Tuesday at the Table

After hearing the nitty gritty of our visit to Willi’s Seafood & Raw Bar last week, you may or may not be up for another Tuesday at the Table Vacation Style. But there were plenty more memorable foodie moments in our brief time away, so stick around if you'd  like to hear more.

• Copita - We had just come off the ferry and a full day in San Francisco, cable car ride and all. Landing in Saulsalito, we had a destination in mind, not expecting their early close. Kismet or not, we were directed down the street to Copita, which little did we know, is owned by Joanne Weir. My first clue? Watching her walk in the front door and straight back to the kitchen. So in addition to some mighty tasty bites all around, we had the pleasure to meet a celebrity chef. Cool.

• Kin - The name alone made me like this neighborhood gathering place. And the burgers weren't bad either. And I liked their sign.

• Johnny Garlic’s - No, we didn't meet owner GuyFieri, but did try the Satay Chicken Salad Wraps, which were unbelievably good. I mean good. And gee whiz, I just found the recipe on food network, and I don't care that it has 20 ingredients. I will be trying it!

photo courtesy of Johnny Garlic's

• Willi’s Wine Bar - A sibling to the afore mentioned Willi's, you know darned well that when we found out how close we were to this location, we had to stop in. Totally different in setting, equally delicious was the food. Goat cheese fritters, black truffle risotto, filet mignon sliders, warm spinach salad, mac-n-cheese, roasted asparagus, and Meyer lemon pudding cake. Seriously, how many descriptors deserve to be on one menu?

• Frozen Art Gourmet Ice Cream - Driving around town one afternoon near the end of our week, we decided we needed ice cream, and my phone's app search led us to Frozen Art. Unique and exotic flavors, and in addition, a specialty I'd never encountered - paletas: frozen juice and fruit bars that are native to Latin America. Full as we were of ice cream, I'm still regretting not trying a paleta. Next time.

And then as I was looking for pics to share, I came across one more that just had to be included - from the night we stayed in, enjoying some cheese and crackers . . . olives and sourdough . . . wine purchased during our day's wanderings, and sweet cupcakes from miette in the memorable Ferry Building on San Francisco's wharf.

Proof again, that though new restaurants, celebrity chefs, and formerly untried tastes round out the experience, the simple joy of the table can indeed be simple.