Point Reyes Light - October 17, 2002
The Station House Café’s new menu
By StuArt
Bolinas
Here it is...my restaurant review. I ate for you.
Now I'm reporting:First of all , I had a drink. I think it was pink with a little umbrella. Pink!, with a little umbrella.
Pink, with a little umbrella.The appetizers were really, really good. I really could ‘uv had more of 'em.
But then came the main entrée, and it was way, way, way tender and delicious, scrumptious and nutritious., tender and delicious, yeah, yeah.
And dessert...oh, dessert! Words fail to describe...warm berry pie á la mode, cup of coffee for the road. Leave a big tip, and a nice thank you,.
That's the end…of my restaurant review.Words & music ©StuArt 1998
The melody of Bart Hopkin's guitar sweetened the ambiance as we visited the Station House in Point Reyes Station last Sunday for an unannounced restaurant review. The Station House has it all: an airy, cheerful main room, a beautiful outside garden for dining al fresco, and a lively, intimate bar.
We had heard that their long time chef had retired and that Juan Parra was now heading the kitchen, so we wanted to peruse the new menu. We were delighted to find some of our old favorites along with some new, exciting ventures.
Soon after we were seated, a basket of warm popovers was brought to our table. A great dining experience starts with popovers like these, eggy and chewy with perfect texture. We heard expressions of delight from neighboring tables as their popovers arrived. (Besides the full bar and wine collection the Station House offers varietal wines by the glass and tap and bottled beer.) We had a lovely pear cider to start. For appetizers we chose Johnson's oysters breaded in crackermeal and deep fried ($7.25) and creamy polenta with portabella mushrooms, Gorgonzola and a Madeira-brown sauce ($8.25). The oysters were delicious, crunchy and creamy, and the polenta was true comfort food with velvety tones of wine and cheese.
Entrées
But then came the main entrees: mariscada (one of the delicious new menu items), a melange of swordfish, mussels, clams, scallions, onions and mushrooms in a garlic butter sauce ($15.50) and a Niman Ranch sirloin steak with double-baked potatoes, broccoli, carrot sauté, and a rosemary balsamic reduction sauce ($16.50). Our server brought us a basket of Il Fornaio sourdough bread to sop up the divine elixir of the mariscada, and enjoying a Niman Ranch steak is like sharing in a local success story of West Marin agriculture.
Dessert
Finally we ordered dessert, and, oh, what desserts! Their famous bread pudding ($5.25) topped with warm caramel sauce and chilled creme anglaise was fabulous. But the dish- to-die-for was the triberry pie ($3.95) with Straus Farms whipped cream. Once again tasting the rich lightness of the whipped cream was like savoring another West Marin agricultural success story and appreciating...that it doesn't get any better than this!