It can be a challenge for even the most aware consumers to make conscious food choices that support both human and planetary health. This quandary is the subject of Futurewell, a one day “sustainability meets wellness summit” on Sep. 6 at Stemple Creek Ranch in West Marin.

Join thought leaders, innovators, knowledge seekers, health care practitioners, entrepreneurs and farmers such as as Paul Hawken, Alice Waters, Anna Lappé, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Rebecca Burgess and Neka Pasquale for a fully immersive retreat focused on learning, inspiration and self-enrichment around the areas of mindfulness, sustainability, food as medicine, developmental health, regenerative agriculture, healing arts and more.

The event includes panels, lectures and experiences with globally recognized speakers. Plant-based meals will highlight and inspire a global shift from an animal protein dominated, standard American plate to one in which meat is eaten more consciously and sparingly.

Start the day with an energizing, superfood breakfast from Navitas Organics. The Novato-based company will also host an apoptogenic tea and latte bar with Sebastopol-based Traditional Medicinals.

Add-on optional experiences and enhancements include: a soil-to-table dinner curated by Waters of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley that will feature locally grown produce from farms committed to regenerative, organic agriculture and will culminate with Stemple Creek Ranch braised short ribs (waitlisted); a fitness pass for a morning and evening class; cocktail hour with fellow guests and attendees; and the opportunity to glamp on-site in a luxury Shelter Co. tent with furnishings.

Stemple Creek Ranch is a working cattle farm locating amidst the rolling hills of West Marin. As an early adopter in the Marin Carbon Project, “the ranch uses natural grazing patterns, cover crops and grass-fed and finished farming practices to ensure optimal health of the beef they produce while also sequestering carbon in the soil.”

Futurewell is the brainchild of Navitas co-founder Meg Adelman and Lily Riesenfeld, co-founder of the Pad Studios, who share a passion for and years of experience in the wellness industry.

To purchase tickets ($495 and up) or for further details, including a full lineup of speakers and activities, go to futurewell.co. Discounts are available for farmers and nonprofit organizations.

Prior to the wellness retreat, the ranch is celebrating its 10th anniversary with an annual family-friendly open house barbecue party from noon to 3 p.m. Aug. 24. In addition to lunch featuring grilled grass-fed burgers, guests can walk the property and learn more about the ranch. Barbecue tickets ($30, $10 for children) must be purchased in advance at stemplecreek.com and will not be sold the day of the event.

Stemple Creek Ranch is at 900 Burbank Lane in Tomales.

Hello, goodbye

Marin Pizza at Town Center Corte Madera, a farm-to-table, make-your-own pizza restaurant, abruptly closed early this month after just 1½ years. The shopping center is in the process of securing a new restaurant operator for the location.

Meanwhile, Easy Breezy Frozen Yogurt will arrive in the fall across from REI.

Café Ross, the little coffeehouse in downtown Ross with stellar scones, is no more. But fans of tea and treats will be pleased that San Francisco’s Crown & Crumpet Tea Salon is opening its second location in the space as soon as October.

“We are super-excited to open a jewel box of a cafe in the charming town,” shares Kentfield resident Amy Dean, who co-owns the shop with husband Christopher.

“We will be offering our delicious and delectable afternoon tea service of course, but we will also be serving light breakfasts and lunches along with coffee, espresso drinks and our famous unicorn hot chocolate.” The tearoom also hosts birthday parties, baby or wedding showers. Stay tuned for more about the upcoming opening at 22 Ross Common. Learn more at crownandcrumpet.com.

Flour Craft’s back

After a brief closure for renovations, Flour Craft Bakery co-owners Heather Hardcastle and husband Rick Perko have reopened their San Anselmo original storefront café. When the two debuted their second Marin location in the Mill Valley Lumber Yard in April 2018, they expanded their menu with items not offered in San Anselmo. Visitors can now find the same plant-based, locally sourced breakfast, lunch and made-to-order salads and tartines, supplementing the gluten-free baked goods and breads, at both locations.

Flour Craft Bakery is at 702 San Anselmo Ave. in San Anselmo. Find out more at flourcraftbakery.com or by calling 415-453-3100.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your comments, food news or restaurant recommendations. Or you can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

Have you ever been inundated with a list of errands but found yourself too distracted by hunger to continue? And none of the old standbys fit the bill? The end result of last weekend’s quandary is a happy one as it led to the discovery of the new Lou’s Takeaway in San Rafael.

The owner and operator of this mini kitchen with a few stools at an outdoor patio counter is Anthony Rizzi (known as Lou), a chef with a deep commitment to farm-fresh ingredients and the skills to further enlighten these with Asian flair.

“I’ve spent a significant portion of my adult life traversing the globe in search of inspiring scents and flavors,” he says.

Rizzi’s flavor-forward comfort cuisine was most recently showcased in an institutional setting. He served 100 residents three meals a day at the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center in San Francisco. Now, Rizzi’s inspired fare can be found in a small shopping plaza in residential Terra Linda where Weezy’s Grass Fed Shed and Thai Kettle once sat.

My mid-day errand energy boost came from a warm, braised and shredded spicy chicken with melted Jack cheese and jalapeno buttermilk slaw on a toasted ciabatta roll. Fresh watermelon juice sweetly alleviated the light heat. The limited menu also included Lucky Penny toast, heirloom tomatoes (home grown when available), fresh herb goat cheese and olive oil and fresh, chilled chicken noodles, toasted sesame seed sauce, shaved cabbage, pickled long beans, fried scallion oil, fresh herbs, roasted peanuts, house chili oil and toasted peppercorns. That evening, crispy duck leg over papaya cucumber salad with spicy habanero shrimp paste dressing and crispy rice was going to make an appearance. The menu can be customized to accommodate allergies.

In addition to fresh juice, the cold case holds Scrimshaw Pilsner, Red Seal Ale and Fresh Haze IPA, as well as Reisling Kabinett, Unoaked Chardonnay, Picpoul de Pinet and Sauvignon Blanc.

“My goal for Lou’s Takeaway is to create a neighborhood spot where anyone can have a carefully prepared, flavorful meal,” Rizzi tells me. “The menu might look small but the flavors run deep, and you can always find something new as food and ingredients constantly change and evolve so a menu can never be the same.”

Stop in for slow-cooked comfort food between 11:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays at 621A Del Ganado Road in San Rafael. For further information about Lou’s, go to loustakeaway.com or call 415-226-7994. Or for more about San Rafael-based Lucky Penny Bread, go to luckypennybread.com.

Art, food and wine

The annual transformation of Sausalito’s Marinship Park on the waterfront is close to complete in preparation for Labor Day weekend’s 67th annual open-air Sausalito Art Festival. Beginning with a reimagined preview party Aug. 30 ($150) and continuing through the weekend Aug. 31 to Sep. 2, art aficionados, entertainment seekers and wine, spirit and beer imbibers can view the works of more than 260 world-class artists in 14 categories, music from 19 bands on two stages and a bevvy of premium adult beverages.

A number of local nonprofits will keep festival-goers satiated with everything from barbecued pulled pork sliders, all beef hot dogs, gourmet sausages, and fish and chips to raw and barbecued oysters, quinoa salad, crab cakes, shrimp cocktail and strawberry shortcake. Food sales benefit the individual organization.

The festival takes place at 2200 Marinship Way. For detailed information or to purchase tickets, go to sausalitoartfestival.org. Daily general admission is $30, or $100 for VIP with premier seating and private bar. Limited tickets are also sold on site.

Time for cheese

There’s never a bad time to celebrate cheese and the fifth annual SF Cheese Fest on Sept. 14 and 15 provides just the ticket.

It begins with the Saturday Cheesemaker Celebration from 6 to 9 p.m., a walk-around tasting event at Social Hall SF at 1270 Sutter St. where attendees can engage with cheesemakers and taste samples of new and classic cheeses from an impressive roster of more than 24 members of the California Artisan Cheese Guild (CACG). This includes Marin-based Cowgirl Creamery, Laura Chenel, Bivalve Dairy, Folly Cheese Co., Marin French Cheese, Nicasio Valley Cheese Co., Tomales Farmstead and Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., a five-medal award winner among 1,742 entries at the 2019 American Cheese Society Annual Judging & Competition.

Pair cheeses with crackers from Rustic Bakery, jams, charcuterie and chocolate; chef and cheesemongers prepared bites; and a wide array of local beer, cider, wine and vermouth. Live music is by Bay Area- based gypsy-jazz quartet Gaucho.

Tickets for the Saturday event are $94 and include food and beverage samplings. Limited “Bring a Friend” tickets are $159 for two and may be purchased up until Saturday.

Delve deeper into the art of making cheese Sept. 15 at the hands-on seminars at the Cheese School of San Francisco. Get a lesson on fresh cheeses (9 a.m. to noon, $120), an opportunity to learn about the perfect pairing of cheese and chocolate (3 to 5 p.m., $75) and happy hour with Liz Rubin of Bi-Rite Market to learn about and taste some of the state’s finest along with libations (7 to 9 p.m., $75). Classes take place in Ghirardelli Square at 900 North Point St., San Francisco.

The SF Cheese Fest is the primary fundraiser for the CACG and supports California-based artisan cheesemakers.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your comments, food news or restaurant recommendations. Or you can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

Indian food lovers — rejoice! Restaurateur Surinder Sroa, owner of the Lotus family of Indian restaurants, has opened his third Marin location, Lotus Curry House, in Novato. Like Lotus Cuisine of India in San Rafael and Café Lotus in Fairfax, he uses organic, sustainable ingredients and infuses them with the authentic flavors of his homeland in northern India.

Sroa owns the space and operated a restaurant there until 2011 after which it was  leased  to Golden Egg Omelet House and then the Left Coast Depot. “We are thrilled to be back in our home town to serve our community at this new location,” he shares.

Be one of the first to check the new Novato restaurant and, with the purchase of a meal of $40 or more, receive a free tiffin container, a lightweight and reusable stainless-steel lunchbox.

The new Lotus Curry House is at 807 Grant Ave. in Novato and is open  for a lunch buffet from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays and 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends, and dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 5 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Take a look at the menu featuring appetizers, curries, thali, tandoori oven specials and naan at lotuscurryhouse.com.

Sroa also has been juggling an extensive expansion and remodel at Café Lotus at 1912 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Fairfax. He more than tripled the size of the interior after taking over a neighboring business and can now seat approximately 90 diners inside and on the rear patio. Find out more at cafelotusfairfax.com.

Forest feasting

The latest Forest Feasts cookbook by Erin Gleeson, “The Forest Feast Mediterranean: Simple Vegetarian Recipes Inspired by My Travels,” takes the reader on a journey to France, Portugal, Spain and Italy. The author, illustrator and James Beard Award-winner who grew up in the middle of an apple orchard in rural Sonoma County will appear at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 22 at Left Bank Brasserie in Larkspur.

The new book includes 100 vegetarian recipes inspired by and including scenic and culinary images from her European travels.

Tickets to the Book Passage Cooks with Books event are $115 or $185 for two, and include lunch featuring her recipes, wine, tax, gratuity and one signed copy of the book. Advance reservations are required and can be made at bookpassage.com or by calling 415-927-0960. Left Bank Brasserie is at 507 Magnolia Ave.

Fearless fermentation

What exactly is fermentation and how can the metabolic process serve you in your kitchen? Certified nutritionist and therapeutic chef Karen Diggs of Kraut Source will answer all of your questions about the good bacteria and provide samples from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 14 in a hands-on workshop at Backyard Farmer in Fairfax.

Get the technical ins and outs on lacto-fermentation and fermented beverages like kombucha and kefir and discover how brines may be used as a starter culture.

Participants will learn the art and science of vegetable preservation, and use herbs and spices to create sauerkraut and pickles to bring home.

Backyard Farmer is at 135 Bolinas Road. The cost is $55. To register or to find out more about Fairfax Backyard Farmer, including a full list of workshops, sample of featured products available at the store and a blog with tips on growing, making and cooking your creations, go to fairfaxbackyardfarmer.com.

Local bites

Local bites are on hand at the Saturday’s Point Reyes Farmers Market when agriculturally driven bakers and makers from Point Reyes-Olema 4H are in the chef’s booth from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 7. On Sept. 14, Christian Caiazzo, chef and proprietor of Osteria Stellina and owner of Toby’s Coffee Bar and GBD Grilled Cheese, is in the booth doing a demo for market goers from 10 to 11 a.m.

The farmers market is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Toby’s Feed Barn at 11250 Highway 1 in Point Reyes Station. For more about the market, go to  pointreyesfarmersmarket.org.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your comments, food news or restaurant recommendations. Or you can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

A moving story often underlies the passion and purpose of professional chefs, bakers and producers. Time and again, I hear the motivating accounts of individuals who, sometimes through an indirect course, have made it their life’s work to please people through food.

For true inspiration on this subject, check out the new short documentary video series, Marin Eats. Megan Loretz, of San Rafael’s Community Media Center of Marin (CMCM), uncovers local eateries and specialty purveyors that she considers community gems.

The first one features world-renowned bread maker Craig Ponsford of Ponsford’s Place bakery at 117 Shaver St. in San Rafael. Culinary imagery and Ponsford’s personal narrative give the viewer a glimpse of the baker’s skill and dedication.

Ponsford went from commercial fisherman in Alaska to a bread master with the unique distinction of earning a first place trophy in the 1996 Coupe du Monded de la Boulangerie in Paris for his baguette, the first win for an American team. Baking bread is “an intense situation that I do because I love it,” he shares in the video. “That’s the only reason that I do it.”

To see the Marin Eats feature on Ponsford, go to vimeo.com/347177734. Or look for information about upcoming episodes, including Marin Kombucha, at facebook.com/communitymediacenterofmarin or marintv.org.

Find out when you can score Ponsford’s skillfully crafted and purely sourced breads and baked goods, or learn about pizza and other pop-ups in the space, at facebook.com/Ponsfords-Place-Bakery-and-Innovation-Center-171195466244090.

This Saturday, stop by the Shaver Street shop for another collaboration between bread baker Matt Jones (Outlands and Tartine in San Francisco) and pastry chef Mary Denham (Outerlands and San Anselmo’s M.H. Bread and Butter). Lines will be forming for einkorn, Danish rye, German rye, spelt cinnamon raisin, baguette, oat porridge, farmhouse loaf, pain rustique and, on the sweet side, chiffon cake with elderberry buttercream and pistachio; buttermilk snack cake; chocolate chip and other cookies, and savory sausage potato hand pies, summer squash tart, heirloom tomato pie and summer jams.

Ponsford’s also runs Petaluma’s Central Milling Artisan Baking Center at Keith Giusto Bakery Supply in Petaluma. For a schedule of classes there taught by him and other bakers, including “The Art of Making a French Baguette” ($90) on Friday, go to centralmilling.com.

Heirloom flour

Ponsford is one of quite a few mission-driven bakers and makers in Marin who source their artisan milled flours and grains from Central Milling in Petaluma.

Corte Madera Farmers Market vendor Marina Bay Bakery uses heritage wheat varieties for 100% whole-wheat organic breads. Baker and owner Dan Gildor followed an unplanned path from technology to environmental law and then, in 2018, he landed in the kitchen of his Richmond home where he crafts his breads and baked goods.

“I decided that I wanted to switch from being a consumer to being a producer as producers always seem to have a fire within them that fuels their happiness,” he says.

Buy one of his handcrafted creations, such as mild and buttery whole wheat sourdough double shot loaf; cinnamony walnut-raisin sourdough; whole wheat rye sourdough with fennel, caraway and a hint of molasses, and more at Town Center Corte Madera from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays. Or check marinabaybakery.com for information on delivery and other pick-up locations.

Sourdough Story

Another flour-driven business with a founder who took a circuitous route is A Sourdough Story, formerly Zaahh.

San Anselmo’s Alex Corsini went from the world of technology to pizza dough crafting after developing an autoimmune condition. His three handmade, frozen pizzas have a naturally fermented sourdough crust made with Central Milling heirloom flour.

Corsini’s “thoughtfully sourced” mozzarella, mushroom and sunflower pesto pizzas can be found in Marin at Driver’s Market in Sausalito, Mollie Stone’s Markets in Sausalito and Greenbrae, Nugget Markets in Tiburon and Corte Madera, at other Bay Area locations, and through Good Eggs at goodeggs.com. Check out the new website at sourdoughstory.com

Pie contest

It’s pie time at Marin Country Mart where bakers and tasters will gather for the eighth annual pie baking competition under the big tent during the weekly farmers market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 28. A pie-making demonstration from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. precedes the competition, and slices are available to purchase all day long.

Want to see how your best savory, sweet or most unique pie stands up to local competition in taste, appearance and flakiness and be in the running for the $200 grand prize? Home cook competitors should drop off pies before 10 a.m. in a 9-inch disposable pie tin. No artificial, chemical or pre-made ingredients are permitted. Children under 10 can enter any kind of pie.

Find out all of the details at marincountrymart.com. The Marin Country Mart is at 2257 Larkspur Landing Circle in Larkspur.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your comments, food news or restaurant recommendations. Or you can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

Posie, downtown Larkspur’s ice cream shop, now has even more to tempt seekers of inspired and meticulously prepared confections. Owner Kyle Caporicci is expanding his repertoire with lots of pies that are on full display in a new, dedicated refrigerator case inside the sleek, whitewashed space.

Caporicci says pies are a new endeavor for him. His Michelin star days were centered on plated desserts and “technical, modern stuff,” but he continues to put his creativity and skills to good use. Delectable varieties include strawberry cheesecake with graham cracker crust and a layer of strawberry puree cream; chocolate banana with caramel dulce de leche and French chocolate custard; classic Southern brown sugar pie with oatmeal cookie crust and a butterscotch center; key lime pie; passion fruit tart and more. These are sold whole or by the slice. Seasonal fruit pies and cookies can still be found on the counter and, of course, his array of innovative ice cream flavors are front and center.

The store is at 250B Magnolia Ave. near Madrone Avenue in downtown Larkspur. For more information, follow Posie on Facebook or Instagram.

Chili face off

Con carne, veggie, verde … you’ll see it all at Saturday’s 41st annual chili cook-off from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. hosted by the city of Sausalito. Note that the family-friendly festivities have moved this year from Dunphy Park to Robin Sweeny Park at 339 Caledonia St.

The quest for the best will cover three categories — judge’s choice, people’s choice and best booth — setting the stage for a festive day that includes music by rock band Firewheel and all the chili you can taste for $10. Admission gives you the opportunity to vote for your favorite chili. Awards are donated by Sausalito’s Heath Ceramics.

If chili is not your thing, Volunteers in Public Safety  are cooking hot dogs and hamburgers that, along with margaritas, beer and wine, will be available for purchase. Mill Valley-based Mt. Tam Adventure Camps is bringing the jumpy houses.

For details about the event, including information about putting your own chili to the test, go to sausalitochilicookoff.com or call 415-289-4152. Dogs are welcome.

Farm to Function

The Futurewell summit at Stemple Creek Ranch earlier this month in part served to galvanize energy around making food choices that support personal and environmental health. It put the spotlight on Marin businesses that are walking the talk. I’ll highlight a few of these local entrepreneurs and change makers over the next few weeks.

Certified natural chef, Kentfield resident and founder of Farm to Function Autumn Matli showcased her “modern artisanal charcuterie” platters. Her artful displays include homemade herbed cashew cheeses, vegan pâté, nut and seed breads, locally sourced and organic seasonal vegetables and fruits, and pasture-raised meats from local purveyors. Products also are sold individually. In addition, Matli offers nutrition consulting for menu creation at schools and assisted living facilities and pantry and refrigerator clean out and restocking services.

To find out more or arrange for delivery of products throughout Marin, go to farmtofunction.com.

Copita and the 49ers

Big news for Sausalito’s Copita Tequileria y Comida as it returns for year two to Levi’s Stadium with three onsite locations where game goers can snag executive chef Daniel Tellez’s carnitas, chicken tinga or carne asada tacos on organic corn tortillas.

Last year, Copita became the stadium’s exclusive taco provider and is the only 100% gluten-free operation in the complex. The food stands also serve margaritas, beer and bottled water.

For more information about the Sausalito restaurant, go to copitarestaurant.com.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your comments, food news or restaurant recommendations. Or you can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

Food- and farming- focused films will offer food for thought at the 42nd annual, internationally acclaimed Mill Valley Film Festival from Oct. 3 to 13.

Among the highlights is Matt Wechsler and Annie Speicher’s “Right to Harm,” an exposé of the battle between corporate farming interests and disenfranchised individuals from five rural communities across the United States and their grassroots efforts to protect animals and the environment, and raise awareness about the damaging public health risks associated with factory farming.

In the documentary short “Brewed in Palestine,” Bay Area filmmaker Emma Schwartz gives an in-depth portrait of a resourceful Palestinian family operating Taybeh Brewery, the first craft brewery on the Israeli-occupied West Bank. And in documentary filmmaker Eva Rendle’s “All That Remains,” fire-ravaged Northern California Wine Country is brought back to the forefront one year later as immigration, labor and housing issues continue to run deep for second responders and farm workers.

The fest kicks off at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at the Smith Rafael Film Center with “Just Mercy” starring Jamie Foxx, followed by the opening night gala from 9 p.m. to midnight at the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur. Party eats are provided by Farmshop, Wise Sons, El Huarache Loco, Shake Shack, Johnny Doughnuts, Big Jim’s BBQ, Fiorello’s Artisan Gelato, Sol Food and Pizza Antica. Lagunitas Brewing Co. and Equator Coffees are among the beverage providers. Hip hop into the night with live music from the Soul Pros. Film and gala combo tickets are $90.

Check out all of the details about the films, guests and galas, and purchase tickets online or find box office locations, at mvff.com.

New wine bar

After 30 years in the nonprofit healthcare sector, Jill Cordova-Holt is ready to pursue her passion for wine and hospitality. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony for Jillie’s Wine Bar & Shop took place last week following the June 1 grand opening.

“People taught me how fragile and precious life is,” she says of her last 12 years as a social worker at Larkspur’s Hospice by the Bay. “After hearing from patients at the end of their lives how they wish they had taken more chances to follow their passions in life, I decided to apply these lessons to my own.”

Wines by the glass, bottle and from the retail shop span the world — Italy, Spain, France, South America, New Zealand, Australia, Oregon and, of course, California — and craft beer is available on tap and by the bottle or can.

Although there is no kitchen, guests can take a seat on a couch in the lounge, at the bar or at one of the indoor or outdoor tables to nosh on complementary chips and seasoned nuts or to order cheese, and charcuterie plates and side dishes such as olives and Marcona almonds.

“We want people to have a welcoming place to unwind from work, or enjoy a date night or gather for a night out with friends,” says the collector and enthusiast. The shop also offers weekly wine-tasting events.

Jillie’s is at 906 Sir Francis Drake in Red Hill Shopping Center in San Anselmo in the former Vines Wine Shop & Bar. It is open from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, noon to 9 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays and closed on Mondays.

Food book journeys

How does food and dining enhance life’s enjoyment? That’s the question asked at the food and culture book group at Book Passage in Corte Madera as it explores local regions and foreign lands in search of answers.

The group meets from 3 to 5 p.m. on the second Monday of every month between October and January — Oct. 14, Nov. 11, Dec. 9 and Jan. 13  — and is moderated by food and lodging industry veteran Steve Stein.

The series starts off with Daniel Stone’s “The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats.” The book follows the travels of David Fairchild, a late-19th-century globetrotter who brought more than 200,000 edible plants — avocados, kale, mangoes and seedless grapes among them — to the American plate.

In November, seven-time James Beard Award winning cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey’s “Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India” brings the group on a vicarious culinary expedition from Delhi to Britain.

December’s book delves deeper into the life of local luminary Alice Waters in her memoir, “Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook.”

And the final book, “Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe” by National Geographic, takes the reader on a mouthwatering adventure, from sushi in Tokyo to spicy Creole in New Orleans to wineries in France.

Book Passage is at 51 Tamal Vista Blvd. in Corte Madera. The price for the series is $100. To register for the book club or learn about other events, go to bookpassage.com/classes.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your comments, food news or restaurant recommendations. Or you can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

Restaurateur Mark Edward says he’s decided to come back home to “roost.” And he has, with the opening of Revel & Roost Kitchen in downtown San Rafael.

“Naming the restaurant started with that and then ‘revel’ fit perfectly,” the San Rafael native, who has been in the business for 30 years, including stints at PlumpJack, Finnegan’s Marin and presently at 7-year-old Pub Republic in Petaluma, says.

Chef Jason Hoffman has been tasked to execute a focused menu of American dishes with French and Spanish influences. He’s originally from San Francisco but has been in Marin for about 20 years, where he has put his farm-to-table ethos to work at San Anselmo’s Insalata’s and the former Kitchen at 868 Grant in Novato. He was also behind the now parked food truck, the Taco Guys.

The menu is divided into starters, flatbreads, entrees and sides. “We’re doing everything from fried chicken to paella,” Edwards says. “We want to offer big, bold flavors and something new and fresh that hasn’t been seen before.”

Marin, Sonoma and Napa farms, fisheries, butchers, dairies and cheesemakers are the go-to sources for ingredients.

The kitchen’s brick oven is being put to good use turning out flatbreads like the “Frenchish” with brie, fingerling potatoes, prosciutto, mozzarella, tomato and herb oil, and veggie dishes like coriander-roasted Brussels sprouts with pea shoots and Gruyere cheese.

Edwards takes a keen interest in the wine selection, describing it as worldly and reasonable with unusual varietals.

As for the corner storefront, “we gave it a pretty good face lift,” he says, of the space once occupied by Atalaya. That includes refacing the bar, fresh paint and new floors, lighting and furniture.

Revel & Roost is at 901 B St. Visit during the week for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and for dinner from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurant is not open for dinner on Mondays or for lunch on weekends. Further details can be found at revelroostkitchen.com.

Corner convenience

Snacks are back at Ross Common with this week’s opening of the upscale convenience store, Village Corner. Local founder Sally Newson, who also owns the downtown Ross co-working space, Mind Tank Work Club, has transitioned the former Alain Pinel Realtors at 3 Ross Common into a modern-day stop for provisions. She says it carries “mostly healthy items of 100% prepackaged foods featuring restaurant-quality, freshly prepared salads, sandwiches, bottled juices, breakfast sandwiches and burritos, yogurt parfaits, lox and bagels.” Beverages include a variety of gourmet drip coffees and teas, kombucha and Equator nitro cold brew on tap, and more.

The shop fills the town’s grab-and-go void caused by the closure of corner market Ross Landing that opened almost 90 years ago as Ross Grocery and became Eddie’s. Tony Tutto took that space over late last year, but active and hungry post-school and park-goers now have an additional option across the street.

Newson’s plan is to complete the “village corner” concept and further develop it as a community gathering place by pursuing approval to build a street patio and parklet in front of the shop with shade trees, benches, seating and bike racks.

Follow news about Village Corner at instagram.com/villagecorners.

Culinary musical

“Food, like music, is an instrument that inspires the soul,” philosophizes celebrity chef and Oakland resident Tu David Phu, who is participating in Musica Marin’s second annual music and culinary festival Oct. 18 through 20 at St. Stephen’s Church in Belvedere. “Without them, our existence would be pretty boring, but put them together, and you have Festival Musica Marin.”

The event brings together world-renowned chamber musicians and an international lineup of celebrity chefs and culinary experts curated by festival culinary director, Mark Furr, an award-winning chef and 20-year veteran of the San Francisco dining scene.

In addition to Phu (Quince, Acquerello, Daniel, Chez Panisse), the who’s who list of chefs includes fellow Bravo “Top Chef” contestants Melissa Perfit (Ayala, Bar Crudo, Hog Island Oyster Co.), Rogelio Garcia (Cyrus, Calistoga Ranch, French Laundry, Spruce), as well as Intu Kornnawong (Range, Outerlands); chef Jacob Kwan-Rosenbush (Gary Danko, 15 Romolo, Hardwood Bar & Smokery); and Pierpaolo Iovinelli, an early pioneer of the Mediterranean diet.

Italian truffle hunter, Enad Germani, will introduce the rare white truffles from Alba, Italy, that guests will have the opportunity to taste in dishes during Friday evening’s event.

“My goal is to highlight the exciting work being done by these diverse young chefs and shed some light on the new culinary scene that they are creating,” Furr says. “These chefs are changing the way we think about food, not just in the Bay Area, but in the world, and I’m really excited that we are able to bring them together to appreciate their work here in Marin.”

Each 90-minute musical performance is followed by an after party that features small creative dishes made by chefs of the evening who will be available to discuss the food. Premium wines from Napa vintners are paired with each dish.

To see the full lineup of notable musicians and chefs, or to purchase tickets ($35 to $110), which include a concert and after party, go to festivalmusicamarin.org. Musica Marin dedicates a portion of its proceeds to benefit its programs and scholarships that support young musicians.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your comments, food news or restaurant recommendations. Or you can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

Aziza  is back.

Michelin-rated chef and Sausalito resident Mourad Lahlou will reopen Aziza, named after his mother, on Oct. 14 after closing it in 2016 with plans to turn it into a new venture,  Amara, a Moroccan-Mexican restaurant.

“When we closed to reconcept to Amara, I would go back to the space and still see the orange arches, the blue wall. For me, the bones of the restaurant have, and always will feel like Aziza,” Mourad says in a press release.

It will have a new look, more modern with dramatic white Venetian plaster and dark wood floors, accented by Moroccan tile and hues of teal and plum. And it will go back to its roots with a rustic menu, shareable plates and casual, relaxed feel

“The food at Aziza will facilitate a communal environment, fostering a bond over the depth of flavors. My hope is that each dish sparks conversation,” he notes.

Together with director of culinary operations Mike Daly and chef de cuisine Frank Hanes, the restaurant will feature favorites from Aziza menus of the past such as chicken basteeya with almond and caramelized onion, beef cheek tagine with spiced root vegetable jam and preserved apricot, and hand-rolled couscous with aged butter.

Aziza is at 5800 Geary Blvd. in San Francisco’s Richmond District. It will be open 5:30 to 10 p.m. daily, and from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekends for brunch.

Biketoberfest arrives

It’s not just about the beer and food at Saturday’s Marin County Bicycle Coalition’s (MCBC) annual Biketoberfest Marin from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Fairfax. The popular cycling destination at the base of Mount Tamalpais is the perfect setting for an all age and ability celebration of the sport complete with family activities, e-bike demos, a handmade bicycle show and more than 50 bike exhibitors.

The hungry and thirsty can refresh with a sampling of more than 35 beers from 20 West Coast brewers to sip along with Greek cuisine from Ultimate Souvlaki; pulled pork, pasta and Caesar salad from Mauro’s Pasta & Pizza; fruity organic juices and frozen drinks from the Juicery; and Bavarian soft Pretzels from North Bay Pretzel Co.

Live music is by San Geronimo and Panoramic Highway featuring Mike Reese.

Drive or walk to FairAnselm Plaza at 765 Center Blvd. in Fairfax or roll in after a pre-event road or mountain bike ride with Bay Area frame builders and cycling luminaries. The event is free to enter; tickets for unlimited beer tastings and a keepsake souvenir glass are $35,if purchased in before Oct. 12, or $50 on site. Proceeds support MCBC’s work to expand Marin’s network of bike lanes, pathways and trails. For more information and tickets, go to biketoberfestmarin.com.

All about wine

Striking bay views are on full display during the third annual Sausalito Wine Experience from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the luxurious Casa Madrona Hotel & Spa.

Fine vintages from 14 iconic California wineries will be available to taste. Local restaurants and purveyors, including California Caviar Co., Copita Tequileria y Comida, Sushi Ran, the Trident, Seafood Peddler and Barrel House Tavern will provide savory bites to pair with wines.

The tasting will take place in the 5,000-square-foot Alexandrite Suite at at 801 Bridgeway, with an open waterfront view of the weekend’s U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels show. Admission is $195.

Close out the day in the Junto Room with Poggio chef Benjamin Balesteri’s Vintners Dinner. The four-course prix fixe menu features local halibut crudo with pluots, Sausalito watercress and fried garlic chips; baby kale with honey crisp apples, burrata cheese, pickled onion and candied pecans; agnolotti filled with braised short ribs and porcini mushrooms; grilled lamb chops with broccoli di ciccio, pommes puree and red wine veal jus; and chocolate budino cake.

Each dish is paired with wines from the day’s events. Admission is $125 for the meal, wine, tax and tip. Seating is limited to 80 guests who must also have purchased tickets for the wine experience.

For further details or to purchase tickets, go to sausalitowineexperience.org. All event proceeds benefit the Sausalito Sister City program.

Bungalow brunch

Slow Sunday risers have a new brunch fix destination to check out at Mill Valley’s Bungalow 44. Chef Gabe Charpentier is preparing traditional favorites such as eggs Benedict, huevos rancheros, kickin’ fried chicken with Belgian waffles and a Monte Cristo sandwich ($15 to $19). He’s got the kids covered, too, with smaller portion options ($7 to $10).

Eye-opening cocktail creations are thanks to general manager and mixologist Jason Sims who is stirring up a Ramos gin fizz with lemon, lime, cream, orange flower water and nutmeg; pecan-infused bourbon milk punch with Kahlua, cream, vanilla and cinnamon; a house bloody Mary and bottomless mimosas with blood orange ice diamonds.

Sports fans can view the game on the widescreen TV.

Stop in between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sundays at 44 E. Blithdale Ave. Find out more about the restaurant and menus, or make reservations, at bungalow44.com.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your comments, food news or restaurant recommendations. Or you can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

Hook Fish — the Outer Sunset restaurant specializing in sustainably caught fish and easygoing vibes — is coming to Tam Valley.

It will be the second location, a partnership with surf and skateboard shop, Proof Lab. If the community-driven event space and collection of small, individually owned businesses, including the first Equator Coffees café, a music school, an art studio and a native plant nursery, needed just one more thing, Hook Fish would be it.

More to come about this co-venture when doors open next month, but to tease the taste buds, the indoor and outdoor restaurant with bar and beer garden will prepare the same menu as the 2-year-old San Francisco location — tacos, fish and chips, sandwiches and ceviche — and you’ll know just what port, in which vessel and by what method your fresh catch of the day was sourced. Soft serve ice cream is also on the menu.

Hook Fish will open at 244 Shoreline Highway, just next to the Highway 1 gateway to West Marin’s surf break destinations. Find out more information about Hook Fish at hookfishco.com and Proof Lab at prooflab.com. Stay tuned for the debut date.

Skitoberfest

Where can you get your suburban ski legs primed and score a proper après workout meal?

Moseley’s Sports Bar in Corte Madera is getting a jump on the ski season with this weekend’s Skitoberfest, featuring three free dryland training sessions with Mark Dryer, head strength and conditioning coach for the Squaw Valley ski teams. Recover at Moseley’s for food, drink and athlete Q&A and tech talk sessions with ski legend notables like Scot Schmidt and Connery Lundin.

On Friday and Saturday evenings, get your après workout snacks from the new pregame menu featuring carnitas, tacos, tuna poke, buffalo wings and toasted garlic broccolini. And Moseley’s is now serving brunch from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends with donuts, avocado toast and poached egg, breakfast burritos and bottomless mimosas.

This weekend, there’s no need to trek up to Gold Coast at Squaw Valley to tip back a bloody Mary by bartender Mona Morales, who has made a name for herself with her chunky, slope side elixir. “My recipe has saved many customers from their hangovers and long lift lines,” she quips. She’s also known for her Monarita. Morales is making her way down for the event and will be behind the bar both days.

Moseley’s is at 55 Tamal Vista Blvd. in Corte Madera. Friday and Saturday dryland trainings are next door at NOW Power Yoga studio at 67 Tamal Vista Blvd.

For more about the restaurant or details about Skitoberfest, including a link to sign up, go to moseleyssportsbar.com.

La Cocina

For the more than 50 participating tastemakers at last weekend’s 10th San Francisco Street Food Festival and the throngs of eager samplers who delighted in their culinary craft, it was particularly poignant for the 15 entrepreneurial chefs who brokered the distance from dream to reality through local food incubator La Cocina.

“We support businesses by providing an affordable commercial kitchen space, industry-specific technical assistance and access to market opportunities,” says the organization’s website. “We focus primarily on providing resources to women from communities of color and immigrant communities.”

One of the first businesses to launch through the Mission District program, and one of the nonprofit’s earliest success stories, is Larkspur’s El Huarache Loco, owned and operated by Mexican street food master, Veronica Salazar. Her journey began in 2001 in a small apartment in San Francisco, where she informally sold the traditional specialties from her Mexico City childhood like huarache, a griddled corn disc that serves as a base for a medley of toppings. Through the guidance and resources of La Cocina, she debuted her Larkspur restaurant, El Huarache Loco, in 2012.

“I had the opportunity to meet Jim Rosenfield from Marin Country Mart, who was looking to invest in good, authentic Mexican food to add to the mart. It has been a dream to make a living doing what I love,” she says, a sentiment echoed by other La Cocina low-income chef-preneurs that the organization raises funds to support.

Stop in for Salazar’s tacos, gorditas, tostadas and much more at 1803 Larkspur Landing Circle in Larkspur. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. For more information, go to huaracheloco.com.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your comments, food news or restaurant recommendations. Or you can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

Taco Jane’s in San Anselmo is setting up the stage for its second annual Dia de los Muertos celebration at Imagination Park beginning at 6 p.m. Nov. 2. Enjoy holiday cookies and treats before following a parade of Aztec dancers as they make their way down San Anselmo Avenue to the restaurant.

Starting Saturday, the community is welcome to participate in the Mexican cultural tradition by bringing photos or objects to welcome the animas, or souls, of loved ones to a Mexican alter that has been erected in the paved driveway adjacent to the restaurant at 21 Tamalpais Ave. Find out more at tacojanes.com.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and the Mayan Hanal Pixan (food of souls) celebrations are brought to life at Sausalito’s Copita Tequileria y Comida between Oct. 31 and Nov. 2.

Sausalito’s Copita Tequileria y Comida celebrates Dia de los Muertos and the Mayan Hanal Pixan from Oct. 31 through Nov. 2. To honor both holidays, the restaurant will be festooned with the colors and symbols of life and death — marigold flowers, traditional candles, tributary photos and emblematic mementos. A local chalk artist will bring the sidewalk in front of the restaurant to life with holiday imagery.

Executive chef Daniel Tellez will prepare lunch and dinner specials to supplement the regular menu. These include ensalada XEC (mixed salad) with orange, jicama, mandarin, chili powder and lime; camarones en chilmole (prawns, white rice, roasted leeks and black mole sauce); mucbipollo (traditional Day of the Dead tamale) with chicken, corn, achiote and beans; and café Maya (Mayan coffee with anise liquor).

Copita Tequileria y Comida is at 739 Bridgeway in Sausalito. For more information or to make a reservation, go to copitarestaurant.com or call 415-331-7400.

Health in a bowl

California-born superfood café chain Vitality Bowls is furthering its commitment to “bringing health and wellness to every community across the country” with its second Marin location in just two months.

Mill Valley resident Henry Kim opened his first franchise location on East Blithedale Avenue in Mill Valley in August and earlier this month, debuted the second in the Marin Gateway Shopping Center in Marin City.

“We believe in Vitality Bowls’ mission of encouraging everyone to live healthy and active lifestyles,” says Kim, who most recently spent 10 years as a community organizer.

The fast-casual café offers a variety of made-to-order antioxidant-rich açaí bowls, nutrient-dense smoothies and fresh raw juices. All açaí bowls and smoothies are made without ingredient fillers like ice, frozen yogurt or artificial preservatives.

House-made meat and vegetable panini sandwiches; spinach and kale salads; and a soup of the day are also on the menu, and organic kombucha and cold-brew coffee are on tap.

A kids menu offers a bowl, smoothie and grilled cheese sandwich.

The brand was founded in 2011 by San Ramon couple Roy and Tara Gilad, who were motivated to find healthy and safe food alternatives to address their daughter’s severe allergies.

Since then, it has expanded to 36 cafés in California and more than 135 nationwide.

Get your superfood fix at 100 Donahue St., suite 160 F, in Marin City from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. To find out more, go to vitalitybowls.com/locations/sausalito or call 415-729-9795.

A call to action

It’s a wrap for the Mill Valley Film Festival, but Proof Lab in Tam Junction is keeping the reels rolling with the Wednesday screening of the eye-opening documentary, “Artifishal,” produced by Patagonia.

Mill Valley’s Josh Murphy, who directed and co-wrote the film, makes a compelling and inspiring case for saving wild salmon from extinction.

Get a sneak peak of Proof Lab’s soon-to-be beer garden in conjunction with the viewing. Sausalito-based Patagonia Provisions is offering a food and beer pop-up with Hook Fish Co., a leader in thoughtful seafood sourcing that will soon be setting up permanent residence at the surf shop.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and the film begins at 7 p.m. for this hometown screening that precedes the worldwide film release on Amazon Prime, iTunes and YouTube later this month.

Proof Lab is at 244 Shoreline Highway in Mill Valley. To find out more about the film, go to patagonia.com/artifishal.html.

Know your squash?

Ever struggle to discern the difference among the multiple varieties of winter squash? Stop in at the chef’s booth at the Point Reyes Farmers Market  between 10 a.m. and noon Saturday for the market’s annual squash tasting. Try organic, heirloom varieties from Wild Blue Farm based in Tomales and West Marin’s Chinese heritage vegetable source, Shao Shan Farm. Learn cooking tips and try to guess the weight of an enormous pumpkin to win a basket of farmers market favorites. Point Reyes Station’s Dia de los Muertos parade follows.

On Nov. 2, Loren Poncia, a pioneer in regenerative agriculture, will be at the market to discuss his land management practices and share tastings of Stemple Creek Ranch’s grass-fed and finished beef jerky.

The farmers market is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Toby’s Feed Barn at 11250 Highway in Point Reyes Station. For more about the market, go to pointreyesfarmersmarket.org.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her a message with your comments, food news or restaurant recommendations at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com or at instagram.com/therealdealmarin where you can follow the Marin dining scene.

Slide Ranch continues its harvest lineup of fall family programs and special events through November.

A spirited sleepover awaits at the Día de Muertos family campout beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday and ending  at noon Sunday. On Saturday, join Slide Ranch teachers for a day of farm activities, crafts and nature exploration. That evening, gather for dinner, a campfire and camping under the stars overlooking the Pacific Ocean. On Sunday morning, enjoy a breakfast buffet and partake in morning farm chores, like milking goats and preparing homemade treats harvested from the organic garden. Campers must bring their own equipment, including tents and sleeping bags, and a picnic lunch for Saturday.

Campers will create a flower-bedecked ofrenda, or altar, share food stories, explore a bone grove, paint faces and make traditional pan de muerto, or Mexican sweet bread, and garden noodle soup.

The campout cost is $105; children 24 months and younger are free.

Gear up for the Thanksgiving holiday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 16 at Family Farm Day: Give Thanks for Food. See the firsthand connection between land and plate as participants prepare a farm lunch including Slide Ranch turkey, cranberry-rhubarb sauce, cornbread made with farm ground cornmeal, garden greens and winter squash pie. Explore the food traditions of native California in honor of the indigenous Coast Miwok people and join in on farm activities, like milking the goats, visiting the chickens, ducks and turkeys, and hiking the coastal trails. The cost is $50; children 24 months and under are free.

Slide Ranch is at 2025 Shoreline Highway in Muir Beach. For more about Slide Ranch and its programming, or to purchase event tickets, go to slideranch.org or call 415-381-6155.

West End celebrates

San Rafael’s annual West End Village Celebration takes off under the Tivoli-style string lights on Fourth Street from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Now in its 11th year, the family-friendly, community-driven street fair gathers neighbors, friends and visitors for food, drinks, music and games.

Stop by for a taste of local restaurant and craft beer offerings from San Rafael’s Pond Farm Brewing Co. and Fairfax-based Iron Springs Brewery. Grab a snack or meal from food vendors including Julie’s Hummus Bar, Whipper Snapper Restaurant and Sangria Bar, Pig in a Pickle, Lucia’s Pizza Truck and Banh Mi Zon Vietnamese Gourmet. Three Twins Ice Cream and A Midnight Kitchen are handling desserts.

Stick around for non-stop live music including local bands Notorious, San Geronimo, PSDSP and Down Dirty Shake. Kid’s games and activities, and local artist and business tents also will be part of the fun.

“The festival is distinguished by the power of the partnerships we have developed over the years and is known for being a truly down-home, family-friendly event,” says event organizer Adam Violante in his recent press release.

The event stretches four blocks along Fourth Street beginning east of H Street. For more information, including the live music schedule and a list of participating nonprofit organizations and sponsors, go to sanrafaelcelebrates.com.

Boo at the market

The first of what was going to be an annual pie baking contest on Halloween at the Marin Thursday Farmers Market in San Rafael has been postponed due to the PG&E outages But head over anyway for a most-creative costume contest for children and adults. Market gift baskets full of seasonal goodies will be awarded to winners; judging is at noon.

Look for the pie-baking contest to take place around Thanksgiving.

The weekly Thursday market is from 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. at 3501 Civic Center Drive in San Rafael. For general information, go to agriculturalinstitute.org.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her a message with your comments, food news or restaurant recommendations at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com or at instagram.com/therealdealmarin where you can follow the Marin dining scene.

After a drawn-out renovation project, Rickey’s in Novato is back. The American eatery, which closed in summer 2018, has reopened with a brand new look and reinvigorated seasonal menu.

Award-winning designer, painter and muralist Michael Brennan has enriched the historic space with contemporary flair, bestowing the artistic knack he has exhibited at dozens of Bay Area restaurants and beyond, including Madcap and Marinitas in San Anselmo and Corte Madera’s Boca Pizzeria. Diners can gather in the large bar-lounge, at booths or tables in the open dining room or around a full exhibition kitchen.

Local restaurateur, owner and chef Munther Massarweh is behind the American-style menu inspired by the seasons, and designed to offer something for everyone. His numerous restaurant credits stretch from his early days at Chicago’s Pump Room and San Francisco’s McCormick & Koleto’s and Perry’s, to the Speakeasy, Wildfox Restaurant and Scrumptious Occasions Catering in Novato.

“Every menu, wine and cocktail selection has been developed with contemporary tastes in mind,” says Massarweh in a recent press release. “We then source each recipe from purveyors offering the highest-quality and freshest ingredients to ensure perfection with every bite.”

The menu has a heavy focus on seafood, with starters like abalone bisque and lemongrass steamed mussels in red coconut curry broth, and entrees such as potato-crusted sea bass with caramelized leeks and roasted boneless whole branzino. Omnivores have options, too — Angus beef sliders; house-made Kobe beef and chive dumplings; and braised pork shank with Asiago polenta. And for vegetarians, grilled artichoke with herb crust; blistered shishito peppers on grilled crostini with cauliflower puree; and portobello mushroom wellington.

Bar manager Jessica Epting heads up the classic and craft cocktail program that balances with an internationally curated wine list and craft beer selections.

Rickey’s restaurant is at 250 Entrada Drive. The dining room is open from 5 to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 5 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Discounted beverages and appetizers are available during happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m. daily. Daily lunch and weekend brunch are slated to begin mid-November. Information, menus and reservations are available at RickeysRestaurant.com or by calling 415-870-2990.

A dining revolution

For those who make it a habit to keep abreast of the ever-evolving American dining scene, the culinary trends of the past decade deliver a wealth of material for knowledge-devouring foodies. In his new book, “Burn the Ice,” James Beard award-winning food journalist and Ross Valley author Kevin Alexander takes a deep dive into what he terms a “culinary revolution” that is sweeping across America.

From the rise and permeance of craft cocktails, poke bowls and ramen, to the ascent of budding chefs to celebrity stardom, he chronicles the impact that food has on culture through the stories of restaurateurs, chefs, bartenders and activists.

The presentation and wine reception takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Marin Art & Garden Center at 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross. For more information or to purchase tickets ($15), go to magc.org/events/burn-the-ice-with-kevin-alexander or call 415-455-5260.

Truffle time

Truffles are a delicacy most often experienced in a flavor-infused, aromatic finishing oil. But in its true form, the prized delicacy is something to be celebrated. Piazza D’Angelo, the Mill Valley restaurant started in the early 1980s by brothers Domenico and Paolo Petrone after they left their southern Italian homeland, will highlight fresh black and white truffles from Alba, Italy, from Friday through Nov. 17.

In addition to the regular menu, dinner specials will include potato and asparagus soup with white truffle oil; mixed greens with burrata, persimmons, pecans and white truffle honey vinaigrette; raw beef carpaccio with shaved white truffles and grana padano; house-made fettuccine with grana padano, truffle butter and shaved white truffles; risotto with chanterelle mushrooms, black truffle tartufata and black shaved truffles; roasted veal tenderloin wrapped in prosciutto, with truffle butter mashed potatoes and sautéed Swiss chard, and more.

Wines from Nebbiolo and Barbaresco from the Prunotto estate in Alba, Italy, have been designated for the occasion.

Join the truffle celebration at 22 Miller Ave. in Mill Valley. For more information and reservations, go to piazzadangelo.com or call 415-388-2000.

Get ready for baking season

If you haven’t made it to the farmers market in Point Reyes Station this season, Saturday is your last opportunity to do so until next spring. In addition to an abundance of harvest produce and live music by Tomales Bay Mudflats, the market will feature a timely holiday baking session with pastry chef Christopher DeLorenzo. Watch him in the chef’s booth from 10 to 11 a.m. as he demonstrates how to execute a simple, foolproof frosting recipe that includes flavor variations and how to properly use a pastry bag. He’ll also share baking tips, printed recipes and his mini cupcakes.

Find out more about DeLorenzo’s desserts and his memoir cookbook, “Kitchen Inheritance,” at delorenzo-desserts.com. The farmers market is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Toby’s Feed Barn at 11250 Highway in Point Reyes Station. For more about the market, go to pointreyesfarmersmarket.org.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her a message with your comments, food news or restaurant recommendations at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com or at instagram.com/therealdealmarin where you can follow the Marin dining scene.

Wishing there was an authentic Parisian patisserie in the hood?

There will be, and you can play a part in making it a welcoming spot.

San Francisco-based, family-owned Le Marais Bakery is seeking the community’s help as it prepares to open its first Marin location in early 2020. France-born owner Patrick Ascaso is seeking financial assistance via Kickstarter to close a loop that began in 2016, when he chose Mill Valley as the spot for bakery No. 4. He hopes to raise enough funds to furnish a community patio in front of the soon-to-be patisserie at 250 East Blithedale.

“Your generosity will help us cover our patio furnishing costs, helping us bring more local jobs, locally made croissants and classic French cuisine, French roast coffee and opportunities for gathering together in a new community,” says Ascaso in his campaign summary.

The style will be distinctly Parisian with rattan French bistro chairs; Fermob benches and tables; and umbrellas and heat lamps.

To access the Kickstarter, that recently reached 40%, go to kickstarter.com and search for Le Marais Bakery. The all-or-nothing project will be funded only if it reaches its goal by Nov. 29.

For now, fresh baked pumpkin, apple, pear frangipane and Parisian flan pies for Thanksgiving are available for pick up at the Mill Valley space from 3 to 6 p.m. Nov. 27. Email Ascaso at patrick@lemaraisbakery.com to receive a link for placing pie orders.

To learn more about the bakery, go to lemaraisbakery.com.

Hello, Hook Fish

Hook Fish, in partnership with Proof Lab surf shop, opened its Mill Valley eatery last Sunday, announcing it on Instagram. It brought the community out in droves for fresh sustainably sourced fish tacos, poke, burritos and more, coupled with draft and bottled beers and an assortment of nonalcoholic beverages.

The course is now set for the local surf shop and beachy, San Francisco-born restaurant to ride a dovetailed mission to offer a laid-back destination for gathering among friends and family in an expansive outdoor beer garden with stage and a large indoor space.

More details to come in my review in January, but for now stop by from 4 to 10 p.m. daily at 244 Shoreline Highway. Learn about Hook Fish at hookfishco.com and Proof Lab at prooflab.com.

Wine dinner

French-inspired Marché aux Fleurs celebrates Beaujolais Nouveau Day on Nov. 21 by pouring all-you-can-drink of this year’s vintage. Dan and Holly Baker, owners of this downtown Ross seasonal gem, have a special menu in store for their annual harvest celebration.

The three-course menu includes little gem lettuce salad with watermelon radish and Dijon vinaigrette; chicken confit with black lentils, turnips, baby carrot, wilted greens and chicken jus; and Guittard mousse au chocolat with chantilly cream and almond tuile cookie ($56, including wine, but excluding tax and gratuity).

Unable to make the event? It’s a special occasion every week on Fried Chicken Tuesdays and Marin Sun Farms-sourced meatball Wednesdays and hamburger Thursdays.

Marché aux Fleurs is at 23 Ross Common. Reserve a seat at marcheauxfleursrestaurant.com or by calling 415-925-9200.

Wine + Maker

If you seek an excuse to head west to Dillon Beach Coastal Kitchen, this week’s Wine + Maker dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday is a worthy one; another follows on Dec. 12. The events are part of the restaurant’s Coastal Collaborative Dinner Series that showcase and support farmers, makers and cultivators from Marin and Sonoma counties.

This week’s dinner features Kenny and Lynn Likitprakong, of Santa Rosa-based Hobo Wine Co., Donald Pivec, of Meandering Farmers, and Tamara Hicks, of Tomales Farmstead Creamery. Tickets for the Dec. 12 dinner with Jennifer Reichardt, of Raft Wines, and her father Jim, a fourth-generation duck farmer and founder of Sonoma County Poultry, go on sale Friday.

Enjoy a four-course, seasonal meal prepared by foodshed advocate Matt Elias, Dillon Beach Coastal Kitchen’s executive chef, paired with wines. Make it an all-nighter with a discounted stay in one of the resort’s coastal cabins for dinner attendees.

To reserve a spot, go to coastalcollaborativewinedinner.brownpapertickets.com.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Please send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your local food news, restaurant experiences and general feedback. You can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

Illustrious restaurateur Bill Higgins, with a string of successes like Bar Bocce, Buckeye Roadhouse, Bungalow 44, Picco and Playa, is adding another restaurant to his lineup with the Nov. 29 debut of Floodwater in Mill Valley. This time, he has joined forces with sons Tyler and Henry. The three have been hard at work extensively remodeling the former Frantoio Ristorante and creating what they believe will be an energized social gathering spot.

Executive chef Michael Siegel, most recently chef and cofounder of San Francisco’s now-closed Shorty Goldstein’s Jewish deli, and alum of Bix and the former Betelnut restaurants, is heading up in the kitchen. Season-specific ingredients are the focal point of a menu that features grilled burgers, steaks, fresh fish, pizzas, salads and vegetarian dishes. A few deli favorites show up, too, like a house-made pastrami sandwich and chicken matzo ball soup.

The bar menu is in the able hands of James Beard-nominated Julian Cox (Tartine Manufactory) and will offer custom cocktails, wines, including eight on tap, and plenty of local craft beers.

The 7,200-square-foot urban rustic interior makeover was accomplished under the direction of Whitfield Architects (Hog Island Oyster Co.). The 240-seat space is centered on an expansive bar and divided into five distinct dining zones — an intimate main dining room, two private dining spaces, including a clubby den-like area with leather sofas and chairs, and an outdoor patio with weather-protectant glass walls, fire pits and heaters.

Floodwater is at 152 Shoreline Highway in Tam Valley. Doors open for dinner nightly from 5 to 10 p.m. starting Nov. 29. A late-night menu is available from 10 p.m. until midnight. On weekends, a limited brunch menu is served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., along with a lunch menu from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, go to floodwatermv.com.

Thanksgiving feasting

One of the most anticipated and indulgent meals of the year is about a week away. For some, planning is well underway. But if recipe sourcing, ingredient gathering and greasy dishes aren’t on your holiday agenda, here are a few places to make a reservation at or place an order for an outsourced meal.

Dining out

• Gravity Tavern in Mill Valley is celebrating its first Thanksgiving with a five-course prix fixe menu ($85; $35 for children). Start out with shared smoked trout deviled eggs and sheep’s milk ricotta toast, followed by roasted kabocha pumpkin soup; autumn salad; and a choice of roasted turkey, red snapper or red kuri squash ravioli, along with an array of sides. End the meal with pumpkin white chocolate pie or dark chocolate bread pudding. The tavern is open Thanksgiving Day from noon to 8 p.m. at 38 Miller Ave. in Mill Valley. Make reservations at 415-888-2108 or go to gravitytavern.com.

• Left Bank Brasserie is serving a four-course prix fixe menu of Thanksgiving favorites — butternut squash soup; Waldorf salad; roast turkey, glazed rack of pork or autumn risotto; a variety of sides; and pumpkin pie ($59, excluding beverages, tax and gratuity; $12 for two-course children’s menu). A limited à la carte menu is offered at the bar. The restaurant is open for the holiday from noon to 8 p.m. at 507 Magnolia Ave. in Larkspur. Call 415-927-3331 or go to leftbank.com.

• Mediterranean restaurant Insalata’s in San Anselmo has a full Thanksgiving menu in store, including house-baked breads; family-style appetizers; and a choice of soup or salad, entrée and dessert ($68; $28 for children) from 12:30 to 7 p.m. at 120 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. Call 415-457-7700 or go to insalatas.com.

• Get a taste of England near Muir Beach at the Pelican Inn, where a traditional Thanksgiving buffet awaits — turkey, ham, stuffing and more ($54; $29 children). Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 10 Pacific Way. Call 415-383-6000 to reserve a seat. Find out more at pelicaninn.com.

• Creativity is deeply woven into the culinary culture of Sir and Star in Olema and the menu for the Thanksgiving holiday is no different ($125; $42 for children). Temptations include a West Coast relish tray; Olema butternut squash soup; soufflé of local goat’s milk cheese with mushrooms or crab “crowned with crisped curls of her parsnips”; heirloom turkey with sourdough dressing laced with rabbit; and for dessert, fresh ginger cake with salted caramel sauce. Leave with a bag of sandwich fixings for the following day. Dinner is served from 5 to 9 p.m. at 10000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Olema. Make reservations at 415-663-1034 or go to sirandstar.com.

• Head to Rancho Nicasio for a traditional three-course meal, including homemade New England clam chowder or butter lettuce salad; roasted turkey, glazed ham, salmon Wellington, prime rib with Yorkshire pudding or grilled portobello mushroom; and desserts ($42 to $50; $25 for children). The restaurant is open from noon to 7 p.m. at 1 Old Rancheria Road in Nicasio. Call 415-662-2219 or go to ranchonicasio.com.

Taking home

• Flour Craft Bakery & Café has a medley of breads and desserts for gluten-free guests, including stuffing mix, dinner rolls and desserts —  pumpkin, maple bourbon, apple cranberry crumb pie or vegan apple galette. Orders must be placed by Saturday and picked up Nov. 27 at either location, 129 Miller Ave. in Mill Valley or 702 San Anselmo Ave. in San Anselmo. Order online and indicate pickup location at flourcraftbakery.com/thanksgiving-shop. Quantities are limited.

• If it’s just dessert you’re after, Kyle Caporicci has lots and lots of pies at Posie, from cranberry and pear oatmeal streusel to smoked chocolate bourbon pecan to salted caramel apple and malted pumpkin ice cream ($38 to $42). Your a la mode is available by pint. Ordering and pick-up must occur on or before Nov. 25. Stop by the store at 250B Magnolia Ave. in downtown Larkspur or call 415-891-8395.

• Impress guests with San Anselmo’s M.H. Bread and Butter’s holiday offerings including sweets, sides and breads. Think roasted winter squash soup with chicken and bacon; roasted cranberry sauce; caramelized apple pie with almond crumble; and spiced pumpkin pie, to name a few. Order by 4 p.m. Sunday. The bakery and café is at 101 San Anselmo Ave. in San Anselmo. Find out more at mhbreadandbutter.com or call 415-755-4575.

• Favorite classic and holiday specialties are on the takeaway menu at Comforts in San Anselmo. Start with a Mediterranean antipasto platter or roasted red beet hummus; pick-up an oven-ready whole turkey or just a few slow-roasted slices; or choose a house-made lasagna. Comforts can handle the sides and desserts, too. Go to comfortscafe.com for the full list. Place orders by Friday at 415-454-9840 and pick up at 335 San Anselmo Ave. by 3 p.m. Nov. 27. Comforts is closed Thanksgiving day.

• An extensive number of options are available to gather and bring home from Farmshop at Marin Country Mart. The restaurant is offering everything from artisan cheese and charcuterie platters to turkey and all sorts of sides and desserts. Fill out an order form at farmshopca.com/thanksgiving-2019. Pick up between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Nov. 26 or 27 or from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Nov. 28 at 2233 Larkspur Landing Circle in Larkspur.

• There’s always something creative cooking at K & A Take Away in Tomales. Supplement your dinner menu with bacon apple fennel or shitake hazelnut stuffing; lemon Parmesan caper Brussels sprouts; maple ginger thyme mashed sweet potatoes; or sangria-spiced cranberry sauce. Call 707-878-2969 or visit the shop at 27005 Highway 1 to place an order by Saturday with pick-up on Nov. 27.

• Stock up on the farm-fresh building blocks for the holiday meal at the Marin Civic Center Farmers Market, which moves to Nov. 27 next week to accommodate Thanksgiving Eve shoppers. The market is at 10 Avenue of the Flags in San Rafael and runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Creating community

More community is something we could all use these days, is the message from Avatar’s Restaurant in Sausalito. And as it has for the past 31 years, the Indian fusion restaurant will serve a free Thanksgiving Eve meal from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. Nov. 27, or until everyone is fed. This year, the hope is to serve 1,800 people of all ethnicities, orientations, beliefs and economic classes who will sit down together, share a free meal, give thanks and celebrate life.

Avatars Restaurant is at 2656 Bridgeway in Sausalito. For additional details, call 415-332-8083.

In a similar vein, all three Lotus Family of Restaurants are opening doors from 5 to 9 p.m. for a no-reservations and no-charge Indian buffet from 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 27.

“Thanksgiving is a time of giving thanks and this is how we thank our customers, friends and community,” says owner Surinder Sroa. The free feast can be found at Lotus Cuisine of India at 704 Fourth St. in San Rafael (415-456-5808), Café Lotus at 1912 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Fairfax (415-457-7836) and the new Lotus Curry House at 807 Grant Ave. in Novato. All Lotus restaurants are closed Nov. 28.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Please send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your local food news, restaurant experiences and general feedback. You can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of witnessing 13-time world pizza-making champion and master chef Tony Gemignani on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Good Morning America” or the Food Network, he is making his way to Creekside Pizza & Taproom in San Anselmo from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Dec. 4 for a hands-on pizza exhibition.

The San Francisco-based owner of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, with numerous offshoots, including in Bay Area sports stadiums, and accolades like top pizza thrower in the world, will present an interactive cooking demonstration, as well as share home cooking tips, sign his book, “The Pizza Bible,” and prepare pizza.

“Tony has been an invaluable mentor, sounding board, industry support contact and friend of Creekside,” says owner Pat Townsley. “In the early days of conceptualizing, designing and building, even though he’s probably one of the busiest guys in the world, he has always has taken time to give us great insights and practical solutions to any challenge we have faced.”

The owner and winemakers of Urban Legend will also be at the restaurant to talk about their Tuscan-style sangiovese featured by the glass, and answer questions about winemaking in the Bay Area.

Major dessert bonus: San Anselmo resident Sarah Thongnopneua, owner of Baked Blooms and winner of this year’s “Cupcake Wars” for her custom cupcake bouquets, will be at the event with her sophisticated, wholesome treats.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and the family-style dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. with one seating in the refashioned, theater-style restaurant setup. It includes beer, wine, appetizers, salad, Gemignani’s Food Network gold medal-winning Cal Italia pizza and dessert ($65, tax and server gratuity not included). Tickets can be purchased at the restaurant or by phone at 415-785-4450 and held at will call. Seating is first come, first seated.

See pizza dough roll across chef Gemignani’s shoulders at 638 San Anselmo Ave. For more information, go to creeksidesa.com.

Bites for a cause

Just as the consumer buying frenzy of Black Friday subsides and the seasonal celebrations begin, Giving Tuesday provides an opportunity for broader community support.

To mark the big day, two Marin residents are joining other acclaimed Bay Area chefs and notable mixologists and vintners from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 3 to support All Stars Helping Kids, an organization founded by NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott to disrupt the cycle of poverty in the Bay Area.

Michelin-starred chef and West Marin resident Michael Mina, of Mina Group, who is expanding his restaurant empire with the opening of Bourbon Pub at the Northstar ski resort later this month and another restaurant to follow in the former Guaymas space in Tiburon, is preparing tuna tartare with sesame, Asian pear and habanero pepper. Novato’s Parke Ulrich, of Waterbar, will showcase seasonal Dungeness crab and winter root vegetables in chowder with bacon and chives.

The dinner event taking place at the Vault restaurant at 555 California St.in San Francisco will also feature live entertainment by DJ Dave Kim, a silent auction, raffle and more. Purchase tickets at allstarshelpingkids.org/holiday.

Farm-to-fork

Band together in the spirit of good food and giving back at the second annual Spirited Marin x A Fork Full of Earth Community Dinner from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Marin Country Mart.

Begin a culinary adventure at Hog Island Oyster’s Traveling Oyster Bar and with caviar from Sausalito’s California Caviar Co.

The seasonal farm-to-fork supper catered by Fairfax organic caterer A Fork Full of Earth features ingredients cultivated from farms in Marin and Sonoma counties. The grand finale of the evening is a display of organic sweets from Jerry Navas, of Novato’s Navas Patisserie.

Savor festive cocktails made with organic Batiste Rhum, Patagonia Provision’s Long Root Pale Ale and local wines, while harmonizing with Youth In Arts’ a cappella  group ‘Til Dawn and swaying to the sultry music of Redwood Tango.

The community dinner precedes the weekend-long holiday marketplace premiering local sellers, who will contribute a portion of sales to three Marin-based nonprofits — Integrated Community Services, Turning Green and Youth In Arts. Browse the temporary shopping village from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 7 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 8.

The event is at 2257 Larkspur Landing Circle in Larkspur. For details and to purchase tickets, go to spiritedmarin.org.

Farm to art

Local nonprofit Agricultural Institute of Marin, in partnership with Marin Cultural Services, is sponsoring an exclusive opening night reception for its second annual “Food, Farms & Art” show and sale from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Bartolini Gallery in San Rafael.

Meet more than 30 local artists over live musical performances and graze on local farmstead cheese curated by the California Artisan Cheese Guild and Cheese Trail and seasonal foods sourced at the Marin farmers market. Bay Area artisans are supplying wine and beer.

Purchase tickets at agriculturalinstitute.org/ffa. Proceeds from ticket sales and a portion of art pieces sold during the Dec. 4 through Jan. 30 exhibit will fund the campaign for Cultivating the Center for Food and Agriculture, a world-class market creating a healthier food culture. The exhibit showcases artists and artworks celebrating food, Marin agriculture and the farmers market and includes paintings, photographs and assemblage works by local artists.

The gallery is at 10 Avenue of the Flags at San Rafael’s Marin Center.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Please send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your local food news, restaurant experiences and general feedback. You can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

Inspired by the childhood memories of the Petrone brothers, who opened Piazza D’Angelo restaurant in 1981 and passed the baton to their children in 2017, the annual Mill Valley Winterfest comes Sunday to the downtown Mill Valley Depot Plaza. The free community event from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. gathers local families and friends for activities, food and entertainment in the style of their small hometown in the Calabria region in southern Italy.

Local restaurants will be there dishing out refreshments and nibbles in the square. Piazza D’Angelo will serve rigatoni pasta with vegetables and marinara sauce. Enjoy lentil bites from Good Earth Natural Foods. Smoothies and juices are thanks to Vitality Bowls. The boutique-style Judaica store, Brooklyn, will make latkes; Super Duper Burgers has house-made donuts; and Equator Coffees will serve coffee, hot apple cider and brownie bites.

Activities include a huge rainbow slide and jumpee house; tree and menorah lighting ceremonies; a daylong lineup of live music and dance performers; and the midday arrival of Santa.

The spirited holiday event is sponsored by the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce and the City of Mill Valley. Donations of $2 to $10 for rides is suggested. There is free bike and stroller parking throughout the day from the Marin County Bicycle Coalition with support from Tam Bikes. For further details, go to enjoymillvalley.com.

Visions of gingerbread

Sometimes it’s more pleasurable to ponder the talent of other candy house creators than to graze from and build one’s own. Download a map and visit the 21 restaurants, cafes, bakeries and shops participating in Sausalito’s 13th annual Gingerbread House Competition and Tour.

Some will share a gingerbread edible or drinkable item, as indicated on the map. The creative, custom-built homes are on display all month.

For a list of stops and to access the printable map, go sausalito.org/gingerbread-house-tour.

Pixie bake sale

Sugary sweets abound during Pixie Park’s annual parent-prepared bake sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday to support rebuilding the park. Festively wrapped packages of homemade cookies, cakes and confections are ready for gift-giving or immediate eating. Santa will make a stop for photo opportunities and crafts are set up for kids.

The 65-year-old Pixie Park is a co-op play and event space for children 6 and under on the grounds of the Marin Art & Garden Center at 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross. The bake sale is free to the public. For more information, go to magc.org or call 415-455-5260.

Madcap’s menu deal

Madcap Mondays is back at chef Ron Siegel’s creative, casual San Anselmo storefront restaurant when he offers a weekly changing, four-course menu for $60. Specific dishes are announced at 3 p.m. Mondays. All diners at the table need to order the coursed meal and there are no substitutions or special requests. Reservations are recommended, as these special menus sell out early. The à la carte and chef’s tasting menus are also available.

Madcap is at 198 San Anselmo Ave. To make reservations or get a glimpse of the special Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve menus, go to madcapmarin.com.

Marin food tours

The Cheese School of San Francisco wears a few hats. It’s a cafe, caterer, event space, cheese and wine shop and classroom that is highlighting West Marin during two upcoming farm tours.

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 16, two Cheese School cheesemongers will transport a group of 11 to Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. and Tomales Farmstead Creamery for a farm tour and cheese tasting. The schedule from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 27 includes a stop at Double 8 Dairy, California’s only water buffalo creamery, and a tour and tasting at the original Cowgirl Creamery location.

Coffee starts the day and a gourmet lunch is served.

Meet at the Cheese School in Ghirardelli Square at 900 North Point St. To register, go to thecheeseschool.com/collections/farm-tours.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Please send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your local food news, restaurant experiences and general feedback. You can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

California Caviar Co., a pioneer in the production of sustainably farmed caviar, recently reopened its Sausalito tasting room, the Bump Bar,  introducing a refreshed menu for the intimate, 20-seat space with indoor and outdoor seats and a glimpse of the bay.

Owner Deborah Keane brings two decades of industry experience to the project, as well as her commitment to boosting caviar’s fun factor. Step off Sausalito’s busy main drag and be greeted with a “bump” of sustainable, premium caviar before moving onto a meal by executive chef Nate Tauer (Bouchon, Petit Crenn and Coi) and a few fellow Coi alumni. The team offers a seven-course seafood-centric tasting menu ($125) that’s also available to order à la carte. Each curated course highlights one type of caviar or roe, like infused truffle whitefish roe that complements grilled lobster with sunchoke, celery and fresh herbs.

This full menu supplements traditional caviar service that showcases three domestic and three imported rotating caviar and roe selections served with accompaniments like egg, pickled red onion, crème fraîche and blini. Guests can also purchase caviar and roe in tins to take home.

Old and new world champagne and wine is available by the glass, flight or bottle.

The tasting room is open from 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at 1403 Bridgeway. Find out more or make a reservation at californiacaviar.com or 415-332-0822.

Heal and inspire

Nutrient-rich superfoods are on a roll, and SunLife Organics has properly timed its latest shop opening to align with the season’s health-focused New Year’s resolutions. The 8-year-old California-based chain of all-organic and customizable shakes, juices and acai bowls has settled in next door to SoulCycle at Larkspur’s Marin Country Mart. This is the 13th store for founder and owner Khalil Rafati, who has a moving story to tell about the basis of his mission to “love, heal and inspire.”

At Rafati’s lowest point, he found himself living on the streets of Los Angeles and immersed in the dark depths of an unhealthy lifestyle. His journey upward led to a renewal that included juicing, superfoods and a noble mindset that transcends liquid nutrition.

“This isn’t just a juice bar, it’s a way of life fueled by the belief that you matter,” he says on the company’s website. He and his business partner Hayley Gorcey wanted to establish a place where patrons can “come together and re-connect as a community, away from our iPads, smartphones and social networks; a place to elevate the human spirit and help us get back to basics.”

The menu includes smoothies such as the alchemist with kale, cucumber, spinach, mint, fennel, mango, ginger, lemon and whole leaf aloe vera; or a Brazilian bowl with blended açai, banana, strawberry, blueberry, apple juice and almond milk topped with granola, banana, strawberry, hemp seeds and coconut shreds. Step it up a few superfood notches with a signature shake with blue majik, lotus pollen, grass-fed whey protein isolate, collagen, Thai coconut meal, hemp milk, pineapple juice, Medjool date and Himalayan sea salt.

Get a dose of healthful energy and positive spirit from 6:45 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends (winter hours) at 1601 Larkspur Landing Circle in Larkspur. For more about SunLife’s mission and menu, go to sunlifeorganics.com or reach the shop directly at 415-747-8792.

Pop-ups and holiday treats

Creekside Bakery is a hidden gem that continues to deliver more than sweet confections. Every Friday night from 6 to 8 p.m., the restaurant holds pop-up dinners at BeerCraft Novato. The changing Friday menu typically consists of small bar bites like deviled eggs, house-smoked bacon-wrapped dates and corn nuts, as well as a more substantial option like banh mi with house-made country pate and pork belly. Visit this Friday for pan-style pizza with homemade sausage and seasonal vegetables.

On weekends from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the restaurant is now offering a brunch menu featuring roasted early girl tomato shakshuka with feta, hazelnut dukkah and poached eggs; sourdough-leavened waffle with roasted seasonal fruit; house-made sesame almond granola with Straus yogurt; and house “everything” bagel with smoked McFarland Springs trout.

Enhance your holiday table with specials such as bûche de noël, stollen, panettone, pastries, pies and decorated cookies. Order soon either at the bakery at 1719 Grant Ave. or by calling 415-892-7655. For up-to-date information about pop-ups, follow Creekside on Instagram @creeksidebakery.

BeerCraft Novato at 3788B Redwood Blvd. is the second curated craft beer shop and taproom by brothers J.T. and Matt Fenn who got their start in Rohnert Park. The two have established relationships with breweries on the West Coast and across the country. They also have a small but thoughtfully sourced wine menu. To find out more, go to beercraft.com or call 415-895-5402.

Loaf of love

Highly acclaimed pastry chef Sarah Bonar, known for her stints at San Francisco restaurants Frances and Octavia, is making a brief showing at Lou’s Takeaway in Terra Linda from 1 to 3 p.m. (or earlier if sold out) Tuesday for a pop-up bake sale. Fresh sourdough loaves, double chocolate cookies and lavender and salted caramel shortbread will be available for purchase. She is donating 25% of her sales to charity. Stop in early for free hot apple cider and cinnamon rolls for the first 20 visitors. Lou’s Takeaway is at 621A Del Ganado Road in San Rafael.

Bonar, San Francisco Magazine’s best pastry chef of 2015, started her neighborhood bread and pastry crafting business in 2018 after the birth of her daughter.

“I wanted to find a way to connect with my community over my love of bread and still be able to be present in her day to day life,” she says on her website. Find out more including how to place an order at luckypennybread.com.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Please send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your local food news, restaurant experiences and general feedback. You can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

Several Marin restaurants are saluting the new decade with festive cocktails, multicourse meals and DJ dance parties.

Spirit sparkles at Mill Valley’s Playa as the restaurant wraps up the year with a New Year’s Eve party featuring a special menu by new executive chef Aaron Sabido and dancing from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Dec. 31.

In his cooking, Sabido draws inspiration from his native state of Yucatan, Mexico, and the regional cuisine of Oaxaca. Most recently, he was part of the opening team at Mill Valley’s Gravity Tavern and consulted at Rickey’s in Novato. He was also the sous chef at Copita Tequileria y Comida in Sausalito for a number of years.

“We hope this news excites the town and its locals,” says Manfred Méndez, Playa’s general manager. “We are truly excited, and look forward to the creativity and dishes chef Sabido will come up with.”

So far, menu additions include corn truffle empanadas served with roasted pepper cream; spit-roasted chicken enchiladas with mole sauce, micro greens and crispy plantains; and tacos with braised beef and avocado salsa verde, or oyster mushrooms, cranberry bean puree, roasted squash, caramelized onion, shishito pepper and cilantro.

Playa is at 41 Throckmorton Ave. in Mill Valley. For more information or to make reservations, go to playamv.com or call 415-384-8871.

Surf and turf

Sam’s Anchor Café in Tiburon is toasting the season all month long with festive cocktails — like the ginger bell with bourbon, fresh ginger, mint, lemon and ginger beer — and will close out the year Dec. 31 with a bash on the bay. Clink glasses of sparkling wine at 6:30 p.m. and continue happy hour with Sam’s signature cocktails and passed appetizers until 8 p.m. Then, settle in from 8 to 10 p.m. for a three-course menu that includes a seasonal salad, filet mignon or seared scallops with sides and dessert, along with hosted wines during the meal. Burn it off until 1 a.m. with live music and dancing. Tickets are $225 until 8 p.m. Saturday (which includes arrival sparkling wine, three drink tickets, dinner with wine and entertainment) and can be purchased at samscafe.com.

Sam’s is at 27 Main St. in downtown Tiburon.

Crab feast

Crab season has finally arrived and William Tell House in Tomales will have plenty on hand for its second annual crab feed from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Dec. 31. The feast ($80) includes fresh local Dungeness crab, garlic noodles, cheesy bread, homemade cookies, bottomless mimosas and endless beers. Seatings are at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. with live music from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Find out more about the restaurant and get tickets at williamtellhouse.com.

William Tell House is at 26955 State Route 1 in Tomales.

Ooh la la

Left Bank Brasserie will be adorned with multicolored balloons and streamers on Dec. 31 to greet the coming year and, along with the regular à la carte lunch menu, will feature a $75 four-course prix fixe menu from 11:30 a.m. 11 p.m. A few of the French specialties include celery root and roasted chestnut soup with truffle oil and fried lotus root; escargots with Pernod garlic butter; braised lamb shank with brussel sprouts, Parmesan polenta and gremolata; filet mignon with béarnaise and chive Yukon gold potato purée; Maine lobster tail with roasted butternut squash, wild mushroom and leek risotto; and chocolaty desserts.

Guests for the final seating of the night will receive a glass of complimentary sparkling wine and party favors at midnight.

On New Year’s Day, the restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for holiday brunch. Menu highlights include French toast with orange cream, mixed berry compote and maple syrup; crab, spinach, tomato and smoked paprika hollandaise omelette; marinated grilled bistro steak with eggs; and a build-your-own bloody Mary bar, in addition to the regular lunch menu.

Left Bank Brasserie is at 507 Magnolia Ave. in Larkspur. For more information or to make a reservation, including for a three-course prix fixe Christmas Eve dinner, go to leftbank.com or call 415-927-3331.

Bungalow bash

Chef Gabe Charpentier has two creative and seasonally inspired New Year’s Eve menus for diners ringing in the new year at Bungalow 44 in Mill Valley. During an early, 5 to 6:30 p.m. seating, choose from a three-course menu ($45), that includes dishes like Kumamoto oysters with compressed cucumber, tobiko hamachi avocado, crispy rice cake and Fresno chili peppers; delicata squash agnolotti with sage brown butter and grana padano; Wagyu beef strip steak with marrow, smoked potato and pickled onion; and desserts, such as chocolate mousse with Oreo cookie crust and fresh whipped cream.

Later dining from 8 to 9:45 p.m. features a fourth course ($85) and additional options, such as crab cake with Cajun remoulade; lobster linguine with white wine, garlic and red pepper flakes; and grilled duck breast with burnt onion and hen of the woods mushrooms. A DJ dance party follows the meal until 1 a.m.

Bungalow 44 is at 44 E. Blithedale Ave. in downtown Mill Valley. For more information or to make reservations, call 415-381-2500 or to bungalow44.com.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Please send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your local food news, restaurant experiences and general feedback. You can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

If there is one word to describe the restaurant scene in Main this year, it’s change.

The year began with Candace Paine, owner of the kooky, kitschy Mama’s Café in Mill Valley, deciding it was time to clear the clutter after a nearly eight-decade run. Local resident Justus Jennings is saving a few of her nostalgic items for the Pilgrimage, a communal restaurant “for the people” he plans to open in its place in the coming year.

A lot of action occurred in Tam Junction, where it was the end of an era for Frantoio Ristorante and Bar. It closed in February after almost a quarter-century. In came prolific restaurateur Bill Higgins (Bar Bocce, Buckeye Roadhouse, Bungalow 44, Picco and Playa) who, with his two sons, embarked on an extensive structural and design overhaul, and opened gastropub Floodwater, a 7,200-square-foot space with five distinct dining zones, the day after Thanksgiving. Earlier in November, Outer Sunset-based Hook Fish formed a partnership with Proof Lab surf shop and settled onto its grounds in Tam Junction. It’s been jamming ever since with sustainably sourced fish tacos and an outdoor beer garden. Across the street, chef Jian Zhu took ownership of May Lee’s and after a refresh of the interior reopened it as Shang Hai Kitchen.

In June in downtown Mill Valley, locals Lara and Gar Truppelli, known for their trio of Bay Area Chalet restaurants (Beach Chalet, Park Chalet Coastal Beer Garden and Lake Chalet), transformed the former Balboa Café into Gravity Tavern, their first Marin restaurant. Ged Robertson and chef Kyle Swain turned Pizza Molina into Bootjack Wood Fired and introduced the Mill Valley Lumber Yard to Watershed in July, where sister-owned BŌL arrived with superfood “bowls of love” in April.

Nutrient-rich bowls also can be found at Vitality Bowls in Mill Valley and Marin City that franchisee Henry Kim opened in the short span of two months.

Every year brings a slew of restaurant changes to San Rafael. On the Miracle Mile corridor, Halal Indian Cuisine bumped out Best Lil’ Porkhouse. Chicken nuggets got an upgrade with Tender Tenders opening in July in the same shopping complex where Stones Jamaican Roots & Juice closed, and Pink Owl Coffee has just opened in an expanded space.

New Mexican restaurant Atalaya ended its chapter on B Street in January, a few months shy of its one-year anniversary. Ten months later, restaurateur and San Rafael native Mark Edwards opened seasonal Spanish and French restaurant, Revel & Roost Kitchen.

In the West End, Marin native and esteemed chef Alexander Alioto opened Kitchen Table early this year after gutting and remodeling the long-dormant storefront that was once the Chinese restaurant Confucius.

The Pibil Yucatán Cuisine kiosk at the San Rafael Transit Center shuttered, but still serves out of the kitchen at George’s Nightclub in San Rafael on weekends. Farther down on Fourth Street, get all the meat you can eat at Boiadeirus Brazilian Steakhouse, which opened in March. Local siblings Michael and Leslie Freed debuted Bogie’s Two restaurant in the former Green Chili Kitchen after the closure of their 29-year-old Bogie’s Cafe on North San Pedro last year.

A 1928 National Historic Landmark building became a brewery when Tam Commons Taproom & Kitchen opened in May. The still roaming Caribbean Spices food truck settled into a storefront in the heart of San Rafael in June. Owners of Sausalito’s Taste of the Himalayas sold their Fourth Street restaurant to Shangri-La Organic Kitchen in November.

At the Northgate Mall food court, owners of Greenbrae’s Oyama Sushi opened and then closed their fast, customizable poke bowl and roll kiosk, Pokeritto.

San Anselmo Avenue got its first full bar when Cucina expanded into the neighboring storefront. Down the street, L’Appart Resto bid au revoir in June after almost a decade. Farm Burger departed the Red Hill Shopping Center in April, but the Hub, a similar burger- and shake-centric fast-casual spot with a few salads, opened a mere two weeks later.

At Larkspur’s Marin Country Mart, the year began with the closure of Fisher Cheese +  Wine, giving owner Kiri Fisher more time to focus on her expansive Cheese School of San Francisco in Ghirardelli Square. And Malibu-based mini chain SunLife Organics brings nutrient-rich superfoods to the mart next door to Soul Cycle.

Downtown Tiburon institution Sam’s Anchor Café, a 99-year-old property set directly above the water, underwent a major structural and cosmetic overall and unveiled a more refined indoor and outdoor space, and updated menu in April.

One San Francisco-born, Rome-inspired Italian eatery gave way to another when Gia Ristorante Italiano in downtown Larkspur closed in February and became Roma Antica in May. A few doors down, ice cream fans were thrilled when Kyle Caporicci, of Posie, restarted production of his inventive, all-organic ice cream in June after he temporarily closed shop in February.

Tamalpie owner Karen Goldberg joined forces with freestyle skiing legend and Tiburon native Jonny Moseley and revamped her Corte Madera pizzeria with the opening of Moseley’s Spirits and Sports in April.

Marin Pizza at Town Center Corte Madera abruptly closed in August after just a year and a half. Fieldwork Brewery will be moving in next year.

In Fairfax, San Anselmo residents Brian and Lori Bruckner opened community gathering spot the Lodge after a two-year restoration project of the 1908 clapboard home that was once the Old Timer’s Bar. Further downtown, both Grilly’s and Taste Kitchen & Table closed.

In August, Surinder Sroa expanded his Indian cuisine reach to his hometown of Novato with Lotus Curry House on Grant Avenue, and native New Yorker Lynn Moffet opened Checker’s Deli at the Novato’s Vintage Oaks Shopping Center in August. Rickey’s restaurant reopened with a new look and menu after a drawn-out renovation project.

Sausalito said goodbye to Tera Ancone’s 10-year-old Cibo café in September when the baton was passed to Equator Coffees. Fans of Ancone’s pastries can now find a full assortment at all four Marin Equator retail locations.

Out in West Marin at Dillon Beach Coastal Kitchen, chef Matt Elias (Salt Water Oyster Depot in Inverness), who had been on the road for two years in the seasonally inspired, California casual food truck, the Bodega, took the kitchen reigns from Todd Shoberg (Mill Valley’s El Paseo and Molina) who is now executive chef at Brewster’s Beer Garden in Petaluma.

In July, William Tell House, Marin’s oldest saloon and inn, reopened in Tomales following a renovation of the dining room and kitchen, where executive chef and partner Austin Perkins (Nick’s Cove in Marshall) brings the fertile West Marin landscape and coastal waters to the plate.

The Konatich family’s iconic Tony’s Seafood, a 70-year-old Marshall mainstay, reopened March 1 following the May 2017 acquisition and refurbishment by neighboring Hog Island Oyster Co.

Nick’s Cove Restaurant and Oyster Bar on Tomales Bay changed it up in the kitchen when chef Kua Speer took over from executive chef Joshua Seibert, who is now general manager and executive chef at Aldersly Retirement Community in San Rafael.

Look for more exciting openings, including West Marin resident Michael Mina‘s first Marin restaurant, in the old Guaymas spot in Tiburon, next year.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your comments, food news or restaurant recommendations. Or you can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.

Marin oyster lovers can anticipate a more easily accessible score for mollusks with the opening of Hog Island Larkspur at Marin Country Mart this winter. The full-service restaurant will boast a view of the water and Mount Tamalpais, and offer a seafood-centric menu of small plates, salads, bowls, mains and, of course, Marshall-based Hog Island Oyster Co.’s signature hand-raised fresh and grilled oysters. Seasonally driven cocktails, beer and wine are on the full bar menu.

Founding partners John Finger and Terry Sawyer are looking forward to expanding the bay-to-bar philosophy they established in 1983 when they planted their first oyster seeds in Tomales Bay. This is their first Marin restaurant outside of West Marin, where they have their flagship oyster bar location and, in the spring of 2019, revitalized and reopened Tony’s Seafood. Like their outposts in San Francisco’s Ferry Building and Napa’s Oxbow Public Market, the restaurant will be part of a larger community-gathering marketplace. It fills the space left empty by Togo’s at 2401 Larkspur Landing Circle.

Stay tuned for details about the grand opening. In the meantime, find out more about Hog Island Oyster Co. at hogislandoysters.com.

Feeling cheesy

While New Year’s Day might prompt reflection and resolutions, it’s also time to start making plans to celebrate the best in California cheese at the 14th annual California Artisan Cheese Festival from March 27 through 29. Ticket sales for farm and producer tours, grand tastings, educational seminars and pairing demonstrations begin Wednesday.

Join artisan cheesemakers, farmers, chefs, brewers, winemakers, distillers and cheese enthusiasts for three days of revelry, in support of California farmers and cheesemakers. This includes Marin County tours on March 27 and 28 at Cowgirl Creamery, Bivalve Dairy, Marin French Cheese, Nicasio Valley Cheese Co., Point Reyes Farmstead and the Fork, Tomales Farmstead Creamery, Double 8 Dairy and AppleGarden Farm.

At Cheese, Bites and Booze from 6 to 9 p.m. March 28, vote for your favorite cheese creation during a lighthearted competition among cheesemakers, mongers and chefs when they come together to craft and share their culinary inventions. Pair with regional wines, beers, ciders and spirits, while meandering the Jackson Family Wines aircraft hangar at the Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa (ages 21 and older).

Wind down the weekend from 9:30 to 11 a.m. March 29 with a champagne multicourse brunch and interactive live cooking demonstration. Tickets for the event include an 11 a.m. early entry to the artisan cheese tasting and marketplace from noon to 4 p.m., where more than 100 artisan cheese and specialty accompaniment producers, wine and cider makers, beer brewers, spirit distillers and chefs will congregate to share their best with guests.

For a list of events and to purchase tickets ($50 to $150), go to artisancheesefestival.com. Events are at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds at 1350 Bennett Valley Road in Santa Rosa, and on the grounds of farm and cheese producers throughout Sonoma and Marin counties.

Soup banquet

Welcome winter’s temperatures with a flavorful, clean “soup banquet” from nationally known San Rafael wellness expert and cookbook author Rebecca Katz of the Healing Kitchens Institute in Bolinas.

At the next Fresh Starts Chef Event, Katz will prepare and share her recipes for ruby-red beet soup with parsnip chips; coconut cauliflower soup with ginger and turmeric; Latin America chicken stew with greens and polenta croutons; orange salad with olives and mint with pomegranate vinaigrette; and macaroons and chocolate chip cookies.

The event takes place at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 16 in the showcase kitchen at the Key Room at 1385 North Hamilton Parkway in Novato. Tickets ($65) include dinner and can be purchased at bit.ly/FSchefevents or by calling 415-382-3363, extension 243. Proceeds support shelter, housing and training programs at Homeward Bound of Marin.

See a calendar of future chef events at cookingschoolsofamerica.com/freshstartscookingschool/index.php?page=calendar.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Please send her an email at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with your local food news, restaurant experiences and general feedback. You can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram.com/therealdealmarin.