Terrapin Crossroads- San Rafael
By
Carol & Joe Davis
Dining Detectives
San
Rafael feels like it is really happening again with the
addition of Terrapin Crossroads. They offer a
fun varied menu featuring fresh seasonal ingredients and daily
specials plus have a Taproom and Lounge and a new Music venue.
The owner is Phil Lesh who is one of the founders
of The Grateful Dead and you will see great photos of Jerry Garcia
and The Dead on the walls from "back in the day".
Located
in the former Seafood Peddler space on Yacht Club Drive, it overlooks
the Canal and you can actually sail or motor and tie-up your boat
and come in for dining or cocktails. There is a large bar area
where they serve Bar Bites, Pizzas and Burgers. The Dining Room
serves the full menu and there is a cozy Lounge area for Cocktails,
Wine and Beer. They also have an Outdoor Patio with lush green
grass which is a beautiful spot for Brunch. To add to the excitement,
they just remolded the Grate Room which is their "state of
the art" music venue which seats 350 and is also available
for private parties.
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We
decided to sit and dine in the Bar area so we could watch The
World Series. The SF Giants were winning and the crowd was very
elated! We ordered Specialty Cocktails including a potent Jill's
Chill made with Patron Silver Tequila, orange juice, lemon
juice, lime juice and sparkling water and a perfect Cosmo made
with Belvedere Vodka.
We
started with the lightly breaded Vegetable Fritto Misto
which was served with tasty sage walnut pesto. Our next small
plate was the delicious Crispy Pork Belly with Lagunitas
"Brown Shugga" glaze and caramelized apples. This was
truly fantastic as the consistency and taste were amazing! The
Entrees that we tried were both great! We loved the Petrale
Sole with roasted cauliflower, golden raisins, capers, pine
nuts and potato sauce. It was prepared perfectly and the texture
and flavors were very complimentary and we look forward to ordering
it again.
The
Balsamic Glazed Pork Ribs with grain mustard potato salad
was a hearty portion, the meat fell off the bone and the glaze
was outstanding! The Wine List is local with Napa and Sonoma wines
both by the glass and full bottles. We enjoyed the 2010 Napa
Valley, Long Meadow Ranch Sauvignon Blanc with our starters
and the Sonoma Valley Terrapin House Merlot with our
entrees.
The
Desserts were quite tasty as well. We enjoyed the Carmel Pot
de Crème topped with marshmallow cream, peanuts and
sea salt. Our favorite was the Warm Bittersweet Chocolate
Cake topped with Frangelico and hazelnut chocolate sauce
and whipped cream which was just perfect! Espressos allowed us
to linger and enjoy the Giants victory.
Executive
Chef Chris Fernandez has put together some outstanding
menu options which are a blend of Italian, Mediterranean and Northern
California Cuisine made with locally sourced and sustainable ingredients,
featuring the best from local purveyors. We look forward to returning
soon to Terrapin Crossroads for drinks, dinner, weekend brunch
and especially to hear live music!
Terrapin
Crossroads
100 Yacht Club Drive
San Rafael, CA. 94901
415-524-2773
www.TerrapinCrossroads.com
