Tom C.'s Profile

I think this is now the best authentic Thai restaurant in Marin, hands down.  Charming family, usually quiet with a very nice ambience, and the food...

As others have said.  Fabulous pumpkin curry.  Rockin' ice tea. Excellent Pad Thai.  Located in an odd corner, you will be the guru of your social circle when you bring friends here.  Great service, except on the rare occasions when the restaurant is full, and the couple who own it get a little overextended.  They are charming, gentle people, look them in the eye and smile, and you will find genuine connection.

Ask for hot if you like hot food, they tend to err on the mild side with the seasoning.  They will not torture you like Khan Toke in SF, where even the medium is hot enough to melt your fillings.

Visiting a friend in the area, we had a delightful late lunch here on a weekday.  I'll come back if I ever have the opportunity!

This was one of the very best hamburgers I've ever experienced.  Baldwin grinds their own beef, and bakes their own buns.  Flavor, texture, size...all were perfect.  Ask for the cole slaw, which they also make fresh.

The building itself is from the 1870's, and has been beautifully restored with some very high quality woodwork and window replacement.  The collection of 19th-century paintings is charming and fitting.  Service was great, personal, cheerful.

Since I've only been here once, I can't give it five stars...yet.  Will come back again, and bump it up if visit number two is as good as this was!

This restaurant is a conundrum.  The food is good to excellent, portions are big, they have some very nice beers on tap, the service is generally ok.  The decor is even interesting.

But it's expensive for lunch.  Almost everything on the menu costs $14.  If the dinner menu is pricier than the lunch menu, then I would say it's expensive for dinner too.

I've been going there occasionally for over a year, and it has changed.  A year ago it was full at lunch, bustling and cheerful.  It was a little more expensive than other lunch options, but it was an experience and fun.  The expansion and the higher prices have reduced the lunch traffic, to the point that it feels quiet, even kind of empty on some days.  The cheerfulness of the staff feels a little forced, and the way that they suggest appetizers and drinks seems more in service to the size of the bill than to me, the customer.

But the food is still good.  Worth going to if you don't mind spending more than $20 for lunch.

As you might guess from the name, these are the folks to go to for beeswax candles.  I've been buying from this web-based business for a couple of years, and love their products AND their prices.

The Barth's (who own the business) make really good, consistent products, and their prices are lower than any other supplier I've found.  For example, they have an oversized votive that fits most votive holders and burns longer.  The burn time estimates on their web site are accurate; you really get 20 hours out of a large votive.  They also make tea light replacements without the little metal or plastic cups, so you can reuse your tea light holders.

Candles arrive nicely wrapped, well-packed, shipped by priority US mail.  I got ours in three days.

We burn a lot of votives and tea lights, and after years of experience, have switched completely to beeswax because it is a green product, and because it burns longer and cleaner than any other kind of candle.  This is the most cost-effective and ecologically sensitive source I've found for candle lighting anywhere in the US.

Checked this place out one night when I needed a bottle of wine.  It's a pretty average liquor store, with a fairly good selection of wines.  So I asked the owner for suggestions.

I walked out with three bottles of wine, and all were pretty mediocre.  I didn't find any deals, and I didn't find that they carry anything special.  The owner is a good salesman, but not really a source of interesting wines.  If you are getting something you know, like a common wine from a large producer, or a bottle of liquor, you will find it.  And you will pay full retail for it.

I would normally rate a Safeway three stars, as they all have some things in common...I almost always wait in line at a Safeway, the organic dairy products always seem close to their expiration date, the quality of the store brand is average.

But this Safeway always seems to be out of stock on something I'm looking for, and I always have to wait in line.  Sometimes the lines are really long.  There are bright spots, for example, they always have a few nice plants if I need a quick gift, and I like the staff.  But the shopping experience is always frustrating somehow.

What a lovely french bistro.  Dropped by here for dinner for the first time, and I will be back as soon as possible.  This place is a classic.

The food was excellent, prices reasonable, waiters informal and informative, very nice wine list.  I had salmon, perfectly cooked, served with with appropriate vegetables, and my companion had a hamburger (not something I would do :-)  Both were very well prepared and presented.  It was pleasantly busy at 8pm on a weekday, but we had no problem getting a table or getting taken care of.

Decor is casual french, comfortable, a little crowded, with some outdoor seating on Cole Street. Good indirect lighting.  I would imagine this would be great for brunch or lunch as well.

After a half-dozen trips here with co-workers, for lunch and drinks after work, I gotta call this an average place.

Food is decent, with big portions, but not exceptional.  Prices are ok.  Ambience is busy pub, generally noisy and crowded with a mixture of shoppers and folks who work in the area.  Service is highly variable, sometimes good, sometimes awful, never great.

The beer is very good, with some nice microbrews.  And the drinks are ok.  There's nothing specifically wrong with this place as a restaurant, but there is nothing really special or fun about it either.  I will go there once in a while because it's convenient, but that's the only reason.

This chain Italian restaurant is ok for lunch, but not exceptional.  The dishes are reasonably well prepared, service is generally good, the decor is clean and modern, but uninspiring.

The menu has calories counts, with some nice lower-calorie options.  I don't mind going here for lunch on a work day, but I'd never go for dinner.

Woohoo indeed!  This family business has an outstanding selection of wines, with some great prices.  The owners and staff are knowledgeable, helpful and friendly.  The case discount is excellent, even better if you use cash or a debit card.

I was hunting for Casal Garcia Vinho Verde, a nice summer-afternoon wine from Portugal, and they are one of the few who carry it...at a price better than I've seen anywhere else.  Lucky for me that I called them.  When I walked in, I was blown away by the quality and variety of their choices.  The owners really have an eye for good wines, in all price ranges.

Parking is kind of a pain in downtown Burlingame, and it's quite a bit out of the way from where I work...but worth the effort.  The sales person also volunteered to help me carry my wine out, a kindness that helps make up for the parking challenge.

I'm stopping here every time I'm in the area.  Honestly, there are better deals here than any of the big chains.  And the staff have great suggestions.  'Nuff said.