Marin tourist question- we are attending a lunch post-wedding reception on one of the upcoming Saturdays, before heading home in the South Bay afterwards. I rarely go to Marin these days. We don’t know when the reception ends (nor do we know when GG traffic appears on Saturday pm). If it ends early and we got nothing to do, we’ll probably start crossing the bridge to beat traffic. But if it ends late, I probably will feed the gang before heading home.
Anything distinctive around Sausalito, Tiburon, San Rafael, Larkspur, Corte Madera, Mill Valley that shines, or anything that is ‘you can’t get that in the city/ East Bay’? (Its not that we have a bias for SF/ Oakland, but it is closer to home and we go regularly enough)
A search of some recent discussions turn up some possible choices:
Fish, Le Garage, Kitti’s, Tony Tutto
We’ll probably grab some baked goods from M.H. Bread & Butter, but I think they close for dinner.
I meant to try Joinery in Sausalito after the Marin County Fair but didn’t make it. Looks like a good beer list and Bauer gave it a good food review, right on the water.
Fish is my go to when in Marin.
Other options: Pizzeria Picco, Belcampo Meats in Larkspur/Marin Country Mart (also houses El Huarache Loco).
I wasn’t impressed with Le Garage but I ate there over two years ago.
For traffic coming back, consider coming over the San Rafael bridge and down the East Bay to get home. You’ll run into some traffic at the Bay Bridge, but just keep to the left. There are lots of great places to eat in Albany, Berkeley and Oakland.
Kitti’s is now closed Saturdays. I loathe Fish, it’s personal I’ll admit, but if you like $28 self-serve fish and chips, you might be happy. I prefer Le Garage, or their “downtown” incarnation on Caledonia St. “F3”. Alternatively there’s nothing wrong with oysters bingo at The Buckeye Roadhouse.
We enjoyed Picco much! That was a meal from easily a decade ago. Thanks for the reminder.
I forgot about El Huarache Loco- how’s the store compared to the Alemany stand?
We live somewhat close to the Belcampo in the Silicon Valley. Ironically we never had their cooked food since they found out they didn’t have the license to sell cooked food down there.
Lol- i checked, its $22 fish and chips. Priced a little high for cash only I must admit. You don’t like it because of the service (or lack thereof) you get for the price, or that plus the food as well?
As I said, it’s personal, but not private. I work in the marine trades and years ago I did some repairs on the owner’s boat canvas and he stiffed me for about the price of 4 orders of fish and chips. The food is fine, and I even agree with the policy of sustainability, but eff him.
Hah, yes Fish is steep, I’m always kind of shocked by the total bill but I only eat fish n chips about 1-2 times a year and they are consistent - super fresh fish and great batter where you can really taste the be in it. I also like the clam dip. Can’t beat the location right on the water.
re: Le Garage, I just remember it being “OK” not bad or anything, but it was a while back so I don’t recall what we had.
Huarache Loco is a little more full service, bigger menu if I recall. Like you, I only get to Marin a couple times a year when I want some heat.
Re: sitting outside- When does the fog start rolling in in the afternoon during summer months? I thought usually around 3-4pm but its an observation for SF not specific to Sausalito.
And I applaud you for being transparent with your personal relationship with the owners when many people I think would just bash the joint in a similar situation without bringing up the background.
After the Legion of Honor (very, very foggy), we drove over to Sausalito and were happy to see sun. This was about 5PM on Wednesday. The fog was visible, sort of stuck on the top of the hill, but we were able to sit outside by the water.
Afternoon fog in Sausalito is rare. It rolls over the headlands and then “melts” before it hits the flats. I’ve seen this for years, and once I asked a local where it goes, and he said “The same place the stairs go at the bottom of the escalator.”
I love Picco right when they open (I think at 5PM), especially in the summer with the big windows open. We’ve never made it into Picco Pizza because I’ve got awesome pizza readily available around me in the East Bay and I really like the vegetables, risotto, and pastas at Picco.
Passot’s Left Bank is another option right down the street and is open throughout the day (I think). Nice patio, oysters, salade Lyonnaise, very good bistro classics.
Fish – I want to like it but it just hasn’t been reliable. It may not matter to you but I have to be really wowwed by the food to make such a hectic/loud environment feel worth the effort.
Sam’s in Tiburon doesn’t have Fish’s Dungeness crab roll but if we go at an off hour we can get a table outside on the water and eat seafood without waiting in line and then trying to find a place to eat.
Nothing wrong with Buckeye Roadhouse’s onion rings, either! (If you want to test my ethical limits, tempt me with onion rings. Preferably not self-serve, though.)
