Dream Farm lives up to its name

When we moved out of the city, it was a happy hello to Marin and a sad goodbye to all the fantastic culinary excitement that the City had served up to us. However Marin seems to have a few little gems of its own. Thursday night we checked out the oft talked about Marinatas (to be reviewed in another post) and walked past the alluring window of Dream Farm. After checking out the menu and speaking to the owner we put it on the hit list. Tonight as we are still waiting for our little one to grace us with her presence we decided to give Dream Farm a test drive before settling back in for a night of the Grammys.

Right on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard the unassuming, warmly lit Dream Farm welcomes in the diner in search of quality fresh organic fare in a classy dining room setting. With only 50 minutes to order, eat and get back home we skimmed the menu. We started with a frise salad with ricotta and blood orange and the crab cakes. The crab cakes melted in with a light tartar sauce with a rocket side, delicious. For main course we had the roast chicken with green beans and creamy mash and the spicy marinara seafood capellini. The only shame about the experience was that we didn't have more time to savour it. An excellent spot and very reasonably priced, we can't wait to go back. If you live in San Rafael, San Anselmo or anywhere in Marin, do yourself a favour and pay Dream Farm a visit!

Sporking is fun

Konbanwa, hisashiburi ne blog fans. Thanks for continuing to bug me and reminding me that I need to get back to restaurant coverage! Tonight after just getting off a plane from Tokyo, I got a call from a friend who was marooned in the city thanks to the bay bridge delays. He was looking for a dinner date. Having wanted to check out all the hullabaloo about Spork in the Mission but having never been able to plan enough in advance to get a table, I thought this was the perfect opportunity. Early table on a wed, sure enough they were able to accomodate us. Off we went to the once KFC now funkily lit Valencia eatery. A very agreeable blonde lady was our host and gave some of the background of the restaurant. The chef Bruce got together with his wife's cousin to start the place. In the ashes of an old KFC they attempt to deliver locally sourced, organic dishes that rotate weekly, washed down with some trendy Belgian beers and finely picked wines.

We kicked off with the buratta and tomato salad, the goat cheese croquette and a house salad. Great flavour and presentation but nothing is still going to get me into beets and goat cheese. Picking from a short list of main courses and avoiding the house favourite burger, we opted for the stuffed squash (very rich and buttery but tasty), the halibut (standard presentation a la Range) and an unusual Beef Stroganoff (again very rich and could have used more pasta as opposed to the gnocchi to break up the flavours but very satisfying none the less)

Armed with our signature Sporks we finished with an Apple Crisp a la mode. A solid end to a well lit, well presented meal. I would recommend for a weekday favour escape, good for tables of 2-4. Spork away!

Maverick - a Mission gem

This review is dedicated to the delightful Miss M. Yes, Rach, Maverick is one of the places to check out among the SF scene. I have to credit my first experience here to Daryl and his delightful wife way back when on a short stop visit. Well I rediscovered it up here again as a local, mainly because it seemed to hit everyones "must check out" list. Without knowing where to find it, you might easily miss this spot but it is worth finding. Michael Pearce is a wine guru and obsessed with delivering exciting new american fare sourced from only the freshest local ingredients. Popular starters are the Beet salad and the Crab Fluffs, after that Fried Chicken is a good one to go for. No, Cynthias but for SF it certainly tops Front Porch for original southern fare.

Foreign Cinema

This is the restaurant that made me move to this finely feathered city. Back in oh, 2008, I walked down the tea light lined corridor that leads you in from the unsuspecting entrance on Mission St. It opens up into a magical outdoor garden with a giant wall at the back where classic, often quirky, black and white movies are screened. The food and cocktails are always inspiring but the real reason to come here is the ambiance. Whether you choose a table outside or one in the expansive indoor dining room, you can't help feeling that you have just discovered THE hot spot in town and are already thinking about who you are going to bring here next. This is an SF Classic and should be test driven immediately. (Foreign Cinema)