My new obsession. Nothing else really needs to be said. Blue Barn is quite possibly the best lunch place in the entire Bay. It’s in the notoriously difficult to find parking area of the Marina in SF. As most of you know, I live in the Easy Bay. Even with gas being as expensive as it is my little Prius and I have no problem making the trip across the bridge to dine at this haunt.

They make sandwiches and salads using organic and sustainably grown meats and produce. They also have an option to build your own salad and they let you pretty much create any variations to any of the sandwiches too. My favorite sandwich is the grilled Burrata. (Burrata cheese is also one of my newest obsessions…)The tostada salad is also amazing as well. I can never choose between the two. Add steak to it and it’s positively wonderful.

They also have tons of natural tea and chips to choose from to go with your meal.

I enjoy people watching and this place is my favorite place to do that. It’s located on Chestnut St, which not only makes for great people watching, but it really makes me wish I had a dog to walk!

If you try one place in SF….try Blue Barn.

Why is Blue Barn so festive?
(All ratings are out of 10.)
Food: 9
Drinks: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Price: $15/person
Summary: MUST GO!

Since I was in the north bay I decided to go visit another friend of mine, Elena, that lives in Occidental. Since I graduated from Sonoma State this area is familiar to me, but I hadn’t been back in more than two years. It was great to drive around the area again. Elena suggested we to go Bistro des Copains as a special occasion since we rarely get to see each other.

We got there and sat right down. It was a Wednesday night, but apparently during the weekend it’s not as easy to get a table. Wednesday nights they have a special for $1 oysters. We promptly ordered some and when they arrived they tasted great. So fresh. They were served with a spicy sauce that really did the oysters justice.

Then we ordered some wine. We decided on a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Mia’s Playground from the Alexander Valley. It had aromas of dark chocolate and cherries. It was an excellent choice.

I ordered scallops that were served with a caramelized fennel and cippolini onion risotto and wild mushroom broth. All I have to say is wow. The key was to get a little bit of everything in each bite. I’m not usually a huge risotto fan because I always feel like they’re so heavy, but I decided on this dish because I can’t pass up scallops. Speaking of the scallops…oh gosh those were done perfectly. The menu can be found here.

I know that I just said that we ordered red wine and then I had scallops, which generally goes with white. I took one for the team as the two friends I was with both ordered dark meat. I must say that these actually went very well together…surprisingly. You can find their wine list on their website.

Bistro des Copains reminded me of eating at a place called Chez Paul this past summer in Paris. It was on a hidden street far away from everything and the food was very flavorful. It felt like being back in Paris to me…and that will make anyone happy! I could have done the entire thing again…except I was so full.

Ratings (out of 10):

Food: 8.5

Atmosphere:  7.5

I decided to take a mid-week trip over to Marin to do some shopping and catch up with some friends. We decided to try Table Cafe. We ended up walking really far down Magnolia Ave. in Larkspur because thought it was close to all the cute shops in that area. Turns out it was actually really far down and on the border of Kentfield! I think it was more than a mile each way.

Table Cafe was definitely worth the walk! When we got there we were greeted by a woman that, I think, owns the place. She explained the different nature of the food there and teased us for having red cheeks and walking all that way. She was very nice.

The food there is mostly dosai. Dosai are Indian style crepes that have all kinds of lovely things inside of them. It’s basically a crepe and a burrito with anything you could ever want inside. I ordered the chicken, spinach, and goat cheese dosai. They serve each dosai with three choices of sides/dips. The first is this amazing pear chutney that has hints of cinnamon. The second is mango avocado and the last is apple and onion…which sounds weird, but it’s actually pretty unique.

They also have tons of salads and soups if you’re not into being adventurous with the dosai. They make a killer Arnold Palmer too. (That’s iced tea and lemonade for all you noobs.) One of the best parts is that they use all locally grown and organic produce. Much of their menu is organic.

Table Cafe used to be Tabla Cafe a few years ago. (The owners had to change their name due to a lawsuit from a Tabla in NYC.) They don’t have a website, but you can find them here:

1167 Magnolia Ave. Larkspur, CA 415-461-6787

Ratings (out of 10):

Food: 7.5

Atmosphere: 6

Jardinere is a restaurant for special occasions. It’s quite fancy. The menu reflects what season it is, which is wonderful because it really allows the chef to showcase the food when it’s at it’s best. The wine list has lots of French, Californian, Italian and even some Oregon wines.

They have invited a jazz singer for Valentine’s Day and are planning a prix fixe menu for $125/person. I think that’s pretty reasonable considering a lot of other places are charging far more than that for a Vday feast.

One of the best parts of Jarinere is that they use organic and sustainable foods. They compost waste and recycle as well. They really care about the environment and it shows.

If you don’t want to go for dinner you should at least check it out for drinks. The bar feels like you’re sitting in a giant champagne glass. I was there to enjoy some champagne before dinner (at Chapeau!) with my boyfriend on our anniversary last year. We started talking with one of the bartenders and he suggested that I try a drink called the Old Cuban. If you do nothing else at Jardinere…go for the Old Cuban! It’s like a mojito but instead of being topped with soda you top it with champange. It’s amazing. Enjoy!

Ratings (out of 10):

Food: 8
Atmosphere: 8