? And, why aren't these more popular? To me, there seems to be no reason to continue polluting the environment by making plastic forks, knives and spoons when there is an eco-friendly solution available. I'm giving away the remaining plastic crap in my house and buying this wonderful new product. 7.12.6
31 Bolinas Road, Fairfax, off Broadway, (415-456-5300) www.lydiasorganics.com