Three Memorable Meals in Sausalito

We spent two days in Sausalito this week, just enough time to eat three interesting (and in one case amazing) meals.

The first was at Avatar's, which is a family-run Indian restaurant specializing in fusion - specifically, Mexican-influenced Indian cuisine (!!!). It's in a strip mall, which isn't an entirely auspicious location, but we received a friendly greeting at the door and then were warmly welcomed by our waiter, whom I would guess is one of the owners. When we mentioned that we'd heard the food was excellent and that we were really looking forward to the meal, he took our menus away and announced, with a flourish, that he would bring us the perfect lunch. And, in fact, he did.

The meal started with real San Francisco sourdough bread, which was interesting in view of the decidedly non-European menu, but it was good bread, so I suppose I shouldn't complain that I didn't get chapatis instead. Then our light rosewater lassi arrived, which was lovely and cold and thin - nice in contrast with the thick mango lassi we tend to get across the Bay (and which tends to fill one up rather too much in concert with, say, cream-based chicken tikka masala).

Then the real food arrived: first, enchiladas, complete with a lovely, thick brown savoury "salsa" and melted cheese, served with homemade chutneys: mango, mint, pineapple and pear (the pear was particularly good), a bit of tasty rice and homemade carrot pickle, cold. The enchilada was divine. It was so hearty we thought it must have been made with beef or lamb, but it was so mild in flavour, so finely ground and so luxuriously spiced that we couldn't be sure. We found out later that we were eating ground turkey and pumpkin. Unbelievable!

On the right: a lovely bed of rice topped with grilled veggies - broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini - and two long rectangular pieces of. . . fish? Chicken? So beautifully browned we couldn't tell just by looking, but after cutting a piece we knew it certainly wasn't fish. The first bite was divine, but again, we were fooled by texture. It was like chicken, but too firm. Pork, it turns out, cooked slowly so that it became so tender it was almost like chicken. I don't know how they managed it, but the veggies and meat were grilled (or braised?) so carefully and slowly that parts of them turned to sugary goodness. What a wonderful meal! We are usually wary of fusion, but this place is GOOD!

Our second meal, that same night, was at Christophe's. We'd heard mixed reviews, but decided to try it anyway, and we were only disappointed by dessert, which was truly sub-par: the profiteroles were old and tough; the sugar on the crème brulée was burned. But our appys and mains were quite good, so I'll stick with those.

We ordered one three-course and one four-course prix fixe. P started with seared foie gras, which was really excellent. Served in a dark and rich gravy on a tiny piece of toast, it melted on the tongue. Course number two, the soupe à l'ognion, was good too - lots of tasty cheese, a good broth, but sour bread rather than sweet, which I found a bit odd. To be truthful, my own French onion soup is better, I think. (See the recipe below.) I started with a mushroom vol au vent, which consisted of a triangular "sandwich" of puff pastry dripping with a pale gravy and filled with mushrooms and thyme chopped nice and small. P enjoyed it a great deal, but I fear the pastry may have been straight out of the freezer. (I really think these people could use a pastry chef).

Then, the mains: coq au vin for me; onglet for P. Yes, we chose "traditional" French all the way. We were warned that these folks were French through and through, and indeed they were: the chef was joking with customers in French, our waitress took our orders in French, and many of the diners were French-speaking as well. I would say that the varying quality of our food was representative of middle- and lower-end dining in Paris as well. We learned there that if you want everything to be superb, you really have to pay (maybe this is why I prefer Italy, where all price-ranges contain top-notch food), but if you're willing to eat a few less-tasty options in favour of one really great entrée, go for the mid-range.

In any case, the chicken and steak were quite good. Christophe's has interesting ideas about presentation: every dish has a spray of (grilled? fried?) spaghetti (raw) sticking out of a stack of potatoes or a hunk of zucchini for a dramatic touch, and the plates are decorated at the four corners with the most finely chopped carrots and (cucumber?); P's foie gras came with a "palm tree" made of cucumber, fennel and a cherry tomato.

The coq au vin was very rich and salty - almost too much umami for my taste, but the meat was falling off the bone it was so tender, and the mushrooms, onions and carrots (!) were braised so slowly that they blended superbly into the stew. P's onglet was good, but a hair on the tough side - the best onglet we've had was in Washington D.C. at Les Halles. The cognac-peppercorn cream sauce was lovely, though.

Would I eat here again? No real need to, but if I need French food in Sausalito at some point, I think this is the only option - and they really are French, French, French. Maybe the foie gras would be worth a second visit. It really is a meal (or at least a full dose - maybe several doses - of fat) in itself.

So, from the creative to the authentic to the Michelin star. Lunch next day was at Sushi Ran, which is the only sushi restaurant recognized by Michelin. We relied on the waiter for our order and wound up with a sushi special and a bento box. The miso broth to start was divine, but the tofu rather bland - overall, I suppose I prefer the miso soup at Kirala in Berkeley. But the mains brought an item that takes the prize for best food all year. Really.

We'll work up to it: I ordered sushi (one piece each of red tuna, yellowtail tuna, albacore tuna, salmon, sea bass, prawn) and an avocado-salmon roll, all of which were very good. I admit I don't know my sashimi, but my favourite fishes were the red tuna, the sea bass and the yellowtail. I'll have to do some more tasting to get a better sense of what I like. The roll was excellent as well - really, really fresh.

P's bento box had three little compartments for: crispy squid on a vinegary salad, butterfish and sautéed peas (julienned) with pea shoots. For once, I enjoyed the squid. I even ate some tentacles! The salad underneath was very sharp in flavour - I found it a bit overwhelming, but the combination of the light greens with the crispy squid was lovely texture-wise.

The sauté was divine: the only time I've had peas this good was at Ton Kiang in San Francisco. I do think that these just may have been better, although that's hard to imagine. But the crowning glory, food-wise, of the entire trip, and indeed of the entire year, was Sushi Ran's butterfish.

Butterfish (poronotus tricanthus, I've since discovered) are found along the north-eastern coast of the U.S. and Canada and are valuable for their rich, buttery meat. I've never actually had a fish that tasted like butter before, but this one did. And I don't think there was any butter involved in its preparation. Just imagine: the meat flakes away so gently it appears to be melting, and in fact it does melt in the mouth. How was it served? On a little piece of banana leaf and in a lovely sauce whose ingredients are entirely unknown to me, but the combination of the texture of this delicious fish and the rich, lemongrassy sauce was absolutely unforgettable. I'd go back just for the butterfish any day, and that's the first time I've ever thought I might go out of my way for fish!

Here are my favourite recipes for french onion soup (adapted from the Best of Bridge) and coq au vin (from the Canadian Living cookbook).

French Onion Soup au Gratin

Cook 4 thinly sliced large onions in a soup pot in 1/2 butter until the onions are nice and tender (the lower the heat and the longer it takes, the better). Add four 10 oz. cans of good beef broth (or your own stock), 1/2 cup dry sherry, 2 tsp. worcestershire sauce and some pepper and bring the soup to boil. I eat this soup just like this, after simmering it for awhile, but of course to make it authentic you need to add a slice of toast covered in emmenthaler or some such swiss cheese (although fontina is nice too) to each bowl, and broil until the cheese bubbles. Serves 6. This is an excellent soup, and so simple!

Coq au Vin

In a large stew pot, brown two slices of bacon. Remove the bacon and add 3 1/2 lbs. of chicken pieces to the pan, browning them in the bacon fat. Remove the chicken and all but a tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add 6 cups of button mushrooms, 2 cups of pearl onions, 3 cloves of garlic, 3 carrots (sliced into rounds), 1 tsp. of thyme, 1 tsp. of salt and 1/2 tsp. of pepper. Cook until mushrooms are browned and almost no liquid remains. Stir in 1/2 cup of flour, then add 1 1/2 cups of dry red wine (you can use white too, for a lighter effect) and 1 c. chicken broth, 1 tbsp. tomato paste and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then add the chicken, the bacon (chopped) and any accumulated bacon or chicken juices. Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes; uncover and simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Discard the bay leaf and serve (serves 6).