Archive for February, 2010
Mama's Royal Cafe, Mill Valley
This weekend I am on a course in Sausalito and Tom came along for the ride. Of course he brought his camera along but so far has not been able to use it because of the rain. I do not know how he is going to entertain himself today while I am working.
Once again, I checked out Anna’s Cool Finds to see where to eat and she came up trumps. Mama’s Royal Cafe is an absolute treasure but how to best describe it is going to be a challenge, but I’ll do my best.
The cafe is set back from the road but look out for the brightly colored sandwich board on the sidewalk. Parking is minimal so get there early (they open at 7.30 am.) Outside are few tables under cover and on a sunny day or even a dry one, it would be nice to sit outside but the inside is not to be missed.
There is just one booth and no stools at the counter so not your normal diner. All the tables are covered with a thick, plastic cover which sounds dreadful but every one is different and patterned with vibrantly colored fruit. The chairs are a complete mishmash – Tom and I sat on garden benches.
But the biggest impact to the eye is the walls, which are literally covered with a huge assortment of paintings, photos, posters and curios. For instance, within touching distance of where we sat were a photo of an old boat; paintings of a mermaid, an ocean liner, James Dean, a huge swan with a woman on its back, an elephant and a green plant. At the end of the table is a mural of an idyllic sandy beach with palm trees. There is more! A huge wooden mask, a wooden parrot on a swing and an oversize white cup and saucer.
One wall on the other side of the cafe is dedicated to Marilyn Monroe. Nearby is a cutout of a nun with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth and a sign which says ‘Nun Smoking Area’. Other curious objects which caught my eye – a four foot giraffe with a lei around its neck and above our booth, fixed to the ceiling, four place settings decorated with pineapples and flowers complete with knives and forks.
Must mention the pillars – each one is painted differently - palm tree, pencil, Egyptian hieroglyphics (plus Charlie Brown) and a red, white and blue striped one which I thought represented a stick of rock (you’ve got to be English to understand that) or a barber’s pole but probably meant to be patriotic.
I could go on and on but the primary reason we are here is for the food. The menu is an art form all of its own. The Benedicts looked tempting but I asked about oatmeal – which was not on the menu. The server, who was the only person we saw, though I’m sure there must have been someone in the kitchen cooking, said they did have oatmeal. I asked for it with raisins and banana ($6.95). Tom ordered a bacon and cheddar omelet (8.25).
It didn’t take long before the food arrived but that was probably because I was so fascinated at looking at my surroundings. The oatmeal came in a large, deep, round bowl on a decorated plate. The sliced bananas and raisins were on top. Milk was already on the table. Tom said his omelet was good with lots of bacon and my oatmeal was great and hot into the bargain. The oatmeal was coarse cut, so nice and hearty.
Now my trip to the restroom. On the way there I passed a very nice secluded booth. The thee walls were covered with a mural depicting Rick’s Café Américain from the movie, “Casablanca”.
The bathrooms are down a rather gloomy passage. I had high expectations that it would be as richly decorated as the restaurant but was hugely disappointed. The room was large and rather tatty and it was completely bereft of any adornment whatsoever. Even the pillar in the center of the room was painted a stark white.
For a real funky experience, we would highly recommend Mama’s Royal Cafe.
Mama’s Royal Café
393 Miller Ave
Mill Valley, CA 94941
(415) 388-3261
February 25 2010 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
One of the San Juan Bautista feral roosters
San Juan Bautista is one of our favorite towns and it is only forty five minutes from home. It is a place we will be visiting more often in the future because Tom’s father, Don, and his wife Arlene have bought a home there. Normally we visit San Juan (as it is affectionately called) early in the morning and we are back home in San Jose by lunch time. This time we stayed overnight so were able to spend more time there.
(Click on the photos for larger versions)
Our first stop today was to visit the home of Dmitri and Kathy Fridman. In 2007 Dmitri posted a comment on our first San Juan entry. At that time he invited us to come and have a look at his roastery and sample some coffee. Several times I tried to set up a visit but could never get the timing right. This was the first time we have been able to arrange a meeting.
Dmitri and his wife Kitty live about 5 miles outside of town and Dmitri gave us directions on how to find their place. Don and Arlene came with us and the road we traveled was completely new territory for all of us. It was a stunning ride along Salinas Road, with wonderful views of the surrounding countryside. The road climbed steadily uphill and soon we had a marvelous views back towards San Juan. When we arrived at Dmitri and Kitty’s home, the view was spectacular with Monterey in one direction and Salinas Valley and Hollister in another.
Top Dog was the first to greet us, closely followed by Dmitri. We admired his sheep. They only have a
Vertigo Coffee's roaster
few and they are a breed which do not need to be sheared. (Forgive me Dmitri I don’t remembering the name of the breed – I knew I should have written it down.) Dmitri built a separate building to house his roasting business, which is called San Juan Bautista Roasting Company and the coffee is called Vertigo. Check out Vertigo Coffee. Inside was his pride and joy, a German built cast iron roaster he bought on Craig’s List. He told us of his journey to becoming a passionate roaster of coffee. He started out by experimenting at home with a small roaster as he was dissatisfied with the taste of the locally brewed coffee. Friends who sampled it liked it so much he roasted more for them and over the years his roasters became bigger. Now he has a flourishing business in the area, selling to local restaurants and online.
Kitty came out to join us and the six of us spent a wonderful couple of hours talking, listening and watching Dmitri roast some coffee beans. It is a very hands on operation and Dmitri cannot wander very far while the forty minute process takes place. First the roaster has to be brought up to the correct temperature before the the green coffee beans are placed in the hopper at the top. The temperature was closely monitored the whole time. At one stage he extracted a small sample for us to smell. The beans smelt of fresh baked bread and nothing like coffee at all. When the roasting process had finished, the beans were emptied onto a revolving screen and channeled down a shoot into the bag. I’m sure there was a lot more to the process but I was enjoying chatting to Kitty.
Dmitri then started to brew some coffee and I was amazed at the meticulous way he went about it. Brewing coffee is a serious business for Dmitri and everything from the equipment he uses to the temperature of the water is important to him. The coffee we saw being roasted was an espresso called Monks Momentum. It was not ready to be drunk but we were given some to take home with us. We sampled some other coffee and I was very proud of myself for drinking it almost black. Normally my coffee has to be a half milk/half coffee.
Dmitri and Kitty are soon going to open up a coffee shop on 4th Street in downtown San Juan, almost next door to the Post Office. We wish them all the best and will certainly pop in every time we visit San Juan. We all thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Thank you Dmitri and Kitty for making us welcome and for giving up so much to your time.
Clam chowder cook off. We tasted several and they were all good.
Time to get some lunch so we drove back to San Juan. Downtown was busier than I’ve ever seen it but considering we are usually long gone by lunchtime, that was to be expected. There are several places to eat but we decided to try out one of the saloons. There are two to choose from, Mom and Pops and Daisy’s. There are very close to each other but we chose Daisy’s because a lady stopped us outside and said if we were hungry they were having a clam chowder cook-off and for $5 each we could eat as much as we wanted. Well, who could resist such a tempting offer, especially when you are hungry.
Inside it was buzzing. The judging of the 12 entries had just ended so we had arrived at the right time. I never realized how many different ways you could cook clam chowder and I sampled three of them, steering clear of the spicy ones of course. I spoke to a couple of the cooks and they were very pleased to talk about their entries and what was in them but both had ‘secret ingredients’ which they kept to themselves. A table was found for us at the end of the bar and we were well looked after and all of us enjoyed our lunch. We stayed to hear the results and the commentaries were very funny. This group of people hold many different cook-outs during the year and all monies go to charity. Today’s went to the local firehouse which is manned by volunteers.
We spent a quiet afternoon pottering around the house but in the evening we walked into town for dinner. Our choice was the Cutting House Steakhouse on 3rd Street. We had to wait for a table but that was OK. On the walls are individually designed, quirky cattle brands. The building itself is made of brick and over the last 150 years has been a grocery store, a brothel and, from the early 20th century, a bank. It is reputed to be haunted by several ghosts, the most colorful being “The Lady in White’ or Deanna, who ran the brothel and died when when she fell down the stairs on her wedding day.
After a pleasant meal we sauntered back to the house. Another interesting day in great company and we looked forward to being woken by roosters in the morning.
February 22 2010 | Neighborhoods and Special Places | 3 Comments »
Old "Cool" bus
After breakfast at Bette’s Oceanview Diner, we took a short drive over the railroad tracks and around an industrial part of town. The UC Botanical Gardens do not open until 9, so we had some time to kill. This being Berkeley, we saw a couple of avant garde traveling homes. One was an old school bus, now painted many different colors, and renamed ‘Cool Bus’. Nearby there was a small RV covered in profound statements.
With ten minutes to spare, we drove past the gardens and continued uphill to the Lawrence Hall of Science. Although the sun was shining up there, the whole of San Francisco City on the other side of the bay was shrouded in fog. We could see Berkeley below us and the Sutro Tower poking out of the fog in the distance.
At 9, we returned to the botanical gardens and parked the car. Parking has to be paid for. I put fourteen quarters in the machine for three hours. The entrance fee to the UC Botanical Gardens is $7 for adults. Seniors are $5 but you have to be over 65. Tom and I are not quite there yet so we paid the full amount. We were given a color brochure with a map showing the layout of the gardens.
Just inside the gate there were plants for sale. One particularly caught my eye – a Californian native named Ceanothus Wood Blue. It looked pretty healthy and I wanted it for our garden. Problem being I did not want to buy it and then have to carry it around with me, so I decided to buy it on the way out.
The first section we entered was the New World Desert. Tom was soon engrossed taking photos. He was using a new 50 mm prime lens today and this was his first chance to use it. I hasten to add it was no where near as large as the ones we saw at the Sacramento NWR a couple of weeks ago.
I wandered off. The night before at my firm’s annul company dinner we were all given Flip videos and I was having fun using it. I can take short movies on my camera but this little gadget is so much simpler to use. When I saw the results at home they were OK but not good enough to post. I will have to practice a bit more first.
From the New World Desert region I crossed the roadway into the California Section. As I walked under a large Foothill Pine tree. I heard a
Secluded bench in the UC Botanical Gardens
noise. It sounded like a bird nibbling on a pine cone. I stopped and looked up. There was a squirrel darting around but the noise didn’t come from him and the nibbling sound continued. For ten minutes I searched but had to give up. Not far away I found a bench so sat down to write in my journal.
There was nobody else around at all and it was glorious sitting there in the sun. From where I sat I could see the tree and still hear the nibbling sound. Unfortunately my binoculars were left in the car but I kept checking the tree to see if I could see any movement. A small covey of quail ventured out of the undergrowth, pecked around for a bit and then disappeared into the shrubbery on the other side of the path.
Eventually I decided to return to the car to get the binoculars. On the way there I bought the plant by the entrance, just in case it was gone when we finally left. Very soon I was back on the bench and concentrated on checking out the pine tree. Still I could not detect what would be making the noise. Tom found me and we sat and chatted. He had visited a lot of other regions whilst I had spent my time in just two. He couldn’t work out what bird could be making the noise but deduced it could be two branches rubbing together. If that was the case, I’d spent a lot of time over nothing but it was a pleasant way to spend half an hour.
I decided to take a wander and left Tom in California while I walked back through the New World Desert section and climbed up hill passing through the Asia region. This time of the year I had not expected to see much color around but I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the Blue Dicks were showing pink flowers and there were blue flowers on the Island Ceanothus in the California area and in the New World Desert there were several Coast Prickly Pears which had lots of red fruit on them – called cactus figs. The Asia region had a lot of camellias and there were white flowers on the Camellia Crapnelliana and a few red flowers on the Sasanqua Camellia. On the Rhododendron Arboreum there were large red blooms.
Just one of the thousands of plants at the UC Botanical Gardens
Almost at the top of the hill is the Garden of Old Roses and even here there was some color – white blooms on the Tea Roses, rose hips on the Noisette Rose and a couple of yellow flowers on the Modern Shrub Rose. Of course this is not the best time of the year to see the roses in bloom. May/June they should be in full flower.
On my meandering way back down the hill I walked through the Australasia region and over the lawn to the Herb Garden. Even though there was not a riot of color around, I kept getting wafts of unidentified frangrances as I walked around. The herb garden is separated into several categories, including culinary, medical and fragrant. I was particularly looking for a sage whose leaves have a wonderful smell. I saw one in Redding at the Botanical Gardens but didn’t write the name down – silly me!
There were so many paths all over the gardens here. You feel you are miles from anywhere but they all eventually meet up with wider paths and there is no way you could get lost for long.
One last place to visit before meeting up with Tom again near the entrance and this was to the Tropical House. As soon as I walked inside my glasses steamed up so writing was a slight problem. There was even a little color around in there – leaves on the Flowering Lily, purple flowers on the Sweet Potato, a white flower on the Amazon Lily and flowers on the Costus Igenus and the Fiery Costus.
After a very pleasant two hours at the Berkeley Botanical Gardens it was time to make our way home.
February 18 2010 | Special Places | No Comments »
Bette's Oceanview Diner
It was a very foggy day and driving was difficult in places. It was a ‘Spare the Air’ day – no wood burning allowed in the Bay Area until midnight.
We are returning to Bette’s Oceanview Diner in Berkeley as it has been a couple of years since we were last here (here’s our take on the place from 2007). The lights outside were a beacon and very welcoming. Inside it was bright and cheerful with music playing softly in the background.
There were people waiting so we thought there would be a wait but we were in luck as there were two places at the counter. They were the best seats in the house as we had a ringside seat of the chefs in action and it was a pleasure to watch them. The two chefs coordinated well. Everything was very organized.
Coffee was soon served and our orders taken. Apart from one thing, nothing much has changed with the decorations since our last visit. The color scheme, the pictures and the small jukeboxes on the counter and tables were the same. The one thing missing was the huge slice of pie hanging from the ceiling. In its place were Christmas decorations. Tom asked the cashier about the pie and was told that it would be going back up the next day when the decorations were taken down.
To actually see our order being prepared was a novelty. Tom had crab cakes with poached eggs and country fries (this was on the specials list and we didn’t make a note of the price). Instead of an English Muffin he ordered a blueberry muffin. I could have nothing else but oatmeal of course ($4.95) because they use steel cut oats here. The oatmeal was ladled into the bowl (the same large shallow bowl with a green rim as before) then brown sugar and raisins were sprinkled on top. By the time it arrived in front of me, the sugar had melted and the raisins glistened.
The food was delicious and satisfying.
The one uni-sex restroom is straight off the diner. Over the door is a fish sculpture and a sign which says Toiltten. Inside the same pink tiles and chrome strip but no pictures. Where were the pictures taken on the moon and Mars?
Our conclusion – definitely a great place for breakfast but get there early.
Bette’s Oceanview Diner
1807 Fourth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
February 09 2010 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
Pescadero State Beach
We walked up the creek for about 100 yards and then came across a trail which headed north. Maybe we could walk this way to get back to the car. There was an information board about Steelhead Trout which I found very interesting and further along another sign which said ’Pescadero Marsh Preserve ‘. A little further on we came on some water. I wasn’t sure whether it was a small creek or the the south edge of the pond opposite where we were parked. We sat on a wooden fence and contemplated where to go from here. From where we sat, we could see Highway 1 to our left and almost spot our car in the car park. Should we go back the way we came; could the trail to the left get us back; or was there a way round the marsh? We decided on the last option. After all, it was a lovely day and at the worst we could always retrace our steps.
The marsh was very tranquil and there were a few birds on the water. Walking along the sandy path was no effort and we came to a wooden bridge over a marshy bit of lands. The path curved to the left, so maybe we had made the right choice.
Along the way there were lots of signs with information on the preserve and what to look out for – garter snakes, red legged frogs, poison oak and stinging nettles. It was an interesting walk but we could not see a way across to the other side. Up in front I saw a group of walkers and two of them were wearing yellow docent coats, so they were the ideal people to ask. They were a charming couple of ladies who assured me there was no way through. The path just led to an overview of the marsh.
So we turned round and went retraced our steps – back to the creek, under the bridge to the beach. Here we found some steps up to the road and decided it would be quicker to walk along the road. There was no sidewalk and most of the way we were walking on the hard shoulder but we did make it safely back to the car.
(When I got back home I checked online about the Pescadero Marsh Preserve . From this page I went to the trail map and could see exactly where we went wrong – we should have walked up to Highway 1, where the path continued around the North Pond, which would have taken us back to the car park.)
There was no time to explore the southern part of Pescadero State Beach on this occasion. We will have to pay another visit. We went via Pescadero on the way home and stopped off at the Country Bakery to get some of their wonderful artichoke, garlic and herb bread. The smell as we entered the shop was intoxicating and when we picked up a loaf in its white bag it was warm to the touch. We also bought a bottle of water. When we returned to the car, we immediately pulled chunks off the loaf and wolfed them down with generous amounts of water.
We decided that some cheese would go very nicely with the bread so we drove to Harley Farms on North Street. It’s easy to find, just follow
Harley Farms
the signs of the little girl and a goat. The girl points the way.
At the farm, we went into the shop where their cheeses are displayed and sold along with olive oil. The cheeses are very pretty. The white Monet is decorated with flower petals from the garden. Sampling them is great fun. It is always difficult to know exactly what to buy. In front of each basket of wrapped cheeses is a board on which is a large round of the cheese covered in cling film and with a handy knife to cut it with. There is also a large container with small chunks of bread. Mmm… In the end we chose some feta cheese which tasted divine ($10) and a small button of Monet cheese with yellow petals and a pansy on top.
Afterwards we took a wander around outside. In the distance we could see the goats grazing in the field and climbing on the chicken houses. We also took a peek inside the milking parlor. I noticed that they do goat tours at the weekends – $20 per person - so that may be worth doing one day. But for now it was time to head home after another wonderful trip.
February 01 2010 | Special Places | 2 Comments »
