Laurie and I took a slow Friday to tour the nearby Sonoma and Marin coastline, stopping at some of my favorite places.
First stop was in downtown Sonoma, to pick up some picnic supplies, including a couple of spicy peppered cheeses, and a nice pepper salami, plus some other nibbles. Then we headed for Wild Flour Bakery at Freestone for some breads, including a nice rye with a salty crust, their fougasse, and of course their sticky bun bread. Always start with dessert first!
Off to Salmon Beach just north of Bodega Bay for a sandy, windy picnic, with 5 seagulls stalking about waiting for an opportunity, and not much else. Nice!
After a leisurely lunch we headed down the coast to Pt. Reyes Station, and wandered about the town a bit, before eventually heading to Olema and Sir Francis Drake Blvd, to drive back into the Bay Area. We saw some of the more famous sites, such as the very high income town of Fairfax, and of course the surgery center where
@SadieBlake got all spiffed up.
We got to Larkspur in the early evening, while the evening commute was at it's worst, and decided to wait it out in one of the many restaurants in the area. There was a nice fondue place I had heard of but not tried, and after Laurie and I had contemplated the menu outside for a bit, decided to venture in.
Dark, as it was built into the kiln ovens of an old brickworks, but with a strong aroma of garlic, herbs, and chocolate in the air, this looked to be an interesting experience. The staff led us around the place to the back, where we had a nice private booth. We got the menus, and an explanation of the arcana involved in their fondue dining experience. We settled on a four course menu, with a cheese fondue, salads, steak fondue, and finally a chocolate fondue.
Well, this turned into a three hour dining experience, exploring the various ways one could cook with and serve fondue to ourselves and each other. Wheeee! Laurie says "It was soooo romantic!" I concur.
The staff put up with the two of us and our dining activities quite well.
Recommended...
Oh, and the bridge backup was gone when we left. Mission accomplished.
