This month Mill Valley welcomes the newest bear in the Japanese eatery family from chef Yasuo Shigeyoshi. Oni Kuma (demon bear) joins San Rafael’s Shiro Kuma (white bear) in serving sushi and sashimi, most memorably in a dish of hoseki-bako. True to Izakaya form, the restaurant also offers a variety of eclectic bites to pair with your sake and beer.
Grab a seat at the room-length bar, request a bottle of sake or beer, and dig into a rice bowl (don) – the namesake Oni Don is topped with uni, spicy tuna, scallop, and ikura – a hand roll set of spicy tuna, salmon, and Hamachi; Japanese curry with shrimp katsu; or a minced chicken skewer.
The covered outdoor patio boasts four cabin-like tables adorned with ads from Japanese newspapers, a playful touch.
Owner Dina Berkhout and her team of mighty moms and dads was already running a catering business known as Portside Catering in Fairfax when she decided to turn a tiny storefront on Sir Francis Drake into a take-out shop.
You can order everything from gluten-free muhammara and white bean and kale soup to Palestinian chicken brochettes. Totally Vegan grazing platters, and ginger garlic pork is packed to-go for easy meals at home and are as enticing as the temptresses for which the business is named. Most meals are also sold frozen so a week’s worth of meals can be picked up in a single visit to the shop.
Piazza D'Angelo just launched a new craft cocktail menu that's a celebration of all things Italian, with hints of the tropics, summer flavors, and local ingredients.
Menu Highlights include:
-- Martini Italiano is a dirty martini made with Gin Primo (a salted gin from the coastal Romagna region), and finished with a house made tomato brine. Think boozy bruschetta, in the best way possible.
-- Campi di Lavanda consists of a house made lavender lemon popsicle, Hangar One Citron vodka, and a heavy pour of Prosecco. It’s a drink that evolves as the popsicle melts, but at every stage is a refreshing ode to summers al’Italiano!
-- La Vita e Rosa is made with Sirene aperitivo Americano Rosso, strawberry rose shrub, Prosecco, house made local dried strawberry garnish. Sweet, tart, and refreshing, it's a great way to enjoy an afternoon under the sun.
-- Appassionato is a refreshing tropical libation made with Candolini grappa, lemon verbena syrup, lemon juice, passion fruit, and egg white. It's Italy meets Hawaii!
Available all day. Don't miss D'Angelo's Aperitivo Hour with discounted drinks + bites every Monday - Friday.
A new Brazilian restaurant & rooftop bar from nightlife legend Johnny Love opens this Thursday in SF's Marina District. Boto will showcase the vibrant and diverse flavors of Brazilian cuisine as well as a selection of South American wines and cocktails designed to evoke the vibe of Ipanema beaches.
Executive Chef Lucas Freire's menu will feature starters such as Torresmo (crispy pork belly with guava jam, house hot sauce), and Coxinhas (chicken croquet with Brazilian spreadable cheese, house hot sauce). Main courses will include highlights like Dry Aged Picanha (charcoal-grilled top sirloin cap steak with crispy garlic clarified butter, tropeiro beans, boiled cassave, and tomato vinaigrette), and Rotisserie Chicken Galinhada (turmeric, rice, grilled okra and rainbow carrots, cipollini onion, chicken jus). Diners can also enjoy their Tropical Salad (a colorful mix of greens, mango, strawberry, toasted Brazil nuts, and pickled cipollini onion).
Boto's exotic atmosphere includes an indoor dining area and outdoor rooftop bar with decor inspired by the lush Amazon rainforest. On weekend nights the space transforms into a lively nightclub with music and dancing. Boto's Grand Opening is this Thursday and will feature live Brazilian music until 9pm + a DJ until the wee hours of the night.
After 20 years in Corte Madera, Marin’s long-running Vietnamese fusion restaurant skedaddled to downtown Novato, reopening in a slim space with familiar, well-priced rice plates at lunch, vermicelli noodle bowls and claypot fish at lunch or dinner.
But you’re here for the pho, right? We’re partial to the Spicy Beef & Beef Ball Rice Noodle Soup – the clear broth hits all the right flavors – and an appetizer of traditional shrimp rolls. Rice flour crepes stuffed with mung bean are designed to be wrapped into lettuce with handfuls of fresh herbs and a squeeze of lime.
Lychee iced or milky boba teas are refreshing on the hottest of days while a bracing cup of Vietnamese coffee will revive anyone’s flagging spirit.
