Before the Blog

Fairfix Café

We were sitting around this morning thinking about a food adventure. Fairfix Café in Fairfax, Ca. came to mind. The place has been around for years and we were overdue for a visit. On the drive out to Fairfax I tried to remember how we had discovered Fairfix the first time. My wife reminded me about SFnet. Oh, the years have gone by! Prior to the PC in our house my wife had Unix dumb terminal for use in her work. Using a slow dial up connection she could connect with her office. A side benefit was she could dial up new cool BBS called SFnet designed by Wayne Gregori, who administered the system. You could log on and chat with a bohemian group of “netters”. In addition to home users, Gregori installed net terminals in cafes and coffee houses in the San Francisco area. The machines looked like old Pac Man machines and required quarters to operate. Fairfix had one of the Marin connections. Hanging out, drinking coffee and netting, man that was happening. My wife used the handle Spring Rain and I was Reactionary G.

Out of the time machine and into the now. Fairfax is alive with humanity on this nice Saturday morning. Cars are everywhere, and bike riders fling themselves through traffic like colorful hummingbirds. Fairfix really hasn’t changed much. Once inside there is an eclectic crowd enjoying coffee, food and newspapers in a laid back, ex-hippie atmosphere. The menu has a lot of healthy choices for breakfast and lunch. It offers smoothies, salads, sandwiches, pastries and the like.

I always have the Mediterranean Plate which consists of hummus, tabbouleh, falafel, dolma, kalamata olives, and salad served with pita bread. The wife had the soup of the day listed as “lime bean”. It had lima beans in it, perhaps lime too. It was excellent what ever they called it. A nice place to eat and chill, be sure to check it out.


Soup of the day


Mediterranean Plate

Fairfix Café
33 Broadway
Fairfax, Ca.

Solid Investment / Week of Dinners

Juniper Café Novato

Some time ago I sold a few shares of stock that I had received from a former employer. That action put me on a permanent cold call list at several brokers. A couple times a year they call me to ask if I would like to invest in whatever stock is hot. I blow them off by telling them that I am only investing in groceries. I guess they took that as an investment in grocery company stocks. I, however, was investing my money in groceries to feed my family. That’s how the working class lives these days. This week I made another investment in groceries.

Enter Chef Todd Davies. A CIA graduate, he has spent years in some of the finest kitchens in the country, including local luminaries The Lark Creek Inn and The Flying Saucer. His resume is impressive. His most recent enterprise is Juniper Café in Novato, California where he now resides. It is a café attached to a country club hidden on a hill. He also runs a catering business from his compact kitchen. A new part of the chef’s enterprise is Week of Dinners. I read an ad in the local paper that said “Healthy Home-cooked meals for busy people, seven dinners a week $159, each dinner feeds 4 to 6 people”. I was interested and signed up for a night session. I was told to bring a cooler to pack up my dinners.

It works like this. On arrival you prepay your tab and are offered wine and other beverages. This put the night into relaxed party mood. Chef Davies and his staff have prepared seven workstations, one for each dinner. Each station contains the ingredients, containers and instructions you need to assemble your dinners. As you finish each dinner you move clockwise to the next dinner station. All the shopping, washing, cutting and what not are done for you. The staff even does the clean up afterwards. If you’re a little timid about recipe construction Chef Davies is on hand to help you figure it out. He is calm and reassuring. Marin Farmer’s Market produce, natural beef and pork and free range poultry are the norm. You take it home and freeze your meals until you’re ready to cook.


Marjorie and Regina split a week of dinners


Chef Davies lends a hand


Is the food good? Oh Yeah! I spoke with Martha and Dennis Palm of Novato. They have been participating in the Week of Dinners since November and love it.

So far we have prepared the pork loin with rosemary stuffing and braised short ribs of beef with carrots and red potatoes. Both were stellar. The menu changes weekly and is posted on the web site.


Stuffed Pork Loin with vegetables and apple sauce


Braised short ribs of beef

de Young Museum

My wife the artist loves museums. I'm into people watching. We both love food. Today we covered all our loves. The newly remodeled de Young Museum is, in a word, magnificent. The building itself is a work of art. If they have any leftover wood from their flooring call me I'll come over with a truck. The following photos are probably not the works of art my wife would have chosen,but they tickled my fancy. The first is a beautiful set of ceramics in the shape of fruit. There I go thinking about food again.

This photo kinda looks like me with a hangover. Call it self portrait of self indulgence.

To me the best part of any trip is the food. The de Young Cafe is a brilliant place for food. It is run by Bon Appetit who has a good reputation for upscale commercial foodservice. The staff is young, well dressed, efficient and would look right in any local expensive bistro. The plates and tableware are heavy and modern.

The foodstuffs have listed pedigrees that are very familiar in San Francisco Area: Vella Dry Jack Cheese, Point Reyes Blue Cheese, Niman Ranch ham, lamb and bacon; Marin Sun Farms grass fed beef, Diestel turkey, Rocky Junior chicken, etc. The prices start at $6.50 and top at $12.50. A great value.

We decided to be good diet wise and bought salads. She had the "Today's Salad". Organic mixed greens, red onions, feta, tomato, cucumber, orange oregano dressing topped with grass fed skirt steak.

I had "The Arugula" with Point Reyes Blue, roasted chiogga beets, shaved fennel, toasted hazelnuts, dressed with sherry vinaigrette.

I watched a lot of food go by and almost wished I'd chosen the Marin Sun Farms cheeseburger, or the half Rocky Jr. Chicken with Meyer Lemon, butterball potatoes and garlic vegetables. They looked so good. To make the lunch not quite so diet, I assuaged myself with a healthy pour of Dynamite Vineyards Merlot ($7), a smooth, rich, oakey wine. In the words of The Governator, "I'll be back."

Super Bowl Sunny/ Town of Sonoma

It was like old times today. The sun was shining and the urge to get away hit. Yeah, we had to be back for the afternoon football stuff. Lucky for us, we live very close to some world class destinations. About half an hour away is the Town of Sonoma. Back when our kids were little we would sneak away during the week and check out the square in the center of town and have a picnic. That was a while ago before the town had been "discovered" and the local wine prices skyrocketed. The square is still the same or better with picnic tables and play areas for kids. Also a duck pond with some hungry ducks and a colorful, aggressive rooster.

Hungry duck

Watch out for this bad boy
The surrounding shops and restaurants have gone upscale and "up priced." There are a lot of new stores catering to the landed gentry set. Clothing, art and housewares at San Francisco prices. Some places still reflect the small town feel. The popular Basque Boulangerie was packing them in. I counted eighteen people in line for their wonderful breads and pastries. The Cheese Factory is on the square and has a great selection of picnic foods. Another business that is good and reasonably priced on the square is the Sunflower Caffe with sandwiches, salads, and more. The garden seating area in the back is grand.

Sunflower Caffe garden seating
We wanted to check out Vella Cheese for some of their Dry Jack. It is located just a few blocks away from the square. To our disappointment they are closed on Sunday. Our final stop was Artisan Bakers just a short drive north of town. We got some bread for the game and just had to have some pastries. A nice walk in the sun and good food now that's the ticket. We'll still be home in time for Superbowl.

Artisan Bakery yummies