Christina Mueller is a restaurant and food writer who has written for print and online publications including Fodor’s, Eater, TripAdvisor/Viator, Plate, Condé Nast Contract Publishing, Sunset magazine, Marin Magazine, Edible Communities, and Chowhound, among others.
It’s not fair to say that the bustling bar scene at Mill Valley’s Playa is due to the undeniable deliciousness of the house Paloma and Margarita. Though mezcal and tequila cocktails are an important component to the convivial vibe of the downtown hot spot, the good people at the Michelin Guide saw fit to name check the queso fundido, mushroom quesadilla and pastor tacos, calling them “outstanding.” We love a delicious margarita, too, but let’s give credit to Chef Michael Siegel, a Tucson native, for his exacting commitment to Mexican flavors and cooking techniques for the Bib Gourmand earned by Playa in 2024.
A designation for “good quality, good value cooking,” Michelin’s Bib Gourmand designation is further validation for Siegel, who earned a Top 10 new restaurants honor for from the San Francisco Chronicle when Playa opened in 2016. Is it a surprise, then, that Siegel’s new menu, the first he’s launched at Playa since the restaurant opened, is called his ‘passion with heart’ menu?
Comida con corazon, which arrived in December, 2024, digs deeper into the breadth of flavor found throughout Mexico and the borderlands of its norteño neighbor. Yes, the queso fundido that earned Michelin’s rave is still here, as is the mushroom quesadilla brightened with hoja santa and roasted tomatillo salsa. In newcomer chile relleno, Siegel creates a showcase for ancho chile, its softly spiced flavor a natural partner with potato, plantain, and chef’s tofu-based chorizo. Chef leans into the chile love with albondigas, a.k.a. pork and beef meatballs, served with plenty of chipotle-tomato salsa and suadero, or brisket taco, where the jalapeño is woven into the tortilla’s fabric.
Perhaps Chef looked to Vera Cruz where the salsa macha is made with chipotle rather than Michoacán’s hotter árbol chiles for the salsa macha served alongside the tuna tostada. Dab your fish with care — the ahi deserves only a small swipe of the spicy sauce to reach peak mouth happiness. Utilizing exceptional ingredients as a flavor-driven jumping-off point to craft perfect bites is what it’s all about for Siegel. The new Masa menu section is designed to expand diners’ awareness of the most Mexican of ingredients: corn. Chef tasks the Playa team to craft blue corn and the more familiar yellow corn into house made masa, an hours-long process that nixtamalizing corn to remove the outer kernel and release the the grain’s richest flavor. Griddled blue corn stuffed with squash and cheese? That’s a tlacoyo. Served hot out of the fryer, flautas are rolled, then stuffed with salmon and drizzled with a chile guero marmalade and just enough avocado crema to remind you that Playa is in California — not Baja, California. Napped in negro mole, enchiladas are made with yellow corn, its fragrance wafting up from the dish like a Oaxacan breeze.
Siegel wouldn’t have it any other way. Mexican food made with heart looks deeper into Mexican foodways and traditions, exploring the breadth of corn, chiles and other ingredients. Unexpected and delightful. Approachable and playful. Siegel’s flavor-forward food is how Marin eats now.
