We were expecting pretty nice weather on this Saturday so I always think about doing my favorite run to Tiburon. I’m working to get myself back into shape, but was comfortable doing 16 miles so I had Andrea drop me off at the Sports Basement in the Presidio by Crissey Field (If I do this run starting from home it will be 20+ miles). From there it is a run up to the bridge, across, over to the vista point, take the pedestrian walkway underneath the bridge so I can get to the other side. From their I take the road that goes back down and underneath the bridge, then take the road to East Rd. to take that to Sausalito and continue on the path all the way through and all the way to Blithedale, across 101 to continue on Tiburon Blvd and then onto Greenwood to Blackie’s Pasture and along the coast, onto San Rafeel Ave to dip into Belvedere and then eventually cut back to Tiburon. Whew!
In any case, we’re here to talk about food. So there are three restaurants that are our favorites here in Tiburon – The Caviar Co., Sam’s Anchor Cafe, and here at The Bungalow Kitchen. Since our last couple times in Tiburon we had been to the other two, we were due to come back here. Andrea made a reservation and it wasn’t super crowded yet so we fortunately were seated out on the covered patio.
First order of brunch business was cocktails. Andrea had The Dirty Diane because it’s spicy, but made with vodka instead of mezcal. I decided to try something different and the Turmeric Elixer Cocktail looked quite good made with tequila, ginger, cayenne, and tajin. We both really liked this cocktail since it was light and refreshing and flavorful. Andrea’s Dirty Diane made with vodka was a bit flat since it a bit bland/watery and using vodka instead of mezcal subtracted just a bit from the flavor.
We went with half a dozen hog island oysters (clearwaters) to start. For some reason, this seemed to take forever to arrive which we guess because we had an inexperienced server (telltale sign being that he was being shadowed by someone) and we suspect he forgot to place our orders in. Fortunately, it wasn’t really a concern for us since we were just enjoying the day chilling.
For brunch, they have a prix fixe consisting of an appetizer and main with some upgrades (which we have tried in the past including the classic Michael Mina ahi tuna tartare from which we have fond memories from Michael Mina restaurant as well as Aqua from way back in the day). Andrea went with the butter lettuce salad and the Bungalow Benedict and I went with the Tempura Maitake Mushrooms and the Champagne Battered Fish & Chips (apparently I was in the mood for all things fried, lol).
I enjoyed the umami richness of the mushrooms and the yuzu aioli was nice to give some fat and citrus to balance. I did also enjoy the fish and chips which met my expectations.
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