Archive for Mill Valley
Sushi in Mill Valley
Posted by: | CommentsWe tried a new Sushi place this past weekend to celebrate our anniversary. The place is Tsukiji Sushi and it is located in downtown Mill Valley. Tsukiji Sushi restaurant is beautiful, the service is great and the food is delicious! We will definitely go back. We started out with a small bottle of the house hot Sake, a cup of Miso Soup, a Seaweed Salad and the Spinach Sesame Salad.
Then we ordered our usual favorites (Salmon Sake, Hamachi, Rock-n-Roll, etc). Lately, we have been being more adventuresome and trying new things each time we go out for Sushi. We asked the waitress for suggestions this time. She suggested the Butterfish. Wow! The Butterfish was amazing, creamy and kind of just melted in your mouth.
Tsukiji Sushi
24 Sunnyside Avenue
Mill Valley, CA
415.383.1382
MoreMarin published a great review about Tsukiji with pictures (so you can see how pretty the restaurant is). I don’t think my cell phone photos do it justice. 
You can read the MoreMarin review here.
Healthy, Yummy Food in Mill Valley
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday I took my friend to Café del Soul in Tam Junction (Mill Valley). They have the best food! Their dishes are organic, fresh and healthy. They have vegan options for all of their dishes and their motto is their food is prepared with love. I often go here for a quick lunch.
My favorite dish is the Curry Don’t Stop wrap consisting of organic brown rice, tofu, dried cranberries, spinach, almonds with a mustard curry dressing, served in a whole wheat tortilla. I also love their ginger limeade.
My friend ordered the carrot ginger soup and a mini Sun Salutation wrap which includes red leaf lettuce, cheddar cheese, tomato, avocado, and onion tossed in a citrus cummin dressing, and served in a whole wheat tortilla.
Café del Soul has free wireless and a very relaxing and welcoming atmosphere. They have a big purple chair that I love to just sit in. I wish I would have taken a picture of the big, comfy, purple chair. Café del Soul is a great place to meet with people. The décor is beautiful and calming. The people who work there are super nice.
Café del Soul
247 shoreline hwy
Mill Valley, CA
415.388.1852
www.cafedelsoul.net
Purple Pens!
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Office supplies make me happy. It’s the little things in life, right? Purple pens are especially what make me happy. I think I’ve developed an unnatural attachment to purple ballpoint pens. Actually to PaperMate Profile 1.4B Purple Pens. Yesterday my last purple pen ran out of ink and it seriously messed up my day. I looked all over my office, house and purse for another purple pen and I could not find one. I didn’t want to do my to do list if I couldn’t write it in purple. I didn’t want to sign checks if they weren’t signed in purple. The list goes on. I’m obsessed.
I decided it was important enough to stop what I was doing and go to the closest office supply store to replenish my purple pens. Thank goodness for Ideal Stationers in Mill Valley (there is also one in San Rafael). They had my purple pens and the pens were on sale! Five for $6. In an effort to remind myself to have fun, (influenced by @LissaRankin who is all about fun and authenticity and encouraging others to let their freak flags fly which I think I am doing very nicely with this post) I bought a new toy for my desk, a wind up purple and pink butterfly. The new toy was also a reward to myself for getting my desk cleaned up. You can read about my messy desk adventures here.
Happy Hour in Mill Valley
Posted by: | CommentsHappy Hour! I’m always looking for great Happy Hours around the Bay. Although I rarely actually get out for Happy Hour it’s a nice fantasy of mine. Today, my friend Amy texted and said… “Who wants to go to Happy Hour at Frantoio?” I wrote back and said “me!”. Amy drove me in her convertible VW bug. Happy Hour at Frantoio is from 4:30 – 6:30. We arrived around 5:00PM and I think there was one other person at the bar. Amy and I ordered Pinot Grigio at $5 a glass and they brought us a sample plate of appetizers. 
It was the perfect day for Happy Hour, it was warm and sunny out. The white wine was great and the appetizers were tasty. By about 5:30 the place started filling up with the after work crowd.
I’m thinking that I should make Happy Hour more of a priority in my life. I’m feeling nice and relaxed now.
If you are coming from the city (San Francisco) Frantoio’s is a great location. It’s right off the Hwy 101 at the Hwy 1 Stinson Beach exit (next to the Holiday Inn Express).
I’ve dined at Frantoio in the past and have had wonderful meals and great service. The make really delicious olive oil.
Frantoio is located right off the 101
152 Shorline Hwy
Mill Valley, CA 94941
415.289.5777
www.frantoio.com
Buckeye Roadhouse in Mill Valley
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday my dear friend called and invited me to go out for a drink so we could vent share stories about life. We went to the Buckeye Roadhouse. If you’ve ever driven to Stinson Beach or Muir Woods you have probably passed the Buckeye Roadhouse. It’s kind of a landmark where Hwy 1 meets Hwy 101 in Marin. The Roadhouse (as locals call it) is a wonderful place to go for an afternoon drink. It reminds me of a traditional, old fashioned type of bar. I’d describe it as “old Marin”, as in the way Marin used to be. The people are friendly and the drinks are yummy. I ordered my favorite beer, a Hefeweizen and we also got an appetizer; Pan Roasted Artichoke with Creamy Tarragon Dip. Wow! The artichoke was perfect! It’s been awhile since I’ve had dinner at the Roadhouse but I do remember the Salmon being absolutely delicious.
Here is a photo of the artichoke dish (after we’d already started eating it). It was so good I forgot to stop and take a picture until halfway through.
Buckeye Roadhouse
15 Shoreline Hwy
Mill Valley, CA
415.331.2600
www.buckeyeroadhouse.com
Back to School Shopping
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It’s Back to School time! Which means Back to School Shopping!
You may have noticed I haven’t been going on too many exciting adventures lately. Instead, I’ve been posting cool things to do, or things I wish I was doing around the Bay Area. I guess the reason I haven’t been sallying around so much is because I’ve been busy with the usual Back to School madness.
One place I have been is to Ideal Stationers in Mill Valley. Ideal Stationers is a great place to buy school supplies! It is also a wonderful place to shop for gifts. I love browsing around Ideal Stationers. It’s a refreshing change from the big office supply stores. Ideal Stationers is locally owned and they have 5 locations in the Bay Area. I buy all of my office supplies there, the kids school supplies and often buy gifts there as well. I even bought a purple backpack style purse there recently. Ideal Stationers always has what I need. They have an awesome selection of pens. I love a good pen, especially if it is purple! The staff is friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.
Ideal Stationers is located in Strawberry Village in Mill Valley.
Comedy Night in Mill Valley
Posted by: | CommentsI know I’ve already blogged about comedy night but I’m going again tonight so I figured why not blog about it again?
I know I probably should get out of Mill Valley more often. I realize I’ve been spending a lot of time here. I guess that means I live in a really cool place.
If you live in the Bay Area or are visiting you have got to go at least once to Comedy with Mark Pitta and Friends on Tuesday nights in Mill Valley. Doors open at 7:30pm, comedy show starts at 8:00pm. You can purchase snacks and beverages (including wine, beer and champagne).
Tuesday Night Comedy Night with Mark Pitta and friends is at 142Throckmorton Theatre in downtown Mill Valley. The name is the address so it’s pretty easy to find.
Robin William’s will be in Mill Valley
Posted by: | CommentsRobin William’s is coming to my favorite Comedy Club 142 Throckmorton next week. Too bad I’m not going to be here. Tickets go on sale TOMORROW August 1st at noon and will only be sold online.
Shows are Monday, August 3rd and Wednesday, August 5th at 8:00pm.
Visit www.142throckmortontheatre.com for more information.
Asqew Grill in Mill Valley
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Tonight we decided to explore the restaurants in Strawberry Village (located in Mill Valley, CA). A few years ago they remodeled the mall and made a charming area for restaurants. Many have outside seating. There are about 10 – 15 different places to eat within that mall, actual sit down restaurants.
We ended up at Asqew Grill. I heard it was a great place and wanted to try it. Three of us went. We shared the Baby Back Ribs covered in BBQ sauce and served with delicious roasted garlic mashed potatoes and coleslaw. We also ordered the Blackened Prawns Skewer that included roma tomatoes, yellow squash, lemon beurre blanc red onions and coconut cilantro jasmine rice. We had Grilled Asparagus and Grilled Artichoke Halves as appetizers- Yummy!
This is the kind of place where you order your food at the counter and then go sit down. The staff was very friendly and attentive. They brought our plates right away and made sure we had everything we needed. We especially liked the waiter Ben who was friendly and gave us some good suggestions on what to order.
The food is served fast so if you don’t have a lot of time this is a great place to go for fast, good quality, tasty food.
Asqew Grill has 5 locations in the Bay Area. Three in San Francisco, one in Emeryville and one in Mill Valley.
Asqew Grill
Strawberry Village
Mill Valley, CA
www.asqewgrill.com
Authors Around the Bay: Patricia Volonakis Davis
Posted by: | CommentsMany authors live in the Bay Area and thanks to all the wonderful local book stores we often get to see authors speak and to meet them in person. Sally Around The Bay is going to start a series of local author interviews to find out their favorite spots in the Bay Area. Our first interview is with Patricia Volonakis Davis (whose book I just finished reading). Patricia wrote the memoir Harlot’s Sauce. It’s a great book about her life in Greece. I got nostalgic while reading the book and pulled out my photo album from my trip to Greece 10 years ago. Greece is such an amazing and beautiful country.
Thanks Patricia for taking the time to answer my questions!
Author Name: Patricia Volonakis Davis
Book: Harlot’s Sauce: A Memoir of Food, Family, Love, Loss, and Greece
What is your favorite restaurant in the Bay Area?
Well, since my background is Italian, I’m always looking for good Italian restaurants, and I have to say that there are two that I really love- one is Arriverderci’s in San Rafael, though it’s more Italian-American food than strictly Italian. Nonetheless, every item I’ve ever tried on their menu is excellent, they cook everything as you like, even let me trade my potato side for an extra vegetable side. I also LOVE the waitstaff, (Hello, Glenn, Hello, Danny!) because they are all in some way involved in the arts, and they come over to our table and chat with me about my writing, and so we feel like we’re going to see close friends whenever we eat there. But if you want genuine Italian pizza, the kind with the really thin crust, and all the fresh ingredients on top, you need to go to Benissimo’s in Corte Madera. My husband calls it “Benny and Mo’s”, but he’s a poker player, not an Italian.
Where is your favorite place to shop for clothing?
That is the easiest question to answer- hands down it’s Gioia in downtown San Anselmo. The prices are reasonable, the clothes are different, but trendy/chic, not too way out there, and I love all the shoes!
What do you love most about the Bay Area?
Another easy question. The people. The people make the Bay Area. I think it’s because they genuinely appreciate how stunningly beautiful the area is. And they feel blessed to live here and show it, by hiking in the area, bicycling here, eating here, shopping in the area, and most of all, doing their best to keep it ‘eco-friendly’
Favorite independent bookstores in the Bay Area?
Naturally, I’ll say Book Passage first. That’s because they have been so supportive of me and my writing. They have asked me to do workshops there and they went out of their way to make my book launch wildly successful. I love that they have great conferences and all kinds of artistic events, too. In fact, I’m organizing one really fabulous event for the California Writers Club Marin Branch that’s being held there in October. Some amazing literary names are taking part in that! They are truly a local landmark. I also love Book Depot in Mill Valley, And Booksmith in San Anselmo. In fact, Book Depot in Mill Valley was the first local bookshop I discovered when I moved here. They’ve got a great selection of books for such a small shop. Booksmith’s is one I pass almost every time I’m in downtown San Anselmo, and the owner is so gracious and accommodating.
Do you belong to any local clubs?
I belong to the California Writers Club, both the Marin Branch and the Redwood Branch, and I also belong to the Fairfax Health Club. I get my best writing inspiration from all my friends there, and the trainers are great, too!
Do you have any upcoming events related to Harlot’s Sauce?
Yes- lots! I’m speaking in front of the San Diego Feminist Book Group on July 7, for an event called “Harlots and Feminists”, there is the Instock Conference on July 18, in the Hotel Monaco in San Francisco, where I’ll be hosting a panel, The CWC Marin Centennial Event at Book Passage, The Redwood Writers Conference, and lots more appearances at independent bookshops throughout the state. You can check for updates on my Harlot’s Sauce Fan Page on Facebook, www.booktour.com or on my website at: www.patriciaVdavis.com.
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If you are a local author and would like to be featured on Sally Around The Bay please contact me.
